Turning Wheels
The Room of Requirement
Nearly more than an hour had passed since Harry and Daphne had left the remaining five Slytherins in the outer room. It was nearing dinner time and they were anxious, waiting to know whatever the new Lord Black had decided with their fellow Slytherin. When they had first thought of approaching him, they had never imagined that this meeting would go in the way it had. There was a lot of bad blood between the Slytherins and Gryffindors. The Harry Potter they knew would never have listened to their point of view and it was very likely that a fight would have broken out, considering it was Malfoy who had decided to approach him. Pansy and Blaise had just shrugged saying a fight would have broken out regardless of who approached him while Greengrass and Nott hadn’t agreed. Tracey had just kept quiet on the matter.
“What do you think they are discussing?” asked Blaise. All the remaining four were clueless. They had not expected it. They all knew it was Daphne Greengrass that held the most of the influence and power in the entire Slytherin house. Draco only had his father’s leverage, with the elder Malfoy pulling strings with his wealth. The Greengrass house though was ancient and powerful and in the wizarding world that mattered a lot more than some galleons anyone could throw. Daphne had always maintained her neutral stance, not involving herself too much into things until now. Times change things, they certainly do. And Daphne had finally taken the initiative.
“Whatever it is, we’ll know soon enough” said Nott just as the door opened. Five pairs of eyes looked towards the two who moved out, Daphne first and then Potter. They walked back to the place they were previously and sat down. Daphne just shook her head at Tracey indicating her to be patient as her friend shot the blonde a questioning look.
Harry removed some parchment from his robes and laid it down on the table in front of him. “Me and Greengrass have had a discussion at length about the situation, and the opportunity it presents. We would like your input as well before we decide anything” he said. Everyone noticed the way in which he worded the statement and it seemed he and Daphne had reached to an agreement of sorts.
“As Lord Black and Potter, I plan to bring about a lot of changes in the future. Such a change will not be possible before some significant threats, opposition and obstacles are dealt with. The road will be long and I can offer you another side to support yes. But the strength of that side will depend upon our unity.” He said, his voice firm as he looked at them all.
“So we need to make sure that such unity is maintained regardless of our differences, whatever they may be before or after this meeting” continued Daphne as she too looked at them.
Theodore eyed the parchment on the table and drew a deep breath, “I agree” he said softly. “Any of us backtracks and the whole plan, the future of this side that we are creating, whatever that might be, will fall apart. For everyone” he said.
“Then read this” said Harry as the parchment was levitated in front of them. Draco grabbed it out of air and skimmed through it before demanding a quill. The room of requirement provided one before he deftly signed on it. The other people in the room were shocked by such a quick decision of their classmate but held their tongues, still not knowing the contents of the parchment yet. It was Pansy next and she did the same followed by Blaise and Theodore. Tracey contemplated a lot before staring intensely at Daphne. The nod that her friend gave was the deciding factor for her. She signed her own name too.
Harry summoned the parchment to him. Looking at all the names and then their faces, staring back down at the emblem on the parchment. The sign of the Deathly Hallows quite prominent. It was not just a symbol showcasing the three gifts given by Death. It was the emblem of the order started by Antioch Peverell in the middle ages. The Knights of the Walpurgis. Many believed it was something that the death eaters called themselves in the beginning. But even if they did, it was far from what the original order was. The Knights of Walpurgis were originally a clan of powerful mages and their acolytes, with the intention of practicing esoteric arts of ancient magic. Runic blood rituals, sacrificial magic and if one ventured into much darker aspects then necromancy and experimenting with time in rituals. The order was powerful knowledge source. And it was protected quiet heavily since they never had a shortage of battle mages during those times. Now, it was reduced to just a single descendant of Peverell. Harry had changed the motive slightly. The order now represented something much more than a guild of magical scholars and individuals trying to learn and preserve magic. It was more practical.
Harry shook his head with a wry smile. He removed a small silver knife from his robes and slit open his hand, letting the blood drip on the parchment. It flashed a bright yellow before dimming, indicating that an agreement was sealed in blood and magic. The cut on his hand was healed slowly, the scar flashing white as Daphne’s wand moved over it in a precise motion.
“Henceforth, we are allies” said Daphne in a flat tone. “And any who breaks that agreement that we just signed will die” she said in a threatening tone.
Harry smirked at the blunt statement that she made which had visibly unsettled their other companions but they recovered quickly enough.
“So when do we start?” asked Blaise. “Right now. We only have 2 more months of school year” said Daphne. Harry nodded. “Yes. It’s a small window of time, but I have been busy this past year. And between the seven of us, much can be achieved.
”Harry stared directly at Draco. “The first order of business would be your information” he said. Draco sighed heavily. Even the others were curious about this. They knew Draco was a death eater and the incident with Katie was somehow related to him but they had ignored the whole situation until now. “Speak Malfoy” said Daphne as she stared coldly at Draco. Her voice sent a shiver up Tracey’s back.
Draco stared defiantly at her before sighing again. “The Dark Lord has ordered me to kill Dumbledore as a task which would decide my father’s fate and place in his ranks after the ministry fiasco last year” he said.
Tracey and Pansy gasped while Theo and Blaise just stared blankly in shock at him. “He knew you wouldn’t be successful” said Harry. “That’s why the task was given to you. Your attempts were pathetic really and none of the poisons or artifacts that you had placed even reached close enough to Dumbledore” he said.
“I had no other choice” said Draco shaking his head. “You don’t. But now you do. And your new orders are to keep trying on ways to kill Dumbledore if only to appease Voldemort” said Harry authoritatively. Everyone’s eyes snapped towards him.
“You want him out of the equation entirely?” asked Theodore. “Dumbledore is of no consequence to me. Him living or not makes no difference anymore in this war. He may be an exceptionally strong wizard, but his duel with Voldemort last year was a stalement. If there is a next time, he will loose” said Harry.
A sobering silence fell between the students seated there. For a few moments the reality of their situation, the severity of the decision that they had taken loomed over them. “If Dumbledore can’t defeat him, what chance does anyone else have. His followers are merciless, and we are just students” spoke Theodore into the momentary silence.
“We are. And it was not supposed to be us children involved in this war but that is the reality. You stay and fight or you die” said Harry grimly.
Daphne shook her head. “A year ago, six students bested the Dark Lord’s most vicious fighters. Who would have imagined that” she said. “It will not only be mere students on our side. If everything goes according to plan” she said looking towards Harry. Harry nodded. “Our circle will expand soon” he said.
“And we will keep our trust in that. We have signed the parchment anyways” said Tracey looking at them both. “The original order of Walpurgis?” she questioned. Daphne nodded which got her a raised eyebrow in curiosity. The room then descended into the discussion of the famed guild of witches and wizards which was interrupted by Blaise. “Are we all Knights now?” he asked half jokingly. All of them grinning at him. Harry shrugged. “If you want to call yourselves that. There is history and much information that I will share in due time” he said smirking.
Right at that moment, in the room of requirement, an alliance of sort was formed between seven students. More will join in soon. An alliance that would essentially change the fate of the Wizarding world. For good or not, that remained to be seen.
Greengrass Manor, somewhere in the southwest of England
It was with a calculating eye that Cyrus finished reading the letter that the young lord had sent him. Sighing he removed his spectacles as he put the letter down in front of the table. He cleaned his glasses with a soft cloth and set it back upon his nose. He eyed the letter for a while before he summoned his house elf. “Minty bees ready to serve Lord Greengrass” said the elf bowing respectfully. “Tell my wife that I need her in the study Minty” said Cyrus. The elf nodded and popped out of the room quickly. It was only a while before his wife entered through the door.
Roxanne shut the door softly behind her before taking a seat in front of him. “You called me Cyrus” she said questioningly. He nodded and handed the letter to her. She read it and any indication of surprise was well schooled by his wife. She handed the letter back to him and stared at him for a while. She knew what he was thinking about it and decided to test her thoughts. “You think the young lord’s offer to be genuine?” she asked.
He contemplated the question before he responded. “I did do some background research on the boy when I came to know about any such contract in existence” he said. “For a while, I also had a few people gather information.” He got up from his seat and walked over to the liquor cabinet. Pouring two glasses of whiskey he placed one in front of his wife. She did not even move to touch it. “The young lord has led an interesting life so far” he said sipping his whiskey. Staring at it before he spoke again, “one which I doubt anyone else would wish upon themselves, as much as they hope to be him. Thanks to his godfather, there has been some amount of let’s say ‘revelations’ about our world.
Where he was clueless before, now he knows a lot, too much if you think with the perspective of some influential people of our world” he said, not answering his wife’s initial question.
“Clearly” she said, “He knows enough if he has sent that letter” she said sitting back and staring at him.
“I think it is genuine” said Cyrus, “But there is much at play here that we don’t know.”
“Although it does play into our hands quite well in case of certain issues that we currently find ourselves in Cyrus” said Roxanne.
“That it does” he replied to which she smiled. “What is it that you wish to do then?” she asked. Cyrus shrugged, “There is not much that I can do frankly, other than follow that path and see how things play out for our house and our future” he said eyeing the letter.
“Then you should ask our daughter and the young lord for a meeting soon” she said. “Ofcourse any decision would be taken only after that” he said.
“What are you going to do about Lucius Malfoy?” she asked. Her expression emotionless as she spoke.
“If things go well and we have a better plan, then burn him and his contract to ashes” he spoke with some steel in his voice as he sipped his drink. They stared at each other before she nodded, a slight smile on her face.
“Good” she said picking up her drink. “But we can something out of that too” he said in a contemplative voice. His wife narrowed her eyes but did not say anything. “I am told that Astoria is quiet enamored with the foolish Malfoy heir?” he asked nonchalantly. His wife did not speak but he could see that as annoyed as she was, she was figuring out what he had in mind.
“Do you think so callously about your daughters all the time?” she asked and he hid the wince perfectly. He knew his attitude regarding his daughter’s lives and futures were….questionable at most, but he wanted them to survive this war. As much as he wanted his daughters to find love and marry, in the current climate that wasn’t possible. Then again, he and Roxanne were told the same things in their generation by their parents. He sighed. “You know very well the situation we are in” he said.
“We have to make sure we end up on top of this war when it gets over, just like we always have for generations” he said.
She shook her head. “There might be better ways, but very well. We should really speak with Daphne. As an heir to this house she has been well trained and she is ready to take on more responsibility” said Roxanne. “Even if she is not, she has to. She has no other choice” he said with finality as he stared at the scattered papers in front of him.
There was a loud knock on the door before their house elf Minty entered. “Lord Malfoy is summoning the Greengrass elves from outside the ward. He be requesting a meeting” said Minty.
His wife stared hard at him, her eyes conveying what he felt. It was time.
Harry Potter, Hogwarts -Gryffindor Common room
Harry walked towards the common room entrance and spoke the password, “Guardian.”
The portrait swung open and he stepped through it, his wand hidden beneath his sleeve as he entered. He eyed the people in the common room, with trepidation that the old Harry would have shown he walked towards where Seamus was sitting, “Have you seen Ron?” he asked.
“Up in the dorms, probably sleeping like always” said Seamus. “Confundus”, whispered Harry and Seamus’s eyebrows furrowed for moment, “You never saw Ron in the dorms, he was eating in the great hall and that was when you last saw him. I came to ask you for your history notes” spoke Harry. Seamus looked around for a moment before his eyes settled on Harry. “I didn’t take any notes in history last time” said Seamus embarrassedly.
“No worries Seamus. I’ll just ask Hermione” spoke Harry. “You should go down to the great hall. Ron must be waiting. I will join soon enough” he said. “Sure Harry” said Seamus. Harry climbed up the stairs just as Seamus exited the common room.
Opening the door, he was proven correct as Ron lay on the bed, distracted with a quidditch book. “Silencio” he muttered before sending a dark spell “coecere vistrerum”, restraining his arms and legs rather tightly by a black jagged rope which quickly cut into his skin. He levitated the red head and dropped him down on a chair. He could see the gangly boy’s mouth moving furiously but no voice came out. Harry smirked. Pointing his wand at him, he muttered “Legilimens”
Flashes swam across his mind before he could slowly sort out what he was looking for. Finding it, he watched the entire memory play out.
“Harry has a lot of trust in you, by helping me you are helping him too Mr.Weasely” said the voice of Dumbledore. “I understand headmaster, I don’t doubt your judgement. Harry needs your guidance and it is best we prepare ourselves for what is coming” said Ron.
“I need you to tell me if he behaves weirdly. The pressure on him is great as you know. Any information might help me understand better about ways to help him. After last year, it’s become a much more pressing need” said Dumbledore with an insisting voice, eyes twinkling.
“Ofcourse headmaster, we’ll keep you informed” said the unmistakable voice of Hermione. “These days, it’s just him trying to find proof of Malfoy being a death eater. Says he has taken the dark mark. Which is absurd since a sixteen year old wouldn’t possibly be inducted into the death eaters. And Malfoy does not have the courage” she said.
Dumbledore smiled. “Indeed Miss Granger”
The memory then shifted to one of The Burrow where Mrs. Weasely discretely gave something to Ron, just before they were leaving for the train.
“Remember what you have to do Ron, be involved in their affairs, listen in to information that can be of use, and make use of the vials if need be. Two drops Ron, otherwise it won’t take effect, too much and it will become toxic” she said.
“Alright Mum,” said Ron grumbling.
“And don’t let anyone suspect you. Harry may be a lost and clueless lad, but Hermione is sharp despite her ignorance. Dumbledore is very assertive about such changes too, he is too observant of the students. Be careful in your steps. We need him on our side but he can’t know” she repeated.
The memories changed rapidly and many such events played out before Harry withdrew out of his mind. He could see the redhead bleeding from the nose, sweating profusely as he thrashed against the binds which only tightened, cutting deeper. Harry clenched his jaw as he stared at his “friend” but kept his temper in check. Only one thought of “Their time will come” repeating in his mind. It was just like a faint whispering voice that held his wand from harming the boy in front of him. He quickly vanished the blood and healed him. “Obliviate” he spoke, and erased this entire memory from Ron’s mind. Releasing the binds and healing him again he levitated the redhead to the bed and dropped him.
Going through his things, he found the clear potion vials and examined them. A draught of compulsion and loyalty potion combined with Harry’s blood inside it. Harry’s jaw twitched in annoyance. Merlin knows how much of his blood they had. He switched the contents with water before placing them back in their place. He waved his wand in a complex pattern over the vials and they glowed blue for a second. Every time Ron opened the vial, Harry would know.
Harry once again stared at the redhead before he schooled his features to a more neutral expression. “Finite” he whispered before he moved quickly, grabbing his pillow, he hit Ron square in the face, rather hard. “Wake up Ron, it’s almost dinner time. You don’t want to miss on all the food tonight do you?” he asked, his imitation of a good friend perfect in its execution. Ron looked confused and a bit annoyed before he mumbled something grumpily and got up. Harry moved to take his stuff before he eyed Ron. Within half an hour they were ready and slipping past the common room entrance.
Only one thought ran in Harry’s head. “They have to be dealt with first”