IngloriousMe
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The-Enemies-Who-Planned (VII) [Chapter 150]
🕑 Added 2023-05-10 17:17:53 +0000 UTC~~Unknown Location~~
The silhouettes of six people could be seen gathered around a round table, but none of the features except for their gender could be deduced as the room was barely lit. A holographic picture was floating over the center of the table and anyone who had read about the Wizarding World War would have recognized the person in the picture.
“There is no mistaking it, that is Gellert Grindelwald” One of the men confirmed for the rest of the group.
“Are you sure? He looks kind of young” One of the females asked, looking confused.
“Yes, that is what confuses me. He is as old as Dumbledore, but he is looking younger than how I remember him” The man agreed with a hint of confusion in his voice.
“Is there a chance that it might be someone else masquerading as Grindelwald?” Another man asked curiously.
“No, that is most definitely him. I have worked under him for years, and there are some things a person could never mimic no matter how much they try” The first man explained gravely. “That power, that speed, those movements… That is Grindelwald. I am completely certain” The man added confidently.
“Well, ladies and gentlemen, then we have a problem” A man said as he leaned forward on the table and clasped his hands in front of his face. “They destroyed our New York branch, which was one of our biggest bases, and ripped it apart. We can’t let this go” The man growled and the other members nodded their heads in agreement except for the man who had served Grindelwald during the Wizarding World War, who frantically shook his head.
“And what are you planning to do? Send people after him to hunt him down?” The first man asked sarcastically.
“Is there something wrong with that?” One of the women asked condescendingly.
“Of course, there is something wrong with that! Grindelwald is no common Wizard! Once I saw him butcher his way through 50 ICW Hit-Wizards on his own without breaking a sweat. I was there when he was defeated by Dumbledore” The man explained with a growl. “I witnessed the Magic they wielded. I witnessed the devastation they had wrought upon their battlefield. The two of them were in a completely different league” The man finished with a whisper.
“Then what do you expect us to do? Accept our defeat? Do you have any idea what this will do to our reputation?” The man who previously suggested taking revenge asked angrily.
“Wait! There is no need to fight between ourselves. Firstly, I believe we should reevaluate everything we know about the whole situation before finally deciding anything. I am not saying that we shouldn’t attack him or anything, but we should at least assess all of our options” One of the women suggested, earning nods from everyone, except for the man who had worked under Grindelwald, but he also ended up nodding his head even though he was quite reluctant about it.
“Alright!” One of the other men called out while nodding his head. “Then let’s begin with what we already know” The man added before clapping his hands as he looked around at his fellow colleagues.
“Grindelwald seems to be a part of some group called the Lost Garden. The group is relatively new as this had been their second appearance” One of the women thoughtfully pointed out.
“That we know of. They could have been operating for much longer” One of the men pointed out and the others had to admit, his point was quite sound. “They came looking for the identity of the person who had issued the Contract for Harry Potter’s assassination and they were denied. This attack was a clear retaliation for that” The man continued.
“So, there might be some sort of connection between Lost Garden and Harry Potter, right? We know that Harry Potter is protected. We lost a whole mercenary group consisting of 12 members and they weren’t amateurs by any means” One of the men pointed out for the rest of the group.
“Or the Lost Garden was simply looking for an excuse to attack us” Another valid point was presented.
“That too” The man who suggested attacking Grindelwald agreed. “So, Grindelwald is the only one who can give us the answers we are looking for” The man added with a sigh as he leaned back. “For the time, put all of our branches on alert and tighten the security. We cannot lose another branch to an attack like this. It is not only bad for reputation, but it is also very bad for business” The man ordered sharply.
To be honest, even he didn’t want to tangle with Gellert Grindelwald. He had never met the man personally, but he had heard a lot of stories. Gellert Grindelwald was the one most dangerous Wizards to ever walk on earth and even if half of the rumors he had heard about the man were true, then their future was quite bleak…
~~Headmaster’s Office, Hogwarts~~
Albus arrived in his office and started to contemplate his options. To be honest, he wasn’t expecting the Grey Faction to throw their support to the Dark Faction in such a manner. After some deliberation, he was able to find what Cornelius and his advisors were planning. Instead of stopping the plot, Albus decided to use the plot to his advantage and it failed spectacularly.
He was hoping to get Amos Diggory to become Harry’s new guardian as Amos was an avid Light supporter and the man wouldn’t have dismissed his suggestions. Using Sirius would have been the easiest, that is why Albus helped him out of Azkaban in the first place, but he turned out to be a complete disappointment in the first place. Sirius simply refused to listen to him and since he refused to listen to him, Albus had to cut him off no matter how heartless it sounded.
It was for the Greater Good…
Alas, everything didn’t go according to his plans. Instead of Amos Diggory, thanks to the complete support of the Grey Faction, Lucius Malfoy was declared Harry Potter’s new guardian. Within the next few days, Harry was going to be in the clutches of Lucius Malfoy and that was something Albus couldn’t allow. Harry Potter was the only one who could beat Voldemort.
The second Prophecy painted a harrowing picture of the future of the Wizarding World, but even then, Harry Potter was their only hope. Voldemort would destroy everything in his path if he wasn’t stopped and if the first Prophecy was to be believed, only Harry could beat him. Albus was broken out of his musings when someone knocked on the door. There was only one person who would visit him at this time.
“Enter” Albus called out and moments later, the door opened with a click before Severus entered his office with his usual indifferent look on his face.
“Good evening, Headmaster. How was the meeting?” Severus asked as he took a seat.
Albus released a defeated sigh. “Lucius Malfoy is Harry Potter’s new guardian” Albus revealed tiredly and Severus looked alarmed at the revelation.
“How did he even win? You know, he will kill the boy, right?” Severus asked with a frown, only for Albus to nod his head in agreement. Just like he suspected, Severus was prejudiced against the boy for the actions of his father and Godfather, but Albus had come to learn that a part of Severus genuinely cared about the boy. His love for Lily was able to scrub off some of the hatred he felt for the boy.
Alas, that didn’t mean that he was ever going to treat the boy nicely… The boy looked too much like his father for Severus to treat him any differently. Then there was the fact that he couldn’t treat the boy nicely as he was supposed to be a Death Eater and the boy was responsible for defeating their Master. Albus genuinely felt bad for him and to be honest, he was somewhat proud that Severus didn’t choose the easy way out.
“I know. Lucius someone managed to get the complete support of the Grey Faction” Albus answered with a sigh.
“Then it probably wasn’t cheap for Lucius” Severus muttered with a pondering look on his face. “Then what are you planning to do?” Severus asked after a few moments of silence.
“I cannot allow Lucius to have the boy” Albus assured, making Severus frown at him.
“Is he really our only option?” Severus asked. He didn’t want to depend on a fourteen year old to defeat the Dark Lord.
“Severus, I know you don’t want to believe in the Prophecy, but Prophecies tend to work in mysterious ways” Albus pointed out with a chuckle. To be honest, he wanted to send Severus to grab the boy and bring him here before Amelia’s Aurors could reach him, but Severus’ absence would be easily noticed and he couldn’t put Severus at risk in such a manner.
He would have to look for someone fitting for the task, but he did have some time, thanks to Amelia. He knew that Amelia obviously had her own reasons for her actions and he wondered if she had some plans for Harry. Amelia was becoming way too active for his liking… He couldn’t believe that she had the audacity to send Nymphadorra Tonks to spy on his school.
Thanks to the map, he already knew that Nymphadora Tonks was masquerading as Susan Bones, but he decided not to take any action. He didn’t want to reveal his hand, but it made him wonder how much the woman really knew to come after him in such a manner…
