Chapters 141-150

‘We Need a Strategy’

After three spells and three brilliant displays of magical illumination (amber, sapphire, and to Harry’s intense discomfiture, emerald green), a deathly hush fell over the Order meeting.

‘Merlin’s bollocks,’ Ron blurted out at last, staring at the naked arms of Hermione, Harry, and Severus.

‘Much as it pains me to admit this, Mr. Weasley,’ Snape said softly and quickly rolled down his sleeve until it covered the scars on the inside of his left forearm, ‘but your assessment sums up the situation quite nicely.’

‘Holy shit,’ Harry muttered and rubbed fiercely at his arm. ‘So I’m going to be a Squib?’

‘No,’ Ginny said. ‘It’s much worse.’ She drew a stack of parchments from her satchel and slammed them on the table. ‘I’ve been working with Rita Skeeter for the last six weeks.’

At Harry’s groan she shook her head impatiently. ‘Skeeter may be the nastiest bug to ever crawl over the surface of this planet, but even you have to admit that she smells a story ten miles against the wind.
‘Anyway, she put me on a project of my own. Nothing fancy. Just a nice little sob story to get me started. Only now I don’t think it’s little at all. And it’s anything but nice.’ Ginny looked haunted. ‘I’ve got three cases of Muggle-born witches who died giving birth since the Muggle-borns Protection Act was implemented. Seven still-births. And fifteen miscarriages recorded at St Mungo’s.’

‘Oh dear,’ Minerva whispered. ‘Oh dear…and I have no experience with such spells at all.’

Snape snorted. ‘Of course not. Leeching spells belong to the Dark Arts, along with Necromancy and similar delightful endeavours.’

‘If you have you something constructive to contribute, Severus, feel free.’

‘I suggest to research cases of magical depletion. Complete magical depletion is very rare. Does it always lead to death? Or do some victims survive as Squibs? The records of St Mungo’s date back to the 16th century. The Hôtel-Magie de Paris has archives that go back to the Roman occupation,’ Snape replied coolly. ‘Additionally we need to contact experts on Spell Damage in order to find out how quickly the spell is working, if and how the process can be affected.’

‘Can we cut the tattoos off?’ Hermione asked suddenly. ‘Like you did with—’ She gestured at Severus’ arm. ‘Would that stop the spell?’

Severus shook his head. ‘No. While it is not the same spell as the one for the Dark Mark, it is similar. Had I attempted to remove the Dark Mark while Voldemort was still alive, I would have died instantly.’ He looked at the white fabric that hid the scars the laser-treatment had left on his skin. ‘A terrible temptation,’ he added softly and lowered his head. His shoulder-length hair fell forward like a curtain, obscuring his expression. Hermione suspected from the tone of his voice that he had known someone who had given in to that temptation, and that Severus had envied that person for their easy escape.

‘We need to catch whoever is behind this. Either to make them break the spell or to discover how we can break it,’ Harry said. ‘And we need to get them now, before more people die.’ His eyes glowed with a hard light. ‘Is it only me, or do you suspect that someone at the Ministry is involved?’

‘Umbridge,’ Hermione suggested. ‘I bet she’s involved.’

‘Such a spell would certainly suit her agenda,’ Severus said softly. ‘Her hatred of Muggles, Muggle-borns and half-bloods is well documented.’

Harry glanced at the faded scars on his right hand. ‘She’s definitely evil enough to come up with something like that. So what do we do about it? Inform the Minister and bust her arse?’

Andromeda shook her head. ‘The Minister has to be informed, of course. But I don’t think we should move in on Umbridge right away. While we’d have the element of surprise on our side, this won’t help us if our assessment is correct that Umbridge is working with—or for—someone else…if she is involved at all.’

‘We need a strategy,’ Ron announced.

‘Could we simply grab her, pour a pint of Veritaserum down her throat, and find out what she knows?’ Ginny asked.

‘But that’s illegal!’ Hermione protested.

‘If we can save lives that way,’ Harry shouted, his eyes flashing with determination, ‘we’ll do it.’

Ron frowned, and Hermione was shaking her head, but it was Severus who interrupted, ‘Mr Weasley—my wife insists that you’re a superb strategist. Why don’t you dazzle us with your talents?’

Ron glared at Snape. But then he wrinkled his nose thoughtfully. ‘Sorry, Gin, Harry. But that’s not a good idea. Not because it’s illegal.’ He ducked his head at Hermione’s scowl and went on doggedly, ‘Look, when you come up with a strategy, you need to plan for the worst case scenario.

‘I mean, obviously the best case scenario is that we catch Umbridge, force-feed her Veritaserum, and she spills her guts, admits she dunnit and includes the appropriate counter-spell.

‘But what if she had nothing to do with it? Or if she’s on an antidote? Or if she’s using oh, say an Unbreakable Vow to make sure that her secrets stay secret? And if she is involved but works with accomplices, or if she is actually the accomplice of the real culprits—your idea might make matters much worse…Right now we have no idea how that spell works. It looks like it’s gradually draining your magic. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be adapted to drain and kill you instantly. If it’s Umbridge, she could have devised a trigger-word to cause that effect. You start questioning her, she starts answering, and the next thing you know, you’re dead. Or what if taking down Umbridge makes her accomplices disappear—along with the only counter-spell there is?’

Harry blinked at Ron. ‘Mate, I guess there’s a reason why you’re so much better at chess than I am.’