The Other Half

Eric had a good sense for when something hadn't gone according to plan. While his special forces hadn't told him their exact plan, he knew he should've heard from them or Sarah before long. When he hadn't heard anything from them by the morning they should've been back, he began to take action.

Before he could get a plan going, word came in the form of a copy of the Daily Prophet.

DOLORES UMBRIDGE NAMED MINISTER OF MAGIC

Last night, Ronald Weasley, Sally-Anne Perks, Ginevra Weasley, and Harry Potter were caught red-handed attempting to break into the Ministry of Magic. The four delinquents assaulted Ministry officials, including the former Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour. After sneaking inside, they brutally murdered Scrimgeour. Fortunately, Dolores Umbridge, who succeeds Scrimgeour as Minister, led a counterattack and thwarted their attempts at further chaos.

"This is a sad day indeed," Minister Umbridge told the Prophet. "I've seen the awful state of things at Hogwarts before, but to think that they would teach such barbaric behavior is simply unthinkable. People should remain alert until we've contained the situation, which I will do everything in my power to rectify immediately."

The four criminals were arrested for murder and sent to Azkaban. They will join another former Hogwarts student, Hermione Granger, who was arrested on charges of breaking into Gringotts, theft, and suspected terrorism and treason.

Before he'd finished reading the article, the phone rang. Eric stared at it for a moment, wondering what the odds were that it wasn't the Prime Minister asking for an update.

"Is there news?"

Eric glanced down at the article before answering.

"We need to meet."

Wilfred stared at the empty kitchen table. He knew he should've been eating, but he had no appetite. His wife was imprisoned, and according to the Daily Prophet, his daughter was as well.

He walked over to the phone, picked it up, then put it back on the receiver. Who was there to call? Eric wouldn't be available; he'd be dealing with the fallout of the past few weeks. The Weasleys wouldn't know anything more, and if the Grangers accepted his calls, it'd be a minor miracle.

Returning to the kitchen table, he slumped in his chair. A small sign, some piece of good news, was all he wanted. It wasn't looking like he was going to be getting anything any time soon.

Arthur and Percy Weasley had to maneuver reporters and Ministry officials to get to their real quarry: the new Minister of Magic. Failing that, they wanted at least to find someone that would answer their questions.

"You want a statement?" Percy said, losing his patience with the band of reporters following them. "My brother and sister aren't murderers."

Arthur pulled his son back. They walked into the elevator, where Arthur closed it to give them some small piece of privacy.

"Talking to them only encourages them," he said. "Trust me."

"Something's not right," Percy said. "I can see them sneaking off in the middle of the night, but why come here? What were they doing?"

"I wish I could tell you. We won't know until we can talk to them ourselves."

"Azkaban." Percy held back a shudder at the thought of it. "After everything Ginny's been through…"

The elevator doors opened and the two men strode into the Minister's office.

"Minister Umbridge is out," the secretary said without looking up. "Can I help you?"

Arthur walked up to the desk and slammed his hands on it.

"My name's Arthur Weasley. I'm the Head of the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects. My underage daughter was taken to Azkaban without so much as a trial or anyone informing me or my family. Minister Umbridge has violated at least four different laws in doing so. I demand to speak with her at once."

The secretary looked from him to Percy, then back to him.

"There's nothing I can do, Mr. Weasley, apart from telling her you want to talk to her."

Arthur narrowed his eyes, but knew he'd have to climb over layers of bureaucracy before he got answers.

"Fine. I'll be back tomorrow." He straightened himself up. "And the next day, and the next. One way or another, I will have answers."

He turned around and told Percy to follow him.

"What next?" Percy asked. "I can talk with—"

"She's avoiding us," Arthur said. "It's common in situations like these. I imagine those laws about which I spoke will be dismantled in no time, if she didn't have Scrimgeour put holes in them already."

"So that's it? Ron and Ginny just—"

Arthur rounded on his son, his anger more apparent than he wanted it.

"No, that's not it, Percy. There's always a way. Umbridge used an Unforgivable Curse on a student two years ago. She abused students, dosed them with Veritaserum without their consent. We've got a list of complaints against her. Something in there will give us our answer."

"But—"

Before he could say anything, the lift arrived, bringing with it a familiar face.

"I said MOVE!" Alex shouted, shoving other officials out of the way.

One poor soul tried to catch up to her, but she rounded on him. Narrowing her eyes, she didn't say a word. She stared the man down until he backed off.

"Alex?"

She turned her glare on him, then eased up a little.

"What's going on?" she asked. "What's Sally-Anne doing in Azkaban? What are they talking about with murder? Sally-Anne can't kill anyone. Harry would never use anything worse than a Stunner, and Ron wouldn't let himself get caught."

"Are you saying my children are capable of murder?" Arthur asked her, his voice taking on a threatening edge.

"What? No, of course not! They're not that impulsive, no matter what happened with Ginny last year."

"Umbridge isn't here," Percy said. "No one's telling us anything."

"What about visiting them?" Alex asked, turning to Arthur. "Can't you get inside Azkaban?"

Arthur shook his head.

"Not without a pass from the Minister of Magic."

He motioned towards the lift.

"We shouldn't discuss anything else here."

Alex and Percy exchanged glances. It was clear they both wanted to wait for answers, but they knew they weren't getting them. Instead, they followed Arthur out of the Ministry of Magic.

Lucius knew better than to get involved in anything scandalous directly. Instead, he let other people do it for him. His network spread out over the Ministry, cultivating information for him. Nothing happened anymore that he didn't know about. He knew where the children had been when they'd been taken, which already gave him a significant piece of information. Fortunately, part of Umbridge's plan involved deniability, which meant there was no surveillance in the holding cells. If you knew the right people, you could get a message to one of the prisoners without anyone knowing. And Lucius Malfoy knew all the right people.

Unfortunately, there were limits to even his reach. He couldn't get inside Azkaban; Umbridge had ensured that no one but her could speak with them, but he had alternatives. He had ways to see inside the prison, even if he couldn't get inside the prison.

He was one of a few people with all the answers; what came next involved getting in touch with the other people that had the answers.

Eric sat in the Prime Minister's office. Neither one said anything after Eric had explained what he could, leaving out the part about sending in 18-year-olds as his special task force. There were no drinks, no lighthearted jokes; they were beyond both.

"What are our options?" the Prime Minister asked.

Eric gathered his thoughts, speaking slowly to give himself time to think.

"We have no reliable means of getting inside the Ministry of Magic. We've reached out to them, but they've declined to answer."

"They have a base, right in the middle of London, that we can't enter."

Eric closed his eyes, then nodded.

"And they've taken at least one person inside."

Again, he nodded.

"What's been stopping them from taking more of our people prisoner?"

"The possibility of a war. A war that they didn't want, and one they likely wouldn't win."

"'Likely?'"

Eric nodded again.

"Likely."

"What about our insiders? What happened to them?"

"Umbridge has been removing them one by one. With one exception, everyone who knows about my boss has been removed. That exception can't be relied upon to help us."

Once again, silence fell over the room. Eric hated not having answers, but they were out of options. Unless Hermione showed herself (he didn't believe for a second that she couldn't escape Azkaban on her own), they had nothing. Without access to Sally-Anne or her friends, they had no line of communication to anyone that could help. McGonagall wouldn't be able to do anything with Umbridge in control. The first thing Umbridge was likely to do was to go after Hogwarts, the only potential threat to her power, not to mention it was still a black mark in her record.

"It seems that the diplomatic approach is no longer an option," the Minister said. "This Umbridge woman broke tradition by not meeting with me when she took office."

"It's possible she'll come after you next," Eric said. "She doesn't see us as a threat, but there's still a chance. We'll heighten security here just in case."

The Minister frowned.

"What security?"

"I've got at least one agent with you at all times."

Another minute of silence passed. Eric held his tongue, letting the Minister speak first.

"What are our options?"

"Umbridge wants a war. Right now, we should avoid that. I'll put things in motion, and—"

"What things?"

"It's best you don't know, Sir."

Eric waited, but the Prime Minister didn't question him further about his plans. It was just as well; his plan was to buy more time and hope for a miracle. Hermione didn't want Umbridge in control either, and she must've gotten in touch with the others in Azkaban.

"You've got three days, Eric. After that, we give Umbridge her war."

Eric nodded, then collected his things and left.

On his way out of the building, someone brushed past him and slipped something into his pocket. Eric picked a spot outside of town and started driving. When he was far enough away from anything important, he pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket.

They've escaped.

He took the lighter out of his pocket, checked for invisible ink, then burned the paper. "They" meant Sally-Anne and her friends, and the style of delivery meant Lucius Malfoy was helping from the inside. Eric's allotted three days to stop a war were starting to look possible. That left the question of getting in contact with Sally-Anne.

Eric pulled out a map and started plotting his course. He had plenty of stops to make, but he didn't have to do everything himself. If Sally-Anne had gotten out of Azkaban, it was only a matter of time before Umbridge became aware of it. The moment she did, she'd go after their families. She knew where all of them lived, which meant he had to get to them first.

Weasleys are here, Lovegood's here, Black's there, Grangers are there, and Wilfred's there.

He made no physical marks on the map, lest someone get their hands on him. Wilfred had to be the first stop; the Magicals all stood a fighting chance against Aurors, so the Grangers and Wilfred had to be first. Once he got to Wilfred, he could start getting in touch with the others.

Mobile phones, he thought as he got back in the car. We must have the budget for mobile phones, we've got more radios than we know what to do with.

Since the time he'd sat down at the kitchen table that morning, Wilfred had only moved to relocate himself to the couch. Instead of staring at an empty kitchen table, he stared at a blank television screen. What else was there to do? He couldn't get Sarah or Sally-Anne to safety, but he couldn't convince himself that Eric would fix it.

He wanted to be angry at Eric, but he couldn't find it in him. He couldn't doubt that Eric cared for Sally-Anne and Sarah. The worst had happened, and there was nothing anyone could do.

I bet this is how Dan and Emma feel all the time when Hermione's not there.

He looked over at the phone, considering calling them. They knew Hermione was in Azkaban; when she'd been arrested, Sarah had been their first call. It'd taken both he and Sarah to calm them down. Would they want to talk to him?

A knock on the door jolted him awake. He stood up, his joints creaking, and stumbled over to the door.

Eric.

Wilfred opened the door, trying to remember everything his wife had told him about spotting an impostor.

It looked like Eric, if a little less well kept than usual (something Wilfred wouldn't have thought possible).

"They've escaped," Eric said. "I got word less than an hour ago. We've got to move."

Wilfred lit up, but then frowned. That seemed too good to be true, not to mention the urging of Eric to leave.

"What?"

Eric motioned inside, but Wilfred walked outside and closed the door.

"They've escaped," Eric said again. "I don't know how, I don't have details, but if they've escaped, then we've got to warn the other families. Umbridge is almost certainly going to go after them next."

Wilfred narrowed his eyes.

"How do I know that's really you?"

"The toast I gave you two at your wedding involved the words 'bumpkin' and 'Wilfalicious'."

Wilfred opened the door again.

"Yeah, that's you. Let me get my coat."

Eric walked inside with him.

"You've got to give the Grangers a call. They don't trust me."

Wilfred turned back to him for a moment.

"I can't think why. You've got such an honest look about you."

Eric rolled his eyes before closing the door behind him.

As Wilfred went for the phone, something occurred to him.

"Let's say we get the Grangers. What then? Where do we go?"

"ESIS has got secure facilities everywhere. Umbridge will never crack Sarah, so they won't be in any danger."

Wilfred picked up the phone and started dialing.

"Good," Eric said, turning around. "I'll start heading over there." He scribbled an address on a piece of paper and handed it to Wilfred. "That's where we're all going. Tell them I'm on my way, then start getting to the site yourself."

"Can't we just tell them to go there?"

Eric shook his head.

"We don't know who's with them. Tell them to stay alert, and—"

"It's the middle of the day," Wilfred said. "They're at work."

Eric swore under his breath, receiving a glare from Wilfred.

"At least they'll be safe," Eric said. "I doubt Umbridge cares where they work."

Wilfred held a finger to his lips, then started speaking.

"Dan, Emma, it's Wilfred. I'm calling to let you know our friend Eric wants to stop by for a visit. Otherwise, he'll show up without warning. Don't open the door for anyone else, and stay alert. I'll see you soon. Bye."

He hung up the phone, realizing how odd that must've sounded.

They know the Magical World; it's all odd.

Eric was already out the door when Wilfred grabbed his coat. He recited the address in his head again, then locked up and went to his car.

It's going to be a long day.

Sirius paced around his flat, looking at the window at every small sound. The ticking of the clock was going to drive him mad. Someone must know something, but stepping foot inside the Ministry of Magic might as well be suicide for him.

He'll be fine. He'll be fine.

He looked at a picture of James and Lily again. They'd been watching him for the past hour.

"What? This isn't my fault. How was I supposed to know this would happen?"

His ramblings were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Please be Harry.

He walked over to the door and checked who it was before opening it. Not only was it not Harry, but he recognized the robes of Aurors when he saw them.

"Sirius Black!"

Another knock on the door, this one louder than the last.

Sirius backed away and looked around the room, trying to come up with a plan. He couldn't apparate, but he could get out through the window.

You don't know that they're there to arrest you, Moony would've said.

What else would they be doing?

There was a series of clicks at the door, signaling that they were unlocking it. Sirius backed up and drew his wand.

The door swung open, revealing the three Aurors. Once they spotted him, they trained their wands as well.

"Lower your wand!"

"You first! This is my flat!"

"Not anymore! You're wanted in connection with a prison break made earlier today!"

A quick laugh escaped his mouth.

"They got out?" he asked.

"Like you don't know. No one's ever escaped Azkaban, apart from you."

"And Bellatrix Lestrange, Peter Pettigrew, the Carrows—"

"All your old friends," the leader said.

"They are not my friends!"

"But Harry Potter is your godson!"

Sirius kept all three of them in his field of view. They were fanning out, trying to surround him. While they did, he backed up, hoping he wasn't about to run out of room.

I've escaped worse than you three.

He wasn't ready to go on the run again, but he'd done it enough that he knew how to improvise. He always had an escape route ready.

Wish Alavel or Taltria were here to help.

He looked over them again, figuring out which one would be the easiest to get past.

"Put down your wand!" the leader barked.

"I haven't done anything wrong!"

"You're resisting arrest!"

"Unlawful arrest!"

"The Ministry of Magic makes the laws! If we say you're under arrest, then you're under arrest!"

The Aurors all moved at once. They'd given up on trying to surround him. Instead, they went after him as one, all firing spells.

Instead of firing back, Sirius put his wand in his teeth, then transformed. He dove forward as he did, picking up speed. By the time he was a dog, he was already going fast enough to knock down the leader. Pushing past them, Sirius bolted out the door.

He knew it was only a matter of time before they started after him, so he had to move quickly. If they'd gone after him, they'd be going after everyone. That meant Grimmauld Place was the only safe house left.

As he ran, something crossed his mind. This was the Ministry. They'd know that he'd owned Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, which meant they'd keep it under surveillance. How safe was it?

Eric arrived at the Grangers' household the same time a trio of Aurors popped up. His first instinct was that they were idiots; without ESIS to cover for them, they were sure to get caught. His second instinct was his firearm.

"What are you doing?" he demanded. "Apparating in broad daylight like that, you're going to get caught!"

The Magicals turned on him, looked him over, then drew wands.

"Think really carefully about this," Eric said, training his gun on them. "We're all out in the open. There's nowhere to hide, and we aren't covering for you anymore."

"We don't need Muggles!" one shouted. "Let them know we exist! We'll wipe them out!"

I see Umbridge has already gotten to work recruiting lunatics.

Eric aimed his gun down and shot the one in the kneecaps. He didn't know who invented silencers, but they were a marvelous creation.

With that one down, another started a spell. Eric swiveled and fired, then fired on the other before he had a chance to act.

With all three down, he pulled out his radio. He gave out orders, tasking his few reliable teams with keeping an eye on Wilfred or descending on the Grangers' house for damage control.

"We're gonna have a lot of cleanup to do after this is over."

He checked his watch. He wouldn't go to the Grangers' work directly; that risked him giving them away further. As bad as it'd look to them if he sat around and waited, it was the best way to keep them safe. Not to mention, with this team down, there'd be another one to take its place before long.

We've got to collect them now.

He had only the two options: wait for the Grangers and likely get himself killed when Aurors kept arriving, or meet them and risk getting them captured.

"Have someone meet with mama and papa bear. Bring the Man Who Would Be King with you for diplomacy."

Or Option Three: Delegate. He was always a fan of delegating work he didn't want to do.

After getting word from Eric, Wilfred met with Dan and Emma at their office.

"We haven't got time to discuss it," he told them as the three of them left. "Good news: the kids are out of that place. Bad news: they're coming after everyone now."

He rattled off the address that Eric had given him once, then got into his car.

The Grangers did the same, and they started off towards the safe house.

"At least she's alive," Dan said. "And getting out."

"We'll see her soon, I'm sure," Emma said, reassuring herself as much as Dan. "She's made it this far."

As much as she hated her daughter going out alone, Emma was a little proud of her for making it so far on her own. Now everyone seemed to be against them, and she didn't know what else to do but wait. If there was one thing the Grangers were good at after almost seven years of Hermione being at Hogwarts, it was waiting for someone to send them news.

Alex sat with the Weasleys at their kitchen table. They were supposed to be eating lunch, but no one was hungry enough to care. The same thing had been on everyone's mind that day. They were supposed to have all left, but no one wanted to leave before there was news about Sally-Anne and her friends. Bill had insisted Fleur head home, in case anything else happened.

Someone knocked on the door. Everyone exchanged looks, then Mr. Weasley got up to answer it.

Charlie and Bill moved over to the windows. They stayed low so as not to be seen.

"Aurors," Bill said. "I can count at least two on this side."

"They wouldn't bother surrounding us if they were here to talk," Charlie added.

"It's a raid," Percy said.

"They're not stepping foot in my house," Mrs. Weasley said, rising to her feet.

Everyone drew their wands. Charlie looked over at Alex, then motioned for her to stay low.

Alex slid out of her chair, keeping low as she was told. She and Charlie crept closer to the front door. Bill moved closer to the back door.

Mrs. Weasley hurried off into another room. Alex didn't know what for, but she didn't think it was for safety.

They heard Mr. Weasley open the door.

"What is this?"

"You and your family are coming in for questioning."

"On what grounds?"

"Can't say."

"I'm a Ministry official, you can bloody well tell me what's going on before arresting any more of my children."

Charlie crept closer, but motioned for Alex to stay put. She glanced back, and noticed that everyone had spread out. They were covering the house from all sides.

"If you don't come willingly, we'll have to use force."

"I'm not letting you inside this house."

The Auror pulled his wand, but Charlie fired a Stunner before he could act. Mr. Weasley slammed the door, but the windows were blasted.

Alex held her position behind the sofa, but stole a glance outside. Three wizards — that she could see — were storming the house from the front window. She fired a Stunner at them, but without being able to properly aim, it missed.

From behind her, the others started holding down the back door. Fred and George fortified the other windows, but not before hurling some sort of projectiles at the invaders. When they hit, the balls exploded in a mass of green goo. It held two of them in place, making them sitting targets for Percy and Bill.

One of the wizards reached the front window, but the end table flung itself at them, tackling one to the ground. Alex fired a Stunner while they were distracted and got a lucky hit. With a wave of his wand, Charlie animated some chairs outside to drag them back.

Mr. Weasley moved behind the sofa with Alex.

"Are you alright?"

"I was Rose's prefect," Alex said, stealing another glance out the window as Charlie repaired it. "This isn't the first time I've been in danger."

Perhaps not as many times as her friends…

More wizards appeared on the grounds, but Alex realized what Mrs. Weasley was doing. She was up above them, where she could do what she did best: animation.

A dresser descended upon the new arrivals, followed by a bookshelf. Dozens of clothes and books scattered around them, leaving them open to another of the Twins' tricks. This time, it was a simple explosion of what looked like pepper. It covered the descending furniture, allowing them to spread it further. It got in their eyes, forcing them to stop.

Someone broke down the door. Mr. Weasley responded by having the door push back, knocking the Auror back out of his house.

"How long do we need to keep this up?" Alex asked.

Mr. Weasley waved his wand, held it to his mouth, and whispered something. He then pointed his wand, but nothing happened.

"Until reinforcements arrive," he said. "They'll be coming soon."

"What'd you do?" she asked as people tried once again to break the window.

"Messenger spell," he replied. "Dumbledore taught it to me a while back."

Alex smiled to herself, then moved to join Charlie near the window.

"You alright?" he asked.

"This isn't my first fight."

Charlie looked down at a mirror he was holding.

"Move!"

He grabbed her and flung them both away from the window before it exploded. Shrapnel flew into the house, tearing through furniture. Charlie and Alex both cast shield charms to stop the bulk of the damage.

In the ensuing chaos, Aurors moved into the Burrow. Alex and Charlie moved back, but Alex realized she'd been hit by shrapnel. Her body registered the pain, and she stumbled.

Charlie pulled her away from a Stunner, but took one himself.

Alex tried to disarm one of them, but another one disarmed her first.

The back door exploded as a Stunner hit Alex. She went down, unable to move, but still aware of everything.

Reinforcements are coming, she said, helpless to stop Aurors from cutting off her and Charlie from the rest of the Weasleys.

She heard a shout from the kitchen. Percy had been hit. The Twins were moving to help, but they couldn't fend off everyone. Mr. Weasley started firing left and right, but they were outnumbered. There was nothing else they could do.

Then the ground started moving.

The front of the house contorted. The gap where the window should've been split open and moved as someone screamed.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

The carpet lifted up, wrapped around two of the intruders, then flung them out through the missing window. The others stood ready to stop the new threat, but the sofa lunged at them. They all fired on it, leaving themselves open to the armchairs that rushed them. The chairs continued charging, carrying people out with them.

The kitchen table reared up, then ran at the people in the back. Bill got out in time, but the intruders weren't so lucky.

In the front room, Mr. Weasley knocked any stragglers back as he moved towards Alex and Charlie. Once he reached them, clocks swooped in to hold the Aurors' attention.

"Charlie! Alex! Are you alright?"

Three lamps slithered around the intruders and dragged them out through the broken window. It tossed them back into the yard, where Alex heard the sound of trees slapping people around.

Feeling began returning to her limbs, and she struggled to crane her neck.

Charlie shakily got to his feet, assisted by his dad. He looked at her, then waved away help.

Mr. Weasley tended to her next, helping her to her feet. When she finally had eyes outside, she saw more people appearing, but some of these people she recognized.

A squad of six people had arrived, lead by Alastor Moody and Amelia Bones. Several of the invaders backed away from the Burrow. One or two even apparated.

Moody flicked his wand and sent four wizards sprawling, easy targets for his comrades.

Bones wasn't so gentle. She flicked her wand from target to target, stunning one after the other. None of them had the chance to fall before another one was hit.

The remaining Aurors fell back, rather than risking going head to head with Bones or Moody.

The pair cleared a path to the Burrow, then slipped in through the broken front door.

"Redecorating, Weasley?" Moody asked Mr. Weasley. "Lousy help you've got."

"Your timing's impeccable," Mr. Weasley said, shaking his hand. "I'm afraid we'll have to abandon this place for the time being."

"They'll be back in ten minutes," Bones said. "Start packing."

Alex, having nothing to pack, stumbled towards the wall to help her stay upright.

"I've got you," Charlie said, having recovered faster than her. He caught her before she fell over again.

"I'm fine," she said, trying to wave him away. "Worry about your family."

Despite her protests, he helped her until a woman with pink hair took over. Alex looked at her new helper, and realized she knew her.

"Tonks?"

Tonks blinked.

"Alex, right? You're that Gryffindor that thought she was everyone's big sister."

Alex blushed a little as Charlie snickered, but Tonks still smiled.

"Funny how things work out," Tonks said. "What are you doing these days?"

"Getting attacked by Aurors. You?"

"Getting sacked by the new Minister of Magic."

The sensation of pins and needles spread over her body, informing her that feeling was back.

"And now we're here. It is funny how that works out."

A few minutes later, the Weasleys had gathered up their things, and Mrs. Weasley had repaired as much of the damage as she could.

"Where are we going?" Alex asked.

"Grimmauld Place," Mrs. Weasley replied. "We'll fill you in on the details once we get there, Dear."

Alex nodded. She was more involved now than she wanted to be, but if it meant looking out for her friends, she was on board.