Ch. 188 War preparations in the Shadows

-London, August 17th 1996, in what will now be formerly known as the Smashing night club.

As music still blared in the background, one could see a gruesome sight as they walked into the ruined interior of the popular club. Blood was splattered on the walls, pooled on the floor and even reached the ceiling as mutilated bodies covered in bite marks were strewn haphazardly across the place with looks of complete horror for some and ecstasy for others. One could also see ash and burnt incomplete skeletons mixed into the scene.

And in this carnage a tough but attractive woman in her late 20's with short black haired and sky blue eyes wore pieces of enchanted armor hidden under a black frock jacket which wasn't buttoned up just to show the leather armor she had under it, sporting a belt with pouches attached to it containing various tools useful for her trade, black pants and combat boots, pointing her dark brown wand at a disheveled man in his thirties with messing brown hair, frantic red eyes, blood covering his mouth as his terrified status revealed his predatory fangs, crimson covered hands and dressed as a typical club goer on the prowl.

"No! Please! SPARE ME! I'LL GO BACK, JUST DON'T- AAAAHH!!!" The man tried to plead before the woman unleashed a great golden light from her wand silently as she looked at the rapidly incinerating man with anger and disgust.

The woman looked around vigilantly as she took in her subordinates finishing up with their own work as another ran up to her and saluted her respectfully.

"Ma'am, we've finished sweeping the building and taking care of the muggles we could save. We've also captured a few stragglers and some co-conspirators." The shaggy black haired junior Auror reported.

"Good. Send the blood suckers to those royals, they'll probably do worse than we can, get some Unspeakables to go through those Muggle bastards who helped them, then send the magicals to the Fortress holding cells while I go report to the minister about the mission being officially finished after we sweep up the remnants." The black haired woman ordered as she began to walk out of the club which had been turned into a vampire den.

(Think kind of Blade vampire club vibe after he's done with them, just less goth/techno/whatever vibe they had going)

"Yes ma'am!" The man saluted quickly as he went to relay the orders, hearing the *crack* of apparition as he left.

-Ministry of Magic, Minister's office

*knock knock*

"Yes?" Minister Amelia Bones said as she looked up from her rather extensive paperwork.

"It's Hawke ma'am." Answered the disciplined female voice from the other side of the door.

"Oh Marian, come in dear." Amelia replied with a small smile on her mildly stressed face, welcoming the short black haired woman who had not even an hour ago slaughtered a few dozen vampires.

"You know, for someone who hated having to do so much desk work as Head of the DMLE, being minister still seems like an odd choice." The younger woman teased lightly as she saw her mentor's pile of paper.

"Laugh it up while you can Marian, you'll be joining in on my suffering soon enough." She shot back with a knowing look.

"Like they'll let a half-blood like me be head Auror. Still don't know why you're pushing for it, even if I'm grateful for everything you've done for me ma'am." Hawke responded with a disdainful snort towards the Wizengamot.

"Because you remind me of not just myself, but who I wished I could be at your age Marian. You'd make a fantastic head Auror, of that I have no doubt." Amelia answered with a look of fondness in her eyes as she looked at her Protege.

She could remember when her nephew brought her attention towards the girl years ago, when she was still a junior Auror. He noticed some workplace bullying and discrimination, as well as some ministry bigwigs trying to either suppress her or outright get rid of her due to her looking into things they found sensitive, and knowing how corrupt everything was then he decided to investigate her. To his and her surprise, Marian Hawke was a strong and upright young woman who did not back down from anything, with enough intelligence and wit to survive with her temperament. After some time, he recommended I take her in, alongside a few other promising talents, and train them up as the next generation of leading figures in the DMLE. One of the best decisions she had taken.

Now the younger woman stood in front of her as one of the most effective and skilled Aurors she had, especially after Moody 'retired' then decided to follow Dumbledore and Shaklebolt was joining that order alongside her son's old schoolmate Nymphadora, only missing experience in the field to truly become a force to be reckoned with. Something Amelia made sure she was getting while Scrimgeour headed the DMLE.

"Well, they'd never consider Constantine since he would probably drink the entire budget away, but I'm pretty they'd pick that pretty boy Pavus over me. He's qualified to be a pureblood after all." Retorted Hawke as she thought of her two friends, one of which had tried to hit on her before getting hex'd in the face.

"As much as I believe in Dorian's skills when dealing with politics and management, the man can cause a scene while standing still in an empty room. So, unless John gets his act together, you're my pick for the next Head Auror." Amelia responded with a weary sigh over some 'incidents' both men had been involved in. "Now what brings you here besides trying to worm your way out of paperwork?"

"Right. We completed operations Red Den, Flush and Muggle Trouble, with Mountain Moving and Snake hunting still underway." Hawke reported as she put on a more serious face.

"Good, we'll have finally taken care of the vampire problem after a final sweep and then we can put more effort into getting those giants out of the isles. Any troubles to report?" Amelia asked with a pleased expression.

"None ma'am. The detection ward provided allowed us to know where each of those blood suckers were hiding and the greedy muggles are being processed as we speak. The Royal clan representatives looked a bit too happy getting the ones we captured, but they've kept their end of the deal." Hawke answered with a shake of her head.

"Good. Aedan really outdid himself this time. Saved us years of hunting down those blood addicts. But I'm still not sure where he's getting all those goats and how he's making them eat a diet of herbs designed to knock out giants." Amelia said with a wry smile on her face, but with pride in the nephew she considered a son.

"That guy can just make anything happen once he sets his mind to it. I still remember all those beatings he called training." Hawke followed up as she rubbed her shoulder as if feeling some phantom pain.

"The faces of Adrian and John were priceless however." The amused minister added as she thought back to when a teenage Aedan demolished her three best Aurors for hours on end.

"They still shiver and almost stand in attention when they hear his name too." The female Auror said as she joined in on the fun.

"We can't forget a certain someone acting like a school girl either can we?" Amelia teased with mirthful look on her face.

"Tha-that was only until I found out he was already taken." The embarrassed Auror stuttered out to the great amusement of her mentor.

"Oh yes, I remember the day. Came into the office looking like a dementor had attacked you." The minister said with a chuckle over turning the famous Auror into a blushing woman.

"Ugh, please don't mention that. Especially not to that Travers girl, she can be pretty scary for a healer." Groaned Hawke with a weary sigh at the memory of her short lived crush.

"I was just teasing you dear. Helped take some weariness off my shoulders. Now anything else to report?" Amelia said as she relented.

"Nothing much. But the Dark Lord has been a bit too quiet as we took down the vampires. I'm sure he should know about our efforts with the giants too, but no one's doing anything to stop us. It's putting me on edge." Hawke seriously answered as her gut told something was coming.

"Myself, Dumbledore, Aedan and Oliver have all felt the same. We believe that the Dark Lord couldn't truly control neither the vampire nor the giants and was simply using this timing to look for more allies now that many of his past allies are no longer available. We have also noted that many of the Azkaban escapees should be fully rehabilitated soon as well, meaning the elites we have not captured should be back in play soon." Replied the minister as she thought back to the talks all of them had regarding the coming conflict.

Overall they were in a vastly superior position compared to how things were in the past and when one compared forces with the current army the Dark lord could amass. The only worries they had were that the enemy was still eluding them and could strike anywhere.

"His plays are limited right now. He could try to pull a repeat performance of Azkaban to get his men we have in custody, but we're ready for that. A second option is to attempt a takeover or recruitment of the underworld, but aside from his personal power the dark lord is not currently seen as the winning horse. Or he might even try to look for outside allies again like he did with the blood suckers." Analyzed the Auror as she put her mind to work, something which pleased Amelia immensely as she watched her Protege improve.

"Our thoughts exactly. That's why we shall be deploying a few more detection measures Aedan developed with Dumbledore to detect any entry into the isles via Magic and increasing our monitoring of points of entry once the sweeps are finished." Explained Amelia with a nod.

"I'll go and coordinate with the hit-Wizards then. I want to have concrete plans, schedules and teams made before we finish with the post-op clean up. I'm guessing you'll be speaking to the muggle authorities about it." Hawke said as she readied for her departure.

"Yes. We will mention something along the line of possible IRA threats to cover everything up. Don't want the Muggle side to know a war is happening under their noses after all. I've already begun discussing plans with the royal family and the prime minister." The minister for Magic confirmed with a nod.

"Alright. Stay safe Amelia." The younger woman said warmly before taking her leave.

"You as well dear. I know you're skilled, but don't lose your head out there." The older one replied softly as the two shared a look before they each went back to work.

-Malfoy manor, Wiltshire, England

In the cold, dimly lit halls of the Malfoy ancestral manor, one could feel an oppressive force ever growing from the great dinning room now occupied the Dark Lord and his now recuperated servants, even if they were missing several key figures they had been unable to recover from their failed mission at the ministry a few months back.

Even the most devoted (insane) supporter of the Dark Lord could not attend the meeting due to the strange curse she seemed to be under, something which has infuriated the Dark lord due to his inability to solve a problem cause by what is essentially a damnable child I his point of view.

"Tell me Geri. Why have you not returned with my loyal supporters?" Questioned Voldemort as he looked at the female werewolf chieftain who had so far succeeded in fulfilling his every orders.

"My apologies my lord, but we cannot assault Fortress Protection with the few men I possess, and even should your full forces be used it would be far from worth the endeavor. We would lose far too many compared to those we would save." Answered the werewolf in a disciplined manner akin to a soldier.

"You filthy hound! The dark lord ordered results, not excuses!" Shouted one of the more incompetent racist trying turn his nose brown.

"Silence." Ordered Voldemort as he spared the yelling man but a single glance to quiet him like the child he is. "Explain yourself."

"They are expecting us to attack and are far too prepared for it. The only reason we could take down Azkaban so easily before was due to your power over the Dementors my lord, and the fact that no one had dared assault the prison before. Fortress Protections did not commit the same mistake and has nearly half their forces protecting their cells, with heavily warded and enchanted defenses, direct contact with the ministry and no doubt Dumbledore would not sit still should we attempt to siege the prison. Without discovering some sort of hidden flaw or overwhelming force, it would be extremely difficult to break them out." Geri explained as she made sure to praise and credit Voldemort for her past success.

You need to please the child to curtail his temper tantrum after all.

"It would seem that a change of goals is in order." Voldemort said as he closed his red eyes and took a deep breath through his nostril slits. "The ministry must fall first, but for this we need more allies. All of you shall contact houses sympathetic to our glorious cause from outside while I speak to some supporters in other places. Once our numbers have grown again, we shall take over the Ministry to divide their forces and put Dumbledore and his ilk on the back foot, allowing us to free our captured allies and finally crush any opposing forces.

Geri, you shall search for more of your kind. The more, the better. You shall be what people fear when they dare besmirch my name." He ordered sternly.

"Although many have decided to become the pets of those blood traitors in the Bones family, I shall look for true werewolves outside the isles with your permission master." Geri replied with venom in her voice.

"Granted. Succeed and you can kill the Bones boy yourself." Voldemort said with a satisfied smirk as he gazed upon the grinning woman he considered nothing more than an attack dog.

"The rest of you have heard your duties. Do not fail." The Dark Lord spoke as he made the rest of the inbreds follow his plan using only his oppressive Magic.

Seeing his servants do acquiesce to his orders pleased him as a vicious smile appeared on his reptilian face.

"Good. Severus shall oversee things while I am away. Although he has a different mission than the rest of you, he knows what he must do." The Dark Lord announced as he cared not for the dissatisfaction some felt over a half-blood standing above them.

He simply left.

Allowing Geri, whose true name had long since been changed to Jennifer, to contact her true master and inform him of the coming events not long after.

'How sad it must be for that fool to only have double agents left as the only capable people under him.' She thought as she simply left the manor to appear to fulfill her 'lord's' orders.