CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX: ABOUT THE EVACUATION.
The initial meetings with the parents had gone rather well, although since he received no dire warnings his first time through Monday when he went to bed with Hermione and Minerva, he figured they had, or at least it had not gone totally pear shaped. Hermione, while quiet about that evening, did not seem nor act upset which would have warned him that it had not gone well. As all the bondings were done, Monday was a reset to the new sleeping schedule that would see Harry turning time three times a day, seven days a week instead of five. This was done to allow him more time for his ladies, although only one of him would be doing Sunday Brunch at Martha's.
The initial meetings had been almost as Cissy had predicted. The Greengrasses had not even needed a calming draught and were very pleased with their daughters' new situation if a little reluctant about the size of the new family. As far as they were concerned, Harry had more than held up his side of the bargain by allowing his daughters to allow their bonds to fully mature. The only wrinkle were Daphne and Astoria's three younger sisters all of whom now seemed to want either a Harry under the tree for Christmas or wanted to know how they could become his concubine too. The Bromstones were pleased with how this had worked out for Eleanor as well and were glad that Harry was younger, although they had hoped he might be just a little older. They were even more pleased that they only had to spend two days worrying about their daughter before being reunited. The Patils had no problem with Harry but were infuriated that the British magicals would do this without their consent. Mr. Patil made it clear that if he could not join the Charenwell armed forced to avenge his daughters, then he wanted a job that made weapons or some such that would do the same thing. Harry was not certain if the man was serious about that or not.
As Cissy predicted, the Grant family seemed thrilled not just to have her daughter back, but at how well she had done for herself and that did not mean bonding with Harry but her accomplishments as a Healer and Doctor. They seemed pleased about Harry in general, but expressed concern about his youth. After all, Harry was only two month older than Mallory's oldest niece and Mallory's mother was a bit worried about their age difference. "Talk about your May-December romances," she had said. She calmed down a little when Mallory pointed out that as a witch, her life expectancy was at least 120 which meant she and Harry would be together for at least eighty years that meant their great-grandkids might well be grown up and having children during their life together. One of the Grants did ask whether their daughters were at risk of becoming concubines should they ever return to Britain.
"Legally, no," Harry said. "First of all, no Charenwell citizen may sell another Charenwell resident or bind them against their will. Our custom and law restricts the purchase of concubines to the Duke, but they must be purchased overseas. As for returning to Britain, if you return as a Charenwell citizen, you are under the protection of both International Law and House Potter. The Brits have already shown they have little respect for the former, but their own laws force them to respect the latter as House Potter is one of their most Ancient of lines."
What Harry now believed saved him from hostility from the Grants was the fact that they had believed that Mallory was dead. The Grants even held a memorial service for her about twenty years ago and to find her alive and well was a miracle in their eyes particularly when they realized that Mallory's younger sister Michelle may well have wound up in the same situation and it seemed only chance spared the woman. Michelle had married when she was twenty-two meaning for seven years whoever her magical guardian was could have sold her off as well.
The Campbells were another matter. They seemed to accept Harry, but not the reasons why any of this was necessary in the first place. They had lost their daughter for three years to some sick pervert where she was less than a whore. They did not blame Harry directly, but clearly wondered what sort of society could do that to a woman of any age, much less one who was only fourteen at the time. They had tried to find out from the magical authorities what had become of their daughter and had gotten nowhere and now, it seemed, they knew why. The British Magical bastards did not care what happened to Muggle Born witches and certainly could care less what their Muggle families thought. It was no wonder there were these Death Eaters. In non-magical Britain, the security forces would have taken the Death Eaters out the moment they raised their sick little heads. The Magicals seemed to look the other way. The Campbells were glad to be shot of the place especially as they had a younger daughter Amy who was only twelve and they certainly did not want her to go through what her big sister had to suffer. As for Harry, they wondered why he had not been able to save Stacey sooner, why he had not been her first if this mess was unavoidable. Harry pointed out that first off he was only around twelve at the time Stacey was first bound and even if that was not a factor, he was not yet emancipated.
Once the calming draught wore off, Robert Granger became very quiet. Rose seemed okay, but was clearly upset that "things got so out of hand" meaning that Hermione was now part of a Harem. Later, Hermione told Harry that it would take time for them to fully accept what was going on. This sort of thing was unheard of in the non-magical world, at least in the West. And as it was all magical in nature, it would take time for her both to explain this to her parents and for them to fully understand. They seemed to understand why it was necessary, but deep down they wished someone else had been involved and that if their daughter had to marry this young, it would not have been a part of something like this. She confessed she was not yet ready to tell the Grangers about her sleeping arrangements, at least those that involved Harry and she certainly was not going to tell them about her arrangements that did not involve Harry, even though such arrangements were discussed in the book on Bonds. It would take time, she said, but they were at least trying to accept this new life their daughter had chosen. It helped them a little to realize that unlike most every other witch, Hermione had chosen this and had been a major reason why this had happened and that she chose this not because it was the right thing for her, but because it was the right thing for others. Grudgingly, the older Grangers realized she was the kind of person they had hoped to raise, but that did not completely excuse her choice to enter into such an unusual situation even if it might have been the right thing to do for the others.
Harry was forced to wonder about the Bells. More particularly, he wondered whether the mild calming draught had worn off at all. They both reminded him of what Hermione later described as an inverse Arthur Weasley. It was Arthur who as a wizard found Muggles "fascinating" and whenever amongst them resembled a child in the world's largest toy store. Katie's parents were the same way about magic. Katie had said her parent were a bit odd even by Muggle standards. Even before they learned that Katie was a real witch, they were into the idea of magic. They spent holidays in Wales "looking for Merlin." There was a town in Lancashire that proclaimed itself to the Muggles as the most magical in Britain and was proud of it and had there been any decent jobs, the Bells would have moved there. The older Bells believed they were descended from Druids which was possible but could not be proven. Every year they went to Stonehenge for the Summer Solstice even though that ancient site predated druidic culture by a thousand years or more. The only thing they seemed disappointed about was there was not more magic here. Since Katie was a witch and being a part of a Coven was a good thing for a witch and Katie had been able to participate in real druidic rituals, they were thrilled for their daughter. If anything, they were disappointed for their younger daughter Laura who was eleven and now would not be going to Hogwarts and would live without any guarantee that she too could participate in such rituals and join a proper coven.
Mr. Perks, who was a solicitor back in Britain, began threatening to bring suit against Harry for wrongful imprisonment and seduction, not to mention any claims he could bring for enslaving his daughter. Harry hoped it was a bluff and fortunately Cissy was there to prove it was just that.
"In and ideal world," Cissy began, "the person who you could sue would be the Magical Guardian who sold your daughter. Because of the magic that was involved, once she was sold she had to be bound lest she be sold again and again. Sooner or later someone would bind her and, given the vile customs in Britain, your daughter would wind up entertaining wizards on her back! Had anyone else bought her, you would never see her again and would never know what happened to her and never have had any opportunity to protect her younger sister from just such a fate! The Magical Guardian sold your daughter and scores of other – perhaps hundreds or even thousands over the years – without so much as an afterthought or any concern about where she might wind up and what her life might become and – Mr. Perks – I suggest you talk to five of the other young ladies here tonight who will tell you what would have happened had Harry not intervened on your daughter's behalf!
"Harry is not the problem, he is the solution to that problem. Your daughter will be allowed to continue her education as far as her ambitions and abilities will allow. If she wants a career – to make a name for herself in her own right, she will be supported in those endeavors. If she wants a family – children and all – that is her right to claim as well. As a Muggle Born witch in Britain, even if she had not been auctioned off like a piece of furniture, her future was limited. Because she was auctioned off, had Harry not intervened, she would have been condemned to a short, horrible life in all likelihood. Harry is not the problem. Magical Britain is the problem and it has only just begun to pay for what it is and what it has done to these and countless other young women over the ages."
As Mr. Perks seemed unconvinced, in addition to being promised access to the relevant legal materials, it was pointed out that regardless of how one felt about the situation – and in that regard, he was hardly alone and merely saying what everyone including Harry felt about it – the Concubine Auction was legal under the laws of Magical Britain and, by virtue of an ancient treaty between Magical Britain and the Crown, legal or at least recognized as such by the Muggle Government and Courts. Harry bringing the young ladies to Charenwell was legal under Charenwell law provided he acted exactly as he had. While Concubines could not be released from their bonds, Charenwell required that any Concubine residing in Charenwell must be allowed in time to complete their full bond should they choose to do so. Dora pointed out that while she had been considered a Charenwell citizen from practically the moment she first bonded, she only recently chose to complete the full bonding. Had she chosen to do so earlier, her former wizard would have had no choice but to allow it since that is a concession all wizards must make to bring a Concubine into the country even on a temporary basis. The only exception was that Charenwell still recognized the right of a Wife or Consort to restrict a Concubine to the Love Bond although even then, that right only existed if the wizard had no concubines before he married his wife or Consort. Legislation was now pending to do away with the exception, even though it seemed unnecessary given the current state of the families with Concubines.
"You're not being asked to like this," Hermione said. "I think I speak for most all of us that this is not what we would have wanted. I was told early on as I began to learn about this that it is highly unlikely that any young witch who knew anything about being a Concubine wanted to grow up to be one. Look around this room. Not all of us are Muggle Borns. In fact, of the twenty-six witches – twenty-five being here tonight – who are or one day will be bound to Harry and his families, only nine of us are Muggle Borns and one of the nine is a Consort. The rest of Harry's Ladies were raised in magical families. The rest knew about Concubines and what that could mean as did their families. Some of them were forced to do this to their daughters. They were given a horrible choice to sell their daughter into bondage or their entire family would be financially ruined or killed. Some lost their father or their magical guardian and the rights to them passed to a stranger who saw them only as a commodity. Only one truly chose to sell his daughter into this life of his own truly free will."She was referring to Cathy's father. "Even if the young woman in question disagreed, and she does not, that man will never be welcome here! We can complain all we want, but complaints back there fall on deaf ears. That society does not value women except as breeding stock! I won't say that attitude is universal, but it is the prevailing one.
"Fact: Muggle Borns are looked down upon back in Britain. Unless we marry well, we are relegated to the lowest jobs in society regardless of our talents, abilities or ambitions regardless of our sex. Add to it that witches without regard to blood status are at best second class in their eyes, then being a Muggle Born witch is being born at the bottom of their social order, one with little hope of upward mobility based on talent.
"Fact: the Consort Bond requires respect between the couple and love. It is exceedingly rare in Magical Britain. Most often, one or both of the people in such a bond were either Muggle Born or Muggle raised and the other would be viewed as a subversive if his or her opinions in this regard were known.
"Fact: Many in Britain view the Bond as a sign of weakness, when in reality it's just the opposite. Most magically raised people in Britain and especially the Pureblood Elites and the Traditionalists look down on that bond since it cannot be chosen by anyone other than the couple. You cannot pick your partner in that Bond based upon their family lineage, wealth or political standing. And a Consort Bond cannot be annulled nor will that couple ever divorce.
"But Fact: our research shows that a child born from the Consort Bond and its equivalent in the fully formed Concubine Bond is born highly magical. The same cannot be said for children born outside such magical bonds, although it appears that Muggle Born witches are far less likely to give birth to a non-magical child than the purer bloodlines. The truth is, children born of magical parents who are not magically bound together are more often than not less magical than one would expect based upon genetics while children born from a magical bond are more magical than one would expect. Consequently, if it is the goal of a magical society to ensure and sustain itself, it should forget blood lines and accept these magical bondings. Magical Britain does not and were it not for the Muggle Borns who avoid enslavement to reproduce, given time it would, as they say, Squib Out.
"Fact: here in Charenwell, the majority of marriages are by virtue of the Consort Bond. There is no record of an idiopathic Squib birth. The few that have been born can be traced to specific illnesses which are both very rare and known and not to the natural decline of magic over generations without magical bonds to strengthen and sustain magic.
"Britain is a male dominated society in the extreme. The typical magical British male would not want to be bound to a woman in a manner that is truly unbreakable. Legal marriages can be annulled and legal wives can be divorced. A wife in their view is fungible and can be replaced when she is no longer beneficial to the Wizard. Concubines, being property in their eyes, are also replaceable unless they are allowed and choose to move to the second stage of that bond or beyond, arguably this is the reason why most Concubines back there are kept in the First Stage and therefore as slaves. The traditionally raised British wizard is raised to see women as replaceable. They are kept only so long as they are deemed an asset, be that political or otherwise. If you find that attitude offensive, you should. But arguably, this is merely a grossly exaggerated version of what exists and has existed on the non-magical side. The only real difference between the British Magical concept of marriage and the non-magical ones is that in the non-magical society, the women can also choose to leave when and if she feels the relationship is no longer in her interests.
"Magical Britain condemned your daughters to a life of slavery; one they could not escape for that bond prevents them from running away or harming themselves. Had I not known Harry, I too would have been condemned to that life. Had Harry and I failed to form a Consort Bond, I was scheduled to be sold at auction this summer. Harry intervened. As unusual and uncomfortable as this life may seem given Western attitudes, your daughters will have a life which is not what they would have had otherwise. For their younger sisters, their nieces and one day their daughters, by moving here they are protected from what could happen to them back in Britain. They can never become Concubines. If you feel the need to condemn anyone for what has happened to us, do not look to Harry or the rest of us, but look to that society to the North that led us to where we are. That is what we're doing and that society's days are now truly numbered!"
Mr. Plumber seemed like he might have joined in the condemnation expressed openly by Mr. Perks. Connie was his youngest child and only daughter and that this could happen to her shocked him. But the rants he heard stayed his tongue, that and it was clear that Connie would disagree with anything he had to say that was critical. Still, Harry was disappointed with the Plumbers but for different reasons. The memory block that had lifted when he was reunited and bonded to his first best friend did not lift with regard to her family. When they were friends all those years ago, her family had tried to protect him. Connie's older brother Edgar actually beat up Dudley for picking on his sister and her friend – although Harry was naturally blamed for it when he returned to the Dursleys. Connie's parents had complained to both the school and Social Services about Harry's treatment although without success. But all of that had been forgotten and, unless and until those blocks were lifted, Harry was the stranger who took their daughter away.
Still, as uncomfortable and stressful as that dinner had become, Harry knew it could have been far worse and he felt there was at least some hope that the families would come to accept things in time. He felt that what they did the next day also helped as the families were taken to the airfield. Here was at least some proof as to what they had been told. Their daughters were learning to fly, or would begin to do so in a few weeks or less and they were learning to fly for a reason. It also helped that they had lunch at the base with the girls who were in flight training and the RAF personnel in the MAG for at lunch Air Vice Marshall Graham thanked Harry profusely for "rescuing" his daughter Martha from that Hell back in Britain. Martha had spent the last few days with her parents (her mother have moved to Charenwell the week before) and she was due to be bound to her new husband Frank Longbottom that day. He and his wife were scheduled to have dinner with their daughter's new family in Pottersport that evening and they were eagerly looking forward to it. His only request to Harry was to see if it was possible for Martha to start flight training immediately. Harry replied that the training of the Charenwell armed forces was up to the MAG really. If they had no problems with her starting ground school the next day, he saw no reason why she should not. The new arrivals were a little confused by this odd Air Force.
"What's the point in having these relics?" Mr. Plumber asked after a pause looking at a flight of Tiger Moths preparing to take off as a Lancaster flew overhead.
"I can assure you, Sir, these planes are almost in brand new condition if not brand new," Air Vice Marshall (AVM) Graham said.
"But surely you don't expect to use them."
"Why not? They fly. They can carry ordinance or troops. If it was the intent of Charenwell to stand against a frontline, modern air force, these planes might be a problem. The thing is, though, while they'd be hard pressed to shoot down a Tornado or F-16, they're not going to be asked to. Based upon the current Order of Battle, this group of relics could beat the Irish. Then again, they have no combat aircraft. But these planes are not going to be used against non-magical forces. They're to be used against the British Magicals. Those people have no concept of air power or air defense which makes this air force unstoppable. These planes alone will not win a war. But against an enemy who can't fight back? With the right weapons – something we're working on – these planes will make life very hard for any wizard fool enough to stand against Charenwell and the Queen!
"Right now, we're working on getting more than enough pilots. Planes we have. We have a squadron of Lancs, one of Bostons, one of Typhoons, one of Spitfires and one of the Dakotas with at least two more of each that can be assembled and made operational. What we lack are enough pilots to man the planes we have not to mention the ones we can put together. We're also working on 'modernizing' these planes. This means we have people working on sensor systems and weapon systems as well as the weapons themselves. As originally designed and used, these planes used 'dumb' bombs and their accuracy was a combination of a little skill and a fair bit of luck. But, if we can arm them with precision guided weapons, the bad guys will be in serious trouble if even one of these planes shows up. In a war against magical Britain, and assuming we have the ordinance we want, once one of these planes shows up, we have air supremacy and can bomb them at will and without recourse on their part. Some of my chaps even think all the Army would have to do is look for prisoners under the rubble, although I'm not so certain that will be the case. But if they're dumb enough to give us a target, they're going to find out they have to fear the sky."
"And my daughter?" Mr. Plumber asked.
"The Duke decided that the aircrews will be mostly women. In a war against wizards, the ground war will be dangerous even if we have a huge advantage in firepower. In the air, they will be safe from the enemy but also be able to destroy the enemy probably in large numbers. Our Army advisors are not yet certain whether it is prudent for Charenwell to deploy heavy artillery. The concern has to do with keeping magic and the war secret from the bulk of the non-magical population and huge howitzers are hard to move and hard to hide. Airplanes are another matter. Bomb blasts can be blamed on non-military things. There's also talk of having a 'front.'"
"A front?"
"If any non-magicals ask about these old planes buzzing about, we'll just tell them someone's making a war movie. The reality is the Ladies will be the Army's flying artillery when the time comes and that is a barrage I would not want to be under. Even more so than the lads these Ladies have a real beef with the British Magicals and who can blame them?"
That day just before noon the next "Family Flight" arrived at Charenwell International Airport from London. Aboard this flight were the last four families who would be a part of the evacuation for Harry. After all, the Lester and Simpson families had already moved to The Manors from Port of Darby. The Olivers lived in Pottersport and the Greens in Charlestown. The Delacours would continue to live in France, but would visit as often as possible, as often as once a week for Apolline. Cathy's father had washed his hands of his "abnormal" daughter, although many hoped this would one day change. Minerva and Luna had no surviving relatives, at least none they considered family and Dora and Cissy's family was also already living in Charenwell as Ted and Andy Tonks had moved there a couple of weeks earlier. And of course there were a hoard of Weasleys here for Ginny. The only ones no present were the ones the others would rather never see again.
This left four families: Tabatha's parents and her younger brother and sister; "Little" Laura's parents and her older brother and younger sister, although they were all concerned whether the older brother who was a Slytherin would make it through the wards; Kathryn's parents, her older brother and sister with their spouses and her baby nephew and her two younger sisters and younger brother; and finally Erin's parents, uncle, three older sisters and older brother, their spouses, her seven nieces and nephews and her younger sister as well. Also on the flight were some of the families of Bill's ladies. The "Family Flights" were bringing families in an order. Harry's new in-laws were first, followed in order by Bill, Fred, George and finally Neville as this would allow Neville to complete his "Slytherin Week" bondings before that importation began. The remaining families would begin arriving in two weeks once the bondings from the prior week's acquisitions were complete.
The Madley's were not a problem at all and Harry's visit with them was quite pleasant. Then again, they were a magical family that had been forced by circumstances to sell their daughter and the parents were very pleased with how things had turned out for the girl and even more so when they learned that "Little Laura" actually had two "wedding nights" with Harry as their first was cut short by "the Invasion." All the other ladies including the Consorts would have to wait for their birthdays to get their next night with their husband. It turned out that Laura's older brother Marcus was not the typical Slytherin. Daphne had told Harry that his male Housemates had labeled him as a poof because he was never known to partake of the House entertainments and bed warmers. He found the whole thing revolting and had been secretly pleased Laura had not been sorted into that House.
"House of the cunning and ambitious my ass!" he said. "The first thing you learn there is not to be that way unless you're already at the top of the heap. And if you're at the top, there's no reason to be that way since you just take what you want rather than work for it. It's a house of masters and slaves. The masters have no reason to better themselves and the slaves no opportunity to. If I could transfer to another house or school, I would. Malfoy and his ilk might consider it an honor to be a snake. I consider it a disgrace. For most the blokes, their ambition is to be a Death Eater and the gals to blow one regularly. Personally, I'd rather have a life."
The last three families concerned Harry the most. None of the girls had attended Hogwarts which meant that if the family had heard of Harry Potter before arriving in Charenwell, it was probably from those Boy-Who-Lived books or the reports in the British Magical Press and, unless they took the Quibbler, this meant there was not a grain of truth to any of it. According to the "popular" stories, Harry was English. This was not true. His father was Charenwell, his mother was English and he was born in Wales. He lived in Surrey, but that hardly mattered as all he really saw of that place was the Dursleys, Mrs. Figg's and his Primary School. And if to be English was like what he had seen (aside from the Plumbers as he remembered them) he'd rather be anything else. But the last three families were Scottish and Irish. Neither group thought highly of the English and that was being generous. So in addition to being associated with what had happened to their daughters, Harry also had to overcome the perception that he was English as well.
The Collins family surprised him. Naturally they were upset that some unknown wizard had sold their daughter off without any concern about what might happen. But they thanked Harry profusely for buying her even though he did not know her and did not have to and for all he had done for her since she arrived. He later learned that Tabatha had written numerous lengthy letters to her parents and hid very little from them. They knew about most of the other girls for by their count there were twenty-four total and were thankful there would be no more than twenty-six.
"We wish it were less," Mr. Collins had said, "then again, I'm sure you do as well. But it's not. Yet from what Tabby told us, you lot will make this work. If it had only been our daughter you saved we'd have been grateful. But it's not, is it? You arguably saved all your wives from horrid fates and their sisters and countless others and if Tabby is right, this is just the beginning. I don't feel sorry for the people who made this necessary. They'll get theirs either in this life or the next. The only people I might feel sorry for are your children. You must admit, you've set the bar very high."
It turned out the Irish surprised Harry as well. While it was clear that the mothers were hostile to the entire situation, the men seemed to be distant, but not threatening. He had to hear about how the girls, despite their "affliction" were being raised to be good and devout catholic women and how this was something the Church would probably condemn in no uncertain terms. Harry decided not to bring up the fact that Charenwell had its own Catholic Bishop and dioceses and that its seminary trained wizard clergy from all over the world, a fact he had learned during one of his many briefings over the previous weeks. He also was not about to tell them that Charenwell was under some kind of dispensation such that his "marriage" to the two catholic girls (and they were not the only ones) was not, in fact, condemned by the Church. He figured he'd just point them in the direction of the Cathedral in Pottersport and let the Bishop sort them out. It was no like he could considering he had never been to a church before in his life. If the Dursleys were religious at all, he was unaware of it although he learned that the Evans family had gone to church regularly. The truth was he knew so little about religion in general and religion in Charenwell in particular (except that there were churches and people went) that he felt it best to say nothing on the topic.
The men were another story. Kathryn's father Sean introduced himself as a Director of an office in the Department of Foreign Affairs in the non-Magical government of the Republic of Ireland. Specifically, he said that due to his connections with the Irish magical community through his children, he now headed the office that kept an eye on such things and kept key members of the government informed of magical issues. Harry knew Her Majesty's government had similar offices, but was unaware that Ireland had one. Erin's father was not in government, but her Uncle Patrick, who had travelled with them, was a member of the Irish Magical Provisional Assembly with a seat from Dublin which, Harry was told, all but ran Magical Ireland.
"I cannot say we are happy with the circumstances that brought us together,"Erin's father Thomas said, "but if our daughters' bonding to you leads where we hope it will, then it is but a small price to pay and, seeing how you treat them, almost no price at all."
"And where do you hope this will lead?"
"To the independence of magical Ireland."
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14th, 1996, Black House, Charenwell.
The Muggles would notice. From the beginning that had been the problem. The magical/muggle Army Harry had agreed to would not be invisible when it invaded. It would be noticed by the Muggles. He chose this concept because he was not about to sit around for years and years to train a purely magical force to deal with the deteriorating situation in Britain. Charenwell had no Aurors or Hit Wizards or anything like that and he knew it took years to train even a handful of them. Maybe one in a thousand and probably less could learn all of those skills in time. He knew it took three years to train an Auror to international standards. Maybe one in ten were even qualified after their N.E.W.T.s to enter the training and most never finished. Hit Wizards were almost as hard to train. To go purely magical to fight the Death Eaters and protect his ally, it would take years to field a force that might succeed. Hence his decision to go hybrid. A Muggle/Magical Army would not have to worry about N.E.W.T.s and could be deployed and be effective within months, not years. Not even O.W.L.s were necessary for most. Only the magical sappers needed any skills with magic and, assuming the Twins delivered - and they were already making surprising progress - the sappers would not really need the skills of Warders and Curse Breakers. But the problem was that his planned Army would not be invisible to Muggles. They would notice.
This would not be a problem, or at least not a major one, in Great Britain. Charenwell had been called upon to defend the Crown and the Crown would support their efforts if not monetarily, then by giving them cover from the bulk of the non-magical population and its press. Given that cover and the support of Her Majesty's government - at least those in the know - Charenwell could well deploy by 1998. A Muggle Army was easy to build, provided one had the means to arm it and that means was not a problem. True, they would be armed with surplus weapons. But they would be dealing with an enemy that had to be within twenty meters or less, ten meters if they wished to do more than just be annoying. Five to kill with accuracy. Muggle weapons were lethal at far greater ranges. A powerful shield charm would stop a bullet and then collapse. If there was more than one bullet on the way, the wizard was dead unless he took cover and thus was rendered unable to be fully effective. But to deploy a mugglized magical army practically required permission from the Muggle government.
That was the problem with Ireland and one that had vexed Harry almost from the beginning. Her Majesty's government knew about magic and there was a long standing treaty between the Crown and Charenwell. But most of Ireland was not under Her Majesty's rule. Eighty percent of the land and about seventy percent of the Muggle population were independent from Muggle Britain and, as far as Harry knew, ignorant of the threat. Charenwell had diplomatic relations with Great Britain, but not the Republic of Ireland. Magically speaking, the Republic of Ireland had no relations with their magical population much less the rest of the world, or so Harry had thought. But all of Ireland was a part of Magical Britain and had been since the formation of the Wizengamot even if most of the Irish seats had died out. In theory - for now that was all it was - a Charewell Army could range throughout Great Britain. But that left open the lands of the Republic of Ireland and as that land was part of the Magical Britain, the enemy could pull back to that land and remain untouched so long as the non-magical Irish remained, as Harry thought, out of the loop. To go after that last bastion would involve open warfare and invasion of a Muggle land, one which would bring in NATO and risk an all out war with the magical world. This was a war to be avoided at almost all costs. Ireland was a thorn in the side. It had to be taken so that the enemy could be contained and defeated in Britain. The Republic of Ireland was a huge thorn because unless they were on board, any attempt to take Magical Ireland risked open warfare with the Muggles. And the issue was, as Harry understood it, the Republic of Ireland was not about to listen to Britain and accept what they had to say. There were centuries of issues there. Her Majesty's government could resent the Irish with irrefutable evidence, yet unless the Republic drew similar conclusions… Everything hinged on taking an Irish sanctuary out of the picture in the end. Yet everything necessary to do that required Charenwell to convince the Irish, with whom they had no relations, to play along. Harry figured this might take years. He figured he might well be able to take the magical part of Great Britain, only to have most of his adversaries relocate to Ireland and from there hold out and fight back.
He wanted Ireland cut out of the picture first, but without the Muggle Irish this was unrealistic. Then the O'Fallons and Sullivan's arrived. They were all but offering Ireland on a silver platter and were it not for the nature of his relationship and his country's unwritten constitution, he would have accepted that night. But, while as Duke he could veto a treaty, he lacked the independent authority to enter into one. The Lord Mayor and the relevant Ministries had to be involved. Moreover, he felt Her Majesty's representatives also had to be involved. Thus, while asked the night before, he had declined to promise anything more than a meeting. Now the principals were gathering in the Briefing Room in Black House.
Harry and others felt that Britain could be taken, but only if Ireland was out of the picture. Charenwell could defeat the magicals in Britain in a couple of years without much if any help. But not the magicals in both places, or at least not both quickly and without high losses and also exposing magic to the world at large. His own foreign ministry figured it would take years to establish the relations he needed with non-magical Ireland to avoid a general war there. The time he had bought would then be wasted. Magical Britain would fall under the Dark Lords and the Muggles would suffer needlessly. Ireland had to be isolated before full scale combat operations could begin. The potential sanctuary for the Dark Forces had to be removed and the rest of Britain cordoned off in advance of the war. To fail to do so would most likely expose the Magical World to a level that would invite an unfortunate response. The problem was that an intervention in Ireland required cooperation with that Muggle government, one which had seemed to be ignorant of magic and one which had since its independence from Great Britain been reluctant - to say the least - to stand on the same side. Harry was forced to hope for a miracle in that regard and now it seemed he had married into one. Then again, he had to get the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain to work together for a common purpose, and that might be asking for more than a miracle. Still, he could not pass up this opportunity so he called in the players for this meeting.
At the main table in the Briefing Room, he sat with Cissy, his coven wife and executive assistant. But behind him were others from his family namely his Consorts, their assistants and his two Irish wives Kathryn and Erin. Neville was there as well with his Consort. On Harry's right (next to Cissy) were the representatives of the Government of Charenwell specifically Lord Mayor Lupin, the Minister of Foreign Affiars Mr. Albert Davidson, the new Chief of Intelligence Mr. Thomas Gage who had most recently worked as a contact for Charenwell in Britain supporting the "abduction" of the Duke, Mr. Joshua Dawkins the Minister of Finance, Mr. Albert Collingwood the Minister of Transportation who was responsible for the roads, railroads and now the new airport and airline, Madam Elaine Manning head of the newly formed Ministry of Housing and Urban Development that was formed to deal with the Evacuation, Madam Josephine Larson the Minister for Economic Affairs, Minerva has Head of Educational Development and Frank Longbottom who was recently named Minister of Defense (Magical). Behind them sat their assistants including Dora Tonks, Alice Longbottom, Bill and his wife Fleur from the Finance Ministry and Arthur Weasley who was now assigned to the foreign office in non-magical relations. Arthur's new boss was there as well. Across from Charenwell were the representatives of Her Majesty's government: the Ambassador Sir Stephan Blair and the Military Advisory Group representatives led by Major General Churchill and Air Vice Marshall Graham. Their "back benchers" included soon to be Colonel Robert Granger who was chatting with his former subordinate Col. "Duffer" Wilson and a Col. Mark Howe who was British Army, yet born and raised in Port of Darby. It was into this room that three Irishmen entered. As the three entered, the introductions with those seated at the main table were made and the three took their seats.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Harry began as he took his seat, "good morning. I dare say this is the largest meeting I've held. As you were all told, this meeting was called to go over aspects of the evacuation. I am adding something else to today's agenda. Yesterday, Mr. Thomas Sullivan, Mr. Patrick Sullivan and Mr. Sean O'Fallon arrived here on the first flight of the day from London. They were part of the relocation of the families of my lovely ladies and, it turns out, they claim to also be here under the authority of the Provisional Irish Magical Council and the government of the Republic of Ireland to discuss the possibility of relations between Charenwell and Ireland. As many of you are aware, Ireland is of concern to us, so it is my hope that our talks bear fruit. That being said, we will begin with the original agenda. Lord Mayor?"
Remus stood. "The reason for today's meeting is to discuss the implications of the poplation data complied by our Department of Finance over the last few weeks. As many of you are aware, the evacuation which began two days ago was anticipated to bring around twenty-five thousand people to Charenwell over the next several month. That number was based upon numbers obtain from the British Ministry of magic based upon the anticipated size of the at risk population in Britain, in other words Muggle Borns, Squibs and Muggle-magical families. The evacuation priorities are as follows:
"First priority are the families of those assigned to our Military Advisory Group and the families of the Concubines who have relocated here. Those relocations are ongoing. The MAG families began arriving last week and the families of the Concubines began arriving on Monday.
"Second Priority are the Muggle parents with magical children born on or after September 1st, 1985. These families are considered at greatest risk from the Death Eaters because of their children and the fact that they have yet to be told about magic and about their child's or children's gifts. We have been receiving substantial support from Her Majesty's Government for those relocations but, as of right now, we do not have the support of the Republic of Ireland, so those Irish families remain both exposed and at risk.
"Third Priority are the Muggle Borns born before September 1st, 1985 and their families with the families of the ones still in school coming first. Those Muggle Borns who have finished school will be relocated after the families of those still in school. The students we hope to evacuate over the Christmas Holidays.
"The final category includes Squibs and 'mixed' families, those being a married couple where one spouse is magical and the other is not. This category will require prior investigation before they are offered relocation as this category does include some Death Eaters."
"Arguably, it includes Voldemort himself," Harry offered. "His father was a Muggle and mother was either a witch or s Squib. Although I have confidence in our wards, as proven just this last week, I'd rather not invite Voldemort and his friends."
"Every potential evacuee is being screened for undesirable affiliations," Mr. Gage the Minister for Intelligence said. "We have both agents within the British Magical Government and assets from Her Majesty's State Security Service working the problem. On the one hand, after last week, I'd say let them come and die at our Wards. But mucking out the planes is a bother. That and having some passengers snuff it in flight might not be good for those who don't particularly as there will be children on those flights."
"And the flights?" Harry asked. The questions was somewhat rhetorical as most everyone knew that the airlift had begun.
Mr. Collingwood spoke. "We began flights from City of London Airport last week. Currently, we're scheduled for three flights per day with up to fifty passengers per flight, more if there are infants as they need not have their own seat. Our flights for now include personnel for the MAG and their families with one flight per day for the families of the Consorts and Concubines who've already been relocated here. The Concubine family transport should conclude by the twenty-sixth or twenty-seventh. On the twenty-fifth, we hope to increase our schedule to six flights per day. This will allow us to complete the transport of the MAG and their families by the ninth or tenth of September. Under our original schedule, we could complete the bulk of the evacuation, save those students in the magical schools, by the end of November with the students arriving over the Christmas Holiday. With the new projections, we're looking at the end of February at the earliest.
"Moving the people is the easy part. But they are not moving here with just the clothes on their backs and a couple of suitcases. We also have to move their household goods: furniture, clothes, toys, appliances, pets, cars and all of that. Unfortunately, we are unable to do that by air even with magic. Their former homes must be packed up and shipped here separately. We have to pack up all their belongings, place it in a shipping container. Get that container from their former residence to one of the four container ports our merchant fleet uses. We then ship the container from Britain to Port of Darby where it then has to be offloaded and placed on a rail car that will take it to the Base or Jamestown or - for those moving to The Manors - Pottersport. The container then needs to be placed on a lorry to take it to the new residence. For those coming from Britain, we figure the process will take about two weeks from pack out to move in. The MAG presents its own problems as many of them and their families are from further a field. Many are coming from Germany and a few from as far away as Hong Kong and North America. We figure one to two months for their goods to arrive as they have to be shipped to Britain first. Still, we believe we can relocate them so long as they have a place to relocate to."
"Thus far no worries," Madam Manning head of Housing said. "We won't run into an issue until November at the earliest as the Housing and employment plans were in anticipation of the relocations and such through that time. We have substantially completed three new communities here in the West End.
"First off there's The Manors. The expansions of the Duke's House is mostly complete save for renovations to Potter Manor itself which will begin next week. Longbottom House is also mostly finished and will house Lord Longbottom's entire family, including the family of his parents. The Houses for William, Frederick, George Weasley, the Lord Mayor and their families will be completed within two weeks. The new houses for Mr. Charles and Mr. Arthur Weasley will begin construction next week with an anticipated completion date of September 12th. The rest of the Manors is substantially complete and people are moving in. We anticipate that by the end of the month and including the Nine Families, The Manors will have a permanent population of 923. Businesses have already opened specifically a grocery store, a second store selling household wares, the petrol station, a pub and the Lake Weasley Hotel with its 320 rooms and restaurant. There is, of course, additional retail and office space available for future businesses, a Health Clinic which is opening, the Primary School which will start classes on September 2nd and the Secondary School which hopes to start classes at the same time. All that is really left it the completion of the West End Commuter Rail which will link all the West End communities.
"Next there's Magoran Bay, which is being built on that bat just north of RAF Pottersport. It will be the new town where the Military personnel and their families will reside, just as Charlestown had been during the Second World War. It will be much larger than Charlestown since far more of the MAG personnel are moving here with their families than was the case fifty or so years ago. We currently anticipate 4,621 new residents who will be associated with the MAG and the town will border the Airbase to its south and the Army Base to its east. In addition, we anticipate and additional twenty-five hundred residents mostly from the evacuation. They will be employed mostly in the service sector, namely shops and businesses but also with the 400 room Magoran Bay Hotel, the new hospital and the two primary schools. Magoran Bay will be serviced by both West End Commuter Rail and National Rail.
"Finally there's Jamestown which is mostly complete. The industrial sector will be up and running by the end of this year if not sooner and will be the largest employers for the city. There are five, six hundred room hotels which will house our new residents until their belongings arrive from abroad. Approximately ten to twelve thousand will live in the apartment complexes along the beach and there will be housing for at least another ten thousand inland, many of those being single family dwellings. The inland neighborhoods can be expanded, but not enough to meet the new projected population demands. The main shopping district will be along the coast, with local shops inland. Jamestown will have its own hospital, and currently is planned to have five Primary schools and, one day, two secondary schools. It will be serviced by both National Rail and West End Commuter Rail with six planned stops for the later. As will also be the case in Pottersport, the Commuter Rail will be underground."
"I take it you're saying that while Jamestown can be expanded, it cannot be expanded to take into account the new population projections," Harry said.
"In theory, we could, Milord, but not without a complete redesign and rebuilding of the new infrastructure. It would be both less costly and faster just to build another city somewhere else."
"In other words," Harry nodded, "you're recommending the plan for a second new city on the north coast between North and East Farms."
Madam Manning nodded. "The ideal locations seems to be on Portian Bay in the vicinity of National Rail's repair facility."
"Agreed," Mr. Collingwood added. "We are anticipating and increased need for rail traffic and that means we'll need to expand that facility as we will need more locomotives and rolling stock. As the planned commuter rail can run on the overhead wires already in place and will be the same gage track as National, it is my recommendation we use that facility for maintenance of the commuter rail trains as well. Furthermore, we recommend expanding the National Rail line to run along the south coast from Jamestown to Port of Darby which should reduce traffic issues."
Harry nodded. "More passenger trains as well then?"
"We can't say for certain. My Department's current plan includes expanding the airport at Port of Darby and would call for a third one at this new city. Once the evacuation concludes, we'd start scheduled service between those three airports with our current passenger fleet with an eye to expanding the fleet for scheduled international service at a later time when the international situation is more stable. Passenger rail, aside from commuter rail, might actually decline, being used for holiday travelers and sight seeing trips as opposed to other transportation."
"And what are the population projections?" Harry asked.
Mr. Dawkins, Finance Minister rose as it was his department that had worked on this matter. "You read our report on the inaccuracies in population projections that we obtained from the British Magical government?"
Harry nodded. "Didn't understand most of it except the bottom line that the Ministry numbers are way under reality and the evacuation could be more than double what we had assumed."
He received a quizzical look from at least a few of the adults present.
"Sorry," Harry said. "But I am only sixteen after all. By all rights and had things been different, I shouldn't even be the Duke, not yet, not until sometime after the year 2050. My Great-grandfather would only be a hundred and three and probably would still be around if he hadn't been murdered. My Grandfather would only be eighty if he hadn't died of dragon pox and my father only thirty-six. By all rights, my Great-Grandfather should be seated at this table and if I was here at all, I would be in the back benches with my parents, probably wondering why I couldn't be out playing Quidditch. But that's not what happened and here we are and forgive me if I'm not as well read as a Duke should be, keeping in mind that the average age of ascension is around eighty or so."
"My apologies, Milord."
"Don't worry about it," Harry said. "I really shouldn't have complained. Every once in a while - practically every day, really - I am reminded 'bout how much I really don't know and need to learn. It's been that way all summer. So, the population figures please and, in view of my youth and ignorance, small words and pictures would be nice."
There were dutiful chuckles. Mr. Dawkins nodded. "As our report stated, the estimate the British Magicals are using for their population is off by a substantial margin. Their last census was in 1982. At that time, they reported a magical population of 59,823 of which 19,665 were classed as 'Muggle Borns.' Their current numbers assumed a slow population growth over time. It ignored the record birthrates that began in 1982, a significant and as yet inexplicable increase in Muggle Born births, nor did they take into account any increases due to immigration or the return of war refugees. Their previous census was in 1971 and it indicated a magical population of 107,568 of which 35,359 were Muggle Borns. That is an overall population decline of 47,745 over that span of time or roughly forty-five percent of the population. Now, while thousands did die in that war, we estimate that the majority of the decline - at least forty thousand or so - was due to emigration abroad. We believe many have since returned. Moreover we are aware of a significant immigration from former Imperial domains into Magical Britain since 1981, notably from Zimbawe, South Africa, India and, most recently, Hong Kong. At this time we can't say for certain how many magicals have moved to Britain since the end of the last war.
"There is another miscount to take into consideration. The British Ministry by ancient treaties with the former kingdoms and clans of the British Isles, cannot tax Muggles and the Muggles cannot tax the magicals. As a result, any census figures will not include aspects of magical society as we see it that live and work in the Muggle world. This includes most Squibs, all Muggle parents and non-magical siblings of Muggle Borns, all non-magical spouses of magicals and any magical who chooses to live in the Muggle world and economy even if they are subject to the laws regarding the Statute of Secrecy. Since we count these as part of the at risk population, they account for some of the difference in our current projections.
"Next there's the issue of muggle to magical ratios. The Global projection is there're about 900 Muggles for every magical on earth. But there are local variations, of course. As you should know, Charenwell has around ten magicals for every non-magical. Due to the nature of population growth, countries like India and China have far greater proportions of magicals to non-magicals. In the United States and Canada, immigration drove those populations and few immigrants were magical after the eighteenth century. Those countries have a high ratio of Muggles to magicals, between 1500 and 2300 to one and the Americas have a higher ration of Muggle Borns to magically born than Europe.
"That being said, Magical Britain has a historically above average ratio with approximately five to six hundred Muggles per magical. This was true as recently as 1971. But both their 1982 census and their current estimates when compared against Her Majesty's and the Irish Republics population figures suggest the ratio is now around 900 to one. I've mentioned their counting errors, and cumulatively we think their numbers are way off."
"Oh?" Harry asked.
"By their numbers, Ireland - and that includes Ulster - has a magical population of 18,500 or roughly 338 Muggles per magical," Mr. Dawkins began.
"That's off," Partrick Sullivan said.
"And you are?"
"Patrick Sullivan. I may be a Muggle, but I hold a seat from Dublin on the Irish Magical Council. As of our 1995 census, we had 28,238 magicals and an additional 7,252 non-magicals we consider as part of the magical Irish community."
Mr. Dawkins nodded. "When you consider who the Brits count and who they don't and their errors in estimates, that discrepancy is expected. Ireland always had a higher magical population as its Muggles were always accepting of magic and given the huge Muggle migration out of Ireland in the nineteenth and early part of this century, it's ratio is expected to be high. Scotland has 13,141 magicals according to the Brits and a 395:1 ratio. Wales has 6,488 magicals and a 461:1 ration. These we believe are off as well, but England is inexplicably so. The Magical Brits say there's only 27,198 in England. That's a ratio of almost nineteen hundred to one! We believe the real figures for England alone are between sixty and one hundred and ten thousand, not including non-magicals who are at risk. Subtracting England from the Brits estimates and the rest of Magical Britain has a population of about 38,000, which is a number we know is suspect. We think the real number is closer to 50,000 taxable magicals outside England giving their tax base a population of between 110,000 and 160,000. When we include our estimates of the remaining at risk populations, we're looking at between 140,000 and 190,000. That gives us our estimated evacuation range of between fifty and seventy-five thousand. This does not include immigration from other sources as both our health care industry and expanded education system cannot rely on immigration from Britain to meet our needs."
"We are already advertising abroad for Healers, Doctors with magical connections and teachers for our schools," Madam Larson said. She was the head of Economic Affairs. "While we have managed to get a handful from the evacuation to date, most in those fields in Britain are not on our lists. Mostly, this is in the English speaking world as that language is common here. We think we can get the additional Charenwell Gaelic teachers from here."
"Gaelic?" one of the Irishmen asked.
"Aye," McGonagall said. "Charenwell Gaelic is it's own tongue. It's closest linguistic relation is that of Cornwall with Welsh a close second as it's derived from the original Britons. I'm a Scot and my version is very different as is the Irish version. Charenwell does not expect universal fluency in the original language. But there are our poets and our literary society that strive to keep the original language of this land alive."
"This is all well and good," Harry said. "But as interesting as it is, I must remind you I never learned that language and it's not the point. The bottom line is housing and jobs. A thriving economy would not go amiss either. While it is my attention to relocate as much of the at risk population that is willing to do so, Charenwell will not be some sort of refugee camp! I want people gainfully employed and living as normal a life as possible as soon as possible. Jamestown was planned along those lines. We're bringing in industry and such to sustain that city. While Magoran Bay exists mainly to support our future Army and Air Force, I am hoping it won't turn into a ghost town once our military is no longer totally necessary. Even The Manors will, for now and in a short time, enjoy near if not full employment. But we're talking about another twenty-five to fifty thousand people! How do we employ them?"
Madam Larson, Minister for Economic Affairs rose. "I cannot speak for how these modified numbers will alter the MAG's plans for your Armed Forces, Milord. But in the short term at least, this should afford them a much large recruiting base for the Army in particular. Many of these additional arrivals could well fill jobs associated with the war effort, at least in the short term. It is safe to assume that a war economy cannot be viewed as a long term condition - hopefully not for more than two years or so. But, employing these arrivals in the war effort will allow us time to develop business and industry that can continue in peace time.
"We have a few businesses here in Charenwell that are or should prove to be viable and that can theoretically expand. They currently are only supplying the domestic market, but we believe that, in addition to their ability to support our war effort, they can easily become significant exporters. The Weasley brothers enterprises fall within this category. Their Joke store and production is designed for a net export business and its spin off businesses can be. Their Potions Plant is being built in Jamestown. It will be used at first to support our health care services, our own apothecary shops, and our war effort, but if it proves as efficient as it seems, we could be the largest producer of potions and potion related products in the world within a few years. The brothers are also now hoping to set up a Research, Development and Production plant to support their other business, support the war effort and our fledgling defense industry, yet also look to the commercial marketplace for opportunities. We are recommending building this plant in the new city. These businesses will all need labor above and beyond what those lads and their family and friends can provide.
"Their wives also have some ideas we consider of merit that have the two lads support. There are a few of them interested in the fashion industry. Given the modern production techniques the lads are planning for their other plants, similar techniques could make Charenwell a mass exporter of shoes, clothing and the like rather than an importer with a handful of small, yet capable local producers. Moreover, that plan would allow that industry to export to the world at large and not just the magical one. Again, we recommend building that industry in the new city.
"Finally, there's Darby Technologies. It does 'magical hardening' for electronics."
"Magical hardening?" Hermione asked.
Madam Larson nodded. "I went to school in Magical Britain just as most of us have. There we were taught that magic and electricity are incompatible. This belief also holds true in most of magical Europe. It's not true. Electrical devices are not affected by magic at all. In fact, there was no 'magical interference' issues whatsoever until the 1950's or so. That's when transistors began to replace vacuum tubes in electronics. The British Wizarding Wireless is based upon a magical version of the vacuum tube. They and others failed to develop a magical equivalent of the transistor, much less the microchip and magic does have an adverse affect on those devices. We had some bright young people in the 1960's who wanted those devices. They developed a means using runes and 'micro-wards' to shield the transistors and microchips from magical interference. It's why Charenwell could 'pass' as non-magical.
"Outside of a few hobbyists, we don't make our own electronics. We import them, mostly from the non-magical United States, Japan, Taiwan and so on. They arrive here and are 'hardened' at Darby Technologies before being shipped to retailers or installed. Our telecommunications system could not work at all without that. The advanced electronics we now use in Transportation would not work. We could never have bought the planes for our Airline without it and the avionic upgrades for our Air Force could never have happened.
"Now Darby Tech has but one plant in Port of Darby. Until now, it could not expand. We're a few years behind the non-magicals in our electronics because it takes time with their work force as small as it is to harden electronics. Without a Duke to allow for the construction of a newer, much larger plant and without the labor for that plant, expansion was not possible. Currently, Darby Tech is contracted to harden technologies for the installation of a national, cellular telephone system and other upgrades for our telecommunications. But as they're the only hardeners here, they also have to deal with the new demands being imposed by our air industries. We need modern radar and air-traffic control for our existing airports, and any new ones as well, not to mention improved avionics for our planes and such, all of which must be done through Darby Tech or sent overseas to the Americas. We'd prefer to keep it here and the new city provides us with that ability. Moreover, the process is such that we could easily switch over to commercial and consumer production. We think we should expand Darby Tech massively to sustain our civilian market and support our defense needs. But, when defense is not such an issue, we could easily become a huge exporter in this sector. Europe lives under the false notion that such technologies cannot work in a magical environment. It is a huge export market and, I think, better for us to break in than others."
"How certain are you of this?" Harry asked.
"We are confident that given a couple of years, we will be a net exporter across the board. The high standard of living we now enjoy - the highest in Magical Europe, mind you - will not be diminished. If anything, it'll get higher."
"I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant and fill it with a terrible resolve," General Churchill commented.
"What's that?" Harry asked.
"It is what Admiral Yamamoto said after his Japanese Navy attacked the Americans at Pearl Harbor in 1941," the General replied. "Magical Britain and the Death Eaters and such have enraged Charenwell and, it seems, have or will unleash a whirlwind."
"And how will this affect Ireland?" Patrick Sullivan asked.
"Which brings us to our next topic of conversation," Harry replied.
A/N: RELATIONSHIP SCORECARD:
If you didn't read the Intro, you missed that. This is so you can keep up with who's with who and how.
Key:
Names in Italics = OC
Gr – Gryffindor, Hu – Hufflepuff, Ra – Ravenclaw, Sl – Slytherin.
SG – St. George's School, PE – Prince Edward School, SA – St. Andrew's, SP – St. Patrick's, SD – St. David's.(Number indicates last year completed. No number means they finished all seven years.)
P = pregnant.
Harry James Potter, age 16.* HOUSE POTTER
As last posted.
HOUSE BLACK
As last posted.
Bill Weasley, age 25.
Following changes:
15. Wanda Helen (Parker) Weasley, age 13 (Gr-2).
16. Bonnie Faith (Carter) Weasley, age 13 (Hu-2).
Neville Algicyrus Longbottom, age 16.*
Following changes:
18. Tracy (Davis) Longbottom, age 16 (Sl-5).
19. Teresa Chastain Murdoch, age 14 (7/23/82) (Sl-3), Concubine Neville (8/14/96).
Fred Weasley, age 18.
Following change:
16. Megan Anne (Albright) Weasley, age 13 (Hu-2).
George Weasley, age 18.
Following changes:
14. Michelle Eliza (Graham) Weasley, age 13 (Gr-2).
15. Alice Paulette (McGregor) Weasley, age 13 (Hu-2).
16. Morgan Laura (Carpenter) Weasley, age 13 (Ra-2).
Lord Mayor Remus John Lupin, age 36.
Following changes:
7. Olivia Patricia (Kennedy) Lupin, age 22 (SP).
8. Susan Anne Parsons, age 22 (9/28/73) (Hu-5); Original Bond 7/21/90; Concubine Remus (8/13/96).
9. Donna Bethany Simpson, age 21 (3/5/75) (SD-5); Original Bond (8/16/91); Concubine Remus (8/14/96).
Frank Longbottom, age 41.
Following changes:
7. Simone Marie (Buchanan) Longbottom, age 27(SA-5).
8. Agnes Lucile Thompson, age 26 (5/21/70) (Hu-5); Original Bond (7/15/86); Concubine Frank (8/13/96).
9. Martha Helen Graham, age 25 (1/23/71) (SG-5); Original Bond (7/18/87); Concubine Frank (8/14/96).
Charlie Weasley, age 23
Following changes:
3. Lisa Faith Stuart, age 23 (8/9/72) (SA); Original Bond (7/16/89); Concubine Charlie (8/13/96).
4. Janice Amelia Brooks, age 22 (1/7/74) (SG-5); Original Bond (7/16/89); Concubine Charlie (8/14/96).
5. Pamela Hope Brooks, age 18 (10/21/77); Original Bond (7/30/94) (SG-5); Concubine Charlie (8/14/96).
Arthur Percival Weasley, age 46 (4/12/50).
Following changes:
2. Deborah Ophelia Rawlings; age 26 (6/21/70) (Gr-5); Original Bond (7/18/85); Concubine Arthur (8/13/96).
3. Alice Margaret Halverson, age 24 (10/7/71) (PE-5): Original Bond (7/20/87); Concubine Arthur (8/14/96).