Harry Potter And Bellatrix Lestrange

" I don't know what Voldemort's capable of?" Harry barked out a semi-hysteric laughter. "I've been having nightmares and visions of what he's done since I was eleven! I've met the guy, witnessed what he's done, and you're telling me I don't know what he can do? I've seen the aftermath of destroyed muggle villages, the mutilated corpses he's left behind - I've seen the remainder of dark curses so evil you could feel it!"

The two older men watched in apprehension as Harry's laughter grew more hysteric, until he'd given up ranting in favor of just laughing like a madman, tears streaming down his face. Dumbledore merely hung his head; he knew he'd hit all the wrong spots with his reply, though he'd only been genuinely worried about the dark lord's response to their offensive.

Mockridge, on the other hand, was beginning to wonder if Harry was at all stable, and if the fate of the wizarding world didn't rest on a maniac who was as insane as the one they were trying to get rid of. He could understand Harry's frustration, but he hoped the young wizard would be able to work through it, because if Harry went insane, there was nothing that could save the wizarding world from ruin.

It took several minutes for Harry to calm down, but when he did, there was nothing left of the insanity he'd shown earlier, his face neutral. "Anyway, Dumbledore, don't tell me I don't know what Voldemort is capable of," he hissed dangerously, not bothering to apologize for his outburst.

"Either way, I don't need your approval, and I certainly could care less if you don't like what I'm going to do, because, like it or not, I'm declaring war on Voldemort, and to be perfectly honest, the only thing that would concern you is how many of your people are going to get caught in the crossfire."

"No one here is going to oppose you in that," Mockridge noted calmly, trying to smooth over the proverbial ruffled phoenix feathers. "I think what Professor Dumbledore was alluding to was that Voldemort may become unpredictable when we force his hand, and that if we are not careful, may end up making our situation worse."

"That is precisely why we need to take him out, and quickly. Now, we've been working out a plan, and it would be a great help if the Ministry would at the very least not oppose us." Harry stared at Dumbledore, as if daring the man to say more, his temper barely kept in check.

"We all can agree that we're on the same side here. Now, what was that plan you've been working on, Harry?" Mockridge leaned forward in his chair, interposing himself as much as he could between Dumbledore and Harry.

"Continue a public campaign against Voldemort and his supporters, for starters. Re-open all the newspapers and news agencies without the biased bull Fudge had them publish, and publicate any and all victories against Death Eaters. Take the war to the people, close down the Gringotts accounts of all known Death Eaters, put up wanted pictures, and generally deny them their financial and public resources.

This'll also make it harder for them to appear in public, and if you urge the people to report any suspicious activity, you can be sure that you'll find Death Eaters or Death Eater wannabes somewhere." Harry ticked off his fingers. "Also, we know Voldemort is going to be planning something big. Warn the populace to stay in their homes, ward themselves, and if they see Death Eaters anywhere close by, take the opportunity and run."

"I thought you said you wanted to strike before he did?"

Harry nodded. "That's the idea. That way, if we can deprive him of the first strike, we can move him towards a target of our choosing. My allies are still working out where the best and most probable location would be. If you want, I can inform you once we've chosen a target. The attack will hopefully happen within the next two or three days so Voldemort won't have time to pick his target. You'll understand if I only send the message to you, Bert. We don't know who we can trust in the Ministry, especially not with Fudge's recent escapade."

"And how do you plan on making him attack a specific target? Voldemort is rather difficult to predict, and the fact that we have so many potential targets must be a blessing for him," Dumbledore chimed in, stroking his beard after the old mage had regained his composure.

Harry grinned toothily. "Simple. We give him an opportunity he can't pass up." The lord of Polairix stood up and spread his arms. "Move all the Aurors away from the Ministry, and make sure Voldemort knows I'm here. Trust me, he will come."

"That's preposterous!" Mockridge exclaimed, shocked. "What you're proposing is that you'll duel Voldemort by yourself, and you'll be using yourself as a bait to lure him and however many of his troops he's going to bring here?"

"Maybe," Harry acknowledged, "but unless you've got a better idea as to who's going to stop Voldemort, then that's the way it's going to be."

"He's right," Dumbledore agreed.

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