To the Rescue I, The Summer of 1996

PROLOGUE

Friday, June 30, 1995

On a Muggle map, the area would look blank, a rocky wilderness in western Ontario between Lake Nipigon and Hudson Bay. No roads were marked, and low-flying aircraft were routed around the 27x60 mile oblong area.

In reality, near the center of that area, on an unmarked lake, the capital of the wizarding Confederation of North America has stood since 1848. With a permanent wizarding population of over 6,000, sometimes swelling to over 15,000, it was far and away one of the largest magical settlements in the world, aside from a few others in North America.

In a obscure conference room, a formal but secret meeting was being held. The twenty-seven wizards and twelve witches formed the various leaderships of the North American communities. Some were in the white robes of Druids, some in robes of Celtic tartans that pre-dated the Muggle tartans by thousands of years. Others were in dress robes of European design, three were in the buckskin or buffalo hide regalia of Native shamans. Two wore colonial costumes, from New Amsterdam and Revolutionary America. One, proud of having all Muggles for his great-grandparents, wore a Muggle business suit.

The meeting was unofficial, and so there was no one there to take the minutes.

"Do we know yet what happened at Hogwarts?" a Druid demanded.

"No," one of the robed figures stated. "The British Ministry denies this Voldemort has risen. A report from the Minister's Office, sent by a Dolores Umbridge, reports that Dumbledore agrees that Harry Potter is mentally unstable, or at least unreliable. Dumbledore's report is more ambiguous, but he clearly claims that Voldemort is back."

"And will he, as head of the Wizengamot, call in the International?" another Druid asked.

"No," the wizard replied. "There seems to be a struggle between Dumbledore and Fudge. If Dumbledore wins, hopefully the International will be called in."

"And if Fudge wins?" a witch dressed in an Old Believer tartan demanded.

"We hope that he will not," the robed wizard stated.

"But if he does?" the man in the Muggle suit demanded. "Can we interfere?"

"We cannot, in any event. Only the International can."

"Must we wait for that?" the witch asked. "The British and other western Europeans made a total hash of their fight against this Voldemort last time. If it hadn't been for Dumbledore's secret resistance and any number of volunteers, we might have had an out-right war! If we wish to stay hidden from the Muggles, that MUST not happen!"

"Surely we can rely on the British Ministry to do the right thing," a different robed wizard almost purred.

"According to whose lights?" a different Old Believer demanded.

"I resent. . . ."

"SILENCE!" The elderly leader of the Tuatha, the three person executive of the Old Believers, demanded as he stood. "We must wait upon events, it seems. However, if Dumbledore says the Dark Wizard is back, he is back. They will likely need our help, sooner or later, no matter if they ask for it or not. Our own security forces are well-trained, but need new, young leadership. Our diplomacy may also need some work -- we may have to lead the International to take action. Let us prepare for both. If it turns out to be unnecessary, it will still be a useful exercise.

"I object," the smooth-talking wizard stated.

"Then let us take a vote," a different wizard demanded.

"The Assembly will not approve," the once-smooth talking Pure-Blood stated, beginning to get desperate to halt this idea.

"The Assembly passes laws, not policy," a shaman stated. "You are here more as a courtesy than out of need. Let us vote."

The vote was 36 - 3.

Friday, August 11, 1995

The twenty-four wizards and twelve witches who had approved a more active stance met again in August to consider a very disturbing news story. "Have we all had a chance to read over the transcript of Harry Potter's hearing?" an Old Believer asked.

From the rumble of comments, it was clear that the group had, and thought little of it. "Comments?"

"It's a disgrace!" one Pure-Blood stated, standing. "What game is Fudge playing at? Every bit of evidence our Intelligence has collected states that this Dark Wizard was reborn in a very Dark ceremony!"

"Some might say that the evidence mostly comes down to one boy's word," a shaman stated.

"Some might, but I don't think they were invited this time! Not all of us have strong ties to the Pure-Bloods who supported Grindelwald and Voldemort on his last attempt."

"That is true, for which we are grateful," one of the Council of Druids said in a pacifying manner. "Still, at this point, can we actively interfere?"

"No," one of the leaders of the Confederation broke in, "we still can not. However, I can tell you there are a number of other concerned Ministries around the world. It appears as if we must allow Voldemort to strike the first blow. We must be prepared to actively interfere, and by that I mean the International in name, even if it is mostly us supplying the money and muscle. Unless any one objects, I shall be directing all the behind-the-scenes diplomacy to that end."

No one said anything.

"Then we are agreed. We will meet slightly more formally tomorrow to allow the new head of Law Enforcement to address us."

"When will the announcement be made?" the Muggle-dressed wizard asked.

"In perhaps two hours. I expect our three missing colleagues are writing a complaint about the new man even as we speak."

"Well, that gives them something to do, I guess," another wizard commented.

Monday, June 24, 1996

While the 39 member Committee debated policy, the North American Confederation's actual executive was a 12 person Leadership Council. Six members were selected by various constituencies dating back to the Confederation's formal creation in 1785 -- four Old Believers (two religious and two secular), a Native shaman, and a representative of the Old Colonial Families. The Confederation was divided into six equal regions, based on the wizarding population. Each region elected one member of the Council and 20 members each to the 180 person Assembly (45 others were selected by the Old Believers, 15 selected by the Shamans).

The Executive currently therefore consisted on a member of the Tuatha and a member of the Council of Druids, two Old Believers selected by the Old Believer sects, three Old Believers elected by their regions, a Shaman, the Old Colonial representative, two Pure-Bloods elected by their regions, and a Full-Blood who had been elected by her region.

This Monday afternoon, they were meeting in emergency session. "There is one thing on the agenda," the chair for the day stated. "Formally asking the International to put the British Ministry into receivership, and taking the lead in fighting the returned Dark Wizard who calls himself Voldemort."

The Colonial Representative stood. "I have read the reports and am appalled at the British Ministry's mishandling of this. However, many of my fellow Colonials dislike the idea of active interference in another Ministry. Can anyone give me one major reason we should not object?" He sat.

The Tuatha member stood. "The dementors. We have all been against their employment by the Europeans at the prison the British manage for them. Now these abominations, grown strong by European coddling, have gone over to this wizard. They pose an international problem. The International must take charge as soon as possible."

A Pure-Blood stood. "And I suppose we will have to finance this adventure?"

The chair for the day answered, "The personnel, yes, for the most part. The rest will be more evenly divided."

"So it's all decided, is that what you're saying?"

"Except for the voting, yes."

"Then we might as well vote," the Pure-Blood said with disgust as he sat.

The vote was 11 - 0, with the Pure-Blood speaker abstaining.