Will You Ever Return to Me?

Chapter 6.

Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ginny looked very nervous. "Are you sure I shouldn't--"

"Ginny, you'll have to met them sooner or later. It's time we get our family back together. Come on. It's your brother and your best friend. They'll forgive you. They miss you, I could tell last time."

"And when we announce we're dating again--"

"Are we--"

"Are we?" Ginny repeated. Harry thought for a moment.

"I guess we are--"

Harry rang the doorbell. He gasped when it opened. Standing in front of him was Hermione, but it was Hermione in an evening gown, high-heeled shoes, with straightened hair, makeup, and jewelry. "Harry!" she shouted. "Ginny? Oh, dear."

"What's the occasion?" Harry asked. "Is Ron--"

"Hermione?" Ron came from upstairs. "Harry, what are--Ginny, just what do you think--"

"Guys, stop," Harry said. "What happened in the past is between Ginny and myself."

"You forgave her?" Ron demanded.

"Hey, I'm here!" Ginny yelled.

"We forgave each other," Harry replied. "But she's right. She's here."

"And we came to tell you something--"

Hermione glanced at her watch. "How long will--"

"Hermione, don't you think we should let Harry in--"

"What about--"

"If you can't tell Ginny, don't tell me," Harry said.

"Well, it's not up to us--but we can take them in. Ginny, Harry, wash up. In half an hour, you're to look like we do--or reasonably close. We'll explain later."

Harry nodded. "Come on, mate," Ron said, showing him upstairs. "Did you really make up?"

Harry nodded. "We've decided to date again," he said.

"What? Making up--"

"It'd get there eventually. I love her. She loves me." He looked back at Ron. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

"Yeah, mate, sure. You've got twenty-eight minutes to look like a Muggle going to a formal dinner." He shrugged. "Hermione's words."

Harry grinned and stepped into the shower.

Half an hour later, Harry, wearing a tuxedo and having made a mostly futile attempt to make his hair lie flat, returned downstairs. Ginny was there, wearing a long black dress and a pair of gold bracelets. Ron and Hermione were also joined by Lydia Jones, Anderson, and Catherine Hemmings, who smiled at Harry. He greeted the group and turned to Ginny.

"Hey, you look beautiful."

"Harry, don't lie. Black doesn't really go with my hair color. I wish I could get a green one."

"Sorry, Ginny," Hermione said, "but I can't help you there, since green doesn't go with my hair color. And since you absolutely refused to wear a pink one..."

Ginny looked terrified. "I--"

"Ginny, stand still." Harry took out his wand and waved at her. With a 'splotch' noise, her dress and shoes turned light green.

Hermione slapped her forehead. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"You had more important things to worry about," Harry said. "And Ginny, don't worry. You always look beautiful to me." He stepped up and kissed her.

"Are you lovebirds planning on contributing?" Hemmings asked.

"Of course," Ginny said.

At this moment, the front door opened. "Hi, Padma," Harry said.

"What--it's like the old days, isn't it?" she said, sitting down on the couch next to Sergeant Anderson. "Why are we meeting here--"

"Because we need to hear the briefing General Chandler will give. I managed to get a special feed into this TV--" she pointed at the living room set. "And it's worth paying attention to--that includes our newly reunited couple," Lydia said, shaking her head.

"Sorry," Harry said. "We'll have time later," he told Ginny.

"Will we?" Ginny asked.

"If we succeed tonight," Hermione said, "you'll have all the time in the world."

"Seeing as you made up and started dating again--when did this happen?" Ron asked.

They looked at each other. "Tonight," Ginny said.

Ron gasped, then laughed. "So, are you getting married tonight, too?"

"Ron, don't give them ideas--"

Harry looked at Ginny, who burst out laughing. She stopped and looked at him. "What do you think, Harry?"

"All right." Lydia turned on the TV. For a moment, the screen was blank, then the picture resolved, although it was quite low-quality compared to a real TV program. It showed a podium with an audience of slightly over a hundred people. Two men wearing military uniforms stood behind it. To his surprise, Harry recognized one of them. "That's--"

"--General Sharp," Ginny said.

Hemmings looked at them. "How do you--"

"We've met," Harry said. "Long story. What's he doing here?"

"He's been sent to oversee the operation, and he'll take Fifty-One over from Chandler afterwards," Lydia replied. "I think Chandler knew for weeks, and he's not happy."

"Does he know about--"

"Us?" Lydia asked. "Yes, I briefed him personally. He approves--mostly."

"What do mean?" Hermione pried, but Lydia motioned her quiet so they could her the general speak.

"I'm sure that by now, you are all sick of hearing about Alan Hund and his band of terrorists," General Chandler said. "If you do your jobs tonight, you won't anymore. However, if we fail... it could lead to a disaster. We have uncovered most of Hund's objectives, and have devised a two phase plan to stop him. The phases are dubbed Operation Snow White and Operation Rose Red."

Someone in the back sniggered. General Chandler frowned and continued. "The term 'riots' used by the press for the violent events Hund's been involved in is inaccurate, since these were all carefully orchestrated. Hund had used his followers to lead the riots, and achieved mass by liberally using the Shepherd Potion."

"That's impossible," someone in the audience said. "That potion requires tricorn--"

"Cloned tricorns, using genetic materials from the carcasses stolen from the British Ministry of Magic. We learned about that in February--"

"I told him," Lydia looked.

"--and have had some success in shutting down these farms, but it's a safe bet we don't know about all of them.

"You've been screened for that influence when you entered this room tonight," he said. "There's no antidote to the potion, but its use can be detected. Back to Hund. He's going to start another "riot" like the ones we've had all over the country. Operation Snow White is simple: minimize the loss of life and property destruction they can inflict, by making them waste their time fighting us.

"The MLEA will eventually be on the scene, but that can take a while--they will need to get ready, and Hund may try to do something to delay them. We can't afford to let the terrorists have free reign until the MLEA arrives.

"We doubt the regular police will be of much help--they're unprepared and will have no clue what's happening, while Hund's people, on the other hand, will know exactly what to expect from them.

"We have however, recruited a number of security guards of various casinos, who will aid us, especially if the terrorists get inside their territory. They've been instructed, like you all were, to not drink anything but bottled water we checked. Hund may have been slipping the potion to other guards, though.

"We have also learned they're planning something we haven't seen before. Enchanted vehicles that'll cause mayhem and try to kill people. That is the biggest danger. If you see a vehicle moving without a driver operating it, it becomes your number one target."

He pulled something out of his pocket and showed it to the audience. It was a hand grenade, with a purple band painted across it. "You'll get a number of these, in addition to the usual tear gas grenades. Use them on magical vehicles. It should nullify any enchantments used. However, it'll also wreck all other enchanted devices in the blast radius. That includes your emergency Portkeys." He waited for a moment. "Good luck. General Sharp."

Sharp stepped up. "Hund's second plan, however, is the real threat, and could cost thousands of lives. If you are told Operation Rose Red has failed, you're to drop everything and attempt to finish what we start." He activated the screen. "Caesar's Place," he said. "Hund plans to bring that building down. With people inside."

"The advantage of the situation is that Hund will not trust any underling to do this, and that the magic Hund plans to use requires him to be on top of the building if he wishes to preserve his own life. Five separate teams of trained wizards and special forces troops will make their way to the roof and take him down. As soon as the riot starts, anti-Apparition and anti-Portkey wards will go up around the hotel."

"And where do we come into this?" Ron asked.

"We don't," Lydia said. "Sharp didn't mention us. If Hund has a spy in that audience, he won't know that either. We're going to be the mobile reserve for the Operation Rose Red."

"I better reserve another room," Hermione said, and picked up the phone. Lydia opened her laptop.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked.

"You need to actually go into the hotel itself, not just the casino. So you'll have to check in. Good thing we've arranged to make false documents for you back in April. James Evans, is that right?"

Harry nodded. "And me?" Ginny asked.

"We won't have time to contact Fifty-One and have them make an arrangement, so the room will be reserved in the name of Mr. Evans," Lydia said. "Hermione--are you making that reservation now?"

Hermione nodded, and Lydia turned to her keyboard. "If only the computers Hund uses were so easy," she said. "Go."

Hermione finished the call, gave the credit card number, and hung up. "What did you do?" Ginny asked Lydia.

"Made sure the room that came up was the right one. "Northern section of the building, seventh floor. Next to an elevator with roof access.

"You four--" she pointed at Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny--"head to Caesar's now. The rest of us will follow. If all of us come in together, it'll raise suspicions."

"You're coming along, too?" Padma asked Lydia.

"I am. We may need a physical connection to some system. Don't worry. I'm not going to rush off into battle."

As they got into the car, Harry filled Ron and Hermione in on recent events. "Bellatrix is gone," he said. "Most of the remaining Death Eaters and a few of Hund's followers have been arrested. We have less to worry about."

Hermione nodded. "Although," she said, "Tamara--"

"Escaped surveillance," Harry finished. "We know. She wasn't providing much, was she?"

"No... I think she knew about it--or guessed--from the beginning. But Helen Gertrude won't be absent from Hund's big operation. Chances are, we'll meet her tonight."

"How will Hund bring the hotel down?" Ginny asked.

"Projected Fracture Curse," Hermione said.

"What's that?"

"Put it this way," she said, "When we transfigure something, we change its properties. If you change the material properties of a building so it can't support the weight anymore, it'll collapse. Quite simple. You usually can't do it for a large building like Caesars Palace--they are built sturdily. It'll require either exceptional power, or numerous wizards coordinating their effort."

"But Hund--"

"Won't use either. Power can be concentrated and then released, however. The magical grenades General Chandler showed. If you can release that power and channel it along particular paths, you can disrupt the material everywhere you need, instantly, by yourself. It requires exceptional control--"

"Which Hund has," Harry finished. "And if he succeeds..."

"Why would he do this?" Ginny asked. "Blow up a hotel--"

"To get in power," Harry said. "I can't believe I haven't seen it before."

"What are you talking about, Harry?" Ginny said. "How--"

"Remember what General Sharp told us in Baltimore? If the wizarding community can't contain Hund--"

"I've never heard about this," Hermione said. "What happens then--"

"They're going to do away with the Statute of Secrecy and attempt to handle Hund themselves."

"You're talking civil war," Hermione said.

"Exactly. Don't you see? If they try to move against wizards, it'll make Hund very popular--and he already has a fighting organization in place. Wizards make the perfect terrorists. Hund will be more powerful if civil war erupts."

"But there are more Muggles," Hermione said. "He can't win."

"He won't have to," Hermione said. "He'll use the war to destroy wizarding opposition, and he'll then negotiate a peace. If it'll stop the terrorism, he'll be accepted.

"That's why I think the Statute is a bad idea in the first place."

"Well, it shouldn't cost all these lives to abolish, even if we want that," Ron replied.

"If we win, it won't."