Concordia Discors

Callie began to cry in earnest now, her sobs echoing throughout the house that still could not pass as a home.

Kingsley shifted her in his arms, so that her little chin rested on his shoulder, and began to stroke her hair gently. Then, in a tired, resigned voice, he said, "I don't know."

His enraged scream could be heard from miles away.

"Dumbledore!" Moody called, running to the stairs. "We've got the boys you're lookin' for."

The Headmaster hurried down from an upper floor to greet the newcomers. "In good health, yes?"

"Of course, Albus," said Arthur, dragging a large trunk in behind him.

Dumbledore smiled and ushered Harry and Dudley into the sitting room, where Hermione was looking frantic and panicked with a couple of Weasleys. "Sit down, sit down," he said congenially. "You've had a long journey-"

"Actually," Dudley cut in, "it was a rather short one."

"And comfortable, I trust?" Dumbledore inquired kindly over his half-moon glasses.

"Not in the least," Dudley replied.

Dumbledore stared at the boy in mild confusion, his mouth slightly ajar. After a moment, he closed his mouth, cleared his throat, and smiled kindly at the boy. "I was referring not to your trip here," he said, "but to the ordeal you both went through last night."

"We're fine," Dudley said calmly.

"Are you really?" Dumbledore asked him quietly.

"You weren't much help, you old fool, so what do you care if we're all right or not!?!"

"Dudley!" Harry gasped, and started forward, reaching toward his cousin with a clear intent of pulling him from the room. Dumbledore, however, held up a hand to stop him, and Harry blinked in confusion.

"Last year, Harry, I allowed you to destroy my office, to rage, to scream, because you needed to," the old wizard said gently. "Will you deny your cousin the same need?"

For several minutes, the two stared at each other, the finally Harry nodded. "All right," he said quietly. "Hermione?"

"I'm coming," she said quietly. After a quick glance at Dumbledore, she began to walk from the room, Harry following her. The Weasleys present followed her lead, Charlie and Bill. Slowly unraveling their legs from the old couch in the corner and striding out and Fred and George eyeing Dudley eagerly as they ran from the room. Arthur exchanged a glance with Moody, Remus, and Tonks and the four left the room quickly, disappearing up the stairs. As Hermione and Harry headed toward the stairs, they were met by one person he expected- and one he didn't.

"Luna?" Harry gaped at the blonde girl standing on the stairs.

"Hello, Harry," the Ravenclaw replied in her usual dreamy voice. "This place is rather odd, isn't it?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and smiled. "Hi, Harry," she greeted warmly, climbing the rest of the way down the steps and hugging him gently. "We didn't expect to see you so soon."

"Well, here I am." Harry said, pulling away. "Why are you here, Luna?"

"My father made some enemies with that article we posted. Professor Dumbledore -- nice man, he -- offered for us to stay here for the summer."

"Your dad is here?" Harry asked, looking up the corridor.

"Well, of course he is- how else would Dumbledore protect him from the heliopaths Fudge has given Lucius Malfoy?"

Harry blinked- once, twice, three times- then shook his head. "I don't know, Luna," he replied honestly. Turning slightly, he looked at Hermione. "Lucius Malfoy has heliopaths?"

Hermione shrugged helplessly.

"Of course Lucius Malfoy has heliopaths! As long as he's in a league with Fudge, Fudge'll give him whatever he wants. You know--power, privilege... and more importantly to Fudge, money."

Harry stared at her, his mouth gaping wide open, then turned again to look at Hermione, prepared to exchange an exasperated look with her. But, to his shock, Hermione did not look exasperated at all- she looked thoughtful.

"You know, Ginny," Hermione said slowly. "Luna has a point."

"I told you," Ginny said with a laugh, smiling back, "Luna always has a point."

Luna considered that. "You may be correct. Perhaps it is he that's supplying Fudge, then. You're quite bright, Harry," she said with a smile.

"Or maybe," Ginny muttered darkly, "you're both right."

Ginny shrugged. "One has the contacts to get these... 'heliopaths', and another pays the money for them? Not to mention, Harry, Fudge has quite a bit of money for someone in ministry service, even if he is the Minister. And Malfoy has a lot of connections-"

"Had," Hermione corrected with a spark of triumph in her eyes.

Ginny slowly turned her head to look at her. "Has," she said again.

"Empty?" Harry whispered, his voice quivering.

"Well, unless you count the bodies," Ginny replied.

"Ginny!" Hermione said angrily. "Stop that! What's gotten into you?"

Ginny slowly moved her gaze from Harry to Hermione. As Ginny's dark brown eyes locked on hers, Hermione felt a chill go through her. "War," Ginny whispered, and turned away to walk back up the stairs.

Harry, Luna, and Hermione stood unmoving at the bottom of the stairs. Several moments later, they heard a door open and close. And then, there was silence once again.

"GET UP!" a voice screamed.

"Gah!" The woman started and shot from her bed like an arrow, turning immediately to glare at the charmed alarm clock by her bed. "Why did you have to be an old- an old- thing that yells at me?!?"

"Oh, my, you're in rare form today, my dear," the alarm clock replied in its sweetest feminine voice. "Get out there and wow 'em with words like 'Cornelius Fudge is a terrible- a terrible thing."

"Gah!" Alliana Brenna Carson screamed, and, spinning around, she looked for a weapon. With a hoot of triumph, she walked across to her closet and picked up a large hammer. With a gleeful, insane smile, she advanced on the clock.

It sniffed. "You wouldn't hit me with that," the clock muttered. "You sleep like the dead. Wouldn't wake up without me. You'd miss all your speeches. Speaking of, dear, your next one is in an hour..."

"Bloody hell!" Alli yelled, and the clock actually giggled. With another curse, Alliana dropped the hammer on the floor and ran to her bathroom, stopping only to hop up and down in pain- she had dropped the hammer right on her foot. Muttering and growling under her breath, Alli grabbed her wand from the pocket in her nightshirt and stared into her mirror with dismay.

"Dreadful, love, absolutely dreadful," the mirror said sleepily. Brandishing her wand, Alli glared it the mirror as the face of an old matron emerged from the glass.

"I could turn you into a hand mirror and smash you, you know," she threatened.

The mirror frowned. "There's no need to be so testy, love," it murmured. "Besides, you wouldn't last the seven years bad luck." Yawning tiredly, the matron vanished into the glass, and Alliana's reflection replaced it.

She glared into the mirror again. "She was right," Alli muttered. "Dreadful." Turning the taps, she splashed water on her face and sighed. As she rubbed a towel on her face, she picked up her wand and ran through the few cosmetic charms she knew. With a frown, she discarded most of them- she was going to give a speech, not to win over a man who was so close to blind that she had to look like a stop light for him to see her. Sighing and muttering under her breath again, she walked back into her bedroom, to be greeted by a barrage of shouting.

"You really were going to smash me, weren't you? Good thing you have that worthless speech to give- you would have ruined me! And why'd you even bother going into the bathroom? I see no improvement!"

"Evil wench!" Alli shouted, diving through the doorway and slamming the door shut behind her. With a sigh of relief, she fell back against the door, brushing her hair from in front of her eyes.

"That wasn't very nice, you know," the elderly grandfather clock chimed in mournfully from across the room.

Alli blinked- once, twice- then closed her eyes, lifted her hands to the sky, and fell down on her knees. "What did I do?" she asked in a hurt voice. "What did I ever do to you, to deserve this punishment?"

"You bought us, dear," the teapot on the counter replied.

Alliana groaned. "Why?" she muttered as she trudged slowly to the kitchen. "Why did I buy so many enchanted items?"

"Because you're lazy," the clock and the teapot said together.

"Am not!" Alli shouted, spinning around to stare at them both with a look of pure indignation.

The teapot opened its slotted mouth to speak again, but the grandfather clock, its hands spinning in amusement, cut her off. "Not a word, Ann Marie, not a word."

"Gah," Alli muttered, her enthusiasm for her annoyance gone. Pulling open her enchanted refrigerator, she knelt down and stared balefully into it, and finally pulled out an apple. As she munched on it, she wandered into the living room and pulled a book off the shelves of her bookcase.

"Basic Cosmetic Tips for the Every Day Witch," she read with amusement. "When did I buy this?" Turning it over, she read the back cover. "Makeup artist extraordinaire John Bailey presents his latest masterpiece- cosmetic spells for every witch, for every occasion... You've gotta be kidding me. All you have to do is wave a wand and voila! I could be a 'makeup artist extraordinaire'!"

The clock and teapot snorted in disbelief. "Stay out of this," she shot at them. Dropping into her stuffed leather chair with a dull 'thud', Alli propped her feet up on the footrest and flipped the book open, munching on her apple as she did so. The first few pages showed pictures of women in various revealing outfits, with garish glitter and bright, sticky residue adorning their faces. "You should rename this, John," she said mildly. "Basic Cosmetic Tips for the Every Day Concubine." She flipped another page and paused, her mouth open, the apple hovering in midair. "Well, that's not too bad," she acknowledged. "At least they won't direct traffic by me..."

Raising her wand, she muttered the charm, and then headed for her office to pick up her briefcase.

"Erm.." the clock said hesitantly, "aren't you forgetting something?"

Alli glanced at him, then went into her bathroom to look in her mirror again. She looked decent- at least, she thought so- and she didn't see what the problem was. Then she glanced down.

"Oh," she said quietly.

Turning back into her bedroom, Alli shuffled slowly to her closet and began looking through her clothes. "I need coffee," she muttered. "I'm dying..."

From the other room, she heard a quiet laugh, and then the gentle whir sound of her coffee pot turning on.

"Salvation!" she yelled, and, forgetting the clothes, ran back out into the kitchen.

Before she even reached the door, every enchanted object in the house shouted, "Get dressed!"

Muttering darkly to herself, Alli shut her bedroom door and went back to her closet. After a moment's indecision, she pulled out silky, blood-red robes with silver edging, thinking happily of the uses she could put them to... Oh, what similes she could concoct for the crowds... As bloody as my robes, she thought, then shivered. "Stop it," she ordered herself.

She pulled on dark black slacks, a white undershirt, and the black, high-heeled boots she loved so much, then pulled the robe on over it. Grabbing her necklace off her nightstand- a dragon pendant; the Chinese symbol for Honor, Courage, Loyalty, Wisdom, and Strength- she yanked it over her head and quickly pulled on her watch and the signet ring her father had left her. Looking at her hand solemnly, she remembered the last words her father had said to her- the words that had inspired her to take up her current line of work. Her father had always been a kind, gentle, and honest man, who had never attained a higher station than head gardener of the Zabini family estate. After he had passed away in her fifth year, her custody had been wielded to the Zabinis, since she had no living relatives to take her in. As the dark memories crept past her determined shield, Alli shook at rage, shuddering at the memory of being trapped alone with Decius Zabini...

Human beings are a noble creature, her father had told her quietly. We're brave, we're strong, we're compassionate- but we're also ignorant. Some of us just won't see what we don't want to see- but you always have. You always could see it all... It's up to you, my beautiful dragonfly. It's up to you to lead them through these times, to make them see what they must. You must show them- even if they do not realize there is anything to be shown.

Dragonfly, Alli thought with a sad smile, the Egyptian symbol for life. Her father had always said that she had a voice, an intellect, a passion that could drive men to wars- or pull them back from the brink of one.

"Child?" the alarm clock asked gently. "Are you all right?"

Alli jumped, startled, and turned to smile at the clock. "Yes, I'm fine," she replied quietly. Somewhere, in the bottom of her stomach, the nervousness that always came began to grow. Pushing it aside, Alli took a deep breath, and detected the scent that had always saved her.

"Coffee!" she yelled gleefully, and pushed out into the kitchen yet again.

Fifteen minutes later, she was on her way to the office, cup of the nectar of gods in one hand and a briefcase swinging from the other. She could have apparated, but that always made her queasy and she really couldn't risk throwing up on her audience, and her office wasn't that far away. A quiet breeze blew up around her, clinking together the charms that hung from her watch. Her golden-brown hair was tossed into her eyes by the wind as little hummingbird on her watch buzzed around her wrist, its wings flapping merrily. A sudden noise sounded to her right and her silvery-gray eyes narrowed as she spun, wand at the ready, to face the offending noise.

And found herself facing a cat.

Alli blinked in confusion. "You're not dangerous," she told it bemusedly. The cat stared at her then hissed, stopping immediately and staring after her with a puzzled expression as she walked away.

Another few minutes, and Alli pushed through the door, throwing her silver cloak over a chair as she went. She sat in her chair and drained the last of her coffee, popping her feet up on her desk as she finished. "Three, two" she counted calmly, and leaned back, hands behind her head, watching the door.

"Feet off the desk, Carson!" her boss shouted as he pushed through the doorway.

"Fine," she replied. "You go give the speech. Stir 'em up, make the crowd go wild. Go get 'em, tiger."

"You," Marcus said angrily, "are a royal, bloody, prat."

"Uh-huh," Alli agreed happily.

The elderly man sighed as he hung his hat by the door. "Why do you have to be so snarky?"

"Getting in the mood for the big moment," she replied with a solemn expression. "It takes so long, and so much energy, that I'm going to have to stay this way." Dropping her feet to the ground, Alli leaned forward with a grin and whispered, "Forever."

"The mood for the big moment is 'snarky'?" Marcus asked as he pulled up a chair and propped his feet up on his own desk. "I thought it was 'innocence ruined by terrible betrayal'."

"It can be both," Alli protested.

"To pull that off, even you'll need good luck, Carson." Her boss mumbled.

Alli grinned. "But the mood for the big moment isn't 'snarky'," she said innocently. "It's 'innocence ruined by terrible betrayal'."

Her boss glared at her, then, picking up an old donut from his desk, threw it across the room.

"Eeww.." Alli muttered as she ducked.

"It's almost time," Marcus said, smirking at her. "Got your speech?"

"Er.." Alli reached into her briefcase and shuffled through the papers in it. Afer a few moments, she looked up with a panicked expression, and Marcus paled.

"You don't have it?" he demanded, suddenly sounding fearful.

Alli bit her lip and smirked, pulling three gilded sheets of paper from her briefcase. "Ye of little faith," she intoned.

Marcus's eyes narrowed. "I was longer than that," she told her.

"I left the rest at home," she said sweetly.

"Get out of here," Marcus tossed another rotting donut her way, and Alli grabbed her cloak and pulled the door open, preparing to bolt through it. "Oh Alli?" he boss called.

Alli stopped and turned, raising an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Go get 'em, Tiger," he said with a grin.

Alli rolled her eyes, smiled, and ran.

Diagon Alley was incredibly crowded when she reached it, and Alli smiled gleefully at the sight. Every time she gave a speech, the turnout was a much greater number than the time before. She waved at a few merchants she passed and smiled when Florean Fortescue waved her over.

"Want me to whip up the special one for you?" he asked with a smile.

"Sure," Alli replied happily. "Thanks!"

Florean's grin widened. "Good luck out there," he said quietly, "Don't start without me."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Alli promised, and walked away, her silver eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

She cut through the crowds easily; some people tripped over their own feet to get out of her way once they recognized her, others tried to trip her, and some didn't react at all. But the part that mattered to Alli was their destination, and every one of them was headed for the area before Gringotts where Alli would give her speech. Once she reached the designated area, she ran up the steps to Gringotts and stood silently, waiting. The crowd gathered and stilled, watching her in confusion and anticipation. Five minutes went by, and Alli was silent. Finally, she saw Fortescue slip toward the front and smile at her, and she nodded back.

Alli's right hand slid to her dragon pendant. Her left slipped to her watch and the hummingbird hanging there pecked at her finger. She took a deep breath and let it out, then moved her right foot back, so it was resting on the highest step, and left most of her weight supported by her left foot.

"What we have here," she said calmly, gesturing in the direction of the Ministry, some blocks away, "is a failure."

She paused, smiling inwardly at the murmur that broke out, and continued. "The man that you call Minister," she said, "has lied to you. He has lied to you all." She looked at each and every one of them, every face in the crowd, and she saw a growing fear. "He told you all," she said as she moved down one step, "that you are safe. You are not." Another step. The eyes of the crowd followed her, and she smiled inside again. Already, she had them. She had always caught their attention quickly, yes, but never before had she held it so raptly with so little effort. The Alley was so quiet that when she was not speaking, everyone in sight could hear the clicking of her shoes.

"He has told you there is no threat." She moved down another step and again looked at every single face in the crowd. "He was wrong. He told you that Harry Potter was a lying, attention seeking little boy. He was wrong." Looking straight at a ministry official who stood in the crowd, she said in an even tone, "He is the one lying, the one seeking attention."

With a quiet laugh, Alli dropped the leather folder that held her speech. It hit the steps with a gentle thud- and everyone before her, so accustomed to the quiet, jumped.

"He told you," she said, louder now, gesturing to her left and right, "that Albus Dumbledore is a senile old man! Is he?"

The crowd was really getting into it now, she saw. A few people muttered anxiously to themselves, a few glared darkly at her, but many more yelled "No!"

"He told you that Voldemort had not returned! He told you that it was impossible, that it would never happen! And what happens? Fudge's denials, his bungling, his incompetence gave Voldemort the upper hand! The Dark Lord was able to walk right into the Ministry itself! Yet Fudge says there is no threat!"

Her breathing was shallow and rapid, and sweat beaded on her forehead. All the noise around her faded away, leaving only the roar of the crowd and the strange, buzzing sensation she loved- the thrill of standing there, telling people what they needed to know, and making it sound good was beginning to emerge.

"Time and time again, he has lied to you!" she shouted. "Lie after lie after lie! What is the truth? Who speaks the truth? Is it Fudge? Is it his friends and companions? No! It is his opponent! It is Albus Dumbledore! Dumbledore has never lied to you! He guided you all through terrible times, and he can do it again! You do not need Fudge! He is the coward, the fool! Why choose the coward to lead you when you can choose the hero?"

Her voice was now hoarse from all the shouting. Sitting down on the step behind her, she said calmly, "But Dumbledore will never abandon Hogwarts. And he shouldn't- he should protect our children, our future." Looking up, she met the gazes of the frightened witches and wizards before her. "He cannot leave the children. But there are those who are close to him, who could do just as well, if not better. Those who are honest, pure, brave, steadfast... Honorable," she whispered with a smile. "Albus Dumbledore's friends are gems among the coal. They could lead us through this darkness, oh yes... they could..."

People in the crowd were leaning forward now, eager to catch every word. They leaned back in surprise as Alli stood once more, and all of them braced themselves for what was to come. "But we do not let them!" Alli shouted. "No, through the growing darkness we sing Fudge's praises, when he is leading us to ruin! If Fudge remains in power, blood will flow in every street in all of Britain! He cannot stand against the danger that rises to meet us! And we cannot stand without a competent leader! If Fudge is not replaced, we will fall!"

Alli smiled sadly and began to move down the steps again. This time, she walked down three more steps then stopped, looked around, and began pacing back and forth. "And," she said with a sad laugh, "nobody seems to understand, that is not the end. It will go further, much further, than our ruin... Voldemort will not be happy until he has dominated the entire world, and maybe not even then. We're just the beginning- this is where it's starting. This is where the villain is right now." She stopped her pacing and turned to face the crowd. "But he will move on. When he has left our world in shambles, he will move on. And he will conquer another country, and another, and another... And every nation that fights him, he will destroy. Until there's nothing left... Just Voldemort's people and slaves." She moved down three more steps, coming to rest on the ground, level with everyone before her.

"And that," she whispered. "is not life. It is merely survival. Merely continuing on, gaining nothing, giving nothing. Yes, the world will keep turning, the stars will still shine, and the sun will still cast its light upon us. But that's all. Nothing more. There will still be animals, and there will still be plants... things of beauty left for us to see. But we will be kept from them every day, unable to reach that beauty, to feel it within ourselves, until it becomes a terrible torment to feel." Her throat burned as if on fire, and, against her will, tears slipped from her eyes. When she spoke again, her voice shook.

"The sun will still shine. But it will no longer shine for us."

"And then," she whispered. "Voldemort will have finally won."

Walking off to the right, Alliana Carson left a stunned and frightened crowd in her wake.