Why am I getting the feeling that Ron will not be getting his Hogsmeade form signed?

I agree with all the others who are anticipating the next chapter. Asap please, and keep up the excellent writing.

Um.. I think you mean 'Potted Plants'

unless Neville's been doing some 'extra credit' under his bed

Huh... Theo has a point...

That's actually how I got into reading Princess Diaries

(well that and my Anne Hathaway obsession)

So now Molly is trying to starve ron to make him feel ungrateful?

the old 'If you want nicer things you're clearly ungrateful for what you have' arguement?

I've heard that one before

Please update soon.

Oh god ron's going to crash a car into someone's house now...

Update please. Can't wait to see people's reaction to Ron becoming the second boy who lived especially the reactions of Ron's friends, family, Dumbledore, Snape and other Hogwarts teachers.

I think it's really interesting that you've ignored the whole 'Trace is ignored in wizard households because they can't tell' thing

I really like the idea that speaking parseltongue works as a master key for the Slytherin common room...

I can just imagine Salazar coming home drunk from the Four (later three) broomsticks, and just hissing "Open" at the door because he can't remember the password

Review for chapter 158 part 6

Astoria quickly become a pariah in Slytherin due to her openly insulting Ron. Figures. She definitely didn’t considered such consequences, and now come to Daphne to fix it. And as expected Daphne told her to grow up a little and fix her own mistake herself. Finally! One of Astoria’s first steps to grow up! Yes. It’s not her fault she’s turns out so spoilt – it’s on her parents who did spoiled her. Nevertheless, she has to grow up. And this situation is a perfect opportunity to take responsibility for the first time in her life. That was a predictable outcome, yet very satisfying.

Of course Astoria didn’t took Daphne’s advice too well, and even blamed her for being jealous and wanting that Astoria never been born. Ouch. Considered that now Daphne knows of Tori’s condition, this accusation hurt a lot. I have to say, Daphne handled this conversation very maturely, and guided Astoria to do the right thing, and apologize to Ron on her own, instead of asking Daphne to vouch for her. Ron wouldn’t by it anyway.

Interestingly, that Daphne figured out that Ron has predicted that outcome, and is going to use it as a teaching moment to Tori. He even openly admitted to Daphne he has done similar things to Cobras as well! Ron openly admitted that he manipulates his friends for their own good. And even though, Daphne is not happy about it, she find that she cannot argue with the results. She likes how their group changed under Ron’s influence, how her friends become better people. How she become better person. Usually Slytherins manipulate others to gain some profit, but Ron is quite different, and he manipulate his friends to make them better.

Astoria’s apology was so fake and pathetic, Theo didn’t even tried to take it seriously and pocked fun at her. Ron once again predicted it, and already had a task at hand for Tori to complete – write an essay on the word Blood-Traitor. He actually make her work for her apology! That’s just brilliant teaching moment here! Even Daphne appreciated it.

Ron got a letter from Met and he didn’t like what was in it. Apparently, Met is not doing good. Her mother probably do not approve of her hanging out with a “Blood-Traitor”. And her maybe the negotiations on her wedding had been finalized. Though, it’s just a guess. Probably will be elaborated later. Good to see Daphne didn’t got too jealous of Met.

Once again, Ron not so subtly pushes Daphne away from her family, and suggest to her to spend summer holidays at the Burrow. He is really aiming to break Greengrass sisters from Sebastian, it seems. Daphne is satisfied with this, but it won’t be easy to convince Astoria without telling her the whole truth. And telling the truth may even not be enough – both Daphne and Millie choose their parents when they were told of their wrong doings. It took them literally see the consequences of their parents’ actions to change their minds. And bringing Astoria to the centaur camp is a little too extreme right now. She is even more sheltered then Daphne.

As expected Daphne is frustrated that Ron learned about Greengrass family Curse even before her. I have to say, despite loving their daughters deeply, Sebastian and Mary dropped the ball here. Informing Ron about the Curse before the girls themselves was not wise. I still think Astoria should have been told about her condition. Adequate decisions require adequate information.

Ron announced that he is going to break Greengrass family Curse. Eventually. I’m inclined to believe it. Some time ago, I would have said that Ron is too arrogant to make such bold promises. Especially without a proper plan or idea how to accomplish it. But he has a track record of achieving extraordinary things. We already has examples of tremendously powerful Curses being lifted one way or another. From canon, we know that DADA Curse was lifted with Voldemort’s death. Voldemort himself mused that he could lift werewolf curse, if he put his mind to it. So it’s not far-fetched to think that there are some ways to break Greengrass Curse as well. And Ron being Ron will achieve it. Eventually. For now he is going to buy Astoria some time with his Silver Leaf gifted by Harkin. Though, Ron’s declaration sounds very dramatic, I think the method of breaking the Curse will be very trivial – Daphne and Astoria will get married and forfeit Greengrass name altogether.

The leaf is not going to break the Curse on Astoria, but will bolster her health tremendously. It’s expected to give her years, if not decades of life, before more permanent solution is found. Now, I wonder, how much exactly the leaf is going to help? I mean, in Cursed Child – forgive me for bringing that heresy here – Astoria lived to 2019, before the Curse claimed her. Apparently, she lived that long even without silver leaf enhancement. With it, Astoria can probably live just as long as average human.

Daphne was deeply touched by Ron’s gesture. She even tried to convince him to split the leaf in two, between Astoria and himself, so they both would have several more years to live. Too bad Ron can’t tell her that Madam Pomfrey diagnosis is wrong and he is not dying. At least not as severely as it seems. I wonder how he is going to explain it, once he lived past his predicted deadline. Like, his magical core is instinctively enhance his health and keep him from dying?

Anyway, Daphne was not on board with Ron’s plan to just donate the leaf to Astoria, insisting that he should take at least half of it himself. Very noble of her. Ron, though was pissed and kicked her out. I’m surprised that Marty didn’t sided with Daphne here. I was expecting him to be very motivated to prolong Ron’s life and try to convince him to take the leaf himself. But in this scene, he was fully on board with Ron. Is it because they are magically bound, and Marty actually senses that Ron is not really dying?

Anyway, Daphne lost her chance to be Ron’s partners in crime, and Ron got mad at her. Again. Hopefully, they’ll put this argument into bed quickly and won’t be fighting. Again. At this point their back and forth has become tiresome.

Hermione’s POV.
It was unexpected that Ron invited Hermione to help him brew Wiggenweld potion. I thought, he’ll do it off-screen. Now, I wonder what exactly the point of this scene was plot-wise? Just to show that right now Ron is frustrated with Daphne’s attitude about the leaf, and appreciates Hermione’s readiness to help without asking questions? Well, if in Ron’s place was anybody else, I think Hermione would have asked questions. Hell, she DID asked Ron questions, just didn’t push it further when Ron showed he is not going to answer them. And while, Ron’s compliment to Hermione’s “girl of action” nature is legit, I sincerely doubt she wouldn’t “whine” about it, if she knew exactly what the silver leaf is, how Ron get one, and what he is going to do with it. I would say, Hermione would be even more vocal, trying to convince Ron to use the leaf on himself. And then, Ron would have been angry with her too. So this whole situation is only going to strengthen Ron’s resolve to manipulate other people, using them in the dark: he told Daphne his plan and she started to argue. He didn’t told anything relevant to Hermione and got help he wanted from her.

Also, there is a possibility that Hermione will start looking into Ron too. Ron showed her the silver leaf, and said it’s a rare herb from America. Hermione is thorough enough to figure out it was Sacred Snakewood Tree Silver Leaf. Ron gave her enough hints to come to this conclusion. And if Hermione was smart enough to figure out Remus Lycanthropy and some part of mystery of Chamber of Secrets, she may notice how significantly Astoria’s and Snape’s health has improved. Or she may come to conclusion that Ron took at least one dose of the potion himself.

Also, Ron done well pranking Hermione, making her fully believe that Snape allowed to use his lab for their potion brewing. Hermione’s scare when she realized the truth was priceless!

Pansy’s POV.
Ron still torturing – I’m sorry, mentoring and guiding – his first years Slytherins even when Tournaments are over. This time he made them run away from the Monster Book of Monsters. That was pretty funny. Also, Ron’s judgment about Daphne was proven wrong – she is a girl of action! She instantly stepped up and immobilized the book with a spell.

Ron is such a sly fox! He used this “training” as a teaching method to improve camaraderie between his first years, and make them make up with Astoria and tricked her into drinking Wiggenweld potion without noticing anything suspicious. He was not particularly subtle about it, so even Pansy and Astoria herself noticed something is off. Daphne, of course figured out Ron’s intentions on the spot. And now it’s done. Astoria took the potion with the silver leaf. Now, he can expect her health improving dramatically, similar to Tracey’s. She also, probably will become much stronger physically. And I’m afraid it’ll went into her head too much. I mean, Astoria is quite arrogant as she is now, without any merit of her own. When she’ll discover that she actually physically stronger then almost everyone, she might abuse her strength without shame. I’m not afraid about Tracey abusing her strength – she is quite reasonable girl for her age. Astoria on the other hand…

Turns out Theo was doing his best to keep Ron in a good mood to soften him up for Pansy’s confession. That was surprisingly wholesome of him. Pansy on the other hand still cannot muster the courage for it. Too bad. The longer she waits, the worse the revelation is going to be. Daphne is probably going to take it much better now, after lesson from Zotair. Ron on te other hand would be massively disappointed.

Muriel is called an Alliance meeting on Sunday. And since Ron has allied himself with Amelia, he’s right – it’s not going to go well for him. Muriel, Macmillans and Abbotts are not salvageable at this point. Though, I hope Ron still will keep most of the Alliance in his corner. Sirius, Pansy and Samantha are going to side with him, no question. If it was not for Ron’s hatred at Sebastian he could still secured Greengrasses. And I think he can figured out his way with Fawley and Ogden. Augusta is the hardest one. I would say she is not gone as far as Muriel, but she still was very vocally against Amelia, and I hardly can see her reconcile with Ron’s new Alliance with the Minister. The worst thing is that Ron seems to going to discard his Alliance. I really don’t like his apathy towards them. Even if Ron dislikes them, and only used them to help people, he still can salvage at least some part of his alliance to continue helping people. Abandoning them would only lead for them to become just another hostile party. Not exactly what anyone needed when at war with Voldemort.

Interesting how both Theo and Blaise are not amused by Ron allying with Amelia, and indirectly taking the side of the pure-bloods in this conflict.

Snape’s POV.
Ron also decided to trick Snape into taking Wiggenweld potion enhanced by silver leaf, instead of just hand it to him. Probably wise. Snape is very proud, and like Ron he does not deem himself worthy of such unique healing method. He would definitely refused. So I guess, tricking him was the most effective method. Though, even if Ron has good intentions, it’s not exactly good thing that he feed Snape the leaf without his consent. Seems like a violation of his body autonomy. It’s even more serious, because the effect of the leaf is not a one time healing, but a continuous change of the body. Probably even permanent. So far we saw only positive effects of it, like accelerated healing and enhanced strength, so it’s not that bad. If it’ll work, Snape not only heal his leg, but his body become stronger, and his magical output will increase. Quite possibly, Severus will become even more powerful wizard then he was before the injury. The missing hand won’t regrow back, so it’s still a handicap. But healed leg will give Snape back his mobility. Also, Snape can put a magical one in place of a missed ne, like Moody. Or some analog of it. If Moody’s eye is like Byakugan, maybe Snape will have an analog of Sharingan?

Emilia and Artyom are finally back. I’m glad. When, Emilia was hurt, and Luka refused to Portkey her because it could have hurt her even more, I was worried she’ll be trapped in Magical Russia with the Ministry hunting for her and Mrakogubci. Speaking of which, is Emilia is outlaw now? I mean, Volkov recognized Luka and his Mrakogubci and reported them to Samara. Essentially turning them into criminals. And Emilia introduced herself to Rodolphus, so she can be charged with assault on Volkov manor as well.

Emilia brought the information about Rodolphus enhancements, which is good. Before that, Ron, Snape and Dumbledore were underestimated the Loyalists. They consider them to be weal after Azkaban, and thought it would take them months and years before they regain their former strength and become legit threats again. Now they know Voldemort enhanced them beyond their power in the first war, and would be more cautious. At least something good come from this failed mission.

I don’t like how Ron kick Dumbledore into his mistake again – not killing Loyalists while they were still in prison – but it was fair to point this out. They indeed missed their opportunity to get rid of them, and now Loyalists are going to be a major problem. Rodolphus already stopped them from rescuing Alexie, and killing Volkov. I figured, that if Misha, Emilia and Artyom were not occupied by Rodolphus, they would come to help Luka and killed Volkov.

I don’t particularly like how Ron badmouth Luka. I mean, yes, Yahontov had failed his mission, and now is a fugitive. However, he showed impressive prowess in both Volkov manor assault and Knockturn Alley battle. And he has reputation comparable to Moody’s since the first Wizarding War. You don’t get such fame without prowess to back it up. Hopefully, Luka and his team will make an impressive comeback.

Magical Russia seems to be lost to Voldemort at this point, but Dumbledore is not willing to give up on it just yet. But he also not willing to send the Order to help Yahontov and his men, because he don’t want trouble with Bones – Amelia is very strict on jurisdiction. In all honesty, I don’t think Order would have been much of help there. Mrakogubci are very ruthless in their operations, and used to slaughter their way through their enemies. I imagine majority of the Order would not approve of their methods. They more of a militia then soldiers, concentrating on protecting civilians, instead of taking down enemies.

Albus is planning to convince Amelia to send help to Luka. I wonder how this conversation is going to go, lol. Officially, Luka is a criminal. Openly supporting him would be a political shit-storm for Amelia. Supporting him under the table so to speak is against of Amelia’s policy, so that’s unlikely too. But abandoning Luka and his team would be a horrible waste. It would essentially leave Magical Russia in Voldemort’s hands. Not something that is in Amelia’s interests. I think this situation with Yahontov will clearly demonstrate the limits of Amelia’s policy and her inability to do the right thing just following “Magical Law!”. And this is where she would have to compromise on her principles to achieve results – to not lose Magical Russia to Voldemort, she would have to turn a blind eye on Ron and Dumbledore’s support of Luka’s squad.

Yaxley’s POV.
Bustrode tracked down Ajax – and I’m convinced it’s him – and plans to finally fire him to “test” Ron. Again. Ajax himself seems to left his days of an assassin for hire behind him and wants to move on with his life. Most likely because of his encounter with Ron. I want to see his reaction when Robert will try to hire him to assassinate Ron again! I imagine it’ll be like straight “No” from Ajax. He won’t be going after Ron ever again. The first time was enough to scare him for life.

Interestingly that Yaxley is still not convinced that Ron is a Butcher, but was scared by him knocking out Moody. Yet, Robert is fully convinced that Ron is capable of murder, but still don’t seem to grasp the implication of it. He still let his emotions cloud his judgment.

Their encounter with Dolohov was amusing. In Corban’s absence, Antonin fully recovered and took over his manor. Probably by force. It was so delightful to see Yaxley and Bulstrode losing all their hubris in Dolohov’s presence, and act totally submissive. Even more hilarious was how Corban fantasized getting revenge on him, while in reality following every Dolohov’s whim. It’s probably not right to enjoy other people’s suffering… but they all bad people, murders. So them hurting one another is only for the better.

And I have to say, Dolohov must be a real monster, if two Pure-Blood Lords as arrogant as Yaxley and Busltrode – Death Eaters both – humiliated themselves to such extend for his amusement. And they don’t even know how much more powerful he become thanks to Voldemort’s enhancement! They are fearing Dolohov from the first war!

The chapter was great! So many parties were making plans for the war. The Order/Ministry war plans scenes were the most interesting, but I can’t say they were they most productive. Voldemort’s were a little duller, but he certainly was more successfully in consolidating his power over Magical Russia. Yaxley and his Pure-Bloods’ plans were interesting, but felt so underwhelming compare to the Order and Voldemort.

Review for chapter 158 part 5

Voldemort is diabolical! His scheme to cement Samara’s loyalty was cunning! A shameless manipulation, but he planned it brilliantly! First, he summoned her, and instructed to take away her wand. Making her felt despair at her son’s kidnapping, and her own helplessness. Then he scared her with his displeasure. And then instead of killing her or punishing her, he spared her life for her “failures” and gave her back her son. Voldemort is an arsehole, but damn that was brilliant manipulation! And so very cunning! With Voldemort’s reputation, everyone would expect him to keep Alexie a hostage to blackmail Samara. Canon Voldemort would definitely had done something so blatant. Fate!Voldemort on the other hand so much smarter and cunning! Now only his plan was brilliant, he executed it excellently! First, he made Samara admit that Volkov took her son, and that Dumbledore offered her to save her son, and admit that she refused him. And only after that, he delivered her Alexie. He essentially had done the same thing Dumbledore promised to do, but failed to deliver.

Samara herself showed tremendous self-control in her situation. With Alexie kidnapped, and Voldemort sharply questioning her, she didn’t made a single mistake that would displease him. Samara appeased the Dark Lord at every time he was tested her. Maybe it’s not so apparent in Voldemort presence, but Samara is very intelligent and self-disciplined person.

I think Samara didn’t liked to much Rodolphus command to send Alexie to him once he is of age. She didn’t showed it, but I have a feeling she was not pleased by this idea. And maybe, just maybe, this little moment will be the one which turn her away from Voldemort. She might have realized just now, what her and Alexie’s fate will be, if she continue to be loyal to Voldemort. Because, unlike Bellatrix, who just having fun cuddling Alexie, Samara actually cares for him, and don’t want him to be Voldemort’s next henchman.

Even though Luka disappointed me with his recklessness during the assault on Volkov manor, and his disappointed with his failure to achieve any of his objectives. Still he was skilled enough to notice Samara’s spies and get away from them without being noticed. And he did successfully infiltrated the manor. And Mrakogubci only failed to save Alexie, because Volkov turns out to be a powerful Blood-Mage and Rodolphus showed insane resistance to magic and wolverine-like healing factor.

Voldemort is planning to set Sokolov to search for Yahontov and his Mrakogubci. Oh, this gonna be good! If Sokolov us reckless enough to try and take on Luka on his own, I think he may lose his head!

Voldemort’s plan to make Samara pretend that he keeps Alexie hostage and lure Dumbledore into a trap is brilliant as well! Damn, this Voldemort is so intelligent! His judge of Albus character was spot on – he thinks himself as a savior and gladly jumps at the opportunity to save Samara’s child. Though, I think Ron may change the situation and see through Voldemort’s plan. Dumbledore is smart, but he is not so cynical to predict such cunning trap. Ron on the other hand is so jaded by his life, he could actually see it coming and save the situation. A counter-trap for a trap.

Voldemort is so scarily intelligent in Fate, and I like it! So much more competent then in canon!

Yaxley’s POV.
Corban and his Pure-Blood friends are predictably not happy about Amelia’s coup and taking over the Ministry. They quick caught on that she will be using her newfound power to get rid of them. With her army of American Aurors she actually has means to do it.

Corban’s delusion is so funny sometimes. “People have forgotten who they owe this country’s very existence”, lol. He actually believes to be a benefactor of Magical Britain, because he and his friends were sponsoring “charities” that kept Magical Britain afloat. Charities that are vastly cheaper then taxes that they were not paying due to their “Lord” titles, effectively robbing the Ministry of necessary funds. How noble of him. Not to mention all the times he and his friends were punching down other witches and wizards from raising higher in wealth and status to keep their own power.

Corban once again showed his intellect and predicted that Amelia would use Ron’s Quibbler to spread her own message to people of Magical Britain and counter Daily Prophet slander of her name. I really like how jealous is he of Ron, and wishes his own daughter was half as dedicated and competent as Ron is. That’s quite a compliment! It’s especially pleasant to hear after Yaxley outmaneuvered Ron two times already. Now Ron is in a position, that Yaxley is not confident in confronting Ron anymore. Out boy grew so much! Though, I would like Ron having some other powerbase then Quibbler or power of his allies.

Robert is so pissed with Ron he actually wants to kill him! I like how Corban loss his patience with Bulstrode and told his straight at his face to actually try to assassinate Ron and suffer the wrath of Voldemort for it! That shoot him up. Someone finally put him in his place.

Rowle finally started to make some sense, instead of blindly follow Robert’s rage rant, and correctly summarize the situation for them – they are neck deep in shit! Half of their gang is murdered, their puppets from Wizengamot were kicked out, and the new Minister is going to target them soon enough. Their desperation is delicious!

Imperiused Pius told Yaxley and company about the Triwizard Tournament and he come up with a plan to kidnap or kill Harry, using the same method as in canon – Confunding the goblet of fire. So, if Fate is not going to make some unexpected twist, Harry would be selected as a fourth Champion. It would be funny, if Voldemort will come up with the same plan separately from Yaxley’s group and send Rookwood in disguise to place Ron into the tournament, instead of Cedric. I mean, if Confundus can be used to trick the goblet to think there are four schools competing, Confundus also can be used to trick the goblet to select a specific Champion. So it will come to Harry and Ron as Hogwarts champions competing against Fleur and Krum. With Cedric excluded. Hopefully not. While it’ll be interesting to see how either Ron or Harry would compete against other Champion, I still want Cedric to be official Hogwarts champion. He deserves it.

The fact that a person under the Imperius Curse can be so creative in his attempts to fulfill the command of the caster is terrifying. It’s one thing, if Imperius would make a person semi-lethargic and very restricted in their activities. No, it’s almost not affecting the thought activities, not hinder them in any way, just magically rewriting their priorities, making the caster’s command the most important and desirable goal. Though, Robert’s comment about Corban’s skill at Imperius Curse hints that such free-thinking behavior is not always the case. Maybe, unskilled caster of Imperius Curse turns his victims at almost zombies unable to think for themselves, and a skilled caster can make them much more independent.

While, plan with the Tournament is still cooking, Yaxley decided that he and his allies have to flee Magical Britain, before Bones attested them and throw in Azkaban. Death Eaters are lucky that they have someone so intelligent in their ranks. Because without Yaxley to lead them, Nott, Bulstrode and Rowle would have underestimated the danger Amelia possess, stayed at Britain, and get themselves attested or killed, damaging Voldemort’s powerbase even further. Still, even in this situation, Magical Britain is mostly lost to Voldemort for a moment: Carrow and their guests were murdered, Dark Lord fled with loyalists to Russia, Pure-Bloods lost a hold on Wizengamot, and now Yaxley’s company fleeing the country too.

A good win for Amelia and the Ministry, but what about Death Eater businesses across the country? Bones was worried that Augusta, Muriel, Abbots and Macmillans would ruin Magical Britain by losing their businesses. Yaxley, Bulstrode, Nott and Rowle has just as many businesses, if not more. Are they going to keep working with their owner overseas? If Amelia will allow their companies to work, Death Eaters will still have their income and partial control over their economy. If she shoot them down, Amelia faces the same problem Augusta and Muriel threatened her with. Yet, it seems like Amelia will going to target Yaxley’s group all the same. So how exactly she is going to stabilize the situation with businesses and production? Of course, she hypothetically can confiscate their properties and businesses. But without money she can’t make these businesses running, and the five millions that Harper transferred to her are good, but not enough to make Magical Britain’s economy running. And with current situation with Grinngotts, Amelia can’t force Goblins to open Pure-Bloods’ vaults to the Ministry. Which means, she would need a large influx of gold from somewhere to keep British economy going. There is an option of foreign investments for this, but the obvious downside of it – give away a lot of influence for foreigners. With Americans already has a large contingent of their Aurors on British soil, I don’t see it as Amelia going that way. The other option is to massively increase export – selling overseas a large quantity of production, which consequently will increase the amount of money the businesses are getting. Not very reliable either, as it would fully depend on foreigner importers. Still, everything is not so bad. Sebastian, Oscar and Sirius seems to agreed to work with the Ministry, and probably will pay new Amelia’s taxes. Ron can make Pansy and Samantha pay their taxes too. That’s five prominent Pure-Blood families with a lot of wealth paying taxes and returning gold in country’s rotation. It probably won’t solve the problem, but in addition to Harper’s five millions it’ll give some time before more drastic solution can be achieved.

I don’t understand how exactly Yaxley is going to raise an army from Hungary, where he will be hiding. Most of his powerbase is in Britain. Theo specifically said that his father has no assets overseas. With limited resources, in foreign land, their opportunities will be severely limited. Local Lords and Ladies will have more power there, and most likely won’t agree to play the second fiddle to British pure-bloods so far away from home. Yaxley and his group are not like loyalists who are so exceptional because of their unique skills and abilities. Surely, Yaxley is incredibly smart, and others has some considerable abilities. But nothing exceptional. Big part of their threat comes from their political and economical power, that was limited. Yaxley talk big, but their situation very dire.

Daphne’s POV.
Good to see Daphne become so dedicated to help Zotair’s tribe that now she’s constantly thinking and writing down her thoughts on “camp improvements”. Though, I don’t think at this point Daphne will do a major contribution to this “project”/ Times and times again it was shown that Ron is miles ahead of his peers. Most likely, Ron already thought all of Daphne’s ideas and half of them already being implemented. Still, it’ll be a good learning experience for Daphne on how real world operates.

Daphne become so immersed into helping Centaurs she started ignore her schoolwork. Which once again shows how far ahead Ron is compare to her, as he tackles several projects like this at once and keep his grades up at all times.

Funny how Pansy was on the money that Ron’s project was about helping yet another magical species oppressed by the wizards, and she was hitting very close to correct answer, naming Merpeople and vampires. I feel there is a little foreshadowing there, and somewhere in the future Ron WILL put his attention to help these people too. Considered how grand Fate is, I expect to see almost all magical species helped by Ron. One way or another.

Travel to the Centaurs camp made a huge impact on Daphne, as she easily agreed to find Blaise and forgive him. The experience of real world problems make her see that her grudge at Blaise is childish and irrelevant in a grand scheme of things. Funnily enough, Daphne can’t figure out the change in Ron. That he ignored Astoria calling him Blood-traitor, that he didn’t punished his housemates for losing C-rank tournament, and that he does not argue with her about Millie.

Blaise is still training his dueling skills after his loss to Harry. Completely without Ron’s input. Considered that Voldemort is out there and going to start another war, Blaise’s reasons to train dueling just to one up Harry are wrong, but I can live with that. He is still improving in combat, and it’s all that matters even if his motivation for it is questionable. Funny thing is that almost everyone think that Harry was handed the victory by Dumbledore and Remus. Even Harry himself thought so. And Blaise is still holding a grudge for it. Unlike Daphne, who experienced the real horrors of life, just recently, Blaise is still holding his grudge at his unfair losing at the tournament closely to his heart. Well, at least Blaise and Daphne made up. Cobras internal conflicts are always interesting, but I like when they are all at the same page.

Hilarious, how Daphne’s method of helping Centaurs includes Ron commanding his mercs to follow Daphne’s orders. That should have gave Daphne a hint that she does not have a power of her own. Only good intentions that would be enforced by Ron’s power. And that Daphne should start thinking of creating her own power-base to become a player.

Review for chapter 158 part 4

I’m also agree with Harry that Amelia is went too far when she claimed she’s ready to oppress her own people to defeat Pure-Blood families And she was telling that to Order’s allies, not to “former” Death Eaters. Remus certainly right, her newfound power changed her a lot. Not without Ron’s help – he pushed her to take charge like this.

Speaking of Ron… even Remus started to notice something suspicious about him. Well, AFTER Amelia pointed it out. And this time, Remus even encouraged Harry to share his thoughts about Ron with him, that Harry was holding to himself due to his past experiences. And damn, Harry already noticed so many things, that everybody were missing. Hell, he even made some correct conclusions with so little information that he gathered. He was probably the first one ever to notice and point out Ron’s connection to Dumbledore AND Snape, and that they are up to something, and that something is very serious business. Harry’s awareness and intuition are tremendous! Though he usually is too impatient, and likes to jump to conclusions before he has all the facts. Some part of me wants Harry to be more involved with the Order. He has so much potential and his input may be very useful. If only somebody put an effort to teach him to think more patiently and more complexly. To utilize his intellect to a greater capacity. Frankly speaking, Fate!Harry has way less adventures and challenges then canon Harry. He is less hardened and experienced in real life extreme situations. But more trained and educated, thanks to Remus.

With Amelia pointing out Ron’s connection to Order members and Harry sharing his information, Remus himself become suspicious of Ron. The amount of people that are onto Ron now increased. Luckily, Remus decided not to involve Sirius in this secret. Otherwise, Sirius could have shared his own notes about Ron, which would bring even more suspicion to him. I’m talking about him spying on Ron and Emilia’s meeting with Solomon. Also, Sturgis shared with Sirius his own suspicions about Ron, when French families that he invited to Gala were accepted in the Order immediately. It’s not a secret to anybody that Ron is doing something behind everyone’s backs. And with so many people paying attention to him now, I wonder who will be the one to connect the dots.

Amelia’s POV.
Crouch is not satisfied with Amelia’s threats to the Pure-Bloods at the Order’s meeting. Still, I have to give that to him, even if he disagreed, he never showed it at the meeting and had Amelia’s back there. For all of his faults, Crouch is extremely competent and reliable worker.

Despite her bold facade Amelia understands that he current situation is still vulnerable, even with American money and Aurors, and that is why she threatened the Pure-Bloods at the meeting. She expects to scare them, and give herself time to consolidate power and find a way to wrestle their influence. I admire her boldness, it take guts to take such gamble. She put everything on the line. And once again, the same problem as Ron faced when he was peg down by Yaxley resurfaced again – the Pure-Bloods hold too much influence in the country thanks to their wealth. They almost literally hold the country an economical hostage, since they wield the majority of Magical Britain’s land, production and gold. Amelia’s decision to fight them is admirable, but bringing even more American Aurors into Britain will only increase their influence. Not that Bones has much of a choice, if she wants to counter the Pure-Bloods retaliation and keep herself in power. I’m afraid Jack Harper is going to take a lot advantage out of her desperation.

Amelia does not even consider that Augusta, Muriel, Abbotts and Macmillans can be dealt with peacefully. She expects a confrontation against them, and she hopes Ron will support her with his Quibbler. Well, she is right – Ron has a contempt for majority of his Alliance, and he wants Amelia to succeed and Make Magical Britain Great Again. I still sad, hat at the times like this, when Voldemort has returned and gathering his army, they find time to fight each other.

Amelia’s meeting with Ron. I like how Ron used his little trick with the flowers to throw Amelia of her balance. That was funny. The little shit definitely did it on purpose. That’s how you subvert the expectations. Abigail’s reaction was the icing on the cake – while Amelia was irritated, Abigail was excited and couldn’t read the room, making it even funnier. I wonder how exactly Ron come up with his little stunt. It’s not like he learned it in Slytherin.

Wow! Crouch openly gave Ron an ultimatum – either help the Ministry or be imprisoned in Azkaban. Bloody hell! Barty Crouch became particularly prickly after the news of Voldemort’s return. More extreme, more on edge. Previously, he seem to be cold, collected, but still mostly polite and respectful. Now he acts… like he wants to dominate and put into submission his. And now he just jumps at the opportunity to use the most extreme means to get to his goals. Rufus Scrimegour also threatened Ron with Azkaban, when he investigated Ajax’s attack at Hogsmeade. But with Rufus it definitely was a bluff to make Ron talk. Crouch on the other hand, is malicious in his threat and he definitely mean it. Maybe he wouldn’t really threw Ron in Azkaban right now, but I think from now on he will be trying to find an excuse to do it.

I have to say, both Amelia and Barty become more extreme, and more unlikeable, since the coup and taking over the Ministry. Remus was hinted to Harry that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But maybe it don’t, and power just reveals the true character.

Ron even remembered the time when Crouch almost made him cry, after his fiasco with Veelas. I’m glad that Ron pointed out that he is not that boy anymore, and not so easily pressured. Ron is much tougher now. Which is good. But he also much more cruel, which is bad. Also, Barty is incredibly stupid and arrogant in his scene. Not only an alliance with Ron is vitally important to him and Amelia and they can’t afford to be his enemies. But he was even going to continue to antagonize Ron, when he said he don’t mind to cripple him. Like, dude, Ron may be 14 years old, but you personally saw him cracking Moody’s skull with a casual backhand hit. Provoking Ron in his situation is plain stupid. At least the last time he had two Aurors with him.

At least Amelia is more level-headed and made Crouch leave before the situation escalated. We can already see how she is a better option as a Minister then Crouch. She may have used force to take over the Ministry, and she does make threats a lot lately, but she also has other means then the stick. Barty it seems a firm believer in “my way or a high way”, and the only thing that restricts him is lack of power and authority. Adding Sprout’s comments how Barty’s Aurors killed a lot of people with Crouch’s current behavior, you can actually see that he is as bad as American Aurors with their excessive brutality.

Amelia negotiate with Ron an agreement of fair representation of her work at the Ministry that would combat Daily Prophet propaganda. The letter from previous chapter was an invitation to this negotiation. I actually like their negotiation. Ron firmly established his policy how Quibbler would work – an honest journalism, that would truthfully report on Ministry’s work. Good or bad, And Amelia easily agreed. That’s the kind of deal where everyone got what they wanted. Ron wanted to hold the Ministry accountable with truth. And Amelia is confident she will bring the positive change with her new authority, and don’t mind Ron publishing it. It’s going to work for now. And of course, Greta is going to be in charge of reporting on the Ministry.

Amelia promised to start making bridges to other magical species, after she solidifies her tenure as the Minister, and claims that Ministry should represent more than just witches and wizards. Now, I wonder how much reforms she is going to actually bring. Amelia is already planning to re-fill Wizengamot with members of her own selection. To represent other species, she would need to invite them to the Ministry in some capacity, including Wizengamot. I just can’t wait to see how this is going to play out! And I think Remus should be invited as a Werewolf representative. Thaddeus already make plans to make Remus his successor, I think. Because Remus is the most educated werewolf out there with powerful friends. So with the werewolves, it would be relatively easy to get at least one of them a seat in Wizengamot. It would be more difficult with Vampires, because public opinion of them after the Knockturn alley massacre is terrible. Goblins has quite bad reputation among witches and wizards. And majority of Elves are not free-thinkers and very submissive to wizards. That’s going to be a very hard work to bring them all together in the Ministry and make it work. I mean, they only had one Muggle-born Minister for Magic!

I’m sad Ron is going to abandon his Alliance now that they served their purpose. That’s very callous of him and very cynical. I was hoping he has a plan how to sway them on his side, even in this situation. Especially Augusta. Muriel can go to hell, but Augusta was always good to Ron, and she has mostly reasonable positions. At least when it comes to politics. It can’t be denied she handled personal relationships awfully. Also, it’s very wasteful to discard such powerful allies. Even Amelia herself, despite openly opposing them and threatening them, still fears Pure-Bloods counter-measures. Because they DO have power and wealth. Muriel is the lost case, but Ron could have tried to salvage what can be salvage.

I’m surprised Amelia is going to give Arthur a seat in Wizengamot! Didn’t see it coming at all! I did imagined Ron will try to fill Wizengamot with his allies, like Sirius and eventually Emilia. Well, that was when Wizengamot was filled with already powerful people. But in hindsight this decision is very logical – Arthur is a competent and hard-working man, and he has several good legislations that Wizengamot had been stone-walling for a long time. Now, under Amelia some of them may even come to pass and finally make a positive change. Ron already told Sirius several months ago, that for all of Arthur’s good work, he hasn’t done anything in grand scheme of things. This is one of the first signs that Amelia’s rule is going to be positive in a lot of ways, as she is giving good people in the Ministry a fair chance to make a difference! Don’t think Ron will be particularly impressed with his father, though. But he may appreciate that Bones is fair and values actual work done.

Voldemort’s POV.
Oh, Merlin! Bellatrix is babysitting Alexie and actually enjoys it! Not only that, she treats Alexie as her own son! WTF?! Even in canon Bellatrix was so cruel it was hard to imagine her being so… pleasant. Fate!Bellatrix is an insane monster, and for her to act so… nicely,,, it’s so bizarre. I share Voldemort’s bafflement at it. And in his place, I wouldn’t trusted Bella with taking care of the child, no matter how nicely she acts. Who knows what will switch in her head at any moment.

Also, funny how Voldemort is secretly jealous that he is not Bella’s center of attention for once. He even thinks that her loyalty must only be to him, and not even to her husband. Amusing that he does not put the same standard on Rodolphus. The eldest Lestrange brother do not love Bellatrix, that as much was clear from his POV. But he is loyal to her, and thinks it’s is duty to protect and taking care of her.

Rabastan come back, and he secured Lord Sokolov’s loyalty to the Dark Lord. The bastard was eager to join. Once again, Sokolov gives me the same vibes as Victor Burke, but one that grow up in wealth and power. The creep. And apparently he is very competent, first Volkov spoke highly of him, and now Rabastan is impressed. Denis is hyped to be a very big problem in the future, and I can’t wait to see what he has. But even more I want to see Ron getting his hands on him!

So by now, it’s three out of the Five that pledge their loyalty to Voldemort: Volkov, Dolohov and Sokolov. And Russian Ministry is mostly ruled by him too. Dark Lord takes control over Magical Russia way too quickly with way to little opposition – Luka’s assault at Volkov ended in failure on all fronts. At this rate, Voldemort will completely take over Magical Russia in a few more months. At least in Britain, it seems like his positions are getting weaker by the day.

Voldemort gave Rookwood a task to keep Russian Ministry “in line”, whatever this means. And he refused to clarify. That’s incredibly intriguing! Out of all loyalists, Rookwood is the most mysterious. Every other loyalist has some sort of specialty that makes them exceptional and dangerous. Bellatrix and Travers are mad attack dogs. Rodolphus is cold-blooded warrior. Dolohov is mad scientist, that invents and uses Dark Spells. Mulciber is a weapon of mass enslavement. Rabastan is a smart guy, a planner and an underworld master businessman. Augustus also technically has a specialty – he is a spy. But other than that, very little can be told about him. Surely, he is a good actor and master Occlumens, but this is it. How exactly he is going ”keep ministry in line”? He is an international criminal, wanted everywhere. He can’t infiltrate the Ministry unnoticed. Even if Samara serves Voldemort, she can’t openly tolerate Azkaban escapee in her Ministry. The only thing I can think of right now, is that Rookwood infiltrated Russian Ministry under someone else disguise, like Barty Jr in the original. So, he kidnaps some Ministry official, keeps him locked, and takes his hair for Polyjuice Potion. Or, maybe he uses Human Transfiguration, and created a completely new appearance and infiltrates the Ministry as a fake person.

How could Voldemort entrust Travers to secure loyalty from Lady Agapov is beyond me. Surely, Philip is powerful and dangerous wizard, and extremely so. But I would say he is completely unreliable at anything that don’t involve hurting people. Hell, even Voldemort himself starts to think that maybe he killed Lady Agapov. And sending Travers solo? Without anyone to supervise him? Not Voldemort’s best idea.

Review for chapter 158 part 3

The Unbreakable Oath was a little different in Fate than in the books, and it bind forty two people simultaneously. Well, at very least we can be sure no one in this circle betray anyone. That’s indeed a very drastic measure. I’m curious why Voldemort never bind his servants with Unbreakable Oath? To ensure their absolute loyalty and completely exclude the possibility of betrayal. Dumbledore reluctance to apply such dangerous magic is understandable, but not for Voldemort. It would be entirely in his character to force all of his servants to make the Oaths of eternal loyalty to him personally.

Turns out Emmeline Vance was in France all this time, visiting French Werewolves’ packs, and get onto Greyback’s trail. Fenrir seems to be in Magical France recruiting new werewolves into his army, and apparently has some success with the younger ones. French Ministry, despite being very accepting of Veelas and even a half-giant, is just as prejudice against the werewolves as British Ministry was until recently. Now, since French Ministry didn’t follow the trend of helping werewolves like Magical Britain and Magical Australia had began, maybe Ron and Lord Fawley can travel to France and offer to shelter French werewolves in Sanctuary? I mean, Fenrir won’t be able to make werewolf recruits, promising them better life for their services, if someone else (Ron) already providing werewolves the better life for free. I doubt French Ministry would be too opposed to the idea of getting rid off of all werewolves on their soil without looking bad, or spending a single Knut. Or at very least Ron through his contacts with French families can arrange similar werewolf Sanctuary at Magical France. Hell, maybe he can even convince Emilia to arrange it herself. No only it’ll save and improve lives of so many people, it’ll also decrease Voldemort’s capability to gather an army of werewolves.

I actually agree with Amelia, that Order members should not try to attack Greyback on their own in France. Paul Durand, French Head Auror, is already support their war against Voldemort and he won’t miss his chance to take out Fenrir. And he has the entire French Auror force to back him up. Much more combative force than Sturgis, Emmeline, Dedalus and Hestia can provide on their own. They also has the authority to act on French soil. If Emmeline can track down Greyback – good. Find him, and leave it to Durand to take him. Amelia’s option is simply a better one – more chance of succeeding, less chance of failure and negative consequences. Also, while the Order was created to act when and where the Ministry can’t or won’t, this situation is completely different. Both British and French Ministries are able and willing to act on this case. There is just no need to be stubborn about it.

Amelia choose wrong moment to throw her weight around. Instead of trying to argue her position as the most reasonable one and the most effective, she just made demands and threats. It seems that her newfound Auror manpower got into her head a bit too much. Though, in this particular case, I think Dedalus and Emmeline were unreasonably stubborn and uncompromising.

Moody’s claim that Aurors win war is just… for real, Alastor? What was the last war Aurors won? Was it the first wizarding war? No, it was Lily’s protection that stopped Voldemort. Was it Grindelwald global war that Aurors won? No, it was Dumbledore. Seriously, this clam was so objectively and obviously false, I’m surprised Moody made it. Also, I’m curious why he has become so much pro-Ministry? Until recently, he was firmly of the idea of doing the right thing, lawful or not. He himself was “playing hero” not so long ago, participating in illegal vigilante activities and even fought in a battle at Malfoy Manor. His switch to the Ministry seems weird. Does he believe in Amelia so much? Or is it guilt, because of Rufus’ death and a desire to honor him?

Even with Pure-Bloods leaving, Amelia’s group still conflicted with the core part of the Order. Turns out many in the Order are disliking Crouch. Not only Sirius for obvious reasons, but even Sprout openly criticized him. And ironically not because of his Death Eater son, but because of the brutality of his Aurors which he allowed during the first war. Even more ironic, that when Augusta taught Ron politics before the 3rd year, she was praising Crouch, despite what his son have done to her son. And now, they are in a direct confrontation. Also, Sprout showed some guts being this vocal in her opinion. And Harry once again showed his bias, comparing her to a Gryffindor. He was doing in with Tracey too, when she saved Ron. In his mind, Gryffindors has monopoly on courage and boldness, and everyone else are just not as good.

And again, instead of discussing strategy against Voldemort, the Amelia doubled down on establishing her authority over the Order in an attempt to subjugate it. Make sure they follow Magical Law, my arse. The very fact that she participate in this meeting is already breaking the Magical Law! And just like this, the conversation switched from constructive planning to power play between the Minister and the Order. Yeah, what an amazing productivity! I’m glad Ron didn’t participate in this circus now. He either be bored with their combined idiocy or outraged. What is even more frustrating is that I see good and bad points from the both sides, yet these adult people don’t have enough intellect to find a working compromise! It’s true that the Order is more flexible in their actions, exactly because they are not an official group that works with regulations. In a perfect world, the Ministry would have been efficient enough to provide all the needed security without the Order. But it’s not the perfect world, Ministry does not have this ability to provide security fully on their own, only partly. And they won’t be until the war ends, the reforms made and the country lick it wounds from the fighting. And until then, the Order would be more efficient working without regulations of the Ministry. There is also truth from the Ministry’s side – the Order is too sanctimonious and too reluctant to kill their enemies. It does not mean they should Crouch’ route and shed rivers of blood. Speaking of which, I hope Amelia will curb Crouch’s brutality. By all accounts British Aurors under him were extremely ruthless. Though, if we judge by their performance in Knockturn Alley, British Aurors are more reserved ones, compare to Russians and Americans.

Amelia’s final rant was infuriating. Accusing Dumbledore of inspiring the Butchers… what a non-sense! Albus never acted like this, and Ron’s levels of brutality and ruthlessness at Carrow party was closer to the Aurors, then Order members. “Everyone in this room has responsibility to the British Ministry”… wait, what? Since when? Government serves the people, not vice versa. By what right she declared Order members to be responsible for the Ministry? Especially Madame Maxime who is French citizen! “Are you going to do the right thing?” Damn, Amelia’s self-righteousness is pissing me off! She became so insufferable, since she take over the Ministry in her Auror coup. She even brought forward an ultimatum – either work under her, or their wands will destroyed after the war. I think she become too emboldened for her own good.

Amelia left the meeting with Moody and Crouch. So basically the only reason for her to even appear was for power play and putting forward ultimatums and threats. How quickly her diplomacy faded once she felt power. She didn’t even tried to negotiate with the Order, to make them see her point of view. At least she could have tried to convince them that despite recent events, the Ministry under her is going to be better, after her reforms are finished. Because he speeches didn’t made it obvious, and from the outside she did looked a textbook dictator turning tyrant, which is not exactly a good sign. What exactly she expected to happen? Order members are known to oppose Voldemort! Did she really expected to scare them into submission? She desperately needs a silver-tongue speaker, who would convey her ideas in less antagonistic way.

Amusingly, Amelia had the same idea as Ron – to unite the Ministry and the Order. Well, the majority Order members didn’t took well Amelia’s “suggestion”. Even Kingsley had a hard time justifying her. Snape summarized the situation the best and brought the best solution – not make Amelia and the Ministry their enemies, but keep necessary secrets from her. Snape correctly pointed out that Voldemort will find a way to infiltrate the Ministry and sabotage it. He already did – Pius is working for Yaxley, and he already successfully manipulate Amelia. And it was just Yaxley, what will happen when Mulciber will start mass Imperius Ministry workers? Or when Rookwood will be tasked with infiltration? Order is much safer in this regard.

At least Dumbledore decided to work in cooperation with Amelia on Greyback – Emmeline, Dedalus, Hestia and Sturgis will track him down and allow the Ministry to apprehend him. I fully agree with this course of action. Too bad Ron isn’t at the meeting right now, and can\t suggest to invite French werewolves into Sanctuary. And no one made this point for him. Not even Oscar Fawley.

Albus entrusted Hagrid to find the giants in the mountains. From canon we know there are no giants in Britain, and Hagrid have to travel overseas. It was also never mention precisely what mountains Hagrid had found the giants, but if I have to guess it were Ural Mountains or Carpathian Mountains. At least in canon Romania was mentioned. Interestingly that this time Dumbledore sent Hagrid alone, without Madame Maxime, and instructed not to approach them on his own, only find and let Dumbledore know. So I guess, after Hagrid will locate them, Dumbledore will approach them on his own. Maybe he’ll even take Ron with him. Also, how exactly Hagrid is going to travel? On Sirius’ old bike? Can he even apparate?

Sebastian is instructed to buy several more safehouses with Order’s new member named Jack Westenberg. Who is this guy and how he got in the Order? Also, poor Kurt. He didn’t volunteered to join the Order and had to make an Oath to ensure he’ll not reveal what he knows about the Order.

Sending Xeno into Russia to investigate Luka’s disappearance… I would not call that a good idea. Frankly speaking, Xeno is extremely unreliable fellow. How lived to his age is beyond me. He also already have been in Magical Russia in the past and has some contacts in place. Now, this is interesting.

Conclusion for the Order meeting. It was very exciting and entertaining! I love such secret councils, be it the Order, Death Eaters, Ron’s Alliance or some other faction. It’s always so interesting to have so many people with strong opinions and versatile views clash, and arguing back and forth! Sharing the ideas and reveal new things in these discussions. However, this meeting was mostly about power play between the Minister, Pure-Bloods and core members of the Order, which ultimately resulted in them being divided. No doubt Voldemort or Yaxley will capitalize on their conflict. Both Corban and the Dark Lord are intelligent enough to figure out that Pure-Bloods are not happy with Amelia’s politics and will resist her. There are going to be so many opportunities for them to take advantage off. But they made very little progress to actually discuss Voldemort and how to hinder his forces. Basically, they only decided to track Greyback in France and Hagrid is tasked to find giants. Yeah, super productive. I start to see sense in Moody’s idea to make a structured chain of command within the Order.

Harry’s perception on the meeting was so… childish. He don’t like something, therefore it’s bad. Not even a single attempt of considering that he may be wrong, and the point he does not like actually have some sense.

Remus and Harry talk after the meeting. I share Harry’s disappointment with the Order’s meeting. Oh, don’t get me wrong – it was extremely excited and I absolutely enjoyed all the drama that occurred, the intrigue and power play. That was fantastic! As a reader I fully enjoyed the scene! It was so great, I didn’t even noticed that half of the chapter is already done! However, despite the delicious drama, very little was discussed about actual fighting against Voldemort. Almost not progress was made.

Dumbledore’s new safety measure with Unbreakable Oath surprised many Order members, including Remus. Though, he does agree it’s for the best. If similar precautions were made during the First war, Peter would not even had a chance to betray Potters. I’m also convinced that Potters were not the only victims of Pettigrew. Yes, he was their Secret Keeper and directly sold them to Voldemort, but before that he was an Order member for years, and he obviously knew other order members, since he have meet them when they made group photo. So he most likely was leaking their identities to Voldemort, and he sent his Death Eaters to eliminate them.

Review for chapter 158 part 2

Dumbledore greets everyone and happily claims that this time Order’s numbers are greater than ever. Amazing how so many Order members are there thanks to Ron. Greengrass family, Davis family, Fawley family, Triumvirate girls, Madame Maxime. And it’s not to mention that Sirius was freed thanks to Ron and French families that are not present at the meeting. Ron’s contribution to the Order is immense.

This time, not only Order members and Ministry officials were invited, but also Pure-Blood families from Ron’s alliance – Fawleys, Longbottoms, Prewetts, Abbots and McMillans. And of course, they are not pleased with Dumbledore’s decision to let Amelia had her way with Wizengamot. Muriel rude as always, and completely lacks any tact. She even calls Dumbledore a coward. Not a wise move on her part to insult the most powerful wizard in the world, especially among his closest allies. How as shot-sighted as her retained her wealth and power for so long? Muriel also insulted both Andromeda and Nymphadora, using outright Blood-Supremacists’ rhetoric. What the hell? I’m with Sirius here – it was completely unacceptable! At this moment she sound barely better than any Death Eater! Even Lord Fawley threatened to leave the Order, if Dumbledore won’t help him, and withdraw his family recourses! Didn’t expected that from him! He always seemed to be one of the most noble and benevolent members of Ron’s Alliance, who genuinely cares for well-being of people, and not just public image. Even Sirius called him out, and that’s says something, if Sirius has more sense than you! How, I can see why Dumbledore didn’t invited Fawleys into the Order during the First War. He actually has a keen insight into people’s character, that old man Dumbledore. He probably saw it even back then, that Fawley and other are a little less then fully benevolent for the Order standards. Though, Entity’s vision made him more desperate and now Albus is less picky with his methods to save the world from Voldemort, knowing what is on the line.

While I share Harry’s anger at Muriel and Augusta’s selfishness in this situation, I wouldn’t be so hurry to expel them from the Order. While their characters are to be desired, they are still power and wealthy witches and potentially can be a great contribution in a fight against Voldemort. It’s not wise to disregard them so casually, something Harry has yet to learn. Also, it’s a petty that so much power is wielded by such people. It’s remarkable that Slytherin Pure-Bloods (Greengrass, Davis, Selwyn) in this situation act more reasonable then Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Pure-Bloods. Of course, Sebastian would probably just as furious, if he himself was expelled from Wizengamot in such disrespectful way, and probably would have even deeper grudge against Bones for that. Luckily, he was not a member of Wizengamot and not even care to be one.

Amelia, Moody and Crouch entered the meeting. Madam Roberts and Gawain Robards were left on the duty, it seems. Make sense – they couldn’t have brought every Auror of note here, leaving Magical Britain without supervision. Well, technically, they could have entrusted that to Americans, but it wouldn’t have been a wise move.

The pure-bloods reactions at Amelia’s appearance was amusing – they behaved like petulant children throwing insult and threats, while Dumbledore massaged his temples trying to figure out how to manage them. Bones was no better, though, calling them “pets”. Seriously? That was so petty.

The Order meeting quickly turned into political wrestle between the Pure-Bloods and Ministry Officials.

Muriel completely lost her marbles threatening to kill the Minster to her face. What the hell? Muriel always was a bitch, but at this moment she was not better than any Death Eater. Not to mention how stupid it was to make a direct threat right into her face. Even Dumbledore was stunned by this. Ron was pointed out at Bulgarian Gala how Pure-Bloods feel themselves untouchable. It seems Muriel has this delusion too.

Amelia was so badass at this scene! Her declaration that she does not care of their ancestors achievements, because it’s not theirs! So cold and based! It feels that she put up with her frustration for a very long time and finally has an opportunity to say what she thinks! I like how she called out the Pure-Bloods that they have enough wealth to solve most of the Magical Britain’s problems and don’t do anything unless it benefits them. Damn, she spilling facts without holding anything back! Awesome! I don’t agree with everything Amelia does, but without a doubt she has a point about Pure-Bloods selfishness. Though, I still think Fawley do not deserve such treatment. Out of all Brititsh Lords he was the most active and most benevolent in his charity. He did put his wealth in movement to solve British problems, with no direct profit in sight.

Amelia is doing right thing expelling Pure-Bloods from Government positions, and tax policies she is putting forward are going to end Ministry’s dependency in Pure-Bloods charity. This is however will create another problem in the future – Oligarchy. Right now, the majority of British wealth is concentrated at hands of the Pure-Bloods, that are not being taxed. Pure-Bloods upkeep the Ministry and other social projects with their “charity”, keeping their image of benevolent benefactors, while in reality hold the economical control of the country. Once they’ll began being taxed, the Ministry will hold the largest part of country’s finances under their control. And with such astronomical sums of money, some of the more cunning and opportunistic Ministry Officials will climb the ranks and take advantage to launder money. Like giving Ministry’s financial grant to some friend of the family, paying them twice more money than needed, and then receiving some expensive “gifts” from friends of the first friend with the grant. On fully “legal” bases. Ironically enough, I think Slytherins ones again will be the majority of these people, but this time they’ll be not pure-bloods, but ambitious half-bloods. Of course, with Amelia on a warpath against the corruption, we can expect that money launder and the raise of the Oligarchy won’t happen under her tenure. But she won’t be in charge forever. Hell, even now Pius from her administration is already under Imperius Curse and working for the Death Eaters! Bad people will always exist, and cunning opportunists too. One way or another they will find their way into the Ministry to spread the corruption. Well, so far the perfect system hasn’t yet been invented, and with all possible disadvantages, Amelia’s system is more preferable then the current one. It is an improvement, even if there will be major problems down the line.

And the Pure-Bloods resorted to good old blackmail against Bones – they threatened to stop their businesses and stop paying salaries for the workers. I’m so disgusted it was Augusta who suggested it. Before this situation, she was always presented as smart, level-headed, reasonable and fairly noble and benevolent. She surely had a fair share of major flaws, but all things considered she was a presented as a good person. And now, she is going to use such underhanded, such despicable methods just to get back some of her power, make innocent people suffer for her privileges… I honestly didn’t saw it coming from her. I was expected something like this from Muriel, but Lady Prewett stood even lower with her own threats and insults. I can’t even describe how disappointed I’m in them.

Amelia’s response was barely better, if not worse. Yes, she correctly pointed out that Pure-Bloods making such threats – and having the ability to follow through them – which would lead to suffering of countless innocent people, is exactly the reason she’s fighting against them and wrestling their power over the country. They do not help people’s best interests at heart. That being said, Amelia is ready to fully embrace the methods American Aurors and actually kill these who opposes her. She also shed the light how American Aurors dealt with Pure-Bloods in their homeland. They just slaughtered them, and emptied their vaults with brute force of violence. Judging by Amelia’s description, they were just as brutal as “Butcher of Birmingham”, slaughtering entire families. Hell, they were even more brutal by murdering children! That’s extremely baffling to me! To lay down “the law” in such savage way…. If I understand it correctly, American Aurors actions are publically known, right? How the hell, American witches and wizards accepted it? How foreign witches and wizards continue to have ties with MACUSA after something like this? How Magical America was not orchestrated? I mean, their government openly employed methods even more brutal and savage then the Butchers. That’s mind-blowing! Now, I understand why Ron was so adamant to put them all down, once Voldemort is dealt with. They murder over a hundred innocent children! They are not so far away from Death Eaters, truth to be told. And some of these pricks like Auror Leonard, even had the gall to be disgusted by Ron’s purge of Pure-Bloods at Carrow party. The audacity! The hypocrisy!

And no only that. Amelia claims that Pure-Bloods don’t care about the people that they want to rule, which is true. But she herself admitted she’s willing to oppress her own people to wrestle power from the Pure-Bloods to fix their (citizens) lives after she wins. That’s textbook tyranny, the benevolent ends justify immoral means. I’m also, frustrated that she equates herself with the Ministry itself. Feels awful lot like Umbridge. Dolores too liked to equate herself with the Ministry. The Pure-Bloods do not challenge the Ministry, they are challenging her personally. Amelia is the most highly-ranked official of the ministry not it’s owner.

Albus trying to make sense, that it’s futile to fight between themselves, when Voldemort is already seizing control over Magical Russia. It seems like they do not understand the full scale of the Dark Lord’s threat. They still think that Voldemort is just lightly worse than Grindelwald, when in actuality this madman is going to end the whole world. Too bad Dumbledore cannot show them Golden Memory. Or could he? I mean, it would be reckless to reveal it to everyone in the Order, but he can at least show it to Amelia, as she is the Minister. Ron already showed the truth to High Mother, Jeremiah and Heitor. He can as well permanently get Amelia Bones at his side. Though, showing it to Order’s Pure Blood Lords would not be wise. Frankly speaking, they didn’t proved themselves to be particularly reliable.

Harry was so… lame when he was asked what he thinks about it all. Like, yes he technically said the same thing that Dumbledore was telling – stopping Voldemort is the priority. But his reasoning was so childish for it. “I don’t care for these things, so they are not important”. Hermione, or even Nevillie for that matter, would have saw a bigger picture in all this. Yes, Voldemort most definitely should be the top priority. But leaving current conflict in their ranks unresolved is a recipt for future problems. Problems on the national scale at very least. And it seems like some form of confrontation IS going to happen, as Augusta, Muriel, Abbots and Macmillans left the meeting without swearing the oaths. They are fully ready to go to civil war for their privileges! And this is happening at the time of Voldemort’s new uprising! Insane! I can understand their anger at Bones. I can even understand them plotting to get back their privileges back at some point in the future. Even trying to bring her down, maybe even assassinate her – WHEN THE WAR IS OVER – it can be understandable. Not that I would approve, but their resistance to Bones’ regime after the war could be understandable. But openly confronted her and cut ties with the Order during the war against Voldemort... this is madness! Even fully united, they at best evenly matched with Voldemort’s forces, if not disadvantaged. But acting on their lonesome… how Augusta, Muriel, Abbots and Macmillans are hoping to survive the war on their own, let alone win it?

At very least Adam Fawley was able to convince his parents to stay with the Order in this situation. He seems to better understand Voldemort’s threat and the necessity to unite against it. I also amused by Oscar’s remark at Dumbledore, that he only summoned them to get their aid against Voldemort, and not have their personal interest at heart. Well… yeah, that’s the point of the Order of the Phoenix – to defeat Voldemort and save the world. There were no more than that, despite everything Fawley and others imagined Dumbledore is owed them. If they want an alliance, they have Ron. Though, by now he too is not enthusiastic to help his allies, only using them for his own goals and war effort.

Funny how Amelia was somewhat reluctant to allow Harry to participate in Unbreakable Oath, because he is so young. But ultimately agree Harry is a special case. Yet she fully expected Ron to be present at the meeting and questioned Dumbledore why Ron is not here, when so many people connected to him are present. And I have to say, Amelia did nailed it right into the head when she pointed out Ron IS Dumbledore’s protégé and Albus purposely didn’t brought him into the meeting for Ron to avoid being bind by Unbreakable Oath and has freedom to operate covertly. Funny how she figured it out all correctly, but majority of the Order were actually skeptical of her claims. I wonder what was Moody thought at this moment, since Albus recently informed him of Ron’s involvement with the Order? He definitely didn’t shared the details of his conversation with Bones, and now he witnesses how she pointed out exactly what Dumbledore was telling him – many of the Order members were brought here by Ron, which means he was strengthening the Order all this time. Also, while majority of members were skeptical of Amelia’s accusations, I think Sirius, Bill and Sturgis took note of it. They have some suspicions about Ron for a sometime already. Also, I think Aberforth started to question Albus not out of reasonable suspicion, like Amelia herself, but because his bitterness at his brother.

Dumbledore, brilliant as always, a silver-tongue devil, skillfully talked his way out of Amelia’s question. He also correctly pointed out that Gawain is not here to make an Oath too. Somehow, he forgot to mention that Jane Roberts is missing as well. It’s a very far fetched prediction, but I think that maybe, because Jane is not bound by the Oath, she may join Ron’s shadow company/the butchers in the future. Yes, for someone who believes so much in the law it’s unlikely. But somehow, I have a feeling there will be some fallout between her and the Ministry and she might lose her faith in the institution and do what is right, despite what the law says. Okay, a little bit to fantastic, but still, I think there is a possibility.