Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Behind the Fog (Backup Upload) ❯ Behind the Fog (Backup Upload) 20th Chapter ( Chapter 20 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Anything you recognize is property of JK Rowling. Additionally this is not my story. I am uploading this to my own account in support of the author the story belongs to who has been struggling with hackers.

The thing I've most been dreading as a fan is that the story would be removed from the site by the hackers and the author wouldn't have access to their old chapters when the situation was eventually brought under control in the event the site moderators wouldn't be able to give the author their account back.

For anyone interested the author goes by Hancock23 on Fanfiction -dot- net. I will remove the story from my account when Hancock23 has gotten the story safely uploaded elsewhere or has been safely given their account back on Fanfiction -dot- net. Without further ado I give you a backup upload of: Behind the Fog by Hancock23.

PS: This Backup Upload contains minor edits for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Plus some rewording/restructuring of sentences so they make better sense and flow better. Hope you don't mind me becoming something of a Beta Reader for this Backup Upload Hancock23.

Chapter Twenty - The Grey Faction

Three days had passed since the disastrous meeting with the Order in Dumbledore's office and since then, Draco had taken the time to think about everything that had been said and he had come to a decision. More than ever, he was convinced that the Grey Faction he had jokingly started was necessary in the current Wizarding World, but before he made any plans, he had to make sure that everyone involved with him understood what they were getting themselves into. It wasn't fair to allow them to associate with him without knowing all the harsh truths and because he could not speak to them directly, he decided to write a letter.

Dear friend,
I hope this letter finds you well.
Most of you do not know me very well, but for some reason or other, you have decided to put your faith in me and in return, I want to put some faith in you. I cannot speak to each of you privately without attracting undue attention, especially now that I am unable to be away from Potter for further than a few feet; so this letter will have to do for now. Before you read more, I must tell you that this parchment is enchanted so that you cannot reveal anything written in here even if you decide to leave the faction after reading the entirety of this letter.
Many things have been said about me in the past months, and I do not plan to go into detail about any of them, but I want to make at least one thing clear I am not Voldemort's lover.
The details of how the rumour came to be are unimportant, and even I have not bothered to pursue that avenue. What is important is that I do not plan to aid any existing side of this war.
From the life I have lived, none of the existing sides have been kind to me and when several people expressed their interest in a grey faction, I realised that not everyone in this Wizarding World wants to be involved in this war.
To be truthful, the Grey Faction was meant to be a sarcastic joke when I first mentioned it, but I have come to the conclusion that I am in a unique position to aid those who are not keen on fighting for either side in this war.
I have a plan, but before you read further, I must caution that involving yourself with me will be very dangerous.
If I am lucky to escape death by the end of this war, I will be taken in front of the Wizengamot, and be charged with crimes against nature. It is probable that my friends and acquaintances will be charged as accomplices and Azkaban will be the least of your worries.
I may not seem like it, but I am a person with no world to exist in. I have no place on the dark side and none on the light side either; I can't accept such a limbo existence, and I want to do something about it. I have the brains to change things, and as the owner of Dragon World, I am acquiring the resources to do it too.
I want to change this world that won't accept people like me for who think that light and dark are not synonymous with good and evil for the better; I want to change this world that won't accept vampires, werewolves, and other magical creatures, solely because they are different; I want a world where the Daily Prophet doesn't destroy peoples lives with no fear of censure.
I want a Ministry of Magic that does not appoint people like Dolores Umbridge, who used blood quills to punish students in Hogwarts.
A world where due process is followed when appointing teachers, or sentencing people to Azkaban.
I want a Ministry of Magic that is not swayed by the word of one person at the expense of everyone else, and I want everyone to be judged by their own merit rather than by who their parents are, and what genetic make-up they have.
Doing any one of these things is not easy, and it requires a lot of work to gain the power to change things.
Yet I am still asking you, to put your trust in me; and promising you I will do all I can to change things with your aid and the assistance of others. Making Dragon World indispensable to the Wizarding World is the first step to gaining the power to make a difference.
I am asking you to work for honest pay and to correct me when you think I have steered you wrong. In turn, I will do all I can to make sure Wizarding England is a place where people can live honestly and fairly.
Until that time, I can promise refuge and protection to anyone who finds themselves in trouble.

Please think everything through and only accept when you are sure you will be able to handle the difficulties that are sure to follow. When you are ready with an answer, call out, 'Biddy,' and a house-elf will come for your reply.

Sincerely,
Draco Malfoy.

Draco called Aristotle when he had the nine letters in an envelope, and watched as the bird took flight. There was no going back now, he would either sink or swim, but if they decided to trust him, Draco was going to show them a world that they had only dreamt of. There had been many people in the past who had dared to design entire nations, some had failed while others had succeeded, but failure was not an option for Draco, not when he had already dragged so many people into the plot.

The first person to receive the letter was Luna Lovegood and she smiled when she finished reading the letter, she had no need for more thought because she had already made her decision even before she was asked. She wrote her reply right away and sat back down to think about what she had learnt; she really should have connected Dragon World to Draco Malfoy, some Ravenclaw she was!

Blaise and Pansy also replied the moment they received their letters. The world was really no concern of theirs, but Draco was the most important person to them, they would follow him to hell even if they knew they would not be able to make it back.

Severus received his invitation next. He was not a man of such grand ambitions, but he did not need to think much about it. He had failed Draco all his life, never even had a chance to find out what type of man his godson was; he was determined to stand by him this time around even if the rest of the world stood against them.

Slater received his next. There had been so many politicians before who promised such grand things for his race, and yet the vampires still remained in the dark, feared and hated by the rest of the wizarding world. Yet, he believed this human child. Deciding to talk to his clan about it, he waited for the sun to go down before he made his way in the shadows to where his family was hiding out. It would take a while to come to an agreement.

Balthazar waited until he was alone to open his letter and like every other Unspeakable, he was drawn by mysteries. If he followed the Malfoy child, he would have a first-row seat when all the spells, potions, and products were released to the world. He called Biddy to deliver his acceptance right away.

Marina was also an easy one. Strictly speaking, she was not English, but Draco had not steered her wrong once. She had more work than she could have imagined and her services were so well appreciated. Most important of all, she trusted him. Because she was a solicitor, she decided to wait a few days before giving her reply in case she changed her mind for whatever reason.

Edgecomb was a History Scholar, and while she would have liked to say that politics had nothing to do with her, she was excited to be in the middle of it. What honour to be among the makers of history! She wanted to try it, and she wrote so in her reply. Her reply was the longest of the lot, talking about the Korean Joseon Era that lasted five hundred years after being designed by Jung du Jung there had been a lot of wrong with the Joseon, but the groundwork had been very impressive. Draco smiled when he read her lengthy reply.

Bill was the most conflicted when he received the letter. He wanted to help Draco; he was truly excited about it even, but what of his family? It's not like the Grey Faction was working against the light or the dark, but they would see this as a betrayal nonetheless. Arthur Weasley must have seen the indecision in his son and without knowing what was wrong, he had told him to follow his heart and everything else would fall into place. Bill had immediately sent his acceptance with Biddy.

Slater was the last. His clan had argued and thought everything through, but eventually, they had agreed and sent a reply with Biddy. The vampire clan of twelve were the first to request work and refuge, and Draco rose to the occasion immediately. He instructed Marina to open the newly bought Dragon castle to them, and the group began working in the castle right away. They were living in one of the outbuildings, and Draco had asked them to build a few more in anticipation of others who would need a place to stay. They had also started work on the potion gardens. All in all, Draco was happy now that he had allies and he was itching to work on the idea that had occurred to him.

Uploader's Note: This Has Been A Backup Upload of Chapter 20 of Behind the Fog by Hancock23.