Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Behind the Fog (Backup Upload) ❯ Behind the Fog (Backup Upload) 34th Chapter ( Chapter 34 )

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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.

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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 34 - Across All Fronts

Severus had never been a fidgety kind of person, but he now found himself fighting a losing battle against the urge to fidget himself into a more comfortable position than his current one. He and twelve others were kneeling in a circle on a floor that clearly had not been designed for kneeling and he could already feel the tears on his skin where the sharp stones were digging into his knee caps. It had been a long time since the dark lord had called such a formal meeting, and if Severus pushed himself to ignore the pain in his knees; the bone-chilling cold that dug into his spine, and the all-consuming darkness that the four wall torches could not relieve, he could admit to being curious.

He had been in the potions lab at Dragon Castle when the mark on his left arm had begun to burn, and after saying a quick goodbye to Draco; and sending a Patronus to Dumbledore to inform him of the situation, he had apparated right away to the dark lord's side. To his surprise, he arrived within the wards of Gaunt manor and to his farther shock, he noticed that the other death eaters who had arrived before him; had their death eater robes and white face masks on. It was not normal to stand on so much ceremony over a meeting, so he concluded that there was something different about this one; and he quickly transfigured his day robes to match those of the others.

Once that was done and his face was hidden under the death eater mask, Severus allowed his eyes to take in the room that he was in. He could see water seeping through the walls, which made him realise that he was in a dungeon room, but there was nothing else to occupy his interest; so he switched his attention to the other death eaters. He counted twelve people, including himself, which made him realise that those gathered were the dark lord's inner circle; and that peaked his interest even more. Under their robes and masks, Severus could make out Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan Lestrange; Alecto and Amycus Carrow, Peter Pettigrew, Antonin Dolohov, Thorfinn Rowle, and Corban Yaxley; but no matter how he tried, he could not figure out who the eleventh death eater was.

Although no one was talking, all the death eaters stood around in little groups as they waited for their master to arrive, but that was not the case with the death eater that Severus had noticed. He stood away from everyone else and there was an air about him that discouraged anyone from getting closer. Having been in the dark lord's inner circle since the first war, Severus had learnt to trust his instincts and they were now telling him to stay as far away from that particular death eater as he could. There was something very cold and menacing about him, and before Severus could think about it further; the dark lord walked into the room and they all fell down to their knees in a circle with Voldemort in the center. All the death eaters eyes were cast to the floor; and they did not see the smirk that appeared on Voldemort's face, as he looked at them with disdain.

"All those gathered here, are my most loyal and trusted death eaters." The dark lord said, after what felt like a lifetime to Severus. His knees were screaming in pain, but he knew that attempting to find a better position for his knees; would only attract attention, so he persevered and willed the dark lord to talk faster.

"I expect that all of you are aware, of the changes that will happen at Hogwarts after the Easter Holidays?" He asked, although he did not require an answer from any of them. They were expected to always know what was going on with his enemies, so he imagined that they already knew that Hogwarts would play host to representative students from magical schools all over the world in less than two weeks.

"What you may not know is the reason behind the move." The dark lord informed; and although nobody said a word, there was a noticeable change in the room's atmosphere.

The heightened anticipation among the death eaters was almost palpable, and even Severus was not immune to it. He knew that Dumbledore had been hiding things from him with regards to why the foreign students were coming to Hogwarts; and if Dumbledore wouldn't tell him the truth, then he would take the information from wherever he could, including the dark lord.

"The old fool and the International Confederation of Wizards have tried to conceal the truth from us, but we have ears in all corners of the world." Voldemort said superiorly, not bothering to share exactly how he had come across the information he was about to impart on them.

After his loyal death eater at the Ministry had informed him about the meeting on the fifth floor, they had tracked down one of the foreign dignitaries who had attended the meeting; and a few well aimed spells had quickly had the man spilling everything that had been discussed.

"You may have heard of the World Divination Orb," The dark lord said, and there was a collective gasp at his words; since all the gathered death eaters in the group had at one time or another come across mention of the World Divination Orb.

"The orb has divined that strong world changing magic is gathering in England, and the Confederation thinks that it is because of Harry Potter." Voldemort finished with a derisive laugh, which was echoed by the unknown death eater that Severus had noticed.

"I assume they are mistaken my lord?" Bellatrix Lestrange asked bravely, and it spoke to the mood that Voldemort was in; that he did not curse her to within an inch of her life for speaking without his permission.

Rather than answer her right away, Voldemort grinned, and none of the death eaters would have been able to refrain from recoiling in fear; had they been looking at their lord in that moment. His grinning face was even more menacing than his usual face, but that was as it should be; because his happiness would never imply something good for the wizarding world, and this time was no exception. Voldemort would never admit it to anyone, but for a time, he had been afraid. He had allowed his discovery of the fact that Draco Malfoy was the owner of Dragon World, to still his plans, but that would be the case no more.

Things were finally looking up for him, and when the time was right, Draco Malfoy would be his; and through him, the dark lord would not only acquire the most brilliant mind ever to be gifted to wizard kind, but also Harry Potter's all elemental powers. The old fools who sat in the International Confederation of Wizards meeting, were not wrong in thinking that Harry Potter had something to do with the magic that was gathering in England; but they were wrong in thinking that the boy would be the one who would wield it. It had begun as an impossible idea, but Voldemort now had a plan that would bring the Wizarding World to its knees before the end of the year. Feeling the curiosity among his death eaters, Voldemort decided to answer the question that Bellatrix Lestrange had raised.

"Yes, they are wrong. Raise your heads." He ordered, and the death eaters raised their heads; and peered at him through the eye holes in their masks.

"I am calling off all attempts to bring Draco Malfoy into my care for the time being. No one is to interfere or harm him until I say so." Voldemort said coldly, and all those gathered knew the consequences of disobeying that particular order. All the death eaters had been curious about the report in the Prophet about Draco Malfoy and their lord, but none of them had the courage to question their master. After pausing for a moment to make sure that everyone understood, Voldemort turned his attention to Severus; and the Potions Master almost recoiled from the threat in the red snake eyes.

"Severus, I am aware that Dumbledore and his Order are bidding their time, and will not hesitate to kill the boy."

"Yes, my lord." Snape answered, although the dark lord's statement was technically not a question. "Draco Malfoy only lives, because they are unsure how his death will affect the Potter boy."
"I thought as much." Voldemort said. "You are to make sure that he does not come to harm, and protect him with your life if it comes down to that."
"Understood my lord." Severus answered, and he found no difficulty in agreeing with the dark lord in the matter.

He had no intention of letting anything happen to Draco, but even as he agreed, he wondered what had brought on this sudden change in the dark lord. It was bizarre and more frightening than the murderous rages that Voldemort often went into whenever he did not get his way.

"Good." The dark lord said almost cordially, and then turned to the unknown death eater. "Make sure that everything is in place for when we take over."

"As you wish, my lord." A cold voice answered from within the mask, and even after they were dismissed; Severus could still hear it in his head. He needed to find out who that death eater was, and what exactly his orders were, but for now; he had an Order of the Phoenix meeting to get to.

"Do you have anything to report?" Albus Dumbledore asked, drawing Severus from his thoughts of the bizarre meeting he had just had with the dark lord.

Bringing his mind to the present, the Potions Master tried to rearrange his thoughts, deciding what he should report and what he would not. One thing was sure though, there was no way he could let Dumbledore know, that Voldemort now wanted Draco protected rather than captured. That would only encourage the old man and the Order to take drastic actions against Draco, and that could not be allowed to happen. Sighing, he directed sharp eyes to the headmaster; intending to get answers that had long been denied him.

"The dark lord knows everything that was said and done during the International Confederation of Wizards meeting a few weeks ago." Severus said, and he did not miss the quickly concealed panic that crossed Dumbledore's face at his words. Other than what the dark lord had disclosed, Severus did not know much more; and he was about to make an inquiry, but Harry beat him to it.

"Isn't it about time you told us, exactly what it is that's happening?" There was an edge of stubbornness in Harry's eyes and tone of voice, that suggested he would not be satisfied by anything other than the truth.

"All will be revealed in good time my dear boy." Dumbledore said, and Harry could barely manage to hold in the urge to snap at the man. He knew that whatever was going on had something to do with him; and he hated that Dumbledore got to choose what was relevant for him to know, when he would be the one to face the consequences of ignorance.

"I beg to differ." Frank Longbottom said, as he looked straight at Dumbledore. Now that they were fully recovered, he and his wife had fully re-joined the Order; and it had become apparent over the weeks, that Dumbledore was still making the same mistakes he had made over a decade ago. Because of the mistakes Dumbledore had made, the Potters were dead; and he and Alice had lost fifteen years of their lives. He would be damned if he allowed another tragedy to happen, just because of Dumbledore's desire to keep secrets.

"We are at war headmaster." Frank continued with a hard tone. "The more information we have, the better we can plan our defences and attacks."

"I must agree with Longbottom," Severus weighed in, and hoping to get more people curious about what Dumbledore was hiding, he continued. "The dark lord has already made plans with regard to the divination."

"What are his plans?" Dumbledore asked urgently.

"No one knows anything yet, but he implied that plans are underway." Severus answered, opting not to say much of what the dark lord had said and done during the meeting.

He had no idea what the dark lord intended to do with Draco, but whatever it was, he did not think that the Order's counter move; would produce any better results for his godson. Severus did not trust Dumbledore, and steeling his resolve, he decided to find a private moment with Harry; and let the boy know what was going on. If Draco was right about Potter, and Severus was inclined to think that he was; then Harry Potter would do everything in his power to make sure that no harm came to Draco.

"I see." Dumbledore said, and he did see; more than he was letting on.

He and Voldemort were remarkably alike, and because of that, he knew exactly what Tom was planning with the information he had on hand. In the end the best move that could be made was the same for both of them. Before he could go off on his thoughts more, Dumbledore was drawn back to the present by Harry; who had no intention of letting the subject drop.

"What divination is Professor Snape referring to?" The boy asked, afraid that another prophecy had been made about him. He truly hoped that he was not the subject of another prophecy; because he planned to live his life the way he wanted rather than allowing a prophecy to dictate his future actions.

Sighing as he looked around the room, Dumbledore realized that he would not be able to just brush everything off like he was used to. Many of the Order were looking at him in expectation; and it occurred to him that maybe it would be for the best, to tell them some of the truth.

"What I am about to tell you, should not leave this room under any circumstances." The headmaster said, as he cast his eyes around the room.

Like the dark lord, he had also only allowed the inner most members of the Order to attend this particular meeting; and he hoped that none of them would speak any of what he told them even to other Order members. Once he saw everyone nod in agreement to his request, he began.

"All of you have had your basic divination training, so I will not go into detail about the many types of orbs that seers use to foresee the future." Once again, he looked around the room to ascertain that everyone agreed with his statement; and when he saw that they all did, he continued. "The common thing about the different orbs is that they are only capable of predicting the future of a single person or thing. However, the divination that Professor Snape mentioned, was made by a special kind of orb. One that is capable of predicting not only the future of a singular entity, but that of the world as a whole."

Dumbledore waited for everyone to absorb the information he was telling them, and he was not surprised to see that most of the purebloods in the Order; already had an inkling of what he was speaking about.

"Are you implying that the World Divination Orb has awakened?" Sirius Black asked with an uncharacteristic serious face.

"Yes." Dumbledore confirmed.

"Why have we never heard of this World Divination Orb?" Hermione asked in excitement. There was nothing like learning new things,  and although she had always maintained that divination was a sham subject that should be excluded from the Hogwarts curriculum, the fact that the English Community of the Wizarding World was caught up in a war whom's conclusion was riding on a prophecy kept her open to the fact it might prove itself a worthwhile subject eventually.

"I am not surprised that you have not heard of it." Dumbledore said kindly. "The orb is secretly kept in the headquarters of the International Confederation of Wizards and is only ever mentioned when a significant divination comes into play."

"That'd mean an important divination has been made recently, wouldn't it?" Remus Lupin asked, as he looked at the headmaster curiously; who in turn gave him a strained smile before answering.

"Yes, something like that." Dumbledore said, and when he noted the unabated curiosity in the room, he continued. "What this particular divination orb does, is predict the appearance of strong magic that is likely to cause events that define important milestones for the Wizarding World."

"What does that even mean?" Harry asked in confusion.
"Harry, do you remember who Nicholas Flamel is?" Dumbledore asked.
"Isn't he the wizard who created the Philosopher's Stone?" Ron enquired, although it was not really a question. There is no way he could forget the events of their first year at Hogwarts.

"Yes." Dumbledore confirmed. "By creating the Philosopher's Stone centuries ago, Nicholas Flamel found a path to immortality; and although no one has managed to recreate it since then, it remains a fact that there is a way for wizardkind to live well beyond their natural lifespan."

"Professor, do you mean to tell us that the divination orb predicted the creation of the Philosopher's Stone?" Hermione asked.
"Exactly." Dumbledore confirmed. "It shone bronze, then."
"Bronze?" Ron asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Yes." Dumbledore repeated. "Rather than predict a set of events, the World Divination Orb shows the nature and location of magic that will cause the event. Depending on the strength and potential effect of the magic, the orb shines a different colour."

The old man took a minute to pop a lemon drop in his mouth before he continued with his revelation. "It shines bronze when the magic is likely to affect people at an individual level. If you take the Philosopher's Stone, as an example, the stone is incredibly difficult to make; and as such, it only affects the one who makes it; and the ones he chooses to share the elixir of life with."

"That makes sense." Harry commented, and waited for the headmaster to continue.

"The orb shines silver when the detected magic will affect an entire region, like it did right before the founders made Hogwarts. Finally, it shines gold; when the detected magic is likely to affect the entire world."

"Which was it this time and where?" Severus asked, catching on faster than most in the room.
"It shone gold, and it showed the location to be England." Dumbledore finally said after a moment's pause.
"Could it be because of the war?" Alice Longbottom asked, and the others in the room nodded in acceptance of her theory.

"It could be." Dumbledore said. "However, there have been many wars over the centuries; and the orb has never glowed because of one. Granted that Voldemort is worse than most of dark lords that have risen over time, but there could be something else."

As Dumbledore said this, the members of The Grey Faction were hard pressed not to look at each other in inquiry. Severus, Bill, and Remus knew what Draco was capable of and unlike most of the others in the room; who immediately assumed that the magic had everything to do with Harry, they had a niggling suspicion that it was because of Draco that the World Divination Orb had glowed gold. In a matter of months, Draco had come up with solutions that had evaded wizardkind since the beginning of time, and he still had more in store.

"Is that why we are hosting foreign students?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"Yes." Dumbledore said, and took a moment to frown in what appeared to be annoyance. "None of the Confederation members want to be caught by surprise by whatever the world changing magic is. Without going into excruciating detail, it was decided that elite students from all the major magic schools in the world would be stationed at Hogwarts to observe."

"Observe me, you mean?" Harry asked, with a scowl marring his face.

"Yes, my dear boy; they will be here to observe you." Dumbledore confirmed. "I assume that the countries will be sending other spies into Voldemort's group, and other locations in the country as well."

Everyone fell into thought after that and eventually, Dumbledore cautioned them again about remaining vigilant; and then dismissed them for the evening.

Separately, the members of The Grey Faction made their way to Dragon Castle after that; where yet another meeting was scheduled for the evening.

"This is the first time we hold a meeting with all of us in one room; and although I would like us to get better acquainted first, there is much to be discussed and little time to do so." Draco said, with a voice full of regret; but none of the Grey Faction members seemed to mind so he went on. "I will give the floor to Miss Vaughn Clark, who has been working towards finding a way for Mr Edwin Berkley to be reinstated in the Wizengamot."

"Thank you." The solicitor said in acknowledgement to Draco; and then took over without standing up.

"Ms Edgecomb and I have been coordinating on this, and we have found no precedence in history or the law that would cause the Wizengamot to prevent the Berkleys from taking back their seat in the council. Mr Edwin Berkley was born within a magically recognised union, and at the time his father still held the title of Lord Berkley; and by right of birth, Edwin Berkley was recognised as the rightful heir to the title. Because he was turned into a werewolf, he was stripped of his titles; but with that reason nullified, there is nothing to stop him from regaining his family's former titles and properties." She began.

"As it is, the Berkley title and properties are in escrow at Gringotts and goblin magic will be able to recognise Edwin Berkley as the rightful heir." Marina said and looked at Edgecomb for further explanations.

"Old wizard families have blood pacts with the goblins that allow the goblins to be the administrators of their estates whenever the current heir is unsuitable to take charge." Edgecomb said. "You see, the ancestors feared that some of the future generations would deviate from their ideals and lead the families to destruction. To prevent that, they set up conditions that an heir has to meet in order to inherit; and if the heir does not meet them, the estate is held in escrow by the goblins for the next heir. Because the Ministry outlawed Magical Creatures from holding properties and titles, the Berkley estate and titles were placed in escrow. The children of werewolves do not always manifest the werewolf trait, hence the Berkley title and properties would have reverted to the first Berkley child not to manifest the trait."

"You're saying that Edwin and Edna can just, walk into Gringotts tomorrow; and gain back their title, vaults, and properties?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Remarkably enough that is exactly what we are saying." Marina confirmed with a smile. "However, it is not that easy for the other werewolves; since their properties were not protected. We have even located several properties that have either been given to other wizards, or torn down for one reason or another."

"What can we do about this?" Remus asked, in barely concealed anger; It really pissed him off, that they had been cheated out of everything but the bare minimum.

"The phrasing of the original law strips werewolves of all rights normally given to a citizen of the England Wizarding Community; right to own property, right of life since werewolves are habitually captured by the Ministry and killed. Freedom of speech is denied too. No children, no education, no right to employment either. They basically have no rights. If none of the rights of the English Wizarding Community apply to werewolves, then it means they are not citizens of England." Marina said.

"Then it's a good thing that the Ministry refused to fund the Lycanthropy Cure Potion." Draco said, already understanding what Marina was driving towards.
"Why is that good?" Remus asked in confusion.

"By our reasoning, werewolves are not citizens of the English Wizarding Community; because they do not enjoy the necessary rights and freedoms. If the Ministry had agreed to fund the cure, then that could have been used to refute our arguement. The solicitor explained. "Our arguement is that wizards cease to be citizens the moment they become werewolves. Therefore, the Ministry is acting outside of the law when it takes werewolves' properties, since it is not illegal for non-English citizens to own property in England. The law is flawed in this matter; and we will use the flaw to force the Ministry to return the properties, or compensate where necessary."

"How will we go about doing this?" Remus asked.

"First, the Berkleys will reclaim their titles next week; Then we will wait for Lord Berkley to be reinstated in the Wizengamot as is his right." Marina stated. "We have magical law on our side so there is nothing to worry about when it comes to that. The hard part will come after."

"What do you mean?" Bill Weasley asked.

"Public perception." Draco said. "We need to subtly influence public opinion, without the public and the ministry catching on to what we are doing."

"And that is where I come in." Luna jumped in. "Once the Berkleys reclaim their heritage, we will put it in the media and begin advocating that the other werewolves should also be given back what they've lost. Naturally, the Ministry will refuse." Luna smiled as she said that.

"How is that a good thing?" Bill asked.

"The Ministry's refusal to give back what was taken from the werewolves; will create a legitimate opening for Lord Berkley to bring the matter to the Wizengamot as a question of law. No one will suspect any outside involvement since Lord Berkley's action will appear natural given his previous life as a werewolf." Marina explained, and paused to let the others absorb the information. It was a simple strategy, but one she was sure would achieve the results that The Grey Faction wanted.

"Will it matter though?" Blaise Zabini, who had been silent until then, asked; and most of the others in the room looked at him in question; but some, like Draco, only smiled; because they knew exactly what Blaise was worried about.

"What do you mean?" Remus asked.

"The Grey Faction does not have the numbers to carry a vote." Blaise explained. "Even if Lord Berkley presents the petition to the Wizengamot, it is unlikely that he will garner the necessary support to force the Ministry to return the properties. After all, some of the beneficiaries are among those in the Wizengamot."

"I was initially worried about the same thing, when Draco first suggested settling this issue in the Wizengamot, but as usual, he had a solution which we think will work." Marina said, and there was no concealing the awe in her eyes as she looked at Draco.

She, Luna, and Edgecomb had done the research, but Draco had been the one to make her aware of a crucial law that guided their entire strategy. 'For someone who said that he had a limited knowledge of the law, he sure is impressive!' Marina thought before she went on with her explanation. "The petition that will be presented to the Wizengamot will be a question of law rather than a criminal case."

"Is there a difference?" Edwin Berkley asked.

"Yes, there is a big difference. Let's just say that the Wizengamot will not see our plan coming until it is already too late, and by then; there will be nothing they can do except comply." Marina said with an enigmatic smile on her face. "Rest assured, we have the petition under control."

"It can really be done?" Remus asked. After living in poverty for so long, he was afraid of hoping for too much only to be disappointed. In all honesty, he was already happy that he didn't have to go through the painful werewolf transformation on a monthly basis.

"Yes, it can be done." Draco answered with a kind smile at his old Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.

"You have done a wonderful job with this." He continued as he looked at those gathered around the table. The Grey Faction was truly becoming a formidable force; and he couldn't wait to see the results of their hard work.
"Only because you even thought of it." Marina remarked; and they all chuckled good-naturedly.
"What is the timing on this?" Edwin asked.

"It's important that everything happens at a natural pace, otherwise it will tip our hand; before we have a strong enough foundation to weather the storm." Draco warned.

"First, we will get your title and properties back. After that, we will allow the media to reacquaint the public with the Berkley family; they will talk about your beginnings, your former influence, your fall, and now you rising to the top once more. At that point, you will express regret that you are the only ones to be fortunate enough to get everything back; and the media will be steered in the direction of the other former werewolves like we want." He explained.

"Some of them will attempt to gain an ear within the Ministry and will be refused as is the nature of Cornelius Fudge and the Ministry. This will be when you will take up their plight and petition the Wizengamot on their behalf. March is already at an end, but we hope that everything will be settled in time to have any former werewolf children admitted to Hogwarts in September."

"Won't trying to get the children in school so fast seem like someone is manipulating events behind the scenes?" Pansy asked, finally weighing in on the debate.

"We have thought about that, but it's best that the first batch of children attend Hogwarts while you lot are still there; so that you can observe the situation closely." Marina said. "For this, we will need an independent party to be the first to suggest that the werewolf children be allowed at Hogwarts; and I already have someone in mind for that role. Anyway, all that will come much later; otherwise we will risk overwhelming the Ministry and losing at all fronts."

"Will Hogwarts be able to handle this?" Remus asked in concern. For as much as he would like the former werewolves to experience Hogwarts like he had; he was also conscious of unintended consequences that could arise from forcing the issue. He wanted to make sure that Hogwarts would be able to comfortably handle the additional students.

"We have done the necessary legwork and Hogwarts has more than enough space and resources to handle way more students than it already handles." Luna said and the room fell into a contemplative silence until Slater broke it.

"Have you made progress with the blood samples we gave you?" He directed this question at Draco, but it was Severus who answered.
"Not just progress." He informed, with unmistakable pride in his voice.
"What has happened?' Balthazar asked.

As an Unspeakable, all the political stuff that had taken up much of the meeting did not interest him, but talk of progress with regards to vampires; was a sure way to pique his interest. Before answering, Draco looked at Slater in question; and when he received the go-ahead to speak freely, he proceeded to explain everything he had learnt from studying the blood that the vampire clan had given to him only days ago.

"As I was doing my research, I noticed that there was not much information about vampires available. Save for the fact that they cannot stand the sun, they drink blood, and that they can live more or less forever." Draco began. "There was not much that was concrete so I asked Slater for information. Because they can live for such long periods of time, vampires don't come of age until they are at least thirty, sometimes even later. Before coming of age, young vampires drink their sire's blood, much like a human child suckles milk from their mother."

"After coming of age, that's when they start drinking other blood. In the absence of a mate, they will take any human or animal blood. However, once mated, they only take their mate's blood. The mates are always human and rarely below the age of thirty. I saw a pattern in this; and began to theorize. I ended up with one which I have since confirmed to be correct, after getting to examine the blood of the mates. All of them have a condition called haemochromatosis."

"What is that?" Pansy asked, not even attempting to pronounce the name of the condition.
"It's a condition that some humans born with magic can have that causes them to produce more blood than they need." Severus explained.
"What are you saying?" Slater asked, though he was starting to get the picture.

"It means that vampires are creatures created by nature; not abominations meant to harm other creatures of nature." Draco said with a smile. "Haemochromatosis is currently treated by removing the excess blood from the body a few times a year, but that is not the right way to handle the condition."

"Are you saying that you have found a better way to manage haemochromatisis?" Balthazar asked eagerly. "The Unspeakables and Healers have been trying to figure out what eventually kills haemochromatosis patients even though the condition should be manageable by removing the excess blood, but we are yet to find the answer. You have really figured it out?"

"Technically, removing the blood should work," Draco agreed, "But human magicals with that condition are meant to be mated to vampires. Slater made me understand that when a vampire drinks from his or her mate, they don't feel like they're being torture; rather the experience is closer to an intense sexual and sensual bonding between the two. Therefore, even if the excess blood is removed from a haemochromatosis patient, the underlying issue remains. Something deep within them continues to feel that something isn't right. Not being able to fulfill the bond with a vampire is what kills them in the end."

"This is exacerbated by the fact that the ratio of vampires to magical humans with haemochromatosis can be uneven at any given point in time; leading to some of the would be mates dying from the fact that the vampire they're meant to be with doesn't exist. Some vampires can claim multiple mates, but not all of them can as one of the default traits of vampires is to seek a one true mate. Thus some magical humans with haemochromatosis are left with no vampire to save them from dying after the removal of their excess blood."

"Merlin, this is incredible." The Unspeakable said, and the others shared that opinion. "It makes so much sense."
"How will this help us?" Slater asked anxiously, after the excited chatter died down.

"Now we can propose that all children be tested for HFE, the faulty gene in magical humans that causes haemochromatosis. The results will go a long way in helping mated vampires and their significant others to be more accepted by the rest of the Wizarding World since it will make it clear that mated vampires are no threat to humanity. It will take a while after that to get vampire children into magic schools though; Although having haemochromatosis means the vampire children are destined to end up with other vampires, parents will still be hesitant to consent to their non-vampire children attending educational facilities with vampire children."

"We are in no hurry, Draco; We can wait." Slater said with a confident smile. "We have waited centuries to catch a glimpse of hope and until it becomes a reality, we will enjoy the sun, an incredible gift in its own right that you have given us."

Draco's eyes glistened suspiciously from Slater's words, and the other members of the faction only looked on with trusting and proud smiles.

"I suppose it's my job to find a healer that is willing to authenticate this research?" Bill asked, when the moment had passed.

"Yes." Draco agreed. "Will you be able to handle the Ministry, Balthazar?"
"Naturally." The man confirmed.
"That's good to hear." Draco acknowledged. "Is there any other matter that needs to be discussed right away?"
"There is." Severus said solemnly, and all attention turned to him.

In detail, he told them everything that had happened in the Death Eater and Order of the Phoenix meetings; with help from Bill and Remus when it came to the latter. When the retelling was over, they attempted to posit exactly what was going on, but not even Draco had any plausible ideas to explain the divination. Of all the products he had planned, he did not think he had any that was likely to have that major of an effect on the world; and unable to come up with any real answers, they closed the meeting on that note with promises to revisit the issue at a later date.

Oblivious to everything but the happenings in their dreams, the inhabitants of Wizarding England slept on, while a number of ancient beings awakened. They were not many, but the oldest had been there at the beginning of time.

"We were not wrong." One said.
"We are not wrong." Another said.
"We will not be wrong." Yet another said.
"Heed our call, 'Heimdall the Trueblood'." The oldest said, and deep in the bowels of Gringotts, an ancient goblin woke up.

Uploader's Note: This Has Been A Backup Upload of Chapter 34 of Behind the Fog by Hancock23.