59 51.1 First Meeting

Their meeting was scheduled at six in the evening, when all invited parties would have finished their classes and rested a bit. They agreed to meet in an abandoned classroom in the third floor, away from prying eyes. Kaiser was the first to arrive with Daphne, to prepare for the coming discussion. He asked for Daphne's help; she was thought the art of persuasion from a very young age because of her upbringing, among other skills.

It wouldn't be difficult to convince them of his idea, but to have them invested to see its success? That's a different matter entirely. They were still 'kids', and 'kids' hated any kind of responsibility. There was the chance that, even if he showed them how severe the situation is, and how much danger they were in, they'd still not take it seriously enough, like he is. But he can't expect anyone to follow the same infernal training schedule as him. His relentless drive is one of his best qualities.

Kaiser has always been planning ahead of time when it concerns the war with Voldemort, even back at his first year. When he spread the rumors about the "Slytherin Rape", the truth is he completely made that up, but as far as he was concerned, it was for a 'good reason'. He wanted those unaffiliated with blood bigots to stay as far away from that house as possible, not because he hated the house, per se, but because it is the house that hosts most of the Voldemort's followers. It was always a risk for him that he wouldn't be able to destroy Voldemort's immortality, or that he wouldn't be able to kill him at all. He needed to prepare for the worst: Voldemort wins the war and takes over the ministry, or at least temporarily does. Having innocents stay away from that house grouped together would provide protection from them contrary to if they went straight to the wolves' den.

In hindsight, it proved to be a good decision. Blood bigots did not place Muggleborns and half-bloods in the same level of humanity as them, believing them to hold the same position as house elves, which coincidentally are animals as far as they were concerned. They were taught from birth, that it is not wrong to harm them in anyway. Even the slytherin seventh year who raped that Hufflepuff girl did not show any remorse whatsoever. He truly did not believe he did anything wrong, that he WAS the victim for being imprisoned. Just thinking about that incident made Kaiser's blood boil; he regretted not killing him.

The idea he had was taken straight out of the fifth book: Dumbledore's Army. Except this time, it would be called Defense Club. The Death Eaters' number was pitiful when compared to Magical Britain's whole population. The reason they had so much success in the previous war was the lack of resistance. They rarely suffered any casualties, since their victims spent more time crying bloody murder instead of taking out their wands and defending themselves. While Death Eaters were indeed trained killers, even they wouldn't be able to do much against a large crowd of wizards.

Michael and Tracey came in not long after, the latter giving a silly giggle at one of Michael's equally silly jokes, a detail that didn't escape either of the room's occupants. Next arrived the 'Golden Trio', with Hermione and Ron bickering about something, and Harry sighing each passing second. 'Those two were like fire and water.' He thought the whole way. Though they seemed to stop when they noticed everyone there.

"So, why'd you call us here?" Ron asked impatiently.

'I didn't want to call you, you twat. I only did it because you are their best friend for some ungodly reason.' Kaiser's eyebrow twitched at his insolence.

"A bit rude of you to ask that when there are people missing in our extraordinary meeting, don't you think?" Michael didn't appreciate his tone either, so he interjected. Ron looked taken aback by his answer, and seemed to realize his fault. He was about to apologize, when Hermione added her own opinion.

"Ronald! Can't you be patient like everyone else? And you should pay attention to the way you speak to others, that was insensitive of you!" she admonished him, which made a vein pop in his forehead.

"So I can't even speak now, is it?!" He asked angrily. "It's always Ron do this, Ron don't do that with you! Honestly woman, do you have to be such a pain in the arse? Or is it that time of the month again?!" he continued.

"Ron!" Harry exclaimed. "Not cool mate! You can't say that to her!"

"You too?" Ron asked incredulously. He then looked around the room, and noticed the angry glares he was receiving from everyone. Even he realized that he was in the wrong, but his pride prevented him from admitting it after going this far. "You know what? Fine. I know not to stay when I'm not wanted. Have fun." He promptly left afterward.

Hermione looked hurt at his words. She felt humiliated in front of her friends, by one of her best friends no less. She was on the verge of crying, but her Occlumency training proved more useful than she gave it credits for. While the others looked positively angry, and didn't shy away from showing it.

"What a prat!" Tracey stamped her foot. "Is he always as insufferable as this? Why do you guys even bother with him?"

"He doesn't know what he's saying." Harry said defensively. He understood that his friend wasn't always the best of people, but he was his friend nevertheless. He should at least be given the chance to right his wrongs. "I'll make him apologize, Hermione. He probably didn't mean it."

"Yeah…" She said weakly.

Daphne looked passively at the scene, but she was quite angry herself. She was thinking of what would happen had he said that to her, musing of all the ways she could make him suffer before he departs this world.

The atmosphere was gloomy in the classroom afterwards, thanks to Ron's 'valiant efforts'. They were saved from their thoughts by the arrival of two new guests.

"Hello everyone!" Hannah said, smiling widely, only to release that not everyone was in a smiling mood. Susan noticed the same thing, and her smile faltered.

"What happned?" They asked.

"Ron happened, that's what!" Tracey was still frustrated at what her friend had to endure. She understood how embarrassing it would feel. Hermione couldn't help but feel happy that someone cared enough about her to feel angry in her stead.

They both had enough tact not to ask right there about what, noticing Hermione's state of mind, and the looks of 'pity'? everyone was sending her way.

They were soon joined by George and Fred Weasley, along with the Hufflepuff sixth year, Cedric Diggory. He was the person Kaiser was counting on the most in this meeting, as he would be crucial for the success of this 'study group'.

Kaiser got up from his seat, grabbing the attention from everyone.

"Thank you for attending on such short notice, but I believe everyone second is precious in what is to come." 'The introduction did not sound ominous at all.' Thought everyone in their heads.

"Before we begin, I hope you stay with me while I share some statistics with you.

Arcane Solutions, owned mostly by The Malfoys and Mulcibers, have recently recruited more than a hundred employees, both British and non native, mainly as security for their facilities. Additionally to their yearly imports, they seem to have added a significant amount of Crowbane and Ptolemy.

Heart's Desire, a company that sells beautifying solutions, owned mostly by the Averys and Goyles, have also for some reason welcomed a significant amount of employees to their ranks, for security and other menial jobs. They have also imported a large number of Runestones and alchemical ingredients.

Other companies have also displayed similar behavior in the last few months, either recruiting a lot of people, mainly from overseas, or buying a new range of materials, under the guise of new products or new business avenues.

For all imported goods, one pattern can be remarked: while they can be used in relatively harmless potions, they are also main ingredients in strengthening and healing potions. As for the other types, they hold great potential for defensive capabilities, being usable in most common shielding trinkets.

It is also interesting to note that a similar behavior has been observed before the start of Voldemort's previous reign of terror."

He paused for a while, letting the words and implications sink in. Even those who were already aware that Voldemort isn't dead were feeling uneasy. Cedric was having the worst reaction as out of everything he could've expected for this meeting, being informed that a war was in the horizon wasn't one of them.

"You're not implying they are getting for another war, are you? You-Know-Who is dead." He said with a frown.