January 1, 1996. CTCRM, 9:00pm – The Commander, the General, and Midshipman Fenix were in the Commander's office, coordinating with B-Squadron of the 23rd Special Air Services unit (based in Leeds) to send up the RQ2 Pioneer UAV. They also coordinated with SATCOM for a higher-up view using satellite. They did not have any idea where in the UK the "event" would occur, and needed the wider angle view so that they could then pinpoint the location. The UAV was sent south towards London, and the center of England.
January 1, 1996. Malfoy Manor, 10:01pm. The snake showed up in the entry hall of the Manor, in one piece. Thirty seconds later it ignited in a hot, bright white light. The acrid smell, light and smoke drew Death Eaters to the hallway. Several tried to banish the snake with little luck. A few cast Aquamenti to douse it with water and put out the flame, with no success. Voldemort watched as his dear Nagini burned. His anger flared up along with the flames on his beloved pet, breaching his mouth in a loud rage-filled bellow that literally shook the manor. The snake continued to burn brightly for nearly five minutes, leaving a pile of ash and a slag scar (in a stretched out "S" pattern) in the hall in front of the door way.
January 1, 1996. CTCRM, Commanders Office. 10:02pm. The infra-red satellite image registered a bright light shining in the Wiltshire County area. They ordered the UAV to do a fly-by. In the mean time they zoomed in on the satellite image. Their target was between Lacock Abbey and Bowood Woodland Gardens and just north of Bowden Hill, in the Reybridge township area – they recorded the coordinates. As the UAV approached, they activated the infra-red lens, recording a group of people (presumably Death Eaters) flurrying around the burning snake. For completeness, they also activated the ultra-violet lens, and also recorded the property without filtering lenses. Lastly, they recorded any electromagnetic signals from and around the property.
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January 2, 1996. 16:00 hours, CTCRM. Evan's team mates were returning from what vacation they had. As they came in, they thanked him for the knife he gifted them. "Hey guys! Ready for Advanced Skills" he asked. "You bet!" seemed to be the most common answer. The next six weeks were going to be involved in advanced navigation techniques under fire; advanced team firing and advancement under fire; advanced camouflage and reconnoitering skills under various terrain and fighting conditions: urban combat training – learning to enter a building, enter a room, traversing roads under fire, identifying hiding spaces in an urban environment, how to patrol in vehicles and on foot, and what to do if the soldier becomes isolated from their team; Desert warfare – tracking and traversing in the desert, effects of heat waves on accuracy of aiming, hazards in the desert, camouflage in the desert, and surviving desert climate; Mountain warfare – tracking and traversing mountain terrain, camouflage, and mountain hazards; Tunnel warfare – the mental effects of tunnel warfare and how to avoid them, typical tunnel traps, advancing and fighting in tunnels; and antiterrorist training – understanding the mentality of terrorists, evaluating likely targets, typical terrorist scenarios, and hostage rescue. A lot of the training would be teamwork related.
In the meantime, Hermione was preparing her bags and books to go to Beauxbatons. After her "evening with the Queen", going back to school was going to be ….let's just say 'less exciting'. As she was packing, Hermione's mind kept wandering to her boyfriend, Evan. It was funny how it came so much easier now to think of him that way. She swore sometimes she could actually "feel" him thinking about her – it was like a silky warm sheet enveloping her, wrapping her in its warmth, cocooning her in its protection. It was quite amazing. The day after tomorrow, though, on January 3rd, she was scheduled to take an early portkey to Beauxbotons. Tonight….tonight, like almost every night, she was going to have 30 minutes of hopefully uninterrupted time talking with Evan on the mirror.
January 2, 1996 – 1600 (4pm), CTCRM Readiness Room. The Commander was meeting with the General to discuss a contingency plan regarding Voldemort and the MOM. They decided the first task was to research the area around the target: they needed to understand the distribution of the population around the target, any nearby risks, roadway access or airway access, etc.
In addition to planning for direct action, they began making a list of possible indirect action. There were three weeks left for the ultimatum given the Ministry of Magic. They were proposing identifying all non-magical businesses doing business with magicals and imposing heavy tariffs on them. The following week, taxes would be applied for all properties on which the Ministry of Magic occupied as it was property of the Crown. During the last week, they would lockdown all businesses doing business with magicals – no imports or exports.
January 5, 1996 – 10:50am, Kings Cross Train Station – Neville, Luna and Susan Bones were sitting in the third compartment in the second carriage down from the train engine – the same one they travelled in from Hogwarts before the Holiday. Their spirits were a little down – two of their compatriots were not going to be going with them: Harry and Hermione. Of course, being minutes away from departure, they were expecting the Weasleys to arrive any minute in a fanfare of chaos, as usual. AT 10:55am, the Weasleys showed up and quickly boarded the train, just before the "Last Second" whistle blew and the train started to move. Ron and Ginny made their way through the compartments and finally found Neville and Luna. "Hey, guys. Hi Susan. How were your holidays?" Ginny asked as they began to settle. "Mine was fine for the most part. I spent a lot of time at Hannah's though." Susan replied. "Why was that?" Ron asked. "My Auntie was really busy. The night we got back from Hogwarts, 20 Death Eaters attacked Hermione's house…" she began. Everybody was in shock for a second before they all began asking what happened and if Hermione was alright. "Yes, yes. Hermione was fine – she had as busy a holiday as my Auntie. Her boyfriend, that Evan fellow was there for dinner. I am not sure of the whole story, but all 20 of the Death Eaters died, including Bellatrix LeStrange!" she continued. "The Aurors arrived seconds ahead of the po..lice(?) - one of the Aurors tried to stun this Evan and was hit in the foot by, what did Auntie call it; oh, yes…a bullet. Evan shot the Auror in the foot with a bullet. Hermione called Evan's commander who called Auntie – it was very tense for almost an hour, according to Auntie." Susan then giggled. "The Aurors were ready to obliviate everyone because of all the magic spells that were cast when Auntie recognized Hermione. She asked if Evan knew about magic – she really put her foot in that one!" she giggled again. "Evan said 'Yes, I love magic' and then showed her and that commander of his, a trick with cards. She got sooooo embarrassed!" Susan went on to describe the card trick, causing everybody in the compartment to laugh. "Yeah, he showed us a trick earlier that day." Said Neville. Susan then went on to recount some of the other things that happened during the holiday, and those parts Susan's aunt saw Hermione and Evan in. Ron's ears started turning pink again, thinking of how much time this Evan guy was getting with Hermione. Neville, Luna and Ginny thought Hermione sure knew how to pick 'em! First Harry, now this Evan guy. Live action figures!
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