The room fell silent while everyone tried to put together the broken pieces of their fantasies. Finally Auror Shacklebolt spoke up. "You mean that's Hedwig the owl. The one that's sat on your shoulder for the last six years, flown most of your letters where they needed to be, and has been noticed to have private chats with you from time to time."
"Yep. I finally listened to Mrs Weasley's words, instead of just her meaning, when she tells me to stop letting Hedwig mother me all of the time. I managed to combine pre-programmed spells with an artefact or two, with the result that I have an image of my mother with an added-on personality spell so she acts like the real one should have."
At the disbelieving murmur that circled the room Harry finally said, "Okay you want proof. Mrs Weasley? Would you volunteer to show these people what I'm talking about?"
"What do I need to do dear?"
The young boy, green eyes glowing with anticipation, took his shrunken fitting room out and expanded it. Turning to his best friend's parents he said, "Just go in and take off your outer robe. More if you're not comfortable sitting around out here in just that. Hang them on the hook, and then step into the centre circle on the floor. I'd suggest watching your hands so you see when the spell is done. Then just put your clothes back on and come out."
Molly stood and entered the box. Harry just sat and watched the box from a few feet away, while the rest of the group whispered questions at each other. Three minutes later the door opened and a second Lily Evans Potter stepped out, wearing Molly's robes.
The green-eyed boy stood and took her left hand in his. Spinning to face his potions professor he saw the look of desperation in his eyes. "Mom, would you come over here please?" The red haired Potter stood and walked over to Harry's left side, still totally convincing as the original Lily.
"Harry, that's bloody marvellous!" shouted one of the twins.
The Lily on Harry's left immediately responded, "George you watch your mouth! I still have plenty of soap to clean up your language with!"
Both twins instantly lost their stunned looks and tried to look innocent. "That was Fred, not me!" one said.
The other instantly said, "Wait a minute, I'm George!"
Harry just chuckled, "Watch it guys, she'll just wash both your mouths out if you're not careful!"
Speaking to the rest of the group he said, "So what do you think? Two identical women, one with my mother's memory and personality, one with Mrs Weasley's. The only way to tell them apart is to get them talking, as Hedwig will remain always in character, while Mrs Weasley will have to remember at all times that she is acting and control her temper. Thank you ladies. Mrs Weasley, you can change back now. Just remember to take off your clothes and hang them on the hook before entering the circle."
As 'Lily' went back over by Professor Snape, who stealthily inched away from her after she sat down, Harry filled them in. "The secret is in the dress. I have it charmed with the memories and personalities of my mother, as I much as I could of course. I spent a lot of time tracking down her friends and housemates from when she came to the school, and getting them to tell me about her.
"That's what Hedwig was doing all summer!" Ron interjected. "But how did you know the dress size?"
"I didn't. I just asked Madam Malkin to send me a copy of the last special outfit that Mom had ordered before her death. A keepsake if you will. She sent me that dress and I used it to design the transfiguration spells for the 'animagus' story. But that's not the real reason any of us are here tonight, is it?"
Molly Weasley rejoined the group and sat back next to her husband. Harry took the momentary interruption to move back over to the fitting room and shrink it back down again. After it was safely concealed inside of his robes he turned back and continued his meeting.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."
The group's emotional rollercoaster continued. As the words sank in the Boy-Who-Lived studied their faces. Snape's had a slight confusion. The Weasley family, without exception, registered horror as the meaning sank in for each one of them. The Aurors looked as if a puzzle piece had slid into place. McGonagall joined the Weasleys in the shock and horror field.
At last he spoke. "These are the words that condemned my parents to death. These are the words that my godfather died trying to protect last spring. These are the words I'm working on destroying."
His voice got deeper and his hands started swinging violently as he continued. "What is going on right now in the Wizarding world is a war of words. Voldemort has declared himself a pureblood, although he is a half-blood like me. Voldemort has declared himself a Dark Lord, when that is really just a title he made up for himself. Voldemort has claimed to have conquered death, when that is really just a fantasy that can't happen, even with magic. And yet he is currently winning this war."
The charismatic young man started pacing. "On the other side we have Dumbledore. He heard that prophecy being given seventeen years ago. He started moving people and magics into strategic positions to make sure he could guide the prophecy into happening. He preaches day and night about how we need to be ready to fight and yet only wins minor skirmishes, since any large wins would be against the prophecy. He has declared that he knows what the greater good for Wizardkind is, and leads us on with that secret knowledge. And yet he is losing the war."
Stopping in the middle of the room, Harry studied their faces as he continued speaking. "Muggles believe in a type of magic called voodoo. You make a copy, a doll, of the person you want to control, maybe include a few bits of the person's hair or nail clippings, and then damage the copy in order to hurt the person in the same way. A pin poked into the elbow of the doll would cause immense pain in the victim. Twist the leg backwards and you break his leg. Their healers have documented that this type of magic can work, but only as long as the victim knows that you have pieces of him and the ability to make the voodoo doll."
The horrified looks on everyone, including the Aurors, amused Harry. "Relax. I haven't found any hint yet that voodoo magic is real. Yet. What I'm getting at is that the magic works because the victims believe it works. That is where Voldemort is winning. Every time he puts his dark mark above someone's house, people believe he can do what he says. Every time he gets in and out of Diagon Alley without seeing a single Auror, he wins. Every time he convinces people that his is unstoppable he becomes unstoppable. And every time he captures a headline lauding or lamenting his latest win he becomes even stronger."
He began pacing again. "My 'ill-guarded comments' that everyone is lament this summer is the beginning of my war to break the belief that he is an all-powerful Lord of magic that can't be beaten. The second part is up to you. I need you to start spreading the word that someone is winning against Voldemort, and give examples. The public has to know each and every time that we stop a Death Eater attack. Every time we rescue someone from a Dark rite. Every victory we make has to be made public or we will never have the belief power to back us when I finally fight Voldemort."
Moody stood up. "So you still plan on fighting him one on one?"
"Absolutely. I'll plan and train to do just that, right up until I find out that Dumbledore has lied about the actual contents of the prophecy. Then all bets are off."
"What do you mean, Dumbledore lied about the prophecy?" This from Minerva McGonagall.
Harry said, "I don't know if he has yet. On the other hand, he's the only one who's heard the damn thing. The one who spoke the prophecy never remembers them after she comes out of her trance. All copies are destroyed in the Department of Mysteries. The only thing we have to go on is his word. And judging from Severus's face as I recited the version I heard, he doesn't tell everyone the same lines."
All faces turned to look at Snape. He just nodded his head in agreement.
"So to sum it up. We need to get the truth out there, not just the parts that won't destroy our sources. We need to get people doubting Tom Riddle's myth about being an all-powerful Lord. And we need to keep Dumbledore out of this particular loop, as he'll try to use it to force the prophecy he's been spouting into happening on his terms. Those of you in the ministry, revive the rumors about death eaters getting off of charges. Find the trial transcripts and anonymously send them to the Daily Prophet so they start working for us. We need to ruin their reputations so badly they suffer financial loss because their followers don't trust them."
Standing in the centre again, Harry concluded, "I realize this is a different style of warfare than you would normally think of. I'm not bonkers, no matter what it seems like. We are stuck in between Voldemort, the sneak attack terrorist who wants to rule through fear, and Dumbledore, the master manipulator who prefers to control the world from the shadows, pulling the strings of those who think they are in charge. Circling both of them are Fudge and his ilk at the ministry, who'll say and do anything to keep themselves visibly in charge. Any battle strategy that hurts one helps the other two, so we need to develop three different strategies, hopefully getting them to take each other out for us."
Snape finally spoke up. "Is that what happened at the feast? You manipulated the minister into facing your Patroni in front of the reporters, and left Dumbledore to clean up that mess?"
"And it took you twenty-four hours to realize what really happened. Just think Professor Snape, if I had been sorted into Slytherin back in my first year, I would have been head boy by my third." He grinned at the head of Slytherin House, and then at his two Gryffindor best friends. All three looked stunned at the thought.
"On that happy note, I'll let you guys plan what you can for this little scheme of mine, and I'll get back to convincing the headmaster that the prophecy is bonkers. The sooner I can do that the more likely I'll be successful at avoiding becoming a murderer just to end this war."
Moving over to talk to Hedwig, he said over his shoulder, "One more thing. If Voldemort hears that bloody prophecy I lose. With both him and the headmaster believing in the stupid thing, I'll never convince either one that they're going to lose."