World War

Jane had found her way to the seventh floor corridor in front of a barren marble wall. She paced before it once, rolling up the sleeves of her white blouse, thinking of the usual room where the Order of the Phoenix met.

She turned on her heel and headed back for a second turn. Jane twisted her hair into a bun that sat just above the nape of her neck. Thinking hard about the round table that she and the rest of the Hogwarts professors always sat at.

When she passed in front of the empty wall for a third time a door began to materialize. The frame came first and the rest of the door followed. The brass handles springing out of the wall last.

Jane grabbed one of the handles and pushed. The door opened up to a cavernous room with high vaulted ceilings from which beautiful gold chandeliers hung from wooden rafters.

The fireplace was lit behind Albus Dumbledore making the edges of his beard and hair glow orange.

"Welcome, Jane," Dumbledore called from his seat.

Jane noticed that there were hundreds of pieces of parchment on the table; some were even floating from person to person making sure that everyone had seen them. And once Jane stepped one foot into the Room of Requirement a few of papers zoomed over to her.

She caught them expertly and read the top one: a clipping from a Muggle newspaper in London.

"They're predicting more air raids in the city?" Jane said; she didn't know whether she should be shocked by this or not.

"Not only are they aiming for London, but Southampton, Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester too." said Galatea Merrythought, the elderly Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Jane made her way to the empty seat between Silvanus Kettleburn, the Care of Magical Creatures professor and Pomona Sprout, the Herbology professor. She said a silent hello to her two friends and placed the papers onto the table.

"London is half destroyed already, what more do the Germans want to do to us?" Jane asked, her brows stitching together with worry and confusion. She hadn't traveled to London in over a year since it had become a ghost town since the Prime Minister ordered an evacuation of all residents.

"Hitler and the rest of the Axis powers want our surrender, Miss Wright," said Horace Slughorn, the Potion's master spoke in a quiet, yet sure voice. Jane noted that Professor Slughorn wasn't his normal voluble self.

"Do you think the Muggle government will?" Sprout asked, looking from Dumbledore to Slughorn to Professor Binns, the History of Magic professor.

Professor Binns shook his head and readjusted his thick glasses on the bridge of his nose. "The damn Prime Minister would have surrendered the bloody minute Hitler threatened war if it wasn't for the Minister of Magic sending our men into the Muggle army for added protection."

"Now, now, Cuthbert," Dumbledore said, clasping his hands together. "The Prime Minister is doing all he can during this time. It's not easy seeing your country destroyed and your countrymen killed."

Professor Binns only grumbled and looked away in disgust.

"We can't worry about the Muggle war when we have wizards and witches in Europe reaching out to us for help in their war, our war." Silvanus leaned against the table, projecting himself farther into the group and allowing himself to be seen.

"It's not exactly our war, Silas," Pomona corrected.

"Our kind are dying and disappearing," Silvanus said, his hands turning into fists. "How can you not consider this our war?"

Jane had began shifting through the papers on the table and after passing a few foreign wizarding newspapers in languages she couldn't read she found today's edition of the Daily Prophet.

The front page had an article about the numerous deaths and disappearances of witches and wizards all throughout Europe; stretching from Poland to Greece.

"As it happens," Dumbledore began, Jane's attention now on Dumbledore. "An old friend has told me of the horrors happening in Europe due to the exploits of Grindlewald's followers--"

"We're actually going to do something instead of just sit here and discuss what's happening beyond the happy boarders of Hogwarts?" Silvanus exclaimed, his cheeks flushed.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, my friend has asked us to retrieve the Muggleborn witches and wizards and either bring them here or to the States."

"America is clearly the better choice, the safer choice," Jane told them and then Professor Sprout spoke up:

"Why only Muggleborns, sir?"

Dumbledore look as if he were about to speak but was interrupted by Professor Binns, who cleared his throat loudly:

"Like Hitler who is looking to create a perfect race, the Aryan race Gellert Grindelwald is looking to create a pure Wizarding race. Clearing out all bloodlines that are impure either by death or by allowing themselves to be enslaved by that crazy old bastard."

"All Muggleborns are in danger now that Grindelwald is gaining significant power in Europe." Slughorn said, "No one is safe, and I wouldn't be surprised if they breached our shores in a years time."

Jane brought her hands together and pressed them against her mouth. She was a Muggleborn and if there was anything to do to help others like her and prove that being Muggleborn wasn't a bad thing she would do it.

"What will we do?" she asked.

"We will do as my friend has asked: smuggle Muggleborns out of the occupied countries of Europe." Dumbledore said, nodding his head as if he was reassuring himself that this was a good idea.