The Rise of the God-Emperor

CH 46: Uncovering the Truth

The morning light filled the War Room, but the mood inside was far from light. Harry, Luna, Draco, and the rest of the team had gathered early, cups of tea and coffee in hand, all of them ready to dive into the mountains of files and research they'd brought back from the mountain lab. The room was filled with stacks of papers, boxes of documents, and the strange contraption they had found, still waiting to be fully examined in the science wing.

Harry stood at the head of the table, looking over the group. "Alright, we've got a lot to sift through. Everyone grab something. We need to figure out where they're holding the rest of the parents and what else these Muggles were planning."

Luna was the first to pick up a thick folder labeled Project Chimera: Phase Two. She flipped through the pages, her expression turning more serious with every paragraph she read. "This isn't just about controlling magic. They've been experimenting with using magic as an energy source. They're trying to weaponize it."

Draco, seated across from her, nodded grimly as he scanned another document. "We knew they were playing with fire, but this... this is bigger than we thought." He set down the papers in front of him, brow furrowed. "They're not just containing magic—they're trying to manipulate it into something they can use on a massive scale. Think of the kind of destruction that could cause if they perfected it."

Harry looked between them, the weight of their findings settling on his shoulders. "We need to know how far they've gotten with this. And more importantly, we need to find out where they're holding the rest of the parents."

Seamus, who had been quieter than usual since his parents were rescued, was sitting a little ways from the table, staring at the documents but not really reading them. His mind was clearly elsewhere. He'd spent most of his time in the mansion where his parents were staying, catching up with them after their months of captivity.

Neville noticed his distant expression and gently nudged him. "Seamus, are you alright?"

Seamus shook himself from his thoughts, giving a faint smile. "Yeah... just a lot on my mind, y'know? I still can't believe my parents are back." He paused, his voice lowering. "But I can't stop thinking about the others who weren't rescued. What if they're going through what my parents did?"

Harry caught his gaze and nodded in understanding. "That's why we're doing this, Seamus. We're going to find them, all of them. We won't stop until we do."

Hours Later: A Breakthrough

For the next several hours, the team worked in silence, only occasionally exchanging notes or muttering about something confusing in the documents. Ginny and Dean were off in the corner, organizing some of the papers into piles. Luna and Draco were cross-referencing their findings with maps of the UK.

Suddenly, Susan spoke up, her voice cutting through the quiet. "I think I've found something."

Everyone looked up, alert.

Susan held up a tattered document. "It's a transport log. It's listing the movement of prisoners from several of the labs we've raided. There's one location here we haven't looked into yet... an abandoned prison."

Harry stood up and walked over to look at the document. "Where is it?"

Susan pointed at the paper. "It says they moved a large group of parents—Muggleborn and half-blood—about two months ago to HMP Shepton Mallet, a prison in Somerset. It's been abandoned for years, but the Muggles have been using it as a holding site."