Disclaimer: I don't own anything you'll recognize

A/N : Same remarks that for the previous chapter. Any remarks will be welcome. Thank you all for reading it so far.

Chapter 3: Fighting back

Morning came too soon to their tastes. Harry woke up to find Hermione coming back from the bathroom, having put the clothes they were wearing last night back on.

"We'll need to get a change of clothes."

Harry nodded.

"I'll ask people to escort us back to our flat. I'm not taking chances with them."

Hermione sighed.

"You're right. Well, Mary told me she'll have breakfast ready in ten minutes."

Harry stood up and went to hug her, trying to comfort her.

"You know you don't have to always be strong, Mione."

She burrowed her head in his shoulder.

"I'm just so angry, Harry."

The young man tightened his hold on her. For a minute, they both enjoyed each other's presence.

"Come on, you should get ready or Mary will come and get us."

Harry nodded and pushed some of her hair behind her ear.

"I'll be quick. William should have already called Carrington to have people escort us home so we can get some clothes."

Hermione gave him a quick kiss then left the room. He quickly put his clothes back on and joined his fiancée and the Hordanes for breakfast.

"Slept well, Harry?" asked the older man.

He rubbed his eyes.

"Not really, lots on my mind."

Mary clucked disapprovingly.

"I'm not surprised. With that dreadful ordeal!"

William smiled indulgently at his wife.

"I called Carrington. A team will be there around 8.30 am. I must warn you that your flat is being investigated."

Hermione finished eating her fruit then spoke up.

"Did they catch whoever was there?"

William shook his head.

"Unfortunately not. The moment the police entered your flat and announced themselves, cursing and seven popping sounds were heard."

"Nobody was injured I hope?" asked Hermione.

"None, they all disappeared as soon as they realised it was the police. They have been screening your flat with the help of a Mugal - er - Muggle-born to find clues as to the culprits."

Harry snorted as he drank his coffee.

"As if their Ministry will allow them to be prosecuted."

William shrugged.

"You and I both know not much will come from this, but I don't see anything wrong with making them sweat a bit." He then shot Hermione an amused look. "And I'm sure that with our Hermione here joining the research team we'll soon have something to block their magic or stop us from entering our homes."

Hermione bit vindictively into her pancake and nodded.

"You can count on it."

"Enough of this," said Mary, waving her wooden spoon. "This is breakfast and I don't want to hear you talk about work."

All of them smiled at her and the talks turned to lighter subjects.

They had barely finished eating that the doorbell rang in the house.

"That should be our escort," said William, standing up and folding his napkin.

"Bring them in for coffee. I'm sure you can spare a few minutes," stated his wife.

Harry looked at his mentor, surprise in his eyes.

"You are coming with us?"

"Of course."

The older man went to the front door and let in two men.

"Ah! Herman. So you'll be chaperoning us today."

The blond-haired man nodded.

"Exact Judge Hordane. Samuel Beckson here and I will escort you to Judge Potter's home and follow you today."

"Very good. You'll take some coffee while we all finish getting ready."

"Thank you Judge Hordane," answered the man as they were shown to the kitchen.

Half an hour later, they were driving from their flat back to their offices in a police car. Harry had to refrain from hitting something.

Apparently being magical did not make people be discreet. Thankfully they had not broken anything of value to the young couple.

Members of the scientific teams were still working around, looking for any clues about the trespassers' identities: prints, hairs, blood or saliva were being looked for.

Hermione and Harry quickly went to their bedroom, escorted by a policeman and packed a suitcase quickly.

As they got into the car once more, Harry turned to Hermione.

"Do you think we could get Carrington to have someone of the research teams look at our stuff for trackers?"

Hermione nodded.

"You can be sure I will do so."

The rest of the journey to their office was spent with small talk. As soon as they arrived they were ushered upstairs.

Carrington's secretary motioned to them to go ahead while making shushing noise. They quickly understood why as they opened the door to the man's office.

"That the most twisted reasoning I've ever heard and trust me I've heard quite a lot!"

"We need him to kill You-know-who! The Prophecy…"

"You said yourself that woman was a fraud! How you can give any credence to her words, I will never understand."

"That Prophecy was recorded in the Hall of Prophecies and has been proven to be true."

"So what do you want to do? Pitch Judge Potter, someone without any of your fancy powers, against one of the most powerful wizards of the last century. Then wait and hope for the best!"

"The prophecy…"

"Here we like to have more assurance our plans will work; at least something more definite than words of a druggie!"

Hordane grimaced and knocked on the door's sides before the shouting match could escalate into a physical one.

Carrington looked relieved upon seeing them.

"Doctor Granger, Judge Hordane, Judge Potter, thank you for coming."

Harry shook his hand while looking at the people present.

There was that red-haired man from the day before, Weasley. He was sitting next to an ancient looking man with a long beard tucked in his belt, long white hair and dressed in a set of the ugliest robes Harry had ever seen.

Another man was pacing in front of Carrington and two others were standing in the back of the room, guards probably.

The ancient looking one stood up and walked to Harry, smiling and eyes twinkling.

"Mr Potter, I'm really happy to see you again." He extended his hand to the younger man.

Harry looked at his hand and gave it the smallest of shake before letting go.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I do not believe we have ever met."

The man's smile widened.

"Of course, my boy, we were quite young when I last saw you. I'm Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts' Headmaster. I was the one who came by your aunt's house to understand why you hadn't received an entrance letter."

Harry frowned.

"I'm sorry, sir. I don't remember it."

Dumbledore sighed.

"You were quite young, it's understandable." As Harry remained silent, he spoke up again. "I knew your parents quite well. It was quite disheartening to know that you wouldn't be able to follow in their footsteps."

The young judge shrugged.

"Well, Mr. Dumbledore, I don't think this is relevant to the matter at hand."

The old man didn't seem deterred in the slightest and keep on smiling.

"Of course, of course. You'll have to forgive me, my boy. Sometimes my mind likes to wander down memory lane… I'm sure we'll be able to clear that little misunderstanding quickly."

Harry stiffened.

"Pardon me, Mr. Dumbledore…"

"Call me Albus, my boy."

"Mr. Dumbledore. First of all, I'll ask you to please call me by my name. Then, I do not call coming home with my fiancée to find people having trespassed into our flat and waiting for us a misunderstanding."

The old man's smiled dimmed a little.

"Harry…"

"Mr. Potter, if you would please, Mr. Dumbledore."

"Mr. Potter, I'm sure you had nothing to fear from those people. You'll have to understand that we have all suffered a lot from Voldemort."

All the other wizards shivered, earning snorts from the Muggles present. Dumbledore carried on.

"They probably just wanted to talk with you and make you understand that you had to help."

Anger shot up in Harry.

"Should they have wanted to talk, they could have asked for an appointment with my secretary. Ambushing Hermione and I, when they are the one able to enter and exit a building with a mere thought or petrify someone with a simple flick on their stick, do not settle well with me. And I'm sure you have laws against that."

"You have to understand that the circumstances are different."

"No I don't, Mr. Dumbledore," snapped Harry. "Your world was quite happy to forget I ever existed. I do not see what has changed…"

Carrington stepped in.

"Apparently, there is a prophecy that is said to talk of you and the Dark Lord and says that you will have the power he knows not and that neither her nor you can live while the other survive."

Hermione's lips tightened in distaste.

"So you're saying that the wizarding world is looking up to my fiancé like some sort of the Messiah based on some vague cryptic poem."

Carrington nodded, raking a hand in his hair.

"Exactly."

She snorted.

"This is getting more and more unbelievable by the minute…"

The man that had been pacing spoke up.

"Now, see here, miss. We have been fighting a war for nearly a decade. A lot of good people have died and all of us want this conflict to end. If Mr. Potter here is the key to that war ending, then he will fight!" he spat.

Hordane walked to place himself between Harry and the man.

"Is that a threat, Mr…?"

Dumbledore immediately cut in.

"This is Minister Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic. And I'm sure Minister Scrimgeour didn't mean to offend anyone."

Scrimgeour looked about to say something but Dumbledore didn't give him the time to.

"I'm sure Mr. Potter understands what is at stake and will do what is right for the greater good."

Harry narrowed his eyes.

"While I understand perfectly what is at stake, I won't let you manipulate me into sacrificing myself."

"But it is your destiny to…"

"I will choose what my destiny will be made of, Mr Dumbledore and you will have no say in this choice."

Harry turned to Carrington.

"I will be ready to help as much as I can the research teams and will carry on my work. Now if you'll excuse me."

"Mr. Potter…"

"Good day to you, Mr. Dumbledore."

Harry walked to the door.

"Harry duck!"

He barely had the time to do so as a red beam hit the door's frame.

He whirled around to see one of the wizards he had assumed were guards with his wand raised. Carrington was livid and Hermione had paled dramatically.

Everyone started to talk at the same time. Harry walked to Hermione and embraced her. He looked up, rage filling him.

"Silence!" he shouted. He turned to Carrington.

"Matthew, I trust you'll deal with them. I'll go back to my work."

He turned to Scrimgeour.

"The only reason I'm not asking for a restrictive order against all wizards is because I know I'll have to work with some on these cases. I will ask you to leave me alone."

He left the room before anyone could speak.

Rufus Scrimgeour looked about to have an aneurysm, Weasley looked completely lost and Dumbledore simply stunned.

Hermione eyed them all.

"Harry might not be able to ask for an oath, being a Squib, but I can, no matter how untrained I am." She turned to face the Minister. "I want your oath, Minister. I want an oath on your Magic that no wizard will try to coerce us or attack us."

Scrimgeour sneered.

"You have no right to ask that of me, Miss. That Squib will regret this." He turned on his heels.

"Dumbledore, Weasley, I think our business here is done. Get the Portkey ready."

Carrington steeped forwards.

"Wait a moment. There is still the matter of the trespassing of Judge Potter's flat. Do not think I forgot."

Scrimgeour shrugged.

"I'll hand the case to our Aurors." He smirked. "But you will understand that with the war such a case is no priority and that any investigation might be delayed until the Aurors get enough time to look into it. Moreover trespassing into a Squib home is not that much of a crime according to our laws…"

Before Carrington could protest, the three wizards touched a bright orange sock and all disappeared.

Hermione looked at the spot where they all stood, grinding her teeth.

"I'll show you what a Muggle can do.

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Hermione burst into Harry's office.

"I did it, Harry! It worked!"

Harry looked up from the stack of papers he was reading over. It had been eight months since the wizards had first entered their life. To put more pressure on Harry and get him to go back to the wizarding world, the Ministry of Magic had disclosed his location to the press.

Their life had become unliveable since then. Without taking into account the various hate-letters and what he had learnt were Howlers, there had been several attempts to get to him or Hermione by light and dark wizards alike. After a straight-out try at a kidnapping in the middle of the street, they had been placed under protective custody.

They had been living in their office's building for three months now and it was starting to get to Harry. They had been forbidden from going out, only allowed to warn their friends that they would be out of reach for an unknown time. Hermione hadn't been able to see her parents since then. The Grangers had also been sent abroad to protect them.

They had had to postpone their wedding, for fear the wizards would crash the events. Something that Harry would never forgive the Wizards for.

Harry tried to remember what his fiancée had been working on lately.

"What worked?"

Hermione hadn't been actively helping with the magical aspect of things, not having the time to learn seven years worth of knowledge in a few mere months. She had however been given a crash course in magical theory and spent three weeks holed up in her room pouring over thick dusty tomes.

She had then joined the research teams. Five months later they had made their first breakthrough and managed to block people or places from Magical scans using different frequencies, magnetic stones, crystals and an alloy of several metals.

Harry had been lost five minutes into her explanations.

For the past three months, her team had been working on a way to block Magical people from popping in a room as they willed.

He knew another team was trying to come up with a way to spot Magical people, another with ways to get around the wizards' shields. The most important team was dedicated to finding a way to negate magic.

Hermione gave him a wide smile. It nearly made the dark bags under her eyes and her paleness disappear.

"We found a way to block them!"

Harry got to his feet and hugged her.

"You know what that mean, Mione?"

She gave him a vindictive smile. She pulled away and went to sit in one of the armchair in his room. He went back to his chair.

"My parents and us can come back home."

Harry hugged once more. He breathed deeply in her hair, trying not to eat any strand.

"How is it going for you?" she asked, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"We're getting closer to them every day. But we will need several more months to train the recruits of the MCS and produce the new equipments."

"MCS?"

"Magic Control Squads. All the recruits are Squibs, Muggle-Borns witches or wizards that chose to leave the Wizarding world behind."

"Not that original… And how is it going with the Ministry."

"Tiptaddle has been fooled easily and has been reporting what we wanted him to report."

"And on the wizard's front?"

"No changes, both sides have been holing themselves in their quarters after that last battle at Hogsmeade two months ago. Our contacts have informed us that Voldemort is regrouping and is currently courting the Vampires clans from Eastern Europe. They also told us of an increase in Potion ingredients orders on both sides. Several people disappeared in the area where Voldemort has set up his Headquarters and we all know what that means…"

"Rituals…"

"Yes. We evacuated the whole area using the excuse of a toxic leak and quarantined it."

"The labs will start to produce the blocks tomorrow and we will start spreading them around, starting with the more sensitive areas."

"What about the wizards in your teams?"

"Those they were deliberately slowing us down were sent back. The few that genuinely showed interest were evaluated and have been helping us. However from the Ministry of Magic's point of view those researches have been ended and you can imagine how much they gloated about that…"

"I can imagine…" He twirled his pen in his hand. "Come on. Let's tell Carrington the good news."

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Harry looked at Carrington, a stunned expression on his face.

"Flies, Harry, flies." Hermione was smiling at him.

Carrington and Hordane smiled at the couple.

"So, Harry, what do you think?"

The young man leant back in his chair.

"Are you serious?" he asked, looking from his mentor to Carrington.

"Completely serious. The Queen and the Prime Minister have been asking that such a unit be created for a month already."

"B-But, why me?"

"Why not? You are young enough to have the energy needed to lead such a unit. You are no stranger to taking difficult decision and are intelligent and level-headed enough for such a task. Of course, you would still answer to me."

Harry shook his head.

"But I don't know anything about magic…"

Carrington shook his head.

"That's why your fiancée will co-lead this team with you. Any other argument?"

Harry crossed his arms, a mulish look on his face.

"About a dozen, but I'm ready to bet that you have answers prepared for every single one of them…"

Hordane laughed.

"And you would win. But joking aside my boy, you and Hermione really are the best ones for this."

Carrington smirked as he took out a large envelope from his drawer.

"And as I knew you would make a fuss, I had a talk with the Prime Minister…"

He handed Harry the envelope and smiled as his young colleague looked as if the piece of paper would bite him.

Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"So are you going to open it today or not?"

Carefully cutting it open, paling a little upon seeing the crest and realizing who it was that was sending the letter. Harry took out a piece of expensive parchment. He read it and glared at the man in front of him.

"That's a low blow, Matthew. As if I could say no to the Queen!"

Hermione laughed.

"He got you there. But it wasn't like you would have said no."

Harry shrugged.

"Of course not, but that did not mean I wouldn't have been able to make them sweat a little…"

They all laughed at that.

"So Harry, Hermione, I take it that I'll have some paperwork to do?"

They both nodded.
"Wonderful!"

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"And pray tell what is the use of leaving you the times and places of suspected attacks if you are not going to act on those pieces of information." Harry massaged his temples, not missing the smirk Carrington was shooting him.

He would get him back for having made him deal with those idiots.

You're the only one with enough patience for this, Harry he said. He would give him patience!

"We have no men to waste on investigating Muggle leads."

Harry took a deep breath.

"How many attacks did we warned you of?"

The Auror in front of him, Dawlish if he remembered correctly, shrugged.

"I don't know, seven or eight.

"Ten to be precise," cut Harry. "And how many of those warnings turned out to be real attacks."

The Auror looked down, face growing red.

"I don't know. I don't concern myself with trivialities like this…"

Harry had to refrain from throwing his paperweight at him.

"Nine out ten turned out to be real attacks."

"Maybe, but…"

"Then why did you not act upon us informing you of the attack in Canterbury!"

Dawlish looked on him with a sneer.

"We couldn't spare any men and none of our spies had heard of an attack there."

"They are doing a fine job then."

"I certainly trust them more than coward Squibs or Muggles."

Harry clenched his pen so tight he heard the plastic break.

"Then you'll be interested to know your inaction caused the death of ten Magical people. When we evacuated our citizens, they refused to leave, saying that the Ministry would have told them had they been in any danger."

"You are the reason those people are dead, Squib. If you had done as you were told… "

"I would dead and Voldemort would still be here."

"The Prophecy…"

"Pray tell what kind of power does a Squib possess?"

Harry smirked as he watched the Auror try to find a good answer.

"Prophecies are never wrong."

Harry snorted.

"Forgive me for wanting to live but I'll pass."

"You're just a coward, Squib," sneered Dawlish.

"And you wonder why I don't want to work with you…" Harry stood up and pointed to the door. "I don't think we have anything more to say to each other."

The Auror stood up and motioned to the bald black wizard who had remained silent the whole time to follow. Harry had already met him a few time and found him to be one of the most bearable wizards he had encountered. Dawlish left without sparring anyone a glance, chin stuck up.

The two wizards left the room and Harry slumped in his chair and gladly accepted the glass Carrington handed him the moment the wizards were out.

"Thank God for alcohol," sighed Harry as he took a sip of his scotch.

"Here."

Harry raised his glass.

"To the wizards and their stupidity," he said in a mock toast.

"I must say they reached a new high today," agreed Carrington.

A sharp knock on the door surprised them.

"Enter," said Harry, wondering who could be coming.

The black wizard entered and closed the door behind him. Harry and Carrington did not hide their confusion upon his return.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Carrington, Auror Shaklebolt, we already met."

Carrington shook his hand.

"We did, is there a problem?"

Shaklebolt let out a mirthless laugh.

"What is not a problem, Mr. Carrington?" He sobered quickly. "I have little time as Dawlish is waiting for me."

"We're listening," said Harry, leaning forwards.

"As you I'm an Auror, but I'm also a member of the Order of the Phoenix."

Harry raised his hand.

"I'm stopping you right now, Auror Shaklebolt. If it is another attempt of Mr. Dumbledore to coerce me back to the wizarding world then I must ask you to leave. I would have thought the man would have gotten the hint after last time."

Shaklebolt smiled.

"He got it. I think that having a Howler shouting NO in four languages following for a whole day made a point. I must say nothing worked on it and believe me he tried to."

Harry crossed his arms, feeling satisfied.

"It was a product of the cooperation between Muggle and Magical means. But you didn't come to discuss this little piece of revenge I think."

"Indeed not. Even if the Ministry is stupid to ignore your help, not all of us agree with this decision. Dumbledore thus asked me to give you this box."

He pulled it out of his pocket and restored it to his real size.

Harry eyed it with suspicion.

"How does it work and how can I be sure it is not a way to trick me back?"

"You place a paper in it and it will vanish to reappear to the sister box that stands in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. It works both ways. We will be grateful for any piece of information you'll give us."

Shacklebolt paused a little and looked at Harry.

"I will give you my word that this is the only function of this box. Do what you want with it."

Harry eyed him suspiciously before nodding.

"I will hold you to it, Auror Shaklebolt."

The man nodded and after bidding them a good day hurried out.

Carrington stood up and walked to the desk, eyeing the box.

"Have your fiancée check it out before using it."

Harry nodded, rolling his eyes.

"As if I would do otherwise…"

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Harry and several other members of the Department of Magic Control looked down at the mock-fighting going on before them.

"Looks like the new equipments are holding up," said Hordane.

"They are," stated Hermione looking up from one of the computers.

"They better, given how much they cost," mumbled a man behind him.

Hermione fortunately didn't catch it.

"As you can see, we have come up with devices that forbid any type of magical travel save flying on broom. We also came up with various shields against magic. None of them will work on the Unforgivable though we are still working on finding a solution."

She pointed to several soldiers doing target practice on dummies surrounded by bubbles of different colours.

"We also found a way to make our weapons pierce a magical shield."

She ten motioned to a tall man.

"I'm Dean Thomas, a Muggle-Born wizard. On this table, you can see classical army's equipments. All of them are Magic-proof and will be able to work no matter the magical saturation."

He gestured towards a strange device. It looked like a steel spider with hundreds of tiny crystals imbedded in it. As Harry looked closer, he noticed that all those crystals had microscopic engravings on them.

"This is magic Nullifier. The strongest we managed to create was able to block magic in a radius of ten metres."

A man cut the wizard.

"Excuse me but why don't we create stronger versions of this to spread around and magical inhibitors for ever witch and wizard. This would be a sure way to deal with this problem."

A silence followed his words. Hermione was the one to break it.

"I'm glad to see that you condone genocide, Defence Secretary."

The man looked at her visibly startle.

"What do you mean Doctor Granger?"

"Simply that by going along with your plan not only would we make all magical fauna and flora disappear but we would exterminate every single magical beings."

"Care to elaborate, Doctor."

"Of course, Prime Minister." She took a deep breath, a bit intimidated to speak to one of the most powerful men in England. "Magical beings, be they sentient or not are just that, Magical. They need Magic to live just as we need air, water or food. Cutting them from magic would be like depriving us of air. The more magical a creature, the quicker she would die. A Unicorn would not survive five minutes, nor would a phoenix. A Pegasus or kneazle would survive maybe a day."

The prime minister nodded.

"Alright, bit how does that work for wizards? As far as I know they are still human unless you have something to tell us, Doctor."

Hermione smiled.

"Wizards and witches are humans. We haven't been able to find out what allow us to perform magic. Our main hypothesis is that they carry a magical gene we could say."

She paused a little.

"But that's not today's problem. Magical inhibitors might work without damages or long term consequences on babies or toddlers. It would block the expansion of their core and said core would then destroy itself from disuse."

"So why can't we-"

Hermione frowned.

"I would thank to let me finish my explanation, Defence Secretary."

"As I said it would work for toddler or babies. To use it on anyone older than 2 year-old would be tantamount to torture."

She looked at the Defence Secretary with a smirk.

"What would happen if I took out your liver, Mr Sullivan?"

The man shrugged.

"I would die. But I don't see how this is relevant."

"As they grow up, a wizard's body grows more and more accustomed to magic. Magic ingrains itself deeper and deeper in all the body's functions. By the age of seventeen, they need magic to function. Should they be cut of from it, their body will start to shut down."

"What about teenagers?" asked a woman.

"Hypothetically speaking, they could be cut from magic since it is not fully set in them yet. However it would more painful that anything you can imagine and there would be no guaranty that they would come out of it whole and sane."

Carrington stepped forwards.

"Thank you for your explanations, Doctor Granger. Defence Secretary Sullivan, I'm sure you'll understand why this solution was never considered."

The man nodded.

"When will the squads be operational?" he said looking at Harry.

"They'll only need one more month."

A stout man dressed in a dark suit with a bright green and yellow tie frowned.

"But are we sure they'll be enough faced with real wizards?"

Harry shook his head.

"I don't think they could take a real wizard one on one. But a whole squad with the right back up has enough up its sleeve to deal with a large number of wizards."

The Prime Minister looked back to the squads training bellow them in the large arena that had been built under their office building.

"You all know that the situation is dire. If we do not want to disclose the truth of Magic, something we'll have to be done before the end of the year. We can't afford a new wave of casualties."

Harry nodded.

"The number of casualties has really gone down with the blocks on magical travel. Our contacts have told us that Voldemort thinks Dumbledore warded the places and Dumbledore thinks that a rogue team is protecting the Muggles. "

"Let them think what they want to. It's not like they would believe we could be able to defend ourselves."

Carrington smiled darkly.

"Let their blindness be their downfall then."

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Harry watched the spectacle provided by the wizards. Had the situation not been so dire, he would have found it hilarious.

On the left side you had the Ministry officials not affiliated with Dumbledore. In the middle, you could find the Dumbledore supporters and the members of the Order of the Phoenix. On the right side, a little isolated from the others were seated the darker supporters of the Light sides.

Harry had heard them being called Slytherins with such distaste he had asked Hermione what that meant. Upon understanding being that dislike he had snorted at the wizards' stupidity.

Honestly, ostracizing a whole group of wizards because they had been sorted in a house labelled dark due to the actions and thoughts of a man dead for centuries…

Harry eyed them with a keen eye. He knew they were only following Dumbledore because they thought he would be the one winning and did not doubt that all of them had plans in place should the tides turn in Voldemort's favour.

However there was one point they all agreed on: ignoring the Muggles and Squibs.

Harry had come at Dumbledore's request after having the man swear an oath that he and his companions would be able to leave whenever he wished as the meeting would be held in Hogwarts.

Finally the Ministry officials stood up and left in a huff when it became clear that Dumbledore would not bow down to Scrimgeour's decisions.

Hermione leant on him.

"There are hopeless, aren't they?"

Harry smiled.

"Makes you glad you left them, doesn't it?"

Hermione nodded.

"Yes." She frowned, recalling her time in Hogwarts.

Harry squeezed her hand.

"You are the strong one, Hermione. Never think otherwise." He looked at the wizards and witches. "Please remind me why we came?"

Hermione gave him a small smile.

"To promote Muggle-Magical relations?"

Harry shook his head.

"No I mean the real reason."

"To see wizards make arse of themselves."

"I know I should have brought popcorn."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Be nice, Harry."

Harry brought his attention back to the situation at hand. It seems that Dumbledore was taking the situation back in hand, having stunned and silenced Black.

Now, that was a wizard Harry had come to dislike for purely personal reasons.

First the man put revenge before taking of his orphaned fifteen-month-old godson. Then, he escaped and spent a year trying to catch Pettigrew, not once trying to contact him. After being captured by Snape and barely escaping the kiss, he finally decided on making a sensible decision and contacted Dumbledore.

A questioning under Veritaserum was all it took to convince the old man who then sent him back on Wormtail's trail.

It would take two more years for him to get the rat and be able to prove his innocence.

And did he ever thought of looking for his godson?

NO!

Then after being cleared by the Ministry, he finally learnt the truth about his status of a Squib.

And what did the man do?

Contact him?

Get custody?

At least take an interest in his life?

Well, after a few days in denialland, the man simply relinquished his status of Godfather, unable to deal with the fact that his best friend's son wasn't a wizard. Harry had to say that it had hurt to receive that notice. It had hurt even more to learn from Dean that Sirius Black had apparently taken a guy called Longbottom under his wing.

And he had had the gall to waltz in Harry's life, fully expecting the young man to welcome him.

He was broken from his reverie by Dumbledore's amplified voice shouting for Silence.

Ears ringing, he shot a glare at the man.

"These disputes have to cease at once. Divided we will fall, United we will stand strong!"

Harry snorted, as did Carrington, Hermione, William and the three others that had come with them.

"Hogwart's wards have been reinforced and all the students were evacuated to American schools save for those falling under the Ministry's conscription's criteria. We all know that Voldemort will attack here and we need to prepare."

Followed two hours of plans during which Harry and his companions were never asked to participate. They however took notes, already adapting their own plans.

The meeting was coming to an end when a thin dark-haired man with swallow skin spoke up.

"And what of Voldemort?"

All the eyes turned to Dumbledore.

"Severus, you know the words of the Prophecy as well as I do."

The man sneered.

"Indeed, Headmaster, thus my question." The man answered, shooting a glare Harry's way. "Has Potter finally accepted his role?"

Dumbledore gave him a smile.

"I'm sure Mr. Potter will do what is right."

Everyone turned to look at Harry who seemed to be completely engrossed in his papers.

Silence fell on the room.

"Mr. Potter?" asked Dumbledore.

Harry did not look up.

"Mr. Potter?" This time his tone was a bit more insistent and Hermione elbowed her fiancée in the ribs.

He looked up, rubbing his side.

"You were talking to me?" He said looking at Dumbledore whose twinkle was starting to fade.

"I do not think there is another Mr. Potter around."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"You'll have to forgive me, headmaster. I don't think I'm fit for the role of the innocent sacrificial lamb. But I'm sure you have come up with another way."

Dumbledore's twinkle definitively disappeared.

"Mr. Potter. This is no joking matter and it is your fate to fight…"

"My fate is my own to choose. And who said anything about me fighting?"

Many of those present looked at him bewildered. Even Dumbledore seemed unsettled.

"Well, since you're here, I've assumed that…"

"We have a phrase that says 'Never assume, it makes an ass out of you and me'. I have received no training in the way of fighting so won't come even close of the battleground. I would only be a distraction and a hindrance to the fighters."

"How can you say that, Harry! You're parents would have fought!" shouted Black.

Harry eyed him coldly.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Black, my parents are dead. However I think they would have wanted me to live, even if I'm a Squib."

"Harry, that's not what I meant," whined the man.

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"I think that was exactly what you meant. As it is clear that you refuse to believe that Muggles might play their part during the battle"

Some of the wizards present snorted and laughed at him. Dumbledore smiled at him.

"Mr. Potter, you can't really think that Muggles have a part to play. You said so yourself, they do not have the skills required."

It was not the words that got to Harry but the tone that was used. He stood up, followed by all those that had come with him.

"I couldn't have said it better, Mr. Dumbledore. We will then take our leave."

He saw several wizards stood up and shot a look at Dumbledore.

"I believe we had an agreement, Mr. Dumbledore."

The old man motioned to the others to sit down.

"Indeed, Mr. Potter," he sighed. "I can only hope that you will come to terms with your fate and realize that this is for the greater good."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"The greater good of whom?"

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