Training
Harry had now developed a daily routine of training. Most of this took place in the training room. This room was a lot like the room of requirement at Hogwarts except it was just for training. The room could simulate many scenarios in to which Harry had to adapt, sometimes with help from Serena, Sirius and even Remus. The room could generate death eaters, dementor's and all sorts of other creatures. Harry had faced a giant in that room as well and due to his new wand's power he could stun the giant with just one of his spells. Normally it would take about a dozen wizards together to stun one He also trained using wand less magic, wordless magic, wand less and wordless magic and had learnt how to fight with a sword.
Most of the time, Harry worked on his own whilst Remus and Sirius caught Serena up to the Hogwarts curriculum. Serena had to learn everything Harry had learned, in five years, in five weeks. She was going to sit her OWLs exams just before the start of term. She was taking all of the subjects that Harry was. Harry had decided to loan her the new glasses for a while in order for her to catch up with the reading. She was very powerful now that the charm that Dumbledore had pt on her had been countered and she was naturally bright She rarely needed more than five tries to do any spell. Harry had smiled to himself at the thought of someone being able to challenge Hermione. He would now also be able to challenge her because he spent most nights reading various textbooks along with Serena.
Harry had been so shocked when he had received his first ever birthday party. It had only been the four of them but Remus and a disgruntled Sirius had gone up to bed earlier to give Serna and Harry more time together. They had not been able to go out to get each other presents but had agreed that they would exchange gifts the next time they went which would be the last week of the holidays.
By the end of the holidays they could both take their NEWTs and pass easily but first came the OWLs for Serena. Serena would be going to the Ministry with Remus, Sirius and Harry. They had decided that they had to stick together. Sirius had to perform many charms upon himself to make a decent disguise. To many people he was still a deadly fugitive. They would be going by apparition, which was one of the many things Harry and Serena had learnt. They would be staying in the Leaky Cauldron for this last week because that was how long the exam's lasted. This would give Harry and Serena the rest of the day to shop for their school essentials amongst other things.
'So, where do you want to go first?' Harry asked Serena as they walked down Diagon Alley in the bright sunlight, hand in hand. Serena was looking around wildly and only stopped when she heard Harry laughing.
'What is so funny?' she asked whilst glaring at him. Harry sobered up and replied 'You remind me how I was when I first arrived here. I came here with Hagrid in my first year, you'll see him at Hogwarts next week. I wonder whose side he'll choose. He'll probably choose Dumbledore, like everyone else.' Harry spoke sadly. Serena registered his tone.
'What about this DA you told me about? It was you that trained them, not Dumbledore. It was you that fought off the ministry, not Dumbledore. When the school needed a leader you stepped forward in the past and have continued to do so, not Dumbledore.' Saying this she pulled Harry into a tight embrace.
'Well, well, well, what do we have here?'
'Harry's got himself girlfriend!'
'And a very pretty one at that!' A blushing Harry and Serena were greeted by the identical, mischievous smiles which cam from the Weasley twins.
'All right Harry, don't you remember us?' Fred asked with his smile intact.
'Of course, I do. Who could forget you two. It's Gred and Forge, isn't it?' Harry asked making Fred and George laugh. 'Serena these two prats are Fred and George Weasley, the two biggest troublemakers you'll ever find. Don't take anything they offer you and you'll be fine. Fred and George, this is Serena Black. Yes, she is Sirius' daughter and yes we are going out.' After the introductions had been made the twins spoke to Harry.
'We were wondering when you would show up here.'
'Harry, we have to show you something.'
'Can you remember a certain tournament two years ago?'
'When the winner gave away his prize?'
'We'll say no more, just follow us.' Harry took Serena's hand once more and followed Fred and George down Diagon Alley. They approached the very last building of the alley before Fred and George stopped.
'Wicked!' This was shouted in unison by Harry and Serena. It was easily the busiest shop on the street. It was also the most colourful and eye - catching.
'We present to you Weasley's Wheezes.' The twins gave Harry a thorough tour of the store. Harry was really impressed, he thought if that if the twins were in Hogsmeade they would put Zonko's and maybe even Honeydukes out of business. It was a joke and sweet shop in one, with more emphasis on the jokes. After seeing Harry's face the twins looked at each other.
'Don't worry Harry you have a 20 share in this. It was your investment that started us up and it's up to you to name your percentage. The lowest is 20 but only if you sign the paperwork right now.' George added with a smile.
'Otherwise you may find yourself with a bigger percentage.' Fred spoke menacingly.
'Guys you know I don't want it but I know when to give up.' Seeing the look of shock on the twins faces at him giving up some quickly he added 'Come on then, are we going to the back. I want to have a little chat with you two.'
Ten minutes later Harry had told the twins the story of how he was going to lead his own war and not be a tool for Dumbledore, for the Ministry or for Voldemort. Then Harry came to the crucial part.
'I'm sorry about this but I need to ask you two where your loyalties lie. I mean your parents have been following Dumbledore for God knows how long but what about you?' Harry had been watching the twin's expressions all the way through his story and had seen them look quite sympathetic which was a surprise for Harry. But now they both looked quite angry. George got up and before Harry knew what he was doing he had changed the document in front of Harry. Now it read 33.
'How dare you question us Harry. We would have fought with you last year but we had already left, now nothing can stop us. We were with you from the start, are with you now and will be with you until you become a complete prat.'
'Hopefully Serena can do something about that. Oh, and if I were you I would sign that contract before we increase the percentage so you own more than we do.' Harry grinned and gave both of them quick hugs, which was a first. It just felt right in the moment. He then signed the contract with a flourish and handed it over. After receiving a few choice items each Serena and Harry walked out of the shop, once again holding hands. After visiting a few more shops they went back to the Leaky Cauldron in order to wait for Remus and Sirius.
Harry, Serena, Remus and Snuffles were now approaching the Ministry of Magic. None of them knew what to expect from here. Harry may be seen as a hero or an enemy. Harry was glad that the Ministry had finally acknowledged the return of Voldemort and were now trying to do something about it. They had admittedly done one good thing which was to lower the restriction of under age magic down by a year so Harry and Serena were legally able to do magic whenever they needed or wanted to now. The only other thing the Ministry had done was that they had sent out some pamphlets that provided little if any help to the Wizarding public. Due to all these failures many people had called for an election. It was due in two months time.
As they approached the Ministry they saw a huge crowd just outside of the visitor's entrance. Many of them held banners. Harry's first thought was maybe it was to do with the upcoming election. As he neared he realised he was sort of right. All of the banners read 'Potter for Minister!' Harry's face was completely shocked. Serena noticed this and shot a worried glance ahead. He had only been able to read the placards due to his new glasses. The others were still unable to make out the words. The first person to realise what they said after Harry was Serna, who turned and looked at Harry curiously.
'Mr Potter, would you like to tell me how they knew you were coming today?' Serena said glaring.
'Well, er, I thought it would be nice to take the OWLs together so I decided to retake them. My other results are now null and void so I will never know what I got. When you apply for these tests you probably know that you need to give them your name, age and other information.' Harry said quickly and teasingly at the end.
'Mr Potter, are you mocking me?' Serena asked raising her wand. Harry leaped behind Sirius earning laughter from Remus and Sirius. Serena spun around Sirius and was about to jinx Harry but instead found herself locked in a deep kiss with him. Harry was gently but firmly applying pressure by pulling her head towards him. He stopped so they could get air and smiled with a glint in his eyes.
'I knew that would work.' Harry said laughing.
'What? What are you talking about?' Serena was quite confused. Remus and Sirius were also laughing. 'Now I remember I was going to jinx the hell out of you.' As her lips started to move in order to say a spell Harry pounced and once again locked her into a deep and passion filled kiss. The moment was ruined with a bright flash and shouts of 'Harry!' and 'Potter for Minister!'
They had reached the entrance. The crowd had worked themselves into frenzy. They were all cheering and pushing each other in order to get near to Harry. There were men and women holding placards and screaming for him to become Minister. The majority were young women who were yelling out 'Harry!' over and over again. There were some reporters and cameramen present as well.
The thing that surprised Harry the most was the lack of aurors or other law enforcers. These people could hurt someone at the rate they were going. Looks like it's down to me again thought Harry, before raising his wand.
'BANG!' A huge bang erupted from Harry's wand which immediately calmed and silenced the crowd. Some looked fearful until they realised it was Harry who had made the noise. They pointed this out to others and then watched Harry silently with excited looks in their eyes.
'What are you doing? Look at yourselves? You're acting like a pack of wild animals. There are children among you that are getting crushed. What sort of example are you setting?' Harry after sensing the guilt from the majority then went on in a softer tone. 'I understand your need for a leader and someone to stand up for the average wizard and his family. I admit that the Ministry has made many mistakes but why don't you spend some time thinking about whom you think would be a better leader and then voice your opinions in the general election in October. It's only two months away and before then, in a month's time, you have the vote for the three contenders who go against Fudge. I woul…' Harry was cut short by a loud crack which came from a spot only a few metres away from him. This was then followed by three more cracks in that area.
'Harry Potter, we meet again.' Lord Voldemort spoke in a shrill high voice which was void of any emotion. His red snake – like eyes scanned the vicinity while he approached Harry. The three other death eaters were wearing full, black robes with hoods and masks. The crowd were still silent but now in fear.
'Hello Voldie, is it me or can't you get enough of me?' Harry said in a jovial tone. His words enraged Voldemort.
'Silence, you insolent boy! Do you want someone else to die for your mistake today? I merely came to kill you whilst that foolish old man sits in his castle. Wait a minute who is that pretty little girl holding your hand? Come, Harry, you must introduce us.' Voldemort smiled.
'Go fuck yourself!' The crowd now wore expressions of shock, Harry Potter had just sworn at one of the most power fullest wizard in history. 'Why don't you just attack me, wait until you're getting the shit kicked out of you and then run away with your tail between…actually you probably don't have one.' Voldemort's face shook with fury. He, the darkest, strongest wizard in the world was being ridiculed in public by a schoolboy. Harry knew what Voldemort was going to say before he himself knew.
'Harry, have it your way; me against you. No interference, we duel to the death. My followers will stay over there and nobody will have to die for you. We'll see who is running away. Oh, wait a minute, maybe you're too scared? But I know something which will make you fight me. Or should I say someone?' Voldemort beckoned one of his Death Eaters forward and tore off the person's mask.
'If it isn't little, bitty, baby, Potter, tell me, how is dear Sirius? I haven't seen him for a while.' Bellatrix goaded. Harry kept calm, this was down to two things, one was the fact that Sirius was perfectly fine and was stood a few feet behind him and the other was his Occlumency. He had now mastered it along with Legilmency, which was the opposite of Occlumency and instead of defending his mind and protecting his own thoughts he could also attack other people's minds and see their thoughts. This was just one of the ability's he had developed during his training.
'All right Belli, I would say it's nice to see you again but I would be lying. Not even Voldie likes the look of you. Are you going for the gothic/tramp/psycho look?' Harry was trying to keep an eye on Sirius because he knew that it would be hard to restrain him from killing Bellatrix Lestrange. Sirius was not very good at keeping calm and holding his emotions. Because of this he didn't see the flicker of irritation on Voldemort's face.
'Silence, you ignorant prick! My Lord, please allow me to face this orphan, you do not need to waste your precious time on the likes of him.' Bellatrix finished fearfully. With Voldemort you never knew if he would be happy or whether he would he was going to send a Cruciatus curse at you.
Voldemort turned his head towards Bellatrix and then faced Harry again. 'Have it your way Bellatrix. At least I won't have to punish you if you fail.' Voldemort laughed. His laugh made everybody shudder. He waved his wand and muttered something. A gold shield went around Harry, Bellatrix and Voldemort. 'This is to protect those fools. The only thing this shield doesn't block are the Unforgivables. I will officiate, don't worry Harry, I'll play fair. I promise.' He finished with another eerie laugh.
Harry glanced around and saw Sirius, Serena and Remus firing some spells at the shield. All of them had no effect. He knew he didn't have a choice as he turned to face Bellatrix.
'Reducto!' shouted Bellatrix starting the duel. Harry flicked out his wrist and caught his wan din one flowing moment which drew gasps from most people. He also put up a shield charm wordlessly. This display made Voldemort's eyes widen.
'Little, bitty, baby Potter, has learned some new games. Let's play!' What followed was Bellatrix sending every curse she could short of the killing curse at Harry. He deflected most off them back at her with such ease and avoided the rest with much effort. It was obvious to everyone that Harry was toying with her but it wasn't obvious why.
The reason was Harry knew Voldemort too well and the moment Harry fired a curse Voldemort would get him from behind. He was using a bit of common sense but mostly Legilmency to work this out. He knew he would only get one chance and failure wasn't an option.
As Bellatrix's lips started to from the familiar killing curse Harry knew it was now or never. If he dodged it there was a strong chance of someone behind him getting hit. He whipped out his other wand, the stronger and more accurate wand and simultaneously fired two curses with his wands.
'Diffindo! Expelliarmus!' He had severed Bellatrix's arm which was now lying at the side of her, covered in blood. He had also disarmed her and caught her wand. She fainted and fell in a bloody heap parallel to her mutilated arm. The blood was still gushing out and Harry knew unless she saw a healer right now she was dead. Harry didn't have the chance to worry about that at the moment because he had seen the shield go down. Without even looking he knew what Voldemort was going to do.
Voldemort's face wore an expression of utmost shock, when Harry apparated to a position between Voldemort and his target Serena. Voldemort had started to walk towards Serena with his wand raised but was startled by the silent appearance of Harry a metre away from him.
'I don't think so.' Harry spoke calmly and evenly. His voice didn't betray any of the fear or anger that he felt. He was afraid of exactly this. He didn't want Serena to end up dead. He saw Voldemort glance to the left
'Crucio!' shouted Voldemort. The little girl stood no chance. She had no time to move and most people knew that her brain would be fried within seconds. The girl closed her eyes and waited until she heard a grunt and an arm wrap around her. She opened her eyes and saw Harry Potter, smiling down at her. True the smile looked forced but he was being tortured.
Harry had once again saved an innocent. He took the pain and smiled at the nine year old in front of him.
'Tom! Stop this at once!' The voice was unmistakable; Albus Dumbledore had arrived, not to mention the aurors piling out of the Ministry. Voldemort apparated away at once, followed by his two Death Eaters. Bellatrix was motionless, lying in a pool of her blood. Harry was breathing heavily but he had left something for Voldemort to remember. He was the only one who had not screamed in agony when hit by his Cruciatus curse. Voldemort now knew that Harry meant business.
'I'm happy to say that the show is over. Everyone please return to your work or homes.' Dumbledore spoke with such authority that nobody disagreed and they all followed his lead. Eventually Harry and Serena were facing their OWLs Examinations. Harry found it very difficult to concentrate. He had just killed someone. If he hadn't studied so hard during the summer, Harry knew he would have failed but due to his studying he was pretty sure he had just aced the test without even trying.
'Harry, we need to talk.' Serena said in a tone which implied she wasn't joking but was quite serious. Harry thought he knew what was coming. He had dreaded this moment since the encounter with Voldemort. He sat on his bed and looked anywhere but at her.
'No, it's alright, Ser, I know what you're going to say. I knew it was too good to last. It's like I've been living someone else's life the last few weeks. Who am I to deserve your love? Who am I to deserve a shred of happiness?' Serena cut off Harry's ramblings with a short but passionate kiss.
'Harry I'm not breaking up with you.'
'It's alrig…what!?! Why?' Harry was now completely confused.
'Maybe because I love you. I'm sorry but you're stuck with me.' Serena teased. 'Not even death will separate …'
'Don't! Don't even joke about that. You saw how easy it is to take a life. Just like … like I did. I – I ki…kill…killed her.' Harry broke down. Serena rushed to him and put her arms around him.
'Harry, that bitch deserved it! She nearly killed Sirius! What about the Longbottoms? If anything I think death was too good for her. Remember it was a duel to the death, which she started. You already know that if she would have won, I would have killed you myself.' Harry wiped his tears away and looked into Serena's crystal blue eyes.
'You do know that if I'm already dead, you can't re - kill me.' Harry laughed whilst Serena pouted. Her lips looked so inviting that he jumped on her and before long a snog fest ensued.