Disclaimer: I do not own anything other than the story line . All rights belong to J.K. Rowling

Chapter Four: Repercussions

Harry sat at his desk in what had once been Sirius's study. He glanced around the room. It certainly had the feel of a room that was once frequented by his Godfather. There were bits and pieces of memorabilia scattered about the room. He even saw a pair of replica Quidditch jerseys, or at least he thought they were replicas. Since one of them read Potter across the back, and the other read Black, they might not have been. The Potter one was of a more current style, while the Black jersey looked quite a bit older…

He realized that he mind was wandering, and he tried to bring it back on task. He had a lot to go over. First and foremost, he had to find a way to take control of his life. He had to get out from under the thumb of one rather possessive headmaster, who for some reason had it in his head that he ruled over Harry's entire life. Harry was determined to show the manipulative old codger that this was not the case, at least not for much longer.

He had to free up his resources, he had a war to fight, and wars weren't cheap. He had learned that much from Professor Binns. Wars cost money, and at least he had some of that. He assumed that there was some stashed away that he knew nothing of.

He also had to see about being emancipated. As long as he was under the despotic rule of his Uncle Vernon, he could accomplish nothing, and he had taken on more responsibilities. Thoughts of the Patil twins flashed through his mind. He found himself blushing as he remembered the kiss he had received on his cheek from Padma.

She was an intriguing person. He knew from much experience that he was attracted to strong, intelligent women. Cho might have been trying to recapture the feeling that she had experienced with Cedric, but Harry had originally found her fascinating. Hermione was his best friend, and she was exceptionally intelligent. The two other young women in his life, Ginny and Luna, were both strong, intelligent young women with many unique talents and viewpoints. Well, Luna certainly had unique viewpoints. He was still learning about Ginny.

But Padma made him think, long and hard about things. She had a talent for drawing things out of him. He hadn't really known her for much time, but for the short time they had spent together he had been forced to questions some of his beliefs and opinions. He rather approved of that aspect of her. It didn't do for a man to become too accepting of his own ability to be correct, or his own value. Men turned out like Draco Malfoy, or if he was being honest, Albus Dumbledore.

Sadly, he felt that his days of blindly trusting his headmaster were over. He would take anything the man had to say under advisement. He would be a fool if he didn't; Albus Dumbledore was well over a hundred years old after all.

So what to do about the predicament that he now found himself in? He decided to sit down and write a few letters. He needed more information, and he was bound and determined to get it.

*0*0*

It was just after lunch time when Harry emerged from his Study. He had spent the time after he finished writing reading a book on small unit tactics. He found the topic fascinating. He now realized that there was a huge difference between strategy and tactics. Just how to integrate the differences escaped him at the moment, but he was sure that he would figure it out. Maybe Ron and Hermione could help with that. Maybe Padma could too. He would have to find out.

He was startled out of his reverie by the voice of the man that he had looked up to as a sort of surrogate father. Arthur Weasley had made an appearance at Headquarters. With a smile he made his way into the sitting room to greet the soft spoke wizard.

"Hello Mr. Weasley," he said softly as he entered the room. Arthur Weasley was sitting on one of the sofas, his daughter Ginny snuggled up to him on the dilapidated old piece of furniture. There were scorch marks along it, and it was threadbare in some places. The springs were showing from the bottom, yet it was a good sofa. Sirius had always liked the old piece, saying it reminded him of himself.

"Oh, hello Harry," Arthur said around a bite of sandwich that he had been munching on. He moved to get up to shake Harry's hand but Harry waved him back down.

"Please sir, sit. What I have is here for you. I'm just glad to see you well. How is Mrs. Weasley?"

"Molly's still rather weak right now. The curse that Bellatrix hit her with sapped a lot of her magical core to fight off its effects. The healers at St. Mungo's say that she should be alright in a few weeks, but she isn't going to be coming home any time soon." He let out a sigh as he noticed the cloud that seemed to pass over Harry's face as the name of Molly's attacker had been revealed. He knew that Harry had a score to settle with the insane witch. He hoped that someday Harry would be able to settle things in a satisfactory manner.

"Would it be alright if I were to visit her sometime soon? I feel really badly that she ended up there. I mean, you two have been like parents to me, and I would love to see her."

"I think that we might be able to arrange that, Harry. I know that she would love to see you. Maybe Ron and Ginny could accompany you?"

"I'd like that. Please let me know when we could go." He leaned down and whispered in Ginny's ear. "Take care of him Ginny, he's had it rough the last few hours." As he stood back up he saw Ginny wink at him. She settled deeper into her snuggle with her father.

"Harry," came a voice from one of the doorways. He looked up to see Hermione standing there. "Can I talk to you? Privately?" She chewed her lower lip, obviously worried about whatever it was that she had to say.

He glanced down at the Weasleys. "If you would excuse me?" At Arthur's affirmative nod he strode out of the room and swept past Hermione. He motioned for her to follow. They made their way into the Black family library. Harry figured that this would be the one place that would put Hermione at ease. If there was any place that would do that, it would be a library.

"What did you want to speak to me about, Hermione?" he asked as soon as they had both found comfortable chairs to sit in. He scooted the old, Victorian style chair a little closer so that he was facing his friend.

"Harry, are you sure that you're doing the right thing? I mean in taking the D.A. and making it so much more than it was before?" She sunk back into the red velvet cushions of her own chair.

Harry let out a small sigh. He had expected this. He simply hadn't expected it quite so soon. After a moment of looking down at the Persian rug to gather his thoughts, he looked up at the cinnamon eyes of his best friend.

"Am I sure, Hermione? No, of course I'm not sure. I've never done something like this before." He rather liked looking at her eyes. He hadn't really thought of how pretty they were before. It was strange that he noticed her now that she had declared that she was never going to venture down that particular road. He was struck by just how strange the male psyche was.

"Then why, Harry? These people are hurting. They've lost family and friends. The last thing that they need is…"

Harry cut her off right there. "Actually Hermione, if there is one thing that I am very well acquainted with, it is the loss of family and friends. I have had more intimate experience with it than anyone else in this entire household. I would thank you to remember that before you start lecturing me."

Hermione sat back and looked stunned. Tears welled up in her eyes. She clutched her hands together, wringing them as if by rubbing them raw she could exorcise the feelings that were welled up within her.

"Hermione," Harry whispered. When she looked up into his eyes he continued. "The thing that I've found is that if you are given too much time with nothing to do in these situations it's much worse than if you have something to occupy your time. I've been there, and I don't much like it. I've found that you tend to wallow in self pity and despair. I would save my friends from that if I could."

He reached out and grasped her small hands in his own. "Hermione, you told me the other day that you loved me, and that you'd be there for me. It goes both ways. I love you too, I think that I have for a very long time. You're the sister that I never had. Oh, I shan't lie to you, it could very easily become romantic love, if you were inclined in that direction, but since you aren't, I shall love you in whatever way you allow. Now, I need you to be there at my side, backing my play. Are you going to stand with me?"

"Of course I shall Harry," she replied. "I said that I would, and I meant every word of it."

"Good, because by the time I get done with things this summer, I figure that things will be very different."

*0*0*

That evening Harry brought the leaders that he had selected together to hand pick their teams. He brought them into the study. They had looked around, stunned by the décor. It was a brilliant mix of modern and antique. Sirius, it seemed, had a touch for interior decoration. Harry figured that sitting in a cell in Azkaban for twelve years meant that he probably had a lot of time to think about such things.

Once everyone had settled in Harry motioned for them all to be quiet. "Have you given any thought to who you would like to have on your teams? Also, I would love to have your input into any particular training you think that you might need, and who we could try to get to teach it." He looked around the room. Predictably, Hermione's hand was in the air. He nodded to her to begin.

"Well, I think that we shall need to recruit some more members. I don't see that we have nearly enough to go around. I suggest that we get the core members, the ones that are here sorted, and then see about recruiting those whose strengths compliment what we need for the teams."

"I think that you've spotted our weakness, as well as a way to get around it," Neville commented. He looked very pale, and was so weak that he had to be helped into the room, but he had made it, and his eyes burned with a passion that Harry hadn't seen there prior.

"What do the rest of you think?" Harry asked. He looked around the room once more, before stopping at Padma.

"I think that we should make a list of the rest of the members, and see where their talents would best lie, and then assign them to the proper teams," Padma said softly.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Harry said to her, eliciting a small smile. "There's just one thing that I would like to say first though. Speak up, don't be afraid to speak your mind. I might have been the type to lose my temper before, but I'm trying to put that behind me. You're opinion counts, each and every one of you." He made a sweeping gesture to include each of his team leaders.

"Remember, I need each of you. Your team members on the D.A. need you. Voldemort chose to attack each of you." A collective shudder went up as he said this. "I know from experience that he will not stop with that one attack. We have to be prepared. Now, let's get that list going."

The list quickly got put together. The hammered out the details for a couple of hours until it looked something like this:

Harry's command team: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Padma Patil. When questioned on this Harry's reply was simple. The two smartest students in their year, and Ron's natural feel for how an enemy thinks.

Hermione's combat spell research team: Justin Finch-Fletchley and Anthony Goldstein. The Ravenclaw's intelligence combined with the Hufflepuff's work ethic felt like a good mix to her.

Ginny's strike team one: Cho Chang, Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas. Ginny felt that she could keep Cho in line, while Dean and Seamus would work well together, plus it kept her boyfriend where she could keep an eye on him.

Neville's strike team two: Hannah Abbott, Zacharias Smith. This team was the weakest at the moment, but with a little work and some recruiting, Neville felt that he could pick things up. Look at how far he had come.

Katie's strike team three: Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnett. Having worked together for years on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, this was looking like a very strong beginning for a strike team.

Luna's magical creature and illusion team: Susan Bones, Dennis Creevey. Harry felt that this would be a particularly strong team. Dennis seemed to have an innate feel for magical creatures, and Susan was a very strong member for any team. She would be a very good addition here.

Parvati and Lavender's intelligence gathering team: Michael Corner, Colin Creevey. The older Ravenclaw had a knack for finding gossip, and Colin and his camera were made for this role…

Padma's magical wards, weapons and items team: Terry Boot, Fred and George Weasley. The twins had agreed that they would be a good fit here, combining their research and development with the talents of the two Ravenclaws.

Before they broke up, Harry reiterated that he felt that it was important to remember that everyone was hurting right now, and that the most important thing the team leaders could do was to provide a distraction from the pain for the grieving team members.

*0*0*

The next day Harry, Ginny and Ron went with Arthur Weasley and Tonks, who had arrived that morning, to St. Mungo's to visit Mrs. Weasley. They walked the short distance to the hospital, as Arthur had insisted that they needed the exercise. Harry thought that it was probably so that he could enjoy seeing more of Muggle London, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

It didn't take them long to get there, and they were soon shown into the room that Mrs. Weasley had been staying in. It was small, and rather dark, but it had a small window along one wall.

The thing that Harry immediately noticed, however, was Mrs. Weasley's condition. It appeared that she hadn't gotten any better, and if anything, Harry thought that she reminded him of an animate corpse. He was shocked that the woman who he knew to have so much vibrancy and zest for life should be so struck down.

Apparently Ron and Ginny were thinking similar thoughts, for Ginny let out a small sniff. She looked stricken as she gazed down at her mother. She clutched Ron's hand as if it was a life-line. Harry could see her trembling with emotion. He wished that he had the ability that Padma seemed to have. She was such a nurturing person. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She flinched momentarily until she realized that it was just Harry, and then she settled into it.

It was then that Mrs. Weasley decided to wake from her nap. She gazed up and saw her two youngest children, and the boy that she thought of as one of her own. She smiled weakly at them and held her hands out to them. Her two youngest flung themselves at her. Harry stood back to give them room. She realized that this was how Harry did things. He always gave to others what little things he could for their enjoyment and comfort. Others always came first to him.

She motioned for him to join them, and, reluctantly, he did. This was her version of heaven. Family meant everything to Molly Weasley.

"Thank you so much for everything that you've done for this family," she whispered to Harry. "Arthur tells me that Dumbledore informed him it was your warning that gave us a chance to resist. Thank you, Harry."

"I'm just sorry that you had to get hurt, Mrs. Weasley," he murmured, turning his head so she wouldn't see the tears that were threatening to blur his vision.

"It's okay, Harry dear," she replied. "Everyone else got out. You saved us again."

"I couldn't save everyone though," he muttered.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I said that I couldn't save everyone, Mrs. Weasley. We lost a lot of good people in the attacks. They attacked all the students that studied with us." He slammed his fist into the mattress. "It shan't happen again!"

"Harry, don't you go and do something stupid," Mrs. Weasley counseled. "Let us adults fight, not you children."

"Mrs. Weasley, I love you like a mother, but you're wrong. The war has come to us all, and we have to do something. I will not let my friends and loved ones come to harm because we just sat back and let Voldemort pick the time and place that the fights happen. We shall strike back, we must keep him and his Death Eaters off balance."

"Harry, this isn't your fight," she begged him to understand.

Harry reached out to cup her cheek. The tenderness of it, and the sadness in his gaze broke her heart. "Mrs. Weasley, I beg to differ. You've been following the Daily Prophet?" At her nod he continued. "You know then what they've been printing about me being the chosen one?" At her nod he smiled at her, a cunning, slightly devious smile. "Well, they got one right."

There was a collective gasp from every Weasley in the room who wasn't named Ron and pink haired auror. "It is my fight, and this time Voldemort's made a mistake. He struck at my friends. He hurt those that I consider my family. I will not allow that to happen again. Rest assured that from this moment on, Voldemort goes on the defensive."

He looked up at Arthur. "We should probably go now. I'm sorry that I got your wife worked up." He leaned over and gave Molly a hug, which she returned, even if it wasn't up to her usual standards. She was, after all, in a hospital bed.

Harry got up and tromped out of the room. He leaned up against the wall and sucked in great gasping breaths as he tried to get himself under control. If he lost control in here, it could mean a great deal of harm to patients. He had seen what his magic was like when it got away from him.

Tonks was the first one out the door. She came over and put her arm around Harry's shoulders, giving him a little of the comfort that she felt he needed. "Harry, is there anything that I can do for you?" she asked.

"Yeah, actually there is."

"What is it?"

"You can teach us small unit tactics. We need to be able to act cohesively as a team. I was thinking maybe you and perhaps Mad-Eye would be willing to help us?" He looked at her. She stayed quiet for a long time, and then a smile broke out across her face.

"Well, I'll just have to see what I can do for the 'Chosen One', now shan't I?"

"Oh do shut up," Harry muttered.

*0*0*

The return from St. Mungo's was a subdued affair. They flooed back to headquarters, and Harry sat in the kitchen, brooding. He had been deeply affected by seeing Mrs. Weasley in the condition that she was in. He had seen so much death. He fervently hoped that he wasn't going to see one more…

He was interrupted by the sounds of people yelling at each other. He got up and sprinted into the next room. There he found Katie Bell inches away from Dean Thomas. They were yelling at each other, and the insults were getting worse.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON?!?" Harry roared. All heads turned to face him. "Good, now that I've gotten your attention, could somebody please tell me what's happening?"

There was an uproar of sound as all the people in the room tried to explain at once. Harry shook his head, as the tempers began to flair around the room. He pulled his wand, and with a flick there was a clap like thunder, and all the people in the room were knocked off their feet.

Hermione was up like a shot and in his face. "Just what do you think you're doing Harry?"

"Shut it, Hermione!" Harry responded. She staggered back as if he had struck her.

"I don't think that you're acting appropriately, Harry. These people have been through so much…"

"Of course they're hurting, Hermione! They've all lost friends and family! They all need to blow off some steam, but hexing each other isn't the answer!"

Hermione shrank back. If it had been anyone but Harry she would have stood her ground, but there was something about him yelling at her that stopped her. "I still don't think…"

"Oh for Merlin's sake, grow a pair," Harry spat out. There was a loud, ringing crack as Hermione's hand slapped across Harry's cheek. Everyone in the room had gone silent as the two fought, and now you could hear a pin drop in the room. Harry touched his cheek where she had struck him. He looked at her and chuckled. "Feel better now?" he asked.

She was bristling, but at his levity the fight went out of her. She rushed into his arms and he held her tightly. "The need to let out the emotions, Hermione. I just don't want them to hurt each other while they do it." He let her go and they separated.

He looked up, just in time to see the Patil twins moving towards them. Parvati grabbed Hermione's hand and dragged her off, eventually pulling her into a hug which the brunette returned after a moment's hesitation.

Padma took him aside and examined his cheek. She pulled out her wand and quickly cast a spell to keep him from bruising. He smiled his thanks at her. Her chocolate brown eyes stared deeply into his emerald pools. For a long moment they just stood there, lost in the depths of each other. Their attention to each other was broken when someone let out a wolf whistle.

The both broke out in a blush. Harry thought that it was the most adorable thing he had ever seen. The contrast with her light brown skin was incredible. He had to make her do that more often.

"I don't know what to make of you, Padma," he whispered. "You intrigue me like no-one ever has."

She let out a low chuckle. Harry decided that he really liked the sound. "You've got style, Harry. Don't ever lose it. I have it upon good opinion that it drives us girls wild." She smiled at him. "Thank you for caring, Harry."

He was going to answer, but he never got the chance. Padma had just brushed her lips across his, and he felt all the blood drain from his head. It was the single most exhilarating feeling he had ever had in his life. The one kiss that he had gotten from Cho couldn't even come close to how this affected him.

He stood there, wavering as Dean and Seamus came up to take hold of his arms. Padma, spun gracefully and with a jaunty wave sauntered out of the room. Harry thought that the sight was the best thing he had ever seen. A patronus would be no problem after this night.

Author's note: Another chapter down. Thank you so much for all the reviews. I have gotten many good reviews, and many of you have made wonderful comments that make me think long and hard on how I am to proceed with this. Special thanks to . Your review gave me much to think about, and I always appreciated the candidness. Thank you so much for the helpful thoughts to each of you who has reviewed.

Remember, while Harry is blend of all the houses (Slytherin cunning, Hufflepuff loyalty & Ravenclaw intuitiveness) he is first and foremost a Gryffindor. He tends to charge in where angels fear to tread. He isn't always right, but he does hate inactivity.

I hope that you enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing it. I think it is rapidly becoming my favorite fic to write.