Harry Potter and the Quest of Light
Chapter: 4 of ?
Author: skarm
Rating: M

Timeline: Post HBP. This means if you haven't read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince yet you'll want to do so before reading this.
Series summary: With the death of Albus Dumbledore, those corrupted by evil are rapidly becoming bolder and more aggressive. However, those people are foolish if they believe Dumbledore was the final pillar of Light to stand in their way. Harry Potter is still around and more than willing to do what needs to be done.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They are owned by JKR except for a few original characters I have created for the purpose of this story. Needless to say, I did not invent this world and am merely borrowing it for some fun.
Special thanks: Chris is a great beta… or so I think… possibly.

Harry Potter and the Quest of Light

Chapter 4:

Articles of Concern

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." - Winston Churchill

It was a few days later that Harry found himself in his second Occlumency lesson of the summer. Hermione had pushed that they start immediately and, unlike at Hogwarts, both Harry and Ron were ready to put in a complete effort immediately as soon as the bushy-haired witch suggested it.

Much to Harry's surprise, however, Occlumency actually was learned much like Snape had tried to tell him, but with his friends instead of one of his least favorite people in the world trying to he had managed to capture the basics rather easily.

Occlumency in general was just getting your mind into a state of relax and, even as Snape put it, organizing your thoughts. With your mind strong and organized you would be better prepared to defend yourself against a mental attack of those trying to search through your mind.

The three of them felt the progress was going rather slowly until Hermione had suggested that they try a technique that consisted of muggle meditation. Since Snape and the book they had purchased on the subject both suggested that you only practice after you have calmed your mind, the morning was the best time to practice. However, Harry and the others wanted to perfect the technique as soon as possible so Hermione suggested using the relaxing method to practice more often.

Harry was having the most difficulty with this because whenever he let his mind wander while meditating it always came back to one topic, or rather one man. In addition to plotting how to vanquish the Dark Lord, Harry had been feeling his scar prickle ever so slightly the last few days as it always did when his connection to Voldemort was active. He feared that Voldemort was once again trying to open up the connection so that he could peer into his mind and possibly influence him like he had managed to do during his fifth year.

This worry made him strive harder towards learning Occlumency as step one of things he wanted to learn and train in the next few months, but he could only do the others if he was sure that Voldemort wasn't simply watching him, so to speak, the whole time he became stronger. Of course, like many things, when Harry tried to learn them out of desperation it hindered his progress. While Ron and Hermione were already putting up some very minor mental shields, Harry was still struggling to clear and organize his mind enough to do so.

That's where Harry found himself today. He was, along with Ron, Hermione and for the first time Sarah, sitting cross-legged on a bunch of cushions that Hermione had managed to find somewhere in the house. Their eyes were closed and they had relaxing looks upon their faces. All except for Harry, that is.

Harry was struggling to clear his mind as his scar ached uncomfortably. This really shouldn't be hard he mumbled to himself under his breath. The group had been meditating for a good half an hour when Hermione called them all out of their trances to ask if there was any progress.

Ron yawned lazily and stretched before shrugging. "I think I've got my shields a little stronger, but they're still too weak. I doubt I could even stand up to anyone using Legilimency right now," he said rather unhappily.

"Same here," Hermione said with the nod of her head. She sighed and looked over at Harry futilely. "I guess there's no rushing Occlumency. Why we didn't start long ago I'll never know…"

"Because I didn't think it was worth it, alright," Harry said somewhat bitterly. He had a slight headache from his time during meditation. If anything he actually believed that clearing his mind allowed Voldemort to have easier access to his thoughts.

"But that was Snape's fault, not yours, Harry-"

"It was me," Harry said rubbing his temples as he tried to clear his head. "Just because Voldemort wasn't trying to influence my thoughts or read my mind last year I gave up on it. We should have been learning it in fifth year."

Ron eyed him warily. "What's wrong?" he asked as he furled one of his brows and sized up Harry's temple massaging motion.

"I… nothing," Harry replied a little too quickly as he brought his hands back into his lap.

"Harry, we need to know," Hermione said soothingly and giving him a pleading look.

"Yeah, I thought you trusted us."

Harry sighed. "Alright, alright. You're right. It's my scar… well, by scar I mean Voldemort. Whenever I try to relax my mind I can feel my scar prickling or get a slight headache like I used to get."

Hermione bit her lip for a second, "But do you feel your shields getting and stronger?"

"I'm not sure, honestly. It's just hard for me to relax with all of this going on. I think I'm slowly progressing, but it's just not fast enough," Harry replied thoughtfully. It had taken him considerably longer than Ron, Hermione and even Sarah, who had only started Occlumency training a day ago, with the reason that she wanted to at least do something, to even begin to feel any sort of barrier in his mind that he could use to ward off unwanted thoughts.

Hermione pulled Oodles of Occlumency onto her lap and began sifting through the pages towards the end. She hummed thoughtfully as her eyes darted back and forth across the page. "I think," she began as she closed the book quickly, causing a thud, "that perhaps you're better suited to learning it than the rest of us."

Harry frowned at her.

"Well you see," she began, "since Voldemort is trying to get into your mind you will learn faster than us since you actually have someone continually prodding you. Occlumency just seems to be mainly mind over matter. Since you can throw off the Imperius Curse easily you should be able to get this done too."

Rubbing his temples again, Harry sighed. "If it was just mind over matter I think I'd be a little more successful right now."

"Not necessarily. I know you partially want to know and peer into Voldemort's mind too. Maybe that's just your subconscious. Given a few days of you really working at keeping Voldemort away, you should be quite strong. It may seem like it's hurting you, but in fact it should be helping you reinforce your shields continually."

"Then… then I don't know what's wrong. I don't feel any sort of shield like you and Ron say you have," Harry said, feeling rather annoyed.

"Maybe because it's always up already?" Hermione asked thoughtfully, though didn't wait for an answer. "You said it's only minor irritation from your scar now and that's better than usual, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Harry said as he thought about it. "So you're saying that I think I'm not getting anywhere because I'm already used to having Occlumency shields up?"

"It's probable. After all those attacks and having to live with it on a regular basis you might have been self taught and don't need Occlumency."

The more Harry thought about it the more he figured Hermione was right. After Voldemort tried to possess him in the Ministry of Magic two years ago perhaps he had learned a different form of mental barrier. After all, it was entirely possible as people learn to adapt, but it seemed no one but Harry and possibly Snape needed to have Occlumency shields up around the clock.

The first real test of Harry's will to push away Voldemort came two nights later when he was having a restless sleep. He began to slip into a vision-like trance as he did for many of his other connection visions with Voldemort.

The room was completely dark, but Harry could hear voices emanating from within.

"Finish it, then," hissed a voice.

"As you wish, Milord."

Harry tried to move closer to the voices to hear better, but he found he couldn't move. Seemingly paralyzed, he tried with all his might to make out who the second voice was.

"But-"

"Have I not…."

The voices grew louder and clearer. Harry was sure that the second voice belonged to Bellatrix Lestrange. He struggled again to move himself closer, but found it once again impossible. Do I really want to know?

The problem was that Harry really did want to know, but he knew that he had to close his connection to Voldemort of the sake of his plans and friends.

"Then…"


"We- lord…- be- … -"

The voices began to fade away as Harry willed walls into place that blocked out the conversation. As the voices grew ever fainter, Harry let out a sigh of relief.

"Don't you want to listen in, Harry?" Voldemort hissed loudly as if he was talking directly into Harry's ear.

"No!" he replied instantly, trying to reinforce his shields.

"Now now, Harry, I am sure you want to know what Bella wants to do…"

"So I can fall into another one of your traps, Tom?" Harry replied bitterly.

Voldemort's voice became more agitated and angry. "Never call me that again, Harry-"

"Well then I suggest you stop calling me by my first name, Tom," Harry spat back and tried again to close Voldemort out of his mind.

"Traps? Oh I'm beyond that. There is no need to play all secretive with Dumbledore out of the way. You know this full well. I guarantee you would like this information… all you have to do is give up Occlumency. It would benefit you and your friends…"

"I don't think so, Tom, I'm not falling for anymore of your tricks," Harry said as he gritted his teeth.

"A pity, really. Even Dumbledore would have liked to know what is about to happen in this way. It's a shame his pupil wouldn't even use what is available to him-"

"No!" cried Harry as his eyes opened sharply and he sat up in bed, panting. He was covered in a cold sweat, but he didn't notice as his thoughts raced to his vision and his scar.

There was a loud crash as Ron burst through the doorway, wand in hand, and scanned the room. "What's going on? Are you Ok?" he asked quickly. His face held a concerned look.

"I'm fine, really. Just a little… nightmare," Harry said, knowing Ron would know what he meant.

Ron's face contorted for a second, but took a step back into the hallway. "It's alright, he's fine," he called as Harry heard more footsteps approaching rapidly.

Hermione slid into view wearing a nightdress, but also had her wand in hand. "Was it… Voldemort?" she asked slowly, seeing Harry covered in cold swear.

Nodding in reply, Harry took off his wet t-shirt and tossed it onto the floor. "I think I stopped him with Occlumency, though."

"How do you know?" Hermione asked.

"Because my scar doesn't hurt right now. It always hurts after a vision like that," he explained as he gently touched his hand to his scar, but it still didn't react at all.

Furling her brow and sizing him up, she broke into a smile. "That's great, Harry," she said before succumbing to a yawn.

"Alright, alright. I'm fine, I blocked Voldemort using Occlumency. You can all go back to bed now," Harry mumbled as he grabbed a fresh t-shirt to wear.

The assembled crowd, which now included Sarah as well as Tonks, all said their goodnights once again and headed back down to their respective rooms, leaving Harry in peace.

He sighed as he laid back down to rest his head on his pillow. Voldemort had tried to trap him again, but he had fought him off. He stared at the ceiling wondering of Voldemort really thought he was foolish enough to fall for the same trap twice as he drifted off to sleep.

Harry awoke rather late, though he felt refreshed and determined knowing that he had successfully blocked Voldemort using his Occlumency shields. He knew he still had quite a bit of training and work to do before he would be able to stop Voldemort completely, but he was relieved to know that he could stop him if there was a serious need to do so.

As he went downstairs to the kitchen, he had made up his mind to return to Privet Drive today. Tonks had told him last night that the Dursleys had in fact returned to their house, but there was still no trace of Dudley. She had also told him to leave Dudley's disappearance tracking to the Aurors and the Order, but Harry half hoped he'd be able to find some clues while he was back in the general area.

He sat down at the table across from Sarah after fixing himself a sandwich, since he realized it was nearly time for lunch instead of breakfast like he had thought.

The younger girl looked up at him and then returned to flipping through one of the books that Hermione had purchased a few days earlier. She took a bite of a similar sandwich she had prepared for herself before Harry woke up.

"Where's Ron and Hermione?" Harry asked, feeling slightly sad as Sarah still apparently hadn't forgiven him for their argument a few days ago.

Sarah flipped another page in the book and took another bite of her sandwich, chewed and swallowed before she answered him. "They're in the drawing room practicing dueling," she answered without looking up.

"Erm, I see…" he trailed off thinking how to best phrase what he wanted to say. "I know you're still mad at me, but I'm just trying to keep you safe… you saw how dangerous it was," he said, trying to find a comment that would get her to talk to him. The two had shared very few words during the last few days, and none that weren't strictly professional, or so it seemed.

The girl took another bite of her sandwich and there was a ruffle as she turned another page in the book she was concentrating on.

"So, what are you reading about?" Harry asked in a resigned tone.

"Shield charms," Sarah answered immediately. Her eyes darted back and forth across the pages nearly as quickly as Hermione's usually did.

"You seem to be reading pretty fast-"

"Because I need to learn it. You said it was dangerous, so I'm learning how to protect myself," Sarah answered almost robotically.

"I see," he mumbled back. "You don't really have to learn them though…"

"But I want to learn them," she took another bite of her sandwich as she turned to the next page.

Harry sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Alright, well, if you want to learn them go ahead, but I'm not going to let you get into danger anymore."

"No, you're just going to send me somewhere I don't want to be."

Her cold and yet sad voice cut deeply into Harry, who silently ate for a few moments. "I think we can go back to Privet Drive today. It should be safe now," he managed to say.

"Ok, then I better go pack," she said as she got up from the table, returned her plate to the sink, and closed the book she was reading. With the book under her arm, she headed towards the door where Ron was leaning against the wall with an amused look on his face.

"Don't say. Just don't say it," Harry muttered as he caught sight of Ron.

"Hey," Ron began as he held his hands up in front of himself defensively, "I just call it as I see it."

Harry simply rolled his eyes and headed out of the kitchen to pack up his things.


Tonks had given the group a Portkey to take them back to Privet Drive once they were all packed, which didn't take long. The books and cloaks they had purchased were once again shrunk to perfection by Hermione and held inside their pockets as they all took hold of the feathery quill.

They landed in a crumpled heap on the grass since Harry had messed up his landing yet again and stumbled into Ron, who this time lost his balance completely and toppled into Hermione, who grabbed on to Sarah for balance. Harry was quite sure that if anyone happened to see their entrance into the Dursley's backyard they'd be laughing and for that reason Harry was thankful of the high privacy fence that surrounded the property.

Brushing themselves off, the group headed through the back door and into the kitchen, only to be cut off by a very fat and irate man.

"Excuse me, Uncle Vernon, you're blocking the door," Harry commented honestly as he tried to maneuver around the man to get to the hallway.

"Where. Is. He," Vernon spat out each word with a force that stopped Harry dead in his tracks.

Harry had seen his uncle angry on many occasions, but never like this. His face was drained of all color and his knuckles looked like they were on the very to pop out of his skin because they were clenched so tightly into his massive fists. "Where is who?" Harry asked, taking a slight step back.

"You freaks have him! I know you do!" thundered Vernon as he advanced forward menacingly. He stopped only when he saw Ron and Hermione quickly draw their wands from their pockets.

"Have who?" Harry asked, not really thinking clearly.

"My Dudderkins!" wailed Aunt Petunia from Harry's side, which caused the boy to jump and whirl around to face his aunt, who had tears streaking down her face. "He's still gone!"

"I uh… don't know where he is. The Ministry is looking for him-"

"This is your effing fault!" Vernon bellowed, shaking a fist menacingly at Harry. "Leave, now!" he bellowed again, his voice nearly loud enough to cause the windows to shatter.

Harry took another step backwards and collided with Sarah, who stumbled backwards as well. "They'll find him!" Harry said back rather loudly, not knowing exactly what to say. After all, it was Harry's fault that Greyback had been around in the first place.

"I have had enough freaks living in my house. Eating my food! Living in my rooms! The neighbors wonder what is going on! I have a bunch of ruddy criminals living my house! OUT!"

Despite it going against his own morals, with a quick motion Harry withdrew his Gringotts' money bag and reached inside. To his surprise as well as everyone else's, he withdrew large collection of one hundred pound notes.

"Bribery!" Uncle Vernon roared, though his voice was already losing his edge as his eyes darted between Harry and the money Harry was holding in his hand. It was a classic battle of Vernon's dislike of Harry or anything magical and his enormous greed.

"No, not bribery," Harry said as he moved closer to his uncle and held out the stack of notes. "I realize that with four of us it'll cost a lot."

Uncle Vernon snatched the money out of Harry's hand and examined it closely. When he could find no obvious sign of forgery, he glared at his nephew. "Where did you get this, boy? Did you steal it?"

Harry sighed. "No, it's… uh… it's my friend's money you see. They're quite well off and all…"

"Typical! Needing your friends to bail you out when you're in tricky situations," Vernon sneered, but he pocketed the money anyways and tapped it a few times for good luck. "I suppose you can stay…"

"But what about Dudders?" wailed Aunt Petunia again when she realized that her husband had backed down.

"They'll find them, Aunt Petunia. If not, I'll find him." With that comment, Harry led himself and his three friends past his aunt and down the hallway to the stairs.

When he got to his room, he sighed sadly and sat down on the edge of his bed in thought.

"What's wrong, mate?" Ron asked him as the girls headed down the hallway to the guest room. Since Sarah was able to get a good nights sleep now and was still mad at Harry the sleeping arrangements went back to normal.

"I just bribed my Uncle," Harry said.

Ron shrugged. "You did what you had to do. You didn't want us staying at Grimmauld Place because there's a chance the Ministry will get in there. I may not be Hermione, but even I see the logic in it," he said with a slight grin.

"The thing is, I know he took the bribe to let us stay and all… but it was like I was trying to pay him off for losing Dudley. It's sick," Harry replied as a wave of nausea passed through him.

"Well I would suggest a walk in the park, but who knows what we'll find there this time, eh?" Ron joked as he pulled out some of the shrunken books he was carrying and with a wave of his wand enlarged them back to their normal size. "Erm, where are you going?" he asked, seeing Harry heading towards the doorway.

"You said you wanted to go for a walk. Let's go," Harry said as he entered the hallway and went down the stairs.

Ron quickly followed him after heading down the hall and telling Hermione and Sarah that they'd be out for a bit.

The park wasn't deserted since it was the middle of the day and school was out for the summer. It was hot, though, so Harry and Ron sat down under a rather large tree as far away from the bushes and playground as possible.

After a few moments of silence, Harry finally spoke. "Am I doing the right thing?"

Ron looked at him with a somewhat shocked expression. "What do you mean?"

"You know. Running off on our own to do all of this. And then there's Sarah… I know it's not really a smart thing to let her stay with us, but it's what she wants…"

"If it wasn't the right thing to do, mate, Hermione and I wouldn't have come with you at all. Neville, Luna and Ginny wouldn't either. We follow you because we trust you and know what needs to be done."

"Yeah, but," Harry hesitated before speaking softly, "Are we in over our heads? We nearly got done in by Greyback alone."

"But we're still here, and yes I know it was because he ran into Dudley and his friends…" Ron trailed off slightly. "I think we shouldn't have ran away. Now's not the time for running. It's the time for standing and fighting."

Harry mulled over Ron's words and then nodded with a determination. "You know, Ron, you're right. If we ever want to beat Voldemort and his Death Eaters we're going to have to stand up to them eventually. Running is only going to make us lose at this point," he said, but then slumped back down against the tree he was leaning against. "But still… Sarah's hacked off at me right now, how am I ever supposed to do what I was planning?"

Ron smiled slightly, "Well, girls are like that and all. Remember when I accidentally made that comment about Hermione's hair and she didn't talk to me for a week? Sarah will come around. If you think this is bad you should see what happens when mum makes Ginny mad."

Laughing slightly at the thought of Mrs. Weasley and Ginny arguing with each other brightened his day slightly and he was glad he hadn't witnessed one of those.

"Girls can hold grudges for a long time mate and we've just got to grin and bare it," Ron said sagely. Harry couldn't help but laugh.

"But seriously, do you think I should let the Order know about the Horcruxes? They might be found faster. I'm not even sure how we're going to find them. Dumbledore basically fed me all the information on the first ones."

Ron sighed and stood up, brushing off his back. "Well you did say the Ministry is interfering with them. They Ministry will find out about the Hocruxes fast and then I am sure Voldemort will know soon after. Like I said earlier, if Hermione, myself and all there rest of us didn't think you were doing this the right way we'd tell you."

Harry stood up and the two of them began to slowly walk back towards Privet Drive. "Well then, I guess there's one thing that needs to be done today as well as studying."

"What?"

"We have to head up to a property realtor and get ourselves a Headquarters," Harry smiled with a distinct pride in his voice.


They had to catch a bus up to Greater Whinging to find what they needed, because after a short discussion with the only realtor around in Little Whinging, they realized that he was only going to sell them houses in his area.

The bus ride was rather calm, Harry thought, especially after all his trips taking the Knight Bus. It took them a good half an hour to reach downtown Greater Whinging, where they quickly found a property realtor.

This brought them a whole new set of decisions, though. They had already decided that they wanted a place out in the country, but they also needed something big enough to accommodate at least seven people if not more. They still weren't sure if anyone else would be joining them.

Another problem was the realtor himself. He seemed quite interested in watching them carefully as they flipped through his portfolio of available farmhouses or older style townhouses that were out of main populated areas. Harry figured that this was just due to the fact that a boy who wasn't even seventeen yet and his friends were looking for a large and expensive place to stay.

Eventually the choice came down to three places that could work. All of them were out in the country and came with a large section of empty land as well. This would guarantee that no one would be around them.

In Harry's mind there was only one choice, however. One of the properties, a nice house with more than enough space, had a small town only a few minutes walk away from it. This was too close for comfort, Harry thought, as there would still be a lot of innocent people around. The second one was a rather large cabin that was built off in the middle of nowhere. While this was practical for Harry's concern of innocent people around him being say, it just wasn't possible. They still needed some access to a nearby town to get food and other daily items.

This is why the third, a rather large townhouse, was better. It was on its own property and quite old, and about a ten minute walk to the nearest town. It had all the room they could need and wasn't close to anything.

"Ah, the old Benson townhouse," commented Mr. Maison, the realtor as he leaned over Sarah's shoulder to get a good look at what the group was talking about.

"What is the price?" Harry asked as he looked up to face the young man.

Mr. Maison looked rather startled that he was actually being asked. "That is worth at least two hundred thousand pounds. It is an old house with a great deal of land surrounding it."

"I see," Harry said nodding as he reached into his pocket and withdrew his money bag. He opened it up and pulled out another large wad of one hundred pound notes.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter," Mr. Maison began, though he looked at the money intently, "But all purchases here require a credit check by a bank…"

Harry withdrew the money and put it back into the bag where it promptly disappeared back to Gringotts. "I see. I'll be a few minutes, I suppose," he said as he led his three companions outside.

"Now what?" Ron asked scratching his head.

"Simple. We get a bank account with the nearest bank. With an initial deposit like this they're sure to give us one," Harry commented as he headed down the street to a bank where his Aunt had taken him once before when she needed to get her errands done.

However it was anything but simple. Harry had overlooked the fact that he didn't have any sort of identification on him. Wizard's never carried any ID, but the muggle world used it for everything.

"I am sorry, sir," the teller was saying, "But I cannot let you open an account regardless of what your initial deposit will be without some proof of identification."

Harry frowned and turned back to the others, but Hermione pushed past him and looked back up at the teller. "I'm sorry, but here," she said pushing forward a piece of paper towards the teller.

The teller read it and nodded. "It appears everything is in order, Miss Granger. What is it you wish to deposit?"

Hermione waved her hand dismissively. "The account can be under my name if you want, but Harry will be making the deposit. He's my adopted brother, you see. All his identification was lost in the house fire where…" she trailed off, but gave the teller a knowing look.

Harry had to step on Ron's foot rather hard to make Ron stop staring in shock at Hermione's actions.

"I see, Miss Granger. That's quite unfortunate. Mr. Potter, how much will you be depositing?" the teller asked as he gave him a look of sympathy.

Reaching into his money bag, Harry withdrew a bunch of notes worth about three hundred thousand pounds. While he wasn't exactly sure how much this was worth in galleons, he figured he'd best deposit more than was needed at the bank to purchase the house as well as whatever else they needed, such as furniture. He handed the money to the teller.

"Err, please hang on a second, Mr. Potter," the teller said while he pressed a button beside his computer. "I'm afraid deposits this large must be overseen by a manager."

The manager wasted no time in promptly appearing since he undoubtedly heard how much was about to be deposited in his bank. He filled out all the forms in a hurry and was overly nice to Harry, but he still checked the money out to the fullest extent to see if it was counterfeit. When he could find no fault in the money, which Harry was thankful that Gringotts actually had sent him actual muggle currency instead of replicating it, he called Hermione's parents to confirm their story.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief that Hermione's parents at once supported Hermione's claim that Harry had been adopted by them and had lost all his identification. When Harry had looked over at Hermione with his mouth hanging open slightly, he caught the slightest of winks from her. He made a mental note to ask her later about it.

"Alright, Mr. Potter. You and Miss Granger now have your account in working order with the sum of three hundred thousand pounds deposited. I must say that is a rather large sum of money for such youngsters," Mr. Bailey, the manager commented as he stood up from behind his desk and began to escort them back to the main room where Ron and Sarah were waiting.

"My parents were… quite well off. I inherited quite a bit," Harry said solemnly. He was quite thankful that he in fact didn't have to lie about this.

Mr. Bailey gave him a sad smile. "I am sorry to hear of your parents," he said as he headed back to his office.

With a flashy new debit card in his pocket Harry and the others returned to the realtor and were quite ready to make the payment for their headquarters.

Once again, there were some problems with Harry and Hermione both being under aged in the muggle world. Still, Harry reminded himself, it was safer going through it this way rather than using the Wizarding World where it was possible he could be tracked easier.

With a rather lengthy call to Hermione's parents once again, they eventually got a lease worked out in the Granger's names. Harry was immensely grateful that Hermione had thought this far ahead and prepared a plan. He hadn't even expected something like this to happen.

When he met up with the realtor again, Harry withdrew the debit card from his back pocket while Hermione took out all her legal documents again. "I believe I can pay for this now, Mr. Maison," he commented as he passed the rather stunned realtor the card.

"Right away, Mr. Potter," the realtor said as he headed around the counter and began filling out all the forms required. After a few calls to the bank, Hermione's parents and many signatures Harry, through the Grangers, owned his first house, or rather the headquarters of the Order of Light.

Mr. Maison had informed him that he couldn't take possession of the house until August 1st due to some things that to be cleared away from it. This suited their purposes fine anyways as they still could stay under the protection offered at Privet Drive until the end of the month as it was.

With the keys firmly in his pocket and a copy of the contract rolled up beside them, Harry and the others headed to their final stop of the day: A Department store. Harry had been informed that the house would have very few pieces of furniture, though it would have all major appliances.

Ron was thoroughly impressed with the many kinds of electronics, TVs and otherwise that muggles had instead of the Wizarding Wireless or magic in general. It shocked Harry that Ron had never even seen a lamp up close, except of course for the time his father had taken a few light bulbs home to show off.

It turned out that no matter how old or what their personalities were like, all girls loved shopping. Hermione and Sarah had immediately taken off to go look at a bunch of color samples and were planning on what colors or patterns would go on what.

Harry and Ron simply let them be and looked around the store for anything amusing. Harry knew that Hermione would make some good choices and, since her parents technically owned the house until Hermione turned eighteen in September, he figured that it was entirely her right to do as she pleased.

"Would you get a load of this thing?" Ron said with excitement as he examined a computer up close with an interest that could only match Mr. Weasley.

"Err, Ron, you might want to be careful with that. It's pretty expensive…" Harry commented as he walked up to see Ron randomly pressing keys on the keyboard and getting no results.

"Blimey, I don't think it works right do you?" the redhead asked as he picked up the mouse and pointed it at the screen like one might do with a TV remote controller.

Harry laughed and spent the next ten minutes showing Ron how to successfully navigate a computer properly. He was amazed himself about how much he remembered from the small amount of time he was able to get on Dudley's computer when the Dursleys were out doing something fun without him.

Ron's fascination with the computer was outdone mere minutes later when he spotted a rather large screened TV playing a football match. He sat down in the reclining chair that the store had on display and watched with rapt attention. "And here I thought muggles had a hard time living without magic, ya know? I guess they really know their stuff…"

"It's not harder for them, Ron, it's just different," Harry explained as he sat on the arm of the chair and watched Arsenal score on the Manchester United keeper.

"Yeah, but the way I was brought up you'd think they all lived in mud houses and had to hunt for their food. I mean did you see that food store back there?"

Harry raised an eyebrow at his best friend. "And just where do you think your mum gets all her food? From Mars?"

Ron blushed slightly. "Yeah I guess I never thought of that…" he said as he turned his attention back to the football game.

Leaving Ron in the hands of the magical world of television sports, Harry headed over to the bedding department and see exactly what Hermione and Sarah were selecting.

He found the two girls talking rapidly with a saleswoman who was holding up a bunch of carpet samples and color templates. Both Hermione and Sarah were examining the carpets and matching them against the colors while the saleswoman explained the pros and cons of each.

"So, what is it and how much will it cost me?" Harry asked as he leaned over Sarah's shoulder to see what they were all crowded around.

"Spoken like a true man," the saleswoman commented as she handed Harry what Hermione and Sarah had selected so far.

There was a lot of red and gold, though there were some combinations of blues and bronze mixed in. Harry rolled his eyes slightly. "Perhaps erm, we could try some different color combinations? I mean we've… uh… seen those quite a bit and-" he stopped as he realized all three of them were glaring at him. Where's Ron to back me up here? He held up his hands defensively. "What I mean is, uh… well… never mind," he stammered.

Hermione and Sarah simply smiled and, if Harry had been paying attention, he might have seen them give each other a slight wink.

Harry spent the next hour leaning against one of the walls while he waited for Hermione and Sarah to finish selecting all the colors they could possibly need and more. Next, of course, was the issue of furniture itself. Couches, beds and other items needed to be purchased. The only things Harry actually picked out himself were, of course, his own bed and a large round table that he planned to use when he held Order meetings. He also picked up some simple bulletin boards that he figured would come in useful for any documents they needed to have out at all times.

"I guess we should go pick up Ron before he turns into a zombie," Harry muttered as the girls finalized their selections.

"You let him watch TV?" Hermione said nervously.

"Yeah, so?" Harry asked, confused.

"You know how fascinated he gets by the smallest thing! He'll never be able to stop watching it!" Hermione shrieked and rushed over to the electronics department.

"They're both nuts," Harry muttered as he and Sarah headed slowly in Hermione's wake.

When they arrived at the electronics department, Ron was where Harry had left him over an hour ago. Only instead of enjoying the football match like he was before, Ron was arguing with Hermione about whether or not they should get a TV for the headquarters. Harry of course wouldn't have minded if they had one, but he wasn't about to argue with Hermione.

"But they're bloody well brilliant!" Ron complained as he pressed a button on the remote and the football game was replaced by a newscaster. "See! It's like a wand, but it's not magic!"

"Shh, Ron! Don't talk like that around here! You should know better! And no, we don't need a TV! We'll have more important things to do… Harry back me up here," Hermione said turning around to face Harry, which made him quite nervous.

"Actually…" Harry began as he watched the newscaster getting handed a sheet of paper from off screen, "I think it might be a good idea to have one to keep up on all the other news as well." Hermione simply glared at him.

"I've just been handed a bit of shocking news," the newscaster began as Ron accidentally hit the volume button so that they could hear. "It appears that small Irish town of Arklow, up in Northern Ireland, has suffered a mass wave of mysterious catatonia."

If it weren't for the now annoying and repetitive mall music one would be able to hear a pin drop as Harry, Ron and Hermione stared intently at the screen. A few other shoppers stopped what they were doing and came over to watch as well.

"A man named Duncan Keegan returned to the small town to visit his brother after a year in London, but found the entire population unresponsive. Emergency medical personnel were dispatched after Keegan called back to a hospital in London, but so far no one has been able to awake from the strange wave of catatonia."

"Dementors," Harry whispered to Sarah, who was looking quite confused. She paled at the comment as understanding dawned on her. He nudged Ron who was looking ghostly white as everyone else, but he didn't turn back.

"And now," the newscaster continued, "back to our original story. There seems to be yet another College prank underway now in downtown London. A large skull with a snake coming out of its mouth has appeared in the sky. It is quite an impressive and long lasting fireworks display and we shall be keeping an eye on it for quite a while. No groups as of yet have come forward claiming that they have done it. And now, back to Arnie with Sports…"

"Come on," Harry hissed quietly to his friends. They all followed him through the crowd that had gathered and out to the street. "We've gotta go find out what happened," he said, but he realized that Hermione was already dragging Ron towards the bus stop.

"London, what would Voldemort want in London?" Ron asked aloud as they waited for a bus.

"It could be anything… Grimmauld Place, Diagon Alley… the Ministry…" Harry trailed off as each possibility got worse and worse in his mind.

"What do Dementors do?"

Harry turned and looked down at Sarah, who was still quite pale.

"I've heard they're awful things, but no one really said…"

"Well, they're among the foulest creatures on the planet," Harry began as he quoted Remus, "they feed on happy thoughts and feelings, which means you are left with all your worst memories. It drives people insane just to be near Dementors, but if you're not careful they can suck out your soul. That's what I'm pretty sure happened to all those people in that town."

Sarah shuddered, "But you stopped them a few years ago, didn't you?"

"I only drove them away with a Patronus. No one really knows a way to defeat or kill a Dementor, which is why they make such good allies for Voldemort."

They all digested this information as they waited for the bus to come, which luckily wasn't too long of a wait. While on the bus the driver had a radio on, which was once again talking about the strange cases of mass catatonia to hit the small Irish fishing village of Arklow.

"… never seen anything like it before, John. All medical experts are baffled, but they are quarantining the area and setting up a full investigation of the town and its surrounding area…"

The made it back to the Dursleys' house in record time, running all the way from the bus stop a few blocks away. They slid into the house to find it empty, but there was a note on the table.

To: Boy and his freaks

Your aunt and I have gone away for a vacation. Do not write us. We do not want any ruddy owls. We will be back when we feel like it. Do not destroy the house.

The note was unsigned, but there was only one person in the world who could have written it.

Harry crumpled it in his hand angrily and threw it across the room. "They bloody well don't care!"

Hermione unfolded the note and read it, sighing. "Look, Harry… you can't change the way people are."

"I gave them the money, but instead of doing anything that a caring parent would do, they leave on vacation or whatever they want to call it when Dudley is still missing. Do they not even care?"

"Blimey what little-"

"RON!" Hermione exclaimed as she clamped her hands over Sarah's ears, but the younger girl wiggled out from her hands and glared at her.

Taking a few deep breathes, Harry calmed himself done. "You're right. There's no point in getting angry over this. They're the least of my concerns right now."

"We could go to Mrs. Figg's to see what happened, couldn't we?" Sarah suggested and the trio looked down at her. "What? Wouldn't that be a good idea?" she asked again as she got three blank looks.

"Err, yeah," Harry said. "That's a good idea."

"Better watch out, 'Mione, or Sarah might be our resident smart girl," Ron said, which earned him a swat on the back of the head from his girlfriend.

With that decided, the group headed over a few streets to Mrs. Figg's house, but found that she either wasn't home or wasn't answering the door. After searching around the neighborhood for a bit, they also found no trace of her cats either.

"Do you think something's happened?" Ron asked as they met back up in front of the old lady's house.

"I doubt it. If something happened to her Tonks would come get us, I'm sure," Hermione said as peered into Mrs. Figg's living room via her large front window.

"Unless she couldn't find us because we were in Greater Whinging…" Harry left the thought unfinished.

"It might not have anything to do with us at all," Hermione reasoned. "I mean I want to know what happened, but it doesn't mean we're in direct danger from it."

"Yeah, I suppose," Harry said as he sighed. "I guess we should get back to the Dursleys' in case they try to reach us."


As it turned one, no one tried to reach them for the entire evening so the four of them instead studied out of their collection of books. Harry in particular decided to read up the Fidelius Charm and other property wards since he knew he'd have to be using them soon when they moved out in around three weeks time.

Hermione and Ron spent the evening practicing their dueling down the hallway which left some scorch marks on the floor and walls that Aunt Petunia would have had a heart attack over.

Sarah on the other hand finished the book she was reading on shield charms and immediately began to read through The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2. There was really no doubt left in Harry's mind as to why Sarah was a Ravenclaw. He fleetingly wondering if Luna was the same way when it came to studying, but somehow he just couldn't picture her flying through a large textbook.

As the evening drew on, Harry began showing Sarah some wand movements to more complex spells, such as the stunning spell and Tarantellgra. He was rather frustrated by the fact that he himself couldn't do magic, let alone actually teach and have Sarah do some herself. If Sarah couldn't defend herself at all, she would be in a lot of danger.

"Why hasn't the Ministry removed the underage magic restriction?" Harry sighed out loud as Sarah mimicked his hand motions for the disarming spell.

"Because they're scared you might lead a rebellion or something," Ron called from down the hallway as he ducked a hex from Hermione. The spell hit Aunt Petunia's precious white wall and left a black scorch mark.

"Actually, Harry, I bet you and Sarah can both do magic without detection," Hermione said as she and Ron entered the living room.

"How do you figure that? When Dobby did a hovering charm way back when I was immediately sent a warning message from the Ministry. Then, of course, there was that whole hearing and trial after the Dementor incident."

"Well, both times there were no adult wizards around you, right? Or anyone that was actually allowed to do magic. I bet when Ron was growing up he and his brothers accidentally did magic during summer and I bet they didn't have trouble with the Ministry," Hermione explained her theory. "Since Ron and I are here and of age, I doubt the Ministry would really give a second thought. Even if they do, we can say it was one of us."

"She's right," Ron added. "Plus they never even said anything about it when you used magic against Greyback."

Harry raised his wand, though he was still hesitant to use it. He decided that Ron and Hermione had to be right, so he quickly cast a shield charm. Cringing in anticipation, he waited for another five long minutes without anything happening.

"See?" Hermione said with a smile. "I guess you and Sarah can actually practice if you want-"

"Stupefy!"

There was a thud as Ron fell to the ground rather painfully. Harry and Hermione quickly turned to see Sarah, who was blushing bright red, still pointing her wand at where Ron was standing.

"I… I didn't think I'd actually get it right on the first try," she said, clearly embarrassed. All Harry could do was laugh.

Ron was revived a few seconds later by Hermione. Since Ron decided that he needed some delicate hands to rub his now apparently sore back, he and Hermione had went to sit outside in the backyard.

Harry continued to practice with Sarah, who for her age was actually quite good. He could easily block her spells with his basic shield charm, but the young girl had shown she could learn and correctly cast spells as quick as Hermione was able to. She lacked power, but that would only increase as she grew older.

Since deflecting and blocking Sarah's spells was easy on its own, he decided to try without actually speaking like he had been instructed to do by Snape all last year in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

This was much harder that Harry had expected. His shields were much weaker than they normally were if he even got them up at all. In the end this forced Harry to duck, sidestep or otherwise physically dodge all the spells that Sarah was shooting at him. It turned out to be a good practice session for both of them since while Sarah was learning the spells, Harry was being forced to learn new ways to block them. Once he had even summoned the Dursley's living room coffee table into the path of an oncoming stunning spell after his roll to the side left him completely open. The table had split in two. Harry was actually started to feel grateful that the Dursleys had left. He could easily imagine the fit that Aunt Petunia would be throwing right about now. He figured Uncle Vernon would be having a heart attack if he saw actual magic being used in his house.

When they were finished they took turns using the shower and then went to bed. Harry was quite pleased to see that Sarah was on speaking terms with him again after their training session. It hurt him more than he liked to admit that she was being so cold towards him. It was also annoying to find out that Ron's opinion of girls' actions was dead on.

The morning, however, did nothing to help Harry's mood. When the Daily Prophet was delivered to Hermione, she gasped and dropped the paper on the floor after reading the headline.

Harry had rushed to her side and began reading it with her.

Incapacitated Aurors Murdered

Yesterday afternoon, Ex-Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom were murdered in their ward at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries by Death Eaters of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

It is not currently clear how Death Eaters managed to gain access to the Longbottom's private ward, but investigations are going on to determine how servants of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named managed to bypass the Aurors on guard duty. It is possible that they had inside help, but the Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, has made a statement saying that "St. Mungo's is still safe. This action was taken simply because You-Know-Who failed last time in finishing them off".

One Death Eater was captured at the scene, however, by the Longbottom's son, Neville Longbottom. Neville Longbottom was visiting his parents with his grandmother, Augusta Longbottom, when the attack was made.

He stated that he was only able to survive himself because of what he was taught by Harry Potter, better know as the Boy Who Lived.

Augusta Longbottom was wounded during the attack on her son and daughter-in-law, but is expected to survive.

The Death Eaters were driven off by Ministry Aurors after they were aware of the presence of Dark Wizard's in the Hospital. The Minister has once again assured the public that there will be strict and harsh penalties on all those who are captured in You-Know-Who's service.

For a full interview with Neville Longbottom, turn to page 3.

"Oh Merlin," was all Harry could whisper as he re-read the article. He never would have guessed that the Dark Mark he heard about over London was in fact for St. Mungo's instead of a more 'military' target such as Grimmauld Place or the Ministry itself.

He immediately ran upstairs, barely avoiding a startled Ron who was just coming down for breakfast, and took out his quill and a blank peace of parchment. After composing a quick memo to Neville giving his condolences and asking if he needed to come join them immediately, he headed back downstairs.

Ron was already ranting about how cowardly the Death Eaters were for attacking the Longbottoms in their current condition just because they couldn't beat them in their prime. Hermione was trying to calm him down as she kept shuffling through the pages of the Prophet to see if there was anything else news worthy.

Surprisingly there was no mention at all of the small Irish town that was attacked by Dementors. Harry felt that it was unlikely that the Ministry didn't know about the attack. However, the way the public was right now, they were less afraid of Death Eater attacks than they were of Dementors. Harry had to assume this was because while Death Eaters were human and could be dueled by any witch or wizard, not everyone could produce a Patronus Charm capable of defending themselves and their families from Dementors.

Hermione gasped again which caused Harry to look back up at her. "What's wrong?"

"Erm…" she began as she took the paper and hid it behind your back. "You're best off not knowing, Harry…"

"Let me see it," Harry said, his anger already brewing. "It's about me isn't it."

"Well yes, but it's not important we all know it isn't true…"

"Hermione, give it to me," he demanded, but when she still refused he took out his wand and with a wave silently summoned the paper out of her grasp and into his hand.

Hermione sighed in defeat and slumped down in the chair beside Ron. "Just promise you won't take it out on us?"

Harry nodded as he unfolded the newspaper, which was still on the page that Hermione was trying to hide from him.

The Boy Who Lived: Hero or Kidnapper? By Rita Skeeter

It has come to the attention of this Daily Prophet reporter that Harry Potter, better known as the Boy Who Lived, has taken possession of an eleven year old Hogwarts Student who was orphaned in You-Know-Who's attack on King's Cross station.

Sources tell us that Potter took the girl in question with him immediately upon learning of her parent's deaths. A senior Auror of the Ministry went to Mr. Potter's house in order to retrieve the girl, but was promptly ejected by wards placed by Mr. Potter to repel all attempts at freeing Miss Williams.

Dolores Jane Umbridge, a Senior Advisor to the Minister, commented on this event saying that "It is unknown what Potter's purpose for keeping the girl is in fact for. While it is possible he was keeping Miss Williams to gain leverage over the Ministry, we find it more likely that he is using the poor girl for his own sick and twisted enjoyment."

While the Ministry is actively trying to retrieve Miss Williams from Mr. Potter's vile clutches, the Boy who Lived once again is acting as if rules do not apply to him. His own statement about this event in particular, which was given prior to his departure, was that he "wasn't going to send her to live where she isn't wanted."

Based on Mr. Potter's comment, it is likely that he is holding the girl under the Imperius Curse or using another similar method of mind control. Why Miss Williams would voluntarily stay with a sixteen year old boy is beyond even my insight. Mr. Potter, I believe I speak for the entire Wizarding World when I ask you the following: Won't you please let her go?

There will be more on this story as it develops, but I believe I once again I speak for the entire Wizarding World when I wish Miss Williams a safe time until the Aurors manage to retrieve her.

Harry finished reading it and slammed a fist down on the table, surprising everyone. He took the newspaper, set it down on the sink and lit it ablaze with a well placed Incendio. He turned to Ron and Hermione next. "Could you give Sarah and me a moment alone, please?" He was quite livid, but trying as hard as he could to calm himself down.

Ron immediately complied, knowing what Harry was about to talk about, but Hermione resisted so he had to physically drag her out of the room.

Feeling a pang of sadness that perhaps Hermione thought the stories had some truth to them based on her reaction, he turned to Sarah who was looking rather frightened.

He sat down across from her and looked her in the eye. "I need to know you truly want to stay with me. Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Luna and I will be doing some very dangerous stuff. I can't stress how dangerous it will be, but if you want…"

Sarah's face lit up, "You mean I can stay with you?" she asked happily. "I thought you didn't want me."

"The thing is, that the Ministry is saying a lot of uh… odd things… about the whole situation…" Harry mumbled, having trouble explaining it without getting mad.

"I know," Sarah said as she looked down at the table. "I saw the article before Hermione did."

"Oh," Harry began again, "I'm not really sure what to do about it and all. I mean I've talked to Ron about it, but it depends on what you want to happen. Like I said before on the train platform, I'm not going to send you anywhere you don't want to be."

"I want to stay with you!" she cried, getting quite emotional. "Voldemort killed my parents and you are going to stop him! I want to help all that I can…"

"I… I see," Harry continued, his words catching in his throat. "You know there's only one way that I can get the Ministry to stop trying to track us down, right?"

Sarah nodded, "I know you need to adopt me for that to happen." Tears were streaming down her face. "But you've been so nice to me… probably the nicest anyone has ever been to me in Wizarding World. I want to stay with you." She got up from her seat and headed around the table. She embraced Harry in a warm hug as she cried. Harry himself couldn't help but cry himself.

Later that afternoon, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Sarah all traveled to the Ministry of Magic. Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic, was quite surprised when Harry burst through the doors to his office with a determined look on his face and his emerald eyes blazing.

To be continued!