As was her custom for the past month, Hermoine woke up before everyone else in the house. It was a ritual she had stuck to rigourously since Mikeal had come back to the house with Harry. Every day she would wake up, shower, get dressed, and go downstairs to go over the last days work. It was the most peaceful part of her day, just sitting in the kitchen while studying.

So it came as a surprise to her when she came downstairs to find Mikeal sitting at the table, food spread out before him. He was dressed in what he called his combat gear, a black longcoat over some military cargos and a white t-shirt. He was reading a file when she came in, and looked up when he heard the door open.

"Oh, Hermione. Whats up? I didn't know anyone else was up."

She smiled as she walked in. "I'm always up this early. It lets me get some work done before the day starts.

"Really now?" Mikeal chuckled as he handed her a bagel. "You work to hard. Its not like you'll get extra credit for it." He smiled at the glare she gave him. "Still, I can't exactly say anything since I've been here since last night."

Hermione looked up at him in confusion. "What were you doing all night?"

Mikeal sighed as he put away his file. "Well, I went out on a mission last night. I had to get rid of a problem that would have come up in a couple of years." He sighed once more. "And when I got back I started to look over everyone's progress." He flipped the file open and handed it to her. "Take a look. This is the record of how well everyone has been doing over the past week."

Hermione took the file and began flipping through it, being careful not to get any crumbs from her bagel on it. After a moment she looked up and shook her head. "I don't understand. We all seem to be doing really well."

"Too well. In fact, you are all making way too much progress."

Hermione frowned. "How could we be making too much progress?"

Mikeal chuckled at that. "Sorry. Let me put it a different way. Its not that you guys are making too much progress. Its just that its impossible." He grabbed the file from her and flipped for a minute. "For example. Arthur Weasley." He pulled out the page and handed it to her. "A man who has had a desk job for more than a decade. Over two hundred pounds, with most of it being fat. One week later? The man is still over two hundred, but most of that has become lean muscle. He's catching up to me on the bench press, he can outrun Sirius, and he has twice the stamina he had when we started."

Mikeal took a moment to rub the bridge of his nose. "Arthur has made more leaps in a week then a muggle with a similar background would make in a full two months. And this is happening to everyone. A steady diet and exercise have turned most of you into some sort of fitness team. And its driving me nuts." He gestured to Hermione. "I mean look at you! Your turning into a amazon or something."

Hermione blushed. "Well, I mean-"

"Oh please, like you don't love the fact Ron can't keep his eyes off you." He said as he got up from his chair and began pacing the room, ignoring the bright-red look on her face. "It doesn't make any sense! I want to blame magic, but Dudley is turning out the same way. The kid looks less like a muscular whale and more like a buff lion. Not a great metaphor, but the fact is he's getting big in the right ways."

Hermione blinked as the information rushed through her head, and looked through the files once more. With this new understanding she could reassess the data, and she could see why Mikeal was worried. "Well, maybe its the house?" She said after a moment of contemplation.

"What?" Mikeal said with a start, looking up at her.

"It could be the house. Sirius once told me he was never sick until the first time he left to Hogwarts. Its possible there's some sort of spell on the house that makes sure everyone is healthy."

Mikeal shook his head slowly. "That doesn't make any sense. Fred got cut on an old chandelier when we were cleaning the house two days ago. He still has that cut, and its scabbing over."

Hermione nodded slowly. "Do you want me to look into it?" She said eagerly, always up for another research project.

He smiled at her. "Sure. Just look into it quietly for now. The others just seem excited that things have gotten easier for them. At least now we can focus more on the technical stuff, rather than spending a few hours on conditioning." He took the file back and made some notes. "I'm going to wake Harry up. Tell Ron I want him to work on his boxing techniques with Dudley after they eat. Fred and George are to focus on their weapons training. Ginny has grappling with you and her mom. And Sirius and Lupin will be out on a secret mission."

Hermoine frowned. "I don't understand. You won't be teaching us? And what about our classes?"

Mikeal grins as he comes up to her and ruffles her hair, a yelp coming from her lips. When he lifts his hand up she glares at him from below her mussed up hair. "Not today Hermione." His smile grows grim. "Its time for Harry's trial."

Harry was already awake. He had been for the past hour. As it was he was simply laying back in contentment, simply enjoying his morning as Dudley and Ron snored in the background. The past month had been amongst the most interesting he'd ever had over a single summer, including when he'd stayed over at the Burrow. Ever since Mikeal had everyone on his training program things had been pure insanity.

Push-up, rope climbs, running, swimming, weight lifting. All to promote fitness. It was more physical activity than he'd done in a while, and part of him prayed that Mikeal and Wood never got to meet. It wasn't the only thing Mikeal had them do.

After their workouts came technique. Those were the moment Harry had learned to enjoy. They would gather in the great hall for lessons as a large group. The entire group consisted of The Weasley family (Sans Percy, Bill, and Charlie), Sirius, Hermione, Dudley, Tonks and Kingsley when they could get off work, Lupin, Dobby, and of course Mikeal. The techniques sessions were all about fighting. The adults in the group were all soldiers in one way or another. It shocked Harry when he realized just how powerful the unassuming Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were. Arthur turned out to be rather skilled at using simple spells such as wingardium leviosa to devastating effect, while Molly seemed to be able to use the anger she could bring up at any moment to turn into a real viper in a duel. All the adult wizards worked with the group on various ways to improve their wizard skills, such as learning how to tell when an opponent is about to launch a wordless spell. To Harry's mild surprise, Mikeal also taught during these lessons, giving advice and tips on how to use different spells.

It was then that Harry was glad Mikeal had no magic. The man was cruelty incarnate. He had a knack for coming up with brutal ways to use the most simple spells. For example, a simple spell to change the color of an object could be used to change the color of the small membrane around a person's eyeball, rendering them blind to all except that color. A simple levitation spell could throw an explosive into any location of a wizards choosing, turning any explosive into a rocket with the swish of a wand. It was unnerving, the number of spells that could be used to maim or outright kill a person when used in the right way. Moody sat in on only one lesson. He took a moment to listen to Mikeal's lecture, nodded in approval, and gave a few points of his own, followed by Mikeal responding. The following conversation gave Harry nightmares to think about.

Suffice to say, Harry wasn't sure what to think of the man. One minure he was kind and gentle. The next he was a monster, coming up with plans that would terrify a troll back to his cave.

After wizard lessons came martial arts. Even the adults had to learn there. They were each seperated into random groups, which changed every day. According to Mikeal, it was because of the fact they would never know exactly who their opponent would be, and so it would be a mistake to allow them to get used to fighting one body type. They all would go through the motions, learning holds, punches, kicks, counters, anything that would be useful during close combat. It was a strange concept for most of them, having long since gotten used to the idea of using wands for any combat needs. But Mikeal insisted it was useful. He argued that by getting skilled in fighting up close, they could be more versatile. It was one of the things he loved to say.

"The best fighters are the ones who can handle multiple situations with ease. The ones who can a few simple tools to take on any challenge. Adaptability is the name of the game. With that in mind, its best we train the things that will be useful in a dozen different ways. Martial arts will allow you to be deadly at close range, or just get away long enough to throw a spell. All your spellwork will follow the same principle. Adaptability is the name of the game."

Adaptability is the name of the game. Harry memorized it, conserdering Mikeal said it constantly.

After that was tech. Specifically, the wand-holders. If there was anything that showed how impressive Arthur Weasley was, it was that device. Harry turned in his bed to gaze at his. After the first lesson he'd traded his single tubed wand-holder for one with two. One for his wand, and the second to shoot pellets. The tubes lay on either side of a slim rectangular piece. He reached over and grabbed it from his desk, turning onto his back as he strapped the device on his arm.

Arthur had apparently taken a single suggestion given to him by Mikeal and Sirius, and ran with it. The pellets shooters ammo container was bespelled with the same enchantment that gave the Weasley cars their enormous room on the inside, allowing three times as many pellets to be carried with no weight felt. Each pellet was spelled with different effects, or injected with chemical mixes of some sort. One that Mikeal demonstrated had a fire effect, exploding into flame when it landed and burning down a tree in seconds. A second one had a flash-bang effect, blinding and deafening at once. All one had to do was aim and think about what pellet they needed, and it would fly out from its designated tube. Harry found himself preferring the most simple ammunition, a round metal ball. The others ignored them, but he found himself using them constantly. They carried a huge impact when they hit, could be reused by picking them off the floor, and could be used to make an opponent slip on them. Simple, but extremely effective, a great addition to his skillset.

The last they would do was clean the house. It was only thanks to Kreacher, the elf who was bound to the Black family, that things went as easily as they did. No one knew why the racist house elf had suddenly become so helpful, but he would spend much of the day gruffly leading them from room to room, pointing at any dangers that lay hidden. Dobby would help as well, dropping in for a few hours to gleefully clean alongside Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Hermione, Dudley, Ginny, and Harry. Mikeal only came in for brief moments, when Kreacher would point out some rare tool or animal of use. Fred and George were often right behind him. The three would look over the subject in question, discussing things in hushed whispers while ignoring the stares of the others, then rush into the room that had been designated, The Lab.

Harry had never been inside it. No one except Mikeal, Mr. Weasley, Fred, and George had ever been inside. They would come out in white lab coats covered in liquids of various kinds, Arthur and his sons often grinning from ear to ear. Mikeal on the other hand, often appeared glum, constantly muttering to himself. 'Doesn't make any damn sense', 'The laws of physics don't work like that', 'fucking giant snakes from a toad on an egg', were some of the things Harry would hear.

The last part of the day was spent in the war room. It was held in the dining room, with every avaliable member of the Order involved. The kids were allowed to sit in, only as long as they behaved. Mikeal seemed to take special focus on teaching them all he knew about war during these sessions. He didn't do it by lecturing. He did it by coordinating the efforts of the Order.

"I told Dumbledore. I'm not perfect. I don't know a lot of things. But I do know war. I'm no West Point graduate, but I know how to conduct a war. And I know just who Voldemort trusts. I know his plans, I know his generals, and I know how he cheats death. At any other time, I'd tell you guys to get someone with more leadership experience. But right now, you've got me."

That was what Mikeal told them from the very first night. He wasn't the leader of course. There really was no leadership role in the Order. Everyone had their specialties, but the only person who could really be called the leader was Dumbledore, and he spent much of his time away.

The war room sessions were basically the same type of thing that had happened the first night Harry had come to the house. Each adult would give an update on their assignments, with the others coming up with plans based around them. As of now, it was mostly surveillance and resource management. They were constantly worried about preventing the Death Eaters from getting resourIt was slow going. Many Death Eaters were extremely wealthy, and more than capable of funding a cold war. And several more were more than capable of killing for their needs.

Which brought things back to last night. It had been on his thoughts from the beginning. Last night, Tonks and Moody came back with information about two Death Eaters.

"How many?" Sirius asked, his face hard as stone.

Moody shook his head gruffly. "Five. Two parents, three children. The Ministry is keeping this quiet."

The others froze, shock etched on their features. Tonks bit her lip as Mikeal slammed his fists on the table. "Fudge." He seethed with rage. "That bastard doesn't want even the slightest risk of Harry's story to be shown as real. Even when evidence is brought to him on a platter-"

"He'll ignore to stay in his happy daydream." Sirius finished. "Five people killed, and the Ministry is doing nothing."

"Thats just the start." Arthur rejoined sadly. "We've been getting reports like this for awhile. This is the first confirmed murder, but the facts don't lie. The Death Eaters are moving."

For a moment everyone stood silent. Moody finally slapped the table. "Then we move as well."

"Mad-Eye?" Lupin asked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about bringing this little game into the open. You-Know-Who knows Dumbledore and Harry are his enemies. I think its time we showed him who else is here to give him a good fight." The old soldier said with a eerie calm, his voice low and rough.

"He's right." Sirius added with grim resolve. "If we let this continue, if we allow the Death Eaters to do what they want, it will only make them bolder."

"And what if it makes You-Know-Who come out? Makes him attack in the open." Molly said in a worried voice. The thought chilled them. Of the group, only a few of them had ever actually faced Voldemort. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the Golden Trio. And Mad-Eye. All the rest only had the stories. The tales of a man with incredible power, capable of doing things no other wizard thought possible. Only Dumbledore could face him in open combat, and only Harry could claim to have ever defeated him. If there was a true threat to their plans, Voldemort would always be the center of it.

Mikeal spoke, his voice cold as he addresses the room. "It doesn't matter. We can't let this continue. Letting these innocent people die because we're scared of Voldemort goes against everything we stand for."

"We know that Mikeal." Lupin responded. "But we must think rationally. If we play our hand to quickly-"

"I've told you guys for weeks! Voldemort is obsessed with this damn prophecy!" Mikeal raged. "Harry is the one he needs for that to work, and Harry is smart enough not to get near the damn thing!"

Harry took a moment to wonder what he should feel about that.

"At the end of the day, we've got a wild card. Me. I know what he wants, and I know his weaknesses. I just have to ask you all to trust me. Please." Mikeal begged, looking around the room. "We can't take him on right now, but we can save these people. Put a stop to so many things."

The room was quiet for a while. The adults looked at each other as the kids stayed as quiet as possible. After awhile, Sirius spoke up.

"Then we'll put it to a vote. All in favor of taking the fight to them now?"

Mikeal, Moody, and Sirius rose their hands up.

"All those in favor of continuing as we are?"

Lupin, Molly, Arthur, and Tonks lifted their hands up.

Sirius sighed sadly. "Very well then. We-"

Mikeal rose up and left the room, his face twisted in rage as he walked out. After a moment they heard the door to the outside slam, and the Mustang roar to life before screaming down the street.

After that, things had died down quickly. Ron had went to bed angry, agreeing fully with Sirius, Mikeal, and Mad-Eye. He became even angrier when Hermione agreed that the Order should lay low. After a brief fight as Harry and Dudley watched awkwardly, Hermione left in a huff and Ron sprawled out on his bed.

Dudley choose to just go to bed, not saying anything at all. It was a large change from normal. Harry had spent a lot of time over the past week noticing the changes in Dudley. He was quieter now. Not less angry. But it was more like he had to force himself to constantly pull back on that anger. There was a time in martial arts where Ron gave Dudley a kick to the belly, doubling over the larger boy. When Dudley rose up, his fat face was red with rage, and his fists were clenched. For a moment it seemed like the adults would have to intervene. But Dudley stopped, his face going pale, before he calmed himself.

That sort of thing happened constantly. Dudley couldn't seem to find a place in the group, and Harry had no idea how to help, or even if he wanted to. After fifteen years of Dudley treating him like an outcast, a dark part of him enjoyed the sudden turn around.

His thoughts were interrupted when Mikeal opened the door and stepped in. "Morning Harry. Not angsting are we?"

Harry scowled at the familiar question. If there was anything that truly annoyed him about Mikeal, it was the fact the older man constantly accused him of being full of angst. "I wasn't, but then you walked into the room."

Mikeal grinned. "See, this is what the movie version of you was missing. That snarky attitude. Classic." Mikeal walked up to Dudley's bed and shook the large boy awake. "Wake up sleepy. Its time to get to business."

Dudley blinked owlishly, looking over at Harry before turning to Mikeal. "Why? What are we doing?"

"Well we're going to trail my dear boy!" Mikeal chirped, his face set in a wide smile. "And congratulations! You're the star witness!"

"... thank you?"

Harry smiled a bit as he got up. Something flew at him from the corner of his eye, and his reflexes kicked in to grab the object in mid-flight. He blinked at the sight of the energy shake in a blue bottle, looking up at Mikeal. "We don't have time for breakfast?"

"No, we don't. We have to get to the ministry two hours early."

"Why?" Dudley asked as he unscrewed the top, chugging the bottle down quickly before continuing. "Can't we sleep in a smidge longer?"

"As much as I'd love too, the trail has been set for a certain time. And the ministry is going to change that time at the last minute to screw Harry over."

"They what?" Harry replied, snapping his head towards Mikeal. "Why would they-"

"Because Fudge is an unrepentant douchebag with low self-esteem. Dude's got issues, and a certain toad in the Ministry is more than willing to help him out. So we're going to go early, show up right on time, kick ass in the trail, and leave to AC/DC."

Harry grinned, now well familiar with American music. "Can it be 'Highway to Hell?' I like that one."

"Feeling a bit rebellious huh? I like it." Mikeal turned to walk out. "Get dressed in something nice, but casual. I'm going to wake up Arthur so we can head out."

Harry and Dudley turned to look at each other before looking away uncomfortably. Harry flung his covers away and went to his dresser to pick out nice clothes. While he was in the middle of that, Dudley spoke up.

"Does that happen a lot?"

Harry turned to look at him. Dudley simply say on his bed, looking down into his lap. "Does what happen a lot?"

"That. What Mikeal was talking about? Do people do that sort of thing to you a lot?"

It took a moment for Harry to realise Dudley was talking about the Ministry changing the trails time at the last minute. "Oh. Well, it didn't used to happen. But last year this reporter started putting out some rubbish news about me. Things about how I was crazy, and depressed all the time. Made me out to be... I dunno, unstable?" Harry sighed, the memories of last year running through his head. "It wasn't so bad before that. Now the whole wizarding world thinks I'm a freak."

"Not everyone." Dudley retorted. "Not your friends. Not..." He stopped, seeming to struggle for a bit. Finally he managed to spit out his next words, his face almost purple. "Not me." He seemed to deflate after that, sighing a bit in relief. "I still get mad at you. And I still think all this magic stuff is complete bullocks. And the whole lot of you are weird." Dudley rubbed his neck awkwardly. "But I think I understand you all better now. For what its worth... I'm sorry. I'm sorry I treated you like such a prat all these years."

Harry stared at Dudley in stunned silence. He turned to his clothes, thinking for a moment. "It'll take a while before I actually forgive you Dudley."

The large boy winced.

"With that said... thank you," Harry smirked. "Dudleykins."

Dudley swore long and loud as Harry chuckled.

Authors Note: Yeah yeah, I know its short. But you know what, I needed to resucitate this story somehow. So here's the spark of life. The grammer is probably all over the place, but its a good start if you ask me. I don't know, tell me if you guys like it. Now, to work on HOD. Thats Hunters Of Death by the way :)