A/N: I do not own Harry Potter & Co. or The Boondock Saints.

Chapter 7: New Players on the Field

November 28th, 1998

Order of the Garter Safe House, London, UK

The six men made for a strange site on the street with Kevin cradled in Connor's arms. Nothing was said, no questions were asked. Sirius and the MacManus brothers followed the mysterious pair hoping they weren't making a big mistake but knowing at the same time that they had little choice. Kevin was blushing a bright red the entire time, humiliated that he had to be carried like this but he knew that even with his crutches he probably wouldn't be able to walk at the moment.

Luckily, because it was the middle of the day there weren't as many people on the street as there would be in the morning or evening when people were going to or from work. As it was, Connor was beginning to sweat from carrying Kevin "Fuck Kev, what they hell have you been eating? You weigh a ton."

"Hey, I haven't gained any weight. Maybe you're just getting weak in your old age." Kevin countered.

Murphy offered "Maybe his girlfriend wants to have a little more to hold onto when she rides him."

Sirius coughed. He was blushing now, that was more than he ever wanted to know about his godson's sex life. "Can we not talk about my godson having sex in front of me? I'm not sure my heart can take the shock."

Kevin was determined to remain silent. Anything he said at this point would just fuel the abuse.

"You don't want to know about Kevin's prowess or lack thereof with the ladies? Do you really want to miss out on the embarrassment factor? Nothing seems to get to him like the topic of his sex life." Murphy added helpfully.

Sirius was saved from answering by the two men they were following. They had stopped and were standing in front of a local church. The two men entered but held the doors open for Connor. After everyone was inside, they were led to a suite of rooms behind the altar. "We can stay here for now. A car will be here shortly to take us to our main facilities."

Connor and lowered Kevin in to a chair and sat down next to him. "Good that gives us time for you to answer some questions."

"Of course, but I trust you understand that there will be certain things that I can't share with you."

"Who are you?" This was from Kevin.

"My name is Marcus." The taller man with solid black hair and bright blue eyes answered.

"And I'm Joseph." The second man replied. He had dark blond hair and hazel eyes and though he was shorter than his companion, he still stood over 6' tall. "I think your brother has guessed the rest." He finished with a nod towards Connor.

Connor blushed at the attention for a second. "It's true then?" He asked. When he received a confirming nod from Marcus he went on "They are members of the Order of the Garter, the chivalric order for the Knights of St. George."

Marcus smile "That's close and while it is true that the public face of the Order of the Garter is a chivalric order, we are members of the original military order."

"But I thought those faded away after the crusades?" Connor asked surprised. Murphy, Kevin and Sirius were lost. None of them knew what a military order or a chivalric order was. Connor saw the blank looks on their faces and added "Think of the Knights Templar, they were a military order. The Order of the Garter is the highest Order in the British Honor system and was formed following the crusades."

"Very good Mr. MacManus. It is not common knowledge but many of the original military orders continue to exist today. Originally responsible for leading the crusades, the military orders are now responsible for fighting the evil in the world. Sadly, there will always be a need for men of faith to stand and fight against the forces of darkness."

"How is it that you managed to keep this a secret?" Sirius asked.

"I would think that you of all people would understand that keeping whole worlds from the public eye is not truly that difficult. In truth, we fight those enemies that the public is not prepared to accept as being real."

The brothers were alternating questions, each asking things they felt pertinent. "How did you know about us? And what did you mean that you knew about Boston and London?"

Joseph looked at the three of them with a bland expression. "You're not the only ones to have been asked to undertake tasks by God. Many of our members over the years have been given duties and tasks to perform that were necessary to protect the world. Recently we were given a new undertaking. We were asked to aid the MacManus brothers in their duties. In our dreams we were told of the actions that you have been asked to undertake."

Connor blanched slightly at the explanation. Of the three brothers, he was most troubled by what they were doing. It wasn't that Murphy or Kevin enjoyed the killing but they were able to detach themselves from it, something that Connor had not been able to do. His one retreat was that people did not know what he had been asked to do but now that was gone. Kevin had lots of difficulties with what they were doing and still felt guilty but he hid it from his brothers. Murphy tried to forget what they had done, pushing it to the back of his mind where it came out only in his sleep.

Marcus looked at Connor with sympathy "You would not have been given this responsibility if the task were easy or trivial. You must focus on the good that you have accomplished."

"So you know about us being the Saints of South Boston?" Murphy asked referring to the nickname given to them by the press and wanting to have everything out on the table.

Joseph looked at him, sympathy playing across his features "Yes and I don't envy your duty but you are not the first to have been asked to kill in the name of our Lord and more than likely you won't be the last."

"How can you help us exactly?" Kevin asked. His was pale and there was a sheen of sweat on his forehead, his knee was will still sending sharp jolts of pain through him.

Marcus, the senior member of the two explained. The Order would make its resources available to the brothers and to Sirius. They would have shelter in their sanctuary which was protected from detection by magic. Like the brothers, the Order had contacts that would be useful in acquiring weapons and explosives. The last thing they could do was to help Kevin with his magic.

"Magic? I don't think I have magic. Nothing like what Sirius said was normal for magical children ever happened to me." Kevin protested.

"Kevin…" Joseph paused, waiting for permission to continue using his first name. After Kevin had nodded his ok, Joseph continued "You do have magic but we believe that when you were attacked as a child, you body's natural ability to channel that magic was burned out. There are others in our order that have had similar experiences."

Not up to arguing at the moment, Kevin conceded the point. "Ok, if that's true than how would I go about using it?"

"It is not difficult but your magic will look for other ways to express itself. A wand will never work for you since it requires the normal magical pathways to function. Your magic will be an expression of will and faith. In the end you must believe for something to happen, if you don't have absolute faith in the outcome nothing will happen."

Sirius looked at Kevin in awe and asked "Do you mean wandless magic? That is almost unheard of in the wizarding world."

Marcus rolled his eyes before responding "There are a lot of things that are unheard of in the wizarding world. I understand the need for secrecy; however, that doesn't mean you have to freeze your society in the dark ages. I mean they still use candles for god's sake."

"Marcus is right; the wizarding world has historically ignored other forms of magic that do not require a wand. Kevin's magic will at once be more flexible in that it doesn't require incantations or spells but also more physically draining and take longer to manifest since it will require a direct application of his will to achieve the desired effect."

"How long will it take for me to learn how to use my magic?" Kevin spared a look for Connor. He was concerned, people were dying and he didn't want to spend years studying and doing nothing to stop the deaths. Connor saw Kevin's look and read the concern in his eyes but at the moment he didn't have anything to say that could lessen his brother's fears.

"Of course it is different for everyone but unlike what Mr. Black was taught to use, we will teach you how to connect with your magic. Everything else is really up to you. To become truly proficient in magic will take years but all we are really striving for is to get you to access it. After that, it simply comes down to practice and hard work."

"So you expect us to wait years before going after Voldemort and his Death Eaters while I become proficient in magic?" Kevin asked accusingly.

"No, as I said once you are able to access your magic you can accomplish anything. The practice and training merely make process of accessing your magic easier and quicker."

Kevin calmed down at hearing this. A little magic might help them a lot especially if it was something that the wizards had never seen before. "Sorry, I just hate the idea of something like this hanging over our heads for so long."

Despite the explanations and help offered, Connor was still trying to wrap his brain around something. "You still haven't really explained why you are helping us? Like you said, we were asked to do this and we accepted so why are we being given help now?"

Marcus took up the discussion for the pair again "Connor, it's true that you three have been given this task. My belief is that God is never asking for us to sacrifice our lives unless absolutely necessary when we are given something to undertake. Just because the responsibility falls to you doesn't mean that the tools or help won't be made available to you. Do you really think it was happenstance that an FBI agent suddenly gave up on the system he had worked in for so long? As with you, it was his choice but he was given a chance to help you and he chose to take it."

Joseph put in his thoughts "It all comes down to free will. You could have chosen to ignore your dreams and continued to stand on the sidelines in this battle. Instead the three of you placed your faith and your lives in God's hands and took up his mantle. Like you, we have chosen serve God when he asks and to help those like us. So we will help you in any way we can but ultimately it will still be your own actions and decisions that determine the outcome."

The door to the room opened suddenly, Connor and Murphy shot to their feet, hands reaching for the guns. Kevin tried to stand without thinking and almost immediately crumpled to the ground. Despite the brace around his knee, he felt something tear. His vision blurred for a moment when he was hit with a wave of intense pain.

Sirius turned to Kevin when he heard him gasp. He moved in time to catch Kevin before he collapsed. "Kevin!"

Everyone turned to see Kevin being supported by Sirius who was trying to maneuver him back to a chair. In a flash, Connor and Murphy were at Kevin's side both asking "What is it Kev, what's wrong?"

Kevin barely managed to gasp out "Knee…oh god it hurts!"

Connor turned to Marcus "We need to get him to a hospital, something is wrong."

Marcus shook his head "It's too dangerous. We have a fully equipped medical ward where we are going. Mr. Black can you conjure up a stretcher? It would be easier on Kevin's knee."

Sirius started swearing, upset that he never thought of doing something so simple. In seconds, a pair of wooden poles appeared on the floor connected by a strip of heavy cloth. Using another charm, Sirius floated Kevin over to the stretcher.

The only sounds in the church were their footsteps as they made their way out of the rear of the church. There was a large black SUV waiting for them out back. It was a few minutes while seats were lowered so that the stretcher could be slid inside without moving Kevin. That done, the rest climbed in and the driver turned onto the main roadway. Traffic in the area was fairly light but their destination was not particularly close so it still took over 30 minutes for them to arrive.

The SUV pulled up to a side entrance of one London's most recognized landmarks. The sight that had filled people with hope during the relentless bombing runs by the Germans during World War II. Sirius couldn't help but blurt out "St. Paul's Cathedral? This is your safe house?"

Marcus chuckled softly "What better place? St. Paul's has provided sanctuary and hope to people for centuries."

Marcus led them over to a small service building attached to the cathedral. Inside was a service elevator, it wasn't large enough to fit them all in one trip so Connor went with Kevin on the first trip. Murphy and Sirius followed on the second trip. Rather than give them a tour of the facilities, Marcus lead them directly to the medical facilities.

The medical facilities were not large, but they appeared to be very well equipped. A locked dispensary lined one of the walls; the opposite wall sported a large glass window that looked into what appeared to be a functional operating room. Joseph and the Driver carried Kevin over to the examination table and gently set him down.

Marcus walked back into the room with an attractive blond woman. She had sandy blond hair with green eyes and a fair complexion. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail that hung just past her shoulders. "Our doctor is on his way but Michelle can at least relieve some of the pain in the time being." Marcus explained.

Kevin wasn't even interested in asking how, he just needed something to take the edge off. It was the only thing he could concentrate on at the moment. No one else asked any questions either, they simply watched as Michelle sat down next to Kevin and placed her hands on either side of his injured knee. She bowed her head and only Kevin heard her begin to pray softly. A pale golden glow began to emanate from her hands and spread over Kevin's leg. To everyone watching, they could see the lines in Kevin's face ease and some of the tension leave his body. Once the glow had faded, Kevin said sincerely "Thank you."

"Michelle is one of our members that has learned to use her magic. Like some of the others, she uses her prayers as a focus to shape her magic. Unfortunately, she can't heal your brother but she is able to dull the pain until the doctor is able to examine him." Joseph explained.

"If you view their magic as an expression of their faith, do you use it to help people outside of the Order?" Connor asked curiously.

"No while there are practical reasons why we don't do it, specifically it would draw too much attention to us there are also other considerations. A faith based on miracles is weak and will not stand up to adversity. True faith is when people continue to believe even if they don't get their miracles."

The brothers fell silent as they considered the man's words. It made a certain amount of sense, but in their case, the demonstrations were necessary to rouse the people to stand against the darkness in the world.

While they were waiting for the doctor to arrive, Sirius asked a question that had been bothering him "How do you know so much about the wizarding world? If none of you are wizards or witches then how did you know about the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's interest in Kevin?"

"We have members from all walks of life including wizards and witches. Most of them are muggleborn as you call them. They chose to leave the wizarding world for their safety or to escape the prejudice of that world. And honestly, the Order of the Phoenix is not a very well kept secret, we don't know all its members but it has long been known that Dumbledore is the leader."

A thought struck Sirius just then "You have someone on the inside of the Order don't you. That's the only way you could know who Kevin was unless that was explained in your dream as well."

"Very good Mr. Black but you are correct. We do have someone on the inside of the Order but for the time being their identity will need to remain secret."

The conversation continued for some time before the doctor walked into the infirmary. Connor explained Kevin's injury and what had happened during the course of the day and the previous evening.

The doctor approached Kevin and said in a dry voice "I must say Mr. MacManus it really isn't wise to be out an about so much so soon after your surgery. Maybe you need to be more selective in who you associate with."

Kevin couldn't help but laugh a little. "I would if I could but I seem to be in demand at the moment."

"Well let's see what it is going to take to get you back on your feet." The doctor proceeded to ask Kevin a series of questions about his original injury and what he had been feeling today. Kevin also described the tear he felt followed by the almost blinding pain afterwards.

"Unfortunately, we will need to take you to the hospital. I don't have the necessary equipment here to confirm my diagnosis but I suspect that you ripped the tendons in your knee again. Luckily, we can do the surgery here so there will be no danger of detection."

Arrangements were made to sneak Kevin into a hospital for the scan while the others were shown to rooms where they would be sleeping. It was two to a room so Murphy was going to share with Sirius and Connor would share with Kevin.

Later that day, Kevin was in the infirmary again, this time in the operating room. The scans performed at the hospital confirmed the doctor's initial diagnosis. The tendons in Kevin's knee had torn again. Rather than perform the surgery at the hospital where they could be detected by magical means, the group returned back to the safe house underneath St. Paul's.

While Kevin was undergoing the surgery, Sirius asked "Why can't we be found while we are here? Are there wards of some kind?"

Connor and Murphy turned their attention from the surgery to Joseph when he started to answer. "There are wards of a sort. Churches have always been sanctuaries from persecution. The faith of those passing through the doors provides the power necessary to protect those who come here seeking shelter. So they are not wards that protect us from harm while we are here but they serve to provide the sanctuary sought by so many."

"I can't believe the wizarding world doesn't know about this. Why don't more people know about this?" Sirius exclaimed.

Joseph just gave him a bland look while he sipped from a cup of coffee. He didn't bother to answer the question. Sirius blushed when he took a moment to think about how insular the wizarding world had become. They would never bother with something that could work with muggles too, it would be beneath them.

The surgery itself didn't take all that long. The doctor told them that the surgery had gone fine and that there were no complications. Kevin should be waking up in the next couple of hours. Long term, he would require some physical therapy but he should not have any loss of mobility. He did caution them that he should take it easy for the next few weeks to allow the tendons some time to heal before he began to move around again. Murphy grimaced a little at this news; Kevin would go nuts if he was stuck in bed or in a wheel chair for that long. He was going to be a nightmare to deal with. The only bright spot was that it would give Kevin a chance to begin learning how to use his magic.

Infirmary, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, UK

Even though he was still confined to the infirmary, Albus called a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. It was imperative that they find Harry Potter and bring him back here. It also appeared that they would need to plan some defenses against muggle weaponry. While he had never been dismissive of them the way Voldemort and the other purebloods were, Albus still did not truly believe that they could do anything against a powerful wizard. He shook his head ruefully, that fact had been driven home quite painfully. It was fortunate that Remus and Minerva were with him otherwise he would have most likely died before anyone found him.

The higher ranking members within the Order had all arrived. Some such as Remus or Alastor had already been at Hogwarts, but others such as Kingsley Shacklebolt and the Weasleys had to apparate to Hogsmeade and walk up to the school. Now, they were all seated in chairs arrayed around his bed. Albus himself was sitting up but Poppy had expressly forbidden him from leaving for another day and it simply wasn't worth listening to her harping if he disregarded her instructions.

"Albus what happened, how did you end up in the infirmary?" Molly Weasley asked, concern oozing from her body.

"It seems Mr. Potter was not as eager to return to the wizarding world as I had expected."

Remus warned "Albus, I think you better get used to thinking of him as Kevin MacManus. He made his opinion of the matter pretty clear."

Kingsley asked confused "Why wouldn't he be eager to come back and why did he change his name?"

Even Alastor rolled his eyes at that "He didn't change his name. The boy was abandoned, no one knew his name and so he was raised as Kevin MacManus. How would you feel if someone came along and insisted on calling you something else?" Everyone, even Albus was staring at Moody. It was an unusually sensitive comment for the old Auror to make.

"Be that as it may, he has a responsibility to our world. Whether he likes it or not, he needs to take up his mantle." Albus insisted. Many of the other Order members were nodding their heads in agreement. Apparently, they did not have a problem with trying to force an 18 year old to into a position that would turn him into an icon for their entire world whether he wanted it or not.

Remus and Alastor shared a look. They would argue against this but in the end would go along with it for show. The pair would be of no use to Kevin if there were excluded from all the discussions.

So Remus took up his role as devil's advocate and asked "Why? What is this responsibility he has to our world? What has our world done for him that he owes anything to us?"

"Remus you know of the prophecy, Harry is the only one who can defeat Voldemort. The people need to know that their savior is fighting for them."

"You know that prophecies have a way of working themselves out despite what is done to help or hinder them. So why should we force Kevin…" Remus placed greater emphasis on the name "to be our savior?" The last was said with disgust.

Molly argued "The children have grown up listening to tales of Harry Potter. It would crush them if they didn't think he was going to come and save them a second time. Is that what you really want?"

"Again, why should Kevin be the one to take up this responsibility? Why don't the parents themselves standup and defend their children, they are the ones ultimately responsible for their safety? You and Arthur are doing something. You joined the Order of the Phoenix; you are actively helping to bring about the end of Voldemort, why should we not expect the same of them?"

"Not everyone is able to help Remus. It shouldn't be their responsibility."

"It shouldn't be Kevin's either. He was less than two years old when Voldemort tried to kill him. By some random chance, he survived and now the wizarding world expects him to save their collective asses again when they could be standing up for themselves. This way is much easier isn't it? This way, they don't need to put themselves at risk, they can push that off onto someone else, let them risk their life. I don't blame Kevin in the least for not wanting to come back." Remus saw that he had at least given the other Order members something to think about. He just wished it was something he had been willing to consider when Sirius first left.

"My decision stands Remus. We will have a team sit outside of his apartment. No doubt he will be back there to pick up supplies if nothing else. Another team will keep Sirius Black's home under surveillance, it is possible that they will return there to hide behind his wards. Once I'm out of the infirmary, I will perform another tracking spell to narrow down his location if we haven't captured him."

"So you plan on kidnapping him again?"

"He must be trained and made ready for his fight with Voldemort. Nothing else matters."

Remus scowled, talking to Albus was like talking to a brick wall at times. The man was always convinced in his own infallibility. "I hope you are prepared to deal with more injuries than because he practically killed you and I'm pretty sure he wasn't trying to at the time. In fact he warned us that next time; the healers wouldn't have a chance to help."

Arthur protested "Surely, he didn't mean to injure Albus. I'm positive the boy was just scared and acting out. Once he comes to realize how badly we need him, he will come around."

Remus just stayed silent. Most of the Order members were sunk too deep into Albus' cult of personality to truly question the man's actions or decisions. He had said his peace and given a few something to think about. It was the best he could hope for. After the meeting broke up, he would send a message to Sirius and hope it reached him.

"I know things are difficult at the moment but in the end Harry will be returned to us. With him to fight for us, the Light will stand victorious over Voldemort." Albus finished, a fanatical light gleaming in his eyes.

Alastor couldn't help but notice that Albus only said that the lad would fight for us. Albus did not intend to give him any other authority. He would simply be a tool to use in the battle against Voldemort. At one time, Alastor would not have had a problem with that after all sacrifices had to be made. But, it was only a sacrifice if it was voluntary, what Albus was doing was no different than Voldemort. He was putting Kevin in place to face all the hazards while he himself remained safely behind the lines pulling the strings. Too many good Aurors had been lost that way by the Ministry but at least they had chosen to put themselves at risk. Alastor would be damned if he let it happen again.

Hidden Location, UK

Voldemort was once again holding council but this time only his inner circle was present. Noticeably absent were Avery, Snape, and Malfoy. Their absence only served to anger Voldemort further but for now he restrained himself. The other Death Eaters were mindless recruits not good for much more than random killings and destruction. The inner circle was different. They were far more powerful and influential in the wizarding world. It was this reason that Voldemort was so angered by Snape and Malfoy's disappearance.

"MacNair, what have you learned?" Voldemort asked harshly. Though he wasn't as quick to punish them, he was not civil either.

A little nervously MacNair stuttered out "There have been no sightings of them by any of our contacts in Europe. I bribed the goblins at Gringott's for information but they said that there has been no activity on either of their accounts. I'm sorry my lord but unless they planned this months ahead of time, I think they have either been captured by the Order or are dead."

Waves of magic rolled off of Voldemort as he struggled to get his anger under control. The mere thought of Severus and Lucius in the hands of the Order was enough to send him into a rage. "MacNair, I want you to start surveillance on the Weasleys. They may know something about the location of Lucius or Severus."

"Of course my lord."

"Does anyone else have anything to report?"

Rabastan began speaking in his deep voice "My lord, I learned through one of our spies within the Ministry that Avery and his team were killed last night when they attempted to kill Sirius Black."

Voldemort was too surprised to punish the man "Dead, how did Black do it?"

"It had to be the Order of the Phoenix my lord. There is no way that Black could have done it alone." Rabastan was visibly cringing by the end waiting for the punishment that was sure to come.

"Dumbledore!" Voldemort growled. Again waves of magic were rolling off him, buffeting the Death Eaters in the room. Cracks appeared in the glass windows and the table splintered before he finally got himself under control again.

"It is long past time we take the fight to Dumbledore's doorstep. Without his Order behind him, the man is nothing. MacNair, I expect you to have identified any patterns in the Weasleys' behavior by next week. We will capture one and kill the rest of the family."

Voldemort ended the meeting after issuing orders for several other Order members to be watched. With the Order out of the way, Dumbledore's position would be neutralized. Voldemort would be able to eliminate him at his leisure. The only threat to his power would be Harry Potter. While everyone else thought the boy was dead, he could still feel his tenuous connection to the boy. After Dumbledore was out of the way, he would initiate his search for the boy and eliminate the last threat to his power.