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

Chapter Seven: Root Cause

The next few days seemed to fly by for Harry and his band of followers. The hired professors came in and taught one class per day. It started with Professor McGonagall and her lessons in transfiguration in combat.

The next day was Professor Lupin, and then Professor Flitwick. In between times, the group found times to work on the side projects that Harry had assigned to them.

Harry, in the meantime, spent much of his time either cooped up in his study, or secluded in the family library. While in the study he was often visited by one or more of the adults currently staying at Grimmauld Place. It was during one of his times in the study that Padma found him. After a short knock to announce her presence, she was once again allowed in.

"Harry, what's so important that you would spend all your time either here or in that depressing excuse for a library?" she asked. Harry motioned her over to his desk.

"I've been working on a couple of things that I think are rather important," he murmured. He summoned a chair and had her sit next to him. "Besides you and Parvati, there were several others who lost someone in the attacks. Angelina lost her brother, Alicia lost her grandmother, Dean lost his dad, and Anthony lost his little sister. And then there was Lee…" He took in a breath to calm himself. "Throw in my Godfather Sirius from the attack at the Ministry and there were an awful lot of people lost.

"We're really hurting, and I want to give us some sense of closure." He looked at her. "I, more than anyone, knows what it feels like to lose someone, what it feels like to be an orphan," he whispered. They shared a silent moment as Harry reached and took her hand in his. "This war is going to hurt a lot more people unless we can stop it. But before we can do that we need to be operating efficiently. We aren't anywhere near that right now."

He pointed at a list on a sheet of parchment on his desk. "These are the dates and times for funerals for each of the deceased. They'll of necessity be small, private affairs, but they'll be real funerals none the less. I want to give that to everyone. After all, it's my fault…"

"No Harry, it's not your fault. You didn't ask for this. If you hadn't been able to do what you did, almost all of us would be dead. Instead, we have hope, and where there's hope there's life. I intend to live my life. You have given my sister and me a chance to live our lives the way that we want to. You've given the same opportunity to Hermione. I've never seen my sister as happy as she has been the last three days. Even with the death of our parents, she's been able to find a reason to live."

She leaned in and gave him a small kiss. It wasn't particularly passionate, but it was a very loving gesture. Soft and gentle, it struck Harry as the perfect action from the perfect girl. He couldn't believe how Padma had the uncanny ability to do or say exactly what he needed when he needed it. She was so in tune with him that it would have been scary to watch as an outsider. On the inside, it felt natural and right.

"Thank you Harry. Next week shall be difficult, but it shall also be cathartic. We need that. The group is going a little stir crazy. I was thinking that maybe we should let them out to take care of whatever business they have to, in groups anyway. If they have to stay in here much longer, well things could get ugly."

"You're right, of course," he replied. He was about to comment more when there was a soft knock at the door. With a wave of his wand the door opened, revealing both Hermione and Parvati. With a smile Harry gestured for them to enter.

He walked quickly up to them. "How are the two of you today, sisters of my heart?" he asked them.

"We are well, Milord," Hermione answered. Parvati stared openly at him, amazed at the transformation of the once painfully withdrawn and socially inept boy to the confident young man before them.

"We were just stopping by to give you the latest information packet that we've been able to gather," Parvati said. She handed him a wad of parchment. She leaned in close and whispered to him. "Take care of her, Harry. My sister is very dear to me."

"As she is to me," he replied. "And I might say the same to you. Hermione is the sister I never had. Thank you Parvati, I've never seen her so happy." He straightened up and spoke louder now. "You do of course know that you're a member of the Potter House now, right? All that I have is yours and your sister's. The houses of Potter and Patil are now irrevocably joined. My house shall never forsake yours. Should you desire anything, please, you have but to name it."

"I… I'll try to remember that, Milord," Parvati said with a small curtsy.

"I'm serious Parvati. This belongs to you and Padma as much as it does me. The papers are already filed. Your heirs are my heirs. Whatever you and Hermione decide to do, I support you fully, remember that."

"Thank you Harry," she whispered. They turned and left, hand in hand.

Harry quietly closed the door and shook his head. At least something was going right for a couple of his friends.

He sat down and motioned for Padma to join him. They started going over the daily news. Most of it was inconsequential, the comings and goings of numerous witches and wizards across Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. He made a mental note to ask Lavender and Parvati how they got their information. He was musing on this when he was roused from his reverie by Padma.

"Harry, look at this," she said softly, placing a clipped out section of the Daily Prophet in front of him.

Dumbledore Speaks Before International Confederation of Wizards

By Rita Skeeter

Albus Dumbledore, former Supreme Mugwump to the International Confederation of Wizards, and newly reinstated as a member to that august board, petitioned the I.C.W. to be allowed to speak to them yesterday at their latest meeting. Dumbledore, also newly reinstated as Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, stood before the entire convened assemblage and stated his case:

"My esteemed colleagues, I stand before you with grave news. As you have no doubt come to realize, the wizard terrorist known as Lord Voldemort, has returned to England in physical form. He has started once more on a reign of terror. I, along with Harry Potter have been campaigning against him since his return. As you are also no doubt aware of, the British Ministry of Magic has for the last year denied the return of the Dark Lord, instead allowing itself to become corrupt with the gold of the Death Eaters.

"Now, due to that corruption, the Dark Lord and his followers have a head start of almost an entire year on the forces of light. I implore this governing body to bring its assembled might to bear upon the British Ministry of Magic, to allow for laws to be put in place allowing those who would opposed Voldemort and his Death Eaters the ability to do so openly.

"I ask that the International Confederation of Wizards push for a lowering of the age limit in the Decree for Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery from seventeen to thirteen. Citizens should also be allowed to defend themselves from known terrorist groups without fear of incarceration. There should also be a lifting of the departmental freeze placed upon the Auror department in the British Ministry.

"Lastly, I ask for this body to throw its support squarely behind Harry Potter in his efforts to vanquish Lord Voldemort. This should come by the way of using International Aurors to augment the current forces available in Wizarding Britain, as well as approaching Lord Potter in efforts to make his forces a recognized war-time organization, supported by the International Confederation of Wizards and granted the authority and responsibilities inherent therein. It is my desire to see this threat to the International Wizarding community eradicated and brought to justice before irreparable harm is done to our world and way of life. Thank you for the opportunity to speak before you on this day."

The I.C.W. then voted almost unanimously to bring its full weight to bear upon the British Ministry of Magic in efforts to make the changes suggested by the former Supreme Mugwump a reality. This reporter finds herself amazed by the aged wizard. Never since the threat of Grindelwald has he taken such a forceful stand. This reporter would like to state her heartfelt wish that these changes go into effect quickly, and also the best of luck to Harry Potter. It seems that the rumors of his indeed being the Chosen One are perhaps true.

For the reaction to this news by the Minister For Magic, turn to page three.

For a complete history of the exploits of Harry Potter, turn to page five.

For a recap of the major events of the first wizarding war, turn to Page eight.

For an article on the full impact of the changes suggested by Albus Dumbldore, turn to page nine.

Harry set down the clipping and stood up, still as a rock for a moment in silent contemplation. Slowly, a grin made its way across his face. He grabbed Padma and picked her up, spinning her around in his arms. When he had finished he kissed her soundly till she went weak in the knees. "Mama oyata adarei," He said to her, a wild look in his eyes.

Her eyes widened in surprise. She knew that he had been studying her culture and customs, and it shouldn't have come to a surprise that he wanted to be able to say something to her in her native Sinhalese. That he should tell her that he loved her in that tongue, well that surprised her.

"Are you sure Harry?" she asked softly. He stared at her for a moment, confusion plain in his gaze.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Are you sure you understand the connotations of what you just said Harry?" she clarified. "To say that to a woman is more than just a declaration of love. It is a statement of a desire to be exclusively committed to each other, to be lovers in fact as well as intention. It is a statement of pure devotion to each other. Are you sure that you meant that, Milord?"

"I was unaware of the entire connotation, that's true. It does not mean that I disagree with the sentiment however," he replied. "Padma, I have no wish to rush you into anything, no pressure. I just feel different with you than with any other girl. Can you understand what I mean?"

"Harry Potter, if that had come from anyone else I would think that it was just a ploy to get into my trousers. From you, well, I want to believe it. I care for you very much Harry, and I might even love you, but I'm afraid I'm a little slower than you at giving my heart completely. Give me a while to think about everything, alright?"

"Of course Padma. I don't want to pressure you. I just… well I just know how I feel." He held her at arms length and smiled softly at her. "I think that I might be falling head over heels in love with you."

*0*0*

"The first and most important part of small unit tactics is communication," Tonks began as she looked around the room at the assembled group of young witches and wizards. That these represented the finest that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had to offer was not lost upon her. "I know that you've all worked really hard with Harry and the others to improve on your fighting skills, but I'm telling you now that unless you learn how to communicate without speaking, you will lose and continue to lose until you're either wiped out or you learn to communicate."

"So how do you communicate without speaking?" Ron asked. "Are we going to learn to read each other's minds?"

"Actually, that's a really good question," Tonks replied as she stifled a chuckle. "In reality I'm going to be teaching you some sign language. We use this in the field to communicate with each other silently. It's a Muggle idea that really has a lot of merit. It was first designed to allow people that couldn't hear to be able to converse together. We use it because it isn't a good idea to let the other side hear you when you're trying to sneak up on them."

"So what do you do when the other side knows sign language as well?" Harry asked.

"You encrypt what you're saying," Tonks responded. "You use your own code to represent what you are trying to get across. I suggest that you have a day where you watch a series of Muggle movies and then use different things from the movies to represent what you're trying to say. For instance, you could refer to Death Eaters as Storm Troopers or Nazis. Unless they know what you're referring to, they won't have a clue. And remember, the Death Eaters are almost all pure bloods, which means that they shun anything Muggle. That's one of our greatest advantages. Use it wherever and whenever you can."

"So you're saying that we'll use our strength to our enemy's disadvantage?" Terry Boot asked. "I like that idea."

"Remember, Voldemort's a genius," Harry added in. "A few of his inner circle, like Malfoy and Bellatrix are really smart, but most of his followers are sycophantic morons. We are smarter than most of them. If we learn proper tactics we can beat them. They may be brutal, and merciless, but we can and will out think them all the way. It's the one thing we have going for us."

"Harry's right," Tonks continued. "Be a thinking soldier and live. Don't give your life for the cause, make the other guy give his life instead. A dead soldier is no good to anyone anymore. Don't be the dead one. Now, the foundation of sign language is that every sign represents something. We'll start with what's called the manual alphabet, then on into numbers and then into basic signs. We'll practice it every class, as well as some basic strategy and tactics. Now, this is an 'A'."

*0*0*

Harry sat in the library reading a book that Tonks had given him on the tactical thought process. As he was buried in the book, trying to understand the reasoning behind troop deployments in varied terrain, Hermione, Padma and the other team leaders were busy a few aisles over trying to solve the mystery of Tom Riddle's supposed immortality.

"I think that we should use a process of root cause analysis called the 'five why' process," Hermione said to the group.

"Could you explain that so the rest of us might have a clue, Hermione?" asked Fred.

"Well, the premise is actually really simple. You start with a problem, and you ask why? The answer is the first why. Then you ask why the answer happened. The answer to that is the second why. You can extend it out as many whys as you need to, but usually within five whys you find the root cause."

"That's it?" asked Katie. She and her counterparts for the other strike teams were a part of the overall 'Riddle of Tom Riddle' team.

"Yeah, it really is simple," Hermione replied. "I propose we start with the problem of Voldemort's survival of when Harry was a baby. So the first why is why didn't he die?"

"Because he can't be killed," said Ginny sarcastically.

"Actually, that's right," said Hermione. "But why can't he be killed."

"Maybe he's immune to curses," said Neville. Hermione marked it on a board after Ginny's answer, connecting them with a line.

"Maybe the killing curse didn't work right," said Padma. Hermione connected that to the first problem, next to Ginny's answer.

"Why wouldn't the killing curse work right?" asked Parvati.

"Well, the killing curse separates the soul from the body," replied Luna.

"So why wouldn't the killing curse do that to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" asked Lavender.

"Call him Voldemort or Tom," Hermione admonished. "Actually the curse did separated his soul from the body. It's just that the soul didn't go on to the next stage."

"Something anchored him here," whispered Padma.

"What would do that?" Ron asked.

"That's the winning question," Hermione said. "Let's split up and research it. We've got the Black family library at our disposal. Surely we can find something there."

*0*0*

Harry welcomed the group into his study. There were Hermione and Padma, Neville, Cho Chang, Susan Bones and Justin Finch-Fletchley. He motioned for the group to be seated.

"I received an owl post today when I got back from the library. We've been asked for help, and I need to know if I should grant it."

"What kind of help?" Padma asked.

"Two girls want us to take them in. They're afraid that they are going to be targeted because they've refused to take the Dark Mark. I need to know if we can trust them enough to let them in."

"It would help if we knew who we're talking about," Cho said softly. "Also, why the six of us? I understand why you've got Neville, Padma and Hermione here, but why the rest of us?"

"That part's easy," Harry answered. "Hermione and Neville represent Gryffindor. Susan and Justin are here from Hufflepuff, and you and Padma represent Ravenclaw. As to who the girls are, they're Daphne and Astoria Greengrass. Both of them are in Slytherin house."

"Can we trust them?" Neville asked. "They are both in Slytherin."

"Daphne's in my Ancient Runes class," Hermione said. "She's really quiet, but very smart. I've never seen her hanging around with Malfoy's crowd."

"While her family has always stayed neutral, her father is a shrewd negotiator," Susan said. Aunty says that he's a cunning opponent, and she always tries to win him over to her side. She says that having him working with her makes things a lot easier. I think we might want to try it."

"We need to be cautious though," Justin interjected. "They could do a lot of damage around here."

"I agree with Justin," Padma said. "We need to see where their loyalties really lie. If they're truthful then yes, we need to help them, but until we're sure, we need to watch them."

"That sounds like a good idea," Hermione admitted. "Who would we have watch them?"

"Actually, I have an idea about that," Harry said. "I propose a two-fold approach. How about if Susan and Cho show them around and take them in? Then we have Crookshanks hang around them. He's always a great judge of character." He turned to the two girls. "I need you two to pay close attention to everything. I'm counting on you to keep things from going badly. Can you do that? Also, Crookshanks is part kneazle, so he really is gifted. Pay attention to the clues he gives you. If you have any doubts come and get us and we'll help deal with the situation. If it blows up in your face, take immediate action. Don't let them get the drop on you. Alright?"

"Sure Harry," Susan and Cho chorused.

"Alright, I'm going to have them come here to the park outside tomorrow at noon. We'll see what happens then."

As the group was leaving Harry held Hermione and Padma back. "Any ideas on Voldemort?" he asked.

"Actually yes," Hermione replied. She looked at Padma, her eyebrow raised.

The Sinhalese beauty continued the conversation in a whisper. "Harry, we think he's a lich…"

Author's Note: Yes, Harry is acting out of character in this fic. He is trying to grow up and be worthy of his new title (Lord) and the new woman in his life, as well as being worthy of the trust being placed upon his by the D.A. So before you go and flame me for his behaviour keep that in mind, then if you want to flame me, be my guest.

This chapter didn't come easy. I'm still in "Veela Gambit" mode, and I've had to switch gears. Please bear with me. That, plus a back injury have made writing rather difficult as of late. I'm trying. I hope to continue with the quality that you've come to expect of your fanfic authors.

Thanks for all the feedback, and thanks for all the support. It's the readers that we writers live to hear from.

I've got almost the entire story line mapped out in my head now. Things are going to proceed quite quickly from this point.

Yes, the relationship between Harry and Padma is somewhat rushed. That's intentional. Forces are throwing them together. How they handle that is important.

Thanks again.

Sharptooth