A/n: Still looking for a beta if there is any interest. Also, before the pitchforks come out, this will be the last chapter with a lot of Xander. At this point, the landscape I was using the Xander to set-up is almost complete, so we can then focus on Harry.


Chapter 7: Fifteen Years

Harry watched as the Great Hall fell deathly silent as the door creaked open. Everyone was sitting with rapt attention, staring unabashedly as a single boot clad leg emerged from the doorway into the light, before the rest of the man's figure practically stumbled in; Harry very nearly fainted when he finally got a good look.

"Bloody hell," said Ron from beside Harry quietly.

Bloody was certainly right. Blood was dripping off the man's leather jacket and black cargo pants as he entered, falling onto the Great Hall's stone floor like a painter dripping paint onto a canvas. A sleeve of the leather jacket was missing, revealing a long gash that was still a raw, angry red; Harry could tell it had probably only recently stopped bleeding. The pants were also torn and shredded, with small nicks and gashes visible under the shreds. The man's hood was pulled down over his face, concealing it from view, and two sheathed swords were strapped to his back, underneath a rather worn but sturdy looking backpack. Harry watched as the man sort of lumbered into the room, as if he could barely stand, but still somehow on guard and extremely dangerous, like a wounded tiger.


After three or four steps the man seemed to realize he was spilling blood onto the floor, and broke the silence in strangely accented English.

"Ahh…Sorry about your floor Headmaster Dumbledore…things got a little….messy."

A pin drop would have seemed like overwhelming noise in the silence that follow. Dumbledore himself seemed to grow extremely pale and for the first time in living memory was rendered completely speechless. Harry's panic raised another few notches, desperately hoping that the blood wasn't his godfather's. His hands turned an ethereal white as he clenched the Gryffindor table hard enough to nearly break his own fingers.

Xander watched with surprise as Dumbledore visage became as white as snow.

'That wasn't what I was expecting…" thought Xander as he stole a glance at Mad-Eye Moody, who was also looking oddly panicked. "Weird…well…not my problem."

"This might take a bit…and I'm honestly bordering on exhaustion…any chance we could get some chairs for everyone around here," asked Xander, internally laughing at the looks on everyone's faces.

Xander's question seemed to snap Dumbledore out of his stupor.

"Of course, my apologies for the poor hospitality," replied Dumbledore while drawing his wand and waving it through the air. Instantly a couple dozen large comfy armchairs appeared in a large circle in the open space at the back of the Great Hall.

"Now before we get started if you would just allow me to dismiss the students…" began Dumbledore, only to be cut off by a forceful Xander.

"No, they will be staying here as witnesses. There is a reason I chose Hogwarts for this, Headmaster Dumbledore."

"But...they are but children…they can't be witnesses!" yelled a stern looking older woman with brown hair pulled into a tight bun from just behind Dumbledore.

Xander rolled his eyes as he sank into the squashy mauve armchair Dumbledore had conjured, if there was one thing he hated, it was the 'but they are only children' argument.

"They have working eyes and ears don't they?"

"Yes...but I must insist," began Dumbledore.

"They are staying. That is final. I can swear they won't be in any danger and they won't see anything…ahhh mentally scarring," replied Xander with finality. He heard Raine chuckle behind him and turned to shoot him a glare.

The rest of the adults, save Raine Talbot, quickly took their seats, having been seemingly revived from their comatose states of shock during the exchange. The reporters all sat fidgeting, quills and parchment already out; they looked like small children on a caffeine kick waiting to go inside a toy store.

"Before you begin, could we see your ICW medallion to confirm your identity?" asked one of the goblins, who appeared highly amused by the whole situation.

Xander fished the medallion out of his pocket, tapped it with his wand cancel to unshrink it, and tossed it over to the goblin, who pulled out a bizarre looking cylindrical device and ran it over the medallion.

"Bounty hunter eleven, Xander. Is that correct?" asked the goblin, to which he received an affirmative nod.

"Now where is Sirius Black!" exclaimed Hans Muller excitedly, the head of the ICW, no longer able to contain himself. This was about to be a major political victory for him.

A wave of whispering that began at Hans Muller's exclamation was immediately silenced as Xander brought a hand up, before swinging around his rucksack to rest just in between his legs.

"I have a very short story," he began, as everyone stared at the rucksack that Xander began to open.

"There was once a man who tricked all of Britain. He tricked his friends, and ended up betraying them to the Dark Lord he serves. He tricked the world, and managed to escape justice. He rejoined his master, helping him to his return, and serving him to this very day, " said Xander clearly, as he pulled Pettigrew's cage out of the rucksack.

Stunning Pettigrew one last time, Xander opened the cage and pulled out the rat, setting it on the floor in front of him. As he looked up he saw Dumbledore's eyebrows shoot straight to his extremely grey hair, before a twinkle emerged in his eyes. "Looks like he knew," thought Xander, before continuing speaking.

"This man, if you can even call him that, also tricked Britain in the one last way. He was an unregistered Animagus, in the form of a rat."

Xander wove his wand, casting the spell to force Pettigrew out of his Animagus form. As the rat morphed into a human, Xander let out a statement to shock the entire Hall.

"I give you Peter Pettigrew, betrayer of the Potters, murderer of at least a dozen muggles, bearer of the Dark Mark, and current servant of Voldemort."

There was perfect silence for one brief moment in the Great Hall as Xander's words were processed. Everyone stared at a slightly ragged, but clearly recognizable, Peter Pettigrew. Then complete pandemonium erupted.

The student tables of the Great Hall broke into whispers, while the reporters began bellowing questions at Xander. Hans Muller and the goblins were simply shocked speechless. The British contingent of wizards for the most part was blustering and shouting accusations of fraud. Once Fudge began yelling about how "preposterous" this all was Xander raised his wand and caused a bullhorn like sound to cut through the air.

"If you would give me a moment, I believe I can answer some of your questions, and accusations," said Xander, immediately regaining everyone attention; the crowd was truly eating out of the palm of his hand.

"First," began Xander as he stood up and rolled back Pettigrew's left sleeve, revealing the Dark Mark for everyone to see, "the Dark Mark."

This silenced and shocked most of the British wizards. Xander saw Fudge grow slightly pale, though the toad looking witch besides him still seemed to muttering accusations and excuses under her breath.

"Second, I think I will ask our guests from the British Ministry a question. Madam Bones, you are head of the DMLE, correct?"

"Yes," replied a slightly confused Amelia Bones.

"Good, now can you tell if Sirius Black received a trial?"

"Err...I believe he was convicted and sentenced in absence of a trial at the time," replied a now red-faced Amelia Bones.

"What!" exclaimed Hans Muller. Aftermath of a war or not, a man convicted without due process was simply inexcusable in Hans Muller's opinion.

"The proof was irrefutable! There were dozens of Muggle witnesses that watched him blow Pettigrew to bits! All we found was a finger!" yelled Fudge defensively.

Xander made a show of inspecting Pettigrew. "Hmmmm, he doesn't really look "blown to bits" to me. A little tattered maybe, one of his hands is silver, though we will get to why later I believe. His other hand, however, seems to missing a finger. What a coincidence!"

A veritable tsunami of epiphanies seemed to sweep through the Great Hall at Xander's sarcastic comment, much to the chagrin of the British Ministry officials.

"He faked his own death!" exclaimed a reporter from the Wizarding Times, the premier American magical periodical, as the Great Hall broke out into excited whisperings.

Xander briefly rolled his eyes before rummaging through his pockets for a corked crystal vial. "Well how about we ask him?"

Xander tossed the vial to Hans Muller, who caught it somewhat surprised.

"Can one of your bodyguards can confirm that the vial is Veritaserum."

"We have a potions master on hand, Severus Snape, who may be more of an expert for this situation," interjected Dumbledore.

"No. I refuse to trust anyone with the Dark Mark," responded Xander coolly. Dumbledore, whose eyes had been twinkling madly since Pettigrew's unveiling, looked like he had been slapped across the face.

Hans Muller handed the vial to the robed man just behind him, who uncorked it and waved his wand over it a few times before nodding and tossing it back to Xander.

"Good, so no one will be accusing me of tampering," said Xander as he revived Pettigrew. As Pettigrew was groggily returning to consciousness Xander forcibly opened his jaw and dripped three drops of Veritaserum onto his tongue.

"You cannot do that! Veritaserum is a Ministry regulated substance! Arrest him!" shouted the toad looking witch at Xander, to a number of incredulous looks.

"Lady, I'm an ICW agent. I don't have to follow your rules, whoever you are, and Herr Muller seems to have no problems with my use of Veritaserum. Also, so you know, if you try to arrest me…well how about I just emphasize the word "try" here," replied Xander confidently, drawing one of his wands and twirling expertly in his fingers. The technical term for what Xander was doing here would be "bluffing out his ass". Xander knew that after the day he had, it'd be a miracle if he could cast a dozen Stunners, much less escape being arrested while surrounded.

Hans Mulller just waved his hand in front of him, giving a slight glare at the British witch. "None at all, carry on please."

Xander smirked before turning to Pettigrew. "Now, for starters. What is your full name?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

"Were you the Secret Keeper for the Potters?"

"Yes"

Xander continued his questioning, ignoring the whispers erupting around him.

"Did you reveal the secret to Voldemort?"

"Yes"

"Why did you reveal the secret to Voldemort?"

"Because he is my master." Pettigrew's use of present tense did not go completely unnoticed by the crowd, and Xander could hear the cacophony of whispers grow louder. Still, he pressed on.

"Did you fake your own death for Sirius Black to take the blame?"

"Yes"

"Did you or Sirius Black kill all those muggles?"

"I did."

Xander looked down at the shivering, nervous wreck that was Peter Pettigrew for a brief moment before turning away to face his audience.

"Madam Bones, you and your department can question him about specifics to your heart's desire, but I think that covers the basics. I just have a couple more questions I feel everyone would love to hear the answer to," said Xander, smiling mischievously under his hood.

"Peter Pettigrew, you said earlier that Voldemort is your master. Did you take part in a ritual last June to return Voldemort to his body? Has Voldemort returned?"

The whispers immediately died down as everyone waited to hear Pettigrew's answer.

"Yes," Pettigrew squeaked softly, though the silence of the hall allowed his answer to be carried through to be heard by everyone.

Oddly enough, the Great Hall did not explode into noise, as Xander expected. Most everyone seemed too shocked to speak, though Xander saw that Dumbledore, Mad-Eye, and a few others seemed to be rather pleased. Finally, Fudge managed to break the silence.

"Impossible! He died fifteen years ago! He can't be back!" stuttered Fudge, who seemed to almost willing himself to believe his words.

"Well, did you ever find a body?" asked Xander evenly, though internally he was marveling at the British Minister's stupidity.

"There wasn't a body to be found! There wasn't anything left of him!" Fudge yelled back.

"You mean like you only found "bits" of Pettigrew? You Brits have some rather interesting interpretations of death it would seem," replied Xander.

Fudge immediately paled like a ghost and seemed to lose the ability so speak. The Great Hall broke into a wall of noise. Students were screaming hysterically, reporters were shouting questions, and Hans Muller was chewing out Cornelius Fudge like he was a small child.

Xander turned to the goblins, who had gotten over their shock quite quickly and now looked like they were watching an entertaining comedy routine.

"Master goblins, a quick question if you will," asked Xander in Gobbledegook, taking care to be respectful. Goblins were creatures you didn't want to get on the bad side of; the little Xander knew of their justice system was that it involved a lot of beheadings.

The goblins raised an eyebrow at Xander's use of Gobbledegook, before one of them responded. Xander noticed that their uniforms had very subtle differences; the one on the right had a small English flag imprinted under the Gringotts seal that adorned his vest. The other goblin had the Egyptian flag in the same spot.

"Branch Managers Sharpclaw and Lockleap, what can we do for you?"

"The contract was for 'the betrayer of the Potters', not necessarily Sirius Black. I believe I have completed the terms and would to be paid," said Xander.

Both goblins smirked briefly before responding, "Of course, 2.5 million galleons will be transferred to the vaults of your choosing. All fees will be charged to the British Ministry, so if you want the gold transferred to branches in different countries or to affiliates I would recommend doing so now."

Xander nodded and analyzed his options briefly. "I'll commit one third of the gold to a vault in Gringotts London to be opened under the name "Xander", I'll come into the branch to finalize the paperwork in the next few days. One third I wish to be sent to my vault in Mexico City under the name Alejandro. The last third send to Gringotts Cairo, the vault is under the name Yusuf."

Xander then pulled out some parchment from his bag and smeared some of his blood on it, handing it the goblins.

"I assume that will be enough to confirm the transfers to those vaults? I really don't want to do any paperwork."

"Yes, for a one hundred galleon fee we can simply use your blood, especially for a Preferred Client" responded Lockleap, of Gringotts Cairo.

Xander briefly wondered if he used the "Preferred Client" title due to the 2.5 million galleons he was about to deposit, or whether he recognized that "Yusuf" was already a "Preferred Client" of Gringotts. "Probably the latter…damn goblins seem to know everything," thought Xander before responding.

"That'll be fine, anything to avoid paperwork."

"Will there be anything else?" asked Sharpclaw.

"I don't believe so…err wait actually one moment," said Xander as he turned back toward the commotion. Little had changed except Hans Muller had accidentally switched to German while berating Fudge; Fudge clearly had no idea what the man was saying but it did sound pretty scary.

Xander did notice that Mad-Eye Moody was laughing in a corner while Dumbledore seemed to be speaking to his staff, his eyes twinkling madly. "Glad that they at least are happy about this shitshow" thought Xander before firing up sparks from his wand, immediately gathering everyone's attention.

"I just have a quick question while I'm finishing up my business with the representatives from Gringotts. Was there a bounty out for Fenrir Greyback by any chance?"

There was a collective "deer in headlights" moment from the British wizarding contingent before Madam Bones spoke up.

"Err…I do not believe there is…if we decide to put one out for him we will be sure to contact you though."

Thinking of Fenrir Greyback sent a shiver down Madam Bones' back; the reason the DMLE had never considered a bounty on Greyback was they didn't think anyone would be crazy enough to go after him.

"Oh, well…I only asked because you'll find his body along with five other Death Eaters, all werewolves, just outside the Hogwarts wards. Err…what's left of their bodies, anyway."

Everyone, including even Albus Dumbledore, just turned into silent bug-eyed statues with their jaws dropped.

"I think you finally broke them," said Raine Talbot in Spanish, walking up to stand beside Xander.

"Looks like it," replied Xander, as they both tried to keep straight faces.

"You…Greyback…kill…" stuttered one of Fudge's bodyguards.

"Yeah, him and five of his Werewolf and Death Eater friends tried to ambush me after I grabbed Pettigrew. Tried not to kill them…but…well…yeah…Werewolves…you know?" shrugged Xander. The man just kept gaping at Xander wordlessly.

"I don't think rent-a-cop here "knows" anything," laughed Raine, still speaking in Spanish.

Xander just shrugged in response and stood up to grab his rucksack when he tripped over. Xander was not someone you would ever describe as klutzy, but after the kind of day he had, anyone would lose some grace. As Xander stood up, rubbing his forehead and trying to ignore Raine's roaring laughs, he suddenly had a horrible realization. His hood had come off his face. He looked up instinctively, unwittingly giving the entire hall a very clear look at his boyish face.

"Well…shit," Xander muttered as all the reporters began snapping photos while everyone stared in shock.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, is there any chance I can stay somewhere in the castle tonight?" called out Xander, trying to ignore the reporters shouted questions.

"Certainly, you may stay as long as you need. Just allow me to call a house-elf to show you to our guest quarters," responded Dumbledore merrily, giving Xander a rather appraising look.

"Thanks," replied Xander, before turning to the crowd of reporters and Ministry officials.

"Alright shut up all of you. I am tired and I am going to bed. British Ministry, I'll be around for two or three days at least so if you need me you can contact me. After that, it might be significantly harder to find me. Reporters, I feel I already gave you enough to write about. Ask other people your questions and leave me alone or I will hex you, and it won't be pleasant," yelled Xander before marching straight out the doors of the Great Hall with a house-elf.

"Well aren't you just a people person?" quipped Raine as he jogged to catch up to Xander.

"Shut it, Raine."


As Xander dragged his body to the Hogwarts guest quarters, Lord Voldemort stood on a small knoll overlooking the hamlet of Godric's Hollow, dozens of Death Eaters gathered behind him.

"My Lord?" asked Lucius Malfoy nervously. The Dark Lord's tirade after discovering Fenrir Greyback's failure had been the largest he had ever seen, and Lucius still feared his Lord's mood.

"Godric's Hollow," whispered Voldemort softly, "It has been fifteen years…fifteen years this very day."

Voldemort turned to face the gathered Death Eaters, old followers and new recruits alike. If the world was to discover his return tomorrow, Voldemort as going to add a message of his won

"Raze the village. Kill any who resist. Leave nothing of the Potter residence standing."


Harry's emerald eyes flickered with sadness and anger as he read the headline for the morning's Daily Prophet.

You-Know-Who Alive! Godric's Hollow Destroyed! Seventeen Wizards Dead and Dozens of Muggles Murdered!

"There's an article about you in there too," Hermione said quietly from beside Harry as she buttered a piece of toast, "though you might be more interested in the article in the bottom left of the front page."

Harry flipped the page over and skimmed past the rest of the headlines on Sirius' freedom, the Ministry's response, and Fenrir Greyback's death. There, in the bottom left corner was an article on the bounty hunter that brought in Pettigrew. Harry briefly smirked at the magical photo that accompanied it; the bounty hunter was making every desperate attempt to keep himself hidden.

"They don't really have much on him, do they?" said Harry as he read through the article.

"Not really, everything is just guesses or rumours for the most part. They don't even know his name. He went by Xander in England, but based on some of the information has a dozen names for all the places he's been," replied Hermione.

"I bet Dumbledore is trying to get him on our side, maybe even join the Order," said Ron as he ate a muffin.

"I don't know, it seems sort of risky to have someone join that no one really knows anything about." said Hermione.

"It would still be great to have someone that powerful on our side though," responded Harry before looking up from the paper. Harry sighed with frustration as at least thirty or forty people who had been unabashedly staring at him tried to look away. "I can also understand why he might want to stay unknown."

"The stares? I mean people were staring before anyway," said Hermione sympathetically.

"Yeah, but it's a lot worse this morning. It's like the imaginary sign that points to my forehead somehow just got bigger and brighter," replied Harry while shaking his head.

"Look at it this way, mate, at least they aren't staring at you because they think you are a nutter. You are back to being a hero and all that," added Ron.

"Wish they just wouldn't stare at all," muttered Harry as the trio got up from the Gryffindor table and headed towards morning class.

What followed was possibly one of the more useless days of class Harry had ever experienced, even more so than during the uproar of the Chamber of Secrets. Not a single person could focus, no matter how hard the professors tried to maintain some semblance of normalcy. One of the perks, however, was the absence of Umbridge from Defence Against the Dark Arts that day. Madam Pince substituted for the class, as Umbridge supposedly had "important Ministry business". Harry blatantly ignored the assignment and instead chose to read a Defence book sent to him by Remus to help him plan his Defence Association lessons.


"How the hell does he do that damn eye twinkle?" thought Xander absentmindedly as he leant against a bookshelf on the right side of the Hogwarts Headmaster's circular office, observing the occupants of the room.

Right next to Xander stood Raine, wearing his trademark mirrored aviators and brown leather jacket, his expression completely blank, like Xander's. Minister Fudge was sitting next to his dumpy lackey, looking rather pale. After him was the DMLE head Madam Bones, who was sitting next to an older wizard Xander didn't recognize, legal style notepads sitting in both their laps. Past them was ICW head Herr Muller, who was shooting glares at Fudge every few seconds while flipping through a number of papers. Mad-Eye Moody had taken up a similar position to Xander and Raine on the opposite of the room, his magical eye spinning wildly. Dumbledore sat in his chair behind his ornate wooden desk, his eyes twinkling as he looked at Xander and Raine. Severus Snape stood right behind him, his presence keeping Xander particularly on guard. Finally, there were a number of British and German Aurors throughout the room, presumably on bodyguard duty.

"What do you all want?" asked Raine, cutting through the silence.

"I was hoping for your input, Mr Talbot, today as we are here to discuss the threat of Voldemort," said Dumbledore cheerily, before turning to Xander.

"Yours as well, Mister…"

"Just call me Xander."

Just before Dumbledore was about to speak again, the one wizard Xander hadn't recognized seemed to jump in, turning in his chair to look at Raine.

"Talbot? As in Raine Talbot? The American Auror who was six months away from becoming the youngest Master Auror in history before quitting to chase bounties in Mexico?"

"At your service, though if I may who are you?" responded Raine with a bit of gusto; Raine wasn't an egomaniac or anything, but having your reputation precede you was always a good thing for a bounty hunter.

"Rufus Scrimegour, head of the British Aurors," replied the man coolly.

At this point, Xander decided just to be blunt; he was sore and a bit cranky after the previous day and wanted to get this magic carpet moving, so to speak.

"Look, what do you want us to do, and what are you willing to offer? We all know that's the only reason Raine and I are here, so just tell us."

Scrimegour, Madam Bones, Mad-Eye Moody, and Dumbledore all seemed to make brief eye contact before Madam Bones spoke.

"We do need your help. At minimum we were hoping we could get some information and maybe your opinion on some things."

Xander turned to Raine and spoke in rapid, quiet Spanish.

"I know we both do this for the money, but just giving them some info doesn't risk either of our necks, I say we do it for free and see where it goes from there."

"Alright, I don't see anything wrong with that. Though I'll say it now, I'm not actively getting involved unless they make me an offer I can't refuse," replied Raine with a slight nod.

"Fair enough, I feel the same. From what I've seen this shit is going to be nasty. Before we start talking I want the guy standing next to Dumbledore out of here."

Raine glanced over at Severus Snape before speaking. "The creepy Goth-looking guy, what for?"

"Death Eater," replied Xander simply.

"No shit. Why's he here anyway?"

"Dumbledore says he's a spy, or reformed or something," said Xander as he glanced over at Dumbledore, who just seemed to be twiddling his fingers absent mindedly, Xander knew it was a ploy and just hoped they were speaking quietly enough to prevent being overheard.

"You aren't buying it, though," commented Raine

"I don't have whatever information Dumbledore has on the guy, and I know he is marked with Dark Mark, and that thing is nasty," replied Xander.

Raine raised an eyebrow, "So it isn't a normal magical tattoo."

"Thing would light up a Dark Magic detector like a set of Mexican Muggle fireworks," said Xander with a shrug.

"Damn," finished Raine as the pair of them turned back towards the rest of the room, which was looking at them expectantly.

"Look, neither Raine nor I have any love for Voldemort's ilk, so we would be more than happy to tell you what we know, and share our thoughts. If it goes further than this meeting, and involves anything that risks our necks, we are going to want to get paid, and it won't be cheap," said Xander to no objections.

"Before we start though, he," Xander pointed to Snape, "needs to leave. We won't be doing anything with him here."

Dumbledore frowned and looked a little surprised. "Severus has my complete and full trust…" he began only to be cut off by Xander.

"That's nice, but he doesn't have mine or Raine's. We know he is a Death Eater and we know he has the Dark Mark, so no, your word isn't enough Dumbledore."

"He is a Death Eater?" yelped Hans Muller, clearly surprised by the information.

"Again, he has my full trust, but for the sake of cooperation I will acquiesce," Dumbledore said tiredly, giving Snape a nod, who then left the room. The rest of the room looked a bit shocked that Dumbledore had deferred to someone who didn't look like he could be older than a teenager.

"Alright, now this will be easier if we can ask you some questions, and then we can give you our opinion of the situation, and how we could potentially help, if we want to," began Raine.

"So for starters, what's your Auror count?" asked Xander, directing his question at Madam Bones and Rufus Scrimegour, who glanced slightly nervously at each other.

"Two hundred and twenty five," responded Scrimegour somewhat gruffly, a number which shocked Xander, Raine, and Herr Muller.

"Are you shitting me?" said Raine, all propriety forgotten.

"Great Britain has a magical population of around sixty thousand! Even a less influential wizarding country of that size would have at least two hundred and fifty Aurors, much less one of the major wizarding powers! France and Germany both have at least four hundred Aurors!" exclaimed Herr Muller, looking wildly from Madam Bones to Rufus Scrimegour.

The two British Ministry officials turned and shot glares at Fudge, who was looking at his feet. "We've had…quite a few budget cuts the last decade," Madam Bones said haltingly.

Xander just shook his head at the stupidity of it all. "Moving on, then. Mad-Eye, your opinion on the current skill level of the Auror force."

"An average Death Eater against an average Auror is a wash. Their top end, however, beats out our best Aurors right now, not even counting the ones in Azkaban or anyone new," responded Mad-Eye grimly, a slight note of frustration in his voice.

"What about you?" asked Raine right at Dumbledore, who was trying his best to look confused by the question, "You must have been doing something; back home I heard rumours about some organization you had fighting Voldemort during the first war. How many have you got, and how much crossover with Aurors?"

Dumbledore's tried to looked a bit surprised, but at the same time pleased, at being called out by Raine as he answered. "The Order of the Phoenix has approximately sixty members and about a half dozen are Aurors."

"Skill level?" asked Xander.

"Wide range, top end is as good as our best Aurors, as some of them are. The rest, however, are untrained and more often than not housewives; better off using cleaning charms than dueling," shot in Mad-Eye, making it somewhat obvious he was part of the organization.

"Hem, Hem," interrupted Fudge's dumpy lackey, speaking with a disgustingly girlish voice, "the organization of a vigilante group outside the Ministry of Magic is quite illegal, Professor Dumbledore. I'm afraid we will have to arrest against you and any members of said organization. Aurors!"

The room simply turned to the woman and collectively quoted the words of the Muggle John McEnroe, "You cannot be serious."

"There will be no arresting of anyone involved in the Order of the Phoenix, and I look forward to cooperating with all members of it in the coming war against Voldemort," said Madam Bones frostily, glaring directly at Umbridge, who seemed to wilt under the room's stares.

"How did you fucking elect these people," quipped Raine Talbot as he just looked around the room with a raised eyebrow. His question went unanswered by the room.

"Carrying along, this last question is directed at Dumbledore. Just how powerful is Voldemort?" asked Xander, who was getting close to snapping at those who flinched when the name was said.

Dumbledore brought his hands together as he prepared to answer. "Voldemort has used a number of rituals to augment his own body and has studied most fields of magic extensively. His knowledge of the Dark Arts, ranging from torture curses to necromancy, is close to unparalleled and he is both naturally skilled, and experienced, in dueling. On top of that, he also is a cunning strategist, a true embodiment of the traits Salazar Slytherin valued. He understands the British political system well and is adept in choosing targets and executing battle plans."

Raine and Xander just glanced at each other a bit uneasily; they knew he was powerful but the picture Dumbledore painted was rather scary.

"Approximately how many average Aurors do you think he could take on singlehandedly and how would you rate his strength compared to Grindelwald?" asked Raine.

"I have not fought him or personally seen him in nearly fifteen years but assuming he is at the same strength as when he first disappeared … around twenty-five or more Aurors, and I believe he now outstrips Grindelwald in terms of power and skill," replied Dumbledore.

Raine just let out a long whistle while Xander shifted his bodyweight on the bookcase he was leaning on. The room directed their attention to the pair expectantly.

"My honest opinion about your situation? You are all royally fucked," said Xander bluntly.

"I have to agree too," added Raine.

"I think we were hoping for something a little more specific," said Rufus Scrimegour gruffly.

Raine glanced at Xander, "I'll defer to you. You probably have a better idea of what they are up against after tracking so many Death Eaters."

Xander shifted himself so he was no longer leaning against the bookcase, commanding greater attention from the room.

"You guys honestly have a laundry list of problems. First of all, from what I can tell, you are facing a similarly sized force. Between the Death Eaters that got off free last time, their family members, and new recruits, Voldemort has nearly two hundred followers to call upon, and that number is growing. According to your own assessments, that force is equal or even more powerful than your own, so you currently don't have a numerical or quality advantage."

"And the new recruits that Voldemort is gathering from the…well…magical cesspools of the world are probably only raising his battle strength," added Raine.

"Agreed. After that you guys have a tactical problem in that you have a lot of ground to defend without the numbers to do it. Voldemort has a bunch of targets he can attack to destabilize your side, and it will be tough to defend them all. You will have to pick your battles. Finally, your main prison is guarded by Dementors. And, let's be honest, they will join Voldemort. That will bolster his forces with a pretty fearsome weapon and stretch yours even thinner if you want to try to defend Azkaban."

"What would you say are Voldemort's best targets?" asked Mad-Eye Moody. Xander knew the man probably already had a list, but was just trying to get the question out in the open.

"Who's the most likely candidate to replace that idiot," asked Xander, motioning to Fudge, "and will they be any good?"

The room completely ignored Fudge's odd squawk of protest and Umbridge's indignant shriek as Mad-Eye responded.

"Madam Bones right here would get my vote, and a number of others too."

Xander just nodded, "Well as far as locations, I would say Azkaban, Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and Hogwarts are the prime targets. Maybe St. Mungo's. Madam Bones and her family are also going to be prime targets, along with Mr Scrimegour here, Dumbledore, and yourself Mad-Eye. Any influential anti-Voldemort Wizengamot members would also be psychological and political blows, so they and their families are targets. Harry Potter is probably the last one; plenty of moral value for Voldemort if he dies, and Voldemort seems to have some odd obsession with him."

A grim silence filled the room; it was pretty obvious to everyone that the depleted British Auror force wasn't going to be able to defend everything; not to mention any random attacks.

"There is at least a bit of good news, however," said Raine, the room's eyes snapping onto him.

"How do you figure?" asked Rufus Scrimegour grimly.

"If Voldemort had had any more time to prepare, the situation would have been impossible. Additionally, while the numbers are equal, if I know how budget cuts work in Auror forces, you probably have older experienced Aurors who you forced into retirement and can recall. Finally, Voldemort has been recruiting pretty heavily among the Dark wizards of the world, but with a couple notable exceptions, no one truly powerful or scary has joined him. They are mostly just mediocre criminals on the run or a couple of lower tier assassins and Curse breakers or whatever," explained Raine.

"Notable exceptions?" queried Mad-Eye.

Raine and Xander shared a quick look before Xander spoke.

"If you run into a man with a South American accent missing a hand, be extremely careful. His name is Carlos Porras. He was the Columbian Dark Lord's top lieutenant and managed to escape Auror custody."

"He's one scary motherfucker," said Raine with a bit of a shudder. Most of the room looked around uneasily at Raine's reaction; if someone of Raine's calibre was scared that wasn't a good sign.

"To give you an idea," began Xander, "he took on seven of Columbia's better Aurors at once, and killed them all like they were practically insects."

Another grim silence swept the room, the only noise coming from Madam Bones and Rufus Scrimegour as they quietly whispered.

"Do you have any suggestions as to what we could do in the short term?" asked Madam Bones, looking a bit pale but determined.

"It's hard to say as the situation overall is still pretty murky," began Raine. "However, I would say that you, Mr Scrimegour, and your families need a heavy bodyguard detail. Start recalling retired Aurors and recruiting anyone that can help. Don't be picky. Finally, you will lose Azkaban unless you sink a huge portion of your Auror force into guarding it, which isn't worth it. Thus, you need to permanently deal with all the Death Eaters you have locked up in there before Voldemort can bust them out."

Xander watched Dumbledore blink a couple of times before jumping into the conversation. "You don't mean to suggest executing them? They may be convicted prisoners but they do have rights."

Raine just gave a somewhat nonchalant shrug. "Sometimes you have to swallow a bit of a bitter pill. You have a war coming, and if Voldemort manages to bolster his forces anymore you are really going to be in a world of trouble. They are all murderers and criminals anyway, so I doubt anyone will miss them too much."

"This first week is key," said Xander. "If Voldemort is smart, which he is, he isn't going to want to give you time to prepare. He will hit a lot of those targets fast and hard, one or two a day or something like that. It will pretty much set the tone for the rest of the war."


Harry watched as the three Stunners streaked towards him before whipping out his wand.

"Protego"

The bluish spherical shield blossomed in front of Harry, deflecting all three Stunners cast by Terry, Anthony, and Lisa, sending them scattering throughout the Room of Requirement.

"The wand motion and incantation aren't very complicated for the basic Shield charm," said Harry as he turned to face the Defence Association. "But, you really have to focus on the spell and put some power behind it for it to work well. A weak shield will fizzle after blocking just one spell, while a stronger one will stay up for two or three, which is what you want. Ideally you want it to be strong enough to even reflect the spells away, like I just showed. I think the best way to practise this, is to split off into pairs and have one person cast Disarming charms until your shield can hold up to at least a couple of them and then try Stunners."

The room nodded and started splitting off into pairs, with Harry ending up with Luna Lovegood, which wasn't too uncommon. While sometimes others like Padma, Susan, Fred, or George would partner with her, she was really the only person in the club that didn't have a sort of "go to" friend to pair up with. Harry didn't mind at all, however, even if he didn't understand what the spacey blonde was saying half the time. Harry had quickly learned not to underestimate her due to her strange opinions of, well, everything. The first time they had practised the Disarming charm she had cast a spell powerful enough to knock Harry right on his bum, something only a few other people in the room could probably do.

After a little over ten minutes, Harry handed Luna off to Fred and George and started to make his way around the room to try to help people out. There was a noticeable increase in effort and focus in the room from previous meetings. Generally no one really fooled around per se, but Harry could tell the official return of Voldemort and the destruction of Godric's Hollow was affecting everybody.

By the time Harry called an end to the night, everyone could successfully cast a Shield charm, and some had cast it skilfully enough that they were reflecting some Disarming charms. Overall, Harry was pleased. Everyone was progressing extremely quickly, and even little Dennis Creevey seemed to be able to get most of the spells down with a little extra time and work.

"Everyone was really into it tonight," Terry commented casually as he joined Harry in putting some cushions back in place while the rest of the Defence Association streamed out of the Room of Requirement.

"Small wonder why, though," replied Harry grimly as he slid the last cushion into place and walked over to where Padma, Susan, Hermione, Ron, Lisa, Anthony, Mandy, Hannah, Justin, and Ernie were gathered.

"Yeah, I mean the Prophet this morning had enough headlines to fill a month's worth of issues, and the incident in Godric's Hollow was pretty ghastly," replied Terry.

"Yeah," started Harry, "did you know anyone at Godric's Hollow? Are they okay?"

Terry just shook his head. "Nah, though my parents do. Hopefully everyone they know made it out okay."

"I have an aunt and uncle in Godric's Hollow, but my parents owled me to let me know they got out alright," added in Hannah as the rest of the group joined the conversation.

"That's good, though it's still really pretty scary," said Anthony as he scratched his scalp through his curly brown hair.

"By the way Harry," began Susan, turning her shimmering blue eyes onto the mess-haired hero, "how are you doing? After the attack on Godric's Hollow?"

Harry blinked a couple times in confusion. "Ummm fine? I mean it's really sad but I didn't know anyone there or anything..."

"Just making sure, I mean they did completely destroy the house you and your parent had lived in as baby...the place you stopped him the first time..." said Susan tentatively.

Harry just laughed a little. "I mean I didn't really do anything, my mother was the real hero. And I guess I should miss it, but I've never even been there and I honestly don't have any memories of the place. The only thing that makes me sad about it is the people that died there because of Voldemort, their lives are a lot more important than some house."

"The really scary thing, though, it the attacks will only get worst," said Padma, breaking the silence.

"Do you think Death Eaters would attack Hogwarts?" asked Mandy worriedly.

"Doubt it, I mean they have kids here too, and I doubt they want to mess with Dumbledore. The wards at Hogwarts are also legendary," answered Ernie.

"According to Hogwarts: A History, all four of the founders helped make the wards, and they are some of the strongest in magical britain. The current Headmaster of the school also adds his own magic and control to the wards, and since Dumbledore is the headmaster I'd imagine they are incredibly powerful," said Hermione quickly.

"No wards are perfect, though," added in Harry, thinking back on what had happened to him that summer. "They all have loopholes."

"Still got to reckon it's pretty safe here, and the Ministry will probably do something to help protect Hogwarts," said Ron with a shrug.

"I definitely wouldn't be surprised if they put in a bunch of safety measures," said Hermione, "hopefully they will have at least a detail of Aurors."

"Well as long as they don't cancel Quidditch I don't really care," said Ron.

"I bet Angelina's thinking the same way, she's been worst than Oliver recently," responded Harry with a shake of his head.

"Well then," began Justin, "here's to hoping that you absolutely flatten Slytherin on Friday."

"Here, here," shouted all of the boys.

Susan just shook her head. "More importantly, here's to hoping that there won't be anymore attacks this week."


A/n: And we are almost up to the old story! One chapter left before all-new material! Please review in the meanwhile.