Author's Note: I posted this story a few years ago under my old pen name, but later deleted it. Now I'm posting it again.


Two days ago Harry Potter lead the Aurors into a major battle at Knockturn Alley, and he hadn't been nervous at all. Today he was going to speak before a crowd of old farts at the opening of the Lily Evans Hospital in Hogsmeade, and he was a total wreck.

Even Luna was having trouble calming him down. As she did every morning, Luna mounted him as soon as her eyes were opened. (Some mornings she managed it even before her eyes were open.) But instead of relaxing her husband like she normally did, the tiny bump on her stomach was kind of freaking him out.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, the Healers have told you several times that sex wouldn't hurt little Hedwig. So get on with it." Andromeda enjoyed critiquing his performance at times like this. Harry didn't think he would ever forget that she said the first time the three of them were together: I must say, I've seen house-elves with better technique.

"Don't worry," Luna whispered. "Hedwig will be perfectly fine."

"Yes, expect for the fact that you agreed to name the poor witch after a dead owl," Andromeda deadpanned.

Neither Harry or Luna stopped what they were doing, but they both turned to look at her. "Nymphadora."

"It was a family name!"


Despite all the changes in their lives, Harry and his new family had managed to keep the existence of Dumbledore's cabin a secret from the public. Everyday they entered Hogsmeade through the Floo located in Hermione's lab at the Wizarding Wireless. To improve his lousy exits, Andromeda had Harry carry little Teddy in his arms.

"Either learn to use a Floo properly, or you will send your poor godson flying across the room."

Hermione thought that this teaching method was barbaric, but it worked. Harry could now exit the Floo with a grace of a dancer. Today he found Neville and Ron waiting for them at the lab. They had volunteered to act as bodyguards/babysitters for Teddy during his big speech at the hospital.

"You two look awful," Luna said with her usual amount of tact. "Were you out drinking and whoring with Dean and Seamus last night?"

One of the more surprising effects of the war was that it turned the formerly shy Neville Longbottom into a randy lion. He had started off with Susan and Hannah, and he hadn't stopped all summer. Rumor had it that he had even reached the Holy Grail of every male student at Hogwarts and bedded Madam Rosmerta. The other three were just as bad, if less successful. In fact Andromeda said that Neville, Dean, Seamus, and Ron were the four biggest man-whores she had seen since the Marauders.

That statement had shocked Harry. "But I thought my dad was in love with my mum right from the moment he met her on the Hogwarts Express," he had asked.

"Oh, James did fall hard for Lily, but that didn't stop him from getting as many witches into as many broom closets as he could manage," Andromeda had explained. "He had to keep up with Sirius, who was a dog in every sense of the word—which included a tendency to lick himself whenever possible. Peter might have been a traitor, but he deserved his Order of Merlin considering some of the homely witches Sirius set him up with."

Harry knew it was a sore subject, but he had to ask. "And Remus?"

"He was the worst of the lot. No witch at Hogwarts had any illusions about the other three, but Remus played up that whole sensitive-intellectual nonsense. His girlfriends tended to fall in love with him. Then the bastard dumped them, and moved on to his next victim."

Yes, Andromeda still hated her dead son-in-law. Harry wanted to defend his memory, but then he remembered how Remus had tried to abandoned Nymphadora and Teddy during the war. And how he had stayed away from Little Whinging during Harry's miserable childhood.

"Luna, we were not out whoring," Neville said in a vain attempt to defend his reputation.

Of course Ron went ahead and stuck his foot in his mouth. "Yeah, we never have to pay. Not even for the Firewhiskey." Hermione and Lisa just rolled their eyes.

As they made their way through the old building that housed the Wizarding Wireless, several of the employees came up to say hello to their young employer. Harry was spending a huge amount of galleons to upgrade the business, which made him very popular with the rank and file. The whole company was going to move into a new building on the other side of the village when they could finally hire a building firm.

The magical builders were booked solid thanks to the boom in new construction taking place here in Hogsmeade. Of course the Lily Evans Hospital and then the Ministry of Magic had top priority, but there was also the transplants from Diagon Alley to consider. Many of the owners wanted to build new homes near their new stores. The unemployment that many had suffered through during the war was a thing of the past, and the magical economy was thriving.

Harry felt a surge of pride as they made their way towards St Lily's—as many were already calling the new hospital. Since the new Ministry of Magic was still under construction the hospital was still the tallest building in Hogsmeade. The only reason it was finished so quickly was because St Lily's was an exact copy of a magical hospital that had been built in Toronto, Canada just six years ago. When the Canadian Ministry of Magic discovered the jam their British cousins were in they provided the detailed blueprints and ward scheme free of charge. Combine that with magic, and you had a new hospital finished less in than three months.

When she had first heard about the Prime Minister's orders, Andromeda thought the Healers would put up a fierce fight to keep St Mungo's. But Harry had been right: the majority of them considered the place an antiquated dump, and they were eager to finally have a proper hospital to work in. Especially if they were getting it for free. The Healers had spent the past few weeks using the Hogwarts Infirmary as a transition area, and the grand opening would finally take place today.

Speaking of their helpful cousins: Harry saw the Canadian Ambassador Benton Fraser headed their way. All the women in his group began straightening out their clothes and checking their hair when they saw him—even Hermione and Lisa. The Ambassador was handsome and courteous, but not overly familiar. The combination melted even Andromeda's hard outer shell, much to Harry's disgust.

Ambassador Fraser's arrival in Hogsmeade had been one of the few positive developments for the Slughorn's Ministry in the area of foreign relations. Canada had been the first magical country to officially recognize their government, and they had also signed an important free trade agreement with the United Kingdom. But as of now few other countries were willing to follow their lead. Most didn't want to get involved in what they still saw as a civil war.

"Chancellor Tonks, Auror Potter. If I could have a word with you both. I'm afraid my government has received some rather disturbing information."

After casting a Privacy Ward Ambassador Fraser removed an official-looking parchment from his dress robe. "This came from the International Confederation of Wizards last night. As you know your country was not had a proper representative to the ICW since Albus Dumbledore's untimely death over a year ago, so the... Exiles in France are attempting to have a witch called Delores Umbridge accepted as his permanent replacement."

While International Confederation of Wizards was its official name, in truth the organization should have been called the European Confederation of Pureblood Wizards. It was bad enough that countries like Luxembourg and Belgium had the same voting rights as Japan or the United States, but the ICW was even more heavily weighted towards Europe. Microstates like Liechtenstein, Andorra and San Marino each had votes of their own, and all of them were tightly controlled by the purebloods. The bureaucracy based in Switzerland was also staffed by European purebloods who perverted the day-to-day operations of the ICW in subtle ways to promote their racist agenda.

If it wasn't for the need to enforce the International Statute of Secrecy, many counties outside of Europe would have abandon the ICW a long time ago. Still, it was an important source of legitimacy, one they couldn't just hand over to the bloody Exiles.

"If other countries don't want to interfere in our internal affairs, then how do the Exiles hoped to swing the vote their way?" Harry asked.

"I believe they are hoping that the events which took place in Diagon Alley will push enough of the ICW members in their direction." The normal confident Ambassador looked uncertain for a moment. "I"m afraid certain international newspapers have begun referring to it as the Diagon Alley Massacre. They are painting a rather damning portrait of your actions."

"When is the vote scheduled?" Andromeda asked.

"Next Tuesday."

"Can you get us permission to enter Switzerland that quickly?"

Harry really didn't like where Andromeda was going with this.

"Yes, I believe that can be arranged," Ambassador Fraser said with a warm smile. Harry really wished he could dislike the wizard, but it was impossible. He was just so damn Canadian.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Lily Evans Hospital went off without a hitch. Minister Slughorn's speech moved many to tears as he praised Harry's mother to the heavens as a paragon of what a modern witch should be. Harry almost cried himself until he remembered the eulogy Slughorn had given for Aragog, the man-eating Acromantula. The old wizard had a gift for insincere sincerity.

Harry was so distracted by the upcoming trip that he had no problem with his own short speech. He was too worried about Luna, Hedwig, and Andromeda to care about screwing it up.


A Portkey brought them to the valley deep in the Swiss Alps which was the home of the International Confederation of Wizards. You were only able to enter and leave the through this one designated area. The rest of the valley was protected by wards so ancient and powerful that they eclipsed even Hogwarts' celebrated defenses.

The Highlands had its own unique beauty that Harry had come to love, but he had to admit Switzerland had it beat in terms of scenery. The ICW building itself was a bit of a surprise. It was nothing like a certain dark castle in Scotland. Instead it built along the lines of a classical Roman temple, and was dominated by huge golden dome. That made sense, since most of the spells they were taught had Latin incantations.

Their four person delegation was led by Minister Slughorn. Andromeda didn't trust Horace, so she insisted on coming along in case he needed any advice. It had been a difficult decision to leave Luna behind alone—especially now that she was pregnant with Hedwig—but Harry felt he had to be here to protect Andromeda if something went wrong.

Finally there was Tiberius Ogden, the wizard they had chosen as Dumbledore's replacement. He was a respected scholar and a member of the Wizengamot, so they thought he was an acceptable candidate. More importantly he hated Delores Umbridge with a passion, and would do anything to thwart her ambitions.

They slowly made their way to Hall of the Confederation which was located under the massive dome itself. The ceiling was covered by a circular painting of the Roman gods, whom many believed were ancient wizards themselves. Like the portraits at Hogwarts, Jupiter and his entire dysfunctional family slowly move about as the watched the proceedings in the Hall below.

I wonder what the gods think about all this nonsense? Harry thought as he looked up at the huge toga-clad figures.

"Quite amazing, isn't it. I can still remember the first time I saw the Great Dome. That must have been over forty years ago."

"Is that an attempt to intimidate me with your vast experience?" Harry asked without looking down. He remember Leon Delacour's voice from Fleur and Bill's wedding. "I wasn't scared of Voldemort, and I'm certainly not going to be scared of a Frog like you."

Andromeda came over to join in the fun. "Harry, please introduce us. Isn't this the backstabbing Frenchmen who has been playing host to our enemies these past few months? I can see why he had to marry a Veela—he's an ugly little troll. Reminded me again, didn't you save the life of his daughter Gabrielle? I guess Life Debts don't mean as much on his side of the English Channel."

"You insolent..."

"As I recall the Black family predates the Delacour family by at least four-hundred years. So... ugly and stupid," was Andromeda's riposte.

As Delacour walked off in a huff, Slughorn came over to join them. "It was foolish to anger Delacour like that—he is one of the most powerful wizards in all of Europe."

"No, it was not foolish," Andromeda replied. "He is a French patriot to the core, which means he will always be our enemy. Hopefully his anger will cloud his judgment. Just stick to your speeches Horace, and leave the politics up to me."

Fortunately, Slughorn did give excellent speeches. He was perfectly at ease, and spoke to the Hall in a clear and forceful voice. While the Minister made a token effort to promote Tiberius Ogden's nomination, the main thrust of his argument was that as long as the future government of the United Kingdom was in doubt no one should be allowed to take Dumbledore's seat here at the ICW.

This was very popular idea with the wizards and witches in attendance, since it freed them from having to make a vote they might regret later. As Andromeda had pointed out: they didn't have to win the election, just keep it from happening in the first place.

Then that cow Umbridge got up to speak. She was still wearing one of her hideous pink outfits, and she still had that annoying voice. As a speaker she was a disaster right from the start. She totally ignored the reason they were all here, and instead began ranting about the Diagon Alley Massacre, and how Harry Potter was the world's newest Dark Lord.

Andromeda leaned over to whisper in Harry's ear. "This is all wrong. The Exiles have to know this stupid witch isn't going to persuade anyone to do anything."

"Plus there is the fact that she tortured me, and tried to have my soul consumed by Dementors," Harry whispered back.

"I think the Exiles know Umbridge is going to fail. That means this election was just bait to lure us here to Switzerland."

"You really think this is a trap?" Harry asked as he slowly began looking around the Hall. All the exits were being blocked by ICW staff members with their distinctive purple robes. "You said this valley has been neutral territory for the past three-thousand years. How can they attack us here in front of all these witnesses?"

By now Umbridge had worked up a real head of steam: "And I shall be the one to rid the world of this menace. Avada Kedavra!"

"Potter, get down!"

That was the last thing Tiberius Ogden ever said. He didn't hesitate to shield the Boy-Who-Lived with his own body. Harry hated Umbridge before, but holding the old man's dead body in his arms was too much. His overpowered Reducto Curse caused the former High Inquisitor to explode into a shower of flesh and blood and bones.

However the threat wasn't gone. Umbridge's assassination attempt was a signal to the ICW staffers, and they also began casting. Their plan had seemed fool-proof, since they had both the element of surprise and numbers in their favor. No one would be left alive to report this crime back to their governments around the world.

What the European purebloods hadn't taken into consideration was the fact that like Harry, many of the ICW ambassadors were powerful wizards and witches. In some case very powerful, if the incredible spells being thrown around were any indication. The Hall quickly erupted into dozens of individual duals.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Harry said to Andromeda and Slughorn after he lowered Ogden's dead body to the floor. They fought their way to one of the exits, but unfortunately it wasn't the one they had entered through.

"Please tell me one of you knows your way around this madhouse."

"Sorry, its my first visit here since I was a teenager," Slughorn said. "I have no idea how to get out of the building and to the edge of the wards."

"Female members of the Black Family were taught how to run a proper pureblood household, not the floor-plan of the ICW," Andromeda added.

"That's just great," Harry muttered. "Let's try his way."

It was soon clear that he made a poor choice, since they ran into another purple-robed ambush. Andromeda was hit in the leg with a Bone-Breaking Curse, and they were soon pinned down behind one of the towering marble columns that lined the interior of the ICW.

Andromeda's leg was a sickening mess. "There is no way I can walk on this. Just leave me here, and I will..."

That was as far as she got before Harry stunned her. "Can you cast a Feather-Weight Charm on a person?" he asked Slughorn.

"Generally it isn't a good idea, given all the nasty side-effects."

"Do it anyway," Harry ordered.

While being the same height as each other was useful in the bedroom, it made carrying Andromeda over his shoulder rather awkward. It also limited Harry's ability to go on the offense using his superior speed. They traded a few more spells with their ICW attackers, but they were still pinned down.

Slughorn closed his eyes and gathered his breath. "Harry my boy, I am about to do something very heroic. And very stupid. When I do, I want you to take Andromeda and run as fast as you can."

"There is no need for that," Harry replied between spells.

"Yes, there is. We both know I have make certain mistakes that can never be forgiven. But if I die today you will make sure my dark secrets die with me. That is a fair trade, don't you think?"

Again Harry paused from returning fire. "Did you really mean everything you said about my mother the other morning?"

"Every single word," Slughorn told him.

"Horace, I will make your eulogy one for the ages."

As Harry watched the old Potion Master step out to into the line of fire, he was reminded of their first meeting. Slughorn had stood back-to-back with Albus Dumbledore and repaired an entire house in a matter of seconds. He may not have looked like a great wizard, but he was one. Outnumbered at least ten-to-one, Slughorn gave Harry the time he needed to escape with Andromeda.

They almost made it to the designated Portkey area outside when suddenly they were under attack again. Alone with an unconscious and injured Andromeda, it didn't look good. It was just Harry's luck that this group of ICW staffers was led by Leon Delacour. The French wizard apparently felt the need to taunt him.

"Potter, you and your muggle-loving whore are going to suffer! Do you hear me?"

Now Harry knew where Fleur got her temper from—the man was actually foaming at the mouth. Delacour was so busy describing the horrible ways they were going to be torture to death that he didn't notice the wizards around him were being brought down by Stunners. He wasn't so fortunate.

"Sectumsempra."

A red line formed from Delacour's right shoulder to his left thigh. Then his body slowly separated into two pieces. Harry could tell that he remained conscious for several seconds.

"If George Weasley ever complains about his ear, tell him what is happens when the Curse is properly cast," said the Half-Blood Prince.