A/N: Hey so here is the newest chapter. We are starting to get into the real crux of the story here. Two major events happen in this chapter. Hermione's love interest is introduced in this chapter as well, but that character won't become a more serious part of the story for several more chapters. No, Ron and Ginny will not turn evil in this story, but Ron will not end up with Hermione, and Ginny will not end up with Harry. Their love interests are introduced as well.

I love the reviews lately. Thank you guys so much. Every positive comment spurs me on, and every negative comment makes me stop and think. Love it. Seriously again, thank you guys so much for the response to this story. It feels good to know you guys are into it.

Thanks,

Drunken Prince

Standard Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter. Just the stuff I make up about him.

Chapter 9 – Ministry Connections

The Shadow Hunter was not able to make an appearance in response to Dan and Emma Granger's death. The girls had all come down to the parlor and brought Hermione along with them. From the minute they entered Hermione, Susan, or both were hanging onto Harry's arms or crying on his shoulder. In fact, everyone decided they didn't want to be alone over night and they had Maisey bring in pillows, blankets, and soft rugs so they could all sleep together for comfort.

Harry, although slightly disappointed, found that he enjoyed being able to comfort and console his friends without having to be the hero or the executioner. Hermione and the others needed him because he was their friend, not because he was strong or powerful.

In the whirlwind that had been the rise of the Shadow Hunter, there had been very little time to reflect on his actions or his purpose. Lying here, in the parlor of his ancestral home, with his best friends in the whole world, he remembered that the entire reason for the Shadow Hunter was to protect these people. He realized that no matter how many death eaters he killed, or how many innocents he saved, none of it would be worth a damn if he didn't live his life. He had to cherish the time he had with the people he loved. It isn't a cliché if you actually believe it.

As Ron started to snore and Susan's breathing evened out next to him, he had to chuckle to himself as he admitted mentally that the old man actually had one thing right. Love was the key to it all.

He fell asleep with a smile on his face thinking about how much he loved the people in this room, and how Dumbledore was real bloody wanker.

HP+++++++++HP+++++++++HP

Revenge for Hermione's parents became a much more in-depth project than Harry had originally planned. He decided to kill two birds with one stone, literally no pun intended. He needed a release for his pent up anger after Hermione's tragedy and also to rid the ministry of Voldemort's spies. Coincidentally he spent the next several weeks secretly watching the ministry and any potential death eaters within. Naturally Harry forgot that he had a birthday coming up.

He returned home in the evening one day and Maisey immediately approached him with a hand written note from Susan.

Harry,

Hermione and I are at the Burrow with Ginny. Mrs. Weasley said to tell you to just come on through the floo when you get home and she'll make us all a nice dinner. Remember it's Neville's birthday today so we should probably floo him after dinner. If you want to pick up a gift for him before you come to the Burrow that might be a nice idea. I love you and I'm looking forward to giving you your birthday present tomorrow.

Yours Forever,

Susan

"Maisey will you grab me a quill and parchment please? HOBY!"

A small pop signaled the arrival of Hoby the house elf.

"Master. You calls for Hoby."

"Yes Hoby, can you please go select one or two of the most rare and special magical plants we have here on the grounds and pot them up for me? I intend to give them as a gift to a friend."

The odd little elf popped away without even acknowledging his request, but Harry knew it was being taken care of. He decided to take a quick shower and clean up, then he wrote out a quick note to Neville wishing him Happy Birthday. Hoby had come through with a plant called an Atlantean Faery Trap. Which was, essentially, a magical version of a Venus Fly Trap as far as Harry could tell. He also had a smaller vine plant that was called a Mimican Miloro. Apparently its leaves were essential in many advanced potions, but it was so rare and expensive that many potions masters couldn't get their hands on even a small sample. He was sure that Neville would be interested in both.

HP+++++++++HP+++++++++HP

Harry stepped out of the floo at the Burrow and saw only Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen.

"Um…where is everybody Mrs…sorry…Molly?"

The red haired woman turned and caught sight of Harry. "Oh Harry dear, there you are." She strode forward and he was barely able to set down Neville's plants before she wrapped him in a snug embrace. "The rest are out back, Harry. We're eating outside this evening because it's such a lovely night. You can go on out. I'll be there in a minute with the food."

Harry made his way out the back door and turned the corner towards the open space where they usually ate outside at the burrow. To say he was surprised when he spotted forty different people there would be an understatement.

Susan ran up and grabbed his arm. "Are you surprised Harry? We thought we'd do this for you and Neville so you didn't have to share all the spotlight for once."

"Wow, yeah, of course I'm surprised. I can't believe you guys did this. Where's Neville? I'll just give him his gifts now. Since today is his birthday and all."

"He's over there talking to Hannah. I think he fancies her. I know she fancies him too so we could have another Gryff-Puff love connection brewing."

"Wow that's crazy…..Hey who's that touching Hermione's face like he has some right to? She's never said anything about a boyfriend…Do I need to kill that guy? I won't let anyone fuck with Mione's emotions right now."

"Relax Harry. That's Matthew Abbott, Hannah's older brother. He finished at Hogwarts last year remember. He was the seventh year Ravenclaw prefect. Apparently they've been talking and flirting through letters all summer. They met last year because they were both prefects who weren't under Umbridge's thumb."

"Well, he better watch himself. That's my sister over there."

Susan looked at Harry with love in her eyes. "I know she's your sister love. But she's a big girl too. She's had enough heartache recently. Let her find some happiness yeah?"

"Ok. But I don't like it, and if he hurts her he's a dead man."

"That's my brave, stupid Gryffindor." She kissed his cheek and patted his arm. "Go get Neville's gifts, and I'll tell him you're looking for him."

Harry wandered back to the kitchen to retrieve his friend's birthday gifts. As he re-emerged in the back garden, Neville, Hannah, and Susan made their way over to him.

"Hey Harry good to see you mate," offered Neville. He handed Harry a wrapped gift. "Happy birthday tomorrow. I figured I'd just give this to you now."

"Thanks Nev." He handed Neville the potted plants he was holding. "These are for you. I've been assured they are both quite rare."

"Whoa! Is that a Mimican Miloro? That's one of the rarest magical plants in the world. That must have cost you a fortune, and an Atlantean Faery Trap. Merlin Harry! I don't know if I can accept these."

"Neville, both these plants came from the grounds at Potter Manor. They didn't cost me anything. Besides, you're the most brilliant herbologist I know. If anybody should have these it's you."

"Thanks Harry. This is great. I have go show my Uncle Algie."

"No problem Nev. Thanks for your gift as well."

Neville and Hannah walked off in search of Neville's uncle while several others made their way towards Harry to wish him a happy birthday.

Ginny stopped by holding Dean Thomas' hand and wished him well. Ron Weasley and Lavender Brown came over looking quite cozy. Apparently love was in the air.

"Happy birthday mate. Were you surprised?" Ron asked.

"Oh yeah. I had no idea you guys were gonna do this. Thanks for making it a double party with Neville. It's kind of nice to not be the only center of attention you know."

"No problem mate. Although it was mostly the girls who put this all together. I'm just here for the food, and the company," he said with an overly obvious wink.

Laughing at his friend he casually took in his surroundings. There were a lot of people there.

Harry greeted all those who came to wish him well. Friends from Hogwarts and the Order mostly. It was a pleasant evening.

After dinner he spotted Arthur, Remus, Bill, and Amelia having a conversation in a little circle. He headed over as he had a few questions that had been niggling at his mind. Remus noticed Harry first. "Harry we were just talking about the plans Amelia is making in regards to preparing the people for open war."

"That's along the lines of the reason I came to talk with you guys. Something has been on my mind a lot lately. The magical government here in Britain has been either a failure, or blatantly corrupt ever since the first war. No offense Madame Bones, and no one has ever done anything about it from a world-wide perspective. Shouldn't the ICW have stepped in years ago and forced some changes?"

Arthur Weasley took the question. "That's an interesting question Harry. What do you know of the wizarding world outside England?"

"I know the Yanks, and the French have significant wizard populations. I've heard of wizards from Japan, China, and Russia as well. Obviously there are wizards in Germany. I guess I just assume there are wizarding populations everywhere."

"And you would be right to assume that. There are wizards in just about every corner of the earth. The representatives of those wizarding populations make up the ICW. Part of the reason we have always been left alone is Dumbledore's influence. The world assumes Dumbledore can keep things under control, so they ignore us. The second reason is that in general, the rest of the world is scared to question us."

"What?" Why would anyone be scared of us Brits."

Bill jumped into the conversation. "Harry do you know anything about where magical power comes from?"

"It comes from inside of us I guess."

"Well that's true in part. Our magic is stored inside our core, but magic doesn't just pop up on its own. Every witch or wizard in the world was born at or near what we call a ley line. Natural 'rivers', for lack of a better word, of magic that run underneath the ground. Magic can't fill a witch or wizard unless it is there in the first place, and that magical power comes from ley lines."

"So what does that have to do with anything?" asked the Potter scion.

"There are more ley lines in Britain and Ireland alone than there are in the rest of the world combined. There are more witches and wizards in Britain than anywhere else in the world, and, in general, magic users from Britain or more powerful than anyone else."

Remus added a question. "Have you ever wondered why most of the powerful dark Lords are British?"

"I never thought about it before. But what about Grindelwald? He was German wasn't he?"

"He was half British, and he was born in Wales. His father moved them to Germany when he was young," Arthur responded. "If you were to gather the one hundred most powerful witches and wizards in the world, eighty-five or ninety of them would come from Britain and Ireland. The ambient magic available because of the ley lines makes our cores larger. Have you ever paid attention to where the muggleborn students are from?"

"Not really. I don't care about blood status. Why does that matter?"

"Blood status doesn't matter, but a witch or wizard can only be born to muggles in the vicinity of ley lines. That's why most if not all the muggleborn students you go to school with are from Northern Wales or England, and Scotland. Thirty-one different ley lines converge right beneath Hogwarts. It's the most magically active place in the world, and there are hundreds of small ley lines that travel throughout the British Isles and into France."

"What about Hermione? She's from Crawley. That's southern England."

Remus answered. "There will always be exceptions, as long as ley lines exist, but actually Hermione isn't one of them. She lives in Crawley now, but she was born in Leeds."

"I never knew that…..So the ICW stays away from us because we are powerful, and if we decided to fight back they couldn't stop us?"

Amelia answered this time. "No, they could probably stop us, but it would cost too much. They would have to overwhelm Britain with a force nearly double the size of anything we raised and it would be catastrophic. Let's hope it never has to happen though. My plan is to help defeat our Dark Lord and bring Magical Britain back to respectability."

"Here, here!" Arthur, Remus, and Bill responded together.

"Thanks guys. That stuff has been bugging me for weeks." Harry said. He then said his farewells to each of them and made his way back to Susan.

"What was that all about?" Susan inquired.

"Oh just a conversation about world politics and power structures within wizarding society."

"So just idle chitchat then?"

"Yeah basically."

HP+++++++++HP+++++++++HP

When Harry, Susan, Hermione, and Amelia returned from the party everyone was anxious to get to bed. Parties are a blast but they can be exhausting, especially to a group with so many things to deal with already. Harry gave Susan a kiss, and Hermione a hug. The two girls quickly shuffled off to bed. Before Amelia could head off Harry caught her with one last question. "Amelia, what are the laws concerning adoption in the magical world?"

"That's a strange question. You've only been an imancipated adult for five weeks and you want to adopt someone."

"No not really. It's just… I was wondering. Is there a legal way for House Potter to adopt Hermione as my sibling, or is that just weird?"

Amelia smiled. "No that's not weird Harry. It's beautiful. To answer your question, it is simpler than you think. There is a blood ritual that you will have to perform, and Hermione will have to take part willingly. Then some paperwork for the ministry, which I can get for you if you'd like. You could have it all done in a matter of days."

"I'd like that. Can you get me that paperwork? I'd like to make this official tomorrow evening if I can. Sort of a birthday present to myself."

"Of course. I'll get you the paperwork tomorrow then. Goodnight Harry."

"G'night Amelia."

HP+++++++++HP+++++++++HP

When Amelia returned home for Harry's birthday dinner the next day, she was carrying a set of documents with her. She approached the dining room and found that the kids were all waiting for her.

"Harry I have the documents you asked for."

"Thanks Amelia. We'll perform the ritual as soon as we've eaten. First things first though. The best part about having a birthday is the food."

She nodded and they all sat down to Harry's favorite meal, courtesy of Maisey the house elf.

When the dishes were clear and the people were full, they prepared the ritual. Earlier that day when Harry had approached Hermione about including her in his family, he was surprised by how emotional she was about it. She cried and hugged him for what seemed like forever before agreeing to become his sister in blood and magic. She even offered to research for him and prepare the ritual. An offer that Harry was glad to accept. He was not under any illusions about who was the more intelligent or better prepared between the two of them.

So as they sat at the table now, it was no surprise when Hermione produced a small block of stone that had been meticulously carved that afternoon. It was flat and smooth on both the top and bottom face, with tapered edges from the top to the sides. Hermione laid the stone on the table. The side that was facing up had a series of runes carved in a circle around the unmistakable crest of House Potter. A ceremonial dagger lay next to it.

"Go on Harry. Your blood first. Make sure to cover the Crest completely." Hermione urged.

Harry picked up the dagger with his right hand and sliced the palm of his left hand. He made a partially closed fist and held the hand above the stone until enough blood had fallen to cover the Potter crest engraved in it.

Then Hermione grabbed the dagger in her right hand and sliced the palm of her left. She mimicked Harry's previous motions until her blood surrounded the Crest and filled the circle within the runes.

Amelia healed both their hands as they continued with the ritual.

Hermione took out her wand then touched the tip to the blood spread out on the stone. The runes lit up with a soft blue light. She then gently raised her wand to her forehead and touched it just above her eyes.

"Soror tibi confirmo," she recited, and as she did the runes on the stone glowed brighter. When she was finished she nodded to Harry who grabbed his own wand and repeated her motions. He then spoke his response to her words.

"Familia Potter recepit vos."

With his words the blood that Hermione had spilled on the stone started crawling slowly towards the Potter Crest in the center, and mingled with Harry's blood there. After a few seconds the blood and the Crest glowed blue. As Harry and Hermione stood there, a softer, paler, light wrapped itself around them both and flashed twice before stopping.

Amelia looked down at the stone and over at the two teenagers standing there expectantly. "Magic has accepted your offering. Hermione you are now a member of the Potter family by blood and magic."

Hermione squeeled and threw herself at Harry. Susan soon did the same, and Harry found himself at the center of a feminine body sandwich.

HP+++++++++HP+++++++++HP

Two days later the Shadow Hunter phased inside his room at Potter Manor. Soon after he phase jumped to the Ministry of Magic. It was around ten o' clock in the morning so he had assured himself maximum exposure. His first stop was the office of Magical Cooperation.

Albert Runcorn was the Head of the department and also a faithful death eater. He died a quick and somewhat painful death in his office chair as his heart seized and gave out. He was grabbed and phase jumped to the ministry atrium where he was promptly dropped off, his body becoming visible once it lost contact with the Shadow Hunter.

Harry Potter, Shadow Hunter, made his way to a secluded closet and cast the voice modification charm he had learned from Jed, before casting the wide area sonorous charm he also learned from Jed, then he spoke to those within the ministry.

"The Shadow Hunter is on the prowl. Those with the dark mark will die today. We will not mourn your passing. We will rejoice in your demise. And when your so called master is the only one of you still standing, he will discover the pain of facing death alone."

HP+++++++++HP+++++++++HP

Amelia Bones heard the announcement made by the Shadow Hunter, then looked at her head of security. "Lock down the buil…."

She didn't finish her sentence because the man she was speaking to tensed up and made a gurgling sound, then fell to the floor, very much dead. Amelia Bones wasn't stupid. She understood what this meant. She quickly knelt down and lifted the man's left sleeve. Sure enough he bore the dark mark. Rattled but maintaining control she looked to the next security officer in line and growled out "Lock down this building. Close the floo and the apparition point. Close the visitor's entrance as well."

"Yes mam." He responded before sprinting off.

Around the ministry you could hear the occasional scream as someone unprepared was forced to witness the death of a colleague. By the time it was all said and done most people were gathered together in the atrium as a sense of panic took over. The final eight ministry employees who died actually fell in front of the gathered crowd as they were already scattered among them.

Twenty-three ministry employees lost their lives to the Shadow Hunter on Thursday, August second. Two hundred and eighty-one of their colleagues were shocked by the day's events and left work with various amounts of emotional baggage.

Amelia Bones was feeling just as shocked and just as overwhelmed as the rest of them, but she also realized something monumentally important.

For the first time in decades, the British Ministry of Magic was free of Voldemort's minions.