Chapter Eleven: Baby steps

Voldemort was one unhappy Dark Lord. It seemed to him like he was doomed to fail in everything he had planned ever since his rebirth last summer. Sure some things had gone smoothly; like how the Ministry of Magic and thus the rest of their world refused to believe in his return. That at least had given him the time to gather his men and start on planning to rebuild his army. But even that was overshadowed by the fact that the Potter boy had managed to get away that night.

He still didn't understand how a fourteen year old boy with nothing more than a Hogwarts education had managed to get away from him. The event of their wands locking together and preventing him from killing the boy baffled him even to this day and while he was very curious about what had happened he was also sure that it would be an isolated event. The next time he saw the Potter boy he would die, he would make sure of that. If only that were true he thought.

Over the past year he had managed to free his most loyal servants from Azkaban and had started on gathering his army again. It wasn't all that hard to convince some of the Giants tribes and Werewolf tribes to fight alongside with him. While he was disgusted by their presence, they made good soldiers. Giants were not easy to deal with as they had little or no intelligence but once convinced they could be a major force in his army. Of course, Dumbledore had send an envoy to the Giants as well but without success. Dumbledore failed to understand that the true nature of the Giants was not peace but battle. Giants fought all the time. They fought their own clan-members for food, women and power. Once you understood that, it was pretty easy to get them on your side.

The Werewolf tribes were easier to deal with. They had been suppressed and hated by the Ministry of Magic for decades. The laws that had passed against Werewolves ensured that no one inflicted with the disease would be able to work or live in the Wizarding World of today. The discrimination against them was blatant and many harbored ill feelings and hate for the Wizarding World. All he had to do was promised them revenge against those who made their life miserable and better rights when he was in charge.

He wasn't about to reveal that he thought of Giants and Werewolves as beasts and cannon fodder that could be used to bolster his army. Why send Pureblood Witches and Wizards when you could send beasts instead? That many would die didn't matter to him; all that mattered was that he gained control of the Wizarding World.

With his army was steadily growing he delegated the task of recruitment to Bellatrix Lestrange while he focused on more important things. Such as sending those visions to Harry Potter. It took a lot of strength and power to feed these images to the boy but he felt that in the end it would pay off. And it would have, if it wasn't for the defeat he suffered that night in the Department of Mysteries. First the best Death Eaters he had were getting pushed around by students no older that fifteen. Sure, he had forbidden them from killing them until they got the Prophecy but they should have easily secured it from a few kids. Not only that but they had gotten themselves arrested as well. He had freed them of course but the punishment they received for failing him was far worse than a short stay in Azkaban.

That wasn't what bothered him the most though. No, what bothered him was that once more he had failed to kill Dumbledore and that Potter boy. Dueling Dumbledore was fun but not something he wanted to do a lot. Even now, with Dumbledore being almost 120 years of age, he still couldn't defeat him in battle. It was infuriating to see how that man managed to defeat him time and time again. Not that it mattered as Dumbledore wouldn't be around much longer as 120 years old was just about the oldest Witches and Wizards became. Even if he lived longer, his body wouldn't be able to take the strain of battle for much longer.

When he had tried to possess the Potter boy however, he had been truly hurt. The only other time that he had felt such pain was that Halloween night in '81. Not that he would ever admit that of course. It had taken him weeks to recover from that experience and he still felt the phantom pains of the moment the Potter boy pushed him out and ended the possession. At that precise moment he had felt the power of Harry Potter and if he had been any lesser man, he would have feared that power. It wasn't that Potter was stronger than him but rather the sheer potential the boy had. Truly, Potter would be a force to be reckoned with if he was allowed to grow up. That was something that would have to be remedied.

"Wormtail, get your useless behind over here." Voldemort yelled.

"Y-You called M-My Lord?" Peter Pettigrew aka 'Wormtail' groveled before his master.

"Wormtail, where are we on the preparations of my army?" Voldemort demanded.

"M-My Lord, p-preparations are right on schedule." Wormtail said. "The Giants are being escorted from Europe to Britain and should arrive in the next few weeks. The Werewolf tribes are being taken care of as many of them are sick or weak in health. S-Severus is brewing some potions to ensure that they are in fighting condition as soon as possible."

"What about the Dementors?" Voldemort nodded.

"M-My Lord, they have agreed to leave Azkaban and are awaiting your orders." Peter quickly said.

"Excellent Wormtail, you've done well." Voldemort said standing up. "How are Lucius and the rest?"

"They are recovering nicely My Lord." Wormtail said getting some confidence. "Their few weeks stay in Azkaban has weakened them but they should be fine in a few days."

"Make sure they do Wormtail." Voldemort threatened. "Do not fail me or else."

"Y-Yes My L-Lord." Pettigrew said kissing the hems of his master's robes. "It shall be done."

"Good now leave me." Voldemort ordered.

Pettigrew got up as fast as he could and practically ran out of the room. He was lucky today as he hadn't been cursed by his master. Usually, being summoned meant that you did something to displease the master and that went hand in hand with being put under the Cruciatus Curse. It seemed his master was in a good mood, which didn't happen much.

When Wormtail had left, Voldemort returned to his pondering. Being forced to flee when half of the ministry was present wasn't something that he liked. It wasn't good for his reputation as the most feared Dark Lord in recent history. Still, at the time it couldn't be helped. The possession of Potter had taken all his strength and getting expelled from the boy had seriously hurt him. His Death Eaters didn't know this of course but then again most of them were idiots to begin with.

If that had been the only defeat this year, well he could live with that. Unfortunately, he had another defeat only a week ago. His spies in the Ministry had hinted that Fudge was on his way out and that meant that a new Minister of Magic was to be selected. If he got one of his men to take that place, the takeover of the Ministry would be easy. Ideally, he would take that position himself but for now he was willing to put a puppet in place. His spies however alerted him that the prime candidate was none other than Amelia Bones and that was something that couldn't be allowed.

That woman was a Blood-Traitor and squarely on the side of Light. She was a proactive woman that wouldn't take no for an answer and if she was to get in power, it would spell trouble for him. Not that she was a threat to him personally but rather she would fight him every step of the way. Thanks to Fudge, she had little or nothing to work with but no need to take chances. So he had wanted her dead and was even going to do the deed himself. When they arrived at her home, they found it empty, stripped naked of everything of value. All that remained was empty manor. How she knew he was coming for her, he didn't know but he didn't like it. Perhaps she had come to the conclusion herself but he felt that she was warned somehow. His anger at being ridiculed had cost him one of his men. The poor sod had the nerve to tell him the obvious and had paid the ultimate price.

The fact that she managed to get away bothered him. He was pretty sure he acted fast enough once the rumors were confirmed so either she had anticipated his move or she had been warned. The first was plausible but unlikely. Amelia Bones was considered a smart woman but even she wouldn't think that he would come after her so soon. The only logical conclusion was that she had been warned about the attack and that could only mean two things. Either there was a traitor in his ranks or someone had blabbed. Either way, someone was going to pay for this humiliation and failure.


The next morning at breakfast Harry sat down only to find a copy of the 'Daily Prophet' lying there. How it got there, she didn't know as she had stopped reading that excuse for a newspaper a long time ago. She figured it was either Hermione's, as she argued that it was good to know what was happening in the world, or Amelia's copy. She was about to ignore it altogether when the headline on the first page caught her eye. Grabbing the paper she started reading.

When Tonks came down she stared at Harry when she saw her reading the paper. She knew all too well how much Harry disliked that paper, so seeing her reading it surprised her. She was about to comment on it when the rest of the crew arrived as well. Only Hermione knew Harry's feelings on the 'Daily Prophet' so she immediately called her up about it.

"Harry, I thought you hated the 'Daily Prophet'?" She asked curiously.

"I do but take a look at this." Harry said showing them the article she had been reading.

'Fudge out, Bones in'

In a surprising move by the Wizengamot, Cornelius Fudge was relieved of his position as Minister of Magic, yesterday afternoon. Cornelius Fudge has had an impressive career at the Minister of Magic, starting out as a lower level employee before managing to work his way up to the post of Minister of Magic following the retirement of former Minister of Magic, Millicent Bagnold.

Now however it seems that Cornelius Fudge had more than one skeleton hiding in his closet. For you, readers of the Daily Prophet, I did a serious investigation into the man that is Cornelius Fudge. It seemed our esteemed former leader has been telling us lies all along. What is mentioned here today is only the beginning but it is enough to make even this reporter speechless.

While he gave the people of the Wizarding World the idea that he was an independent leader, truth is that he regularly sought help with Albus Dumbledore and Lucius Malfoy. This is surprising as we discovered that Fudge greatly feared that Dumbledore was trying to become Minister of Magic, even when the man refused the position numerous times before. What's even more shocking is that he counted Lucius Malfoy as one of his most trusted advisors.

It is only a few weeks ago that this trusted advisor was unmasked to be one of You-Know-Who's followers, something the man has always denied since the last war. This reporter questions what kind of advice a known Death Eater may have given Fudge over the years. How much damage has Cornelius Fudge brought upon the Wizarding World by taking advice from one of You-Know-Who's most faithful servants.(For more on Lucius Malfoy see page 6)

That Cornelius Fudge caused irrevocable damages becomes clear when this reporter uncovered what might have been the greatest cover-up in the history. For a whole year the Ministry of Magic denied that You-Know-Who had returned, only to admit several weeks ago that the strongest Dark Wizard in recent time has indeed returned. For an entire year, Fudge and the Ministry of Magic slandered Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter when in fact they have been telling the truth all along.

We can only guess why Fudge kept this hidden from the Wizarding World. Was it because he was bribed into silence? Or perhaps he was too afraid to admit the truth? Maybe he's a follower of You-Know-Who as well and protected his master's return? We may never know as Cornelius Fudge was unreachable for an interview for the foreseeable future. Rumors have it that Fudge and his family has left the country in fear of repercussions and attacks. Others say that he's rejoined his master at his side as one of his most trusted servants.

Now that You-Know-Who's return has been proved, the Wizarding World has once again entered dark times. People are too scared to come out and already some prominent families have fled the country. More are surely to follow in their footsteps once You-Know-Who starts his war once more. In these dark times, the Wizarding World looks at its heroes to protect them. But will these heroes be willing to fight after being slandered for so long.

Under Fudge's orders Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore have been portrayed as an attention seeking brat and a senile old man past his prime. We, as a people, have wronged our heroes and as a people we implore them not to abandon us. Harry Potter, the famous Boy-Who-Lived, hasn't been seen since the end of the Hogwarts school year. This reporter can only hope that our young hero hasn't left us to face these dark times alone.

Still, not all is lost as it seems that the Ministry of Magic is taking control of the situation. With the sacking of Fudge as Minister of Magic, a new figure has emerged as our leader. This leader is none other than Amelia Bones, former Head of the Department of Law Enforcement, has taken over as Minister of Magic. Amelia Bones has had a distinguished career over the time. She first started out as Junior Auror during the early sixties, quickly moving up until she became Head of the Department of Law Enforcement in the late eighties. She has fought during the first war with You-Know-Who and is known for being incorruptible.(More on Amelia Bones on page 3)

This reporter can only pray that Amelia Bones will guide us through these hard and dark times. With You-Know-Who's return the Wizarding World will need a leader capable of withstanding the most grievous of situations.

Written by Rita Skeeter

Head reporter of the Daily Prophet.

When Harry finished reading everyone was silent and staring at the paper. While none of it had been really new to them, it was remarkable how fast the Daily Prophet had picked up on Fudge being fired as Minister of Magic. Amelia seemed furious though.

"By Merlin's hairy balls." She cursed. "How did she find out about all of that? That Wizengamot session was supposed to be secret until later today. There's no way she should have known about it as we made sure that everyone present know to keep their mouth shut."

"Amelia please, there's no reason to use foul language." Andromeda chided the woman.

"I'm sorry Andy but this is serious." Amelia sighed. "If a reporter can find out secret Wizengamot meetings, who knows what else she might uncover? We can't afford this right now; the Ministry's position is weak enough as it is. How the hell did she get that information is what I'd like to know?"

"I believe we can answer that." Harry said.

"You can? How?" Amelia said skeptical.

"Sure, she's an illegal Animagus." Harry explained. "Hermione and I found out at the end of our fourth year. She's a beetle; so small enough to pass unnoticed if nobody is looking."

"A beetle Animagus?" Amelia said shocked. "And you're sure about this?"

"Positively." Hermione nodded. "We blackmailed her into telling the truth last year. We can of threatened her to reveal her if she kept writing those lies about Harry. Unfortunately, the deal lasted only for one year so now she back at writing whatever she wants."

"Hermione Jane Granger, you blackmailed a reporter?" Dan said shocked.

"W-well, it was the only thing we could think of at the time." Hermione said hoping she wouldn't receive more punishment. "She kept telling these lies all through fourth year so we decided to do something about it."

"I'm so proud of you." Dan grinned.

"Huh?" Hermione blinked in surprise. "You're not mad?"

"Of course not." Her father said. "For years your mother and I have been trying to get you to question the things you read. You've always been too accepting of things that are written down, be it in books or papers. Also, you had this crazy tendency to blindly follow authoritative figures, which is good at times but we wanted you to learn how to make your own judgment."

"So hearing how you blackmailed a reporter is somewhat impressive." Emma nodded. "Just don't do it again."

"Yes mom." Hermione smiled.

"While that is all good and well, I'm still shocked that we have such a security leak in the Ministry." Amelia sighed. "I realize that you can't keep everything a secret but some things aren't fit to be released to the people. I agree that V-Voldemort's return should have been better prepared but I agree with Fudge on keeping it hidden as long as possible. No reason to send the crowd into a panic."

"So you would have done the same?" Harry asked narrowing his eyes. "Just let everyone in the dark about everything?"

"No Harry, I would have prepared our Aurors for war." Amelia quickly corrected herself. "What Fudge did was stupid and downright irresponsible. He should have taken your warning seriously and prepared the Ministry for what is to come. I don't intent to make the same mistake. When I said that I would keep Voldemort's return a secret it would be because I wouldn't want the people in the street to panic. Have you been to Diagon Alley recently?"

"Can't say I have beyond our trips to the pub to find out information about Voldemort." Harry admitted.

"It's deserted Harry." Susan said. "I went just a few days before we arrived here. When I arrived it was about noon and normally it's crowed and busy but now, there's virtually nobody. Several shops are closed already and more of them close every day. It's like the Wizarding World is devoid of citizens. It's really creepy."

"Only the most foolish or bravest, depending how you look at it, come out at night." Amelia added. "Most of them do their shopping in the morning, and even then it's a quick stop at the store before heading back home. It's killing our economy and that's just the beginning. When Voldemort begins his attacks again, things will only get worse."

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to accuse you of anything." Harry apologized understanding what Amelia had meant to say. "It's just that I'm so frustrated with how things are going."

"Don't worry about it Harry." Amelia smiled. "And I completely understand your frustrations as I have my fair share of those as well. Just remember that we need to take it one step at a time. We need to proceed carefully and plan our moves just right. We can't afford to make mistakes this time."

"I know." Harry sighed. "I'll be in the training room if anyone needs me."

Tonks excused herself and ran after Harry to make sure she was alright. Hermione was held back by her mother saying that she needed to finish breakfast first and that she should give the two of them a bit of time. Hermione didn't like it but she agreed with her mother on this one. Right now Tonks was the only one suited to calm Harry down.


When Tonks entered the training room Harry was already punching away at the sandbag. She didn't try to stop her knowing that she would do so when her frustrations had lessened a bit. She watched as she kept punching until her knuckles were bleeding from hitting the raw material of the sandbag. When she had finally run out of juice Harry stopped punching.

"Feel better?" Tonks asked when she grabbed her hands and quickly healed the wounds.

"A bit." Harry admitted.

"Good, then kiss me." Tonks said demanding a kiss.

Harry smiled and grabbed Tonks in a loving embrace before kissing her. Tonks pulled her closer and they kissed until both of them had to catch their breath. They walked over to the meditation area where they sat down to talk. Tonks sat down and motioned Harry to lie down with her head in her lap, which she did. Tonks played with the long red hair, gently stroking and brushing it, knowing that Harry enjoyed the feeling.

"What's on your mind?" She asked Harry.

"Everything." Harry sighed. "S-Sirius' death, this transformation to this girl body, Voldemort building up his army, us being nowhere near ready to fight back."

"Harry, you need to slow down." Tonks said bowing down to kiss to her forehead. "I understand why you're frustrated but you can't expect to have everything under control in one fell swoop."

"I know but…." Harry sighed.

"No, we're doing everything we can so stop beating yourself up about it." Tonks said sternly. "Yes we still have a long way to go but every journey starts with the first steps. That's what we're doing. Don't worry about things that you can't control, it will only make things worse. Focus on what you can do and things will seem much easier."

"I guess I'm being stupid." Harry admitted.

"No, never stupid." Tonks smiled. "Just trying to take on too much."

"Thanks Tonks, for everything." Harry said sitting up and hugging her.

"Any time, babe." Tonks said kissing her. "And just for the record, I thought we agreed that you would make an effort to accept what happened."

"I know and I'm really trying but sometimes it just hits me in the face." Harry admitted. "I really do try."

"That's all I ask." Tonks said. "Just so you know, I happen to like this beautiful body of yours. I love how soft your skin is and how those goosebumps appear when I touch you in certain places. I especially like how you feel against me when we shower or take a nap."

"I like that too." Harry said blushing. "Don't you ever wonder what I would have been like if I was still a guy?"

"Nope, because what we have now is everything I could ever dream of." Tonks said honestly. "When we make love, I don't think about any of that. I think about how wonderful and amazing you are, how you make my toes curl when you kiss me and how turned on I get when you stand before me naked. Not to mentions what you to do me when you touch me. While I'm sure that you would have been wonderful lover as a guy, I know that you are amazing right now. There's nothing I would change about how things are between us."

"Really?" Harry asked her.

"It seems someone needs to be convinced?" Tonks grinned and she gently pulled Harry in her arms, Harry's back against her chest. Turning her head she kissed her slowly and one hand moved to Harry's breasts, squeezing them gently before she pinched a nipple. Harry moaned in pleasure and Tonks smirked in the kiss. Her other hand moved to Harry's waist and in one short move, she slipped it inside Harry's panties. Harry gasped as Tonks started rubbing her most sensitive place with gentle caresses. Her own hand moved up to her unattended breast and nipple.

Tonks felt Harry's excitement as she traced a finger along Harry's entrance. The wet feeling told her that Harry was not only enjoying what she did but also that she wanted more. Well, she wasn't about to disappoint her lover in that way. Gently stroking the labia she enjoyed Harry's moaning and shaking for a bit longer before she entered her middle finger into the wet folds.

"Oh god Tonks, don't stop." Harry moaned breaking the kiss.

"I have no intention of stopping baby." Tonks smiled as she placed her lips on Harry's, kissing her gently while slowly moving her finger in and out. Soon Harry's hips started to move as well, and when she felt Harry's breathing pick up Tonks knew she was close. She sped up the movement of her finger wanting to give Harry the release she so badly needed. When Harry was about to scream out in pleasure she kissed her hard and held her as she rode out the pleasure of her orgasm. She waited until Harry stopped moving to remove her hand making Harry moan in displeasure. Harry watched in shock as Tonks licked her fingers clean.

"Hmm, yummy." Tonks smiled.

"That was so hot." Harry breathed slowly.

"What? Licking my fingers?" Tonks asked. "We tasted each other plenty of times. What's so different about it now?"

"I don't know but it is." Harry said laying down her head on Tonks' lap again. "Thank you for that. That was amazing."

"You're welcome and it was my pleasure." Tonks said. "Maybe you can return the favor tonight?"

"Consider it done." Harry smiled.

"Good, then let's take a shower and after that we go get Hermione and Susan and start our exercises." Tonks said pulling Harry up.

Harry groaned at having to get up but let her be pulled up. She joined Tonks in the shower and fifteen minutes later both Hermione and Susan had joined them in the training room. Hermione had been bursting to ask Harry how she felt but when she saw her, she knew Harry was okay. She didn't know how Tonks had managed to calm him down and something told her that she didn't want to know but she was grateful for it. Dealing with a frustrated Harry could be difficult to say the least.

Once they had done the usual exercises Tonks called Hermione and Suzan to her while Harry moved to the middle of the room. Hermione watched as Tonks took out a large box filled with what seemed to be ordinary tennis balls. Before she could ask what the point was Tonks started explaining.

"Okay the next exercise is probably one of the most important ones." Tonks said. "These tennis balls are charmed to work as if they were the Bludgers in Quidditch. Meaning that they will try and hit you in the face. Now before I really explain the purpose of this, Harry will show what to do."

Harry nodded and Tonks grabbed several balls before throwing them in the air. Once they were airborne the balls hovered around a bit before they started flying in all directions. Harry stood there with her eyes closed for a few seconds and then suddenly opened her eyes when one of the balls almost hit her in the face. She leaned her head to the right, narrowly dodging the ball.

Now all the other balls started heading towards Harry as well and she was forced to dodge several of them at the same time. Hermione and Suzan watched as Harry continued dodging the balls by jumping all over the place. Even though she jumped around, some of the movements were compact and precise. For several minutes, none of the balls had managed to hit her until after almost five minutes she got hit straight in the back. The girls saw her grimace in pain but Harry didn't stop moving. The other balls were still coming towards her. It seemed however that the hit had a bad influence on Harry as she seemed to have lost her concentration and kept being hit by the balls. Bruises started to appear on her body showing the spectators that the balls really hit quite hard. A few more minutes later Tonks summoned the balls back to her and Harry slumped down on the floor breathing heavily.

"Not bad." Tonks said to her. "You improved your time with almost fifteen seconds. Nicely done, babe."

"Thanks." Harry managed to say. "I still keep losing my concentration once I'm hit. Once I lose it, it's really hard to regain control."

"Don't worry about it." Tonks said. "You're getting better at it so it won't be long before you manage to keep concentrated enough to keep dodging. In the end, it will come naturally and you won't have to focus that much."

"I know." Harry smiled. "Well, your turn." She said to Hermione and Suzan. "You need to dodge as many balls as you can, for as long as you can. This exercise will teach you how to dodge spells."

"Why dodge them? We can just as easily use a shield to block them." Suzan said not seeing the benefit of this training.

"Because our enemies will use magic that we're unfamiliar with." Tonks said. "How do you know what shield will stop the spell? What if it just breaks through it and hits you? No, the best defense against unknown magic is not being hit. There are shields that will stop most magic, that's true but those are very taxing and ineffective to use during a fight. Also, using shields costs a lot of magical power, something we need to attack our enemies with. So by dodging we save our strength instead of wasting it."

"However that's not the only thing this exercise does." Harry told them. "It's also a way to increase your reflexes and stamina. You saw how I moved all around the place, right?" When the girls nodded she continued. "Well, let me assure you that doing so takes a lot of energy. While we are doing other training as well, this exercise is great for stamina improvement."

"Of course, the goal is to waste as less energy as possible when dodging." Tonks quickly said. "Harry has been making a lot of improvement but she still wastes too much energy by jumping all around the place. She needs to be able to use small, compact movements and move just enough to be out of the ball's way."

"Which is easier said than done." Harry said rubbing some 'Bruise-Healing Paste' on her bruises. "Now you know why I'm constantly making this." She said to Hermione who gulped in fear.

"Of course, the two of you will start out with one ball." Tonks said calming them down. "Once you're proficient at dodging one ball, we'll slowly increase the number. Don't relax just yet because one ball is hard enough as it is."

"Looks like fun." Suzan said sarcastically.

"Thank you Suzan for volunteering to go first." Tonks grinned to Suzan's horror.

Glaring at Tonks Suzan stood in the middle of the room, dreading what was to come. While she had some confidence that she could dodge it, at least in the beginning, she worried when she saw Harry rub some more of the paste she made on her bruises. That didn't seem like any fun at all.