Chapter 11

After the trip to Diagon Alley Harry finally remembered to head to Grimmauld Place. His first port of call was the screeching as he and the others entered. He decided if he couldn't get Mrs Black's portrait down, he'd just take down the wall. The problem of Kreacher was solved when the gnarled elf tried to attack him for destroying the portrait. He dropped dead before he could reach Harry. Wrinkling his nose the teen called in the manor's elves and asked them to start cleaning, taking care with any dark magic items. He and Remus dealt with them. That's where he came across a surprise.

'Remus don't touch that one!'

The werewolf lowered his wand curiously.

'What's wrong Harry?'

'It's hissing. And I have a feeling my head would be killing me if the horcrux was still there' Harry replied frowning. Why was there a horcrux here?!

Remus' eyed widened as he looked back at the locket.

'What's a horcrux doing here?!

'My thoughts exactly. Though I think I can find that out. I know a spell, if its cast at an object then it will show how said object got where it is' Harry replied.

Remus nodded and let his godson cast the spell. Both were surprised to see an image of Kreacher appear and try to open the locket, murmuring to himself.

'Drink the water. Drink all the water. Dead ones. Dead ones everywhere. Master Regulus! Kreacher will punish himself for letting Master Regulus die. Master Regulus gave Kreacher an order. Open stupid locket so Kreacher can destroy!'

'Regulus. Sirius' brother?' Harry breathed.

'If he wanted the locket destroyed… He must have been on our side' Remus whispered.

The image faded as Kreacher hid the locket away after unsuccessfully trying to open it. The two were left staring at it, realising another death of an innocent had occurred.

'I hope they met up with each other up there. It would please Sirius to know his brother was a good guy' Harry said quietly.

Remus nodded. He summoned a bag and cast a few spells at it, then carefully levitated the locket inside.

'I'll head back to the bank'.

Harry nodded as the werewolf left. So many deaths. The bastard would die and he would die horribly and painfully!

Once Remus got back with the assurance that the locket would be dealt with. They started back up. All assets were shrunk down to allow the elves a chance to really get at the grime. Remus was given the offer of living there once it was up to standards. The werewolf tearfully accepted, but only after Harry was old enough to live without him. With that Harry realised Grimmauld Place would need a new elf.

Thankfully he had another brainwave.

'Winky!'

The little elf was sober but only just. Wiping her nose on her dress she asked what Harry wanted her for. His offer of letting her become Remus' elf overwhelmed her. Overjoyed she accepted and quickly popped away to clean up, looking much better. She soon joined the others in getting Grimmauld Place back to its former glory.

With that done the group decided to start training. Tinker popped in to show Harry where the time slowing mechanism was and explained how it would work. He then with the other elves bought enough stuff to last everyone a year without needing to leave the manor, and a few stayed there to help out while the rest went back to Grimmauld Place. Remus had worked out that within a year they could get all the training they needed. And it would only be a little over two hours in real time. Leaving the rest of the summer for fun and deatheater hunting.

'Alright is everyone ready? No going back?'

'All ready Harry'.

'Raring to go'

'Might as well get this over with'.

Harry grinned at his godfather's sigh and set the manor's spell.

'Alright then. Who's ready for some training?'

P.A.G.E.B.R.E.A.K

Arthur finished his packing and gave a last look around the room. All things considered he was being lenient. He'd allow Molly and her children to keep the Burrow while Arthur had decided on buying a home of his own. Bill, Charlie and the twins would have their own room along with Harry. At the moment he wasn't sure about Percy but another room could be made if need be. He and his eldest two had gone straight to the nearest estate agent immediately after leaving the bank. After a bit of discussion they'd agreed on a nice four bedroom house on the outskirts of London. There was a bit of land, more than enough for a garage and a good sized garden. With Sirius' money they were able to buy it there and then before leaving for the burrow to pack.

'Got everything?'

Arthur turned to his eldest. Bill was a fine example of a Weasley. Loyal, kind, with a good heart. He and young Fleur went well together. He wondered when she'd be back from France.

'All finished. How is Charlie managing?'

'He's got the living room and the kitchen cleared. I've done the attic and managed to see to the twin's room without triggering anything. Just the shed left' Bill replied with a smile.

Arthur smiled at the mention of he twins. They'd done well for themselves. As of course had Charlie. He was proud of his sons.

'I'll get to that now. Did you floo call Fred and George?'

'They ran in just as I was about to end the call. They looked…I don't know…older. More experienced. They mentioned something about slowing time down and to ask Harry. They're ready to help at a call' Bill replied.

The two talked a mile a minute but he worked out from the conversation that the Potter Manor had some kind of time slowing device, and that they'd all used it to train and catch up on their studies. He was pretty sure George mentioned something about a year. It had barely been three hours since they left the group yet here they were talking about taking a year to train. He couldn't wait to hear about it.

Arthur raised his eyebrows in interest as he and his son shrunk and brought the things downstairs. Time slowing? He would certainly be speaking to Harry about it.

They piled the shrunken boxes in the living room by the fire and while Arthur cleared the shed the boys double checked the house. Percy had taken most of his stuff with him when he left but there were a few items lying around. They fire called the twins who came through with Harry and Remus to help take the boxes to their new home. And just in the nick of time Arthur thought. Charlie had left with the last box when Molly and her children came in.

'You have excellent timing. I've decided to leave you the Burrow and move to my own place. The boys have just finished helping me move our things'.

Molly's eyes widened as she looked round the almost bare room.

'The clock…' she whispered.

'Yes, I have taken that as well. However the hands for you three have been taken off. I've placed them on the table over there along with some money. You can't say that I don't care about the ones I fathered. I trust you will make sure they are safe in this war' Arthur replied.

It was heartbreaking knowing his youngest two children were involved in this, but he couldn't cast them aside entirely. It was up to Molly to do the right thing with the money.

He could see the beginnings of a rant, from both her and Ginny. Ron looked like he was still wondering what happened. With a sigh Arthur turned and flooed away, shutting off the connection the moment he landed in his new home.

Molly raged when she realised he'd gone. How dare he imply that she couldn't take care of her children! She'd already adopted them into the Prewett family after all. She glanced at the money. Her family vault didn't have much. She would need to find a rich family to marry her daughter off too if they had any hope of living up to the Prewett name.

Ron grumbled to himself. Typical that Harry would be a fag. No wonder he didn't go for Ginny. But he couldn't believe the twins! Oh well, they weren't his brothers any more. He smiled when he realised this meant he was now the oldest.

'Hey mum what's for lunch?'

She growled under her breath. Did that boy think of anything other than food?!

P.A.G.E.B.R.E.A.K

Albus sat in his office trying to work out a plan to salvage the mess that had been dumped in his lap. He'd waited on Harry leaving the bank, only to find the boy flanked by Remus and the twins. He followed them into Knockturn Alley under a disillusionment charm and what he saw there made him worried. The casual way Harry had killed that man chilled him. Seeing the other three just walk away without looking back was also worrisome. Albus wondered if the horcrux in the boy's head was starting to take over. He had to get Harry back under his control. Perhaps is he got to the twins it may convince the boy to come back to him. He pondered this as he watched the group make a quick stop for ice cream. His decision made Albus waited for them to leave so he could track them to wherever they were hiding. Once he found that out he would approach the twins. And Molly and her two weren't out the picture yet. Arthur would come around and bring them back into the family. He heard the pop of a portkey and sent out his magic to pick up the trail. With a smile he apparated away.

The smile vanished when he found himself floundering in a muddy pond, in the middle of nowhere.

Harry smirked as he entered his home. Tinker had told him exactly where uninvited guests were sent if they tried to appear in Potter Manor.

P.A.G.E.B.R.E.A.K

Harry stopped the time slowing spell and stretched. It was amazing the difference a year of good teaching did. Their spell casting was at Auror level and their weapons training could very well be at master level. Harry was now very efficient with Big Delilah, as he'd christened his shotgun, and couldn't wait to try it on Moldywart. They'd even had the chance to learn more about the elves, and learn a little of their magic. Popping through wards would come in handy.

He waved Fred and George away as they headed back to work. They appeared back moments later to say their dad had found a nice new home and needed help packing and moving. It seemed as though the shop would never get its owners back. Harry and Remus were happy to help. It took a few hours to get everything moved and unpacked in the new Weasley home, and afterwards Harry invited them back to his to catch up. It felt like forever that he'd seen them.

'When did you get more critters? And weren't some of them supposed to be young? Is that a White Lightning Drake?!'

Harry laughed as he showed Charlie round. Having a year at their disposal the young critters had really grown. Tuff (griffon) was now the size of Buckbeak. And Ruff (manticore) was at least a size and a half bigger. Sahara (sphinx) was a good few feet taller as well. Ripple (hippocampus) was full grown and enjoying his new home in the lake. Sasha (basilisk) had gained another eight feet to her two. It would be a long time before she was fully grown. Zethura (drake) was just the right size to ride on, not that Harry wished to unless she was ok with it. He was pretty sure this was the largest she would get to. All in all it was a zoo of critters that lived at Potter Manor and its grounds.

'Harry look!'

The teen glanced in the direction Charlie was pointing. There, out by the edge of the forest was a gorgeous sight.

A young silvery black unicorn had tentatively come out to see what all the noise was.

'Oh… She's beautiful…!' Harry breathed.

'She?' Charlie questioned.

'I don't know how but it's definitely a female. I wonder where her herd is? She seems a bit young to be wondering around alone' Harry replied.

It was Zecora (zebra/pegasus cross) who made the first move. She'd seen her master and friend watching the forest and spotted the little faun. Well her mother had always taught her to look out for younger beings, and she could sense the little one was lost and alone. With a snort she took to the air and flew over, landing gently and carefully so as not to scare the youngling. She whinnied softly and beckoned the little one over. It spoke of fear and pain as she was forced to run from the herd. Zecora snuffled her mane in comfort. She told the young faun of her own pain and fear. She then spoke of the happy place she'd been brought to and of her kind master. The little faun whinnied curiously. What was a master? Zecora nudged her towards the direction of the house, to where her master was standing. She spoke of the other creatures and how all of them lived together without fear. The little one was unsure, she wasn't used to kindness. Her herd had turned on her when they realised she was a cursed one. Zecora snorted. A cursed one! Madness! Colour did not make one cursed. She too had been driven away from the herd because her mother had mated with a different creature. So had Midnight (black pegasus). Nothing wrong with it! Her father was a proud equine. Fought with his last breath to protect her from the bad humans. Well her decision was made up. This little one would be hers and she and Midnight would teach her the way of the equines. She looked towards her master. He surely wouldn't mind having another. She nuzzled her faun and headed back towards the house. The little faun whinnied and ran to catch up. She had a new mother and was going to see a master! Oh what fun!

Harry and Charlie watched in amazement as Zecora went over to the young unicorn.

'I think you may have a new member to the family Harry' Charlie said.

The teen nodded silently as Zecora brought the faun over to meet them.

'Hey girl. Did you realise this little one was alone?'

Zecora snorted as he petted her. He couldn't help but smile as the faun trotted over bold as brass to snuffle at his hand.

'Well aren't you a brave one. I think I'll call you Hope'.

Zecora ruffled her feathers. Hope was a good name for her little faun. What a clever master for thinking of it.

Remus was sitting talking with Arthur when one of the twins called out to him.

'Hey Remus. I think you should see this'.

Curiously he got up and glanced out the window.

'Good Merlin! Is there anything Harry can't do?!'

Arthur and Bill followed to join him and the twins.

'Is that a unicorn?'

'More than that. It's a black unicorn. Do you know how rare they are?!' George said.

'Our Harry eh Forge' Fred grinned.

His twin turned to him and nodded.

'Yeah Gred. He's a miracle worker alright'.