Chapter 46

Welcome Back

The rest of the Christmas holidays passed peacefully enough. At Harry's insistence, the rebuilt Longbottom Manor had a full suite of wards added that included, in Griphook's own words, "war wards of maximum lethality."

It was only a few days before the New Year when Harry mentioned to Fleur that he was taking Luna and Colin shopping, she could not help herself from teasing him about "taking the kids shopping." Of course, the kids merely smiled - moments before a fire hose charm sent jets of water streaking towards her.

Harry's laughter only drew down the wrath of his girlfriend as she turned and unleashed the same jet of water against him, leaving him spluttering. Fortunately, the water war ended quickly and the four teens were on their way via the Floo to the Leaky Cauldron. Their needs were thankfully quite limited as the magical trunks that Harry had purchased for them months before, had weathered most of the damage, and despite the best efforts of the flames, they were almost completely undamaged. The outing was more for them to restock whatever supplies they needed for the upcoming term.

Of course, Fleur took great pains to needle Harry subtly about "being such a good father," whenever the opportunity and privacy gave her the opportunity. He had tried to get his own back by saying she was less than a perfect mother thus far. Fleur's pout and grin had made Harry worry. However he was even more worried when she leaned in close and whispered something about practice for the future.

Their shopping complete, they made their way to Florean's for Hot Chocolate and perhaps a snack when Harry tensed, his fingers flexing once before he discretely palmed his wand from its holster. He chose a seat at the far end, that placed his back to the wall, and scanned the other customers.

They were browsing the menu when they heard the tinkle of the bell above the door, "Mr. Dumbledore," said Florean, "It is an honor. What can I do for you? Irish Chocolate? Mulled Mead or perhaps some hot cocoa?"

"Not for the moment. Thank you Florean," said the headmaster cheerfully, "I thought I saw a friend of mine enter as I was shopping along the alley." Harry at that moment would have made Mad Eye Moody proud. He growled as the extendable ear he had dropped when entering the parlor let him hear every word of the conversation, "Would you mind if I just have a look around?"

For a long moment, Harry wavered between relying on their charms and magic to hide them or to face the meddling bastard who had cost him and his friends more than he could imagine. His deep throated growl was almost animal like as their table began to shake ever so slightly. It was clear that he was less than emotionally stable, as Fleur tightened her grip upon his hand with no effect. She began massaging the base of his neck, whispering to him softly, and he calmed. Unfortunately, the choice was made for him as their usual suite of privacy and other charms seemed to attract the headmaster, who walked directly towards their table.

It was a side of him, that Fleur had never seen, and one, she had to admit that scared her. She had never seen him so angry. Occulemency is a way to shield the content of one's mind from intrusion, and mental attacks. Contrary to popular belief, it has little to no value as an anger management tool, especially when the anger was completely justified.

"Good Afternoon Mr. Potter," said the headmaster amicably, "May I join you?" Just like that, every conversation came to a screeching halt.

"Are you really that stupid?" growled Fleur. The couples half bond, which meant that even though he could not feel hers, she had full access to his and to a lesser extent his thoughts as well. Her eyes flashed and fire seemed to dance along her skin, "You dare to address him as a friend?" she checked herself, preventing what would probably have been a rant in French, "We all know what you have done, Albus Dumbledore," she added in a dangerously low tone, "and you are not a man who inspires trust. Even now, you shred the cloak of anonymity that has been his defense for…"

It was almost ironic that Harry was now the one who had to calm his girlfriend, lest she blow up the headmaster - literally as well as figuratively. He met the headmaster's stare, leveling a somewhat hostile gaze in his direction as he ground out the words, "What do you want?"

Albus knew this was a dangerous move, but he needed a way to rebuild the bridges, or at least narrow the chasm that separated them. He frowned for the fraction of a second and then composed his face into the grandfatherly expression, "I wanted your opinion on what you think would be the best course of action regarding Ms. Lovegood and Mr. Creevy." He noted the flash of irritation that crossed the faces of the two young children, "After all, what Mr. Lovegood decreed…"

"Is not of your business," interrupted Harry acidly, "The matter has already been handled and resolved to the full satisfaction of the concerned parties."

"But Harry, I was not consulted…"

"You were not consulted, because you were not one of the concerned parties," cut in Fleur, "Even I was not consulted, though I was present." She added with a smile that broadened slightly as she twisted the knife in the metaphorical wound.

"As the headmaster of Hogwarts…"

"You are charged with the protection of the students whenever school is in session, Given the dates, timings and locations of recent events, that is irrelevant," countered Colin, much to Dumbledore surprise, "not that you've done a great job at keeping us safe in that castle."

"As Chief of the Wizen…."

"Equally irrelevant as playing the headmaster card," snapped Harry, "Under Ministry Charter, the Wizengamot has no say over the affairs of the Department of Family Services, given that the department post dates the charter by about five hundred years."

It had taken everything that had occurred for him to understand that Harry would never trust him again. He had held out some hope that they could at least reach an understanding and work together, but now he understood that there would be no accord here. Harry, he realized, had meant every word he had said in his office the night of their mind arts duel. "May I ask," he said quietly, almost as if he was acknowledging that he was beaten, "What decisions have been made regarding their guardianship?"

Harry raised an eyebrow, and sighed, "What do you not understand about it not concerning you?"

"I placed a call in to Director Sheppard and she explained to me that at both Colin and Luna's requests, the identity of their guardian be kept a secret." He smiled broadly at both teens.

In an instant, both tightened their Occulemency shields and barriers and Harry wand rose above the table for the first time. "I would advise you against considering that particular course of information retrieval." His tone was diamond hard, "I will happily hex first and ask for a body bag later."

That was all the proof that he needed. He was convinced that Harry had something to do with whoever was now the legal guardian of both teenagers. In his mind, there were any number of possible candidates but for some reason, Remus Lupin seemed like the most obvious choice. Harry would not wish the additional responsibility. The boy would not want more burdens, more problems especially having to deal with two teenagers. With Black completely out of the equation, that left only one person: Remus Lupin.

Dumbledore had to admit that he was more than slightly impressed with the forward thinking that Harry had displayed: He had made his move on Colin and Luna's behalf on Christmas Day itself, when there would be minimal staffing at the Ministry, and more than likely only the newest and most inexperienced of witches and wizards on duty. No doubt, the file had been rubber stamped and passed along without a glance at its content.

All these thoughts tumbled through Dumbledore's brain in a few moments and he smiled genially at the gathered teenagers, "If that is all, I will see you back at Hogwarts for the winter term. Merry Christmas to you all."

"Dumbledore," said Harry quietly, "I hope for the sake of your precious Order of the Phoenix, that you are better prepared, better trained, and ready to fight the coming war." Dumbledore had hoped that his trust and confidence he had placed in those who had defected, would have remained intact, but it was clear that they had thrown all of their support behind Harry. There was no way to tell just how much he knew about the Order's business, "You failed to protect the Weasely family once, and I have taken steps to ensure that they are protected, as I have also done with Longbottom Manor. I protect my own, can you say the same?"

It was not a conversation that Dumbledore wanted to have in public, but since Harry had given him the opening, "How far will you go to protect your own Harry? How far should those who protect you go? Though the ministry was unable to match any of the spells cast by you and your friends, as Headmaster, I am aware of all your magical signatures." Harry's eyes narrowed, "And I know for certain that nearly all of you killed, some accidentally through combat collateral. Others deliberately, like Neville."

Fortunately, Fleur had shown the presence of mind to reinforce the silencing, notice-me-not and various other charms that they used regularly to ensure their privacy and that their conversation were never overheard. "I warned you," Harry said simply, his hands clenched in a white knuckle grip, "I told you what I would ask of my friends. They stand and they are ready. What you need to worry about, is how many more like them there are?"

That gave the headmaster pause, "Do you think I wanted to ask them to do this? If your vaunted Order was half as capable as it should be, if the ministry could get its head out of its ass and prepare, then perhaps children" he spat the word, "would not have to shoulder the burdens that..."

Fleur squeezed his hand, more as a warning than a show of support and she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Harry gave her the briefest flash of a smile. "We will see you at Hogwarts, Dumbledore," he said curtly. "Hopefully from a distance and only at meal times," he added mentally. The headmaster nodded sagely and turned to leave before pausing, "If school were in session, I would give you ten points for some excellent charms work. But you should note that Weasely Extendable Ears are not invisible unless you charm them to be so."

Harry resisted the urge to head slap himself at having overlooked something as simple and basic as that. The headmaster left leaving the group alone, "Do you think it worked?" asked Fleur quietly, "I mean, you made it up very fast."

"Hopefully, it worked and it'll keeping him looking in the wrong direction," he agreed, "You two did a nice job tying everything in knots for Dumbledore." Colin and Luna both smiled. It had been their idea after all.

"So who do you think he's going to interrogate to find out you are the Guardian in question?" asked Colin.

"Oh, he will start with the Weaselys and then very likely turn his attention to Remus and then possibly start thinking it's Sirius Black," said Luna quietly. She had lost her edge of otherworldliness completely, not surprising. Harry even though it had surprised quite a few of the others that there was a fairly normal person beneath the weirdness. Harry had recognized the defensive barrier for what it was. He smiled, lost in the memory of when Hermione and he had cracked that barrier in the library for a moment.

They placed their order with Florean who was more than a little worried about what was going to happen, now that one of his best and most regular customers had been accosted by Albus Dumbledore, "Mr. Potter," he said tentatively, "I would like to apologize. If I had known who you really were…"

Harry waved it aside, "No apologies necessary, Mr. Fortescue," said Harry, "you treated me like an ordinary customer. Something which I enjoyed," he said honestly, "You had no way of knowing what Dum…Mr. Dumbledore was doing here."

Florean breathed a sigh of relief and could not help but wonder about the teen. Given what the Prophet had been saying about him, he had worried about what kind of reaction he was going to get, but Harry was polite and calm, and had always been that way, disguised or not, "You and your friends will always be welcome in my establishment."

The rest of their holidays passed in peace and quiet and it was not long before they were winging their way back to Hogwarts aboard the express, in what was perhaps their quietest train ride imaginable, especially since Harry rode with both Colin and Luna with the twins and Ginny having spread word that any disturbance would not be appreciated.

That of course, had not stopped Malfoy from making what was considered something of a traditional appearance. Of course, he had only made his appearance as Harry had opted to send a hard message. Moreover, as Ginny had put it, "Nothing travels faster than the Hogwarts gossip grapevine."

The door to their compartment flew open with a bang, and it was no surprise to find Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle and three or four of his fellow Slytherins as well.

"So scarhead," he taunted, "I see that you settled for a mudblood, and then dropped one rung lower on the halfbreed ladder by dating that half-veela champion for the tournament last year." He had placed the word champion in air quotes with a smirk upon his face.

Harry's temper flared but he remained seated taking a deep breath to calm himself, "What do you want Malfoy?" Harry looked up, almost as if he was bored, "Every year, you make an appearance, make a few insults, get outsmarted and then make another threat or two. Perhaps we can skip all of it, and just get to the hexing?"

Suddenly everyone in the compartment was on their feet, wands drawn and ready for a duel, except for Harry. He rose to his feet, and placed his face several inches from Malfoys, "So, what are you going to do?" said Harry softly, "Your associates may have wands drawn and are ready for a fight, so let's have at it Malfoy." Harry nodded toward the boy's wand, "Raise that wand and have it, ferret. Just remember this, you are speaking to Lord Potter of House Potter."

He drew back and stared at each of the Slytherins in turn, "Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson," he said their names clearly, all of them, "and of course Malfoy. If anything happens to one of my friends, or those under the protection of House Potter, make no mistake, I will declare an honor duel." He turned around to face his friends, "Now get out." With a wave of his hand, the door slammed in Malfoy's face.

He looked at his friends, and he sighed, "Yeah I know. I laid it on a bit thick, but we need him to go running to Snape."

The group disembarked, their shrunken trunks in their pockets, and made their way to the Great Hall. They were amongst the last to arrive and just as Harry had hoped, Snape was waiting there, eager to pounce. "Potter!" he said, "Fighting on the train were you?"

He grabbed a handful of Harry's robes and dragged him forward. Harry let the man drag him a step forward, and then he reacted, grabbing a pressure point on the wrist that caused Snape to reflexively release his hold as he gave a shout, partly of pain, partly of surprise. "You attacked me Potter!"

"On the contrary," said Harry, "You attacked me, and I merely defended myself." All eyes were suddenly upon the pair, including Harry noted with satisfaction, Dolores Umbridge and Headmaster Dumbledore, "Touch me again, Snivellius, and you will join the prestigious ranks of the one handed potions masters."

"Twenty points from each of you!" said Snape in his oiliest tone of voice, "And you better pray that I don't report you to Professor McGonagall for your impudence!"

"Report away, Snivellius," retorted Harry, and he noted with satisfaction that he was getting to Snape. This was working out well enough, he supposed. Now they had to tread carefully for the next few minutes, "For five years, you and your house have done nothing but insult and abuse those around them, for any reason. It could be because of blood, it could because of intelligence, but you are the root of the problem in Slytherin House. You taint and poison every student that enters your house. If the professors in this school won't do anything about them, then I will."

"Potter, you arrogant little..."

"Severus I shall handle this." Dumbledore said as he strolled into the group. "Mr. Potter, surely you can see that this solves nothing."

"Headmaster Dumbledore," said Harry, "I agree this solves nothing, but for five years, Malfoy and his associates with the implied approval of their head of house, has verbally insulted, abused and mocked me and my friends. You and the rest of the professors have chosen to ignore it for some reason or another."

He took his eyes off Snape and glared directly at the Headmaster, "You ignored it when he called Hermione a mudblood. You ignored their actions against me during the Triwizard Tournament. Did you bother to find out what he said to Colin and Luna?" he paused, letting his words echo across the Great Hall, reaching every student and professor. "You ignore it when he strolls over to start trouble, hexes people when their backs are turned, spread malicious lies and rumors. Enough is enough, and it stops now!"

"Do simple words hurt you so much?" Dumbledore asked in his grandfatherly tone, trying his best to placate the young man before him. .

"The words hurt," Harry admitted, "But the words go unpunished and the person responsible never learns that there are repercussions for their actions. Then words escalate in to action. Actions then become curses. You allow the bigotry, the same bigotry that Voldemort spreads, to find sanctuary and then grow within this school unchecked!"

"Mr. Potter, be reasonable, they are children, innocent children like yourself…"

Harry laughed, "Children like me? If they were like me, then there would be no problem. They are not innocent, nor are they children. They are Death Eaters in training. The next time they put a foot out of line, I will bring down the wrath of God on their heads!"

"Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy, I give your only warning. I am the Head of House Potter. I am Lord Potter to you both. The next time either of you cast aspersions upon my friends, family or anyone under the protection of House Potter family. There will be blood." Dumbledore's almost let him mouth dropped open in shock, the pieces fell in to place and he realized that he had been in error about Harry's guardianship, "Am I clear?"

It had taken Fleur most of the holidays to get Harry to not only open up to the idea, but to accept it and to use his status as Lord to begin making small changes. He had hated the idea, but he had finally agreed to it, and the couple had trashed out every step of the way, making sure that they would not only get Draco and the other Death Eaters in training to be on their guard, but also put Snape and the headmaster in to place. Oddly enough, Delores Umbridge had watched the entire confrontation from the staff table with a great deal of interest but without attempting to get involved.

"You're just going to let Potter get away with this?" Snape asked. "Threatening fellow students?"

"I'm not making threats," said Harry firmly, "I'm making a declaration and promise."

"Your arrogance truly knows no bounds Potter! Just like your father! A little talent on the Quidditch Pitch and you think you own the School! That everyone should worship the ground you walk on! What your mother ever saw in that self aggrandizing fool..."

The entire hall was silent, as Harry let the man speak his piece before replying, "Severus Snape, I hereby challenge you to an Honor Duel! As is tradition and custom, I am allowed to choose the time and place. I chose The Great Hall of Hogwarts. Now. You are given the choice of weapon."

Fleur had done her homework and together with a little assistance confirmed that Snape, like most wizards would duel with a wand. Few bothered to learn to fight with any other weapon, let alone how to fight barehanded.

Snape had answered before Dumbledore or anyone else could interject, "Wands!"

Harry actually smiled, "Wands?" Harry flexed his wrist and his wand flew in to his hand, "Wands it is!" Harry focused his thoughts for a moment, "Rowena, if I could impose upon your assistance?"

"Of course," The castle began to shift the furniture aside, and created a raised platform some five meters square in the middle of the Great Hall, "Be careful Harry," she cautioned, "This is a wand duel meaning that it can only be ended by a spell cast from a wand."

"I know," Harry thought, "He's going to lose his wand, then we'll settle this, the muggle way."

Watching from the sidelines, his friends began to worry, and more than that, wondered what Fleur was going to say, or do to him, and them when she found out about this.

Professor Flitwick suddenly found himself thrust in to the spotlight. As a formerly dueling champion, he was the most qualified to judge such a duel. However, it was clear that this was five years of anger and hatred he had the misfortune to officiate. "On my signal," he raised his wand and a plume of gold sparks erupted, "Begin!"

With the first spell cast, everyone was shocked in to watching the duel unfold. Snape had lead with a powerful blasting curse. Harry had lead with a spell chain of his own: The Bright Lance, followed by a tickling jinx, a stunner that ended in a spell that only Professor Flitwick recognized, given its Goblin origins: Earthquake.

The ground seemed to come apart under Snape's feet but the man was agile, propelling himself off the ground with a first year charm. Harry had vanished from view. With a start, Dumbledore realized that both were casting silently. He bit his lip to hide a grim smile of satisfaction. Harry was far more advanced in his magic and casting than anyone realized. This outcome of this duel, even if Harry lost, would definitely have repercussions felt across the school in every house and by every student.

Harry grinned. While a simple disillusionment charm hid him from view, the Chameleon Charm hid him not only from view but would adapt to the surroundings. It rendered Snape's use of the fire hose charm to flush him out useless, as long as he stood still long enough to channel his magic.

He dropped the Chameleon Charm and with his wand unleashed another spell chain that obliterated one of the long wooden benches, before levitating and banishing the shards directly towards Snape. The summoning charm caught everyone by surprise as Harry summoned Luna's wand to his left hand before he propelled himself off the floor and cast a freezing charm on the water covered platform.

Forced to abandon his levitation charm Snape landed with his knees bent, about to cast a shield charm. His footing betrayed him and he slammed back first on to the ice with a heavy crack as his head bounced off the ice.

From a height of several feet, Harry adjusted his trajectory and landed. Enough to trap Snape's wand hand against the ground. "Wands you said," growled Harry, "You should have said," Harry administered a sharp kick to the side of Snape's head snapping the man's head round as blood trickled from what was no doubt a broken nose, ""Wands only, no contact!"" He stepped back from the bruised and bloodied potions master, keeping his wand centered on target, "Do you yield?"

Snape snarled something incomprehensible and glared up at Harry, eyes full of anger and hatred, "This is not over Potter!"

Harry took a step back, breathing hard and lowered his wand, "It is. Honor has been satisfied,'" he said to the crowd, "Next time, I keep my promise and make you a one handed potions master." He added the last directly to Snape.

Harry was far more powerful that he had hoped, and he had both control and mastery of the varied uses of even the most basic of charms. However, Dumbledore worried for the boy's morality. Goblins were hardly beings with an ingrained sense of right and wrong. Neither were Veela. However, he still seemed to favor good over evil.

What none of them could have expected was for Snape to rise and attack from behind. "Contact rear!" screamed Luna and Neville at almost the same moment.

The scream of warning came nearly too late, as Harry spun and ducked. Instead of taking him in the back, the curse slashed in to his right arm. It tore through his robes and he felt pain as it cut down to the bone, severing the muscle. That was no simple cutting charm but far more deadly. Somehow he managed to keep a hold of his wand as he raised is left hand, "Stupefy maximus!" he roared.

It was more a stream than a bolt of red light that impacted Severus Snape semi prone form and flipped him six, perhaps seven feet in the air before he landed with a crunch of breaking bone, complete unconscious. "Vigoratus vulnus," The healing spell was basic but it worked as he drew Luna's wand along the deep gash in his arm, without taking his eyes of the unconscious Snape.

The exchange had taken place in a matter of seconds and Flitwick had pronounced Harry the winner, and disqualified Snape for attacking after the duel was completed and for attacking his opponent while his back was turned. This was a formal duel after all, not a street fight. "Professor Flitwick," said Harry, "I would assume that I have the right of vengeance or something, given his most recent actions?"

"You do Mr. Potter," said the charms professor uncertainly, "What did you have in mind?" he enquired.

Harry turned, revealing the thick band of fresh, pink scar tissue that decorated his arm, "He's into leaving marks and scars," the grin was animalistic, "I'm going to do the same."

"Harry, please!" interrupted Dumbledore, "Do not descend to his level!"

"Descend to…" Harry laughed, "I'd have to go crawling through every sewer in England before I come close to his level!" The tip of Harry's wand began to glow a deep fiery red, "At least he's unconscious, and I'll make it quick!" Harry did exactly what he promised. A quick slash of his wand and to the horror of the gathered Slytherin's, Severus Snape now sported a lightning bolt scar on his forehead, exactly like Harry's.

Satisfied with his handiwork, Harry rose to his feet, shaking somewhat unsteadily. Reaching on to his belt, he extracted several small vials and downed their contents. He breathed a sigh of relief as the spots dancing before his eyes cleared and the headache receded slightly. He glared across the ocean of staring students, "I am Lord Harry James Potter of House Potter," he said clearly, "I don't care what house you are in. I don't care who you are, and" he glared at a select number of Slytherins, "I don't care who your mommy and daddy are. First, last and only warning: You mess with my family or my friends, and there will be consequences."

He stepped off the platform and the students parted before him, some in awe, but many in fear at what they had just witnessed. Though more than a few eyes were directed towards Umbridge, who was staring in shock at not only the outcome of the duel, but also what Harry had done to Professor Snape. It seemed to those watching that she had underestimated just what the young man before her was willing to do, and more significantly, how far he would go to get what he wanted. She rose to her feet, clearing her throat with her customary cough, "Mr. Potter, surely you cannot think that you will be allowed to get away with such behavior?"

"Unfortunately Dolores," interjected the Headmaster, "Mr. Potter, as Lord of the House of Potter, was perfectly within his rights to challenge Professor Snape to an honor duel over the insults made against his father."

"Furthermore," added Flitwick who had not forgotten that Umbridge had the gall to measure his height with a tape measure, "Professor Snape continued the duel once first blood was drawn, and Lord Potter had declared the requirements of honor satisfied. Professor Snape also attacked when his opponent's back was turned." There was no denying that Professor Flitiwick was enjoying putting Umbridge in her place, "Under the Laws and Traditions of the International Confederation of Duel Masters, Snape not only forfeits the duel, but Lord Potter is entitled to exact retribution, which he has done, per the law!"

Harry turned and met Umbridge's stare for the first time in several long months, and gave her a chillingly feral smile, "If that is all, can we get to dinner? It's been a long day, and" he gestured around the hall, "I'm quite sure everyone is just as hungry as I am."

"Welcome back to Hogwarts Harry," said Rowena as the furniture shifted around them, bringing back the four house tables and benches. The house elves were quick of the mark as food began to appear along the table and he made his way to his usual space along the Gryffindor Table.

Harry nodded in kind, "Welcome back indeed."

They had barely sat down when Neville asked, "You didn't really scar him… did you?"

Harry grinned, "Maybe I should have, but Snape is going to have a hard getting rid of that piece of work." He helped himself to the chicken legs

"Harry, what did you do?" asked Luna as she poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice and then poured one for Colin.

"It's a glamour charm," said Harry with smile, "and thanks to some work by the Prank Master Generals, the charm only comes off if you know the right incantation."

"Why in the world would they develop such a thing?"

"Novelty factor really," replied Fred, "Fake scars and injuries just to shock your friends."

"They look like the real thing don't they?" said George as they looked over at the staff table where Snape simply looked beyond furious, "I reckon you've made an enemy out of him for sure."

"He's been my enemy since the day I was born," said Harry with a snort.