AN: The attack's over, but the war's not! Here's the next chapter. - MB


Harrisburg

"Hoo-wee!" exclaimed Pike as he reached the central island with his men, his spurs jingling with each step. "You sure did a number on them, Nev!"

Neville Longbottom, his red coat smeared in blood and frayed at the edges, grinned from where he was sitting atop some of the boxes from the barricade. All around him, the remnants of the Third Legion were disposing of any survivors from the battle, of which there were little. Neville's own sword was standing still in the ground, its blade buried a good inch into the blood-soaked ground.

"I hear the same could be said about you, Nathaniel," he returned, watching the Texan man walk up to him with his spear atop his shoulders, hands gripped on the pole to keep it that way. "Black's boys've been crooning all about you"

Nathaniel grinned at his comrade-in-arms as his second in command dismissed the Texan Volunteers. "'Course they are! How could they not, having seen this fine specimen of a man save their asses?" he exclaimed with all the ego he could muster, making Neville laugh.

Nathaniel joined in on the laughter, until something caught his eye. "Oh?" he exclaimed, semi-surprised. "Lookie here. It's Charlie and his crew."

Turning his head, Neville saw that it was indeed Charlie and his Lancers landing their dragons a good dozen meters away.

"Pleasant hunt, Charlie?" shouted Nathaniel, his lance shouldered.

The grim-faced, long-lost Weasley merely grunted. "No challenge," he mumbled as he plopped down next to Neville, accepting his fellow soldier's offer of a canteen, which was predictably full of whiskey.

"Hey, hey, now," chided Pike amusedly. "I saved your ass, remember? Don't you give me none of that cheek now."

"You were late," came the laconic response from the redhead.

"…Maybe," granted Pike, blushing in embarrassment. "But I got you out of that dingy cell didn't I?"

"…four weeks after you broke out."

Neville, for his part, was laughing his head off at the exchange. Charlie would never admit it, but he was quite fond of Pike, with whom he had shared a cell in an American concentration camp. Pike had been arrested and interned for speaking out against the government's participation on the side of the Death Eaters, and had been involved in a mass riot that had nearly liberated Houston from government control. Nearly.

"Now, now, boys," appeased Neville with a grin. "Let's not start a fight in front of the others, ok?"

"I see you're all doing fine," came a familiar voice from in front of them, though they had been too absorbed in the vocal play between Charlie and Pike to notice.

Turning their heads, they saw Harry standing there, and all three men gave him a confident smile.

"Of course," assured Neville, giving him a smirk. "Though I still can't believe this went off without a hitch."

Pike gave Harry a thumbs up. "Top notch, Potter. Bastards never saw it coming."

Charlie, merely had a confident smile on his face as he crossed his arms over his wide, armoured chest plate, his armour glistening in the sun.

"Now what?" was all Charlie asked.

Harry smiled confidently at his subordinates (plus one American volunteer commander). "Game's not over yet, lads. If I'm correct—"

"And you usually are," joked Pike.

"—then they're going to send in a final, last-ditch wave against the Palace. It'll be larger than all the others, and will require us to pool everything together at the palace."

Pike whistled appreciatively at the mental image that conjured, while Neville and Charlie nodded grimly. "That big, huh?" asked Pike.

Harry nodded. "The Death Eaters are on the run on four continents. The news of the Armada's defeat and the global rout will no doubt cause them to pool everything they have left into one last attack on the palace, in the hopes of killing Her Majesty," he reasoned. "The rest of the city doesn't matter anymore. They won't touch it. They'll focus on the palace, and we'll meet them there for one final battle."

At this point, Neville caught Harry's eye and was about to form a question when Harry stopped him with a raised hand.

"We will deal with him later."

Neville shut his mouth and nodded simply at the explanation, though one could tell he was not comfortable at the idea.

Harry now smiled at his friends. "Without a doubt, there are people waiting for all of you at the palace. I suggest you take advantage of this brief respite and go see them," he suggested. "I'll take care of getting the men to the palace."

Nodding appreciatively, the three heroes bowed slightly in respect to Harry (which made the 24-year old roll his eyes) before gathering their gear and leaving the site. Only Pike hesitated to walk away entirely, instead favouring to turn towards Harry and give the celebrated hero a calculating look—something that looked positively odd on the usually jovial Resistance fighter's face.

"Charlie didn't ask, nor did Neville," he noted, before then adding, "but I will. Even after this coming fight, there's still more to this show, isn't there?"

Harry gave the American resistance fighter a secretive smile and put a finger to his own lips. "Maybe," was all he said. "The show must go on, after all."

Nathaniel barked out a laugh. "Hah! How true!" he exclaimed laughingly. He then swung his pike at Harry, the blade reaching barely an inch from the celebrated hero's nose tip. "I like you, Potter. I like your style. Even after this fight's over, you ring us up if you're ever needing help, y'hear?" With that said, the American man walked away, his laughter still ringing through the air.

Hands on his hips as he looked around him, Harry sighed in satisfaction that the most important battle in this war had ended favourably. He was even more satisfied when he felt slender arms surround his waist, a familiar scent filling the air.

"Missed me?" he asked with an arrogant grin as he turned to look at who had embraced him.

Smiling impishly up at her husband, Ginny got onto her toes and planted a loving kiss on his lips. "Nope," she whispered after she broke it.

Harry laughed at the response and turned to hug his wife. "I'm glad everything went well, Harry," she told him as she pushed him slightly away.

Harry smiled. "As am I, my love," he told her. "Was Sarah ok?" he asked worriedly.

The question sent a jolt of happiness through Ginny, who was in constant question as to Harry's feelings towards his daughter. "She was," she replied smilingly, her smile very happy. "I kept her company all throughout the battle. She never heard thing."

Harry smiled, pleased. "Good. I don't want her to know those sounds. Ever. No child should ever hear the sound of a gun, or that of a man dying."

Harry now leaned down slowly, his hand on the back of Ginny's neck pulling her up towards him. "Especially…" he breathed as they came closer. "…not our child."

It was a very happy Ginny that kissed Harry at that moment, as she felt herself certain now of her husband's affections. Harry, however, broke off the kiss soon after they'd begun, much to her dismay.

She opened her eyes to see a smiling, but weary Harry looking down at her. "What?" she asked, confused.

"You're a silly woman, Gin," he told her, somewhat ruffling her feathers in the process.

"What?" asked Ginny dangerously, her hand going towards her wand instinctively.

Her movements and indignity, however, were cut short as Harry cupped her chin in his strong hand.

"You've been having doubts about my affection for you," he elaborated, his face so close and his eyes so passionate that it made the redhead blush.

"W-what are you talking about?" she stuttered nervously. She refused to admit her insecurities out loud.

Harry's smile became gentle. "Gin, don't lie to me."

Ginny averted her eyes from Harry's gaze now. "Fine. Yes, I have," she admitted reluctantly. "You're never home, your own daughter wonders if you love us anymore…and I know you have your work to do, but…"

She was cut off mid-rant, however, by the feeling of Harry's chest against her cheek as her husband gave her a firm hug. She could feel his chin resting on the side of her head.

"Silly Gin," he mumbled softly, his voice only carrying to her ears. "You should always know that you're the only one for me…"

"B-but—"

"I adore you, Ginevra Potter," cut in Harry before she could protest. The declaration made Ginny blush and her breath hitch. "Out of every woman I know, only you can comfort me, only your voice brings me peace, and only you know my…pain."

Ginny felt, rather than saw her husband turn pale at the last word, and her heart went out to him. Despite the fact that Harry was taciturn with everyone about his military record in India, Ginny had been one of the few to have been told, unbeknownst to all. After all, she had dragged it out of him one night after a nightmare too many. The resulting story had been…illuminating.

"I'm always here for you, Harry," she whispered to him as she snuggled into his embrace, eyes closing in revel.

Harry's hug became tighter. "As am I for you, my love. As am I."

The two remained in that position for a few more minutes before Ginny broke the silence once more. "It's not over yet, is it?" she asked.

Harry remained stoic at her question, but had anyone paid attention to his eyes, they would have seen them harden. "No. It's not."

Ginny pulled away from Harry gently and pushed him gently onto a box, making the battle-weary Duke sit down. As Ginny sat on his lap and leant back into his chest, Harry grinned down at her as he circled her small frame with his arms. "Comfortable?" he asked.

Ginny sighed happily as she nodded and closed her eyes. "Very."

Harry laughed lightly before setting his eyes towards the palace, where he could see, in the distance, as a commotion seemed to grow, undoubtedly caused by the appearance of the presumed-dead Neville Longbottom, and the resurgence of the missing Weasley brother.

"I still can't believe the sacrifice they made," noted Ginny, taking the very words out of his mouth.

"I know…I could never do what they've done. Not willingly," agreed Harry. "The past five years were torture, not seeing you every waking moment. I can't imagine anyone willingly agreeing to do the same, even for a shorter period of time—plan or no plan."

"Susan's probably out of her mind with joy," added Ginny.

"Susan? Imagine the your family's reaction when Charlie shows up."

Ginny giggled. "True. Mother will probably hug the living daylights out of him. Probably kill him, too, for being alive and well and not telling them."

Harry laughed. "I hope not. It's damn hard finding good dragon riders. Charlie's one of the best."

Ginny giggled at Harry's joke. Her husband was being unusually open and warm to her, and she wasn't about to lose a single moment of it by doubting it. He had embraced her warmly, kissed her warmly, and spoken lightly—everything she had desired of him since they had found each other in the skies above Panama.

"You know the Queen's furious right now," she eventually said, reluctantly bringing the topic back to the war. "She's demanded you show up and explain yourself."

Harry grimaced. Such a confrontation wouldn't be pretty. "I figured. I mean, I did hide a lot of things from her," he admitted. "Sulu's a bit miffed, too, I hear," he added, before chuckling. "Staples is having a blast, though. I heard he's loving his assignment attacking McDonald's forces."

"He would," agreed Ginny with a giggle. Just then, Harry seemed to notice something on her dress, and gently rubbed something off her shoulder. "What was it?"

"Blood," he stated simply. "A drop must have fallen from the roof."

Ginny goggled at Harry. "How did you--?"

Harry laughed. "Please. What else would you use?" he asked teasingly. "Your favourite technique has always been your newest one—what was it? 'Slit his throat'?"

Ginny grumped. "It's 'Slice him to bits' actually," she corrected. "And it is not my favourite spell."

Harry grinned down at his petite wife. "Please. What else would have caused such a mess that blood was falling from the ceiling, of all places?"

"Reducto," she shot back.

"You kept our daughter company, remember?" reminded Harry with a grin.

"Fine. Sectumsempra."

"Again, kept our daughter company."

"Yes, but I could have enchanted time-delayed mechanisms to shoot them off once I gave a keyword."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Ingenious, but since I didn't see any when I left, and I know such a feat would take quite a bit of time, I doubt it."

Ginny scowled. It was hard to pull wool over her husband's eyes. While that meant he was very good at his work, it also meant it was harder to tease him or prank him. "Fine, yes, I used my release," she admitted at length, giving up on the fruitless attempt to pull her husband's leg. "You know, you're an infuriatingly difficult man to deceive."

Harry grinned. "I thought that was one of the reasons you loved me," he teased right back, nuzzling her neck. Ginny's breath hitched when his own gently caressed her nape. Ginny then scowled. She knew that Harry was doing this on purpose.

"It's no fun when I can't pull one over you, though," she complained.

Harry's grin widened. "Shall I dumb myself down, then, dear?" he asked her mock-politely and looked about ready to laugh when Ginny snorted derisively.

"What, and be a pushover?" she asked in mock-outrage. "Don't be ridiculous."

"What a difficult woman to please!" lamented Harry exaggeratedly. "She wants me not as I am, nor dumber!" Something then caught Harry's eye, and he let a sly smile form on his lips as he tightened his embrace on Ginny's midriff. "But look here who it is," he whispered almost sensually into her ear, making her breath hitch for a second.

Ginny, however, had noticed the same thing too, and a similar smile had formed on her face. "So predictable," she agreed in a similar whisper, having put her hand on the back of his neck and gently pulling his ear closer to her mouth. She smiled when he shivered at the feeling of her breath. "Shall I let the others know?"

Harry's grin lost its playfulness at that moment, replaced instead by the same cruel cunning that had taken over him during the battles before. "No need, they already know."

"Everything is finally going to end, isn't it?" asked Ginny, unable to restrain her excitement from leaking into her voice. "It's all about to be over."

"Yes," agreed Harry, his eyes fixed on the approaching figure. The last pieces of his plan were finally falling into place. A few more steps, and this silly war would be over with, and he would have achieved his goal. As Harry's own excitement began to flare up within him, small, glowing tendrils of energy began to rise from his body, giving him an eerie, evil look.

"Everything is going exactly according to plan."