This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.


Chapter 29.

The Thirty Soldiers.

After a great deal of discussion, the cabinet agreed a plan. It was daring, even risky, but if successful not only would it mean the capture of all the members of the so called Vengeance Army in one operation, but they would also gain all the evidence they needed to convince the Wizangamot of that Umbridge was the true leader of it. It did mean Ron and Hermione staying in hiding from the Wizarding world for another day, but they didn't mind that. They were in fact quite enjoying themselves in the room of requirement, although they would not need to be in it for the whole of the extra day, so long as the plan was successful.

The Wolfe twins were continuing to be closely, surreptitiously, monitored around the Castle, thanks to the portraits and ghosts as well as the various statues and suits of armour that they passed as they wandered alone round the school. They collectively observed that the twins nervousness was growing, especially when they discovered they could no longer get into the room of requirement. The two were observed to rationalise that it was evidence that perhaps they were not the only ones that knew of it and how it was used, rather than anything was going wrong with the plan, after all they knew others had used it before, probably quite recently. Satisfied with their logic, their initial alarm at being barred access settled down, they knew some of those who had opposed their Aunt were still in the castle and would be punished by her in the end, so long as they weren't. Not being able to get into the room, the pair walked in the corridors and grounds instead, where the ghosts overheard much discussion about the twins fear of their Aunt and worry about her reaction whether they won or lost.

Umbridge's trial would be postponed, while further evidence of all her activities was gathered, any captured from the so called army were interviewed, perhaps even tried. The other trials scheduled, would take place as planned on Monday, word would be spread that they had continued longer than expected, to long to allow time for Umbridge's to be begun that day. Kingsley was determined that his Ministry was not going to make the same mistakes as had been made in the past, they would not rush to trial based simply on how long the accused had been in custody. No trial would be held until the readiness of their case and availability of the court was determined. As a result of the new evidence being investigated, Umbridge was to be quietly moved back to Azkaban, under close security and secrecy before nightfall. In order to give them the advantage they needed, it was vital that the remaining members of Vengeance remained unaware that she had been moved and their plan for her rescue had been discovered.

Ginny had packed all the instruments Harry had set up in the drawing room back into their boxes and into the closet, while the cabinet met. Kreacher diverted first Bill and Fleur with Victoire, then Teddy and Andromeda into the drawing room where the two female Weasley residents kept them company until the meeting was completed. Teddy was making a gentle fuss of Victoire while they waited, making them all smile.

"How he treats Victoire does remind me of how Harry was with you when you were born Ginny, the start of a new romance do you think?" Laughed Mrs. Weasley.

Kingsley stayed for the rest of the day after the meeting had concluded, glad to accept the invitation from Harry and Ginny. Just before lunch, having relaxed a little with them all, he took Ginny to one side to quietly tell her about her role in the plan.

"So if that's all ok, I have kept yours and Harry's part to a minimum tomorrow the real fun for you will be the next day when we reveal you to the twins." He told her after he had described the role she would play the next evening and morning after. "We hope that with what we plan as well as seeing you, they will come to realise they are free of their Aunt, that she can't harm them any more. From all reports they have been so controlled that without indisputable evidence, they won't accept anyone's word for it, so we hope that perhaps it will be enough to break her hold on them, for their sake. If it is we shall get more evidence of what she did to them as well as their activities under her control, sadly that is unavoidable, but then we shall be better able to help them properly to recover, make their remaining childhood what they should have rather than this. It is a high risk strategy though, we can only hope it will work as expected, if not then I don't know what could happen with them, we have not been able to come up with any effective alternatives sadly. As for tomorrow, Harry has reluctantly agreed to leave when I tell him, I threatened he couldn't be there the next day if he didn't do as he was told, he wants to be there to try to help the twins if he can." He grinned.

Ginny smiled "He won't have liked that, now we know that she tortured those two, we both want to make sure they're safe from now on. Harry takes cruelty of any kind personally, especially if it's against children, hardly surprising really, not after what he went through at the Dursley's. He won't have liked the plan for the morning after, but if it is necessary then he will want to be there to make sure they are all right. Having to leave when he's told tomorrow will be tough on him too, he needs to let others take the lead on things for a change, I'll make sure he comes home when told if necessary, besides he needs to remember he is not a full Auror yet."

Kingsley's face fell and his hand shot to his pocket. "Damn, he's going to throttle me. In all the excitement of finding out Aunt was Umbridge I forgot to tell him. Ginny, he has passed, I have his indenture scroll here, he is qualified as an Auror thanks to his performance yesterday morning."

Ginny found herself both relieved and happy for Harry, yet suddenly very concerned as well. "Oh Kingsley, I know he will be over the moon, but there is no way he is up to the duties required yet, he might not be for a long time either."

"I know, but he still ought to know, he would have to pass the medical before he could go on active duties anyway, I doubt he could pass that at the moment."

"I agree, he couldn't, but you are right he does deserve to know, come on its lunch time, lets put the scroll on his plate before he gets there."

As they both expected, Harry was delighted when he read the document, he was now a qualified Auror. Kingsley reminded him that it didn't change a thing about the arrangements for the next day though, that he had yet to pass a medical before he could officially take his place in the department. "At the moment Harry, they simply couldn't take you because of the complications you are experiencing with your recovery, but let's see how you are in September, my friend. Just as the new intake at the training school starts, seems as good a time to start with the department as any. Hopefully you will be well enough by then. We have a particular assignment in mind for you, ideally you will need the next year working with the current incumbent in order to get up to speed to take over fully then, but it can wait until you are ready." Kingsley told him.

Harry knew that the Minister wanted him in the department as soon as possible, but was also concerned about his health. Harry didn't like it, but accepted the minister's decision graciously. Knowing in his heart of hearts that with the best will in the world, he wasn't yet ready for full active duty yet, not really.

Conversation between the three of them turned to discussion of the things Ginny had rediscovered in the house library. The others listened with interest, as she described some of the charms she had read in the ancient volumes.

She also told them that she had found a book of potions that seemed to be long forgotten and a number of other useful texts, but what most intrigued her and the others, was a biography of Gryffindor she had found that had been written by someone called Frayja Bleac, an ancestor of the Black family according to the genealogy she had also found.

"It seems Frayja was a contemporary of Gryffindor's, one of his early apprentices, she was a member of the house of Black, so Sirius was just following family tradition when he was sorted." She grinned. "Any way she is probably the most reliable source about the founder that we have, although of course there will be some colour in her views. Which will depend how well she got on with him and the others she talks about who she knew, it's bound to affect her point of view of them all, but there always is that kind of problem in biographies by people the subject was known to. That said, there will certainly be a number things we do not know about him included in it, our understanding of him may need to be reappraised somewhat. However, so far, there is one main thing I have come across that really puzzles me. Her description of the badge of Gryffindor, it indicates we are not using one he ever did, or would recognise. Apparently the house symbol we have today is not complete, or at least does not have the appearance of how Gryffindor's sigil was originally, it differs from even the sketchy description given in Bleac's writing."

Everyone was surprised at this. "What do you mean Gin?" Arthur asked, "The lion has been used to represent Gryffindor for ever, it was his badge, at least that's what I understood."

"Well according to the earliest edition of Hogwarts a History I could find, it's only a few hundred years old. According to Frayja's book, Gryffindor had a shield that bore his emblem, it included the lion, which was almost a mythological animal that few had ever seen at the time, but it was not alone it seems. The shield was installed above the fireplace in the common room on completion of the castle, it stayed there for several centuries, until one night it disappeared. No one knows who took it, but before that the house common rooms were open, passwords were only introduced after the shield was stolen. I am not sure, but I think initially they employed someone to protect the entrance, though all students could pass if they wished, it was only later, after the shield had gone, that a portrait was enchanted to do the job and hide the door. That said I may be wrong in that, Hermione might not like me for saying this, but Hogwarts a history is not the most reliable source, I have found a number of discrepancies between it and Frayja's book. At the time of what was reasoned was the theft, the shield was the only thing with his true motif on it, banners for the houses didn't come in until the seventeenth century by which time all that was remembered of the badge was the colours and that it included a lion. The schools coat of arms was designed at the same time, so it was decided then what the lion should look like, the current symbol dates from then. Though the disappearance was thought to be theft, there was in fact no proof of this, except for a message purporting to come from the spirit of his first student that appeared in the headmasters office at the time. " Ginny explained.

"What did the message say? "Molly asked.

Everyone was intrigued by this tale, none had heard it before. Ginny stood "Hang on I'll get the books then I can tell you exactly."

She left the room, but she returned a moment later, two ancient volumes in her hands. She flicked through the pages of the one she wanted, finding the page. "Ah yes, here it is." She said then read the passage out loud for them. "The disappearance of the shield was further clouded in mystery when a parchment, which was said to be from Lord Utred of Tang, the first student of Gryffindor, was found in the headmasters office. It warned that the school of the time had lost sight of its purpose and had ignored the warnings given by the hat. Records of expenditure at the time show beyond doubt, that the school had for decades before the shield disappeared, spent more on food and frivolity than on the education of its students and magical supplies. Other records, included the conversion of a room to create a place for the care of the babies, young children of students and of pregnant girls who attended the school. I suppose they would have to as both staff and students were at it with each other for much of the time, many of the girls didn't know which of the males was the father of the child at all, monogamous relationships being a rarity in the school. The addition of a brewery and provision of an increased number of private rooms taking up an entire floor of the castle, indicate the lifestyle encouraged at the time. This was a dark period in the history of magical education, the qualifications the school awarded were worthless, as students left knowing more about how to pleasure both genders than they did about potions or charms, other than those intended to increase stamina and prowess in bed. This lead to a paucity of skilled individuals and the loss of much magical knowledge, which has had to be re learnt since, in order to break a cycle of decline before it took hold. However much that was lost before the shield's disappearance has still not rediscovered today. The letter found in the headmaster's office then went on to say that the shield and therefore Gryffindor's wards, which had protected this castle since it's foundation on his lands, would not be returned to the school until Utred's descendant had fulfilled her destiny. Only then would Gryffindor's protection be reactivated and his true badge be restored. They couldn't keep it quiet any more and Magical society demanded change, which came almost overnight with new staff and a new regime in the school"

"So, who is this descendant, do we know?" Andromeda asked.

Ginny shook her head. "I have not even found the family name yet, besides even if I do discover it, how do we know that is the right descendant? I don't even know what their destiny is that they need to fulfil in order for the shield to be returned."

"At least we know it isn't me this time." He grinned. "It said her destiny."

"True!" Ginny chuckled, looking back at the book.

"So why have we never heard this before, what happened?" Kingsley asked." I mean, Hogwarts isn't a den of iniquity these days, at least so far as I remember."

Ginny looked up from the book again. "Well, it goes on to say that the letter was regarded as a fake to cover the real thief's tracks, though if the description of the school is accurate it may have been said to be so to actually deflect attention away from what was really going on in the castle. The letter itself may well still be in the schools records, but we only know it's contents from the school log which the headmaster keeps to record day to day activities at the school. The event frightened at least some of the governors though, they immediately set about reforming the school in the hope that the shield would be returned. It never was though, at least not before now and the story of its disappearance has been forgotten. Anyway that period and the events were eventually dropped from editions of the book during the Nineteenth century, it was a shameful time and much of what happened was not really conducive with the Victorian view of how the British should be portrayed."

Arthur smiled. "It's a good story love, but it can't be true, I can't think of where the shield would have been in the tower. I don't remember seeing any marks or even a space on the wall above the fireplace where it could have been."

"There is a circle of stones around a recessed blank stone space, high up above the fireplace near the ceiling, I often wondered if it had once been a window." Ginny said.

Her father looked puzzled. "I think I need to look again." He said wryly.

Harry looked at Ginny, "I wondered what that was for, it always seemed to me that something was missing from it."

"I know what you mean Harry." Molly agreed. "I spotted it in my first week, it always puzzled me."

"I am wondering if you all noticed it how on Earth I missed it." Arthur admitted.

"Typical you Arthur, it's quite clear when you look, especially from the dormitory staircases really." Molly teased "Mind, you were always too distracted to notice much around you, too busy thinking about how Muggles did things without magic."

"I noticed you didn't I." Arthur winked "Your Beauty was always distracting me, dear"

"Of course it was, Arthur." She said disbelievingly, but leant over to him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Now I know where you two get it from. " Laughed Kingsley looking at Harry and Ginny.

"Who, us?" Harry and Ginny grinned, then kissed, closely followed by Bill and Fleur.

Kingsley groaned. "I give up." He smiled.

"Very wise, Minister." Andromeda laughed. "After all if Minerva were here, I should expect that you may act as they have, given half a chance Kingsley."

The tall man briefly attempted to look shocked, then gave up and just smiled goofily.

After they had eaten lunch, a frustrated Harry was, once more, exhausted, so he and Ginny went up to their rooms. They lay on their bed, on top of the sheets, the mystery of Gryffindor's shield forgotten for now. Replaced by thoughts of the task they were to undertake, the next day.

"Are you sure you will be all right for tomorrow, my love?" Ginny was worried and would stop their involvement if necessary, although she knew how much he wanted to be there, his well being came first.

"You'll be with me and loads of others will be there too, besides Kingsley needs us. I'll be fine, sleep during the day, hopefully that will mean I am fine for the operation in the evening." He replied confidently.

"I suppose." She cuddled up to him. " But, Harry after this is over and done with, you are going to rest properly. Even if I have to tie you to the bed to ensure that you do, is that clear."

"As long as you are here with me love, you won't need to tie me down." He yawned and within seconds was asleep.

While Harry slept, George, Kingsley, Bill and Arthur were all in the workshop, tinkering with the car.

"It really is beginning to look good, Arthur." Admired Kingsley. "The work is really beginning to pay off you know."

"Yes, I don't think it's been run for years though, we got the engine going just after your last visit Kingsley, only got the rest of it to sort out now, then it's ready to roll." Arthur responded, spanner in hand.

"She'll look impressive when she is finished, my friend." Kingsley paused, something clearly preying on his mind.

Arthur noticed the pensive expression and asked. "What's wrong Kingsley, something on your mind?"

"Yes Arthur, I'm afraid there is. Look you are here more than most, so please be honest with me, how is Harry really? I know what Poppy says and I can see he is not well, but what's really going on with him?"

Arthur put the spanner down on the bench next to them and sighing leant against the car, he looked up at his boss. "In all honesty, while yes he certainly needs rest, he's been through a lot and needs to recover, I'm not sure that is all he needs. Look Kingsley, I think he needs a long break, but he won't get that until the end of term whether he goes back to the school or not. Even then it might do him more good to have a long time in familiar surroundings, doing what he knows rather than learning his new job. If you want my honest opinion, I'm sorry, but I don't think he will be ready to come to the Auror department for another year, at least, not really Kingsley."

"I see!" Kingsley was clearly disappointed. "I feared as much, I think I could see it myself, but really hoped I was wrong, that I wasn't seeing the whole picture and things were better than they appeared. It seems I was only partly correct, I wasn't seeing the whole picture certainly, but things are not better than I saw. Now that he has passed his training, I had hoped to get him in place this year. I have a special post waiting for him, you know Arthur, but it won't actually start until next September at the earliest. In the mean time I had planned for him to spend the year working alongside the current incumbent, help prepare him to take over when the time came."

"I know Kingsley and I know he is just as keen to get working in the department, though I haven't told him about the post you have in mind. He certainly wouldn't thank me for saying this at all, but he needs time to adjust to as near a normal life after the wedding as he can ever have. Let's face it, he's never been able to have that with the Dursley's, or frankly with the weight of responsibility we have all placed on him, since he returned to our world either. That being true, he also needs to be doing something less intense than he would be in the department, although in order to recover properly, I believe that with his character as it is, he needs to feel useful. If we don't give him the chance, or push him too early, then it will prevent him being effective whatever he does, then it would hit him hard. Then he would be no use as an Auror or for what you have planned and would have to be carried by the others around him. Which would hit him hard and damage the department. If he cannot achieve his best at what he does, then that would send him backwards. He needs to join the team at his peak, or they will end up carrying him and that would do neither him nor the ministry any good. Only Ginny understands everything he's been through, she shared it, she knows how tough he really is, but at the moment she is really worried that he may never be a hundred percent again, unless he can rest properly. Although she has said nothing directly, I know she is rightly concerned, about him starting with us too early for him, having said that he does need to feel useful, no, that's not quite right, he needs to be useful."

"Fair enough, Arthur, let me give it some thought. We have to do what is best for him, just for once putting him ahead of what the rest of us would like him to do for us, even if Harry won't like it." Kingsley conceded.

"Hey you two come and see what we have found." Bill called suddenly, breaking the thoughtful mood between the two most senior government officials of their world.

He and George had been busily working inside the car whilst the two men had talked, seeing what needed to be done to the interior of the car. They were stripping it down, ready for any repairs which they discovered as they went. Already the process had uncovered a vintage flask, in near perfect condition, as well as a number of coins that had clearly been lost by passengers over the years, Arthur and Kingsley went over to the car to look at what had been found this time, expecting it to be a similar artefact.

Bill pointed to the floor on either side of the cabin. "When we removed the carpet we found these panels, so we had a look to see what was there, it looks like we have found this cars secret, or at least one of them, look." He lifted the panel nearest him again.

"Blimey!" Said Arthur. "I wonder if they work? Harry will love that if they do."

Few of the staff in the ministry had any inkling of the threat it was under that day, fewer still the nature of the threat in any detail. This day was, to all intents and purposes, what appeared to be an ordinary Monday just like any other which the governing body of the Wizarding world had seen, since the new regime had been put in place. Most of the staff arrived, as usual to carry out their customary duties in their departments, the bustling atrium and corridors appeared just as they always did during the day. It could have been any other busy day in the offices of Her Majesties, British Ministry of Magic, but this day was far from normal in these ancient walls. It was only the staff of the Auror, security and magical law enforcement departments who were aware of anything that set this day apart and even then only select members of those departments knew. It was simply those who were to be directly involved, who were privy to information about the impending threat to the ministry and the hard won lives they now enjoyed. They and the heads of departments, held strategy meetings frequently, but as quietly as possible, during the day, ensuring they all appeared routine. Before each new person became involved was subjected to intense security checks before they were told anything, by members of the order of the Phoenix, whilst preparations were quietly made. The rest of the ministry was operating as normal, dealing with the matters they dealt with every day, even the renown Ministry rumour mill had failed to become excited, for once.

As six O'clock approached and most staff members had left or were leaving for home, the chosen defenders of the ministry made their way to their allocated positions to wait, they did not know what time the attack would begin, they had prepared for a potentially long wait. Taking their places at their designated posts where they were to remain hidden, watching, each settled as comfortably as they could. By half past six the night staff were on duty as usual and the defenders were quietly waiting, the ministry settling into it's out of hours pattern, as if nothing out of the ordinary was expected. This façade of normality was essential to the plan and hopefully to the successful defence of the ministry. The teams of defenders, hidden in strategic places around the ministry complex, waited patiently, quietly though constantly alert as the minutes and hours slowly ticked by. The silence in the Atrium broken only by the splashing of the fountain, as the crystal clear water tumbled back into the pool, punctuated by the sharp footsteps marking the occasional passage of a security guard checking in with the front desk, before setting off on their rounds of the building once more.

The clock above the atrium had struck nine quite some time ago, when each of the fires in the hearths along the Atrium suddenly erupted into life, then burned bright green, in the half light of the ministry's evening illumination. The day's work done, few of the staff remained at their desks, apart from the few security guards who wandered the quiet corridors, it was a remarkable sight not seen so late in the day since the arrival of Ministry officials, the night Dumbledore and Voldemort battled here. The usual lone guard in the Atrium was dozing at his desk as the thirty figures emerged from the fires. One of the figures quickly stunned and bound the guard before he could react to their sudden arrival.

"Oh this is marvellous, just as predicted, they have no idea." The leader of the group, the General, smirked. "This is going to be so easy, like taking a wand from a baby. Right team one the cells, we know she was moved there yesterday, or the day before, ready for the hearing. As the fools couldn't get through the other cases quickly enough to start hers today, that is one trial that won't take place or even begin. Team two with me, we shall free up her office of the trash who occupies it, ready for her arrival. Whatever happens stick to the plan, it will work, especially since they have not increased security, it seems they are not expecting us. That said, keep your eyes skinned, we can't afford any more cock ups, this could be our last chance to fulfil our betrayed Master's plans. Remember your training, you are pure bloods, the true heirs and rulers of the world. This is what we have been working for, let's show this Muggle loving scum that they are not fit to serve us. Right team one go, we'll see you on level one when you bring her."

Ten of the group headed for the lifts and the Judicial level. They got in the first two elevators to arrive and disappeared from view, leaving the others to prepare for their task.

Team one emerged in the dimly lit corridor, that lead to the department of Mysteries. Cautiously they made their way to the staircase, which led down to the entrances to the courtrooms and beyond to the holding cells. Slowly the group went down the stairs, making not a sound as they followed the task forces second in command.

"The cells are past the courtrooms." He whispered, then cautiously looked round the edge of the wall and down the corridor. "All clear, but be careful, there are too many doors for my liking, they lead to the court rooms, public galleries and judicial rooms, they could hide anything."

The man behind him snorted disdainfully. "You worry too much, they have nothing here for us to worry about. This is going to be easy, if we were going to meet any resistance, do you think we would have got this far? They have no clue that we are coming, never mind here." A few of the others grinned and nodded agreement.

Seeing this, the team leader stood straighter to face the man. "You will do as you are told, we still don't know what happened to the twenty from the mission on Saturday, for all we know they were caught and spilled the beans. It could still easily be a trap, you will do as you are told."

"That lot ran like the cowards they are and you are too bloody cautious, let's get down there and free her. These mud bloods will lose control, while they sleep." He shoved past and started to stride arrogantly down the corridor.

He didn't see the silent, deadly green spell speed through the air behind him, or the silencing spell as he fell to the floor, dead. Finally his body was summoned and shoved onto the stairs out of sight. Putting his wand away, the leader turned to the others. "Anyone else who thinks I am too cautious, can join him."

Quite suddenly, none of them wanted to disagree with him any more. They meekly followed him as he slowly made his way along the corridor, casting a sealing charm on each door as they went.

The tiled surfaces of walls along the stairway and long corridor were broken only by the doors to the various rooms associated with each courtroom, some presumably to stores and cleaning equipment as well. They moved with extreme caution, checking each was locked before sealing it further with a spell, they proceeded as if expecting attack at any moment, at least until after the last door on the corridor when tiles gave way to rough cut bed rock as it led to the cells where prisoners were held and interrogated. It was, they knew, deliberately and progressively oppressive, the closer to the cells they got, but at least they were the only ones visible along the entire length.

They stopped at the point where the walls changed, he looked back at them, speaking cautiously and quietly, he did not want to be over heard."Here we go then, watch for the cell guard, if he raises the alarm this place will be a death trap of wards going off, he must be stunned on sight, not the slightest hesitation. If he is not visible when I check down the cell block, then be on your watch for him. If I do see him, then I shall stun him, bind him and get him out of our way as quickly as possible, there is only one guard on duty overnight for us to worry about down here, although a patrol of one or two men may appear. Remember, this is the only way in or out, if we lose it we have lost any chance of winning this time, if we get trapped, then do your best to get out of here, warn the others if you can then get back to headquarters, there is always another day that way. Right, here we go, you all ready?"

His team quickly nodded, so he turned and led them silently through the increasingly dank and damp tunnel.

They reached the corner at the end of the corridor, the cells lay beyond it unseen, spread alongside passageways cut deep into the wall of the main tunnel, creating a separate, hidden, area. The leader peered cautiously round the corner and took his first glimpse into the cell block. Out of sight of the corridor and tunnel it gave the impression that it was deliberately hidden from the rest of the ministry, isolated from the rest out of the way. These dungeons, under London were damp with water literally dripping down the walls, to collect in gully's which had channels into each cell, providing a source for prisoners to drink from. Green slime hung from most of the ceiling, water running down and from it's hanging fronds. He knew that somewhere in that ceiling was a shaft, now providing fresh air, but once the entrance to this place when it had not just been a holding area, but an oubliette. A foul bottle shaped dungeon, it's inmates levitated down never to be released, the public throwing rotten food and filth down to the unfortunates within who were forced to survive on whatever they found down there, prolonging their suffering, until the inevitable happened. Changing attitudes on treatment of criminals in the Muggle world meant that it's continued use would have created undue attention to it. So the need for holding cells as an alternative had meant that eventually the top was disguised in the streets of the Muggle city, and the side wall of the chamber was opened to form the corridor they had just walked along. The debris and remains cleared, before it was enlarged and the cells carved out of the rock found beneath the clay the city sat on.

The walls on both sides of the passageway of the cell block were lined with heavy doors, studded with metal nails and secured with large iron bolts, each leading to a cell which they knew had each been carved out of the solid rock of the walls. The corridor was silent apart from the constant drip, drip, drip of water from its rough stone ceiling. He spotted the single night guard, making his rounds, appear at the far end of the visible row of cells. He could see that the man had used a simple repelling charm, to keep himself dry as he patrolled, it was a weak shield, not designed to protect against spells, easily overcome. The team leader quickly stunned the guard, then secured the clueless wizard with a body bind charm before levitating him out of the way round the corner into the entrance tunnel.

"Well that was simple." He chuckled to himself, the dank, damp air catching slightly in his throat then turned to his team "Right quickly find the cell and let her out, only her mind. Even if your lover is in one of them, we leave them here, we can release anyone else later, or kill them if they won't join us. Accio Keys." A large ring, with keys hanging from it, flew to his hand, from where the guard lay. He caught them deftly and nodded to his team. "Let's find her."

They rushed to search the two lines of cells on each side of the passage, opening the viewing hatch on each door as they checked each one, before banging it shut. Several minutes later one of them called up the corridor "She's not here."

"She must be here, her trial should have started today, they can't do that without her present, check again." The team leader called back angrily.

Again there was much banging of hatches as they checked the cells again, more slowly this time. Even so when they reached him once more, they again reported she could not be found.

"Fools, you've missed her, open every door, I'll check each cell personally, at least then it will be done properly." He stormed down the passage to start at the far end, the others following.

He reached out with the key's to open the first door, but found, to his surprise, that he didn't need to. As if on some cue, of which he was unaware, the heavily studded door swung open for him, creaking on its hinges loudly. A smartly dressed figure emerged from the cell, pointing a wand at his face. He looked up as every cell door banged open and figures with wands drawn stepped into the passage. All the wands were pointing at his team of Vengeance soldiers, the nine remaining invaders were trapped. As they watched, even more figures appeared at the corner of the corridor, blocking their exit. For a moment the leader thought it was team two coming to the rescue, he then spotted the guard he had stunned and bound, standing amongst those blocking their escape. Reality hit him then, just as the man in the middle of this group spoke genially, as if addressing guests at a social occasion.

"Welcome ladies and Gentlemen, your operation, for you at least, is over. You have failed in achieving your goal, you have followed your colleagues into failure. I must admit though, it really is so good of you to save us the trouble of having to hunt you all down, instead choosing to sensibly turn yourselves in, even walking yourselves into the cell block without our assistance. Now if you would be so kind as to please step into your new accommodations, which we have carefully prepared for you, we can get on with our duties quietly and you can begin your new lives. Oh yes, before I forget, my colleagues will be delighted receive your wands and any other weapons or artefacts you may have with you."

The team leader disliked the speakers tone, he had not joined Vengeance to be beaten so easily."Like hell we will!" He roared defiantly and fired off a curse, wildly towards the speaker.

An Auror fell to the ground, the corridor filled with spells from the other Aurors wands.

Once the dust had settled and cease fire ordered, the man who had spoken made his way down the corridor.

"Why do they never come quietly?" Sighed Arthur, shaking his head as he looked down at the freshly stunned Vengeance soldiers, laid one on top of the other where they had fallen. "Get their wands and lock them up quickly, everyone, then let's regroup, we are going to be needed at the Ministers office soon."

A little over twenty minutes after the group of nine had entered the cell block, they had become its latest unwilling tenants, the body of the tenth had already been sent to the mortuary at St Mungo's.

As soon as Team one had entered the lifts, Vengeance's team two had waited impatiently in the atrium, eager to start their task. They knew it would take time for the first team to reach the cells, they needed to wait to give that team a chance at success before heading to level one to secure the Minister's office. They knew that if the Minister was working, there was likely to be more people to control on that level than in the cells, so the larger team had been assigned this task. They still would need to proceed carefully, neither team wanted to set off any alarms and ruin their chances of success, nor did this team want to lose its quick escape route if the others were caught and a warning sent, they could always try another day. They expected that if the other team had failed they would soon know about it and would need to flee, fast to regroup, perhaps to attack the trial itself. They paced nervously waiting for fifteen minutes, until the leader was confident the others had not been discovered and gave the signal for them to begin. They entered three more of the lifts and set off to level one, to prepare it for the arrival of their colleagues, with their leader.

The Atrium was briefly still again as the lifts rattled along their route, silent except for the sound of the water of the fountain. From a corner near the lifts, from where someone could observe everything that went on in the Atrium, a bright silver flash emerged to speed across the floor before it shot up the fourth lift shaft, unnoticed by the Vengeance soldiers as it passed them. A ministry official removed her disillusionment charm and emerged from the shadows in the corner, she walked over to the desk and released the duty officer and told him to simply carry on as normal, she then went to stand at the lifts and waited. She only had a few minutes to wait before three lifts arrived. Arthur and a team of Aurors emerged from them, Arthur looked at the witch. "They went?" He asked.

"Yes Deputy Minister Sir, they have gone to floor one, the ministers office, the Patronus has gone, it will have passed them on the way up. They are only a few minutes ahead of you, there are twenty of them, including the one giving the orders to them all." She told him.

"Thanks Evelyn, George are you and our surprise ready?" Arthur replied.

"Sure Dad." He grinned placing a decoy detonator in an empty lift and sent the lift on its way ahead of them, he led his own group into the other lifts a minute later and they left.

Arthur's team remained in the Atrium, to mop up any of the invaders who may make it back to the Atrium, they melted into the shadows to wait. Once more the Atrium appeared deserted, except for the guard sitting diligently at his post, a steaming mug in his hand.

Kingsley was working late, deliberately. Numerous reports were stacked in his tray, but he was in no hurry to get through them. In fact if anyone had looked closely some were quite old and even some he had already dealt with before, but this was all about appearances, not work. He was sitting at his desk slowly sifting through the documents in front of him, as if carefully taking note of the contents. He did not react, when, with a flash of light, a glowing silvery Patronus squirrel arrived and landed on his desk.

"Twenty invaders on the way up, I will follow with the back up force shortly." The Patronus reported in a familiar voice, then dissolved. Kingsley continued sifting the parchments, as if nothing had happened.

The twenty Vengeance warriors reached level one and the leader looked cautiously out of the lift he was in, holding the doors open, the dimly lit corridor was deserted. "You two, stay here, watch the lifts, we don't want any surprises." He pointed at two of his team.

Leaving the two behind, they exited the lifts and cautiously made there way down the hall checking every room for occupants as they went. The thick luxurious carpet muffling the sounds of each step as they went, cautiously along the corridor. They left one of there number as sentry every few yards to guard the rear of the main assault, the office they were targeting was at the far end of the corridor, this was their only escape route, except for the Floo in the office. They made their way along the hall, pausing only when they reached the deserted reception area outside the Ministers office. As planned, only five of the twenty reached the door marked Minister, the group leader made one final check that his troops were in place then turned to the door.

Light shone under the door, into the dimly lit reception. The leader grinned and whispered to the others. "He's working late, on his own to by the looks of things. Saves us waiting until he arrives in the morning, but gives us the problem of clearing the office for it's correct occupant. Well we had best get on with it, she will be here shortly, ready Go." He shouted the last word and flung the door open.

The five burst through the door wands at the ready and rushed the room. The Minister was at his desk, he looked up startled as the leader surged in followed by the four soldiers.

"What is the meaning of this?" The Minister demanded indignantly, not even bothering to stand.

"Well, Well if it isn't our soon to be ex minister. We are Vengeance, Shacklebolt and we are here to take over." The General smirked and swaggered towards the desk with an air of arrogant confidence at the shock expressed on the Ministers face.

"What? With you as minister Hornly?" The disbelief in Kingsley's voice evident.

"Oh no, I doubt anyone would accept that, but I have no ambition to that desk for myself. No I will get my reward, but the new minister is on her way up here with the rest of my soldiers. She will want to deal with you personally, I expect. I look forward to watching her discipline you for your betrayal of her, she is most creative in that regard, as is her kin. She is not one of us, but proved useful to our Master, ensuring those who stole the magic of proper Wizards were dealt with. Even so she is a means to an end, once she has her revenge we shall reinstate a regime fit for Wizard kind, just as our Master did, restoring the proper ways and beliefs once more, even if he cannot see his dream restored once more, she will merely be our puppet at the head of society."

"Oh and she was fooled by a thug like you, I strongly doubt that?" Kingsley laughed.

"She is unaware of her fate serving us yet, she believes she will be in charge I am sure. She is so set on her revenge and she has it thanks to her kin and us, despite being locked away for months. That helped us no end, I am grateful to you for getting her out of the way, although I doubt she will feel the same way. It was after all, she who enabled us to avoid capture for so long, her plan that reunited us and enabled us to regain enough power to be able to do this. As a result we now have control of the ministry again, you are a Muggle loving fool blinded by a lack of foresight to see the reality of how we are being diluted. Did you really believe we would abandon our lord's high ideals? You were blinkered by the weakling Potter, into believing my master's plans died with him. You had the chance to put wizardkind into the place we deserve, you rejected that path, content to compromise our right to rule those of lesser blood. We are the faithful who will now hold power in his name and you were too stupid to see it coming. She will hold the seat whilst we control the power, if she doesn't do what we want we will kill her and place another puppet here."

"Revenge? This is revenge for your leader is it?"

"Oh this is priceless, you are so far behind us." Laughed Hornly, " This isn't revenge, she got her revenge on Potter and his little friends. We encouraged the culture of blaming him for the battle, it has taken hold, ruining him in the eyes of society, but the real vengeance was for the pain he caused her three years ago when he made her look stupid and left her to the Centaurs. Then he rubbed salt in the wound, he attacked and stole from her in her own court room, the place she was carrying out her duties. He even had the audacity to teach her subject at Hogwarts and to her kin, as if he could teach them anything. He's been driven crackers by what our friends have done to him, he's been in hiding for three months, you will soon be begging to tell us where so the job can be finished. We dealt with him and then his friends, we killed them on Saturday by the way and soon we will kill the lunatic Potter too."

There was an explosion outside, they heard the soldiers in the hall shouting, then a voice sounded from thin air. "I didn't think I was a lunatic, pissed off about what you were doing most certainly, but actually mad? Even that Half blood Voldemort knew I was sane enough, even through his own insanity."

Hornly spun round looking for the source of the voice, as the sound of spells being cast outside entered the room.

Harry removed his cloak, wand in hand.

"Oh this just gets better and better." Grinned Hornly, not even questioning why Harry would be there and hidden in the office of the Minister. "The boy who lived is here and not so damaged as we were led to believe, just been cowering since January like the yellow scum you are. Still defiant boy in the face of defeat, just as you were in the battle, this time you won't be so lucky. We control here now, can't you hear my soldiers dealing with the small security patrol left here? They are being crushed out in the corridor, so they cannot prevent the inevitable. Put your twig down before you poke someone's eye out, you no longer have a use for it. The new minister will be here in a moment you fool, now she will be able to kill you both slowly and painfully, I hope."

Harry laughed. "There's more than a couple of security guards out there, surrender now Hornly, save us all a lot of bother. Be more intelligent than your half Muggle master, take the chance he refused when I offered it."

Hornly smirked evilly, convinced he still had the upper hand. "Sounds to me like my soldiers are dealing with whatever pathetic resistance you have organised, we will soon squash that, it is of little consequence. After all we were part of the great Lord Voldemort's Army who took this place once before. Potter, you filthy scum, you should have remained hidden boy, now we shall have the pleasure of seeing you squirm as she tortures you. Then you will pay for the death of our Master and insulting his memory with your lies. Soon we shall have the ministry and this country at our feet."

"Now what on earth gives you the idea, that you and your weak cronies would be able to do that? After all your Master lost it all for you, despite your support." Smiled Harry keeping his wand steady. "Much more likely you will fail, no one would accept an overnight coup again, even if you defeat us, your victory will last little longer than a few hours at best. So how can you win?"

"For one, even here, you are out numbered boy." Laughed Hornly, the noise outside died down a little. "Second, it sounds like my army has defeated your friends attempts at resistance, you are trapped boy."

"Really, outnumbered? Let's see there are five of you and twelve of us." Harry stated coolly.

"Twelve? You need to learn to count boy. I tire of your jabbering nonsense, time to silence you to await the new Minister and the dawn of a glorious new age for true Wizards." Hornly began to raise his wand.

The ministers voice sounded, but the figure at the desk did not move its lips, in fact the man had stopped moving at all. "Oh yes I knew we had forgotten to tell you something Hornly, Umbridge will not be joining us tonight. She is back enjoying her cell in Azkaban, we saw to that the moment that we knew you would be paying us a visit with your little playmates. The last of the so called Vengeance Army, the remnants of the failed schemes of a bitter woman."

The five looked around them trying to locate the source of the deep distinctive voice. As they searched frantically, there was a blur of movement, whilst several things happened at once. First the figure of Kingsley, still at the desk disappeared, then there was a shout to Hornly from outside for help and finally the real Kingsley, flanked by Ron and Hermione with seven Aurors appeared either side of Harry, all with wands raised pointing at the five invaders.

Hornly stared at the couple next to Kingsley." You two are dead." He exclaimed in disbelief.

Hermione smiled sweetly at him. "To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of our deaths were greatly exaggerated."

"Who in the name of hell is Mark Twain?" Hornly asked in disbelief.

"You guys really couldn't get anything right could you, your friends attacked images, we were never there." Ron taunted them. "Just like the Minister you have been trying to taunt this evening."

Hornly stared at them, then seemed to notice the others around them. Watching his face change as the penny dropped and he realised they had utterly failed was as fascinating as it was amusing. His expression passed from confident to puzzled, to shock then fear before finally coming to rest on desperation all within seconds. This was the point that all the Witches and Wizards around Kingsley knew was the most dangerous moment of the entire confrontation. The point that the attackers realised that they were cornered, the point they could surrender, attack in a last ditch, desperate assault, or run.

Hornly made his choice. "We are betrayed, quick get the others then run." He bellowed wide eyed in panic, turned and ran to the door before his compatriots could react.

The other four were a split second behind their team leader, but joined him scrambling to the door, where they all tried to get through at the same time. Harry and Ron were the first to react, they fired stunner's at the fleeing terrorists, hitting two, which cleared the door way enough for the others to burst through. They quickly bound the stunned men as they fell, the seven Aurors ran after the others in a much more orderly fashion.

"Harry, home now." Shouted the Minister to his friend, glancing apologetically back at him, before following Ron and Hermione in the pursuit.

Harry started to go after them, but a hand placed on his shoulder stopped him.

"That wasn't the agreement, my love." Said the voice of the still invisible Ginny gently.

She held onto him tightly and reached for a quill from the desk with her other hand. Harry briefly saw it apparently levitate then, as she touched it, felt the familiar tug of a port key activate, taking them away from the Ministry and returning them home.

They arrived in the sitting room and he removed her disillusionment charm. "Spoil sport." He grinned playfully, bringing her into his arms. "You wanted to join in too."

She smiled. "Yes, I did, but we are needed in the morning at Hogwarts tomorrow, I don't want to miss that, not if we want to try to help the twins to have a real future, so we had to stick to the deal with Kingsley. They'll be back soon to tell us about it, Ron and Hermione are staying here tonight and going with us in the morning after all."

They sat down just as Mrs. Weasley came in to the room looking worried, her face relaxed a little when she saw them. "Oh good you're back, I really wish you wouldn't do this Harry, not in your condition, even worse, leaving me behind to worry about you all."

"Don't worry mum." Said Ginny firmly then she reassured her. "It's your turn in the morning."

Harry was asleep on the sofa when Kingsley and the others arrived, an hour later. Ginny woke Harry, he sat up when he saw they were back.

"Success/" Smiled Kingsley. "We got them quickly, then had a bit of fun getting them into the cells. I have a team of interrogators working on them already, we need to know where they have been hiding. Percy will contact me if they find anything out."

Arthur looked up, he was holding his hand which was bleeding, trying to stop the flow. "No serious injuries on our side, three of Vengeance dead the rest in the cells or secure ministry medical wing. Any news of the others? Is Bill back from St Mungo's yet?"

"No, not yet, but I am more worried about that cut on your hand Arthur." Mrs. Weasley walked to her husband wand in hand and set to work to heal her husbands hand.

"Oh that just reopened when I threw one of them into the cell by hand, instead of using my wand." He replied while his wife began to tend it.

"Why on earth would you choose to do that?" Molly asked.

"I heard it was more satisfying to actually throw them in, so took the opportunity while I could." He replied.

"And?" She asked.

"Oddly, it was!" He replied, grinning, then turned to Kingsley. "Odd we haven't heard back from operation two yet, do you think they might have come across unexpected problems?"

"Good point Arthur." Kingsley quickly knelt in front of the fire, threw some Floo powder on the flames then stuck his head into the now green glowing fire. "No word from operation two, send reinforcements immediately, they may be in difficulty." They heard him order.

He finished the call as Mr Weasley told them what had happened in the cells while he flexed his now healed hand. After he had finished, George took up the story and described what his team had done.

"Two of them were concentrating on the decoy detonator I sent ahead of us in the lift, when we arrived. They didn't notice us arriving in the other lifts, then it exploded and knocked them out, which was two down, but it seemed to attract the attention of the others. That lift will need a hell of a lot of cleaning I'm afraid, sorry Kingsley. Anyway the smoke it had created gave us the chance to exit our lifts, those waiting in the corridor, were quite surprised when it cleared and the saw us there, but they immediately started to attack. As we expected, we had to battle them, for every inch. As I say, we had taken them by surprise though, so they didn't put up that much effective resistance, it was just a case of tackling them as we progressed up the corridor, the fight getting harder and harder as we progressed and more of them joined in. One of us was injured before we could drive them back into the reception area though, that will need some cleaning too I'm afraid Kingsley, perhaps you noticed on your way out. We had all, but one of them stunned, when she shouted for help just before we got her with a stunner and body bind, then piled her on top of the others. The office door flew open and the other three dived out of the office, we saw two others fall to Stunner's from within. Anyway the trio were closely followed by Ron, Hermione and Kingsley with his team in the lead. Two of them gave us the slip and made it to the lifts, but we got the other one before he made it."

Arthur took up the story from this point. "They got one hell of a shock, when they left the lift in the atrium. They were laughing at how they had escaped, then spotted the guard was back on duty, which stopped them in their tracks. We appeared and they panicked, suddenly casting spells at random. They put up a tough fight, that's when I got injured, I caught my hand on the side of the guards desk, gashing it open. I was never very good at healing spells, but managed to stop the bleeding and forgot about it until later. Anyway the two made it to take cover behind the new fountain, when the rest arrived from upstairs. Hermione got the first accurate shot at them round the fountain, but it was just a glancing hit. That said it flushed them out, where they left themselves open and we all hit them at once. No one used a lethal spell, well not one that is lethal on its own anyway, but, well, that many spells hitting anyone at once is not going to be very good for the health, they died on the spot."

Ron then spoke. "We went back upstairs to collect the others, while the Aurors took care of the bodies. Georges team and ours, cleared level one of the rest of them, we had their wands of course, but those who were just bound not stunned tried to attack us Muggle style once the two of us were in the lift with each one. We hadn't room to stun them in the lift, without it being a danger to us, so when we got to the Mysteries corridor we shoved them out as best we could and Hermione, who was waiting with Evelyn there, stunned them before we levitated them to a cell. When we got back upstairs for the next lot, we simply stunned them all and levitated them into the lifts instead."

Bill arrived via the Floo a few minutes after Ron had finished speaking, stepping out of the fire looking dirty, but uninjured. "Thanks for the reinforcements Kingsley, they arrived just in time, only a couple of casualties on our side, but we were in the right place and they have been healed up already. They took the captives to the cells and have all gone to debrief, while I came here to report."

"Captives?" Kingsley asked. "There was only supposed to be Wolfe, what happened?"

Bill nodded and explained. "There was only supposed to be one, but not all went as expected. Wolfe did not come quietly shall we say, he had some protection we didn't expect, he wasn't on his own. Some of his colleagues backed him up, physically, they didn't hold back either. We are still trying to work out if he Imperioused them when we got there, or if they were acting through choice. Anyway it all started well enough, the five of us were in position and he was summoned to the administrators office as arranged, well away from any patients. He must have suspected that something was up, because he arrived with a few others. When he saw us there, they all immediately started firing off spells, we stunned a couple of them, but Wolfe and the rest got into a lift. The administrator set off the alarm and security managed to stop the lift two floors below us, but couldn't prevent them getting out, so we charged down the stairs to find them. They knew the place well, far better than us, but we had cut the stairs off before they reached them. We lost two to Sectumsempra there, no one else though as we fought them through the corridors, erected shields to protect the wards and patients as we went. As soon as they realised they couldn't get at the patients, they took cover in the floors reception area and waiting room, it was a stand off. We had to seal it off from the rest of the hospital, and wait. We couldn't risk harm to the patients in the wards, there was no way to evacuate them all quickly, so we couldn't attack full on, especially with the few people we had left. We had Wolfe and his friends cornered, but hadn't enough people to go in after them. If it hadn't been for St Mungo's security thinking quickly and blocking all outward apparition and port keys from the hospital, they would have got away quite easily. We were trying to work out how we could best bring the stand off to a close, when the reinforcements arrived.

They filled us in with your successes, loudly enough for Wolfe to over hear, hoping it would demoralise him. It didn't, he didn't believe it, he was convinced we were just trying to get him to give up, which of course we were even if it was the truth. Anyway, with the extra help we quickly formulated a plan and executed it, in order to minimise the disruption and risk to the patients. Half of us created shields, to protect those not involved and prevent stray spells causing more harm, whilst the others attacked the reception area, trying to end it quickly. We disarmed and stunned them all after a bit of a skirmish, it lasted less than a minute, we bound them and af course took their wands. One more injury on our side, nothing major and a bit of a clean up needed, but it could have been a whole lot worse. Anyway we got them all and they will be in the cells by now, they will be questioned to see if they acted of their own free will or if Wolfe was controlling them, either way they face problems I'm told. With you lot succeeding as well, only one thing left to do and Vengeance is gone."

"Well done Bill, we underestimated that one badly, but you handled it well. I shall talk with the administrator later about fixing the damage." Said Kingsley. "In the meantime let's get some rest ready for tomorrow morning.

Ginny looked up "I'm still a bit worried about tomorrow, you know."

"Whys that Ginny?" Kingsley asked.

"Well with what we have planned, I'm not sure we won't cause more harm than good to the twins, it's a good plan in many ways, I just hope they can handle the shock we will inevitably cause." She said bluntly. "If they can't we might be risking their sanity or making things worse. I don't want them to think we are in any way the same as Umbridge at all, I just wonder if there's a gentler way we could do it."

"I know what you mean Ginny." Kingsley nodded sadly "The problem is we need the evidence they have to use against their Aunt and to protect them from her and any blame. I can't see us getting that any other way, other than this, as things stand. Because of how she controls them, we also need to break her psychological hold on them. Today's reports on them from the school, provided by the ghosts, indicate that they fear success as much as failure. I have checked with Poppy and Archie, neither are happy with what we plan either, in fact they raised the points you have, but they agree it's probably the only way left open to us at this stage to achieve what we need to. I promise we went through every alternative any of us could think of, all of them carried a similar risk, wouldn't allow us to either gather evidence or we would have to imprison them as well. We agree we must avoid that, though they will have to be held securely for a while anyway, but we can do that without putting them in the cells this way. At least this way we can begin to help them recover almost straight away, despite it being high risk."

"I suppose so Kingsley, I just can't help having a nagging doubt about it." Ginny replied sadly.

"I know Ginny and you don't have to come if it's worrying you that much, it wouldn't stop you being part of the healing for them. "Kingsley assured her.

"No I want to be there for them, show that we really want to help them despite what they've done. I'll be all right, I suppose it's just nerves, a bit like the other day when we first did that charm in the forest, hoping it would all go well." She smiled. "That worked out fine, I'm sure tomorrow will as well, it's just fear of the unknown I guess."

"Ginny you really are going to have to teach us all that projection charm it is brilliant, very innovative, I can see it having loads of uses in the Auror department not to mention some of the others too." Kingsley laughed

Ginny grinned. "Of course we will Kingsley, I found it in that old book in our library I told you about. Harry can do it now as well, all you really need is either a good mental image of the person or, as we did tonight, be in physical contact with them in which case it will project the movement of the persons face and their voice. Other movement comes from your imagination. We'll teach you it, won't we Harry?" She received no reply so turned to look at him "Oh Harry!" She said in a mixture of amusement and mild frustration.

Harry was still sitting next to her, but his head was lolling over to one side, resting on the back of the sofa, breathing gently, he was fast asleep.

As she looked at him, Kingsley started to laugh. "Now I have had many a meeting where I could have easily done that."

Everyone laughed at Kingsley's comment, whilst Harry, oblivious to the mirth he had caused, slept on. A few minutes later Kreacher arrived with a light supper for everyone, Kingsley left after joining the family to eat. They had an early start in the morning and it had not been long before midnight when the tray had been brought in. With the family alone and ready to go to bed , Ginny asked Kreacher to transport the still sleeping Harry up to their bed, she wished the others goodnight and left to join him.


Author's Notes:

Thanks once more to Balthazar91 for Betaing this chapter.
Many thanks to all who reviewed the Last chapter and to Anonymous rs, who since the last chapter was posted has reviewed almost every chapter published so far, unfortunately the messaging system did not allow me to reply to each of them individually unless you are logged into the site, but my thanks anyway.
If you can't wait for the next chapter and haven't already read them, my three Short Stories can be found on my Author profile, The Path has links with this story.
Until Next time.
Best wishes
Tgfoy