Chapter 36

The celebrations of the Junior English National Dueling Championship was still going leading up to the week before Hogwarts started. The Hogwarts crowd had already said goodbye to their friends from the team, and told them that they would meet up over Christmas, and train, and also that they would write over the school year to keep them updated on their training, and their respective lives.

The core group however had gathered for a small going back to school party the night before the express. It was mostly the Hufflepuff crowd that usually stuck with Harry, but it was also some of the Gryffindors like Neville and Oliver, while Penny was sitting next to Cedric comfortably. That made a strong group of 10. Eleven including the oldest Potter son himself. The gathering was mostly in good nature, but it was also to discuss training for the upcoming year, "The attack on Azkaban was a message that the Dark Lord is preparing for war, and I think we are going to see a massive assault in the next year. Before this Hogwarts year is up the Dark Lord will have attacked either Diagon Alley, the Ministry, of Hogwarts itself. We can't sit around anymore. Bellatrix isn't going to discriminate man women or child, and we have to be ready for the inevitable."

Darrel groaned, "So what do you want to do Harry. We train quite a bit as it is. Thankfully none of us are going to be OWL students this year, and my schedule really isn't that busy, so it won't be a problem, but even still we can't just drop our lives and do nothing, but train."

Harry argued back, "No, I know your right, I am just saying the level of vigilance needs to be increased. We need to keep an eye on some certain people like Davies, Hillard, Flint, people whom we already don't trust. A curse into one of our backs might just be the last thing we never see."

Penny asked, "What about your sister Harry? She is going to be joining us at Hogwarts now, which effectively means your whole family will be there at all times."

"What are you trying to say Penny?" Hannah asked as Harry recoiled at the question.

"Just that I have talked to his sister on multiple occasions and Rosalie is a smart girl. Good Lord Potter she could go to any house. She is ambitious just like a Slytherin, she is intelligent just like a Ravenclaw, she is brave just like a Gryffindor, and she is as loyal as any of the other Hufflepuffs in this circle...at least to her friends and family she is. I am just wondering if you had considered the possibility that she could end up in my house?"

Harry growled, "She won't be in Ravenclaw. Dumbledore told me the hat takes into consideration of what you want, and she won't want to be close to Davies or Hillard."

Cedric in a placating tone said, "Even if she was, you would be able to look after her right? Plus Jack's friend Luna is in Ravenclaw, and the two would look out for each other."

Ernie begrudgingly added, "I think Hillard should be more worried about her being sorted there, your sister is the type to kill someone in their sleep mate. Did you see that prank she pulled on your Godfather last week, or did you miss the fact that he woke up as an ass?"

There were some murmurs at that while Penny said, "I will be head girl this year, and I won't be in my common room anymore than I need to. Half the house has branded me as a traitor and the other half is in love with me, so I don't have much common ground between the two groups. Honestly if she is sorted into Ravenclaw, there wouldn't be much I could do for her."

Harry had heard from Penny in private that she had been getting hate mail from her peers in the upper years for associating with the enemy, and that she was to stop hang out with the Puffs at once if she knew what was good for her. The stubborn girl however took offense to someone trying to tell her what to do, and started hanging out with them even more.

Susan added in, "Harry the girl is a Hufflepuff, don't ask me how I know for sure I just do! There is just not a single question in my mind, she is going to be in our house. She adores you like nothing else in this world, and she thinks the rest of us are pretty awesome too. She will follow into her big brothers footsteps. Honestly I think Jack belongs in Gryffindor, but your sister is not the same case."

Oliver was quick to add, "If your sister ends up in my house she will be super safe Potter. Between Jack, Neville, and I, no one will be able to get within ten feet of her if we don't like it."

Harry gave the boy a grateful smile, "I appreciate that Ollie. I would actually appreciate it if we could all look out for them and each other. The line of enemy and friend is about to get dangerously small, and we can't afford many mistakes. A mistake at this point could cost someone in this circle their life, and I don't think I can live with that right now."

This silenced the whole group, and Neville asked, "What are we going to do about training Rosalie? She won't be like Jack and take no for an answer. She is a lot like your mum Harry, and if you tell her no she might kick your ass."

Some of the group laughed at that, while the few whom had seen Lily Potter blow a gasket, they just cringed, "I don't know yet. She knows my schedule, and she has eyes everywhere, though I have yet to figure out how. I already checked all my stuff for tracking charms, the girl just knows."

Neville thoughtfully put in, "She is just like you Harry, she is one of the most powerful duelist I have ever met. She is maybe a single step behind you from when you were eleven. That last year of training she did with Remus gave her a spell repitorie a mile wide too. She knows a lot of really basic stuff that we often over look, and my mum thinks she is going to be a Runes Prodigy. Have you seen the thing she designed in her room? Its seriously freaking impressive."

Ernie jokingly said, "Geez Neville do you have a bit of a crush on your best mates sister?"

The boy blushed lightly, "No, I just admire her. She is stronger than Harry likes to give her credit for, and she is incredibly mature. I would just be prepared for something crazy."

"I don't want her in this Nev. I didn't want Jack in it, because if she joins us now she might as well join us on the front lines of fighting death eaters. She will paint a bigger target on her head than there already is."

Hannah gently put on hand on her boyfriends hand, "That doesn't mean you can just push her away love. The more you do the more she might push back, and you don't want to cause a riff in your family when you guys are all so close."

A voice came from behind, "Oh I knew I liked that girl for a reason!"

Standing now clear as day were two girls fresh out of an invisibility cloak, one was a dark haired girl whom looked a lot like a Slytherin Pureblood Princess that Harry had gotten to know over the years, and the other looked like a younger version of his mother, "Good evening big brother, aren't you looking chipper this evening."

The group was practically stunned into silence, while Cedric asked the important question, "Well this is awkward. How long have you been standing there?"

Rosalie tapped her foot impatiently, "Long enough actually. Harry do you want to have this conversation in private or in front of all your friends."

Sighing Harry retorted, "Lets have it in here in front of everyone. They will keep me from being rash and unfair."

Some of the group shuffled at this, but the Hufflepuffs nodded simply understanding how these arguments have gone in the past, "I think I have something to prove to you Harry. I think I have been trying to prove it you my whole life. Jack and I both have really, and he has gone one way to do it, and I already have my way of attempting it. The only way I am going to prove anything to you is by besting your proteges."

Harry stood slowly, while everyone around the fire watched carefully, "Rosalie you don't want to do this. You don't want apart of this life, or this training. I know you look to Susan and Hannah and see the good its done them, but it wasn't an easy lifestyle choice. It isn't something that you want to volunteer for just because you can or because you think you have something to prove to me, which you don't."

Rosalie stormed towards her brother and practically screamed, "What do you expect Jack and I to do when the death eaters raid the manor. We aren't stupid! We were raised to the same level of intellect as you. You may be better than us at both dueling and quidditch, but you aren't that much smarter. We basically had the same teachers in theory, and that is why we are nearly your equals in that field. We know that the war is coming, and we also know our family is going to be a huge target. Are we just supposed to sit back while you, mum, and dad, fight a war? Or are you still trying to delude yourself that you have years before the war breaks out?"

Harry was rendered speechless they all were. Rosalie reached for her recently acquired wand which was a Thestral and Unicorn heart string mix, a symbol of both life and death, which gave the wand an odd aurora of power, "Let me show you that I am capable. I don't want to duel your girlfriend or Ernie, because they aren't your best. I want Susan. You practically trained her from the ground yourself for the past two years, and I am going to beat her to prove myself that I am worthy of your training as well."

Susan looked shocked by the accusation, while the others looked grave, knowing that Harry was practically backed into a corner. The other Puffs didn't say a word in his defense though, because they knew the only thing that would make their friend see reason was a bit of tough love. Harry weakly said, "Why are you doing this?"

It was then another voice answered the questioned, "Because we overheard you the morning of your birthday Harry." It was now Jack's voice who had come onto the scene, "I could hear you guys up at the house. Mom and dad are watching, but they aren't going to do anything."

Harry looked towards the manor to see Lily and James Potter sitting at the kitchen table, not trying to ease drop, but listening either way, "Yeah interesting story that was Harry. Jack and I were here when the three of you went to Azkaban island. Do you know how that made us feel, that our whole world basically got up and left to fight in a battle?"

Harry felt the tears sting his eyes, but he refused to cry, "I'm sorry Rosalie, Jack."

Jack shook his head, "Don't be sorry that you went to do the right thing, because had you all died that night we would've been upset, but we would've understood."

Rosalie agreed, "He's right, but you know what you can be sorry about? How about the fact that we had to learn by ease dropping that there is basically a dooms day prophesy about our big brother? We never got to hear it from you, we had to hear it from you telling your friends, 3 of whom you had only met earlier this Summer!"

Everyone winced a bit with that comment, and Harry felt the sting to the words. Jack said, "It all finally made sense to me. Why you didn't want us training with you, the war, everything. Once Rosy and I sat down and actually talked it out, we could basically make sense of every strange thing in our lives, funny how that works out."

Harry stared brazenly at his two siblings, "I kept you in the dark to protect you. I fight every single day through every pain, sorry, and hardship, because I want to see you guys live through this next war. You want to know something else...EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

A giant familiar looking gorilla flew from Harry's wand and lit up the camp site. Kong laid down on all fours and stood their staring at his siblings with a look of pure kin, "Do you know what powers my patronus? Two memories. One of which was earlier last Summer where just the three of us played Quidditch with Ernie. Not a care in the world, but us playing the game we all loved. The other is Christmas, when the Abbots, the Bones, and all my friends were gathered with you guys, and we were all just hanging around having a good time. Its what I fight for, and I didn't want your lives to be run by that motivation like it runs mine. The dueling is great and so is quidditch, but do you really think I do it all for the attention. I do it all for you two."

Rosalie and Jack both took a powerful step backwards, while Harry wiped at his eyes fiercely, "You want to know something else. Something I only told one person, and that was only because he was there right after it happened. I found the mirror or Erised, and I saw you two in it. Jack you were in a Tuxedo about to get married, and Rosalie you were all grown up, and in a wedding gown, with our family in the background. That is what I saw because it is my deepest desire. To allow you two to grow old, and not have to worry about the threat of Voldemort because he lay dead at our feet in the image. I didn't need to look at the mirror again, because I wanted it be a reality not some image, so I trained even harder after that. For the two of you."

Rosalie couldn't take anymore and let out a light sob and ran straight into her brother to hug him, while Jack was shortly behind her in the embrace. In other worlds the situation before the group of ten friends would have been awkward, but instead it was inspiring and heart breaking at the same time. This was a demonstration as to what the Potter family throughout the years would sacrifice each generation. This wouldn't be the first time a conversation similar to the one that was just held had happened on the grounds of Potter Manor, and it wouldn't have been the first to end in tragedy either.

The group was united, and they each had something fighting for, and that thing was currently playing through each of their minds. For some like Cedric and Heidi and Penny it was all about the people in the circle. That was what they were fighting for, and for the others it was about family, and friends, and some even a future.

Rosalie broke the hug first, "You hurt me with your words Harry, but that doesn't dissuade me from fighting beside you. You're my big brother, and I will die beside you if that is my destiny as a Potter. You don't have the right to turn me away, but you should have the obligation to help me survive this war."

Jack nodded, "I'll do anything Harry. We can't let you do this all on your own though. We have to stick together, just like we always have."

Harry wiped at his eyes again, and his nose too, before saying, "Jack you proved yourself, and have trained with me before. Rosalie if you really think you can beat Susan then you can prove it to me the day after school starts. We will gather at 530am in the courtyard below. Penny, Ollie, and you will all be new to it, so it will be good for you guys. Rosalie if you can beat Susan then you can train with us."

Rosalie nodded wiping at her eyes, "Sorry for bringing a family matter in front of so many people."

Cedric waved her off though quickly, "I think it gave us all something to think about with the conflict on the rise. Don't apologize Rosalie."

The girl nodded shyly and went back to Astoria whom had watched the scene with interest, and was now following her friend back towards the manor. Harry went back to his girlfriends side, and squeezed her hand gently, "Then its agreed, tomorrow we board the express, and the next day we train."

(A/N) Sorry it has taken so long for an update! I will be focusing on the Dark Lords Rising for the next couple of weeks to complete the story. I will likely finish it before I post again, but I am for sure going to finish that one. This one will take sometime, but I do intend on seeing it through. Cheers Ladies and Gents, lets keep our Champion rolling!