AN: No Coast Guard. They already met their quota for the year and then some. Maybe next year. Also when I was about to start working on this chapter again the screen died on my laptop so now I'm typing on what I called an 'undignified desktop'. I really wish I had a desk. So that was one big factor in the lateness of this chapter, another is that my original work is starting to pick up some steam. I don't expect to be anticipating publication for at least a few more years though.

HPCOC

"What'd you need to talk about?" Sirius asked as he lead Harry into his private study Sunday evening.

"There is no good starting point and a lot of details that you don't need to know." Harry frowned then sighed. "Um, okay. So there is this object that can be used to return Voldemort to his body, which is pretty much a bad thing right?"

"Right." Sirius nodded.

"Gnicc gave me the task of retrieving it due to my proximity to you." Harry continued. "The object is currently sitting in Bellatrix's vault at Gringott's."

"I don't have access to that vault Harry." Sirius frowned.

"I know. That's where this paperwork comes in." Harry said and pulled a large stack of documents out of his pocket and reversed the shrinking charm.

"Oh boy." Sirius moaned as several kilograms of paper hit his desk.

"Indeed. Your hand will probably be sore before we're done." Harry nodded and picked up the first form. "The first step is to disown Bellatrix."

"Done." Sirius smiled.

"Then once that happens we'll...wait, what?" Harry stammered.

"I already disowned her." Sirius replied.

"When?" Harry demanded.

"Um...a few days after she escaped." Sirius answered smile dropping as Harry's right eyes twitched twice.

"FUCK!" Harry shouted and grabbed all of the paperwork before storming out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Sirius sat there stunned for a few seconds before getting up and rushing after Harry. He ran into the sitting room and was immediately confronted by Tonks. "What did you do to him?"

"I-I don't know." Sirius took a step back. "I think I ruined his plan prior to step one though. What happened out here?"

"Harry came rushing out, threw a stack of paper into the fire, informed us that he had to go blow something up then grabbed something under his shirt and disappeared." Gwenog answered. "Probably a portkey."

"Oh no." Sirius said gravely. "I think I need to go to Gringott's before he does something rash."

"What?" Remus gasped.

"There might not be time to explain. Tonks, you can calm him down, right?" Sirius asked hopefully.

"Um, maybe." Tonks frowned.

"Andi, I'm borrowing your daughter." Sirius said quickly and grabbed Tonks' shoulder then apparated them both to Diagon Alley. "Okay, so all I know is that there is something in Bella's vault that Harry needs and he might be coming to get it, since I was, evidently, not as helpful as I could have been."

"I don't think Harry would storm Gringott's." Tonks shrugged Sirius' hand off as he tried to usher her down the alley.

"I don't either, but I don't want to risk it." Sirius nodded.

HPCOC

Harry had spent five minutes swearing and stomping around his office at Potter Manor, he even threw a few things before he took a deep, calming breath. "It's okay. He didn't know. Don't blame him Potter, even if it is his fault. No one could have anticipated this." Harry muttered to himself and flopped into his chair. He drew his wand and held the tip with his left hand. "You're upset but you can use this."

Many bad things had happened in Harry's life, both the original and this new one, and one of those bad things that happened frequently was the cruciatus curse. He was intimately familiar with it, he knew its strengths and weaknesses. Its biggest strength was that it felt like a thousand white hot knives being stabbed into your flesh. Its biggest weakness was that it only felt like a thousand white hot knives being stabbed into your flesh. Any sensation could be ignored with a strong enough mind, especially pain, since that only existed within the mind already*. Anger released several chemicals into the brain, including natural pain killers.

"Crucio." Harry whispered. He was only able to hold the curse for a second before he was forced to break it. This would take a while. "Crucio."

HPCOC

"I think it is safe to assume he isn't coming." Tonks observed after they had been waiting for an hour.

"I agree." Hermione agreed. She and her parents had been very surprised when Andromeda floo'd them and anxiously told them what she knew. After that Hermione agreed to help immediately and she joined Sirius and Tonks along with Andromeda and Remus. "I wish he'd answer his mirror though."

"It's okay Hermione." Tonks said and wrapped the other girl up in a tight hug. "He probably just doesn't want to say something that he'll regret. I'm pretty sure he went to Gnicc, they'll know how to handle him."

"Staying here isn't helping anyone." Andromeda interjected. "We should go home."

"Can I stay with you?" Hermione asked quietly. "At least until we hear from Harry?"

"We'll have to ask your parents but I don't have any problems with it. Sirius?" Andromeda smiled calmingly.

"That's fine with me, but I'm going to stay here, just in case." Sirius said and watched as the four of them moved off to the apparition point.

HPCOC

Harry warped back to his bedroom at around 2am, more tired than anything at this point. He would have to apologize in the morning or the others would have hard feelings. He didn't like apologizing but it was easier than dealing with the ramifications of not apologizing. He dropped into bed unceremoniously and quickly fell asleep, still in his clothes.

HPCOC

(Monday June 28)

"HARRY'S HERE!" Tonks shouted the next morning.

"Who's there?" Harry demanded as he sat up in bed and brandished his wand. "Nym? What'd you yell for?"

"Sorry, I was just headed down for breakfast and I thought I'd check." Tonks smiled sheepishly. "I got a little excited."

"It's okay." Harry muttered and dropped his head back down onto his pillow.

"We were worried. When did you get back?" Tonks asked.

"I don't know. Late." Harry shrugged and closed his eyes. "No offense but I'm still tired."

"Oh, that's okay. How much longer do you think you need?" Tonks asked.

"Uh, gimme an hour?" Harry suggested. "And tell Padfoot I'm sorry for getting upset, and the other's the same for making a scene."

"Okay, don't forget you have a meeting with Dumbledore this afternoon." Tonks reminded gently and closed the door as he made an affirmative mumble.

"Where is he?" Hermione asked excitedly as she reached the top of the stairs.

"Shh, he's trying to sleep." Tonks stage whispered with a cheeky smile. "Show some respect." She teased.

HPCOC

Harry, Hermione and Sirius met up with Professor Flitwick just before four o'clock that afternoon in the Entrance Hall after floo'ing to the Three Broomsticks. Together they quickly made their way to the Headmaster's office. "Acid Pops." Flitwick announced and turned to the others as the stairs were revealed. "I hope you're not surprised that Snape wasn't the one to collect you today. It seems that he's been in a foul mood the last few days."

"Gee, I wonder why." Harry said sarcastically while Hermione blushed and Sirius whistled innocently. "Has he managed to complete any potions?"

"Now that you mention it, I don't think he has." Flitwick said thoughtfully as the other two suddenly and curiously turned to Harry.

"I'm sure we're going to hear all about it before we go home." Harry smirked as they reached to top of the stairs and he knocked politely.

"Enter!" Dumbledore called from within. The Headmaster smiled as they filed in and sat down. "Would anyone care for a lemon drop?"

"No thank you." The three chorused.

"Now I'm sure you're wondering what this is about. Now, you're aware that we've added a healing course for the first time. This has caused small scheduling problems to arise this year and while normally we would be able to manage a student wishing to take the maximum course load, but I'm afraid this year we have decided we need to play it safe and look for problems relating to the new course first." Dumbledore explained quickly, wanting to get this issue out of the way before he moved on to the new point.

"Well, that's disappointing." Hermione frowned at the Headmaster.

"Shit happens." Harry shrugged. "Can we see the new schedule so we can make an informed decision or should we start guessing until we have a list that works?"

"We're not going to limit your options but you might need to take a class or two without your house mates." Dumbledore replied and slid a parchment with this years third year schedule. "We're imposing a four elective maximum."

Hmm. Arithmancy, Runes and Healing definitely. Let's see oh good, if I take Divination I'll have to take it with the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs. Draco seems to have managed to take authority in our year for the lions, except for Neville who seems to be a separate entity. However if Ron gets sufficiently jealous of Draco he'll start spreading his normal propaganda against Malfoys and then if he receives a reason to lord over Draco he will. 'Ron the Seer' is a good reason to him for lording over others. And it will make him Trelawney's favorite and that will in turn make him Parvati and Lavender's favorite too. Dean and Seamus follow the vagina. One move could remove Draco from the top of the pile and have him allied with Neville. Harry plotted. "What do you think Hermione?"

"I was thinking Runes, Arithmancy, Healing and Care." Hermione replied. "I'd have to take care with the Gryffindors and the Slytherins."

Harry laughed. "Same for the first three but I'm going to take Divination instead of Care. Also with the lions."

"Divination, really?" Hermione cocked her head. "I was told it was a lot of rubbish."

"There are one or two things I want to look into." Harry said stiffly.

Hermione frowned. Oh, right. The prophecy. "Oh, right. I forgot about that."

"Forgot about what?" Dumbledore asked.

"That is outside your concerns Headmaster." Harry said firmly.

"Of course." Dumbledore replied, hiding his disappointment at the response, and smiled genially. "But I studied divination myself for a while and if there was something specific you wanted to know about I might be able to help."

"Thanks, but no." Harry shook his head. "Maybe in a while if I can't figure it out."

"Ah, I see now." Dumbledore nodded. "It's more of a hobby problem than an actual one."

"I suppose you could call it that." Harry nodded thoughtfully as he evaluated the term. Hermione frowned at him slightly. "Did you need anything else Headmaster, or is this meeting just chit chat now?"

Dumbledore sighed and sat back in his chair, putting his hands together. "I'm sure you know what else we have to talk about."

"Really?" Harry frowned and looked up and to the right. "No, I'm sorry, I can't seem to remember. Perhaps if you had Professor Snape brew a Memory Draught for me."

Hermione giggled and Dumbledore scowled. "Very cute Mr. Potter. Now I insist that you remove your block."

"Ah, so you've found the source. Just curious, did you realize forcing it would cause damage before or after you attempted it?" Harry smirked.

"I understand that you don't have a lot of respect for me but don't insult me." Dumbledore glared.

Harry shrugged. "It's just trash talk, you shouldn't let it get to you."

For the rest of her life Hermione would swear that Dumbledore actually growled at this point.

"Either way Snape's punishment stands. He needs to understand that actions have consequences." Harry added firmly.

"Harry, we need our Potions Master." Dumbledore said. "You might not notice how many potions this school uses but most of them are made during the summer when the students are away. With Healer Tonks back home with you and Madam Pomfrey no longer with us Professor Snape is the only one we have available to do the brewing."

"Then buy them or hire a short term Potions Master, Snape won't be doing anything so you could use his wages while he's taking time off." Harry suggested. "It's only temporary."

"I can't do that. Did you think about how much that will harm Professor Snape's professional reputation?"

"No, no I hadn't." Harry said thoughtfully and grinned as he took the moment to think about it. "That makes this so much more perfect. Thank you."

"Mr. Potter!" Dumbledore said loudly. "I cannot allow you to ruin a man's career for revenge over something as petty as this."

Harry blinked at him then sighed. "Very well."

"What?" Hermione, Flitwick and Dumbledore asked simultaneously.

"Yea, send Snape a note and get him up here and I'll remove the block." Harry nodded and waited for Dumbledore to start writing before he opened his mirror. "Susan!"

"Hey Harry." Susan said as she answered a few moments later.

"Hey." Harry smiled. "Um, I hate to call for business but could you floo your aunt and ask her to come to Dumbledore's office, I wish to press charges against one Severus Snape for illegal assault via mind arts and attempted kidnapping."

"HARRY!" Dumbledore shouted and jumped to his feet. "You can't do that."

"I thought we agreed that it was unfair for me to punish his actions myself." Harry frowned in fake confusion. "It's much better to allow the legal institutions to settle this."

"But if this goes through the legal system it will take months of court time and in the process will drag the reputation of not only Professor Snape but my own and that of Hogwart's herself." Dumbledore argued.

Harry shrugged dismissively. "Well it is either my block or the solicitors. You choose."

"Fine." Dumbledore huffed. "How long is the sentence on the block?"

"It will wear off on its own on the thirtieth. Whether you knew it or not I did pay some respect to his duties as Potions Professor." Harry said.

"Leave the block then." Dumbledore grumbled and balled the note up then tossed it into the fire.

"And you're not going to press me on this again, nor are you going to allow Snape to whether through action, inaction or agents. Please remember that the statute of limitations on both of those charges is three years.**" Harry pressed.

"Are you blackmailing me?" Albus asked, honestly surprised.

"Absolutely." Harry said. "I do not want to hear about this again."

"Very well." Dumbledore said sadly as he deflated.

"Good, then if you'll excuse us, I would like to spend the rest of June playing with Hermione and Tonks because I'll be spending most of July with Gnicc." Harry nodded and stood up. "Have a nice day."

Harry quickly walked out of the room, Hermione followed when she recovered two seconds later, dragging Sirius with her, who seemed to be completely dazed, and Flitwick followed when he remembered that he needed to stay with them while they were on campus during the summer months.

"Thanks for the help Susan." Harry said to his mirror as he walked down the stairs. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"No problem." Susan giggled. "All I did was say 'Hey Harry' then listen while you worked the old man over."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Harry grinned.

"Yea, it was great. Although Aunty Amy would probably say that the blackmailing was a bit excessive just to grind salt into the wound." Susan critiqued professionally. "She would call it a symptom of youthful excitement in this case. Do you really think they would bother you to gain a day or two?"

"Snape would, but Dumbledore will see your logic and draw the same conclusion." Harry agreed as Hermione and Sirius caught up to him half way down. "Which will last until the exact moment that he realizes that I didn't tell him which thirtieth. The whole conversation up to that point was to get him off balance enough to miss that tiny detail."

"Why didn't you just give him the wrong date then?" Hermione asked.

"Where would the fun be in that?" Harry said. "There is a sort of adrenaline rush or something when you're twisting the truth and wondering whether or not the other person is buying it. I mean I could have just told him that Snape wouldn't be able to remember anything about potions until the end of August or Snape would be facing criminal charges, but the net result is the same and this way Snape has a much more disappointing day on July first."

"And teaching Dumbledore a lesson is a nice bonus too, right?" Susan laughed.

"Slow down you guys!" Flitwick called from a few turns above them. "Your legs are longer than mine and these stairs are difficult."

"I'll talk to you two later." Susan said and cut the connection.

"That was awesome." Sirius said as he finally recovered the use of his vocal cords. "You're going to be devastating once you join the Wizengamot."

HPCOC

Harry was the second through the Floo and as he stepped out into Grimmauld Place a tawny owl with a note held in its beak flew across the room and landed on his shoulder. "Hello there." Harry said as he took the note and barely noticed that the owl didn't take off again. The envelope was unmarked and he checked it for malicious charms; finding none he shrugged and opened it as Sirius came through.

Harry,

I went out for a bit, left a surprise for you on your bed.

See you soon.

Nym

For some reason she also drew a very large heart over most of the paper.

Harry smiled and showed the note to Hermione. "Shall we go see?"

"Lead the way Mr. Potter." Hermione smiled.

"Um, Harry." Sirius interrupted and made a brushing motion near his shoulder. "You've still got some bird on you."

Harry turned his head and looked up at the owl, who turned its head to look at Harry. After staring at each other for a couple seconds Harry turned to Sirius. "I think it's waiting for something, perhaps I'm supposed to reply once I see the surprise or something."

Hermione reached out to pet the owl but as soon as she touched it the owl swiveled its head quickly and hooted at her loudly. "Sorry!" Hermione squeaked and pulled her hand back. "Let's just go look."

"Okay. You coming Padfoot?" Harry said.

"No, I have some work to do today." Sirius shrugged. "I'll probably see it later though."

"Okay." Harry took Hermione by the hand and pulled her towards the stairs gently. The owl on his shoulder threw off his balance slightly and made climbing the stairs a little more difficult. Once they entered his room the owl dropped of his shoulder and powered itself to the top of his dresser with two powerful flaps.

Together Harry and Hermione walked over to his bed and looked for a few seconds. "There's nothing here." Hermione said and pulled the cover back to look underneath.

Suddenly the owl screeched and Harry turned around quickly to see it flying towards his head. Before he could react the owl transformed into Tonks, who was smiling crazily. When she hit Harry she immediately wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his head. The force of the impact would have knocked Harry back a step, but since the bed was there it knocked him over and the two of them bounced as they landed. "Surprise!" Tonks giggled merrily.

"I'll say." Came Harry's muffled response and caused Tonks to notice that her maneuver had pressed Harry's face firmly into her breasts.

"Eeep!" Tonks screamed and rolled off of him blushing madly. Hermione burst into laughter and Tonks glared at her. "Think it's funny do you, well what about this?" Tonks grabbed Hermione's and dragged her down then rolled over and sat on her thighs. With a savage smile Tonks started tickling Hermione with all her effort.

"No! Stop it Nym!" Hermione cried as she thrashed around.

"Never!" Tonks shouted victoriously.

"Harry!" Hermione gasped. "Help me."

It took half an hour for the three of them to wear themselves out.

"So, you're doing really well with changing your owl form." Harry said as the three lay in a slightly sweaty pile of limbs, all three breathing heavily.

"Thanks." Tonks smiled. "When you brought up the possibility of adapting I figured that I might as well study all of the versions of what I was going to pick. Right now I think I can replicate any of the owl species and with a little more work I think I will be able to imitate several other predatory birds." Tonks paused and started to extricate herself from the pile, signaling the other two to do the same. Once they were free Tonks wiggled up against Harry's side and laid her head on his chest. "I was practicing the whole time you two were at the meeting, which you still haven't told me about by the way."

HPCOC

(June 29)

Harry was reading with Hermione tucked up against his left side and Tonks with her legs across both of their laps while she leaned against the armrest when his mirror vibrated. Several long moments of awkward shuffling followed as Tonks decided to arch her back and lift herself up rather than move her legs. Harry partially stood up so he could reach into his pocket and Hermione ducked quickly to avoid his elbow.

"Oh, hey Daphne." He said as he sat back down and the girls resettled.

"Hey. Susan told me that you would be busy for most of July and Blaise and I thought that this shouldn't wait until August." Daphne said.

"Oh, what's that?" Harry asked intrigued.

"Nott tried to pull something after you left and well, I think this conversation would go better in person. There is someone else who needs to talk to you too. It's mostly her story anyway." Daphne said.

"If you want to get together whomever should be here we'll go wait by the Floo." Harry offered.

"Thank you." After a few more words she cut the connection and within ten minutes was exiting the Floo into Grimmauld Place.

"Hey Daphne." Hermione said. "Who else is coming."

Daphne opened her mouth to reply when the fireplace turned green again and Tracey Davis stepped through. Harry stared at her for a few seconds while Tonks and Hermione stiffened. Harry turned to Daphne and arched an eyebrow. "Well, this must be some story."

AN:

*Just ask a Tibetan monk.

** I don't know what the statute of limitations on kidnapping is. Also, do they call it the statute of limitations in GB? (Great Britain, not Gravity Bong)

For those of you who are still disagreeing with my assessment of what 'evil' is and are arguing that Harry should be out killing willy-nilly whenever someone upsets him:

First, is it more evil to kill a baby or raise the baby to be a full grown adult who has been brainwashed into being your own personal baby killing machine?

Second, evil doesn't mean stupid. I consider myself to be evil and have wanted to murder many times through my life but one of three questions have always stopped me. "Can I get away with it?" "Is it worth the effort?" And "Is this person still more useful to me alive than dead?". This version of Harry has those and the fourth of "Whether or not they could prove it, would people suspect that I did it?". Harry is watching out for his reputation which, as we've seen in canon, can get dragged through the mud over the smallest of things. Even if Harry left behind no evidence people would still suspect him if Nott or Snape wound up dead after harassing him. Unless he has someone to frame, having a known motive removes his motive, and so far it is wasted effort if he has no motive.

Third, we're only 2/7 of the way through this story. Harry will be doing a lot of murdering once it is appropriate. The first will be sooner than you expect.

Semi-related, I have heard numbers saying there are up to 1 psychopath for every 20 people in America. If they were all like the ones on TV/movies or in the news no regular people would be left alive. I didn't do that research myself so don't bug me about the specifics. Google 'The Mask of Sanity' if you want to know more about us.

PS. If you're from the USA and are 18+ don't forget to go vote. Go Blue!

PPS. I finished this today and almost forgot about uploading it.