Hogwarts: Behind the Mirror on the Fourth Floor

When the students gathered in the space behind the mirror, they discovered the Master Auror already there. He was comfortably seated with a butter beer when Harry led the other students in. His squinty eye surveyed each student as they made their way in through the opening while his bright-blue eye rotated around, stopping from time to time. Some of the students were surprised to see him there, but since Harry didn't even acknowledge him, they saved their questions for later.

Harry waited until everyone was seated before he began, "I'm glad you could all come today. I have invited Master Auror Alastor Moody to join us this evening and we have some serious business to discuss. The Ministry has received intelligence that the other side is going to launch the final battle in about a month and that Hogwarts will be the battleground. Some of us have been preparing for this since Tom Riddles' resurrection last summer. Now, we are in the final days of preparation."

"To that end, I have agreed to co-ordinate the forces of the Order of the Snow Leopard with the forces of the ministry and the Order of the Phoenix. We are also going to assign teams to have them take positions in the castle supplementing other teams. That is why Master Auror Moody has joined us."

Moody raised his staff to salute the gathering.

Harry continued, "So, the Master Auror wants to know about our commanders." He turned to Moody, "Fred and George Weasley will be helping to evacuate students before the final battle begins. If we are somehow caught off guard and have to evacuate the school during a battle, they know the castle well enough to get the job done. Hermione, Ron, Neville, Susan, Daphne, Ernie and the twins will command a unit each and be ready to help the Aurors in any way possible. Seamus Finnigan and a few people under his command will be dealing with the giants with the help of some purpose built machinery installed for just such an occasion. We have identified at least 4 points of entry into the castle in addition to the secret ways. One is through the forbidden forest which is slow going but not impossible to get through. Another way is through the gates from Hogsmead which will be straight in the line of fire. The third is through the lake, but that will certainly prove fatal to them. The fourth way is through the bridge which can be destroyed at a moment's notice by Seamus. Other than that, there are no other ways that we can be over-run that we know about. However, we should not get too complacent. We know that he has death eaters, werewolves, dementors and giants in his service. We are outnumbered but we have effective means to defeat each group and we are united. We have the castle and the defenders advantage. Our confidence is high that we will defeat them when the time comes. The secret ways will be blocked as soon as the last non-combatant student is out of the castle. We have identified safe houses which the crew of magical maintenance is preparing to hold students. Expansion charms are being cast, bunk beds are being brought in and stores are being replenished."

Moody took a moment before he started speaking, "We can't expect that the war wards at the main gate will stop them for long. With all of the death eaters casting at them at the same time… Let's just say that in all of Hogwarts long history that the very formidable war wards have never been tried in that way. On the side of the forest, they may have an easy time of it if the giants come in before them, clearing the way. We will need a great number at the side of the lake to keep them away so we will hold them here in the castle. I want teams here at the double doors, then in the transfiguration courtyard, a team on the side of the Greenhouses, a team each on the seven floors while we will try to funnel them into the Great Hall where our main forces will wait for them. The battle will start in the grounds where we will directly engage them but if we are losing or getting outnumbered then I want everyone to retreat into the castle and we will barricade the gates. As they batter on the gates trying to bring them down, we will arrange our forces."

Ron shook his head furiously, "No! That won't do at all."

Moody's head swung around as he trained both eyes on the red-head, "I suppose you have a better idea lad?"

Harry interjected, "Ron isn't a master of strategy for nothing. I'm sure he has a better idea or he wouldn't have said anything." Turning to Ron he encouraged, "Go ahead, Ron."

Ron stood up and produced a map of Hogwarts and the surrounding area which he laid on the table. He began, "First of all, we have the astronomy tower. With its height and telescopes, we can spot any threat approaching all the way out to the horizon. By passing a signal out to Seamus and his crew, we should be able to defeat the giants before they can even enter the Forbidden forest. Without the aid of the giants, any forces attempting to enter the grounds that way will encounter Centaurs, Thestrals, Acromantulas, Hagrid and our own giant. Anything or anyone attempting to enter through the lake will encounter Mer-people and Grindylows. Like Harry said, quite deadly. Nobody can get to the green-houses without going through that first. In any case, we will have plenty of time to deploy our forces while they work through that." Not even pausing to let Moody take that in, he continued, pointing to the main gate, "You expressed your concern about the war-wards not being able to withstand a massed attack. Of course, you are right. The ward scheme is ancient and really complex. As far as I can tell, they are self-regenerating, powered by the massive lay-lines that run under this castle and quite deadly to anyone that tries to attack them. But, if they are willing to mass enough wizards, take the losses and they know exactly what they are about, the wards can be defeated eventually." He looked to the Master Auror.

The veteran nodded, "Sounds like you've done your homework, lad."

Ron looked back to the map, "Yes, I have. But, here's the thing. Even with 300 wands, the effort will take time." He pointed to the towers on either side of the gate, "A small handful of defenders in these towers can harass them, delay them and cost them quite a few casualties while they make the effort. Maybe even enough for them to give up and try another approach."

Moody asked, "How many casualties?"

Ron answered solemnly, "Given my best estimate of the strength of the wards and three defenders in each tower, better than 60%."

Moody whistled.

Ron continued, "That would require them to commit every wand they have to the effort. But there's more."

Moody raised a grizzled eyebrow, "More?"

Ron nodded firmly, "yes. If they are stupid enough to mass that many wands in one place…" He gestured to the wall where the catapults were mounted, "I think that Seamus and his crew could thin their numbers even more. So, if they try to force their way into the castle through the main gates, they are defeated before they even start."

After a brief pause, he asked Harry again, "What about the Greenhouses side? Who will stop them there?"

Harry grinned, "If any of them manage to get that far, Professor Sprout has some very nasty surprises waiting for them in her newest greenhouse."

Ron asked Moody, "What is your best estimate of their numbers?"

"As far as I know, there are at least 80 Germans, 100 Austrians, about 300 werewolves and 30 giants on their side in addition to 200 death eaters."

Ron exclaimed, "That's over 700."

Moody grimly nodded, "Yes and that does not include about another 100 or 200 dementors."

Ron aske, "How many warriors do we have?"

"About 180 Aurors, and an additional 80 between members of the Order of the Phoenix and the Order of the Snow Leopard combined. Between the war wards, traps and help from other resident magical creatures, we hope to eliminate their numerical advantage before we have to fight in close quarters. Then, we'll have to be very careful about suffering any losses from friendly fire."

Harry nodded firmly, "Agreed."

He knew what were the real objectives for this battle. For Tom, it was to regain possession of his horcrux, the diadem of Ravenclaw and to kill Harry to frustrate the prophecy. For Harry, it was to destroy, by any means necessary, the horcrux that resided in the great snake Nagini and end Tom Riddle once and for all. He knew that people were going to die in this battle, But, besides his own life, the future of Wizarding Britain and perhaps the entire world depended on the outcome. There could be no mistakes. Trying to lighten the mood, he said, "Well enough, less than 3 to one odds against us? They never could beat us unless the odds were at least 10 to one. Am I right?"

Nods went all around the table. After a moment of thought, Moody nodded too.

Harry turned back to Moody, "Do you have any more questions for us?"

"Of those who are here, who does what for this Order?", Moody asked.

Harry smiled, "You couldn't resist a little intelligence gathering, could you?"

Moody growled, "Stop beating around the bush, lad."

Harry introduced Moody to everyone present, "My first in command here is Ronald Weasley. He is my strategist and he has proven to be very effective. Next in line is Hermione Granger. She takes care of research and logistics. If she doesn't already know something, she knows where to find it. I'm not much of a library person myself and she has saved us several times with her information and resourcefulness. She is also our unofficial walking grimoire. Next are the twins, Fred and George Weasley. They are very creative and capable. I don't give them orders about how to do their work. I just tell them if something needs to be done and they do it. They are also our inventors. Their products are quite good as you can attest. The next is Ernie McMillan who will lead the gardeners on the side and help Professor Sprout secure that entrance. The next and last one here is charming Daphne Greengrass who brings with her the Slytherin traits that we all need every once in a while. She also can do minor healing spells in the heat of battle and she is a very proficient duelist. This Irish lad here is Seamus Finnigan. He is in charge of some very lethal machines that can put down the giants. I want you to assign 5 Aurors to him and his crew's protection. Other than those expressly named, everyone here is a part of my team and a squad leader. They are very well trained and have proven themselves as they will do again when the time comes."

Moody pointed to Neville, "What about him?"

"Longbottom here is my god-brother. He is sworn to help me as I will do for him. Our families have been bound in tradition for ages. Being the apprentice of Albus Dumbledore, he has an aura that attracts people to him and I can't risk making him angry claiming that I can order him around. However I do trust him with my life. If Tom were to appear here at this moment, I would select Neville as my second without hesitation."

Harry could see Neville beaming at him and continued, "He always watched out for my well being ever since I arrived at Hogwarts. The battle of Hogsmead showed people that the blood of Vikings still run strong in his veins and it is he who will lead a faction of them under his own command while I do what I have to do to kill Tom."

Susan who was at his side, asked, "What about me?"

"You are my better half, Sue. We can understand each other's moves and we can fight together so you are going to be my help in the battle. You will remain with me and do what you must to help me end Tom. In return I will hold your hand when we decapitate him."

She nodded, "As it should be."

Moody sighed seeing them so comfortable and close with each other. He did not have had a family. No one actually took his heart. He had no family of his own but the lad! He had started to admire Harry as he would have admired his own son. To his mind, Harry and Susan were perfect for each other and it broke his heart to think that they didn't have much time together before Susan would eventually… Amelia had forbidden everyone from revealing to Harry what Harsh had told her. Moody thought it was unfair but still it was necessary. Harry was their leader and if he were incapacitated or mad from grief then the war would go haywire. Besides it was better that these two enjoyed what little time they had together before the unthinkable eventually happened.

Deciding to go before his expression gave anything away, he stood up, "I will take my leave now, Lad. I will brief the General on the plan as we have discussed today. Now I will see you at Bill Weasley's wedding."

With that, Moody disappeared walking out of that space. Instead of coming by Dobby, Harry's elf, Moody had arrived through the vanishing cabinets directly from the General's hideout to Dumbledore's office. Harry had him seated in the area behind the fourth floor mirror before he admitted anyone else to the space. It was decided that they could not give their secrets to anyone, not even Lord Peverell's personal elf. After he left the room, he returned to Dumbledore's office and left the same way.

After Moody was gone, Harry took the next few minutes to set the time for the next practice session in The Chamber of Secrets. As the meeting was adjourned with the members clearing out, Harry Snagged Susan to hold her back. When the last student left, closing the mirror behind them, he started, "So my lady, I figure that it's time we have a conversation about your animagus form."

She nodded, "Yeah. It was a surprise for you."

He scowled, "I want the details, love."

She folded her hands in her lap as she began the story, "It was only a few days into summer vacation, just after Sirius was acquitted of all charges that I had visitors at Bones manor. The visitors were Sirius Black and Remus Lupin who had come with Andromeda Tonks to the manor. As they were led into the parlour, Sirius did his courtesy as a gentleman with me while Remus bowed low to me showing his respect. Andromeda, on the other hand, critically eyed me from head to toe."

"I felt that I was being examined for something. Apparently Andromeda was satisfied with what she saw because she looked towards Sirius and nodded.

"I couldn't contain my curiosity anymore and asked, "What's going on?"

"Sirius who was smiling said, "As the aunt of your betrothed, Andromeda was seeing you to determine that there is nothing wrong with you and that you are perfect for her nephew. I daresay you have her approval."

"Before I could say anything, Sirius said, "None of us endorse this practice anymore but one of the rules of the House Black insists that we see that the bride is up to the expectations that are demanded of them. This inspection is generally done by the lady of the house or someone elder if there is. Since House Black does not have a Lady at the moment and no other person fit to go through this formality, Andy decided to step in and do the formality as the aunt of the Lord. We had decided beforehand to do only the formality and not get into the specifics."

"Andromeda, perhaps wasn't done because she said playfully, "I will keep testing her to see that she is perfect for my nephew until their marriage day."

"Sirius hastened to say, "Andy, you will drive the poor girl away. Don't scare her that way."

"As Andromeda joined Auntie to discuss some woman stuff, Sirius said to me, "Susan, I don't need to ask if you love Harry. I know none of you would have wanted this and if there was a way, I would have broken the contract to give choice to you both. Sadly,an Adopting father can't break such contracts for his ward or I would have done it in a jiffy. I hope you will be understanding of him and stand with him through thick and thin. I promise you that you will not find anyone so protective or loyal as Harry if you do so."

"I smiled, "Mr. Black…"

"He interrupted, "Call me Sirius."

"I continued, "Okay. Sirius, you don't need to tell me these things. I wouldn't leave his side even if the world turns against him."

"Remus spoke up, "I told you she's a very wise girl, Sirius."

"He then turned back to me, "Miss Bones…"

"I interrupted this time, "Call me Susan, Professor Lupin."

"He smiled, "Only if you call me Remus. Now Harry has this nasty habit of pulling pranks on us. We've come up with a cunning plan to pull one on him. Sirius here is an expert in Transfiguration in the sense that he along with James became an animagus in our fifth year. He thinks it would be a shame if you failed to become an animagus before you appear for your OWLs. Once you do, we will spring it on Harry when the time is right. Then we will see his reaction."

"I agreed with a grin and it was on. Sirius oversaw my transformation and supervised every step. He was the one who brought the potion to me to drink on the night when a lightning storm occurred. "

Death…

Proudfoot was a senior Auror in the ministry and he had served well in the last war. He had joined the ministry when the war was at full throttle and served the ministry efficiently. At the time, he was one of the best recruits and had even managed to defeat Alastor Moody in a duel. In fact Moody was so pleased with him that he personally mentored Proudfoot for a period of time and even asked him to be his partner. For a rookie, that was a great honour. Alastor Moody was a war veteran and perhaps the most decorated Auror of all time. He had been designated with the title of Master Auror, something that no other Auror ever got.

Proudfoot had been his partner for two years. They sent a lot of death eaters to Azkaban together and killed a few more. Unlike what others may believe, Moody was not one who killed indiscriminately. He disabled his enemies or injured them to try and bring them in alive if he could. True that he was very paranoid but that had saved lives. Many a time, it was Moody's paranoia that had saved Proudfoot's skin.

He had to break up his partnership with the Master Auror as the war heated up and Moody decided that he would go out alone and not take anyone with him. Since then Proudfoot had taken on a lot of partners but none lasted. Proudfoot would grow tired of their incompetence and request to have them reassigned. When the war suddenly ended, Proudfoot took a long time to get comfortable with the notion that peace had finally arrived. For him, Fudge's regime was even worse than the war. Aurors were scorned and former death eaters ran the ministry.

When Frank Longbottom became the minister, Proudfoot celebrated the occasion all night with firewhiskey. Frank was the very model of an Auror. With him at the helm; Proudfoot knew that the Auror corps would regain its glory.

He remained happy serving even though he knew that he deserved a higher position. The highest post for Aurors, that being the head of Aurors, was occupied by Alastor Moody and Proudfoot wouldn't have fought with him for that position. Besides, this way he got to be in the field and work with the boys. Even then, he had taken no partner. He was an Auror Captain and had a squad under his command but that was it. To them, he was their captain and he treated them with the respect due to them but other than that, he was distant from them.

The only other warrior that he came close to admiring after Moody was Harold Peverell. Harold Peverell had managed to best him in a duel however Proudfoot knew that most of those who faced him would have met the same fate. The lad was a fearsome warrior. Proudfoot had seen him lopping off heads with apparent ease showing no concern for the lives he took but he knew where the lad was coming from. Contrary to what others may believe, he knew Harold Peverell was not fighting for himself but for the people he loved.

The lad could have declared a blood war even before the battle of Hogsmead but he didn't because the lad knew that a blood war would only stop with total annihilation of one side or the other. Before the battle of Hogsmead, the lad would have been happy with taking the war to its conclusion without a blood war. But that battle had changed everything.

Proudfoot was in his office in the ministry where he was left in charge by the General to take care of the daily affairs of the department. With most of the senior staff of the ministry, the General, the DMLE head and the head of Aurors, working from the secret community, he remained at his post.

A messenger rushed into his office and spoke urgently, "Squad leader, a call just came in. Death Eater attack in Wiltshire. There are about ten death eaters. There are only two people in the house, both aged and infirm. They need immediate help."

Proudfoot was on his feet before she even finished speaking. He took the piece of parchment from her, "Send the troops after me."

The usher shouted after Proudfoot as he ran out of the office to the apparition point, "But all the teams are already out and you are the last one here."

He shouted back, "Call O'Neil!" And vanished with a soft pop.

Whether Proudfoot was going in alone or with ten divisions at his back, he was going. Those two lives were more important to him at the moment.

When he arrived, he found the death eaters trying to take down some surprisingly resilient wards. They hadn't noticed him apparate in because their ward breaking was generating a lot of noise. Looking beyond the group, the wards seemed to be protecting nothing more than a dilapidated old shack. Two of their number laid on the ground dead from the backlash of the wards. He had to wonder what was inside the shack to merit such an effort and who had laid such deadly wards. At eight to one odds and with back-up on the way, he figured the death eaters didn't stand a chance. Besides, if he waited much longer, they just might finish taking down the wards and he wouldn't give a brass Knut for the chances of the people inside once that happened. There were still five working on the wards while the other three kept a look-out.

Disillusioning himself, he took careful aim and fired a piercing hex at the heart of the nearest death eater. As the look-out went down, he shuffled sideways to get the angle and repeat the curse at the next death eater. The spell was just a bit off target and the death eater managed to gurgle out a warning before his lungs filled with blood.

Turning to see that the other two lookouts were down, the last one raised a shield and shouted, "AURORS!"

Proudfoot was still disillusioned, but he took cover behind an Oak tree before he fired a spell-chain of shield-breaker, Bombarda and wide-area stunner at the final guard. There wasn't even enough time for the guard to look surprised as his shield shattered, closely followed by his head exploding. The wide area stunner only managed to put the hindmost of the remaining death eaters to sleep.

With the element of surprise gone, the odds were down to four to one, but that didn't last long. When the remaining four turned to face the threat, one of them innervated their sleeping companion while the other three raised shields.

The one in the middle gave orders, "You two," he said gesturing to the other two who had shields up, "go. Get out of sight and flank him. I'm sure that he's all by himself. You two," he said gesturing to the one picking himself up off the ground and the death eater that had just revived him, "get back to work on those wards. I'll watch your backs."

Realizing that the two who had just disappeared into the cover of the trees would soon find him, Proudfoot renewed his disillusionment spell, silenced his feet and went looking for the one to his right. He did a quick non-verbal Homenum revelio to make sure that nobody else was sneaking up on him and check the location of his query as he set out from his hiding place. A misplaced footstep in the darkness broke a twig and a shouted "Avada Kedavra!" alerted him. He conjured a block of stone to intercept the green jet as he hit the ground. Realizing that the explosion gave away his location, he desperately cast a dark cutter back in the direction where he saw the jet come from. He was rewarded when he heard the thump of a body hitting the ground not far away.

Thinking that there was no way that the last death eater who was out hunting could know which one had just been killed, he stayed on the ground, listening for approaching footsteps. This was a serious lapse of judgement because the other death eater surely would have announced it if he had managed to kill the Auror. Proudfoot cast another quick non-verbal Homenum Revelio and found a death eater sneaking up on him. As he flipped around and blindly cast a Bombarda in that direction, he flipped end-over-end and lost his wand when a Flipendo hex found its mark. Silently, he cursed himself for neglecting to put on his battle robes before going out. They would have stopped that curse and many others if he had worn them. Desperately, he rolled toward where he thought his wand was as he dodged a series of nasty looking curses from the death eater's wand. Just as his hand finally landed on the wand, he was hit from behind with a curse from another death eater.

As the curse took effect, Proudfoot could feel his chest constricting and his blood running cold. He was no longer able to move. If he could just cast one more spell-chain, he could have ended the two death eaters that now stood over him. The one with his wand lit removed his mask so that Proudfoot would know who had killed him. Through his rapidly narrowing vision, he could make out the pock-marked face of the Department of Mysteries traitor, Augustus Rookwood.

Rookwood sneered down at him, "Well, well, your run is over Proudfoot. You took down four of our men but no worries. The Dark Lord will round up 20 of yours and we will even the odds later. Have a nice journey to the other side."

The remaining four death eaters had surrounded him with their wands pointed at him. Rookwood was just about to utter another curse when one of the death eaters fell. Someone bellowed, "AURORS!" and Rookwood disapparated instantly.

Before his eyes closed, he saw the form of Mad Eye Moody and Sirius Black who had arrived and were finishing off the last two death eaters. Moody walked to him as Proudfoot tried to smile and he died that way. With a smile on his face.

Moody was enraged but kept his anger from erupting. He and Sirius had already killed the death eaters and now Moody stared into the deep recess of the lifeless eyes of his protégée and friend. Proudfoot went out like he always wanted to.

It turned out that the cottage belonged to a retired ward master who knew about the new wards employed by the ministry. The death eaters seemed to think that he could figure out a way to break them. it was also rumoured that he knew a way to make a ward breaker which could chew through centuries of wards within in a matter of moments. Augustus Rookwood had been tracking him down for months. This night they had come to take him prisoner.

Moody took the ward master and his wife to a secret location where none would find him before Proudfoot was taken to the ministry with all the honours due to him.

Its Time!

The 20 men were near a little village that was at quite a distance from the nearest city. These men had been casing the village for the last two days and had decided to attack tonight. These were werewolves who had been living in the Unknown castle for the last few months but recently the German had released them to go out and terrorize the people. They had heard of the massacre which took place somewhere in the Scottish Highlands and that 10 of their kind were killed but they had no other report about it. To avenge their comrades, they had decided to attack this village and kill whoever they could find. The population of the village wasn't very great so there was little chance of any significant losses to the werewolves' numbers. The best thing was that the village went to sleep as soon as it was 9:00 so there were many chances for them to cause mayhem and destruction. Before the Ministry of Magic became wiser, they would be gone having done what they wanted.

As the village went to sleep, they started spreading out around the perimeter of the village, surrounding it. When they were in position, a growl was heard and the signal for the attack was given. But, they pulled up short when a number of wizards arrived by port-key in the village square. At first, they appeared to be Aurors. They were all dressed in red uniform robes and they appeared to be well disciplined. But on closer inspection, their robes were not quite the right shade of red, the emblems on their chests were the Peverell family crest, they were wielding silver daggers and swords instead of wands and most importantly, Remus Lupin was leading them.

The leader of the werewolves recognized one of them as Remus Lupin, the henchman of the infamous teen lord who had troubled the dark lord. The same Remus Lupin who had killed Fenrir Greyback and that was reason enough for them to kill him. Remus was ordering his men to spread out in a circle to protect the village from the attack. The leader of the werewoves also figured out that those with him were not the Aurors but they were the werewolves who had been employed by Harold Peverell. He smacked his lips at the opportunity to exact revenge upon Lupin for all the harm he had done. In fact Lupin and his troops were outnumbered 2 to 1. He gave a howl and the attack started.

Two Days Ago, Grimmauld Place

As Moody and Harry entered the cell in the cellar, the Werewolf was there, shackled with silver chains and limp. Once Alastor was inside, Harry swung the door shut with a thump of finality. The burns on the werewolf's wrists, ankles and neck testified to how long he had struggled to break free before finally giving up in total exhaustion. The chair that he was shackled to was made of solid cast iron so it was not easy to lift it, never mind break.

Harry took in the condition of the prisoner. He was unshaven, well muscled and about six feet four inches tall. By the looks of him, he had missed too many meals even before he was captured. Injured, exhausted, hungry and thirsty, Harry thought that he wouldn't have to work too hard to break this one. But you never know.

Harry picked up a jug of water and splashed it into his face, "wake up. We have a guest."

The werewolf raised his head, showing that the entire left side of his face was one continuous bruise. Aside from the burns from the silver collar of the shackles, moving his neck seemed to hurt him. Being kept away from the light of the full-moon and constant exposure to silver had kept his injuries from healing. He flinched at the sight of the young mage and the battle scarred visage of Moody. He was more afraid of Moody than of Harry. But then he had no idea that Harry had inflicted all of his injuries with a single blow, swatting him like a fly.

Harry continued, "You have slumbered long enough. Now time to answer some questions."

Moody interjected eagerly, "Let me interrogate him, Lad."

Harry scowled, "I already sent you one prisoner to play with, didn't I? Why should I let you have all the fun?"

Moody grumbled, "Damaged goods is what you sent me. Can't torture him enough or he will die. Let me have a little fun with this one."

As Harry arranged his instruments and started the heat under the crucible full of silver, he said over his shoulder, "Master Auror, if you are not satisfied with my interrogation, you'll have your turn."

Without waiting for Moody to retort again, he turned to the werewolf and carefully loosened his bonds just enough so that they no longer burned unless the prisoner struggled. Pulling up a chair, he sat down and began to speak, "Welcome to my home. I trust you are comfortable?"

The prisoner snarled, "Your hospitality leaves something to be desired."

Harry nodded, "Just so you're clear on this, I will ask you questions and you will give me honest, complete and polite answers. When you comply, your circumstances may improve. Should you resist, ", he gestured at the tray of instruments and the silver melting in its crucible, "I have means to make you wish you had been more cooperative."

The werewolf stared defiantly at his interrogator, "You'll get nothing from me."

Harry reached over to a tray and took up a frosty mug. Smacking his lips, he took a long, slow drink from the mug. With a sigh of satisfaction, he said, "Ice-cold pumpkin juice. There's nothing like it when I'm parched. Would you like some?"

The werewolf just glared at him.

Harry took another drink, emptying the mug. After putting the mug back down on the tray, he suddenly reached forward and reefed down on the werewolf's wrist restraints. The prisoner howled in pain as smoke curled up from the violent contact. Harry gave it a few seconds before he carefully loosened the manacles just enough.

When the werewolf's howls settled down to sobs, Harry reminded him, "Rules. I ask questions and you give honest, complete and polite answers. Now, would you like some pumpkin juice?"

Harry went on in this way for about an hour, slowly breaking down his prisoner's resistance. When it got to the point that the werewolf, battered, burnt and drenched with sweat was capable of making polite conversation, Harry got on with the questioning.

Harry encouraged him, "See? That wasn't so hard now, was it? The first thing I'd like to know is, 'What were you and your pack doing on my property?'"

He hesitated for just a moment, but as Harry reached toward the shackle at his neck, he thought better of it, "We had our orders. That lousy Croute, Wagner I think his name is, he sent us out to that area to terrorize the muggles and turn as many as we could at the full moon. We thought the place was deserted so we camped there. We were supposed to go hunting at moon-rise. I don't remember anything about what happened after the wolf took me. Next thing I know, I woke up, chained in the cellar. That's when your lackey, Lupin, put me back to sleep. I don't remember anything else until I woke up shackled to this here chair."

Harry nodded slowly. He already knew that at best, the mind of the man rides along inside the wolf, experiencing a nightmare from which he cannot wake. The prisoner had no way to know that the wards at the hunting lodge would keep him there as long as he was in his wolf form.

He continued, "You've been my guest all this time and we haven't been introduced. I'm Harold Peverell, owner of the estate where you were captured while attempting to murder two of my friends and Lord of this humble home as well. And you?"

The werewolf bared his teeth defiantly, "Of course I know who you are. The Dark Lord is so going to enjoy killing everyone you care about and then, when you have nothing to live for and beg him for death, he will grant your wish!"

Harry had to clamp down hard on his occlumency shields. He was not going to give the prisoner the satisfaction of knowing that he had hit a nerve. Instead, he rose from his chair to check the state of the molten silver. The surface of the liquid metal reflected his image perfectly, indicating that it was perfectly purified. Sitting back down, he drew a dagger from the sheath in his robes and held the blade up before the eyes of his prisoner. With a few swift motions, he tightened down all of the restraints. The werewolf grimaced, but refused to utter a sound as all the points of contact began to smoke again.

Harry spoke in a light, conversational tone, "This particular blade is made of the finest silver. I found it in the Rosier vaults along with several more like it." He casually ran the tip of the blade up the werewolf's forearm leaving a trail of dripping blood. Where the blade touched, the flesh smoked at the point of contact. The prisoner tried to look away.

Harry made an identical cut in the other arm with one fluid motion as he continued, "I don't know what they had against werewolves myself. Perhaps one of your kind turned one of them? Maybe they just liked the challenge of hunting your kind." Harry started tracing the Peverell crest in the flesh of the prisoner's biceps, "I may never know. But for whatever reason, they had lots of these, just laying around. But, it would appear that I need to remind you of the rules."

With a swift motion, Harry plunged the knife deep into one of the prisoner's thighs, twisting the blade before he pulled it out. As the werewolf screamed in agony, he repeated the motion on the other leg.

Moody looked on with professional interest. This was a side of Harry that he never even suspected. The lad seemed to know exactly where and how deep to cut to make it hurt, draw a lot of blood and yet avoid cutting any nerves or major blood vessels. Although he never lost his cool or gave into bloodlust, he was relentless and thorough.

Harry picked up the crucible full of molten silver with a pair of long tongs and carefully, slowly, poured the molten metal into the wounds. Between the heat from the metal and the werewolf's natural reaction to silver, the molten blobs smoked, bubbled and hissed as they burned their way down through the flesh.

*** Editor's note: A couple of things not well known about third degree burns: They don't hurt for very long because they destroy the nerves. Also, the greatest immediate danger from burns like that is from blood clots. They can cause embolism, stroke or heart attack***

Harry waited for the screams to die down, his face set in polite curiosity as the prisoner wailed, then moaned, then finally sobbed. The resulting involuntary thrashing around had inflicted additional severe burns to the prisoner's neck, wrists and ankles.

Continuing in that same calm voice, Harry said, "Manners. I asked your name and you breathe out threats?" Harry smiled pleasantly, but the smile did not reach his eyes. He asked again, "What is your name?", as he wiped the blade clean then carefully cleaned his fingernails with the silver knife.

The werewolf answered, "My proper name is Archibald Simms. Them that ran with me just called me Alfie 'cause I was the alpha male, see?"

"See?", Harry said as he put the knife away, "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

The prisoner looked down at the smoldering ruin of his legs and shook his head.

Harry continued, "Now that we've been properly introduced, Alfie. May I call you Alfie? It seems to me that you were just stopping over at my hunting lodge. Where were you going from there?"

Alfie looked up, his one eye wide, the other swollen nearly shut and said with some trepidation, "I could tell you, but you won't like it."

Again Harry reminded him, "You know the rules. So long as you obey them, I assure you that it won't effect my feelings toward you in the slightest." What Harry was not saying was that the very existence of this waste of space offended him. The werewolf was part of a pack that served Voldemort. His life was already forfeit. The only reason he was still allowed to waste oxygen was that Harry wasn't finished getting information from him yet. Once again, the silver dagger appeared in Harry's hand. As he began to examine the edge as if it held the greatest fascination for him, the werewolf started to talk.

He said, "Hogwarts. Our objective was Hogwarts. We were supposed to infiltrate the castle through the forbidden forest, under cover of night, invade the castle proper and turn as many as we could find. On the way out, the plan was to attack the village and turn as many as we could before disappearing into the mountains."

The very prospect of werewolves attacking the school directly was both terrifying and ridiculous. Harry chuckled, "But instead of following orders, your lot decided to camp out at my hunting lodge and try to attack where you might have a chance of succeeding?"

"That's right, the werewolf said, "We heard about what happened the last time the death eaters attacked the students."

Harry answered, "That's right. And yet they sent the ten of you to do a job that 80 of them couldn't get done. I'm beginning to think they don't care much for your well-being. Just how much loyalty do you really owe them?"

Alfie answered, "When you and your kind are put down for good, we will have our share of what you horde in your vaults. We will no longer be shunned, treated as monsters or second-class citizens, but free to do as we please. I'll do whatever it takes to have that future."

Harry shook his head sadly, "There you are, half-starved, dressed in rags, captured while on a suicide mission. The reforms in the Ministry for Magic, with the active support of the majority of the wizarding community have gainfully employed more of the afflicted than ever before. And through the effort of my potion business, a non-toxic form of Wolfsbane has been made available to anyone that needs it. And yet, you still repeat the lies of your oppressor? I'll give you a break for repeating his lies this time because you seem to really believe it, but don't ever spout his bilge again."

The werewolf actually chuckled before he answered, "Believe it? No, not for one minute. Greyback saw right through that poser from the start. The only reason Greyback and the rest of us ever allied with him was to turn as many wizards, witches and muggles as we can. And when there's enough of us, we will be the top dogs! No more begging for scraps! Greyback was our leader. He never trusted that snake-faced, double dealing poser. This was his plan from the first. When he fell, the rest of us took up his plan. When the German sent us out, we knew it was time to execute our plan."

Harry sat up, "Now, Alfie, I'd like you to tell me where the other packs have been sent. Don't leave anything out."

The werewolf stiffened, "NO. I can't. They'll kill me. You got me, but I won't sell them out."

From this, Harry gathered two things: First, that Alfie certainly knew something; Secondly, that he needed more persuasion to share it. Harry had the silver dagger in his hand. He touched it to a point on the top of Alfie's shoulder, "I just have to nick the muscle here and you'll never be able to raise your arm again." He touched the dagger to a point at the base of Alfie's neck, "A thrust here and you'll be paralyzed from the neck down." He touched his prisoner's chest a bit right of center, "A thrust here and we get to see how long it takes you to drown in your own blood." He looked the werewolf in his good eye, "So how much will it take before you answer my question?" A small trickle of blood began where the tip of the knife was resting on the prisoner's chest.

It only took the prisoner a moment to realize that Harry meant what he said. At the end of another half-hour, Alastor had the date- time and location of every planned werewolf attack that Alfie knew about. It also came up that there was a new hidden passage into the castle from the village. Alfie was not clear on the details. He only revealed that his pack couldn't use it because there were safe-guards at both ends. Harry knew that if there was a new, unknown passage into the school, that it represented a threat. He would have to talk to the Headmaster about it as soon as he returned to the school. He knew nothing about the death eater's plans. That information was carefully compartmentalized. As it turned out, the werewolves were seldom admitted into the castle proper. Nor could he say anything about the location of the hidden castle, but he was able to confirm that Nagini was there.

Harry saw that the prisoner was at the end of his endurance. He could no longer hold his head up and he was having trouble breathing. Coolly, Harry used his tongs to remove the lumps of solidified silver from the deep wounds in the werewolf's thighs. The clank echoed through the cell as each lump of metal hit the crucible. Then he stitched the wounds closed.

Alastor, being experienced at this knew that the time to ask questions was done. With a sign from Harry, the two of them left the cell and locked the door behind them.

Harry began, "Do you think he's told us everything he knows?"

Alastor nodded gravely, "I think so. What next?"

Harry asked him, "Can you send out Aurors to all those locations?"

Alastor shook his head, "Maybe we could, but it would take them away from vital training and frankly, most spells aren't very effective against them anyway."

Harry nodded grimly. He was more than able to mow down werewolves with magic, but then reminded himself that he wasn't an ordinary mage anymore. But, he didn't have to fight this war all by himself. He already had a force to deal with this type of threat. He said, "I think it's time we brought Lupin in on this."

As they made their way back to the kitchen, Harry used his mirror, "Moony."

After a moment, Remus's face appeared, "What's up, Pup?"

Harry said, "We need you. How long will it take you to come to the Townhouse?"

Moony looked grave, "Be right there." Having said that, the mirror reflected Harry's face again.

By the time they were in the kitchen, Moony was already emerging from the emerald flames in the fireplace.

Remus and Alastor took their places at the table while Harry sat at the head, "Thanks for coming so quickly, Moony."

Moony said, "It sounds important."

Harry said gravely, "It is. And the sooner you can act, the better."

What had taken Harry over two hours of interrogation to learn, he was able to relay to Moony in ten minutes. By the end of the briefing, Lupin looked about ready to chew iron and spit nails. He summed up, "Attacks all over rural Britain, mostly against muggles and the Aurors are too tied up to help?"

Harry and Alastor nodded.

Moony continued, "Right then. I'm sure my pack can handle it. I have about 50 that I can count on and another 15 coming along. Most of them are able to handle wands now, but this is work for silver swords, daggers and arrows."

Harry volunteered, "Sounds about right. And, of course, you can message me by the wand-holster, mirror or house-elf if things start going sideways."

Remus showed his teeth, "Good to know. Not likely, but good to know."

Harry added grimly, "One more thing. No prisoners. They have already been given every chance they will ever have to come over and they haven't. You know what their goal is. Their lives are over."

Remus nodded grimly, "I know better than anyone how much harm they can do. We'll get it done."

"Master Auror, it is your job to get hit-wizard licenses to every member of Lupin's pack before the day is out. If any member of the Ministry protests, remind them of the ancient laws regarding blood war."

Moody nodded, "I'll get it done."

As they were leaving, Moody asked, "What do you plan to do with the prisoner, lad?"

Harry shook his head, "He's probably dead already. You saw how much trouble he was having breathing? I guess that by now the blood clots have done their work. His life was forfeit the moment he turned his first victim. I'll clean up my own mess."

Charak had ingrained the message well into him. Werewolves who turned the innocent deserved to die.

Present

Lupin saw that his foes had decided to go for him and his troops. It was as he hoped, that their timely arrival had diverted the threat from the muggles . He had also caught glimpses of the Mystics, working in the shadows, warding the houses and casting sleep spells on anyone curious enough to look out their window.

"Good", he thought, "Less distraction for us and less work for the Obliviaters later." Putting his wand to work, the first werewolf fell when a dark cutter separated his head from his body. The second one took a Confringo to his chest. Remus had his orders, "No prisoners." The battle was swift and deadly as combat between werewolves is. The others that were with him chose hand to hand combat over wand work. Some worked with a silver dagger in each hand while others wielded swords. The enemy were being destroyed. One of Remus's team lay dead, his jugular torn out. The battle would soon be over but seeing one of his friends dead like that, he doubled his casting speed and started sending nastier curses.

The enemy, for their part, quickly realized that the curses from that wand were not to be trifled with and started dodging with their unnatural speed.

Getting frustrated at how slowly the spells travelled when compared to how quickly the werewolves dodged, Remus put the wand away and drew a sword. This one was a fencing sabre, made of Goblin-wrought silver, gifted by Harry. Remus had chosen it not because the blade was fast and light but it still had a cutting edge. With movement too swift for a normal eye to follow, the blade whistled through the air. Wherever it touched flesh, death followed.

His men, seeing him in action, started fighting with double enthusiasm. At the end of 10 minutes, only a few of the enemy troops were still alive. It was only a matter of minutes before the entire thing would have ended when someone bellowed, "Lupin, I challenge your suzerainty!"

This was a formal challenge to an alpha. Lupin would have pretended otherwise but he was an alpha to his werewolves. They knew he was smarter and more powerful than them. If he refused the challenge, his men would have to accept the leadership of the one issuing the challenge. If Lupin was defeated, all of his troops would have to join the other side. There was only one thing that he could do. Beckoning one of his men forward, he handed over his sword, wand, robe and a bandelier of daggers to him, "Keep these in your protection until I can take them from you. Except for the one who has challenged me, kill every one of them. If there are any survivors, keep them alive until I am done with him."

Then Lupin turned to him, "I accept your challenge. Let none of your men interfere in this battle or you shall all stand guilty before Mother Magic."

When his opponent came into the open, it was then he recognized him. He sneered, "I have been looking for you, Shadowpelt. I thought you had crawled off to some obscure corner of the world to hide until the war passed."

Shadowpelt (that was what people called him) growled, "You killed my guardian, Lupin. You took away our refuge. Today I will break you and yours."

Lupin egged him on, "I should thank you for challenging me. You have saved me the trouble of hunting your worthless hide down. Let's see if Greyback's apprentice knows how to die."

Shadowpelt growled, "Fight me by the old laws."

Lupin spat at his feet, "Are you blind as well as stupid?" He flexed, showing every well defined muscle and forming his hands into rakes, "I am unarmed and I have no intention of leaving you alive."

The old laws for a werewolf fight involved fighting to the death. Neither side was allowed any weapon other than teeth, claws and muscle. And, if anyone interfered, their life was also forfeit. It was common for Shadowpelt to fight with such savageness but Lupin hadn't done anything like that before. He was forced to resort to it because challenge was issued and he had to honour it or lose the allegiance of his pack.

Standing slightly bent, with his hands out and ready, Remus waved his fingers in the air, beckoning his opponent. This was a gesture a master uses to summon his dog. Among Werewolves, it was considered to be a mortal insult. The reaction was both predictable and instantaneous. Shadowpelt, claws extended sprang for Lupin's throat with all the speed and power he could muster. If it landed, the force would have surely torn out his throat. But Remus was ready for him. Side-stepping just a few inches, he raised both hands, seizing one arm, he twisted, using the momentum and adding to it with all his strength as he twisted around for the follow-through. The whole action only took a split second. When Shadowpelt Slammed into the ground, the thud made everyone's teeth rattle. The impact knocked the wind out of him, but he recovered, rolling back onto his feet with the last of the momentum. Shadowpelt was used to fighting with raw savagery and strength and coming out on top. Nobody had ever turned his own strength against him. Still enraged beyond all reason, he charged at Lupin again.

Remus, for his part, had no fear of this idiot. As long as he kept on charging without thinking, this was going to be a very one-sided fight. This time, as he twisted for the follow-through, he held on to the arm just a bit longer and pushed down hard. There was a loud pop as the shoulder came out of its socket. When Shadowpelt rolled back onto his feet, his right arm was hanging at an odd angle. Remus asked, "How's the shoulder, Shadowpelt?"

Without any hesitation, he reached over with his left hand and wrenched his arm back into place. He said, "Better than you're going to be in a minute."

This time, Shadowpelt moved in slowly, claws extended. Remus knew that he hadn't inflicted any real damage yet. For now, he was just using the free energy to soften his opponent up physically and mentally. As Shadowpelt came within melee range, he tried repeatedly to rake Lupin with his claws. Even Remus had to admit that the guy had managed a pretty good partial transformation. With the man's superior height, reach and the addition of the claws, Remus appeared to be at a definite disadvantage, But each time the lightning-fast raking attacks came in, Remus just tapped them aside with no apparent effort.

To all appearances, Remus was an ordinary man, standing his ground against a slavering, half-mad monster. But what was hard to see in the darkness was that his eyes had turned amber.

The speed and stamina of a werewolf are legendary, but even they have limits. Shadowpelt continued to slash until his sore shoulder and fatigue made his continued effort laughable. In desperation he howled, "Coward! Why won't you fight me like a proper werewolf! Have you no honour?"

Remus gave the kind of grin that apex predators use to free their teeth for action. In the next moment, in wolf form, Remus sprang for Shadowpelt's throat and ripped it out. Standing on the chest of the rapidly cooling corpse with his forepaws, he howled at the moon.

As the echoes came back from the nearby hills, Remus stood again next to the body. He spit out the mess that was left in his mouth and transformed back before he spoke to the remainder of Shadowpelt's pack, "Against my will, I have fought your alpha, Shadowpelt, according to the ancient laws. See, he is dead. You few were part of his pack." He reached out and retrieved his sword from his second. The rest of his soldiers guarded the prisoners. Remus continued, "Any werewolf that would deliberately plan or follow orders to harm the innocent will never be a member of my pack." He pointed his sword at the group, "Execute them."

As one, swords swung and the heads of the last few fell from their bodies. Remus himself removed the head of the one that stood nearest to him.

Looking around, he said, "Alright, folks, let's get this mess cleaned up!"

As Remus put his weapons and robe back in place, he recalled how he had managed to become a wolf without the full moon. His entire life, he had been terrified by the wolf, afraid that the pain of the transformation and the overpowering wildness would take his mind. Harry had helped him to understand that wolves were not so terrible as many made them out to be. They mate for life. They support one-another to hunt, care for their young and even their sick. They only killed to eat or to defend the pack, never for selfish gain or pleasure. He had learned the way of the Animagus years ago when his three closest friends had, but his fear of the wolf kept him from practicing himself. But last summer, he took the potion and was able to master the transformation almost instantly. Until tonight, he had kept it a secret, even from Sirius and Harry. He also found that choosing to transform instead of dreading it, the process was quick, natural and painless. Learning finer control, he could transform parts of his body at will when he needed to.

Lupin stood over the dead body of Shadowpelt. He said, "Yes, I killed your master. And now, you too. It was only a matter of time. Now your pack is dead." With a single stroke, he lashed out with his sabre and separated the head from the body. 20 werewolf bodies were buried in two mass graves outside of town, the heads in one and the bodies in the other. Those who were good with wands, went through the town and cleaned up. Out of Moony's men, one was dead and two more severely injured. They were sent back to the Rosier estate to be healed. The dead soldier would be buried with full just a few minutes, there was no sign that a battle had been fought and the village slept on. The Mystics had quietly slipped away the moment the battle was over. Satisfied with their efforts, Lupin gave a sign and they all gathered around a portkey and vanished.

Grounds of the Unknown Castle

The worst of Voldemort's agony was finally at an end. He had reached the forest where Nagini was living in safety. He had left a trail of dead animals in his wake, having possessed them one after another and riding in them until they died. The little bird he was currently possessing had served him for the last day. It seemed to Tom that he had to eat insects continuously just to keep the bird alive. The short bursts of flight that the bird could manage between eating binges had brought him a long way.

Now he was trying to find Nagini. It was hard to contact her when he was possessing another animal so he had to search for her. He had to look for her in dark corners and every nook and cranny that was wide enough for her to slither in.

She was adept at keeping to the shadows and away from everyone. He had ordered her to hide unless he summoned her and to summon her was not possible in the body of this bird. The wraith form was useless to him except to keep him tethered to this plane.

The bird was making things complicated for him because he didn't dare go into dark places suitable for a rat or a snake. Suddenly he noticed a snake eyeing him. With great effort, he was able to leave the bird behind and within a few seconds, he was able to possess the snake. The snake tried to fight his possession but eventually Tom won.

He tried to access the snake's memories and found that the reptiles in the forest were scared of the growing darkness. The reptiles were scared that the forest was becoming uninhabitable for them with the darkness growing and the deaths which occurred. In fact, other animals had stopped coming to this part of the forest a long time ago.

Accessing some more of its memories, he found the location of the evil that was growing. Even the nocturnal creatures didn't dare to go into that part of the forest for the fear of getting killed. He started slithering in that direction.

Nagini was in a burrow that belonged to some rabbit in the past. She had eaten that rabbit and claimed the burrow for herself. He slithered inside and suddenly Nagini lunged for him. Voldemort hissed, "Nagini, halt!"

The great snake stopped mid-lunge and opened its mouth great and wide, waiting for the snake to enter. As the snake was digested, the spirit of Voldemort would become one with her.

It took about a day before Voldemort was inside Nagini's body and felt comfortable with her. He started his journey back towards the Gaunt shack where the construct was. He had an arduous journey back to regain his body before he could even begin to go and gather his other horcruxes. The situation he found himself in currently rang alarm bells in his mind. What if the Old fool remembered the Orphanage's matron Mrs. Cole's words and decided to find that cave where he had tortured those muggle children in his childhood? That would lead him to the locket of Slytherin. But that place's defenses could not be breached without a great personal cost so there was still time for that one.

The one in most danger was the one he gave to Lucius. For all he knew, Lucius might have thrown that diary away because the DMLE raided his manor. He had given Lucius that diary to treasure it above his own life. If Lucius had failed in his duty then his life would be forfeit.

Hogwarts

When Harry woke up that morning, he had a feeling of foreboding that just wouldn't leave him. It bothered him all the way through the morning work-out. It just felt like the stars were out of alignment or something. He was no seer and the gift didn't run in his family but the feeling didn't leave him either. On his way to breakfast, Luna crossed his path just long enough to say, "I'm very sorry, Harry. You will know before Breakfast is over." Without another word, she went off to the Ravenclaw table.

Harry was still trying to figure out what it all meant when he sat down between Hermione and Susan.

Susan looked at him, "Are you alright, Harry? You forgot to pick me up at the barrels this-morning."

Harry shook his head, "No. Sorry, Susan. There's this feeling that's been with me all morning. I just can't shake it. Then Luna gets all cryptic with me…"

He was interrupted by the arrival of the morning post. He brooded over a goblet of pumpkin juice while Susan took his copy of the Daily Prophet from the owl. Harry picked at his breakfast while she scanned the headlines. She was well into the paper when an article caught Harry's eye.

As he grabbed the paper from her he muttered, "Excuse me."

The headline read,

"Senior Auror killed

Yesterday, in an attack involving ten death eaters, Senior Auror Proudfoot who was a veteran of two wars and a Squad Captain, was killed after having killed 4 death eaters. It is reported that the Senior Auror had arrived on the scene in response to a distress call without any backup. He battled the death eaters on his own for about 10 minutes before back-up arrived.

When Master Auror Alastor Moody and company arrived on the scene, they found that Proudfoot had a fatal injury from a deadly curse. He succumbed to his injury before any treatment could be applied.

Master Auror Mad-Eye had the following to say about him, 'Proudfoot was a true warrior. He never feared anyone and didn't back down from a challenge. Me and the boys will miss his presence.'

It has also been reported that the Azkaban escapee Augustus Rookwood was among the death eaters and escaped when the back-up arrived.

Senior Auror Proudfoot will be buried with full honours in the presence of the General and other senior ministry officials including friends and family."

Harry slumped down in his seat. Susan tried to console him, "He was a brave soul, Harry. There is no other way that he would have liked to go."

Harry nodded, "That's true about him. He was a warrior. He didn't back down from any challenge. He was the only one who was against using a child as bait. He opposed my participation in the battle of the ministry atrium. When I defeated him in a duel, he gracefully accepted defeat. I will miss him."

She nodded, "I knew him a little too. He was a jovial guy but paranoid like Moody. Auntie told me that he never took a partner unless it was necessary. We will remember him."

Ron, in an effort to lighten up the situation asked, "Who are you betting on for tomorrow's match, mate? Ravenclaw or Slytherin?"

"Is there any question? My galleons are on Ravenclaw", he replied.