I'm sorry this chapter wasn't uploaded. Something went wrong last night, and I'm not sure if it was the site or if it was me; I did it late at night and my brain was exhausted.

Anyway, it's up. But I have a little note for my readers, and for those who like what I'm writing then I apologise in advance...

Those who don't...well, you've already formed opinions about me so I don't give a flying fuck what you think. I don't know why those of you who don't like reading my work don't just bloody well fuck off and leave me and my writing alone. I truly don't. It's bad enough when you haven't, and this truly makes me question your intelligence and really annoys and frustrates me, uploaded a story yourself. I mean it's stupid. What do you do all day, look online and post criticising reviews? Granted, I do make mistakes, but if you don't like my stories then don't bloody read them. How hard is that?

My apologies but I truly get frustrated with people who do that.

Harry Potter: Thinking like a Thief.

Disillusionment charm still in effect while he stood in an alcove with a puddle filled with some dark liquid he hoped was water and nothing…questionable, although he was keeping a good eye on it to make sure he didn't suddenly become visible Harry had a good view of the burning down brothel. The place was certainly blazing now, reminding Harry of the aftermath of a movie. 'Firestarter' was a movie adaptation of a Stephen King novel he could relate to since Charley was being hounded repeatedly by people in authority who wanted her as a weapon, so was it any wonder she lashed out in the end?

In the meantime, he admired his handiwork. The flask had been filled with a potion which was the liquid variant of fiendfyre. Dangerous, especially when kept in a confined space, volatile like nitroglycerin, it was no wonder the brothel had quickly turned into a burning ruin. The place had ignited as soon as he had walked out of the brothel and retreated to the safety of this alcove so he could watch and see what happened.

Call it curiosity, but Harry had never seen a fire in the magical world before. What happened? Was there some kind of fire brigade, or something? Some kind of squad who used augmented broomsticks, flown by wizards who cast spells and charms to put fires out? But at the same time, he wanted to gauge just how good the potion worked while he marvelled at Dobby and Winky's speed and efficiency. The two elves had managed to take away all of the victims of the Death Eaters, and they'd transported them to St. Mungo's.

Hopefully, since he had made sure both Dobby and Winky sent the victims of the brothel to the middle of the anteroom of the hospital, and since nobody could ignore the visible state of the victims, it would stop anyone stupidly hiding what had happened to them. As icing on the cake, Harry also made sure a few of the Death Eaters had been sent to the hospital, the sleeves of their robes missing to expose their Dark Marks.

Truthfully he had no idea what it would mean in the long term. He didn't know how the Ministry would downplay it, and he knew that they would, but he was hoping by launching one attack after another, it would make the Death Eater's supporters stop their support for Voldemort.

He hoped that since Death Eaters were being exposed to the magical world at large, especially those not on the original lists of those caught or even those suspected and the ones who were just too young to have joined in the original war, the Ministry would start asking questions. And when the other brothels were destroyed like this, and so quickly, the Ministry would begin to doubt Fudge's claims Voldemort was not a threat anymore.

He hoped.

There were three brothels the Death Eaters had. Dobby had told him there was a property owned by the Malfoys which Narcissa Malfoy had transformed into a brothel, although it was more like a classy gentleman's club. Albeit without the class, since the conditions of the girls used there was horrific. The house-elves, Dobby included when he had worked for the family before he was freed, had been forced to clean the place. Dobby had been haunted when he had related the story of it, but he had been ecstatic when Harry unveiled his plans to destroy it. All the house-elf needed to do was to give him information about it so he could plan his attack.

It was the third brothel he was looking forward to destroying that particular club the most. It was in Hogsmeade village itself. The way Harry saw it, Voldemort considered Hogwarts his as he was 'Slytherin's Heir' so he would want to leave something in the area. But personally, Harry suspected one of the reasons it was there was so then Voldemort could spite Dumbledore. Besides, several of his recruits came from the castle. They could go to the village on the periodic visits, and they could have a taster of what being a Death Eater was like.

Well, they would soon learn when they paid the price for their life choices. He hoped the mass-extermination of so many pureblood heirs and heiresses or brutal injuries sent a message to the magical world, that Death Eater activities would not be tolerated, but he had other plans in mind.

The problem was nobody was willing to do anything. They were afraid the last time, and they would be terrified now of a bunch of blood supremacists dressed in stupid robes and white masks. The softly-softly approach was not going to work, as Dumbledore believed it would, nor would the use of the imperious curse as an excuse. Harry was going to spread fear and chaos through the Death Eaters, and he hoped it was a lesson they learnt quickly.

It made no difference anyway. He was going to blow it up. He had received word from Winky, the brothel was in use. But it wouldn't be properly opened until the first Hogsmeade village visit. It would be glorious. Several Death Eaters and those who wanted to become Death Eaters were not going to live long enough to regret it. He felt little for the victims (the Death Eaters). They'd made their beds, now they just needed to lay down in them.

But not just yet.

No, he had much more to do before he reached that point in his plans.

In a few days time, Stage one would begin. All the preparations were made, and the photos were just waiting for him to view them, and then they would be ready. This was just the beginning. In a few days time, jungle drums would begin to beat. He didn't know how long it took, but it felt like quite a long time before the Ministry showed up, sending a group of wizards who immediately tried to stop the blaze, but it didn't take long for him to see they were having trouble dowsing the flames.

Harry decided he had seen enough. He stepped out of the alcove, rechecked his disillusionment charm and then he headed away. When he got back to Diagon Alley, walking through the crowd who had seen the smoke and flames from Knockturn while the aurors stationed nearby were keeping the crowd at bay. He walked out through the Leaky Cauldron although it took some time to wait for a customer to go through the doors into the muggle world.

Once he was out, Harry headed immediately for an alleyway. Once he was alone he called Dobby, who immediately took him back to the flat.

"Well done, you two," Harry congratulated the two elves as soon as he saw them. "Did you have any problems getting those kids into the hospital?"

Dobby and Winky shook their heads. "No, Master Harry, sir," they both said.

"Manys of the healers were immediately working on them," Winky added. "Winky see them calling in the aurors for the bad Death Eaters."

"Good," Harry said, hoping the sight of so many Death Eaters would make people see something was wrong, especially when they took into account their physical age. "For the next few days, we'll move onto the next stage of the plan. In the meantime, Dobby, Winky, I want you to spy on the Ministry and the Order before spying on the Death Eaters. I know," he added when he saw their expressions, "its dangerous. But I have taken it into account, so I won't order you. I'll ask you."

Dobby looked at Harry with such serious solemnity which was staggering. "Does Harry Potter sir plan on killing Dobby's former masters?"

Harry wasn't sure if Lucius Malfoy was caught in the blaze or not, but if he was then he would likely be suffering from terrible burns. It made no difference, he had a plan to execute the slimy bastard, and besides Harry wanted to get him back for second year, and the wanton attempt Malfoy had tried to take on his life. Well, the pureblood bastard was going to learn just how pure he was by the time Harry was finished with him. Draco was certainly on the list, and Harry had a truly nasty death planned for the boy who was more irritating than truly terrifying. Narcissa Malfoy was unknown, but he didn't care either way. Granted, she was a target but truthfully he didn't know enough about the woman although he would kill her. And he would take everything she owned. All of it. "Yeah," he said simply.

"Good, then Dobby wants to help." The house-elf sent him a look that said Dobby knew where his mind had gone, and he approved.

"And Winky," Winky added bravely, although Harry could see the idea of being an accomplice to murder was something that genuinely appalled the sensitive elf even as he studied her with a great deal of admiration.

He had found recently house-elves were deeply brave, underestimated beings. And he had always preferred bravery and intelligence. But Dobby and Winky were both special. She had been a wreck due to the way Crouch sacked her, but when he had taken her on and told her he hoped to have a family someday, she had been over the moon. But she didn't like death. He didn't blame her. He hated what he was being forced to do, but if the Ministry and Dumbledore weren't going to take the war seriously, then he would have to take the law into his own hands.

"You don't have to do anything except take innocents away like you both did today, Winky," Harry told her seriously.

But Winky shook her head vehemently. "Winky wants to help."

Harry nodded. He wasn't going to give them the dirty jobs. Well, the vault plan definitely, but nothing gory.

In the meantime, he looked over his plans for his next robbery. With a smirk, Harry went to his bedroom to prepare.

X

Dumbledore brought the next meeting of the Order of the Phoenix to order, mentally checking what he needed to say. As he watched the Order sitting around the table, Dumbledore mentally despaired at the lack of real aid. They needed healers, aurors, curse-breakers, even someone with unspeakable contacts. What did he have instead?

Oh, he had a couple of aurors, but not enough to truly make the difference. He had a few with healing experience - they could patch up some curse related injuries and use healing potions, but nothing truly major although he hoped to keep the battles to the minimum in this new war to come. He lacked professionals who could do the job. The last war had resulted in terrible losses of life, and those who were affected were never the same again, physically or mentally. If that hadn't taught him a lesson, Dumbledore did not know what wouldn't have. They had one professional, thankfully, a muggle-born witch who had needed proof of Voldemort's return and she was competent. But that was it. He honestly wished they had more help. They needed it.

But no, thanks to Fudge wrecking his credibility publicly and privately, Dumbledore hadn't been able to move.

The only silver lining to this dismal cloud was in time Voldemort would move again. He knew it was the truth, as did Harry. Voldemort would only need a short amount of time to prepare, but it was still frustrating.

Cursing Fudge in his mind again since thanks to the petty little idiot, he wasn't free to recruit the kinds of people he wanted, although he was keeping his feelers on the alert for retired aurors and healers who could swell the ranks of the Order. It wasn't ideal, but their experience would prove beneficial in the long run. Besides, Fudge had spent the past decade or so stripping the DMLE of its aurors under the advice of his 'advisors,' who claimed there was peace.

Idiot.

Anyone with a brain between their ears would know it would only take a matter of time before another Dark Lord appeared, or if there was some kind of emergency that would require the use of aurors in order to mitigate. But Fudge was a particularly stupid man and a poor excuse for a wizard.

However, in the meantime, Dumbledore was uncertain of the news he was going to be handing out. He had spent the past three hours going over what he knew and what his agents had been picking up, but there was nothing. That was not good. Dumbledore's MO in regards to new events which were unexpected were to gather information in order to settle on a course of action, but the fire in Knockturn Alley was unexpected and he wasn't sure what it meant…

Hopefully, the rest of the Order could shed light and offer suggestions because he was not only stumped but he was also busy with other plans, and he also needed to consider his critical plans of finding Harry and keeping him safe while defending the Department of Mysteries so Voldemort could get the prophecy.

"A fire has broken out in Knockturn Alley, as I'm sure some of you are already aware," Dumbledore sent a pointed look towards Emmeline Vance and the aurors. Vance was a healer, she worked in St. Mungo's.

"A fire?" Minerva whispered. "What happened?"

The question was directed at Dumbledore, but Shacklebolt answered. The ebony-skinned auror spoke in that calm, deep, serene tone Dumbledore found most pleasant. "The Ministry is conducting an investigation. However, their preliminary observations suggested a potion thanks to residue found at the scene which had an effect similar to fiendfyre," he said seriously.

There were winces all around. If there was one spell that was as feared as the unforgiveables, it was the infamous dark fire spell which was more powerful than normal spells. Unpredictable. Lethal. Unstable…. Fiendfyre had been used as a terrible weapon by the Death Eaters. It had caused terrible chaos among the magical population, especially it was used to wipe out whoever was in the path of the Death Eaters. Some of them had been killed by the unpredictability of the spell, and hundreds of people had died. The spell had been used more than once to destroy muggle houses and even magical places. As a result, the Ministry had used it as an excuse to place greater restrictions on its use as well as ban the spell and its practice.

"Where in Knockturn Alley?" Snape asked.

"Severus?" Dumbledore turned to the Potions Master questioningly.

"I asked where in Knockturn Alley did the fire take place?" Snape masked his impatience thanks to his occlumency training.

Dumbledore gave the address. Snape cursed. "Severus?"

"It's a Death Eater recruitment club. It doubles as a brothel; several supporters of the pureblood ideologies of the most extreme kind have…friends, who kidnap muggles, women and children of all ages, the people who run the clubs don't care how old, so long as they're entertained. The message behind the clubs is simple. The Dark Lord wants the most extreme members of magical society to swell his ranks while seeing muggles and muggle-borns as entertainment and slaves," Snape spoke in his usual cold tone, but the topic he was speaking of horrified the listeners - both at the table and the ones using extendable ears.

Molly Weasley had clapped a hand to her mouth in horror. Snape found the mannerism very melodramatic.

"You said 'clubs'?" Lupin pointed out. The werewolf was looking at the potions master with his usual calm manner, but Sirius and those who knew him best could see the rage coiled under his facade. "Plural?"

Snape realised his faux pas quickly. "Yes, there are three clubs in the country. The Dark Lord must have given orders for them to be opened again. They were really popular during the first war."

"Popular?" Tonks sneered at the professor, folding her arms in disgust for the Death Eater's ways. "I bet they are with scum like you!"

Snape sneered back at her, mentally gleeful of an argument with the annoying girl who he personally believed should never have become an auror, but unfortunately thanks to Andromeda, the blood traitor, she gained the potions skills needed to become an auror. "What do you mean by that, just because your definition of fun is different?"

"Fun?" Tonks yelled, and she wasn't the only one disturbed and disgusted by the 'reformed' Death Eater's statement. "You call the rape and torture of children fun? They should never have let you stay out. They should have locked you in Azkaban and thrown the key away!"

"I agree!" Molly was incandescent with rage, her face was so red she resembled a lobster that had just been steamed. "You people are filth, monsters, if you support acts like that! What else do your Death Eater friends do for amusement? Do you rape the children yourself?!"

Sirius stared at Dumbledore darkly. "This is an example of a reformed Death Eater, Albus?"

Dumbledore glowered at Snape angrily and with disappointment. He didn't like it whenever someone pointed out the flaws of his forgiveness policy, but what he disliked the most was how Snape sometimes took his endless chances and opened his mouth. Tact was not Snape's strong suit. The Potions Master seemed to believe he could say and do whatever he liked and not face any consequences due to the protection Dumbledore had given him. Dumbledore had been protecting him not only just out of kindness but because of what Snape knew. He didn't want the potions master to tell the wrong people information that was judged critical.

Now it seemed he would need to really make it abundantly clear to the Potions Master the days where he would just turn a blind eye to what he said were over. The last thing they needed was to fight among themselves.

"That's a good question, Severus," Dumbledore's voice was so menacing it not only sent shivers down the spines of everyone in the room, Snape himself realised he had made a mistake of epic proportions. But it was too late. "Do you partake in the amusements? Be truthful; any attempt to lie, and you will regret, and I am more subtle than Amelia Bones."

Snape didn't mean to, he swallowed in fear.

Dumbledore's patience snapped.

"Answer me!" Dumbledore wanted this to be public, and not behind closed doors. "Do you partake in the amusements? Yes or no!"

"No, Headmaster," Snape whispered.

"Say that again!"

"No, Headmaster!" Snape spoke loudly.

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes at Snape. "LOOK AT ME!"

Snape didn't want to. He knew the old wizard possessed experience in the mind arts which eclipsed his own. In any event, the oath he had sworn to Dumbledore (a fake one, but an oath nonetheless) stipulated that Dumbledore have a 'back door' into his mind. Snape had not liked the thought of anyone in his head, but it was the only way Dumbledore would trust him.

He knew the old wizard didn't trust him despite what he had claimed. Oh no, Dumbledore recognised Snape's value. No doubt about that, but Dumbledore was not stupid enough to put too much trust into someone who had the potential to be an unstable element.

Snape took a deep breath and looked up, subtly focusing on his occlumency to keep his more private memories invisible from Dumbledore. He felt Dumbledore inside his mind, worming his way through his memories while he kept the more private memories as far from the old wizard as possible. The intrusion lasted only for a few moments, but it seemed more like an hour for Snape. Finally, Dumbledore left his mind, but he was looking at Snape speculatively.

"He's…telling the truth," Dumbledore said, emphasising the last three words, his tone making it clear there was to be no argument given Snape's controversial status within the Order.

Snape didn't care what the Order thought about him. But what he did care about was the shrewd look Dumbledore was sending him. Had the old wizard sensed what he was doing? Was he going to probe his mind once more?

"However, you and I will be having a talk about your attitude and your conduct, Severus. In the meantime, I want to know what you know about this fire?" Dumbledore went on, looking around the room.

Tonks sent a glare towards Snape before she shook her head to focus on the topic. "Very little. The investigation has only just started, and while I'm not a part of it, I have heard before the fire a large number of patients found their way into St. Mungo's. Children," she added, sending a look at Snape again before returning her attention to Dumbledore. "Many of them were malnourished, hurt, sexually brutalised. But they were alive. There were even a few Death Eaters."

"Death Eaters?" This was a surprise for Dumbledore. "Who were they?"

"I don't know, sorry," Tonks replied. "I was called away by the Order meeting before I could find out."

"I'm closer to the case than Tonks, although not too much," Emmeline pointed out, "when those children and the Death Eaters appeared they were shaken up. A few of the Death Eaters were in…compromising positions, and no I won't elaborate. They were quickly healed and the aurors took them into custody. But I didn't recognise any of them."

"They weren't on the list from the first war," Shacklebolt added. "Some of them have minor criminal records with the DMLE; minor stuff, really. But it looks like they've gone big."

"Too big," Dumbledore sighed, closing his eyes and he made a mental note to make Severus dig deeper for the newest Death Eaters. It was unacceptable in his mind for them not to have an idea who was taking on the Dark Mark or not. "Find out more about the fire, if you can please, Kingsley."

"I'll do my best, but I am not on the case. If I interfere or probe too deeply, Scrimgeour will find out and he will demand to know why. If that happens, Amelia Bones will be involved," Shacklebolt warned.

Dumbledore sighed again. While Amelia Bones could be classified as an ally, she wasn't fond of him, especially since it was one of his plans which got many of her family killed as an unexpected side effect. She had never forgiven him. If she discovered he was using some of her aurors…

"Just do what you can. And while you're at it, Kingsley, Nymphadora," Dumbledore ignored the young witch's scowl and annoyance in his using her first name which she detested for some reason he couldn't grasp, "I want you to also look through the country's records on magical bounty hunters and assassins."

"Why?" Tonks asked, confused.

But Sirius and Moody were quick on the mark, but it was Remus who asked the question that was on both of their minds. "You think we've got a bounty hunter in this country?"

"It's a possibility. Voldemort would never destroy one of his recruitment centres. The Ministry doesn't have the will, many of them believe Voldemort is dead and the Death Eaters no longer a threat," a look of worried realisation crept over Dumbledore's face. "There's someone else out there."

"Someone else?"

"Yes, I have some idea...but it's too early to be certain. We shall have to see if it's a vigilante or a bounty hunter."

"That would make sense," Moody said thoughtfully, "a bounty hunter could have heard a rumour You-Know-Who's back, and he wants to make a name killing Death Eaters to get a good advertisement in the future for his services."

Dumbledore grimaced at the thought of someone killing for money. "You could be right."

"But who could it be?" Molly asked.

"I don't know," Dumbledore shook his head, wondering why Molly expected him to know when he'd made it clear he wasn't sure himself and looked around the kitchen. "It just doesn't feel right. Has there been any word of Harry?"

"No, none," Tonks replied.

"He has to appear sometime. I want several of you to take shifts in Diagon Alley; he's going to have to visit there for his supplies for the upcoming year. I'll arrange the schedule. Once he is seen, I want him brought straight here. He must be protected."

X

The ironic and funny part of Dumbledore's statement was if he knew what Harry was doing at that moment he wouldn't have been so sure.

Grinning underneath his disguise while he held the gun while the muggles in the jewellery store slept while the sleeping potion was drifting around the place, Harry had no problems breaking into the cabinets.

As he fished out the jewellery and dumped it in his bag, Harry went through the jewellery shop, not worried about anyone coming in. Winky was nearby using her magic to stop the store's electronic security from kicking in and keeping the sleeping potion around. After they left, they would leave. Harry had made sure Winky shut off the cameras a few minutes before he walked in to make the police see how the thief had done this to give the owners some credibility.

As he finished he walked out of the jewellery shop.

Nobody saw him leave, just as nobody even saw him arrive.