"Ready Celeste?" James grinned. His french counterpart blew a mocking kiss, causing several of the aurors behind them to let out wolf whistles. "Breach in three...two...one...reducto! Go!"

James led straight from the front, making the dash from the hedge they had been hiding under straight to the door of the building, which had been determined as one of Grindelwald's many safehouses.

"Avada Kedavra!" one of the defenders jutted their wand out, sending the green killing curse straight at James. He felt an individual slam on his side, knocking them both just an inch from the curse as it saide past. Looking up, he and Celeste shared a smile before both quickly got up.

"Reducto!" James blasted, blowing up the cabinet in front and sending two Grindelwald supporters flying into the air, where they were knocked out by several more spells from the other aurors. "Fan out, begin clearing the rooms!"

Celeste took the lead this time as they ascended the stairs, and they each took a side, inspecting the door. She frowned. "Cursed shut, I'll take care of this."

James merely nodded, knowing her curse breaking abilities were far ahead of his own. He instead took a protective position over her, ensuring that there would be no surprises from down the corridor. As one of the Grindelwaldians emerged from a room, James' curse had already left his wand, throwing the man to the end of the corridor and causing an audible snap that elicited a flinch from him.

"Done," she exclaimed in triumph, nodding to him. Raising his wand, he blasted the door open, charging in and shielding several curses flung from various parts of the room. Celeste followed, throwing several curses in answer and forcing the defenders to duck for cover. Letting out a sigh of relief, seeing as his shield had just taken the pounding of four assailants, he began to lay suppressive fire with a series of quick hexes while Celeste crept forward stealthily. As one of the defenders poked their heads out, Celeste leapt into action, cursing the individual before turning her wand on the others.

Now pincered, all three were incapacitated in quick succession. With a melodious voice, she teased, "I got more than you."

"Only because I let you, Frenchie," he returned. She mock sneered at him. "You take the lead for the next room."

"Watch and learn, Brit," Celeste smirked, blasting open the door.

Just as Celeste was about to enter the next room, he heard the swishing of a wand and knocked her forward just as a voice bellowed, "Crucio!"

"Argh!" James crumpled the ground, just as the assailant, looking between James and Celeste, pulled out a knife that radiated dark magic and lunged at her. "No!"

With strength surprising himself despite the aftershocks of the cruciatus, he leapt forward, knocking the assailant away from Celeste as he felt the blade impale onto his side. A blasting curse from the French auror blew apart the man's head before he could do anything, before she rushed to his side, muttering out french curses as she began casting a variety of healing.

"James! James! Damnit stay with me! Merde you cretin!" she babbled.

"Now we're even," James breathed out with a silly grin, just before his vision faded to black.

-Break-

"Otaba, come closer," Grindelwald beckoned. Refusing to show his unease, he approached the dark lord's throne, kneeling down in front despite the internal disgust he felt. "I must admit...this holiday was most enlightening. Afterall, I finally met White in person."

Otaba stiffened, causing Grindelwald to chuckle. "Ah yes, I forgot I didn't make you aware of it, forgive me for the slip of the mind. I made my way to my old school Durmstrang to retrieve something. Alas, it seems someone else has already plundered what is rightfully mind."

Several outraged cries erupted from the followers within the room, but the dark lord raised his hand for silence. "Yes indeed. But the trip was not without its reward, for I managed to meet the acclaimed Harry White. I confess, I was impressed by his cunning, for he managed to strike a bargain with me. For a prized memory, he provided me with the name of the one who dared to take what is rightfully mine: the Dark Lady Voldemort."

Otaba frowned, that made no sense. Harry had confirmed that Voldemort was alive, but surely he would have told Otaba about her presence in the castle...unless he knew of Grindelwald's impending questioning and wanted a genuine answer. Looking up, he saw Grindelwald scrutinising him before stiffly nodding.

"Indeed, she is still alive," Grindelwald confirmed, oblivious to Otaba's true inner turmoil as the reason behind his confused frown. Otaba nodded in understanding. "I would not believe it myself had I not received irrefutable proof. You might have known her as your transfiguration professor, Amanda Hurst."

Otaba could not help but gape, realising that he had been learning for two years under Voldemort without even realising it. Grindelwald chuckled mirthfully. "Yes...I daresay that White might have been the only individual in the castle to suspect it."

"Milord, how did White...trick you?" Otaba inquired tentatively. Grindelwald waved off a reprimand from lord Rosier.

"It is a valid question," he announced. White had wards set up in the way of my old room. Leveraging the fact that I had been tired taken down the wards of the castle, along with the strength of his own and his not inconsiderable power, he forced me to concede to a slight disadvantage. Such a performance...I daresay that I would consider placing him in my inner circle, were I not so certain he would refuse the offer."

This did cause mutterings among the Grindelwaldians present, who seemed agitated by their leader's assertion. Grindelwald, however, was unbudging. "Cunning, confidence and calculation, these are traits that all of you would do well to learn. Mark my words, Harry White will either be a great ally, or a deadly thorn on our side. But...that is for the future. Voldemort has taken something precious of mine, and I wish to gain it back. But first...Kepler, you have a young granddaughter, unengaged, correct?"

"Yes milord."

"And is she loyal to the cause?"

"As much as I am," the man swore. Grindelwald raised an eyebrow.

"A bold claim, considering our long time together, my friend, but I have no reason to doubt you. How well versed is she in courtship?"

"She knows the way."

"And her talent in the mind arts?"

"Prodigious."

"Interesting...and she is unengaged?"

"Serilda's due to receive several offers in the coming year, milord. She's a month shy of fourteen."

"Delay that," Grindelwald commanded. "I have need for her services."

"Anything for you, milord."

"She is to seduce Harry White. I want to know everything about that boy, his past, his present...and indeed, his future. Be wary of the boy, he is sly and cunning, and prodigious in the mind arts. It is best you...not make her fully aware of my involvement. The less she knows, the less she could accidentally slip."

"I shall instruct her of your command," the man bowed. Grindelwald dismissed him with a slow nod before turning back to Otaba. "Otaba, I need you to do something for me."

"I do as my lord commands," Otaba bowed his head low.

"Are you loyal to your family?"

"Not before my lord."

"A bold claim...but we can test that another day. No, I require you to aid young Serilda on her task."

"Milord, if I may be so bold...White has several very attractive women at his beck and call, including Ira Ivarin," he ignored the growl from Isard Ivarin, "Alana Croft, a runes prodigy and Sarah Sitara, whose purpose I am unaware of. It would be...difficult to infiltrate his circle."

"I am perfectly capable of doing so, milord," a cool voice interjected. Otaba turned to see the calculating blonde hair blue eyed girl glaring at him. "By the time he graduates, I will have secured a place by his side. I do not need his assistance."

"So long?" Otaba jibbed, causing the girl to flush. This was good, he had thrown her off balance, and she would either leave with wounded pride or a harder mission. "By the time you graduate most girls who want to have a ring on their finger."

"I'll have roped him in by the end of the year."

"Such confidence," Grindelwald appraised speculatively. "You are confident that you can do it? Give me an oath."

"Milord I…"

"Then you are not as confident as you present, no?" Grindelwald challenged. The girl merely ducked her head in embarrassment, still glaring at Otaba. "You both seem to underestimate young White. I warn you now, he is clever, cunning and calculated. He has impressed me, and while only because I allowed it, he is one of the few to get one over me."

"Milord, I will not fail."

"Good, you may leave," Grindelwald waved off. After the girl had closed the door behind her, the dark lord turned to Otaba. "You do not believe she will succeed."

"White is...infamous for a reason. To unite the guilds under him requires a level of strength worthy of wariness. He is vigilant, and there are many hoping to prove their devotion that would happily sacrifice Schwarz to do so."

"I'm inclined to agree," Grindelwald admitted. "While talented and ruthless, she is out of his league. Which is why, you're going to do exactly what you just disclosed."

"I'm to turn her in?"

"It will buy you some measure of favour, or at least earn you an audience. White to me seems the honourable type, he would not allow such an act to go unrewarded."

"By your command, milord."

"Excellent. Alexeyev, you will investigate one General Belyaev from Russia. Antonin, you will lead several raids in Albania on Voldemort's known hideouts. Sigmund, I am entrusting you with Croatia. Elias, you will take Serbia. We will squeeze her fledgling empire, and take back what is ours. For the greater good!"

"For the greater good!" the room echoed.

-Break-

"Halt! This is a-" the two obliviators leading the front of the ICW squad flicked their wands.

"Obliviate! Stupefy!" the two guards slumped to the ground unconscious, and the delegation fanned out, consisting of twenty obliviators and five aurors. Unlocking the door with a flick of their wand, they entered the Negev Nuclear Research Center. Several guards let out startled cries, but the aurors raised magical shields, absorbing the bullets as they were fired, before quickly casting several more curses, knocking the security out.

Entering the facility, they proceeded to obliviate all the security and terminate all the scientists, while vanishing all of the suspicious equipment to find. They had been given a crash course on what reactors and nuclear material looked like, but most of the obliviators present simply vanished everything in sight, slowly hollowing out the building.

By the time they were finished, all that remained was a concrete husk of a building and dozens of dazed security guards. All across, similar things happened at missile silos, weapons stockpiles and nuclear facilities. Even civilian nuclear facilities and research institutes had been marked down by project Erasmus, and teams of aurors, ICW mages and obliviators completed their objectives with ruthless efficiency.

-Break-

Katerina sighed boredly as she leafed through her family grimoire, trying to find more useful spells to learn. Her holiday had been brutal, yet she would not have it any other way. Finding none she wasn't already aware of, she stowed the book in her bag and idly observed around. Megan and Aurelius were gathered with a group of guild leaders, happily chatting and laughing. She paid little attention to the other students, playing their silly games or engaging in silly gossip, but frowned when she noticed Otaba in a hushed discussion with Serilda Schwarz.

From Katerina's recollection, the girl was decently talented in most subjects, but where she truly shone was in spell creation. One of the few students who took the class, she had made it into several regional journals for her work. She was also a staunch Grindelwaldian.

Which brought up the question of why Otaba was even talking to the girl. Casting a discreet listening charm, she frowned when it bounced off an invisible privacy ward, causing Otaba to look around warily for several moments before continuing to speak.

Giving it up as a lost cause, Katerina instead settled on wandering down to the lower deck, where she saw Alana sat at a desk, carefully inscribing some runes on a strange elongated metal box. As she sat down next to the girl, Alana looked up, tensing, before relaxing with a smile when she saw it was only Katerina.

"Hey Kat."

"Hi Lana, what's our boss got you up to?"

"He wants to make muggle technology impervious to magical disruption," Alana giggled, causing Katerina to do a double take. "That was my reaction at first...but you know Harry, he always knows something you don't. If he says there's a way, I'm determined to find it."

"Any luck?"

"Alas no," the other girl sighed. "The problem with trying to integrate energy channels with shock dampeners is that inevitably one will leach on to the other, and the more I try to shield the system the less efficient it gets. It's just...ugh...so frus-sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"Just a little bit," Katerina chuckled, offering a reassuring glance to the other girl. "But I've picked up a few things here and there from being around Harry. Perhaps you're thinking about it all wrong?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"The goal is to create a stable current, right?"

"Yes?"

"And the problem you have right now is that there are power fluctuations when magic is absorbed into the system?"

"Yes."

"So perhaps the issue shouldn't be preventing magic from interfering, but accounting for it."

"That...could work," Alana admitted after several moments of thought. "But…"

"What if you didn't fill the battery to maximum capacity, but instead tried to use it as a reservoir."

"You'd have to build in a lot of spare capacity...but with enough siphoners...it could work," Alana mused thoughtfully. "That...that just might work...but...the batteries would have to...no, the storage would be too much."

"Compression charm along with absorption foils." Katerina snapped her fingers in triumph after the two witches pondered for several minutes. At Alana's confused look, she explained, "Auto-correction, Harry's always yapping about political systems that need to do this. He told me once about the hormones in our body, how an increase in insulin would cause our liver to absorb sugar from our blood, which would lower the amount of blood sugar, and decrease the production of insulin. We could apply the same concept here: when there is less magic, the charms on the compression weaken, making them larger and absorbing more magic, when there's too much magic, the foils compress and absorb less magic."

"By Merlin that's brilliant," Alana squealed. "You've really inherited his ideation, how did I not think of this? I'll need his help for some of the runes, but I'm sure that I'll be able to manage. Thanks, I appreciate it."

"No problem, we all serve the same master, no?" Katerina asked lightly, surprised and inwardly pleased with Alana's slight scowl. "What's wrong?"

"Promise...promise you won't tell anyone."

"I give you my word."

"I...it's so often that I feel useless, like I don't belong in the circle. I think...imposter syndrome, was it called?" Katerina giggled slightly, causing a scowl to form on Alana's face. "I'm sorry, it seems I was mistaken in tru-"

"No, Lana, it's just...well, imagine how I feel, with Ira being pretty much me but better in every way," Katerina sighed, causing the other girl to slump and mutter out an apology. "It's fine...I...I just envy them, you know? Sarah especially, it seems that he always finds time to be with her. I...I don't know, I wish my parents didn't make me go home for Yule, I swear she must have won him over during the week."

"I know," Alana commiserated. "Sarah...she's freakishly loyal to him. Like...obsessed. I know she helps him manage contacts around the castle, but do you think…"

"Some sort of project between them, definitely," Katerina agreed glumly. "She's good at armithacy, but that's...that's just numbers and calculations. How useful could that be?"

"Useful enough to endear herself to...no, she must have specialised in something else. She spent the summer with Harry, do you have any idea what they might have done?"

"I...perhaps they...fell in love? Maybe she offered herself to him?"

"I...guess that's possible," Alana shrugged, "But Harry doesn't seem the type to be interested in sex. Ira was admittedly superior to the three of us, and rumours are that she was seen entering his room several days after their honour duel. If anyone was likely to get a shot of Harry, it would be her…"

"But he sent her away to the muggle world. Which makes this theory unlikely," Katerina sighed. "It's infuriating, isn't it?"

They felt a lurch, and both girls began to pack Alana's materials up, before disembarking the boat and heading to a carriage. They were among the last students, and had a carriage between just the two of them. As they neared the ledge that led to the school's entrance, Katerina spoke out.

"Lana, do you want to make a pact?"

"For what?"

"To have each others' backs," Katerina answered. "Face it, at some point, we're going to screw up, or maybe another of the circle will try to do away with us. If we have each others' backs, we can focus our attentions elsewhere and better serve Harry, ensuring we both remain in his good graces."

"I…is this some sort of test?"

"If Harry wanted to test either of us, I have no doubt Sarah would be the one to do it, if he didn't do it himself," Katerina pointed out. Seeing the other girl was still fighting an inner struggle, she added, "Harry did say we should cooperate more, didn't he?"

"I doubt this is what he meant," Alana sighed, "but I see no reason to refuse. Very well, I suppose we can start with some information exchange and general assistance, and work from there."

"Excellent," Katerina smiled, just in time for their carriage to land. The winds were blowing bitterly, visibility only five paces in front, yet the two sighted the form of Harry, dressed in thin robes, waiting patiently, waving and smiling at them when he identified the duo.

"Happy belated Yule, girls," he greeted warmly. There seemed to be a bubble of warmth around him that the snow failed to penetrate, and both girls stuck close as they began walking towards the doors, idly awed by the display of power. "Have fun?"

"Father trained me more. Painful, but I can't deny the results," Katerina shrugged. Harry nodded pleased, before turning to Alana.

"I managed to make some progress on the task you set me. In fact, I had a breakthrough thanks to Kat. I believe I'll have a prototype for you by the summer."

"Excellent," Harry nodded pleased. "May I ask what this inspiration was?"

"Feedback loops."

"How...fascinating," Harry mused thoughtfully. "I look forward to seeing your results. Do you require any additional materials?"

"Some advice on multiple conjoinments would be useful, along with help completing the breathing mechanism. I'm still admittedly getting used to working in three dimensions."

"That reminds me, I have a treat to show you. Seeing as you're here, I suppose you better come along as well, Kat." Leading them on a divergent path from the great hall at a brisk pace, they arrived on the dark arts floor, where he led them through several disused corridors and dispelled an illusion on an unremarkable wall, revealing a wooden door. Opening, he led them inside, revealing three stone rings orbiting a glowing stone in the middle. The two watched in awe as they slowly twirled, the runes inscribed onto them glowing a faint gold and thrumming with power.

"A small project I was working on," Harry chuckled as the two girls yelped when the gemstone in the centre suddenly let loose a wave of power, splashing against the edge of the room and causing ripples on the wards. Only a shield raised by Harry had stopped them from being impacted. "You need not concern yourself over the details. Let us go to the feast."

As they walked, he paused, adding as an afterthought, "Oh, and welcome back."

-Break-

"Reducto," Rose cast, the red spell splashing against the floor in front of Dumbledore and sending debris hurtling towards the aged warlock. The man lazily flicked his wand, transfiguring the rubble into several birds who soared towards her.

Swishing her wand, she unleashed a wide area cutting curse that flayed all of the birds, which dropped to the ground twitching. Turning to Dumbledore, she fired off a knockback jinx, a stunning spell and a retching curse, which the wizened headmaster deflected easily.

"Good, very good, Rose," the man praised, sending a blast of water towards the girl, who rolled out of the way, before conjuring flames, the two jets meeting three quarters the way from Dumbledore to Rose. After several seconds, she was drained, and her spell ended, allowing the water to soak her.

With a swish of his wand, Albus stopped the spell, casting a drying charm on Rose. She nodded gratefully, picking herself off the floor. "Why transfigure them into birds?"

"I do like to show off sometimes," the warlock chuckled. "Every now and again one must indulge in some merriment."

"I still have ways to go, don't I?" Rose sighed dejectedly.

"You are a rising sun to my sinking moon, child. Time takes its toll on these weary bones, while you still have years of growth ahead of you. I daresay you are one of the most talented twelve year olds in the world. Better than I was in duelling at your age."

Rose beamed at the compliment, sitting down.

"Lemon drop?"

"Gladly," the girl chirped, grabbing a handful and placing them in her mouth while Dumbledore looked delighted. "Mum never lets me have too many."

"A wise decision, probably," Dumbledore chuckled with a twinkle in his eye. "How is your second year?"

"Snivellus has backed off, even if I swear he's not marking me fairly," Rose noted happily. "I'm at the top of my class in charms, DADA and transfiguration. I can't wait to take runes and armithicacy next year though, it sounds so interesting."

"You shouldn't disrespect professor Snape as such, Rose," Dumbledore frowned. Rose shrugged.

"He's a bully and a coward. He doesn't deserve any respect. He should be in Azkaban, not terrorising children!" Rose spat, the vehemence taking Dumbledore off guard.

"Oh?"

"I know he gave Voldemort the prophecy. He's the reason...the reason everything happened...the reason I lost my brother," tears welled up her eyes. "It's all his fault!"

"Rose, that's not ver-"

"Tell me it isn't true! Tell me the world wouldn't be a better place if Snivellus never existed!" Rose challenged.

"I think," Dumbledore sighed wearily, "that we are done for today."

"I don't know why you cover for that monster, but the faith we have in you is not infinite, uncle," Rose warned, before standing up and storming out of the office.

Author Note:

Welcome back! Hopefully you're all doing well and enjoyed the chapter. It was definitely a fun one to write, even if it took a bit longer than usual. Not much worldbuilding, so I thought I'd throw in some funny mistakes I learned re-reading my work.

1. Rose's sorting ceremony was late by an year. She should have gone to Hogwarts September 1991. However, back then, I was so focused on Raven's story I forgot to add it in. This is also partially caused by Raven's entry into Durmstrang during the Spring term, which threw me off. It proves even with several pages of notes and a spreadsheet I'm only human.

2. On several occassions, I have used the wrong character name. This is because I'm also currently drafting several other stories, and sometimes muddle up character names. Funnily, this was pointed out in chapter 20, where I inserted the name Solomon, the protagonist of another story I'm working on, instead of Harry. In chapter 22, I mistakenly put 'Lara' instead of 'Lana'. For those who missed it, Lara Croft is the mother of Lana Croft. Thank you to daniegeorge for pointing it out! There were several other mistakes that I also corrected, though I admit I am not infalliable and could have missed some still. Consider it an easter egg hunt!
3. I have alternated between armithacy, armithicacy and arithmancy. The last one is the correct spelling. I've amended most of them, but some mistakes may still linger.

With that said, let's move onto this time's reader question, also from daniegeorge, on whether Harry and Voldemort will form a romantic relationship. While I won't rule out the possibility of some sort of relationship being formed (most likely a tentative friendship), I very much do not believe, nor have plans for Harry to get with Voldemort. I have some story seeds in the back on my mind that require her to be female, which is why I did so, seeing as there is little cost to changing this detail in my opinion. We'll see how that goes. Though I have to emphasise, I do not like most romance fics, nor am aI remotely sure where to even begin in an attempt to write one. While Harry might eventually form a romantic relationship, it is far in the distant future. I have several divergent ideas thus far so I won't go into further detail lest I accidentally spoil anything. Thank you for the question!

To address another valid point of yours, yes, I was pushing two chapters a day out in the second half of June when this story first began, which did cause some problems with consistency and quality. It's why currently I've scaled myself back to one chapter a day on average. There are definitely aspects that I would change in hindsight, such as exploring more of Harry's missions in Afghanistan and other places. At the time, a lot was cut (including an entire section in Chechnya between his first and second stint at Kolyma) because I feared it would get repetitive to read. Looking back this was definitely a mistake, and would have massively helped develop Raven as a character. Another point I would have changed is the Sparrow arc. Originally, I would have had them compete against each other, setting up for a realisation that they were being played against each other, and slowly developing a bond from this shared realisation. I definitely felt that arc was rushed and thus did not carry the emotional weight I believe it deserved. I'm still very new to this, so I appreciate your honest feedback. Thank you, and hopefully you'll find the upcoming chapters better in quality.

Another question from Ignotus Redwood on whether Harry (as of this part of the story) has a child. While that was definitely going to be a plot point, and you can see the setup (mentioned in a prior author note) that existed for it, with the scrapping of that arc I will confirm that Harry does not currently have any children. I feel like a retread of another character that underwent the exact same training as Harry would be a bit cheap, seeing as that was essentially the plot point of Sparrow. I'll also add that I'm excited to see a four way conflict between the titans. I'm definitely trying to work in a way to see the four duel, though no promises. All four are far to cunning and smart to risk themselves openly without significant promise of reward. Let that be a hint to what a potential arc in the future might be.

As always, if you enjoyed this chapter, consider leaving a follow or favourite. Your support really does mean a lot, and is useful in gauging whether I'm doing a good job thus far. Found a mistake or didn't like something? Be sure to comment! I'm not a legilimencer, I can't read your mind and know whether I'm doing good or bad. It's your feedback that helps me gauge that. I can work with love or hate, but not indifference. Until next time, toodles!