Harry Potter The Protector of Magic

by TigerSwarm9122

Harry potter joins the wizarding world as a smart and powerful person. This will show how Harry will grow into the person he was meant to be. With help from things that only a few in the world know about. Mahoutokoro school, Adoptive father Severus, ICW interventions, Dumbledore, select Weasley, and Hermione bashing. Grey Harry! Rated M for language, violence, etc. Harry/Daphne

66. Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Warning: There will be a battle at the end of this section.

The next day, Harry made good on his promise and checked on Luna in the hospital wing. Then, after meeting with Professor Flitwick the previous day, he cut the tutoring session short, telling the students to leave for the night. His friends could tell that something was wrong when he walked in as they felt his magic coming off in waves. When asked what happened? Harry's only response was that Luna had been attacked and dealt with a couple of rejects. They were torn between being angry and shuddering, wondering who had the unfortunate luck of crossing him. Early that morning, Harry walked into the hospital wing with Daphne to see that Luna was now healed and dressed in new clothes. He told her that everything taken had been returned, and the ones responsible would be severely punished. Emily even added that their lawyer Mrs. Schwarber had been contacted last night and was currently building a case against the people that attacked her. This came as a great shock to Luna as she never imagined that someone, let alone two, would go to such great lengths to protect her.

Madam Pomfrey came out of her office a couple minutes later to evaluate Luna's progress, and after a couple diagnostic charms, she was free to leave. On their way to the great hall, they ran into Neville. The Longbottom heir heard about what happened to Luna courtesy of his mother and was incensed at what she told him. Harry took special notice of how he acted around Luna as it was similar to how he would act whenever Daphne was around. Did they like each other as more than friends? The two of them did seem close during the Yule ball.

While deep in thought, Neville tapped his shoulder and brought him back to reality. "Harry, can I talk to you privately?"

The sheer determination in his eyes could be seen, and Harry could feel his magic radiating. This was something entirely new. He had never seen such fire in his eyes before. Wondering what Neville could want, he sent the others into the great hall while he escorted him to a secluded area and erected some privacy wards.

"What do you want to talk about?" He looked down at him with curious eyes. They stood in silence for a couple minutes. "Neville, if you don't say anything, then I won't know what is going on."

Taking in a breath, Neville spoke. "I wanted to thank you for what you did to protect Luna from those bastards," he began. "They deserved it and far worse."

"On that, we agree. They deserve far worse. I'm going to make sure that happens at the next Wizengamot," Harry declared. "Is that all you wanted to discuss with me?"

Neville shook his head. He wanted to ask Harry this one question for months but never got around to it. Finally, summoning up his courage, he replied. "I was wondering if you can teach me how to duel!" Harry's eyes widened at his request as he didn't expect that to come out of his mouth. "Please help me. I need to become stronger and be able to protect the people I care about," he bowed his head.

Still stunned by what Neville asked. Harry shook it off and regained his composure. "Raise your head," he said in a neutral voice, to which Neville did. "While this is sudden... I have to be sure of a few things. One: Why do you desire to get stronger only to protect the people you care about or is it to get back at those who wronged you?" Hardening his eyes and allowing them to burn bright green.

"I want to be able to protect the people I care about. So I seek justice for those that think they can harm the weak and get away with it," Neville answered. "My grandmother told me about the first war against V-V-Voldemort," shuddered after saying the name, "and we were on the losing side as the death eaters were hardly met with any resistance. While he was defeated and his allies in prison, a fair number of them got away without punishment."

Harry was already aware of this information and knew who Neville was talking about. Malfoy and his lot held pleaded they were under the imperious curse during the war and bribed the right people to keep themselves out of Azkaban. Ever since their trial, they've operated in the shadows to continue their work and used their vast fortunes to pass as many or stop any laws they didn't like. A majority of the power within the Wizengamot rested with the Dark faction or, more accurately, Lucius Malfoy's group. The Grey faction began rivaling them in both powers and influence in the political sphere only recently and is still gaining power.

He listened as Neville continued. "Now that the escaped death eaters are free, it'll be difficult to capture them again as they're a highly dangerous group. However, I would imagine that their allies will do anything to make sure they remain protected. To make a long story short, I would like you to help me because I don't want to end up dead."

Harry regarded him for a couple moments before responding, "your attitude intrigues me. First, though, there is another thing we need to discuss. For as long as you and I have known, the Longbottoms have been members of the Light faction. While I have no intentions of interfering with that, the other members would frown and not agree with what you might learn. So my question to you is. How do you think the Light will feel about an heir from their faction feel about using grey and dark magic to achieve victory?"

Neville had to take a step back and think as Harry asked an important question. No doubt the other members from the Wizengamot would frown upon his choice to study grey and dark magic. However, things have changed as they now hold little power and authority in the political sphere. If they were going to have any chance of survival, then changes would be needed. In addition, he would need to speak with his father about removing their House away from the Light.

"I don't care," he resolved himself. "I will not allow the other members of the Wizengamot to bully my family into submission so they could achieve their own selfish goals."

Harry kept his eyes narrowed "if I'm going to train you, then I'll need permission from your parents and will have to see where you are currently at in terms of combat abilities. But before that, speak to your parents, see what they say; if they agree, then I suggest you have them send you a book about offensive and defensive magic. Will that suffice?"

"It will thank you." He watched as Neville furiously nodded his head.

Then taking his wand out, he dispelled the wards and made his way to the great hall with Neville right behind. They took their seats next to the others at the Hufflepuff table. The Hall was packed with students; some wondered what happened last night as some students were not present. Spying over at the Ravenclaw table, Harry could tell that some of them were in high spirits, particularly those who liked to bully and steal from Luna. Well, that will change soon enough. Soon, it happened; Professor Flitwick jumped out of his seat and onto the Head table. The tiny professor was still fuming over last night's events and would make his eagles face the music of their actions. He waved his wand and added a sonorous charm to amplify his voice.

"I will have everyone's attention on me now," he ordered, causing all the students from Hogwarts, Beauxbaton, and Durmstrang to look at him. Immediately they could tell that he wasn't in the best of moods as his normally cheery voice was filled with anger. "It has been brought to my attention that one of my eagles has been subjected to bullying, found that some of her possessions have been stolen which are not limited to personal properties like clothes, family pictures, homework assignments, etc. What upsets me is that the aggressors have come from the housemates in the same house she was sorted into. Last night she was subjected to physical assault that left deep bruises on her person. Not only that, but a couple others tried to attack her as well. I take it that you all have noticed that we are missing a couple students today; well, that is because they've been expelled and arrested for not only assault on a minor but for using the unforgivables on another student."

Whispers could be heard throughout the Hall as the students realized why some were missing. Assault on a minor and use of the unforgivables would yield a severe punishment. The ones most afraid were the students in Ravenclaw as their head of house was about to tear them a new one. Filius then continued. "This is unacceptable behavior as I never would have imagined that my own House would ostracize and humiliate one of their own. Least of all, an individual who has been one of the best students I have ever had. The library in the common room is closed, and none of you will be able to access it. All the prefects from my house, you will hand over your badges as y'all are no longer fit for the positions. It is an utter disgrace that the prefects I've chosen were either involved in the bullying or turned a blind eye to it." All the prefects from Ravenclaw got up and turned their badges in before resuming their seats. "Furthermore, all the points that have been gathered will be erased, and Ravenclaw House will no longer have a chance of winning the House Cup."

He reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out to separate pieces of parchment. "Now the aggressors who attacked and humiliated said girl will be expelled and sent home after breakfast." The names on the list of people who attacked Luna were read out, with two of them were begging for him to reconsider; one was crying, and the other was angry.

"You can't do this!" Roger Davies shouted. He was a sixth-year captain of the Ravenclaw quidditch team who thought he could get whatever he wanted. He was also an exceedingly arrogant individual who thought many other students were inferior to him and his family's station in society.

"You'll find that I can, Mr. Davies," Flitwick looked at the boy with intense rage.

"My father is on the board of governors and will never allow this to happen," he smugly retorted.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that because I will," a cold voice from behind made him turn around. Roger was now looking into the cold green eyes of Harry Potter. The power radiating from him made the sixth-year blood run cold, though it quickly faded as his face was now red with anger.

"Stay out of this, Potter. This does not concern you," Davies saw the fire in Potter's eyes and instantly froze. The rage of Potter's magic increased as he had never felt so much pressure before in his life.

Harry was about an inch taller than Davies, and his broad shoulder, along with his sheer power, made the fool scared. "That is where you are wrong as you and the other degenerates attacked someone under the protection of the House of Potter and Black!" Many of the students gasped. The heirs and heiresses immediately knew that Davies and the others were fucked. Attacking someone under the protection of a Noble House was bad, but attacking someone under the protection of an Ancient House was worse. Way worse! Things were for then were about to get ugly. "Besides, I have very little patience for bullies. Especially those who get their rocks off by attacking someone who can't fight back!"

The murderous look and dangerous tone of his voice made the entire House of Ravenclaw shudder with fear. Roger was as pale as a ghost.

"Ah, come on! I can't believe you would actually try and protect Loony Lov-" he was cut off when Harry grabbed his neck and pulled him close. "Her name is Luna, you worthless sack of shit." Now, Roger was terrified as he thought Potter was going to kill him.

"And if you think that this is over, then you have another thing coming as this is only the beginning of your punishment. So for your sakes, I hope you have good lawyers." He threw the boy on the ground, where he landed on his butt. "While it would be the simplest thing for me to break all the bones in your body's. I won't. Instead, I'll let the Wizengamot deal with you."

Roger got back to his feet and looked pleadingly at him. "Potter, please don't do this. I'm in line for two scholarships and just signed a contract with Tutshill Tornados. If they hear about this, I'll be kicked off the team."

An evil smile appeared on Harry's face. "Should have thought about that before you attacked someone." He whirled around towards the other Eagles, "as for the rest of you lot. Some of you remember that fine Lord Black gave you two years ago, right?" The ones who had to pay all that money froze with fear as they remembered. "Well, that is about to go way up."

Marietta Edgecombe got to her feet. "Professor Flitwick, Professor Dumbledore, you can't let him do this."

The latter spoke. "I am sorry, Ms. Edgecombe, but my hands are tied." Professor Flitwick wouldn't even look at her.

"Literally," Harry commented. "Your heads of houses have already been notified of what happened, so you better pray for mercy." He then looked back at Roger and his companions "as for you idiots, I suggest you leave before I really lose my temper."

They scurried past him as fast as their legs could carry them. Harry retook his seat next to Luna and allowed Flitwick to continue.

"Now we will get to the people who have bullied and stolen from Ms. Lovegood," he read the list of names on the second piece of parchment. "The people who I called out are under house arrest for a month, have detention for the remainder of the term a month into the new semester, and are banned from visiting Hogsmeade for the remainder of the year."

The members of Ravenclaw felt like they were in the deepest parts of hell.

Members from Cho's group were in pure misery. Chang herself had it even worse as Cedric looked at her with anger and disgust. "I consider myself a patient and reasonable man. I put up with a lot of your bullshit these past few months, but this is too much. So as of now, you can consider yourself dumped as I will not date a bully or a thief. Goodbye!" he got up and left to go sit by his housemates, leaving a sobbing Cho to be comforted by her friends.

Professor Flitwick removed the sonorous charm and retook his seat as Septima Vector approached the podium. "Given recent events, all morning classes are canceled for the day, and the students will; return to their common rooms immediately." Within seconds the Hogwarts students rushed back to their individual common rooms. All except for Nicole, who was Professor Snape's apprentice. When the last of the students exited the great hall, she turned to face her colleagues. "Professors Snape, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout, I suggest you reiterate the rules of this institution to your Houses."

"I intend to," Severus swept out of the Hall with his robes billowing as he was going to give his Slytherin's a piece of his mind. His apprentice and the other professor were of the same mindset and would have some severe words with the members of their houses.

As morning classes were canceled, the heads of houses spent most of the morning reiterating the school's rules. The Ravenclaws were in utter misery as Professor Flitwick chewed them out for their actions against one of their own. But, unfortunately, they weren't the only ones getting a tongue lashing. Sprout was still livid after the events of last night and made sure to let her badgers know how angry she was. The entire lair was silent, trying to make sense of what happened as their former housemates not only tried to brutalize another student, but they also used the unforgivables on Harry Potter. Down in the dungeons of Slytherin's house, Professor Snape made sure his snakes knew his displeasure. Slytherins were supposed to be ambitious and cunning, not little bitches who gang up on people who can't fight back. He was still unhappy to learn that those degenerates dared to try and kill his son. But, before their trial, he would be sure to exact some justice upon them. The only house not in complete misery was the Gryffindors as while McGonagall was equally as unhappy. She didn't curse any of her lions. Instead, she reviewed the rules with them and made sure they knew the rules inside and out.

Later that day, before dinner Harry was dressed in black track pants and a red muscle shirt. The young Potter heir was still fuming about Luna's situation but managed to calm himself down before he got to the quidditch pitch. At the entrance, he was met by his instructor.

"Good evening, Hadrian," greeting the boy with a smile. Harry returned the smile and looked at the man. "I would first like to express how sorry I am for what happened to your aunt and cousin. They were good people."

"Thank you, sir," Harry replied in a neutral voice. "Has there been any luck in trying to find the ones responsible?"

"We have a few leads and were able to recover some residual traces of magic, though they're small and mostly gone by now."

"It will suffice." Due to his elemental sight, he could detect and read the smallest amounts of magic with a single glance.

Being a family man himself and a member of the Magus council, Giichi understood the anger and pain of losing someone in his family. "The council was putting a strike team together and figured Kawada and you would want in."

Harry perked up at hearing what the man said. "Tell them hell yeah. Those bastards will soon get what's coming to them." The blood in his veins burned as the demon inside screamed for their blood.

Giichi immediately saw the fire in his eyes and knew exactly what was going through the boy's mind. "Keep it together," he cautiously said. "Remember, a Magus preserves order, justice, and peace in the magical world."

"I know!" Harry cringed.

"I heard about the duels for your NEWT exam and have to admit that I'm impressed." But then, he decided to change the topic of conversation. "As one of your teachers, I feel proud." The boy's skills and power grew were growing exponentially. If he continued at the rate he was going, then he'll probably rival, maybe surpass, his late grandfather's. He was beginning to see why Hayato liked him as the boy was actually forcing him to use about 75 to 80 percent of his power.

"Now, let's begin our training session for the day." He led the boy inside the pitch, where they spent the next couple of hours dueling with the different branches of magic.

(0^0)

After that day, two weeks have passed with things looking better. Finally, Neville got permission from his parents to train under Harry, though it wasn't easy. During their initial meeting, McGonagall gave him permission to leave the castle. However, he still couldn't believe his parents were home as it was all he ever wanted.

Frank and Alice soon returned to the Auror corps after getting some much-needed rest. Before returning to the Ministry, Frank strengthened the wards around the manor. After what happened with Crouch, the Lestranges, and Dolohov, there was no way he would risk something like that again. It still irritated him when he learned how their secret keeper gave them up when he and Alice went into hiding. They should have headed his mother's warning and stayed under the protective enchantments of Longbottom manor. If they did, then they might not have been tortured into insanity and spent the last 12 years trapped within themselves.

Speaking of Frank, he was currently sitting on one of the couches in the sitting room with his wife and mother. While the two were talking about the recent Wizengamot decision, he replayed the discussion he and Neville had about leaving the Light faction. For as long as he could remember, the House of Longbottom have been members of the Light. That is what he originally believed, but their House belonged to the Neutrals before changing, according to his mother. Apparently, she neglected to tell him that part. Neville's argument was something he never expected, though there were valid points made on why they should change.

"I still can't believe what happened," Alice stated, still perplexed. "Arcturus Black. The Lord and Head of the House of Black put people under the protection of his House."

"You think that's something," Augusta replied in the same tone. "Arcturus, Jack, and Hadrian demanded 250,000 galleons from the ones responsible for attacking Ms. Lovegood and had them fired from their jobs." She then continued after briefly pausing. "I have only ever seen Arcturus that angry on a couple occasions, and let me tell you, the people who crossed him wished they hadn't. The four students that tried to kill his nephew received their just desserts."

"Mmhm," Alice agreed, deep in thought as she saw how close her son was to the blonde girl. The two seemed very familiar with each other, and he seemed to care a great deal about her. Now that she thought about it, Neville called asking for some tips on how to make the Yule ball special for her.

A smirk appeared on Augusta's face. "I know what you're thinking, Alice, and your correct. Neville looks at her the same way Frank looked at you." She then looked at her son. "Frank, you remember when you were young and how you were enamored with Alice, right?" She tried again after failing to get a response from him, "Frank? Frank? Frank!"

The voice of his mother brought him out of his thoughts. "Hm. What's going on?" He looked between the two of them.

"Everything ok?" Alice asked.

He thinned his lips before responding. "I was just thinking about the conversation I had with Neville," he stated.

Alice released a breath, "Neville wants to learn how to defend himself and the people he cares about. That's why we sent him a book about offensive and defensive spells. It may not be anything like what was covered at the Auror Academy, but it should be enough-"

"No, not that," stopped her from continuing, "while I'm happy he's taken an interest in combat, but that's not what concerns me." He then released a breath. "Neville thinks it's time we reevaluate our House position in the Wizengamot. I'm starting to wonder if he may be right."

Both Alice and Augusta were shocked that Neville would suggest such a thing.

The former of the two suddenly regained herself. "Why would he suggest we leave the Light faction? I understand that things might have changed in the Wizengamot, but surely they haven't become so unbearable that we need to change."

"That's where your wrong," Augusta bit back. "Soon after the first war, Fudge was named Minister of Magic, and the death eaters who pleaded they were under the imperius curse were freed." The anger in her voice was noticeable as she never liked the idea of Fudge becoming Minister. "Ever since he took office, the balance of power has changed as Malfoy and his lot have him firmly in their pockets. This essentially means they're in charge, and Fudge is nothing more than a puppet for them. Unfortunately, as the years passed, things at the Ministry and Wizengamot have taken a turn for the worse, as I'm sure you know that funding for the Auror office is at an all-time low."

"Another problem is that the so-called Leader of the Light." Augusta never fully trusted Dumbledore as she found him too much of a pacifist during the first war. "If he'd stop sitting on his arse and letting the idiots have their ways, then it would have minimized most of the damages."

"I have a lot to consider and see how bad things really are before deciding on my next move," Frank said thoughtfully before leaving the couch.

This was going to be a long process.

(0^0)

Aaron and the others were currently practicing against a set of dueling dummies in the room of requirement. Harry and the heavenly beasts opted to watch from the sidelines and observe how far they'd come. After hours of sparring, Harry finally called for a break, and most of them collapsed on the ground, drenched in sweat and heavily panting.

"Damn Harry! I-it feels l-like you're trying to kill us," Adrian took a swig out of his water bottle.

His friend all but laughed. "Trust me, compared to what I've been put through, you guys have it easy." He then cleared his throat as his voice became neutral. "There's no doubt that you've all come a long way... but as it stands, your skills are just not there yet. So let's start with you, Nicole."

"What about me?" She looked at him with curiosity.

"Your skills in martial magic are indeed commendable as your magic has surpassed the other seventh years at Hogwarts. In this group, you currently share first place with both Daphne and Emily." The others were stunned by what he said as they looked between them. "However, your style heavily revolves around you being fast and creative with your chain of spells. Your use of spells in combinations is great. I've noticed quite a lot that you sacrifice your defense for a finishing blow. Never do that! Also, you need to improve your defensive skills and your overall stamina."

He then turned his attention to Emily, "as for you, your offensive, defensive, and speeds are impressive. That said, you choose to rely on a mixture of both charms and transfiguration for victory, that good use it. While your combat style is similar to mine, yours is more balanced, and you imply acrobatics to dodge. However, your weaknesses need to improve."

"What do I need to improve?"

"Your transitioning skills are rigid. So you'll need to work on that," he replied. "The next issue is that you succumb to the weaknesses of both battle charms and transfiguration. So instead of letting them hamper you, turn them into your weapons."

Harry continued on to the others naming their strengths, weaknesses, and how they could improve them. At the moment, Neville, Astoria, Luna, and Lilith were the weakest. (Exclusively in that order based on their skills in martial magic).

Harry then turned away from Astoria and back to Neville. "Also, Neville," that caused the boy to look up. "While you indeed have potential, your attacks are simple and predictable. You're constantly trying to meet power with power. Do not do that as it will be the end of you, and you might want to try dodging more." To that, Neville nodded his head as Harry went back to address them as a whole.

"Here are a couple important things to consider. One: Never put all you have into a finishing spell. Two: Never lower your guards because the moment you do, your fucked. Three: No matter how good techniques are, never forget that magical combat demands improvisation. Four: Never assume you won the battle until you're sure the enemy is defeated. Five: Try to hone your skills in another way; never rely on a single tactic or fighting style. It would be better to adopt a more thoughtful approach to combat that way you can see! Six: Do not, and I repeat, do not! Jump into a fight without analyzing the situation first. I cannot stress that enough. Seven: Always remain one step ahead of your opponents. Eight: remember the pain you've experienced today and let it activate you. And lastly, number nine: never underestimate your opponents. It might just be the last thing you will ever do!" Everyone stared at him with bewilderment. "All right, that's enough for the day. Go treat your injuries in the rejuvenation chambers and grab a shower." He pointed to the girls' section and then to the boys.

Everyone groaned as they got up. The teens were utterly exhausted, had a couple broken bones, and felt like their bodies would give out. Harry sat on the couch as they dragged themselves to be healed from today's exertion. Twenty-five minutes later, they all emerged and went to dinner.

"I never thought I could be so sore," Susan exclaimed, taking a seat next to Adrian.

"This only goes to show how lazy the people in Magical Britain are," Harry said. "Though, I will admit that you've made some great progress. If you continue training like this, you might defeat some of the Aurors. It's just an assumption on my part."

Susan could only groan as he ate some spinach. "Speaking of the Aurors. Has there been any word about securing money for Amelia's department?"

"Sadly, no," Susan shook her head. "Auntie has been pushing the issue for months, but Fudge won't let the budget committee give her anything."

Tracey scoffed at the situation. "My father sent me a letter about the last Wizengamot session, calling it a waste of everyone's time. I swear he ranted for a good hour when he got home."

"My parents aren't anymore happier about the situation," Neville added.

While they continued talking about the problems with Fudge, the budget committee, and the decrease in Aurors, Harry was in deep thought. The first thing on his mind was Andromeda, Ted, and Dora. Before they moved into the safe house, he placed a series of powerful parseltongue wards around their home. He would have added more protections, but Andromeda said no as the wards were strong enough to repel agents from the ICW, and trying to deactivate them would be extremely dangerous. The next issue came in the form of Andromeda's place of employment. The company she worked for found out about the lycanthropy in her bloodstream and let her go. Old Arcturus was pissed with her and offered to buy the company, but the woman was adamant in telling him not to. Respecting his granddaughter's decision, he reluctantly agreed. The man, however, promised to supply her with enough money until she could find a job that would overlook her affliction. Seeing how she wouldn't win the battle agreed with him. Another thing that came to his mind was the attack he, Miwa, and a squad Magus took part in. They've been searching for clues on where Greyback, Dolohov, and those bounty hunters could be hiding.

On their last mission, they took out forty-seven individuals who were either allied or had ties with the bastards. Understandably, he and Miwa were itching for some payback. Out of the forty-seven people they faced that day, only nine survived but were left in perpetual agony, a few of their limbs were gone, and they were scared out of their minds. The ones that died learned the consequences of crossing a Magus and attacking their families. Harry and Miwa ripped into their minds looking for any information they could find about their associates' whereabouts. Sadly they knew nothing about where they'd gone, so they got the next best thing. Death! Another mission was going to take place later tonight in the werewolf colonies, and Harry was determined to get his hands on Greyback and the other members of his pack. However, there was a good side as he was able to identify bounty hunters that attacked Cassiopeia, Rio, and Andromeda. Initially, he wanted to go after them but learned he couldn't as they were high-ranking members from the Duelist guild. Killing them would cause all sorts of problems, so he decided to let his uncles handle the matter.

There was, however, a good side as the next task would be a duel against members from the guild and Auror corps. All he'd have to do was be patient and bide his time before exacting his revenge. Harry silently prayed that he would be the one to face them as they would be participating in the tournament.

"So how are things in Gryffindor, Neville?" That question brought Harry out of his thoughts.

"Honestly, they're not that good," he replied, looking at Luna. "The house-elves refuse to clean the place. What's worse is that they began a strike against us?"

Harry started laughing, causing the others to look at him. The people that knew what he told the elves just smirked. Neville, Luna, Susan, and Aaron were confused about what was funny.

"This is too rich," Harry finally calmed down. "Maybe this will teach the people in Gryffindor to not be so lazy and stop taking them for granted."

"Wait, this is your doing?" Neville exclaimed, causing the other students to look at them. "Why?"

"Lower your voice, and I'll explain," Harry cast a quick glance at Granger and could tell she'd been fuming since the elves refused her clothes and stopped cleaning the tower. Then, clearing his throat, "the answer to your question is simple, and it concerns bushy-haired bookworm over there," jabbing his thumb at Hermione.

"How does this concern, Hermione?" Neville asked. "I know you two don't get along, but why stop the house elves from cleaning the common room?"

Emily answered. "It's because of the fact that Granger started a campaign about trying to free them. According to her, they're treated like slaves and what we've been doing is barbaric." She scoffed in annoyance. "Instead of asking them what they want, she decided it for them. Little did she know is that when someone frees a house-elf, their lifespans reduce."

"Anyway, new topic," Harry wanted to change the conversation and turned to Luna. "Are you ready for tomorrow, Luna?"

"I am," she said with her usual dreamy expression. "Daddy has been looking for a new place for us to live, and thank you again for looking after me. Both of you." A smile appeared on her face as she looked at Harry and Emily.

"We Stevenson's look after our own," Emily smiled back.

"Hopefully, this will get the word out that the people under the protection of our Houses are not to be trifled with," Harry ate the last piece of his roast beef. "While your father, Uncle Arcturus, and I discuss things at Gringotts... once a suitable place has been found, I'll put up some protective wards and other enchantments. Meanwhile, you, Emily, Neville, and Aunt Sarah can go shopping. Speaking of which, I have something for you, Neville," he pulled out a large package and handed it to him.

"What's this for?" wondering why Hadrian gave him a package filled with who knows what.

A smile appeared on Hadrian's face "those are magical orbs," he casually replied. "They're more powerful than wards. Your mother sent me a letter asking for help with the security around your home."

Noticing that Neville was still confused, he continued. "If you're wondering what they are, then don't. The specifics will be over your head, but to put it simply, it's old and very powerful magic."

"Thank you," Neville opened the package to see a couple of glowing orbs radiating power. "I'll get these to my parents. Loki," an elf appeared next to him.

"What can Loki do for young master Neville?"

"I need you to take this package and give it to my parents," handing him the package. "Tell them it's a gift from Harry." Loki took the package and popped back to the manor.

Over at the Gryffindor table, Hermione started seething at how Neville summoned an elf to do his bidding. She would be sure to have words with him later. How dare he treat a house-elf as a slave. They were sentient beings who should be freed. Her S.P.E.W campaign had reached a dead-end other than the people already in the group; no one else wanted to join. All the clothes she knitted for them were destroyed, and they refused to clean the common room. This went on for weeks until she demanded to know why. Their only answer was that Harry Potter told them not to. That made her blood boil. How dare he condone slavery. Hermione went to Professor Dumbledore for help, and he said he would speak to them after dinner. Looking at the Hufflepuff table, she saw Potter leaving his group of friends. He was likely going to speak with Dumbledore.

A smug look appeared on her face as she didn't want to miss the headmaster telling him off. Quickly she poked Ron and Ginny in the stomach and told them to come along. The two Weasley's followed behind, though Ron seemed irritated that he couldn't finish his food.

(0^0)

The three Gryffindors made it to the entrance of the headmaster's office. Hemione wore a smile of superiority as she didn't want to miss this meeting. However, it quickly vanished when she saw that Potter wasn't alone as his uncle Lord Black was next to him. The man still terrified her as she felt the blood inside her run cold. To her right was Ron, and being the person he was spoke before thinking.

"What are you doing here, Black?" Ron quickly recoiled in fear when Black's grey eyes narrowed at him with annoyance.

Arcturus had to resist the urge to cut the insignificant little shit's tongue out. Instead, he turned his attention to the gargoyle and barked, "we're all here. Tell Dumbledore that we're waiting for him."

The gargoyle regarded him for a moment, then turned around for a few minutes before revolving the staircase. All of them walked up until they made it to the door; just before Arcturus could knock on the door, the irritating voice of Dumbledore echoed through.

"Come in, Lord Black."

Arcturus opened the door to see Dumbledore sitting at his desk with Septima, Minerva, and Severus standing at both his sides. "Hello, all. Would any of you care for a Sherbert lemon?" he popped one in his mouth.

"Dispense with the pleasantries, Dumbledore," Arcturus's cold voice showed he was not happy. "This had better be really damn important."

Albus sucked in a breath. "I assure you, Lord Black, that this meeting is indeed important. As there are things that need to be discussed in regards to Mr. Potter and his housemates."

"Get on with it," Arcturus grunted.

Minerva watched them with keen observation. While she didn't want to be present as she already had a feeling what was going to happen. The fact remains that it involves students from her house. Minerva was not a fool as she was present when Ms. Granger came in earlier to complain about how Mr. Potter told the house-elves to stop cleaning the Gryffindor common room. She figured it had something to do with the child's little campaign to help the house-elves! Admittedly she hadn't paid much attention to it as she'd been busy with preparing her fifth and seventh years for their exams in June.

"Well, you see, Ms. Granger arrived earlier to deliver some news on how Mr. Potter told the elves to stop cleaning their common room," his blue eyes twinkled as he looked at the Hermione. "Ms. Granger, if you please."

Hermione visibly gulped when she turned to Lord Black, silently thanking Merlin that Professor Dumbledore was here. "Y-You see, sir, I started a little campaign to help the house-elves around the castle by laying out some clothes for them. It's absolutely barbaric as they are condemned to slavery; in the muggle world, there isn't such a thing as the people learned to fend for themselves." She then narrowed her eyes at Harry. "For the past two weeks or so, they've destroyed all the hats, mittens and were told to stay out of Gryffindor tower by your nephew. They also began striking against the others as well."

Arcturus turned to his nephew, who looked like he was having a hard time stifling his laughter. "Care to explain why you told them to stay out of the common room?"

Quickly getting his laughter under control, Harry answered. "It's a relatively simple answer. One you will find enjoyable."

"Mr. Potter, please keep your cheek in check and answer the question," Minerva wore her usual no-nonsense expression on her face. But on the inside, she was interested in hearing what he had to say.

Shrugging his shoulders. "The house-elves were upset that a couple of their companions were freed after Granger put out some clothes for them. Apparently, the insufferable bucktoothed know-it-all here," not caring that McGonagall took ten points for insulting another student. Hermione scowled at him while Ron's ears became pink. "Decided to free them without asking what they wanted. Anybody with a brain could see that they were displeased by what she tried to do. That's why I bonded them back to the castle and asked that they don't enter the common room."

"How dare you condone slavery," Hermione shouted. "They are sentient beings who should be free. I can't believe you actually brought them back. If we were in the muggle world then-"

"We're not in the muggle world now, are we," Harry cut her off. "Are you really that blind that you can't see that we don't want any of your muggle ideas? Furthermore, what gives you the right to decide on right and wrong? If you actually talked to the elves and asked what they wanted, then this would not be happening. To them, you're nothing more than a tyrant, forcing your ideals on them. Let me give you a little history lesson on how house-elves work... they've served the magical world long before the formation of this school. Their entire culture revolves around them finding people to bond with, and they don't want to be freed."

"I am not a tyrant, and I was helping them," she shot back. "They are obviously brainwashed because working without-"

"Put a cork in it, Granger," Harry snapped. "Honestly, this is exactly like what happened with that troll incident! You constantly believe that you know what's best for everybody and believe you are the only one with answers. Get it through your thick head that you don't know everything and are not always right. The elves came to me with tears in their eyes, begging me to come back home. Tell me, have you ever actually talked to them?"

"Yes. I saw the one Mr. Crouch released and the one Neville summoned. Plus, the books I've read say that-"

"That is not what I mean," he looked down at her with fire in his eyes, "and just so you know, books are written by authors who are known to be wrong." Hermione looked like she had taken a bludgeoning spell to the stomach when he told her that books could be wrong. Then, taking a break "also Crouch freed his elf Winky because he wanted to cover up the fact that he broke his son out of Azkaban. Neville's elf was only delivering a package to his parents."

"Back to the point, the house-elves in this castle are not yours to do away with. They belong to this castle, and only the headmaster has the right to dismiss them if they do anything bad. Freeing them is basically sentencing them to death as their lives thrive on it. All they want is respect and for you to stop meddling in their lives."

"Mr. Potter, please calm yourself," Albus said in a grandfatherly tone. Even he had to agree with the boy's logic as he was 100% correct. Briefly massaging his temples, he looked at Hermione. "Ms. Granger, while I applaud your forward-thinking and your willingness to help the house-elves. However, you should have come to me about the situation, first as they belong to this school. And Mr. Potter is absolutely correct in saying that they want to be respected for their hard work, and releasing them would inadvertently kill them." He raised a hand to keep her from talking, "no matter how you may see it, that is the way it is."

Albus then turned to Harry. "Mr. Potter, will please ask the house-elves clean Gryffindor tower again?"

"Disband Granger's little spew campaign and have her stop freeing them, then you have a deal." Hermione looked moments away from snapping at him because he got didn't pronounce it right.

Releasing a tired sigh, "Ms. Granger, as of right now, you will end your campaign to free the elves in this castle and stop trying to free them."

"Yes, sir," Hermione looked down in shame. All her efforts to help the house-elves suddenly went up in smoke.

"Now, onto other business," leaning back in his chair, feeling that he was going to need a glass of Firewhiskey before bed. "Regarding your masteries, have you decided on the subjects you wished to study first?"

"Wait, professor," Hermione interrupted. "What do you mean by masteries?"

"Not your concern," Harry said dismissively. "Why don't you head back to Gryffindor common room and get your affairs in order. You are no longer relevant, not that you ever were."

"Hey, there's no reason for you to be such a prat to Hermione," Ron finally couldn't keep his mouth closed. "She's only asking what the masteries are."

McGonagall stepped in to dissuade the tension, "that will be another ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Weasley." She thinned her lips. "As for masteries, Mr. Potter was offered the chance to apprentice under myself and the other professors in the hopes of obtaining a master's degree in our respective subjects."

"Hold on, if Potter is being offered, then why isn't Hermione getting the same? She's the best student in her year. Certainly, she can qualify for the apprenticeships," Ron argued, making Hermione's cheeks turn crimson as she agreed.

"That is true, and I applaud you for sticking up for a friend. It's sadly not that easy as Ms. Granger hasn't even taken her OWLs yet, and while she may be a good student. She only has the ability to understand the subjects and doesn't have any natural affinities. If this changes by the time she takes her fifth-year exams, then the Department of Wizarding Education will need to decide on it."

By now, Hermione's brain was fried as it tried to digest the information.

On the other hand, Ginny could only stare in awe that Harry was being offered the chance of obtaining several masteries by the time he finished with his NEWTs. She soon began imagining what he would teach her behind closed doors. Already, she'd seen him topless on multiple occasions, and to this day, it still made her want to drool. If Harry were an apple... he'd be delicious!" She unconsciously licked her lips at the thought.

"To your question, headmaster, I'll also study under Professor Sprout for a mastery in herbology. "However," he stopped Dumbledore from speaking, "giving my schedule, I'd like to spread them out."

"That is perfectly acceptable," Albus stroked his white beard. "What subjects would you like to study, first?"

"Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, and DADA," Harry answered in a firm voice.

Dumbledore thought for a moment about the boy's choice of subjects and found nothing wrong with them. "Those are acceptable. I assume you will be receiving your results for your NEWTs at the beginning of August. Of course, you are aware that either Madam Marchbanks or Madam Quinn will need to sign off on them."

"Naturally!"

"Then you may leave. Professor McGonagall, would you please escort them out?"

Minerva ushered Arcturus and the students out of the office. After arriving at the bottom of the stairs, Harry called one of the house-elves from the kitchen and told him that he and the others could clean the Gryffindor common room again. The little elf jumped for joy and popped back to the kitchen to deliver the news.

With that done, Harry went to the room of requirement with the lions following behind. The trip was silent, which suited him perfectly as he had no desire to talk with any of them. Arriving at the door, he muttered the password to allow them inside. More than 70 percent of the student body was present either working on their assignments or practicing different spells. A majority of the students were in their fifth and seventh years. They've obviously heard how great the study sessions were as it became a well-known fact that anyone who attended ended up with better grades. Maneuvering himself to his desk, Harry pulled out one of the scrolls that contained a ritual. The scrolls were written in ancient languages like Roman, Welsh, Sanskrit, Sumerian, Parseltongue, etc. Luckily, he was able to read the languages without any difficulties.

The scroll he was currently looking through was written in a special Welsh script, used only by high-ranking individuals from King Arthur's court. This specific ritual would enhance his reflexes, accelerate his healing, and improve his overall stamina. The best parts were that he wouldn't have to sacrifice his humanity or worry about it affecting his children in the future. According to Salazar, Riddle never got a hold of this ritual as it was locked away and protected by ancient wards. Harry would have breathed a sigh of relief, but his dad told him that Voldemort used darker rituals and that his injuries would take a minute or two to heal. Harry figured that he would need an edge and found another scroll written in Ancient Roman. This ritual would strengthen his magical core and make it recover quicker, and whenever he needed to use a large amount of magic, his core wouldn't drain as fast. Like the last one, there were no side effects. He would need to discuss this with the others later.

"Hey Harry," someone called out to him. Lowering the scroll, he scanned the area for the person until his gaze landed on Cedric.

"What do you need, Cedric?"

The sixth-year Hufflepuff fidgeted for a moment before speaking. "I was wondering if you can teach me how to do the Patronus charm?" That one question got the entire room talking as many of the students heard how skilled he was at producing a Patronus. A good portion of the students looked pleadingly at him, hoping that he would say yes.

"Is that what you all want? For me to teach you how to produce a Patronus charm?" Everyone nodded at him. "Very well! But before I do, can any of you tell me what the Patronus charm is, and I don't mean what you've read in books," glaring at Granger, who looked ready to answer the question.

A fifth-year boy spoke, "it's a difficult piece of magic that can repel a dementor, but it consumes a lot of magic."

"That's barely adequate," Harry responded. "Anyone else?"

Hannah was the next to speak, "the Patronus is a magical defensive spell with three types of shields. It is capable of holding and driving back a dementor and lethifold."

"Highly competent," Harry commented, giving her a smile. "Are there any other theories?"

Parvati decided to give it a shot. "The Patronus Charm is a physical manifestation of a person's soul that functions as a form of protection against Dementors. For each person, their Patronus will take different forms depending on the caster. While originally thought to be difficult because of the amount of power needed. However, while magical power is required to make a Patronus become a solid corporeal, the caster also needs to let the emotions envelop them."

"That's the answer I was looking for," the praise made Parvati blush, "and you are absolutely right." He flicked his wand out to show the necessary wand movement and then conjured his Patronus. The dragon let out a massive roar, much to everyone's amazement.

"Don't get discouraged if you don't get it the first time. Please move to the right side of the room if you already know how to produce a solid Patronus. The rest of you move to the other side." Emily, Daphne, Tracey, Astoria, Lilith, and Blaise went to the right while everybody else went to the left.

"All right. Let's begin," rounding his desk "like what Parvati said the Patronus requires a powerful memory to make the spell work. Whatever memory you decide to use is your own, and you don't have to share if you don't want to. Just let the memory envelop you... Cedric, since you were the one to recommend this spell, why don't you start?"

Cedric walked forward to the center of the room with his wand. "Before you cast the spell, remember to find a powerful memory. Then, once you have it, try the spell."

Cedric closed his eyes and thought about a memory from his past. It took a couple minutes before he found one and opened them again, tightening his grip over his wand. Then, performing the wand movement, he said the incantation, "expecto patronum." Silver vapor emerged from his wand. He tried three more times, and the results were the same. "Are you kidding me?" He was exhausted.

"Easy, Cedric." Harry placed a hand on his shoulder "remain calm."

"What am I doing wrong? I have the memory, but all I get is a sliver vapor."

"For one, you need to loosen your grip on your wand," Harry pointed out. "Second, the memory you might be using may not be powerful enough. You need to use a memory that has a specific meaning to you. And lastly, your spell isn't working because of the lack of intent behind it. Remember, magic is based on will and intent. Try again, but this time, a different memory. Close your eyes and reach down into your magical core, and let it guide you. Visualize the spell and what you want the magic to do."

Taking the advice, Cedric took a breath, closed his eyes, found his magical core and different memory. Then, saying the spell and performing the wand movement, a white shield manifested. "Woah," Cedric said as he almost stumbled back.

"I got you," throwing his arm around him. "That was a lot better. A little more practice, and it'll become a solid corporeal Patronus."

"Thanks, Harry," Cedric said as a member from his house came to take him back.

"Does anybody else want to try?" Harry looked around to see a person from Slytherin coming forward.

After that, it soon fell into a routine with everyone trying the charm for themselves. Only a handful could manifest a shield. Others only got silver vapors. Harry told them not to worry as they would eventually pick it up with some practice. An hour later, they were drained and began to leave for their respective common rooms, leaving only Harry, Daphne, and Luna. The latter was happy with the change as she didn't have to sleep in Ravenclaw tower anymore. Luna wished them goodnight before going into the bed-chamber the room created for her.

Looking at the clock, Harry sighed as it was almost time for him to go. "I have to get ready for the mission tonight." The clock read it was fifteen minutes till ten.

"Good luck and be careful," Daphne gave him a quick kiss before he got up to change into his combat gear.

"I'll see you when I get back," was all he said before disappearing up the stairs to their bedroom. Entering the room, Harry activated the ID tag around his neck, and almost instantly, the clothes he was wearing changed into the new combat uniform his company created. He had to admit they did a good job as the uniform was tailored with all the improvements he wanted. The mask he wore had also been improved, with the lens now able to see if people were hiding under protective wards like the fidelius charm. Also, can read how powerful the wards were and a couple other added features. He then pulled out a portkey and transported himself to the Citadel.

Things were about to get messy.

(0^0)

Daphne lay in the bed reading a section about manipulating magic from her family's grimoire. Manipulating magic, especially raw magic, was exceedingly difficult and a great amount of power and control. Most people could not do it because of how difficult it was, and they lacked the necessary amount of magic. To her knowledge, only a handful of people perform that level of skill. However, she had researched ancient wizards and witches that were capable and even seen memories from both her house, Harry's and Lord Black's. It was clear that the people in the past were more powerful than the people in the present. This was likely because of people like Dumbledore and Fudge taking over and manipulating the public into believing what they thought was best.

But Daphne was a Slytherin through and through. She was ambitious and cunning, not to mention the next Head of the House of Greengrass. Daphne wasn't vain or blind as she knew that power, money, and titles were nothing if you didn't have the will to back them up. But that was not her. No, she wanted to prove who she was and make her mark in the world.

Turning a page, she continued reading for a while longer. Her thoughts suddenly started drifting off towards her boyfriend as she hoped he was alright. She knew he had a destiny to protect the magical world, though it didn't stop her from worrying about him as he'd already been through more than what anyone should be forced to go through. Then, just as she was about to put her grimoire on the nightstand, he popped into the room. The new battle gear he wore was the talk of the international market as the different ICW military bases, and the different Ministries placed orders for them. They were much stronger and more durable than the last batch. At the moment, though, his uniform was stained with blood. When the gear deactivated, she saw how exhausted he was as his entire body was drenched in sweat.

"What happened out there?"

"Werewolves. The day before the full moon, they become more primal." He quickly cast the tempus charm to see the time, only to widen his eyes when it said it was close to midnight.

Tonight's attack was a long one since it was close to the full moon, which meant anyone infected with lycanthropy would become more beast-like. Their speeds and reflexes were also enhanced. Luckily for the Magi's, they were prepared for tonight as they knew how to deal with werewolves. Silver! Silver was a fatal weakness to werewolves as it proved to be deadly against them. The forty-six or so combatants were members of Fenrir's pack and were quite lethal in their own rights. Thank Merlin that no one from their group died. That said, the same couldn't be said for the werewolves as twenty-nine of them ended up dead, while eight of them were left in perpetual agony and sent to holding cells.

A light chuckle escaped Daphne's lips as he moved over to her. "Go get a shower. You smell awful."

"Aw, can't I have one in the morning?" He groaned before getting a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Besides, I much rather lay with my girlfriend and spend time with her."

"Not when you smell like that," scrutinizing her nose at the way he smelled.

"Yeah, alright, alright," he went to his drawer to pull out a nightshirt, and a pair of boxers, then went into the bathroom. A quick shower later, Harry emerged from the bathroom with a silly grin on his face. "Better?"

"Much," smiling at him. "You know we are teenagers sharing the same bed. I certainly hope you can keep those thoughts of yours in check," she teased.

Harry walked over to lean down and pulled her into a passionate kiss which she returned. Then, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her closer, their tongues started dancing with each other. Daphne ran her fingers through his messy hair while their lips moved in sync. He then pulled away to look her in the eyes. "It's kind of hard for me to stay in control when I have the hottest girl in the entire school as my girlfriend. Sometimes, I can't help but wonder if she is a veela! They are known to entrance men."

That made Daphne giggle, "well, I can assure you that I am no veela, but I've certainly managed to entrance you," her eyes danced with glee.

He kissed her again. "That you have, Sapphire. That you have."

Daphne moved her hands to his neck and brought his face closer, recapturing his lips. Harry responded with the same amount of passion as her, crawling into bed; he was now on top of her. The two continued making out with their hands roaming one another's bodies. Daphne had always been amazing, but right now, she was insatiable as Harry's lips left her and were now attacking her exposed neck. This made her moan as he continued kissing her neck, as it sent sparks in her mind. At that moment, Harry's rational mind was gone as his body was operating on its impulses.

Leaving her neck, his lips found hers once again, and the two began snogging each other senselessly. Daphne unconsciously moved her hips, only to discover his thing poking at her womanhood. The two were so immersed in what they were doing that Harry didn't realize that his hands traveled beneath her waist and grabbed her arse. He then gave it a gentle squeeze causing her to gasp in his mouth, pulling away a little bit.

"Harry... as much... as I want to continue," she moaned again when he squeezed her arse. "Let's... stop for... the night before we do something we'll regret." She tried catching her breath as they went further than usual. Sure they've snogged in that past, but it wasn't as heated. Daphne found she liked this side of him.

He looked at her with confusion, then after regaining his rational mind. He realized where his hands had traveled to and how big he got down there.

Suddenly he pulled away and turned around while furiously blushing, "sorry, I didn't mean to go that far." He was completely embarrassed.

After getting her breath under control, a mischievous smile appeared on her face. Then she wrapped her arms around him and placed her head against his back. "Harry, you didn't do anything I didn't like, and this is natural between people who are dating."

"I didn't want to do anything too forward or inappropriate with you," he replied.

"You're the only person who I ever do this with," she said in a calm voice. "I am flattered that you think of me that way, given your physical reactions. Though, if you still feel bad, then there's something you can do to make up for it," her voice was a bit seductive.

"What's that?" Harry's cheeks were still red as he felt her chest press against his back.

"Then hold me and kiss me like you did before." After hearing that, he turned back to her and brought his lips to hers. The kiss wasn't as heated as before, but it held just as much passion. As he wrapped his arms around her once again, she pulled her legs over his lap. Then, after a couple minutes of snogging, they got under the covers. Daphne rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat; the two eventually fell asleep.

(0^0)

After that night, Harry and Daphne's relationship grew stronger, with the two intensifying their make out sessions whenever they were alone. Though not everything was alright with the matter as both Severus and Roxanne gave their kids the "talk," Harry didn't like hearing it the first time and tried to escape, but his dad was a few steps ahead of him. So he had to endure his father's lecture. Byakko, Suzaku, and Genbu found the affair amusing, especially the Genbu who liked seeing Harry shocked out of his mind. The boy was positive the god was sadistic.

At Gringotts, Arcturus and Harry, along with the help of Griphook, were able to find Xenophilius a new house. The money he got from the lawsuit against the people who attacked his daughter was substantial, and he bought a two-story house in Sheffield, England. While they did that, Sarah, Emily, and Neville took Luna shopping for new clothes, school supplies, an extra wand, etc. Later that afternoon, Mr. Lovegood asked if Harry and Arcturus could accompany him to the house and put up some protective wards. Harry complied and spent close to two hours putting up powerful wards around the place. Then, just like what he did for the Tonks and Longbottoms, he added some magical orbs to the property and parseltongue wards. When the job was done, Xenophilius was elated thanked him and Lord Black for their help.

In the end, things went back to normal as the students of Hogwarts were now leaving Luna alone as they didn't want to risk angering either Potter or Lord Black. The people that delighted in making Luna's life a living hell were in utter misery as they lost a lot of money. Basically, the people from Ravenclaw were not in the best of moods as the entire house was in utter misery. A couple of them had lost their scholarships from the Davis Foundation, and that wasn't counting the angry letters they got from their parents. The ones who attacked Harry during the chamber of secrets fiasco certainly felt his uncle's ire as the man took even more money from their parents. Hell, even the board of governors were furious when they heard what happened, seeing as some of them were parents. So they understood Mr. Lovegood's anger. Out of all the ravens, the people most upset came from Cho Chang's group as they were under house arrest, got detentions, angry letters from their parents who promised to punish them when they got home.

Cho, in particular, wasn't looking any popular as she not only lost her prefect badge, but Cedric had publicly dumped her in front of everyone. That was humiliation on another level because it significantly lowered her popularity and reputation as one of the hottest girls in school when word spread. It wasn't that she ever cared for Cedric, as she was planning on breaking up with him when she found that she couldn't use him to make Harry jealous. She couldn't understand why someone like him would want anything to do with Lovegood. The girl was insane, according to her and her friends, but since she was under the protection of three Most Ancient Houses. Things went downhill for her family.

This was only the start as she couldn't even get near him, and whenever she did, he gave her a frosty death glare that sent shivers down her back. Her sadness was only toppled by her anger at Greengrass as she was positive that she had him under a love potion. It wasn't fair as she didn't deserve to be treated like some piece of garbage. Boys were meant to fall all over her and become drooling idiots whenever they saw her. Hopefully, the situation will die soon, and she could regain her position above the other trollops.

(0^0)

A battle in this section

The month of March faded quickly into April. Harry, Daphne, Emily, and Severus spoke with the others about the latest events concerning the raids. No one knew where Fenrir or his associates were hiding. According to Alex and Ichika, the insurgents had bounties on their heads and wanted either dead or alive. The officers from the ICW were allowed to use lethal force against them. Jack could tell that Alex wanted them all dead if possible as they were too dangerous to be left alive. Surprisingly the Ministry agreed as they felt the same. Most of them did as Lucius's group was hesitant as they had ties with them from the first war. Though they couldn't say anything as it would incriminate them, they'd be forced under Veritaserum to reveal where their true allegiance lied with.

Before the meeting ended, Harry expressed his desire to use rituals to enhance his body and magical core. A great debate arose as the others didn't know what the consequences would be if the rituals were performed. The person most angry about the matter was Severus, who expressed his displeasure at the thought of his son using rituals. It took well over an hour for Harry to explain why he needed to perform the rituals because it was only a matter of time before he crossed paths with Voldemort. The bastard had a huge advantage over him with over 50 years of experience, knowledge, and a large repertoire of dangerous spells in his arsenal. After a long discussion, everyone consented and decided that it was best to proceed with the rituals, though Severus still held his reservations. However, Harry didn't want Miwa or Daphne to go in unprepared and recommended that they do it. The girls immediately agreed with his proposal to perform the rituals after the third task.

Speaking of the task, after getting the 411 on the details from Alex, Harry was ecstatic as he was going to exact his revenge on the bastards that attacked his family. Arcturus said the Duelist Guild agreed to allow the members of his House to do away with the people who attacked his family. Harry found Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor after the meeting was over and explained the next task.

The four spent the rest of their time strategizing what to do and how to proceed with the next task as they were going to face people from the Duelist Guild and the DMLE. April seemed to fly by relatively quickly with the third task upon them. Same with the first task, the champions met in the tent near the quidditch pitch. However, they were wearing combat gear designed by Harry's company. The four of them knew that today would be difficult, even when the judges came in to explain the task and decide the order in which they would go.

One by one, they reached in the bag and pulled out a folded piece of parchment with the number of combatants they would be facing and where they came from. Harry, of course, was torn between being angry and happy as he would be facing the bastards responsible for what happened in Ireland. They would soon face the music for what they've done.

Up in the stands, Filius was bouncing with glee as a couple of the masters were present. Not only that but three of them were high-ranking masters were present. Of course, being a master Duelist himself, he knew who the three were as they were his colleagues. Even Mr. Nakao was present to see how his young pupil would fair against his opponents. Among the masters were Yumi Sakai and Caleb Robinson.

The former looked at the field with a stoic expression and saw a total of eighteen people on the pitch. Six Aurors, eight elite class Duelists, and four Masters. Two were low-level, and the other two were mid-class. Out of the eighteen, seven of them will not be leaving the pitch alive. The only thing on her mind was that they did this to themselves. Her attention was soon on Bagman as he explained what the champions would be doing for the third task.

"If the task becomes too much for the champions, they can send red sparks with their wands, and the duel will be immediately halted," Bagman's amplified voice caused the audience to cheer. At that moment, the sound of a cannon was heard, signaling that the task was about to begin. "And without further ado, put your hands together for the representative of Mahoutokoro Hadrian Potter."

The crowd cheered once again as Harry emerged from the tent with his wand in his hand. Some of the spectators could see the fire burning in his eyes.

"Mr. Potter will be facing a combination of people ranging from the Aurors to the members from the Duelist Guild. Let's see if he has what it takes to defeat all of them." Bagman then looked at the professors and judges. "Do any of you have anything to say before we begin?"

Alastor let out a booming laugh and stood up. Then taking his own wand out, he amplified his voice to bear a message. "To the Aurors and Duelist, I have only one thing to say. You're not going to want to hold anything back! Not against this one," talking about Harry. "For your sakes, you might want to go all out as Potter is the best student I have ever had," he removed the charm and sat back down. This was going to be amusing.

Meanwhile, Harry was surveying the area and checking the magic levels of his opponents. He already knew the people in the back would be a challenge. The rest would be easy picking. However, his attention was on the seven people in the back as he recognized their magical signatures. For those arseholes, there would be no mercy. Then turning his attention to the sky, he saw how cloudy it was today. Another thing of note was the wards that Professor Babbling put up. An evil smirk appeared on his face as the wards wouldn't remain under her control for much longer.

When Bagman gave the final countdown, the Aurors and some of the elite began bombarding Harry with dangerous spells. All of which he dodged with great speed. Pointing his wand at the sky, he shot the same green and white spell at the wards, and within moments the control of the wards was now under his control. However, Harry wasn't done as he twisted his wand around and turned the clouds even more violent. Pretty soon, lightning started reaching the ground striking everything. The winds began howling as they a tempus was quickly formed. The winds and lightning were feeding off his anger and power and grew ever more violent with each step he took. Many of the Aurors became pale as the spells they threw were either blocked or dodged. They didn't know what was going on, but it was obvious that Potter was pissed. A few of the elites hadn't lost their nerves and resumed firing whatever dangerous spells they could while at the same time dodging the lightning strikes coming down.

Fire comets, fire missiles, and other dangerous spells ranging from grey to dark magics were hurled towards Harry, who dodged and retaliated with his own spells. When the more dangerous versions of the fire comet spells sped off towards Harry, he didn't move but instead held his ground and batted them away. Apparently, the elites didn't like the expression on Potter's face as he looked bored. It was like they were being mocked. Not to mention that some of the boy's spells hurt like hell. Well, they'll show him why they were the elites. A few of them created a massive firestorm, followed by a couple explosion curses.

Harry batted their spells away and retaliated with his own explosion curses, piercing, and a multitude of spells he got from the spells Salazar Slytherin library. Many of the spells were dangerous as the area around them was destroyed, a few combatants rolling on the ground in pain. They had never felt so much pain before in their lives. As the firestorm closed in on Harry, he raised his wand and his hand to take control of the massive fire. Smirking a bit, the flames were nothing compared to those he produced as a genesis dragon. Condensing the flames into a massive fireball, he levitated it in the air, which vanished into the clouds. "Time for the fun to begin," he thought mentally.

Twisting his wand into the air, the massive storm continued raging, creating four hurricanes along with a couple dangerous creatures made of pure lightning. All ranging from bears, lions, tigers, pterodactyls, and dragons.

The people in the stands could barely watch as the hurricanes and lightning Potter generated became dangerous with each passing moment. Several of them were screaming as they wanted him to stop. Babbling was trying to regain control of the wards, to no avail, as they were under Potter's control. The judges were also feeling uneasy as they continued watching the match. Right before their eyes was a fourteen-year-old boy beating some of the best duelists like they were nothing. They watched as Harry pointed his wand high in the air and created a massive wall using the wards separating a couple of his opponents from the group.

"I don't know if I should be impressed with Hadrian's skills or embarrassed at how easily my Aurors are being beaten," Amelia grumbled.

"That's really what you're thinking about right now," Bagman exclaimed. "Potter is not only destroying the quidditch pitch but is also making the Aurors and Elites look like their pushovers. And don't even get me started about his power as it's reaching us up here." He never would have expected that the boy had this much power. His mind was racing so fast that he didn't even notice that the massive fireball hidden behind the clouds started a meteor shower that began destroying the pitch and creating craters.

"Just who is this boy? He's not even an adult yet, but his power rivals that of a Master Duelists."

"Did you just suggest he rivals us?" The high-ranking masters sent him a murderous glare that made him recoil.

Realizing his mistake, he quickly apologized. "No, never you. Please forgive me," he gave them a respectful bow. "But if I may ask, how is he so powerful? I mean, some of his are only exclusive to those in your Guild."

"Correct you are," Robinson commented. "You see, Mr. Potter down there was trained by Master Sakai and me." He proudly admitted.

Bagman's eyes bulged as they were about to exit their sockets. "What! Are you telling me that the two of you have been training him?"

Yumi soon stepped in. "We did at one point, but now we only train his sister." A ghost smile appeared on her face. "The boy has a new teacher. Isn't that right, Giichi?" turning to her colleague as he continued watching the match while simultaneously ignoring the others.

"Giichi? You there?"

The man flared his nostrils, "I'll admit that the boy has come a long way since I started training him." However, the pride in his voice wasn't missed as he continued observing his protege. "In fact, if I were to judge his performance, I say he is still holding back." Motioning for his fellow masters to come closer. He put up some privacy ward, "so, what do you all think?"

"The child's power is greater than anything I have ever felt before," the woman next to Sakai said thoughtfully. She was a high-ranking master like Giichi and the two others, while Sakai and Robinson were mid-ranks. "I have to wonder, though, from what I've heard from these two, the boy's power grows with each fight and each time after he heals after taking a lot of damage. It's almost as if he's evolving." Could the boy actually achieve and master that technique?

"Of that, I have no doubt about," he knew what she was thinking as he and Hayato had been trying to steer him towards that level of power for months. "Safe to say his power surpasses some of the mid-ranking master's," he commented as they looked at him with surprise. Then, taking his wand, he lowered the wards and applied the sonorous charm.

"Go on, Hadrian, give 'em hell! Knock the stuffing out of those bastards!"

Hadrian continued his work in debilitating them with his spells. The encouragement from his teacher was all he needed. While his opponents were busy dealing with the lightning animals and still trying to avoid the meteor storm, a couple didn't get away unscathed as they got burned and some injuries. The area itself had been reduced to a broken warzone. Quickly firing a medium-sized silver ball near them, another spell he created. It separated into several small balls that levitated near them. With a snap of his fingers, they all exploded into a high-volume blast that ruptured their eardrums and damaged their inner ears rendering them unconscious.

With a quick wave of his wand, he moved the ground from underneath them so they wouldn't get in his way. The smells of burnt flesh and blood filled his nostrils as he walked past the lightning beasts that hadn't been removed from the battlefield. As he moved forward, the anger and fury inside of him continued to burn as the only thing on his mind at the moment was killing those seven motherfucking bastards. The more Harry walked forward, the more violent the winds, lightning, and storm became. Even the residual traces of fire began rising. Except for the masters, the remaining participants have never felt such force in their entire lives.

"This ends right here! Right now," Harry's entire body started emanating a blue-greenish aura. "I'm going to kill you, bastards, myself!" The deep cold steel in his voice showed how serious he was.

Before he could get any nearer, Dawlish regained consciousness and got back to his feet with his wand pointed at Harry. According to Amelia, Shacklebolt, and Moody, Dawlish was an accomplished Auror but was a snake and a little weasel who kissed Fudge's backside. The battered man tried hitting Harry with the blasting curse, but the boy batted it away like it was nothing. Quickly retaliating, Harry fired the mage blast that ripped right through the shield like it was tissue paper and struck him. Harry made sure to put some power behind his spell as Dawlish screamed in pain as the majority of his bones were now destroyed. Then, summoning the fire around him, Harry pushed the flames forward so they could envelop the Auror. The flames subsided after a minute or two, revealing a badly burnt John Dawlish. His skin was black, and his body was smoking with blood leaking out some parts of his body. To put it simply, the man was all Fucked Up!

Proceeding forward as the man fell over screaming in pain, he slashed his wand at the wards to allow him closer. "You bastards are going to pay for what you did to Cassiopeia!"

"It was only a job! All we did was put down an old lady," one of the four masters stated, though he didn't realize that his voice was heard by everyone in the stands. "Besides, what does it matter to you anyway?"

"Everything!" Harry began firing spells he learned from Hayato, Nakao, and the books in Salazar's chamber. All seven of his opponents found themselves on the defensive as the boy continued bombarding them with questionable spells.

They were sure the boy would have grown tired from using so many high-level spells and his previous duels, but he wasn't. If anything, the boy continued attacking. Another set of issues arose as the lightning beast, the meteor storm, and the winds made it difficult for them to fight back. However, they were far from done as three elites conjured elemental whips of fire, lightning, and ice. As their whips wrapped around the boy's upper body, Harry made an X with his arms over his chest.

"Oh, you got me," Harry was laced with sarcasm. He pretended to be subdued; instead, he started building power. "Not!" Breaking the X made the whips wrapped around him break.

"This cannot be happening," one of them shouted in frustration. "Who is this boy?" The others were equally as shocked at what Potter did. Nevertheless, they finally managed to get rid of the lightning beasts and only had to deal with the meteors and hurricanes. Luckily two of them were gone. So that eased their burdens somewhat.

"I am your worst nightmare." Harry finished off two of the elites when the fiery purple energy orb he fired exploded, killing them and spilling their internal organs on the ground. "Where are Greyback and Dolohov?" he demanded from them.

"Go to hell, Potter," the last elite used a fire comet and hoped it would be enough to end the brat.

Slashing his wand, the comet went in another direction before hitting the ground. "Then let's do this," thrusting his left hand forward, he used a wide are banishing charm to banish his colleagues back a fair distance. Harry sent a combination of deadly spells at his opponent with frightening speed; eventually, the fool's wand arm was struck with the yellow-silver spell and exploded right off the man's body. While the man screamed in absolute pain over the loss of his right arm, Harry finished him off with the pink arrow spell that he liked. As the arrows entered the man's body, they exploded, taking his body's upper half off.

The others could only watch in horror as Potter just violently killed their friends. Filled with anger, they roared with a vengeance and began boosting their magic levels to the limit. The one on the left was most angry. "You killed my friends motherfucker! That's your motherfucking ass!" He and the others started firing spells of a higher caliber at Harry. Surprisingly, none of their attacks made contact as Harry dodged and blocked their assaults. He then began launching a counteroffensive.

"This is nuts," Percy couldn't take his eyes off the pitch as he was awestruck.

"This can't be. How can one boy fight off four masters at once?" Bagman shouted, not believing what he was saying was actually true.

Hayato and Arcturus beamed with pride as they watched Hadrian duel. "Their powers are growing exponentially," the latter said. However, Hayato was more intrigued by the boy's glowing aura.

Harry continued battling his opponents; his rational mind had left and operated on instincts alone. Then, jumping away to avoid their attacks, he noticed their attacks becoming a lot more dangerous as their spells hadn't been used since the war with Grindelwald. Finally, Harry lowered his wand in their last joint attack as the spells approached and let out a massive war cry heard by everyone. The power his body was radiating became all that more intense as his magic was sending waves after waves.

With new power and speed, he began decimating his opponents.

"It's so wonderful. Of course, I hoped for this," Giichi exclaimed with excitement. "But I have to admit that I never expected Potter would be able to achieve this level of power." The boy's power was urging even higher.

"Then you know what's going on?" Karkaroff asked.

"Yes. I believe so. Oh, I have been trying to steer him towards this forever."

The other three high-ranking masters were completely stunned as their jaws hit the floor. Until one groaned in resignation. "This one really is something else. There can be no doubt that he is using Magical Instinct!"

When the other masters heard what she said, they all stood up, whimpering with a mixture of both excitement and fear.

After subduing three of his opponents and banishing the other away, Harry used legilimency on them to see if they knew the locations of Greyback and Dolohov. Sadly they didn't, so he made their deaths excruciatingly painful as their blood-curling screams echoed throughout the pitch. As for the last one, Harry dashed toward him when he got back to his feet and started beating the shit out of him with his bare hands. The bastard actually managed to put up a fight as he was a master martial artist. After a couple jabs and kicks were exchanged, the two jumped away from each other, with the older man looking like something hell would spit-up. His body was littered with deep cuts and bruises, blood flowing out of his open wounds, and most of his bones were destroyed.

"How dare you, you bastard," the man growled.

Harry laughed a little bit. "I can see how my aunt would have trouble would you as you are indeed powerful. But your nothing compared to me."

"Is that what you think," he bit back before laughing himself. "You're a comedian to the very end as your power pales in comparison to mine."

"How pathetic I thought you would know this about Potters to know the serious trouble you're in right now." Harry relished how clueless the bastard was as he really didn't know anything about his family. "The more we Potters fight and are injured in battle, the more powerful and dangerous we become. And you're about to experience firsthand how dangerous we truly are," reengaging the fight, he began beating the stuffing out of his opponent while at the same time blocking the man's attacks.

This went on for a couple of minutes before Harry put all the power he had in his fist and delivered a final punch that rammed into the man's stomach.

"Potter... please, it was only a job... and I was only... following orders. I be-beg of you... mercy," he tried bargaining for his life.

"After what you and the others did to my family and comrade, I'm expected to show you mercy." Harry was pissed as the old man tried to save his own life. "How many others? How many innocents have you killed? How many of them begged for mercy?"

"Hear me out. I-I'll give you an-anything. Money, an island, any number of whores y-you want." Harry had heard enough coming out of his filth mouth, channeled a portion of his fire into burning through the man's body, and sent him flying where he collapsed on the ground dead. "Don't mess with my family."

Harry only took one step before collapsing onto his knees, breathing heavily gasping for air. His body was completely exhausted and felt like it was made of jelly. Not to mention his magic was depleted and currently running on its reserves.

"L-ladies and gentlemen, the winner is Hadrian Potter of Mahoutokoro." The audience didn't know what to think as the students from Beauxbaton were completely terrified. Durmstrang students were torn between either being afraid or applauding what they saw. They mostly cheered. On the other hand, Igor was scared out of his mind as he browned his pants and looked ready to jump out of his skin. Finally, the students of Hogwarts, who were as terrified as the Beauxbaton students, save for a couple spectators. At the moment, they were just glad that the storm was over.

A/N: A lot of things happened in this chapter starting with the bastards that went after Luna as they went down hard. As I have stated before I hate bullies especially those who can push others around and not get in trouble.

Harry has begun training Luna and Neville as they need to learn to defend themselves. In order from strongest to weakest. (Emily, Daphne, Nicole, Blaise, Adrian, Aaron, Tracey, Susan, Neville, Astoria, Luna, and Lilith).

Harry finished off the bastards that took Cassiopeia away and unlocked a new level of power. Little does he know that the level is insanely difficult to obtain even for the highest ranking masters of the Duelist Guild to reach.

Next Chapter: Rituals! Fear the power of the Ice Queen.