Chapter 3: What Now?

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They landed with a thump. All those under fifteen fell to the ground, dragging the adults who didn't let go with them. There was a great deal of groaning and laughing.

"Perhaps sticking their hands on the hoop wasn't such a good idea," Sirius said as he got off the ground, dusting his trousers off. His face though was a vision of content and happiness as he closed his eyes and let the sun fall on his face. It was only afternoon here. He was free, that was all he felt at the moment. Free.

"No, we would have lost them along the way. I saw a few of them struggle," Shack disagreed, standing, and brushing the grass off his jeans.

"Here," Remus said, not having fallen, waving his wand, "let me get the sticking charm off you." He finished the spell and the kids all groaned with relief. They wiggled their fingers to release the tension of holding the hoop.

"Damn that was a horrible way to travel," Sue said, looking around at the trees around her. The sun was out and there was a nice breeze happening. The air was heavy with humidity. "Where are we?" she asked, picking herself off the ground.

"Good question," Harry said as he too looked around. "All I know is America," he added, looking at Sirius.

It wasn't quite like the Forbidden Forest, more like open woods. The trees were spread further apart and were different from those at Hogwarts. They were lighter and smaller, like they weren't quite as old.

"We're in Georgia, USA. Right outside Atlanta," Sirius said, opening his eyes and looking around.

"Why here?" Harry asked, taking his gun out and stashing it in his waistband. The other runners doing the same.

"There's a ley line here," Remus answered, looking around to make sure that there were no non-magicals. "We're going to need that for what we've planned."

"Yeah, we can't be expected to hold the wards at a time like this. So, a ley line is needed," Tonks said, holding her wand at the ready and scanning the area.

"Okay, I can see where that would be helpful," Harry said as he started to walk towards the road. "Is this a camping ground?" he asked, noting all the electrical outlets on poles. There were spaces of dirt that was surrounded by patches of grass.

"Yup," Sirius said with a grin. "We figured that it would be easier than trying to clear out someplace where there were tons of muggles," he added, taking out one of the bags and sticking his hand in it.

"That makes sense," Tonks said, roaming over to Remus to see what he was pulling out of his bag.

"How did you get them to leave? It's summer," Harry asked, seeing that there was no one here.

"The goblins came and set it up. They shooed everyone off, faked some papers that said we owned the land, confounded people to agreeing with said papers, then set up the wards. I'll go into what kind later. Let's get set up," Sirius said, holding on to some square cloth, closing the bag and hooking it back onto his waist.

Sirius and Remus started handing them out. Tonks and Jessi got one, Remus and Sirius would share with Harry. Mac, Shack and Sam had theirs.

"Okay, I don't know you three, but the girl can share with Tonks and Jessi, and the boys share with these guys. The tents are big enough to hold up to six people comfortably," Sirius said, getting funny looks from the non-magical. "No, none of you are staying without adult supervision. Talk it out and suss yourselves for the night. Once we get camp set up, we'll cook dinner and talk about what we know," he added, pointing to the two boys and one girl.

"I'm a girl," one of the boys said, putting her hands on her hips and stomping her foot.

"Oh, well, you can share with the rest of the girls," Remus said, looking at the taller girl with short, curly black hair, that almost made her look like Harry's long-lost younger brother.

"We'll share with the boy," Kingsley said, knowingly.

"Are those tents going to be big enough?" the tomboy asked, looking at the tiny piece of material that Tonks was holding.

"Magic, Peggy, magic," Harry said impishly, clapping her on the back as he walked by.

"Like Doctor Who?" the boy asked, excitedly, almost jumping up and down at the prospect of it.

"Exactly, Mike," Harry said with a big smile.

"Wicked," the now named Mike said, all but running after Kingsley to see the tent erected.

"Excitable thing, isn't he?" Sirius asked, throwing his tent on the ground, and tapping it with his wand.

"Yeah," Harry said, watching the tent grow. With that, everyone separated to a blank site.

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Judging from the map Harry found, the campground was laid out in an arm-like fashion. There was a main 'road' then an arm for RVs, well five arms with a dozen or so slots. Blank spots of bare dirt, depicting the size of RV the slot held. Then there was the tent 'arms', also showing how big a tent could go in the area.

It was a rather good setup. The whole place could easily hold over a hundred sites. That wasn't including the free-for-all in the woods. Who knows how many could be accommodated in there?

It took the better part of the day to get everyone comfortable in their rooms. The bags were gone through for linens and towels. There was some food that they could store in the kitchens, but for the most part, the food stayed in the statis storage. It would serve as payment for work done when more people were let in the wards. The adults were working out how to make that happen.

They had tons of it, Harry knew. Even if they had hundreds of people here at the campground, he knew it would take months to go through all they had brought. He only hoped that people wouldn't be greedy. He knew there were those like his 'uncle' that thought they deserved more than others. The teen was sure Sirius would put them to rights. As it was it seemed that his godfather was going to be the leader of this group. After all, the land was in his name, even if it was not quite legal.

While they were sorting through the bags, they came across a lot of energy stuff. Solar panels, generators, gas tanks, and other such. Only Jessi knew what they all were for, so she put them in her bag to be set up the following days. This would be a great boon to them. They wouldn't have to rely on outside help to keep things powered up in the non-magical RVs and tents.

They weren't going to hide magic, but each nonmagical that joined them would get the choice of RV and a generator. They would then have to work for the gas to keep them supplied. It would be a form of pay, not a bill. The more you worked, the more power you would get. Like Sirius had said, no free rides.

After everyone got settled, they met in one of the picnic areas. There was a spot for a campfire, so the kids went to get firewood with one adult. Soon, right before the sun fell, there was a large fire. Dinner was being cooked in the middle. They would eat as they talked over what to do now.

"So, Harry," Sue said, sitting on a log that had been levitated to the circle, "I know you're a wizard, but what else should we know? You know all of our secrets, well, most, so give."

"To know how I got here, let me start from the beginning. That way the adults who don't know, will," the tired teen said, leaning back against his log, hands folded on his stomach, legs stretched out in front of him.

"This oughta be good," Tonks said, settling down to hear the real story of the Boy-Who-Lived.

"You all know my 'uncle' kicked me out when I was seven," Harry said, looking at his growling dogfathers.

"We should have pranked those bastards," Sirius growled.

"We did enough," Remus disagreed, though he didn't seem to agree with himself.

"Anyway, what you adults don't know, was that I almost died" Harry said softly. It wasn't something he liked to relive. "He had beaten me pretty bad for freakishness. So, I was in bad shape. Actually, I'm pretty sure I stopped breathing for a few moments, because when I woke up, Digger was leaning over me with a look of relief on his face. He took me to the place the runners were staying, cleaned me up, and taught me the tricks of the trade," he said, looking at the adults that were hanging on his word.

Well, not his godparents, to which he included Moony. They were growling like their dog halves. He had told them the story and they let him know that they hated that they hadn't been there for him. They were more than making up for it now, but that didn't seem to make them feel better.

"We were told you lived in a loving house and were pampered," Jessi said with disgust at the lie they were told. "The whole magical world thought you were being raised as a prince," she added looking around at the other magicals, who were nodding.

"Dumbledore," Harry said with a shrug, while Padfoot and Moony nodded.

"Dumbledore hid the truth?" was Sam's question.

"Yes, he hid a lot of things about Harry," Sirius answered, still growling like he was going to bite the old man.

"Arsehole," Sue grumbled, shaking her head. "I mean, I don't know him, but wasn't he the bloke that took you away from us?" she added, in a waspish tone. Harry could tell she was still angry about that. She had let him know often enough.

"Yeah, that was him," Harry said, glaring at his hands. "Well, he was the one that ordered it. Hagrid was the one to come and get me and don't get me wrong, the guy is great, but he thinks Dumbledore farts rainbows. But, yeah, it was the old man who made me go."

"Arsehole," she reiterated.

"Anyway," Harry continued, looking up and smiling tentatively to show he was okay, "when I was eleven, I got a letter via owl. I ignored it, of course. I already knew magic and how to control it, so why would I want to go to school?" he said, rolling his eyes at the memory.

"Harry, that could have been dangerous. You need to know how to control your magic," Remus, the ever professor, said, leaning forward a bit as if to emphasize the point.

"I know that now, but then…" the teen said trailing off.

"Well, good," was all the werewolf said, leaning back showing that he was satisfied with the answer.

"Moving on, so, I got a few more letters, wrote back and told them to sod off. But I still got more. Then Hagrid showed up and sent a letter of agreement, without my consent. For some reason that was enough to invoke a contract that stated I would attend. I always hated that man a bit for that," the teen mumbled, rubbing his tired eyes.

While he thought Hagrid had a good heart, he was not someone you would trust with just about anything. He was easily manipulated, and he couldn't lie to save his life. Still, the gentle giant had no right to rope Harry into Hogwarts. He still wasn't sure how that happened.

Dinner was done by then and they all stopped to dish themselves up some. It was a simple meal of hamburgers and chips. The British kind, not crisps. After they all sat back down, Sirius moved to his godson's side.

"Go on, Harry," Sirius gently said, laying a hand on the boy's arm.

"First year was okay," Harry continued, taking a deep breath. "They tried to put me on the Quidditch team, but I declined."

"Why?" Sirius wanted to know. "Your dad was on the team."

"I didn't want to play. I had never heard of the game, and while I like flying, I think the game is stupid. 150 points to catch the snitch. Unbelievable," Harry said, taking a bite of his hamburger.

"Oh," was all his godfather said slowly, as if he wasn't sure if that was an argument he wanted to get into right now.

"Anyway," Harry started again, waving the man off for the moment. He knew how magicals felt about their only sport. He had had that discussion more than enough with his dormmates. "They tried to trick me into rescuing some stupid stone, but I ignored them. Well, I pretended to ignore them. It was actually really easy to bypass all 'traps' and get straight into the room. I got the stone after the first month there. I hid it, and they never pinned it on me," he said smugly.

"What kind of stone?" Mike asked, leaning forward to get the answer. His plate almost slid off his lap, but he caught it in time, blushing a bit.

"The Sorcerer's Stone, like the movie," Harry said, grinning madly. He ate one of his chips, and decided he needed more salt, so he summoned the shaker to him.

"Wicked," the other boy said, his eyes dancing. He put his hand out for the shaker and Harry handed it to him.

"I know, right?" Harry agreed.

"Did you give it back to its owner?" Peggy asked from her place next to Tonks. She was done with her meal, as were most of the others, but they hadn't been talking.

"Nope, found out the man had been killed, along with his wife," Harry answered with a shrug. That had been shocking. He wasn't sure if it had been the possessed Quirrell, or Dumbledore. He didn't like the old man, but he didn't think the old man had it in him to kill someone. Order it done, possibly, but outright take a life, no.

"Oh, I thought they died because they didn't have the stone," Remus said, looking to Sirius.

"Dumbledore," the dogman said, as if it was the only answer. For him it was.

The werewolf got a funny look on his face, then seemed to put the thoughts away until later. Harry figured he was thinking the same thing.

"What did you do with it?" Kingsley asked, hope filled his voice.

"I still have it," Harry said, rubbing a spot on his arm. "I'll share it when it's needed," he added, not wanting them to think he was going to hold out on anything.

"Good, we might need it," the black man said with a nod.

Harry knew there were many things that stone could be used for. Gold wasn't the only metal that it could produce, it was just the more popular. If they could get some steel, then they could put up a barrier in case the wards fell. A thick gated fence around the site would put a lot more people at ease. He knew it would help his nerves to have a huge honking fence to keep the dead out.

"So," the teen continued, "second year netted me a basilisk. I had to kill a diary to get it, but that was easy, kinda." He was smug about that. It had been quite the feat after all.

"How do you kill a book?" Mike asked, looking around the circle as if one of them had an answer, but they all seemed just as mystified as he was.

"With a basilisk," Harry said with a shit-eating grin.

Everyone groaned.

"I'll elaborate another time. Third year, I met Remus and Sirius. The thing you have to know, Sue, Peggy, Mike, is Remus and I are werewolves," he said, watching their reaction. He also noted that the adults didn't seem surprised by this news. He figured that Sirius had forewarned them when he told them about Remus' wolf.

"Real live werewolves?" Mike said in awe, his eyes wide enough to fall out. "Wicked."

"Um, not to be blunt, but what does that mean for us? I mean, can you hurt us?" Peggy said, looking around at the adults to get someone to assure her she was safe.

"We have cages, and potions," Harry said, looking to his godfathers.

"Well, the plan here is to have us, and Sirius, roam outside the wards. The zombies don't seem to like werewolves, well not when we are transformed, at least that's what legend says. So, we're going to test that theory," the older werewolf explained.

"Sounds good," Harry said, thinking hard on that for a moment. "You know, ole Voldy is a werewolf too. How do you think that's going to work out in Jolly Ole England?" he asked, worried a bit, but thinking that wizards all carried deadly weapons. If they didn't brush up and keep cautious in the middle of Armageddon, then that was their bad.

"We should write Albus," Remus said, thinking that the man should be prepared.

Harry hadn't told him about the ritual that was used. So, yeah, they might want to warn the old man.

"Wait, why?" Sirius asked not seeing the issue.

"So he knows," was the obvious answer.

"No, I mean, he's going to put the castle in lockdown, I'm sure. So, why does he need to know?" the dogman tried again.

"Sirius, what if the wards fail?" Harry asked, knowing it was a longshot, but wards were foolproof. They did fall with enough power. "Or what if he turns an army? Can you imagine, an army of werewolves?"

Horror showed on everyone's face.

"Fine. We'll take care of it, you finish your story," Sirius said, waving a hand to the teen.

"Right, where was I, oh yeah, Sirius escaped from Azkaban, I'll explain later, he came to Hogwarts looking for a man who could turn into a rat. I happen to be holding the rat when he found it. Long story short. I found out he was innocent, that Remus was a werewolf, and the rat had to die. Before we could do anything with all that, Remus turned, and in turn, turned me. The rat got away, and I've been howling at the moon ever since," Harry finished, leaning back, and putting his head on the log and watching the Georgia sky. The stars here were clearer, brighter, somehow.

"Wicked," the kids said, making everyone relax and start enjoying the night.

Plates were thrown in the fire, they were paper after all, making clean up easier. Someone would have to wash the pans, but that was for later.

"What about last year?" Jessi asked, enthralled on this poor boy's life.

"Well, there was this stupid tournament that I somehow got roped into. I didn't even try hard, but somehow wound up winning the damn thing. At the end of the games, the Dork Lord kidnapped me, used my blood, and came back to life. I shot him and he died again, but his minions were getting ready to revive him, when I buggered out of there," Harry said, looking at the magicals who confirmed it with nods.

"Whoa, you killed someone?" Peggy asked, completely flabbergasted.

Harry nodded, knowing that his friends knew he hated using deadly force.

"I'm sorry," she said, reaching over and patting his knee.

"It's fine," the teen said with a smile. "Sirius helped me through. Wait, does that mean he's not a werewolf?" he asked, looking to Remus.

"I'm not sure. It's a curse. I don't know if his dying, and coming back would negate it," the older werewolf said, rubbing his chin in thought. "We'll still send the letter," he added, looking to Sirius.

"Do you think they did? Bring him back, I mean," Sue asked, looking like she wasn't wrapping her head around resurrecting the dead, but wanting to know if it was going to be an issue later.

"Oh yeah, he made sure to let me know that he was around and kicking and coming after me the moment he could," Harry said, with a sneer. The bastard had sent him a message via Malfoy. Which is why that boy was the only student Harry had hurt.

"We're here now, and old Voldy is going to be fighting for his life too much to worry about your whereabouts," Sirius said, confidently, like it wasn't an issue.

Harry was sure his godfather thought that Voldy wouldn't come across the water, but he wasn't as sure.

"We've got your back if he shows up. You shot him once, he can be shot again. I'm not sure how many times they can bring him back, but like Sirius said, he'll have other things to worry about," Peggy said, with a shit-eating grin.

Harry knew that his friends had no issue killing, something he always admired them for. He felt it was something that was going to be useful going forward.

He looked up at the star filled sky and sighed. He'd finished talking for the night. Now they knew, and they didn't care. That was all he cared about. For now, it was going to be alright. They could only hope that their plan kept it that way.

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They all sat looking at the fire, taking in all Harry had told them. They were all making their own plans on what was going to happen now.

Sirius had a thought. "Hey, Harry, when you say you netted a basilisk, how much did you get for it?" he asked, making the teen look up at him.

"Um, nothing. I still have it," the confused teen said as if wondering what the man was thinking.

"You're carrying around a 1000-year-old basilisk?" the man asked in awe. While the economy was shot, they could use the parts and skin. Maybe even figure out how to cook the meat.

"No, the elves took it somewhere," Harry said, his tone showed he was still confused.

"Did you render it down?" his godfather asked, not understanding why the boy wouldn't.

"No, because then I'd have to kill it," Harry said, glaring at the man who wanted him to kill his ally.

"What!?" five voices shouted.

"It's not dead," he reiterated, holding his chin up high. "Why would I kill something that would make a good ally if alive?" he asked, as if it was obvious.

Sirius took a big calming breath, once, twice, five times. "Okay, let me get this straight, you have a sixty-foot-long, one-thousand-year-old snake that can kill with a look? And you don't find this strange?" he said, getting louder with each word.

"Like I said, it makes a better ally alive," Harry said mulishly, folding his arms over his chest, like a small child.

"How? How did you get it to agree?" was the awestruck question from Sirius.

"After I killed the book," the teen said, "I stunned the girl, and me and the snake talked. It was lonely and tired of being in the castle. There hadn't been raids by muggles in years. It wanted to be free. So, I made sure it wouldn't kill people or elves, and let it roam on one of my properties." He shrugged as if it was a done thing.

"How did you do that? Get it not to kill, I mean," the older man asked, completely dumbfounded.

"She has a second eyelid," Harry explained. "She said that she only kills when she wants to. It would be stupid to kill everything that she comes across."

"But, but…"

"Sirius, the boy is right. If he can control it, there's no need to put it down. Besides, we can use it. Maybe it finds zombies tasty," Tonks said, trying to defuse the situation.

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"Oh, I forgot, we need to call the elves," Harry said, sitting up straighter and putting words to action.

Five pops filled the air as Dobby, Winky, Kreacher, Slam and Dunk popped in.

"Good, you guys made it," Harry said, relieved. He wasn't sure if they could.

"Yes, sir, Harry Potter, sir. We's be telling you we's could," Dobby scolded lightly.

"Well, excuse me for worrying," Harry sniped, but grinned to show he didn't mean it.

The elves immediately started straightening the area.

"Um," Mike said, looking at the working elves. "I know we saw them before we left, but what are those?" he asked, peering at the tiny beings.

"These are my friends. They're house elves. They live with magicals and take care of the housework, while we supply them with magic," Harry explained, pointing to the group of elves. He introduced them one by one. The teens all waved, the elves nodded and then they scattered to do whatever they found to do.

"I'm beat, can we talk more tomorrow, or you know later?" Peggy said, standing up and straightening her blouse.

"Yeah, it's late now, and we're going to be suffering from what the muggles call 'jetlag'. Meaning our bodies and minds need to sync with a new time zone," Jessi said, also standing and stretching her muscles out from sitting on the ground.

"Okay, let's go to bed. See you guys tomorrow," Harry said, as he too got up and stretched.

"But I want to hear about the basilisk," they all heard Sirius and Mike whine.

"Come on, Sirius," Remus said, dragging his friend to their tent, while Sam took Mike.

Laughter filled the air as everyone went their separate ways.