Harry had stayed up until almost three in the morning, sucked into the book as he was. It was an interesting read, and he hadn't been able to put it down; particularly when he realised he'd been right that it would explain to him how to unbind magic. He'd have to get a better look at the Dark Mark, which would be the biggest problem, but he was fairly certain that he'd be able to remove it, with some thought.

Of course, it helped that the tattoo was a snake, and he was a parselmouth. He wondered if he could convince Snape—Severus—to let him have a look at his Dark Mark. It would certainly make things much clearer.

Pushing the thought from his mind, Harry dressed in his Wizengamot robes, and checked his watch. He had to leave in ten minutes, and he hadn't eaten yet. He called Dobby and asked him to prepare a quick breakfast that Harry could eat while walking only for the elf to pop in with a sausage sandwich and a Muggle travel mug filled with coffee.

When Harry questioned how, Dobby told him that Alex had asked him to take it to Harry. His solicitor really was an excellent person, Harry mused to himself. He left the tower and made his way down to the main doors.

He wished he could be surprised that Dumbledore was there waiting for him, but he wasn't.

"Harry," he greeted quietly.

Harry thought about correcting him, but really didn't have the energy for an argument. He simply nodded his head and walked past him out onto the grounds. It was only just getting light, and Harry shivered a little against the cold morning air. He heard Dumbledore fall into step behind him.

"I remembered that you haven't yet taken the Apparition test and thought I could be of assistance getting you to the Ministry," he said, and Harry slowed his steps just slightly so he could answer without shouting.

"I appreciate the thought, Headmaster, but I've got it covered."

"You surely don't plan to Apparate illegally?"

"I surely don't," Harry agreed. He finished his sandwich, and spelled his hands clean wandlessly.

When they reached the gate, Dumbledore looked around expectantly, as though he thought perhaps Alex would collect Harry for the meeting.

"Dobby," Harry called softly, smiling at his elf when he popped up beside him. Harry held his hand out. "The Ministry, please, Dobby."

They were gone before Dumbledore could say a word.

…

"Is there any more business to conclude?" Dumbledore asked, as they finished up the last item on the docket; the trials, which were coming up in just over a week.

Harry had already had to argue with Dumbledore over that; he'd been against Harry coming out of school to serve as a witness, which was utterly ridiculous of course. When Harry pointed out that if he wasn't standing as a witness, then he'd be there on official duty with his votes, Dumbledore capitulated.

"Actually, I was rather hoping to speak about the young Lord Potter's statement to the press on Tuesday," Lord Greengrass said. "It was quite the offer you made, young man, not to mention brave to declare yourself as middle ground."

Harry inclined his head. "People far smarter than me are actually working on the details as we speak, alongside the Goblins, of course."

"It's quite unusual to align yourself with non-humans, Lord Potter-Black," Lord MacMillan said, frowning.

"I believe that the Goblins are intelligent, dangerous, and occasionally terrifying," Harry replied softly. "But just because they're not human doesn't make them lesser. I find it odd that people seem to think of them as only bank tellers, when they are undeniably a warrior race in their own right."

"I don't believe I've ever known a Goblin even care to work with a human," Lady Zabini said. "It's really quite extraordinary that you have their loyalty."

"Perhaps it's because I gave them mine," Harry said. "Honestly, everything I have right now is already in the statement. Plans are being made of course, but I don't have anything concrete. Until I do, I wouldn't like to speculate on the help we'll be able to give, or the help that we're going to need."

Dumbledore looked mutinous but he didn't say anything as the others around Harry nodded. Augusta patted his arm and then looked at Dumbledore. "Is that all then? I'd quite like to get to lunch."

"Meeting adjourned," Dumbledore announced. "We'll meet again for the trials, a week from Wednesday. Mr Potter, have you distributed your votes accordingly."

"Not officially," Harry replied.

"I rather think, given your age and lack of experience, that I should—"

"I'd like to request that Madam Longbottom take the Potter vote, Lord Greengrass the Black vote, and Regent Bones the Gryffindor vote, and with it, the rightful place as Head Witch for the duration of the trials," Harry said, beyond caring that he was being rude by interrupting.

He'd already spoken to Augusta, and she'd said she didn't want the Gryffindor seat, proclaiming herself too old to be dealing with the Head Witch spot. Madam Bones, as head of the DMLE, was used to being in positions of power at trials.

"Very well," Dumbledore said, looking extremely put out. "Then I believe we're done here. Until Wednesday next."

Harry was amongst the first to stand, and he swept from the Chamber at the first available opportunity.

"Lord Potter-Black, a word if you please?"

Harry sighed. "You're going to have to walk and talk, Headmaster, I've got to meet Alex before returning to school."

"That wasn't a very smart thing to do, in there. You've given two neutral bodies the right to vote on your behalf. The Longbottoms are notoriously light, but—"

"Headmaster, full offence, but I don't have time for this," Harry said, shaking his head. "The decision has been made, and I have full confidence that those holding my votes will use them accordingly. Are we done here?"

"You're going to regret the distance you've forced between us one day, Harry."

"Perhaps," Harry replied. "Or perhaps you'll regret that you forced me into this position with your actions and inaction when it mattered. Have a good day, Headmaster, I'm sure I'll see you in the morning at breakfast."

Harry walked away, completely done with the conversation, and thankfully, Dumbledore didn't try to follow him again.

…

Hexes, jinxes and curses flew around the training room, dissipating into the shield before they could hit the wall when they missed their intended target.

Severus was taking on both Harry and Neville, and didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat. Harry might have more power than any three wizards combined, but Severus certainly had the experience and a wealth of spell knowledge to draw from.

It was almost cathartic for Harry though, who was working out his frustrations in the most satisfying way.

Two hours after the start of the lesson, and almost an hour into the actual practical application of the fighting that Severus had walked them through, both Harry and Neville had collapsed to the floor, panting and wiping the sweat from their brows.

Severus smirked down at them. "Not bad," he offered. "But plenty of room for improvement for both of you. Get your lazy arses up and get in the shower. Alex and the Mutt will be arriving shortly."

Harry sat up and groaned slightly, stretching out the muscles in his back. "How is it, that after almost a full hour of that, you look like you've been for a stroll around the lake and we're struggling to even move? Did you sneak a stamina potion?"

Snape snorted. "Of course I didn't. You two need to start running in the mornings, that'll build your stamina up well enough. Come on, up, the pair of you. You stink."

…

"He was waiting for you?" Alex asked, frowning. "He really doesn't have any boundaries at all, does he?"

"Really doesn't," Harry agreed. "Anyway, I ignored him for the most part and Dobby took me to the Ministry as planned. I really am going to have to take the Apparition test soon though, it would make things much easier."

Alex nodded and made a note, promising to set it up.

"You were right about there not being too much on the docket, but the question of who would use my seats at the trials was brought up. I gave them out like we discussed, and Dumbledore is, uh, not pleased. At all. It was quite amusing, actually."

Sirius shook his head. "He really is doing too much. I don't know why he would even contemplate you trusting him with anything, never mind your family seats. It makes no sense."

"Nothing he's been doing makes sense to us, Black," Snape said, shaking his head. "He's a ticking time-bomb at the moment. He doesn't know how to handle it now that his long game is falling apart."

"Clearly," Alex said, shaking his head. "Well, we actually wanted to talk to you about that anyway." He exchanged a glance with Sirius. "We didn't want to bring this to you too early, Harry, but Sirius and I have been working on something."

"Why wouldn't you tell me?" Harry asked, a little wounded that they'd been keeping secrets from him.

"We didn't want to add even more to your plate than you're already carrying," Sirius admitted. "There's so much for you to deal with right now, Harry, and well. We're worried about you. This was something we could deal with the plotting for without your input, at least until we had a solid idea of what we were working with."

"Okay, I'll bite," Harry replied, arching his eyebrow. "What is it?"

"We all know that the time is coming for you to leave Hogwarts," Alex said. "Dumbledore is being even sketchier than usual. He's been meeting with people in secret, sneaking around at the Ministry, and the recording spells at Grimmauld Place have picked up a few meetings with only a few people from the Order. He seems to be planning something, though we're not completely sure what it is. We do know that it can't be anything good."

"It seems to us that he's pushing out anyone who is close to you, or even the people that could be. Minerva, Remus, the Weasleys," Sirius shook his head. "Hell, he's even leaving Snape out of his plans now, and I doubt he has any idea that you're working together."

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Harry asked. He crossed his legs in his seat and leant his elbows on his knees, focusing completely on what Alex and Sirius were saying.

"We've been speaking to Bludaxe about one of the listings in the file he gave us. It turns out that amongst the Gryffindor estate, there's an unplottable Island in the Pacific. We took a trip to have a look at it, and it's a decent size. There's some housing already available, and we've set the Goblins to add more on the furthest corner of the Island."

Alex took a breath.

"We think it would be a perfect safe haven for people who want out of the war completely, and it would also be a phenomenal base of operations for us."

Sirius picked up where Alex left off. "We're still planning it out, kiddo, but it's a start. We're hoping that, when the time comes for you—and us with you—to leave, we'll have the Island prepared, and anyone who wants to leave with us will be ready."

"The flip side of that is that anyone who leaves with you is firmly declaring themselves in your camp," Severus pointed out. "Of course, people will make their own decisions about that, but you're going to need a way to speak to them without them revealing things to outside parties before it's time."

Harry watched Alex jot down another note.

"Do you have a list of people to contact?" Harry asked, tilting his head slightly.

Alex nodded, pulling out a piece of parchment. He handed it over, and Harry glanced over it. "You need to add Andromeda and Ted to this, and Tonks as well possibly, but I'm not sure how deep she is in with the Order. Draco will have to come with us, I can't leave him here completely unprotected, or he'll need to go home to Narcissa at least. We should probably contact her and see what she'd prefer to do."

He handed the parchment back and Alex added the names.

"Is there anything I need to be doing here?"

"Not as of yet," Alex confirmed. "We're getting plans in place as quickly as we can, hopefully we'll be all set within the next few weeks. If Dumbledore strikes before then, we can always play it by ear and hope for the best."

"I think getting Harry out of Hogwarts safely should be the biggest concern," Severus pointed out. "After he's not under Dumbledore's largest sphere of influence, then you can hold a press conference, and if the Goblins are willing, have them help anyone to the Island that wants to be there."

Harry glanced at Severus, a little surprised that his main concern seemed to be Harry's safety over tactical advantage. Severus' lips tilted up slightly, as though he knew what Harry was thinking.

Neville, who had been silent through the meeting so far, piped up. "I'll be coming with you when you leave, and you've said Malfoy will be as well. You know that Ron and Ginny will want to go with you, though whether their parents will allow that is another thing entirely. Mrs Weasley is terrifying."

Harry snorted.

"I think," Neville continued, "that if you're leaving anyway, you should leave in a way that is to your advantage. Particularly if the Headmaster accosts you in the Great Hall again. He does seem to enjoy an audience, even if it never works well for him." He twisted his lips thoughtfully. "If it's in the Great Hall, you should offer anyone of age the opportunity to join you in leaving. That gives the teachers the option to join you, as well as the older students."

Laughing, Sirius said, "That, good sir, is an excellent idea."

"How do we get everyone out though," Alex asked, frowning slightly as he thought about the new conundrum facing them.

Harry wrinkled his nose. "I think the obvious answer would be the trunks, but I'm not sure I want everyone knowing about them."

"We can think about it," Alex said, shaking his head. "I'll add it to the list."

There was silence for a moment. "Is that everything I need to know about that for the time being?" Harry asked, suddenly impatient to tell them about his discovery the previous night.

Alex and Sirius nodded. "For now."

Harry smiled, and glanced at Severus briefly before he launched into an explanation about the book, and what he's found about removing binding magic. When he'd finished, he looked at Severus.

"I know that it won't be comfortable for you, but would you mind showing me your mark? I won't touch it, I promise. I just need to get a feel for the magic."

Severus eyed him wearily for a long moment, before he slowly rolled up the sleeves of his robe and his shirt, leaving the mark bared to all of them. Harry got up from his seat and approached slowly, crouching down so he could get a better look.

"I'm just going to put my hand over it. I won't touch you."

Severus nodded, watching Harry's every moment with eagle eyed concentration. Harry tested the magic carefully, and knew, deep inside himself, that he could remove it quite easily.

He smiled at Severus as he said as much, moving back to his chair while Snape rolled down his sleeves.

"You're certain?"

Harry nodded. "Yes."

"So are you saying you can remove the Dark Mark from anyone?" Alex asked, interested.

Harry nodded. "I mean, sure. I'm like, almost sure that Voldemort won't realise that I've done it, either. It's parselmagic, which I suppose explains why he thought he was safe from anyone being able to manipulate the magic. I'm actually a little bit surprised that Dumbledore didn't figure it out as soon as he found out I can speak to snakes."

"He probably did," Sirius replied darkly. "Bastard."

"So if we passed word around that any Death Eaters willing to take themselves out of the war, and also willing to give an Unbreakable Oath to that fact, can have their marks removed in a risk free way, you wouldn't mind?" Alex pressed.

"Actually, until Severus has his mark removed, I'd prefer to keep the information under wraps. Once he's free, then shout it from the rooftops if you want, but I'm not willing to put him at more risk than he already faces daily."

"Thank you for your concern, Harry, but it isn't necessary. I'll be perfectly—"

"If you're about to say the word 'fine', or 'safe', then please don't insult our intelligence," Sirius interrupted, frowning at his one-time enemy. "We might not always get on, and yes, I realise that's an understatement given out history, but you're an important part of our group and we'd be screwed without you teaching these two," he gestured at Harry and Neville, "how to fight, not to mention everything else you bring to the table. So, I agree with Harry on this."

Severus blinked at Sirius, and then, amusement colouring his tone, said, "That almost sounded like concern, Black."

"Yeah, well, don't let it go to your head. I still think you're a bat."

Harry chuckled before sobering, turning to look at Severus. "Will you let me remove your mark?"

Severus hesitated before he said, "When we leave Hogwarts, and are at the bank, I'll let you remove it."

Harry nodded his acceptance, knowing there was no use fighting any further. The timing made sense; if they did it any earlier, it would certainly raise questions that none of them wanted to have to answer.