Author's Note: Apologies for the long update time with this chapter. I'm working on outlining my NaNoWriMo project for this year, so things may be a little slow in November. I'm loving being back with this story, though. It's been so long since I was last able to write on it and honestly, I'm loving everything about it now that I'm back with it.

Callidora

Chapter Nine

Lyra was released from the hospital wing on Friday afternoon, just after classes had let out for the day. She and the twins met Harry and Draco near the Black Lake where she held out a letter to Harry. Bellatrix and the Lestrange brothers had been released into Narcissa and Lucius' care, the letter said. They would attend the Slytherin's Guild meeting that evening and, afterward, would be taking the Malfoy brothers, Harry, Lyra, and Neville out for a family dinner. This time, they'd be returning to Malfoy Manor as Narcissa worried there would be problems if Bellatrix and her brothers were seen in public so soon after being released. Harry crowed with delight after reading the letter and handed it back to Lyra.

"This is brilliant." He said excitedly, laying back with his head in Draco's lap.

Lyra's grin went feral. "Potter, of course, has been raving all morning about the disaster my parents' release will cause."

"Oh he has no idea." Fred and George said in unison.

"Potter's just regurgitating what his parents and Dumbledore are saying most likely." Draco rolled his eyes. "Don't let him annoy you. He wants you to rise to the bait and cause a scene. Doing that will only draw Dumbledork's eyes and that's the last thing we need right now."

Harry nodded. "Draco's right. From here on out, we don't rise to anyone's bait. If plans go the way we want, the coot will be out of here by the end of term. And things can really begin."

"Mate, I hate to tell you this,"

"But it'll look pretty suspicious,"

"If we just ignore the bait."

Fred and George had a point there, Harry had to admit. The twins' penchant for revenge had become legendary. If they did nothing, Potter would get suspicious.

"You two keep up the way you have been. The rest of us will keep a low profile. If anyone asks, we simply say that our parents told us to keep our heads down." Harry said, glancing up at Draco.

Draco pulled his fingers through Harry's hair. "Exactly. Though keep any revenge strictly non-lethal. We don't need eyes on us."

"That's a very broad spectrum there mate." Fred said, grinning.

"So long as no one is killed or permanently injured, you have free rein." Harry said with a shrug. "It'd look strange if we simply stopped interacting all together. I figure we keep our heads down, but continue as we have been for the most part."

Lyra leaned back on her hands, tilting her face toward the sunlight. "Harry's right. We use our words and nothing more. With, of course, the exception of Fred and George."

"Bill got back to us, by the way. He's bringing four curse-breakers to the meeting tonight." Fred said quietly. "There may be a few more joining soon."

Harry grinned. "What about Charlie?"

"Six dragon tamers are coming. Including his head boss, the owner of Romania's Dragon Keep." George grinned. "I've met the guy a few times. Bloke's a powerhouse."

Harry grinned. "Brilliant. Oliver got in touch this morning. His father is bringing along Head Unspeakable Croaker to the meeting. Apparently the old Bloke was a personal friend of Tom's and would like to be involved."

The news had surprised him as well. The Potters had always preached that Dumbledore had the Unspeakables in his pocket. If what Oliver's father had said was true, it meant that the Dark side of the oncoming war had an incredible advantage. Fred and George's eyes widened dramatically and he chuckled at their expressions.

"My father won't be able to join us tonight, however. Dumbledore's called him in for a meeting." Harry rolled his eyes. "The coot has been trying to convince him to release me back into the Potter's custody."

Draco laughed. "He's in for a rude awakening if he thinks Severus is ever going to do that."

"Oh, I know. He's only going along with the meeting in order to prolong our plans. Tom thinks we'll have a plan in place to get rid of the coot by the end of tonight's meeting." Harry said, grinning up at Draco.

"Minerva's coming though, right?" Lyra asked. "Mum wanted to speak with her personally."

Harry nodded. "She'll be there. She's told the coot that she's having a private meeting with me to try and convince me back toward the Light."

Everyone laughed at this. It was going to destroy Dumbledore when he discovered who Minerva really was. All these years, he'd truly believed that she was on his side. Sighing, Harry stood and held out a hand to pull Draco to his feet as well.

"We've got a meeting with Blaise Zabini to attend to." Harry said. "Usual rules apply, of course. Stick together, defend each other."

Lyra rolled her eyes. "Let us know what happens."

Harry promised that he would and waved at their friends before heading back to the dungeons. Privately, he wondered what Blaise wanted to speak with them about. The other Slytherin had been trying to catch his eye for the past several months, but this was the first time that he'd approached Harry. It was intriguing if nothing else. Harry knew that Blaise was Dark, but he didn't know if Blaise wanted to join their alliance or not.

They found Blaise waiting for them in their dorm. As Draco shut the door, Harry erected a few privacy wards before sitting on his own bed, facing Blaise. Draco came to sit down a few moments later, only after erecting a few wards of his own.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Lord Prince. I appreciate you taking time out of your planning." Blaise began.

Harry waved a hand. "Oh none of that Lord Prince nonsense. You can call me Hadrian. Father's preparing to change my name as we speak. Or Hades if that works better for you."

"Hades then." Blaise took a deep breath, looking suddenly nervous. "I come to with an offer as well as a plea for asylum."

Draco and Harry looked at each other. "Very well. Why don't you tell us what's going on so we know what we're dealing with here?" Draco said.

"As you know, my- mother is Elenora Zabini. She's… I'm just going to come out and say it. The woman is a monster. She's killed every one of her husbands and she's attempted to do the same to me several times. If not for my father's ancestral blood protection, I would have been dead at birth."

Blaise cut himself off, breathing harshly. Harry rose from his bed and went to sit beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Draco followed him after a moment, his silvery eyes glowing with anger.

"She's been allied with Dumbledore since before my birth. I received a letter this morning stating that she plans to betroth me to Jamie Potter." Blaise scowled. "He disgusts me, but if I stand against her on my own… She'll find a way to kill me. I can be a valuable asset. My father, Lord Zabini, left everything he owns to me. I have several manor houses as well as several bank accounts in various countries filled with galleons. I'm magically powerful and I can aid in other ways as well. Let me join you, please. Give me asylum and I swear that I'll do whatever it takes to bring them down."

His blue eyes were fierce as they looked up at Harry. As they stared at each other, Harry felt a kinship with the other boy. They had similar backgrounds, similar motivations. All at once, Harry knew what he was going to offer Blaise.

"I've always wanted a proper brother." He said with a grin. "You'll be granted asylum with Severus and I. The Prince family and the Zabini family are distant cousins, so it would make sense for Severus to take you in when he discovers your abuse."

Draco rose. "I'll go and find Sev. He'll want to firecall my Father, I assume. But we'll have this finished by the meeting tonight."

"Good idea love. I'll stay here and get acquainted with Blaise. See you at the meeting tonight?"

Draco grinned and headed from the dorms. Harry knew that he'd sit in on Severus' conversation with Lucius, reporting the necessary information back to Harry at the meeting later. Harry settled back on his own bed as he and Blaise began a brief conversation. Having a brother was going to be epic, he thought with a slight smile. His family just kept growing it seemed.

Harry and Blaise headed to the Come and Go Room a few minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin. They met Draco and Lyra inside and made themselves comfortable, settling in to wait for their guests to begin arriving. Lucius and Narcissa were the first to arrive, the Lestrange's and Black brothers trailing behind them. As the room began to fill with people, Harry allowed various conversations to flow as the meeting would only begin once Lord Slytherin entered the room. He and Minerva arrived last, talking in quiet tones to each other.

"It's nice to see so many old friends once again." Tom began, coming to stand next to Harry. He'd made himself corporeal for the evening.

Eyes flitted to Minerva, hesitation on the myriad of faces. Tom grinned and wrapped an arm around his wife's waist.

"Many secrets will be revealed here tonight, friends. The least of which is that Minerva is as she always been, my wife. My first wife. She's here as my right hand as well as an integral figure in what is to come." Tom's smile softened as he looked at Minerva. "She is to be trusted implicitly."

An old man with a clean shaven face and whispy white hair stepped forward. "Old friend, it's so good to see your face again."

"Croaker it does a man good to see you as well." Tom gestured in Harry's direction. "To begin this meeting, I'd like you all to meet my heir and second in command. Hadrian Gideon Prince, formerly known as Harry James Potter. He'll have the command of this meeting and I hope you all know that the consequences for disrespecting him will be extreme."

Tom's eyes were narrowed as he spoke, glaring around the room as though daring any of them to speak out. When none did, he grinned and settled into a seat beside Harry.

"Thank you, Tom. As he said, my name is Hadrian and I'll be the one most of you here at the school speak to. The adults can speak to Lucius or Narcissa. They will be able to get messages to me the easiest as my father has his own role to play." Harry gestured to Draco who sat on his other side. "Another person those at school may speak to is Draco here. As my own second in command, Draco is to be respected and obeyed. His words, as are mine, are law. Gryffindors can feel safe speaking to Neville Longbottom. Nev is a trusted friend and member of this court, though he couldn't be in attendance this evening."

He introduced the other members of his court, giving a brief overview of each person's talents and expertise. The Weasley twins gave identical smirks when Harry introduced them as his Enforcers and Harry noticed Bill's grin widening. The meeting went on for another hour and Harry found himself enjoying the company of even the older witches and wizards in attendance. Most of them were old personal friends of Tom's who were overjoyed to have him back. At the end of the meeting, only Croaker stuck around. He approached Harry and Tom with a small smirk.

"You chose your heir well, Tom." Croaker said, gesturing at Harry with a grin.

Tom grinned back. "I'm glad you think so, old friend. Now, why don't you tell Harry what you've been up to these last weeks? I'm sure he'll enjoy it."

"Well, Lord Harry-."

Here, Harry shook his head. "Just Harry please. None of this Lord nonsense." He interrupted.

"Harry then. Minnie here wrote to me early this year, giving me the needed updates about your plans. I have to say, I'm impressed with how far you've come in such a short time." Croaker's smile went feral. "You'll have the support of the Unspeakables at your back, of course. Tom and I are old friends and I've only ever hired like minded individuals. Albus, of course, thinks that he has me in his pocket. I've got a great deal of information to share with you about the old coot's plans."

Harry smiled. "I can see that you're going to be a valuable asset. Take a seat if you have the time. We'll talk over some tea."

Croaker conjured himself a chair and sat. "He hasn't given up on trying to get your custody pushed back to James Potter. Idiot approached me a few days ago, just after the news about your parentage hit the press, about possibly using my own means to do so." He rolled his eyes. "I told him it wasn't possible. In truth, it is possible but that isn't information I'm willing to give him."

He poured himself some tea and glanced at Tom. "There's another bit of information that you should know. Jamie Potter isn't the Boy-Who-Lived. The only thing he is, is a horcrux. A piece of Tom's soul is imbedded in that scar of his. You, meanwhile, are the Boy-Who-Lived. You're a horcrux as well, of course, but I doubt you'll want to change that."

"No. Absolutely not. Being a horcrux has its advantages. However, I do want the one in Potter removed." Harry said. He took a sip of his own tea. "Though, I'm not sure how to go about that one."

Croaker waved a hand. "I'll speak with Albus about it. The old coot will fall for just about any nonsense I give him, so leave that to me."

"Once he has the Horcrux out of his scar, he'll lose a considerable amount of magic." Tom said, glancing over at Croaker. "I've taken note of the fact that a great deal of his magic is stemming from the scar."

"That doesn't mean he won't be able to cause problems for us, however." Harry said, "Jamie's been raised to know both offensive and defensive magic. Whether or not his magic comes from the horcrux or himself, he'll still be a difficult opponent."

Draco shrugged. "Harry's right, but it's not like he has a chance against all of us."

"No, but he could still cause a decent amount of problems for us." Harry said. "Which means that I'll be stepping up our training sessions. We'll be starting with defensive magic while we're working on the Occlumency training."

Croaker nodded. "I'll send a few of my own men into these sessions. Occlumency is difficult training, even if you've got a decent amount of skilled teachers."

"That would be appreciated, sir. We do a few skilled teachers, but I'm certain that a few Unspeakables would help a great deal." Harry stood and shook the man's hand. "I apologize for running out on you, but we've got a dinner with our family to attend to this evening."

Croaker waved a hand. "We're about done here anyways. I've got some things to speak with Tom about, but he can pass the information to you as well."

"Thank you for taking time to meet with us. Your support means a great deal." Harry bowed once and led Draco from the Room.

As usual, they found Lucius and Narcissa waiting for them with Severus in the entryway. Blaise too was there, standing awkwardly beside Severus in casual robes. This time, there was no Dumbledore around to harass them. The family departed quickly, not willing to wait longer than they had to in order to avoid Dumbledore trying anything. Harry was relatively certain that they would, actually, be pulled out of school if Dumbledore tried that particular stunt again. They walked to the gates and apparated by Side Along to Malfoy Manor.

Beside Harry, Lyra was nearly vibrating with excitement. Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan hadn't been able to come to the Guild Meeting that evening so this would be the first time that she met her parents. She held tight to Harry's hand, her eyes shining with happiness. On her other side, Draco's cool gray eyes were shining with amusement. Neville was walking behind them, his expression showing none of the nervousness that Harry knew he was feeling at that moment.

Malfoy Manor was beautiful. As Lucius and Narcissa led them through to the large dining room, Harry's eyes flicked around the room in wonder. He'd known that Draco had excellent taste, but seeing his betrothed's home in person gave him even more appreciation for the man that he would someday marry. Draco walked over to stand at Harry's side, his gray eyes warm. Harry, with some difficulty, pulled his attention to the three people standing beside the table.

It had been said that Bellatrix Lestrange's beauty had been dampened by her time in Azkaban. Harry couldn't see how that was possible. Her long ebony hair hung down her back in ringlets and her aristocratic gray eyes were shining with tears as she stared at Lyra. Standing with an arm around her waist, Rodolphus Lestrange appeared tall and elegant. He stepped forward at the same time that Lyra did, his arms outstretched. Lyra ran into them without hesitation, a sob bursting past her lips. As the small family held each other, Harry smiled and leaned into the arm that Draco wrapped around his waist.

"You can sit anywhere Blaise, dear." Narcissa told Blaise, who hung back at Severus' side.

Blaise smiled. "Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy."

"You can call me Aunt Narcissa if you'd like. After all, Severus is like a brother to me."

Lucius nodded. "Uncle Lucius works as well. We're happy to have you here, Blaise."

The Lestrange family approached them, their arms tightly around Lyra. Harry's smile grew as he saw the joy shining in his friend's eyes. Bellatrix stopped in front of Neville, her eyes soft as she stared down at the young man. Neville seemed to have stopped breathing. Agony shone in his deep brown eyes and he dipped his head.

"M-Madam Lestrange, I apologize for-."

"You have absolutely nothing to apologize for, Young Longbottom." Bellatrix interrupted. "Your parents' actions were not yours."

A small smile grew on Neville's lips. "Even so, I've been studying the curse that my mother used on you. I believe that, with Harry and Lord Slytherin's help, I can reverse it." He raised his head to look her in the eyes. "Their actions may not have been of my doing, but I will not allow what they did to affect you any longer. If you'd wish it, please write to Severus and we'll perform the ritual on Christmas break."

Rodolphus smiled at his wife. "What say you, love? Shall we bring in the new year with a sibling for Lyra?"

"That would be…" Bellatrix cleared her throat. "You owe us no debt, Neville. But… if you would be willing, we would consider it the greatest of gifts."

Neville smiled at Harry. "Harry and I will speak with Lord Slytherin. By Christmas break, we'll have everything we need."

As Narcissa led them to the table where dinner was already being served, Harry allowed himself to feel victorious. He planned to have the stone safely in Lord Slytherin's hands by the time Christmas break rolled around. Which, of course, meant that their Lord would be back among them for his favorite holiday. Things, he thought, were definitely looking promising for them. His friend would soon have siblings, his Lord would be back among them, and Dumbledore would be gone. Yes, life was definitely going to be very good soon.