Harry Potter, Heir of Gryffindor

Bane

After Defense Against the Dark Arts on Friday Moody pulled Ron aside and growled, "Bring your chess set to class tonight, laddy. We're going to play us a couple o' games."

At 6:55 that evening five young Gryffindors and one young Ravenclaw found themselves approaching the stone gargoyle that marked the entrance to the headmaster's office. Harry, Ron and Neville, Ron carrying his chess set, had fiercely determined looks on their faces and in their eyes and Ginny, Hermione and Luna, while not as fierce as their male counterparts, were just as determined. Remus was waiting for them near the entrance and, seeing their approach, turned to mutter the password. But before he could say anything the gargoyle sprang aside revealing the spiraling escalator. Clearly surprised, Remus looked curiously up into the opening and then glanced back at Harry and the others. "Don't ask," Harry grumbled as he stopped at the base of the stairs and motioned for Remus to go first.

Remus chuckled and smiled down at his young friend. "Don't worry, Harry," he said, "I won't. There are things about this castle that I don't think even Albus understands yet."

Albus, Alastor, Severus, Madam Pomfrey and Minerva were waiting for them when they entered the Headmaster's Private Library. Alastor quickly motioned for Ron to join him at the small table that had been set up in front of the fireplace where he had his own chess set standing at attention; Albus motioned for Harry to join him at the main table, which was covered with file folders: Madam Pomfrey took Luna over to a set of shelves dedicated to the healing arts and began going over which texts she should be studying; Minerva motioned for Hermione to join her by a ladder where she would be giving her student a tour of the library and help Hermione find her way around the circular room; Severus took Neville aside and began discussing the role of plants and herbs in potion making and their various properties; and Remus took Ginny over to a section of books dedicated to the various relationships that have been formed between witches and wizards and the many other members of the magical community throughout history.

"These are the family files of all of the muggle-born and half-blood students currently attending Hogwarts," Albus said in response to Harry's questioning look. "Students are almost never allowed to see these files. But under the circumstances I thought an exception could be made. The first page of each file contains the student's biographical information - name, age, date of birth, home address, hobbies, interests, pre-Hogwarts educational experiences, manifestations of magical ability and the like. The second page, however, is what we are most interested in; it contains their parental information such as current careers or career paths, education, training, hobbies and interests.

"So far I have been able to divide them into three general categories. The files on the left," he said indicating the lines of files taking up the left end of the table, "are in what I call the 'Unlikely' category. The files in the middle," he said indicating a second, smaller set of files, "are those I think might hold some possibilities. And those on the right," he said indicating the single line of files occupying the right end of the table, "are what I consider to be the most likely candidates.

"You will, of course, be making the final decision as you know what you are looking for and I do not.

"So," the aging headmaster said lightly, "let us begin."

Half an hour later, while Harry was reading through the profiles of a husband and wife team of doctors a question appeared in his mind and he decided to act on it. "Albus?" he asked.

"Yes, Harry," Dumbledore asked without looking up from the chart he was examining.

"Why did you bring me here after the attack? wouldn't Saint Mungo's have been closer?"

Professor Dumbledore looked up from the chart and slowly laid it back down on the table. "Initially we did take you to Saint Mungo's, Harry. But old habits die hard; and old memories have a way of haunting even the most accomplished of wizards.

"If you will recall, I once told you that during Tom's last rise to power people were suspicious of one another. Even old and dear friends, like Sirius and Remus, did not know if they could trust one another. Those were dark times, Harry, and as soon as you were stable enough to travel we used a portkey to transfer you here and brought one of their top neurologists - someone we knew we could trust - to you."

"Oh," Harry said and returned to the stack of files in front of him.

Fifteen minutes later, however, another thought occurred to him and he decided to act upon it as well. "Albus?" he began again.

"Yes, Harry?"

"What exactly are our roles in the Order?"

"You mean yours, Ron's, Hermione's, Neville's, Luna's and Ginevra's?"

"Yes," Harry said, closing yet another file and setting it aside.

"Your role, Harry," Dumbledore said sagely, "as you are, indeed, the Heir of Gryffindor as well as the one whose coming was foretold in the prophecy, is to recruit as many members of the magical community to our side as you can and learn to harness the power of love so that you can finally and completely defeat Voldemort. I am happy to say, I might add, that you seem to have taken a major step in that direction with the development of that charm you used this summer.

"Ginevra's role is to help you in your recruiting efforts as well as helping you discover the true nature of love. You see, Harry, Ginevra possesses many of the same qualities you mother had while she was in this world and while some members of the magical community will respond to the more masculine energies you possess others, such as the unicorns, will only respond to the more sensitive, feminine energies Ginevra possesses. The two or you are a team and if you will let her she will teach you the meaning of love and help you harness its power. I must caution you, however, that she must be allowed to teach you in her own way and in her own time. Do not - and I repeat, do not - try to force anything. For her lessons to be effective they must come from the heart and be freely given. Under no circumstances should any of the lessons she has to offer be forced. You must let her teach you in her own way and in her own time."

The Headmaster paused and waited for several seconds to let this message sink in before continuing. "Ron and Hermione are a team as well. While Ron's specialty is the soft logic of behavior, tactics and strategy in an ever-changing world, Hermione's role is to keep him balanced and help him understand the hard logic of the muggle sciences and the finer points of their magical counterparts so that, together, they can help us take full advantage of all of the resources available to us.

"Neville and Luna, are a team as well. With Severus' help and guidance Neville will be brewing the stockpiles of potions and draughts we will need in case of a major attack. I don't know if you knew this or not, Harry, but for centuries Hogwarts has been a major medical evacuation center. If Saint Mungo's should ever be stretched to its limits the overflow would come here. Luna is being trained as a healer. We could probably call upon Saint Mungo's in case of a local emergency but when time is of the essence it is best to have at least two healers on hand. And since Poppy is not as young as she once was Luna will be dispatched out into the field to help stabilize and heal any and/or all witches and wizards injured during battle so that they can be transported to either the castle or Saint Mongo's. We are, of course, looking for additional teams. But for right now they are our first - second if you count Poppy and Severus."

Harry sat silently and thought this over for a moment then looked over at Dumbledore with a thoughtful expression on his face. "You said Ginny and I are supposed to be recruiting people to our side; where do you think we should begin?"

Albus frowned and bowed his head briefly before looking up into Harry's eyes. "Alas, my friend, I cannot tell you where to begin because where I would begin may not be a wise choice at this time."

"Where would you begin?" Harry asked.

"I would begin with the centaurs as they are the guardians on the Forbidden Forest and gaining their support can provide both you and us with innumerable opportunities. But, alas, they are no longer as friendly as they once were. I am afraid the events of the past year has put a strain on our relationship."

""Yeah," Harry said flatly, "Firenze said I might have a little trouble with Bane."

"He did?" Dumbledore asked, somewhat surprised by this revelation.

"Yeah, he said I might have to go all out and exercise all of my authority as Godric's heir to get through to him."

Dumbledore rested his elbows on the table and, placing the tips his fingers together in his usual posture of contemplation, studied Harry for several seconds. "Do you feel up to it?" he finally asked.

"I don't know," Harry admitted, "but I've got to try and I won't know if I feel up to it unless I do."

"Well said, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Well said. Have you set a date yet?"

"I was thinking about trying it after breakfast tomorrow."

Albus sat back in his chair and studied Harry carefully for several more seconds. "My thoughts will be with you, Harry. But I am afraid I will not be able to accompany you. I have business at the Order's headquarters that needs attending to and . . ."

Harry waved him off. "I understand," he said. "I'll do my best and let you know how it goes when you get back."

"Thank you," Dumbledore said then smiled thoughtfully to himself. "I look forward to your report."

"Do you have any suggestions as to where we might go next?" Harry asked.

Almost an hour later, after pouring over at least fifty more files, Harry heard Professor Dumbledore cluck with interest followed by his characteristic, "Ah!"

Harry glanced up. "Do you think you have something?" he asked.

"Possibly, quite possibly," the former Transfiguration professor said, laying the folder open on the table in front of him. "Come over here and tell me what you think."

Harry stood up and, upon realizing how stiff he had become while hunched over the stack of files, stretched. After getting all of the kinks out he walked over and stood beside the Headmaster and leader of The Order of the Phoenix and, resting his hands on the table, began studying the file that lay open before him. 'Mother's Name:' he read, 'Amanda Babcock. Occupation: Astrophysicist, Specializing in the study of Energy Signatures and Gravitational Anomalies.' He read the rest of the mother's information then moved on to the father's information. 'Father's Name: Robert Babcock. Occupation: Theoretical Physicist, Specializing in Energy Transfer and Black Hole Research.' Harry smiled and looked up into Professor Dumbledore's expectant eyes. "I don't pretend to understand what all this means he said, smiling. "But it sounds promising."

Harry looked up and scanned the room for Hermione to ask her opinion and finally found her clinging to the uppermost rungs of a ladder, examining a book on the shelf in front of her. "Hey, Hermione," he called. "Could you come down here for a minute. I think we may have found something and I want your opinion."

Hermione glanced down then looked immediately back up. "Sure, Harry," she said, a slight edge of nervousness in her voice. "I'll be right down." Harry smirked. So the great Hermione Granger is afraid of heights. He guessed that was alright, though. She had more than proven herself in other areas. She had the right to be afraid of something. After all, wasn't Ron afraid of spiders?

When Hermione reached the bottom of the ladder she let out a sigh of relief and walked over to stand beside Harry. "What have you got?" she asked.

Harry pushed the file over to her and pointed to the columns of parental information. Hermione studied them for several minutes then looked up and smiled. "Yes," she said. "I think these are the people we are looking for." Then, turning to Albus, said, "How do we go about contacting them and convincing them to help?"

"You let me worry about that," The aging professor said. "In the mean time I think it would be a good idea if one or all six of you were to befriend their daughter."

"What's her name?" Hermione asked.

Albus flipped back to the first page of the chart and scanned it briefly. "Her name is Andromeda Babcock. She is a first-year Ravenclaw. I will point her out to you upon my return Sunday evening."

At that moment Ron let out a triumphant "Ha! Check mate!" as Alastor scowled in defeat. "That was a good game, though," Ron said encouragingly.

"Same time next week." Alastor growled threateningly.

"You're on," Ron said with a smile, wiping the beads of perspiration from his brow. "I'll give you this though, Alastor, you're good. You are very good."

Moody grumbled something about being out of practice as he set his pieces up for their rematch the following week. Ron, however, gathered his pieces up and put them in their carrying case.

At breakfast the next morning Ron and Neville glanced over at Harry as Hermione and Ginny joined them at the Gryffindor Table. "So when are you going to go talk to Bane?" Ron asked.

"After breakfast," Harry mumbled.

"What's after breakfast?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing," Harry said too quickly.

"Harry," Hermione scolded. "If it's anything dangerous we're not going to let you do it"

"At least not alone," Ginny added.

Harry scowled and looked at his plate, thinking about what he was going to be doing that morning. Hermione had almost blown it for them at the end of the previous year when she had led himself and Dolores Umbridge into the forest and expected the centaurs to 'take care' of Umbridge. He already knew that the centaurs were not happy with Hagrid for bringing Grawp into the forest and that they had ostracized Firenze for helping humans. He didn't know how Dumbledore had gotten Umbridge away from the centaurs but he was fairly certain that they were not too pleased about that either. As he looked up at Neville, Ron, Hermione and Ginny in turn, taking in the looks of concern in their eyes and recognizing their desire to help, he new that he could not refuse them. He could warn them and explain about the possible dangers but he could not refuse them.

"Alright," he said finally. "I'm going down into the Forbidden Forest to meet with Bane. It will be dangerous and possibly even deadly but it is something I have to do." After explaining what he was going to do and why and outlining his concerns and the other possible dangers he fell silent and waited for the information to sink in before asking the one question he least wanted to ask. "So," he said softly, "do you still want to go?"

"You're my friend, mate," Ron said seriously. "We've been through too much together for me to back out now. I'm with you."

"Me too," Hermione nodded.

Ginny squeezed his arm and he turned to look into her eyes. "I won't let you do this without me, Harry Potter. We're a team and I won't let anyone or anything tear us apart. I know the risks and I'm willing to face them no matter what so long as you are by my side."

Harry looked into her confident and reassuring eyes and smiled. "Thank you," he said and nodded his head, satisfied that he had chosen his friends well and that they would stand by him no matter what.

Neville cleared his throat and said, "I'm with you too, Harry. I've only been down there once in first year with you and Ron and Malfoy and it seems you make a habit of going into the forest at least once a year. If I'm going to be your dueling partner then I guess I had better get used to the idea of facing more than just my fears so I'm in too."

"What's going on?" Luna asked, stepping up behind Harry and Ginny.

"We're all going down into the Forbidden Forest after breakfast," Ginny whispered urgently. "Harry is going to try to talk to the centaurs and we are going along because we aren't going to let him do it alone."

Luna was silent for a few seconds then asked, "Does Albus know?"

Harry nodded his head. "Yes, he knows. He's worried about how they might react but he knows and has given it his approval."

"Well then you can count me in as well," Luna said forcefully, which surprised everyone, "because the six of us are a team and I will not be left out just because I'm in Ravenclaw."

Harry turned around and looked up at Luna who was standing resolutely with her hands on her hips. "I wouldn't dream of leaving you out, Luna. Least of all because you are in Ravenclaw."

After breakfast they left the castle and, by agreement, headed towards Hagrid's cabin to say hello to their friend before venturing into the forest. The sky was clear and the sun provided them with some welcoming warmth as they crossed the lawns on their way to Hagrid's hut and in the distance Harry could see several people flying over the quidditch pitch. "I wonder who that could be," he mused out loud.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Huh?" Harry said, shaking his head. Then, realizing what he had said, said, "I was just wondering who was flying over the quidditch pitch."

Ron thought for a moment then said, "That would be Huffelpuff. All the tryouts are being held on one day this year due to the heightened security. Huffelpuff gets the early morning slot then comes Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor."

"Why are we last?" Harry asked.

"I dunno. Luck of the draw I guess. Anyway, each team gets three hours."

"Luck of the draw," Harry groaned. "Oh, Filch will love that."

Ron snickered. "Yeah, he probably will at that. He won't be able to bust us, though, because we have permission to be out until the tryouts are over."

As they approached Hagrid's cabin Fang, Hagrid's giant boarhound, started barking and they looked up just in time to see the giant black dog bounding across the lawn towards them. Harry's eyes widened as he had less that a second to brace for impact before Fang jumped and hit him in the chest with the force of a small locomotive.

Harry fell back and instinctively rolled several times so that for a time it was hard to tell where dog ended and boy began. When they finally stopped Harry was sitting with his legs splayed out in front of him and Fang was excitedly licking his face. "It's good to see you too, Fang," Harry laughed as he struggled to push the enormous dog away.

At that moment Hagrid came running around the end of his cabin nearest his vegetable patch looking panicked and calling out for Fang. "Fang! Fang! Where are ye', Fang?"

Hermione and Ginny called Hagrid over, as Ron was too busy rolling on the ground, struggling for breath between gales of laughter at the sight of Harry being body tackled by a boarhound. Neville and Luna, who were still ignorant of the special bond between Harry and Fang, stood back and watched, confused as to what, if anything, they should be doing. "He's over here, Hagrid," Ginny and Hermione called out between fits of laughter. "He's just tackled Harry."

Hagrid trotted over and stopped beside to the two girls. When he saw Harry's predicament he started laughing as well. "Well o' course he has," he laughed. "He's been a migh' worried 'bout ye', Harry. Its no' ev'ry day a wizard goes up agains' twenty-three death eaters and lives to tell abou' it.

"Come 'ere, Fang," Hagrid said stepping forward and pulling his dog off of Harry so he could stand up.

"Thanks, Hagrid," Harry said, standing up and scratching behind the boarhound's ears before straightening his robes.

"So how ye' feelin', Harry? I don' mind tellin' ye' tha' we were all kinda worried 'bout ye' fer a while there."

"I'm all right, I guess," Harry said, brushing the last of the grass off of his shoulders. "All I can really tell you about the attack, though, is that it wasn't exactly a walk in the park."

"Yeah, tha's wha' I been hearin'. I still don' know how ye' did it, though.

"So wha' brings ye' down here anyway? Professor Dumbledore 'splained why ye' aren' takin' Care o' Magical Creatures this year, so I un'erstan' tha' . . ."

"How's Grawp?" Hermione asked suddenly.

The effect was immediate. Hagrid's smile was wiped from his face and replaced by a frown and the sparkle in his eyes was replaced by an expression of sadness and loss that bordered on devastation. If Harry didn't already know that magic would bounce off of him he would have sworn that Hagrid had been hit by a sadness curse. Hagrid looked down and studied his massive hands for a full minute before looking up and saying one word. "Dead."

"Dead? what do you mean dead?" Hermione gasped.

"The centaurs was kinda upse' when he broke loose las' year so they killed 'im," Hagrid said solemnly. "Murderin' scum," he growled. "An' now they won' even let me int' th' fores' t' see his body an give 'im a proper burial."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Hermione said sympathetically. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"No' unless ye' can bring 'im back t' life," Hagrid said gloomily. Then brightening he said, "But tha's enough o' that. What I'd like ter know is what yer doing down here. It ain' safe in the fores' any more so I hope yer not thinkin' o' goin' in there."

"That's exactly what we're doing," Harry said softly.

"Wha'?" Hagrid cried. "Have ye' los' yer min's? Its dangerous in there! I won' even go in there any more!"

Harry looked fiercely up at his first friend in the wizarding world and said, "I have to, Hagrid. I have to talk to Bane. These five don't have to go but they want to. I, however, have no choice."

Hagrid looked down at Harry and studied his face for several seconds then said, "Alrigh'. But if ye' ge' in trouble I wan' ye' t' send up some red sparks. If those centaurs hur' any o' ye' I'll teach 'em wha' fer."

Smiling grimly, Harry nodded his head. "Thanks, Hagrid," he said. "I don't think that will be necessary; but thank you anyway."

The trip into the Forbidden Forest started out innocently enough: The trees gradually blocked out all light which, even with their wands lit, left them stumbling through an oppressive gloom and the tree roots, brambles, briars and low lying bushes made walking difficult. But before long a more sinister feeling of being watched began to fill the air around them. At one point, almost fifteen minutes into their journey, Ron tripped over a tree root and fell. He had screamed and stumbled back against a tree sputtering nervously about spiders and Hermione had comforted him, taking his hand and gently reassuring him that she would take care of the spiders.

Ron breathed a labored sigh of relief and nodded his head resolutely. "I'm not forcing you to come you know," Harry said with just the right amount of concern in his voice to let Ron know that he was not mocking him. "You can go back if you want to."

"No," Ron said nervously. Then, setting his jaw, stated, "We're your friends, Harry. Where you lead we follow."

Several minutes later they entered a dimly lit clearing and Harry said, "This is it. Put your wands away."

"What?" Ron asked incredulously.

"I said wands away. We came here to talk not to fight and I don't want then feeling threatened in any way," Harry said as he made a show of tucking his wand away in an inner pocket of his robes.

When they reached the center of the clearing he stopped and took hold of Ginny's hand. "Alright," Harry said softly. "Stop. I want a defensive posture so backs together facing out." The others didn't need to be told twice and immediately formed a defensive circle. Harry then cleared his throat and called out, "Bane! I know you're there, Bane! We've put our wands away so there is no danger. All we want to do is talk."

At that moment an arrow flew through the air and stuck in the ground at Harry's feet. As it stood, quivering from the force of impact, a small army of centaurs emerged from the surrounding trees, bows drawn and arrows notched. Harry heard Hermione's gasp and Ron's gulp and felt Ginny shivering beside him. In the gloom Harry watched as the familiar figure of Bane stepped forward and walked up to stand directly in front of him. "You are not welcome here, human!" the centaur said menacingly. "This is our forest and we did not invite you here. Leave now and you may live. Refuse and you will die."

With that Bane turned his back on Harry and started to walk away. "Don't turn your back on me, Bane," Harry threatened and the others could feel the waves of magical energy beginning pour off of Harry. "We came here to talk and I am not leaving until I have said my piece."

Bane stopped but did not turn around. "I told you to leave, human. If you wish to die that is your affair."

Bane was about to take another step away from Harry when a sudden bolt of lightning struck the ground a little more than a meter in front of him. As the crack of thunder died away Harry raised his voice and said, "I told you not to turn your back to me, Bane! I came here to talk. We can do it the easy way or, if you insist upon being as stubborn as your ancestors, we can do it the hard way. The choice is yours."

Bane spun around and glared at Harry. "LEAVE THIS FOREST NOW, HUMAN!" he bellowed.

The clearing and the surrounding area was suddenly filled with lightning strikes. The ground was upturned and several trees were reduced to kindling but amazingly no one was either hurt or injured. The violence and noise went on for almost a minute. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna were covering their ears and screaming for it to stop and several of the centaurs were glancing nervously around at each other As if wondering what they should do. Harry and Bane, however, simply glared at each other. Finally, when it was evident that Harry was not going to stop until he gave in, Bane flinched and Harry relaxed. The thunder and lightning stopped and the two stood facing each other for several more tense seconds, hatred and loathing burning brightly in Bane's eyes. Then, as he motioned for his warriors to lower their weapons, Bane stepped tensely forward and said, "Say your piece, human. I can make no guarantees but we will listen.

Harry could hear the others let out audible sighs of relief. "Oh, you'll do more than that," Harry threatened, "or I swear I will destroy this forest."

Bane looked into Harry's eyes and seemed to study the look of grim determination that was etched on the young man's face then nodded. "We will listen," he said.

Harry relaxed a bit more and unclenched the fists he didn't know he had formed. "My guess is that you know that Voldemort has returned," Harry began.

Bane nodded.

"I am here to tell you, Bane, that we are going to fight him with everything we've got and do everything in our power to bring him down once and for all. I would like to be able to count you and the rest of the centaurs among our allies."

Bane thought for a moment then asked, "And why should we ally ourselves with you?"

Harry looked slightly stunned for a moment then quickly regained his composure. "Do you remember that Umbridge woman from last year?"

"Yes," Bane nodded, disdain and disgust dripping from the tone of his voice.

"Her attitude is very similar to that of Voldemort and his followers. They do not think that anyone who is not a full-blooded wizard should even have the right to exist. They want to destroy everyone and every thing they deem unworthy. This includes centaurs."

"I'm listening," Bane said, seeming to relax a bit.

Harry thought for a moment then decided to draw upon several of the experiences he had had during his Maturo Auctus. "Almost every civilization and society," he began, "has established a set of guidelines for what it considers to be acceptable behavior. Most people do not recognize them as such and many will go so far as to deny that they even exist. For those who are willing to acknowledge their existence, however, most will strive to justify them in some way so that they will not have to change their ways.

"For lack of a better term I call these unwritten rules 'formalities.' When some people are confronted by something that does not conform to their expectations of what is proper and right they will flee from it and try to get away. These people are usually harmless and wind up only hurting themselves by gradually closing themselves off from the greater possibilities the world has to offer. Others will lash out and try to destroy those things they deem as being either unacceptable or abominations. These people are the dangerous ones. Rather than trying to learn from that which they do not understand and gaining from their experiences they would rather destroy the things they view as unacceptable or abnormal and deny that they ever existed.

"Some of these people are fueled by the simple fear of the unknown while others are fueled by hatred, anger and rage. Indeed, some are even fueled by a mixture of motives. Now, I cannot guarantee that everyone on our side will accept you as you are and respect your rights as centaurs and members of the magical community but I think it is safe to say that many, if not most, of Voldemort's supporters would rather see you and your kind destroyed. I cannot offer you a peaceful resolution to all of your troubles but if you will fight with us - on our side - and if we win I can guarantee you a chance. Our two races may never peacefully coexist but with your help I would like to think that we have an opportunity to give peace a chance."

Bane looked Harry up and down, critically studying him for several seconds, as he thought about what Harry had said then nodded. "You speak well, human, and we accept. We will be your allies in this war. But tell me, by whose authority do you do these things and speak these words?"

Harry smiled and raised his hand into the air. "As the Heir of Gryffindor I do and say these things by the authority vested in me by my ancestors." A blinding sliver shaft of light suddenly appeared, extending up and out from his outstretched hand. When it disappeared Harry was holding the hilt of the Sword of Gryffindor. He turned it over and buried the tip of the sword in the ground between himself and Bane. "With your permission, sir," he said bowing slightly to Bane, "I ask that we might grasp the hilt of my sword as comrades in arms and future friends."

Bane looked at Harry who was watching him with a mixture of confidence and hopeful determination. Hesitantly at first he reached out and placed his hand on the hilt of Harry's sword. Harry then placed his other hand on top of Bane's and smiled up at the centaur. Bane slowly placed his other hand on top of Harry's and nodded. "How may we serve," he asked.

"As equals and, hopefully, as friends," Harry said confidently.

"Yes," Bane said as he looked into Harry's emerald green eyes, "as equals and as friends." Then, as the two warriors removed their hands from the sword, Bane said, "You are a brave man, Harry Potter, and I am proud to call you friend. Is there anything we can do for you that will make your task easier?"

Harry thought for a moment then said, "My friends and I will need to get to know everything we can about both you and your abilities so that we can include you in our plans. Myself, and these five will need to meet with you on a regular basis so that we can get to know one another. I would like it if we could arrange regular meetings for this purpose."

Bane nodded thoughtfully. "It will be done. Is there anything else?"

Harry sighed. "I suppose you know Hagrid is heartbroken about his brother . . ."

Bane nodded.

"Is there any possibility you could let him in to bury his remains?"

Bane scowled darkly for a moment then said, "It will be done."

Harry and Bane then shook hands and as Harry pulled the tip of his sword out of the ground Bane walked back to the edge of the clearing and motioned for his warriors to follow.