Harry Potter, Heir of Gryffindor

Romania

The next two weeks passed quickly. Harry and Remus did several mock duels in Defense Against the Dark Arts and even though they were specifically warned to keep it under control Moony and Prongs Jr. took every opportunity to raise Prank Warfare to levels above and beyond anything anyone expected. It was not uncommon for Remus to be in the middle of teaching a class of first-years about shielding charms when he would suddenly scream, "Potter! I'm going to get you for this!" as his hair suddenly grew three feet in length and wrapped itself around his head.

Neither was in uncommon to hear Harry scream, "Moony! You're dead!" while either walking down the hall or sitting in a class when his robes transfigured into a frilly dress or his shoes suddenly became roller skates. The most entertaining pranks, however, took place in the Great Hall during meals.

During dinner, on the first Friday after the demonstrations, Harry and Remus were casting furtive glances at one another while almost everyone else was cautiously eating their dinners, awaiting the next volley in the now famous Potter-Lupin Prank War, when it happened: A large blob of mashed potatoes flew up and into Remus' face. This was quickly followed by a bowl of gravy emptying its contents on his head. Meanwhile, at the Gryffindor Table, Harry found himself being attacked by blobs of gelatin and preserves. Someone yelled "Food Fight!" and for the next hour it was the kind of free for all food fight that can only happen at a magical school. Roast chickens were marching along the tables challenging students to fights. Food was flying though the air and changing direction in flight only to be intercepted by a baked potato. Some of the explosions were really rather spectacular. And when it was over no one had been spared. Very little food had been eaten but everyone had had an enjoyable time. The only down side to the whole evening was that Harry and Remus, as the instigators, had to stand at the entrance to the Great Hall and clean everyone's robes as they left and then had to stay and clean the Great Hall itself.

At their meeting that night Albus chuckled merrily as the two Marauders entered his library and took their seats. "Ah, yes," he laughed. "Nothing like a bit of recreation to break the tension."

Harry and Remus, who had buried the hatched while cleaning the Great Hall snickered in response. "Ah, the good old days," Remus sighed nostalgically.

Severus scowled but Harry though he could sense a small smile creeping onto the stern Potions Master's face.

"I believe the art of Prank Warfare has only just begun to evolve," Kingsley chuckled. "Now if we can only get these two to stop fighting each other and turn their attention to our common foe I do believe that neither Voldemort nor his followers will know what hit them."

Everyone but Severus laughed at this; but even he smiled ruefully.

Ron, Hermione, Luna and Ginny were still complaining about the early morning wakeup calls and their aching muscles but they quickly quieted when Tonks threatened to put them through the same routine Harry and Neville had endured during the holidays, on the weekends. They had heard about the six-hour training sessions and were not in any hurry to experience them.

Towards the end of the meeting that night Albus went out into his office and returned moments later with four new brooms. Handing them to the four fliers he said, "The Nimbus Broom Company has asked me to ask the four of you to test their new Electra 5000 while in Romania. These are the only four prototypes they have thus far produced. They say that they are even faster and more maneuverable than the Firebolt but they want your opinions and any recommendations on how they could be improved. So I suggest you spend as much time as you can - without neglecting your studies, of course - getting used to your new brooms. As these are prototypes, however, you will not be able to use them during your quidditch matches until they come into regular production."

At breakfast the following Thursday, the day before they were to leave for Romania, Hedwig, Henry and Pig all landed in front of their respective owners. Hedwig and Henry were both carrying large bundles from Weasley's Wizarding Weezes and Pig was carrying a letter from Fred and George. While Harry and Ginny relieved their owls of their burdens and presented their companions with pieces of toast Ron opened the letter and read it to his friends. "Dear, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Neville and Luna," he began. "Sorry to commandeer all three owls for this delivery but we wanted to get these particular items to you before you left on vacation.

"Yeah, right," Ron grumbled. "This is not going to be any vacation."

"Henry's parcel contains several thousand Dementor Delights. We hope it is enough to get Charlie and his friends through at least the next few days. Hedwig's parcel contains several thousand Potter Charms. We've tested them on a few volunteers (mainly Ted Tonks) and you might want to know that they are powerful enough to protect muggles.

"Yes, Hermione, we have given your parents a supply, at no charge.

"Just so you know, Harry, our jokes and pranks are still doing quite well but, as our chief investor, you might want to know that Dementor Delights and Potter Charms are our best sellers by a wide margin. Our mail order business for those two items alone extends to every wizarding community on the planet. Thank you for trusting us with these projects! Even though we are currently donating seventy-five percent of our income from those two products to the reconstruction fund we are still guestimating that by the end of the year we should easily clear one million galleons in personal income, after taxes!"

Ron paused and looked up at Harry. "Whoa!" he said. "That is some serious money."

Looking back down at the letter Ron continued to read. "We have been working on improving our Portable Swamps as well as our Weasley Whiz-Bang Fireworks in accordance with your suggestions. The results look promising. They should be ready by November at the latest.

"Once again, thank you. Sincerely, Gred and Forge"

Ron looked up again. "What improvements? What did you ask them to do?"

Harry smirked then smiled. "I asked them to turn them into weapons with a few minor improvements."

Ginny looked at him and asked, "Prank warfare?"

Harry nodded. "Taken to the extreme."

When Friday evening arrived the six students and two professors entered the Headmaster's Office with a weekend's worth of clothes stuffed into bags and shrunken down so that they could easily fit into their pockets. Each of them had a hip belt lined with pouches filled with Dementor Delights and Potter Charms. Remus, Tonks, Hermione and Luna, as the ground troops, also wore small backpacks that had been stuffed with small bags of the charmed sweets. As they made their final preparations for the trip to Romania Harry did a real quick check on the situation at the dragon preserve and, upon seeing that the battle was already in full swing, returned to his body, which was resting in one of the many chairs in the Headmaster's Office. Looking grimly up at his friends he said, "We go from here straight into battle. Our arrival point is being protected but as soon as we hit you had better be ready to fight."

His seven companions grimly nodded their heads and drew their wands. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Neville then mounted their brooms and everyone joined hands. As Fawkes flew over and landed on Harry's shoulder Albus said, "I cannot help but wish you well, my friends. Please try to stay with your partners; but if you do get separated please keep in contact with each other and stay safe so that you can be found in the morning." Then, turning to Harry, asked, "Do you have your potions?"

Harry checked his chest belt to make sure all of his potions were in their pockets and, when satisfied, nodded his head. "Yes, sir."

"Then I guess all that is left is for you to activate your charms and go," Albus said solemnly.

When they had all activated their defensive charms Harry nodded towards his mentor the turned to Fawkes. Grabbing hold of his tail feathers Harry looked up at the magnificent phoenix that was perched on his shoulder and said, "We're ready when you are, Fawkes."

With a blinding flash of light and a soft pop the eight, plus Fawkes, vanished from Dumbledore's office and almost immediately reappeared behind a large, house-sized boulder near the fringes of the dragon preserve. Curses were flying through the air and dragons could be heard roaring their disapproval. "Get down, Turk!" someone yelled from a nearby pile of boulders. Then they heard someone scream in agony as they were hit by a particularly painful curse.

"Get down!" Remus yelled."

"Communications charms!" Harry yelled as they huddled behind the boulder.

"I can't!" Hermione screamed. She was holding hands with Ron and Remus and couldn't turn loose of either of them.

"What do you mean you cant?" Harry yelled back.

"I mean I can't let go" she screamed. "It's like we're glued together!"

Harry looked back at Hermione with a questioning look on his face then turned his attention to his own predicament. He tried to turn loose of Ginny's hand and let go of Fawkes' tail feathers but found that he could not. What's going on, he thought. This shouldn't be happening. Then it hit him. "Drop your shields! They only get stronger as you share them!" The others looked at him like he was crazy. "I said drop your shields!" he shouted. "If we don't we're lost! Now, drop your shields!"

When they dropped their shields the connection was broken and they were able to move independently. As soon as Harry let go of Fawkes' tail feathers the phoenix vanished, returning to the safety of Hogwarts and Albus' office.

"Shields up!" Harry yelled. "Communications charms!" With their communications charms in place the world around them became softly muted. They could still hear the world around them but the dominant sounds they heard were the voices of those included in their charmed circuit. "Alright," Harry said gently. "Is everybody here?" After they had all checked in a few seconds later he said, "Alright. On my signal adjust your frequencies to join the battle. Ready and . . . Mark!"

The sounds of the battle suddenly exploded in their ears. Men and women, witches and wizards could be heard screaming a variety curses, hexes, jinxes and charms while others could be heard screaming in agony. "Medic!" the voice they had heard earlier called. "I need a medic in alpha sector! Turk is hurt bad."

Luna glanced at Remus and he nodded. "We'll take care of Turk," Remus said as he and Luna ran over to the injured man, dodging a variety of hexes and curses as they went. "You just arrange for transport!"

Turks partner looked up in surprise then nodded his head. "They're here Charlie!" he said a little more calmly as he began to lay cover for Remus and Luna as they tended to Turk's injuries.

"Great!" Charlie Weasley said from somewhere on the battlefield. "Let their flyers know when the coast is clear and get them up in the air. We are going to need all hands tonight. Oh, and welcome to Romania, guys."

The eight new arrivals laughed nervously. "Thanks, Charlie," Tonks said as she and Hermione prepared to run to an injured witch who was dragging herself into a nearby trench. "I hate to tell you this but this is not my idea of a summer resort."

A few people laughed at Tonks' particular brand of humor but most were too busy fighting to notice.

Moments later, as Hermione gasped at the sight of the injure witch in front of her. Tonks said, "We are going to need an evacuation team in the trench fifty meters to the south of arrival point H."

Harry looked up at this and, glancing over at Neville and Ron to see if they were thinking the same thing he was, said, "Ron, Neville, you take that. Ginny and I will cover you. Fifteen minutes later, when Hermione gave the word that the witch was stable enough for transport, Ron and Neville shot out from behind the shelter of their boulder, flying low to the ground in a tight formation while Harry and Ginny shot up into the sky and began laying a fierce barrage of cover fire while Tonks and Hermione secured the injured witch to the stretcher Ron and Neville had conjured to float between their brooms. As soon as she was loaded Ron and Neville took off for the dragon camp's main hospital and Harry and Ginny joined the battle in earnest. Moments later they could hear Tonks asking, "Are you going to be all right, Hermione?" with obvious concern in her voice.

"Yeah," Hermione breathed. "I'll be fine. It's just that . . ."

"I understand," Tonks said. "Hospital, You've got a partial amputation coming in with multiple lacerations over her entire body and a mild concussion. She should be arriving momentarily."

"Thanks," came the response. "We'll be waiting for her."

Harry glanced down at Hermione and could see that she was not looking well. He wished that he could have prepared his friends with more than charts and maps and stories about what he had seen in his nightly visits but he didn't even know if he was fully prepared for what lay ahead. At that moment he realized that all he could do was give it his all and hope for the best.

After several hours of aerial combat in which Harry and Ginny and Ron and Neville had perfected their fighting strategies their adrenaline was still running high when Ginny yelled, "Watch it, Harry! You've got one on your tail!"

Harry quickly glanced over his shoulder and saw that he had indeed picked up a bogie. He tried several maneuvers to try to shake the Death Eater but none of them seemed to work. Apparently this guy was riding a Firebolt or one of the faster Nimbus brooms. As a last resort he dropped into a vertical dive and raced towards the ground, twisting and turning just enough to keep from being hit. With less than a meter to go he pulled out of the dive and accelerated into a climb. The Death Eater, startled by Harry's sudden disappearance, didn't have time to pull out of the dive and dove into the ground at full speed with a sickening crunch.

"A Wronskie Feint!" Charlie screamed joyfully. "Way to go, Harry!"

A few minutes later someone cheered, "A dragon patronus! I love it!"

This was quickly followed by, "Look at that bulldog go! I love you guys!"

As dawn approached Harry and Ginny touched down near an injured auror and ran to his side. The man looked as though he had gotten into a fistfight with a giant. "Medic!" Harry yelled. "We need a medic in beta sector five, near Hobson's Pond!" He then knelt down and started working on healing a few of his minor wounds while Ginny stood guard. He worked feverishly for fifteen minutes until a mediwitch arrived. She worked on the man for a few minutes then looked up at Harry and said, "I'm sorry. I know you tried and you really did do a good job but he's dead."

For a second or two he stood staring at the mediwitch in shock. Then something in his psyche snapped and waves of magical energy began pouring off of him. Ginny turned to look at him and, recognizing the signs of a major Elemental outburst from their encounter with Bane, whispered, "Oh no."

"What?" Ron asked.

"Elemental," Was all Ginny had to say.

"What?" Charlie asked.

"Harry is an elemental," Ron said urgently. "'Mione, Tonks, Remus, Luna, where are you?"

As the others checked in Ron said, "get everyone in who doesn't need to be out but leave enough to guard the dragons! This cannot be good!"

Ginny cautiously approached Harry and looked into his eyes. What she saw frightened her beyond belief. Harry's eyes were glowing a bright emerald green and the look of determination on his face told her that something major was about to happen. "Harry?" she asked.

Harry laid his wand on the ground and silently unbuckled his hip and chest belts, laying them on the ground beside his wand. He then looked through Ginny, seeing her but not recognizing her presence. "This has got to stop," He growled as he mounted his broom. Before he kicked off he looked down from Ginny and glared at his wand and belts. "Take care of them. I will need them later."

As Harry rose into the sky, rocketing upwards as fast as his broom would carry him he blocked out most of the chatter in the communications link, only subconsciously listening to the progress that was being made as the battlefield was cleared, but listening for his friends to report in while he extended his conscious awareness to include the entire battlefield and beyond. As he searched for giants, Death Eaters and dementors the first report he was interested in came over the link. It was Ron's voice. "We're okay," Ron's voice said tiredly. "I got a little singed by an irate Chinese Fireball and Neville got winged by a Death Eater from behind but we're doing fine."

Hermione's voice suddenly cut in. "You get yourself to a healer right this minute, Ronald Weasley! Burns are a very serious matter and I don't want you taking any chances"

"Yes, Hermione," was Ron's only response.

Then Luna's obviously concerned voice cut it. "Are you all right, Neville?" she asked.

"Yeah," Neville said softly. "He got my wand arm but I'm fine. My elbow's a little stiff but I'll survive. How about you?"

Luna laughed. "I'm fine. A little worse for the wear but I'm fine. We've got quite a few walking wounded down here and Remus will need someone to take a look at his leg when we get back but . . ."

"Don't forget to have someone take a look at your shoulder, Luna," Remus cut in. "Tonks, Hermione, how about you two?"

"We got separated," Tonks said. "I've got three stretcher cases down here with the Ridgebacks but other than a few cuts and bruises . . ."

"I'll be right there," Ginny said. "I'm only about a hundred meters away. I hope you don't mind sharing a broom."

Tonks chuckled softly. "That's the least of my worries, Ginny. Keeping these three alive comes first."

"'Mione?" Ron asked, a note of panic rising in his voice. "Where are you and how are you doing?"

"I'm all right, I guess," Hermione said. "I'm a little dirty but I'll survive. As to where I am I really don't know. I've got an unconscious witch beside me, though, so I will need a stretcher as well."

"Shoot up some sparks, Hermione, and we'll find you," Charlie said.

Moments later a shower of red sparks could be seen near the eastern end of the preserve. "She's with the greens," a voice said.

"Oh, no," Charlie groaned.

"I'm closest," another voice said. "I'll get her."

"Thanks, Neil," Charlie said. "Hermione, listen to me. If those greens wake up and find you, you are toast so just stay calm and guide Neil in. He'll get you out."

"Er, . . . okay."

With all of his friends accounted for Harry turned his attention back to the tasks at hand. As the sun peaked over the horizon he became aware of two distinct groups of giants lumbering away from the battlefield with several stragglers heading off in various directions. He didn't want to kill them but he did want to get them out of harm's way. So, flying so high that he appeared to be little more than a tiny speck in the sky, he dropped into the same deep meditative state he had after his first duel with Dumbledore and began commanding the elements to do his bidding.

For the first hour, with a combination of lightning strikes and gale force winds, he drove the giants, dementors and Death Eaters away from the dragon preserve, destroying their camps and supplies in the process. After that he surveyed and mapped out the next phase of his plan. Over the next nine hours he re-sculpted the landscape around the preserve and formed a trench around its perimeter by compressing a full kilometer's worth of dirt, stone and bedrock into the roughly circular canyon's two walls. The result was a kilometer wide, kilometer deep canyon whose walls were nearly indestructible. Several streams and waterfalls cascaded down the cliffs, threatening to fill the moat. To solve this problem Harry created a deep ravine that would let most of the water drain out into the valleys below.

He was so exhausted by the time he was finished that he was just barely able to guide his broom in the general direction of the dragon camp's main compound. As he approached he could see and, to a certain extent, hear Remus and the others teaching a few hundred witches and wizards about the charm. They were in the practice phase of the program when Harry spoke into the charmed link. "Is anyone still on this thing?" he asked.

Ginny's voice immediately cut in. "I'm here, Harry," she said, her voice breathing a sigh of relief. "Are you all right?"

"I think so," Harry said tiredly. "Do you have my potions ready?"

"Yes. Where are you?"

"I . . . I don't know. You'll have to look up and guide me in because I'm just too tired."

Moments later Ginny's voice came back to him. "A little to you left, Harry. . . That's it. . . You've got a little rise coming up then you will be passing through the wards. . . That's it, Harry. You're almost here. . . Thirty more meters, Harry. . . Nose up or you're going to hit the wall. . . Alright . . . Let yourself down easy . . . And . . . Stop!"

As Harry's feet touched the ground he collapsed from utter and complete exhaustion. Ginny and Remus were the first to reach him. "Which potions will you need?" Ginny asked urgently.

Harry looked blearily up into Ginny's face. Even with his glasses she looked blurry. "All of them," he mumbled then closed his eyes and fell into a long, protracted deep and dreamless sleep. At first he was vaguely aware of the activity around him as someone conjured a stretcher and potions were poured down his throat. But after that he was too far gone to either feel or hear or even really care about anything.

When Harry opened his eyes next, Ginny was sitting next to him, her head resting on his blanket-covered chest. The blurry figures of Ron and Hermione were slumped together in a couch against the near wall; pale rays of sunlight were streaming through the narrow window across from his bed; and, turning his head, he saw two more blurry figures slumped together on the floor near what appeared to be a door.

A moment later the door creaked slowly open. The two figures on the floor stirred slightly as a blurry face appeared in the opening and looked at Harry. Seeing that he was awake the person carefully opened the door and quietly entered the room. "Good morning, Mister Potter," the woman whispered so as not to disturb his sleeping companions.

"Morning," Harry said softly. "And the name is Harry." Ginny stirred slightly but did not wake.

The healer smiled. "My name is Alice, Harry, and I am one of the resident healers."

Harry nodded his understanding and returned her smile.

"You came awfully close to total magical burnout yesterday; but for what you did we are eternally grateful. I have a restorative draught for you to take if you can untangle yourself from you overprotective young friend." Harry smiled at the though of anyone trying to get past Ginny when she was in one of her protective modes and was secretly glad that Ron and Charlie were here to deal with her rage and protect the others from her wrath. He didn't envy the dragon keepers but he pitied anyone who dared go against Ginny when she was in one of her moods.

After the healer had given him his glasses and left the room Harry carefully slid out from under the blankets and out of the bed, being more than careful not to wake Ginny - substituting the pillow for his chest as he went - and drank the potion before getting dressed and exiting the room. As he softly closed the door behind him Remus and Tonks pushed themselves up from their positions on the floor and ran over, hugging him as they might a long lost brother. "Thank God you're alright," Tonks whispered into his ear. "We were so worried."

Harry smiled shyly and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry about that but it had to be done."

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you, Harry," Remus said sternly. "What would James and Lilly and . . . Sirius say if they knew I let you almost burn yourself out over a bunch of dragons?" Then, smiling and letting his false anger evaporate into nothingness, Remus hugged Harry tighter than the teenager had ever been hugged before. "Don't you ever do that to me again," Remus said laughing and crying at the same time. "You're the last of your line, Harry, and the son of one of the best friends a werewolf could ever hope to have."

Remus was about to say something else when they heard a high-pitched scream coming from inside the room. "I think Ginny's awake," Harry said hesitantly, turning around just in time to see the door swing violently open and get ripped from its hinges.

As Ginny stood in what remained of the doorway, breathing heavily and a dangerous look of determination on her face, Remus leaned in close to Harry's shoulder and muttered, "Mister Elemental meet Miss Hurricane."

Harry smiled at this and then turned his attention to Ginny. "Good morning, Ginny" he had time to say before Ginny launched herself at him and glued herself to his body.

"Don't you ever do that to me again," she sobbed into his chest. "I'm never letting you out of my sight ever again."

Returning her hug Harry said, "That might be kind of hard to do. I really don't thing you are allowed to spend the night in a boy's dormitory."

Ginny just squeezed him tighter and refused to let go. Looking up from the embrace Harry saw Ron and Hermione standing in the doorway smiling and looking as though Christmas had come three months early. And behind them he saw Luna and Neville smiling at each other. "Morning," he mouthed.

Several minutes later, as they were sitting down to breakfast, Charlie and a dark haired man with sparking blue eyes walked into the dining area and sat down across from Harry. "Harry," Charlie began, "this is Neil McMillan. He's my boss and he'd like a word or two with you."

Turning to the man sitting beside Charlie Harry noticed a slight resemblance to one of his classmates. "Any relation to Ernie?" he asked the man.

"Cousin," Neil said, nodding and smiling at the name recognition.

"Well, what can I do for you?" Harry asked.

"Do you have any idea what you did yesterday?"

"Er, . . . I dug a trench?" Harry asked hopefully.

Neil and Charlie burst out laughing. "Dug a trench, he says," Charlie laughed.

""Harry, you built us a castle!"

"And on top of that you dug us a moat that the dementors can't cross and any giant would be crazy to even try!"

Harry smiled sheepishly. "I guess I'll have to go out and survey the damage then," he said. "All I really remember about yesterday is that I was mad and I didn't want anyone getting in my way."

"Well, if that's what you do when you're mad, Harry," Remus chuckled, "remind me never to get on your bad side."

Harry looked over at Ron for answers. "You'll see, mate," Ron said. "It's bloody brilliant, though, if you ask me."

Half an hour later Neil, Charlie, Harry, Ron, Neville and Ginny mounted their brooms and kicked off for a tour of 'Harry's Trench'. Hermione and the others stayed behind on the excuse of wanting to get things set up for the afternoon's training session.

As they crested the last rise on the northern edge of the enclave Harry's mouth fell open and he slowly glided to a stop. "Holy . . . I did that?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yep," Ron, who had also stopped and was hovering beside him, said. "You're good, mate."

"I know I'm impressed," Ginny said from his other side.

Harry gulped and looked over at Ginny. "Oops."

Stretching out into the distance before them lay a series of lush, green valleys and tree covered hills that blended perfectly into the surrounding terrain. A series of artesian wells percolated out of the ground on the near side, providing a natural irrigation system for the vegetation on the dragon camp side of the valley while snow pack and glacial melt provided water for the surrounding regions. As they slowly glided out over the newly created terrain Harry looked down and noticed several small herds of deer and other animals grazing in the pastures below. He breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that he hadn't killed any innocents in his drive to stop the attacks. He smiled to himself as several different bird species flitted about building nests and gathering food. At one point he even watched as a falcon dove out of the sky, snatching a rabbit in its talons as it skimmed over a grassy field, It saddened him to think that the rabbit's life had been cut short but at the same time he knew that it was a part of the natural order of things.

As they flew out over the newly created terrain Harry could not help but marvel at the wonder of it all. When they dropped down into the canyon the others began flying in a circulating formation around him, much as the members of the Order had on the night of his escape from Privet Drive the previous year. "I don't know what you did to those walls, Harry," Neil said as they rounded a bend near the upper end of the new canyon, "but they seem to be indestructible. Those Death Eaters threw curse after curse at them last night and they just bounced off. And the giants tried to climb up but they couldn't get a handhold anywhere. It's almost as if you put a permanent repelling charm on the entire length of the wall. I've never seen anything like it."

As they were approaching the dragon keeper's compound on their way back Harry noticed two tiny specks in the northwest sky. He watched them grow steadily larger as they landed and continued to watch as the others went in for lunch. Moments later he recognized Hedwig's and Henry's particular styles of flight and saw that Hedwig was carrying a parcel of some kind. He called out to them. "Hedwig, Henry? What are you doing here?"

Both owls landed on the ground in front of him a short time later, clearly exhausted from their long trip. The two owls had apparently taken turns carrying the package. When Harry gently lifted Hedwig up to his shoulder she perched unsteadily for a moment before leaning against the side of his head for support. After lifting Henry up to his other shoulder Harry picked up the parcel and began examining it on his way in for lunch. He found an envelope tucked securely beneath many of its binding strings. The letter was addressed to: Harry Potter, Keeper's Compound, Dragon Camp, Romania. In the 'from' section it said: Albus Dumbledore, Poppy Pomfrey, Rubeus Hagrid, Dobby and Winky, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Great Britain.

Upon entering the dining hall Harry heard Hermione gasp. "Hedwig!"

Less than a second later Ginny jumped up from her seat. "Henry?" she asked.

Henry hooted softly as she approached and hopped over to her shoulder when she was close enough for him to make the leap without falling to the floor.

"Those birds must really care about you," Neil said admiringly.

"Who's the package from?" Ron asked.

Taking a seat next to Ginny, Harry said, "It says its from Albus, Madam Pomfrey, Hagrid, Dobby and Winky."

"Dobby and Winky?" Charlie asked. "Who are they?"

"A pair of house elves," Harry said absently. "Technically they are free but Dobby wants to serve me and Winky wants to serve Ginny so I guess you could say that they are our house elves."

Charlie chuckled. "You've got your own house elves, eh? Somehow I'm not surprised. So what do they want?"

"I don't know," Harry said, returning his attention to the envelope. "I guess I'll have to open it to find out."

"Here," Charlie said, sliding a knife down the length of the table to Harry, handle first.

"Thanks," Harry said, picking up the knife.

Breaking the seal on the envelope Harry opened it and slid the piece of parchment out. Opening it he read:

Dear Harry,

Mr. McMillan has informed me of your progress. I must say that I am surprised
at the level of your abilities. But as I have said, you are an elemental
of the highest order. It would seem that you are thwarting Tom's efforts at
almost every turn.

Be that as it may, however, you cannot keep exhausting your energy reserves
like this if you expect to be able to fight Tom the next time the two of you meet.
To help you recover more fully before your return to Hogwarts. Poppy has
asked me to include refills of your regular potions as well as an additional
restorative draught Dr. Stone prepared in case of emergency. I suggest you
drink this potion immediately.

Dobby and Winky, asked me to include a few bagels as well. These can be found
in the container beneath the potions. You will have to use the Finite
Incantatum Charm before eating them, however, as they are currently being
protected by a number of charms to preserve their warmth and freshness.

Hagrid has asked me to include restorative draughts for Hedwig and Henry to
help them recover from their journey. These potions can be found in the
smallest of the three packages.

Fawkes will be arriving at sunset (Romanian time) to bring the ten of you back
to Hogwarts. I look forward to your return and expect a full report from
every member of your team at our next regular meeting.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore,
Headmaster,
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

"Well?" Ron asked as Harry laid the letter aside and started unwrapping the packages.

Harry absentmindedly pushed the letter in Ron's direction as he searched for Hedwig and Henry's potions. When he found them he summoned two shallow bowls from one of the nearby shelves and filled them with the draughts. Coaxing Hedwig and Henry off their shoulders, Harry and Ginny placed the bowls in front of their companions and encouraged them to drink their fill, which they did greedily. Breaking into the bagels Harry removed the charms from one and tore it in half, offering one half to Henry and the other to Hedwig.

After the two snowy owls were taken care of he opened the potions container and sorted through the various bottles. He recognized most of them and knew that he would have to brew more of his personal potions when he got back so that Madam Pomfrey would have a supply on hand in case of emergency. The one bottle he didn't recognize was filled with a bright, aqua marine colored solution that seemed to radiate energy from within. Uncorking the bottled he looked around and offhandedly said, "Well, bottoms up. Here's to life," and drank the entire contents of the bottle in one gulp.

As the potion worked its way through his system he felt his skin begin to tingle as every nerve ending in his body fired. He was reminded of the Cruciatus Curse but this was different. Rather than hurting this felt warm and comforting. After almost a minute he looked around the table and saw that almost everyone was staring at him. "Cool!" Charlie said. "Do you glow like that all the time, Harry?"

Harry smirked. "Only when Ginny's around," he said.

Everyone laughed and a few minutes later they were eating and discussing the business of the day; that night's battle, which really hadn't amounted to much as the dementors seemed to have a height limit in their flight and the Death Eaters seemed hesitant to attack the dragons without the giants; and the charm. There were only about two hundred people left to teach since Remus and the others had spent most of Saturday teaching and it was decided that Harry would take this last class.

As the sun approached the western horizon the dragon keepers and aurors were, for the most part, going about their business more confidently than they had before. There were still a few who hadn't quite gotten the charm down but they were practicing every chance they got. Several satellite camps were being set up around the perimeter of the preserve, near the cliffs, to serve as a first line of defense and others were being set up at irregular intervals - in caves and wizarding tents - along the slopes leading up to the camp to serve as second, third and fourth lines of defense against any attacks. They didn't expect anything more than Death Eaters - at least not for the time being - as the giants and dementors had been effectively removed from the equation, but they still wanted to be prepared.

As the sun began to set Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Remus and Tonks were all standing in the middle of the dragon keeper's main compound saying their goodbyes and promising to keep in touch with the friends they had made. The remaining Dementor Delights and Potter Charms had been distributed among the aurors and two of the dragon keepers who were long overdue on taking their vacation time were going to be taking the empty packs back to Diagon Alley to be refilled by Fred and George.

The four fliers had their brooms strapped to their backs and Hedwig and Henry were perched on Harry and Ginny's shoulders, nervously awaiting Fawkes' arrival for the return trip to Hogwarts. Harry and Ginny knew that they would rather fly home under their own power but they had somehow convinced them to return with them via Fawkes.

Charlie put his arm around Harry's shoulders, being careful not to disturb Hedwig, and led him away from the others. "I want to thank you for coming, Harry. Charms aside, you guys have done more for the morale of this camp than you can imagine."

"I agree one hundred percent," Neil said catching up to them. "And I want you to know that you are welcome back any time. You've given us the kind of sanctuary we've always wanted and provided us with the means to defend it."

"Er . . ." Harry began but was interrupted by the soft popping sound that accompanied Fawkes' arrival. Harry shrugged. "You're welcome," he said then turned back to his friends. Something about Charlie's approach told him that there was something else Charlie had wanted to talk about and that it most likely had to do with his relationship with Ginny; but since Dumbledore was expecting them in his office any minute now the conversation would have to wait.

Harry walked back and took hold of Ginny's free hand, checked to see that Hedwig was all right and took hold of Fawkes' tail feathers. With a soft pop they we on their way, no longer standing in the dragon keeper's compound but being magically transported to the Headmaster's Office of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Almost instantaneously, with the same signature pop, the eleven travelers - four witches, four wizards, two snowy owls and one phoenix - appeared in Albus Dumbledore's office. "I trust all went well," the headmaster said.