Harry Potter, Heir of Gryffindor

First Hogsmeade

The first Hogsmeade Weekend was announced for the last weekend in October. With the increased Death Eater and dementor activity more teachers were being sent to sheppard the students back to Hogwarts at the first sign of trouble. Fortunately it was also a teaching weekend for the eight, which meant that there were close to one thousand additional witches and wizards in town for that evening's training session.

The six were going into Hogsmeade together to meet with Andromeda Babcock's parents whom Albus had said would meet them at the Hog's Head at one o'clock to discuss the possibilities of mapping a dementor's energy signature and finding a solution to the problem. The Babcocks would be accompanied by two Unspeakables from the Department of Mysteries, two Ministry Aurors and Mr. Weasley and would be portkeying into Hogsmeade shortly before the meeting. After breakfast the six lined up as a group in the Entrance Hall to be checked out by Mr. Filch. Filch scowled at them as they approached but Harry could sense that there was nothing malevolent behind it. It was just a part of the caretaker's personality.

There was a toy store across the street from Honeydukes and as soon as Harry saw it he motioned for the others to follow him in. They looked at him curiously, as though wondering as to whether or not he had gone the way of Dumbledore, but agreed to go in and take a look around. The silver haired man at the counter looked up as they entered. "Ah, Mister Potter," the old wizard said. "The headmaster said I might be seeing you. What can I do for you and your friends today?"

Harry stopped abruptly and stumbled forward as Ron bumped into him. After catching himself and stepping cautiously up to the counter he hesitantly asked, "He . . . he did?"

"Yes," the old man said. "He told me that you were looking for a specific kind of toy, a toy that would challenge your abilities and force you to think about several things at once, to make all of the parts work as a whole while keeping each action separate and unique."

Harry nodded. "Yes, sir," he said. "That's what I'm looking for." The others looked at each other curiously then looked back at Harry as if he had lost his mind.

"The more complex the better, I take it?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Then I think I may have what you are looking for," the old man said as he stepped out from behind the counter and walked down one of the aisles. "Follow me.

"We really don't get too many requests for these," the man said as he led them towards the back of the store. "Most wizards aren't up to the task. And even those who are aren't able to articulate more than a few functions at a time. However, since the odd witch or wizard does occasionally come along who is capable of such feats we do keep a few on hand . . ." The old shopkeeper continued to babble as he led them to the back of the store describing the mysterious toys he was leading them to. "We don't have many but we do have some of the most advanced appliances available."

The old man led them to a small collection of what looked like scale models of various magical creatures and left them to return to the front of the store. Hermione read the label on one and said, "I've read about these!" Ron rolled his eyes. "They are the magical equivalent of muggle robots. They're much more sophisticated, of course, and they take an extraordinary amount skill to operate properly and . . ." she stopped and looked suspiciously over at Harry. "Harry," she scowled, "why didn't you tell us."

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone," Harry growled, "so, please, don't say anything. It's bad enough that you found out. We don't want it to become common knowledge." Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna looked curiously between Harry and Hermione, hoping for an explanation, but with a nod of her head Hermione clammed up and Harry refused to elaborate further.

Fifteen minutes later, after carefully examining the few fully articulating toys in the man's shop Harry selected a half-meter long model of a Hungarian Horntail - the same dragon he had faced in the first task of the Tri-wizard Tournament in his fourth year - and carried it up to the front of the store. The old wizard looked up when he recognized Harry's selection. "Ah, a little sentimental value, Mister Potter?" he asked.

Harry blushed slightly and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, you could say that," he said while paying for the dragon.

Their next two stops were Honeydukes where they stocked up on Chocolate Frogs, Cockroach Clusters and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and the Three Broomstick where they met up with Kingsley, Remus and Tonks and relaxed until it was time to leave for the Hog's Head.

At twelve thirty they left the Tree Broomsticks, thanking Madam Rosemerta for her hospitality and reassuring her that they would return as soon as possible. Remus and Tonks turned and walked towards the train station while the others headed for the Hog's Head. When they arrived at the dingy little pub Kingsley walked over to the oddly familiar looking barkeep with the filthy rag and the two held a whispered conversation for several seconds. Meanwhile many of the pub's patrons were eyeing the six students suspiciously, which made Harry nervous for the girls' safety. He knew they could handle themselves, probably better than he, Ron or Neville could protect them; but some of the looks they were receiving still made him nervous. Moments later Kingsley stepped away from the bar and approached them. "This way," he murmured and led them around the bar, past the other patrons, through a shadowy doorway in the darkest corner of the pub, up two flights of stairs and into a room with a small conference table and several chairs scattered about. "You kids get set up," Kingsley said. "I'll be downstairs guarding the entrance." Harry nodded and Kingsley left, closing the door tightly behind him.

At five minutes to one Harry was pacing nervously across the floor, occasionally glancing out the dirty windows as if subconsciously expecting an attack at any moment. The table and chairs had been arranged into an acceptable configuration and everything else was going according to plan but still he felt nervous. He didn't know what it was and it was eating at him. The others were watching him nervously and he knew that they didn't know what, if anything, they should do to alleviate his feelings of nervousness. Finally, at two minutes to one Ginny grabbed his arm. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I don't know," he said, returning to the realities of the moment. "I feel like I've missed something. I just can't figure out what it is."

"Well," Ron said. "If it will make you feel any better why don't you do a sweep of the area to see what's going on."

Harry nodded as he sank into a wooden chair next to the door. He immediately entered the ethos and began scanning the village of Hogsmeade and the surrounding area. He grew pale when he discovered the three battalions of Death Eaters hidden in the surrounding countryside and began to shiver when he discovered the dementors slowly gliding towards the village from the south. Snapping back into his body he opened his eyes and stood up. "Get ready to fight!" he commanded. "We might have thirty minutes but get ready to fight." The others looked up in astonishment then sprang to their feet and followed him as he raced out the door and down the steps.

Kingsley was already on his feet when they burst out of the doorway. "What's wrong?" he shouted as the six students raced through the pub.

Harry and the others skidded to a halt and waited for Kingsley to catch up to them, Taking several deep breathes to catch his breath and settle his nerves Harry turned to his fellow professor and said, "Death Eaters and dementors. We might have thirty minutes."

"Do you want to call off the meeting?"

"No. We need their help. This may be the best way to get their attention but we've got to protect them."

"Alright," Kingsley said grimly. "You six stay here. I'll alert the others." Turning to the barkeep he said, "Aberforth, alert all the other shops in town and have them get ready to evacuate everyone to the castle. If the locals want to stand and fight that's fine but we want all of the students except these six back on school grounds within half an hour."

At that moment seven people appeared in the street in front of the Hog's Head. Harry recognized Mr. Weasley and Mr. and Mrs. Babcock from their pictures and recognized the other four as Ministry of Magic officials by their robes. As Kingsley ran out the door Harry heard him call for Mr. Weasley to follow him and told the others to get inside.

Aberforth tossed his dirty rag on the counter and, pulling his wand out, sent a stream of red sparks shooting out the door and snaking through the streets as he alerted the people to the coming attack. As the Babcocks and their escorts entered the dingy pub he pushed them towards the six students and growled, "We're getting ready for an attack. I want you people safe so get upstairs and lock the door. We'll put impenetrable charms on the building but we want you out of sight until it's over." Then turning to Harry he said, "You got those charms, Potter?"

Harry checked to make sure he had his pouch with him and found it fastened around his waist. He nodded. "Yes."

"Good," the old man growled. "You others?" They nodded. "Good. You may need them. But right now get upstairs and conduct your business."

The Babcocks, the Unspeakables and the Ministry Aurors looked both startled and confused and didn't seem to know which way to turn until Hermione and Ginny walked over and explained the situation to them in whispered conversations. Hermione, being a muggle-born witch, took it upon herself to reassure Mr. and Mrs. Babcock that everything would be fine and Ginny, being her father's daughter, explained the situation to the Ministry officials. One of the few remaining patrons walked up behind Harry and growled, "You get yourself upstairs, Potter. I'll guard the stairs." The voice as well as the familiar scents of alcohol and tobacco smoke told Harry that this man in the rough clothing was none other than Mundungus Fletcher.

"Thanks, Dung," he said then called for everyone to follow him back upstairs.

Once upstairs Ron closed the door and Ginny, Neville and Luna began sealing the room against attack and casting several layers of privacy charm while Harry and Hermione took seats on one side of the table and motioned for their visitors to take the seats opposite them. "Don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Babcock," Hermione soothed. "Andromeda is perfectly safe at Hogwarts and you are perfectly safe so long as the wards that are now protecting this room remain in place. And we will do everything we can to see that you are returned home safely.

"How much have they told you about why you are here?"

Mr. Babcock looked around nervously and then said, "All we were told is that you are having a problem mapping the energy signature of some kind of creature that has to be destroyed if you are going to have a fighting chance at winning some kind of war that is going on in your world"

"Close enough," Harry said. For the next twenty minutes the six of them - Harry, Hermione, Mr. and Mrs. Babcock and the two Unspeakables - discussed the war that was currently raging in the wizarding world and what the two sides were fighting for. As the topic changed to dementors, energy fields and possible mapping procedures Ron, who was standing near one of the windows said, "They're here."

"Here too," Neville said from his window in the other side of the room,

Mrs. Babcock looked nervously around the room. "Are you sure we're safe?" she asked in an almost panic stricken voice.

"Quite safe," Harry said getting up and walking over to stand by Ginny near the third window that gave an obstructed view of the main road leading up to the castle. "How are the students doing?" he asked softly.

"I think most of the younger ones are back on castle grounds. A few of the older ones and most of the teachers are staying behind to help fight," Ginny said, a note of sadness in her voice.

Harry glanced around the room then looked at Hermione. "Do you think you can explain what we are trying to do, Hermione?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"Alright," he said as he looked out through Ginny's window and watched some of the street fighting that was going on down below. "Neville, you're with Ron. Ginny, you're with me. Luna, I want you to stay here and get ready to treat the wounded." Turning to the Aurors he said, "You two guard these people with your lives. If things start to go against us get them out." The Aurors nodded as they jumped to their feet and took up positions at the windows. As Harry and the others approached the door Harry smiled at Luna and said, "Miss Lovegood, could you please be so kind as to let us out of here so we can go lend a hand?"

Luna smirked then grimaced then reluctantly turned around to undo the spells she had cast on the door. "Alright," she said suspiciously, "But I don't want to hear about any heroics or you are all going to be grounded for a month."

Harry grumbled something about Luna being worse than his Aunt Petunia and started down the stairs with Neville, Ron and Ginny right behind him when he heard Hermione call after him, "No heroics, Harry!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Harry grumbled as they descended the stairs.

"I think she knows you too well, Harry," Neville said as they reached the landing.

Glancing up at his friend before heading down the second flight of stairs Harry groaned, "Yeah, you're probably right."

When they reached the bottom of the stair Mundungus Fletcher stood up and looked at them curiously. "We're going to go help, Dung," Harry said. "I want you to stay here and guard the stairs until they come down." The lackadaisical thief sat back down and tilted his chair back against the wall as Harry turned to others and asked, "How are you doing on Dementor Delights?"

Neville checked his pouch. "I've still got a few," he said.

"I've probably got a dozen," Ron said.

"Mine's still full," Ginny said with slight smile. She didn't really need them but she carried a pouch full anyway.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief at Ginny's news. "Communications charms."

Moments later he heard Luna's voice in his ear. "I'll be monitoring you guys so please be careful."

"You too," Neville said. "Ron? You ready?"

Ron nodded grimly.

"Ginny?" Harry asked.

"Ready," Ginny said.

As they approached the door Harry glanced at Aberforth Dumbledore and said, "Good luck."

The barkeep nodded. "You too," he said. "Take care of yourselves or Albus will never forgive me."

As they left the Hog's Head Harry and Ginny went left while Neville and Ron turned right.

Harry and Ginny ran to the corner of the Hog's Head where Harry knew they would meet stiff resistance, as several Death Eaters were entering the village from that direction. Quickly glancing across the street he saw a wounded witch struggling to get out of the line of fire. "Luna," he said. "We may have your first patient for you."

"I'm ready," Luna said.

Turning to Ginny Harry said, "You're going to have to cover me Gin. The only way I am going to be able to get her is if I cover her with the charm."

Ginny nodded. "Be careful." Harry nodded and activated the charm on himself. Then, taking a flying leap out into the intersection, tumbled and rolled to the witches side. Placing himself between the witch and the advancing Death Eaters he looked into her terrified face and said, "Just relax. I'm going to share my shield with you and get you to a medic."

As the woman nodded Ginny screamed, "Harry, look out!"

Harry spun around and saw a Death Eater running at him with a sword. Quickly dropping his shield Harry fired several curses at the Death Eater then turned back to the woman and, grabbing her hand, reactivated his shield. The Death Eater wavered for a moment then fell forward, burying the blade of his sword in his own stomach.

"Eew," Ginny winced.

Harry Picked the wounded witch up and ran back to the Hog's Head. Ginny covered their retreat. As soon as they were inside Aberforth cleared and lengthened a table near the back of the pub and, after deactivating the charm, Harry laid her on the table. "Thanks. I'll take it from here," Luna said as Harry turned back to the battle.

What Harry saw when he looked out the window horrified him at first and then he remembered what Moody had told them about not being afraid to hurt the enemy. "Neville?" he said.

"Yeah?"

"How's it going?"

"Not good. Ron and I are fine but we've got several wounded down here. Why?"

"We've got a small army of Death Eaters up here. I hate to say this, guys, but we are going to have to start hurting these people. Disarm them if you can but if you can't take them down. Don't kill them but take them down. Use those ancient curses we talked about."

"Will do," Neville said, determination evident in his tone.

Ginny turned to look at Harry. His jaw was set and the determined look in his eyes frightened her. Harry glanced over at her and smiled grimly. "Gin," he said, "you've got to know that I will be fine but I've got to go out there and fight. I want you and Aberforth to protect the Hog's Head. We will send the wounded your way."

Ginny nodded.

"We've got the same thing going down at the Three Broomsticks," Neville said. "You okay with guarding it, Ron?"

"Yeah."

"Neville, I'll meet you at the toy store," Harry said.

"Right."

Harry and Neville met up at the toy store fifteen minutes later. Shortly thereafter Tonks and Remus entered the charmed communications link to take stock of the situation with their students and relay news of the fight that was going on at the train station. Half an hour after that Hermione entered the link and started helping Luna care for the wounded.

The battle raged for hours. Of all the witches and wizards fighting to defend Hogsmeade that day there were only seven, excluding Ron, Hermione, Luna and Ginny who could produce a corporeal patronus and they were in high demand. At one point Harry summoned Ginny's pouch and distributed the Dementor Delights to the other five.

When it was over the casualties were in the hundreds but fortunately the fatalities were few. Unfortunately, however, Mister Weasley was among the injured. As Harry and Neville were on their way back to the Hog's Head they met Arthur who was leaning unsteadily against the wall of one of the clothing stores. He was bleeding from his wand arm and his robes were in tatters. As soon as Harry saw him he turned to Neville and said, "Get Luna!"

"What." Luna asked.

"Nothing!" Harry said sternly. "Just drop everything and get down here."

As Neville ran up the street towards the dingy pub Harry cut himself out of the communications link, ran over to Mr. Weasley and helped him to the ground. Tearing a strip of cloth from Mr. Weasley's already tattered robes Harry wrapped it around Mr. Weasley's upper arm, tightening it to help stem the flow of blood and silently thanking Dumbledore for their lessons in basic first aide.

By the time Luna arrived, followed shortly by Ron, Ginny, Hermione and the others Harry had stopped the bleeding from most of Mr. Weasley's wounds and conjured a stretcher for the trip up to the castle. Mr. Weasley's face was white from loss of blood and he was sweating profusely from the effects of the curses that had hit him. Luna pushed Harry aside and knelt down beside Mr. Weasley. "Move!" she commanded angrily. Harry stood up and backed away without any hesitation.

Luna drew her wand and began to carefully unwrap Mr. Weasley's wounds. The one on his arm was worse than it had originally looked and Ginny and Hermione both turned in to hug Ron whose face had suddenly gone white. Mr. and Mrs. Babcock and the Unspeakables and the two Ministry Aurors cringed and turned away as well. Harry and Neville just looked at each other and swallowed as their faces began to pale. Luna, however, focused all of her attention on the wounds and carefully healed each of them to the best of her ability. When she was finished she reached into her pouch and pulled out a blood restoration draught and poured it down Mr. Weasley's throat. She then conjured a pillow and some blankets and made Mr. Weasley as comfortable as she could for the trip up to the castle.

When she was finished Luna looked up at Harry and Neville and said, "I've done all I can. He should be fine but I want to get him up to Madam Pomfrey as soon as possible."

They nodded and Neville joined Luna as she led Mr. Weasley's stretcher up to the castle and Harry turned back to his friends. "He'll be fine," he said. "Luna's a powerful witch and a gifted healer."

Ron looked at Harry for a moment, his face still pale, then nodded for him to take Ginny.

Harry put his arms around Ginny and she clung to him, crying into his chest. One of the Ministry Aurors handed Harry his dragon and said, "We 'd best be going."

Harry nodded but turned to Mr. and Mrs. Babcock and said, "Now do you see why we need your help?"

They both mutely nodded.

The trip back up to the castle was slow and painful. Ginny was crying most of the way and Harry could tell that Ron was trying to be strong for his sister's sake but every once in a while his voice would crack and Harry could hear the fear and uncertainty his friend was feeling. When they reached the gates Remus, Tonks, Kingsley and Alastor were waiting for them. They walked in silence most of the way, each lost in their own thoughts, until Harry broke the silence. "How many casualties?" he asked"

"Too many," Remus said. "More than three hundred. Arthur was by far the worst. I'm just glad Luna was there."

"Me too," Harry said softly.

Remus almost laughed. "Luna's a strong girl, Harry. She's growing up fast. I honestly don't think her father will recognize her at the end of the year."

"Yeah, but is that a good thing?" Harry asked.

"I don't know, Harry," Remus said, shaking his head sadly. "I really don't know."

As they entered the castle, stretchers were lining the halls and several people wearing St. Mungo's uniforms were tending to the injured. Harry guessed that they had flooed in as soon as news of the attack on Hogsmeade reached London. He also suspected that Albus and Poppy had given them a list of the healers they wanted.

Several people looked up as they passed, on their way to the Hospital Wing, and more than just a few turned away when they saw Arthur Weasley's injuries. When they entered the Hospital Wing Madam Pomfrey took one look at Mr. Weasley and shooed everyone out of their way as she directed Luna to take him to the private room just outside of her office. When they reached the door she opened it and motioned for Luna to take Mr. Weasley inside but held her hands up when Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Harry tried to enter. "I'm sorry," she said. "I know he's your father but no visitors until he is stable." Glancing at Harry's torn jumper and spotting a small bloodstain she added, "You might want to get that shoulder looked at Mister Potter. I would do it myself but as you can see we are rather busy at the moment."

Harry looked at her curiously, not registering the fact that he might be hurt for several seconds, then gradually became aware of a dull, throbbing pain in his right shoulder. Turning his head he saw the tear and the bloodstain and turned back and nodded his head. "You just take care of Mister Weasley. Spare no expense. I'll pay for it."

Madam Pomfrey nodded and closed the door behind her, shutting herself, Luna and Mr. Weasley in the private room.

As the seven turned to leave Ginny looked at Harry's shoulder. "You had better get that looked at straight away, Harry. It doesn't look good and we've got a class to teach in a few hours."

Harry looked over at Remus. "How are you doing, Remus?" he asked. "Any injuries?"

Remus checked himself over. "Nope. I got away free this time."

"Good. Then you take the lecture tonight and I'll do the one tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Some of these people aren't going to feel like attending tonight and since they came all this way to learn about the charm I want to make sure they get their money's worth.

The six other members of the teaching team who were present nodded their agreement. "Let's get your shoulder taken care of first," Tonks said. "Then we can worry about who's going to be teaching what."

A few minutes later, as the rest of the students were nervously heading into the Great Hall for dinner, Harry was sitting on a stretcher on the opposite side of the Entrance Hall with his shirt off while Dr. Stone was healing a rather nasty cut on his shoulder. "It's lucky for you my first job at Saint Mungo's was as a General Healer, Harry," Dr. Stone was saying. "Otherwise I don't know what I'd do. Do you go looking for trouble or is it natural?"

Harry laughed despite the pain and winced as it flared up. "It's natural. Trouble just seems to find me."

Dr. Stone shook his head. "I should have known," he said sadly. "Poppy told me about a few of your exploits when I was here this summer. And when I first met you, you had just been attacked by twenty-three Death Eaters. Then last month you go off and fight in a dragon preserve in Romania and almost burn yourself out. And today you insist upon fighting an army of Death Eaters in Hogsmeade . . . Tell me, Harry, what is the flavor next month?"

Harry snickered, still wincing slightly. "Quidditch. Gryffindor versus Slytherin in two weeks."

"Oh, no," Dr. Stone groaned. "And they wonder why healers have grey hair." Then, changing the subject, he asked, "Tell me, Harry, how are you doing in Potions?"

"Alright, I guess. Why?"

""I've got a fresh bottle of that restorative draught you drank in Romania I'm going to give you but it is only good for two months and it takes a week to brew. If I were to give you the recipe do you think you could brew it?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders and once again winced with a resurgence of pain. "I don't know. I could try. I already brew all of my own elemental draughts . . ."

Dr. Stone threw his hand up in the air. "The kid's an Elemental too!" he exclaimed in exasperation. "What's next? Are you going to tell me that you're an Ethereal as well?"

"Er . . . Yeah."

Dr. Stone's mouth fell open. "You're kidding, right"

"No," Harry said softly, shaking his head slightly.

A few seconds later, after Dr. Stone had recovered from this latest shock, he looked Harry in the eye and said, "Harry, please tell me you're kidding. Ethereals and Elementals are extremely rare by themselves. I don't think there has ever been anyone who has been both. If you are indeed both then there is only so much I can do for you if you should get yourself in any real trouble. Magical Burnout is one of the things I can deal with; but there are other, more complicated, problems that could arise that I have no way of knowing how to treat."

Harry shook his head again. "I'm sorry, sir, but I am both as well as a few other things I haven't even tried yet."

Dr. Stone handed Harry his jumper and sat down beside him with a heavy sigh. "What am I going to do with you, Harry?" He mumbled half to himself.

Harry looked at the healer, confused by his concern, and said, "Well, if it's all the same to you I would appreciate it if you would be my friend first and my doctor second."

The healer remained silent for several seconds, slumped over ,staring down at his shoes. Then, looking over at the young man sitting next to him, smiled slightly. "Alright, Harry," he said sullenly. "I'll be your friend. But right now I've got other patients to attend to so you go get something to eat. If I'm still here when you are finished with your presentation I'll stop in to see how you are doing. In the meantime, however," he said handing Harry a bottle of the glowing, aquamarine potion and a piece of parchment, "take these and keep them in a safe place."

Harry accepted the restorative draught and recipe and tucked them in one of his pockets. After thanking the healer he turned and walked across the Entrance Hall. When he didn't see any sign of Ron, Hermione, Neville or Ginny in the Great Hall he remembered that they were going to be eating in his trunk again tonight before heading to the Room of Requirement and turned around and ran up to Gryffindor Tower.

Over dinner it was agreed that Ron and Ginny would not take part in either of the presentations that weekend so they could stay close to their father and visit with the members of their family who were expected to arrive later that evening. Luna was also excused as Madam Pomfrey had decided that since she had already done most of the work on Mr. Weasley she should be the one to finish it. Her reason being that in cases of severe trauma it was usually best for one healer to do all of the work due to the risk of a second healer's magic undoing the first healer's work.

Madam Pomfrey looked up as Harry, Hermione and Neville entered her domain after the second presentation and said something to Luna who looked up and smiled. When she finished what she was doing she walked over. Harry noticed that her stride was more confident and determined than it had been and was both pleased and concerned at the changes that were taking place in his friends. Taking Neville's hand, Luna said, "This way. Follow me."

The three - Neville didn't really have much choice in the matter - followed Luna through the infirmary to the room they had taken Mr. Weasley into the previous afternoon. When she opened the door there was a general rustling of robes as Ron, Bill, Fred, George, Percy, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley all stood up. "Harry dear," Mrs. Weasley gasped and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

"Afternoon, mate," Ron said from the far side of the bed. "How'd it go?"

Harry smiled nervously. "Er . . . Well, let's just say that the attack on Hogsmeade got their attention," he said, not wanting to think about anything but Mr. Weasley's condition at the moment. "How's your dad?"

"I'm doing fine, thank you, Harry," Mr. Weasley said pushing himself up in bed. "That's twice I owe you my life, Harry."

"You don't owe me anything," Harry said. "But while I'm here, do you mind if I ask why you didn't use the charm?"

"You know what it was like out there, Harry," Mr. Weasley said. "It was just too fast. Everything was happening so fast that we barely had time to think."

"Yeah, I know," Harry said glumly. "Did you even have a Potter Charm on you?"

"No," Mr. Weasley mumbled, cringing at his wife's reproachful glare, "I didn't. We weren't expecting any trouble and when it came I confess that I was unprepared. I understand I owe Luna a debt of gratitude as well," he said, smiling weakly over at the young healer who was standing next to Neville. Poppy tells me that if she hadn't healed my wounds as quickly as she did there is a very good chance I would have died."

Ginny, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley all gasped while the color quickly drained from Ron, Fred, George, Percy and Bill's faces. Luna smiled shyly and took a step back, as if trying to use Neville as a shield to protect herself from all of the attention she was now receiving.

Mrs. Weasley caught Luna's arm, however and pulled her into one of her famous hugs. When she let go of her Mrs. Weasley held he at arm's length and looked at her through tear filled eyes. "Thank you," she whispered.

Harry walked over to stand next to Fred and George. "Guys, I have a favor to ask of you." Fred and George turned towards Harry but didn't say anything. "Is there any way you can individually wrap some of those Potter Charms so that everyone can have one on their person. They will have to be in an easy-to-open container that will protect the charms and keep them from breaking until they are needed."

"Sure!" George said.

"It shouldn't be to difficult," Fred added.

"I don't know why we didn't think of it sooner."

"Good," Harry said. "I'll pay for the advertising but I want you to place full page ads in The Daily Prophet, Witch Weekly, the Quibbler and any other publications you can think of to get the word out about them so that if worse comes to worse the people will be safe against magical attack until help arrives."

"Can we use Charlie as a reference?" one of them asked.

"Huh?"

"Charlie hasn't stopped talking about that time you guys were in Romania last month. He says that if it hadn't been for you guys and those charms there would have been a lot more casualties."

Harry looked nervously over at Mrs. Weasley. He didn't know how much she knew about their trip to Romania and he didn't want her to find out about it through a newspaper clipping. "Er, How much does your mum know about that?"

"She almost had a litter of kittens when she found out about it . . ."

"And she wanted to skin Dumbledore alive . . ."

"But she's alright with it now . . ."

"We think."

Harry glanced over at Mr. Weasley and saw that Luna was in the process of casting a number of diagnostic and healing charms. "Madam Pomfrey said I should be the one to complete your healing, Mister Weasley," she said after casting the last charm, "She says that since I started it your wounds would probably respond best to my magical aura." Mr. Weasley nodded. "I can't find anything else wrong with you so we'll just give those spells a few minutes to wear off and then I'll have her come in and check you over. But I don't see why you shouldn't be able to go home this afternoon."

Ginny rushed over and hugged Luna. "Thank you, Luna," she said in a hoarse whisper. "I don't know how we will ever be able to thank you enough!"

At first Luna looked shocked, as if not knowing how to react to the praise she was receiving for the small miracles she had performed and looked nervously around at the room full of Weasleys. Then, as she slowly realized that she was actually being congratulated and complimented for being herself, she returned the hug and said, "That's okay, Ginny. You're dad will be fine and this is what I was trained for. I'm just glad I was able to help."

Harry turned back to the twins and, smiling, said, "Anyway, do what you can."

Fred said, "Will do, Harry."

"But keep your money."

"Yeah, we'll pay for the advertising."

Harry glanced up at them curiously.

"Yeah," George agreed. "As of last week one hundred percent of the profits from the Dementor Delights and Potter Charms are being dedicated to the war effort."

"And the goblins are starting to complain because our first war chest vault is almost full."

"So we're going to have to open another one next week."

"Alright then," Harry said then asked, "Have the goblins chosen a side yet?"

"Bill and Fleur and I," Percy said, joining the conversation, "have been working with them over the past few months, trying to secure their rights through Ministry channels. We're pretty sure most of the Gringotts goblins are on our side. After your little demonstration in Romania most of the others, as well as most of the dwarves, joined our side as well. There are, however, a few small pockets of resistance. I think they are waiting to see what happens with the dementors."

Harry nodded. "So are the ghosts and ghouls," he said sadly. "I just hope we can solve that problem." The other three nodded their agreement. "I want to take as many of his weapons away from him as possible so that in the final battle it's just him and me. I don't know how I'm going to beat him yet but I am going to beat him."

"Couldn't you just strike him down with a bolt of lightning?" Ron asked, stating the obvious.

Harry's eyes and voice grew cold. "No," he said, sending a shiver down the spines of those who heard him. "Death is too good for him. He's caused too much pain and suffering. I want him to suffer!"

Harry's face darkened as he stalked over to the door, determined to find some way to make Voldemort pay for all of the damage he had caused. Ginny turned to follow him but Ron grabbed her arm and shook his head. As he opened the door to leave Harry growled, "I'm going to the library."

Harry spent the rest of that Sunday in the Headmaster's Library absorbing every book in the school and every magical and muggle library within a three hundred kilometer radius of the school, searching for some way to make Voldemort pay for all of the pain, suffering and anguish he had caused. Dobby brought him his dinner and an occasional snack and Professor Dumbledore checked in on him occasionally but otherwise left him to his own devices. It was not until late in the evening, after the Weasley's had left and most of the students and teachers had gone to bed that Albus interrupted Harry's train of thought, insisting that he go to bed. "Harry," Albus said gently. "It's late. I think you should be going off to bed."

"I know it's late, sir. But I've got to find some way to make Tom pay for everything he has done."

"Yes, yes. I agree," the aging Headmaster said. "All in good time. But you have classes tomorrow and you need your rest."

Harry stifled a yawn. "I know, sir. But there's something else that's bugging me."

"And what might that be?" Albus asked, conjuring a chair and sitting down to speak privately with the young man before him.

Harry turned to look into the aging professor's eyes. "I just don't understand it," he confessed. "What's he playing at?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've been monitoring his progress for over a month. I know how large his forces are. What I don't get is why he attacked Hogsmeade with such a relatively small force and why, since he probably knew that I would be there, he didn't come himself."

Albus leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers thoughtfully for several minutes, obviously deep in thought. "I don't know," the Headmaster finally said. "Since this was his first major offensive since the attacks in Romania perhaps he is simply wishing to let us know that he is still there. He might also be biding his time until he is able to determine just how powerful you have become,"