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Shines A Light

Chapter Eighteen: The Coming Storm

The moment he returned to the Gryffindor common room, just before twilight fell, Harry forgot about his annoyance with the Order of the Phoenix completely. The seventh years were housing a rousing party, and everyone was joining in happily. Even Hermione had let her hair down and was dancing with Ron to the loud music that was coming from somewhere.

He joined straight in, shrugging of his jacket and escorting Ginny onto the dance floor. Rainbow lights were flashing from the ceiling and the walls, and the tables that had recently been groaning under the weight of study books were now overflowing with all manner of food and drink, which seemed to be replenishing itself each time someone took something from it.

Hermione was too busy enjoying herself to show her disapproval over the fact that it must be making a lot of work for the House-Elves. Harry fully intended to enjoy that night as much as was possible, and ended up staying up and dancing with whoever was single on the dance floor until two in the morning, and stuffed himself with food and drink whenever he got in the slightest bit hungry.

Fred and George had sent a whole bunch of tricks to their brother for use at the party, and it had been an enjoyable few hours when everyone at the party had been trying them out.

Michael McGonagall had come in at one point, but rather than telling off, as his aunt would have done back when she had been head of Gryffindor, rather than the Headmistress of the school, he had given a smile of approval and remarked that as far as he knew, every other year had done the same thing after finishing the NEWTs, and he wasn't about to get in the way of the celebrations.

Harry ended up leaving the party around three in the morning and heading upstairs to collapse in a state of cheerful exhaustion, although it did take him awhile to actually get to sleep. He woke up again the next morning to find Tatsu standing over him, gently shaking him awake.

"What is it?" Harry asked sleepily, not at all ready to wake up. It couldn't be that much after dawn, which wouldn't have given Harry more than four or five hours sleep, which wasn't nearly enough after all the partying the night before, but the look on Tatsu's face convinced him that getting up might be a better idea than he would have liked.

"The Order have decided that they like your plan," Tatsu said, "But they want your help with it. Drink this," he thrust a goblet at Harry, "It'll help you wake up." Harry took and it and drank it without a word while Tatsu headed downstairs again. The drink was bitter, but it helped, and Harry leapt to his feet, dressed quickly and headed downstairs in his guardians footsteps.

Tatsu was waiting for him in the common room with a handful of Floo powder in his hands. "Take some, we have to get to Headquarters," he told Harry. There was no one else awake at this point in the morning, so there was no danger in speaking of Headquarters so lightly. Everyone was still sleeping from the night before.

Harry took a pinch of powder, threw it on the fire and stepped into the flames when they turned green. "Number twelve, Grimmauld Place!" he called, and was immediately whisked away. He stumbled out of the fire in the living room of his late godfather's house.

Molly Weasley was waiting for him there. "They shouldn't be bringing you into this," she told him sadly. "But everyone is waiting for your in the kitchen." Harry nodded.

"Tatsu's coming after me," he said, "I'll wait for him."

Over the next few weeks, Severus watched as Voldemort got more and more frustrated. His plans were continually going awry, no matter what he tried to do. Every time he went to attack someone, he would discover that they were long since gone, and there was nothing for him to vent his fury upon.

He supposed, dispassionately, that it would be very annoying, if that happened to him, he knew he wouldn't like it much at all. But then, it was the Dark Lord, and having him in a temper because he couldn't get his victims was far better for the rest of the world to bear. It was rather hard on the Death Eaters, and Severus had to admit that Potter's plan was coming into fruition – the boy had brains after all.

I've been trying to convince you of that for some time now, Severus, Remus pointed out in his mind. They were just heading in for another Death Eater meeting, and Severus had several notes that he was to drop in carefully calculated places, as well as a few well chosen words to deliver to certain ears.

The Dark Lord's servants were turning upon themselves, while their lord snarled and laid blame for failed missions. Some of them were beginning to turn away from the Dark Lord himself, and Severus had several things that he was to say to those who were wavering, just vague mentions of how forgiving Dumbledore had been, and dire mutterings about Potter's cheerful and forgiving disposition.

This was more fun than he had thought it would be, that was for sure!

Throughout those weeks, Harry spent more time at Grimmauld Place than at Hogwarts, which was alright since classes and exams were over and the students were just happily celebrating being free, while the fifth years took their OWLs. When he wasn't with the Order going over battle plans – his own idea had been greatly expanded upon – he was in his room, studying both the sword and the ring that he had found in his inheritance.

So far, he had discovered a few things about the ring, namely that it was charmed to calm and relax the mind in times of great stress, and helped to keep Harry's temper in check, which was a good thing, because he had to concentrate on what was going on now far more than he had to do in the exams – this was much more important. The fate of the world rose on how this was conducted, and that wasn't really something that Harry wanted to think about.

But think about it he did.

He discovered that if he concentrated on doing it, he could extend some of those calming qualities to those around him, so that when there were very heated arguments going on, he could work on both sides to make concessions and calm down, which was also very good. He doubted that he had found everything there was, but that feature was a blessing.

He didn't know if it could also be used to make people agree with him, and he didn't really want to find out – people were entitled to their own opinions, and he would not lower himself to force his upon them. He had tasted power, as the Order came to him for advise, and while he enjoyed it, to an extent, he didn't hunger for more, and he was happy to stay out of things as much as possible.

Slowly his plan was coming together. Voldemort was losing control, and it was making him angry. Soon he would attack with everything he had, in attempt to restore the faith of his followers and instil more fear in the magical world. When he did that, Harry and his friends would be waiting, and this time they would meet Voldemort head on, but they would know of his plan before he attacked, and they would be able to deal with it.

And then Harry would go up against the Dark Lord, alone. This had been something that the Order had protested long and arduously about, but Harry had remained firm. He would face Voldemort on his own terms, and he would hopefully defeat him. He had confidence that he could do it, and he informed the Order that they would have to have confidence in him too.

He refused to hide behind others and let them go to their death because of him. Hiding at the sidelines, or at the rear of the army, was something that screamed of Voldemort. Going out honourably and courageously was something that he would do, and it was exactly what he was going to do, when the battle came about.

Then they would see who the greater truly was. Harry supremely hoped that it was him, but if failure was predestined, then it wouldn't matter how many people died to weaken Voldemort, Harry would still lose when his time came to fight. He had made his choice, now everyone else had to accept it.

He spent long hours, whenever he wasn't debating with the Order, training with both Tatsu, Neko and Alastor. He was determined to know as much as he possibly could before the time came to actually fight, and he knew that with their help, he would be as ready as he could be.

Snape kept reporting to them, although he had moved back to the Dark Fortress, to try and convince the Dark Lord again of his loyalty. The Dark Lord didn't know about Remus, who was able to get messages in and out without detection, something that was extremely useful.

More Death Eaters were swaying, and Snape claimed that many of them would be happy to change sides any time soon. He gave the Order their names, so that they could be found if they ever left the Fortress, and, whenever they did, the Order was there, seeking them out, talking to them, helping them make the decision to change sides, then sending Voldemort back servants who no longer truly served him.

But apart from Snape, none of the others knew exactly who their other turncoats were. They reported directly to an Order member who had nothing to do with Voldemort, and that was that. Snape knew who all the turncoats were so he didn't have to continue working on them, and because his loyalty was completely ensured, unlike the rest of them.

Hogwarts seemed to be nothing more than a fading dream in Harry's mind, as he applied himself completely to the task at hand. Ron, Hermione and Ginny sometimes came to visit him at Grimmauld Place and let him know anything interesting that was happening.

Gryffindor won their last match of the year, which allowed Ron to leave Hogwarts as a victorious captain, and a very happy young man who hoped to get into the Quidditch industry, and Harry was happy for his friend, as was Hermione. On the rare occasions that they did hang out together, Harry and Ron talked about Quidditch a lot, because Harry didn't want to discuss with them as well what was going on with the Order and Voldemort – he spent enough time talking about it as it was.

Apparently things in Hogwarts were still running along nicely, which was good to hear. Ginny was panicking a little at the stories of how hard the NEWTs were, since she would be sitting them the following year, and Harry did his best to console her. "Study hard, work hard and learn what you need to know – you can do it, and you'll be fine," was something he said often.

He wasn't sure if she was listening to him, but he tried, and that was what counted, really. It was kind of hard to be really supportive of his friends when he was working his arse off trying to make plans that would enable them to destroy Voldemort once and for all, as well as training as hard as he could to be ready to confront him, but he did his best. There would, he hoped, be time for that once Voldemort was gone once and for all.

He wished that he was better at doing what he was trying to do, but he had, in many ways, been thrown in the deep end when it came to leadership, and having the Order asking his opinions on everything was freaking him out a little bit – considering that they were all many years his senior.

But he was coping.

Finally, the day came when Snape reported that Voldemort had grown sick of wasting his time, and was planning a full-scale assault. The plan was not being entrusted to any one person, because Voldemort did not want to risk detection. Each group of Death Eaters was told only what they needed to do, and when.

This was fine by the Order, because by now they had enough people that they would be able to learn most of what was going on, and probably work out the rest of the plan on their own, and be ready to combat it. Harry sat in on all the planning sessions and offered his advice when he thought it was good, but he wasn't in the least bit instrumental with the plan. He left that to them, and continued to prepare himself for his own part in the plan, the finishing strike.

The Order's plans were well formulated, Harry decided, and they would do well. Hopefully, they would win, but who knew what the outcome could be, until one side stood alone on the field of victory.

They had all of two weeks to prepare their own forces, and formulate a full and complete plan, which they did. The week flew by as preparations were made. The place that was being attacked – a Wizarding and Muggle combination settlement – was very quietly approached, and the people just as quietly removed from the area to be replaced by Order members in disguise, who learned the layout of the place and all of its defences, very quietly setting up more, so that they would be ready.

Voldemort didn't suspect a thing, of course, because it was done very quietly and efficiently. In the middle of the night, the Order would often steal into the houses of the Muggles, quietly wake them and explain what was going on, remove them from the area and leave replacements. That was a bit of a hassle, because they had to convince the Muggles that first, Magic was real, and second, They were the good guys.

With the wizards, it was easier. The wizards knew what the threat was and they were ready to react in whatever way they were told. By the end of a week, everyone was gone, and Voldemort would find a surprise on his hands when he actually attacked. The Dark Lord had several people coming from different paths, each with their own mission, and the Order had easily set up ambushes and other such things to delay or destroy the coming forces.

This was going to be the final battle. If the Order won, they would win completely and not leave any stragglers. Those Death Eaters who remained alive would be questioned with Veriteserum, and if the Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry were both convinced that they were no longer a threat, they would be set free. If they were classified as a threat, then they would be imprisoned for life.

There was no other way to deal with Death Eaters – they could not be trusted in any way, shape or form.

Harry was one of those in the village, masquerading as a young Muggle boy, and here he was right in the thick of things. The day that Voldemort was to attack dawned bright and clear, dew drops shining under the summer sun, and evaporating into nothing. He was staying with Tatsu and Neko who were his 'parents'.

"A nice day to die," Harry remarked to Grypis, who was, of course, with him.

Too nice, for Death Eaters, Grypis replied.

Yes, that line was stolen from the original Deceptions –grin- I read it again the other day, and thought that it was cool, so I couldn't resist putting it up here. Next chapter, the final battle commences, which will be either one longer chapter, or two shorter ones, and then there will be two or three chapters on the aftermath, then this story will be over and I will be concentrating on finishing Harry Potter and the Seeker of the Shadows, along with my other work on the Three Craaaaaaaazy Aussie account. We have another story planned for after the Darkness Rising is done, which I think a lot of you will like better. Please do read Darkness Rising, however, because it's a great story and I've been working really hard at it. It was through the writing of the story that my own style has improved greatly – working with another person is great like that.

Thanks to:

Drreadwrite, FreedomStar, katesari, Ezmerelda, Clare, SilverBulletInAWolf, lyssaspen, lyss33, littleoldlady, cantfindagoodname, Kordolin, siriusstaff7, JeanieBeanie33, TekNthzpn, Vicious Pixie, Hexe605, QueenWeasel, TuxedoMac, Dumbeldave, Dumbeldave, Snuggs, Mightnights Drawing, marauder #3, moonypadfoot.