A/N: Thank you to all those that have been reviewing. I'm open to suggestions to the story so please R/R. Thanks to my betas Shadowssongs, Rivenn, haydenrocks14, and IamSiriusgrl.

Disclaimer: I wish I could be as good as JK Rowling but I'm not. This is her stuff and not to mention the influence that this story took from various fanfics.

Chapter 27
Reform

Over the next few days and into the first week of school there was widespread reform going on throughout England which started to spill over to other European countries. Many of the discriminatory laws on magical beings were lifted and many public officials were removed from office. Day after day the Daily Prophet was printing about officials who were removed and who were placed in their spots or who were running for those spots. There was also many calls for Harry to endorse one person over another but he repeatedly declined because he wasn't informed enough to make a recommendation. Major newspaper companies like the Daily Prophet and the newly respected Quibbler were running articles on suspected Deatheaters and confirmed Deatheaters in a wanted dead or alive section of the newspaper.

There were many newly inaugurated Deatheaters that were captured but the smarter ones and higher ranking ones managed to evade capture by hiding out at their own headquarters or placing their houses under unplottable charms to protect themselves and their families. There were cries for public hangings to teach the Deatheaters what was going to happen to them when they were captured but Harry and Dumbledore managed to convince the people that a fair trial for all must be ensured and to sentence people to Azkaban if necessary but to publicly execute somebody was out of the question although they did stop short of saying publicly executing members of the inner circle and Voldemort was acceptable.

Both Harry and Dumbledore agreed that teaching the higher ranking Deatheaters a lesson will strike fear in the rest of the ranks especially if the most fanatical one of them all, Bellatrix, were to be punished in public. They also knew that killing Voldemort in public or at least where enough people could see and spread the news would be needed to happen in order for the people to believe that Voldemort was finally gone. Harry, Ginny, and Kayla were still not on good terms along with Dumbledore and most of the Order. Those members of the Order thought to be sympathetic to Harry were excluded from high priority missions and privileged information. This outraged Harry but decided to let it be because the Order was a volunteer organization and he had no say in its affairs.

During the train ride back to Hogwarts, Ron and Hermione's group sat in a different train compartment than Harry and his group. Word spread quickly about the split between what seemed like friends that would never turn on each other and doubt started to rise amongst the students. Harry, Ginny, and Kayla became inseparable and trained hard every free time that they had. This resulted in greater benefits for Kayla because after Harry and Ginny's ritual over the winter break, she became the weakest of the fighters. Kayla was learning extremely fast with two teachers and Ginny was developing what she had learned from Harry at an accelerated pace. Because Harry and Ginny were well beyond NEWT level in their knowledge and practical abilities they were able to finish their assignments quickly and helped Kayla finish hers faster.

Harry decided to show some of what he was able to do in class by demonstrating it mentally and practically. He became the first one to finish all of his assignments with perfection and managed to do every single practical assignment and demonstration with absolute beauty and speed like when he conjured a new elaborate desk that had intricate carvings as the trim. The desk had secure storage space and designed for comfort. Harry's display of abilities quickly made Hermione upset because she was no longer the number one student in the class. This resulted in Hermione working twice as hard but still could not accomplish anything close to what Harry managed to do. Ron on the other hand was mad that he was being left behind. Due to Hermione's need to catch up to Harry, Ron had nobody to watch over him in his studies and he started to slip. He was envious of Harry that everything came so easy for him but what Ron didn't know was that Harry had worked hard to achieve this level of magic.

Kayla was watching on with amusement at the reactions that Hermione and Ron were giving to Harry's new level of work. Because of Kayla's personal training from both Harry and Ginny, she was an extremely close third place in the year and that was mainly due to Kayla not spending nearly as much time as Hermione in the library. Kayla's dedication to her work with Harry and Ginny was unquestioned as she placed all her trust in the two for not leading her wrong. Harry and Alexia did become closer as they exchanged letters which came to about one letter a week due to the long travel the owls had to make. This did make Hedwig a little happier because she was getting more work than before and was getting pretty bored sitting up in the towers with the other owls all day and doing nothing because Harry didn't write letters to anyone during the school year except to Anna.

Anna and Anthony had a nice school break and spent it together at the orphanage. The two of them received some toys and money from Harry to spend on what ever they wanted because all of their needs were taken care of. Anna became a leader quickly after her talk with Harry during his first visit and was usually the first one to comfort new orphans and welcome visitors. Anthony was more than grateful to Harry for helping his sister go through so much and the three of them agreed that they would share a brother and sister relationship. Anna and Anthony also knew that if they needed anything then to come to Harry who was more than happy to help.

Ginny followed in Harry's footsteps when it came to class so she could spend more time with Harry and Kayla. At first she was a little jealous of always having to share her time with Harry with Kayla so Harry decided to spend every other night just the two of them walking together and talking around the castle. Ginny's level of work in her class left her bored most of the time which later resulted in her helping the professors teaching the classes. Ginny's tutoring in class elevated the levels of Gryffindors in school and the Ravenclaws felt threatened because they were supposed to be the smart ones and now the four smartest people in school belonged to Gryffindor.

Many rich wizarding families found out about Harry's generosity to those less fortunate and started to give more to public programs and founded foundations to help in the causes that they related to the most. Many new libraries were in the planning stages of being built or older libraries were being expanded to accommodate the demands of the people. More books were being published with special emphasis on Defense, Charms, Transfiguration, Sociology, and History. There was a burst of new charities to help take care of families that lived in poverty and educational programs to inform the public. There were now public forums held all over England every single night to discuss and debate issues of society and law so that elected officials but more importantly the people, would be more informed.

Voldemort tried to suppress this new idealistic society in England by launching a few attacks on random towns throughout England and in other parts of Europe but they were defeated each time. There were many casualties on both sides and Voldemort knew that he had to be more precise in his attacks from now on because he could not afford to trade a wizard's life for another wizard's life because he would not have enough men to last the month. There was also an increase in threats and violence for those families that refused Voldemort's recruiting but towns banded together to help the threatened families. The question now became how long this mentality will last because if Harry was to fall or became corrupt then all the work that wizards have done so far will be for nothing.

About a week and a half after school started, Dumbledore sent a message to Harry to meet him after dinner in his office and to bring Ginny and Kayla along if he wanted. Dumbledore knew that it was now useless to keep the two witches away because Harry was now on a run where he was telling the ladies everything anyway. He wanted to get on his good side now given his new level of popularity. When the trio made it to the office they found that they were not going to be alone with Dumbledore as Snape, McGonagall, Hermione, Ron, Remus, Tonks, and Moody were there.

Upon their arrival Dumbledore motioned for them to take a few seats around the table. The trio sat together at one side of the room away from everybody. Dumbledore asked, "Harry, I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you to come tonight."

Harry nodded and said, "Yes sir, I'm not aware of any business that would concern the two of us."

Snape wanted to say something but was silenced by a look from Dumbledore. Dumbledore said, "I would like for us to come to a truce of some sort. We would like you to reconsider joining the Order of the Phoenix."

Harry shook his head and asked, "Why are you all so insistent that I join the Order?"

Dumbledore replied, "In a matter of speaking, we need to be on the same page. It will do better if we worked together to defeat Voldemort and his followers. The Order has always been in charge of this fight and will always continue to fight evil."

Harry replied, "As you all know I am not privy to any information concerning what the Order does and for the most part I don't really care. Right now, as far as I can tell, Ginny, Kayla, and I have managed to accomplish more than what the Order has done for some time. The people of England are educating themselves about rumors and things they have questions about and defending their families and friends from threats. What benefit would I have to join the Order?"

Dumbledore replied, "The Order believes that we can do more as a group meaning both you and me if we worked together. Right now the people are organizing by themselves from town to town and there is no coordination between towns. Newly elected officials are not familiar with what their job requires because so many of them are being elected at the same time. If we don't address these concerns then anarchy can break out given something happens to you or me."

Harry replied, "I have no cause for now to stand in the way of what they do. The people of Britain can take care of themselves. I will place my trust in the people to learn from their mistakes and grow from there. There is no purpose to lead everybody by holding their hands or else they will always come back and ask for more advice when anything happens. If the Order wishes to organize the leadership across Britain than it is up to you all but at this time it does not concern me."

Dumbledore replied, "If you were to side with us and join us then it would give us more credibility in the Wizarding World. The people are looking to you for advice and will follow you without question."

Ginny replied for Harry, "So you want to use him as a tool again. Do you all not get it that Harry wants wizards and witches to think for themselves for once and not rely on the popularity of one or two individuals? What do you think will happen when somebody with no intention of doing good becomes influential? An example of that would be Malfoy. Just think of how much influence he has had over the ministry over the last fifteen years."

McGonagall said, "Miss Weasley, you will address the Headmaster with the respect he deserves."

Dumbledore stepped in to calm McGonagall, and then said, "I believe that Mr. Potter knows better than anybody just how fickle people can be. It anything happens to Harry then we really have no idea how the people will react to a scandal or Mr. Potter's death."

Kayla said, "Harry should not be the one to carry the weight of the world. In all honesty, I don't understand how it is that he is still listening to all the crap with wizarding kind. Ever since he was brought back into the wizarding world, he has been forced to save this and save that, help this and help that, be a hero one moment and the villain the next. If I was him, I would have left this world long ago and let you all sort out the mess that you all created."

Harry said, "That is an interesting idea Kayla." He continued to have a thoughtful look as he contemplated how the magical world has always treated him like a tool.

Snape found his opportunity to get rid of Harry and said, "It's not like we really care Potter. As far as I am concerned, you can leave the magical world and stay away. At least I know that my life will be much easier with you gone."

Harry turned to Snape and said, "You know Snape, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you are jealous of a teenager. Not just any teenager but a teenager that can bring you more hell then you had in your years as a Hogwarts student."

Dumbledore interrupted and said, "Harry, there is no need to provoke Professor Snape. You have made it abundantly clear what you demand respect from Professor Snape when outside of school and you must show him respect while at school."

Harry replied, "I only respect those that respect me."

Dumbledore sighed and said, "We are getting off the subject of why we we're here in the first place."

Harry nodded and said, "I agree Professor. I will neither join the Order nor will I participate in anything that the Order plans to do unless I or my friends have an interest in them. Although we did get off the subject, I did learn that the Order in general still has not listened to what I've told them weeks ago and still only sees me as a tool. I think it is time for me and my friends to go now. Goodnight Professor."

Harry didn't wait for a response as the trio went to leave the office. They were interrupted by McGonagall saying, "Mr. Potter that will be ten points off Gryffindor for disrespect and a detention to be served with me tomorrow night for disrespecting the Headmaster."

Harry stopped and replied, "I'll be there Professor." The trio left the office and Harry called for a meeting of the DA. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hermione, and Ron were still in the office when they felt the watches heat up. They looked at their watches and noticed a special message that said, 'Special DA meeting at 7 o'clock tonight and everybody must attend.'

Dumbledore was the first to react. He said, "It looks like Mr. Potter was not too happy at what happened in here just now. I wouldn't be surprised if there is going to be some big news tonight. Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley, please make sure to be at the meeting and report after the meeting about what happened."

The two teenagers nodded and said, "Yes sir," just before they left to get ready for the meeting.

The new trio went directly for the Room of Requirement after they left Dumbledore's office and talked about what just happened. They decided to do some quick planning and called a meeting to send another message to the Order and to set the battle lines for this civil war that they are about to start at school.

In the room of requirement, Harry asked the room for a platform and booths in the back of the room. That resembled voting booths with a box and ballots inside of them. Harry, Ginny, and Kayla were standing on the stage whispering to each other as students made their way into the room. The room also had plenty of comfortable chairs and sofas for people to use that were all facing the stage. It did not take long for everybody to arrive with Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Neville near the center of the room. After doing a quick scan of the room to make sure that everybody was there Harry stood up and said, "I'm sure you all are wondering why I called this meeting on such short notice but I've learned some interesting information tonight and decided to do something about it."

There were more confused faces from everybody gathered as they were whispering about what could have happened since dinner until now to make Harry call a meeting. Harry said, "It is not a big secret that Dumbledore and I are not getting along and we have our own views on how certain things should be handled. You all know that in the past I would follow Dumbledore anywhere but that has changed a great deal ever since the end of last year. After learning the truth tonight that Dumbledore only sees me as a tool for him to get what he wants, I am now firm in my belief that he has been in power for too long and don't know what is good for the people anymore. He only sees each of us as pieces on a chessboard that are expendable and just as long as we kill the other person's king then all is good."

Hermione stood up and indignantly said, "What are you trying to do Harry? Are you trying to have a coup at the school?"

Harry shook his head and said, "No Miss Granger. I do not intent to take over the school or to oust Dumbledore but I intend to make sure that I am ready to protect myself and this school when the time comes considering him and his band of followers have failed to do anything productive so far."

Hermione and Ron took offense to what he just said and wanted to say something but were cut short when Ginny stood up by Harry and said, "I have seen what it is like for Harry ever since Dumbledore felt like messing with Harry's life and all it has caused him was misery. Harry, Kayla, and I have agreed that Dumbledore has spies working around us to keep tabs on each one of us and we don't like it. Therefore, we want to know who each of you are aligned with. It is time to find out if you side with Dumbledore, the Ministry, or Harry. In the back of the room are voting booths for you to cast your allegiance in secrecy. If you choose to side with the Ministry or Dumbledore then the charms placed on your watch will be null and void. You will also be free from the secrecy of the DA for the DA will not exist anymore after today. If you side with Harry then a new secrecy charm will be placed on the watch that kicks in if you betray the group or its members then you will suffer severe consequences if you do."

Harry took over for her and said, "I failed to take into consideration last time about the parchment that you all signed that sealed you to secrecy that you could still talk about when and where the meetings were. This time this has been taken care of and everything about the group will be done in secret. You can publicly state your allegiance but this is done to protect those who don't want to be singled out. If you side with Dumbledore then feel free to talk to Ron or Hermione about future training and if you side with the Ministry then you are on your own. Remember that siding with me and then betraying me this time will not go unpunished. Are there any questions?"

Susan Bones stood up and asked, "What went on between you and Ron and Hermione? The three of you used to be inseparable but now you seem to hate them."

Harry replied, "That is of a personal nature but I don't mind explaining because this will clear up many of the questions that you all will have. I learned over the Christmas break that Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger have been spying on me and reporting my actions to Dumbledore for over a year now. In fact they have been doing this since the beginning of the last school year. Dumbledore likes to play these mind games and the two of them sided with him against me so I have decided to fight back. This means me going against Dumbledore and the two traitors Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger."

Everybody glared at Ron and Hermione. Nobody could believe that the two of them would betray their once best friend. Ron and Hermione became uncomfortable very quickly and Luna and Neville were happy they were not singled out like Ron and Hermione. They were also glad that they moved out of Harry's suite of rooms. Ron and Hermione stayed due to the urgings from Dumbledore.

Michael Corner asked, "If we were not to side with you will you still train us?"

Harry replied, "I will only be training those that I know I can trust. In other words, no I will not be helping those that don't side with me but that applies to Defensive training not things related to school like your assignments for class. If somebody gets an idea to ask a teacher to assign something so that I will have to train you then I will stop extra training for all those outside of my new group."

Cho asked, "Why are you taking such a hard stand against Dumbledore? It just seems like he is just trying to look out for you."

Harry replied, "There is a difference between helping someone and manipulating somebody. That is a long story and I don't wish to retell it. I don't plan on alienating anybody who does not side with me nor agrees with what I am saying. I need to do this so I can know who I can trust and who I can't when a conflict of issues come up or who I can go to for help. I don't claim to be the best person to follow because I have made many mistakes in my life and people have paid dearly for it. The difference now is that I am now ready to face those challenges with both eyes open instead of blindly following."

Ginny asked, "Are there anymore questions?"

Nobody said anything but a few people looked around the group. After a few moments of waiting for someone to voice a question Harry said, "Alright, will everybody please line up in a few rows to cast your votes. When you are finished doing that then you can leave if you wish or you can stay if you like. I'll be here till the last ballot is cast so if anybody wanted to talk to me, Ginny, or Kayla, we will be here to answer them."

The students lined up and many of them couldn't believe that they were doing this. They now had to choose sides in this fight but at least Harry had given them fair warning to think about which side they would choose if they were forced to make a decision. Harry didn't want to force the students to do this but this was the only way he could think of getting rid of those that he could not trust.

Everyone caste their votes but nobody left afterwards. They just hung around and talked with each other with a few people talking to Harry, Ginny, and Kayla about various things like what they will cover in future practices. These people were outwardly vocal about their support for Harry. Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Luna stayed huddled together in the back of the room.

When everything ended, Harry gave a wave of his wand as three parchments appeared on the table in front of him on the stage. Everybody was looking at him for an explanation of what he was doing. Harry said, "Here are three parchments with the names of people who sided with which group. The first parchment is with names for Dumbledore. The second is for the ministry and the last one is for me."

Harry pointed his wand at the one for the ministry and burned it. He then pointed his wand at the one for Dumbledore and burned it. Harry gave the third parchment to Ginny to hold for him for the moment. Harry said, "It you did not choose to follow me then I don't really care which person you did choose. If Dumbledore or the Ministry wanted to find out who is loyal to them then they can go find out for themselves because I'm not here to do that work for them because I know for sure that they would not make it easy for me."

When Ginny took the parchment, she was joined by Kayla who took a look at the list. The turn out for those who sided with Harry was more then expected. As a matter of fact, almost everybody signed the list and the only key people who didn't were Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna. After Ginny and Kayla gave each other a knowing look, Ginny whispered to Harry, "Almost everybody has sided with you and you get one guess at who didn't."

Harry sighed and went over to look at the list. Harry said, "I'm not sure if I should be happy about this or not. I am honored that they trust me but the question becomes can I lead them in a war with more then one enemy."

Ginny and Kayla gave Harry a sympathetic nod. Harry turned back to everybody that was gathered and Harry said, "The new roster for the new DA has been set and we will not be taking on any new members. I will inform those on this list when we will meet again by use of the watches. Those who did not side with me can keep the watches as a gift for your dedication to the DA in the past and I hope that this does not spoil our friendship."

Everybody left the room with Ron and Hermione rushing back to the Headmaster's office to inform him about what happened. Ginny, Harry, and Kayla stayed in the room to discuss what changes they would have to do as the newly formed DA. Dumbledore did not like the news of Harry breaking off all students that were not loyal to him but understood that he had serious trust issues at the moment considering those that he considered just as close as family has turned their backs on him. The Order members at Hogwarts minus Remus and Tonks were assembled to discuss the recent events but more importantly what to do to get Harry back under their control again.

The next day, Harry went to McGonagall's office for detention. When he showed up she said, "Potter, for detention today you will be writing at least a parchment length on why you will not listen to Professor Dumbledore anymore."

Harry responded, "I've already told you all why and I wasn't holding back either so there really is no point in it for me to write it down."

She said, "You may feel that it is necessary but you need to write down what you are thinking so you can see why you are wrong. Professor Dumbledore has always been on your side and helped you all this time but you turn your back on him."

Harry kept his cool when he said, "I have thought about it for some time now and I really did not want to believe that the Professor has abandoned me in the past and used me to his own ends but now I've learned that it is the truth when I continually reevaluated everything he has done concerning me. Sure there are a few times that I am grateful that he intervened but I must ask myself 'Why is it that I am treated so differently from everyone else?'"

McGonagall said, "I just hope you know what you are doing Potter. Just because he has made some mistakes does not mean that he can not be forgiven. You have made mistakes in the past and he has forgiven you."

Harry nodded and said, "Many of the mistakes I have made are due mainly to information being withheld from me or in the interest of others. The ghosts of my past continue to haunt me and I will always pay for my mistakes. What makes my mistakes different from Professor Dumbledore is that I am not trying to manipulate people into doing what I want. I let the people around me make their own decisions. I have repeatedly asked him why it was that Voldemort was after me but he lied to me until the night after Sirius died. I also told him that the Dursleys neglected me but he always sent me back there claiming that my blood protection would protect me but that didn't help out very much did it. To tell you the truth, there is little difference between me and Tom Riddle. We were both orphans and continued to be sent to people that only treated us with hate. In all honesty, Dumbledore had a chance to save Riddle but failed to do it because he did not want to face the truth of a child being neglected and beaten. In my case I think that Dumbledore is hoping that I turn out to be the opposite of Riddle that way he can excuse his actions of sending a child to people who hate them. I have given the Professor many chances to fix his mistakes ever since I started Hogwarts but he continues to make the same decisions which put me at harm more than anything. Dumbledore refuses to admit that a child being harmed emotionally is just as bad as being harmed physically. What he doesn't seem to realize is that physical wounds heal with time but mental wounds live forever and haunt the soul. I have broken so many bones and been injured so many times physically that I can not count them all anymore but the few mental scars that have been a result of my mistakes like Sirius and Cedric's death or memories of being beaten and thrown into a cupboard below the stairs to starve for days live with me every single day."

McGonagall realized that Harry was scarred way beyond what any child should be and was mentally berating herself for not doing anything earlier. She was going to have a talk to Dumbledore about this later on. She said, "What would it take for us to get our relationship back to the way it was before what happened last year?"

Harry shook his head and said, "I honestly don't know anymore. I have given those around me many chances to fix their mistakes and now I'm just tired of being the sacrificial lamb and the scapegoat. I will no longer be anybody's tool to be used at anybody's will. Right now, I don't think that my relationship with the members of the Order will return to anything resembling the first time I met the Order."

McGonagall sighed and said, "That will be all Potter. You have told me what I needed to know. Go back to your dormitory."

Harry said, "Goodnight Professor." He left her contemplating about what he just said and he went back to the dormitories to spend the rest of the night with Ginny in her trunk. Kayla was spending her time working on her school work. Harry told Ginny everything and contemplated on what was going to happen between him and the Order. After talking about it for a while, they decided to not talk about business anymore and just have a nice night together which they needed with everything that has happened lately. Harry spent the night innocently sleeping with Ginny in her room. The two of them had a smile when they went to sleep because for that moment the rest of the world did not exist. It was just the two of them in peace.

A/N: I know many people didn't want Harry and Ginny to return to Hogwarts but it's so much more fun to bring the trio back to Hogwarts so they can walk all over the Order even more. To those who had questions about when I will update, I'll be updating somewhere from 2 to 3 chapters a week. I am a few chapters ahead but the buffer allows me to make corrections to make the story flow better or change it when I get a recommendation that will work better in the story later on. Thank you to my reviewers and keep it up.