CHAPTER 45: Aodhan's Revenge

Harry made his way to Dumbledore's office where he found the old man sitting behind his desk writing. He sat down opposite the headmaster and waited for him to finish the letter. When he stopped he put the quill away and folded the letter.

"What can I do for you, Harry?"

"Percy is guilty. I had a little chat with him and he admitted to it. He was scared of Voldemort so went along with him."

"That is not the first time I have heard a story like that."

"Not my first time either. It really did sound a lot like Peter Pettigrew's story only Percy actually did something illegal. As much as I hate to admit it what Wormtail did wasn't illegal, it was just wrong. Percy used an unforgiveable and he'll pay for that."

"What are you planning?" Harry shook his head.

"I'm not entirely sure yet. I have a few ideas, but I haven't decided yet." Dumbledore looked at him intently.

"Are you going to kill him?"

"If he dies it won't be by my hand. I'm leaving it up to the Weasleys. If they think he should die than so be it. I was thinking about sending him back to Voldemort and letting him do the dirty work. Percy isn't important enough to keep alive especially after he failed and was set free by me."

"This is true, but I would be careful about it. You do not want the image of a murderer."

"War, not murder, Dumbledore. Can I borrow Fawkes?" Dumbledore was thrown by the sudden change of topic.

"Yes, I guess that would be ok." Harry grabbed a quill and two pieces of parchment and wrote two letters. One was to Fleur Delacour and the other to Madame Maxime. He gave Fawkes the two letters and the Phoenix disappeared in a flash of fire.

Harry sat back down in his seat and waited for Fawkes to return. Dumbledore began writing on a new piece of parchment. Harry looked around the room and realized that all of the portraits were now feining sleep. He only had to sit there for about ten minutes before Fawkes returned with another flash of fire. The phoenix landed on Harry's shoulder.

"Thanks, girl." He said after taking off the two responses. He didn't want to read the letters in front of Dumbledore so he turned to leave. "By the way, Professor. I need Ron in my room by the end of the day so I can have Percy break the spell." He left before any response came.

He made his way silently up to his dormitory before ripping open the letters in silence. He picked up Fleur's letter which had very neat writing in silver ink. Harry picked up the scent of a perfume on the letter and almost laughed.

Cher Harry,

I hope all is well? I am applying for a job with

Gringotts in London and must improve my English

before they hire me. The goblins say my writing is fine but

my accent is too thick. I would be glad to help you after

what you did for my sister Gabrielle. I know she is young but she

is still quite taken with you. I have nothing to do this weekend

and I would love to introduce you to some people here. I am

unsure how easy it will be to meet the Chancellor, he is a very

busy and very arrogant man. I'm sure if Madame Maxime helps

as you think she will we shouldn't have a problem. I am sure

you have seen pictures of La Tour Eiffel, meet me there at 11am

Saturday morning. You may bring this professor you spoke of if you

Wish. I look forward to seeing you again, Harry. Good luck.

-Fleur

Harry reread the letter before realizing that she had been talking about the Eiffel Tower. He had seen many pictures of the tower and had always wanted to visit it. He just hadn't expected the terms of the visit to be so glum. He had to go ask a man he assumed to be very much like Fudge for his help in a war. He didn't have much hope for succeeding in convincing the Chancellor but he knew he had to try. He turned to the second letter and began to read.

Harry,

It is good to hear from you again. I have heard much about your

year from both Hagrid and the tabloids. I am not sure how credible

either source is, however. Hagrid is a great man, but he has the

tendency to exaggerate your already vast achievements. I would

like to meet with you once again if for no other reason than to

catch up. I realize you wish to meet with the Chancellor and I can

make that happen but do not hold too much hope. The Chancellor

is not a fan of your country, or any other country for that matter.

I have nothing too important this weekend so if you meet with Fleur

As you expect to than she will bring you to me. I do hope the

Chancellor will hear you, but if not I have a few friends that may

Be willing to help. I will talk to them and let you know when you arrive.

-Olympe Maxime

Headmistress, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic

Harry picked up both letters and burned them with his wand. He waasn't entirely sure what made him do it but instinct told him it was better not to leave his plans lying around. His next stop was to McClaggan's office.

When he reached the door he peered inside and saw Breannan, shirt off and sweating. He had his sword gripped in both hands and was doing a very complex set of moves. Harry was sure that it had taken quite some time to learn. Suddenly the Scot stopped and turned towards the door.

"I didn't see you there, Harry. Can I do something for you?" He asked, sheathing his sword and picking up a towel to wipe off his face.

"What was that?" McClaggan motioned for Harry to sit down in a seat across from the table he was now sitting on.

"That's called Aodhan's revenge. It's not so much a fighting style as it is a training technique. Only someone who has mastered the sword will be able to do it in its entirety. It helps the swordsman focus and weild his weapon. To be honest it's as much of a concentration technique as a physical one."

"Aodhan's revenge?"

"Aodh, Gaelic mythology, was the God of fire. Some people say that he fought with a flaming sword and spear. The Gods, as myths say, often walked the earth in the form of a human to find a woman to bare his child. When Aodh's child was born he was named Aodhan, the fire within. When Aodhan's mother was raped and murdered by a group of thieves its said that Aodh taught his son this technique to train him for the fight, hence Aodhan's revenge."

"And it just kept getting passed down from generation to generation?"

"Aye, don't forget that my lifetime spans quite a few generations though. I could teach you the technique if you'd like. I'm sure you'll pick it up pretty quickly. The beauty of it is that once you see the entire demonstration you've got nothing more to learn. From then on it's just practicing, you'll know when and if you get it right."

"That would be great, Breannan."

"No problem. Can't do it today though, stop by around noon tomorrow and I'll show you the whole thing. But obviously that's not what you came to talk to me about. What can I do for you?"

"Oh! I wanted to let you know that I'm going to France this weekend. I'm going to meet Fleur Saturday morning around 11 at the Eiffel Tower. She said you could come if you wanted."

"Perfect. I have no wish to meet the Chancellor though; he's not exactly a man I have respect for. When you have your meeting I'll go see my friend. Afterwards we'll meet up and I'll show you the best place to eat in all of Paris."

"Oh it would be my pleasure, good sir."

"Smart ass. Can't blame you though, it runs in the family. Now get out of here, I'll see you tomorrow." Harry laughed and took his leave.

When Harry returned to the common room it was nearly full. He looked around and realized what the commotion was, in the middle of the room Dumbledore stood, an unconscious Ron at his feet.

"Ah, Harry, we've been waiting for you. Would you be so kind as to bring er the other Mr. Weasley out here?" Harry nodded and the Gryffindors cleared a lane to the boy's dormitory for him. Minutes later he returned with a stunned Percy Weasley levitating in front of him. Harry set him down next to Ron and flicked his wand at him.

"Ennervate." Percy's eyes snapped open and he shook his head as if there were cobwebs. "How are you, Percy?"

"Harry-I-it's good to see you again." He stammered.

"Yes I'm sure it is. Do you remember what I told you you would have to do?"

"I-uh-no I have no idea." Harry frowned.

"If you don't want to lift the curse off Ron I could always kill you, that should do the trick." Percy's eyes went wide with fear.

"NO! I'll do it! I need my wand though." Harry looked towards Dumbledore.

"I took the liberty of retrieving Mr. Weasley's wand form the Clearwater residence. I refrained from telling them the entire story though as it would sound better coming from the blonde haired and mustached man who so cunningly spirited him away." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, apparently he was impressed with Harry's ingenuity. The headmaster tossed Percy his wand.

"Thank you." Percy raised his wand but before he could mutter a spell Harry's wand was pressed up against his cheek.

"Try anything and you'll regret it." Percy pointed his wand at Ron, having no response to the threat, and muttered something under his breath.

"That should do it." Harry nodded at Dumbledore who pointed his wand at Ron.

"Ennervate." Ron stirred and looked around.

"What's going on? Why's Percy here?" He asked weakly. Harry grabbed the wand out of Percy's hand and thrust it into his own pocket.

"Ron we're going to have to talk but for now we need to get you to the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey should have you feeling better in no time." Ron nodded slowly and tried to get to his feet but fell back down. Neville strode over and helped him up. "Hermione go with Ron and keep an eye on him. Don't tell him anything until I get there, ok?"

"Ok, Harry, but don't be too long." As the room began to clear out only Harry and Dumbledore were left with Percy sitting at their feet.

"So what should we do with you, Perce?"

"I-I did what you asked of me!"

"Yes you did, but you still cast the imperius curse on your brother and made him ty to murder all of his friends. In fact you did make him murder an innocent eleven year old boy. A pureblood nonetheless, your boss won't be happy."

"I-I didn't mean to-"

"Stop babbling Percy. I thinkI should send you back to Voldemort, let him decide what to do with you."

"Harry, he'd never let him survive the night." Dumbledore interjected.

"I know."

"Well if that's what you think we should do I have no objections." Harry could tell that the old man did have several objections but was refraining from mentioning them for the sake of the act.

"No! I-I'll do anything!"

"Anything?" Harry repeated, Percy nodded vigorously. "What has old Voldemort been up to these days? I haven't heard much from him." Percy looked around in panic as if Voldemort was watching him.

"He's…he's preparing for war!" Percy squeaked.

"Well it's about time. What preparations has he made?"

"I-I'm not entirely sure. I haven't been working for him long, he didn't exactly tell me his plans." Harry frowned as if disappointed.

"You expect me to believe you didn't even hear rumors from other Death Eaters? You didn't hear anything about alliances?" Percy looked around again before answering.

"I did hear a few things." He whispered conspiratorially. "I heard that he had recruited several trolls and giants to try to break down the Hogwarts defenses." Harry looked at Dumbledore.

"Would that work?" Dumbledore looked out the window for a minute before responding.

"I'm afraid it might, Harry. The Hogwarts wards are well protected against magic but enough physical force may break them." Harry turned back to Percy.

"So Trolls and Giants, that's it?"

"N-No. He has his dementors and the banshees."

"What can the banshees do?"

"They can scream until your ears bleed! It'll make it almost impossible for their attack to be stopped if you can't lift your hands from your ears!"

"We could always just stuff our ears, can't we?"

"I'm afraid not, Harry. Banshees have a special gift for noise. Nothing that you could cover your ears with could possibly block their screeching."

"So the Banshees could be a problem, the dementors won't be though. We all know how to deal with them." Percy clutched at the neck of his robes. Harry thought the motion was oddly familiar but wasn't sure where he had seen it before, than it hit him. When he had been on the train coming to Hogwarts Malfoy did the same exact thing, and that was just before the dementors attacked. And then when he summoned the dementor against Parvati he did it again and the Dementor obeyed him!

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Percy asked. Dumbledore's looked conveyed the same question. Haryr lunged at Percy and srestled his hand away from a small necklace he had been clutching. Percy screamed as Harry wrested it from his grip.

"What's this?" Harry was holding a small silver pendant with a black string.

"It's a good luck pendant! Penelope gave it to me!"

"Did Penelope give on to Draco Malfoy?" Percy opened his mouth to respond but shut it. He knew that it was no use to lie.

"I'm not really sure what it is. It was given to me when I agreed to join. It has something to do with dementors but I'm not sure how it works."

"Is it charmed?"

"I don't think so, but I'm not sure how else it could work if it wasn't."

"Maybe it's got natural magic?" Harry asked Dumbledore.

"It's possible, Harry. I could always ask Harrison Collins to take a look at it." Harry took the pendant and tossed it to Dumbledore who caught it deftly. "I'll let you know when I hear from him." Dumbledore turned and strode from the room leaving Harry and Percy alone.

"So what am I going to do with you?" Percy opened his mouth to answer but grimaced and grabbed at his left forearm. Harry understood exactly what was happening. He grabbed his arm and twisted it do the forearm was facing up. Sure enough there was a jet black picture of the Dark mark.

"He's summoning you?" Percy nodded. "You did everything I asked so I won't send you back to him yet." Harry levitated the red head and put him back into the sixth compartment of his trunk. "I won't tie you down this time, don't make me regret that decision." Percy nodded and Harry left.

The next day Harry woke up late because he had most of the morning free. He made his way to Dumbledore's office. When he arrived Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk in a meditive state. He looked up with a start when Harry entered.

"Ah, I was expecting you to come today. With yesterday's events I completely forgot about transfiguration. I hope you are not too upset that you will notbe joining the rest of your class?"

"It's ok with me. What do you want me to be doing during class times?"

"What do you want to be doing?"

"Well if I don't have a teacher I guess I'll be training on my own. I've been doing it a lot, this just gives me more time."

"Yes I realize that. I just wanted to make sure you didn't mind. If you have any questions Professor Flitwick is available during that block." Harry was thrown off by the conversation. Somehow it all seemed too simple. He had the strange feeling that Dumbledore was up to something, but he had no idea what it was. He decided to play dumb and keep an eye out for anything suspicious.

By the time Harry left the office it was almost noon. He slowly made his way down to the Defense corridor, not wanting to be too early. When he arrived at McClaggan's door the Scot was sitting inside. Harry knocked and McClaggan waved him inside.

"I just wrote the letter to my friend telling him when I would meet him. It'll be good to see him again. I met him in the '50s, well I had ran into him a few times before then but never spoken with him. He fought with Dumbledore against Grindelwald and he and I dueled a few times. We both had some respect for each other so after Dumbledore killed Grindelwald I tracked him down to talk." Harry wasn't really sure how to respond to the story so he said nothing at all. McClaggan noticed Harry's confusion and laughed. "I guess you want to see Aodhan's revenge, eh? Why don't you take a seat behind my desk, it'll probably be safest there. I should warn you that it is a rather long routine. When it's done right it'll take about 15 minutes." Harry nodded and sat at Breannan's desk.

For the next 15 minuted Harry watched as his professor slowly danced around the room to an unheard beat. Harry could tell that the man didn't even realize where he was let alone that he was being watched. Every movement he made was slow and deliberate yet seemed to explode with energy. Harry stared intently at the display trying hard not to blink lest he miss a move. When McClaggan had warned him about the length hew as afraid he would forget parts but he could feel the moves slowly sinking into his memory. When it was done Harry realized that he had been holding his breath. McClaggan laughed at his student's awe.

"It's much more difficult than it looks." He said with a grin, Harry completely missed the humor.

"What do you feel when you do it?" The Highlander regarded him for a minute before answering.

"Do you remember the feeling you got at Spinner's End? The feeling that you understood everything yet couldn't explain it? That's what I feel. I know every move was perfect even though I don't see myself doing it. I can feel the energy in each movement I make but I'm not trying to exert myself. It just feels right, I guess." Harry thought about that for a while. It was the same feeling he had when he had first picked up Gryffindor's sword during the summer, like everything was connected.

"How long did it take you to learn?"

"Learning it isn't the problem. You've already learned it just by seeing it. Mastering it, however, took me a few months. My advice to you is this: don't get discouraged. You won't feel like your making any progress until you get it perfect. When you do get it perfect, though, you'll feel like you have enough energy to jump over the school." Harry smiled.

"Been there, done that." McClaggan raised an eyebrow. "When I was little I was being chased by my cousin's gang. I went to jump over a bunch of trash cans and I ended up on the roof." Breannan laughed but then turned completely serious.

"Yes but that was magic. The enrgy I'm talking about now isn't magical power, it's like all the untapped power in your muscles and in your brain have suddenly come alive. When you use that type of energy in a fight you could end up cleaving someone's sword in two.