Disclaimer - I don't own any of the characters, places (unless they are of my own creation and I shall add notes in for that later), songs etc. Most of this belongs to JK bows.
Yes, Larson and Richard are Salazar and Godric - modified, but still recognisable.
Also, this story will be following the general plot of HOTL, but things will be different (for the better).
Once again, thanks for your reviews :D
Sunday, 31st July, 1995
The day had passed normally for him, and although Harry was slightly hurt that no-one had even wished him a 'happy birthday', he hid it well - although he took out his emotions on his targets during weapon's practice. They were left in various states of disrepair.
It was later that day, during the free-time slot before dinner, whenever he sat with a book on Transfiguration, aimlessly flicking through the pictures in hopes if distracting himself.
It didn't work.
He paced the room.
That didn't work either.
He looked out the window at the silent grounds.
Nothing.
He resigned himself to a lonely birthday, which he was far too used to, and flicked his wrist at a table, turning it into a guitar, which he picked up and slowly tuned, and transfiguring a quill into a plectrum before strumming g a chord.
Then, sure it was indeed in-tune, started to strum and sing quietly to himself, letting a solitary slide down his face as the loneliness of the situation slowly smothered him.
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Whenever Harry dejectedly trudged into the Dining Hall later, he took his seat, mumbling a hello to Ron and Hermione, and eating a light dinner.
It was a quiet affair, admittedly, however, just after everyone had finished, suddenly, the lights dimmed, and several candles lit in the corner.
Harry's eyes, which had snapped up the second the lights had gone out, suddenly seemed to glow in joy.
And Ron and Hermione, who had been quiet, suddenly beamed and started a very rousing rendition of 'Happy Birthday', soon joined in by the other members of the Order.
His heart leapt as a large chocolate cake with sixteen lit candles on the top was set in front of him.
Harry, who had found memories of his summer at Grimmauld Place suddenly unable to recall, and who had never had a lit birthday cake placed in front of him before, looked at Hermione, who was next to him.
"What do I do now?" He whispered curiously.
He had never been to a birthday party in his life, and even then, as a flash of Grimmauld Place came to mind, he had never had a cake with candles set it front of him.
If Hermione was shocked, appalled and angry that Harry didn't know the tradition, she didn't let it show.
"You blow them out, and make a wish." She replied, just as quietly.
And Harry, his heart near to bursting with joy, closed his eyes and blew out the candles, one wish in mind.
'I wish that I'll win this war for everyone…even if it means sacrificing myself…'
Then, with one blow, the candles all went out, and a loud roar filled the room.
Later, whenever he looked back, he realised that this was one of his happiest memories, even though he never received any presents or the likes.
Having his friends with him was enough for then.
The time passed slowly in the grounds of Black Manor after the party, however, inside, the training of the soldiers was progressing leaps and bounds, and even the youngest, who were coming third years, were able to do sixth-year level and above Defence Spells, and able to keep up with the vigorous run and assault course that had become the morning ritual.
It was on the morning of August the 28th that the members of the Order were allowed to sleep in later than usual, surprising many when they were woken at 10 that morning, to find wicker baskets on the end of their beds.
And, obviously sensing something was up, they immediately dug inside.
The first thing they found were flowing Prussian Blue Battle Robes.
A silver Dragon wrapped around the left shoulder of the robes, with silver/bronze buttons and silver/bronze trimmings running around the main robes and the hood, and various different numbers of stripes on the cuffs, the most, they found, were seven alternating gold and silver stripes, on Ron and Hermione's robes.
The next thing was a Dragon pendant, made of silver, with stunning dark blue sapphires for eyes, which would serve as an emergency Portkey, a Portkey to their training (which would carry on in Black Manor under several time-charms so that, overall, it would only take two hours of their time every morning), and would grow warm if they were needed with a customised Protean Charm.
Following this were several Dragon-Hide products, to provide extra protection that the spell-woven robes didn't, with a vest (with long sleeves), trousers (adjusting length) and two pairs of fingerless gloves. These would soften the impact of spells and physical hits significantly.
One HK5SD, two Mark23SDs, two daggers and six holsters later (one extra for their wands), the members came across an honorary sword, which they had also been trained to fight effectively with.
It was made of the finest silver, diamond-hardness and strength, and enough shine that they all shared the opinion it would never die down. Each had a Hungarian Horntail wrapped around, breathing out a luscious fire.
Davy Fletcher really outdid himself.
And finally, a simple note, addressed to each of them, appeared after they had seen this all.
'Don't come down to the Dining Hall. Breakfast will be in your Common Rooms. Get into your uniforms.'
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Harry started to walk from the Dining Hall towards the Common Rooms, having just finished preparations for the initiation at long last, after over a month and a half of blood, sweat and toil.
He himself was dressed in robes of Prussian blue, however, with gold trimmings, eight golden stripes, several gold buttons and a large gold and silver Dragon around his left shoulder. Also, the sword around his waist was slightly different, with a Phoenix coming from the Dragon's heavenly flames.
Truly fitting for him.
And as his soft footsteps echoed in the silent halls, his mind wondered over certain people and things that had stood out most to him.
The first, and biggest, change that had stood out was that of Neville Longbottom. The once shy, clumsy boy he had known several months ago had slowly transformed into a rather handsome young man, still clumsy and not the most confident of people, but his strong will, determination to prove himself and his new wand (12 inches, hornbeam, unicorn tail hair) had shone out, most especially in the healing course he taught everyone.
He had a surprisingly strong will, and a firm belief of doing what was the right thing to do, perhaps from his own years of being bullied and teased. He was a good leader, and many people came to him for advice, which he was only to glad to offer.
Harry had found a good friend in him, and was slowly bringing him out of his shell, even giving the boy (whose birthday was the day before his) a birthday present of his meal for a main course and dessert the night of his birthday, along with a small sponge cake.
It was all he could do, but the young man seemed so pleased about it, he couldn't stop smiling.
It made Harry smile as well.
Luna Lovegood was the next in his mind. The dreamy Ravenclaw, despite appearances, was not as inattentive or air-headed as many may assume, and actually knew far more than she had previously let on. She had a great skill of healing, although not the natural touch that Neville had, as well as, surprisingly, a good interrogation manner.
She was easy-going, but determined, and, like Neville, people slowly got to see the real her.
This had gained her a fair few more friends than she had had previously, including Harry, and she offered blunt, honest statements to those who asked.
There always had to be a critic in the group, and Luna was that person.
Ginny followed this. He had surveyed her at the start of their training, before, through it, starting to talk to her and get to know her better. He had been considering the option of having that part of his memory wiped, of his relationship with Ginny before, to see what would happen in the current situation.
No-one else was going to die because of him - he couldn't live with himself.
However, despite this, he had gotten to know better than before, her strong character and her slightly-bossy manner, but also her caring and loyalty and, if her brothers were honest, her tough nature.
He was glad he had talked to her again, and they had fast been becoming close friends.
Others flew past his mind's eye, including Blaise Zabini, the proud, witty Slytherin sixth-year (male), Theodore Nott, best friend of Blaise and quite similar to the boy, only with a touch more sarcasm, Colin and Dennis Creevey, who had finally gotten past their Potter-worship days and had become like his little brothers in a way, Graham Pritchard, a kind, loyal third-year Slytherin, and Natalie McDonald, the caring, brave third-year who was prepared to stand up for her beliefs.
If he had ever been proud of something in his life, it was these teenagers, and what they had truly achieved.
His Dragon-Hide boots softly echoed around the Halls, his military-like stance carrying him proudly towards the Thestral Common Room, where he knew that all the Units were gathered, dressed in their uniforms and probably rather confused.
He hid a grin at the thought.
Walking up to the portrait guarding it, a Knight, he bowed and said the password ('Domine'), before entering inside unnoticed.
To his amusement, everyone was involved in a very loud game of charades.
"Whenever you're all ready." He said jokingly, his soothing tenor voice carrying over the many suggestions being shouted at a lost Dean Thomas.
Whenever they noticed him, they jumped up quietly and saluted him.
He saluted back.
"Get into your units and follow me."
Without word, his orders were obeyed.
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The Dining Hall had many Prussian blue hangings around the room, with two crossed swords with a Dragon in the centre and around on them in flowing silver strokes, matching the crest on the right arm on the robes, backed by a patch of midnight black.
The usual long table in the centre of the room had been removed long ago, and all that remained of it was space.
At the front of the Hall, a raised platform stood proudly, a wooden podium at the front, which Harry marched up to and stood behind as his 'troops' marched and stood proudly before him, their hoods down revealing their faces to him.
"Today," he began softly, "you are all going to pass through these doors for the first time as one of the most elite and deadly Army forces the world has to offer."
He stood up slightly straighter, more proudly than he had been carrying himself before.
"You have completed training that would have a magical equivalent of the SAS in tears. You have trained in ways that would confuse and effectively take out Death Eaters who think only of their magic, and can only use that. In the last couple of months, you have learnt how to fight, alone, in pairs and in groups, in ways that your opponents will never expect, and have learnt many new skills that could, and probably will, one day save your life."
He paused and looked around the room.
"You will all one day face your worst fears. You will face death and evil itself, and you will falter. But then you will see those you love and care for before your eyes, the ones that you fight to protect with every ounce of will that you possess, and you will fight them with vigour, grace and determination. You will fight them with a duty to protect not only those you love, but those innocents who have yet to live, to experience a world without war, without death and destruction.
"We fight for a world like that. We fight for a world where mothers don't have to worry about their children day after day, night after night. We fight for a day whenever people can go into the streets and not have to look around in fear. We fight for a day whenever a person comes to find that sickly green sign above their homes. And we fight for a day whenever we ourselves can raise our children and grandchildren without having to worry about them being ripped away from us by the grip of evil, to worry about them being raised in a time of war."
He voice had grown progressively louder.
"Together, we will fight for the innocent. And we shall not be afraid. We shall stand proudly. We shall show no mercy to those we fight, for they have and never will shown us any. And we shall prevail as magnificently as a Phoenix rises from the ashes. We shall prevail. We shall prevail for life, love and freedom! Spiritus , amor et libertas! We shall prevail. We shall prevail!"
In the end he was shouting, his voice filled with raw emotion, and as he finished, he caught many nods of agreement and heartened looks, and he took a sip of water before unrolling a large scroll written out the other night.
"And so, the Order of the Dragon shall begin its Legacy. I am your Dragon General, now to be addressed as General Potter. Below this position is that of Lieutenant General, who shall together take lead of the Army should, at any time, I become incapacitated. You shall address these people as Lieutenant General. Below this are your Brigadier Generals, again addressed as such. They shall lead your Units into Battle. A Colonel is again below this, who shall take over the Unit should anything happen to the Brigadier General. A Lieutenant Colonel is the next in Command, again to take leadership if something were to happen to both the Brigadier and the Colonel.
"Then, after this, there are the more junior positions of the Army. Major is next, followed by Captain, and finally, Lieutenant. You shall, during all times this Army is in session, call your superiors by their assigned titles, unless otherwise directed, during Battle situations."
He then stepped away from the podium, still holding the scroll.
"And with this, we shall begin announcing said ranks. For the positions of Lieutenant General, I call forward Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger."
The Army saluted them as they marched forward together, their robes of silver trimmings and the seven alternating gold and silver stripes on their cuffs now showing much clearer meaning than they had previously, and they stood in front of him.
As he saluted them and sent them back to their positions, there was a large round of applause.
"Next, for the positions of Brigadier General, for Units Thestral, Griffin and Unicorn in such order, I call forward Ginerva Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood."
They themselves had six stripes of silver.
"For the positions of Colonel, for Units Thestral, Griffin and Unicorn in such order, I call forward Fred Weasley, Angelina Johnston and Katie Bell."
Five silver stripes.
"For the positions of Lieutenant Colonel, for Units Thestral, Griffin and Unicorn in such order, I call forward George Weasley, Lee Jordan and Alicia Spinnet."
Four silver stripes.
"For the positions of Major, for Units Thestral, Griffin and Unicorn in such order, I call forward Seamus Finnegan, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Terry Boot."
Three alternating stripes of silver and bronze.
"For the positions of Captain, for Units Thestral, Griffin and Unicorn in such order, I call forward Blaise Zabini, Anthony Goldstein and Theodore Nott."
Two stripes of alternating silver and bronze.
"Finally, for the positions of Lieutenant, from Unit Thestral, I call forward Dean Thomas, Hannah Abbott, Jack Sloper, Andrew Kirke, Michael Corner and Zacharias Smith. From Unit Griffin, I call forward Colin Creevey, Dennis Creevey, Padma Patil, Lisa Turpin and Daphne Greengrass. And, from Unit Unicorn, I call forward Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Natalie McDonald, Mandy Brocklehurst, Susan Bones and Graham Pritchard."
One bronze stripe.
And as the last person finally had retaken their place, Harry relaxed his military stance and smiled.
"And now, everyone, it is time that you all return to the rest of your summer holidays."
There were several mutters which were quickly silenced.
"For those who are out of Hogwarts, plus Katie, it is believed that you were on holiday in the Caribbean. For those in Hogwarts, it is believed that you are on holiday with friends somewhere. It is believed that I am currently with Hermione, who it is believed is staying with Ron and Ginny, who are currently believed to also be staying with Hermione as well. It is a simple thing, however, even if irregularities are noticed, they will be ignored."
There were several curious looks, but nothing was said.
"Speaking of which, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, we have to catch a Portkey soon, to Headquarters, so you better get moving. Everyone else, you are dismissed, and your Portkeys shall take you home and bring you back for training every morning - several time charms around the area shall cut down the time you spend, allowing for 5 am to 7 am. Thanks to Larson and Richard for that. Have a good summer everyone, and…well, there's no point. Have a good trip back."
Friday, 1st September, 1995
September first had always been a rush for all concerned.
People crashing into each other on the stairs, shouts about lost items echoing around the house, and the general hustle and bustle associated with the Weasley's always fashionably nearly-late arrival at Platform Nine and Three Quarters.
Today was no different, despite the Floo Connection in place, and the now slimmed-down group of four students had just managed to make it onto the train, with Ron having to run after it and jump on just as it was about to pull away from the platform completely.
"And that is why you do endurance training." Harry stated simply, helping Ron up with the offered and accepted hand.
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Dodging Peeve's water balloons once again, the Trio of Ron, Hermione and Harry entered and sat in their usual seats at Gryffindor table, surrounded by Seamus, Dean, Neville and the rest of the sixth year DA (they had decided to keep the name for nickname - Dragon's Army), and they all started talking quietly with each other.
His Grandmother walked in with a face of no emotion, leading the group of nervous first-years towards the Sorting Hat (despite the still persistent rumours of a troll), and he suddenly felt himself drift away in his mind - however, with all his will-power, he began to fight the vision bringing him to the borders of unconsciousness, and closed his eyes.
He saw, after searching for several seconds, the dark black link of Voldemort pulsating in his mind, and, with all his strength, pushed it away.
Since it was unintentional, it was significantly weaker, he managed to push it away at long last.
He opened his eyes and sighed in relief as he saw no-one looking at him, not noticing the curious eyes of Albus Dumbledore resting on him.
Thanks again to everyone! I would have posted this earlier, but my account was disable for a bit, because I posted the notice that the story was over here - sorry about that, lol, completely forgot about that.
Thanks for reading and I hope you like it.