The Lord of Stone Tower

A/N: For those that wondered, Harry didn't kill Ron because I am writing it that way, plus he has a part to play later on.

Chapter 9; War

Pentagon

Harry arrived with Neville outside the main gates of the Pentagon. He hadn't made an appointment but he had been sitting in his tower for so long that he really wanted to have a bit of fun. Sneaking into the Pentagon classed as fun to him. The Pentagon was in fact the basis for both the Muggle Military and for the Wizarding Ministry.

There were six men at the front gate. Four Muggle Army men and two Wizards; Watchers, the equivalents of the English Unspeakables. Harry could've just apparate into the Pentagon, but he didn't think Neville could, even with the training that Harry and Albus had been giving to him.

Harry was dressed up in his Battle Mage's cloak. So that if he did run into the Watchers he could command them anyway but he had transfigured them into normal Muggle clothing.

Harry approached the red and white barrier with Neville on his other side. One of the Muggle guards stepped out of the small guard building. Two more stood to the sides of the road and the last three including both Wizards stood inside the building looking at screens, which Harry assumed were detection monitors to show the use of Polyjuice.

"Good morning Sir, how can we help you?" The guard wearing Lieutenant insignia said in a polite if stern way.

Harry was slightly twisting his hand beside him as he made the clipboard the man was holding turn invisible so that he could read the writing.

"Gyneve." Harry stated shortly reading a name off the list that hadn't been ticked yet.

"Can I see some identification from you please, Sir?" He warmed up ever so slightly when he realized that this man was supposed to be here.

Harry pulled out his wallet and flicked it open to show a picture of him but again his hand moved ever so slightly so that the man would forget to look at the name.

Harry was soon waved through as the barrier rose to let him walk past. Neville was trying to silence his laughing so as not to attract attention to them. Harry allowed a small grin at how easy that was. Muggles trusted their papers way to much. Harry had almost sensed the guard's suspicions but the man had trusted his clipboard too much.

Harry approached the main doors and again went through the same check, this time not needing to make up the name. He almost felt sorry for the real person when they eventually arrived.

Harry and Neville walked down the corridors for half an hour trying to find the right way but did eventually find the office that the President was using to meet with the Wizarding Minister, Andrew Palin. They waited outside casually till someone else entered with a tray of tea and slipped in unnoticed while the door was open, and found two separate corners to hide in. Harry hid them in summoned shadows.

"I got a rather nasty letter from Minister Cornelius Fudge this morning," It seemed that Harry had arrived at the right time, "He has been constantly complaining about our siding with Harry Potter."

"Has he made any threats," the President asked.

"He hasn't made any serious threats against us yet. Our agents in France and Germany suspect that he has made a few less than pleasant remarks, but are not sure if he has actually made any threats." The Minister said.

"Could this end in a war? I don't know much about the English Minister." The President said.

"It could end in war. By offering allegiance to one of their greatest fugitives we have given him justification to start a war as far as the International Council is concerned." The Minister was cast down at the thought. "Whilst in a Muggle war you might win against England, we don't have the Wizarding strength to fight a war with England. And if the English start a Muggle and Wizarding War with us, we will probably lose it."

"What if we actually had this allegiance with Harry Potter? If he is such a threat to the English Wizarding world shouldn't he be able to help us defend ourselves against an attack?" The President asked, not knowing that much about the recent Harry Potter.

"I believe that to be true, but it has been a while since we asked for his allegiance and he hasn't even shown his face in England recently. We just have to hope that he believes that we are trustworthy and this isn't a trap."

Harry chose then to step out. He left the shadows over Neville though. "Very smart Minister Palin, that is what I was wondering. Though I no longer need to wonder do I?" The sight was almost comical. At the intrusion both the Minister and the President dropped their mugs of tea in fright and the Minister was quick to grab his wand.

"Who are you?" demanded the Minister, swirling to face the intruder.

"I believe I am the topic of discussion." Harry smirked.

"Mr. Potter," the President whispered in awe. "It is an honour."

"I agree, but how did you get into this building?" The Minister said, slightly suspiciously.

"You must not blame you own security for my intrusion, Minister." Harry answered with a smirk on his face. "I have been better trained in the Art of Infiltration. The defences you have around this building may well be one of the first things I enhance once the details of our Alliance are complete."

It took a few seconds for the two Americans to process these words and it was Neville's snort of laughter that finally broke them from their daze.

"Mr. Potter, we are extremely grateful. Please, allow us to show you around as we talk." The President spoke almost gleefully whilst he gestured towards the doorway.

It was several hours before Harry and Neville returned to Stone Tower to prepare for the task at hand. He had discussed it with Albus and was soon to travel to the Black House in London. He wanted to talk to this boy before he took any action and fin out what was so interesting about him that Voldermort wanted him for himself. He had asked Albus but Albus said that he was under oath not to mention it.

When Harry eventually reached the house he was slightly disappointed to discover that the buildings fidelius charm had not been renewed even though most of the Order believed him to be a traitor. He walked to the side of the door and knowing that he wouldn't be able to open the door without triggering the alarm he placed his hand on the limestone door frame and was slowly sucked into the stone.

From his place in the stone walls of this fortunately stone built building he drifted around finding people and from his limited senses, the result of blending with the stone, he managed to make out where people were and who they were. Moody, Tonks and most of the Weasleys were sat around the kitchen table. Harry barely kept his anger in check as he heard the conversation turn to Albus' abduction and he heard Ron voice his opinion that Albus had most probably joined Harry in his evil, twisted ways.

Harry had had enough and when he noticed that Molly Weasley had stood with a tray he followed her hoping that she was going upstairs to serve the twelve year old Alex Firestorm. He followed her up the three floors to what Harry recognised as Sirius' old room which had been set up to act as a small ward. The boy on the bed was sleeping restlessly and he heard Molly Weasley sigh at the tossing and turning boy. She didn't wake him however and after placing the sandwiches and juice on the side table and stroking the damp hair from the boy's forehead she turned and left closing the door behind her. Harry immediately stepped from the stone and walked to the boy's side. He knew that whatever Ron would do it wouldn't be till the evening so he pulled up a seat and sat down next to the boy.

After a particularly nasty jerk of the boy in his obvious nightmare the sheet slipped from the boy's neck and revealed the nasty mess of the boy's upper chest. Signs of abuse that made Harry gasp. Harry decided it was time to intervene in Alex's distress. And for that he needed his Animagus form.

Almost instantly Harry's animagus form had taken his place. The Dream Walker could enter a person's dream and guide them. One of Harry's hands came to lie on the boy's sweat covered forehead and Harry let his eyes drift closed and as reality faded Harry found himself watching from the sidelines as the boy called Alex lived out his worst nightmare. Harry knew that the Boy had been abused by his adoptive parents but he hadn't known that it was this bad. But there was something about it that worried Harry. These Muggle 'parents' of his weren't Muggles at all. Nightmares had a way of showing the truth, they were an effect of Magic, and Dream Walkers protected people from them by absorbing the Magic from the dreams. Nightmares couldn't lie to a Dream Walker; they saw the truth no matter what the human thought they saw.

Harry saw Voldermort instead of the Muggle father and a woman he didn't recognise as the mother. He also saw that it didn't always take place at the boy's proper home but sometimes at some sort of castle. Harry smirked as he stepped out of the shadows. He now longer needed to take the boy's place to find the Dark Lord's Castle, the boy knew where it was even if he didn't know it himself. The boy in his nightmare made the normal response to the eight foot figure in front of him. Harry started to leech off of the Magic in the air around them slowly making the Nightmare lose effect. Its spell over the boy wearing off and making a look of curiosity replace the fear as the boy watched the image rather than felt it.

The boy would have to break out of the dream himself though because otherwise next time he would be in the same situation.

"This is your head Alex, fight this Nightmare." Harry said in an all encompassing voice, "It holds no power over you any longer."

The boy couldn't reply but the dream shifted slightly. Without the magic keeping the boy in sleep he didn't want to stay any longer and after a few seconds Harry was back in his animagus form and stepped back into the shadows as the boy came out of his dreariness.

The boy looked around and started slightly as he noticed movement as Harry, now in his human form, stepped out of the shadows near the door.

"Good Evening, Mr. Firestorm." Harry spoke kindly, he was impressed at how fast the boy had recovered from the Nightmare and awoken, most ended up remaining unconscious as a Dream Walker always fed off of the Wizards Magic as well as the Nightmare. "Are you feeling better now?"

The boy's face set itself into a calculating look that didn't suit a twelve year old and his blue eyes with their gold streaks gazed into Harry's own dark green. "It was you!" He stated more than asked. His only reply was a sparkling in Harry's eyes as he gazed back at the boy.

"Why are you here? Who are you? I thought this place was secure from anyone who didn't know where it was?" The boy blurted out.

"I'll be truthful I think," Harry mused to himself as he almost laughed at the boy's questions. "Ok, I am here to help you escape, I am Harry Potter; the Lord of Stone Tower and it would seem that I knew where this place was. Did I miss anything?"

"You're Harry Potter? Everyone here says you are evil. Ron said you should never be trusted. I should shout for help you know!" The boy didn't look as afraid as you would have expected, but maybe that was because of what had happened in his dream.

"Who would you trust more? The person who seems to have betrayed someone but there is no proof of any such thing or the person who declares their betrayal openly?"

The boy paused to think about that one but nodded and Harry could see that perhaps the kid didn't entirely like Ron Weasley all that much.

"Now I don't mind sitting around here a bit and the longer the better actually in case someone checks on you before it happens. But I want to leave as soon as anything starts to happen." Harry blurted out taking Alex by surprise.

"What do you mean? Leave?"

"Ah, of course, you'll have to excuse my eagerness to leave. This place means only bad memories for me." Harry said, losing the glint in his eyes. "Albus and I believe that an attack will occur tonight against this building. Because of that it is prudent to bring you under my protection. Of course I don't want to do that without your permission."

"If Albus said to take me then we better, and I can trust you because I know what Dream Walkers are, so you can't be evil. How are they going to attack if they can't find the building?"

Harry raised an eyebrow in response and waited for the boy to work it out. It was a test really. It only took a few seconds for him to work it out. "A traitor?" He said with a gasp.

"You shouldn't be so surprised, there have been quite a few in passed years. Question is can you work out who?"

"I wouldn't know where to start!"

"You'll find out tonight. Now I believe you need some sleep. Don't worry, I'll stop any nightmares, while you're with me you never will again." He added hastily when the boy's eyes widened. "I will cast a few spells so that when someone tries to attack you will be transported somewhere safe before I take you to my home."

The boy just nodded in reply as he started slipping off, exhausted by the long nights of nightmares.

It was with Alex jerking awake by the explosion from below and Harry drawing himself up from his leaning on the wall still hidden in shadows that greeted Ron Weasley when he entered the room. Followed by chaos as his well set booby traps and explosions below.

Harry growled softly under his breath and the boy gasped and whispered the word "Traitor" at Ron which seemed to enrage the red haired man.

"Crucio!"

The spell never hit his target though. As soon as the spell touched the boy's bare skin he vanished. Ron almost roared in anger and Harry couldn't resist the fight.

"I bet your Master isn't going to like that one is he?" Harry laughed as his friend shot round.

"Traitor!" Ron shouted as his face turned red.

"That doesn't mean much coming from you!" Harry almost spat. His wand span lightly in his hand as he spoke.

The trick worked and Ron's wand kept pointing at Harry and his eyes darted between Harry's face and wand, ignoring the other hand as it retreated into his sleeve. That was his mistake. All Ron knew was that in a swirl of cloak Harry spun around flinging his arm out. His cloaked swirled and Harry disappeared. Ron barely noticed as he felt sudden pain in his throat. He staggered back as he lost his breath and fell back onto the vacated bed and his hand flew up, dropping his wand on the floor at the same time, to feel the cold metal of a blade, no handle, imbedded into his throat. Blood poured over his hand and over his front.

He managed to pull himself together though and a loud crack of desperate apparition sounded through the house just as three Order Members flooded into the room.

A/N: Longer chapter for you all don't you agree? What do you all think about what I have made Ron into?