He rose to leave, and Hitomi followed him downstairs. The shop was still closed, and a few customers were waiting outside. She leaned in and whispered something into his ear as he opened the front door.
"One last thing, Harry. You'll have to tell me all about that girl from last week's newspapers the next time you visit."
Chapter Eighteen: Trees and Acorns – Plotting the Great StrategyDisclaimer: If you've seen it before, it belongs to J.K. Rowling. Otherwise, it's mine. Naturally, I'm making no money off this.
Harry smiled sheepishly, knowing that the game was up. At least, he could be thankful that the far less vindictive of the two females had been the one to catch him. He found some humor in the fact that he could stand down a horde of crazed dark wizards without batting an eyelash, but was abjectly terrified of the current circumstances.
"I'll be sure to do that. And I still owe your grandfather that story about the battle on the train. We can dedicate an entire day to catching up on things."
"That sounds fun. But you look so nervous, my love. Relax, it's not like I'm going to garrote you or anything."
Harry blinked, his unease slowly drifting away. He was still cautious enough to choose his words carefully.
"Right...so, about that girl...she's..."
"Next visit, Harry. I'd rather hear about it when you're not sweating bullets."
"Then I'd better be going. See you next week, Hitomi."
She just nodded and kissed him before starting back upstairs, apparently in no mood to open up the shop and do any actual work. She didn't seem at all angry about Cho. It was almost as if she had expected something like this to happen. Harry didn't know exactly how he felt about that. Then again, she could just be trying to lull him into a false sense of security. He started for the door, keeping his mind's eye on a sharp lookout, just in case she launched a kunai or something at him from behind. Naturally, nothing of the sort happened, but she did hail him from the middle of the steps as his hand was on the doorknob.
"Oh, and Harry? One last thing..."
He turned his head back to regard her. She had a hand on her hip and a mock stern expression on her face. He just allowed her to continue.
"...Detention. For being in Hogsmeade without official permission."
Harry smirked. At least he wouldn't have to try and be intentionally late to her class again.
"Understood, professor."
"You'll get all the details after class on Monday. Now get back to the castle before people start asking questions."
Harry turned and left the shop with a laugh. He didn't get too many odd looks from the assorted Hogsmeade denizens going about their business outside. His still drying hair mostly obscured his scar. A few of the town's residents were dressed in Japanese robes. The style was seemingly catching on everywhere, and he expected to see his clothing of choice scattered about much of the castle after the first scheduled Hogsmeade trip. Intent as he was on reaching the castle, he stopped upon passing by The Three Broomsticks. Looking through the front window of the local pub and eatery, he could clearly see a familiar red ponytail, accompanied by an also familiar silvery wave. He couldn't resist the urge to drop in on Bill's lunch date with Fleur. With that thought in mind, he entered the busy tavern, ostensibly to pick up a case of Butterbeer. Bill immediately noticed his presence, though Harry walked right by him and up to the bar, where the lovely Madam Rosmerta greeted him with a chiding tone.
"You're supposed to be up in the castle, Mister Potter. There's not a Hogsmeade weekend scheduled for nearly a month."
"I was headed back, but I just couldn't resist the urge to drop in and say hello."
The older woman laughed, causing her sizable breasts to jiggle. Harry briefly wondered if Rosmerta was Blaise Zabini's estranged aunt or some facsimile. They certainly had a few features in common. She placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"I hope that's not all you came for, little Harry. I must say, you've grown quite attractive these last few years. More so than your father ever was. It's quite a shame I'm not a few years younger, or else I'd have been on top of you already..."
Despite his usual control over his emotional reactions, Harry flushed at hearing this. Madam Rosmerta was the forbidden sex fantasy of every single horny pubescent wizard to grace the hallowed halls of Hogwarts in more than a quarter century, and she was coming on to him without any veneer of propriety. Damned if that dakaathi charm wasn't some potent stuff. The woman's scent literally assaulted him, a sweet and undeniably sexy mixture of perfume and Butterbeer, along with a dominant female musk. Even in her fifties, the barmaid was a sight to behold. Harry found himself stammering like a child.
"Well...if you really want to do something for me..."
The mature beauty leaned in closer, crooning into his ear. Her breath was like liquid fire pouring into him.
"Speak up, sugar. Tell me exactly what you want."
In his peripheral vision, Harry noticed Bill trying his damnedest not to laugh at him. Fleur, on the other hand, seemed somewhat annoyed. This brief distraction was enough to allow him to regain his composure. Tempted though he was to take the woman up on her rather blatant offer, it would definitely be bad if it were to reach the public's ears.
"I'd appreciate it if you'd sell me a few cases of Butterbeer. We really need to restock our supply up in the dorms, and Snape's been hovering around the kitchens at night."
Rosmerta flashed Harry an appreciative smile.
"Well, that's easy. Take a seat and have a mug or two on the house. I'll be back in a few minutes."
The barmaid turned and flounced to the back, giving Harry a full view of her rear. Father Time had been most gentle with her. Harry stalked over to Bill's table, a faint blush still suffusing his cheeks. The eldest Weasley son had already pulled out a chair for him, between himself and his girlfriend. The youngest member of the trio took in the amused look on the redhead's face with a scowl.
"Not a single word, Bill. I mean it."
And of course, the latter made his comment.
"Merlin, Harry. You're looking a wee bit flushed. Too hot for you in here?"
"Only because of your girlfriend, naturally. Fleur, let's dump this ponytailed loser and go take a dip in the lake. It'd be just like the Second Task, except with no hostages and hopefully much less clothing."
Fleur laughed airily and smiled at Harry, daintily wagging a finger.
"'Zat water is filthy, 'Arry. 'Zough I would not mind taking a swim wiz' you under o'zer circumstances."
Harry smirked, resolving to annoy Bill by flirting with the beautiful part-veela for as long as possible. She seemed to catch onto his game, and willingly participated.
"That's good to hear. I'll need to look into having a pool installed at Headquarters."
"Do 'zat, and I will teach you 'ze breaststroke, among o'zer 'zings."
"I've already been taught everything that I hope you were thinking of teaching me, but I could always use the extra practice."
Bill took the entire exchange in good humor, apparently trusting Harry not to even actually taking any liberties with his girlfriend. Rosmerta returned with a warm mug of Butterbeer for Harry, pressing herself slightly against him as she took their orders for lunch. Harry bought a full meal, despite having just eaten at Kenzo's new home. His appetite had increased dramatically since his transformation, not to mention all of the energy he had exerted with Hitomi throughout the previous night. Fleur watched the barmaid with that same irritated expression on her face. Bill restarted the conversation once the older woman was gone.
"Tell me, Harry, why exactly are you hanging around Hogsmeade this morning?"
"Just spending some quality time with my admiring public, naturally."
Bill smirked and Fleur rolled her eyes.
"Right, and I'll bet that you didn't spend any time in that new robe shop."
Harry returned the smirk in kind.
"As a matter of fact, I did. Well, not so much in the store itself, but I did get a rather nice extended tour of one of the upstairs bedrooms."
"I'll bet. You must have had quite a time to be able to turn down Madam Rosmerta like that. I don't think there are many wizards around who would decline a roll in the hay with her, regardless of her age."
"Hey, I didn't actually turn her down. Still, having a girlfriend that can sneak into your quarters and gut you without making a single sound does wonders for your resolve."
Bill laughed heartily, while his girlfriend looked confused.
"I wouldn't know, Harry. Speaking of Hitomi, how's she adjusting to outside life?"
"Well enough, though she absolutely hates British cuisine."
Fleur scoffed and flipped her hair haughtily.
"What you Eenglish call fine cuisine, we call burnt meat over in France."
That comment drew a few nasty looks from other patrons. The quarter-veela apparently had yet to part with some of her bad habits. Harry only chuckled.
"Indeed. Snails and frogs are much tastier. What brings the two of you out to these distant locales this fine autumn's morning? Surely there are nearer places to have a lunch date."
"You do, actually. Well, you and my brothers and sister. Fleur and I were planning to go up to the castle and drop in on you lot after lunch, but you apparently found us first."
"I see. Now that we're both here, maybe you can give me a few quick status updates. How's Gringotts taking to Fudge's new legislation about Death Eaters' accounts?"
Bill shrugged.
"The President is going along with it, simply because your defined policy is to hurt Voldemort above anything else. We've been seizing the majority of the assets and placing them in our own war chest, though. By the time the Ministry gets around to them, most of the funds will be gone."
Harry nodded his approval.
"I suppose that's as good as we can do with it. I'm not wild about handing Fudge more gold if it does us no benefit, but it's better than snakeface having it."
"That being the case, I seem to recall him jaunting right into the bank a few days ago brandishing a fat check with your signature on it. The goblins got a chuckle out of it. The Order was absolutely furious, though. Dumbledore isn't at all pleased with your making up with Fudge from behind his back. Slick move, is pretty much what I'm trying to say."
Harry had figured that the old man wouldn't be happy with those developments, but Dumbledore hadn't said anything to him about it. He was obviously unwilling to risk alienating the young wizard any further.
"Why thank you. Is the public biting into the latest Daily Prophet line? Are they singing my praises and cursing the old man's name?"
"Yes and no. You're the conquering hero, of course. Everybody's celebrating you after that entire train fiasco, but they also are very reluctant to condemn Dumbledore. It's to be expected, though. Almost every witch and wizard alive today has grown up under his wing at Hogwarts. He's a surrogate grandfather to the entirety of magical Britain. That kind of personal loyalty is going to be very hard to dislodge from their hearts and minds. It would take something much more drastic than a Ministry-sponsored smear campaign."
Harry filed that thought away, even though ruining Dumbledore didn't fit within his current prerogatives, at least for the moment. He still needed the old man around until Voldemort was done away with. Lunch was then served, effectively halting the conversation. Harry and Bill both feasted on sirloin steaks, while Fleur only had a salad, keeping to her long standing dislike of British food. Once the meal concluded, the three agreed to go up to the castle together. Harry would have a much easier time worming out of any potential difficulties with the faculty that way, not that he would have actually served any punishment doled out regardless. He was a titled aristocrat and a legal adult. School rules were far beneath his level of regard. Bill paid for their food and strode outside with Fleur while Harry headed back to the bar to purchase his Butterbeer.
"I'll get that Butterbeer now, if you don't mind."
Naturally, he had the barmaid's full attention.
"Of course, sweetheart. I've already got it brought up. Here you go."
"Thanks, how much do I owe you?"
The woman just smiled.
"Don't you worry about that. Tell you what, you promise to come visit me again the next time you're out of the castle, and we'll call it even."
Harry raised an eyebrow. He had more than enough money to pay for the stuff, but wasn't about to complain about the deal.
"Well, that's rather generous. I'll just have to take you up on it."
"Wonderful. You're a pretty interesting young man, you know. Not many can resist my charms, especially at your age. My niece wasn't exaggerating about you."
Harry sneered inwardly, sensing that he had called it perfectly.
"You have a niece at Hogwarts...let me guess, Blaise Zabini?"
Rosmerta giggled and thrust out her expansive chest. Harry felt that she was far too old to be carrying on like a schoolgirl.
"I take it you noticed the resemblance, sugar. Rosmerta Zabini, at your service. Not many people know about my being related to one of the old lines. I've kept it pretty secret. A whole lot of folks around magical Britain are wary of purebloods, so it would have been bad for my business to advertise it. Naturally, I'm Blaise's aunt. I've taught the girl everything she knows about taking care of a boy."
Harry found himself wishing that he had been allowed to sit in on those particular lessons.
"So, how does that have anything to do with me?"
"Let's just say that Blaise sent me an owl last week asking for advice on enrapturing a certain boy wonder. I just couldn't believe that you could stave off her advances. Since you happened to come in here today, I thought I'd try my hand and see if she was doing something improperly, or if you were really just that good."
Harry frowned slightly. Naturally, he had no real intention of pursuing any kind of arrangement with Madam Rosmerta, or with her niece, for that matter. Still, he didn't like being deceived for her amusement one single bit. After a moment's reflection, he decided simply to accept it and be relieved that his romantic situation wasn't becoming even more treacherous than it already was.
"Then all of that was just a joke. Well, I appreciate the drink and I'll keep to the deal."
Harry started for the front entrance, doing his best not to show any outward signs of annoyance. Rosmerta placed a hand on his wrist, halting his departure.
"Hold on a sec. I just said that I was curious, not that I was only playing with you. I already told you, you're a very attractive young man. If you're interested, come pay me a visit on one of my nights off and I'll give you the ride of your life, sweetheart. No strings attached, of course."
Harry smirked at that. Ron and the rest of the dorm would be fit to burst upon hearing this story.
"I wasn't aware that this place ever closed at night."
The buxom bartender tossed him a saucy wink.
"I'd close the bar for a solid month in exchange for a night with you, Harry Potter. Just send me an owl in advance so I can get everything ready."
"I might just do that. I'd better get going now. Have a nice day, Madam Rosmerta."
"Just call me Rose, sugar. I can't wait to see you again."
Harry left with a nod, not having any plans to ever take the woman up on her offer. It promised nothing to him aside from a rather common night of passion, and the potential repercussions were severe should the wrong people ever come to know of it. Bill relieved him of one of the cases of Butterbeer once they met up outside. They headed up the main path to Hogwarts, and Harry told his companions about his most recent exchange with the barmaid. Fleur was positively furious about it, a fact that somewhat unnerved Harry. Perhaps the French part-veela was just devoted and protective of him, and didn't take well to the other woman tossing herself at him. That would be fine, but the other possibility, that she was attracted to him and was jealous, would not be. Bill didn't seem particularly concerned, and the redhead knew Fleur much better than Harry did, so the latter opted simply to ignore the matter and hope nothing untoward would come of it.
After a few hours of chatting with the rest of the crew in Gryffindor Tower over a copious volume of chilled Butterbeer, it came time for Harry to head for the Room of Requirement for his arranged meeting with Cho. After tonight, one of his bigger plans would be officially put into motion. He asked Bill to accompany him, feeling that having an informed outside opinion on the matters to be discussed would be of use. Fleur followed along as well, having no desire to be left in a dormitory full of ogling males without her boyfriend, and Ron brought up the rear, unwilling to be left out. Cho was there when they arrived, and had already willed the enchanted room to be decorated to her specifications. It had a decidedly Chinese look, and Harry found it to be strikingly similar to the lounge in her family's complex in Liangshan Alley, where he had first conversed with her father. The major difference was that all of the furniture and trappings were in royal blue and bronze, the colors of Ravenclaw House. Bill was the first to comment.
"This decor is very...Ravenclaw."
Cho turned around, raising her eyebrows a bit at the fact that Harry had brought an entourage. He scanned the room for any kinds of Listening Charms, finding none. Apparently, Dumbledore was morally righteous and trusting enough not to bug the school or spy on the students. Either that or he was just too oblivious to consider that people might be plotting against him right under his overlarge nose.
"Of course. Only the best, though I should apologize for not making room for extras. I was expecting just Harry. You're obviously a Weasley, but I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you before."
"That I am. Bill Weasley, and I believe you already know Fleur from the Triwizard Tournament a few years back. Pleasure's all mine."
Cho nodded as Harry slipped over to the large sofa on which she was seated and took a seat next to her. Ron sneered upon seeing a large Tornadoes banner on a far wall of the room and manipulated the room's magic to replace it with a larger one of the Cannons. Harry shook his head at Ron's antics and draped an arm around Cho's middle while the she and Fleur caught up on things. Apparently the two had formed a loose friendship during Harry's fourth year, when Fleur was the champion for Beauxbatons. Now that he thought about it, the delegation from the French wizarding school had spent most of its time within Hogwarts in the company of the Ravenclaws. He took a moment to admire the room's transformation.
"How long did it take to get the room like this, anyway?"
"A few hours. I really had nothing better to do, seeing as a certain useless boyfriend who shall remain nameless left me to hang all day in favor of prancing around Hogsmeade by himself."
Harry just smiled and nuzzled her raven hair. Bill gave him a look that clearly stated that he was treading in very dangerous waters by having two separate girlfriends. Of course, the eldest Weasley son knew little of the actual dichotomy of the two females, and couldn't possibly understand Harry's position.
"I told you, I had some business to attend to."
"You reek of Butterbeer, Harry. I'm not an idiot."
Ron came to Harry's defense on that tidbit.
"We were just drinking up in the dorms after he got back."
Cho scowled.
"Nobody asked you, Tornado hater!"
Harry rolled his eyes, while Bill and Fleur looked amused by the bickering. The former recalled a similar argument between the two earlier in the week, back when the three students were lounging around on the grounds with the twins. The professional Quidditch hostility between Ron and Cho was going to end up with wands being drawn one of these days. The realization that the Chinese beauty was starting to usurp Hermione's traditional role as the female foil to Ron and himself came to the forefront of Harry's mind, accompanied by a powerful wave of regret. He had been trying to keep his distance from the other girl while she worked through her personal issues, but he was starting to miss her. It was at that point that he resolved to risk bringing her into the fold. Surely he and Ron could convince her of the correctness of what they were doing. But there were more pressing matters to attend to at the moment. Cho had just baited Ron into placing an extremely foolish fifty Galleon wager on the outcome of the next match between their two respective teams when Harry interrupted their pointless debate.
"As much as I'm enjoying the show, we're here to discuss something important."
Cho rounded on Harry next, her fiery Chinese temper roused.
"So it's just down to business, without so much as a hel..."
Harry sighed and pulled her into a kiss, letting her work out her aggressions in a more physical fashion, and one much more pleasurable for him. He mentally sneered at Ron's gagging in the background. A minute or so later, a rather placated and breathless Cho broke the contact, leaning her head into a smirking Harry's chest.
"There, isn't that much better?"
"Very, but let me warn you, don't start thinking that you can just do that whenever you get into trouble."
Harry didn't have a smart retort ready, but Bill took away the need for one by changing the subject.
"Now that this little quarrel is out of the way, let me suggest that we get serious here. Harry, tell me about this latest grand scheme of yours."
"It's hardly my latest, but it's one of the most important. I want to put together a small army of students within the school. Maybe fifteen or twenty at the most, and I have roughly half of them chosen already. Most of the rest is going to need to come out of Ravenclaw, which is why Cho's here right now. I've had her scouting her housemates for potential during this past week. The rest of you are here because I'd like to ask for outside opinions on how to go about training them."
Ron piped in first.
"Before we hear about the Ravenclaws, tell us who you have right now. I can't believe I'm just hearing about this now."
"I've only had it in my head for a week. Anyway, our two main pillars of support will be Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. From our house, you obviously, as well as Ginny and the twins. I assume those are all given. Hopefully Hermione, though that will remain to be seen. I think she can be talked over, but it will have to be done carefully. I'm going to try to get Katie in on this, though I might delegate the twins to securing her help. I'm not so sure about the rest. For starters, I think that Parvati and Lavender are far too immature. Seamus isn't much of a fighter, and he's turned his back on me in the past. Dean doesn't care about any of this very much, though he would probably join up for Ginny's sake. Neville is loyal, but his ability is suspect. He might be a liability when things get rough."
"I disagree about Neville, mate. He's tougher than he looks and acts. I'm with you on the rest, though. If we aren't going to bring Seamus and Dean in, we at least need to figure out a way to keep them from getting suspicious."
"We'll work that out later. Outside of Gryffindor, I'm considering approaching Susan Bones. I want at least one person from every house so we can keep track of what's happening all over the school. She's by far the best choice out of the Hufflepuffs in terms of both loyalty and skill, and the fact that her aunt is essentially the top ranking Auror in all of the British Isles is an added bonus. I'm positive that she'd fight against Voldemort and I can probably cajole her into opposing the old man. The only potential sticking point will be whether or not she'll be willing to stand against the Ministry. I don't know how friendly Amelia Bones is with Fudge and his stooges."
This was one issue that Ron knew more about than Harry.
"Not very. I've overheard mum and dad saying that Dumbledore's been trying to recruit Madam Bones into the Order for a while now. She's flat out refused him thus far, at least to the best of my knowledge. Dad says that she doesn't want her duty to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to come into conflict with whatever the old man might have her doing. But still, he wouldn't bother trying to get through to her in the first place if she were a Fudge crony."
Cho added in a thought.
"But I'd think that's liable to change now that Fudge is actually doing his job properly and funneling boatloads of Galleons into her department. Since the Ministry's finally getting onto its feet regarding this entire war, Madam Bones would be likely to support its current leader so as not to cause any internal strife."
Harry decided to close the Susan issue, wanting to move on.
"At any rate, Susan would be a useful helper to have around as far as getting rid of old snakeface's minions is concerned. That's our top priority. After that, there are ways of doing away with Fudge that don't involve direct war against the government. He's a pitiful excuse for a wizard, remember. Just having him assassinated is every bit as much a viable option as physically deposing him. For the moment, that blustering fool is a distant nuisance at most, not to mention that we still need him around to keep things together while we deal with Voldemort."
"We should get somebody from Slytherin. A small group of them saved our hides back on the train, three hot girls and a few younger ones. We could talk to the Head Boy also. He fought in the battle too, I think."
Harry nodded slowly, somewhat surprised that Ron would be advocating recruitment from the serpent's den.
"Those girls were probably Blaise and her friends. I plan on talking to them, but I'm not expecting them to deliver much dirt on happenings in Slytherin. I'd imagine that they're essentially outcasts after fighting against the Death Eaters. Still, all three of them are reasonably strong witches, and they'll probably throw their lot in with us given a promise to protect them from retaliation by their housemates."
Surprisingly, Cho said nothing. Harry more or less knew that she had heard about Blaise's activities in McGonagall's class. It had been a hot topic of discussion around the entire school for the following couple of days. Either he had managed to convince her of the strong logic behind keeping the voluptuous Slytherin around, or she was just biding her time until the girl tried to make a move on him in her presence. All she did was postulate that recruiting Adrian Pucey would be impossible, as he couldn't stand Gryffindors in general and Harry in particular. The background story told, it was then time for her to give her report.
"Now, Cho, if you don't mind, tell us what we can expect from Ravenclaw."
The pretty Seeker beamed at finally having her moment.
"Well, Luna Lovegood is the only one with much practical fighting experience. She took part in that whole mess at the Ministry last year, as you all probably know. So she's the most obvious choice. Michael Corner is pretty talented also, and he's so smitten with Ginny Weasley that he'll join up just to be around her..."
Ron's angry muttering threatened to drown Cho out. Harry found it rather laughable. Michael was a decent guy with a good sense of humor, and was probably a better match for Ginny than Dean Thomas, not that he had any intention at all of doing anything to get them back together. He did make a move to quiet his best mate, however.
"Ron, you can plot out your vengeance later. Cho, please continue."
Cho glared at Ron, having finally noticed the Cannons banner on the wall.
"...As I was saying. Terry Boot isn't a bad choice either, but he's not that great of a duelist. Too meek of a personality, really. As for the girls, Su Li is probably the most talented witch in Ravenclaw, period. I'd bet that you didn't even know she exists, so I'll give you a quick rundown on her. She lives in Liangshan Alley like me. Her family is a recent arrival from China, so I didn't know her either until she started Hogwarts. She's studied the traditional arts a lot more extensively than I have, and knows some really nasty stuff. It's a shame she didn't join the D.A. last year. I tried to get her to, but she's extremely shy and doesn't take well to crowds. I'll attempt to talk her over for you, but it might help if you made a personal effort."
This was a pleasant surprise. Harry wasn't really expecting anybody new to be uncovered. His general purpose in delegating Cho to talk over the Ravenclaws was to appease her by giving her something important to do, as well as to take advantage of her popularity to secure people with wavering opinions towards Harry. This entire idea was turning out to be a marked success, at least on paper.
"Is there anybody else worth mentioning, then?"
"Padma Patil is one. She's about the opposite of her twin sister in terms of personality, so maturity shouldn't be an issue. She might also be able to keep Parvati in line should you try to bring both of them in. If you need a few others, Lisa Turpin and Anthony Goldstein are acceptable, but not quite on the same level as the others I've mentioned."
Harry took a moment to tally up when he had to work with, assuming everybody he wanted in agreed to join up with him. Six or seven Gryffindors, including four Weasleys, Hermione, Katie and perhaps Neville, along with a lone Hufflepuff in Susan. He had three Slytherins, those being Blaise, Daphne and Tracey. From Ravenclaw, he had Cho by default, and he could count on Luna coming into the fold, Michael and hopefully this unexpected gem in Su Li, and then finally Padma and Terry. That made six there, yielding a total of sixteen or seventeen. He counted Parvati and Lavender as viable alternates, as they were both reasonably strong despite their somewhat childish attitudes, especially Parvati. It was a rather nice haul in an overall sense.
"It looks like we've got a pretty solid selection pool. Now, let's all discuss what to do with them."
Harry used the room's magic to conjure himself a large goblet of pumpkin juice as Ron opened the next round of questioning.
"I'm not sure I'm really getting what you're trying to do here, mate. I'm assuming this is supposed to be something more than just some exclusive version of the D.A."
"Much more, Ron. This isn't going to be some silly club to improve our test scores. Give me a little credit. Voldemort has his Death Eaters and Dumbledore the Order of the Phoenix, though both thankfully only contain a handful of people worth the space they occupy in a battle. Fudge has an entire legion of Aurors at his command. If we're going to be an actual power in the long run, we need an army. I have some followers now, but the people we recruit and train here are going to be molded into our elite forces. My personal guard, as it were."
Bill stroked his chin thoughtfully. Harry seemed to recall Ron using the gesture before.
"It's a good idea, I think. It'll keep you occupied with something, and you aren't going to topple anybody with just the goblins and a small unit of ninja. Tell me the sort of training regimen do you have in mind."
"First, I do hope to recruit more followers outside of the school. I just have to get into contact with the right people first. As for the training program, that's mostly what I've asked you here to help me decide. I have resolved that I'll be personally training them to use the Dark Arts, but there's quite a bit more to being efficient in battle situation than knowing a few curses."
"Indeed. I'm not really a warrior by trade or anything, so I don't know what exactly you should do. Still, I would imagine that you'd want to at least get them physically fit and put them through some basic martial arts training. They don't need to be accomplished or anything, but they will need something to fall back on should they be disarmed of their wands in a fight. That's all I can really think of. You should perhaps get in touch with Rodriguez for some other suggestions. He's a professional, after all."
Harry slapped his forehead with a conciliatory smile.
"You know, I almost forgot about him. Is he doing anything important now?"
"I'm not really sure. I think the President has him helping the ninja to pinpoint Death Eater strongholds based on the information they're gathering, but I somehow doubt he's absolutely vital there."
"I wouldn't imagine so. The Shinn Kohaku are rather self-sufficient. I'd like to bring him around here to take charge of training the force, if I can find somewhere for him to stay. Hitomi's place doesn't have any room between her and Kenzo. And since you mention it, talk to Grilthauk and have him forward me the locations of whatever of Voldemort's bases we manage to uncover. I want to keep abreast of things as much as I can."
Harry had momentarily forgotten that there were others in the room aside from himself and Bill, and had thoughtlessly spouted out a whole bunch of names that Ron and especially Cho were in the dark about. It was the latter who called him on it.
"Harry, who are all these people? And this Hitomi, is she the same person as the new Magical Stealth and Tracking teacher?"
He cringed inwardly at his mistake, but explained everything without exhibiting any outward signs of discomfort. Both of the other student members of his small discussion group knew already the general story, but were now more or less in the know about everything save for the Zharrghast issue. That was something that he refused to share with anybody, though Grilthauk and Kenzo knew some of it from his initial night in the village. Cho had a suspicious look on her face at the end of it, though it was Ron that voiced his thoughts first.
"Blimey, mate. So she was that girl from the village, then. Not bad at all..."
Harry cut Ron off before the redhead could really incriminate him. Cho had another comment about the kunoichi.
"I just knew there was something dodgy about that woman..."
Harry gave her a guarded look.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Harry, I'll tell you again. I'm not an idiot. She just miraculously shows up in Hogsmeade, supposedly from a country all the way across the world, right when Dumbledore needs somebody with her expertise. I don't know whom she thought she was fooling. I originally believed she was a Death Eater, though. By the time you told me all about your summer, I had forgotten about her. At least she's on our side. Pretty brilliant, sneaking a spy onto the school faculty."
Harry had to admit, Hitomi had concocted a rather perforated cover story. Perhaps she had done it intentionally, knowing that Dumbledore would see through it immediately but still take it for being the truth, simply because no trained professional would ever try to use such an obviously convenient alibi. Of course, the old man had also seen Harry wearing Japanese robes around Grimmauld Place all throughout the summer, and had possibly ventured upon a connection there also. At any rate, Hitomi could take care of herself. It didn't matter too much if the old coot suspected her. And Cho thought that Harry was behind her applying for her job. He opted to play along.
"Why thank you. It was one of my more insightful ideas. Now, let's get back on topic."
Fleur surprisingly offered something, speaking up for the first time since the impromptu strategy session began.
"Per'aps you might want to give 'zem some training in 'ze 'Ealing Arts. I 'ave some expertise in 'ze subject from my schooling at Beauxbatons."
That was an excellent suggestion, and one so obvious that Harry chided himself for not thinking of it beforehand. He had his charmed bottle of medicated water for his own use, but that was no good for the entire group.
"I hadn't even thought of that, to be honest. I have my own methods of treating wounds, but some basic first aid magic would be necessary on the field. If you'd be willing to teach it to the group, I'd appreciate it."
The quarter-veela nodded happily.
"Of course, 'Arry. I will give me some'zing to do, at 'ze least. 'Zose imbeciles in 'ze Order all 'zink 'zat I am all looks and no substance."
"Well, that's their mistake. Now you're with people who appreciate you and respect your talents. Now that my gears are also turning, I think I'd like to have some training in both guerrilla tactics and pitched battle strategy. Not that everybody in the unit is going to be giving orders or devising plans or the like, but it would help them to think on their feet. Of course, I have nowhere near the expertise to do it myself, and would probably benefit from the instruction also. Hopefully I can get Alberto to handle it. If not, we'll all probably get some level of Auror field training from Moody, but I'd rather our people have the advantage of extra teaching."
Bill had one final thought.
"I think that should be pretty good overall, but there's one thing you're overlooking. Dumbledore knows almost everything that goes on around this place. It's going to be very difficult to orchestrate all of this without him or other students sniffing it out. And he also has Moody prowling around the grounds now."
Harry saw the logic behind what Bill was saying. Using the Room of Requirement would be impossible. The Forbidden Forest was an option, but the likelihood of being assaulted by hostile centaur or acromantula was too great. The Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade was the best place available, but the old man probably had wards in place there as well, seeing as it was abandoned and directly connected to the school grounds. At that point, an idea popped into his head. It was difficult, but it could work.
"I see your point. We need to find a place far off the grounds, as well as a way to transport everybody there and back without anybody else knowing. The best means of transportation would be a Portkey, but I don't know how to make one. As for a location, the Evans vault would be perfect. It has a full training facility, as well as a potions lab and an entire library of spellbooks."
Ron had a possible solution.
"Why don't you just ask Fudge to have a Portkey made for you? Just feed him some dodgy excuse about how your responsibilities as the head of your family will require you to travel off the grounds. That idiot won't know any better. Besides, he knows his career's sunk if you turn against him. He'll do whatever you ask of him."
Harry sneered. His pumpkin juice long since finished, he mentally asked the room for a bottle of Firewhiskey and five glasses. Filling each to the brim, he handed them out, naturally keeping one for himself. Fleur wrinkled her nose at the hard liquor and called for a glass of wine instead, and Ron took her glass as well.
"Have one made legally, you say? Using the law to break the law. Excellent. Everybody, I think we have a workable plan. Now, let's have a toast. To the first step in creating a new world."
Six glasses clashed gently together, Ron holding one in each hand. Once the liquid had been drained, everybody went his or her separate ways. Bill and Fleur returned to his flat in London. Ron headed back to Gryffindor Tower. Harry went to the Head Girl's dormitory with Cho, finally taking the time to check out her rooms in the few hours remaining before supper. That night, Mars burned just a shade brighter in the heavens.
(End Chapter Eighteen)
Author's Note: Hey, my apologies for the late update. It seemed for a while like some higher power didn't want me posting this chapter. I had family in town for most of the last week for my youngest brother's high school graduation, and every time I tried to write, I would be dragged away for something. And then I finally did manage to get some work done, and this site went into read-only mode for several days. Annoying.
I had originally planned to get some dueling into this chapter, but it turned out not happening. The next chapter will be more or less devoted to action, as we'll be in Alastor Moody's special practical class, and you just have to know he isn't going to set them to learning about grindylows. There will be some fighting, not to reveal too much beforehand. I rather enjoyed giving Blaise some backstory, and I'm going to try and get Hermione a bit more involved in the plot here directly. I really have been ignoring her a bit, though it was by design.
And I guess that's about all there is to say. For those of you who follow my other story as well, I'll be starting work on the fourth chapter after class tomorrow. Anybody who hasn't read it, give it a try. It's not your typical Harry Potter fic, but I'm having a blast writing it. Hope you all enjoy, and please review.