The New Order

by padfootjr24

After the events of fifth year Dumbledore decides that the Order needs to make some changes. Changes that will bring them all closer to the enemy than ever before. Please r&r

24. The Brides of Hogwarts

Alright, this is by far the longest chapter of the story thus far topping out at a whopping 23,760 words so don't bother reading it until you have plenty of time on your hands. After this there will be only one more chapter until the end.

THE NEW ORDER

By

Padfootjr24

Chapter Twenty Four: The Brides of Hogwarts

Harry arrived in the entrance hall of Potter Manor in much the same position he had left. Even though he was in a relatively stable position on his knees he still had trouble staying upright as his arrival had jarred his body enough to cause a stinging pain to shoot through his chest and abdomen where Bill's cutting curse had connected. Gently pressing his hand to his side he quickly surveyed the wound and though it looked pretty nasty and fairly deep it wasn't bleeding very much and probably wouldn't leave much scaring if any at all if it was cleaned and healed right away. Breathing in deeply he let out an explosive breath as he thought about how close that curse had come to doing some serious damage. Pulling himself up to his feet he was prepared to enter the sitting room where he could hear a few people moving around, probably Snape and his team, and see about Beckle healing his wound when he suddenly realized what had happened just before he had left Voldemort. The instance was so brief that he figured he could have imagined it but he highly doubted it. Just as his portkey was activating he could have sworn someone or something had grabbed him from behind.

Bill, with Blaise's assistance, had made some excellent modifications to the wards surrounding the house, including the Fedelius Charm. It was these modifications that allowed them to portkey captured Death Eaters directly into the house without giving them its direct location instead of over burdening Harry or Twinkle since now that they both held the position of secret keeper they were the only ones that could bring an 'outsider' through the wards safely. However if someone were to use one of their portkeys and were not keyed into the wards or have Harry's expressed permission to be there, as Marietta had when he first sent her there during the battle in Diagon Alley, that person would be transported directly into the holding cells as the Death Eaters were. And thanks to a little imagination, from Dung of all people, the wards shielding the cells would strip the person of their wand and all other forms of weapons and store them in a locked closet until someone had the time to go through it.

With this information in mind Harry decided to hold off speaking with the others for a short time and find out who had the brass to hitch a ride with him. for some reason he seriously doubted that it was a Death Eater because if Voldemort was going to have one of his followers conceal themselves in the event that events did not go to plan he was pretty sure that the Dark Lord would have used either Lestrange or Malfoy, possibly even Dolohov because of their skill. Besides if this person had been hiding on Voldemort's order he or she would have probably started throwing curses at him not latch on to him to be transported someplace that they were sure to be severely out numbered and over matched.

Moving swiftly down the stairs into the cellar he nearly slammed through the think oak door to the right of the potions lab that led into a long narrow corridor that was lined with numerous magically reinforced steel doors. The area had previously been left completely bare, what his parents had intended for the space when they had the house built he didn't know and really didn't care but after a great deal of effort towards digging out more space and erecting the walls to the cells themselves it served quite well for a temporary prison while they questioned their prisoners before 'anonymously' handing them over to the Ministry, or more specifically Madam Bones or Jeffery Stevens since they could be trusted to actually keep the Death Eaters locked up. In total they had eleven cells but if need be they could stuff a few Death Eaters in other secure locations throughout the house but currently only three cells were occupied.

Moving down the line he scanned each door with his magical eye until he came across a man he had never seen before. Any thoughts he may have still had regarding the possibility of the man being a Death Eater was quickly cast way. In fact the man looked to be the complete opposite. The cell was bare except for a stone bench along the back wall and their new prisoner was currently stretched out across it while his head rested lazily, propped up on the wall as he read a book instead of the ramrod straight and stiff posture he had come to expect from muggle aristocracy and pureblood fanatics alike. Though he couldn't hear him Harry could easily tell that the man was currently whistling an energetic tone that he quite obviously found pleasing as if he didn't have a care in the world and being locked in a prison cell in an unknown location was an everyday experience for him.

He appeared to be in his early thirties, he had light brown hair and kind yet mischievous ice blue eyes. His eyes also seemed to hold an age and wisdom that far exceeds even Albus'. Temporarily turning his attention elsewhere, Harry walked further down the hall until he came to a stout wooden door and with a few waves of his wand and a lengthy incantation the numerous locks and enchantments were released and the door gently swung open. Stepping into the small closet he gazed across the various shelves until he came across the box that corresponded with the cell that the man was in.

"What the…" He began in surprise as he looked in and saw not one, or even two or three but four wands had been deposited into the bin. Harry was all for carrying a back up wand but this was ridiculous. Besides the wands the only other contents were two small vials of a thin semi-transparent red liquid and what appeared to be a portkey that, of course, was rendered useless when it passed through the wards of the Fedelius Charm. Picking one up he was briefly startled to feel a rather moderate magical signature, a signature that was distinctly familiar but he could seem to recall where he had encountered it before since he couldn't remember coming across any potion of this kind before. Shaking his head briefly to clear his thoughts he placed the vial back into the bin and locked the door once more before moving back to the cell door.

"Twinkle!" The house elf answered his call almost before he had finished and looked at his wounded chest with wide eyes.

"Could you bring Snape down here please? I'll get this fixed up in a few minutes but I have to take care of something else first." He finished as he could see she was going to make a fuss about his injury. Twinkle didn't look happy about putting it off even for a few minutes but nodded and did as she was asked. After drawing his basilisk fang wand he placed his left hand flat against the door and waited as the wards read his magical signature. Much like the closet door all the locks and wards disengaged and Harry was soon granted access. Harry stood in the doorway with his wand at the ready just incase the man tried to take him by surprise but much to Harry's confusion he didn't even show that he knew he was there, he just kept on reading.

"Who are…?"

"Shhh, I'm almost finished." The man cut him off as he turned another page of his book. Harry just stared at him with a dumbfounded expression. Of all the Death Eaters they had captured he had never seen one act as unconcerned as this man. Hell not even Stevens acted calm and collected when they kidnapped him and he was as reserved a man as Harry had ever met. This guy just didn't seem to care about his current situation at all and a light Legillimency probe confirmed that though Harry was prevented from going any farther, both because of his lack of experience in the field and the man's considerable mental defenses. A few moments later he appeared to be finished with his current chapter as he placed a bookmark and closed his book before sitting up and looking at Harry with soft eyes.

"You must be Harry Potter. I must admit that you look nothing like I would have expected." He said with amusement as he took in the younger man's features.

"And who are you and what business do you have with me?" Harry asked with suspicion. Though the man didn't seem the type to be a Death Eater there were more people out there than just Voldemort and his followers that would wish him harm for any number of reasons. Considering that he clearly knew where he was going to be and when certainly put his suspicions on high alert and the fact that the man managed to make it into his house, even though it was a holding cell, didn't sit well with him either.

"Well if you're going to take that kind of an attitude then I am just going to stay right here." The man said as he sniffed with irritation at Harry's 'rude' behavior. This seemed only to bring Harry's confusion to an all time high.

"What?" He asked stupidly, bringing a wide smile to the man's face.

"Well, if you insist." He said as he stood up and began walking towards the door. Harry's bewildered thoughts were racing and he didn't seem to see the man until he was almost on top of him. But before he could raise his wand to defend himself movement behind him caused him to spin around out of reflex and his confusion grew when he was met with the shocked wide eyed face of Severus Snape.

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!" Snape shouted loudly causing Harry to jump. This statement only seemed to brighten the man's mood even more.

"Sorry to disappoint Sevvy!" He exclaimed happily as he pulled the surly potions master into a tight embrace though Snape clearly didn't share the other man's enthusiasm. Harry looked on with wide eyes and a slack jaw for a moment before he was finally able to pull himself together.

"What the hell is going on here?" He asked loudly though he somehow managed to keep himself from shouting. The unknown man looked at Harry in surprised for a moment as though he had forgotten that he was there. Snape however just continued to glare at the other man.

"Oh, excuse me Mr. Potter but it appears that the excitement of a friendship renewed had temporarily robbed me of my manners." He explained as he grinned cheekily at the scowling Snape and wiped a fake tear from his eye before turning back to him and extending his hand. "Nicholas Flamel, at you service." Blinking stupidly for what felt like the hundredth time within the space of two minutes, Harry just stared as his mind seemed to have shut down. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he looked sharply over to Snape and it was clear by the expression on the man's face that he believed it as well as the fact that his irritation and dislike for the man was a cleverly disguised fabrication. If this was indeed true than the man was nothing like he had expected. For one he didn't look nearly old enough and that glint in his eyes was a look he had come to expect from the Weasley twins not a six hundred plus year old alchemist. In truth he was expecting someone more like Albus.

"But, but Albus said you were dead." Harry half asked half stated as he tried to piece together what was going on.

"Really, now why would he think that I wonder?" Flamel asked himself with an innocent expression after he paused for a moment with one finger on his chin as though he were in deep thought.

"Probably because he destroyed the Sorcerer's Stone, effectively cutting off your supply of the Elixir of Life." Snape snapped back after he was able to get his emotions under control enough to effectively join the conversation. Flamel looked at him with a patronizing raise of the eyebrow.

"It is a foregone conclusion that after the stone was destroyed I would eventually die soon after my elixir ran out. As I am the only one in history with the skill and knowledge to create the stone Voldemort would be forced to seek some measure of immortality somewhere else. But, what, pray tell, would prevent me from creating another one after the Dark Lord believed I was dead and the secret of the stone with me?" He asked with a smug grin. Snape and Harry looked at each other in surprise for a moment before they both schooled their features into neutral expressions.

"And how did you know where I would be, much less the fact that you did nothing while I was nearly killed not more than ten minutes ago?"

"Simple really. Originally I had planned to expose myself to Albus but then changed my mind. I traveled to Hogwarts to speak with him but was temporarily distracted from my target." Snape snorted at this admission and Harry got the distinct impression that distracting the man was relatively easy to do unless something of greater importance was going on. Apparently speaking to the Headmaster was something he was willing to postpone for a time. His nosiness, err, curiosity, apparently knew no bounds.

"Imagine my surprise when I came across another person in those halls that obviously didn't wish to be seen and I must admit that even I was hard pressed to keep on her trail. She seemed to be quite adept at remaining covert."

"Apparently they are not that skilled if they couldn't detect someone following them." Harry spoke up sarcastically though he was greatly curious as to who had managed to bypass the school's wards.

"Potter, Flamel is quite skilled in the arts of stealth and surveillance. Albus himself couldn't detect him if he didn't wish to be seen." Flamel went on to explain witnessing this woman confronting McGonagall with information about a planned attack. Thinking it over for sometime he decided to see Albus and offer his support but when he arrived the Headmaster was not in his office. After extensively searching the castle and the grounds he came up empty until he happened across a secluded spot on the far side of the lake.

"Imagine my surprise when I find Albus and two others engaged in battle with a single individual not to mention the fact that they were obviously choreographing their moves. The only explanation I could come up with, and correct me if I'm wrong, is that these reported attacks were really nothing more than a ruse. A theory that has now been proven." He finished his explanation happily.

"And how has that far fetched theory been proven?" Harry asked with uncertainty, the last thing they needed was more people in the loop so to speak.

"Well the fact that at this very moment Severus is wearing battlerobes identical to the ones your so called attacker was wearing is one give away." Harry looked annoyed at the man's raised eyebrow before he looked at the man standing next to him and saw that he was indeed still wearing his robes. Groaning to himself Harry once again asked how he had found the location of his 'ambush' but was answered only with a small smile and a simple, 'It's what I do.' After a few more minutes of talking and a quick dose of Veritaserum, at Harry's instance, both Harry and Snape accepted the man's story but as of yet they didn't know why he was there.

"All will be revealed soon. I am here primarily because I am curious about your reaction to certain news but I have decided that I would let Albus explain it. It does so warm his heart to impart his knowledge to young people." He said with mirth but Harry had a very bad feeling that he would hate whatever news he was referring to and he began feeling his anger rising again at the thought of more information that had been withheld from him. As if sensing what Harry was thinking Flamel, or rather Nick as he insisted Harry call him, assured him that Albus had only recently come into this information and had more than likely wanted to wait until their plan was well underway so that he wouldn't have it weighing on him at some crucial moment.

"Well what about you? You said Albus only discovered this information recently but how long have you known about it?" Harry asked suspiciously after asking again and again to be told now only to be met with refusal.

"I have known for many years now but I only recently put the pieces together and realized what it meant, that is why I am here now." Harry growled to himself in irritation before deciding to just put it out of his mind for the time being. Though he gave the man his wands back Harry was still wary of him but when he passed him the two vials that he had also been relieved of Harry suddenly remembered where he had felt that magical signature before. It was almost identical to the one he had felt when he handled the Sorcerer's Stone five years before though it was quite a bit weaker. Realization suddenly hit him and he looked at the potion with barely concealed awe figuring that it must be the Elixir of Life. Shaking the feeling off he passed it back to Nick and Snape led the way back up the stairs to the entrance hall. As they passed through the door they heard a gasp and looked towards the sitting room the see Blaise standing there with wide shocked eyes and for a brief unsettling moment Harry could see the resemblance to Snape. Unlike Harry or even Snape however she was able to overcome her shock quite quickly and let out a delighted squeel, a sound that seemed somehow out of place for her.

"UNCLE NICK!" She yelled as she crossed the hall at an incredible rate and threw her arms around the man. An action he was happy to return. The sudden commotion drew the attention of the others and they soon began filing out of the sitting room but quickly raised their hoods at seeing an unknown face. Harry looked over at the group and scanned each quite thoroughly and was quite pleased that they all seemed to be alright, although Tonks looked to be a little out of it. He was at her side in an instant but at her constant reassurances that she was just fine Harry turned to Dung for an explanation and although Tonks was glaring daggers at the man he decided that it would be best for HIS overall health if he told the truth.

"She got distracted for a brief moment and was hit by the Ulizapher curse that Mad Eye had sent at her." The old thief explained as he tried to ignore the look on Tonks face. "Unfortunately she will just have to wait for the curse to run its course but we've already given her a claming potion and even a couple of cheering charms. She should be fine within the next half hour." Harry cringed at the name of the curse and looked at Tonks in worry. The curse was relatively easy to cast but impossible to simply remove with a wave of the wand. What it did was replicate the feelings a Dementor would force on a person's mind. This was a very effective curse to use in a duel since when a person's pain and fear is all they can think about it usually makes them very sloppy. They begin to get careless and make mistakes. While it is not exactly illegal it is certainly looked down upon by the Ministry and the wider scholastic community but when you are in a fight you use everything in your arsenal to make sure you come out alive.

"What happened to distract her?" Harry asked curiously. From what he had heard from Albus, Moody and Remus, Tonks had preformed admirably in their practices and she wasn't normally one to let outside influences get to her when she had a job to do.

"That is another story all together." Dung replied with a grimace. After a quick round of introductions and a great deal of explanations and assurances the others decided to just accepted their word that he was indeed Nicholas Flamel and he didn't mean them any harm. When Harry informed the man that he was not to know the identity of the men with their hoods raised he was met with a rather amused and knowing look and he got the distinct and uncomfortable impression that he had somehow already learned their true identities.

"You're hurt!" Susan suddenly shouted, startling everyone present, and in an instant she was at Harry's side prodding his wound with her wand as she shouted for Beckle who appeared immediately. Harry tried to fend the two of them off but it was all in vain. They were both very insistent. With everyone's attention now drawn to his injury Bill paled slightly and began apologizing profusely for what had happened or rather what could have happened. Harry just waved these off assuring the older man that it was his own slow reaction that was at fault.

"Ouch! Enough with the poking." Harry complained when Susan stuck her wand directly into the wound for what felt like the hundredth time and it certainly wasn't feeling any better each time she did it. The young Hufflepuff silenced him immediately with a glare he found eerily reminiscent of Madam Pomfrey. With a few waves of her wand Susan closed the wound as best she could before Beckle smeared a thick, clear potion down the length of the cut. Looking down at his side Harry was momentarily surprised at how bad it looked but figured it must have been the slight orange tint of the potion that made the red of the cut look so dark and swollen.

"Now don't you be doing nothing to irritate until it is well healed." Beckle told him firmly with a sever look on her face. Harry just nodded quickly and fled, err, advanced in another direction. In this case, the direction of the sitting room.

Soon they were all back in the sitting room and Harry and a few others were looking at Dung for an explanation for what had happened to Tonks and by implication, their 'mission'. Without a word Dung walked to the far wall where they had a pensieve resting. They had gotten into the habit of just leaving it out for when they needed it the next time after Harry had shown them his memory of his first meeting with Voldemort as 'Acerbus Grim'. They would show a particular memory that they thought would be helpful to the others then immediately place it back into their heads. It's also good for entertainment when you've had a few too many drinks.

After placing the silver thread of his memory into the stone basin and brought it over to a small table near the center of the room. All those present that had not been there gathered around it and placed a finger into the bowl. At first Nicholas appeared to decline but his curiosity quickly discarded the idea that it wasn't really any of his business and he quickly joined them.

MMM

AN: Just so everyone knows, for the most part this memory is going to be written out as if it were an actual fight, not just staged. So the emotions and thoughts of the various characters are going to be what they 'show' not necessarily what they actually feel. Have no idea why I wrote this but I thought I should say it.

MMM

After the unpleasant spinning of their heads had subsided everyone looked around to find themselves standing just outside the schools wards along the northern edge of the Forbidden Forest, not far from the lake. Directly in front of them they could see two figures who were obviously Dung and Tonks crouched down in the brush as they scanned the area with sharp eyes. They didn't utter a word or even twitch a muscle for several minutes until some light footsteps from behind reached their ears. Turning their head slightly one of the two glanced over their shoulder. Almost as one the whole group spun around to see a single man in green battlerobes leading a small group of decidedly nervous Death Eaters behind him.

"Return to your position!" Dung spoke up in a harsh voice without looking back. The man behind him inclined his head slightly before he literally disappeared back into the trees. The ease at which he vanished certainly didn't set the Death Eaters' minds at ease but everyone watching found their anxiety amusing. "For the time you are here, if I give you an order, you will follow it immediately and without question. If you interfere in any way, I will take great pleasure in seeing you dead." Although they were wearing masks you could still tell that the Death Eaters were greatly surprised and angered to be spoken to and threatened in such a way and more than one had to be physically restrained by their companions to prevent them from doing something that they would surely regret. Death Eaters were not known for their self restraint, probably a byproduct of having a master that couldn't control his emotions.

"You dare show such lack of respect for you betters?" One man snarled in anger as he and a few others drew their wands. Both Dung and Tonks rolled their eyes at such a stereotypical Death Eater response.

"I show respect only to those that have earned mine and I can tell you now, none of you have the intelligence or the skill to accomplish that feat. Your own Lord is wary of crossing wands with my colleagues and I and especially my master, it would be wise for you to follow his example." Even the hotheads of the group were forced to think back to the way Lord Voldemort behaved towards these men in Knockturn Alley and the, if not reluctance than, restraint he had showed when dealing with them. Not to mention the fact that they had at least one and possibly more hidden in the trees all around them. Casting wary glances at their surroundings, looking for any sign of movement, those that had drawn their wands slowly put them away.

"Here," Dung began again as he passed a silver medallion to Tonks. "This will allow you to pass through the wards undetected. You have about two minutes to get into position, go." He ordered as Tonks wordlessly took the medallion and placed it around here neck before rising to her feet but Dung stopped her once again with a few chilling words. "And I don't think I need to remind you of the punishment for failure?" After looking at her companion for a brief moment Tonks nodded sharply before crossing the wards and making her way down to the lakes edge.

"What's the punishment for failure?" A voice that Dung recognized as Walden McNair asked after a long pause.

"A death longer and more painful than even your master could possibly imagine."

"So, she either kills Dumbledore or she will be tortured to death?" Another asked in a shocked voice. The sound of the woman's voice as well as the body language of the others clearly showed that they all believed that it was a foregone conclusion that she would be killed. Let's face it, this was Dumbledore she has to face.

"The only true failure is when you give up and stop trying. It is possible that even if Dumbledore defeats her that my master will still take her into his service but that all depends on how she performs." Dung replied in an offhand manner that shocked those with him.

"You, you mean this is some initiation rite?"

"Of course, if she can't give that old man a good fight then she is certainly of no use to us. Quite a bit more strenuous than torturing a few muggle children isn't it?" He chuckled darkly at the very idea that that was a proper initiation for a group of warriors.

"Oh, that was good." Harry told dung happily. The others just muttered their agreement as they watched the events unfold. Anything that made the Death Eaters feel inferior always made them feel good.

"You liked that? I had been trying for days to come up with some things to say to them but in the end I just decided to wing it." Any other chatter was immediately cut off when the recognizable figure of Albus Dumbledore came into view as he crested a small hill not far away, moving directly towards them.

At seeing the Headmaster all the Death Eaters quickly took cover, whether it was behind a tree or flattening themselves on the ground along some low bushes. Dung looked behind him for a moment at the sound of sudden movement and laughed quietly to himself at their idiotic and fearful behavior.

Dumbledore continued along his path in blissful ignorance of the danger that lay ahead of him. As he moved closer to the water's edge he suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure that's robes had aided it in being obscured by the thick vegetation in the area. That was the primary reason for choosing this location. It was a sheltered area that was nearly impossible to see from the school.

"Oh, good morning." Albus said cheerfully although his eyes were watching this person intently. Tonks merely turned slightly to face Albus but showed neither aggression nor friendly intentions.

Both Harry and Snape rolled their eyes at the ever present politeness of the Headmaster. No doubt Voldemort could come into his office after slaughtering half the student population and he would still offer him tea and a lemon drop, just to get the niceties out of the way, before they both tried to kill each other.

"Normally the wards protecting this school will warn me if anyone enters its grounds, strange that I did not sense you."

"We have our ways." Tonks spoke up for the first time.

"We? Would you be referring to those that helped you defeat the Death Eaters in Diagon Alley. I imagine robes like that are hard to come by in such large numbers. I would ask you your intentions but the fact that you are here and are not surprised by my presence tells me much of what I need to know, but why here?" He continued in that annoying grandfatherly tone he is so fond of.

"Why not here?" Albus looked momentarily surprised at the response but quickly covered it up.

"Well as peaceful as it is out here, wouldn't my office be a more comfortable place to speak…" Whatever Albus was going to say he was cut off quickly as Tonks drew her wand swiftly and fired a rather painful bone shattering curse at him. If he was caught off guard by the sudden move he certain recovered quickly enough.

"Thank God. That was one boring conversation, as short as it was." Harry muttered to himself and was rewarded with a smack on the arm from Tonks. "What? All I'm saying is that neither you or Albus are going to win any awards for your improvisational skills." Tonks glared at him for a moment then laughed briefly before trying to shake her head clear of the images and the feelings of despair. Seeing her struggle Harry pulled her tightly to his chest as he watched the duel while thinking that he would have to have a very strong conversation with Moody about hitting her with that particular curse.

Albus' wand seemed to appear in his hand out of nowhere and he had a shield raised and another spell on his lips before Tonks curse was halfway to him. Not bothering to waste her magical energy on a shield Tonks just nimbly sidestepped the three stunning spells that were fired at her rapidly before continuing her attack on 'the most powerful wizard in the world'. Throughout the fight Tonks would be synchronizing physical and magical techniques of blocking her opponent's spells. She certainly couldn't match Albus' power, or even Moody's, but she could appear to if she conserved enough magical and physical energy to last a while. And that meant casting shield charms only for curses she couldn't dodge but also finding a way to dodge those curses that would suck to much energy out of her if she were to cast a shield.

As the duel progressed Albus' face was as expressionless and bleak as a block of granite but his movements shadowed those of a man a fraction of his age. His spell casting was quick and precise while his accuracy was spot on, if only his target wouldn't keep jumping around with no discernable pattern. Fortunately for him Tonks wasn't having much luck getting through his defenses either. Apparently becoming annoyed with his elusive target Albus decided to go another route and much like he did at the Department of Mysteries just months before he called up animated creatures to help distract his opponent. But unlike his duel with Voldemort he had no statues to work with but that didn't seem to bother him in the least.

It started as only a slight tremble in the earth but soon enough the ground was lurching beneath their feet nearly causing the two fighters to lose their footing. In no time at all four large creatures burst forth from the earth and almost immediately made to intercept Tonks. Two of them sported the size and characteristics of griffins while the other two were slightly smaller but no less dangerous in the form of hippogriffs. The Death Eaters were watching with wide eyes at the display of power but their shock was about to reach new heights.

Tonks' movements showed no sign that she was intimidated by the feat, on the contrary, she almost seemed to expect such a move. Much to the shock of those watching and even Dumbledore, she banished these 'constructs' with a simple flick of her wand. Fortunately when Voldemort witnesses these events either in a pensieve or using Legillimency on one of the Death Eaters present, he will not be able to feel the magic being used so he will not be able to tell that it was actually Albus himself that had canceled the spell.

Dumbledore, slack jawed and wide eyed, looked at the four mounds of motionless dirt for a brief moment, a brief moment that Tonks took full advantage of. Albus was brought back to reality when two strong bludgeoning charms got passed his defenses and collided with his right hip and his left shoulder, knocking him back several paces and putting his body into a slight spin until he crashed to the ground nearly face first. Despite his age, not to mention how much such a landing must have hurt, he was able to swiftly roll over on to his back before nearly jumping back to his feet. Much to Albus' dismay he was immediately put back on the defensive.

"Commander!" Every Death Eater, even most of those merely watching the memory gave a start and spun around to see where the new voice had come from. Moving silently through the brush was another green robed figure that simply ignored the Death Eaters watching him warily as he quickly approached Dung.

"What is it?" Dung asked without looking away from the duel that had suddenly turned against the Hogwarts Headmaster.

"There are two men moving through the forest towards this area of the lake. When they clear the trees they will be no more than fifty yards from our master's recruit."

"Who are they?" Dung asked in an uninterested tone as though it were of no concern.

"The Auror Moody and Remus Lupin."

"Ah, the paranoid lunatic and the werewolf. This could prove to be an interesting morning." He replied happily much to everyone's confusion.

"So you wish us not to interfere with them? They would surely complicate matters."

"Of that I have no doubt, but let's see how she handles it." Voldemort's followers were looking at Dung as if he were insane and rightfully so. It was one thing, however great, to expect this woman to defeat Dumbledore but to add two more powerful wizards was absolutely crazy not to mention suicide. The Raiders however were greatly looking forward to the emanate arrival of the two Order members.

Tonks kept up her rate of fire as she moved about so as not to give the man a stationary target. Since his 'constructs' were destroyed Albus was kept off balance and though he was able to shield against most of her curses the impact against his shields had the added effect of knocking him back and prevented him from getting sure footing to launch a counter attack. When Tonks fired a simple explosion hex Dumbledore face betrayed his hopes of possibly gaining the upper hand as the curse was easily deflected with the right shield but to his surprise the curse was not aimed at him but rather at the ground just in front of him. Hastily casting a charm to shield against physical objects probably saved his life but the mass of dirt and rocks that was blasted into him certainly didn't do him any favors as he was once again thrown bodily through the air.

The Death Eaters simply couldn't believe what they were seeing. This was Albus bloody Dumbledore and here he was literally being man handled by a woman. Since he had first taken the name of Voldemort their master had faced Dumbledore twice, the last time just a few months ago, and both times he was driven back, never gaining the advantage. This realization got them thinking about how many more of these mysterious green cloaked warriors could possibly be a match for even their Lord.

Tonks advanced on her opponent as he climbed back to his feet, though quite a bit slower than last time and a good bit dirtier. Just as she was about to finish the old man off a slight glance behind her caught her attention and she spun around and raised a shield just in time to block a stunning spell and a bone breaking curse that was conveniently enough aimed at her spine. Even against his enemies, Albus always tried to avoid underhanded tactics but if the first several minutes of the duel was anything to go by than he was out classed. So naturally he decided that now was as good a time as any to take the low road. Yes, Albus Dumbledore, Supreme Mugwump, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamont, member of the International Confederation of Wizards and Order of Merlin First Class attempted to shoot his opponent in the back when her attention was drawn towards the newly arrived Mad Eye and Remus. 'Attempted' being the operative word of course.

Quick as lightening Tonks jumped back in time to avoid the spell, drawing her backup wand in the process she took several steps backwards towards the lake until Dumbledore and both Remus and Moody, who were currently charging down the shore line to their location, were in her line of site. Surprisingly enough it was the same stunning spell Harry had used on Kingsley Shacklebolt. So much for Hermione's belief that the Headmaster would never lower himself to using the Dark Arts. Dumbledore groaned to himself when his curse missed but decided to try to play this diplomatically since this stranger was now in way over her head and maybe they could gleam some good information out of her. Not to mention the fact that he was tired.

Remus and Moody reached them in no time at all, Moody could move pretty fast for a gimp, and were watching Tonks for any sign of action. The four stood unmoving for several minutes with their wands trained on their target, or targets, just waiting for the right moment to strike. The small and not so friendly group stood in a crude triangular pattern with Albus on Tonks right side with Remus at her left though Moody was slowly drifting over to stand in front of her to cut off any possible escape through the forest. Albus naturally thought that this was an opportune moment to give their unknown enemy a second option since both his companions appeared to be too confused to mediate any sort of negotiation.

"You are most skilled, I will give you that, but you could not hope to defeat all three of us. It would be wise for you to surrender." Albus said sagely as he regarded his attacker over the rims of his half moon spectacles. He didn't expect her to give up right then but after a few minutes of talking he was sure that he could have talked her through it. He was not, however, expecting to be answered with a genuine amused laugh.

"Wise from your point of view, perhaps, but not from mine." With no further warning she immediately cast a shield charm around herself as she focused all of her offensive spells on Remus as she moved quickly to her left. She closed the distance between her and the werewolf in no time at all and due to the concentration needed to block her spells the foot that was about to come into contact with the side of his head went unnoticed until the last moment. The force of the impact knocked him back several feet and he staggered to get his barings once again but his werewolf strength and stamina helped him stay on his feet at least. Unfortunately for Remus Tonks wasn't finished yet and the close quarters the two were in neither Moody nor Albus could risk casting spells to help.

Remus shook off the whirling sensation his head was experiencing only to witness a boot assault his chest. This time he was not able to keep his footing and he crashed to the ground as he sucked air into his lungs in deep painful gasps. Tonks was thrown forward as two or even three curses hit her in the back causing her to stumble on the slick rocks that littered the shore. Luckily her robes took the vast majority of the blow but she will certainly be feeling that in the morning.

Turning once more to face the two men that were cautiously moving towards her, a move they probably began to assist Remus when she attacked him at close range. Deciding to use the same tactic once more she felt Dumbledore would be the best choice since he was by no means rested as Moody was. Both men's eyes widened slightly at the move but quickly recovered and were soon throwing just about every spell they knew. Once again Tonks was using the wand in her left hand to conjure shield after shield while every spell coming from the wand in her right hand was offensive in nature and packed one hell of a punch. However unlike rushing Remus this time she didn't come through unscathed. She was smart enough to know that she couldn't block everything so she allowed the lighter and less destructive curses to pass her shields and allowed her robes to take care of her. While Basilisk skin is very strong it can't stand up to everything so it was damaged in some areas and gave her some minor wounds. Fortunately they were all well aware of how to repair these robes, it would be a damn shame if they had to merely throw them away should they be damaged.

Once again Moody was forced to quit firing when Albus continued his struggle at point blank range. Having no intention of allowing the same thing that happened to Remus happen to Albus, Moody stomped over to the two, intent on ending this struggle now. Just before he reached the pair Tonks dropped to the ground and swept the Headmaster's legs out from under him. He landed on his back rather hard and the dazed look in his eyes indicated that he hit his head pretty hard and may have a concussion. Once again ready to finish the old man off and once again she was interrupted by Moody. She jumped out of the way of several rather nasty hexes just in time and she glared at the old Auror before putting one of her wands away. She wanted to enjoy this and to do that it had to be as fair a fight as possible. Moody had just cast his first spell when a loud screeching sound echoed over the school grounds and the wards nearby flared up with crimson light. Tonks gave a start at the sudden noise and turned slightly to see what had happened, a mistake that cost her a great deal when she was hit with Moody's spell.

MMM

Voldemort's servants looked on in glee as the Headmaster fell and showed little sign of getting up. They were ready to cheer loudly until Moody prevented Tonks from delivering the killing blow. Groaning in disappointment they once again focused on the confrontation in front of them in awe at the skill and power Tonks was displaying. All except for one that is.

Walden McNair was looking at the fallen wizard with a predatory gleam in his eyes. Their master had told them not to interfere but he was sure that if HE had killed the old man he would surely be forgiven for his transgression. After all, Remus Lupin was once again making his way to his feet and then this woman, whoever she was, would once again have her hands full and finishing off the Headmaster would eliminate a very dangerous opponent giving her leave to concentrate on the two weaker wizards.

Either forgetting the threat Dung had issued in regards to interference or, more likely, disregarding it in the belief that these men wouldn't dare attack a follower of Lord Voldemort, McNair drew his wand and began to quickly walk out of the cover of the trees.

"McNair, what are you doing?" Someone snapped loudly, bringing Dung's attention to the man.

"Making sure the old man troubles our master no more." Was all he said as he strode forward. Dung did nothing to stop him which gave credence to his belief that he had nothing to fear from these men but he was suddenly brought up short when he crossed the school's protective wards. Instantly a very loud and extremely annoying high pitched screech began to sound and the previously invisible wards became visible, alerting anyone with functioning eyes and ears to their exact location, an improvement in the school's defenses that Dumbledore and Flitwick had been working on for a few years but were only recently able to implement.

McNair turned suddenly and looked at his compatriots with wide shocked eyes. Dung rose to a standing position slowly and never took his eyes off the Death Eater that was now looking at him fearfully.

"Kill him!" Dung ordered in an emotionless tone as he turned away from the man. Instantly the unmistakable green light of the killing curse appeared out of nowhere and slammed into McNair's chest. The man's eyes went dull as he crumpled to the ground in a motionless heap. Unseen by the men and women behind him, Dung closed his eyes tight as he tried to get his emotions under control. Despite their warnings they knew that it was possible that one or more of the Death Eaters would try to interfere but they could not appear weak and they absolutely had to make good on any threats or promises. The fact that the man was a Death Eater certainly wouldn't make them feel any better about executing a man.

Everyone drew their wands almost at lightening speed and were turning this way and that looking for any sign of the attacker while a few kept theirs trained on Dung.

"I hope the rest of you now understand the importance of following orders." The Death Eaters certainly didn't like the man's tone but with at least one man, and more than likely more, hidden in the trees that wouldn't hesitate to kill kept them from acting foolishly.

Thankfully Moody was just as surprised by the sudden activation of the wards as Tonks was, giving her time to try to fight off the effects of his curse enough so that she could continue, though she doubted that she could continue much longer. However when Remus reentered the fight she was having a hard time keeping up mentally but physically she was making very few mistakes. A blessing in disguise arrived when most of the Order members in the castle came charging out to investigate the disturbance in the wards. Those on foot would take some time to reach them but it appeared that at least half a dozen were mounted on brooms and they would arrive much, much sooner.

Once again Tonks was using both wands to fend off and attack the two men as she cast a sharp eye to where Dumbledore was making his way to his feet, wand in hand. She tried to get Moody out of the way but her exhaustion, both physical and magical, prevented her from finding an opening. Soon she had more than just Moody, Remus and the newly recovered Dumbledore to guard against as several curses hit her shield. Looking out towards the lake she cursed loudly as the six mounted Order members were baring down on her. In a last ditch effort she took several steps back before casting several explosion hexes at the ground between herself and her opponents. The dirt and dust kicked up clouded everyone's view for several long moments until the air was swept clean with a weary wave of Dumbledore's wand. Everyone looked around franticly but could find no trace of their attacker.

When Tonks began firing her hexes Dung sharply told the Death Eaters to make their way back to the clearing their portkey had brought them to and activate it once again. Afraid of meeting the same fate as McNair, they did so without question. Dung remained for a few moments after their departure until Tonks came stumbling into the forest, coughing and wheezing from all the dust. Clearly she had not been thinking straight since she could have simply activated her portkey to escape so Dung got a firm hold on her before activating his own.

MMM

After viewing this memory they also viewed one from Snape and Steven, showing their different points of view of the attack against the Unspeakable's safe house and also Harry's and Bill's. After everyone shook off their surprise at how well Tonks had preformed given the extreme circumstances the biggest reaction was to Bill's parting comments to Voldemort that elicited loud laughs and cheers, though he did admit that he was ready to throw up at the site of his open chest.

Looking around the room he saw satisfied looks on all those present although John was looking a little pale. Harry came to the obvious conclusion that he must have been the one that had killed the Death Eater. They all knew that John would have no problem whatsoever killing a man in battle but this was different. The man posed no threat to them at the time and he was too shocked at the activated wards to even raise his wand in defense. Sighing to himself Harry stood up and walked over to the liquor cabinet to pour the man a drink, he looked like he could use it. As an after thought he also opened a silver box and pulled out a cigar for himself. He had been meaning to try one sometime and he thought he deserved a treat.

John looked grateful when Harry handed him the glass but that quickly passed as he, along with everyone else looked at Harry in shock as he lit up the cigar with the end of his wand. At first it tasted very sharp and bitter but then there was a bit of sweetness to it. He couldn't really pick out the exact flavor but he decided that he actually enjoyed it. He had no intention of inhaling the smoke; he had never smoked before so he had no desire to end up in a coughing fit. Besides, if he got in that habit it could shorten his wind and that would certainly become a problem in a prolonged fight.

"What?" He asked as he looked around to find everyone staring at him.

"Harry if your not careful no one will think you're their golden boy anymore." Dung chuckled as he puffed on his own pipe. A few others laughed at this but the majority just put the matter out of their minds, if he wanted to smoke a cigar that was his business. Harry grunted in annoyance at the reference to everyone's image of him, or rather their image of what he should be. When he retook his seat on the couch beside Tonks she immediately reached up and plucked the cigar from his mouth.

"Thanks Harry, I haven't had one of these for some time." She said sweetly as she popped the end in her mouth. When she had first taken it Harry had thought that she intended to throw it away, not wanting him to smell or taste like an ashtray. After her words had sunk in he could only look at her with wide eyes as she grinned impishly at him. He was snapped out of his stupor when a few people began laughing at his ridiculous facial expression.

"Thief!" He muttered halfheartedly as he stood back up to get himself another one. Just as he was turning back to return to his seat a sudden burst of flames announced the arrival of a familiar red and gold phoenix. By now everyone was used to his fiery entrances and for the most part they paid him no mind.

"Fawkes old boy," Harry cried happily. "Care to give me a light?" He asked as he held out his cigar. The glare Fawkes sent him clearly told him to shut up, which he smartly did. Only then did he notice that the bird was perched atop a box, a rather large box. Fawkes continued to just stare at him for a moment before inclined his head and picked up a note that was atop the box. Harry carefully reached out to take the note wary of the irritated bird after which Fawkes vanished once more.

Harry

You must be the only one to touch or open this box. It has some pretty nasty hexes on it incase it was intercepted somehow. I'm sure you and your colleagues will find the contents most helpful.

Albus

Harry looked at the note and glanced at the box in confusion and curiosity. On the other hand he was hesitant due to the hexes. While Albus said he alone could open he didn't relish the thought of the Headmaster possibly making a mistake in his spell casting. He quickly told the others what was going on but asked Bill to come and check it out.

"I don't recognize the spell but whatever it's purpose is it iskeyed specifically to you."

"You're a lot of help Bill." Harry replied sarcastically as he continued to eye the box uneasily.

"Well," Steven began as he stood up. "While Harry works up his courage to find out what the big bad Headmaster sent him lets recap our day. We attacked and burned down an empty old house where we supposedly killed nearly thirty highly trained government agents. Thanks to Bill, Harry got his ass kicked before he delivered a stunning blow to Voldemort's pride. The lovely Tonks gave three of the Order's most powerful wizards the beating of their life and as a whole we humiliated and degraded the Death Eaters and their master and they were all too intimidated to respond. Finally, a supposedly dead nearly seven hundred year old wizard manages to find our base looking not a day older than thirty. I think today we have seen it all." As if on cue a sudden snap and a surge of magic behind them drew their attention.

"And I stand happily corrected." Steven laughed loudly along with everyone else as they looked at a very pissed off Harry Potter. It would seem the 'hexes' placed on the box were not for protection as the Headmaster said but were instead specifically for Harry himself. Standing there with a face like a thundercloud was Harry Potter, savior of the wizarding world, in a very tight not to mention revealing French maid's outfit. Tonks, Marietta, Blaise and Susan were particularly loud with their wolf whistles. Harry looked about ready to snap angrily at those laughing but suddenly hissed as the outfit rubbed painfully against his wounded side. Using his wand to cut away the fabric with irritating the injury further he ripped the top half of the dress off so that he was only wearing a very, very short and frilly skirt. After taking a few deep breaths Harry ignored all those around him as he walked out of the room to get changed while plotting his revenge against Albus and most certainly Remus.

MMM

Fifteen minutes later Harry walked down the stairs with his own Battlerobes on once again but to avoid irritation the buckles were undone and his right arm hung free and wore no shirt, exposing his entire right side. As he reentered the sitting room he was sure that another round of laughing would immediately begin but was surprised when everyone was quite serious and speaking to each other rapidly. The thing that stood out in his mind, and rightfully so, was that everyone's green robes were now silver. When he noticed Harry enter Bill walked up to him and handed him what appeared to be a set of muggle leaf mail armor. It was surprisingly light and in the general style of their battlerobes though it didn't open in the front and had no buckles. It was made up of numerous shell shaped pieces that were held together on a background of firm yet flexible fabric.

"What is this?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Albus sent them over to use to disguise our battlerobes for when were acting as the Raiders so that people like Voldemort or some of his inner circle or even some people at the Ministry wont see through the concealment charms and see our robes for what they truly are. The last thing we need is to be arrested for being Voldemort's allies or the Dark Lord making the connection and setting a trap for us." Snape explained with his customary sneer though it didn't hold the same malice that it did months before.

"You just put it on over your robes and tap it with your wand and it will mold itself against them. To take it off you just tap it with your wand again and say 'Evisero'. Apparently their made up of scales from a Chinese Fireball that had been coated with magically reinforced titanium. It adds a little weight but it doesn't take away from the maneuverability and it adds more protection which is always good. Your going to have to pull it over your head at first but after you tap it with your wand it will take the form of your robes so that you can still open it up to keep from hurting yourself further." Bill added. Harry draped the new armor over the back of the nearest chair before he slowly pulled his robes all the way on. Tonks came over and help him pull it on but almost as soon as it was over his head he quickly used his wand to mold it to his robes so that he could open them up again. It the maid's outfit made his cut uncomfortable the dragon hide made it torture.

"So when's the meeting?" Harry asked after letting out a sigh as he opened his robes. The added weight wasn't much but it would take some getting used to.

"Twenty minutes. The portkey Albus sent will take us right outside the doors." James Patterson replied as he passed him the letter that had been in the box. Harry only glanced at it figuring they had given him the necessary information before he sat down and lit his cigar with no plans to move again until the portkey to Hogwarts activated. Blaise had invited Nicholas to travel to the school with them but he declined before leaving to get some things in order before seeing Albus.

MMM

At that same moment the mood at Hogwarts was nothing short of frantic. The idea that one single individual could best not only Dumbledore but also Remus Lupin and 'Mad Eye' Moody at once was simply unthinkable. Though they would have liked to put their colleague's fears at ease those that knew the truth was well aware of the fact that they had to see this through. While Dumbledore would like to think that every member of the Order was loyal he knew that Voldemort could possibly find someway to learn the Order's secrets and if he were to learn this it would certainly be disastrous.

Ever since the attack on the Headmaster had ended members of the Order and Ministry personnel alike had been flocking to the school to ascertain what had happened and the three men were mobbed before they were even cleared by Madam Pomfrey. Unfortunately with many of them came the news that the Unspeakables had also been attacked, none were believed to have survived. This bit of news was almost as shocking as the attack on Hogwarts grounds and only added to the tense atmosphere.

The students involved with the Order were sitting in the Great Hall taking an early lunch with Hermione's parents since they didn't know how long the meeting would last but none of them had much of an appetite so they just sat in silence. As luck would have it Hermione's parents had been visiting her that very morning and though they were thrilled to see her and hear about all she had learned, not to mention seeing her perform magic for the first time, they were greatly shocked and frightened about the reality of the war that Hermione had tried to sugarcoat in fear that her parents would want her to leave Hogwarts for her own safety. Dumbledore had invited them to sit in on the meeting since their daughter was involved and he hoped that they would be able to notice strange occurrences in the muggle world that he would over look.

"Come on, we better get going so we're not late." Neville said quietly as he got to his feet and the others had followed without question. Most were surprised when Neville assumed a leadership role over the younger members of the Order when Harry left and after he was proven innocent even Hermione and Ron began to defer to him. The role as well as his training with Moody and their team had done wonders for the boy's confidence and he was almost unrecognizable from the frightened boy he was when he first came to Hogwarts. After Harry found out about Neville's parents in his fourth year he suspected that his clumsy and timid nature wasn't due to his fear of flying, Malfoy or even Snape but rather a fear of ending up like his parents if he ever stood out enough or was seen as a threat to Voldemort or others like him. Thankfully, whatever the reason behind it, that fear now seemed completely gone and he seemed to remind Albus and Moody of a young Bill Weasley.

As they were filing out of the hall they suddenly stopped when the front doors opened with a bang and a VERY pissed off Harry Potter strode through. Neville and everyone else felt their jaws drop at the sight of him. It was not only his anger or his ruffed up appearance or the cigar smoking in his hand but also the gleaming silver robes he was wearing with half of them hanging off his side exposing a rather painful looking gash as well as the fact that Snape, Tonks, Blaise and Dung were not the only ones with him but more than a dozen others all with similar robes and magical shields concealing their identities. As they watched the group cross the entrance hall they couldn't help but feel a little intimidated at the power the group projected but Neville pushed this from his mind as his friend got closer.

"Harry, are you alright, did they get you to?" He asked calmly as he looked at the gash on his side. Harry stopped suddenly and looked at Neville as if he didn't see him before he spoke up.

"What do you mean, did they get me to? Who else has been attacked?" He asked urgently as the other Raiders looked on with just as much interest.

"Albus, Remus and Alister were also attacked."

"Is everyone alright?" Snape shouted with wide eyes. Neville seemed to hesitate for a moment but Harry couldn't tell if it was a lingering fear of Snape or he was uncomfortable or shocked about what he was about to say.

"Come on Neville, I have to know what I'm walking into here." Harry hated lying to his friends but it was necessary.

"Everyone here is fine but the Unspeakables were also attacked. Apparently their top agents were gathering for a routine meeting and were ambushed. Twenty seven in total are dead."

"Twenty seven?" Tonks asked in shock which was mirrored by everyone else, well those that weren't concealed. Everyone stood in silence for several moments until Ginny stepped forward with concern all over her face.

"Harry all you alright, maybe you should have Madam Pomfrey look at that." Harry blinked stupidly before looking down and seeing his bare chest and abdomen.

"Oh, no I already had it checked out. All I have to do is keep from aggravating it." He said as he gently poked his side a few times. Thinking she had restrained herself long enough Ginny stepped forward and gave him a tight hug making sure to stay away from his injury. Tonks shot a jealous glare at her for a moment but Ginny saw it and winked at her before stepping back and wrapped an arm around Neville's waste. Harry looked at the two with a slack jaw before he laughed and shook Neville's hand. With the mood lightened somewhat Luna also gave Harry a hug and he greeted the others but made a point of ignoring Ron and Hermione. An action that confused her parents since they thought that their daughter was good friends with the boy. Snape being his usual snarky self oh so gently urged them to finish up their meaningless small talk and hurry up so they could get the meeting started.

"So what happened to your glasses?" Hannah asked as they made their way to the second floor girl's bathroom. Harry was briefly surprised by the question but quickly recovered.

"I used a correction potion to fix my eyesight. I would look pretty ridiculous wearing glasses with only one eye besides glasses could fall off, be broken or even summoned during a fight so it was best to get rid of them." The rest of the trip was made in silence but they met others on their way though Harry didn't know any of them very well. When they reached their destination Hermione was the first to enter the bathroom and so it was convenient and amusing enough to leave her to open the passage. She came up short when she came to her target and began looking around at everyone else. Most were grinning madly at her just waiting for her to say it. When her eyes fell of Tonks the young metamorphmagus diverted her eyes obviously and began to whistle.

"Raiders sacked Hogwarts." She growled out before swiftly moving on with the chuckles of those behind her echoing through the restroom. Apparently Hermione didn't approve of the password anymore than McGonagall did. When they entered the main chamber Harry was surprised at how many people were present. The only full Order meeting he had been too was the one they 'interrupted' when they stole a few books from the library and at the time he wasn't exactly in the mood to count heads so he wasn't sure how large the Order actually was and he felt stupid for never thinking to ask Snape, Dung or Tonks. But looking at the nearly two hundred people in the room he had a hard time believing that they were all members.

"Dumbledore invited many of the Ministry officials that were here after the attack to attend the meeting although they were forbidden from knowing the location of the chamber or the password." Luna explained after seeing Harry's face. Harry just nodded as he made his way to the front where Dumbledore was standing with several others. On impulse Snape and Tonks stepped up to walk side by side with him while the others formed up in three single file lines behind them. They all felt it was very important to show a powerful front to the people in this room.

The vast majority of those present were already seated in what appeared to be their own designated areas, different teams being grouped together, but those still standing were quick to scurry out of their way. Everyone's attention turned to them and regarded them with many different expressions. Some with awe, some, such as Mrs. Weasley, with concern and even some hostile glares were sent their way. But the most predominate feeling seemed to be fear which caused Harry to snorted in disgust.

"Harry." Albus said in surprise as he took in the younger man's appearance drawing in what little attention that wasn't already on them.

"Albus, you look like hell." Harry said in concern though it took effort to keep from smirking.

"Well you don't exactly look like of basket of fruit yourself." Albus replied defensively but the customary twinkle in his eye was at an all time high. Harry lips twitched slightly as he looked down his wounded chest and the numerous other minor bruises and scrapes on his arms and no doubt on his face. Dumbledore had raised an eyebrow but chose to ignore the cigars both Harry and Tonks were smoking for the time being since several others in the crowd were already smoking from their pipes "Harry if you and your colleagues will take a seat over here so that we can get started." With a brief nod Harry led his men over to the side slightly where chairs had been set up for them running along the side wall just to the right off where Dumbledore and the other Order leaders, including Snape, Harry, Tonks, and Blaise, would be seated facing the large crowd.

"Now that everyone is here we might as well get started." Albus began as he stood up to face the people in front of him. Those that had not done so already took this as their cue to sit down and shut up. "As you can see there is a great many more people here than normal because I invited them to attend in the hopes of that our different groups could pull our resources together and establish the cooperation we need to possess if we are to defeat Lord Voldemort. I would like to apologize for the short notice regarding this meeting but due to recent events it was necessary." For the next three quarters of an hour Albus went in to detail about his attack and Moody and Remus also contributed their perspectives as well. Those that had not already heard the stories as well as many of those that had were in shock. Albus Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard in the world, couldn't beat a single woman even though he had the help of two other wizards. The added news about the Unspeakables was almost as unsettling.

"Preliminary scans around the area picked up only two unknown magical signatures. There could have been more that were just not using magic since examination of the bodies revealed that two Unspeakables had suffered broken necks. We also picked up faint traces of magic on a nearby hilltop leading us to believe that either that was the attacker's point of arrival or someone was observing from that position. As of now we have yet to find any witnesses or any piece of physical evidence that could lead us to the perpetrators. To be perfectly honest I have never seen such a clean crime scene before. These men are obviously professionals that are not accustomed to making mistakes." Madam Bones gave her report to the assembled before retaking her seat with the other Ministry personnel.

The room stilled suddenly when Dung stormed in with an extremely serious and grim expression clouding about him. Not bothering to pay attention to all those staring at him he approached the front of the chamber where he came to a stop in front of Harry and Snape. Without muttering a word he handed Harry a long piece of parchment before sitting down with the rest of the Raiders. Although technically he was still part of the Order's leadership he seemed to prefer there company over those that he felt, and rightfully so, betrayed him and his friends.

Everyone watched silently as Harry read over the parchment with his face becoming more and more expressionless with each word he read. When he was finished he passed it to Snape who seemed to be studying it more intently than Harry had himself but like Harry his expression told everyone plainly that whatever was written on that page was not good news.

"Harry, would you care to tell us what happened to you this morning?" Shaking himself slightly to get back on track, Albus finally asked as he pointedly looked at his side. At first Harry looked about ready to just ignore the question but after heaving a heavy sigh he answered.

"I went into London to pick up a few things when I was hit with another one of those damn portkey tags and found myself in front of the ruins of my family's old house. At first I didn't see much of anything until I saw Malfoy, Lestrange, Wormtail and Tommy boy standing not that far away. That would be Lord Voldemort to us lesser mortals." He stopped to explain after seeing the confuse looks he was getting at mentioning 'Tommy'. "Just call him Tommy, it will piss him off and you'll live a happier life."

"Potter!" Snape nearly yelled in annoyance.

"What? Oh, right. Anyway I saw the four of them standing there so I drew my wand and started walking towards them…"

"Wait, wait, wait." A member of the Ministry interrupted loudly as he stood up. "You actually went out to meet them? What the hell for?" Harry looked at the man as if he were stupid while everyone was looking at him as if he were insane.

"Let's say that you had a mortal enemy, or in this case, four of them and you suddenly found yourself in the same area. What would be your purpose for confronting them." He responded coolly. His answer only served to reinforce everyone's belief that he was crazy, after all, who in their right mind would willing attack the Dark Lord and three members of his inner circle at once. "Now, can I please continue uninterrupted? Anyway, I didn't get more than a few yards before someone off in another direction attacked me. Like the woman that attacked Albus, he was wearing green battlerobes and had his face covered with some kind of magical shield."

"What happened then Harry?" Dumbledore asked quietly. Harry looked at him strangely for a moment. Did he really need to ask that question?

"Well for the next ten minutes or so the man seemed to take great amusement in seeing me in pain. He was about to kill me when Tommy interfered. I was able to blast him with an explosion curse before I portkeyed out. He was quite surprised and from what I could tell, in a great deal of pain." Harry finished with a very large grin.

"You seem awfully calm about how you fared in that fight." A Snotty looking Order member named Samuel Chapman sneered as he eyed Harry suspiciously. Harry didn't know him very well; he just knew that he achieved some measure of respect throughout the Order and Ministry alike though his more extreme views held him back in certain circles. Although he was dead set against Death Eaters he was a supporter of withdrawing even further from the muggle world and limiting the number of muggle born students that were accepted into Hogwarts.

"I can appreciate a good ass kicking when I get it. What's your point?"

"My point is this, how do we know that you are not working for this man or with the Dark Lord? I think it has been well proven that these men are extremely skilled fighters and yet you managed to escape, even with the Dark Lord and several members of his inner circle present as well. Everyone knows that you and your Raiders are nothing more than thieves and murders yourselves." Many people throughout the room gasped loudly at the accusation but Harry just stared the man down with hard eyes.

"I find it pathetic how someone who was raised in the magical world could be so ignorant of its laws and customs." Harry said with a smirk. Everyone, Dumbledore and the Raiders included, looked very confused by this seemingly unrelated statement. In fact only Dung seemed to realize what Harry was thinking. "I suggest you sit down and keep your mouth shut unless you want to become one of my so called victims."

"Are you threatening me, you insolent whelp?"

"Oh, no, that was no threat. You should know by now that issuing unfounded accusations such as yours can have extreme repercussions in the magical world. In fact I am well within my rights to challenge you to a duel, a duel in which anything goes. You would be both legally and magically bound to accept my challenge." Harry explained with a malicious grin on his face. Chapman went pale pretty fast as he staggered back several feet. "Over the last year and especially over the last few months most of the people in this room have been accusing me of one hideous crime after another, even some of my so called fiends. I have suffered and lost too much to that thing already. Make no mistake about it, and this is your only warning, you most certainly do not want me for an enemy. If any of you ever dares question my loyalty again I will not hesitate to issue those challenges where needed. It won't matter if you're the Minister of Magic, a former friend," He growled as he glanced over to where Ron and Hermione were sitting before looking intently at Albus. "Or even Headmaster of Hogwarts, it will all end the same way. With you lying six feet under in a pine box." With that said Harry stalked out of the chamber with rage practically oozing out of every pore. Those closest to him cringed back suddenly when a wave of power seemed wash over them as he passed.

Dumbledore was extremely worried that in his anger he might lose control of his magic but he also knew that he shouldn't be the one to speak to Harry at this time. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tonks, Blaise and a few other Raiders jump to their feet but held them back. Molly Weasley was also preparing to leave but Arthur calmly told her to stay put while he spoke with Albus. Now wasn't exactly the time for Harry to be coddled and they both knew it. After a few minutes discussing the situation in hushed whispers Arthur asked Hagrid to find Harry if he could and talk to him.

"Now that everyone is more or less calm, I think we need to discuss potential safeguards against the Dark Lord's inevitable response." Snape spoke up after everyone was settled once again after Potter's latest temper tantrum. Although even Snape had to agree that it was well justified. At first it was amusing how scared these people were after Harry left but now it was just venturing into the realm of the ridiculous.

"What response are you talking about?" Fred and George asked at once. Snape clenched his teeth tightly in the hopes that he could prevent himself from lashing out at not only their idiotic Gryffindor thinking but also that annoying habit of theirs.

"We've been digging for any information we could find since Potter managed to escape but since we only had roughly half an hour it isn't complete. From what we could gather the man that attacked Potter is the leader of the Dark Lord's newest allies and for the most part he chooses to remain nameless however he has used the name Acerbus Grim and most likely several others simply for the sake of simplicity. He has fifteen very capable fighters at his disposal but judging by what they have achieved today I think it is a forgone conclusion that we shouldn't under estimate them because of their small numbers. And as much as the Dark Lord would like to try these men cannot be broken to follow him. They follow this Acerbus Grim and no one else.

"The attacks today had two purposes. One, it was a way of showing the Dark Lord that they were completely serious in their offer of cooperation for mutual benefit although we don't yet know what he expects in return. The second purpose was the attack on the Hogwarts grounds. The woman that attacked Albus was not yet a full member of this group but rather a recruit. Defeating Albus was her initiation into this little club." As expected, the people around him reacted the exact same way the Death Eaters had, Albus included since he wasn't told this particular detail which certainly wouldn't help his reputation any. Looking at everyone's faces you could easily tell that they were trying to figure out if they had heard him right or not.

"Also the body of a Death Eater, Walden McNair to be exact, was found just inside the wards protecting the school's grounds making it almost a definite possibility that he was the one that tripped the wards. There were others from the inner circle present as well as with the attack on Potter. I'm not entirely sure about the other though."

"I can speak to that." Jeffrey Stevens interrupted as he stood up. "I'm not entirely sure about the details concerning Mr. Potter as of yet but at the site where my Unspeakables were massacred our sweeping teams came across a large pocket of magical residue on a hilltop overlooking the area. One of our theories was that the spot was used and an arrival point but now that you suggested the possibility it does sound more realistic that Death Eaters had occupied that hill. If these men were to become Voldemort's allies he would surely want to see how they work as well as make sure he wasn't being misled." Snape nodded to the man politely as he sat back down without his customary arrogant scowl. Stevens was not the type of man you wanted to annoy too much and Snape was not a stupid man.

"Thank you. Now I can only assume that they were under strict orders not to interfere. McNair disobeyed that order and was killed for it but fortunately not before he set of the wards. Chances are that if he hadn't this meeting would be three men short." Snape finished as he nodded towards Albus, Remus and 'Mad Eye'. Many within the room visibly cringed at the possibility of losing Dumbledore.

"You got all that information in half an hour? How?" Professor Flitwick squeaked loudly from his position next to Remus.

"Spend a little time in the shadier parts of town and you'll pick up a few tricks and, if you're lucky, make a few friends." Dung answered evasively.

"But you still haven't explained what you meant by Who-Know-Who's response?" Fred asked again. Surprisingly George kept his mouth shut this time.

"Haven't you been paying attention?" Blaise asked in a clipped tone. "There were three attacks today but only one worked out perfectly. The attack on the Headmaster failed because McNair set off the school's wards and the attack on Harry failed because the Dark Lord himself interfered. Because of those failures Voldemort and his Death Eaters now look like incompetent fools in the eyes of their allies, even some of the other Death Eaters. The situation will be entirely unacceptable to the Dark Lord. He is going to have to take some kind of action soon that will make him look and feel like he is the one in control."

MMM

(AN: For this part I'm being lazy so I'm not going to sit here and right out Hagrid's accent. It could give you a headache just thinking about doing it so I'm not going to.)

Harry stepped outside on to the school grounds and just stood there with his eyes closed as he took several deep breaths to try and calm down but it didn't seem to be working. Who the hell were they to question him? What had he ever done to warrant such suspicions? Granted, the man was partially right although he didn't know it. Yes he was now 'affiliated' with the Dark Lord but certainly not for the reasons they would suspect. But of course they had no knowledge of that and if everything went to plan they never would.

"You alright there Harry?" Harry sighed deeply at the sound of the familiar voice and the concern dripping from each word. He certainly didn't want company right now but he couldn't bring himself to simply brush Hagrid off. "Come on, we'll go on down to my place and have a nice cup of tea." Hagrid continued as he placed a reassuring hand on the young man's shoulder.

"I was thinking of something a bit stronger actually." Harry said as he chuckled humorlessly.

"I think that can be arranged, I like to stiffen up my tea now and then myself. Don't be telling anyone though. I got something I wanted to show you anyhow." His anger momentarily forgotten, Harry looked up at his oldest friend with curiosity and maybe a little fear at what beast he may have procured this time. While it was a possibility that he may want to show him a new chair or a rock collection the chance was pretty small so Harry was going to go with claws and teeth.

The walk to Hagrid's cabin was made in silence but Harry couldn't help cracking a smile when Fang saw them and nearly bowled him over in his excitement. After Hagrid managed to pull the large boarhound off of him he led Harry inside where he sank gratefully into one of the overly large armchair near the cold fireplace as Hagrid set about preparing something to drink. Looking around he was happy to see that little had changed since the last time he had last visited the man's home which made him feel slightly guilty about not making time to keep in touch with the man that had shown him nothing but kindness.

"Here you go. Now you go light on that mind you." Hagrid's voice jarred Harry out of his thoughts as he passed him a very large tea cup. Harry nodded his thanks as he took a small sip, shivering slightly at the overpowering taste of firewhiskey mixed in with the tea. He had no love for the type of liquor but he felt he needed something to help calm down a bit before he began thinking about what to do next. Hagrid sat down in the chair opposite Harry with his own cup while he looked at the younger man's seemingly lost expression with concern.

"Harry, you shouldn't let men like Chapman push your buttons like that. They're full of nothing but hot air."

"It's not about him. Well, not just about him." Harry sighed as he tried to think how to put his thoughts into words. "I just can't help thinking that I am surrounded by people that are just looking for an excuse to turn on me once the right situation arises."

"Harry, you know that isn't true. There are many people that care about you. You have many friends right here that think the world of you."

"Do I? Hagrid most of my so called friends laughed in my face and called me a lunatic for trying to convince everyone that Voldemort had returned. Then they, along with my 'best' friends, turned against me again after we escaped the Death Eaters." Harry's rage was starting to rise once again and that magic radiating off of him was almost tangible. Hagrid knew that if he didn't calm the young man quickly he could suffer some form of magical backlash.

"About Ron and Hermione, Harry, they only…"

"I know why they did it." Harry snapped as he cut his friend off. "I'm pretty sure Ron didn't know what to think until it was announced that I was innocent. From his perspective he had just lost his best friend and so he certainly wasn't going to do anything that would jeopardize his relationship with Hermione as well.

"Hermione on the other hand is different. From what I have been told she accepted the Ministry's word on the matter almost immediately so I figure that she heard some of the facts and jumped to the wrong conclusions before she had the full picture in mind. I may dislike her at the moment but if I know one thing about her it is that she is not stupid, she can read between the lines and though she may not come up with the right answer she could certainly discard the wrong ones. The reason she stuck with her belief in my guilt was because she had already shot off at the mouth and committed herself too that belief and didn't want to appear indecisive by changing her mind. Unless you gave her undeniable evidence that she was wrong she would not change her stance and even then it may be hard. Now while that obviously pisses me off that is a small issue in comparison. What really has me bothered is that even after she began having her doubts she wouldn't let up. She continued to try to turn people against us. It was largely the belief of my friends in the charges that eventually turned many of those against us. We would have been given the Dementor's Kiss if we had been caught, that is a certainty. She would have helped send four innocent people, one of her best friends, to a fate worse than death simply because of her pride so please, I'm asking you as a friend, don't try to defend them to me. Ron I may be able to forgive at some point but I can't imagine having any form of relationship with Hermione again." Harry practically pleaded as he looked his friend in the eye.

"Fair enough." Hagrid replied sadly after he looked down to stare into the cup in his hand. The two lapsed into silence as they sipped at their drinks and thought through the events of the day. While Harry's thought centered more on where he was to go form here Hagrid had more pressing worries considering he didn't know that the person that was able to gain access to Hogwarts without detection wasn't really an enemy.

"So how did your trip to France go?" Harry's voice broke through the silence after he felt that the silence had gone of for too long and had become uncomfortable. Hagrid looked momentarily surprised at the sudden question but answered quickly nonetheless.

"As good as can be expected I suppose. It is becoming clearer every day that the Giants will not side with us but they don't appear to discuss options with the Dark Lord either which is certainly good news." He replied seriously causing Harry to laugh slightly.

"That's not what I meant. I meant, how is Grawp settling in." He reiterated while chuckling slightly.

"Oh he's doing just fine. Madam Maxine promised to look in on him from time to time to make sure he's alright in case I couldn't get out there. I would prefer to have him here where I could look after him but this isn't the right environment for him." Hagrid looked like he was ready to cry until his eyes went wide and he jumped to his feet with a strangled cry.

"What, what's wrong?" Harry shouted in alarm as he too stood up. With out answering Hagrid stepped over to a cabinet that a normal sized man would need a ladder to reach. From where he stood Harry couldn't make out what he was doing but when his friend turned around with what appeared to be nothing more than a bundle of leather his alarm turned to annoyance and curiosity.

"What the hell did you do that for? You nearly gave me a heart attack when you jumped up like that."

"What? Oh, sorry 'bout that but talk of my trip to France reminded me of this little guy." He smiled as he held out the leather bundle. At hearing 'little guy' Harry's attention focused on the man's hands and he had to fight the urge to slowly back out of the door before he began to run as fast as he could. Harry loved the man a great deal but his idea of cute and cuddly creatures was actually quite terrifying.

"This is one of the reasons I wanted to speak with you." Taking his seat once more Hagrid gingerly began unwrapping the thick cloth until a large black egg roughly the size of small watermelon was revealed.

"Um, Hagrid, that's not another dragon egg is it?" Harry asked nervously although he his curiosity was quickly overpowering his fear at what may lay within the shell.

"No, course not. This here is the egg of an Eadoch." He explained with excitement before he noticed Harry's confusion. "It's a breed of snake."

"I've never heard of that breed before, I don't think so at least."

"Not many have. They're frightfully rare and deadly to boot. They're always as black as night with bright blue markings on the skin but the most interesting thing is that they have wings. For the most part they are wrapped so tightly around their bodies that if you didn't know what to look for you wouldn't even know that they were there." Hagrid continued to explain everything he knew about the creatures in a loving tone as he carefully held the egg. Harry was actually quite surprised and thought that it was a shame that the man couldn't seem to find the confidence to use his knowledge effectively with the large groups during his classes. Hopefully he will find that confidence soon now that he won't have Draco Malfoy and some of the other Slytherin goons disrupting his class and trying their hardest to make him look like an idiot.

"The reason I wanted to show you this Harry is because I wanted to give you this egg for your birthday. Snakes are dead useful creatures, and smart to. I think it would make a very good companion for you and since you are a parselmouth it will be legal for you to keep it and hopefully you will be able to bond with it. After all, every great wizard needs a familiar." He grinned as he passed the egg to Harry. Without hesitating, he took the egg carefully and looked at it with a soft expression when something came to mind. Looking back up, he regarded Hagrid with suspicion.

"Not that I don't appreciate the gift or anything but I know you well enough to know that you would never part with a rare creature voluntarily and what did you mean when you said it would be legal for me to keep him?"

"Well Harry, there are certain animals around the world that are highly illegal to buy, sell, or transport. While most are strictly hands off some of them could be kept if the person had some 'confirmed' way of controlling the beast. Being able to speak parseltongue meets that requirement with some forms of illegal serpents."

"Ok I understand that but why are you giving it to me now?" Hagrid looked a bit hesitant at first but decided to be completely truthful.

"Because of some of my 'projects' over the last few years the Ministry decided that it would be wise to keep an eye on me for a while to make sure I didn't get into any trouble."

"And you expect them anytime now to search your hut and the grounds for any sign of illegal animals in the area." Harry finished for him causing the half giant to smile slightly. Hagrid appeared to be about set to continue the conversation when a light knock sounded on the door. Almost unconsciously Harry hid the egg in his robes in case that was the Ministry personnel sent to search Hagrid's place. Apparently he could legally keep the snake but Harry wasn't going to take any chances until he looked into it himself and even then he may want to keep the information to himself for the time being.

"Ah, how are you doing Arthur?" Hagrid boomed loudly as he opened the door.

"Sorry to bother you like this Hagrid but the Headmaster needs to see Harry about an urgent matter." Mr. Weasley explained in a solemn tone.

"It's no bother at all, we were just finishing up here." After taking a few deep breaths Harry stood up to leave hopefully ready for whatever Albus had up his sleeve this time. With a quick good bye to Hagrid and promises to visit again soon, Harry stepped outside with Arthur to walk back up to the school.

"Harry, I've been meaning to get into contact with you for some time now." Arthur began somewhat hesitant. Harry stopped and looked at the man closely. While he looked the same as always there was a deep underlining worry about him. Taking out his phoenix wand he cast several privacy charms around the both of them before nodding to him to continue. "I was hoping to arrange for Bill to visit Molly sometime soon. Harry, please don't…" Arthur continued as Harry looked at him sharply firmly intending to play ignorant. "I'm not a stupid man Harry. I know perfectly well that Bill never went back to Egypt but rather that he is working with you. Under normal circumstances I would never want him to risk whatever cover story he is using but with all of our children except Percy involved with the Order, or some other venture, Molly has been a nervous wreck almost constantly. She needs reassurances that he is alright, even if it is misleading." Harry fought with himself over this for several minutes. On the one hand Bill leaving the country was not an abnormal occurrence so both the Order and the Raiders had been counting on their enemies being none the wiser about his true location but if he were to be seen someone might decide to look a little closer and that would most certainly cause problems. Traveling from Egypt to England was not something you did just to have a visit with your mother. Getting permission for inter-national portkeys took a while to arrange and even if he went through Gringotts the goblins would charge him an arm and a leg to expedite the process and their charge would be an amount no Weasley could pay.

On the other hand Molly Weasley was the closest thing to a real mother he had ever known and he would do anything to make sure that she had at least some peace of mind. If seeing and talking to Bill would make her feel better than that was what she was going to get.

"Alright, I'll try to come up with some agreement with the goblins to leave a paper trail in Egypt. Unfortunately we'll have to go a bit further incase someone sees him here. It shouldn't be impossible unless Voldemort has someone watching the different curse breakers in the area but since they're scattered all over North Africa and the Middle East he would need an army to monitor everything going on. But now that we have that settled I have a question I wanted to ask you. How long have you been an Unspeakable?" Arthur stared at the young man in front of him with a nearly blank expression. He just could not picture this being the same Harry Potter he had first met four years ago. The way he immediately began thinking of how to make his request happen, not to mention how to go about covering his tracks more thoroughly than the Order had been doing over the last year, was nothing short of astonishing. This train of thought seemed utterly depress him. Harry should be worried about school or girls and every other small and insignificant issues that young men deal with not about running his own small part of a larger war that could erupt into an age of terror at any moment. It was not until Harry finished speaking that he seemed to realize what the young man had actually asked.

"What?" He asked with a puzzled look about him.

"Please allow me to echo your own words, 'I am not a stupid man'. Actually Snape is the one that isn't stupid, this was merely a theory he had been kicking around for nearly a year but Albus seemed to confirm his suspicions just recently." He said cheekily as he watched Arthur for any sign of emotion but found nothing but confusion. 'This man is good'. He thought to himself happily. "He thought, and the rest of us agreed, that Dumbledore placing you in charge of the Order's information network was an obvious indication that you had other talents that you carefully hid away from the rest of the world especially since the janitor's office probably gets more worthwhile information than the Department for Misuse of Muggle Artifacts."

"Harry that is all pure speculation. I handle those intelligence reports because I have friends in the right places." Arthur replied without hesitation but he could see that Harry wasn't buying it.

"And enemies in those right places as well. But the thing that clinched the idea for me was when I started thinking about your rather large family. Sadly the Ministry isn't known for its generosity unless of course you work in a more prestigious department and I'm afraid that where priorities are concerned you are on the bottom rung of the totem pole as the expression goes. So we figured one of two explanations, the first is that you are corrupt and have been stealing to provide for your family but I know you pretty well and you don't seem the type. The second is that you had taken a second job and seeing as you already work for the Ministry it would have been relatively easy to incorporate you into the Department of Mysteries. Unless, of course, you originally took that job in MoMA because you were already approached by Stevens and advised to take a normal low ranking position that would allow you to remain inconspicuous. This would certainly explain how you have been able to keep food on the table by dipping into your Unspeakable pay just enough to get by while the rest sits in a Gringotts vault where it continues to grow in preparation for your retirement. I can tell that you want to deny Snape's theory but the fact that you have more or less remained silent during this 'ridiculous' discussion shows that he was at least awfully close in his assessment."

"Nineteen. I've been with the department for nineteen years." Arthur sighed as he looked around to make sure no one was near by just incase someone could listen through Harry's wards. "What is it that you want exactly? You aren't the type of person to bring something like this up unless you had something on your mind."

"I would like your help. Bill and Snape are fine instructors where dueling is concerned but the Department of Mysteries have developed and perfected advanced dueling techniques that they will not allow to be taught to anyone outside of the department. That won't be a problem since, technically at least, we are now working for Stevens. And they train their agents in ways even Bill or Snape would never understand unless they experience it first hand. Not to mention any other knowledge you could provide to help us hone our skills in other areas as well, such as surveillance and interrogation."

"What will I be required to do, specifically?" He asked curiously after thinking over Harry's proposal for a few minutes. Dueling and surveillance would be easy to train others in, especially if they already had a firm background in the field. Interrogation however would be tricky. Most people would simply feed their prisoner a bit of Veritaserum and question him and that would be it. Most people seem to forget that while under the potions effects the prisoner could only answer questions that they had definite answers to. Sometimes you could gain more information through a man's own theories and ideas than their facts and those had to be retrieved the old fashioned way.

"Snape advised me to offer you the same deal I made with Bill. You will be there primarily as a trainer and instructor, possibly even give us some tactical advice now and then but if you wished to take a more active role you would, of course, be most welcome to do so. Since the majority of our dueling training takes place for three hours in the mornings and a couple sessions a day during weekends so you will still have time to work at the Ministry and with the Order if you wish. I'm not going to expect an answer right away so feel free to take all the time you need and send word to me through Fawkes but no matter what your answer is I would appreciate it if you didn't mention it to anyone, not even Albus." After Lowering his privacy wards Harry walked back into the school and headed towards the large stone gargoyle that guarded Albus' office while Arthur continued to stand on the Hogwarts grounds in deep thought as he weighed his options.

Without even giving the password the gargoyle jumped aside to grant him entrance to the Headmaster's office that lay at the top of the winding stone staircase. Harry didn't give this action much thought considering Albus knew he was coming so he just figured that the old man had instructed it to allow Harry access when he arrived. As he reached the top of the staircase he decided that now would be a good time to put out what was left of his cigar since he was sure the Albus would not appreciate him smoking in his office. Closing his eyes tight for a brief moment Harry tried to think of anything that could potentially be said in this meeting. Nicholas Flamel said in no uncertain terms that it was going to be big but as of yet he had no clue about what it could be. After calming himself as best he could he reached for the door and pushed it silently open without even knocking.

The office had obviously been expanded to accommodate the large crowd that was gathered inside. All those that had known of their plans were present, except Griphook, even Harry's parents and his little brother. As he stepped inside everyone's attention was momentarily turned to him before they settled themselves for the discussion that was about to take place. Looking around he spotted Madam Bones talking quietly to Mad Eye and Harry knew that now was as good a time as any.

"Sorry Albus but I need to postpone this little powwow for just a few more minutes. Madam Bones, could I speak with you for a moment?" Everyone, with the exception of the Raiders looked confused, but looking into the faces of those few that seemed to know what was going on Amelia became nervous when even Snape of all people were looking at her with concern. Shaking off this feeling she rose from her seat and stepped outside the office with Harry closing the door behind her.

"Madam Bones…"

"Harry, please call me Amelia."

"Alright Amelia, one of the reasons I asked you to come out here is because we felt it was only right to inform you that Susan has joined our group. Normally I would have asked your permission before allowing her to do anything but she felt that you would be much more receptive to the idea if she were to get some experience and a lot of training behind her first so that she could show you that she could handle herself in such situations." The entire time Harry spoke Amelia just stared at him with an emotionless look about her that threw him off guard. He fully expected her to blow up at him immediately.

"So Susan has been fighting Death Eaters while she was supposed to remain safe?" She finally asked with hard eyes after a few minutes of silence. "And I'm supposed to just take your word for it that she has the skills she needs to survive?"

"No. She has not been fighting Death Eaters. The only times she has left my house with the other Raiders was on low risk ventures such as the raid on Hogwarts when she stayed by my side the whole time under an invisibility cloak. She served as a lookout for the two men we had working on the wards at the Parkinson home and finally during our actions today she was at Snape's side the entire time when they burned out the house that was supposedly full of Unspeakables. That is the extent of her involvement thus far. And no, I don't expect you to simply take my word for it. That is why I planned on inviting you to stop by tomorrow afternoon when you can actually see what she has learned and judge for yourself."

"And if I don't agree that she is ready?"

"Then that will be the end of it." Harry answered immediately. "She will be able to keep training if she wishes and later if you are satisfied than she will be welcome to help out." He explained honestly and hoped that the woman wouldn't simply right off the idea entirely.

"What has me upset Harry, is not simply the fact that she has been doing this but rather the fact that I asked you to take her in for her protection and you have allowed her to do this behind my back." Harry was trying to think of something to say but he had to admit that he felt bad because of the disappointment in the woman's face. "Who is training her?" Harry was momentarily caught off guard by the question but felt a little bit a relief that she was actually thinking about the possibility.

"Snape and a curse breaker that is with us is running our training program at the moment but I'm trying to convince an Unspeakable to join us as well since he has nearly twenty years of experience with the department's style of training."

"What's his name?" She asked, fully intending to look into the man's credentials.

"Sorry I can't tell you that. For one thing if he does chose to join us then his identity will remain hidden from everyone outside of our group. And for another reason he supposedly died this morning." Harry finished with a grin at her shock. The fact that her niece might be trained by one of the department's top agents seems to have clinched the idea for her and she agreed that she would see how Susan was doing before she made her decision.

"What was the other reason you wished to speak with me?" Harry froze up for just a brief moment at the question but Amelia noticed it and came to the conclusion that this was far more important than Susan's training. Taking a deep breath Harry steeled himself for her inevitable reaction.

"The other reason is that the evening that we raided Hogwarts and kidnapped Stevens we also discovered something completely unrelated to events occurring today."

"And what would that be?" She asked in confusion. Whatever it was she couldn't understand why Harry would be so nervous about it but she didn't have long to wait.

"We found out exactly what happened to your brother and his wife." He said quickly and held his breath as he waited for her reaction. Amelia face drained of all color as she processed his words as she seemed to have lost all control of her body as her muscles as she stood there completely rigid. "I'm sorry to say that they were indeed killed." Harry continued in a quite voice. At these words her body went slack and she collapsed to the floor crying. Despite being missing for over fourteen years she, as Susan had done, had held out hope that they were still alive however unlikely the chance. Harry's words had killed that hope.

"You knew, you knew for almost a month now and you said nothing?" She asked as she looked up at Harry with red eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"I, I couldn't. every time I thought about the situation I felt nothing but anger so great that I could kill the two people directly responsible for putting Susan's parents in that position and not feel an once of remorse for doing it. Every time I see them I want nothing more than to see them in pain far greater than their actions have caused others."

"You've seen them? The monsters that killed my family and you did nothing?" Amelia screamed as she stood back up and looked at Harry with rage shining in her eyes.

"They didn't kill them. They merely put them in Voldemort's path out of stupidity and fear. I know how you must feel, believe me when I say that the anger you feel now is only a fraction of that I feel…"

"HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY KNOW HOW I FEEL?"

"You certainly deserve an answer so I will just tell you." For the next ten minutes Harry went into every detail involved with James and Lily Potter's ignorant and, in his opinion, cowardly decision to run. Amelia looked at him through wide eyes the entire time he talked and Harry could see the rage in her rising as he told his story.

"Who knows about this?" Amelia demanded immediately after Harry finished.

"The Raiders of course, as well as Albus, Remus, Alister and Minerva."

"Why hasn't anyone said anything?"

"Because I asked them not to. Actually I told them in no uncertain terms that they would deeply regret it if they didn't keep it to themselves. I couldn't care less about those bastards that call themselves my parents but if Voldemort found out my little brothers and sister would also become targets and I will do almost anything to keep that from happening. So please, when we go back in there, don't say or do anything until Stevens is gone." It took a few more minutes of convincing but she finally agreed and tried to compose herself as best she could before going back inside. While Harry ignored the two hooded figures standing in the corner as he sat down next to Tonks, Amelia stood in the doorway for a moment and shot the two a truly deadly glare that caused the two the shiver involuntarily. She wasn't the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for nothing. However Harry noticed something that he had overlooked when he first entered to get Amelia.

"Now that we are all present we can go over…"

"I think we all know what happened today already Albus so there is really no point in dissecting every action until we find out Voldemort's and the Death Eaters' reaction. However I am very curious about what you have to tell me that caused you to cast unbreakable and protection charms on everything in your office as a precaution." Harry said as he looked at the old man with suspicion. Those charms were certainly not in place before and his reaction when Albus told him about the first prophecy led him to believe that the Headmaster expected a repeat performance.

Harry had informed the Raiders of the contents of both prophecies some time ago and they were all greatly amused by his actions in nearly destroying Dumbledore's office when he was first told after the incident in the Department of Mysteries. Being the Deputy Headmistress Minerva knew of Harry's actions but was confused about what he had been told that had caused it. Everyone else in the room were deeply confused by Harry's words and why Albus would take such measures to protect his possessions.

"Harry, maybe we should speak about this in private." Albus began uncomfortably as his right hand instinctively moved to rest atop a thick leather bound book that rested on his desk.

"Why? My colleagues already know about everything else and I'm sure I would just tell them this at some point anyway. And though I may not trust everyone in this room," He said as he glanced at his parents. "I know that everyone here is firmly against Voldemort. So why don't you just go ahead and tell me." Albus sighed quietly and nodded his agreement but before he could utter a word most people gasped and jumped slightly when a grinning Nicholas Flamel suddenly appeared directly behind the old mage. Albus looked confused at their reactions for a brief moment before Nicholas suddenly grabbed him from behind and pulled his out of his chair.

"Albus my boy!" He cried happily as he hugged the Headmaster while everyone just looked on dumbfounded. This quickly turned to shock when the near immortal sat down in Albus' chair and pulled him onto his lap before shoving a rather large lollipop into his mouth as he bounced him on his knee. Dumbledore's shock quickly wore off and turned to annoyance as he simply crossed his arms and waited for the older man to finish with his customary greeting. Harry snapped out of his shock when he noticed a camera sitting on a nearby shelve and discreetly summoned it to him. A quick check showed that it was indeed loaded.

"Oh this is just too good." He laughed happily as he pointed it at the scene in front of him. His words brought Albus' angry eyes to him just as he was snapping a picture. Jumping back to his feet Albus drew his wand to retrieve the camera and destroy the picture but Harry had anticipated the move and quickly banished it away to a safe location.

"Mr. Potter, if you know what is good for you, you will return that camera and any film immediately." The Headmaster growled causing Harry to laugh even harder.

"Sorry Albus, I'll return it as soon as I can have that picture developed. That shot will be priceless. Besides after your little charm work earlier I owe you." Harry said with a grin before looking over at Remus with a predatory look. Remus didn't seem the least bit fazed by the glare and his eyes were clearly inviting Harry to try his best.

"Come now Albus. Surely you aren't embarrassed by your old grandfather." Nicholas said with mock sadness.

"You're his grandfather?" Tonks asked in surprise.

"Well actually I'm his great great great great great great great great great great great great…"

"Alright we get the point." Harry interrupted as he massaged his temples. "Now that we are all here maybe we could find out what you were so enthusiastic about hearing Albus explain?"

"What? You're supposed to be dead, when did you speak with Harry?" Albus demanded in confusion. Whether he was confused about how he was alive, when he spoke with Harry, how he found Harry, or how he knew that he was planning on explaining this today he didn't know. But Harry had a hunch that it was a combination of the whole lot. After explaining once again how he was alive Nick prodded Albus in the ribs and told him to start explaining. With a loud grunt he plopped back down into his chair like a petulant child and picked the aforementioned book up.

"What I wished to speak with you about is the final line of the prophecy that Blaise found in the Chamber of Secrets." He said and ignored the confusion of those that did not know about it.

"Yeah, and with the love and the aid of the Brides he shall emerge victorious, or some such rubbish like that." Harry said after thinking about it.

"Uh yeah, that one!" Albus said uncomfortably. "Maybe you should just read this Harry." He said as he passed the book over. Harry took it and felt a strong sense of foreboding. The book was 'Legends and Myths of Hogwarts' and he opened the book to the marked page. The caption at the top of the first page read 'The Brides of Hogwarts'. Without reading further he snapped the book closed again with a very bad feeling that he knew where this was going. With a flick of his wrist he tossed the book back on to the desk in front of him.

"Why don't you just give me the highlights?" He asked as he cocked his head to the side and almost dared the Headmaster to confirm his suspicions. The look in Harry's eyes left him tongue tied for a moment much to Nick's amusement and everyone else's confusion as they wondered what Harry had read. "Spit it out already." Seeing that Albus looked to be no nearer to working up the courage Nick decided to have a little fun and explain himself but he became a little flustered as well when the young man focused on him.

"Well, um, Harry, you see that particular legend has been around for almost nine hundred years now." He began after smacking Albus on the back of his head for putting him in this position. "According to the rumors at the time it was started while Rowena Ravenclaw was on her deathbed. She was the last of the Founders so her emanate death brought a lot of mourners to Hogwarts. Everyone knows of Ravenclaw's ability as a seer but supposedly as she lay dying she gave a warning for the future that was unlike any of her previous predictions. Normally she would go into a trance speak words that were not her own and then wake up with no recollection of what had happened. This time however she was very much awake and lucid and instead of the annoying poetic drivel that seers usually spout she instead told a story. A story she seemed to see taking place before her very eyes."

"What was this story about?" Snape asked in annoyance. He of course respected the abilities of a true seer but he was certainly no fan of divination and this struck him as nothing more than one of thousands of those ridiculous stories invented by older Hogwarts students to either impress or scare their younger school mates.

"Think of the history of magical Britain over the last thirty years. That is the story she told." Albus told them bluntly.

"That is absurd. There has never been any documentation of any sort of predictions made in that manner. And how do we know that that legend is truly as old as that book claims. For all we know it could be just a few years old." Harry tried to hold in a chuckle as he heard Susan speak her mind. Though she wasn't a fanatical about it she enjoyed divination just as much as Lavender and Parvati. At hearing the sound of a younger woman's voice nearly everyone turned to her while they tried to figure out who she was and a few tried to remember where they had heard that voice before.

"You are correct of course. Nothing of this kind has ever been heard of before. This is the only instance known of this nature. But your feelings regarding the authenticity of the book are unfounded. While it is perfectly conceivable that someone could create such a tale and claim it to be far older than it truly is that is not the case here. This legend is truly nine hundred years old. And as for the book itself it is over five hundred years old. I know because I wrote it."

"YOU wrote it?" Albus demanded loudly as he looked scandalized at some of the more ludicrous things the man had written about. "You actually wrote all that drivel?"

"Of course. While many of the myths have proven to be true and others have been around for nearly as long as Hogwarts herself I found myself lacking decent material for a full length book so I had to indulge myself a bit and invented new ones of my own. It was actually quite difficult." Everyone just looked at the man and now that they knew of his connection with Albus they could clearly see were Aberforth's personality came from.

"Alright enough about the book and the way story came out. What does it say?" Harry asked irritably.

"Well like I said before, it describes our resent history. From the even harsher restrictions on magical creatures by the Ministry, rampant political corruption, even to the rise of the Heir and the Lion. I'm working off the assumption that that means you and Voldemort."

"Oh shit!" Harry sighed as he leaned forward and placed his head into his hands. "Sought after since birth the Lion will meet the Heir at every turn and the mark of the storm shall be his banner." Harry muttered to himself but it was just loud enough for everyone to hear him. Everyone but the Raiders and Dumbledore looked at him in surprise.

"Um, Harry," Remus started carefully. When Harry looked up at him he continued. "Err, do you remember what you just said?" The young man in question just looked at the Marauder as if he were stupid while those that knew of the prophecy found that to be the funniest thing they have heard all day.

"I'm not a seer Remus, that was one of the lines in a prophecy that Ravenclaw gave."

"Really, I've never heard of that one." Nick said quietly as he tried to think of anything he may have missed.

"That's because it was only heard by Salazar Slytherin and the only record he made of it he placed within the Chamber of Secrets for his heir to find. Thankfully Tom must have been to enthusiastic about finding the Basilisk to do any real looking around before Moaning Myrtle was killed and had to keep the Chamber locked up since he pinned the attack on Hagrid."

"Ok, so what does that mean?" Tonks asked in confusion.

"It means that the story is at least partially genuine. Nobody except Slytherin himself knew about Ravenclaw's prophecy and her labeling of The Heir and The Lion. And it is just to improbable that someone else could come up with this story and claim that it came from Ravenclaw, using terms that no one alive knew she had used, in the same context as well. Not to mention an account of our own history that seemed to be accurate enough to get these two eggheads attention. So now that everyone is caught up can we please get to the point the two of you seem to be too intimidated to tell me?"

"Alright, the point is this," Albus seemed to catch on to the fact that Harry was getting very annoyed with the staling so he took a deep breath and hoped for the best. "According to the legend of The Brides of Hogwarts, the Lion, in this case you, has to destroy the Heir, in this case Voldemort."

"Nothing new there, moving on,"

"Yes Harry I was getting to that. But to defeat Voldemort it says you have to get married." Nick said real fast before holding his breath. Harry just looked at him with his eyes and mouth wide open.

"To four witches." Albus added. That was enough for Harry. He did the only thing he could think of doing at the moment. He promptly leaned forward and fell to the floor in a dead faint but no one seemed to notice as they were still staring at the two old men in shock.

"Hmm, he took that much better than I thought he would, but it wasn't nearly as funny." Nick commented but Albus just shook his head sadly and told him to wait. After a few moments Tonks noticed Harry lying on the floor and jumped out off the couch, where she had been sitting next to him, to see if he was alright. After doing a few scans with her wand she quickly revived him much to Albus' displeasure. He was clearly hoping for more time before he awoke.

For a moment he looked a bit dazed and confused. Not knowing where he was, what was going on or why he was lying on the floor. Tonks helped him to his feet and sat him back down. As he sat there he looked around the room to see everyone looking at him and the memories of just a few short moments ago came back like a flash. After quickly checking to see that he didn't crush the egg Hagrid had given him he turned blazing eyes to the two old men before him.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN MARRIED?" He roared. Everyone jumped back and Nick's and Albus' eyes went as wide as dinner plates and their faces went slightly pale at the magical power that had been in his voice. "Answer me damn it!" He demanded in a harsh whisper.

"Well, ah, Harry, it isn't actual marriage by today's standards you see. Back during the time of the Founders wizarding marriage was not done by ceremonies and the exchanging of vows but rather merely taking a potion." When Nick said this only Snape seemed to realize where they were going and his mouth dropped open.

"A potion?" Harry asked in a much calmer and more controlled voice, and he wasn't the only one. Tonks as well seemed to calm a great deal as well and those that didn't know about her relationship with Harry took notice.

"Yes Harry. One of the key ingredients is a few drops of blood from each person and that establishes a sort of bond between the two of them. Or in this case it would be the five of you. As the potion works your minds would exchange knowledge and experience as well as set up a kind of empathic connection. Also you would be able to share power. What I mean by that is that if one of you is in some kind of confrontation and you are magically drained you can temporarily connect with the others magical core to sustain you until you could get away." Albus explained and was quite pleased that Harry seemed to be claming down.

"Wouldn't that be dangerous, taking magic from another?"

"In some cases it would indeed be very dangerous even fatal. But with such connections there are safeguards that will stop the flow of power long before any damage is done. According to the legend the four women are to come from the four different houses of Hogwarts with the Lion being a combination of all four. And Harry you could certainly find a home in any of the houses if you put your mind to it. The idea behind this is to integrate every specific trait that the Founders prized into every member of this bond and it will be this connection and the emotions shared between you that will ultimately defeat Voldemort." Harry sat for several moments and thought over the information he had just been given. Something like this could certainly go a long way to helping him defeat Tom for good but it also raised some questions.

"What's the catch?"

"What do you mean Harry?" Blaise asked, to her it sounded like the ideal solution to counteract Voldemort's superior experience.

"What I mean is this. If this potion does everything you say it does why didn't you suggest it sooner? I mean if I had all of your knowledge and could draw power from you I could leave right know, kill Tom and be back in time for dinner. So why don't you take this potion with me?" Snape began coughing uncontrollably, Nick started laughing hysterically and Albus looked a bit ill.

"Absolutely not!" Albus nearly shouted in a strained voice as he cringed at the very idea. That certainly confirmed Harry's belief that there was something else he had not yet been told. "You see Harry, after taking the potion, while the exchange of knowledge is going on, the people involved have to to, ah."

"Have to what?" Albus said nothing but rather looked at Nick for support.

"You mount the women son." He said bluntly as he rolled his eyes at Albus.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Tonks shouted and echoed Albus' words as jumped to her feet once again. Those that didn't know about their relationship were astounded by Tonks' actions and they quickly put two and two together and were surprised at the pairing. Most would have thought Harry would be with Blaise given that they were the same age but as they thought about it McGonagall, Moody and even Stevens realized that they were actually quite compatible. Lily however was incensed at the very idea. She had known her parents and knew that Tonks was seven years older than Harry and even the idea of Harry having a sex life at his age bothered her.

"WHAT DO THE TWO OF YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" She shouted as she took several steps towards the two. Everyone was surprised that she had actually spoken since neither her or her husband did during such meetings and those that knew who she was were shocked and angered by her audacity. "You are seven years older than him and he is still just a boy. What kind of pervert are you to go around seducing schoolchildren?" Many of those in the room were angered by her outburst and were prepared to say something but they all stopped themselves when Harry stood up and slowly turned towards her.

"Stevens, this is not open to debate. Before you leave here you WILL be placed under several security charms." Although his voice was quite no one missed the finality in his words. Jeffrey just nodded while he was trying to figure out what was being said that would warrant one from him and not the others.

"Take off your hood, both of you!" Their survival instincts told them that they should ignore the order but they found that their bodies weren't listening as their arms pulled back the hoods that hid their faces. When Stevens got a look at their faces he gasped loudly but still had the presence of mind to notice that no one else seemed to be shocked at all. Harry looked at the faces of his parents for just a brief moment before he got to the point.

"You of all people have no business whatsoever telling me what I should and should not do. You didn't seem to give a damn about me for the last fourteen years so I will be damned if I allow either of you to dictate any aspect of my life. You show up here after I lived a life of pure hell and you think you suddenly have the right to decided who I will and wont have a relationship with? Well you can both go fuck yourselves. The only reason the two of you are still alive is because I will not rob Jacob or the twins of their parents as you so easily did to me and to Susan. But if you ever speak another ill word of Tonks again and question her morality as you just did I will make you wish that I would kill you. Do I make myself clear?" The entire time Harry spoke his voice was as calm and even as if he were merely having some inconsequential discussion but the power in his voice and the fire in his eyes told James and Lily plainly that they were not dealing with an ordinary sixteen year old Hogwarts student. Before either of his parents could reply a sudden alarm echoed loudly throughout the office.

"What the hell is that?" Harry demanded as he looked at Albus. That alarm was much different than the one that went off when McNair crossed the wards to the school but it sounded no less important.

"The wards surrounding you relatives home are under attack." Albus replied as he scurried about the room making preparations.

"And let me guess. Because my mother was not the one that died to protect me, the wards are nowhere near as powerful as you and even Voldemort believed them to be?"

"That would be correct, unfortunately."

"Ah. Let them burn!" Was all Harry said as he plopped back down into his chair. Everyone turned to look at him in shock at his attitude. "Apparently none of you have actually gotten to know the Dursleys." Harry chuckled to himself. "Fine, lets go. Do you have a portkey." He grumbled after Albus just continued to stare at him.

"No, but Fawkes can use his fireflight abilities with up to four passengers."

"Alright I'll go with Fawkes with Tonks and Snape. Sorry old boy but I'm recruiting you for the afternoon, your coming with us as well." Harry said as he looked at Stevens while he put his battlerobes on properly after discreetly hiding his snake egg behind many knick knacks on a very cluttered shelf. "Albus you take whoever else wants to come and floo over to Mrs. Figg's house and meet us there. Go through the back, Death Eaters are so obtuse that they will be concentrating primarily on the front of the house with a few watching the back. We will finish discussing this when we get back!" Harry told Albus sternly after fighting a losing battle against the pain in his side as it rubbed up against his robes. The old man sighed, he had hoped that the sudden excitement would have pushed the situation out of his mind for a short time but apparently that was not to be.

"And if Voldemort is there?" Amelia asked with concern.

"He won't be, I messed him up pretty bad this morning so he will be trying to recover as quickly as he can and that means conserving his magical and physical strength. But if he is there I'll deal with him myself while the rest of you deal with any of his lackeys. Let's go." Tonks, Snape and Stevens immediately came forward and joined hands with Harry while Fawkes landed on his shoulder. Albus and the rest of the Raiders were rushing to his office fireplace. After a momentary pause Lily decided to join Albus as well and James was right behind her.

"We ride with kings on mighty steeds, across the Devil's plain." Stevens muttered to himself and everyone looked at him in confusion before the small group vanished in a blast of crimson fire. Leaving only Madam Bones, Minerva and Jacob in the office to wait anxiously for them to return.

TBC