Chapter 11. Game of War

Hermione was currently laying on her back on one of the loveseats at 'Morgana's Common Room' as Billie called it; her head on Harry's lap. They were both very tired after the fight, they had used a lot of power, and it would take them a while to recover.

Draco and Mel were seated one next to the other in another of the loveseats. Draco making sure she was comfortable; Harry had already done what he could to heal her but she needed rest more than anything else. Draco was tired as well, but he tried not to let it show.

Henry was sitting in one of the sofas, while Wyatt and Chris sat on chairs. They had been the lasts of the group to get to the Common Room as they had waited in Hogsmeade until all the students had made their way back to the castle.

Wyatt and Chris had been really concerned when seeing the state in which their little sister was, but on the other hand they were very satisfied when hearing how Draco had defended her, he may just be the right person for Mel (even if they would never admit it aloud).

The only reason why all of them were currently sitting in that room and not lying down on their respective beds was because they were waiting for Billie to arrive. Many things had happened that needed to be talked between all of them before any of them could even think about getting some very well-deserved rest.

The woman they had been thinking about arrived right then, coming through the portrait that became ethereal when the password was said. However, she looked pretty worse than all of the teens and young adults put together; she wasn't hurt physically, but those with in the room with white-lighter blood could easily feel her distress.

"Auntie Billie, are you alright?" Chris asked, being the first to voice his worries.

When he didn't get an answer he guided the very stressed-out woman to the nearest sofa and helped her sit down.

Henry used his powers to orb in a mug of tea with some Calming Potion, hoping that would help her relax a bit.

"Auntie Billie, are you alright?" Chris repeated his question.

Once again there was no answer, it seemed almost as if Billie's mind was currently some place else, and in a way it was…

Flashback

"This energy-signature, this power…I know I've felt it before…I'm sure…" Billie murmured to herself over and over again as she made her way through the forest.

She made her way silently, all thoughts of helping the teens forgotten, at least for the moment being; she just couldn't get off the feeling that she knew the person to whom that energy belonged, and that it wasn't good.

Finally she came out to the limits of the woods, almost on the other side. There were standing two people dressed in dark clothes; the man seemed to be wearing robes and a cloak, while the woman wore a very low-necked, sleeveless, long black dress.

"The Dark Lord and the Shadow Queen…" Billie understood who those two were almost immediately.

"Why did you make me leave?!" The man seemed to be very angry at the woman for some unknown reason.

"Why? You almost died and you're asking me why?" The woman said ironically.

"Dead? Those two wouldn't have been able to kill me, not even if I had given them the chance to do it." Voldemort said cockily.

"Stupid." The woman backhanded him.

Voldemort was furious at that, he was about to slap the woman, but she just raised her hand and he couldn't touch her.

"I told you I'm working 'with' you, not 'for' you." The woman said seriously. "You may be feared by all the damned mortals in this country, but I'm still way stronger than you, don't forget that. Because the day you do I might just stop needing you, and get rid of you in an instant. You know I can do it."

Voldemort didn't answer, but it was obvious he believed those words.

"And about those children, I expected you to have noticed." She continued. "They are no mere kids, not even under magical terms. She's a Sorceress, with a level that rivals even that of her soul-mother, the former Charmed One, Prudence Halliwell; while him…he's like sort of his magic protector."

"You seem to know a lot about their kind." Voldemort commented.

"Of course I know, I've met the Halliwells." The woman said. "Piper, Phoebe and Paige, the Charmed Ones; every single demon and evil creature of the Underworld has heard about them. And even so many years after their last 'great battle' some still cringe at the mere sound of their names, or that of their children."

"They are mere children…" Voldemort hissed angrily.

"Just like the 'boy-who-lived'." The woman taunted him. "Yet he's the reason why you're still hiding here and not having your reign of darkness…yet."

"So let me see if I understand clearly: you want this allegiance just so you can get rid of a bunch of brats, the children of those women?"

"Exactly, and in exchange I'll help you get rid of the brat that's been bothering you for the past decade and a half…"

Billie almost panicked right then and there. Those two were planning on getting rid of the children! And of Harry's brother!

She was about to run back the way she had come (she wasn't as stupid as to try and take out on both dark leaders being on her own); when things got even worse.

"My Lord! My Lord!" Some more men in dark clothes entered the clearing screaming, when seeing he was accompanied they added. "My lady…"

"What's with all the racket?" Voldemort asked angrily.

It was obvious both him and his companion were very much displeased by the interruption those men represented in their conversation.

"The plan backfired my lord, my lady." One of the man dared speak. "They fought back. That Potter boy, and his friends; and many more followed them. We had no way of defeating them all; many fell, and the few of us who remained had to retreat."

"And you call yourself the harbingers of the darkness?" The woman hissed, furious now.

"My lady, please understand…" The man went to kneel before her.

"I don't tolerate weaklings." She spat as she kicked the man away.

And then, to Billie's great shock and horror, her deep eyes laid on each and every one of the cloaked men, all of them who were trembling for fear; and only a second later their bodies were enveloped in flames.

'It can't be…' Billie thought horrified as she ran away. 'That fire…those eyes…it just can't be…it can't be…'

End of Flashback

She didn't want to believe it, but even now, as she sat in that Common Room she couldn't get the image of those men been burned alive out of her head, nor could she erase the sound of their cries in agony.

She berated herself for not having done something to help them. Even if they were evil, they didn't deserve to have died in such a way, no one did. Yet the shock and the horror had been just too great, along with the fear she felt, not for herself, but for the teenagers. She felt she had to warn them, they needed to know who their real enemy was, even more than Voldemort, they needed to be prepared.

"Auntie Billie…" Mel called, she was now kneeling next to the older woman, concern clear on her face.

"It's her…" Billie finally whispered.

"What?" The boys didn't understand.

"Who are you talking about Auntie Billie?" Mel asked, still in the same tone.

"The Shadow Lady…I know who she is…" Billie's tone of voice was still very low, almost as if she feared being heard by the wrong person.

"Who?" Wyatt asked immediately.

"Who is she?" Henry joined immediately.

"Calm down." Hermy ordered them. "Don't you see she's already distressed enough?"

"I saw her…with that Lord V-Voldemort." Billie explained. "I c-could feel her…her energy. And I was…I was sure I had felt it before, so…I followed it. I heard them arguing, she kept saying how she was more powerful than him and…and he talked about you, about all of you, and also about Piper, Phoebe and Paige…"

"That means they already know about us…" Chris said in mid-shock.

"They already know who we are…" Henry added. "This is bad."

"Correction, very bad." Hermione said.

"What else Auntie Billie?" Mel persuaded the woman to continue.

"Some of their minions arrived, to inform of their defeat." Billie explained. "They bowed to them and…one even got on his knees. They were begging for forgiveness but…but she just kicked him away and…"

Her voice broke.

The teens had the feeling that what followed wouldn't be good.

"She burnt them all alive…all of them…" Billie sobbed. "It was awful…"

They waited for a while before Wyatt dared speak once again.

"You said you knew who she was Auntie Billie…" Wyatt murmured softly. "Can you tell us that woman's name, please?"

For a while there was no answer, and the teens began wondering if they should insist, or wait until she was feeling better. Yet they had no need to do either, as they got their answer right in that moment.

"Chris…ty…" Came the broken and startling reply.

"Oh my god…" Both gals in the room gasped as they sat on their toes, a mix of shock, horror and compassion showed clearly in her eyes.

"What did she say?" Chris asked, as he hadn't been able to hear.

"Christy…" Henry, who hadn't been closer, informed the rest.

"It can't be…" Both brothers were just as shocked as the gals.

"Who is that?" Draco asked, very much confused. "Who is that woman?"

"Christy Jenkins…" Henry repeated, this time the full name.

"Jenkins?" Draco asked, suddenly understanding. "Wait a second, you mean?"

"Her sister." Harry confirmed.

Draco couldn't help but think that things were messed up, really messed up.

.---.

It took Billie a lot of time and a very great effort to deal with the fact that her older sister had come back from the death, and was still being evil.

The teens, meanwhile, seemed to be finding explanations to quite several things: like the spell that made Harry's family not care about him, the fact that the power of the DE had increased so dramatically in such a little time, and the prophecy Lavender had chanted during one of the DADA classes. Now they just needed to discover who were the ones mentioned in the other prophecy, and how they would manage to defeat both Voldemort and Christy (not to say their armies, which were due to be huge).

The Charmed Ones and the rest of the family back in SF were informed of everything, but being realistic there wasn't much they could do. They had their own works to attend back in U.S.A. and they couldn't leave that part unprotected from the demons that still walked around once in a while.

.---.

On the other hand, after it had been officially declared in the Daily Prophet that the War had begun, many things changed.

Aurors got on the move, patrolling streets, mainly places wizards were known to attend, like the Ministry, Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, etc. Also several aurors were sent to guard Hogwarts, from the doors, to make sure no one suspicious would enter.

Wards were improved also in any important magical place. In Hogwarts those wards included the sealing of each and every secret passageway, except for the one that lead to Honeydukes, as Professor Dumbledore believed it would be a good idea to have an emergency exit in case they were attacked.

Also a group of students got together and formed what they called the "Defense Association" (though in secret some said it was in truth Dumbledore's army), known also as the D.A. for short. It was formed by students of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff who were willing to fight the DE. Most of them also had proven to have 'gifts' or a great talent in martial arts, weaponry or a mix of them.

The leader of the group was declared to be, as could have been expected: Harvey Potter, while his main supporters were Ginny, Ron, Lavender, Luna and Neville. The six of them had taken it upon themselves to study as much as they could, and also to pass that knowledge to the rest of the members of the D.A.

The adults in charge of supervising that group were Billie, Wyatt and Chris in what respected to gifts, and what most called 'muggle-fighting techniques' (martial arts and weaponry), while Remus Lupin and Sirius Black supervised what referred to the use of a wand.

The D.A. came out to be a great group, they trained the students, who advanced in a rather fast way, they all seemed to eager to demonstrate that even being so young (most of them weren't even off age), even when they weren't aurors, they could still fight off any evil wizard and actually have a chance of coming out victorious.

All in all, a group like the D.A. probably wouldn't sit well with the Ministry, even weeks after the fights in Hogsmeade they were still trying to give a good excuse to the public as to why a bunch of students had had to fend off the DE for themselves. The people certainly hadn't liked to discover that the aurors weren't always where they were needed. It was for those reasons that it'd been decided that, even if just for the moment being, the existence of the D.A. would be kept in secret. It was probably better that way.

.---.

So the days passed, and they turned into weeks. The war was raging on out in different parts of the world but, gratefully, the students hadn't been immersed in another battle, yet.

It was after some meetings of the D.A. Harvey noticed that neither Harry nor his friends had signed up as members. He wondered why, for what he had seen in DADA all of them were quite good at it, even Draco Malfoy. Even if Harvey had never gotten along much with the Slytherin boy he seemed to get along with his twin and the others, and someone with his ability would be really useful in the war.

With all that in mind Harvey decided to go look for his brother, maybe try and convince him of joining the D.A. It took him a while but finally the Gryffindor twin found the Ravenclaw one in the owlery, where Harry was petting Hedwig while thinking in everything that was going on around them.

"Hey Harry." Harvey called.

"Hello brother." Harry greeted him with a soft smile. "What is it? I have the feeling you've been looking for me."

"That's right." Harvey admitted. "I wanted to talk to you about the D.A…."

"I should have guessed as much." Harry nodded.

"Why didn't you and your friends sign in for the group? I've seen you in DADA class, you're all great. You could be a great asset now that the war has begun."

"I know you're right, but I can't…we can't…it's just that…I really can't explain it."

"Don't worry. I think I understand."

"Really?" Harry raised a brow, confused.

"Well, I'm not saying I know exactly why you and your friends aren't joining the group. But for a long time now I've had the feeling that you, and them, are very different from me and from most of us. It's as if you had upon your shoulders a burden a lot greater than the one the rest of us carry."

"Harvey…"

"I don't know exactly what's the reason for that. And I guess that if you haven't told me so far there must be a reason, so I won't pry. As long as you're not alone, I think it's alright."

"Thank you for that. And no, I'm not alone, I'll always have Hermy, Henry and the rest. I'm sorry for not being able to tell you some things, but I wouldn't know how to explain it all. Maybe some day…"

"Yeah…"

"But anyway. Even if neither I nor any of my friends are part of the D.A., know we'll always be willing to help you. Anytime. If you ever need my help you just have to call my name."

"And you'll always be able to count on me too Harry."

"I know Harvey, I know."

Without further ado Harry moved his arm, Hedwig seemed to understand and flapped her wings, leaving. Harry left immediately after, leaving his brother behind.

"You told him to just call your name…" A soft feminine voice commented from behind him just as he entered one of the halls.

Harry didn't seem surprised at seeing her there, coming from behind a column, and not even bothering in trying to hide the fact that she had been waiting for him.

"That I did." He nodded.

"Yet you know such things only work when it's between a white-lighter and their charge." She reminded him softly.

"I know." Harry admitted. "And it took me a great time to make the Elders accept, but from this day and until this damn war is over, my brother holds the same status as any possible charge of mine would."

"Like me…" She whispered.

"You're different Hermy. I've told you time and time again, you're more than my charge…a lot more…"

"I know…"

And as if it were the most normal thing in the world, she raised on her toes and kissed him, just a brief kiss on his lips. Then she smiled softly, as a faint blush covered her cheeks and she fell into step, next to him, once more.

Silence reigned for a long while, even when she slipped her hand into his and he acknowledge the action by squeezing it slightly, no words were said.

Hermione just sighed, but said nothing about it.

"You know how I feel for you, right?" Harry asked, suddenly stopping his walk, and standing right in front of her. "Even if I just can't bring myself to say the words…you know that I…"

"I know Harry, I know." Hermione assured him softly, one of her fingers on his lips. "I know it is hard for you to say the words, but I also know that the fact that you can't bring yourself to say them doesn't mean you don't feel them."

"I don't know why it is, I just…" Harry was babbling, and he knew it.

"Don't worry." She stopped him once again. "One day you'll be able to say it, I know it. And it'll make me very happy. I don't mind having to wait, I'm a patient person. And no matter how long it may take, know that I'll always be here for you…always…"

Harry just nodded in silence, brought both of her hands to his lips and kissed them, as if telling her: 'me too', which made her smile softly.

He didn't know why, but he just couldn't bring himself to say that he loved her. He had made it known to her, ever since the past summer, when she had projected herself into his house and they had kissed, in the way they had unconsciously wished to do since the previous year. But that time there were no interruptions, they both talked about their feelings and accepted the fact that their feelings went beyond those of friends. They became a couple, and even if it was usual for them to embrace or share secret kisses once in a while, for some reason Harry had never been able to bring himself to say the three words: I love you.

Hermione was a patient person, and as she had already said, she knew that even if he couldn't say the words, he loved her nonetheless, and that was enough. But also for that same reason, she had never said the words herself, she didn't want to press Harry into saying something he didn't feel safe saying yet.

None of them knew what caused that little 'problem', but as it didn't stop them from actively showing how much they cared for each other they didn't heed it much.

Another thing to be considered was the fact that no one really knew 'officially' about Harry's and Hermy's relationship. Those two had always been so close, ever since Harry's arrival (no one had forgotten how he'd protected her the night the dark-lighter had attacked the Halliwell manor). So it wasn't really strange for any of their friends to see them hanging out together, or even going someplace or another just the two of them.

.---.

The board had been laid out, the pieces were already on the move. Even if the most powerful of them yet remained behind, acting from the shadows, not quite ready to show themselves to the world.

And even then the enemy was attacking hard and fast, ready to do anything and everything needed to turn the situation to his favor.

Now that this game of war has begun…Who will claim the victory?


And we now know who one of the three prophesized people is. We're just missing two!

Well, now the game is set. And the war has officially begun. But what you've seen thus far is nothing compared to what is coming.

Now, on the next update you'll be seeing a list of the powers each of the important characters possess (the good guys mainly). This because someone asked me to do it, so you wouldn't be confused as to who has what power (the confusion I believe arises from the fact that I took the liberty of changing slightly the powers of Piper's children, and chose the powers of the others the way I wished to; and then there's the very particular situation of Harry and Hermione).

Anyway, so next update will be that, and then we'll get really into the war. Two magical societies fighting, even if not completely together. And another evil that will come to mess up things even more. For those who wanted the Charmed Ones and the rest of their family to become more involved in everything, I have to say that your wish will be granted (things are bound to get Extremely complicated). I hope you'll like what I'm planning for the future.

Now, there's one thing. For what I've seen in my status 64 people have this story in their Story Alerts, what I'm wondering is why then I've never had more than seven reviews per chapter (most of the times I barely get five). You know people, if you All (or at least half of you), took the time to leave a review (however small), I would feel more motivated to write and would update faster (and that's a fact). I've been wondering if there's a chance that more of you will begin leaving me review...

Well, that's all for now. Hope I'll receive more reviews this time around. See you next update.