Chapter 4: The Geek Squad

There were a lot of muted whispers in the Slytherin common room. The rumours had spread quickly because of Pansy's gossiping. Her comments included that Daphne and Tracey were 'whores' and that they had 'sold their bodies' and were 'attempting NEWTS because they felt that they were better than the rest'. The darker purebloods nodded emphatically, but the majority of the students were in open admiration of the undertaking of the two young witches. Soon enough, everyone knew.

"Did you see the rings? They are so nice!"

"Yeah, but did you hear the conditions?"

"No?"

"Attempt NEWTS by year five, and receive Outstanding passes, or lose your magic. I think they are both doing three this year."

"Holy Hecate. She is fucking hardcore."

"Think Greengrass can do it? I don't know about the other one, though?"

"Maybe. She already did two OWLS, and did better than most people. Is she in our Transfiguration class tomorrow?"

"Yes. I heard her friend is coming too. Look, we have some dumb rocks in our classes. Five galleons she is quicker than Jugson junior!"

"Ah damn, a bet is a bet then?"

Draco who was nursing a bullfrog expression confronted Daphne, as she looked over her notes before the start of the meeting.

"Greengrass!" Draco yelled.

"Hmm?" Daphne answered nonchalantly.

"Your sister went into Gryffindor!" Draco yelled as he tried to cause a scene. Daphne owed Tracey a galleon, now. After the entire lecture on the compartment, he was back in less than twelve hours.

"That is correct? I spoke to you about this issue already?" Daphne insisted.

"How could you allow that to happen?" Draco asked as he advertised the event as a personal shortcoming that Daphne possessed.

"I had little to do with that? Perhaps you should speak to the Sorting Hat?" Daphne replied as some of the neutral students began to laugh.

"You should have convinced her otherwise!" the boy continued.

"Draco, I am not sure how to explain this again, so I am going to take my time. My mother and Astoria were hiding in an alley when the attack occurred. They were going to rape a muggleborn witch, and Astoria knew that. She was scared for her life. Then according to my mother, she heard Die Scum, before the aggressor killed the lot of them. No, she didn't see what killed them. If you have a problem with her choices, you might want to speak to the people who decided to take such actions. Her dislike for you in particular only starts after that event. I already explained this in January."

Now Draco was silent.

"Maybe she wasn't deserving of being in Slytherin. This house is not for her!" Pansy commented, snidely.

"Correct Pansy. No different than we are not deserving of the other houses either? Look, society requires everyone to work. If we Slytherins are all the rulers, who will we rule, according to your logic? You should welcome the others. Frankly, I don't believe such nonsense, just saying your arguments are not logical?" Daphne explained as Horace Slughorn entered the common room. The Triumvirate meeting began and Daphne as a pureblood and the Heiress of House Greengrass asked for an opportunity to make an announcement. She explained that her family was in a formal betrothal contract and that no advances were to be made on her path from any suitors. She also explained that Artificing Guilds were commonplace in many places in Europe and she had been granted possible membership on the basis that she could meet the unique challenges.

"I want all of you to know that disruption of my studies, endangers my magic. And if any of you cause as much as a minute of wasted time, this will be considered an attack on my ability to protect my magic. And that minute occurs after you annoy me. Before we even talk about the Guild, you will find my father will take more direct actions. And if you survive that, well good luck.

Tracey has been given a similar offer by a family, and while the academic requirements aren't necessary, she is assisting me as my aide. She is required by magical oath to keep her secrets. She too is not to be harassed by unwanted suitors. In any case, we prefer to study in our rooms. As you all know, I hardly ever stay in the common room. I need absolute silence. So, as long as you aren't looking for me, it should not be a problem.

House Greengrass and House Davis are in an alliance, on this particular matter. And any interference will result in Blood-war. Two foreign families, along with the prospective Artificing Guild will get involved. For the year seven students, expect to see us in your NEWT classes. Oh finally, a display of our rings."

Tracey and Daphne raised the golden rings, and against the crackling fire, they glinted across the common room. Many of the girls were aware that those rings were easily far more intricate than many wedding rings and house rings. There was a lot of envy on the faces of the gold diggers.

"Thank you Legatus Marcella for your accommodation," Daphne replied, as she closed her contribution.

"My Triumvirate decree, Ms Daphne Greengrass and Ms Tracey Davis are given accommodations that are necessary to fulfil their betrothal arrangements. Their conditions are far more demanding than most, and they are continuing the tradition by choosing to marry into families that are magical and proper. If you don't have formal business with them, they are to be left alone. Consul Horace Slughorn, any comments?" Cato asked.

"Only my best wishes to the two girls. They have continued to work towards Slytherin's achievements. Any undue harassment by fellow housemates will result in Hogsmeade access being revoked, a point penalty, and scrubbing every cauldron in detention. Ms Greengrass and Ms Davis are our frontline witches for the House Cup in the junior division. They are not to be disturbed! Am I clear?" Slughorn reiterated.

Many of the boys understood that nobody was to mess with Greengrass and Davis. After the meeting was finished, the comments continued in the common room, as Horace went to Albus to inform him of the new development. Daphne and Tracey went to their rooms, they locked the door and apparated into the apartment. The other Slytherins were talking about Daphne.

"Well, that was intense. Three NEWTS in less than one year?" a random boy asked.

"She already has two OWLS under her belt. And she made the highest grades in history. Not impossible. As long as they are wearing those beauties on their fingers, nobody will harass them. Unless some of the boys are insane?" another girl commented.

"Not much to ask in this house?" another dark haired girl sniggered.

"She never needed the ring. She can fucking shield already. Stebbins had a bad time late last year. We should honestly ask her to teach us, bet she is better than that Lockhart bloke. He is going at the end of the year." A sandy hair coloured boy replied.

"We will see. Maybe she might be the person to help us? Strangely only neutrals like ourselves are taking DADA at the NEWT level. After the Transfiguration class, we will see. Her father has always looked out for all of us, so we will watch her back." Phoebe Snyde commented.

Late into the night, all of the fifth and seventh-year students received a message on the dataslate and there was a sigh of relief among many.

Good Night Students.

If you are in your fifth or seventh year, you surely have your exams right around the corner. We are aware that a substandard textbook and teacher were chosen for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post. After our investigation, we have concluded that the Headmaster is not to blame for this set of events. Many of the Aurors who could qualify were killed in the last Wizarding War. There was a single application for the post this year, and the man was selected merely because there was nobody else. That is why we did not list his drivel on our storefront.

For the support you have given us, we have provided a free textbook for you and we also recorded ourselves casting the spells. We have hyphenated the pronunciation and various camera angles show the desired result. We also have clear diagrams of the wand movements. We suggest that you utilize study groups.

Wishing you continued success,

Adjudicator Artificer Bjorn Jarl & Triarch RunePriestess Thora Åse

The students were happy with the assistance. Harry and Hermione had not included anything beyond the standard instruction. Rather they were interested to see which students would utilize the resources, as they were generating a list of possible recruits for their army. Known darker families would be monitored to ascertain if their views on society affected their learning outcomes. Would they utilise the resources or would they take comfort in their political power? Harry already suspected the latter but decided to investigate, in any case. Later that night, Astoria and Ginny met each other in the girl's bathroom before they were transported into the flat.

"And we have a Lion infestation!" Fred began.

"That is gripping the nation!" George concluded.

Everyone laughed as Fred and George continued with their antics, and their alternate twin speak. Hermione was researching the issue, and it seemed that the twins were born with slightly entangled spines. This was fascinating, and it explained why they could predict each other's movements, thoughts and complete each other's sentences.

"Hey, you people got any stroopwafel on your contraband?" Astoria asked.

"The fridge has some. I like them too. You can have the rest. Congratulations." Luna replied as she hugged both of the girls.

"Thanks," Astoria replied, as she pulled out a large bottle of Nutella from her handbag.

"You walk around with Nutella in your purse?" Ginny asked. That one was new for the youngest Weasley redhead.

"Sure. Why not? It is the greatest food group conceived by human beings." Astoria giggled.

"Well, our darling sister has joined us. Although we didn't expect anything else. Come by later to our flat, through the tunnel, and you can make yourself at home. We have a small fab area." George replied.

"Thanks. You know Hogwarts is a prime place for Go-Kart races. I want to drive our Go-Kart through the halls, and over the Viaduct." Ginny commented. The twins paused, as they seem to be thinking about something.

"Gred about that, maybe we could make red and green shells into prank items that we can deploy at people. For maximum devastation. I mean GoKarts, Castles, so yes that is…..appropriate," Fred suggested. Suddenly everybody, who knew about Mario Kart (because of Hermione's obsession) became quiet.

"Forge how about we keep this one secret from the dynamic duo? I will do all of the runes. And I want special accommodation" Daphne explained.

"Which"

"is?" the both of them replied, in tandem.

"Triple Spiny Shells. Multiple Bob-ombs and Bullet Bills. We are doing all those!" Daphne replied.

The twins hopped over and gave her a high-five before Fred replied, "You are indeed a woman of great taste!"

The next day, the students in the seventh year Transfiguration class were already talking about the rumours. The other students had overheard that two Slytherin second years were attempting a NEWT level subject. There was some discussion about the rising academic superstar.

"I heard about Greengrass. She topped the Runes and Arithmancy Owl, last year as a firstie. I saw the solution. She happens to be good at Mathematics too," a Gryffindor boy whispered.

"A bit odd for a pureblood, but very nifty! I was terrible at maths, at primary school," a Ravenclaw replied.

"Is she a bitch about it? Being so good?" another boy asked.

"Nah. She gave me a lot of help last year on the basis that I put my effort in. And that was sixth-year runes. She is more like..er…from what I heard….a pureblood Hipster? Right, Phoebe?" a random Hufflepuff asked.

"Exactly like that. You know I love that description. I can work with that!" Daphne laughed, as she appeared in the classroom. Strangely enough for the others, she was accompanied by her friend and three new people.

"You're welcome? Nice to meet you. Gareth Brighton. We heard about your friend who is writing the NEWT with you, who I assume is?" he asked as he pointed to Tracey.

"Tracey Davis. Pleasure." the mop-haired girl replied.

"You three sure you guys aren't in the wrong place? These two are supposed to be here, I think?" Gareth asked.

"Wait a moment. Weasley right? Gareth, we are in the company of a Quidditch superstar. This is our new keeper for the World Cup team. Charlie's youngest brother," another Ravenclaw replied.

"Are you serious? Are you?" another Gryffindor asked.

Ronald smiled while Neville and Luna seated themselves. Daphne and Tracey paired off and Ronald outstretched his hand and gave the boy a firm, friendly handshake.

"Hey, that is top secret news. Ronald Weasley at your service. For the three of us, we are here because we have other obligations. If I finish school early, I will train full-time for the World Cup. Luna here is Master Painter Clementine Delacour's apprentice. Neville runs his own hot-sauce business, and has obligations to his parents."

"My condolences. I know of your parents Neville. Absolutely fantastic Aurors. I do hope they get better. Miles Queensbury." The Gryffindor seventh year replied.

"Thanks, Miles!" Neville replied before Minerva McGonagall stepped into the classroom.

The professor began with a discussion of what was expected for their NEWT examination. She also spoke about career consultation, as well as best suggested practices for covering all of the material. Then she laid an assortment of objects and asked the students to work their way upwards from year one Transfiguration Spells, as quickly as possible. She had set up every single known object that was required, and students were supposed to work independently as they evaluated their skills. That was when Neville blurted out, "Greengrass! Race you?"

"Bring it!" she replied as both of them, began to transfigure quickly and non-verbally from a needle upwards with a great deal of speed and fluidity. Hary had thought both of them, and they had learnt his personal techniques. Suddenly the other three were racing after them, and the whole class shut down as the five of them were openly competing against each other. Minerva was shocked.

It reminded her of James. Only James Potter could transfigure with this type of ease. He was the best she had thought of for many years. The old woman wondered if his signature method had spread out as a common practice. Perhaps James had shared his notes with Frank? And then it had travelled to the rest of the group? She even wondered if Harry would have been this good. Minerva placed her hand on her mouth, as Neville pulled ahead. The entire activity had left Minerva clutching her hands, as she gently covered her mouth. Neville then targeted the random Tortoise that was on Minerva's desk before he transfigured it into a trumpet. After, he summoned it and blew a soft and halfway muted note.

"Second!" Daphne replied, long after.

"Third" Ronald replied.

"Fourth" Tracey answered.

"Fifth?" Luna stated as she seemed a little disappointed. Now the class was clapping and Minerva was smiling.

"Ten points to Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Twenty for Slytherin. Mr Longbottom, I want to speak to you when class is over. I have my suspicions. Never in my life have I seen such magic!" Minerva insisted softly, to Neville. The other seventh years overheard the comment and were surprised.

"Thanks, Professor. We have to get the theory sorted out. We only practised the spells for the holidays. Nonstop. So we have a lot of work to do. We can help the others with the practicals if you want?" Neville suggested.

The rest of the class was spent, as the group corrected smaller known issues like the speed of the tip, using the breath to steady the magic, eliminating anxiety, and visualising the object. By the time the double period was finished, some of the seventh years were surprised at the improvement that had occurred.

"Are these methods from James Potter?" Minerva asked Neville privately after the other seventh years had left.

"Yes. But these are not all of his optimisations. These are the smaller ones. You don't think we should show the public, all of the good stuff?" Neville laughed. Minerva observed as Daphne and Tracey in the absence of the others were good friends with who Hogwarts called the 'trio'.

"Of course not. I will design certain assignments that will compress a lot of the work. And as you are only studying three subjects, I think you will be ready. Your initiative is to be commended. It also warms my heart to see that we have good relationships with each other. Ten additional points each for house unity." Minerva replied as Daphne and Tracey high-fived the others.

The Potions class had put Ronald in the spotlight, as Horace questioned Ron very quietly on some of his new equipment and his speciality reagents. He was quite content to let the trio work as a group, and Daphne was paired with Tracey. While the assessment of their abilities would have to occur over many classes, he was confident that they were fairly accomplished. The indicators were there – knowing the recipes by heart, heat control, sterilised ingredient preparation and good coordination with cooperating partners. Generally, Potions assignments were done in pairs, but Horace was happy to allow 'the trio' to operate as a triplet, as he had an odd number of students in his class.

By the time the end of the day had arrived, the rumours had spread all over the school. Slytherin was winning the bigger chunk of points, and the other Houses were behind as they only possessed one genius, but Slytherin had two. Daphne and Tracey's absence from year two classes annoyed Draco because the news would soon reach his father. Daphne and Tracey became the Slytherin witches who were untouchable, magically and physically. Even Pansy seemed to accept defeat for now, as they began to rack up a large number of points.

Draco was shocked to hear that the trio were attempting NEWTS and that they knew far more magic than himself. He decided not to relate this news to his father, even with the possibility of being punished – he preferred that to his father constantly harassing him about the achievements of his mortal enemies. However, he still had not made up his mind about the incident last year. He was not going to reveal to his father that he had been rescued by the Storm Lord.

He would continue to keep his secret.

Quidditch tryouts were coming soon, and Lucius had threatened Slughorn – if Draco was not given the position of Seeker, Lucius had promised to 'scale back on his luxuries.' As Draco related this news to his group of 'friends', Blaise looked around quite suspiciously, as he was sure that no secrets in the Slytherin common room or anywhere else were safe. Tracey already knew that it was already impossible for her to get an opportunity, but perhaps that was not such a bad thing. Slytherin would lose, again. Draco was a good flier, but bad luck seemed to plague them.

Minerva McGonagall was already in somewhat of a panic. Charlie had left, and now Gryffindor did not possess a seeker. It was likely that extensive tryouts would be necessary. Without a good seeker, their ability to win matches would be severely hampered, and Minerva liked looking at the Quidditch Cup on her desk. Of course, Fred and George had been discussing the problem with Oliver Wood, the new captain of the Quidditch Team. Ginny and Astoria had merely walked straight into Minerva's office and announced themselves.

"Afternoon Professor. I heard you were looking for a seeker?" Ginny announced, with her custom modified Typhoon slung over her shoulder.

"Buy a seeker, get a chaser free. Well, if you need a substitute?" Astoria replied.

"Good afternoon ladies. I must say once again excellent performance in my class. Although if the performance of your siblings is anything to go by, you are far ahead of your classmates?" Minera questioned.

"Yep!" Astoria answered brightly.

"Very soon you will tell me you want to write NEWT examinations too?" Minerva joked.

"We were encouraged to do so, but we have other important hobbies. We do like to fly very fast," Ginny replied as she giggled.

"Oh, dear! Fred and George, I was not aware that your sister was a seeker?" Minerva asked the twins.

"Ginny?" Fred asked.

"Oh, when I was at work for the whole of last year, I flew Stormbolts for fun. I had fun with all the leftover snitches that Charlie had previously tested. Astoria had tossed quaffles for Ronald, this entire holiday?"

"I can't remember seeing you playing?" George asked.

"Oh, we used to play in the pitch dark. About 9 p.m. with minimal illumination." Astoria explained.

"Does mom know?" Fred asked.

"No. She was too busy with the kitchen. Her getting a job was the best thing ever to happen. Astoria and I started at Platform nine and three quarters after passing through the barrier and flew straight to Hogwarts by following the train line, one night."

"Are you mad? Mum and Lord Greengrass would kill both of you if they found out!" George exclaimed as Minerva McGonagall's eyebrows were now arched and a rattled expression plastered on her face.

"Probably. They would have to catch us first?" Astoria giggled as Minera suddenly shook her head in surprise. She found the Greengrass girl to be the opposite of her reserved sister. She was a troublemaker!

"Are those Typhoons? How long did the journey take?" Oliver asked, excitedly to the dismay of Minerva McGonagall.

"Yes, these are our Typhoons. Custom tuning with the modules. We manage to squeeze more speed out of them. We did the journey in one hour and forty five minutes. The average speed of 265 m.p.h."

"I will have to have a word with Molly and Lord Greengrass about your excursions! Please report to Quidditch practice. I am going to ask Albus to abolish the first-year rule for Quidditch. Ms Weasley, I hope you are as good as your brother." Minera suggested as she was conflicted about how to start such a message.

"Might be better in a couple of years. I am smaller and lighter?" Ginny teased before she and Astoria left. As they walked down the corridor with the invisibility emitters active and the silencer engaged, Astoria commented:

"If poor Minne Mouse only knew that we strapped Harry's old Fienfdyre emitters from one of his guns to the thruster pocket of the broom. All that expanding hot air and the compressed fuel were fantastic! And to think we had to ease off on the power." Astoria wistfully remarked.

"It was nice to dig in Harry's parts bin. I got his old engine parts. I think he knows. He had a sharp brain. He probably thought it was funny!" Ginny laughed.

"Oh, it was very funny. Hermione and I followed you, on our jetpacks and placed bets on who would win the race between both of you!" Harry snickered into their communicators, as he began to organise for Magorian and Firenze to visit the combat course at Peverell manor.

"Oi! The five of you, you there?" Hermione asked, before she was greeted with five replies that came at different times.

"Hey! How was life on the university compound today?" Neville asked.

"We started to read our textbooks today. Hey, I am genuinely stressed about school now. First time experience!" Hermione chuckled.

"Looking at an Aerodynamics 1 assignment. I might have to cry for this one," Harry mused, before he explained the second-year Defense class debacle.

"Anyway gang, Sirius was paying attention to the Year two DADA class. Professor Pedophile let an entire cage of Cornish pixies loose in the class, and he did not consider using the immobulus. We have concluded that he does not know how to cast a single spell."

"Not a single spell?" Daphne asked.

"Nope. Well, at least Sirius thinks so." Harry responded.

"What should we do about tomorrow? He is our first class?" Neville asked.

"How about if we describe the situations we have experienced in the obstacle course, and then we ask him for the choice of spells? Also, we could ask him how to deal with tactical decisions?" Neville suggested.

"Or better yet, how about if we poke holes in his accounts?" Luna suggested.

"Or we can ask him the best way to disable dangerous beasts. Suggest things that Harry would do – like removing heads, breaking ribcages, breaking kneecaps. Make it extremely edgy!" Ronald suggested as he grinned.

"Right, you have your self-designated assignments. Magorian has suggested that you can run along with them on the Centaur path. The same one Hermione ran. I will send the coordinates for transport. Bye bye you lot!" Hermione replied before she hung up. There was a chorus of 'Bye Byes' as Harry and Hermione approached their whiteboards and they began to scribble.

"This feels like when we first met at school," Hermione commented, as she looked at her biochemistry assignments.

"Maybe that is a good thing. We have been experimenting for quite a while, we can slow down on building things. I think we can get up to our Masters in, before the war. The Occulumency is a big help for storing and flipping textbook pages in our minds. Doing anything big for your birthday this year?" Harry asked.

"Nah. Time is the issue. Dinner at the apartment or home with the rest for the birthday. The only outing is for Divali. Christmas we can have some fun. Then back to the books. How are the celebrations with Uncle Cyrus?

"I learnt how to conduct the rites for most of the calendar dates, for most of the months gone by. The Autumn Equinox is coming up. Mabon. It is usually a small ceremony and we make offerings into the fire, for crops." Harry replied.

"I will come. I could use some luck with the plants honestly. Not that I am a believer, but I want to know. Neville is giving us a hard carry with his ability to shape plants. Daphne is chugging away at the instant messaging. It might be ready for November," Hermione explained.

"Time to get the kettle started then? I need help with this piece of mathematics here?" Harry replied, as he wandlessly flicked the switch, and started a brew.

Firenze and two other centaurs were out for their morning exercise, the next morning. Astoria and Ginny were huffing their chests out. Daphne and Ronald ran behind them as they supervised their struggle. They had only done five kilometres and everybody was doing acceptably well, except for the new recruits.

"Easy Astoria. You will get there." Daphne explained.

"My lungs want to explode!" Astoria complained.

Ginny's cheeks were tomato red. Ronald on the other hand was the only person who ran, totally strapped up with heavy weights. While he was last, he was pushing himself far harder than the rest. When they were finished, they returned to the apartment and changed, after having a bath. Invictus monitored the illusion based dummies, as they imitated the morning routine of students who were staying in the common rooms. Then, the students apparated into the castle and began the walk to the great hall. As the entire group tucked into breakfast, the professors gave their usual morning greetings. The Weasleys along with the others were the first to arrive and it had almost become a standard habit that was not questioned by the staff. Then, the two snakes always followed not too long after.

The fantastic five had reviewed Lockhart's textbooks and Neville had even drawn some stick diagrams as they looked at the fabrications under cross-examination, the previous night. Daphne as a political savant could detect the patterns and Tracey picked up on the inconsistent writing easily. Now they had their questions ready. As they finished their breakfast, they left in differently paired groups. Albus had been listening to the reports from Minerva and Horace.

"Minerva, I am not surprised that they already know the magic. As I said, they are preparing for the return of Lord Voldemort. However, for Ms Greengrass and Ms Davis, the circumstances are unusual. I would like to investigate but my contacts can report nothing. I am also afraid I might step on the wrong toes." Albus wondered.

"Well, Headmaster the rumour is that they are aiming to leave England by the time they are in their fifth year. For those who are staying, if they graduate, they may be of use to you. I can see professor material from a mile away." Horace replied.

"I hope so. It seems that the circumstances demand such excellence from them. I am almost tempted to offer them jobs as Assistant professors. Are there any significant gaps in their knowledge Minerva?"

"For Transfiguration? Neville is as good as James Potter. The rest are as good as Lilly and Alice. I think Neville remembers Harry regularly. He often says that he wishes that his Godbrother was here. Perhaps that could be another reason Albus?"

"It is in the name of love that we can make some of the greatest achievements. Horace?" Albus asked.

"I learnt a few tricks from Ronald and Daphne. I believe that they are good enough to help with the preparation of some of the Hospital wing potions. I will ask and see if they are interested. As Severus isn't here, they can take over those projects."

"Let me know how they progress. They are the first students to attempt NEWT exams directly, and they are all friends. This is a story that we need – when they leave Hogwarts we can let everyone know that they were friends. Sadly I have not been able to get any more information out of Xeno. He was quite willing to cooperate but the contract is ironclad. The Daily Prophet is also not doing too well. The Guild controls the news – I hope that their reporting continues to be fair." Albus explained as he ate his sausage.

"Honestly, it is the most informative newspaper that I have ever read?" Babbling commented as Gilderoy Lockhard strolled jauntily into the staff area of the Great Hall, to have his breakfast.

The seventh year Defense against the Dark Arts class was in progress.

"Let me introduce you to your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Me. Gilderoy Lockhart. Order of Merlin, Third Class. Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League and five times winner of Witch Weekly's charming smile award. But I don't talk about that…."

CRASH!

Gilderoy Lockhart was now on the floor. Neville had deployed a cloaked drone and it had sent a tripping jinx. For the others, it looked like a sudden spark because of the extremely short distance. Lockhart slowly got off the floor as he dusted his rather ostentatious purple robe.

"Seems the floor was a bit slippery, Anyway I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her."

The next couple of seconds were filled with a laugh from the professor, which was very uncomfortable for everyone. It was forced, and everyone was dead silent.

"Professor, I have a question?" Neville asked. The other students looked on curiously.

"Ah! Neville Longbottom. The first student to write NEWTS directly! That is a valiant attempt at being popular, but perhaps not as popular as me! Your question?" Lockhart asked, as he twirled his coat and paraded between the rows of desks.

"Sure professor. Amelia Bones has an operational range of forty five feet. Can you share any tips for optimised long-range spells? And how do you go about leading your targets in a manner where if they move, you can land the spell after it has been fired off?" Neville asked.

"Now now, my books do have an account of how I handled that situation!" Lockhart replied as the significance of the question seemed to escape him. The other students had thoughtful looks on their faces. The question was very important when it came to actual combat conditions. Many of them wondered if it was on the Defense syllabus.

"No sir, they don't actually. Your book doesn't have a single account of a clear chain to tactical strategies. Perhaps you misheard or misunderstood the question. I will explain with a practical example. Now, a certain young man and his goons accosted two witches last year. Neville and I were walking down the corridor…."

Now all the seventh year students were silent. They wanted to hear what exactly had happened, as Ronald continued with the initial explanation. After all, some of the other students had been there when the beatdown had happened, but even they were not sure about the rumours that had spread over the castle.

"Neville and I wanted to give them a proper beatdown without wands. We proceed to grab the wands by their tips, where we could apply maximum leverage, by bending backwards. That way we could either break the wands or remove them where they could not cast spells," Ronald explained.

"Then we used the softer part of our hand to target their faces to disorient them. We went for the eyes and the ears. The harder parts of our hands were used to hit the soft tissue. We went for the liver and other vulnerable areas in the ribcage. They tend to cause so much pain, even a strong wizard would not be able to focus to cast magic," Neville replied.

Now the rest of the seventh years were looking on, as the boys switched back and forth. For the purebloods who did not know much about fighting with a wand, they were surprised. The halfbloods and the muggleborns had appreciative looks on their faces. They realised that their unusual motley pair were probably trained in Martial Arts. Their suppositions were then confirmed:

"We then targeted the joints. We broke their hands and feet. All of them had wands and it counted for nothing. We disoriented them, took away their primary instrument and physically maimed them, where the pain would prevent them from responding. What is your methodology for dealing with supernatural creatures that might have high pain tolerance?" Ronald continued.

The class was now quiet. Some of the students were beginning to wonder if Longbottom and Weasley had been trained by Aurors.

"Now, all of that isn't necessary. Magical spells are just fine!" Lockhard explained, but suddenly there was doubt on his face.

"Could you demonstrate your technique for shielding against the werewolf? The Protego spell can be held constantly as a sustained shield, but not for long periods. It also doesn't do well against extreme physical attacks. Better to use the flicks to throw off combative magic. Can you upkeep the spell for at least one minute? Your book said that you shielded for half hour continuously?"

"Perhaps you misread, Ms?" Lockhart asked.

"Ms Greengrass. And no, the account of the Werewolf battle is on page two hundred and seventy. Paragraphs one and two? First book?" Daphne continued.

"Say professor, if I was to throw some stunners at you right now, could you block them? All of us can flick stunners away? Perhaps a practical demonstration of your talents? You are an absolute rockstar, I don't think we can harm you. It might be good for our classmates, however?" Luna asked sweetly. The other Ravenclaws picked up on the hidden sarcasm.

"Now there will be no need for any spells, today is just a theory class?" Gilderoy replied uneasily.

The rest of the students began to realise that the newbies were trolling the professor, and it was fucking funny.

"Many accounts of your battles include taking on multiple groups of wizards, The only way to get out of such a pinch is to use Battle Transfiguration. Can you summon walls or animate objects to cause diversions? Think you could give Minnie Mouse a run for her money? She is the Transfiguration Queen at this school, after all…." Neville suggested.

The other Gryffindors who loved Professor McGonagall and knew of the cartoon character laughed. And yet, for some odd reason, the character seemed appropriate for the lioness, with her animagus being a cat. Many of them even wondered if 'Minnie Mouse' was appropriate as the official nickname for the woman. Then, the questioning continued for the next fifteen minutes, and Lockhart became angry as it progressed. Many of the older students were impressed with the deep analysis of his textbooks which contradicted themselves, regularly. Lockheart eventually threatened the group with detention.

"Now now, if these questions continue I will have to assign the group of you, detention. You can perhaps help me answer my fan mail?" Lockhart suggested, rather forcefully.

"The day you give me detention for asking genuine questions about how you fight, I will personally challenge you to a public duel as the last scion of House Longbottom. I already placed a sword at Lord Malfoy's neck earlier this year and Lord Parkinson almost shit his pants. I hope your corpse survives Augusta Longbottom after I send you home in a coffin." Neville replied, dead serious. Now Gilderoy Lockhart's face was suddenly white. Being challenged by a Most Ancient and Most Noble house was no small thing. It would be social suicide for him. The neutrals looked on and decided to inform their parents that Neville was swinging the kind of punches that his Grandmother threw in the Wizengamot.

"You know Greengrass, we ain't friends. More like competitors." Neville suggested.

"Indeed, Longbottom." Daphne replied as she looked on.

"My gang and I are bailing out. Want to come with me? This guy is incompetent, and we will have to work together to survive our exams. I understand you too are busy, just like us. And the requirements on you girlie? Can you afford to deal with this…..charlatan?" Neville asked as they all played the rest like a fiddle.

"Oh definitely. I will do what I must to ensure my excellence. I have severe penalties for mediocrity. This professor could ruin my life – he could kill me indirectly?" Daphne suggested as she rubbed her finger with the marriage ring.

"Right. By the way, Fakeroy Jackass, be a dear and put us present. All of us. Or perhaps that duel will arrive rather quickly," Neville insisted. The five students left the classroom, and as soon as they were far enough, they all teleported to the apartment.

"Well, that was hilarious! " Neville laughed, as he put his foot on the stool, and the rest got busy with their studies.

"Pizza on me. Oh, that was too good. Think the others might approach us for class?" Ronald asked.

"By tomorrow morning. We got a nice Defense class. All the Slytherins are from neutral families. We can investigate if they will make good recruits. They seem to have acceptable relationships with the other houses. Just to check everyone and make sure we don't have any rats in the crowd," Daphne suggested.

For the rest who were in the class, it was a double period of Defense against the Dark Arts. The remaining students began to realise that Neville was dead right. Now they were watching each other, rather uneasily.

"Oi Phoebe?"

"Yeah Larkwood?"

"I think we will have to ask Greengrass to help us. This class isn't doing anything for us. As soon as we see her in the common room?"

Phoebe nodded, as she realised that her sister's accounts had been accurate. The trio were absolute badasses. and Neville had a type of bravery that was uncompromising.

"Why is he tripping every ten minutes?" Gareth asked.

"The DADA post is jinxed, remember?" Miles replied.

"Maybe we can ask the other three to help us. Providing they are as good with the Defence. If the Transfiguration skill carries over, we can just not bother to come to this class. Nobody ever checks if you skive off in any case…" Gareth suggested.

"Well Gareth, we can ask during the next class with McGonagall. We do need their help? All of them?" Larkwood suggested.

After Harry had seen the interaction between Lucius and Amelia Bones, he decided to surprise the English Head Auror. Some of the memories had been passed to him from Ophelia. Others were his personal recollections. He also decided to give Amelia a selective sneak peek at his hardware. This would serve as a mild form of intimidation, but also force Amelia to pressure Albus Dumbledore. Albus usually enjoyed holding all the cards in his hand, and this would force him to work with others who did not idolise him. Amelia was a good detective, from the general comments that floated on the Wizarding grapevine. Harry had taken apart every memory that he had obtained from Agamemnon Cassius and had managed to link his operations partially to what he had found in South America. As he and Cyrus had poured over the evidence across many late nights - it seemed that the various magical criminal organisations were separate from the better known groups in the criminal underworld. However, they were not beyond selling and buying the same services as their mundane counterparts.

Amelia Bones found herself shocked as she read the letter, which had been placed on her desk. For a start, Ministry security meant nothing to the elusive figure. After checking through the letter for poison, Dark Magic and other issues, she gingerly read the letter which had been prepared on a computer:

Well met, Lady Bones.

This letter surely comes as a surprise, but I can assure you that I have information that is important to you. Keeping an eye on events is fascinating. Albus has not been honest with you and I am sure you have your opinions about me.

I honestly do not care. But in hindsight, I don't care about the opinions of anyone who does not pay my bills, in any case.

Anyway, I have sent some memories for you. The first one begins with what I found at Cassius Manor. I have definite evidence that Lord Parkinson had no problem with willingly investing in a Chattel Market. So much for being the Lord of a whatever house.

The second one is very interesting. I had saved a family from getting raped during the Diagon Alley fiasco, and they lovingly provided me with the information as to who raped your sister-in-law. Who would have ever thought it was Lucius Malfoy? And to think he had the gall to suggest that you were setting a bad example for Susan Bones. I was only five feet away from Fakeroy Lockjackass at Flourish and Botts when he accosted you and Susan. I should have shot Lucius on the spot. That would not have been a big deal. I can do a lot worse. I could even feed him to my sister's dragon.

I decided to spare him for now.

The Death Eater networks are firmly entrenched in every department of the Ministry of Magic. While Lucius is alive, he will lead me to his conspirators and his associates. Do you think it is a coincidence they are already drafting draconian laws? They are preparing for the return of Lord Moldypants, the Dark Wanker, He-who-was-never-gotten-laid, bla, bla, bla.

The Dark Lord will return. What nonsense right? Buckle your seatbelt Dorothy, because Kansas is going bye-bye.

I was responsible for saving Susan Bones. It was I who plucked her off her broom at Hogwarts before she crashed to her death, during the broom malfunction. I therefore will require compensation as a life debt is owed. And don't be surprised, Lucius instructed Draco to do his dirty work. Draco sabotaged the brooms. I saw it with my own eyes.

So what do I want as repayment?

When the Dark Lord returns, you will stay out of my business. You will continue to operate within the standard jurisdiction of Aurors. Stunners only. And you will not interfere with Albus' plans for the Dark Lord.

Do these things for me, and I will kill him once and for all.

Albus always knew. Why, the Dark Lord was at Hogwarts only a couple of months ago. You can observe what I did to him. Consider yourself privileged. You are one of the few who will see things from my eyes. And yes, I did sanitize the memory. Albus has a talent for tracking magical signatures.

I am aware that you wanted some of my weapons. Yes, it was I who supplied the French. Go into your locker there is a couple of hardshell cases. Armour and pistols for you and Rufus. The material can resist the most combative spells and can take at least forty killing spells. It is double the thickness of my standard armour. This is far superior to Dragon Hide armour, far lighter and easy to move with – you will love it. Do not attempt to charm my armour or apply any magic to it. Disrupt the stability matrix and it will explode. Its only job is to take punishment.

With the last memory, few people have ever seen from inside my helmet. Good chance to see how to fight in the 21st century. Your Aurors need to move away from this mobster in a cool trench coat mentality and fight like soldiers. The Aurors while civilians, need to function as a militia in wartime, and that was the big mistake that Bagnold and Fudge made.

Policemen cannot fight a war.

You might say I have not given a magical oath, and what I say is not true. I say that I have no reason to lie because I am beyond you, in any case. What are you going to do? Lock me up?

Do you think you can hold me?

See ya later, Melia.

The Storm Lord.

While Amelia considered the letter rude, as she emptied the memories and examined them, she realised that he had not lied. Rather he had given her a sort of olive branch. Cassius' operation had been mapped to a hideout in Serbia, and the information in his memories indicated that it was close to both the Bulgarian and Romanian borders. And that was bad news – there was unrest between Romania and Bulgaria, recently. The magicals who lived in that area were known to be in constant conflict with each other. While the Mundane governments had officially drawn borders, the Magicals in those areas did not subscribe to those agreements. From the edge Balkan mountains, a one-hour journey via broom could place a person in multiple countries. The I.C.W had issued a warning about the Statute but, many people did not seem to care, as they openly threw deadly spells mid-air at each other on brooms as it has been passed off as fireworks. The area acted as a hub for illicit activities and while locals themselves were not involved in crime, the ongoing instability allowed international criminal gangs to operate freely. Kidnapping was also pretty popular. Amelia was quite happy with the intel – she would look at the memories and figure out if English locals were involved, directly or indirectly.

Amelia went into the locker room and realised that whatever wards and protections were present at the Ministry meant nothing. Not a single alarm had been tripped. He could have gotten a bomb through Ministry defences and nobody would have been any the wiser. As she opened the weapons package, she examined the armour and even fired off the gun at the spellcasting range. There were exactly three options.

STUN.

EXPLODE.

BYE-BYE.

The 'Bye-Bye' setting had a small kick. It felt like hell was coming through the barrel. There was now a large hole in the steel mannequin target, and the hot metal dripped and splashed over the floor. This was not surprising – this was the new 'Inferno Pistol' that Harry had designed, and it used magical superconductivity to accelerate the energy bolt. She looked on in fascination at the pistol holster and the writing on the item. Amelia was thankful for the gear. At least, she and Rufus were fairly protected.

PEVERELL INDUSTRIES

TYPE II Inferno Pistol

Qui audet adipiscitur

SN: [06092011-007]

The second memory of the Death Eaters had gotten Amelia so angry, that it was her steadfast devotion to the law that had stopped her from openly murdering Lucius Malfoy. While confirming via Veritaserum would have been preferred, it was known that all the Death Eaters were best buddies. Most likely, the information could be trusted. Amelia had been able to feel the instincts of the young man as he calculated his preferred pathway to apparate and swing his sword. He would not be an easy opponent. The third memory was short. The Storm Lord was present when Draco had sabotaged the brooms within Hogwarts. The memory indicated that his Phoenix had transported new brooms to replace the sabotaged brooms. The next day, there seemed to be a realisation that another sabotage had taken place in the castle, and he had missed it.

Amelia realised that Draco had almost killed at least sixteen students that day.

The fourth memory had been an odd one – in this memory, he seemed worried as he tried to juggle between rescuing all of the students. He had been genuinely struggling, even as he held Susan in his hand, wandlessly. And as he flew at terrible speeds, he started to pray as he hoped that God above, and that magic would help him save the rest. Amelia was not particularly religious, but she knew enough to understand that the Storm-Lord was a practising Christian. Suddenly as he looked up and felt the magic in the air, he knew. He knew that his dependable phoenix was summoning lightning out of the sky to transport the children to safety. Amelia could feel the little tear in his eye, as everyone was transported safely. This implied that Albus Dumbledore's phoenix could apparate people and objects. No wonder he seemed to merely appear anywhere. This was probably a secret that he had not ever shared with anyone.

And now she knew.

The final memory had been utterly frightening to her – the Storm Lord was having a conversation with the Dark Lord who was alive? As the face of Lord Voldemort spoke to the Storm Lord from behind Quirrell's head, he almost seemed to evaluate the young man as an equal. Then curses and dark magic were cast, as the Storm Lord merely dodged the spells. He even collected a few curses and his armour just shrugged them off. And some of those included some killing curses. So, it was likely that the donated armour would perform as specified.

The view from inside his helmet was something else. He could determine where a spell would land, long before it left the wand. The "HUD" as it was called had several strange features she did not understand. One thing was for sure – he had information that was available to him on the battlefield so he could make informed decisions, instantly. It appeared that he could even see the heat that objects gave off. And other times he could "tag" items and keep them in his periphery. Amelia could even see that the Storm Lord had his sister, "Mione" tagged behind the funny looking mirror. The conversations between the both of them occurred inside the helmet, without voice modification and Amelia was sure that both people were teenagers. Finally, the Storm Lord had dished out enough comical insults, and he had taken his halberd and decapitated the Dark Lord. The disembodied form of Lord Voldemort then fled the castle. He had concluded that his halberd gave him enhanced reach and leverage. There was also some type of magic that could be emptied from the blade. It was far more effective than the sword. After Amelia exited the Pensive visit, she poured herself a firewhiskey before she called her commander-in-chief.

"Rufus?"

"Amelia?"

"We need to talk. This is between us as friends. Things became far more complicated." Amelia explained.

Rufus watched the Pensieve recollections and realised that one of the darkest terrors that had haunted him and many others, was alive. And worse yet the Storm Lord had already lopped off his head. Albus Dumbledore was playing long term political games, and Lucius and Parkinson deserved to be kissed by the four Dementors left at the Ministry of Magic. One of them had ordered the assassination of students and the other thought that women were property that deserved to be traded like a commodity.

"Well, Rufus? What do you think?" Amelia asked.

"I don't know, Melia. I sometimes feel we should let him clean up the streets. Yes, I know you do not approve. Neither do I. But we can't go toe to toe with him. And the law books have been doctored too many times. He is not an Auror. He has been trained to obliterate. And worse yet, his artefacts are beyond us." Rufus stated as he gulped down some Odgens.

"The Dark Lord was at Hogwarts, and nobody knows anything! Albus has to stop playing these games. And now, I owe him a life debt. If he had not saved Susan, she would have died!" Amelia explained.

"What does he want?" Rufus asked as he had not seen the letter.

"Non-interference in his matters, when the Dark Lord returns," Amelia replied.

"Is that so bad?" Rufus asked.

"That is the problem. I am almost tempted to let him have his way if we will save innocents. Look, Rufus pour me another drink please?" Amelia replied, in a resigned manner.

Two weeks had passed easily and Hogwarts had settled into its usual lull. Students were doing assignments, some were preparing for final exams, but most were wasting time. Fred and George continued with the lucrative business practice of selling contraband. The Hogwarts staff had given up on locating the perpetrators.

Hermione had her birthday at Granger manor. It was a small affair and most of the usual suspects were in attendance. Hermione had insisted on not crossing thirty pounds as a gift, and the group did not disappoint with their choices. The rest of the night had been spent in monopoly, where Hermione managed to nab both Boardwalk and Park Place, as she continued to tax anyone who had the misfortune of landing on her property.

As the size of the social group increased, it became difficult for everyone to have birthday celebrations during the school term. Percy and Ginny had fairly big bashes during August, and the next set of birthdays included Amba, Molly, Priya and Sirius who were from the end of October straight into November. Tracey and Daphne were next and then Charlie and Bill would follow in December. Dinner, small talk, and musical chairs were good enough for most of the Weasleys. Even Molly preferred to share a small cake with the rest of the women in the kitchen. Tracey and Daphne were planning to celebrate at their homes and would skip home and invite the rest to participate. And even then, they found themselves considering different arrangements. Shortly after Hermione's birthday, Daphne had popped home to get something and decided to have Sunday lunch with her family, and the discussion about a quiet birthday party at the apartment was her preferred arrangement.

"What made you change your mind about later this year, daughter?" Ophelia asked.

"Er…birthday parties, especially pureblood ones are generally an opportunity for a House to show off its capability to host events. No different to how Draco would invite everyone, every single year. Most of the Slytherins, except for a few neutrals don't have genuine friends. Hermione's birthday party was great because people were genuine." Daphne replied.

"Ah. I see. Living in the rest of them has been beneficial – you have people you appreciate?" Ophelia asked her daughter, with a smile on her face.

"Yes. Is this like the relationship you had with Harry's mum?" Daphne asked.

"With Lilly? Definitely dearest daughter. And I do think Priya has grown on me too. So both of them. Time spent with such people is fulfilling. I am glad that you won in this regard – you have a good group of friends. I made friends with one, and you got a couple from every house." Ophelia replied.

"Definitely. Having a small party with them with no treachery in sight is great. And when it is time to exercise that, what better way to do it with the assistance of people who others would never suspect?" Daphne giggled.

"So still a snake then?" Ophelia asked.

"I didn't mention this…just…roll with it. Or I think that is the expression…" Daphne replied as she conjured a Patronus, silently and without any wand motions. A large corn snake manifested and it slithered around Daphne's neck and made itself comfortable, as it observed the environment curiously.

"Well daughter, that is impressive!" Cyrus smiled, as he grabbed a dish of potatoes.

"I told Harry that I wanted him to walk me through his method. His technique is to draw on positive feelings and an appropriate memory, with the use of an affirmation – he often recites 'Let evil kneel'. He also intentionally modifies the construct to be sentient."

"At this point daughter, when it is closer to wartime we might honestly have to take lessons with him!" Cyrus laughed.

"I know Harry and Hermione too well. They will demand that I teach you, the way I was taught so that I might get better familiarity. Troubleshooting somebody's else magic is challenging. I understand why Hogwarts Professors are generally heavyweights in Magical England." Daphne replied.

"It would give me great pleasure for my eldest daughter to teach me. Oh seeing you is good. I don't have to wait for months at a time. I do have to thank troublemaker number 1 and 2 for that." Ophelia laughed.

"Well, back to the castle. I have a lot of work to do and the majority of it is for RuneOs."

"Have fun daughter!" Ophelia replied as Daphne disappeared out of the living room.

Susan Bones later that Sunday night, found herself in the middle of the corridor. She had no recollection of how she had gotten there. In her hand was her new 'friend', the magical diary that comforted her for the last couple of weeks. The mild headache caused her head to throb, as she made her way to the Hufflepuff common room. Some part of her suspected that she had done something wrong, but then she could trust Tom, right? Yes, she could trust him. He had always listened to her. Her other classmates were not honestly interested in talking to her about her dead parents, in any case. And while Aunty Amelia was kind and she understood the issues, she was always ever too busy trying to keep Magical England in check. Susan's only friend was Hannah Abbot, who she had known since childhood, and sometimes she envied how her childhood friend had parents that adored her.

Susan Bones had often wondered if she and Harry would have been good friends. While many girls had a crush on Harry Potter, she often reasoned that he knew what it felt like to be an orphan. She had hoped that Harry and she would at least become good friends. She wrote to him, and a reply never came. Her aunt had to explain that Harry was living in the muggle world, and he was protected by Albus Dumbledore.

Then, he died, and Susan cried that same night. So much for having him, as a friend.

When Susan had explained everything to 'Tom', he insisted that he would continue to be her friend, even if Harry had passed. Tom was pleased when Susan explained the Wizarding war, He-who-must-be-named, and how Death Eaters had terrorised Diagon Alley recently. Then a retroactive explanation about the Storm Lord and the Storm Priestess, the death of Lord Voldemort, and the legend of the 'Boy-who-lived' had displeased Tom. He had assumed that Harry Potter was some common boy until he understood that the baby had defeated his future self at the height of his power after he had invested in his Horcruxes. Now, the death of the boy made Tom happy, as he hid his feelings from the girl. A moment of realisation dawned upon him, during the little jaunt to the abandoned part of the castle. He had been beaten by a half-blood just like himself. There was a certain symmetry to the issue at hand – or so the youthful piece of the Dark Lord believed, as he was unaware that one day he would meet the green-eyed boy again.

And this time, he would meet a technological monster.

As Susan entered the common room she found Hannah Abbott waiting for her.

"Sleepwalking again?" the blond-haired girl asked.

"I guess?" Susan replied.

"See Pomfrey, she can fix you up. Maybe you need a sleeping potion. Come on, let us go to our dorm?" Hannah suggested. As Susan went to sleep, there was a little whisper in Susan's mind.

"Do not trust her. She will rat you out. I will keep your secrets." Tom insisted as he burrowed into the girl's mind. Suddenly Susan felt a little better, as the essence within the diary continued to attempt to corrupt her. He needed to deliver his message, and he had not managed to fully execute his plan. It was a challenging task for Tom, as Susan was just too nice, too pure, and wanted to help everyone.

Susan Bones was not weak – she was putting up a fight, even in the unconscious part of her mind.