Springing the trap:

Harry and Hermione woke up at their houses, already aware of the ruckus that was on the way. Wizarding England would be shaken out of its slow, easy going stupor. Harry and his family had already gotten an early copy of the Prophet the previous night, via Lorna's collaborator. Rita Skeeter could always be trusted to blow everything out of proportion if she felt that the topic was controversial and good for increased sales. Normally she was a sensationalist. Harry did not want to know what deal Lorna had cut with Rita Skeeter, to force her to publish somewhat objective articles. He assumed that it was better not know what Lorna was holding above Rita's head. He gleefully read the article and considered that Lorna once again was the true puppet master, and political genius was very much important to the unfolding of their plans.

He could remember exactly two weeks ago when he put the final touches on the Medi-Bracelets, the item which had started the entire fiasco. With the improvements that had been made, now the device could chain through all the diagnostic spells in five seconds flat. The multiple wand cores were merely transfigured into the necessary spell patterns, and the runic array ran through each set of spells in parallel. This project was one of the easiest to build, as Harry merely needed to grab components from other projects to build the device.

The added genius was that Hermione had once again contributed something truly brilliant. Hermione had used the 'spell pattern runes' to copy illusions of the alphabet and numbers from her occlumentic state into runic arrays. This allowed her to conjure illusions that served as a type of holographic display. Now the text floated mid-air and the rune work resided on a slate within Peverell Manor. The rune reflection system allowed Hermione to keep her innovations hidden, but allow external use of the arrays. Harry and Hermione were now working on getting three-dimensional objects to be displayed via this method, and that was an even bigger headache. Up to last night, Harry and Hermione were violently sobbing as they explored optical physics, hoping to get some type of insight.

Harry saw the message from his mother as she updated them on her first week in France, as Master Healer Priya Singh, Order of Merlin First Class. As of this morning, Harry Potter was on the cover page, first page, and second page. His mother was on the third.

Priya had left for France one week ago. She was transported via Gringotts, with one hundred of the Medi-Bracelets in hard-shell cases. She was port keyed directly to the French Wizarding I.C.U and found herself surprised at her reception party. She found herself in the presence of the French Minister of Magic, as she was warmly welcomed and given a short tour of the hospital. Naturally, she wasted no time in demoing the Medi-Bracelet to the other professionals who were present.

Gris and the others were only too happy to meet the adoptive mother of the famous Artificer, and they came to realise quickly that these fantastic devices were the product of Harry and Hermione's uniqur modification. After all, the prototype cauldrons and the newer methods that Hermione had demonstrated were being used to 'lean down' standard potion recipes. The Guild began to produce pure potion extracts as marketable products, and his alone brought in millions of galleons. Some of the more complicated potions became much easier to produce.

As the Medi-Bracelets were distributed around the wards, suddenly there was hardly any wait time as in five seconds, Healers already understood the main issues. From there, it was a matter of using more advanced spells to merely fine-tune the results. There were only two cases where the Medi-bracelet had not provided the incorrect diagnosis and even then, rerunning the diagnostic helped the healers to explore other relevant treatment pathways that ended up panning out successfully.

Harry and Hermione had done their best to give the 'holographic' interface a clean modern look. The floating display of the text and the options was considered a serious piece of magic. The healers were quite pleased and the implementation of many 'muggle' features such as the pulse display was considered cutting edge and a must-have.

Late into the first night of her new job, Priya began to shine as she selectively drew out poisons, regrew nerves, fixed spinal columns, reconnected torn muscles and did things that the other healers considered impossible. Of course, she had studied human anatomy very closely and she was using spells that were her own, along with advancements that were made upon Lucretia Peverell's work. Invictus stayed on the line as she consulted him secretly for more complex issues occasionally, as he searched through her written work of his daughter to find even more odd spells.

"Well from one daughter to another I suppose. Lady Magic bless her soul." was the comment Invictus had made to himself when he got wind of the newspaper article.

Priya was utterly surprised when her magic began to sense the issues clearly, in her patients. Her intuition had increased with the brutal exercise program that Harry had put her through. While she was far better at combat, her sensitivity was off the charts. Harry had insisted that she study Occlumency, but her personal innovation was when she had combined the Occlumentic practices with the meditative practices that she had learnt many years in her Yoga class.

After all, the eastern cultures were heavy on meditation, and Hinduism advised its followers to openly embrace the practice along with prayer and selective "pranayama" breathing. Many people in the Western world had benefited from these practices, after the prayer and other religious connotations had been removed and the practice. "Mindful Meditation" had always been an attempt for westerners to adopt the process, without acknowledging the Indic root of the tradition. Priya reasoned that she was within her right to practice the tradition in its original form, complete with the mantras and the correct spiritual reverence.

She had benefited immensely from the discipline.

People were shocked when she could often touch a person, and she could narrow the complex cases quickly. Between this talent, the new spells, the Medi-Bracelet and the Medi-Spray, the hospital managed to deal with severe cases quickly. Gris and his colleagues were also able to manufacture the correct potions as they utilised the new cauldrons, extracts, lab stirrers and other innovations that Hermione had shared. Everybody understood that this woman was an utter prodigy, and the news began to quickly circulate that she had not been 'important enough' to get a job in England. The French healers shook her hand and were happy to have her, as she freely shared her newly developed spells which extended their capabilities. But late into the night when a patient lost pulse, was the most surprising 'Hail Mary' the others had ever seen.

"I am going to say this only once. The Crucio was invented to restart hearts. I know where it comes from. I cannot say where. I can save him. Let me use the spell, in the manner it is supposed to be used…"

The Head Healer who had met the Artificer and the Rune-Priestess nodded severely. She was aware that this woman was his adoptive mother. The Head Healer considered that perhaps, Ms Singh did know the history of the spell. That would suggest that the Artificer's lineage had possibly created the spell for medical use? To confirm her suspicions, she granted Priya permission to execute the unusual method:

"Go ahead. He is already dead by our standards. It can't hurt to try."

Priya nodded and she put the intent of keeping the patient alive in her magic. She also targeted the nervous system and the sinoatrial node as she remembered it, from her anatomy textbook:

"Crucio!"

Three seconds passed. The healer noticed that the spell seemed to give off a bluish hue, very different from the characteristic green flash that was common. The body continued to stay still, as it did not move.

"Crucio!"

The body still stayed still.

"Come on man, don't let me lose you. Come on…come on…Crucio!"

The last spell was followed by a choking and coughing noise, right after the patient's body spasmed. The entire crowd watched on in shock, as the man slowly opened his eyes, rather dazed and confused. Priya sat down on a small stool and rubbed her sweaty face as she was stressed out. She had never been so close to death on a hospital bed as a Healer. She had saved the man, but her eyes were filled with long tears.

Priya began to appreciate working as a healer was rough business.

As the diagnostics on the man were executed with the Medi-Bracelet, the entire group realised that she was merely a young woman on her first day, and she had not adjusted to the reality of not being able to save everyone. Everyone nodded and dispersed as the Head Healer came over and held her hand and spoke to her gently:

"Never in my life have I seen the things that you can do. And this? This provides us with a tool that we could never conceptualise. That being said, you are off the clock. Today was an assessment and I have come to conclude that you were made for this profession. Go and rest. We will speak tomorrow. I have learnt much tonight."

It was one week later and her Order of Merlin, First Class had caused waves internationally. Harry replied that morning:

"See, we are both in the papers this morning, on successive pages and they have no idea you are my mother."

"I know. Lorna has been plotting everything. Including your December stunt. Careful…I have something planned. Go ahead and think I can't prank you back…"

Harry gulped. He considered that even the statement on his phone screen seemed to be filled with quiet confidence. Harry looked on as he read the Daily Prophet dated the 28th of August, for the second time.

THE BOY WHO LIVED, NOW THE BOY WHO DIED!

-An exclusive by Rita Skeeter!

Many people ask me why I keep Muggle friends. The answer is simple – you never know where the next big story will come from. You can imagine as I stood at the grave of Harry Potter, I considered that Wizarding England could have never known this story if it was not for my trusted friend! I visited the tombstone where Harry Potter was buried approximately five to six weeks ago.

Harry Potter attended a local Muggle primary school. He was very much like his mother, Lilly Potter. Why – he had to be skipped two years ahead. He pounded every subject area into submission, as he was soon at the top of the school. He was also large and strong for his age and always smartly dressed.

It is even rumoured that the entire school of girls were after him!

I am aware that he had a single female friend, and while many teachers had hoped that the pair would become romantic, apparently this young muggle girl took the role of being his sister. She was brilliant and their grades collectively changed the reputation of the school. I would like to thank this sweetheart for making sure our boy had company. I do not know her name, and I decided out of respect not to pursue this investigation further as the entire school staff is in mourning.

It has been noted that Harry Potter often complained about his scar. It pained him regularly and he often had head-splitting headaches. The question becomes –

Why did Albus Dumbledore, the man responsible for hiding Harry potter in the Muggle World, not investigate his general health occasionally? It is because of his negligence that we have lost the saviour of Wizarding England?

But even more controversial is the rumour that Minister Cornelius Fudge, already knew and he chose to say nothing. You see, when my friend was visiting the grave of her grandmother, she made this terrible discovery because she had seen Professor Severus Snape at the tombstone. My friend merely approached to have a word, but he had already apparated away quickly. This was how my friend found the grave. And this was months ago.

I debated myself over the issue – should I stay silent?. But as the details came forward, I changed my mind. Abd in all that time, the news did not come forward from someone else. I knew what I had to do!

So, this means that Albus Dumbledore knew, and Cornelius Fudge knew. It is probable that the Hogwarts Staff already know. After all….there was an emergency staff meeting where all the teachers were summoned to the office one odd morning, and that is the first time in almost two centuries that the entire school was left unsupervised.

Perhaps it is good that the young man is reunited with his parents in the Veil. We thank the Potters for stopping tyranny. After the Potter motto is "Honour thy Blood"

Until next time my lovelies. I hope we will demand accountability for this negligence.

Ophelia Greengrass after reading the article, cried many long tears that morning. Her husband comforted her as even Daphne felt a bit sad. She was hoping to meet Harry Potter on September the 1st. This was no longer going to happen.

"Husband, we have always never picked a side. But after this…..how long until they come for us? Lilly's boy died from some type of Dark Magic. The Dark Lord had collected his third and final Potter. I am not suggesting we announce anything in the Wizengamot. I am suggesting we work quietly."

Daphne observed Astoria as she did not seem surprised. Daphne surmised that Draco had found out, and he had told her beforehand. Now she would consider Draco powerful and important. When Astoria had walked off, Daphne confided this observation to her mother.

"Mother, Astoria knew. Draco told her! If there is any information to find, his father might know more."

"Good girl. When she enters Hogwarts next year, you will keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't go astray. I am beginning to feel dark times coming ahead. We will see what happens."

"I guess I won't meet Harry won't I? Although would he have spoken to me? You know I am a snake, just like you and dad?"

"He sounds like a copy of Lilly from the article. He would have been your friend and he would have proudly paraded you around the other Gryffindors to annoy them. James was exactly like that. You could have possibly been the first snake to have an open friendship with a Gryffindor. Or perhaps you could have provided him pictures of Lilly and myself. Copies of our letters too. He would have been quite happy to have you as a secret friend too."

"Maybe I can make friends with other Gryffindors quietly. Just Like you and Lilly?"

"Perhaps. It was pretty exciting. We felt like intelligence operatives. I thought Lilly to scheme, and Lilly taught me Runes."

"I will see….it does feel kind of exciting. Who is likely to be a Gryffindor, I have met before?"

"Neville perhaps? His family lineage has always been Gryffindor."

"Well, I will write to you and let you know how it goes. I hope he isn't close-minded."

"I hope so too daughter, I hope so too."

While this rather heartfelt conversation was occurring, Harry read the message from Percy.

"Congratulations. You are dead. You sure you aren't meant for Slytherin?"

"I have a bit of each house in me. I change my predispositions by the minute. I sometimes think I am a claw, but I don't really know?"

"True. That is the most mind-boggling thing about you Harry. I am digging through all the Muggle Wars that occurred while the Founders were in existence. I am also wondering if Excalibur is related to Godric's sword or if they are unrelated."

"Brilliant! I will ask the Goblins for information. Keep digging and keep the ears open. We are expecting Death Eaters to come out and they will not be spared. I am going to give them the same treatment Cassius got."

"Very well. Tell your mother congratulations! Good luck Harry. I will see how I can de-escalate the Slytherin rivalry. Professor McGonagall is going to be in for a surprise, with Charlie and I. The tea collection is a nice touch!"

"Thanks Perce! Having a perfect as an operative will help me keep the issues under control. Dumbles was tracking a string of infant murders in Albania. That is Moldy indeed. He likes to kill children. The trouble is coming this year."

"I will keep my ears planted to the ground."

"You da man, Perce!"

Harry then considered the other article that Rita Skeeter had published. Undoubtedly, if they were paying her by the article, she was going to make some good coin today. While he had already seen the article last night, he read it again and imagined other Wizarding folks reading the article for the first time, if only because he was happy for this mother. She deserved the achievements that had come her way.

EX-HOGWARTS ALUMNI AWARDED ORDER OF MERLIN FIRST CLASS, IN FRANCE!

-An exclusive by Rita Skeeter!

My dear readers, it appears Ministry Incompetence has gotten worse. It only gets worse. I had once made mentioned that our best are leaving England, and that is exactly what has happened, again.

Ms. Priya V. Singh a Hogwarts Alumni recently received the Order of Merlin First Class for her momentous contributions to Healing. As a maverick, she has invented several new spells that have advanced the Healing profession for many decades. She has also invented a major artefact that can do the Mungo-Bonham 75 spell diagnostic in a fraction of the time. Surely, we should be happy that this English Witch is making contributions to Wizarding England?

Well, she isn't – and this is no fault of her own. Why she volunteered to work in St. Mungo's and she was ignored? What was the problem? The problem as always was blood. She is a muggleborn. Her application was not considered, and she never got an opportunity.

I reached out to Professor Babbling and Matroness Pomfrey recently. Imagine to my surprise when I heard that our award winning witch had proposed her artefact to both individuals as a Year 6 student. Babbling ran into a problem that she could not solve, and our witch after almost ten years, solved the problem. And this was while she was employed in the Muggle world.

On the outside, and yet still a person committed to Magical studies.

Madam Pomfrey explained that Ms Singh was one of her best, and could have easily surpassed her, if she had gotten the sponsorship. She reapplied many times, even up to recently and no luck. As you can imagine both former Hogwarts staff members are celebrating the success of their former student.

So, what happened?

Priya Singh was forced to migrate to France, where the French Ministry gave her a job after her talent was recognised immediately. Now our Ministry will have to buy the devices that an English Witch made, with a Hogwarts Education from France, as they now have the contract to manufacture the device. You better believe that they are expensive.

I hope the Purebloods are proud.

Head Healers generally make a salary of 3000 galleons in France. Our Head Healers only make 600. How long until our healers go elsewhere? And we like to think we are better than the French.

We congratulate her on her success. She did the only thing she could do. I certainly do not blame her.

Pomona Sprout had never forgotten her student. She wrote to Priya, as she hoped that her photo would be placed in the Hufflepuff Wall of Fame within the common room. Her puff had succeeded anyway through hard work.

Of course, little did Pomona Sprout know, that Priya had been working very hard towards directly upsetting everything, and even engineering the death of Harry Potter.

With the Harry Potter article in the open Cornelius, Albus and Severus received so many Howlers that the Ministry was forced to shut down and Albus had to adjust the Hogwarts wardstone. Howlers blotted out the sky in Hogsmeade, as they could not enter past the school wards. The staff was deployed with silenced earmuffs to destroy all the Howlers. Sirius and Harry had felt sorry, and shot down the majority when the effort became futile. This was carried out during nighttime via the long-range shotgun with the drone. There was one teacher who managed to at least see the results of the anonymous assistance. Fillius Flitwick had stayed back to put in extra work and had managed to at least see the weapons in action. He had to admit, it was the best five minutes of magic he had ever seen. Fillius began to wonder if the mystery wizards were monitoring Hogwarts, and he decided that he would say nothing for now.

Meanwhile, at Malfoy manor, there was much celebration as almost sixty people had attended. Many of the comments included "Good riddance!", "The Dark Lord still won!", "Good thing the half-breed died!" and "We should remind them of their place!". Draco upon seeing the praise that many heaped on his father, felt that he was directly validated. He hoped that House Slytherin would be his to control. Little did he know that a similarly aged boy and girl who had previously assaulted him were putting the final touches on an energy sword, a heavy assault cannon and two new suits of armour.

The Rune-Priestess and the new Lord Black had been practising to use the jetpack for almost a month during the night, and they were coming with even worse weapons to teach the Death Eaters a lesson.

Worse yet, they would not be granted the blessing of seeing everything, as the whole operation was going to be conducted totally under invisibility, and with jetpacks. They would be terminated from afar and headshots or decapitations were the preferred method of extermination.

Molly had spent a lot of evenings in the company of Augusta and Amba as she became a regular at Longbottom Manor. Augusta, Amba and Molly became something of a threesome as the female company was deeply appreciated. Molly had naturally brought up the death of Harry Potter and was somewhat surprised that neither Augusta nor Amba seemed particularly sad. She reasoned that perhaps they had other things on their mind. Amba was quite excited about getting an early start with the business. She comforted Molly as she felt somewhat unsure about taking such a large step. Harry, had removed the partition and now both businesses would run as a single entity, for Ved to manage the cash register and the other supported forms of payment more easily.

Weasley-Singh Kitchen.

Amba was not the least bit worried. As far as she was concerned, she was on a mission to feed all those poor university students, because "They are studying hard and need a good meal." Molly reasoned that as long as she stayed close by, she would be fine. September the 5th was the big day for the small launch, with the full launch coming at Christmas time when they sorted out the challenges.

Molly for the first time did not find herself the least bit worried about Hogwarts. Neville was silently provided everything by Sirius and Hermione had insisted that she pay for Luna's items. Other unusual acquisitions included Ronald's acoustic guitar, Luna's slimed down travel Art travel case and Neville's stash of hot sauce and potato chips. All the trunks were already packed, and it was merely for everyone to arrive at King's Cross Station.

Remus and Lorna had opted to carry everyone via rented SUVs to make transportation easier.

Ronald was aware that he knew the least magic of his three friends. He had made up his mind, that he would put his best foot forward. He was up to the task because he hoped that one day, he could impress Jean Granger. Being able to purchase something of his own without needing help, was an experience that had changed him. The conversation on the 30th of August that evening in the Weasley kitchen had been very different to what one would have expected:

"Did you enjoy working for Hadrian?" Molly asked

"Yes. I bought a guitar. I love it. I am struggling to play it but it is mine. I like working hard and I have brand new stuff for school!"

"Very proud of you. I am surprised you didn't spend it on snacks?"

"Maybe because I ate all of Hadrian's snacks at the mansion?"

Molly smiled. So her son was still an enthusiastic eater. Yes, he was still Ronald.

"And I ate a lot of different food too. I like Chinese a lot. I like Fast Food too, I think I ate enough Fried Chicken and Chips. His grandmother's food is amazing. Mum, please learn some of her recipes?"

Molly laughed. How could she not expect her son to snack? And perhaps he had gotten more reserved? He seemed somewhat self-conscious around Neville and Luna as Fred had reported some time ago that "Ron ate like a human being at work today only because people were around! He even used the knife and fork properly!"

Molly understood that her son had a crush on Jean, but she didn't want to speak about the issue yet. Ronald continued to express himself:

"I think I am going to miss the variety. Mom, Harry and Jean eat triple what I eat. I don't know where the food goes! Honestly, mum!"

"I know. They love to exercise, so they must eat more. They don't have to worry about that though, the elves will take care of them. And yes I will learn some of her recipes. She is excited to learn mine too!"

"Harry can lift boxes that Charlie struggles with, I don't know how he is so strong. He is magically powerful too. Hadrian taught Neville a lot of magic. He can shield pretty good. Luna can stun pretty well, although she is behind. I am last I guess? Neville and Luna promised to teach me at school, I want to work hard and hopefully, I will catch up?"

Percy who knew exactly who the two people were, added his input:

"That is an admirable goal. Those two are truly talented at magic. I know some things I can't speak of but trust me….work with Neville and Luna. The theory Hadrian covered will be more than enough to give you a huge head start. Christmas holidays, come home and Hadrian and Jean will put you through enough practice to make you excellent.

And do get up for the exercise. Yes, I am coming too. If you start now, you will be a far better keeper than most other people. Charlie is going to keep an eye on you and Fred and George are hoping to hit harder this season. Quidditch is going to be fair because everybody has a Stormbolt and the performance is the same. Everybody has an equal chance. We will need every bit of advantage we can get much later on, and this is all I can say."

"Promise. I will work hard." Ronald replied.

"Perce, why do we need every advantage? You seem worried?" asked Molly.

"All I can reveal to you is that Hadrian and Jean know trouble is coming. I saw it with my own eyes. The help that they have extended to us, I know exactly why they have done it. Eventually, when you find out why, you will understand that there is a good reason for it. It is a tough thing to reconcile and I promise you on Lady Magic that both of them are working very hard not towards their personal interests, but they are hoping to save lives. Better to be prepared. That is all I can share."

Molly gravely nodded as certain things began to make sense. So Percy knew. If Percy was on board with whatever this thing was, surely it was important. Percy was after all studious and not a troublemaker. Molly reasoned that eventually, she would find out. While Ronald was not aware of Harry's true identity, Harry had built a custom wand for both Neville and Luna and had merely veneered the outside with a thick layer of wood to disguise the true appearance. Neville and Luna also possessed smartphones and promised to update Harry privately.

At Peverell Manor, Harry already had the B.F.D prepared. The drone had been set up with a payload delivery module. Included were smaller microdrones that were specifically designed to act as hovering stationary cameras. Their primary job was to provide surveillance. With the pictures Harry had taken of Diagon Alley beforehand, Harry now had a total of twenty sectors that had been mapped out and he understood how to get to each part easily. Grace had practised the jumps, beforehand.

Sirius for the pending operation had decided to utilize a wand, in conjunction with a 'heavy pistol'. Hermione had asked Harry to create bullpup sized SMG, and her weapon had been optimised to output high rates of fire. This was a replacement for the pistol, and her shotgun had been upgraded with extra emitters to fragment more 'micro-bolts'. Remus was now assigned the Heavy Demolition role as he now had a 750 millimetre two-handed 'micro-cannon' that allowed him to shoot five massive FiendFyre energy bolts for every power cell that he possessed. He would have access to a total of 10 heavy shots beside his pistol. There were other secondary spells programmed into the core, just in case they needed to breach walls or perform crowd control.

As for the armour configurations, Harry and Remus preferred the hard-linked exoskeleton brace, while Hermione and Sirius preferred individual free-floating armour pieces. Harry had doubled up the titanium layer and had used his generator to apply powerful lightening charms. Harry knew from the previous testing that he had a maximum of ten days before the charms wore off. Harry was not too concerned as he was sure the Death Eaters would show up soon.

He had managed to get his energy blade to hold FiendFyre within the hollow of the spell. However, the modified Protego charm could only hold the Fiendfyre energy for a maximum of eleven seconds before it collapsed. Harry had implemented a left finger switch where the would only summon the heat primarily for certain strikes.

Lorna had not left for France yet, so she was the 'trigger witch' for the drone operation. Finally, the brains of the operation was none other than William who would sit in as "Oversight" and ensure that everything ran smoothly.

It was time according to Harry, to "Thin the herd."