Beta: Demos [not through the beta service].

Original release date: 03/8/15

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the canon Harry Potter universe or any other universe. Some of the products sold by the Marauders Emporium are my own ideas of current day technology mixed with charms and the likes, unless stated otherwise.

Chapter 24 – Clashing

Lounging in their chairs on a beach, Sirius and Amelia listen to the sound of waves crashing over the soft sand. Beginning to fall asleep, Sirius is interrupted by Amelia reminding him, "Sirius, it's getting on time to take our international portkey back."

Sighing, Sirius replies, "I guess so. You do have work in the morning, and I figure Remus is tired of working at the shop alone. Perhaps he needs a vacation."
"Yes, perhaps it is."

Within an hour Amelia and Sirius finish packing their suitcases and grab ahold of their portkey and soon arrive at the Ministry of Magic. Turning in the portkey, Amelia turns to Sirius and says, "I'll see you when I get home", before disappearing towards the lifts.

Hefting a suitcase in each hand, Sirius exits and quickly strides through the early morning hours to the store. Setting the suitcases down, Sirius pulls out a small key and inserting it into the lock and turning it while tapping his wand on the door frame nearest the lock. Door swinging open, Sirius grabs the bags and enters, closing and locking the door behind him, darkness surrounding him. Taking a few steps into the store, Sirius stops as a wand and then a humanoid shadow steps out from the workshop.

"Remus, it's me" calls out Sirius.

Stepping ever closer to Sirius, Remus flicks his wand and the lights in the room activate. Smiling, Remus greets Sirius, "Welcome back. I had some thoughts about our warding program and I'd like both yours and Amelia's feedback on it. In addition to erecting the wards based on what the client wants, I think we should also test the strength of each ward and verify that the wards are working properly. The non-magical folk do something similar, just with computer networks and other defense systems, so they can find out the strengths and weaknesses of said system. I believe the non-magical folk refer to this process as 'penetration testing' or pentesting. What do you think?"

Long seconds tick by as Sirius stops and thinks the idea over. "Remus, I honestly like the idea, but here are some of my concerns. If we do this, how do we know the people we train won't use the knowledge of people's ward system and sell them to the Death Eaters. We'd need to be…selective of who gets admitted-"

"About the warding schemes, we have them drawn up and the final copies are duplicated, with one version charmed to self-destruct if cloned, and the original stored in a location that only you and I know about and have access to. I do agree about being selective though. How about sending someone we trust to go along with whomever is erecting the wards, to make certain that they aren't causing chaos. And some form of spell to make certain that they can't part with what they remember of" interrupts Remus.
Exhaling loudly in annoyance, Sirius adds, "Alright smart one, then how do we be selective without discriminating against students who truly wish to learn but have family members who are/were Death Eaters? You do remember that my cousin is Bellatrix Lestrange, so by a possible discrimination, I'd be unable to taken into the program, despite my intentions of good, and I'd just be given a rejection letter. I'm not saying that you would, but we need to think about the overall scheme of it."

Tapping his foot on the floor, Remus replies, "Good point. Just an Unbreakable Vow would need to be made to not have warding schemes fall into the wrong hands. For the original copies of the schemes, we could buy a piece of property in Hogsmeade, say, near the Shrieking Shack, and build an underground bunker, ward it like we have our home, and have a few layers of security once inside."
Sighing, Sirius adds, "Fine. We'll still need some form of curriculum and timeline of how long it will take to finish it, what kind of O.W.L.'s and NEWT's will be needed, and possibly job opportunities."

"An above average understanding of Ancient Runes, some Arithmancy, Charms, and Transfiguration" states Remus, smiling.
"Looks like you've put a lot of thought into this."
Chuckling, Remus replies, "I got a lot of things done when you weren't home making explosive sounds."
Rolling his eyes, Sirius states, "Let's just open the store and work on the pamphlets later."

/*at Hogwarts*/

Entering the dormitory, Oliver Wood pauses at Harry's bed with a confused look on his face.

"Looking for me?" inquiries Harry from behind Oliver.
Turning around and smiling, Oliver says, "Potter, we're getting a jump on Quidditch. Practice begins in ten minutes."

"This early in the morning?"
Furrowing his brow, Oliver replies, "Of course. We need to get the House Cup this year."
"You don't mind if a few of us Gryffindors spectate, do you?" asks Neville standing by the door.

Oliver responds, "Who were you thinking of?"
"Mm, Hermione and myself" replies Neville.

"…suppose so. Come on then, but stay out of the way" replies Oliver exiting the dormitory.

Grabbing his broom out of its respective compartment in his trunk, Harry and Neville descend the stairwell to the common room where Hermione and Ginny sit on a couch, talking. Seeing Harry and Neville walking by the couch, Hermione continues the conversation like nothing is happening, motions to behind Ginny and stands up.

Placing her hand in Neville's left hand, Hermione inquiries, "Quidditch practice this early in the morning, Harry?"

"Yes, and this is after our morning exercise routine."

Arriving in the entrance hall, Neville says, "Harry, I'm going to grab a quick bite before I come watch."

Nodding his head, Harry replies, "Sure", before heading down the sloping lawns to the Quidditch pitch.

Joining the rest of the team in a semi-circle around Oliver, Harry and everyone else doesn't have to wait long until Oliver begins, "Team, we need to begin earlier than normal this year to win the Quidditch Cup. These next four hours are our—"

Sauntering up to Oliver, a Slytherin male interrupts with, "This here is our time, Wood. Need to train our new Seeker."

"What are you talking about, Flint? I got special permission from McGonagall to practice at this time" declares Oliver, subtly shifting position to a more aggressive stance.
From behind the rest of the Slytherin team, Malfoy steps out, smirking.

"And what is stopping from each team from having one half of the field for practice?" suggests Harry coolly.

"Potter! We have the pitch scheduled for four hours, so we shouldn't have to share" states Oliver, voice slightly raising in volume.

"And Professor Snape gave us special permission for the ENTIRE pitch for the next four hours" announces Flint loudly, smirking.
"Why don't we settle this fairly in a duel of skill?" suggest Neville coolly, flanked by Hermione, Ginny, and an overly excited Colin.
Smile disappearing from his face, Flint replies, "How is it fair, if there are-" quickly counting the amount of Gryffindors, "eleven of you, and only seven of us?"

Stepping in, Harry responds, "Eleven of us? Oh no, I believe you are mistaken. Neville and myself should be able to handily—"

"Harry, I believe you missed us two" interrupts Fred.

"We wouldn't miss the trouncing of Slytherin for the world" adds George.

Rubbing his hands together, Harry smiles and says, "Well, us four against you seven, it should be in your favor, at least in the amount of people."

/*back in the castle*/

"Minerva, are you aware that Severus has double booked the Quidditch pitch?" asks Madam Hooch at breakfast.

Jerking her head up from her plate, Professor McGonagall replies incredulously, "What?"

"I just discovered the parchment this morning. I believe it best to get down there soon."

Walking towards the Great Hall doors, Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch open the doors to leave when they come face to face with Snape.

"Severus, how dare you override my permission and system in place for teams to practice on the Quidditch pitch!" exclaims Professor McGonagall, clearly irate.

Spreading his hands in a non-aggressive manner, Snape replies, "Our new equipment was delivered late last night, and the team need time to train their new…seeker."

"We need to get down there and stop any potential fighting that you have caused, directly or indirectly" trills Professor McGonagall.

Striding down the lawns, Professors McGonagall and Snape argue in short bursts, heading towards the Quidditch pitch.

"What in the world is happening here?" inquiries Professor McGonagall in a commanding tone, as she, Madam Hooch, and Professor Snape arrive.

Smiling, Neville replies, "Professor, both teams have been unable to agree to stick to one half of the pitch, so Harry suggested a duel of him, myself, and the Weasley twins against the entire Slytherin team."

Lip curling into a smirk, Professor Snape responds, "And what does the winning…team get, Mr. Longbottom?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Neville replies, "I suppose the use of the entire Quidditch pitch, professor."
"Instead of a duel, why not a short game of fifteen minutes, no seekers, with the winning team having the most points, will be given the first pick of the pitch today" suggests Professor McGonagall in a tone that bookers no disagreeing statements in combination with looking at each team with a hard stare.

When no one else speaks, Professor McGonagall smiles, tightly, and declares, "Then if there are no VALID complaints," Professor Snape scowls at this, "then teams mount your brooms, minus your seekers. And begin when Madam Hooch says so."

With a blast of the whistle, both teams take to the skies, fiercely passing the quaffle, eager to score as many points as possible. Sitting on opposing sidelines, Harry and Draco sit in the stands, watching their respective teams play.

Passing the quaffle back and forth with practiced ease, the Gryffindor team quickly score a three goals before a bludger zooms by, taking off a few sprigs from Katie Bell's broom. Grabbing a hold of her broom to briefly steady herself, Katie misses the quaffle as it is passed to her, with a Slytherin chaser catching the quaffle, taking off towards the Gryffindor goals. Feinting, Flint tosses and scores a goal causing Wood to swoop around the goals in blocky movements. Subtly gripping his broom, Harry continues watching the others high in the air.

As the time counts down, the more dirty the tactics become from both teams. In what can be considered a fit of anger, George swings his bat so hard at an oncoming bludger that a splintering sound ricochets throughout the stands and what was once a bat is now a splintered wooden stake. Without any words passing, Fred flies by, hits the other bludger, before lightly tossing his bat to George, who grasps it and pummels the first bludger into the oncoming group of Slytherin chasers, scattering them instantly, before tossing the bat back to Fred.

Eyes widening slightly in surprise, Snape continues watching as the Weasley twins work in tandem in perfect harmony, hitting every bludger that comes their way. Just as Marcus Flint scores a goal for Slytherin, Madam Hooch blows her whistle, indicating the end of the game.
"With one hundred and ten points, Gryffindor. With ninety points, Slytherin" announces Madam Hooch.

Huddling around, Wood asks quietly, "Team, I'd like to get the training done before the sun gets too much higher, but I'd rather not have any spectators watching our training. Thoughts?"

"Why not just go into what we did last year today, to get back flying, working together as a team, but we get some food and discuss how we felt flying today, then adjust our styles based on that" suggests Harry.

Pausing to think about it, Wood replies, "So change nothing, do some exercises, reflect on how we did performed, and then work on perfecting our maneuvers?"

"Yes. Let the Slytherins go first, that way they can't complain about not having enough practice time. We'll still beat them in skill" replies Harry, smiling.

"Any complaints?" inquires Wood, looking around the circle.

When no one speaks up, Wood breaks the huddle and heads to awaiting Madam Hooch and Marcus Flint, and state, "The Gryffindor team anonymously agrees to allow the Slytherin team to take the field first", before walking away, Gryffindor team following in behind.

Walking up the lawns towards the castle, the rest of the Gryffindors in the stands quickly join the group when a loud barking voice sound comes from behind, "Harry!"
Jogging up to the group, Sirius smiles at everyone before asking, "How was the practice?"

Smile disappearing, Oliver replies, "We haven't gotten to really practice yet, but Potter here made a good point or two. The problem is that the Slytherin team has new Nimbus 2001 brooms by the looks of it. Everyone here either brings their own, or uses a school broom-"
"And you think it is unfair that the Slytherin team gets new brooms, yet the other houses, or at least yours, don't get them as well?" interrupts Sirius.
"Yes" states Oliver plainly.

Sirius nods his head and before stating, "Well, I'm afraid I can't do anything about that, but I shall check into the broom status"
Turning to Harry, Sirius subtly suggests, "Harry, it doesn't do well for an owl to stay in a roost all of the time. You should send a letter every few days on the status of what you are up to. It will also help your handwriting."

Sighing, Harry replies, "If I must, I shall."

Smiling Sirius states, "I recommend you do. I'm not asking for a blow-by-blow account, but what you're learning in class, how practice goes, any trouble you get into, and anything else you think would be…fascinating for Remus and I to read over. Now, I must be off to speak with Professor McGonagall. Remus shouldn't be too far behind", before striding off towards the castle.

Entering the castle, the group doesn't get too far in before Remus strides in and asks Harry, "Did Sirius come through here already?"
"Yes. Did Sirius do something?"

Rolling his eyes, Remus nods and replies, "Yes, he did. Do you know where he went?"
"I believe he said he was going to see Professor McGonagall" replies Harry.
Exhaling, Remus thanks Harry before striding off into the castle. Arriving at Professor McGonagall's office, Remus knocks on the door and enters when given permission.
"Now, you two would like to propose an option for students after leaving Hogwarts, in which of course would be offered to students of all four houses, correct?" begins Professor McGonagall.

Exchanging looks, Remus replies, "Of course, an equal chance for every student, but here is our possible issue. We can't take EVERYONE who wishes to get into our program-"
"Unproven program, but continue" interrupts Professor McGonagall, taking brief notes on a piece of parchment.

"Yes, our unproven program, but we can't take everyone who meets the requirements, so we'd need to limit our acceptance to the top two or three students per year, max, to study with us for a while, a year or two, before being able to work in the market of examining, erecting, and testing wards. Of course the demand of such services would dictate how many, if any even, would be allowed to progress to our quite possibly small job opportunity" finishes Remus.
Looking down at her notes and a pamphlet, Professor McGonagall quickly reads over them before saying, "I think that this would be an interesting career option. However, I believe that my fellow Heads of Houses and quite possibly the Headmaster, would need to hear the pitch before a decision on whether to inform the students of this…intriguing option would be allowed."
Smirking, Sirius jumps in, "Do what you feel is necessary, but remember that the final decision into the program would be up to Remus and I, and that we can always advertise in the Daily Prophet for the openings, we just wanted to let the witches and wizards of Hogwarts learn about the opportunities before the public does."

Spotting a thoughtful look in Professor McGonagall's eyes, Sirius quickly adds, "But if this warding program is introduced at Hogwarts as a viable career option, despite the eligible few being accepted, we can give Hogwarts exclusivity, meaning we'd only accept students from Hogwarts, and directly from Hogwarts."
Thinking about it, Professor McGonagall quickly calls in the other three Heads of Houses to hear about the idea. Half an hour later, the sextet make their way to the Great Hall where most of the students are for their midday meal. Gathering before the students, Professor McGonagall calls for quiet before announcing, "Messrs Sirius Black and Remus Lupin from the Marauders Emporium would like to speak with you all for a short period", before looking at the pair.
Indicating that Remus should do the speaking, Sirius crosses his arms and looks out into the crowd.

"Hello everyone. I am Remus Lupin, and my colleague and friend, Sirius Black, are here today to speak with you all about an exciting career opportunity that we would like to offer to everyone here. Our program will help train you to create custom warding solutions for customers, learning the wards needed, how to properly erect and anchor them, alongside the actual testing of the wards to check that the wards are properly established to the specifications that what the customer wants. We won't accept everyone who has the requirements, only two or three a year, but we might be able to take one or two more if we get enough interest and students applying to get into the program. Our requirements are an above average NEWT level understanding of some math, Charms, and Transfiguration, alongside very good skills communicating with people, hardworking mentality, love of problem solving, creativity, and of course ability to follow what is told of them. This doesn't seem very much in the way of what we are looking for, but we are looking for people who are wanting to make serious changes in personal security for the general population. Fifth years and above, we have left some pamphlets with your Heads of Houses, so feel free to review them at your convenience, or when you meet with your respective head of house about career opportunities after Hogwarts. Any questions?"

"What happens if we get accepted?" calls out a feminine voice from Ravenclaw.
Rubbing his hands together, Sirius answers, "If you get accepted, then you will essentially attend a designated lecture and work area, where you and your lucky companions will be taught and given a small area to work in to practice what you learn. This program will not be all fun and games while you learn, but once you graduate our program, then you can choose to work for us, or choose to apply to other locations for a job, which you may or may not get."
"So if we graduate from your program, we can either work for you or not have a job?" calls out a voice from Hufflepuff.
"We're not saying that, we're just mentioning in fair warning that it may be harder to get a job not going for their program directly out of Hogwarts. Other countries may need your skills, the ministry might find your skills to be valuable, but we can't guarantee anything other than working for us after you graduate" answers Remus.

After answering several more questions and leaving some pamphlets on each of the house tables, Sirius and Remus take their leave, and exit the castle.

Author Note: I'd like to thank everyone who has read, followed, reviewed, and the likes of this fanfic, you all make me feel so happy to continue this. Now, to the penetration testing part of the chapter, the idea of it came from my Network Penetration and Attack class, where we test out the defenses of certain operating systems [in Virtual Machines] and essentially break in, with permission of course. Here's the slightly better part of my warding system, in which the clients state what they want to keep in and/or out, and the warding program teaches the warders how to create custom warding solutions. This process is similar to my Software Engineering courses [aren't I a fun class taking person? :D ], which is somewhat of the basis of so many implementations of current day technology in the wizarding world.