"Durin's Day is the first day of the last moon of Autumn, when both the sun and the moon are seen together in the sky. This year that falls upon the 19th of October." Thorin answered.
"Well, today's only the 21st of July, we've got more time than I thought." Harry nodded a pleased little smile on his face.
"But we still have some three-hundred-and-fifty miles to go." Kíli objected.
"And Mirkwood to get through." Fíli added.
"Thranduil will not willingly allow us passage." Thorin warned.
"Oh, that's not really that much of an issue. We figured we'd just fly." Harry shrugged.
"Fly?!" It came from a number of the dwarves.
"Fly." Harry nodded, his mind already on the 'how'. "Hermione? We have got enough brooms, haven't we?"
"Yes, Harry. We've got plenty of brooms and carpets. And Ollivander, Remus and the twins are working on getting a deck chair flying. Our biggest issue is going to be… Can the dwarves and Bilbo use them? Do they have enough of a core to power them? I mean they're not human and as far as I'm aware all magical creatures have a core, I just don't know about dwarves and hobbits."
"Should we have Miss Sissy test them?" Headley asked.
"Test?" Bilbo asked. "What sort of test?"
"It's just a charm, Mr Baggins." Narcissa assured him. "Nothing invasive. Depending on the results, I may request a few drops of drop."
"Blood!" Hermione snapped her head up. "If they don't have a core, we can add our blood to a storage crystal and use that to power the brooms or carpets."
"We'd have to add some of the rider's blood, or the crystal will reject them." Ollivander added.
"Won't that clash with our magical blood?" Hermione frowned.
"Not if it's added to the crystal before the magical blood, but it would be advisable to have one crystal per person." Ollivander replied.
"No, three. One for their magical donor to be recharging, one in use and one recharged ready to use as a backup." Hermione corrected.
"Oh… oh, yes, that would be a wise idea." Ollivander nodded.
"If we're going to do that, does it matter if they're magical?" Natalie asked.
"No. But would certainly make things simpler." McGonagall answered.
"Excuse me?" Kíli held up a hand. "You mentioned brooms? Are your brooms the same as Sirius'?"
"They're newer, but much the same, yes." Hermione nodded.
"And the… carpets?" Fíli asked.
"They're a carpet, a floor rug, that has been woven from thread that's been soaked in a magical potion." McGonagall explained.
"And how does one use them?" Thorin asked.
"Brooms? The rider uses their hands on the broom's handle to control the movement and they push or pull on their hands to control the speed, although really experienced flyers manipulate their broom more with their magic than their hands. Carpets are both easier and harder. The primary rider sits in the middle just forward of the centre of the carpet and keeps their hand on the embroidered runes, how they hold their hand determines rise, direction and speed. We'll teach you all to use both. " McGonagall went on.
Thorin hummed and nodded. "That would be much appreciated, Madam."
Sirius, Remus and Teddy re-joined them in time for lunch, the two men walking close to each other.
"Hey, pup." Sirius leant down and hugged Harry from behind. "You still angry with me?"
Harry sighed and returned the hug. "No, Siri, I think I was over that, the moment I stopped smacking you upside the head."
"Yeah, that hurt." Sirius rubbed the side of his skull, at just the memory of a huge paw, and sat beside harry.
"Be glad I didn't do like Remus and McGonagall suggested and put you over my knee and paddle your butt." Harry snarked.
"Yes…" Sirius widened his eyes and agreed, vehemently. "So… what's happening?"
"Well, Narcissa has tested the dwarves and Bilbo and while they've all got a magical core, it's fairly weak, Bilbo's more sensitive than the dwarves, but… well… they can raise a broom, but only Fíli, Kíli, Ori, Nori and Bilbo can actually raise them enough to ride. Hermione and Ollivander are working on some storage crystals, that can act as a magical booster-pack."
"How's that going to work?"
"Their blood to link it to them, our blood to allow us to pulse our magic into the crystals and charge them. They'll wear the crystal as… we're not sure, maybe a pendant, maybe a cuff, Hermione's trying to make them small enough to attach to their braids as a hair ornament or as a pin on their clothes. There're a few options. And all our stuff will have to have new runes added, to allow for the proximity of the crystals and accept them as a power supply." Harry replied.
"Okay…" Sirius stuck his chin out and nodded his head. "So, we're going to fly, then?"
"Yep."
"And the dragon?"
"Still up in the air, yet. Hermione's taken memories from Bill, Charlie, Fleur and I to collate a training memory for everyone, on our experience with dragons. But we don't know if this dragon is magic resistant or not." Harry grimaced.
"Ah, that could be… yeah…" Sirius' grimace matched Harry's.
"Yeah…" Harry sighed.
"Do we have a plan for preventing anyone getting gold-sickness?" Sirius remembered the part in the book where that happened.
"There's a couple of options and we're kind of thinking of using them all. A disinfectant potion released as an aerosol. A sprayed disinfectant. Overpowered cleaning charms. An overpowered finite. An overpowered Tergeo. A modified eradication charm targeted to magical infection. An overpowered Scourgify." Harry replied.
"Hmm… that… that might work. Otherwise you could add a sealant, make them unable to influence people, rather than eliminating the actual curse." Sirius mused.
"Could do that. Bill's going to teach us how to do some basic curse-breaking and we'll attack each coin before it leaves the mountain." Seamus, who was sitting opposite Harry, joined the conversation.
"Harry?" Remus leant around Sirius.
"Hey, Remy. Didja have fun with the mutt?" Harry waggled his brows and both Remus and Sirius flushed.
"Be nice, Longfang." Remus chided, ignoring his red face. "I've got Moody's broom, we could alter a few brooms for the dwarves, in that style."
"It'd be a little more dignified, for those us that don't fancy laying on a stick or sitting on a rug." McGonagall agreed.
"Cool. You guys get to make them up. We're gonna teach the dwarves how to fly, maybe get a game of quidditch going… maybe not… we're kinda competitive when it comes to quidditch. I mean we've got almost enough numbers for three teams, but no-one wants to give up their preferred position to fit into a team." Harry said.
"What do you mean?"
"Draco, Charlie and I are all seekers. Fred, George and Bill are our only beaters. Angelina, Katie, Alicia, Fleur, Alice and Natalie are chasers. But at this point, Oliver is our only keeper." Harry replied.
"No, no, pup. Frank's a keeper, Remus and I are beaters. McGonagall was a chaser. Hell, even Snape was a beater. Oh, and Sissy was a chaser, too." Sirius was adamant.
"Yeah, but none of them are prepared to play." Harry pouted.
"Harry, Remus told me about the de-aging potions, how you used them to reverse him being bitten. I want to take them, too. Azkaban… it damaged me… even further than my family had." Sirius whispered the last sentence. "If can I do that…? Remus and me… we'll play. That'll give you enough for at least two teams and if you choose your teams randomly each game…?"
"That'd still leave us short a keeper." Harry muttered.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Mr Potter. If it's that important to you, I'll take your de-aging potion and play keeper." Ollivander snapped. He'd been listening to Harry and Draco moan about not being able to play, for days now.
Harry smiled. "Excellent. And if we can teach the dwarves to play…?" His smile became a grin. "Now, that would fun."
"One thing at a time, Harry, let's get the dwarves sorted before we start planning a quidditch league." Remus laughed at his honorary godson's joy, the boy had had far too little of that in his life, to date.
Harry was about to reply when he saw Snape and Justin's animagi forms land and shift back into their human shapes.
"Well? What was he holding back? Anything we didn't know about?"
"No, nothing unexpected." Snape replied. "I would hazard that Gandalf will be headed out, alone. He knows that we will provide assistance to King Thorin and his Company, and as such his… particular skills are no longer as… urgently needed, as he'd initially supposed. Leaving him free to turn his attention elsewhere, in this case Dol Guldur to investigate the rumours of a necromancer."
"This necromancer? Is he something we need to worry about?" Harry asked, looking between Snape and Hermione.
"Eventually we'll have to deal with him, but that's not as urgent as Erebor." Hermione answered.
"Agreed." Snape nodded. "Let us deal with one thing at a time, Potter."
"Right." Harry nodded and turned to Thorin. "Parvati and Padma will show you and your Company to a house. It's fully stocked and yours for as long as you need it. Miss Sissy and Sirius will be along with a healer's cabinet, to see to any injuries you might have. Rest up for a few days, recover and let us get ready to help you. Hermione and Ollivander are working on a way to allow you to access our magical means of transport. Remus, Fred, George, Bill and Charlie will get to work on modifying some brooms to be more comfortable for a long flight. A flight to Erebor. Dean, Seamus, Neville and Oliver are making grenades, Molotov cocktails and other explosives. Hermione, Fleur, Justin, Lee and Lavender will be seeing to supplies and accommodation to take with us. Angelina, Katie and Alicia will be teaching you, your company and Headley, how to fly a broom and a carpet, just as soon as Hermione and Ollivander are done with the crystals. The morning after the quidditch queens say you're flight-ready, we'll leave."
"How long do you expect it will take to reach Erebor?" Balin asked.
"It should only take us a day to get there, once we get in the air." Harry shrugged. "Brooms are fast, very fast. What we have, here? They're all capable of doing more than fifty miles an hour, and some can do as much as one-hundred-and-fifty miles an hour." Thorin and his Company were stunned at that little titbit of information. "We won't be going that fast, but if we leave here at dawn, we should be touching down well before sunset. We'll set up some wards, so the dragon isn't able to detect us and depending on how we all fare, after a day in the air, we'll rest and deal with the dragon the next day." The young scribe raised a hand for attention. "Hold on… in the living room of your house, you'll find a table with a pile of notebooks and pencils. Write down any questions or concerns and we'll do our best to answer and alleviate them, but for right now, you guys have had some major shocks. Rest and think about it, take time to process it and write down anything you want to ask. Like I said, we'll answer whatever we can." The young dwarf's hand fell, and he gave Harry a small smile. "Take a day or two. The orcs can't get into the warded lands, you can sleep safely here."
"Thank you." Thorin stood and gave a head-and-shoulders bow. "A chance rest and recover, with access to medical assistance is very much appreciated, as is your willingness to aid us in our quest. Having spoken with Lord Black, I understand that are far from your homes with no way of returning to them. I can see that you have made this valley into a space for yourselves, but I would have you know that, should you wish to remain with us, I would have you consider Erebor your home."
"Thank you, Thorin, the offer is much appreciated." Harry smiled and stood to give him a bow.
After the dwarves followed the Patil twins in the direction of the second of Hogwarts' 'big' houses, Sirius grabbed Harry and dragged him off towards the cottage that Remus lived in.
"You and I need to have a little chat, pup." Sirius said, as they entered the cottage.
"What's up, Siri?" Harry sat on a sofa and leant into his godfather's arms.
"This, pup. Where did this come from? You're acting like Dumbledore, giving orders and expecting people to jump when you tell them." Sirius replied.
"I'm what Dumbledore made me into, Siri. He might have left the order in Kingsley's hands, but everyone else he left to me. Me. Not Kingsley. Me. While I sat in an interview room waiting for my sentence to be carried out, I had access to a pensieve, I looked at lot of my memories and I realised something interesting."
"Yes…" Sirius asked, cautiously.
"I am the leader that Dumbledore made me into but… I'm not the leader that he wanted me to be." Harry went on. "I learnt from his mistakes. I don't give people orders they can't do, I match the task to the most capable person, he didn't. I don't give people orders and not expect them to argue if they don't like it or believe it to be the wrong choice, he did. I don't give people orders and expect them to keep those orders to themselves, he did. I make sure that someone other than me knows every order I've given, he didn't. I don't expect to sit back and let my people do a job that I am best suited for, he did. And most importantly… I speak to my people, I ask their opinions, I tell them why I want something done and in a lot of cases, Hermione is a perfect example, I concede to their greater knowledge, Dumbledore never did that."
"Oh…" Sirius hadn't expected that.
"Everyone here knows that they can argue with me, hell, McGonagall and Snape still order me around in their classrooms. It's only when we're discussing serious stuff, like today, that I step up. I'm their leader, their figurehead, their general, if you will. But more like a reserve leader, McGonagall is the Headmistress and it's only when I'm needed that I come forward, the rest of the time, I'm happy to be a part of the group, and they all know that." Harry didn't pause but kept talking. "It's… Think of it this way, Siri. We're like a quidditch team, everyone knows who the captain is, everyone has the position they're best suited for, and everyone does their part. Right?" Sirius nodded. "During practices and games, everyone looks to the captain for direction and a good captain involves his team in his game plans and the setting up of training exercises. Right?" Sirius nodded, again. "Right. But… Once the game is over, once practice is done, the captain goes back to being just another student. They might be top of the year in DADA, or the bottom, it doesn't change what they are when on the quidditch pitch. Just like quidditch does them no good or harm in the classroom. I'm still brilliant at flying, great at DADA, mediocre at potions and pants at essays, being the leader of the D.A. isn't going to change that and everyone knows it."
Sirius hummed. "And what about Gandalf and Thorin?"
"What about them?" Harry tilted his head.
"You dismissed Gandalf like he wasn't worth your time."
"Really? I wasn't that bad, was I?" Sirius nodded and Harry pouted. "Look, Gandalf abandons Thorin and co at this point in the stories. It has disastrous consequences for the dwarves, but him not leaving would have even worse consequences for this world. He has to go, otherwise this necromancer, Sauron, will gain a foothold here in the north that will allow the destruction of Erebor and open up access to the west. It's only because of Gandalf that the elves step in and banish Sauron back to his southern stronghold."
"Oh, yeah, forgot that bit." Sirius muttered. "Fair enough. And Thorin? You sort of give the impression that you're taking over their quest."
"Gods, I hope not." Harry muttered. "Was I really that…? Dumbledore-ish?"
Sirius nodded.
"Ugh. Wasn't meaning to. Hermione says that Thorin, Fíli and Kíli all die, attempting to reclaim Erebor. I've seen enough deaths, Siri. If I can help them and keep them alive, I'll feel like maybe I've earnt the right to stay in this world."
"Oh, Harry…" Sirius sighed.
"I know… but that's how I feel. I've no intention of taking over, more that we're their back up, or the new addition to the team. We all have different skills and equipment. They have more experience with swords, we have more with magic. Gandalf has a different type of magic to us, his is more… people orientated, finding the right people, understanding the needs of the big picture, kinda like Dumbledore was. We're more active, we're also not restricted by his White Council, they are led by Saruman, and it won't be long before he falls prey to the Sauron, if he hasn't already. And we can't stop him."
"Why not?" Sirius raised a brow.
"Because his actions are the catalyst that brings the elves into the war." Harry answered.
"But aren't you trying to get around there even being a war?"
"I am, but Saruman is… he's the White Council's Wormtail." Harry finally muttered.
"Huh." Sirius grunted.
"Exactly. Without him to restrict them, the White Council act faster and Gandalf will take the lead. He's forced to step up and lead instead of just ambling along and dealing with things only when they smack him in the face." Harry grimaced.
"So, you're really not trying to take over?"
"No! Gods, no. I don't want to lead, I don't, Siri. I just… everyone looks to me to lead them. The sooner I get this sorted, the sooner I can step back and hand the follow-up to Thorin and McGonagall." Harry whined.
"So, in other words, you're allying your people with Thorin and his people. You'll order yours and he'll order his and whoever is best suited to a task, will be the one to do said task, regardless of if it is one of yours or one of his?"
"Pretty much. We've got different knowledge to them, not better, not worse, just different. Once we hit Erebor, they'll be the ones in advance… no, not advance… they'll be the ones with the greater knowledge, we'll be relegated to back up. But I refuse to let them die, when we can help them." Harry sighed. "All they really want is a home, Siri. Hogwarts is my home, like them it was taken from me, but unlike them, there's no chance of me ever seeing it again. If I can help them get their home back, you can bet your furry ass, that's what I'm going to do."
"Oh, I get it, now. Okay. I was worried for a second, there. You were barking out orders and just… I don't want you to try and be something you're not, pup." Sirius rested his chin on Harry's head. "So, what's next for Harry? Not Harry; the captain, but Harry."
"Um…" Harry grimaced. "Harry wants to spend some time with his godfather, get to know him, not the Azkaban fugitive. He wants to see if Draco's right and Charlie is attempting, in a typically ham-fisted Weasley fashion, to flirt with him. He wants to work with his big brother to teach his little brothers how to fly, how to cook and work with them until they're comfortable in using the weapons that Gringotts gave us. After that…? We'll see. Let's get rid of the dragon first."
"Well, the first we can do… but we'll have to wait until I've done your de-aging/re-aging thing." Sirius nodded. "Charlie? If he hurts you, the Marauders will prank him into the next century."
Harry snorted. "Siri, he grew up with Fred and George, he and Bill were their main teachers, I've listened to McGonagall, Bill and Charlie were as bad as you four and there were only two of them. I really don't think pranking him is going to do anything other than start a prank war and seeing as we're on the verge of another war…? It can wait."
"Hmph…" Sirius pouted.
"Are you really okay with doing the age potions?" Harry fretted. "You don't have to, you know that, right?"
"Whoa, pup, ease up. I'm damaged, pup, I've been damaged for a long time. Some of it is from Azkaban, some of it is from my family." Sirius started, only to be cut off by Harry.
"What did they do? Do I need to resurrect them and tear them to strips?" Harry snarled.
"Maybe…" Sirius whispered.
"Tell me." Harry held onto his godfather.
"I was born a carrier and-"
"A carrier of what?"
"A carrier… Oh, right, no magical parents and no-one to explain. Right. The magical community is small, we're about a tenth of one percent of the world's population. Right?" Harry nodded. "We don't have the largest families, Weasley's excluded. Most tend to be one or two kids. Three is considered a large family, the Weasley's are huge. But almost a quarter of our population are either asexual or homosexual. Still with me?" Harry nodded, again. "Good. So, given that, how do we keep our population stable? There aren't enough muggleborns entering the wizarding world to take the places of those not heterosexual. Of the overall male population, about twenty percent are carriers, capable of conceiving, carrying and giving birth to a child, but… and this was the bit that upset my parents, they are rarely the dominant member of a couple. I'm not submissive, I'm just not as dominant as Remus." Sirius looked down at Harry, who wore a thoughtful expression. "That upset my parents, I was a Black and Blacks bowed to no-one, and here I was, I was going to be the 'lesser' of a couple. They didn't like it. They commissioned at potions master from Russia to make a potion that would… eliminate… any chances of me becoming a parent, be it as a father or as a carrier."
He paused while Harry leapt to his feet and began to rant. After a few minutes of learning that his godson had the same vindictive temper as Lily, he silenced the younger man and dragged him back to the sofa.
"That was pretty much my grandfather's attitude when he found out." Sirius gave Harry a small smile. "He named me as his Heir that day. My parents were furious and took it out on me, but nothing that could be seen, nothing that could be detected, magically. You know how that goes, you lived with Petunia." Harry nodded. "Yeah, not all abuse is physical. Then I got sorted into Gryffindor…" He sighed. "That made things worse at home, stinging hexes were a… at least hourly thing, tickling charms were left just a few seconds too long, sticking charms on chairs, shrinking charms on my clothes, repelling spells so I couldn't leave the house, that sort of thing." He listened to Harry growl, a sign that Harry was using his Animagus form to try and remain calm. "Then I was called home for yule, the year I turned sixteen. At the dinner table, the first night home, I was presented with a betrothal contract and told to sign it. When I read that they wanted me to marry Rabastan Lestrange, I rebelled. Uncle Marius had warned me, he worked for the legal office that had drawn up the contract. I'd taken what I could from my trust vault, without alerting father, and packed all the stuff that I considered important, school stuff, marauder stuff, brooms, I took all the lose money in the house and had taken a shrinking trunk from the attic to put everything in. I exploded the dining room and literally blew the window out and ran away. Moony, Prongs and I had been secretly teaching ourselves to apparate at school and while we weren't very good at it, I was very angry, I apparated to the shrieking shack and stayed there for a night, before sneaking into Hogsmeade the next day and sending Prongs an owl, asking for help." Harry smiled and poked him in the ribs.
"Yeah, yeah, lay off. James turned up, but he brought his dad with him. I told them the situation, all of it, everything… and both me and James had to hold Fleamont back, he wanted to go and curse my parents. What he did do, after we knocked him on his ass and sat on him, was to send an owl to my grandfather. The four of us went to Gringotts, grandfather invoked his Heir rights. As the heir to an Ancient and Noble House, any betrothal contract for me had to be signed by the Lord of my House, not me, not my parents. Because my parents had tried to get around that and had eliminated my childbearing capabilities, grandfather declared that I wasn't safe with my parents and was assigning a Crisis-Regent for me. Fleamont was that Regent. I went home with them and never had to see my parents again."
Harry looked at him. "Doesn't stop me from wanting to resurrect and murder them for you."
"Doesn't stop me from wanting to let you." Sirius replied. "I never told Remus, not about being a carrier or the potion I was tied down and forced to swallow. He knew about the abuse, how could he not, we shared a dorm for seven years, he knew how little I wanted to go home for the holidays. He knew about the damage Azkaban did, he nursed me back from it. But until this morning, he didn't know about me being a carrier."
"Ouch…" Harry grimaced.
"Not great, no. But not as bad as it could have been." Sirius shrugged. "Him knowing about the abuse, helped. He understood that was the reason for me… just not talking about some things." He sighed. "And keeping him at a distance all these years. I love him, Harry, and have done since we were twelve." Harry beamed at him. "I want the de-aging. I want to repair the damage my family did. I want to remove the last taint of my parents' care from my body, so I can close the memories of the same incidents away in the depths of my mind and never have to think on them again. I want to repair the damage that Azkaban did. I want to be the best that I can be... For you, for me, for him and for any children that I might have." Sirius told Harry earnestly.