AN: Nope...still don't own Harry Potter or intend to make money off this. I also wanted to say thank you for all the support.
I intend to post a chapter every 4 days and am in the process of writing chapter 9 so I will plan to maintain that schedule until I run out of material as hopefully I'll be able to stay on task and continue to stay ahead of the schedule.
Chapter 3
September 1st rolled around and the students were boarding the Hogwarts' Express to return to school. Thanks to the spell work done by Albus last term, most would not even realize that they were returning to school without their most famous student. Outside of the Weasleys and Hermione Granger, there were only three students who took notice that Harry Potter was not with his normal group. There were many adults who were there keeping watch and trying to get some answers. Most knew something happened over the summer involving Harry Potter but most of the facts were covered up. As House Potter was a high ranking house, any changes or problems with it were something to pay attention to as it could have far reaching effects on their economy and politics.
**ALM**
Cho Chang was being seen off by Cedric Diggory along with his and her parents. The Diggorys were there because of the rumors that Harry saved Cedric last year during the third task. Cedric never regained his memory of the events that night so they were looking for answers and to offer their belated thanks for Harry's actions that may have been responsible for bringing their son back to them. The Diggorys and Changs were confused at the beginning of the summer when Cedric and Cho had no clue about who they were talking about. It took Amos shoving a picture of Harry in the Daily Prophet and casting multiple 'finite' spells at him before Cedric even knew who Harry was. Amos may have been a proud father which caused him to become somewhat of a braggart at times but he was honorable and if House Diggory owed Harry Potter a debt of gratitude, they damn sure would show it despite the smear campaign going on.
**ALM**
Another pair who was watching the scene was Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. They were aware of the events of this summer but were confused by their son. That same son, who stupidly placed himself in the role of Harry Potter's school nemesis, had no reaction to the news that Harry Potter was dead. It was almost like the boy never existed even though they knew it not to be true. They were also worried because with Harry Potter gone, there was no one to stand against the Dark Lord. They were completely in support of the Dark Lord in the first war but back then, he was charming, he made plans and executed them, and he was so much different than he is today. It was evident to them that Voldemort's time as a wraith took his sanity and that thing that came back was hell bent on the destruction of everything. It was clear Voldemort wasn't human anymore and probably more demon than anything else with the way he took great pleasure in torturing his own subjects instead of taking his anger out on the ones who opposed him. These facts were more than enough to make Lucius feel foolish for working so hard to further the Dark Lord's aims while he was gone. He may not be a good man but even he knew that the destruction of the magical world was assured if Voldemort took over.
Narcissa took Draco to a private healer during the summer and discovered the enchantments placed on her son. Instead of immediately having them removed, she hesitated and decided to speak to Lucius about it. Later they decided to not have the charms removed because he did not possess any cunning and had no filter on his mouth. If he knew, he would brag about it and bring unnecessary attention to himself and their family. They knew that one day Draco's mouth was going to get him killed and it was only the fact that Harry Potter was dead might see him live to graduation.
**ALM**
A girl with long black hair was standing on the platform with her parents and younger sister, Astoria, watching as well. The Greengrass family was like most and knew something concerning House Potter occurred over the summer but all their sources proved to be lacking in information as well.
Daphne was one of the only students who knew what happened at the feast at the end of the Tri-Wizard. It was common practice for her to keep occlumency shields up at all times. She felt the charm wash over her but was able to fight off its effects before they took root in her mind. One of the advantages of occlumency was that she knew what was being attempted. The ring she wore as Heiress to the House of Greengrass also warned her that the drink was potioned so she chose not to drink anything. When she got home, she reported everything to her father and then suggested they take Astoria to a healer to have the charms and potions removed. Her only regret in the whole incident was that she could not get to her sister in time to stop it from happening not that it would have done any good since Astoria's mind shields were not up to the task yet.
It was known throughout the Greengrass home that Daphne had a serious case of 'like' for Harry Potter. She was enthralled by his power and sense of nobility that was so lacking in the house of the snakes. Her neutral stance had caused her problems in her first year but most of her housemates quickly learned not to mess with her in that respect, she thought she and Harry were a lot alike because he too was taunted until all but the truly idiotic learned to not mess with him based solely on the power he could wield.
In her first year, Daphne found it amazing how a freezing charm to the bits would cause over amorous boys to leave her alone and earn her a nickname as well. She was proud of her reputation since even Draco had learned to leave her alone after quite a few examples of what happened when you messed with her. Despite her reputation and the fear she caused most boys, there were times when she wished she was sorted into Ravenclaw as it would have been much easier to approach Harry.
In one of the few times since she learned occlumency, Daphne lost control of her emotions as she gave her parents her report on all that happened during that feast. She cried in her mother's arms as she told the story of how the most noble and courageous of all the students was effectively erased from the minds of everyone in the school and left completely alone by the Headmaster and Professor Snape.
The entire family had been sorted into Slytherin and while they were darker than some, they were staunchly neutral. Although it wasn't acknowledged by the wizarding world as a whole, they knew Voldemort was back. Mr. Greengrass had been approached by Tom's agents during the summer and given the choice to join the Dark Lord or face the consequences. With their options becoming more limited, Mr. Greengrass was at a loss of what to do. He didn't have much faith in Albus Dumbledore long before Daphne told of the events at Hogwarts. With the leader of the 'light' willing to take such action, he absolutely would not trust him now. He had no faith in the Ministry either and only saw Amelia Bones as someone worthy of support. The last option was to follow Voldemort and that was not something he thought he could willingly do. They were aware of his ruthlessness during his first rise and rumor had it that he was even more insane now. Mr. Greengrass knew what awaited his family as any of the choices would see his family dead but not before his wife and daughters had been horribly used by the Dark Lord's thugs even if they were aligned with him. For the Greengrass family, they were seeking a fourth option. That last option revolved around Harry Potter but the problem was that Harry was nowhere to be seen.
Daphne worried as she stood on the platform. Harry's absence from the platform gave her a sense of foreboding because without him, things would be more tenuous at Hogwarts and in Britain as a whole. With the main protector of the students gone, Daphne was seriously considering asking her father to move the entire family to the continent to get away from the rising darkness and send them to another school somewhere far away from England. She took a deep breath. "Father, I agreed to come back but…"
He held up his hand. "I know. Keep us posted and let us know if Potter shows up. We'll hope for the best but plan for the worst."
Her mother pulled her and her sister into a hug. "Be careful and watch out for each other. I expect letters on a regular basis and we will revisit the subject again at Yule."
After giving their father a hug, both girls made their way to the train. He watched them board with fear in his eyes. "I hope…"
His wife laid her hand on his arm. "You've trained them well. We'll see them at Yule."
**ALM**
Amelia and Susan Bones were also watching the platform. The absence of Harry was distressing to them both as like Daphne; Susan was concerned for her safety at Hogwarts since Harry was not spotted. She wasn't about to go ask any of his regular group as she knew they were deep in Dumbledore's pocket.
At one point, she and Hermione were confidants so she knew of the bond and oaths Harry and Hermione took but there were several things that bothered her about last year. The first was Hermione's estrangement from Harry but even worse was when she left him to flounder on his own during the last two tasks. The second was the same thing that Daphne witnessed. Thanks to her aunt, Susan's occlumency shield was very advanced and she too had weathered the charm and noticed the potion.
Her Hufflepuff traits kicked in after that final feast so she went looking for Hermione to get some answers. Susan noticed something was off with Hermione all year but they never had the chance to talk. The times when they did, Ron would show up and tell Hermione she was needed somewhere else. By the time she found her, Susan wished she hadn't. Under pure-blood law, there was nothing she could do as Hermione was being claimed by Ron Weasley in the most degrading way possible. She was bent over a teacher's desk in an unused classroom as Ron took her from behind.
As he was doing this, she could see him pointing his wand at her and chanting some ancient language. She was horrified and never expected Ron to have the intelligence to do something like that or be able to remember such a long and difficult incantation since it was only due to Hermione that he even passed his first few years. What she did see was a light glowing from underneath Hermione's chest as the bond to Harry was dissolved. Susan watched as the claim took the form of black tattoos that grew across Hermione's back and neck. With there not being anything she could do as the ritual had to be consensual, she broke into tears and ran. She was hurting for her friend and the boy who would be devastated by all this. She was also a little scared at the thought of the same thing happening to her even though she would never agree to be 'claimed' by anyone.
On her arrival home, she broke down with her parents who called over her Great Aunt Amelia immediately. Susan told them everything but knew there was little that could be done. It was a nasty secret in the wizarding world of how the muggle-born could be used. It was also something Susan thought Hermione and Harry's bond would protect her from. Her aunt told her that normally it should but it was evident that there had been some heavy tampering with magic in the castle. They were aware of just who was behind it due to the charm Susan fought off in the Great Hall and the unusual interest the Headmaster had in Harry's life.
Amelia spent the summer looking deeper into things surrounding Harry Potter but was met with road blocks at every turn. She was well aware that something concerning Harry happened around his birthday but whatever it was; she could find no information about it. It was evident to her that Dumbledore was forcing others into keeping secrets again. Unlike the Minister, she knew Voldemort was back but could not find any evidence to support or deny her theories. It was also the same with Harry Potter. Absolutely no evidence was just as damning to her as too much evidence. She vowed to leave no stone unturned but at the moment, she didn't even know which field to start looking in.
The only clue she had was a report about a gathering at Gringotts that could have been a will reading. Sadly, the clues died at the door to the bank as they would not comment one way or the other as to the status of Harry Potter. To make matters even more suspicious, all Ministry records concerning Harry Potter were sealed by the Chief Warlock.
Susan turned to her Aunt with fear in her eyes. The trip to Hogwarts was now something sinister and scary for the first time. "You'll be fine Suzy. If the worst happens, use the portkey. My account manager at Gringotts said that it will break though even Hogwarts' wards. It had better since I paid a fortune for it."
"Thanks Auntie. I'll send regular reports."
Amelia hugged her niece. "That's my little detective." She watched as Susan got on the train. She said a little prayer that everything would be alright but with the games being played, she was afraid the ones who were going to suffer the most were the youth of their world.
**ALM**
As the Hogwarts students were boarding the Express, Harry was starting the next phase of his training as he was now under the tutelage of a sensei in a martial arts dojo. His three mentors felt that Harry would benefit from the physical training and learning to make his moves more fluid. It was also an attempt at improving his senses so that he could better feel what was happening around him and help him with his already well above average situational awareness. While he would spend the nine months in private lessons, they were not out to make him a black belt or to become Chuck Norris so the next summer would be the end of those lessons unless Harry chose to continue them. It was hoped the physical aspect of the lessons would help develop his body into more than he was. During that time, the only weapons training Harry underwent was with knives and throwing stars as most of the other weapons would take years to master. As he honed his fighting skills in the dojo during the day, the evenings were spent training with Moody as he continued to add a larger spell repertoire along with more facets to his dueling.
**ALM**
Halloween proved to be its normal glorious day for Harry. It was the day that the parents of many students sat in on the Wizengamot meeting scheduled that day wanting answers. Their concerns were based solely on the fact that none of their children reacted in any way at the smear campaign being brought against Harry in the Daily Prophet. Whether they liked him or not, they always commented in the past and now they acted like they never heard of the young man. The few who were truly aware that something was wrong were behind the rise in interest and hoped to get some answers today.
The Wizengamot convened and with the full support of the parents who were sitting in the body, questions were asked that Albus didn't want to answer. His evasive answers led to Mr. Greengrass standing and demanding truthful answers. His demands led to a majority vote of the Wizengamot who used the magic of the chamber to force him to answer their questions honestly despite his best attempts to disrupt the proceedings. It was the day that the secret came out that Harry Potter had been abused all his life and was controlled by whatever means necessary even going as far as breaking bonds to do so. It was also the day that the world found out Harry was dead after being kissed by rogue Dementors sent by the Dark Lord.
It was during that session that the secret of what had been done to the students at the end of last year was exposed. As a result of his many sins coming to light, Albus Dumbledore was stripped of his Chief Warlock position and his appointment to the ICW for the part he played in the sacrifice of a minor head of a Noble house along with his actions against the other students in Hogwarts.
He did manage to hold on to his position at Hogwarts and only did for two reasons. The first was they didn't have a replacement who was as powerful as Albus was. Even after what he did to the students, the Wizengamot still felt the students were safer from the Dark Lord with Albus in the castle. As far as the parents were concerned, they could live with him remaining in the castle since the Ministry had to appoint a defense teacher this year. The session granted her powers far beyond those of a mere teacher. Her authority in the school was now greater than the headmaster's as she was charged with making sure nothing untoward was going on this year as well as to make sure the standards of teaching were being upheld.
From the looks being sent his way in the chamber, Cornelius Fudge also knew he was on borrowed time. His denial of the rumors of Voldemort's return without the slightest bit of investigation made him look foolish. The fact that he led a smear campaign against a dead young man who he was not aware had died added to this made him look more foolish. He would later learn that the only reason he held on to his position was due to the fact that with the upheaval of kicking Albus out, many felt it did not need to be added to by impeaching the Minister at the same time. It gave Cornelius a little more time to turn things around. Sadly for him, he would be gone within a year as he continued to listen to the same people who put him in this position in the first place.
**ALM**
Albus seethed at his being torn to shreds as many of his former followers renounced the light side and joined the neutral faction. Many swore that if the light side was using dark methods to control their members, they wanted no part of it. Due to the chaos, Mr. Greengrass saw a boost to his faction that was desperately needed. The Longbottom, Bones, Jones, and Diggory houses, to name a few were welcomed with open arms but without Harry Potter, he knew it still would not be enough to combat the Dark Lord's advances.
In one eventful meeting, the balance of power took a major shift away from the point of view Albus had imposed on everyone during his tenure. Many from the light and dark factions would be worried and concerned about the changes taking place while the common witch or wizard saw it as a positive. The neutral faction was well respected and had long been the group in the government that tried to look out for the common witch or wizard. The ones that were worried were so because the power shift just made achieving their agendas much more difficult.
**ALM**
Voldemort was also furious and took his anger out on several of his followers. As Peter was usually the closest to his master, he took the initial brunt of the venting and a half an hour later, two low level Death Eaters dragged his comatose body from the chamber trailing blood and urine behind him. The Dark Lord knew he was now on a limited schedule and would have to advance his plans before he was ready. One thing he did know was that Dumbledore would have to be the first to die. The sheep may be mad at him at the moment but he knew they all still thought of Dumbledore as the greatest wizard alive. His defeat of Dumbledore would add to the already low morale due to Potter's death and at that point, the country would bend to his will much easier or they would see him order England burnt to the ground.
**ALM**
When Albus returned to the castle, he found himself surrounded by utter chaos and quite a few hateful glares. The potion used at the end of last term was only a temporary way to make sure the charm would do its job. With a whole summer to metabolize the potion, it no longer affected the students and once the truth was learned, thanks to the Wizengamot, the charm broke and the truth of the situation came to light.
At first, confusion was the biggest problem at the school but that soon turned to anger when the Daily Prophet showed up in a special edition and revealed the news. For their own safety due to the volatile emotions running through the castle, Albus and Severus never came to dinner. They knew they were more powerful than the students but if enough of them banded together and attacked, they could easily overpower the two teachers. It wasn't out of the realm of possibilities that several teachers would join in with them so they stayed in their quarters for the night.
Daphne and Susan were somewhat vindicated by the revelations but it was still too late as Harry Potter was gone and his companion for the first three years at Hogwarts was under the control of Ron Weasley. Things didn't look good for the factions that weren't dark.
**ALM**
Over the next week, Amelia's investigation began to make progress as some of her Aurors confessed what they were doing in their off time after they lost faith in Dumbledore. With leads now appearing, Amelia was able to act on some of the things she learned from Susan. The problem Amelia faced was that as she got some answers, they ended up leading her to more questions. The best information she received came from the students of Hogwarts who were outraged at what was done to them but more importantly, Harry Potter. Most of their anger was directed at the right people but they were ashamed of themselves for being weak minded therefore making it so easy to allow something like that to happen. Another problem was she needed information that only Harry Potter and his two best friends could provide. When she appeared at the castle to interview Weasley and Granger, she was abruptly rebuffed by Albus himself who told her that his two best friends absolutely refused to talk to her about Harry Potter and their adventures.
From the reports she got from Susan, the only happy person in the castle was Ron Weasley but what fifteen year old boy wouldn't be when he had someone to do him and his homework whenever he wanted. Oddly enough, Susan said the situation was strange as the girl seemed content. It wasn't the first time that potions were thought to be involved with Miss Granger but under pure-blood law, there was nothing that could be done about it. If there were any hint of abuse or neglect, Amelia could step in but Susan plainly reported that the girl was healthy and content.
For the first time, Amelia was finally hearing the stories of Harry's adventures at Hogwarts but they were second hand and not completely accurate. Everything that the young man had gone through and survived was not unlike another historical figure from magical Britain's past. The evidence pointed to the fact that Harry Potter, like Merlin himself, was a child or man of destiny that was said only appeared in dark times. If that were the case, the next bit of information she needed would be in the Hall of Prophecies.
Upon visiting the Department of Mysteries, the Unspeakables revealed there was a prophecy about Harry Potter and the Dark Lord that was told to Dumbledore. It could explain why Dumbledore did the things he did but it still left plenty of questions. One of them was whether Dumbledore was setting the Potter Heir up to die so that he wouldn't eclipse Albus' fame. It wasn't like the man wasn't vain as his robes alone told the story of someone that needed to be the center of attention. All of this was a moot point because the prophecy was still active and if that was the case, Harry Potter was still alive somewhere. So now the question was...where? It was obvious he wasn't in the hands of Albus or Tom so just who had him and what was kissed by the dementor?
She now had a suspicion that the real Harry Potter wasn't there that night. The fact that there was a Harry Potter there meant that someone went to a lot of trouble to leave behind a homunculus. She knew the power was not beyond her and her family magic but other than her, there were very few in the magical world that could pull it off. She was out since she knew she, her brother, or nephew didn't do it. Albus would have revealed it during the Wizengamot session so he was out. Tom was out as why would he go through all that trouble to create the copy only to send Dementors to kill it? Of course Tom had done some crazy things in the past to decrease morale but she still ruled him out because it remained a secret. That left only two people in England who could pull it off and had recent contact with Harry. Alastor Moody and Minerva McGonagall. She smiled at the thought of her old mentor and his paramour. If they were training Harry in secret, then things were a lot better than she could have hoped.
Even with her recent deductions, the case still grew more confusing as the days went on. It became even more so the day Sirius Black's cousin and her daughter, a current Auror, came in to see her. Her investigation of Harry Potter was waylaid by several days as she dealt with the ramifications from that interview. It was during the interview that it was revealed that Sirius was Harry Potter's godfather and a whole new can of worms was opened.
Auror Tonks told her everything she knew about Harry's situation and what the Order was doing to him on Albus' orders. It only added to the information she got previously from the other Aurors that were part of the Order except one. That one Auror, or should we say retired Auror, was currently not taking part of Order activities except for the meetings. Tonks found it strange since in the past, Moody kept his nose into just about everything, It may have not been as bad as Albus but he liked to stay informed about any and all dark activity. In the end, things were pointing back to Moody and his silence and reclusive behavior could be seen as evidence that he was up to something.
Amelia took a day to handle some DMLE housekeeping, in other words paperwork, and to get over her disgust of Albus and the Order before she began to delve into the Harry issue once again. She looked at the last note she made before Tonks showed up to see where to begin again. Her thoughts turned to her mentor and how he was another of Dumbledore's compatriots. She could only imagine Alastor was right ticked off at Albus and Minerva for not recognizing that it was an impostor and wondered where he went off to. She figured the old Auror was probably licking his wounds for the first few months after his rescue but he hadn't been seen since. The only time Alastor never came by and stuck his nose into her business was when he was busy with a project and to not be seen for close to six months was unusual even for him. The only things of note that had been happening since this summer was centered on Harry Potter. For that matter, she hadn't seen or heard from her old Auror partner Minerva and their team's field medic Poppy Pomfrey either. She sat back in her chair and wondered what the connection was as it was too convenient to be a mere coincidence.
It was time for answers under the guise of catching up with old friends. The holidays were now fast approaching so she would have to work fast so she took out three pieces of parchment and began writing letters.
**ALM**
On Christmas Day, Minerva and Poppy left the castle to visit family. It was not a lie as they were together celebrating the season with those they considered family. They initially felt Harry would have a hard time this holiday with him not being around his friends but he was in a surprising good mood. For Harry, it was the close relationship he now shared with his grandfather and grandmother and great aunt (Harry just went ahead and adopted Poppy).
They were sitting around the table eating the delicious meal Dobby prepared when Alastor broke the silence. "Amelia's sniffing around. I think she suspects Harry is with me."
Minerva nodded. "Poppy and I have been contacted by her as well. She was almost adamant that we spend Yule together like we used to do and she didn't take our not accepting very well. I'm sure she suspects we're involved too."
Harry looked up. "What do we do?"
Moody snorted. "Nothing son. Amelia knows us well enough that if we are working on something, it'll help her in the long run. She just wants to know what's going on."
Harry looked blankly at the wall for a second. The thought of it being known he was alive could destroy many of their plans before they were even able to get started. It would also start a massive manhunt by every faction out there. "Does she know about me?"
Poppy smiled. "Knows…no. Suspects…yes. I do know that she was told of a certain prophecy and I imagine Croaker told her that it was still active."
Harry nodded. "So from what you've told me…active prophecy means its still in play and the subjects of it are still…alive?"
Poppy smiled and teased. "Exactly! You did learn something I taught you because I know your grandmother would never teach you anything about divination if her life depended on it."
Harry and Mad-Eye just laughed as Minerva responded in a dignified manner. She stuck her tongue out at her old friend.
Harry chuckled at their antics but then asked what was to him the million galleon question. "So...will they tell anyone else?"
Moody thought about it for a second before shaking his head. "No...she'll keep our secrets for a while. Croaker saw you when we heard the prophecy. Even though you had a hood on, you were the only other person besides snake lips who could touch it and he won't let anything slip. They'll trust us to do the right thing and let them know what's going on when we're ready."
Harry thought for a second. "The real question is will he tell Albus? If Albus knows, Snape will soon know as well which means Tom will."
Minerva paused for a second. "I can contact him if you wish but I'm pretty sure that knowledge has been hidden as I would have heard something about it by now if Albus knew."
Harry just nodded in return after seeing Poppy and Moody agreeing with her. Then the conversation turned to the happenings of the castle.
The holiday came with the good and bad. Harry laughed as he heard of the hard time the students were having with the new defense teacher. As a joke, Minerva brought him a copy of the book they were learning from. To say Harry laughed even harder would be an understatement. He asked. "I'm assuming Granger didn't take this too well. What did she do?"
Minerva smiled despite the situation. It hurt that he was calling the girl by her surname now but it was better than some of the things he could be saying about her once future granddaughter-in-law.. "Well, I've already told you about Umbridge. (Harry nodded.) She has tied Albus' hands completely and has been issuing education decrees which he has no choice but to support. One was a ban of groups of two or more. Miss Granger decided that since they weren't learning anything useful, she and Ronald would lead a study group. It was felt that with them being around you the most, that they would be the most knowledgeable about defense."
Harry snorted. "Oh, I'm sure they played up their help in our adventures but they were never there when for the really nasty parts so they really don't have a clue what it's like. They can't really understand what it's like to have to stand there and face that demon and keep your bowels under control instead messing all over yourself."
Moody snorted.
Minerva gave him a small smile. "Anyway…they started this group and called it Dumbledore's Army in honor of their hero. I heard at one point some of the group wanted to name it after you but Ronald threw a fit at that idea. They haven't been caught yet but it is only a matter of time as subtlety is not one of their stronger traits. I can only imagine this will land Albus in even more trouble with the Ministry."
Harry grinned. "Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Anything else?"
She looked at him sadly. "The Order was protecting the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries. Somehow…Tom's great big snake got in there and attacked one of the guards. Arthur was killed."
Harry's head dropped as Arthur was one of the really good guys. He felt that Arthur had no idea about what happened to Hermione otherwise he would have stopped it. He hoped. It hurt him to think that a good man like Arthur had to die in this senseless war. The worst part of it was that Arthur died for nothing. He and Moody heard the prophecy right after the existence of it was revealed in a letter from Amelia to Moody. They knew what it said but like most everything else they were doing, it was need to know and Minerva and Poppy didn't need to know the details at this point. It was also senseless since according to the prophecy, Albus was not a player in this game yet he continued to put people in danger for his own sense of self-importance. Of course with Harry supposedly dead, Albus probably thought he was the only player in this game besides Tom. It was then a thought hit him.
"Albus knows I'm alive then. There's no way he'd be having a prophecy guarded if he didn't think it was still in play."
The adults sat back in thought. Minerva finally spoke. "He may suspect but I think it's just like his secrets. It's just information he doesn't want anyone else to have so he's trying to block it."
Moody finally broke in. "It doesn't matter. You're not under his control anymore. Even if he knows the prophecy is still valid, there's nothing he can do to influence either party at this point. He's just a spectator watching a game he's no longer part of."
Poppy chuckled. "That has to hurt him more than anything at this point."
Harry laughed along with the others and then added. "The best part is Albus did all this to himself and we haven't had to tip our hand to move against him."
Moody nodded. "Yet junior. Yet. There's going to come a time where we will have to move against him and he's well protected in that castle."
Harry smiled. "I know pops. But thanks to Mr. Greengrass, we don't have to face the whole country to get to him."
Minerva smiled. "Yes well, the Greengrass family has now painted a large target on themselves by both sides."
Harry smirked. "Well I'm all for protecting them and then aligning with their block when I come out of hiding."
Moody nodded. "Aye lad. I think you'll have three other families joining Potter and Black in that move."
For the rest of the night, the conversation turned less serious and they just enjoyed their time together. The ladies knew that Harry and Moody would be in the thick of it before this next year passed and they wanted to enjoy the time they did have as they were well aware that with the war about to pick up again, this could be their first and last Christmas together as a family.
**ALM**
Around Easter, Minerva made another visit and told of the 'study' group being caught red handed. She laughed as she said the wards on the classroom were shoddy and obviously not Miss Granger's best work. It was a completely Gryffindor affair as many of the students who helped start the group dropped out as Ron continued to bad mouth Harry and say his accomplishments were only because he and Hermione were training Harry.
Neville and Susan Bones led about twenty others in leaving because of that and the fact that Ronald refused to let any of the neutral Slytherins join. As it was, Albus was ran out of the castle and Minerva was called onto the carpet for allowing her house to blatantly break the rules. She was a little incensed at being put on probation by Umbridge and thought about resigning on the spot but stopped herself before her temper could get the best of her.
In total, she had a group of about twenty Lions that would be in detention for the rest of the year and lost enough points to effectively put them in last place.
Harry said. "Shoddy wards? Hermione?"
Minerva nodded. "Things have changed more than you think. I know Miss Granger helped you with your written work but I didn't realize how much you helped her in casting and practical work. She has since lost the top spot in her year and has been steadily dropping ever since."
Harry chuckled. "I imagine Weasley is affecting her more than she him. I'm guessing with Arthur gone...the lot of them have gone off the deep end?"
"That would be a correct assumption. Arthur always moderated the family while Molly was more of a blood purist. The twins haven't changed much except for looking forward to NEWTS and getting out of that house. Ginny struts around like a princess trying to get the richer pure-bloods to notice her."
Harry snorted. "Thank god I'm not there...she'd still be after me."
**ALM**
Everything Harry was doing was paying off and he and Moody gradually grew closer than either wanted as both had lost so much in their lives. By the time Hogwarts was letting out, Harry was becoming a force of nature and was winning far more often against Moody than losing. In Moody's opinion, Harry was ready to take the fight to the Death Eaters but Tom would still be a bit much for him and Moody didn't know what to do to help Harry with that final step. His only thought was to have Harry start dueling Dumbledore but that was not an option for them and he knew of no one else strong and powerful enough to help. It wasn't as if Moody wasn't a powerful wizard, he was but Tom raised the bar to a whole new level and he knew he couldn't stand against the maniac on his own.
One of the things Moody did give Harry was training in how to fight and that meant getting down and dirty and hitting the bastards with everything you had in an effort to take them down and stay alive while doing it. It mostly worked for Moody but his missing body parts and scars were a testament of how badly things could go. Moody was especially proud of Harry's inventiveness when it came to fighting which would show itself in surprising ways in the coming battles. Alastor was also impressed by Harry's drive and unwillingness to ever give up in a fight. It would probably see both their deaths by the time this was over but they would come at a very high cost for Tom and his followers.
When she was able to sneak out for a visit, Moody and Minerva would team up against Harry and he was beginning to hold his own against both of them. They knew it was only a matter of time before he would be outstripping them in skill as he already was in power and they would begin to lose more often instead of quitting at a stalemate.
It was Minerva who postulated how Harry came to be what he was. James was known for his quick reflexes and evidently the Potters had moments where their family members were extremely high powered. James and his father were fairly powerful as was Lily but Harry's great-grandfather Charlus Potter was thought to be a mage class wizard. On his mother's side, Moody was a bit higher on the scale than James and while Minerva was slightly below, her skills made up the difference. Another advantage Harry inherited was his mother's incredible intelligence. While he didn't display it at Hogwarts, it was there waiting to come out once they got him away from Albus. With everything Moody and Minerva taught him, his quick mind was able to make use of the knowledge and pick the appropriate spells given any situation very quickly. When this was added to Harry's high power and quick reflexes, they had a very dangerous wizard on their hands. He wasn't dangerous in the evil sense; it was more that he was dangerous to anyone who stood to harm others.
By the time a quarter of the summer had passed, Harry was growing impatient and was ready to go out and take the fight to Tom and his minions. Moody knew he was ready but was hesitant to send him out into the fray. Little did they know that the time for training was over.
**ALM**
Harry was frustrated and Moody wasn't much better. They were ready to start their own little war but lacked decent intelligence about Tom and his forces and their activities. As the summer passed by, the Daily Prophet ran articles almost daily now of some half-blood or muggleborn families being attacked and in some cases destroyed. For those that did escape, most were bloody and left some of their family behind. It was hard on them to admit that the enemy was effective in what their tactics and what they accomplished.
Amelia was making every effort to make a difference in the attacks but the years of budget cuts and attrition in her forces were taking their toll. At best, she had a few battle-ready Aurors but the rest were pure-blooded peace time Aurors who were only there due do family connections. Even on their best day, the Aurors couldn't or wouldn't get to the site of the attacks in time to do any good. She was also worried that most were not capable of fighting off a Death Eater attack that is if they weren't ones themselves. Her once proud force was severely handicapped now as most of her best had been half-bloods and muggleborn who resigned over the years due to the bigotry and hazing they were subjected to by their peers. Tonks was probably the last half-blood in the ranks and she was only around due to the protection given her by Moody and Shacklebolt. Despite their arrogance, there wasn't a single Auror who wanted to go against either of those men.
With the loss of all the Aurors and quite a few of the better members, the Order was now useless and completely ineffective not that it was ever very effective in the first place. It was filled with wives and children who thought too much of their abilities and were devout worshipers at the feet of Dumbledore. The only other members besides the old crowd were the low-lifes Albus blackmailed into working with him.
Despite the orders of their mother to support Dumbledore and the Order, most of the Weasley boys distanced themselves from Albus as they felt he was directly responsible for Arthur's death. Mad-Eye still attended meetings but to Albus he seemed distracted. In truth, Mad-Eye was busy with his own mission and contemplating the effectiveness of Albus' bird club. Mad-Eye reckoned Remus could be considered a fighter but that would mean he'd have to sober up and that didn't look like it would happen anytime soon.
**ALM**
.
Harry's frustration at the lack of information made him almost desperate to find a way to learn what Tom was planning. He kept looking at the tennis ball that now had a scary face drawn on it as a joke by Lefty. It was only recently returned after Lefty and his crew mapped out the locations of the horcruxes all over England and dealt with several of them already. Lefty stole the ring right out from underneath Tom's nose in Little Hangleton. They didn't know if Tom was there but his Death Eaters were visible around the old Riddle Manor. Lefty's crew located another but couldn't see the location.
After conferring with Harry and Mad-Eye, it was determined that there was one in Grimmauld Place. It took several meetings before Mad-Eye was able to locate the locket but once it was his possession, he saw no reason to continue the farce of being in the Order and resigned. There was no point anymore since he had what he needed and any information he heard in the meetings was days old and embellished if not outright tainted when it came from Snape. As he resigned, he told Albus he would rather try to find a group that was doing something to fight the darkness and not using the meeting as a book club or to exchange recipes. As he walked out the door, Albus knew he lost the last capable fighter in his group.
Lefty's crew also identified Nagini as another horcrux while they were in Little Hangleton. They thought the best course of action was to leave the snake alone and for last so that Tom wouldn't be clued in on what was happening. They knew if he were to learn it, the whole game would change and they wanted to have a slight advantage whenever Harry and Tom met again.
Minerva was brought in on the tasks when Lefty determined one was in Hogwarts. She searched as she did her rounds and with the aid of Lefty's device, had it narrowed down to a certain seventh floor corridor. Harry sent Dobby to help her as elves who had worked in the castle knew all its secrets due to being tied directly to the magic of the castle. The Come and Go Room was a treasure trove of stuff that would have to be looked through at a later time but the tiara was found and passed to Lefty by Dobby.
The last unknown one was proving to be difficult. They got readings from it in Diagon Alley that grew stronger the closer they came to Gringotts. The problem was getting something like that out of one of the vaults would be suicide. In the end, it was decided that Harry would be the one to go to the Goblins and ask for help. Bearclaw took a liking to Harry when his parents' wills were read and would probably be more open to any requests if they came from the young man.
By the time the summer came around, all that was left was the snake and the tennis ball to be destroyed. In six months, Mad-Eye and Harry along with their allies did more to eliminate Tom's advantages than Albus had in sixteen years. They talked about it several times, with Minerva and Poppy there, and came to the conclusion that Albus must have known about them since that night in Godric's Hollow. Poppy had no memory of the details but knew she was the one to see Harry after he was given the scar. Her only conclusion was that Albus took the diagnostic and obliviated the knowledge from her. They couldn't guess how it never came up in the time Harry was at Hogwarts but knew that if it had, Albus would have repeated his actions to keep the secret
All of this was running through Harry's head as he remembered the visions he once received from Tom when it was still in his head. With Alastor out gathering information, Harry took drastic action and picked up the tennis ball for the first time since it was removed. It was thought that since they once shared a connection, he would be more susceptible to the Horcrux so he was forbidden from touching it.
When Harry touched it, he was transported to a meeting of the Death Eaters and it took all of his occlumency skills to stop from being completely drawn into Tom's mind. He remembered being there before and it was somewhere he really didn't want to ever go again. He managed to find his way to the edge of Tom's consciousness and float there taking in all that was being said. He was able to learn of several of Tom's next moves. It didn't hurt that the most feared dark lord in ages used a day planner and had most everything mapped out for the next few months. The most important one was an attack planned on Madam Bones in about two months which would give him and pops a little time to practice up on strategy and procedure. A smile began to form on his face just as Mad-Eye returned from his mission. Mad-Eye walked into his room and saw what was in Harry's hand and the smile on his face.
"Harry? Son?"
Harry held up a hand signaling Moody to wait. Moody looked closer at Harry and saw he was covered in sweat. "Are you still you?"
Harry gave a nod as he watched the meeting begin to break up. He also began to slowly withdraw so as not to tip off Tom that he was there. When he was completely back, Harry got up on shaky legs and put the horcrux back where they kept it. Moody cast a spell at both of them to make sure it was still where it was supposed to be and sighed when he saw the proper readings. Harry walked past him to the kitchen and pulled a soda out of the cooling cabinet. Still worried, Moody followed him in.
"Care to tell me what that was all about? I thought we talked about how dangerous that thing could be to you."
Harry smirked. "Sorry pops"
"Sorry don't cut it. Why would you do something so reckless?"
"Well…as you put it the other day…I'm still a kid and we do stupid things when we're frustrated."
"I know…I thought we'd be making progress by now too but…there's just nothing out there. Tom may be crazy but he's keeping everything he's doing pretty quiet."
"I know…I just wanted to help."
"Did it?"
"He's going after Madam Bones soon. I also picked up a few targets for the next few days."
"Damn kid…good work but did he know you were there?"
"He never acted like it but with that nut job you never know. I don't think so because he'd have reacted in some way. You know he can't stand the thought of someone being better at something than him."
Moody nodded and sat down at the kitchen table motioning Harry to do so as well. "So you wanna do this?"
Harry smiled. "Absolutely! It'll be practice for when we go after Tom and maybe we could save some good witches and wizards in the process."
"Alright…we'll follow our basic plan and adjust as we need to."