AN: Thanks for reading. For those who haven't figured it out, it wasn't pain from the bond that was still hurting Harry. It was the loneliness and lack of romantic love that was still lingering with him.

Chapter 8

By the time Susan finished her letter to Harry, it was past curfew and too late to make a trip to the owlery. She really wanted Harry to have this letter in the morning so took a chance. Softly, she called "Dobby".

A few minutes later, he appeared with a soft 'pop'. "Missy Susan called Dobby?"

"Oh...I'm so happy to see you Dobby. I didn't know if you'd come if I called."

"Dobby always come if Missy Susan calls. Dobby knows Missy Susan is very important to Master and Dobby wants Master to be happy again like Master has been since Missy Susan sucked Master's face."

Susan blushed but was happy to know that Dobby thought she was that important to Harry. "Dobby, was he in Hogsmeade today?"

"No Missy Susan. Master wasn't in Hoggytown but was very nearby. Master could see Hoggytown from where Master was hiding."

"Why was he hiding?"

Dobby looked down for a minute as if deciding he should say anything else. He thought about it and decided that since it was part of Dobby's job to make Harry happy, and Missy made Master happy, then Dobby would make sure Master and Missy wouldn't have problems because Missy was now at Hoggywartys.

Dobby finally said, "Master was upset and sad. Master was unhappy because his life was so messed up. Master was sad because Missy Susan was gone."

Susan had happy tears in her eyes cause she was now sure it was Harry watching her. It also helped to know that he was just as affected by her as much as he affected her. "Thank you Dobby. I promise to try and make him happy."

"Dobby knows Missy. Dobby cans see the love Missy has for Master. Dobby asked Missy to not give up on Master as sometimes Master doesn't know what he feels. Dobby also asks Missy to have faith. Master will come through troubles. Dobby will makes sure of it."

Susan got down and hugged Dobby tightly. "Harry is so lucky to have you Dobby. You're one in a million."

Dobby shook his head. "Dobby just a house elf who Master calls friend. Dobby is the lucky one."

She smiled. "Well I think you're both very special. Now will you take this letter to Harry? I wanted him to have it in the morning and it was too late for me to get to an owl."

"Dobby be proud to. And Dobby asks Missy to call Dobby whenever Missy needs anything. Master don't give Dobby enough work and Dobby be proud to serve Mist...Missy too."

"Thank you Dobby and I will."

**ALM**

The next morning, Harry found a letter from Susan lying on his nightstand. It made him smile as his dreams were just filled with Susan and just being with her. Oh sure he had some of those kind of dreams too but he didn't want to get distracted by that right now. He grabbed the envelope and ripped it open.

My Dearest Harry,

I'm going to apologize in advance for this letter as I don't know where it will go as my emotions are all over the place. Most of all I am so very happy that you are my boyfriend and I am your girlfriend. Please don't doubt that. Ever. My mother keeps teasing me about the ring you gave me and saying we are engaged. If only that were so.

I know we've only been together for a short time but I think I can honestly say I love and and am 'in' love with you. I hope you know the difference because there is one. I know, since you've told me, that emotions are not something you are comfortable with so I guess I'll have to be emotional enough for the both of us. I'm actually giggling about that because at the moment I probably am. And yes I know I am pathetic. Sue me!

Yesterday started out so wonderfully. You came to wish me a good year and the snogging was the best ever but then reality set in. I was going to Hogwarts and for another year, you wouldn't be there. I think under normal circumstances, I could handle the separation. Maybe I'm like one of those little dogs we saw while we were out where those stuck-up ladies kept going on about how they couldn't leave sweet little Foo Foo at home alone because she suffered from separation anxiety and would pee all over everything.

Eww...bad image. I am housebroken you know. Anyway, the separation would be easier to handle if I knew I would get to see you soon and I didn't know what you were out there doing. I have complete faith in you and know you will succeed in your task. I guess I'm just being a silly little girl about it because I'm so scared I may never see you again.

Okay, I'm sorry I had to unload that but its been a horrible day and I don't think I've cried so much in my life. I miss you already and felt like it will be days or weeks before I am myself again. I was resigned to being alone as I played the good little girlfriend and waited for you to come home from the wars. I got off the train and saw the castle in the distance and thought that every step I took towards that place was taking me further away from you. I was so dreading it and then I felt something. I felt eyes on me. It made me nervous at first until I felt love and warmth surrounding me. It felt just like your arms around me and I hope I'm right in thinking it was you, I sent back my own feelings of love. I hope you felt them too.

Please forgive me this letter as today was very hard on me. And if you read it all the way through, thank you for understanding and allowing me to say things that I couldn't say to your face before now. I don't know if this will scare you away or not but please at least respond. I need to know you're there and still safe.

Yours,

Susan

Harry had tears leaking from his eyes and his emotions were in a turmoil. He wasn't upset at Susan, not at all, he was upset with his lot in life and how now Susan was being dragged through the crap that was always present in his life. He wanted to break things off with her so she could have a normal life where her emotions and life weren't always in a turmoil but he couldn't. It was too late for that as she was as she had become a very important part of his life. He was trying to take this relationship with Susan as slowly as he could because he didn't want her to be a rebound for him but she was making it incredibly difficult. She was just such a good and sweet person that he found he was craving her companionship.

He laid there for a few minutes. He couldn't write her back right now. Not with the way he was feeling as he wouldn't have been able to write something coherent. Instead, he brought his occlumency shields up to try and calm his emotions. Once in place,he began to calm but his thoughts turned to determination. He wanted this over and done with. He wanted to be able to be 'alive' again so he could just spend time with Susan as any other teen aged boy did with his girlfriend. He wanted to go on dates, stroll around the Black Lake, curl up on a couch in either common room and just be together, and risk getting caught in a broom closet with her. He would proudly serve a detention for such right now.

He threw the covers off him and went to his bathroom. After a shower, he picked up the clothes Dobby laid out for him. He chuckled at the fact that Dobby knew him so well as the ever efficient elf laid out 'business' clothes.

In the kitchen, Moody was eating breakfast while Dobby started fixing another breakfast. "How's junior this morning?"

"Master is much more determined than when he went to bed. Dobby thinks Master be making plans today."

Moody grunted. "Well, that's better than sulking or moping. Any idea what he's so determined about?"

"Master has decided he wants his life back. Master also is determined to be with his mate again."

Moody grunted again and then snorted. "Whatever motivates him works for me. It's his show after all."

It wasn't long before Harry was down eating his breakfast. Moody was just sitting there waiting to see if Harry wanted to talk about anything while sipping tea. "Yesterday?"

Harry sighed. "Had to get some things straight."

"Did you?"

"Not really...at least not last night. Susan sent me a letter. Thanks for bringing it Dobby. I...I want my life back Pops. I appreciate everything you've done for me and am so grateful for you getting me out of that situation...but...I want my life back now. I'm tired of hiding. I'm tired of Tom hiding. I want to be with Susan and the only way I can really do that is to finally get rid of that bastard and come back out into the open."

"What about Dumbledore?"

"What about him? If he tries anything with me, he'll be the next dark lord I take down."

Moody nodded. "Good. I was hoping the lass would light a fire under your ass. What do you need me to do?"

"Give me until lunch. I'm going to Gringotts to arrange a couple of things. Then I need to go check something and see if my rough plan may even be possible. I mean, all we really have to do is kill the bastard now since his protection is gone. Hell, even with those rituals he used to enhance his body, I don't think armor piercing rounds would have much trouble tearing him apart. I just want this done!"

Moody chuckled. "Alright. Go do what you need to do. "I'll be waiting here for you at noon."

Harry finished his breakfast and then left the house apparating to the steps of Gringotts and hurrying inside with his hood up. He stepped to a free teller and slid his key across the desk. "I'd like to see my account manager please."

The teller looked at the key and up to the wizard standing in front of him. "I'll see if he is available."

Taking his key back. Harry replied "Thank you" and went and stood to the side.

A few minutes later, another Goblin came over. "If you'll follow me, Bearclaw will see you now."

Harry nodded and fell into step behind the Goblin. After a good five minute walk, the Goblin knocked once on the door and ushered Harry in. As Harry stepped into the office, the escort closed the door behind them. Harry could see the blue flash and hear the squelching noise of a privacy field going up. Harry just turned to the desk with one eyebrow raised. Bearclaw looked back and chuckled. "Extra security for my favorite client. I know you require your anonymity right now. So Mr. Potter, what can this old goblin do for you today?" He gestured to a seat for Harry to take.

Once Harry was seated he thought over his words for a second. "Manager Bearclaw..."

He was cut off. "It is just Bearclaw you know."

Harry gave him a nod. "And it is just Harry. I thought we were past this the last time we met and yet you start out by calling me Mr. Potter."

Bearclaw chuckled. "That we did. Now...what can I do for you?"

"I have questions about my inheritance. I know I'm not allowed access to my ancestral home until I turn seventeen and can claim full headship of the family and gain access to the manor."

Bearclaw nodded. "That is correct."

Harry nodded. "Do I have access to any of the other properties?"

Bearclaw frowned. He knew the complete story of Harry's life up to this point and was concerned. "Is there a problem where you are currently living?"

Harry immediately understood what he meant. "No...Pops is great and all but...well...I remember there being a house in Hogsmeade that was usually rented out and was wondering if that was available to me?"

Bearclaw picked up a folder and looked through it. "I believe it is currently occupied and will be for three more years when the lease expires."

Harry frowned. "Okay...I was just hoping I could use it."

"I'm not trying to pry but what would you need it for?"

Harry blushed. "Well..you see...there's this girl and she goes to Hogwarts."

Bearclaw chuckled. "Yes...a Miss Susan Bones. We are well aware of your relationship with her."

"What? How? I thought we were being discrete. Do you think Tom knows?"

Bearclaw chuckled again. "No...nothing like that. You are a very important client Harry. We just like to keep abreast of things and the confidentiality oaths insure it won't leave this office."

"Oh"

Bearclaw looked at him for a minute. "Harry...just tell me what's on your mind."

Harry sighed. "My life can't be anything close to normal right now. Susan and I...well we really like each other and I'm just trying to figure out a way so that I can see her on Hogsmeade weekends until I'm able to go back to school. We can't date in the magical world like any other kids right now and...I don't want her to regret being with me and..."

Bearclaw held up a hand. "Harry...just relax and we'll see what we can do." He pulled out another folder and started flipping through it until he came to a page he thought looked interesting. He pulled out the piece of parchment and laid it on his desk and tapped it several times with his finger as he was thinking.

He looked at Harry. "As you know, there are loopholes around most situations. Unfortunately for you, the Potter Estate issue isn't one of them not that that would help you in this case since the manor house is located in Wales. Now, as your account manager as I was your father's and grandfather's, there are certain liberties we are allowed to take when investing Potter funds. I know we talked before about how your family was not really extremely wealthy...just comfortably well off. I also know you've given me permission to invest heavily to try and bring those numbers up."

Harry nodded.

"As you don't suffer most of the prejudices held by the old families, I was able to invest more funds in the muggle stock market and have had some excellent returns these last few years. I estimate that we can nearly double your money over the next five to ten years."

"Thank you...that's better than I expected."

"You're welcome. Now, you've said you are unhappy in your current life. The way I see it, you have one maybe two obstacles in your path that are preventing you from living the life you want and I'm not speaking in terms of gold."

Harry looked back at him. "Your thinking matches mine in that."

Bearclaw smiled. "Then what do you plan to do about it?"

Harry took a deep breath. "I plan to start actively working to remove the immediate threat from my life. For the second obstacle, I may take a wait and see approach to see if he interferes anymore and if he does, I plan on removing him as an obstacle in whatever way I can be it political or other means."

Bearclaw sat back and steepled his fingers in thought. "When you eliminate the primary threat, I think the Ministry would have no choice but to recognize and reward you for that action. An Order of Merlin First Class comes with a substantial monetary award which will go a long way to achieving some of the results we are after if that money is placed in the Potter accounts."

Harry snorted. "It's not like I bank anywhere else Account Manager."

Bearclaw grinned. Thankfully Harry recognized it for what it was. "As your account manager, I can invest your funds in many different ways. There is a house in Hogsmeade that has recently come available. We were asked to broker the sale as the house is part of an estate sale and has fallen into disrepair. If said house was restored over the next year or so, it could be flipped, as the muggles say, and resold for a higher price than it would be bought for, or it could be turned into another rental property in the Potter portfolio."

"I'm listening."

"We could shift some funds to cover the costs of the purchase and the repairs that I don't think will affect our plans long term especially if you eliminate your primary obstacle and are rewarded for it."

Harry smiled. "And those repair costs could conceivably come down if I knew of an elf that could do the work since said elf has been complaining that I don't give him enough to do and has taken to playing cupid as a way to pass the time."

Bearclaw grinned. "Exactly!"

"Do you think it's a good investment?"

Bearclaw sat and thought for a second. "Yes it is either way you decide to go. The only reason it hasn't sold already is because it needs a lot of work. As a rental property...well...there is never a shortage of people wanting to rent a house there. If the Ministry hadn't blocked Gringotts, we would have built several houses there for just that purpose."

"Do it then and I'll have Dobby go take a look."

'POP' "Master has work for poor underworked Dobby?"

Harry laughed. "Yeah buddy. Bearclaw is going to tell you about a house he's buying for me. You will be doing the work since you don't have enough to do but...you cannot use bright colors. It has to be done in neutrals and once I bring Susan there, she can tell you what she wants. In fact, just start cleaning and repairing and we'll let Susan tell us how to decorate."

Dobby jumped to Harry and hugged his leg hard. "Master is the bestest Master in the world."

Dobby turned his bright eyes around to Bearclaw with a pleading look in them. Dobby disappeared once he was told the address.

After a minute of silence, Bearclaw asked. "Anything else?"

"Not that I know of unless you have something."

"No, not at this time. Well, if that's all I'll return to my work now that we have your love shack situation all worked out."

Harry blushed as Bearclaw laughed at him. "Take care Harry and let me know if there's anyway I can help."

"Will do and thanks."

"It's what I'm here for. Now go before you drag me into something else."

Harry walked out the door and was immediately escorted down the hall and out another exit. Once outside, the goblin pointed to a doorbell. "Mr. Potter, this is our entrance and exit for those who do not wish to be recognized. Manager Bearclaw instructed me to show it to you so you won't have to enter through the lobby anymore. The bell will alert us to your presence."

"Thank you, that will make it much easier to visit from now on."

"You're welcome Mr. Potter."

The door was then closed and Harry checked his watch. He still had a couple of hours before lunch so he apparated to his next destination. He arrived at the cave once again and hoped his plan would work. He took a deep breath and called "Fawkes". He waited a few minutes and then a ball of flame appeared in front of him. Fawkes was trilling happily to see someone he'd missed these last few years. He took a perch within Harry's reach and Harry reached out and stroked the fiery bird.

"Hey my friend. I've missed you too."

"I need to ask you some things. First, you won't get in trouble with your bonded by talking to me will you?"

Fawkes shook his head and rubbed it against Harry hand once again. "We've kinda got a history don't we? I mean the first time I ever saw you, I was scared because you looked so sick and then you burst into flames. Scared the life out of me. I thought I was gonna have to run from that office cause I was sure I'd be blamed for it. Then you stuck your head out of the pile of ash and chirped at me. You looked so cute and I couldn't help myself but I picked you up and put you back on your perch. I felt a connection then but Dumbledore came in and although he hid it, I could tell he wasn't too happy I'd done that. I mean...was what I did wrong? I just wanted to help you and he acted like I did something?"

"Is that why I feel so connected to you? I mean ever since then I'd always thought of you as a friend."

Fawkes responded by climbing in Harry's lap and then rubbing his beak on Harry's cheek.

"Then the chamber happened. I owe you for that since you saved me several times that day. I know I told you then but thank you for that. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."

Fawkes chirped happily.

"Third year happened. I lost Sirius at the end of it. I thought maybe I could have had a life at that point but Snape and I think Albus made sure he would never be able to take me away from everything. I'm not trying to bad talk Albus but...well...he's just not good for me. He's let too many things go wrong with me for me to be able to trust him again. I hope that won't hurt our friendship."

Fawkes looked sad but then continued to show Harry affection.

"And then there was my fourth year. Albus made me compete in that tournament. Everyone was against me and I was all alone except for Dobby. Hermione left me...broke our bond...broke my heart. I'm glad she waited until after the third task or I would have probably let Tom kill me. I mean I've just recently stopped hurting from the broken bond."

Fawkes trilled softly.

"It's okay buddy, I've got Susan now. Things are going good but she's scared for me. I've still got to get rid of Tom...so I can live again. But I wish I'd known you'd come to me. Maybe you could have gotten me out of that graveyard faster. But anyway, I'm sure you know where I've been. Moody has been great. I've learned a lot and can hold my own now. So...next question, will Albus know we've talked?"

Fawkes shook his head. "Thanks Buddy."

Harry looked Fawkes right in the eyes. "Worst question. If I were to call you, could you or would you take me straight to where Tom is hiding? I've got to end this before it's too late and more people die."

Fawkes tapped his scar with his beak.

"It's gone. All of them are. Moody's got some good friends and with their help, we've found and got them all. We even got the snake at Amelia Bones' house so he's as mortal as me."

"I know I'm asking a lot. And going there to kill him may not be very 'light' but he can't be redeemed. I know what creating those Horcruxes did to him and he can't come back from that. I mean, he's not really human anymore...he's more like a demon."

Fawkes trilled sadly and shook his head. "It's okay buddy. I just thought I'd ask. I'll find another way."

Fawkes rubbed his head against Harry's cheek again. "I know and I hope I'll see you again too. Well, I guess you'd better get back to your human and I'll go continue to makes plans. Take care of yourself Fawkes."

The firebird trilled softly and then disappeared in a burst of flames. Harry knew not to wait around just in case Fawkes told Dumbledore and apparated back home.

When he got there, Moody was waiting and had Lefty with him as well.

Moody asked "Did you get everything worked out?"

Harry frowned. "Only about half. I bought a house in Hogsmeade to turn into a rental house or sale after Dobby fixes it up. Thought it'd be a good place to meet Susan on the student weekends. I don't want to wait until Christmas to actually see her again."

"Anything else?"

"It was a bust. I should have known better but you don't know until you ask."

"What was that plan?"

"Well the rough idea was to acquire another scorpion, load it with armor piercing and explosive ammo, and then have Fawkes flame me into Tom's throne room. I figured at least he could find him and I could take out that bastard once and for all."

Moody snorted. "It might have worked too but you would have been torn up in the process."

Harry nodded. "Probably. I'm just tired of waiting and I don't think he's going to come out on his own. I asked Fawkes cause I knew he could take me to him since we don't even know where they are hiding."

Lefty chuckled. "I wouldn't say that. Me and the boys have been snooping around. It seems you've got that wanker so scared that he's holed up behind the best wards he could find among his DE's. Not only that, there's a presence of dementors, several trolls, and a couple of giants along with his remaining troops."

"The only estate big enough for all that is Malfoy Manor."

"Right you are junior."

"Then I take it you two have come up with a plan?"

Lefty snorted. "An idea really."

Harry laughed. "Well you heard my stupid idea...let's hear yours."

Lefty nodded. "Well your old grandpa here told me what you did with those balls. Now this is theoretical right now but...it might work. Do you know how wards work?"

"Basically"

"Well you know I was a curse breaker for many years. To do that, you have to be a master of warding because much of what we do involves taking down wards before we can even get to the good stuff. Well, there are some requirements in all warding schemes. The first is you have to have a main ward control stone to, as it's called, control and power the wards. The problem with control stones is they are usually at the center most point of the wards which make it difficult to get to because in these old manors, that usually means under the house. With me?"

Harry nodded.

"The second requirement is that there have to be ward anchors buried around the property. These basically regulate how far the wards extend. The little known fact about the anchors is they also provide power to the wards and in fact are the part that mainly powers the protections because that's where the ward actually is."

Harry nodded. "So instead of what everyone thinks which is the main wards stone powers the whole thing by shooting energy up into the wards and forming kind of an umbrella, it only connects with the wards to control them. But I thought when wards were taken down, it was usually the control stone that failed."

Lefty smiled. "It is. The way to take down a ward is to overload it, If enough energy is forced into the ward, that power must be controlled therefore it is forced into the main control stone and damages or destroys it."

"Okay...so...what are you saying we could do?"

"We create our own anchors for the wards and use switching spells to swap them out."

Harry was confused. "I thought the wards were supposed to keep magic from going in."

"They are but the anchors are under the ground at the edge of the wards. A switching spell pointed under the wards should work... Theoretically."

"And what would we do to the wards?"

"There are endless possibilities. I mentioned the balls earlier because we could use your ice scheme to freeze everything inside. Another option would be to reverse the war wards, because that's what they have up, and have it kill everyone and everything inside the wards. We would also trap everyone inside by only allowing apparation into the wards and not out. Same with portkeys and the runic sequence that allows floo travel into the house."

"What about compatibility with the wards. Wouldn't the control stone have to be able to work with them?"

"It would. If we could get our hands on one or see how the runes are set up, we could use the same system but reverse some of the effects."

"How would we find them and how many would there be?"

"We would find them by analyzing the wards and locating where the power flows out because the energy would be stronger at that point. As far as how many. I really don't know but we'd know once we did the analysis."

Harry nodded again. "Sounds to me like the most dangerous part is doing the analysis and getting a picture of the anchor stones. If our alert wards are any indication, they would know as soon as you started."

Lefty nodded. "And that's where the problems begin...not to mention the creatures and people he has guarding the manor."

Harry sighed. "Then it seems we can't use that idea either. They'll know we're coming before we can do anything against them. The idea is good but...I don't think it'll work in the current situation."

Moody sat back in thought as did Lefty. Harry had his head in his hands as he was thinking. He then asked "How long would it take to take the wards down?"

Lefty looked at Moody for a minute. "It depends. There are ways to quickly destroy wards by overloading the control stone but...the ward stone has to be replaced afterwards. In most situations, you want the wards down but you also want to be able to bring them back up quickly if you need to."

Harry huffed. "I don't really care if the stone is destroyed or not. I'm looking for a time window."

Lefty shook his head. "Even overloading takes time. Maybe as much as a day and they'll know we are coming."

There a a pause of silence as all three sat there thinking. Finally it was broken by Harry,

"What were those sapper things they used at Amelia's?"

Lefty looked down. "Very rare and very expensive. How he found one is beyond me but I can tell you there aren't any to be found now. Mad-Eye destroying that one caused even hints of them to stop."

Harry sighed. "Can wards be laid over top of existing wards quickly?"

Moody nodded. "They can but they're not very powerful and are usually only temporary."

Harry closed his eyes and leaned his head back. There was another break of silence. Harry finally agreed. "You mean like the DE's use but those are mainly charms aren't they?"

"Yeah junior."

"Okay...what if we used our own ward anchors and put up a stronger ward over top of theirs? We could do something like that to keep them in and let Tom call more followers to him when he thinks he's threatened therefore trapping them inside too."

Lefty nodded. "It could work but we'd have to worry if he's called them directly to him or to outside the wards."

"I think the mark usually summons them directly to him so we allow incoming portkeys and apparation and block outgoing. Then we find a way to incapacitate those inside the ward."

Lefty shook his head. "It wouldn't work cause magic won't pass through the existing wards."

Harry nodded. "Yeah I get that but what if the outer ward did something to the environment such as removing the air or making the area inside the ward sub-zero temperatures or even extremely hot. Say if we flash froze them, we'd have time to pull down the existing wards without worrying about being attacked and then pull down our own before going in and ending this."

Lefty looked at Harry for a few minutes as the idea ran through his head. He was considering the possibilities. Finally he spoke. "Let me get with the boys and see if we can make this plan of yours workable. So far it seems like it might be the best chance we have."

Harry nodded. "Let me know if I can help. I'm not experienced like you guys but do tend to think outside the box."

Moody snorted. "That you do junior. It's saved our arses several times too."

Lefty nodded in agreement. "If nothing else, you ought to be able to sell some of your devices to the Aurors. Any thoughts about what you gonna do after?"

Harry looked over at Moody. "Well...I'd like to go back to Hogwarts for my last year. That is if Sue and me are still together."

Moody snorted. "Like we can pry you two apart when you're together."

Harry blushed but continued on. "That still leaves the problem of what to do about Albus."

Moody grew pensive. "That it does lad. That it does. We'll just cross that bridge when we get there. At least you'd have Minnie and Poppy there to run interference if nothing else."

The meeting broke up and Harry climbed the stairs to his room. He had some more things to think about and to try and get a letter out to Susan. After what he read this morning, he was sure his feelings matched hers as the pain from the bond with Hermione faded into nothing at that point. He was now driven, he wanted to get back to where he felt he needed to be and that was with Susan which of course was probably his hormones doing the driving. Still, the only way that could happen was for him to end Tom once and for all and he was determined to accomplish that as as soon as possible.

Sadly, the letter was forgotten as he started thinking about how to get around the wards and what he could do if he could get past them. He still liked the idea of going in and cutting off the head of the organization including Tom's top lieutenants. To do that, he would have to arrive during one of their meetings. He knew Dobby could get in just not with him so at least his little spy would know when. His mind went back to the tennis ball and trying to get information that way. It would be much more dangerous as he would be probing Tom for the way to get past the wards and with Tom's skills in the mind arts, it was quite possible that he would be detected. He was sure that the way in had something to do with the Dark Mark. But as far as he knew, Tom didn't have one so how did he get through the wards. Maybe he was allowed in and anyone wearing his mark was allowed as well. If that was the case, they needed someone with the Dark Mark to take them through.

With that epiphany, Harry jumped up and ran back downstairs. He burst into the room as Moody and Lefty were still talking. Moody looked up. "What's up junior?"

"Several things."

Lefty chuckled. "Ah been thinking about young Miss Bones again. What else is on your mind?"

Harry blushed. "No...well yeah..but could my favorite uncle maybe get his hands on another Skorpion? With some larger clips? And plenty of ammo? Maybe even some of the nasty stuff?"

Lefty nodded. "I can...it'll take me a few days."

"Thanks."

Moody asked. "What are you thinking junior?"

"We just need a..."

Moody was shocked and in awe of Harry's plan. It was one of the craziest things he'd ever heard which was more proof that Harry was indeed his grandson. He couldn't be prouder. "They'd tear you apart junior."

"Not if I was disillusioned and under my cloak. They'd be dead before they got a line on where I was."

"What about the beasties?"

Harry shook his head. "Haven't got that far yet. I figured you guys needed something to do."

Lefty chuckled. "There are ways. I'll work on them too."

Moody sat for a minute. "That's going to put you in the thick of it alone. I really don't want to bury my grandson. Not to mention the hell I'll catch from the others including your little Missy."

Harry nodded but defended his plan. "I'm gonna be at risk no matter how we face him. This way gives me the advantage of surprise and lessens their ability to react."

"You gotta be able to get out too."

"Dobby pops me out. I cast fiendfyre and bring the manor down around the rest. We could just push the beasties into the fire and be done with it all."

"Gonna need a lot of patronuses to corral the dementors."

Harry chuckled but spoke passionately. "Call who we trust in the Order. Call Amelia. She owes us. Hell pops, we could end it all in one night."

Moody held up his hands. "Okay...I'll talk to the lass tomorrow. I can see this is something you're committed to."

Harry just looked down. "Pops...it's been great being here with you. I'm thankful for everything you've done...but I want my life back. I want to see where this thing with Susan goes. I can't do that in hiding."

"Aye lad. You're cramping my style as well."

Harry chuckled and made his way back to his room. He had a letter to write.

AN2: This was the last complete chapter although #9 is mostly complete. I'll get it finished in time to post as normal but no promises on #10. Just that I will do my best since we are coming up on the fun part.