Hello, everyone! I hope you made the transition from one story to the next okay. Once again it's Monday, and that means it's time for another chapter. This time, we get to see what happens when you rely on Dementors for transportation services. (Note: look out for the Quicksilver Project!)

Thank you to those who have read, and more thanks to those who have reviewed. To the ever faithful KRP, sometimes the oldest tricks are the best tricks. The Oracle's spell does not affect either's lifespan. The Patronus did nothing to the wall of the house, since it is pure energy, it just passed right through. And the stop was for party supplies, of which you will soon see.

All the rest of y'all ought to review. Your feedback, be it good or bad, helps me become a better writer. So please, tell me what you think.

And my usual notice applies, as always. Text in italics is in Azkabaaner, and I don't own HP.

Chapter 2 – The Advanced Guard

It had been a long, long time since Esdras had stayed up all night. But currently he was on a sofa in a well appointed suburban Muggle living room watching some Muggle science fiction movie. Harry was still up, not surprising considering all the stress he had been through but Katie had given up around three in the morning and was currently asleep with her head in Esdras' lap. The Dementor reached for the last of the now stale popcorn and turned to his awake mortal companion. "So, that guy in the black cloak and nifty mask is able to use magic?"

Harry shook his head. "No, it's some sort of galactic power or force or something that only a select number of people can access."

The Dementor blinked for a few seconds. "So it's magic."

The mortal sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose under his glasses. "Yes, Esdras, it's magic."

Esdras nodded happily and continued watching the movie. After a while, he lifted his wand and casually flicked it, summoning the sheets of parchment that had been left on the table at the start of the evening. He read through them one by one. "Expelled, hmm? Good thing Dumbledore was looking out for you. The disciplinary hearing should be a joke, though. Self defense all the way. It won't be difficult to figure out who was responsible for the attack, either."

Harry glared. "I want to know exactly what those two Dementors were doing, too. I saw them coming and didn't even think to be concerned, I've gotten so used to your troops around Hogwarts."

The Dementor nodded, absently stroking Katie's hair. "I can guarantee that they weren't my men. With Voldemort alive again, I wouldn't be surprised if they were looking to garner his support. The crowd that opposes the Treaty of Edinburgh has been growing more and more vocal these last few months. I suspect either the Dark Lord is pushing them into action or they're proactively trying to gain his favor."

Sighing and leaning back onto the couch, Harry rubbed his tired eyes. "Do you think it will work?"

Esdras shrugged. "I don't know. I'm still waiting for Voldemort to contact me personally. If he wants control of Azkaban and the Dementors, he's going to need to talk to me." He clenched his free hand, the one not busy with Katie's hair, into a fist. "But he will never have my allegiance."

They were interrupted by a soft tapping at the window. The pair looked up to see a regal looking owl just outside the window. Harry looked cautiously out. "Should I be concerned that we were just talking about Voldemort contacting you?"

The Dementor rolled his eyes and pushed the mortal. "Get the mail, Harry. I'm a little incapacitated right now."

A soft, tired voice came from Esdras' lap. "What time is it, Esdras?"

The Dementor looked over to the clock on the wall. "It's a little after six, Katie." Harry returned and handed a roll of parchment to Esdras, which he opened and read quickly. "And we're free to go. Guards are in place outside and it seems like everything is going to be okay for now. Dumbledore suggests you stay in your room until the Order comes to get you."

The scarred mortal nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. I think I'm pretty much done with this place for the summer."

Katie slowly sat up and stretched. "Thanks for having us over, Harry, even if the circumstances weren't the best."

Harry laughed. "Think nothing of it, and thanks for coming over and bringing food."

Esdras rose and walked with Katie to the front door, Harry following behind them. "No problem, I'm glad we could help you out." Esdras paused and shook Harry's hand before opening the door. "Stay strong and stay calm. We'll get you through this."

Harry watched as the pair walked out the door. Esdras held Katie around the waist and Disapparated them with a double pop. The mortal leaned against the doorjamb, staring out into the suburban jungle. He repeated the Dementor's words. "Stay strong and stay calm."

High over the Surrey skies, Esdras waited with nine of his most trusted men. Aaron Reaping was on his right. "I'm surprised you were able to talk Mad Eye out of his flight plan."

Esdras nodded. "You and me both, but he wanted us flying around for two hours in the craziest pattern I have ever seen. Our way is much more direct, and we'll only be in flight for half an hour. Besides, it'll be fun to see how they react."

The captain laughed softly. "They're going to kill you for this, Esdras."

A flash of red sparks flew up from the ground and Esdras motioned for his troops to begin the descent. "They can try, but I doubt they'll succeed."

The quick descent led the ten Dementors through the night sky and into a well kept, if dry, muggle backyard. There, waiting for them, were ten mortals. The one in the lead, with single electric blue eye dancing wildly in its socket, was Mad Eye Moody. He approached the Dementors with wand drawn. "Prove that you're Esdras."

Esdras took mortal form and rolled his eyes. "July 12, 1964, you and two other aurors were found drunk and half naked near West Mountain. The reason you gave was…"

Moody put his wand away and grumbled. "That's enough. I believe you. Let's get on with it."

Esdras laughed as the Dementors distributed themselves around the mortals, one for each. He, himself, took a spot beside a small woman with a heart shaped face and violently pink hair. She smiled up at him. "Wotcher, Esdras."

The Dementor smiled brightly. "Hello, Tonks." When everyone was paired up, Esdras got everyone's attention. "Okay, people, this is going to be a simple Azkaban vault lift with freefall to target. The Dementor next to you will explain what you need to know. Everyone try to stay in formation and we'll regroup at fifty thousand meters."

Harry looked over to the admiral. "Wait a minute, Esdras. What are we doing?"

Esdras smiled. "We're going to have a fun little trip, that's all. Now listen to Stephanie and do exactly what she tells you." He watched the pair for a second. When he was satisfied that Harry was obeying the lieutenant, he turned his attention to the young auror at his side. "Okay Tonks, you need to put this cloak on for me. It's a special heat cloak that'll keep you warm at high altitudes. It also has a built in, automatic Bubblehead charm for when the oxygen gets rare and a communications charm so you can talk with everyone."

The pink haired witch nodded and put the cloak on. As she did this, Esdras pulled out another cloak with a series of horizontal silver lines and a longer than normal broom. She looked at both with interest. "What are those for?"

Esdras put on the cloak and his mortal eyes began to glow a vivid yellow. He straddled the broom, motioning for her to join him. The broom was built for two. "The cloak is a Vault cloak; it's made for high speed travel. It's basically an overpowered form of the afterburners we use but built into a cloak. It will accelerate us to a high velocity and take us into the upper levels of the atmosphere. The broom has wind blockers and inertial dampeners so we won't feel the acceleration. But it can only be operated by Dementors, hence why you all are riding piggy back. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride. Once we get to the desired height, we freefall back down." He looked around. "Is everyone ready?"

Around him, Dementors and mortals sat on broomsticks, readily awaiting his order. From beneath his cloak's hood, Moody looked to the admiral. "Of course everyone is ready; let's get this show on the road."

Nodding quickly, Esdras leaned forward and took control of the broom. With a quick tug, he angled it ninety degrees upward. The other Dementors followed suit and sounds of mortal surprise came through the communication link. Esdras smirked slightly. "Aaron, give us a countdown to one."

The voice of the captain came through the hoods. "One."

Anyone watching 4 Privet Drive that night would have seen an amazing sight. Ten columns of shining silver rose from the backyard and rocketed into the sky. Ten Dementors sat astride ten brooms with Vault cloaks firing. Esdras was at the lead of the pack, and struggling to be heard through the communication charm over the screams of the mortals and the roar of the vault engines firing. "Malachi, what is our status?"

Malachi DeCay, the sweep man, who was riding with Hestia Jones, shouted back. "Stand by, Lord Admiral. We're clearing the sound barrier." There was a brief pause before a soft rumbling boom sounded around them and the sound of the vault engines died away. "Speed is now four hundred fifteen meters per second and holding steady. It looks like everyone is doing just fine so far."

Mad Eye Moody shouted through the hoods. "Fine so far? You didn't say anything about this when you told me about this plan, Esdras!"

Esdras laughed brilliantly. "Of course I did, I wrote it all down for you."

Moody screamed back. "I can't read Azkabaaner and you know it!"

The Lord Admiral was saved by Malachi again calling out. "Altitude is eight kilometers. Atmospheric pressure is currently thirty four kilopascals and falling. Bubblehead charms are activating."

A small translucent bubble appeared around the head of each one of the smaller cloaked figures. The mortals, who hadn't had time to notice the rarifying air during the lightning fast ascent, took a moment to breathe easy. The communication charm again came to life, this time with the voice of Remus Lupin. "I suppose this would be a bad time for any of us to mention that we're afraid of heights?"

Aaron's confident laughter answered the ex-professor. "Just don't look down, sir, and you'll do just fine."

A universal constant is that when someone tells a person not to look down, the other person will immediately look down. Every mortal looked down and below them was the amazing panorama of the British Isles spread out below them, with Western Europe off to their left and the curvature of the earth around them. Remus looked down and immediately shot his head skyward. "Oh Merlin, how long do we have to do this for?"

Malachi replied. "Burn time for the Vault cloak is three and a half minutes; it'll cut off automatically when we reach fifty kilometers. Current altitude is eighteen kilometers and the ambient temperature is rising. We're in the stratosphere now."

Esdras made a noise of approval. "Maintain speed and heading. We should be crossing the terminator soon."

It was almost a minute before the ten brooms were bathed in a brilliant light. At that altitude, they had risen to a point where the sun shone over the horizon of the earth and they took back the day they had lost to the night. A few seconds more and Malachi called out. "Vault cloak shut down in three…two…one."

The silver streams of light ceased to flow from the backs of the Dementors and, high above the earth, twenty souls stared down at the planet from which they had just launched themselves away from. Although they were bathed in light, the world below them was cast in darkness, revealing the glowing lights of the muggle cities. They were silent for a moment before Tonks spoke up. "Well, now what do we do?"

Esdras smirked. "We jump."

Aaron and Esdras watched the rapidly descending Malachi and Stephanie from a distance, each of the four had a mortal clinging onto their back for dear life. The two command officers had removed their hoods so they could speak freely without being heard over the communications charm. The admiral shrugged. "I think they look quite nice together, personally."

Aaron nodded. "I'm not arguing that, I just think that they're rushing things by moving in together this soon. They haven't even been dating a year."

Esdras rolled idly, eliciting a startled scream from the pink haired auror with a death grip around his neck. "Damned it, must you do that!"

The Dementor sighed slightly. "Sorry, Tonks." He then returned his attention to his friend. "I really don't think that's an issue with them. I think they're made for each other." He looked around. "How high up do you think we are?"

The captain looked down and shrugged. "Three or four miles, maybe. We ought to start getting ready."

The admiral nodded and flipped his hood back up to take command of the descent to headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. "Okay everyone, look sharp. We're in Heathrow airspace so watch for muggle airplanes. Line yourselves up for headquarters approach."

A chorus of affirmative responses echoed through the hood as they continued their fast descent towards the glowing jewel of London. As the distance quickly ticked away and the ground started to get closer, the mortals began to tighten their grips around their rides. Finally, at the last minute, the Dementors pulled up, skimming low along the River Thames and kicking up an icy spray behind them. Finally, they pulled up to fly over the buildings of the city, decreasing their speed until they came to rest over a rather ratty looking street. They didn't even pause to set down on the ground, as time and secrecy was of the essence. Esdras and Tonks, the first ones through the door to 12 Grimmauld Place, held it open while the other pairs passed through. At the end of the line were Stephanie and Harry, the latter still clutching a sheet of parchment with Dumbledore's handwriting stating their location and letting Harry into the Fidelius Charm.

There was absolute silence as Esdras closed the door, then a collective sigh of relief. Everyone made hushing motions to Harry who, though confused, nodded and remained quiet. The Dementors began to set their passengers on the ground and Esdras released Tonks with a smile. She smiled back and walked away, and promptly tripped over the hideous troll foot umbrella stand that decorated the hallway. The racket brought forth a horrible scream from the hall. "Blood traitors! How dare you defile my ancient house with your…"

Her words were cut off by a vicious hiss. Esdras, in Dementor form, along with the other nine Dementors, had moved to stand in front of the source of the screaming, a picture of a very old, very angry looking woman. The Lord Admiral drew back his hood and leaned against the frame. "Now Mrs. Black, we've had this discussion before. No one wants to see or hear you. Why do you persist?"

The once fearsome screams turned to a fearful whisper. "Go away…horrible creatures. Get out of my house."

The curtains surrounding the portrait were trying to close, but Aaron and Malachi were holding them open. Esdras looked around and shrugged, his native accent thick in his voice. "We're not going anywhere. We like it here. And if you're smart and want to stay alive on your ugly little canvas, you'll learn when to shut up."

The captain and commander of the Thirteenth Infantry closed the curtains abruptly and the Dementors floated calmly into the downstairs kitchen. Only there did they let out a deep, whispering laugh. It was seconds before they were herded around the table and seated between the mortals already there by a bustling redheaded figure who handed out bowls of stew. Esdras sighed softly. "Mrs. Weasley, you really don't have to do all this for us."

The matriarch of the Wesley clan smiled and gave a dismissive wave. "Nonsense, you all do so much for us around here, it's only fair that I do a little for you all. Now eat up, there's plenty, even for your appetites." She patted Aaron on the back and smiled when he turned his hood to face her. "Christine called while you were out; she wanted you to pick up some things before you went back to the island. She left a list."

Aaron sighed and nodded. "It'll have to wait until after the meeting. I hope it wasn't anything important."

Mrs. Weasley handed over the list written by the captain's wife. "Just some groceries." She then turned and placed a piece of parchment in front of Esdras. "And she sent this along for you, dear. It apparently arrived at Azkaban just after you left this morning."

Esdras, in mortal form, smiled and opened the parchment. As his glowing green eyes scanned the document, he went from a smile to a frown to a glare. He put down the letter and leaned back in his chair. All mortal eyes and Dementor hoods were upon him. "It's official. Lord Voldemort has requested an alliance."