And Here is the next chapter! Hopefully I will get one more out today!
Always Yours
Isis
~~~~~~~~~~~~ Harry + Hermione ~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been three months since the group began their trainings. Everyone had moved into Potter Manner when Lovegood Palace had been targeted by Death Eaters. No one was home when this happened, but the lovegoods did lose their home and a lot of other small things.
"Aww that's to bad. I liked that Palace." Luna said with a sad sigh.
Professor Snape did indeed trade freedom for lessons and experiments. Right now he was the most wanted man in both the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eater clan. He was currently down to one mark, and no side effects causing him to change personalities and gain much more of his potential power.
Voldemort whipped his head around and sent a dark glare to Severus, causing him to flinch, Punishment was coming shortly.
Dumbledore looked at Severus searchingly, but Severus refused to look at him.
Professor Sprout had accepted the offer with open arms, clearing out her private greenhouses at Hogwarts and transferring them to Potter Manor where she now lived teaching and spending her free time in private research.
Xeno had brought in several creatures, some of which were known and some of which were not known by most of the world.
The Sword Mistress Ann and Krav Master Peter had moved into the manner and let in on the secret of magic.
Sirius had picked up the teaching of Charms and was currently working with Remus to teach the kids to become Animagis. He and Emma had been spending a lot of time together, she was currently acting as assistant to both him and Sprout.
"Oh that would be wicked!" Sirius exclaimed happily. "You want me to teach you?"
"Yes!" The foursome said excitedly.
"Absolutely not!" Molly screeched. "That is far to Dangerous!"
Sirius looked at the foursome with a smirk and nodded his head causing the teens to grin happily.
Remus had jumped at the chance to help the kids and spend the rest of the war with his brother. Dumbledore currently thought he was in the werewolf camps, he was also wanted by the order of the phoenix.
They had yet to find a transfiguration teacher and were teaching themselves the fine art, with a little help from all the adults, who although were not masters, were fairly gifted in the area.
All in all they were getting a very well balanced education in the art of battle.
The occupants were currently sitting down to dinner. Harry was at the head of the table, Neville on his left, Hermione on his right. Next to Neville sat Luna followed by Xeno, Sprout, Peter and Ann. Next to Hermione sat Emma followed by Sirius, Remus and Severus.
"Harry." Neville said breaking the silence of the evening.
Dinner was a quiet affair usually, most were too tired to speak or were hungry from a day of work. Harry gave Neville his attention, as did most of the people at the table, the exception being Emma who was currently leaning against Sirius sleeping and Ann who was curled up beside Peter also sleeping.
"I was thinking." He took a deep breath. "We have been progressing nicely in the fighting aspect. But we need to get into more. We need to strike back, turn this battle in our favor."
"I agree." Hermione spoke up, "We are training in one area, defense, we need to work on offense."
"Now that is a novel idea." Harry mumbled leaning forward in his chair.
"Exactly." Neville said with a smile
"But that's Murder." Harry said slowly like he was testing the words on his tongue.
Severus snorted loudly. "This is War."
"Oh how right I am." Severus sighed.
"Are you talking about a public battle, or an assassin?" Peter asked quietly, still hesitant to speak of things he wasn't completely sure of.
"Either one." Neville said with a shrug. "I just don't think we should sit here and wait for them to attack us."
"I can not condone murder." Dumbledore said sadly.
"They murder, why don't we strike back." Neville shot back at the headmaster.
"We can not stoop so low." Dumbledore said gravely.
"No we just sit like like ducks and watch them murder and torture, all the while waiting for them to kill us." Sirius said with a sneer.
Dumbledore shook his head sadly, he would not go that low.
"What do you guys think?" Harry said looking at everyone at the table. He may be at the head, but unlike Dumbledore, Harry listened to the advice of his group, choosing to walk beside them then sit behind them and issue orders.
"I think that in war you need to do things that you don't always want to do." Severus spoke up first. "The Death Eaters thrive because they have no fear. Who is going to oppose them? Dumbledore? They can easily avoid him. We need to bring the battle to them. I think both public battles and assassinations would be good."
"Well that is true." Lucius muttered to the nod of Severus beside him.
Remus looked at Severus thoughtfully. "I agree that we should strike them back, but I don't know about either of those options. The public battles could go bad, and we could lose. The assassination, that seems closer to Murder then the other."
"I say we do both. The sooner this war is over the sooner the children can go back to being children and the sooner we can change the Ministry." Sirius said quietly hugging Emma close to him.
Dan looked at Sirius who was staring wide eyed at the tall man.
Emma looked at Sirius with a thoughtful smile.
"I think we should attack them, but not public battles. I think we should trick them, send in creatures to kill them in their sleep, poison them, quietly and quickly strike back, making them fear us, and become less organized." Xeno said quietly looking around the room.
"As much as it pains me to say this." Madam Sprout spoke sadly. "I think we need to strike silent, deadly and fast. No open battles, all under the cover of darkness, all without fighting."
Harry looked at Luna who had yet to say anything. She was staring into space a glazed look in her eyes. A quick check showed Hermione was looking at her mouth open in horror.
The room tensed, Luna was having a vision. Harry knelt beside Hermione while Neville slowly ran his hands through Luna's hair.
"Oh goody." Luna muttered with a sarcastic eye roll. "I am a seer in that world."
"Are you in this world?" Lucius wondered with a greedy eye.
"Thank Merlin no." Luna said with a shutter not noticing the way Lucius sighed sadly.
"Mione." Harry whispered gently placing a hand on her knee. "What is it. What do you see."
Hermione shook her head slowly. "I. Oh my." her voice shook and broke. "We can not go against them in a full on battle. Not yet. We will not live, not even with the extra lessons. We are to soft. So soft. Oh my god. We will all die. So soft. Not hard enough." Hermione muttered quietly.
"Then what do we need to do?" Harry asked in a whisper.
"Murder." Luna gasped out, leaving her vision with a great shiver. "We need to murder. In the night. Different things." She gasped as tears ran down her face. Neville held her tight to him.
Harry looked at the people around the table. "Then we will become murderers." He said, eyes hard.
"Assassins for the light." Severus sneered.
"Right, the Greater Good Assassins." Remus snorted causing a few chuckles to sound.
Harry and Neville picked up Hermione and Luna, respectively, and carried them to bed, quickly followed by the rest of the group.
The Light Assassins for the Greater Good.
"That is a god awful name." Severus said a nasty sneer on his face.
"I agree." Dumbledore said.
"What an awful name." Severus sneers when they gathered to train the next morning.
"Oh don't be like that Severus, you named us!" Remus said with a smirk causing Severus to turn his dark glare on them.
Luna and Hermione skipped into the room holding a large vial and sharing bright smiles.
"Oh Severus." Hermione started in a sing song voice.
"Guess what we figured out." Luna finished with a giggle.
The room stilled, the occupants looking between the girls and the potions master.
"This had better not be a joke." He hissed through his teeth, trying to keep his emotions in check.
The girls handed him the vial. "This may hurt." Hermione said with sympathy.
Severus and Lucius exchanged glancing, leaning forward in their chair. The vial held a clear liquid.
"It can't be." Dumbledore muttered thoughtfully.
Severus looked at her before downing the vial.
A moment later the vial crashed the the stone floor, Severus followed a moment later clutching his arm to his stomach.
Hermione and Luna quickly knelt beside him each placing a hand on his back. and murmuring soothing words.
Less than a minute had passed when Severus finally relaxed, the pain leaving his body. He looked up at the room, the deep blue of his eyes startling them. He picked up his arm tenderly, looking at the smooth pale skin in awe. The mark was gone. Then he fainted.
The hall erupted in whispered Voldemort glared at the two girls murder in his eyes.
Severus and Lucius shared a glance, both wondering who would say it first. They could be free.
~~~~~~~~~~ End Chapter ~~~~~