AN: I was contemplating having you all wait another two days before I released this chapter, but then I figured perhaps I was being too cruel. Thus, I present to you the revised version of Chapter 11, Loyalty.
PS: Please remember that by this point, Harry is -17- and Ginny is -16-. It is also, by this point, mid-December of 1997.
PPS: Also, Chapter Two has been edited once more. One of my reviewers was kind enough to help me rephrase some parts in the Potters' letter to make it smoother. Due credit is given in that chapter's AN.
From: Wizard Loyalism in the Dark Wars, by Dr. Jonas Rochlin
Excerpt from Chapter 3, "The Hogwarts Exile"
"…Long a source of mystery and artistic dreaming, the events of late 1997 in Hogwarts were always regarded as a source of interest by the general public. One such reason is the fact that the rumored "Lost Siege" of Hogwarts occurred in this time period. Another, more tantalizing question is the sudden drop of students in the time frame of a single day. At the time hosting upwards of 300 students (the largest in its time, due to the baby boom that occurred after the alleged fall of the previous Dark Lord), over 55 students suddenly, and inexplicably, dropped out in a single blow. Though no record was found for years later as to why this occurred, recently released memos from the Imperial War Department seem to have given light to this long-time mystery.
It would seem that all 55 students dropped out after a recall was issued from the Imperial Capital to all Loyalists above the England-Scotland border. This would mean that fifteen percent of the entire Hogwarts population at the time consisted of Loyalists…"
Gryffindor Table
When Dumbledore had read the notice, Hermione had gasped at the ultimatum being imposed by the Crown, with Ron turning a healthy shade of red. While not exactly the brightest student in the school, he nonetheless understood full well what the notice demanded: a public reneging of Ministry support and support for Dumbledore, which would invariably weaken the already small Auror and Order forces against the Death Eaters.
However, what shocked the two more was when Neville and Ginny looked at each other and nodded, before finally rising to their feet. Ron turned a deeper shade of red at what he saw as treason by his sister and friend.
"What do you two think you're bloody doing?!" he demanded. For once, Hermione didn't correct his language as she too wanted to know.
Ginny calmly looked at her brother. "Simple, Ron. We're going with our own kind," she told him. Beside her, Neville nodded.
Ron purpled at that, shouting, "You bloody well aren't! Once mum hears of this, she'll—"
"What, Ron?" yelled back Ginny, "What will she do? Punish me? Do you even understand what's going on, dear brother?" she asked scathingly. By now, many of those who had not risen had their attention riveted on the siblings.
"Of course I do! You're betraying your family!" raged Ron. Beside him, Hermione was giving her a reproving look as well. Ginny scowled at the two of them.
"Betraying family? Really? Is that why Fred and George are also in the pay of the Crown?" she spat back. The information seemed to rock Ron, as he physically jolted back as if struck by electricity. Ginny smiled, "Oh yes, dear brother, our family, those of us with a vision other than a world ruled by incompetent Ministers or aged crackpot fools that is, have been involved in this conflict far longer than you've known."
Neville nodded at Ginny's words. "She isn't the only one. The Potters recruited me during my first year," he told them, to the duo's amazement. He jolted a thumb in Ginny's direction. "Ginny recruited me after the Chamber incident."
Seamus decided to insert himself in the conversation then. "Me and Dean are Royalists, too," he told the seated Gryffindors. "Have been since second year, when Ginny and Neville recruited us. Got commissions in the army, too."
Several other prominent Gryffindors, including the Creevey brothers, Parvati Patil, and Lavender Brown also voiced their adherence to the Royalist cause, surprising many of the seated Gryffindors, but none more than Ron and Hermione, who looked at all of them with an expression of betrayal.
Not wishing to stand the sight of said look any longer, Ginny merely huffed and spun on her heel, looking over towards Dumbledore with a determined spark in her eyes as she began reciting her pledge,
"I swear, on my life, honor, and magic, that I will forever uphold the sanctity and unity of the British Empire and the legitimate rule over its lands of the British Crown," she announced loudly, causing all other royalists to perform a similar pledge.
She then gave the stunned Headmaster a smug look before nodding to her other co-royalists and led the procession of students out of the Great Hall, in direction of the dormitories.
Once in her room, she quickly packed everything she owned and decided it was time to look the part of Mrs. Potter, heiress to the title of Marchioness of Godric's Hollow. She deftly took off the invisibility charm from her wedding ring on her finger and enjoyed the moment of finally being able to see it in public for the first time since she was wedded to Harry. She then proceeded to undress, taking no note of the one other Gryffindor from her year that was departing, a roommate named Cynthia Collins. She then opened her trunk and took out the navy blue Victorian dress she'd promised herself she'd wear when her allegiances came out to light.
Admiring it for a minute, she swiftly put it on, enlisting the help of Cynthia once the girl had gotten over her shock at the existence of such a fine dress in Ginny Weasley's wardrobe.
Once secured, she pulled out her wand and packed the rest of her stuff with a quick swish of her wand. Out of the two of them, Ginny was the one more prone to using magic, with Harry preferring to use his wand as an extreme measure (then again, most of the spells he knew called for an extreme measure).
Once everything was satisfactorily packed, she placed a levitation charm on her trunk and Cynthia's before leading the two trunks out of her dormitory. At the foot of the steps, she was mildly surprised to find Hermione waiting. Ginny sighed. She guessed a confrontation was indeed inevitable.
"Ginny?" said Hermione, in shock over Ginny's elegant appearance. She was much more used to seeing Ginny in traditional robes, mostly second-hand ones. To see the petite redhead in such an elegant dress was shocking.
"Yes, Hermione?" asked Ginny. She nodded to Cynthia, who pulled out her own wand and led the trunks out of the Common Room. Ginny kept her attention on Hermione, who seemed to be regaining control of her mental faculties.
"Ginny, why are you doing this? Where did you get that dress? Does your mother know about this? What will they say?" fired off Hermione in rapid succession, eliciting a giggle from Ginny.
"I'm doing this because this is what I believe in, Hermione," she informed the bushy-haired genius calmly. "This dress is mine, I received it as a gift from Mrs. Potter. No, mum doesn't know about my allegiances or this dress, and I don't care what anyone says."
Hermione seemed to tear up at that. "Ginny, you can't abandon your family!" she protested.
Ginny calmly contemplated the near-crying older girl. "Let's contemplate that statement, shall we?" she proposed, "You're asserting that by leaving with the Royalists, I am abandoning my family to the mercy of the Death Eaters, since we know the Order and Ministry are in dire straits in that respect. You are suggesting that my showing loyalty to what I believe in is a fundamental treason to the unity of family," she stated, raising a finger with each statement. "But I disagree."
"Because of my actions, yes, my family, namely mum and Ron, will feel that I am committing a treason to the family. Dad will not hold this against me, nor will Bill and Charlie," she reasoned, holding up a halting hand as Hermione seemed to want to protest at that conclusion, "No, hear me out. Charlie and Bill, as well as Dad, are part of the Order of the Phoenix. As such, they should know, above everyone else, what it means to commit to a cause you believe in."
"My brothers and dad believe in preserving the previous status-quo that existed in the years before the Death Eater attacks. I, on the other hand, along with every other royalist in this tower and the rest of the school, believe in a world where the status-quo is not only eliminated, but is replaced by a more effective and secure government. Thus, I am not abandoning my family to the mercy of the Death Eaters. If anything, I'm fighting to eliminate the Death Eaters," she told Hermione.
"Furthermore, if allegiance to our beliefs constitutes as a treason to the unity of family, then Dad, Charlie, Bill, and even mum are traitors, too, because they hold allegiance to the old man. Fred, George, and I, however, believe in a more secure, traditional, and effective government. So, we are not traitors to our family, merely another faction within an already factionalized family."
"So you see, Hermione, we're doing nothing wrong, merely following the path our hearts dictate, which are good government and good laws. We made our beds, and now we intend to sleep in them," she informed the older girl before elegantly striding out of the room, leaving a shocked Hermione behind in the Common Room.
At the bottom of the stairs, she met up with Cynthia who nodded at Ginny with a smile, one that Ginny returned. All Royalists got along well in Hogwarts, even if they weren't previously great friends. All felt linked to each other by the common idea that they were in the right.
At the Great Hall, the scene was chaotic as many members of all Houses tried to detract the Royalists from leaving. From her position at the doors, she could see that half of Ravenclaw was up in arms over the situation, trying to outdo the Royalists in a debate over the legitimacy of their ideology.
Notably, they were losing.
However, when Ginny entered, most Royalists immediately stopped arguing with their counterparts as they turned to face her. The rest of the Hall followed suit, out of confusion, however. Breaking the silence, Neville strode over to her and gave a slightly deferential bow.
"Everything is ready, Ginny. We're ready to make our vows and leave. I daresay the army will be waiting," he informed her. Ginny nodded before scanning the room with her eyes, locking her stare with the Head Table.
"Where is Dumbledore?" she asked. If the old man was not present, then it meant he was in his office, possibly calling up parents and the Order.
Neville seemed to catch on to her thoughts for he gave her a shrug. "We don't know. He left shortly after you had your shouting match. Blaise says that your brother went after him shortly after. You already know about Hermione," he reported.
Ginny nodded before turning to the gathering crowd of Royalists. "Very well. Let us make our vows, my comrades!" she called out, to the cheers of the small group of Royal adherents.
"On our honor, magic, and life, we swear never to return to these lands until such a day when the Crown's standard crosses over the border once more" they all intoned in near-unison.
With that done, Ginny nodded at her group, signaling the departure. The Royalists then silently made their way out of the Great Hall, their trunks floating behind them or rolling. Being the last to leave, with Neville waiting for her at the doors, she waved at the assembled students and said, "Farewell Hogwarts. Until we next meet on the battlefield," before turning and leaving, her head held high, with Neville waiting until she was out of the Great Hall before following her.
Hogwarts Courtyard
Harry smiled as he saw the procession of students leaving the castle. Behind him, he knew that Majors Sharpe and Wolfe were also nodding in approval. Harry felt like grinning, however, when he saw Shacklebolt's expression further ahead. The allegedly unflappable Auror had a gobsmacked expression on his face as he watched the students primly make their way towards the awaiting party of the Royal Northern Army.
For the occasion, Harry had dressed up in his dress uniform, full with all the lacing and epaulets that his rank demanded. Behind him were the Coldstream honour guard and representatives from each regiment: The 78th Highlanders, the 96th Rifles, the 4th Welsh, and the 14th Irish. In addition, 30 of his father's shock Dragoons were also present, in full dress uniform. They wanted to make their farewell a memorable one for Hogwarts.
Harry's smile broadened as he saw the distinct red hair of his wife leading the procession. It died quickly, though, when he saw Dumbledore race out of the castle, a procession of adults right on his tail. Amongst them was his mother-in-law.
Harry turned to his majors. "Ready the men! We might be having altercations after all" he told them, before turning to one of the Coldstreamers. "Get the flare ready to fire on my order. If things deteriorate, I want this entire bloody castle leveled."
Harry now turned his attention to Shacklebolt, who was looking at Dumbledore curiously. "Shacklebolt!" he yelled, catching the elder man's attention. "What is the meaning of this interference?"
Shacklebolt looked at Harry with an expression of confusion, before widening his eyes. He hadn't taken into account the Royalist perception of Dumbledore's presence when he'd seen the aged Headmaster. It now seemed obvious to him that they'd see him as interfering with the proceedings.
In fact, he was dead sure the headmaster intended to do just that.
The bald man made his way quickly over to Dumbledore, who had cut off the procession's calm march with his adults. Behind him, Harry ordered his men to follow him as he led them in the same direction.
"Dumbledore!" Shacklebolt cried as he reached the aged man. "Dumbledore, what in blazes is going on here?" he demanded, his usual calm now gone.
The aged headmaster merely gave the Auror a calm, determined look. "I am stopping this madness, Kingsley," he told him. This seemed to shake the Auror even more.
"Are you mad, Dumbledore?" demanded Shacklebolt, "Do you know what these men will do to my men if we refuse to carry out the treaty?"
"You can't speak to the headmaster that way!" protested one of the adults present, a member of the Order.
Shacklebolt gave the man a furious glare. "Shut up!" he roared, all calm now dissipated before turning a look just as furious towards Dumbledore. "Headmaster, they have their Leviathans aimed right at my men," he told him. "Please desist in this folly!"
Dumbledore, however, seemed resolute as he faced down the approaching ranks of redcoats, green coats, and dragoons. Behind them, the rest of the Aurors stood at attention at the walls, looking slightly scared as they looked out towards the grounds.
"They would not open fire, Kingsley," assured McGonagall as she, too, had her wand leveled at the students. "It must be a bluff. There is no way I will allow my students to leave with this rabble."
Meanwhile, Neville was staring down Ron's father, Mr. Weasley, with Ginny at his side. The Weasley Patriarch looked somewhat ill as his wand was trained on his daughter.
"Mr. Weasley," Neville calmly stated, "You really don't want to do this."
Mr. Weasley acknowledged this with a shake of his head and a sad smile. "Perhaps, but I will not allow my family to be put in danger."
"Dumbledore!" yelled out Harry as he arrived within 50 feet of the adults, who had their wands trained on the group of students, all of whom were looking back at their oppressors calmly and with defiance. "What is the meaning of this treachery?" he continued.
"We are not letting you take these students away, Harry," intoned the headmaster gravely, much to the shock of the troops, who were instantly offended at the man's casual use of their commander's name.
Harry seemed just as enraged, but for a different reason. The group of adults had wands trained on his wife. He would not stand for it. "Men, MAKE READY!" he yelled, raising his hand.
Instantly, the soldiers behind him, including the two majors and dragoons, all of whom had brought carbines with them, had their firearms against their shoulders.
Mr. Weasley watched nervously as Neville, Ginny, and the rest of the student deserters seemed to titter with laughter. Behind him, Mr. Weasley could hear the shouting match between the Potter boy and Dumbledore. It frankly made him very nervous.
"Hasn't Dumbledore told you anything?" asked Neville humorously.
"About what?" asked Mr. Weasley.
Ginny smiled coolly. In fact, it shook Mr. Weasley to his core to see his own daughter seem so cold. "About Serpent Fortress."
Dumbledore never faltered. "We will not be intimidated by force, Harry," the headmaster intoned calmly. He did, however, note the conversation between Arthur, his daughter, and Neville. Trying to maintain control over his own group as well, he hurriedly said, "Don't pay attention to them, Arthur. They know not what they speak of."
Harry glared. "You will stand down, or so help me, I will have my men shoot every last one of you down like the dogs you are."
Seeing that the headmaster wasn't backing down, Harry then yelled, "PRESENT!"
Now, every soldier, dragoon, and officer, including Harry himself, had their firearms pointed at the group of adults.
Mr. Weasley seemed even more unsure now, as he recognized Dumbledore's attempt to suppress the conversation. "What about Serpent Fortress?" he asked at length. In the corner of his sight, he could see the soldiers, and Harry Potter as well, aiming at the group. Surely, the boy wouldn't shoot at his own supporters?
Neville, meanwhile, grinned evilly. "About how Harry Potter decimated over eight hundred men within two hours."
Arthur paled at the implications of that statement.
"I'm warning you, Dumbledore," warned Harry, a steely edge to his voice, "I will give the order. You will stand down…NOW!"
Dumbledore kept his cool, though the people around him began getting nervous, especially after having heard the Longbottom boy tell them about Serpent Fortress. "I will not allow my students to be subjected to such a tyrannical order!" he rebutted, "They are my stud—"
"THEY ARE MY COMRADES!" roared Harry, his drawn arm shaking in fury now, before pointing his pistol at Mr. Weasley, who had his wand trained on his daughter, a sad expression on his face. "AND THAT IS MY WIFE!"
Shocked silence descended on the proceedings, though the men behind Harry seemed calm about the news; in fact, most of them had already deduced who the colonel's wife was, seeing as some of them had acted as the girl's escort during the nights of their initial stay
Dumbledore, however, seemed outright shocked. Of all the things that had crossed his mind when trying to figure out the Potter boy's aversion to Gryffindor Tower, this was certainly not one of them.
'His wife? Merlin, that's what I've had under my power all this time?' thought Dumbledore as he looked at the youngest Weasley, who seemed to have a proud look on her face. 'No, she cannot be let go, then. She must stay here, to restrain the boy'
"Ginny?" asked Mr. Weasley, horrified by the boy's latest exclamation.
Ginny looked up at her father defiantly. "That's right, daddy," she confirmed, raising her hand to show her ring. In her mind, however, she was beginning to worry about her husband. True, he was an excellent duelist, but he was also surrounded and outnumbered by skilled wizards and witches. She didn't want to see this escalate into a violent struggle, especially since both her family and her husband would probably end up injured.
He returned his attention back to Harry, his calm demeanor back. "Regardless, they are students nonetheless, and under my supervision. They cannot go."
Harry's face reddened considerably as he trained his firearm at Dumbledore. "MEN! FI—" he began yelling, but was stopped when a familiar female voice cried out,
"Wait!"
Harry visibly stumbled over himself, but none of the men fired, thankfully. Most of them were looking at each other in confusion. They couldn't fire unless Harry finished the order, and he hadn't. They all kept their weapons trained on the group, however.
Harry, on the other hand, looked shocked as Ginny pushed her way through the group, much to the protest of Mr. Weasley, who seemed reluctant to fire on his daughter. He saw her running, then, towards him, while Mr. Weasley shouted at her to come back. He opened his arms to receive her, but suddenly felt his heart stop as a bright red light seemed to encompass her, making her fall limply into his arms.
Flashback
Darkness eating away at soldiers.
Screams.
Blood.
Red.
Red everywhere.
Red all around him.
Blood Red.
Death.
We will return...we will return...we will return...
Silence.
Human...we will take from you...your possessions...family...friends...lover...
...EVERYTHING
End Flashback
Harry stared in shock at the limp form of his wife in his arms before slowly looking up and seeing Dumbledore's arm stretched out, a determined look in his eyes.
Instantly, Harry saw red and felt fury beyond fury towards the man. Nothing had ever earned his hatred as easily as the old man had.
"MEN!" he roared, "FIRE!"
Instantly, a roll of thunder was heard as every carbine, musket, and rifle went off, hitting several of the adults, while the Royalist group threw themselves down after Neville shouted the order ("Shite! Get down!"), safely avoiding being hit.
"Royalists!" he then shouted, making every laid down student jump to his/her feet, "Gather to me!"
With a cry of encouragement from Neville ("To your feet, lads!"), the students bolted towards the soldiers, their belongings floating ahead of them. They passed by the stunned adults, many of whom were unharmed, but shocked nonetheless. Many others, however, were on the ground, clutching at their wounds.
Once safe behind the soldiers, Harry picked up his wife in his arms and turned his back on the adults. He carried her over to the only Healer they'd brought with them and lay her down on the soft grass. He looked at the female Healer with a torn expression. "Please take care of her," he whispered. The woman nodded and Harry turned back to his position.
Drawing his saber, Harry pointed it at the group. "Every man stay here. I will deal with this myself," he stated in a monotone voice. No man dared disagree. They all knew their commander was beyond reason.
Stalking forward dangerously, Harry focused his entire attention on the elderly headmaster, who was slowly regaining his composure.
Too little, too late, though.
Harry gave a furious roar as he kicked the elder man in the middle, sending the man flying back. Two men that stood at the headmaster's side quickly reacted, lunging at Harry. Harry didn't even look at them as he elbowed one in the face and slashed at the other with his saber. Blood spurted from the first one's face as his nose exploded, and the second man went to his knees screaming as his arm dangled by a thread from his shoulder.
Not taking any notice of either man's wounds, Harry made his way towards the downed Headmaster, who was slowly getting to his knees. Harry stood above him with his saber pressed against the man's cheek.
"Get up," he hissed, pressing the saber a bit more forcefully, "I'm not done with you yet. You'll pay for attacking my wife."
Dumbledore slowly complied as he slowly got to his feet, standing a couple of inches taller than his attacker. Harry stayed silent for a moment before narrowing his eyes and throwing a punch into the headmaster's face, jolting the elder man to the side.
Dumbledore coughed as he lay sprawled on the grass, Harry towering over him. "Things could have been done peacefully. No one needed to get hurt," Harry stated as he walked over to the headmaster and kicked him in the side, making the older man yelp in pain. "But no, you had to interfere!" yelled Harry, "You had to attack the only thing more precious to me than my life! You had to attack my wife!" he roared, before sending the man an even stronger kick into the side.
Harry felt some sort of perverse pleasure at seeing his tormentor groaning in pain beneath him. It was time to finish the fight, though, so he rose his saber in order to release the last strike, but was stopped when someone called out his name.
"Harry! Stop!" cried out a powerful male voice. Harry whirled around in surprise as he recognized it.
There, within ten meters of where he was, stood James Potter, the patriarch of the Potter family, with his wife, Lily at his side. Harry's father was looking at his son with a mixed gaze of pride and reprimand.
"That's enough, Harry" reprimanded James. "I daresay the old man has learned his lesson."
Harry seemed to take objection to that, though his anger was quickly fading in the face of his father's presence. "But father, Ginny...she...the red—"
"I know what he did to Ginny, Harry," interrupted James. Beside him, Lily nodded.
"It was a stunner spell, dear. Ginny's fine," she told her son with an appeasing tone. Harry's expression brightened significantly.
"Ginny's fine?"
Lily gave a soft laugh. "Oh, she'll be confused for a bit after she wakes up, but yes, she's fine," she told him, before giving her son a mischievous smile, "Nothing a kiss won't solve." She laughed when Harry blushed. He nonetheless did lower his saber back to his side.
James nodded approvingly at his son's actions and turned towards the group of adults. "Alright, men. Job's done. Let's all move back to Hogsmeade."
Harry's attention now turned towards the group of adults, finally realizing that none except the first two had interfered in his beating. He now saw that they were all under wand point from a larger group of black-robed men, all of whom held a golden phoenix badge sewn onto their right sleeve. They were his father's elite squad of wizards: the Marauders, named after the pranking group he'd founded in his days at Hogwarts.
Harry made his way back towards his own men, where Ginny was waking up after a swift Ennervate spell was cast by the Healer. Upon seeing Harry walking up to her, she jumped to her feet and ran at him, before jumping into his open arms with a cry of delight. James and Lily stood by, smiling at the reunited pair.
Harry ducked his head down to give his wife a kiss before rearing his head back up towards his men, all of whom seemed to be grinning at him. Harry had the decency to blush before ordering, "All right, men; show's over. Everyone, back to Hogsmeade!"
At once, the men all got to attention before turning and escorting the Royalist students out of the Hogwarts courtyard, the Marauders close behind. Lily, James, Harry, and Ginny, however, stayed behind for a minute, reveling in their reunion. When they moved to leave, however, a redheaded woman from the Order's group suddenly shouted,
"Ginevra Molly Weasley! Stay right where you are!" shouted Molly Weasley frantically.
Ginny turned on her heel to meet her mother's gaze, along with Harry. James and Lily merely turned calmly to see what the commotion was about.
"You are going nowhere, young lady!" screeched Mrs. Weasley. Behind her, the rest of the Weasleys, including a worn out Ron, who had bolted from the castle entrance over to the group after the initial firing, all nodded. Mr. Weasley, however, did seem a bit torn.
"Yes I am, mother," replied Ginny calmly. "I am leaving with my kind."
"Your kind is us!" yelled Charlie. Pointing at Harry, he then yelled, "Not with that brat!"
"That brat, brother, is my husband," Ginny told him icily, her hands on her hips.
"No he isn't! Neville's your boyfriend!" retorted Ron loudly, making Ginny and the Potters laugh.
"Boyfriend?" chortled Ginny, "Hardly. Assigned protector, more like, on orders of Harry," she corrected, pointing at Harry with her thumb.
Most of the Weasleys seemed troubled by the entire marriage announcement, but Mr. Weasley seemed to take it best, as he then asked, "How long?"
"How long what, dad?" asked Ginny politely; after all, her father was being more courteous than the rest of her family.
Mr. Weasley swallowed loudly. "How long have you been married?"
"Approximately one year" she replied bluntly. Mrs. Weasley's eyes widened so much that Harry was afraid her eyes would pop out. Mr. Weasley, however, remained calm.
"Does he make you happy, Ginny?" he asked softly.
Rather than replying, Ginny strode over to her father and gave him a tight hug. "He does, daddy," she answered just as softly, though the Potters and the Weasleys could hear her. Harry's face glowed with pleasure at the remark, while the Potters seemed proud of their son. The Weasleys, however, looked like they'd swallowed something nasty.
Mr. Weasley nodded sadly. "Very well then, Gin-gin. I guess this is goodbye?" he half-stated, half-asked the Potters.
Harry looked at his parents for a moment. Seeing them nod and smile at him, he turned to his father-in-law. "Not necessarily, Mr. Weasley," he replied, holding out a hand to Ginny, who took it as she went back to his side. "You'll be welcome at our house to visit or at the social events we'll be hosting," he told them.
Harry's eyes then narrowed. "Of course, I'm trusting you to be honorable with this invitation, Mr. Weasley, as well as the rest of your family," he warned. "I will not be having half-baked plots to kidnap my wife, understand?"
Mr. Weasley gulped before nodding. Some of the Weasley siblings' face clouded over at that. Mrs. Weasley was crying openly. Harry smiled at Mr. Weasley's acknowledgement.
"Good, then perhaps we'll be seeing you soon, then," he said, before turning his attention to Ginny, "Shall we, Mrs. Potter?"
Ginny giggled before beaming at her husband. "We shall, Mr. Potter"
With that, the two generations of Potter couples left Hogwarts hand-in-hand.
From: "Britannia's Scourge" by Christopher M. Rochlin
Excerpts from Chapter 12, "Skill and Power"
"...However, despite Potter's vast military intellect, his most feared abilities lay within the close-quarter combat scene. Among many of the exaggerations that persist about Potter's character, none lie closer to the truth than those regarding his sheer power...
...Potter is perhaps most famous for his ability with the saber, matched only by the now-defunct Dark Lord Voldemort, as well as his skill with magic, both wand and wandless, also only matched by Voldemort...
...the result of years of warfare...
...unmatched since 1999...
...He has been known to have taken on at least thirty Death Eaters at one point, leaving none alive, with only mild injuries in return...
...Unlike most officers, Potter's style has been generally known as being extremely brutal--sometimes even going so far as to use his wand as a jabbing instrument before using the protruding wand to fire a spell behind his wounded opponent...
...Truly, Harry Potter earned his name within the Death Eater ranks, as Britannia's Scourge."