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Posted June 21, 2012.

-CHAPTER 15-

THE BLOOD WARDS RENEWED

It was nearly lunch time before Jason regained any sort of consciousness. In some ways, it had been his own mind preventing him from awakening, out of fear of the horrible new reality he would find himself in. It was finally anger which roused him. Anger at the injustice of it all. Anger at the faceless enemy who dared storm onto his property, and take from him the one person who had brought him stability over the past few months—stability, love, comfort, all the things he had very little of before their fated meeting in June. Whoever they were, Jason would make sure they would pay for their crimes, if it was the last thing he did. At this point, cold-blooded murder was most certainly on the table.

Jason finally shifted, still half-out of it, hearing voices around him. It was no surprise there would be others in the room, likely keeping an ever-present vigil, worried half to death about his condition. He would need all of them now, he realized. And, knowing his friends—his true friends, proven time again—they would see him through.

"...about six Aurors on the property, they'll provide 'round the clock security." Sounded like that Jessup fellow, if Jason remembered correctly, his mind still in a haze.

"Jason won't like it," came Ron's voice, "He hates people making a fuss about things."

"Minister's orders, Mister Weasley. Angela's in a towering rage right now, b'y, never saw her so out of sorts as she was this morning. 'Think her English counterpart was about to piss himself right there in the Ministry atrium when we floo'ed over. Read 'im the riot act and then some."

"Jason has to realize it, he's an important person no matter which side of the pond he's on."

That would be miss Thompson, the Canadian DMLE head, if Jason remembered correctly. He mentally frowned at the comments, but they were right. He should have expected some sort of issue, right? In the Wizarding world, distance meant nothing. And then...

"Do whatever you gotta do. Fucking Christ..."

It was then Jason could feel a muscular arm holding him in a rather protective stance.

"M-mace..." Jason whispered, hoarsely.

"Right here, Jason."

Jason reached up and cupped Mace's chin, forcing them to face each other, as though he didn't believe it. He collapsed into a ball of emotions, as reality shattered the nightmares flying about his head.

"Jason... here."

Mace pressed a small bottle into one of Jason's hands.

"Calming draught."

Jason hurriedly consumed it, and found his glasses placed in his hands. He slipped them on, and took several deep breaths, allowing the calming draught to take effect. The pair only faced each other for a minute or so, while Jason gathered the courage to open his mouth without breaking down again.

"When... when you vanished... I nearly died inside."

"Be happy to know, all of those responsible are now in Ministry custody," said Morgan.

That earned a nod out of Jason.

"We take this sort of incident very seriously, and we'll get to the bottom of it before the day is out."

Jason, though, was only concerned about Mace at this point.

"You... did they hurt you?"

"Just knocked the wind out of me... but the um, Aurors showed up before anything else really happened," Mace answered, as they still continued to face each other. "The guy was this ugly fucker... looked like he had a chunk missing from his nose, kind of resembled a pirate I think. The whole wooden leg thing and all."

"Mad Eye Moody. Bloody hell, Mace... you went toe-to-toe with him?" Jason shivered. "He could've transfigured you into a puddle of piss with a wave of his wand!"

"He did send me flying."

"Now I know who's responsible," said Jason, the small smile vanishing from his face, "Dumbledore. The Order would've done this. Auror Morgan. When you guys question Moody, ask him if this operation was ordered by Dumbledore. I would almost bet a bag full of galleons his answer will be yes... unless he's been sworn to secrecy."

"One more thing to pin on the old man," said Sandra.

She was seated off to the side, a dicta-quill writing away on a pad of paper hovering off beside her.

"The Minister is already calling for an emergency session of the Wizengamot. Either this evening or tomorrow morning," said Morgan, "We'll likely need to be there."

"The Minister is asking for an official Writ of Censure to be declared against the British Ministry," Sandra explained.

"What would that do?"

"International shame," explained the DMLE head, "By our account, Aurors from a foreign Ministry entered Canada illegally, forced their way onto a warded property, and attempted to abduct one of the people there."

"It's not quite an act of war, but damned close," Morgan snorted, "And had they actually succeeded in getting Mr. Mace here out of the country, we still would have treated it that way."

Jason let out an involuntary giggle. "Don't think that's what Fudge would expect."

"Indeed not, Mr. Black. All I can say, we are far better prepared to deal with certain problems your former country is either unable or unwilling to. Your little Death Eater problem would be dealt with in a matter of days, if we were given the opportunity. And as far as Voldemort goes, there are other options for dealing with his threats," said the DMLE head.

"Fuck... almost wish they had've taken me then," said Mace.

That got the darkest look yet out of Jason. "You don't mean that. They could've taken you ANYWHERE! They used YOU to get to ME! THAT was their whole game plan, I can see it clear as mud!"

Jason pushed Mace's arm off him and slid over to the opposite side of the bed, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Knowing Dumbledore, he wouldn't have actually killed you, but... think about it. He put me in Azkaban because I was in the way." He scowled, then swung his legs over the side of the bed, and slowly stood up. "Gotta take a piss."

As Jason carried out his business, he still fumed at Mace's comments. 'Let himself be carted off back to England? Bloody hell!' he shouted in his head. It was likely what the old man had planned. Oh, and then of course there would have been the obligatory 'It's for the greater good, my boy' speech. "I'll show you 'greater good', Albus Dumbledore," Jason muttered.

He remained in a most sour mood for the remainder of the day, although there was constant comings and goings, as the Ministry continued their investigation into the incident. A reporter from the National Wizards' Standard had asked about getting an interview, but Jason declined it, barely remaining civil with the witch—she had been more than polite after all. He was still relatively unknown in Canada—although the incident was certainly going to change that—any statement or interview would only further erode his privacy. Even Sandra could not convince him to change his mind on the matter.

"He always been like this?" Capa dared ask.

The much smaller group, minus Jason, were having dinner, though appetites were rather thin given the circumstances. Jason had gone off on his broom, wanting to burn off some of the anger and frustration he was feeling at the moment.

"W-when Cedric was killed, he barely ate," answered Ron, picking at the half-filled plate in front of him. "Still dunno why h-he was sent back to those awful Muggles. Should've had someone to talk to, y'know, right?"

"No shit. How do we get through this though? I'm still here, right?"

Mace was doing practically the same thing as Ron. Food wasn't really on his mind at this point.

"You mean the world to him, Mace," said Hermione.

"Yeah, know that. He means... he means the world to me."

"Just be there for him. I know how he thinks. It's Cedric all over again... even though you... you're still alive, he's—"

"Dealing with Cedric's death," Mace finished.

"Exactly. Don't needle him too much about things—Merlin knows we did that enough as it was... when we were still attending Hogwarts."

"Just support him, it's what he needs right now."

"Equally, if he wants some space, let him have it," Bill threw in.

He'd been there all day, having to rebuild the property wards from scratch. Whoever had done the deed had stuffed things up well. Gringotts was currently investigating the magical signature, and if the culprit was an employee of the bank, being sacked would be the least of their worries.

"I... I'll sleep in one of the spare rooms."

"Last thing he'd make you do, mate. He's angry, but... Merlin... he's not really mad at you... it's Dumbledore. Moody's part of his Order, right... so it was Dumbledore's plan," said Ron.

"Sandra says the trial date should be fixed in a matter of days," said Bill, swirling the light amber liquid around in his glass, "The old man won't be able to do too much from Azkaban."

"Unless they break him out."

Everyone looked up to see Jason standing at the door to the kitchen, Firebolt in hand.

"But I still like the idea of the fucker being sent to rot there. At least he'll be sent there honestly."

He leaned the broom in the corner, then sat heavily in one of the chairs. He still looked rattled and angry, but nothing like earlier.

"Had a chat with Jessup. They've got walk-in privileges, unless the wards... err... detect it's not them and so on."

"Yes. Intent ward," said Bill, "And really. I want you to consider upgrading to blood-powered wards."

"You mean like the ones on my aunt's property."

"Yes and no. The wards I have in mind would be powered by your blood, and the blood of a friend, relative-"

"Love," Mace threw out, momentarily furrowing his brow.

Bill nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. The bond the pair of you share would be a terrible weapon against those who wish to do you harm here."

"Would you?" Jason asked, facing his mate.

"If it means stopping the bullshit from last night from happening again? You bet."

"I guess that settles that. Not tonight though. I'll be glad when this day's finished."

"Tomorrow. Early. Preferably at dawn."

"Why would that matter?" Capa dared ask.

"Dawn and dusk are the times when the veil between our world and the spirit world are thinnest. It's when the old magic is at its strongest. Using the ambient magic around us will boost the power of the spells I have to cast."

"It would make it very difficult to bring down. Definitely not an individual," said Hermione, "At least not unless they were particularly strong. Dumbledore. Voldemort. Maybe Professor Flitwick. But most witches or wizards wouldn't be able to do it."

"It's also why it's illegal. The Ministry has banned it as a type of dark magic."

"Right. More like, 'we don't like the idea of people being able to keep the Ministry out'," Jason snorted, plucking a roll from the basket at the centre of the table.

"Pretty much it," Bill continued, "Doesn't really matter here. I already mentioned what I wanted to to with Jessup. The Ministry here doesn't care, so we're in the clear... though he did say, even if it was illegal, he would just look the other way. You have their full support, Jason."

"Guess that's good. I'll have to have Kreacher send them out refreshments now and then. Only fair." He faced Bill. "Get us up an hour before so we can be ready."

Jason still said barely a word to Mace as they got ready for bed. Hermione had pegged him quite well, as the memory of Cedric's death still plagued his consciousness. His dreams that night would be murder if he didn't take a dreamless sleep potion. He finally climbed into bed, and uncorked the bottle waiting for him on the bedside table.

"Jason..."

"Huh?"

"Look... uh..."

Mace looked down at his hands for a second, but forced himself to look Jason in the eye.

"I... I'm sorry... about what I said earlier."

"I know. I forgive you."

He gave the older man a smile that reached his eyes, the first since the previous evening, and waited as he climbed into bed himself.

"I think... yeah, at first I was pissed at you for saying it... but really... no, the only person I'm angry at right now, is Dumbledore. He caused this."

Jason let out a little giggle.

"Know this much. I'll have a grand time enjoying what the Canadians do to him. Hearing Samantha and Jessup this afternoon, they want his head."

"So do I, but I'll get in line."

Jason let out another laugh.

"Yeah, I'm sure you do. Right... gonna get some rest."

He downed the vile potion, and lay down, allowing Mace to pull him close such as he always did.

The following morning arrived cold and raw, with a north wind blowing harshly across the open fields. The ward-placement required them to visit the corner points of the ward, marking its perimeter, and warming charms were applied liberally. At each location, a blood offering was made by both Mace and Harry, with Bill casting a series of spells at the runic symbols drawn into the ground. As the spell took hold, the symbols seemed to vanish into the earth, as though nothing had been drawn there to begin with.

The final setting was done inside the house, in the cellar. Here, there was an actual stone—crimson in colour. It immediately reminded Jason of the Philosopher's Stone, how it shimmered in the dim light.

"It's a blood stone," Bill explained, "Don't ask me where I was able to obtain one—"

"I'll pay you back for it," Jason promised.

"I appreciate that. It was definitely not cheap. Now. We'll set it off out of sight... this looks to be a good location."

He pointed to a spot hidden by the old furnace. He then pointed to the stone with his wand, casting several more charms and spells. Jason could feel the magical energy beginning to pool around them, the culmination of the ward setting was near.

"Right. Just one more offering of blood from the pair of you—wait... let me finish," said Bill, sharply.

Jason was about to prick the end of his finger again.

"Let three drops of blood fall on the stone, while speaking, 'sempra patronum'."

"Protect always," Jason translated, to which Bill nodded.

"Any time you're ready."

Jason pricked his finger once more, allowing three drops of his blood fall on the stone as instructed.

"Sempra patronum," he intoned.

The stone flashed a brilliant red shade for a moment, but did little else.

"Mace..."

Mace duplicated Jason's actions, and also spoke, "Sempra patronum."

The ground actually shuddered, as a blinding red light burst from the stone. Jason actually winced, feeling the wards snap into place in his mind's eye. Bill actually dropped the stone in shock, but it didn't matter, as it seemed to make up its own mind where it actually belonged. And, as the light dimmed somewhat, the trio realized they weren't alone.

Jason collapsed to his knees, seeing the trio which now stood near the spot where the stone had set itself. They were ghostly, but... more than that. It was much like he remembered Riddle, back during second year. He recognized them at once. Both Bill and Mace were stunned into silence.

"M-mum? Dad? S-sirius?"

"Right here, kiddo," answered his godfather, a warm smile on his face.

He was no longer waxen and shabby, as he'd been, cooped up in his mother's house. His parents were exactly as Jason remembered seeing them in the Mirror of Erised, both wearing warm smiles as Sirius was.

"We are so proud of you, son," said James, softly, "You've faced so much."

"H-how?" Jason finally found his voice.

"My love... my son," said Lily, "You now have the protection I had so wished you to have when you were but a boy. Mr. Weasley, you have our heart-felt thanks, for looking out after our son."

"It... it was the best thing I could come up with, M-mrs. Potter," answered Bill, shakily.

This was above and beyond anything he'd ever witnessed, and that was saying something.

"Still... how were you brought here?"

"None of us know, Bill," answered Sirius, although he still smiled, "If anything it gives the three of us a chance to properly say farewell to Harry... or should I say Jason." He beamed brightly. "Good to see you've taken the Black name."

"You... none of you are upset?"

"Why would we be upset, dear?" Lily asked, "The Potter name carries weight of its own, but you are doing what you need to protect your interests, both now and in the future, once current events get sorted... am I right?"

"Yes, mum." Jason blushed a little.

It was unnerving they were able to read into and see what he was planning.

"Unfortunate we won't have a son or daughter to carry on the name, but..."

"Not completely out of the question, dad," answered Jason, "There are ways, right?"

He cast a glance at Bill.

"Um... right. Yeah, of course."

"And Mr. Mace. Should you ever do anything stupid toward my son... the afterlife will be... unpleasant," said James, although he smirked as he said it.

"James!"

Lily gave her husband a swat, and Jason had to giggle. His face fell, however.

"You guys can't stay."

"I'm sorry, kiddo. No we can't," answered Sirius, his smile also faltering a little. "Just know, we all love you more than you can know."

"Sweetheart. Remember this. What you want to do, it's entirely up to you. Merlin I am so thankful you turned out to be the wonderful boy you are," said Lily, "My word... that tart of a sister of mine..." she muttered, mostly to herself, but then said, "We know the direction you're thinking of heading, and just know, even here in the afterlife, we support what you decide to do... all of us."

"Th-thanks, mum."

Jason felt his eyes prickle with hot tears, the warmth of his parents' love and praise washing over him. Mace was already beside him, quick to offer moral support.

"We'll be watching you, Jason. Never forget, we are always with you," said Sirius, pointing a finger at Jason's heart. "Right here."

His shade was beginning to fade at this point, as were his parents.

"Right here, always, Jason," his mother spoke, her significantly more transparent hand also pointing to his heart.

"With you always, son." James added his, as they faded out of sight. Overwhelmed by the event, Jason simply collapsed into his love and cried.

AUTHOR NOTES: As I have mentioned already, this story is virtually finished, needing only an epilogue. That said, I am presently working on a new project, and would love to have a beta reader. Send me an owl (*cough* private message *cough*) if you're interested.

Next chapter... we find out the depths of the former headmaster's depravity.