All recognisable characters are the properties of Ms J.K. Rowling and Mr Jim Butcher. The Dresden and Potter verse, their magic and creations are the property of their respective owners and I make no profit form my tale. I own only this random story idea.

Chapter 4

Introducing the Winter Knight

Lily's P.O.V.

I shook my head in despair as Harry took off and called for Sirius and James to join me to watch the fun. I had a feeling that the rescue of Hermione and Ron would be a great deal more fun for the two Harry's then the Death Eaters. James and Sirius threw themselves down beside me on the grassy bank of the scrying pool and looked down with interest.

"So he said yes I take it." Sirius asked. I grinned, "Too easy. Maggie was right." James let out a gasp.."Lily there is a werewolf sitting on Harry!" I giggled. "No Jamie.. it's just Mouse." It did look funny, the huge mountain of fur sitting on top of my squirming, swearing son. "If that is a Mouse I don't want to meet the cats of that world" quipped Sirius. I rolled my eyes. "Don't you remember Crooks?" Our half Kneazle kitten had somehow survived Voldemort's attack and grown into a massive ginger Tom. He had somehow found his way to Hermione, so he's back to looking out for Harry. I turned my attention to the action and giggled as the impressive height of Harry Dresden loomed over my son and told the great dog to let him up. Harry was looking mutinous and the screams from the house were not helping, Mouse was holding his robes in a toothy death grip and Harry was readying his blasting rod.

"What's the tall guy doing?" asked Sirius. "Hermione's in there, their hurting her, why are they standing around?" he really hated sitting on the sidelines. He had no idea. James and I had had to endure fourteen more years then he had. "Wait for it" I said. I had seen Harry in action before, and it was usually loud and messy.

He did not disappoint me. A hurried discussion and a quick invisible fact finding mission a la Molly and they were ready. Karrin had a small gun in her hands, her stance confident and relaxed, and then she wasn't there. I blinked before I realised that Molly was veiling everyone barring Dresden and Mouse. My Harry, wand trembling in his hand and Thomas with his silver katana aligned themselves behind Dresden. Molly herself was completely invisible and I only knew she was hiding in the garden because I had seen her settle herself there. Oh, and we could see their souls glowing, (a perk of being dead, you can see souls. Good souls are lovely, like rainbow filled soap bubbles, bad ones look like mud.) Mouse, his fur standing up, his teeth showing look quite scary next to Harry who stepped further out in front of this companions. He levelled his blasting rod, it's tip glowing with blue fire. James and Sirius leaned forward eagerly...

I grinned, knowing what was coming.

"Fuego!" bellowed Dresden and fire, a literal torrent of white blue fire, pour from the tip of his blasting rod and engulfed the wall before them. James and Sirius whooped! "That is seriously cool!" cheered James.

"He is so an honorary Marauder from now on! He just burnt a hole in Lucy's' family home!" hooted Sirius. "Ooh he is gonna be so pissed." he added, gleefully.

The action in the great dining room below had stopped. Bellatrix, a bloody knife still raised above the bound and motionless Hermione, stood staring agape at the burning hole in the wall of the centuries old Malfoy Manor. Harry Dresden, shadowed by Harry Potter stepped through the hole, Mouse making quite a few of the Death Eaters shrink back just because of his sheer size. The great dog though had eyes only for Greyback, and the blue glow about him grew brighter. Unseen, Thomas circled around behind the stunned Death Eaters to get as close to Hermione as he could, undetected. He actually made it all the way under the table. He reached up and stroked Hermione's limp hand, sending a wave of safety and reassurance to the terrified girl. She lay there, still and motionless and I knew Thomas was fighting an urge to scoop her up and run. Karrin, invisible and undetectable disappeared into the house proper to find Ron. I turned my attention to the action. Harry had switched to his staff after destroying the wall, and with his shield bracelet glowing and shooting blue sparks, he was making quite the impression.

"Step away from the girl Bitch." he snarled, his eyes on Bellatrix. Thomas too fixed his grey eyes on the woman, slipped out from under the table and flickered into visibility. Letting go of his tight control over his incubus nature he drew Bellatrix's attention.. seducing the crazed witch without a word. In seconds he had her wrapped about him, and Sirius and James were looking very green at some of her promises and suggestions. Thomas agreed with none but stroked her back.. leading her away. No one even noticed. They were much to busy with the nearly seven feet of pissed off Winter Knight and angry temple dog. Greyback, whilst immensely strong and feral was losing his wrestling match with the massive dog and the two Harry's were shooting spells viciously at the rest of the Death Eaters from behind Harry's shield bracelet. Moments later a well fed looking Thomas re-appeared and joined the fray, his sword slashing and Death Eater's tumbling down like marionettes with their strings cut. Malfoys Snr. and Jnr. were still standing, Narcissa having been knocked out by a well placed stunner from my Harry. "Get out of my house at once." Lucius demanded, levelling his wand at Dresden.

"I am Harry Dresden, Winter Knight and you have taken those who are under my protection, let the kids go and I might not blow up your house." Dresden thundered. Malfoy shot a silent, dark purple curse at him in response, it splashed against the shield bracelet's power and hissed. Dresden raised an eyebrow. "My turn." he said and hissed "Arctis!" Ice formed all the way up Malfoy Snr's. legs and over his hands, binding him in place. Malfoy jnr. blinked once, opened his mouth and then dropped. My Harry had got him with another silent stunner. Go Harry!

"Get him!" James yelled, cheering on his son who'd just hit Snape with a leg locker curse. Severus tumbled backwards and and cannoned into another Death Eater who had been thrown at his back by Thomas returning from turning Bellatrix to mush. They went down in a spectacular heap.

"Go on Harry! Clobber him!" this was Sirius as Dresden swung his blasting rod, golf club style at Avery's head. It connected with a satisfying thwack and a burst of sound dropped two more Death Eaters, who'd had wands levelled at Dresden and Mouse's backs. Thomas casually re-holstered his gun and spun his katana once more. More Death Eaters backed off in horror and terror from the sword wielding maniac.

"And Stay Down!" yelled a delighted James.

"Sic him Mouse! That's it! Bite him! Good Dog!" both men gleefully watched Mouse chase, bring down and disable Macnair, both Lestrange brothers and Pettigrew. He soon had a whole clump of them bailed up and terrified of his teeth. Greyback was nothing but a mangled mess once Mouse was through with him.

Sirius and James were now jumping up and down, egging them on. They were having a absolute blast watching the action. They had been scared and helpless too long. Then the fight became ugly. More Death Eaters appeared, aparating in or running from other ends of the house. Green killing curses where shooting every which way and it was all Dresden could do to maintain his shield for a few seconds, even with Harry watching his back and Thomas moving like liquid silver. Finally a badly beaten and limping Ron appeared holding up a silent, skeletal looking Luna Lovegood with Karrin bringing up the rear, carrying a wasted old man over her shoulder in a fireman's hold. It took me a few seconds to recognise Olivander, the missing wand maker. He looked awful. Karrin's gun barked and another Death Eater dropped, holding his knee, howling. Blood welled through his torn robe from the shattered knee cap. Harry saw them and tapped Dresden on the shoulder. He gritted his teeth and, pointing his staff at a Death Eater creeping towards the girls, wand ready "Geodus!" the man became caught fast in a sink hole that had appeared suddenly beneath his feet. He screamed as the apparently liquid wood floor swallowed him to his shoulders, encasing his wand arm. Thomas scooped up Hermione, Mouse backed up, blue nimbus aglow, and they regrouped.

Harry lifted his blasting rod, his shield bracelet sparking still and roared "FORZARE!" unleashing a massive torrent of wind, rubble and dust at the Death Eaters, sending them tumbling back head over heals. Robes becoming hopelessly entangled and giving us way to much knowledge of what Severus and Pettigrew wore.. or didn't wear in Peter's case, under their robes. They landed in a dazed and beaten heap. Harry leaned around Dresden and blew something black and glittery off his hand into the air over the pile of moaning wizards. Blackness covered them and the invading force departed swiftly, climbing back through the hole and sprinting for the hills. God bless the Weasley Twins, that Peruvian Instant Darkness powder was brilliant.

Dresden stopped after a few paces, a feral smile on his face. He turned back to the battered manor and pointed his staff hissing "Flickum bicus!" and a dozen little fires started.. running up to and over the house, catching at the splintered window frames, the draperies and wallpaper in instants. Beside me Sirius was open mouthed in delight. His hatred for Lucius Malfoy knew no bounds. It had been at Lucius hand that Marlene McKinnon had died, Sirius fiance. She and her whole family killed because she was engaged to Sirius. Bellatrix had taunted Sirius with it through the bars of Azkaban. To see the ancient Malfoy manor burnt to the ground was a thing of beauty to Sirius. The Death Eaters fled the burning house and looked everywhere for the prisoners to no avail. They were gone. Back along Maggie's Ways and to the Forrest near to Potter's Keep.