Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything from the Harry Potter Universe. As sad as that is, oh well life goes on.

A/N: Again thanks to all those who took time to review the last chapter. I do read all of them. I hope you all enjoy this next installment, I think this has been the toughest chapter I've written so far. Getting your thoughts and ideas from your mind to come out how you want on paper can be a daunting task at times. Well to all my fellow Irishmen and women out there either by heritage or desire have a Happy St. Patricks Day this Thursday. Slainte agus Eirinn go Bragh!

Chapter 5

Members of the Order of the Phoenix grudgingly began to arrive at Grimauld Place. It was nigh unto midnight and a worried Molly Weasley was busy pouring coffee and strong tea for the griping members and wondering to herself what had happened.

Dumbledore would not call a meeting with the entire order unless something serious had happened. She questioned everyone that came into the kitchen but no one seemed to know the purpose for the meeting, this only caused her anxiety level to rise significantly.

Molly had become quite comfortable staying in Grimauld Place, the wealth on display was mesmerizing and why shouldn't she enjoy all the benefits the old house had to offer. There were silver and gold utensils, priceless works of art, opulent furnishings in every room, a house elf to boss around even if he was a tad mental.

Besides hadn't she done everything Dumbledore asked of her? She had taken in the Potter boy and treated him like a member of her family, even with the long enmity that House Prewitt and House Potter had for each other. Her forbearers would rollover in their graves if they knew she was even in the same room as a Potter and not try to kill him.

But it had all been a ruse planned by Dumbledore and herself. He would have a willing martyr for the Greater Good with Dumbledore taking the credit for the defeat of Voldemort; thus firmly entrenching himself further as the wizarding worlds greatest hero.

The political power and fame he would then wield would be greater than Merlin himself. For her part in this she would make sure that he remained in the camp of the light, that is to say in Dumbledore's pocket. They were to be his salvation from his despicable muggle relatives and thus willingly give his life to protect his surrogate family in the fight against the dark.

A continuous flow of love potion and a marriage contract to her daughter signed by Harry's magical guardian one Albus Dumbledore. And the Potter wealth would be hers and then House Prewitt will finally have its revenge and be victorious over there most hated rival.

The feud between the two houses had begun over two hundred years ago. Reginald Prewitt raped the only daughter of Lord Hadrian Ignatius Potter who was at the time betrothed to Uthar Parkinson the scion of the Parkinson family. The marriage was called off; a breach of contract was proclaimed by Lord Parkinson. He argued that the bride was no longer a virgin and according to the contract drawn up between both Lord Potter and Lord Parkinson, the bride must be a virgin before her wedding night.

Reginald Prewitt was brought before the Wizengamot and charged with rape of a member of a most Ancient and Noble House and of line theft in the case of the marriage contract between two Ancient and Noble Houses. House Prewitt was subsequently stripped of their seats and votes in the Wizengamot; these were then divided among the two offended houses.

House Prewitt was also fined 20 million galleons for said offenses paid to House Potter and for the loss of a marriageable daughter. House Prewitt was effectively destroyed; the once wealthy family was now almost destitute. The other Nobel families shunned them and would not do business with the family or anyone associated with the family.

Yes, Molly Weasley nee Prewitt would have the revenge her house had sought for two centuries and the Potter fortune will be hers, and if the fates continued in her favor, Sirius Black left the Black fortune to Harry as well, the combined fortune would make her family the wealthiest in wizarding society and then she would take her revenge on all those who mocked her family.

Okay, technically Ginny will inherit it all, but that was all academic, she was the matriarch of the Weasley family and Ginny would do as she was told. Molly once again looked around at the grandeur of Grimauld Place and silently smirked… "Mine".

Two bodies lay next to each other motionless on a raised stone altar in the circular ritual room. Divested of all clothing the bodies seemed to have an ethereal glow caused by the pale moonlight that flooded the chamber from up above.

The soft flicker of torch light cast enigmatic shadows all around the room giving an ambiance of sacredness and other worldliness to the scene. The air was warm with a hint of sweet incense floating on the gentle breeze. It seems as if the fates had predetermined that the night would be perfect for the core bonding ritual.

A cloaked third figure with their hood up stood at the head of the raised altar. Strands of long blonde hair fell out of the hood cascading down the front of the cloak. Narcissa Malfoy nee Black reached down and placed shaky hands on each head of the prone bodies.

She watched for a moment and took in the gentle rise and fall of her sister's chest as she breathed, shifting her eyes to the right she noticed the shallow and labored breathing of Harry. Sighing deeply she stilled worried about the decision her sister had made to go through with the ritual, but she had clearly seen the determination and the love in her little sisters eyes to save the young man she had grown to love.

Narcissa took one step back and drew her wand from the left sleeve of her cloak; she began the process of activating the first rune 'the bonding rune' this would tie Bella's magical core to Harry's. With this bonding rune activated in each body the subsequent runes on one body would work in tandem with their corresponding rune on the other's body . It would be a painful and exhausting process. The combined magical cores would purge Harry's body one bone at a time one organ at a time and reconstruct or repair the damage to his body.

In theory the magic worked by reinitializing the person DNA making the body think that it was in the developmental stages of growth once more. Once the regeneration process began the other runes that were drawn on the body would activate causing the bones, muscles, organs, etc. to grow at an accelerated rate, this is where most of the pain would come from, it would be like normal growing pains exponentially magnified with all the growth happening within minutes instead of years.

The stress on the body will be immense and will test the power and stability of the combined magical cores. Should the process be too much for either magical core it would result in the death of one or both of the people involved.

Narcissa waved her wand in slow sweeping patterns first over Harry and then over Bella, the incantation was rather simple it would activate the bonding rune and then the rest of the runic process was automatic and once begun could not be stopped.

Narcissa finally tapped her wand on Harry's abdomen where the bonding rune had been traced, the rune seemed to glow a faint green beneath the skin indicating that it had indeed been activated. Unbeknownst to Narcissa, Bella reached out with her right hand and gently intertwined her fingers with Harry's fingers on his left hand.

Narcissa touched Bella's abdomen with her wand and saw the faint green rune beneath the skin again signaling that the rune had activated. Green tendrils began to slowly stretch out from the bonding rune beneath the skin of Harry and Bella; the tendrils were finding their way to each rune that had been drawn on their bodies. It looked to Narcissa as if a green colored spider webs were criss-crossing their bodies.

Screams pierced through the quiet night air as both bodies arched high off the altar letting out a howl of pain that had Narcissa backing up rapidly from the altar and pressing herself against the cool stone wall.

Panic gripped her as she witnessed the tendrils of green coming out of what appeared to be every pore from Harry and Bella the tendrils would rise out of Harry and then in a low arc would travel in the air and then enter into Bella, and the same was happening in reverse the tendrils would leave Bella and then enter into Harry. The Tendrils seem to be connecting the two; soon the two looked as if they were in a cocoon together made up of the silk like tendrils.

The intense pain had caused Bella to dig her finger nails into Harry's hand cutting into the skin causing blood to surface. Harry's hand had done likewise and opened up small cuts on Bella's hand. Their blood began to mix as their clasped hands began to shake violently from the intense pain the bonding was causing.

Red silk like tendrils began to seep out of the various cuts on their hands, like a slithering snake the red ribbons began to inch their way up their clasped hands criss-crossing each other weaving around their arms and weaving down their legs forcing them closer together, the red tendrils continued up to their chest and drew them together chest to chest this continued until their bodies had completely been wrapped together facing each other.

A bright green and red aura began forming around the couple the colors were swirling around each other in wonderful patterns chasing and being chased. Soon the two competing colors began to crash into one another the resulting collision caused white and gold sparks to explode into existence within minutes the red and green colors had completely vanished and left in their stead a white and gold aura that was pulsating like a heart beat around the couple.

Narcissa looked on in horror, this was definitely not how it was suppose to happen this was nowhere in the writings on the ritual. This was unknown territory and Narcissa was frozen she did not know what to do or what had caused this. She could only wait till the ritual finished itself and then pray that she had not killed them both.

Harry opened his eyes and winced in pain, he was prostrate on the ground but now everything was white where before it had all been black. He picked himself off the floor searching for something or someone to tell him where he was now.

Was he dead? Did his core finally give out? 'Too many questions and no answers make Harry a very grumpy boy' he mused. Harry examined himself closely, starring at his hands and arms…"okay, I seem solid. But does that mean I'm alive still, or all dead."

As Harry was pondering his surrounding he began to sense something or maybe felt it. He looked up and like when he was in the darkness he saw what appeared to be a lone figure walking toward him.

"So… Sirius…I guess this is the other place then?" Harry said sweeping his eyes around. "A lot brighter than the other I must say but I think they need a decorator up here. A little splash of color would go a long way."

A soft giggle echoed in Harry's ears. Harry spun toward the figure who was slowing getting closer. 'Okay that was definitely not Sirius, but it does sound familiar. But where have I heard that voice before.' Harry thought.

The figure finally came into view after what seemed an eternity. The first thing Harry noticed was long luxurious wavy black hair, followed by deep warm violet eyes, eyes he would know anywhere.

"…Bella?" he whispered.

She grinned which brought his attention to her full pouty lips; he had dreamed about kissing them on many a restless night in his dorm room and had wondered if they were soft or firm and if her kiss would be slow and gentle or impassioned and wanting.

Harry's eyes shot open in embarrassment as he realized he had been staring at her for what seemed several long minutes to him but in reality only a few seconds had passed. Bella smiled warmly at him and then suddenly launched herself into his arms.

Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as she began cry into his shoulder. Harry's arms came around her narrow wastes and pulled her tightly to him. For what seemed like several minutes they just held each other, simply enjoying the comfort each received from the other.

The silence was broken when Bella whispered…"I've missed you Harry."

"I've missed you too Bella." The pair separated just enough that they could look into each other's eyes and held each other's gaze.

Finally Harry broke the silence and asked…" Bella…where are we? Are we both dead? Sirius told me that I wasn't quite dead yet and that I had a chance to return…but…this doesn't seem like…"

"No Harry, you're not dead and neither am I, but you are still in danger Harry, there is still a possibility that we…that you could still die that's why Cissy and I have done this."

"What have you done Bella?"

"Well, you have to understand that you were barely alive when I found you. The Dursleys had beaten you so badly that you would have died had it not been for your magical core. I couldn't risk taking you to St. Mungos after what I… well I was panicking Harry and I brought you to Black Manor."

"Bella your stalling what is it you have done?"

"Well…Cissy found a ritual from the Black family archives, which could heal you…I had to save you Harry! So I had Narcissa perform the ritual."

"There is something you're not telling me Bella…what is it?" Harry asked his frustration building.

Bella took a deep breath before continuing. "There was so much damage done to you Harry that anyone treatment or spell may have caused your core to fail and I would have lost yo…you could have died. We need to heal you all at once if you were going to survive."

Bella took another long breath and continued. "Harry, your core has weakened significantly just maintaining you in a kind of medical stasis, it cannot heal you like it normally should there was just too much damage. Your core needed help."

"And this ritual is going to help strengthen my core?"

"Yes and no. The ritual will link your magical core to that of another's. Your core will bond the other core to itself absorbing it and then using it to restore your body to its intended perfect state."

"That sounds…too easy. Now what aren't you telling me."

Bella gulped she was afraid that revealing everything would upset Harry. He would react poorly if he knew that she was risking her own life to save his. 'Sometimes he was just too damned noble for his own good.' She thought to herself. But she knew she had to tell him the truth. She had promised Harry sometime ago that she would always be honest with him.

So reluctantly she explained to him how the ritual worked and how dangerous it was to the other who had their core bound to his. She explained that the only other time this ritual had been performed the core 'donor' died as a result of his core being completely absorbed by the recipient. But she explained that the theory was sound and it could work as intended with someone with a core equal or greater than the recipient's core.

As expected Harry exploded when Bella informed him that it was her that had bound their core to his. He immediately demanded that she stop the ritual and leave him to his fate. He would not be party to her losing her life just to save his.

"Harry…the ritual can't be stopped once it has started. Even if I could stop it I wouldn't. You are more important to this world than I am. I would gladly sacrifice myself to see you live Harry." Bella looked into those deep pools of green and saw the pain and confusion within them.

"Bella…I..I uh. I couldn't live with myself if you died. I've finally realized that I.., I have feelings…I just couldn't and wouldn't want to live without you."

Lowering his head he softly whispered. "You Bella are the reason I want to live. I…I love you Bella…I…I'm in love with you." Harry slowly lifted his gaze and looked at the watery purple orbs that stared back at him.

"Oh Harry…" Belled sniffed, tears threatened to run down her cheeks as she gave him a watery grin."I love you too! I am very much in love with you."

Bella let out a body trembling giggle. She felt as if her heart had sprouted wings, their mutual declaration of love filled her soul with such happiness that she felt overcome by the sudden rush of emotions she was feeling.

Harry gathered her into his arms and slowly tentatively lowered his head towards hers hoping she would not reject his advances; Bella lifted her chin and parted her lips ever so slightly. Their lips tenderly met; there was just the briefest moment of awkwardness before their hesitation melted away and they deepened the kiss.

It was not a hard passionate kiss but a kiss so filled with emotion that time seemed to stand still for them just to let them revel in the moment.

It was their first kiss, a warmth spread through their bodies lost in the new sensations each were experiencing, neither were aware of the bright silver aura that sprung from their joined bodies. Images of Bella's life began to play in Harry's mind.

He saw scenes of her childhood he felt her excitement and her sadness it seemed her whole life was being played out for him. He witnessed her Hogwart's years and felt her thrill when she learned to create some new spell, he saw the dedication she put into everything she did and the natural talent she had for dueling and spell creation. He witnessed her cry of desperation and horror when her father had signed the marriage contracts giving her to Lestrange.

He witnessed the abuse and the forcing of mind altering potions down her throat by her new husband and his family. He witnessed the atrocities of the Death Eaters through her eyes and what she was forced to do.

Then he came to her most recent memories those of being placed in Azkaban, of seeing Sirius and how they helped each other. He saw and felt the devotion that Bella had for him as she watched over him, and how that devotion had grown into the love that he knew for certain that she felt for him.

He saw through her memories this very night, of her finding him a hair's breadth away from death, he witnessed her final act of vengeance on the Dursley's and surprisingly he felt no remorse. He witnessed the ritual preparation and Bella's comments to Narcissa. He saw and felt everything as if it happened to himself.

Bella wasn't sure how but somehow she was viewing Harry's life as if she were in a Pensieve, the clarity was startling but what was most intriguing was that she felt Harry's raw emotion.

She witnessed his first Christmas with James and Lilly, she heard Lilly begging Voldemort to spare Harry and then the flash of green and then the intense pain that flooded Harry's young senses. Her anger rose as she witnessed Harry's childhood at the Dursley's. The level of abuse and neglect was much more than Harry had ever led others to believe.

She felt Harry's excitement when Hagrid told him that he was a wizard and that his parents had been magical as well. She reveled in his amazement at his first look at Hogwarts. She witnessed all his adventures at the Wizarding School; she made a mental note to herself to deal with one Severus Snape and one Delores Umbridge the first chance she got.

She witnessed and felt the sadness and loneliness that Harry felt in his second year when everyone believed him to be the heir of Slytherin. She felt the betrayal he felt as the whole school turned against him in his fourth year; everyone believing he had cheated his way into the Triwizard Tournament, even his so called best friend had turned his back on him.

She felt his guilt as he blamed himself for Sirius death. There were so many traumatic and awful events in his young life that it amazed her that he was as kind and caring as he was. But amidst the bad memories were many good ones, his first broom ride, playing Quiditch, finding Sirius, and most recently the intense feelings of love and happiness when the memories centered on her.

She was overwhelmed with the strong emotions that were tied to her, every last doubt that she had about his feeling toward her were immediately washed away, she could literally feel the depth of his love for her.

Suddenly violet eyes met emerald and they stood there locked in each other's gaze. Harry was the first who broke the silence. "I…I think I just witnessed your life."

He looked at Bella with heartache but also with love and compassion. "I saw yours as well." She whispered.

Her eyes never left his, in a small and nervous voice she asked "Have your feelings for me changed after seeing all that I've been through and all that I've done?"

Harry looked at Bella and saw a vulnerability he had never seen before in her. She was afraid that he would reject her after seeing her life. He drew her firmly into his chest and wrapped his arms lovingly around her.

"No my love, if anything my feelings for you have grown stronger." He gently whispered in her ear. Bella released a breath she had not realized she had been holding and then melted into his embrace.

Narcissa was in panic mode, she stood by an helplessly watched as Bella and Harry were surrounded by a gold and white aura it was bright and flared out around them till the light filled the entire room.

The gold and white colors swirled around each other but were little by little fusing into one. Narcissa speculated that the colors swirling around the two were a representation of their magical cores and that the fusing of the two colors was actually the fusing of the two cores. The more the colors coalesced into one the more the cores became one.

This was concerning to Narcissa, she wondered if the two cores merged completely would there be any chance to separate them once the ritual was completed, and if they could not be separated which one of them would have their core ripped from them and die.

She was broken from her thoughts when she saw what appeared to be a third color emerging from the center of the aura coming directly from Harry and Bella like a fountain of sparks silver streaks were spreading out and mixing between the two other colors.

Like a heart beating, every beat shot silver threads like lightning bolts through the dome like aura field that surrounded the prone pair. The mesh of colors began to settle and a distinct opal coloration now surrounded the new couple.

As Narcissa looked closer at the pair she noticed what appeared to be a black mist being pulled out of Harry's forehead by one of the opal tendrils. The mist seemed to be fighting to stay but was finally overcome by the tendril of light and was wrenched out with an ear splitting scream that echoed in the circular room.

Another opal colored tendril was doing much the same over Bella's left arm where it and the mist surrounding her Dark Mark seemed to be locked in battle. The Dark Mark seemed to be literally pulled out of her arm like thread. Another echoing scream seemed to emanate from the now dissipating mist. And then there was silence.

Narcissa could only guess what this new turn of events could mean. But as she contemplated what was happening the aura field began to shrink and visibly lighten. She could now make out the bodies of Harry and Bella clearly and gawked to find them pressed together in what appeared to be a lover's embrace.

Neither appeared to be conscious but to her relief she could see that both were breathing normally. That was indeed a good sign. As the light around them finally dwindled she noticed that both their bodies still seemed to glow with that same opal color.

She also noticed that Bella looked much much younger. Her face was no longer thin and lined but full and youthful; her hair which had lost some of its luster due to her stay in Azkaban now shined like polished ebony, her skin looked like alabaster and flawless. Her body was firm and toned. Narcissa gawked in amazement at the change in her little sister.

Harry was also a surprise; he looked a little older and seemed to have had a growth spurt. If she was to guess she would put him at about 6'2", and about 185 pounds. She admired the physical changes in the boy-who-lived who now sported a lean and chiseled body.

"Oh my…mmm. Bella you are one lucky witch." She mused. Upon closer inspection she noticed that his infamous scar was now completely gone and only smooth skin remained. She hoped the two would awaken soon for she had a hundred questions to ask.

"Not that I'm complaining but how is all this happening? And I'm still not sure exactly where we are? Asked a befuddled Harry.

"Well our cores have been bound together, and to best of my knowledge or best guess is that my consciousness and/or magical essence has slipped into yours. So we are literally two minds locked in one."

"Okay…go on."

"Our cores are healing your body, well that's not quite right. Our combined cores are powering a chemical change in your body. It is telling your body to restart your physical development. In other words it thinks that you are restarting life and its tricking your body into re-growing your bones, organs, and even your magic might be affected that's why it takes another magical core to help stabilize your own."

"So what you're saying is that I'm being rebuilt from the inside out."

"In essence." She replied

"Ok…so how do we know when it is finished?"

"Once the ritual is finished, and if it was successful we both should wake up naturally. Our core should separate on their own, unless…"

"Unless what?"

"…unless your core over takes and absorbs mine or vice-versa. In that case the one who loses their core… will die."

Harry looked through the memories he had viewed of Bella's life. He found the memory of Narcissa informing Bella of the consequences should the ritual go bad. He looked at Bella and just held her tightly in his arms.

Whatever came good or bad Harry wanted to have as much time with Bella as he could. Bella sensing his emotions held him just as tightly and whispered, "no matter what happens Harry, I will always be with you right here." She placed her hand on his heart.

"And you will always be here." With her free hand she grabbed Harry's and placed it on her chest above her own heart. Harry gave a watery smile and just nodded not trusting his voice to be able to speak.

A sullen Minerva McGonagall stepped out of the kitchen fireplace at number 12 and took in her surroundings, it appeared that most of the order had arrived and were now waiting for Dumbledore to grace everyone with his presence.

McGonagall had just received word back from Arabella Figg that the muggle fire investigators had found some skeletal remains after sifting through the remains of the Dursley home. Most of what remained was tiny bone fragments not much bigger than a sickle, but enough was found to believe that there were multiple victims in the house.

McGonagall was heartbroken not for the loss of the Savior of the Wizarding World but at the loss of a special student for whom she cared for. She could not help but blame herself, if she could have only convinced Albus all those years ago to place Harry with someone else, then maybe he would still be alive.

She had even considered adopting him herself but Albus would not hear of it, spouting nonsense about bloodwards and familial protection. 'It was his bloody relatives that he needed protection from!' she quietly hissed. Harry needed a place where he was loved; a place he could call home, and to her knowledge Harry had never called that place home.

Minerva also was fuming as she read the 'Harry Journal' that Ms. Figg had given her. It detailed incident after incident of the verbal, emotional and physical abuse that Harry had endured through the years.

The Dursley had made sure that Harry received no sympathy from the neighbors; they had spread vicious lies about the boy, telling everyone who would listen to them that he was a thief and a liar. Their story was cemented into the collective mind of the neighborhood when the Dursleys mentioned that Harry attended St. Brutus' School for Incurable Criminal Boys.

But what topped it all for the Transfiguration professor was that Albus feckin Dumbledore was made aware of it all and did nothing! He allowed this to go on and therefore in her mind was just as to blame as if he abused Harry himself.

"Minerva, what is going on? Why in the blazes would Albus call a meeting this late in the evening? Surely whatever it is it could wait till morning." Asked a bleary eyed Emmeline Vance." "Hear hear" shouted someone else at the long table.

"Now I'm sure the headmaster had his reasons." Commented Remus Lupin from a darkened corner of the kitchen.

"Has there been an attack somewhere Minerva?" The questions then began to come from all angles and at faster rates. Minerva held up both hands in an attempt to take control of the maddeningly inquisitive group of order members.

Finally losing her temper she pulled out her wand from the sleeve of her robe and with a quick twirl a loud bang erupted from her wand immediately quieting the crowd. All eyes in the room fixed on the stern looking witch giving her their undivided attention.

"Now that I have your attention; there was indeed an attack this evening." Everyone seemed to notice the haunted look in her face, and they realized that whatever had happened must have been truly terrible to cause the unflappable McGonagall to have such a defeated look.

"What has happened professor?" Asked the uncharacteristically solemn voice of Nymphadora Tonks.

"The home was destroyed…everyone inside… burned alive." Minerva replied with a cry in her voice.

"Who's home Minnie?" Asked an anxious 'Mad Eye' Moody.

"Harry's" spoke the new arrival. Everyone turned to see that Albus Dumbledore had entered the kitchen. There were audible gasps and mixed looks of disbelief and shock at the distressing news.

"Are you sure Harry was in the house?" Remus asked hopefully.

"Alas, I do not know for certain but he was seen by a witness entering into the house an hour prior to the house being consumed by the fire."

"So there might be a chance that he escaped?" asked the redheaded Weasley matriarch.

"The possibility is slim I'm afraid. The house was struck by fiendfyre and would have been engulfed in flames within seconds." Albus stated flatly.

McGonagall glared daggers at the aging headmaster and stated "there is more news Albus. Human remains of multiple people were found in the ashes of the house. The remains were nothing more than small charred bone fragments it is impossible to identify the remains by muggle or magical means."

The kitchen at number 12 Grimauld Place had become a scene of confusion and mourning as each person tried to put the proper emotions into perspective. Tonks took the news especially hard, she had grown fond of Harry and had planned to visit him often during the summer.

She wanted him to at least have a little fun during the summer holidays. She knew that he felt like a prisoner at the Dursley's and she had promised herself to help him escape the boredom by sneaking him off to a movie or an amusement park every now and then. Now none of that would happen and she felt a loss that she couldn't quite explain.

"So do we know who the attackers were?" Moody asked the leader of the light.

"It is unclear Alastar, but whoever it was they were a very powerful witch or wizard. The concentration and power required to control fiendfyre to destroy a specific target is incredible. There are only a few I know of who have the power required to do such a thing, and most of those would like to see the boy dead.

I do have Severus gathering what information he can from Voldemort's camp. The lack of the Dark Mark above the house could mean that deatheaters were not the perpetrators but we cannot rule them out."

"Albus, who was on guard duty tonight, and why did they not report to the order as soon as they saw signs of trouble?" Asked Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Dumbledore fell back into his chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose pushing up the half-moon spectacles he wore. "Mundungus was on duty tonight. Before you ask there was no sign of him either. I have made repeated attempts to contact him and have failed in status is unknown."

"More like he's pissed and passed out at some pub or another." Grumbled the pink haired auror.

"Whatever the case, we will continue to look for him and for Harry until we have solid proof either way."

"So…what do we do now Albus?" Asked Arthur Weasley.

"We continue as we have been Arthur. Our goals are still the same."

"You know Albus that this will be a huge blow to the morale of the wizarding world, many saw Harry as the Paladin against the dark. We may lose the support of those who were willing to fight with us."

"He was just a boy Arthur!" shouted Dumbledore momentarily losing control 'I am the greatest wizard that ever lived I could crush the boy and not break a sweat' the old wizard thought to himself.

Quickly reasserting control over his emotions and realizing is gaffe Dumbledore tried to smooth over the obvious loss of control in front of his inferiors.

"I apologize for that unfortunate outburst. It has been along and trying night. What I meant to say is that although Harry was important to the cause he was just one thread in the tapestry of the greater good. We will find away to garner the support we need with or without him."

There were a few polite nods of ascension but most felt that things were about to get much worse. The meeting continued as new assignments were given out. Dinner was provided to the group by Molly. The meal was eaten in complete silence has everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Dumbledore was heading for the door when he was intercepted by Molly Weasley.

"Albus?"

"Yes Molly, what can I do for you?"

"Well…I was wondering about…well you know the marriage contract we had drawn up for Ginny and Potter…well is it possible to…well seeing as how they were for all intents and purposes engaged…"

"Ah, I see. You are wondering whether or not if Ginny is entitled to the Potter fortune."

"Well yes. It seems to me that they were practically husband and wife so I should be entitled to it…I mean Ginny should be entitled to it. It only makes sense." She stated with a nervous smile.

"I will look into for you Molly. If it is possible I will let you know. But the laws surrounding Ancient and Noble Houses are very clear and strict about inheritance rights. But as I have said I will look into it for you."

"Thank you Albus. I mean it's only right that we get something."

Albus Dumbledore smiled knowingly at the redheaded woman and once again made for the door. There was much to do and plans to be re-shaped. Minerva saw the old man about to leave and called out to him.

"Albus, I need a word with you." McGonagall growled out. Dumbledore had seen the glares that his deputy headmistress was giving him all night. He knew that the conversation would not be a pleasant one and did not want to deal with the hot blooded Scotswoman tonight.

"I'm sorry Professor McGonagall but I have pressing matter at the moment." Dumbledored called out without turning around. He quickly exited the front door to the outside and closed it quickly.

McGonagall made a dash for the door determined to speak her mind to the pompous windbag and confront him about Harry. She through the door opened and heard the audible crack of dissaparation.

A fuming McGonagall stood on the steps outside number 12…"this is not over Albus!"

A/N: Thanks for reading! The memory sharing scene in this chapter was inspired by a similar scene in the movie 'The Dark Crystal'. Harry and Bella have finally declared their love for one another! A showdown between McGonagall and Dumbledore is coming. "Look out Dumbles an angry transfiguration mistress is about to open up a can of whoop arse. We also saw where Molly's motivations stem from, and not all is well in the Order of the Phoenix.

Please read and review! Have a Great St. Patrick's Day and see ya next week!