Dance of the Fairies, Flight of the Phoenix

by Fergus Flamacron

Six years after the attack by Acnologia, a catastrophic event leads the entire island of Tenroujima and everyone on it to be flung headfirst into another world. A world with different people, different magic and different threats. What happens when Dragon Slayers meet with the Boy Who Lived? Pairings mostly, but not entirely, the same as canon. DISCONTINUED

45. Intersection of Leaders

Okay, I feel I have to say this now - can everybody please stop asking me to put Zeref in this story? I appreciate that he's a very popular character and I appreciate that everyone wants to see him, but I have a plan for how I want this story to go and the course its going to take. Is Zeref going to be a part of that plan? Maybe, maybe not - you'll have to wait and see.

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Dance of the Fairies, Flight of the Phoenix

Chapter 45:- Intersection of Leaders

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Laxus was not quite as prone to motion sickness as Natsu was. He, for instance, didn't get motion sick when just thinking about riding on transportation or watching it happen to someone else. But he was still practically immobilised by it when it was actually happening to him - something he tried very hard to keep hidden from everyone but his trusted Raijinshuu.

Now though, sitting aboard a ship with land nowhere to be seen in any direction, there was little he could do but try to endure it. Which ended up with him sitting against the side and groaning as he tried not to throw up all over himself.

"This is a crippling blow to our dignity," Freed was wiping his eyes melodramatically. "Will we ever be able to look these men in eye?"

"You know, you can be a real drama queen sometimes, Freed," Bickslow muttered, the sallet back in place over his eyes as he brushed off one of his wooden totem dolls. As soon as he'd made sure Laxus was alright he'd checked around for his favourite 'babies' and discovered to his relief that they were scattered amongst the fish, having made the journey with him to wherever they were now. They were a bit scuffed, and granted if they weren't here then Bickslow could have easily taken control of the next five dolls he came across but these five little totems, ugly as they were, he considered to be his signature dolls. "Any insight into what the heck happened, Master?"

"Hmmm," Makarov had his chin cupped in one hand, having just been told how they'd been dragged up from the bottom of the ocean by the fishermen. "This… golden orb that you describe. It sounds like an exact description of a Fairy Sphere."

"One of the three Great Fairy Magics?" Freed glanced around. "Like Fairy Law and Fairy Glitter?"

"The very same, except this one is designed to provide ultimate protection from anything… including time itself. Anyone shielded by a Fairy Sphere is held in suspended animation until it wears off, and the larger the sphere the more time it takes for that to happen. To us, it seems like Acnologia's attack came only a mere few minutes ago but it may have been much longer than that in reality."

"So what happened to all the others then?" Freed asked desperately. "Ever should be here with us - I was holding her hand in that circle and then suddenly she's just… not here. And all the rest of them gone too."

"Is it possible that they could have been sheltered in their own Fairy Spheres?" Bickslow queried.

"I don't know," Makarov murmured, his eyes closing and his teeth gritting slightly. A desperate ache filled his heart - the thought that the rest of the brats he'd fought to protect and who had in turn fought to protect him from that winged menace might have been vaporised by his breath attack while they remained safe… it was unbearable to think about. "I have no real idea how the Fairy Sphere came into existence in the first place. You didn't cast it, did you, Freed?"

"I did not," Freed shook his head. "I could feel everyone's magic power surging as we stood together in that circle while I tried hard to think up a defensive spell we could use. But I was unable to cast one before we saw Acnologia's roar descend. Perhaps Levy was the one to cast it? The both of us were there trying to defend everyone."

"I very much doubt this was Levy's doing," Makarov sighed. "Clever as she is, she still doesn't know the spell as far as I know. Even I don't know it - Fairy Law was the only one of the Three Great Spells I ever learned. When I was younger… brasher… I believed that was the only one of the three I would ever require. But all we can do is pray that the others made it into their own Fairy Spheres as well."

He clenched his fist, just as Freed and Bickslow both pursed their lips at the same time. And from his position at the side of the boat, Laxus looked up and, despite gurgling lightly and queasily, he managed to say:-

"Thought you had greater confidence in your guild than that, old man."

"What?" Makarov looked round at him, his expression stern - an unnecessary reminder that Laxus was no longer a member of his guild, though Laxus did notice that his gaze was slightly softer than it had been before the dragon flew into their lives. The Lightning Dragon Slayer vividly pictured that moment again where he'd offered his hand to his grandfather, estranged though they had become due to his own actions, and Makarov had taken it with tears in his eyes.

"You said we'd all go home together," Laxus croaked, cradling his stomach even as he gasped for breath. "Natsu said that we wouldn't let it end there. Lucy said she refused to give up. Gray said we'd show that dragon the power of the guild's bond. Have you ever known your guild… your brats… yourself… to renege on vows like that? Because I haven't. They're alive, old man - somewhere. You just have to figure out where that is."

Makarov stared at Laxus without comment - locking eyes with his faintly smirking grandson but his expression unchanging. Freed and Bickslow were both now unabashedly grinning, insanely proud of Laxus' words at that moment, but they said nothing either. They wanted to wait for Makarov to respond first.

Eventually Makarov was the one to break eye contact by closing his eyes and smiling lightly. "Perhaps… we don't need to pray," he said slowly. "You three are alive… I am alive… the rest of them must surely be alive to."

Laxus snorted - that was clearly his grandfather's way of acknowledging Laxus was right without actually saying it outright, jeez the old man could be so stubborn sometimes. But as another swell hit the boat and forced Laxus to clamp down on his upset stomach Makarov got to his feet and looked to the captain of the boat. "You caught us in that net - can you not lower it back into the water now? If our friends… my children… are down there somewhere as well then we need to find them."

"You surely can't expect us to believe all this stuff you're saying, can you?" spluttered the captain. "All this about dragons and magic and spells… those things aren't real. Fairy tales for the kids."

"We must really be a long way from home if we're meeting people who don't even believe in magic," Freed muttered. "Practically on another continent perhaps."

"I thought that all the continents in our world had magic," Bickslow frowned, but the guild master wasn't too concerned with that at the moment.

"How apt that you said Fairy Tale just then," Makarov stated calmly. "But I don't need you to believe all that. I just need you to believe that just as we apparently came out of a golden glowing Sphere there may be others down there in similar ones. People we need to find. And if you won't help us, we may have no other choice than to take this ship by force and search ourselves."

"…Are you threatening us?" the captain asked incredulously.

"Absolutely not. We would not harm you, but we must act. Our family may need us… and there is nothing that we won't do to come to the aid of our family."

"But just to prove our point," Bickslow added as he tossed the doll up into the air. It tumbled down towards the deck before suddenly veering upwards of its own accord, righting itself to hover in the air above Makarov's head. The other four dolls rose off the ground as well and the five of them together began to circle the captain to his awe, as well as the awe of the rest of the crew.

"How… how are you doing that?" he whispered in astonishment.

"Uh, magic. Duh," Bickslow stuck out his tongue with a wide grin, putting his black guild mark on proud display. "That's what we were just saying after all."

"I'll do a search from the air," Freed said as he drew his sword and stepped towards the edge of the boat. "With any luck I may be able to spot something glowing beneath the surface if its not too far down. Yami no Écriture: Tsubasa!"

The crew collectively gasped in astonishment as ghostly purple wings extended from Freed's back, each wing made of four long feather like shapes that weren't actually touching one another. They didn't even look like they were attached to his body, and yet when he leapt off the edge of the vessel he soared upwards into the sky, smiling lightly to himself as he imagined what their faces must look like even as he began to scour the ocean for any sign of another Fairy Sphere.

"I take it that you need no further proof of the validity of what we said?" Makarov asked as he folded his arms sternly. "So… are you going to help us find our friends or not?"

"…Someone get the net back in the water!"

"I'm very pleased to hear you say that," Makarov smiled.

"Uurk!" Laxus gasped as the ship was steered round to port in pursuit of Freed. "Uuugh… the smell of fish… really isn't helping right now."

"Maybe we should take a couple as a souvenir for Happy if we find him," Bickslow snickered.

"We'll find him," Makarov promised, striding to the prow of the ship and looking out across the ocean. "We'll find them all… and we will go home together. That is my vow."

---

Three days had passed already since Morgana had appeared back in the mortal world and taken Voldemort and his followers to the Isle of the Blessed, and a part of Voldemort was still enthralled even now. The towers and courtyards and hearths crammed into the small island might have been old, might have been charred and holed and in complete ruin, but Voldemort could practically smell the ancient history dripping from this place. History that predated the founders of Hogwarts themselves. History that predated the reign of Arthur and Merlin - magic had been here in force.

It was too bad that they weren't going to be able to stay here for now, but when they ruled Voldemort was going to ensure that this island was properly restored to its former glory. It would make a fine seat for the Minister of Magic should he ever decide to take up the position. And he'd make it so that the only way to get to it would be to cross by a small ferry just like the olden days, so that people had a chance to feel reverence on approaching as they must have done back then.

Still, the reason why they couldn't stay had left him dumbfounded for quite some time. According to Morgana, the legendary Merlin was still alive and was still walking the fields and hills of the land he'd grown up in all this time. Voldemort could scarcely believe it - and quite frankly if anyone but Morgana had told him this he would have laughed them out of the room… or possibly killed them for wasting his time. But he believed Morgana.

Though things still didn't add up in his mind even now. If it was true and Merlin really was still alive… why had he never shown himself? Why had the most powerful wizard ever spent all his time in hiding? From what he understood, Merlin was supposed to be something of a righteous fool much like Dumbledore, believing in the good in people and looking upon Muggles as kin. Why had he not shown up when the Statute of Secrecy was signed to protest against it? Why hadn't he helped his fellow sorcerers during the witch hunts that lasted through the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries and put an end to the torture? And why had he sat back and done nothing during the rise of Gellert Grindelwald or Voldemort himself during his first reign? He'd just let the two most powerful Dark Wizards of all time rise and done nothing when he could have potentially put a stop to it.

He'd asked Morgana as much, but she'd just waved the question away. "Merlin always believed that his destiny revolved around helping Arthur to establish a great kingdom. After Arthur died and he locked me in my eternal prison he withdrew from the world. I believe he thinks that he has no place in it now that Arthur is no longer the King. But I certainly don't expect him to stay quiet for much longer now that I have returned and so we must be ready for when he does decide to show himself."

Voldemort had to admit, a part of him was eager to meet Merlin. And maybe test his strength against Merlin to see how he compared. His goal, besides attaining immortality, was to become the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Everyone had long thought that the contest fell between him and Dumbledore but now Voldemort appeared to have a new target. Merlin was now the one to beat.

As he meandered now across the Isle of the Blessed, he made his way back towards the airship docked on its eastern shore. It was looking far more impressive now. Indeed, it looked almost the same as it had done before the battle against Fairy Tail according to Rustyrose. He and Morgana had been working together to magically fix the holes in the vessels and even entirely recreate the top half. There were now only a few adjustments that needed to be made and they would be able to get underway.

Though Morgana refused to tell any of them where they were going. Whenever asked, she just smiled and said, "Can't a girl have a surprise or two in store these days?"

Voldemort found Morgana standing at the fore of the airship, muttering to herself words that Voldemort couldn't even begin to recognise as she traced her hands across the hull. "What are you doing, my Lady?" he asked.

"I am casting a spell over the ship that will screen it from radar," Morgana replied. "There's no point in having this airship to stay a step ahead of everybody else if it can be easily traced after all."

"Radar?" Voldemort frowned. "What is… radar?"

Morgana rolled her eyes. "Why does it not surprise me that you don't know that? The Wizarding World these days… it's so full of contradictions. You believe yourselves superior to Muggles and rightly so, but you don't know a thing about them. How exactly do you expect to rise to a position of power over them if you don't even know what they can do?"

"You think we need to understand them?" Voldemort scoffed. "I lived among Muggles once and they're nothing short of primitive oafs who don't know a thing about the world. We don't need to understand them - we only need to make sure that they fear us and they'll fall at our feet!"

"Will they now?" Morgana raised a brow. "You're a fool if you really believe that, Riddle. You all are. Muggles are far more capable than you or any of your followers give them credit for."

"You sound as if you admire them."

"That's because I do."

"…I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me," Morgana smirked at him. "You call Muggles primitive, but I believe it is the witches and wizards of today who are the primitive ones. Back when I first roamed the world, Muggles were indeed truly ignorant and primitive, but then again we all were. Even Merlin and I had no idea just how vast the world was back then. But after the fall of Camelot and as the ages passed I have been watching everything, both magical and non-magical, change over the years. And in terms of advancement, the magical can't compete in the slightest with Muggles."

"What do you mean?" Voldemort whispered, and there were several Death Eaters standing around listening to this conversation who seemed equally incredulous.

"Muggle technology has grown in leaps and bounds," Morgana explained. "They've learned how to fly, they've created instant methods of communication, they've created fast methods of transportation, they've learned great amounts about health and sanitation, they're learning new things all the time with their science and they've emulated a great many other things that we have always been able to do with magic. And perhaps the most important things to understand about their advancement from the perspective of a conqueror is their military strength. They've gone from using swords and arrows to creating cannons, high powered guns, missiles and bombs. Objects of great destruction that might give ignorant wizards quite a bit of a shock if they were to go to war with them.

"By contrast this world's magic has become… well, to be frank it's pathetic by comparison," Morgana scoffed, nodding towards Voldemort's wand derisively. "The Old Religion has become incredibly diluted, so much so that you all rely on those things like lifelines. Oh, wands existed back in my day too but they weren't considered necessary. Almost nobody used them - all capable sorcerers could do magic with nothing but their minds and their bare hands. But if I took those wands away from all of you now and destroyed them, you wouldn't know what to do, would you? Granted you, Voldemort, might well be able to fight still but your power would be severely decreased, wouldn't it? And your followers would be totally defenceless."

"That… is true…" Voldemort said slowly, grinding his teeth under Morgana's rather painful criticism but unable to deny the truth of her words. "But… we don't use the Old Religion."

"Oh yes, you do. Magic may have changed a lot over the years but magic is still magic. I may know older and more powerful spells than you, but your power stems from the same power that I wield."

"It does?"

"Tell me, Voldemort, what's inside a wand?"

"It's core. Which normally consists of phoenix feathers, unicorn hairs or dragon heartstrings."

"Exactly. Phoenixes, unicorns and dragons are all creatures of the Old Religion - all creatures of pure magic. And when you chant a spell, you push a little of your own power into the wand and the core acts as an amplifier, channelling the Old Religion to produce the desired spell. The only reason a wand is made of wood is because its much easier to swing a piece of wood around then swish a feather or a piece of hair at an opponent. But it's the Old Religion at work nonetheless. That's why the wand usually has to choose the wizard or witch - it's the Old Religion selecting which piece of it has the strongest connection with them. And that's why only those born with magic are capable of using it nowadays too."

"…What?" Voldemort's eyes widened further still. "Are you saying…?"

"That Muggles could use magic back in my day?" Morgana asked sweetly. "Well, no… but that's because back in my day there was no such thing as Muggles. Yes, there were those born with magical abilities and those without, but those born without magic could still learn how to do it. Magic flows through everyone, my dear Voldemort. It's part of the essence of the world. Certainly it was always naturally stronger in those born with the ability but even people born without a shred of magical power could still become great sorcerers.

"But nowadays, magic power has become so weakened that even those born with it need objects with body parts of ancient magical creatures to use the power properly. People born without it have no hope and now they've been given the name Muggles because of it. And without the ability to learn magic, Muggles had to look for other ways to solve their basic life problems, while those with magic remained mired where they were, getting generally weaker and weaker all the time. That's why if you ever went to war against the Muggles, you might find they put up much more of a fight against you than you might expect. In fact, they might even be able to win."

"No!" Voldemort hissed.

"Yes," Morgana said simply. "Everyone here is just as prone to being destroyed by a missile strike as Muggles themselves if we didn't see it coming. That's why we need to know about them, so that we can rule over them effectively. So that they can't surprise us with their constantly developing new tricks. Like radar, which allows them to send out pulses of sound and determine where objects are by detecting the echoes that bounce back to them. They could easily detect this ship if we flew over the wrong area unless we use our magic to counter it."

"And yet Muggles are completely ignorant of magic…"

"Because your Ministry goes to great lengths to hide it. By contrast, wizards and witches the world over barely even try to understand Muggles."

Voldemort was now silently seething. Morgana was practically challenging his entire belief system, the one he shared with every one of his loyal followers. Practically the only belief that he and Morgana seemed to share was that the magical should reign over those without magic. But then again he had not asked her opinion on blood purity yet, though if what she said about the Old Religion was true and even Muggles could learn magic back in her time then he suspected she didn't hold the same appreciation for Wizard-born blood as himself.

Not only that but he was effectively being called weak, even though Morgana had referred to him as strong only a few days ago.

"Oh don't look so grim, Voldemort," Morgana laughed lightly. "This is not a personal insult against you. You are simply a victim of changing times. Weakened magic, modern virtues… it's hardly your fault that you've grown up with either of them. And besides… things are soon going to change."

"Change? In what manner?"

"I can feel it," Morgana closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, purring at the smell of the fresh salty air washing in from across the bay. "The Old Religion's strength has waned over the years but now… it is beginning to wax. To grow in strength… raising its head after so long practically dormant. It senses that things are changing and its slowly… but surely… making its return."

"You speak as though it is alive."

"In a sense, it is. Magic runs through all of us after all and it evolves with the times. It's not just a tool for us to use - it practically has a will of its own. And it still manifests itself now and again, such as when young children who have not yet been given wands manage to unleash magic accidentally during times of emotional upheaval - that is the Old Religion answering their call. Wizards in Africa and America are still able to harness it to a limited degree when they use wandless magic. And the reappearance of the Crystal Cave, the birthplace of magic, will be a major catalyst for it's return. And you, Voldemort, you already have some control over it," she smiled. "After all, you were able to subtly use magic as few could before you even knew the Wizarding World existed. What do you think that means?"

"You're saying now that I'll be able to learn this power?" Voldemort's former rage quickly shifted into excitement. Such as he had not felt since Harry Potter had arrived in the graveyard ready for him to be reborn. "That I will be able to harness the Old Religion properly?"

"That is indeed what I am saying. But not just you. If the Old Religion is brought back properly, as it was fifteen-hundred years ago, all your followers will be able to start using it. But you have a natural talent for magic, Voldemort. You will be far stronger than most. And when the time comes… I shall teach you the spells you will need to unleash your full potential."

"It will be my absolute honour," Voldemort grinned savagely. "Just imagine… the terror we could unleash with the Old Religion at both our beck and call."

"It will not be easy to learn," Morgana warned. "But I think it will come to you much more naturally than others. And your wand will continue to act as an amplifier for your strength but eventually you may find that you don't even need it anymore. Then the issue of the twin cores between yours and Harry Potter's wands will mean nothing."

Some of the other Death Eaters listening in were looking excited now, but before any further questions could be made of the ancient sorceress there was a loud clunking sound from atop the Grimoire Heart airship. Morgana and Voldemort looked up to see Rustyrose up on the renewed glass ceiling of the throne room, his hands raised and two long projections like bat wings now sweeping out the back of the airship.

The repairs were now complete.

"Woo-wee…" Kain Hikaru remarked as he plodded over with what appeared to be tears in his eyes, dabbing at his forehead with a cloth. "It looks as good as new. As if everything that happened in the fight against Fairy Tail never took place at all. It's good to have our home back in one piece."

"It is home to all of us now," Morgana smiled. "And I say that we make use of it instantly. If everyone would care to get on board and we can make our way to our first destination."

"And where would that be exactly?" Bluenote asked gruffly.

"You will see when we arrive, but it will not take us too long to get there," Morgana said, reaching into a pocket of her long black dress and running a finger over the large silver coin that Bellatrix had acquired for her from the museum a couple of days ago. The Muggles had barely noticed it was missing, but she had big plans for it.

A few minutes later and a large magic circle ignited into existence beneath the airship, raising it vertically up off the ground like it was sitting in a giant elevator, the entire structure slowly twisting around under Morgana's direction. She'd commandeered the rebuilt throne where Hades had once sat for herself and nobody objected to it, although Bluenote gave her a rather nasty look when she sat down upon it. But under her guidance he lifted the airship into the clouds and until it was pointing in a northerly direction, whereupon Morgana raised her hand.

"That's it," she chuckled. "Full steam ahead, my friend."

And with a pulse from the engines at the back, the airship swept across the sky at a leisurely, but high speed.

"At last," Morgana smirked triumphantly. "We're underway."

---

Lucy leaned back in her chair, inhaling deeply in a bid to calm her nerves. She was sitting outside a Muggle restaurant in the middle of London pretending to pore over a menu, only a couple of streets away from one of the main entrances to the Ministry of Magic. Ever since her previous break-in to rescue Sirius the security had tightened even further - all Floo Networks into the Ministry had been deactivated but for a few trusted employees, and now most people had to go through a thorough screening process before they were allowed inside - guards with Probity Probes thoroughly screening everyone as they went in.

But fortunately Lucy wasn't going to be the one going in.

"You ready for this?" Mad-Eye Moody asked her, sitting across the street from her with his hat pulled down awkwardly over his magical eye. Even though Lucy knew he was a friend, there was still something about that eye that really creeped her out… maybe because she figured he could be looking right through her outfit right now and seeing her naked if he wanted to… given the things that had happened to her in the past she wouldn't be at all surprised if he was.

"Yeah, I think so," she nodded. "It's not me that's going into the lion's den, is it?"

"You told me your Spirits can't be killed and imprisoning them would be next to impossible. What's there to be nervous about?"

"I know they'll be fine but… they can still be hurt. I don't like sending them places where I can't watch their backs… but I know I'm going to have to this time."

"I see. Well for the record, I think that's kinda admirable."

"You do?" Lucy looked up in surprise. "I'd have thought you'd just tell me to get on with it and send them in."

"I'm all for getting the job done," Moody growled. "But the fact you still worry about your Spirits even though you know there's nothing in there that permanently hurt them just shows how much you care. And just because I'm not one for sentimentality myself doesn't mean I don't get it. It shows me that we were right about you being good people, and lets me know we can count on you when things are going to get tough."

Lucy smiled warmly. "Thanks, Alastor. That's a really nice thing to say."

"Not many people use my real name," Moody grunted.

"Well, we're friends right? So why not?"

Moody raised a brow. "You lot are so quick to make friends… I'd almost call it naive, but at least its refreshing. I suppose I'd much rather have you by my side in a fight than that nitwit Mundungus Fletcher. You know we've been keeping quite a close eye on him ever since you lot showed up. Just to make sure he doesn't try and jump on the Ministry's offer of an award for any information about you."

"Well then I guess we'll have to try and get the Ministry off our backs as quickly as possible," Lucy nodded as she got to her feet. "I'll be right back."

She headed into the back of the restaurant and made a beeline for one of the restrooms. She was wearing fingerless gloves over her hands to hide her Fairy Tail mark lest there happened to be a witch or wizard nearby who saw her. Lucy was one of the few members of the guild that had never been seen by anyone who was not now on Fairy Tail's side - the Order, the DA and the Aurors being the only one to come face to face with her, which is what allows her to continue to blend in easily with the crowd. Natsu had wanted to come on this mission with her, but as Mad-Eye pointed out a lot of witches and wizards now knew his face and it was unlikely this was going to end up with Lucy in danger anyway.

But Lucy still had to be careful. She checked nobody was looking as she reached the restrooms and lifted up one of her golden keys. "Open," she whispered. "Gate of the Twins. Gemini!"

"Piri piri," the blue midgets that suddenly appeared in mid-air next to her commented before swishing into the empty male restroom wordlessly. Lucy closed the door behind them before entering the women's restroom and locking the door. Moments later and Rufus Scrimgeour suddenly walked out of the men's restroom, his eyes momentarily nothing but black circles before they moulded into the correct shape. Scrimgeour had come to the Hog's Head that morning to allow his shape to be copied by the twins in preparation for the mission.

Gemini-Scrimgeour nodded silently to Moody as they passed, while Lucy allowed a little time to lapse in the bathroom before she returned to her spot at the table, watching Gemini go. She wished she had some method of keeping in touch with Gemini to find out what was happening, but neither she nor Scrimgeour had any telepathic ability so she was going to have to wait patiently as she could manage for some sign that the mission was over.

Gemini strode straight up to the entrance, which had been disguised as a small bank that no Muggle ever made a deposit in and if any Muggle noticed the bank they magically forgot it existed two minutes later. Gemini joined the queue to get in and nodded to one of the officers on duty as they reached the front of the line.

"Alright, Scrimgeour," grinned the guard. "Frigging nightmare this, all this extra security, isn't it?"

"But necessary," Gemini grunted in a perfect impersonation of Scrimgeour, handing over an exact replica of his wand for analysis. "We can't afford to take any chances. Not anymore."

"Quite right, quite right," nodded the guard, examining the wand before handing it straight back. "That looks in order to me but if you'll step into the zone please."

"I hate this part," Gemini muttered as they stepped into the back and entered a spherical cubicle, like the kind that scans people for metal items at airports. A goblin was standing on the other side of it and as Gemini took up position in the middle it pulled a lever. Instantly Gemini was doused in water which fell from the ceiling and splashed down all over their head to pool at their feet. But this was no ordinary water - this was the Thief's Downfall, water that the goblins had specially enchanted to wash away any concealments or enchantments upon the person doused in it. It was one of the many defences they had at Gringott's Bank, but considering the Goblins were still enraged at the break-in which had led to all their dragon and sphinx guards being freed, in this case they were happy to help the Ministry with their screening process to try and catch Fairy Tail.

If anyone tried to get in with concealment charms, Polyjuice Potions or anything like that, they would be instantly undone at this point.

And indeed, Gemini's magic did become undone but only for a split second. As the water poured over them, momentarily screening them from view they were able to reform back into Scrimgeour just as the water cleared, bent down on one knee and spluttering. But they were not sent back to the Spirit World because it was still Lucy's magic holding their gate open, and Lucy was still safely back at the restaurant.

"Sorry," they coughed. "Some of that… went down the wrong way. Ugh, I really wish we didn't have to do that."

"But you said yourself, its necessary," the guard nodded. "But you're all clear. You can proceed, sir."

"Thanks Oswald," Gemini nodded, able to pick out the man's name from Scrimgeour's memories before striding into the Ministry.

From there, they made a beeline straight for the Minister of Magic's office, weaving in and out of the crowd and pushing past the security trolls and other measures set in place. Since they could only hold the transformation for five minutes they occasionally ducked into an alcove to turn their transformation off and back on again, like they were rebooting a computer, before they hurried on towards their destination.

There were two guards outside the Minister's Office now at all times, even when the Minister himself was not actually in there. Gemini strode over to the two standing there now and said, "I need to speak with the Minister. Allow me inside please."

Once again their wand was examined but then they were allowed into the office. Fudge was sitting at his desk and looked up tiredly when Gemini stepped through the door.

"Ah, Scrimgeour," he sighed. "Please tell me its good news that brings you to see me today."

"Obliviate!"

With incredible speed - the exact same kind that Scrimgeour himself could manage - Gemini whipped around and blasted both of the guards with a bright white light from their wand. Fudge gasped and shot to his feet but Gemini had already whipped around and a Memory Charm rocketed across the room to strike him too. And while all three of them were still in daze Gemini switched back into their original form and the little blue twins quickly zipped out of sight beneath the Minister's desk.

A second later and clarity returned to the minds of the three men in the room. Fudge blinked when he noticed his guards standing there and said, "Yes? Did you want something?"

"Uh… uh no, not really Minister…" blinked one of the guard in slight confusion.

"Well then get back to your post. Can't you see I'm up to my ears in it right now? I can't be doing with interruptions."

"Yes, Minister," the guards quickly hurried outside closing the door behind them and leaving Fudge to sort through the files all over his desk, flicking them into piles with his wand and totally unaware of the two tiny Spirits hovering beneath his desk.

"Time to get started I think," Gemi whispered to his sibling.

"Sssh, we've got to be quiet," Mini chided her brother, but the two of them connected their stubby hands and merged together once more, sloooooooowly transforming into Lucy right there beneath Fudge's desk. They had to tuck their legs in tightly against their chest to make sure they didn't bump up against Fudge's own - that would have been awkward if he felt them down there and found a blond teenage girl hiding underneath his desk. But thankfully they were able to avoid detection.

'Here goes,' they thought together, stretching one hand out from beneath the desk with two gold keys grasped in their fingers. Without speaking allowed they channelled their power into the keys and… suddenly…

*FLASH*

"WHA-MMMGH!" Fudge cried out at the sudden blinding light that erupted before him but before he could get too loud a hand lashed out to clamp over his mouth. A hand that belonged to none other than Loke, who smirked as he fully formed into existence. Next to him was Capricorn - selected for this mission due to his polite mannerisms and diplomatic ability, which many of the Zodiac Spirits lacked.

"Sshh," Loke held a finger over his lips. "Not a sound, Minister. After all, we're just here to talk."

"Perhaps it would be prudent to release him swiftly, Leo-sama," Capricorn suggested. "A hand over the mouth is hardly civilised after all."

Loke chuckled and drew his hand away, leaving Fudge plastered against the back of his chair and staring at the two Spirits in utter disbelief.

"W-what… you…" he spluttered.

"Forgive the rude interruption to your important work," Capricorn held a hand over his heart and bowed low until Fudge could have reached out to touch his horns. "But we could find no less startling way to appear before you given your Ministry's current level of security. We trust that you'd be open to an open conversation with us?"

"You… were the ones who freed Black from our imprisonment," Fudge growled lightly, glancing constantly at the door and clearly wondering whether shouting for help from his guards would be a good idea or a suicidal one. "Where did you say you were from… a Spirit World or something?"

"Indeed, that's us," Loke pushed his sunglasses further up his nose. "We are emissaries from the Celestial Spirit World, and I believe I explained well our reasoning for the prison break of Sirius Black, did I not?"

"I remember it well," Fudge nodded sourly. "You must think us all idiots if you think we would believe that Sirius Black is an innocent man. Or any of the rest of the claptrap you were spouting about that day…"

"If we could keep things courteous that would be most appreciated," Capricorn interrupted lightly. "Can we not talk this over before we start throwing the blame around like a softball?"

Fudge turned faintly red but he relaxed slightly in his chair despite his obvious wariness. "Very well," he said slowly.

"Perhaps an introduction would be best. This is Leo, the leader of the Twelve Zodiac Spirits of our world. And I am Capricorn."

"Charmed…. now what have you to say today? Would you still have me believe that Fairy Tail are the so-called good guys in this situation after the disaster that went down at our prison? You said you could see far so I'm certain that you know about that. Not to mention the rampant destruction of the property of a man who's donated thousands upon thousands of Galleons to help improve the Ministry?"

"No, we are not hear to try and explain Fairy Tail's actions in your world to you," Loke shook his head, putting his hands in his pockets and smirking. "From what we've seen other people have already tried to do that already and it doesn't seem to have had much effect. We're here to tell you about what Fairy Tail even means. Have you never stopped to wonder how such a supposedly terrifying group of people managed to get such a… frankly pretty name?"

"Leo-sama has a point," Capricorn agreed with an inclination of his head. "We have seen the dark organisations of this world… and they have been referred to by names that are equally dark. Death Eaters… a very imposing name indeed is it not? If you were to strip away everything you know about Fairy Tail and judge them solely by their name alone, would you think of them as terrorists then?"

"…Well… well, no… but it seems to me that is the point. They is part of their scheme to gain power by making them seem like the friendly face while spreading the false rumours about You-Know-Who."

"And you have proof of this conspiracy theory of yours?" Loke asked pointedly.

"…No… but it fits what they've been doing all this time!"

"It does if you connect the dots together in a rather haphazard manner as you have been doing, without a deeper understanding of who Fairy Tail are," Loke sighed. "Let's see… by my reckoning… you've only had one proper conversation with a Fairy Tail member and you successfully cut that one short by putting her under incredible stress through the use of those Dementors. And yet you think that you know what Fairy Tail wants? You're not trying very hard to figure them out, Minister - you're pinning labels on them because of your own fear."

"Their actions speak for themselves…"

"Fairy Tail are just as destructive a force here as they are back in their own world," Capricorn interrupted. "They destroy people's houses, public monuments, businesses… all collateral damage as they try and get other things done. And yet over there they are incredibly popular. People don't fear them or their power despite everything they do. Certainly they are a headache for their Magic Council to deal with, but the general public love them."

"Their… Magic Council?" Fudge frowned. "You mean…"

"That Fairy Tail doesn't rule its own world?" Loke chuckled. "Oh, far from it. They come from a land known as Fiore, which has dozens of different mage guilds in it just like theirs. But no wizard guild rules Fiore - the country is ruled by a King. A King who has no magic, I might add. And there is the Magic Council, which functions a lot like your Ministry - trying to manage all magical people across the country and keep the peace. In fact, Fairy Tail often end up getting in trouble with them and sometimes have to pay penalties for the damages they cause. But they always pay their dues."

"Their destructive habits aren't all bad either," Capricorn agreed. "Usually they end up destroying things that require destroying, like dark mages or marauding creatures. Everything else that they do is usually an unfortunate side effect of their great power. Bottom line… they don't want to rule. They just want to enjoy life and make a difference to the world they live in. Any world they live in."

"That's not to say they aren't dangerous," Loke shrugged. "Because they are… if someone tries to harm their members. If someone confronts them as an enemy and forces their hand, they will take up arms and fight them to the last man. And when they do, they won't hold back. You should count yourself very fortunate, Minister, that they've realised you are not truly the bad guys in this world. Or they'd have torn the entire Ministry to shreds the first time they invaded it."

"But Fairy Tail are enemies only to those who choose to make them an enemy," Capricorn concluded. "I suggest you extend the hand of friendship to them soon, Minister. If you push them too far, they will hunt you down. If either Erza or Cana had been subjected to the Dementor's Kiss, rather than being sent to Azkaban prison, that would have been it. The Ministry would have been labelled an enemy for life and they would have come to destroy everything you've built."

Loke smirked. "But if you befriend them… if you ally yourselves with them… then there's nothing they won't do for you. They'll fight to the death to protect you from anything or anyone that would seek to harm you, just as they do for one another. Their loyalty is fierce, and unlike many it does not need to be bought."

"And you'll need them on your side… to face the true threats that are currently rising within this world," Capricorn was now beginning to shimmer as he opened his gate to prepare to leave.

"Think on it, Fudge," Loke began to shine as well. "Think on what we said… and I hope that you eventually make the right call."

"Wait… hold on…" Fudge got to his feet but the two Spirits had already vanished. Gemini's time limit in their Lucy body had almost expired so they couldn't have stayed much longer anyway. And Gemini themselves poofed back to the Spirit world moments later, leaving Fudge truly alone in his office with only his thoughts to keep him company.

The Minister sat heavily back in his chair, running his tongue over his teeth in deep thought. Was it possible? Had he really got Fairy Tail all wrong? His initial reaction of summoning the Dementors to guard Levy had been purely rooted in fear of what she could do when he learned she could still have used magic without a wand, but everything after that had be fuelled by the mages' own actions.

And he'd seen what Loke and Capricorn could do during the battle of the Ministry a couple of weeks ago. They'd appeared right there in the room, bypassing all of his security, and they could have easily killed him if they wanted, but they hadn't. That made them worth trusting, didn't it?

But then he thought back to all the other things that Loke had said. Insisting Sirius was also innocent and that Voldemort had returned… and he decided that those simply could not be true. They were impossible. And if the Spirits were lying about that then they had to be lying about Fairy Tail too… yeah… that made sense… right? This had to be another ruse!

He stood up and hurried off to call security and alert them to what had just happened, his mind ninety-five percent sure that he was still right.

But there was still another five percent mulling over the information he'd been given… and realising that he truly didn't know anything at all about the Fairies which meant there was a chance… however small… that the Spirits were telling the truth.

---

Freed's wings were carving lines in the clouds as he swept across the sky, sweeping out in wide circles around the ship which was continuing to trawl the ocean below in search of fish and Fairy Spheres alike. The green-haired man had been up here for the better part of three hours now, scanning the ocean in vain. From this height he could see land in the far distance… but he couldn't see any signs of glowing golden objects beneath the waves.

Laxus wasn't faring very well, to nobody's surprise. You'd perhaps think that prolonged exposure to the motion of the ship would help soothe his sickness but apparently not. And to the complete shock of the sailors, Makarov had decided to adopt the Erza approach to helping someone deal with the problem of transportation sickness:-

He'd delivered a very sharp punch to his grandson's gut in just the right place, enlarging his fist a little to do the job. Normally Laxus would have been able to shrug a blow like that off but in his current state he keeled over and passed out just before he could throw up again.

"If I'm not mistaken, I think some point of you enjoyed that," Bickslow said dryly to the Guild Master. "Just like I think some part of you enjoys it when you flatten Natsu into the ground."

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," Makarov said casually, but Bickslow noticed the way he rubbed the back of his head and looked ever so slightly innocent. The Seith Mage couldn't help but grin. Makarov might be the elderly father of the guild, but sometimes even he was just one of the guys.

After so long though, Freed was beginning to tire. His magic wings weren't designed for long-distance flight after all. And so far their search had been fruitless.

But just as Freed was considering heading back down to the ship to take a break… something massive suddenly burst through the clouds a few feet to his left and ploughed through the air towards him.

"GWAAAH!" Freed cried in surprise, banking sharply to the left and allowing himself to momentarily go into freefall, his wings clipping whatever had just appeared next to him, spinning over and over and dropping one-hundred feet before he managed to catch himself and look up to his sudden attacker.

His jaw dropped at what he saw - a giant, black vessel mostly concealing itself within the clouds. It had been fixed up since Freed had last seen it, but there was absolutely no mistaking that symbol on the front.

"The airship of Grimoire Heart!" Freed gasped, his hair whipping about behind him under the pulse of magic he could feel in the wake of the flying transport above him. "What's that doing here?"

Fortunately there was no reaction to his presence so he could only assume that whoever was on board that ship now hadn't noticed him. One of the counters of hiding in the clouds was that you couldn't really see what was going on outside either. But Freed was not about to hang around, so he upended himself and barrelled in back towards the fishermen's vessel, alighting quickly on the deck.

"Grimoire Heart!" he cried.

"What!?" Makarov looked up sharply. "Where?"

"In the clouds," Freed pointed, and indeed from down here it was barely visible and it was rapidly moving into the distance. "They're moving fast in that airship of there's, but its like all the fighting that took place abord it never even happened. It's been totally fixed up."

"What do we do?" Bickslow looked to Makarov. "They might have some of our friends on board… captives maybe. Should we get up there duke things out with them?"

"Hmmm…" Makarov cupped his chin thoughtfully. "I doubt very much they were caught up inside the Fairy Sphere too, which means they could well be at full strength once more. They almost defeated us before - it would be unwise to rush in blindly."

"But if they have some of our friends…" Freed pointed out.

"We need to follow them," Makarov nodded. "If we follow them to their destination, we may learn something. Oi, Captain. How fast can this ship go?"

"This boat isn't built for speed!" the captain replied, not really sure what was happening but understanding a need for urgency. "It can go up to ten miles an hour at maximum speed."

"That's no good - we'll lose them at that pace," Makarov's fist tightened.

"I could get back up there," Freed suggested. "Land on the ship and hide myself maybe? Find out where they were going?"

"But how would you find your way back?" Makarov pointed out. "And how would we know we were heading the right way."

"Freed, here. Take this," Bickslow floated one of his wooden dolls over to the Rune Mage. "Long as I have a soul in a doll I always know where the dolls are. If you take that with you, I'll be able to guide the rest of us to follow along behind you."

"As expected of you, Bickslow," Freed nodded, spreading his wings out again. "Master?"

"Hmmmmnnn…" Makarov groaned. "I don't like it," he muttered. "But I suppose we don't have another alternative for the time being. Be careful, Freed. That's all I ask."

"I have no intention of being anything else, Master," Freed nodded his head respectfully and heaved off into the sky with the doll under one arm, spiralling his way back up towards the airship before he could totally lose it amongst the clouds.

Makarov turned to the captain and said, "Turn us around. That ship's heading north and we need to do the same."

"Now look here," the captain protested. "You can't just tell us what to do like that. Our dock is south - if we head north too far we could run out of fuel and then…"

"Lives may be at stake here!" Makarov shouted. "The lives of my children! I will find a way to compensate you for any lost fuel later on."

"It's not the cost I'm worried about, it's the…" but before the captain could get any further his eyes went slightly glassy and he was surrounded by a greenish aura. He immediately turned around to grab the wheel of the ship and twist it around in the direction the airship was taking and put the engine into full throttle.

"Was that necessary, Bickslow?" Makarov turned to the tall mage who had pulled off his sallet again. His eyes were glowing, which meant he'd just used his Figure Eyes ability to take control of the captain and make him do what they wanted.

"It's as you said, Master," the Seith Mage stated bluntly as he turned about to lock eyes with the rest of the crew and make them haul the net in. "We wouldn't be Fairy Tail if we didn't take any and all steps necessary to make sure our friends were safe."

"True… true…" Makarov nodded, staring up into the sky where Freed and the airship had now both been lost to sight.

The Rune Mage himself was closing in on the airship, sweeping round the back until he was between the magic circles blooming from the engines and quickly alighting upon the top of the outer hull just beneath the raised throne room. He was tempted to go snooping - see what he could find - but he knew that by himself he would be no match for some of the Grimoire Heart members and he couldn't risk getting caught.

So he drew his sword and carefully started drawing runes in a small square around himself. Runes that read:-

'Those standing within this barrier will be invisible to all those outside. They also won't get cold.'

He then sat down, crossing his legs with Bickslow's doll in his lap and waited.

---

Unfortunately not every evening at Hogwarts could be spent in the Room of Requirement training with Fairy Tail. The fifth year and seventh year students all had incredibly important exams coming up at the end of the year, and the rise of Morgana and Voldemort definitely didn't put those on hold. Which was why Hermione spending her afternoon in the library, capitalising on a free period she had to get her Ancient Runes homework done while Harry and Ron were forced to endure a couple of hours with Professor Trelawney up in the Divination Tower.

"Hmm…" she muttered to herself as she poured over the book meticulously. "It's at times like this I wish I had a pair of those reading glasses Levy has." Imagining how much of the library she could soar through with those things made her feel giddy, but then again there was something about just sitting back and enjoying the book that was enjoyable too. Which was better - consuming as much knowledge as possible or just being at peace while reading?

Just as she was taking note of the subtle differences between the runes for 'gargoyle' and 'bat' there was a shuffling noise from across the room and she looked up to see Daphne Greengrass had suddenly appeared in her section. Daphne took Ancient Runes just like she did - it seemed not one of the Slytherins had decided to take on Divination as a subject. And it appeared she'd had the same idea as Hermione to come here and do her homework on the subject. But even though Hermione could tell Daphne was aware of her presence, the Slytherin didn't acknowledge her.

Not that that was unusual. This wasn't the first time she and Daphne had ended up studying at the same time in the library. Usually Hermione was quite happy to carry on and ignore Daphne as well.

But for some reason this time she said, "Are you alright?"

Daphne looked up at her - evidently quite surprised. "Why wouldn't I be?" she said curtly.

"Well I was just wondering… you know, Umbridge pushed you over yesterday…" Hermione shrugged. "I was just being polite."

"Well there's no need for it. I'm quite fine, Granger."

"Oh good."

Silence resumed as Daphne sat down at the other end of the section and began to mark down a couple of runes herself. But Hermione was now finding it difficult to concentrate, glancing up at Daphne every now and then. There was a slight gnawing sensation in her gut… and upon her lip because she kept biting it, wondering whether she should say anything else.

Apparently Daphne noticed her behaviour because ten minutes later she sighed and looked up. "Anything else on your mind, Granger?"

Hermione jumped, blushing like a child who'd been caught with their hand in a cookie jar. But she had to admit she was a little confused. Why did she have a sudden urge to talk to a Slytherin girl where none had existed before? Was it because she'd heard Daphne insult Umbridge under her breath - something none of the other Slytherins had done as far as she was aware? Was there some part of her that was wondering if Daphne might be some kind of… kindred spirit now? Or at least they considered Umbridge a common enemy perhaps?

That would be a first. A Slytherin with the same enemy as a Gryffindor Muggle Born.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione decided to test the waters a little. "How's… how's Astoria doing?"

Daphne raised a brow. "And why do you care about my sister exactly?"

"Well, I was just curious really."

"…She's fine. Enjoying school life."

"That's good… good… and um… how are your parents?"

Daphne looked considerably more guarded suddenly and slammed her Ancient Runes textbook shut. "Okay Granger, what are you doing? I'm not an idiot - I know you're not just trying to make small talk here. You're going somewhere with this line of questioning, aren't you?"

"…Maybe."

"Well then please be a dear and get to the point."

"Fine," Hermione sighed and took the plunge. "I've noticed you've been a little… off… recently. And I can't help but wonder if maybe the reason for that is that you're worried about your parents being drafted to join Voldemort."

Daphne winced slightly, a fiery glare etched across her face. "The Dark Lord's dead, Granger."

"I think we both know that's not true," Hermione said stiffly. She was taking a risk here, talking to a Slytherin who could easily report her words to Umbridge, but she was also taking a leap of faith. "Your family's raised on the same Pureblood mania as the Death Eaters that escaped from Azkaban recently. I'm sure they've been approached to join forces with Voldemort by someone at this point, haven't they?"

Daphne glared but she didn't answer the question, which was all the answer that Hermione needed really.

"I get that you're worried," she said. "You're afraid of what'll happen if they refuse him. And you're afraid of what'll happen if they join and find themselves face to face with someone from Fairy Tail. You're afraid that you'll be left alone to bring up your little sister."

"What's your point?" Daphne sniffed icily, but her expression was slightly pained. Clearly Hermione's words were punching her thoughts in exactly the right places.

"My point… I suppose… is that if you ever need someone to talk to about this kind of thing then you can always talk to me."

Daphne snorted. "Are you freaking kidding me? Like I'd come and talk to a Mudblood like you about something like this."

"Well, perhaps you should," Hermione said earnestly, ignoring the insult. "I get what you're going through - I'm worried about my parents too. You know my family are Muggles. And I'm good friends with Harry Potter, who's right at the top of Voldemort's personal hit-list. It's certainly occurred to me that he might try to hurt my parents to hurt me and therefore hurt him. I don't have a younger sister, but I kinda understand what you're going through. Guess I have more in common with you than you realise."

Daphne stared at Hermione incredulously for about half a minute before she opened her textbook again and muttered, "You're weird, Granger. I just call you a Mudblood and you try and offer your shoulder for me to cry on?"

"It's not weird," Hermione smiled. "It's the right thing to do. You may be a Slytherin, but that doesn't necessarily make you an enemy. Voldemort and those who follow him are the real enemy. That doesn't apply to you or your family… yet."

Daphne said nothing for a while. Hermione got back to her Ancient Runes, but every so often she'd look up and see Daphne staring at exactly the same mark on her page, clearly not seeing the words in front of her.

And she stayed like that for almost ten minutes before she said, "You're right."

"Hmm?" Hermione looked up. "About which part?"

"All of it," Daphne sighed, running a hand over her face. "My Dad told me that he'd been receiving some… messages. Ones that were not so subtly hinting that it would be in his family's best interests to… consider joining up with a bigger cause."

"Death Eaters?"

"He didn't say that outright but… well… who else could it be really? And if its them… it's only going to be a matter of time before they force my parents to join up somehow. Like by threatening me and my sister, for instance."

"They actually did that?"

"Well not as far as I know but its their style isn't it? Threatening family members to ensure people's cooperation… it's textbook really."

Hermione tapped her lip with the brushy tip of her quill thoughtfully. "Well you're safe here," she said. "You and your sister - long as you don't go home for the holidays you'd be safe here."

"Small comfort as far as my parents are concerned."

"They haven't considered going into hiding?"

"Where exactly would they hide? As far as I can see, if the Dark Lord's back, the only place they could be safe from him and his followers is right here. And if they came here, they'd be lynched by that bitch Umbridge for associating with Dumbledore."

"…True…" Hermione murmured, choosing her next words with great care. "Though I'm slightly surprised you haven't mentioned Fairy Tail."

Daphne wrinkled her nose. "Oh they worry me too. But only if my parents are forced to join the Dark Lord."

"…How do you figure that? The papers say that Fairy Tail are a bunch of destructive maniacs who want to rule over us all. Why does it matter what side your family is on with regards to them?"

"The papers also say You-Know-Who isn't back. And we both know that's crap," Daphne rolled her eyes. "I thought you were smarter than that, Granger. Less gullible… not like most of the mindless, fearful sheep of the wider world… and you I both know where the allegiance of Draco's parents lies. I reckon Fairy Tail… aren't the monsters the Ministry's claiming they are. Seems to me like they're looking out for each other more than anything… and the only piece of private property they've destroyed belonged to the family of a Death Eater, on the same day a bunch of others break out? Those two things don't add up at all. I think Fairy Tail's fighting against the Dark Lord… not against the Ministry."

"Wow… really?" Hermione's eyes were very wide, but not for the reason that Daphne might assume they were. "That's… an interesting opinion."

"Yeah well… based on what I've heard about them and if I'm right… if my parents join up with You-Know-Who… they're screwed. And until the Ministry pulls their heads out of their own asses and does something constructive with their time rather than shaming and hunting innocent people… I'm actually rooting for Fairy Tail to take the Dark Lord out before they can get to my family."

After that the two of them lapsed back into silence for a while, before Daphne suddenly shook her head and said, "Why am I even talking to you? It's not like a Mudblood like you is going to be able help me. Just get back to studying, Granger. Exams stop for nothing after all."

Daphne focused back on her runes but Hermione couldn't focus at all anymore… her mind was racing… there was no doubt that Daphne was clever. Shrewd too… and cynical. Analytical, to have figured all that out about Fairy Tail without having to be told. And despite the obvious Pureblood supremacist attitude she had like most Slytherins, she didn't care for Voldemort. And neither apparently did her family so presumably Astoria had similar values.

She couldn't believe she was thinking it but… could it possible?

For a Slytherin to become a part of Dumbledore's Army?

---

Gray cricked his neck slightly and strode into the DA chamber of the Room of Requirement. He'd been spending the last two hours creating bigger and bigger ice sculptures as part of his training and could do with a break, which was why he'd gone to see if there were any Hogwarts students knocking about for him to talk to.

As of now there was only one. And Gray was entirely unsurprised to find him here, even though the day's lessons had only just finished, given that Neville Longbottom had been coming here every spare moment he could grab for the last few days. Ever since the night that Morgana had returned. And he'd been hexing the crap out of the practice dummies every time.

Gray watched him for a moment, taking in his technique. There wasn't much of one… Neville was trying to master the Stunning Spell but he couldn't seem to get it quite right at the moment, so he was compromising by flinging random other spells he knew upon the dummies. His aim was somewhat poor too… and Gray could see the expression twisted across his face.

Rage.

Eventually the Ice Moulding Mage decided to intervene and Neville jumped slightly when a couple of ice stick figures appeared on either side of the dummy he was hammering.

"Huh…?" he blinked. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you more of a challenge," Gray said conversationally as he leaned against the wall and raised his hand. "What are you going to do if you fight more than one enemy? You won't just be able to stand still and fire at them, you'll have to move around. If you hit the target I'll destroy it and create another one. Let's test your reflexes out."

Neville nodded and raised his wand again. For the next ten minutes or so they worked their way around the room with Gray creating stick figures at random all around the place in an attempt to emulate enemies popping up out of nowhere as they would if they Apparated in. Whenever it happened Neville would spin around and fire, but he'd normally need at least three shots before he could land a hit even with a static target. But throughout it all he didn't try and dodge or keep himself on his toes. He just stood still and fired, with that same expression of rage on his face.

Gray had seen enough of Harry's teaching to know that this wasn't what Neville was being taught to do. But this anger he was clearly feeling was making him forget all that. He was just attacking blindly.

Eventually Gray dispersed the stickmen that were still standing and said, "Okay… so… who are you imagining the targets to be exactly?"

"…What do you mean?" Neville's eyes narrowed. "I'm imagining them to be Death Eaters…"

"No, you're imagining them to be a specific person. Every time you fired a spell at them you were staring them right in the face as if you hated them with every fibre of your soul, so I'll ask again. Who are you angry with?"

Neville stared down at the ends of his shoes, breathing heavily from the exertion of his overly violent spell casting, before fishing something out of his pocket and holding it out. Gray strode across the room and took it gently, revealing it to be a newspaper clipping from the Daily Prophet. One which had a still image, which he gathered was unusual for this paper… which depicted a woman firing a jet of green light from her wand to strike an unfortunate man in the chest. The title of the article read:-

BELLATRIX LESTRANGE SPOTTED IN MUGGLE MUSEUM

"That's a newspaper from Sunday," Neville muttered. "She broke into the British Museum on Saturday evening and murdered three Muggle security guards before she left again. That image was taken from the Muggle security cameras before the Ministry covered up the incident."

Gray's grip tightened on the newspaper. That was the same night that Morgana had broken out of her prison. And the day before Neville had started on his one-man crusade against all training dummies. "What was she there for?" he asked.

"Apparently she just stole some ancient coin," Neville shrugged. "Nobody's sure why she did it since there's no currency in the world that would use a coin like that."

"So what's your beef with this woman then? Obviously it's something."

"…I don't like to talk about it."

"Well whatever it is, I can tell that it's making you want vengeance upon her. You're imagining everything you cast a spell at to be her, aren't you? And let me tell you, Neville. I know from experience that getting vengeance… is a slippery slope if you don't handle it right."

"Why?" Neville asked, his expression tight. "What happened to you?"

"…I don't like to talk about it either."

Neither of them said anything for a while, but they both knew that the only way this conversation was going to proceed was if one of them told their story. So Gray sighed and bit the bullet. "When I was seven," he said. "A powerful demon named Deliora… a huge horned creature taller than a house… laid waste to my village. He went on a rampage through it that killed everyone I knew, destroyed everything I'd grown up with. My friends crushed beneath his feet… my father lying on the ground with his head sliced open… my mother buried under the rubble of our own house… I was the only one who survived… in the entire village."

"…Oh God…" Neville croaked. Of all the stories he'd been expecting Gray to tell him, that had not been one of them. He'd certainly expected the death of a parent… but not that.

"Yeah, well…" Gray grunted. "It doesn't end there. I was taken in by a kindly woman who was proficient in Ice Moulding Magic. She's the one who taught me how to use it." He lifted a palm up and crafted a perfect little ice figurine in his hand. "This is her. Her name was Ul."

"…Was?" Neville asked apprehensively, his amazement at Gray's craftsmanship with his magic subdued by that one word.

"Yeah… the only reason I was learning magic was so that I could take Deliora down and avenge my family and friends. But… my hatred of that demon blinded me… and when I learned where he was I headed off immediately to confront him. I ignored Ul's advice… I was far from ready to face him… but I was so consumed by my hate… it was like a darkness inside me that I couldn't ignore. Deliora would have killed me easily if Ul hadn't followed me. She defeated Deliora, but in doing so… she sacrificed her own life."

Gray clenched his fist, the figurine of Ul crumbling within it as his teeth clenched so hard they were on the brink of shattering. "Every time I think about it I wonder if Ul might still be alive if I hadn't been so blind… so consumed by my desire for revenge. There's a strong likelihood she would be but I can never know for sure. All I know is that she is unequivocally gone because she was protecting me from my own stupidity."

"…I'm… I'm sorry… I don't know what to say…" Neville whispered.

"There is no right thing to say to something like that," Gray shook his head. "But if you want to say something, you can tell me why this Bellatrix has gotten so under your skin."

Neville screwed up his face but this time he only hesitated for a moment. "My parents were Aurors once, good ones too, and after You-Know-Who disappeared the first time… I dunno why really but Bellatrix and some other Death Eaters thought that they might have some information about where he was. They were wrong. But they were convinced they were right and they… they tortured my parents with the Cruciatus Curse - a spell that inflicts terrible pain through the body - for hours on end trying to get them to give up information they didn't have. It… drove them insane."

"…Shit man," Gray sighed, placing a hand on Neville's shoulder and squeezing consolingly. "Where are they now? Are they…?"

"Yeah, they're alive. But they're in St. Mungos - our country's biggest magical hospital - as permanent residents. They barely know who I am. They barely know what anything is any more. And now their torturer is on the loose again… killing again… torturing again."

"And you want to be the one to take her down, right?"

"Yeah… yeah I do. I want… to be the one… to avenge my family."

"Then you know exactly how I must have felt back then when I faced Deliora. But desires like that… they're double-edged swords, Neville. If you dwell on them too much they produce such tunnel vision that you don't think your actions through until its too late. What if you ran into Bellatrix in the grounds tomorrow evening? Would you charge her, screaming for revenge even though you're clearly not ready to take her on? Or would you do the sensible thing and run?"

"…I don't know. I think… I'd be very tempted to charge her."

"Yeah, I know you would. But if someone else got hurt rescuing you from being a fool you'd never forgive yourself. I haven't. And that pain, that guilt… it never goes away, Neville. It gets easier to bear… and you can push it away when you're doing other things but… it will always come back to you sooner or later. And trust me… you don't want that. Nobody wants that."

Neville found himself rubbing at his eyes, the first vestiges of tears leaking out of them. "I understand what you're saying… but… I just… want to be the one that stops her so bad. I feel like it's my right."

"It's nobody's right. Maybe you will one day get to be the one to put a stop to Bellatrix but there's a very strong chance it'll be someone else. But it's not like vengeance for your parents won't be achieved because whoever does defeat her in the end will be the one that gets it for them. That person doesn't necessarily have to be you, but as long as you fight against Voldemort and his forces then you will still have done your part. And when your parents have been avenged, you want to be happy about it. So don't get yourself or your friends killed in the attempt, or when the victory does finally come it will be a hollow one."

Neville could see the genuine, deep-running pain in Gray's eyes and he found now that he respected the young man on a whole new level, not just for his amazing magic but for the person he was.

"Thanks…" Neville nodded with a smile. "I think I needed to hear that."

Gray stepped away, putting his hands in his pockets as he made for the stadium room. "One way or another… it will come. She will get her comeuppance. Somehow. And when that day comes, we'll make sure its one to celebrate."

"I hope that day comes sooner rather than later nonetheless," Neville stated as he followed on behind, the two entering the stadium just in time to see Beast Soul Elfman heaving a sofa above his head, which had Lisanna, Levy and Evergreen all sitting upon it.

"Aaah, it's nice to be treated like royalty," Evergreen chuckled as she leaned back against the cushions and purred to herself.

"You know that I could pluck you off that thing and toss you across the room, right?" Elfman muttered as he flexed his arms to raise the sofa up and down several times.

Nearby, Lucy was regaling some of the others, including a couple of Order members with what they'd learned from Gemini on the trip to the Ministry earlier that day. "He definitely took in everything that Loke and Capricorn told him. About how life is for us back home and about what we're really like. There's hope that it got through to him isn't there?"

"Very possibly," Lupin muttered, the man looking extremely pale still given the rough night he'd had before. "But a man as paranoid as Fudge is hardly going to change his ill-conceived perceptions in a heartbeat."

"Yeah, this is a difficult situation," Sirius agreed. "I mean, if we turned up on his doorstep with Voldemort or Peter Pettigrew in tow he'd have little alternative but to believe the former's back and I'm innocent. But it's going to be much more difficult to convince him that you guys aren't bad guys, especially since a major component of this belief is his fear of you."

"True," Erza nodded. "But we can hope that Loke and Capricorn planted the seed in his mind for us today. And maybe anything we do in the future will be met with a little more thought on his part than before."

"Let's make sure whatever that is doesn't involve blowing up something important next time," Mirajane smiled.

"Well anyway, you were awesome today, Lucy," Natsu grinned widely, slapping Lucy's back just a little bit too hard which meant Erza had to grab her shoulder and pull her back upright before she could fall flat on her face. "Though I still say I should have been there. We're a team - we should be taking jobs on together."

"I would have been fine, Natsu," Lucy assured him, rubbing her shoulder but smiling gratefully. "Even with Gemini in there I could have still summoned another Spirit if I was in trouble and Alastor was there to get me out if there was any trouble. Besides, I didn't really do anything. It was the Spirits that deserve all the credit."

"Well I'm sure we'll be in the Ministry's good books in no time," Natsu's thumb jerked upright.

"That might be easier if you didn't blow up any more mansions, Flamebrain," Gray snickered.

"OH YEAH!? I'LL BLOW UP YOUR MANSION NEXT, ICICLE BREATH!?"

"THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE!"

"I'LL MAKE YOU MAKE SENSE!"

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE EITHER!"

"YOU WANNA GO!?"

"BRING IT ON!"

"OI, YOU TWO! SHADDUP!" Gajeel yelled suddenly from across the room, drawing the attention of the growling duo.

"YOU SHUT UP, IRONBUTT!" Natsu yelled.

"WE'LL TAKE YOU TOO!" Gray agreed.

"NO REALLY! SHADDUP! And look."

Gajeel was standing next to the Fairy Sphere - the same one that they'd liberated from Malfoy Manor when Natsu had vaporised it. And the confrontational atmosphere drained out of the room very quickly when the rest of them noticed what Gajeel had noticed - the Sphere was flickering… like a dying lightbulb.

"It's about to lower," Lisanna gasped as Elfman put the sofa down.

Gajeel backed away as the Sphere's flickering intensified, the rest of the people in the room forming a wide semi-circle around the sputtering light, each of them holding their breath and crossing their fingers - praying for someone they knew to appear on the inside.

But when it finally did lower… they were presented with another large sphere. But this one was blue… scaly… and suddenly unrolled itself to plant four feet upon the ground, yellow eyes narrowing and a gigantic toothy maw hissing angrily at the surrounding humans. It was a massive lizard, about eight metres long from snout to tail and taller than a man and it immediately barrelled forwards right towards Levy.

"YAAAH!" Levy cried, but even as everyone tensed up the lizard stopped in its tracks, took a step backwards and hunkered down demurely. Lisanna stepped forward with her hand outstretched, exerting her Animal Soul over the creature to calm it down.

"What… is that?" Sirius blinked, staring at the huge reptilian animal in amazement. "Some kind of dinosaur?"

"It's a Rollidillo," Lisanna replied, placing her hand between its eyes and stroking it soothingly. "One of the animals that makes their home on Tenrou Island."

"Yeah… I remember this guy," Cana muttered, crossing over to Lucy and slinging an arm over her shoulder. "How long was that guy chasing us during the exam trial do you think, Lucy?"

"Uwaaah… he wouldn't leave us alone for near on half an hour I think," Lucy muttered, remembering well their mad scramble to get away from it and how incredibly close she'd come to getting chomped in its enormous teeth. Which was far from a pleasant image given it was big enough to potentially swallow her whole. "Wish you'd been with us then, Lisanna. We could have really used your help."

"I'd rather have been chased by this than by a giant pig," Evergreen muttered, not even trying to hide her disappointment. "But… I was… really hoping…"

"I think we all were," Erza placed an armoured hand on Evergreen's shoulder, her heavy-heartedness reflected throughout the entire group. "Hoping that someone we knew would be inside it. But I suppose we should be glad that this animal isn't rampaging through a village right about now."

"Small comfort when this means that Freed, Bickslow, Laxus and the Master are still out there somewhere," Evergreen sighed.

"One step at a time, Ever," Gildarts said as he stepped over next to Lisanna to place his metallic hand up against the placid Rollidillo's side. "Our promise to find them hasn't diminished in the slightest. But our next step is to get this creature back to Tenroujima - it definitely doesn't belong here."

"Remus… Sirius… do you think that you can go and fetch the Portkey cage from the beach so that we can make the preparations?" Lisanna asked.

"Of course. We'll be right back," Sirius nodded, gripping Lupin's arm and the two of them hurrying off down the tunnel back to the Hog's Head where they would be able to Disapparate.

"Tenroujima?" Neville abruptly asked as they ran off. "Isn't that the name of the island you guys were on when you were brought here?"

"That's the one," said Gray. "The one brought here with us that all these animals live on."

"And you're going there now?"

"We're going to have to if we're going to take this Rollidillo back home," said Lisanna.

"Oh cool… then… can I come?"

"Can you come?" Mira repeated. "To Tenroujima with us?"

"Yeah. You guys have told me a lot about it and… I really want to see that giant tree," Neville said excitedly. "Herbology's my favourite subject at school - I really love plants. I think they're fascinating. But there's no tree nearly as big as the one you told me about in our world so if its as big as you say… I really want to see it."

"Now hold on, we can hardly just allow you to leave the school premises and come with us," Erza shook her head. "That's not something we have the authority to do."

"Oh go on, please. I'm not the only one who wants to go - there are others who're interested in seeing your island as well. I know Dean would and I'm sure Harry and the others would love it as well. And if you want, we can ask some teachers. I'm sure that Hagrid would be interested. He could be our escort, like he is when he takes us into the Forbidden Forest maybe."

"Ah, go on Erza," Natsu grinned. "It's just Tenroujima after all. I say let 'em live a little."

Gildarts chuckled. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to let them tag along on this particular visit. But Erza's right, it's not our call to make. I say that you go and find a couple of the Professors and ask them. If you can't find Dumbledore then I'm sure McGonagall or Flitwick would do. How about if they say yes then you can come along for an hour or two."

"Great!" Neville grinned, the anger he'd been feeling against Bellatrix earlier having drained from his system in excitement. "I'll go round up some of the others and ask them if they want to come as well. Maybe if quite a few of us ask, McGonagall might actually say yes."

As he hurried away, Lisanna chuckled and said what all of them were thinking - "Looks like we may be leading a school trip to Tenroujima."

---

Voldemort stood at the prow of the airship, the clouds that they were flying through parting before they could touch him and sweeping round to either side of him as if he was enshrouded in an invisible cocoon. He was beginning to lose patience - this airship was obviously moving at high speed but with all this cloud in the way he couldn't see where they were going. He hadn't the foggiest idea, no pun intended, as to where he was right now.

But Morgana remained obstinately silent about where they were going.

"Do you think she's right, my lord?" Bellatrix asked as she approached him from behind. "Morgana… do you think that she can really teach us old magic?"

"If it can be taught, then I shall learn it, Bellatrix," Voldemort replied simply. "But I look forward to it. If the Lady Morgana is right and our world's magic has dwindled in power… I can scarcely imagine how powerful I will become if I learn her kind of magic. Especially if her precious Old Religion really is returning as she claims."

"But what if she's lying, my Lord? What if she is trying to trick you into following her with false tales and…"

"Bellatrix," Voldemort interrupted tightly. "If you are concerned that your place as my favourite follower… my favourite woman… is in jeopardy then you can relax. If Morgana and I rule together, you shall not be forgotten. But never again question my judgement. If she was lying to me, I am certain that I would know it. I will learn the power of the Old Religion… and when I do… Harry Potter, Dumbledore, Merlin himself… I will make sure they all cower before me."

"Of… of course, my Lord. Of course…" Bellatrix shuffled backwards, bowing her head low. A few moments later and Morgana emerged upon the prow, followed the the Grimoire Heart members. Bellatrix cast a sour, mildly jealous look Morgana's way as she took up her position beside Voldemort, but if Morgana noticed it she decided to ignore it.

"We're coming up on our destination now," Morgana smiled.

"Then I presume I will finally be let in on the secret?"

"You shall indeed," Morgana waved a hand through the air and whispered, "Wederwolcen áflíecan."

Instantly the clouds billowed outwards away from the ship, dispersing in all directions to leave the ship sweeping through open, blue sky. And as soon as the way was clear, Voldemort saw where they were going. They all did.

"What… is…" Voldemort breathed. "This place… is it another place of the Old Religion?"

"Oh no," Morgana chuckled. "This is in fact the… newest magical place to be found in this world. And some of our present company have been there before, haven't you?"

"Oh yeah, we've been here before," Bluenote muttered, his eyes gleaming. "I didn't realise this place had been brought through to this world too."

"Uh… it didn't exactly go well for us last time though, did it?" Kain Hikari muttered, poking his fingers together.

"This time will be different, I can assure you," Morgana chuckled, sweeping her arm flamboyantly out towards the humongous tree dead ahead. "Lord Voldemort, may I present to you Tenroujima. The sacred ground of Fairy Tail."