Many thanks go to brianna-xox, fredfred and Otium for betaing. They improved the story a lot.

Chapter 4: The Ambush

London, No. 12 Grimmauld Place, May 5th, 2001

Harry Potter woke up with hair covering his face and snoring filling his ears. He brushed the hair aside, gently so as not to wake up Hermione, and cast a Silencing Charm on Ron. Then he glanced at the clock on the side table - mechanical, as all the appliances in Grimmauld Place were. 6 am. Almost time to get up. Of course Ron and Hermione were still asleep. They rarely woke up before the alarm clock rang. He propped himself up on his elbow, looked at them both and smiled.

His best friends. His only family. The only ones he felt safe and happy with. The only ones who kept the nightmares at bay. He sighed. Once again, they had to save Britain. All of it this time. And once again, the Ministry was more of a hindrance than a help. At least the muggles were doing what they could.

Which, sadly, wasn't that much.

Just as he was about to nap a bit longer, he heard the signal from the fireplace. Someone was calling them. He was out of the bed in a second, conjuring a robe before he reached the door.

"Potter!"

He heard Dawlish even before he reached the hall. The Head Auror's face was sticking out of the fireplace.

"Yeah?" If this was just a call to complain, Harry would...

"The pickets around Azkaban just alerted us: The creatures have left the island in a magical storm. They're headed towards the Ministry, as far as we can tell."

Harry hissed. He had hoped they would have had more time to prepare. To improve their defences. To think of a better plan. But it was like at the Battle of Hogwarts. Hopefully, it wouldn't be that costly. "Alright. Evacuate the Ministry and keep the Hit-Wizards and Aurors in reserve elsewhere until we send you a Patronus."

"What?" Dawlish's eyes were wide open. "What are you going to do?"

"Fight them, of course."

"Are you… Merlin's arse, you are!" Dawlish shook his head. "Crazy."

Harry chuckled when the call ended.

"So, they're attacking again."

He turned around. Hermione was standing in the door, dressed in a conjured robe herself. He nodded.

"I'll wake up Ron." She glared at him, and he grinned back. Ron didn't mind the Silencing Charm, but Hermione did. She apparently found his snoring comfortable. "You inform Hood."

"Alright."

Hood was sleeping in a guest room. The room next to the one Luna used, when she was visiting. The other guest rooms were still as their occupants had left them, before the last battle. He knocked. "Hood?"

"Yes?"

Harry opened the door. Hood was blinking at him, sprawled out on the water bed, entangled in torn blankets. Apparently, Harry and his friends were not the only with nightmares.

"The Bismarck and her escorts have left the island, sailing in the direction of London."

Hood nodded. "Understood. I'll inform the Admiralty. I mean, the Prime Minister."

Harry didn't know why the ship's radio worked inside the house, where every other piece of electronics failed, but he was not questioning their good fortune. Unlike Hermione, who had wanted to run a battery of tests as soon as they had time. "Meet in the hall. We'll deploy as soon as possible."

By the time he was back in their room, Ron was up and slipping into his trousers, the charm dispelled. "Morning, Harry. Do we have time to… refuel?" He grinned.

"We'll grab sandwiches on the way," Harry said. They didn't know how long the enemy would take to reach London, so they had to link up with the muggle forces as soon as possible.

"Alright." Ron grabbed his robe.

"I'll get one as well," Hermione said, leaving the bathroom. "On the way to the Ministry."

"What?" Ron whipped his head around to stare at their friend.

"I have to check if that theory about the enemy is correct." Hermione had that tone Harry was familiar with - she wouldn't budge. "I'll be in my office. The safest place in the Ministry. Even if you can't stop them, they'll have to go through six floors before they can start on my department's defences. Plenty of time to use the Floo or apparate."

Harry didn't think she'd leave before she had finished whatever checks she was doing. He hadn't forgotten how she had almost died in the Room of Requirement to find that Horcrux. He nodded anyway.

Ron and he would be doing something far more dangerous, after all.

"Alright. Let's go."

Courtsend, Britain, May 5th, 2001

HMS Hood stood at the beach, next to Harry, and faced the coming battle with the stoic expression that was expected of a member of the Royal Navy. The odds did not matter, nor did the numbers - England expected that everyone did their duty in such a situation. And she would. The enemy would have to sink her before they could ravage England's shores again.

Although, truth to be told, she was a bit uncomfortable with the plan for the coming battle. It relied far too much on magic for her taste. On the other hand, she didn't doubt that without magic, she'd be sunk in this battle. The Bismarck had sunk her in three minutes, after all, and that had been with the Prince of Wales at her side. Even with Prinz Eugen missing, Hood would have to face the Bismarck and her escorts alone. An open engagement would be foolish. Magic was the order of the day. Magic and the Army.

She looked at the tracked vehicle - a M270, she had been told was its name - nearby. Rocket Artillery. Who'd have thought that would ever amount to something again? It seemed as if the age of big guns had ended everywhere. But as long as those rockets would do what they had to, she'd not complain. And at least the tanks taking up positions near the shore had decent guns.

She stared out at the sea, trying to catch a glimpse of the approaching enemy, even though she knew her radar would spot the enemy before her lookouts would. Old habits died slowly.

She saw Ron walk up to her. "The Ministry's been evacuated. The muggles are also preparing for the attack."

She nodded, not too concerned. London's residents knew how to handle raids. They had shown that during the Blitz.

"The waiting's the worst," Ron said. "I always hated it during the war."

She knew he meant the wizard war, not the war she had been sunk in, but she nodded. Some things were the same in every conflict. And waiting was the worst - even more so on land! She was a battlecruiser! She should be out on the sea, cutting through the waves to meet the enemy head-on! Not lying in wait for them as if she were some sort of u-boat!

"The enemy outnumbers us, is coming to kill us all, and we're betting everything on a desperate gamble." Harry snorted. "Just like Hogwarts. There are even real Nazis this time."

"And Hermione is working on a solution while we fight," Ron said, "and the Ministry's busy being useless."

Hood narrowed her eyes at the two wizards. "If the Ministry's so useless, why are you trying to save it?"

Harry shrugged. "We don't want them to die."

"And Hermione would go mad trying to rebuild it," Ron added.

Hood was about to say that sounded like a flimsy excuse, but right then her radar picked up new contacts. She cocked her head and tracked them. Through the radio, she checked with the airborne radar. They had no contacts in that area.

"I've detected them. Five ships, and… a mass of smaller craft," she reported. Her fire directors were already calculating their speed and course. "Transmitting course data." She was tempted to add 'Fire when ready!' but that wasn't her call to make.

A minute later, her radar was almost overwhelmed when the rocket artillery deployed near the shores started firing and dozens of rockets flew towards the enemy. They could reach a target over 40 miles away… It was hard to believe.

She could detect how the enemy ships moved when the rocket strike reached them, at a range they'd consider themselves safe from attacks. They were spreading out some, dispersing. But she could only imagine the barrage's effect. Hundreds, thousands of small bombs - bomblets - spread over the area. Hitting the superstructures. Wrecking range finders, killing lookouts, starting fires with a bit of luck. Confusing them. Throwing their formation into disarray. But most importantly, destroying the Bismarck's radar.

That was the whole point of the strike. If the Bismarck's radar was not taken out, the next step of the plan would be suicide. Unless the records were correct, and the Bismarck's own guns would damage her radar when firing. But then - she hadn't needed that many volleys to sink Hood the first time.

"Do you have the coordinates?" Harry asked.

She nodded, pointing at the map they had prepared. He grabbed her arm, and she felt the by now familiar sensation of being squeezed through a tube. Then she hit the water, and felt at home. She summoned her rigging while she easily kept Harry from sinking until he had pulled his broom out.

The wizard sped away as fast as he could while her four turrets turned, lining up. She could easily make out the Bismarck on her radar. And she had ranged her guns just an hour ago. Minimal adjustments.

Then eight guns spoke, and Hood was fighting her nemesis once again.

Thames Estuary, Britain, May 5th 2001

HMS Hood didn't cheer when she noticed one, maybe two hits on the Bismarck. But she smiled through clenched teeth when the expected return fire didn't happen. Not even after double the time it would have taken her to turn and engage. It looked like the rocket artillery barrage had damaged the radar. Maybe even the rangefinders, if she was really lucky. But the smoke rounds getting dropped on the area the enemy was in would hinder their optics anyway.

She fired her main guns again, sailing a course parallel to the enemy. As long as she could hit her enemy, and they couldn't hit her back she was good. One probable hit. If she had an aircraft of her own it would have been able to spot for her… but she didn't. Not anymore. And Harry and Ron hadn't the training to serve as observers.

She directed another salvo of the rocket artillery, for good measure. Reloading a launcher took several minutes, but with the numbers of launchers in position, they could keep up an almost constant fire on the enemy. Her radar showed her the smaller boats breaking formation under the barrage. Then her own guns fired again. Third salvo without any return fire. Hood allowed herself to smile when she noticed another likely hit. Not even the monster she was facing could weather that kind of fire for too long without taking critical damage!

Like clockwork, her fourth volley was underway half a minute after the third. Then her radar picked up an aeroplane over the enemy. They had launched a spotter! "Harry, Ron! Seaplane in the air. It'll direct their fire if not stopped."

"Alright, we're on it!" Ron responded, without any military form.

Hood wouldn't complain though. Not when the two wizards were about to engage a military aeroplane on just two brooms. And in range of the enemy anti-aircraft guns. Besides, they were Air Force. Kind of.

She fired again, and another rocket salvo struck. But then her radar picked up shells flying towards her. The Bismarck had finally detected her! She flinched, then clenched her jaw. She was a warship of the Royal Navy.

The shells hit all around her, not close enough to hurt her, but she was straddled. She changed course, adjusting her own calculations as she veered to starboard, and wished that damn Nazi seaplane was in range of her four-inchers. Her main guns fired again. Her crew kept up two shots per minute, like clockwork. The Bismarck fired as well, though. Her enemy had faster reload times than her.

This time the shells hit far too close. No direct hit with plunging fire, to her relief, but the explosions shook her and she felt her hull being battered, some gear shaken lose, some leaks sprung. And that cursed seaplane was still up there, directing that terrible fire. Where were those wizards?

Thames Estuary, Britain, May 5th 2001

Ron Weasley hissed as he followed Harry towards the enemy seaplane. He was no coward, he knew that. Had known it for a long time. But what he had seen so far… he had thought the Battle of Hogwarts, when the Dark Lord had turned the Quidditch pitch into a crater, had been terrifying, but this… below him, more of those rockets struck. He thought he heard several explosions, and inhuman screams. Then his broom shook as the creature below him fired her guns again. They were directly over the enemy formation, as Hood called it. The seaplane was circling ahead of them. If they used their smaller guns… he had seen what those did to broom riders.

Harry pushed ahead, of course. He was a Seeker. He focused on his target, and damn the bludgers. Ron was a Keeper. He had to keep an eye on the quaffle, and the bludgers at all times. He was almost relieved when they were close enough to the seaplane to engage it, and still disillusioned. Two Reductor Curses hit one wing, and the aeroplane started to spin and drop, the rear gunner blindly firing until it hit the water.

"I'm hit. No critical damage," Hood said through the radio.

She sounded hurt though, and Ron wondered what non-critical damage meant for a ship. He saw smoke rise from her position. "Hood, are you on fire?"

"I'm dealing with it. I'm in no danger of sinking." The sound of her next volley drowned out her words, but he thought he heard 'not yet.'

"Below us!" Harry suddenly shouted in the radio.

Ron looked down. Four creatures, pale and unnatural, were sailing toward Hood's position. And behind them, a horde of… "Merlin's arse! What are those?"

London, Ministry of Magic, May 5th, 2001

Inside her office, alone in the Department of Mysteries, and likely the whole Ministry, Hermione Granger tried not to think of what was happening at the mouth of the Thames. Of the danger her friends were facing. She had her own mission. They had to know if their suspicion was correct. She snorted while she cast detection and privacy spells. Just like at the battle of Hogwarts - Harry and Ron were out there, fighting, while she was casting spells deep in the basement, to prepare for the defeat of Voldemort.

Her wand moved back and forth as she unsealed the safe and revealed the sealing crystal. Taking a deep breath, she levitated it out, and into the circle she had prepared on the floor. She wouldn't touch the thing with her hands - she had touched too many Horcruxes; the mere thought of touching another container for Voldemort's soul made her shudder with revulsion.

Once again she wished she had found a spell to track Horcruxes. If they had found all the Horcruxes, before Hogwarts, then maybe there wouldn't have been so many deaths. They could have attacked Voldemort directly, instead of luring him into a trap… She shook her head. She had a mission.

Pointing her wand at the crystal, she started to cast the spell.

Thames Estuary, Britain, May 5th 2001

Harry Potter's curses were drowned out by the explosions below him. Another rocket strike had just hit the area of their enemy - part of it at least. The four figures sailing towards Hood were untouched, as was the horde behind them.

"Hood! There is a fleet moving towards you!" he yelled into the radio.

"I've detected them. The Bismarck is still operational." Hood sounded composed now. "She has to be sunk."

"Can you do it before those things reach you?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

He didn't believe her. Or rather, he didn't think she believed that either. "Redirect the rocket artillery on the other enemies!"

"Negative. The Bismarck is the primary target."

"She's barmy!" Ron yelled, next to him.

"No more than we are," Harry yelled back.

Both of them had done the same thing, at Hogwarts, when Voldemort had sent his werewolves at them. Harry slipped his left hand into his pocket, steering the broom with his knees. He pulled out a can. Timing this would be tricky… on the other hand, the things were on a straight course. He grinned and yelled: "Let's light them up!"

"You're barmy!" Ron yelled back, but Harry knew his friend would be right behind him.

The two dived down, towards the sea. Towards the enemy. They didn't seem to have seen them yet. "Now!" Harry yelled, dropping his can, and canceling the Shrinking Charm on it.

The two tanks hit the water right in front of the enemy, then started to multiply as the Gemino Curse started. The pale humanoid monsters quickly scattered, but the horde was too slow to react. They were still in the middle of the bobbing tanks when Harry and Ron hit them with Blasting Curses.

And the sea turned to fire beneath them.

Thames Estuary, Britain, May 5th 2001

HMS Hood changed course again. She was taking on water now, and leaking some oil. Her uniform was rent and scorched. That last hit had taken out her Y-turret as well, turning it into a mass of twisted metal, together with one of her four-inchers. But she was still in the fight. And her enemy had to be hurting - their fire had slowed down. Hood's three remaining turrets fired. It didn't matter how many guns her enemy had left if they couldn't aim as well as hers. And the escorts would still take some time until they were in range.

This time the Bismarck's salvo went wide. It seemed her rangefinders were still damaged. Hood's had suffered some damage as well, but her radar was still working. And that was what counted. One more probable hit, she noticed, directing another rocket artillery salvo. Her side hurt when she turned again. One more salvo!

Six fifteen-inch guns fired. How much punishment could the Bismarck take? Hood knew it had taken a whole fleet hours to sink the monster, but she didn't need to do that. If she could cripple her, take out her weapons, the navy could sink her. Eventually. She just had to last that long.

The two destroyers and the two light cruisers were still closing. Not too much longer until she was in range of their guns, and worse, their torpedoes. Hood's four-inchers wouldn't be enough to deal with them, but her main guns were needed to deal with the Bismarck. And those things behind them… she couldn't call them 'boats', but she knew they'd swarm her, and overwhelm her. And yet she had her duty.

Sink the Bismarck.

Another salvo went out, right before her enemy's arrived. Near-misses only this time, but the shockwaves hurt her, and worsened the damage she had suffered. If only… if only… Another hit! She grinned through her own pain.

Then she blinked. The Bismarck was veering off. Changing course. Retiring from the battle!

Hood blinked through the blood and oil running down her face. The beast was running! She wouldn't let her escape! She started to change course in response, then realised she'd have to pass through the enemy escorts to go after the Bismarck. And she'd not survive that.

Cursing, she sent a last salvo at the battleship, then turned her attention on the still charging escorts. Destroyers were hard to hit at that range, but if Hood charged them head-on, they'd have a harder time torpedoing her. And they were tin cans.

Her main guns fired, no hits. She corrected her aim when she noticed that the two destroyers were taking evasive action, but only one of the cruisers did as well, and redirected her fire. Her next salvo focused on that cruiser, and one of her guns scored a direct hit. The cruiser's chest exploded and she fell forward, face down into the water with all her forward compartments flooded while she started to sink.

The other cruiser peeled off, fleeing, but the two destroyers still came at her. Hood's next salvo missed, and so did the one after that. She wasn't that worried though. Her own four-inchers outranged their five-inchers by almost two thousand five hundred yards.

They were good though, evading her main guns' fire as they closed with her. But then they were in range of her remaining four-inchers, and their rate of fire was ten times faster. She focused on the leading destroyer, and the tin can was soon listing to the side, slowing down. Unable to evade her main guns any longer.

A fifteen-inch shell tore the destroyer's leg off, and left her sinking. The other destroyer finally had enough and turned away. Hood kept firing at the fleeing enemy, but even if she hadn't been damaged, she wouldn't have been able to catch her.

She slowed down, standing on weary legs. She had won this battle, but the enemy had escaped. And they wouldn't sail into such an ambush a second time.

HMS Hood had failed in her duty.

Thames Estuary, Britain, May 5th 2001

Ron Weasley had fought Inferi in the war. Sometimes he still had nightmares about those monsters advancing towards him while on fire, with the stench of burning flesh filling the air in that sea cave. Even Bubble-Head Charms couldn't keep it away, though Hermione insisted that it was just psychological. Whatever that meant.

He was smelling the same stench, above the burning, thrashing things in the water. The screams were new though - the Inferi he had fought until then had not made any sound. Nor had they had any guns. These creatures did.

He saw one managing to escape the killing zone and sent a Blasting Curse at it. Harry and he had quickly found out that anything other than that curse didn't really have any effect on those things. Piercing Curses were ignored, Cutting Curses barely scratched them, and even Reductor Curses just left small craters or holes in their putrid flesh.

The thing blew up, but the parts left continued to burn, even in the water. He had expected that - it wasn't the first time he had used Greek Fire, just the first time on such a scale. And the first time on the open sea.

One of the things started firing at him, again. But its aim was off - the explosions didn't even rattle Ron. Harry swooped in and blew it apart, then had to dive even lower to avoid another one shooting at him.

Ron cursed at his friend for taking such risks when all they had to do was to deal with those who managed to get away, and watch the rest burn.

Suddenly, several explosions shook the mass of monsters, drowning out the screams. Ron jerked his broom around and frantically looked for the source of the attack. "Someone's shooting at the monsters!"

"This is HMS Hood, engaging the remaining enemies."

Ron relaxed some, and pulled his broom up some more. He'd rather not get too close to that kind of fire. "What about the Bismarck?" he asked.

"The Bismarck retired from the battle. I was too damaged to pursue her and lost radar contact after fighting the escorts. Two of which escaped as well."

"She fled?" Ron grinned widely, despite the stench in the air. London was safe. Hermione was safe. The Ministry too.

"I failed to sink her."

Hood sounded rather… like Hermione, after Malfoy Manor, Ron thought. Another girl who saw anything but a complete success as a defeat. Hermione learned better after Gringotts, but hopefully Hood wouldn't need to break into a bank as well.

With Hood's guns, the monsters were quickly dealt with, and Ron descended to sea level next to the battlecruiser. She was looking horrible - scorched and ripped clothes, gashes beneath those, bruises, one of her turrets was a mangled wreck, and her 'rigging' had holes in it. He wasn't quite certain how the girl could stand.

"Can you make it to the coast?" he asked.

Hood nodded. "Yes. I'm not taking on more water than my pumps can handle." She glanced at her guns. "I will have to spend a long time in the drydocks though, to repair this damage."

"Let me try!" Ron said, without thinking, and pointed his wand at her rigging. "Reparo!" He frowned when nothing happened. "I guess it didn't work. Maybe a healing spell…"

"No, no!" Hood shook her head, blinking. "That fixed part of my damage. Do it again!"

"Alright. Reparo. Reparo. Reparo. Reparo. Reparo." Ron peered at the girl, trying to spot if anything was getting fixed. That many spells had fixed his parents' flying car after Malfoy Manor, but he still couldn't see much of a change in Hood.

"Yes… that's the pipes fixed, and the power lines." Hood smiled. "Please continue."

"Err… of course." Ron aimed his wand again, flying parallel to the battlecruiser. "Reparo. Reparo. Reparo." He saw Harry nearby and waved at his friend. Two wands were better than one.

By the time they reached the shore, Ron felt exhausted, Harry looked exhausted, but Hood was beaming. "You even fixed my condensers! Better than new!" She kept looking over her shoulder at her rigging, even. Harry had tried healing spells, but they hadn't done anything for Hood's wounds. Or bruises.

Hood made her rigging vanish - she didn't know where it went, or so she had said when Hermione had asked, several times - and stepped on shore. She stumbled at once. "Ow." She looked confused. "I'm hurting… but I was repaired…"

"But apparently not healed," Harry said. "Episkey!"

"Thank you." Hood frowned. "Getting hurt like humans is unnatural! I'm a ship. I shouldn't be bleeding!"

Ron exchanged a glance with Harry. "You didn't feel hurt until now?"

Hood shook her head. "No. Not while I had my rigging."

"Hermione will love analysing that," Ron muttered.

"No, she won't. Not in the middle of a crisis," Harry said.

Hood sighed. "I know. I failed. I should have sunk the Bismarck. But she escaped, and she will return. And she won't fall for such an ambush again." The girl shook her head. "Next time she'll be prepared." Left unsaid was that Hood didn't think she'd survive that battle.

"Then we'll have to think of another plan!" Ron patted Hood on the shoulder. "We've been there before. In the last wizard war, we had a plan as well. We did our best, but… we realised we couldn't win." He grimaced. "So, we had to come up with an alternative. And we did." He nodded. "Trust us - we're good at that. Well, Hermione and Harry are. I mostly keep them from moping."

"I don't mope," Hood said. "But what can we do when the Bismarck returns?"

"Well…" Ron didn't have an answer ready. "She's hurt as well. Damaged I mean. She'll take time to recover. Time we can use."

"And she'll have to find a way to counter the rocket launchers. She'll probably not get close to Britain for a while." Harry grinned.

Ron could tell he wasn't being quite honest, but Hood smiled again.

"So, let's meet Hermione, and find out what her experiment told her," Harry said.

Ron pointed to the woods, from which muggle soldiers emerged. "We need to talk to them first."

Hopefully that wouldn't take too long.

London, Ministry of Magic, May 5th 2001

Hermione Granger was double-checking the results of her spell when the glowing terrier entered her office and spoke with Ron's voice: "We've driven the enemy off. Harry, I and our guest are safe."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. They were safe. The battle was won. She wiped some tears from her eyes, and drew her wand. Then she focused on the day they had pulled the soul fragment out of Harry's scar, proving that the sealing spell she had developed worked. The smile on his face. The warmth of his and Ron's body when she hugged them both. The kisses that had followed, and left them blinking.

A quick spell later, a silvery otter was swimming around her desk, peering at her. Her smile vanished, and she said: "Meet me at Grimmauld Place." She sighed when the Patronus had vanished. She hated to do this - her message would already tell the boys what she had found - but this couldn't wait.

Then she stood up, collected her notes, checked once again that her safe was hidden and the protection spells in place, and left her office. She walked down the hallway, then opened the second door on the right. "Katherine!"

The witch jerked, guilt written over her face. She should have evacuated with the rest of the Ministry. "Yes?"

"The danger should be over. I'm out of the office for the day." Hermione stared at the witch. "Don't let anyone inside, not even the Minister herself."

"Of course!"

Hermione nodded and left. A minute later, she stepped out of the fireplace in Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Angelina greeted her. "Ah… Hermione."

"Just passing through," Hermione said and threw the Floo Powder she had brought with her into the flames. "No. 12 Grimmauld Place."

"Alright. I'll see you this evening." Angelina's expression told Hermione that the former Chaser still thought she was paranoid. But old habits died hard. Habits that had saved her once already died even harder. Being predictable meant inviting ambushes. As did trusting too many people.

Once back in her home, she relaxed. Grimmauld Place was safe. Safer than any other place in Britain. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a soda and a sandwich. It wasn't quite lunch yet, but she would rather eat now, and not waste time on it later. She couldn't afford to. The Ministry wards had cost her two days.

She checked her watch - mechanical, like everything in the house. Electronics didn't last long inside these wards. Harry and Ron were taking a long time to return. What could be holding them up? Normally, she wouldn't worry; they would have contacted her if there was an emergency, but considering the circumstances… She was biting her lower lip, hard, and made an effort to stop before she bled. Should she have told them through the Patronus? But what if there were others when it arrived...

"Hermione?"

That was Ron! She started to run, then slowed down before she reached the entrance hall. "Ron! Harry!" She hugged them, then nodded at Hood. "Hood."

The battlecruiser - and that was a concept Hermione still had trouble accepting, despite the evidence - nodded back, looking rather forlorn for a ship who had just won against the odds.

"She thinks she failed," Ron explained. "We keep telling her she won, and gained us valuable time to prepare and find a better plan, but…" He shrugged. "The muggle Admiral did so as well, which is what held us up longer than anticipated."

Harry nodded. "Sunk two escorts, drove away the Bismarck and two other escorts… and she thinks she failed."

"I didn't sink the Bismarck. She'll be back."

Harry grinned, apparently remembering that movie. Hermione glared at him, then turned to the shipgirl. "You faced an enemy that outnumbered and outclassed you, and drove them away. That's not failing." She sighed. "Especially in light of what I found out."

Harry and Ron, who had been smiling at some shared joke she was not privy to, grew serious. "It's Voldemort then."

Hermione winced. "Yes. The spell's results are clear. I checked twice. The Bismarck is possessed by Voldemort."

Ron cursed, and Harry was grinding his teeth.

"Excuse me?" Hood raised her hand. "Who's Voldemort?"

Hermione looked at Harry. Her friend sighed, and started to explain.

"The fragment of the soul of an evil wizard possessed a Nazi shipgirl. A wizard who has come back from death twice before, and will return again, unless this is the last soul fragment of his." Hood didn't show any emotion when she summed up what Harry had told her while they ate in the kitchen. Or, in Hood's case, devoured food as fast as they managed to cast the Doubling Charm.

"Yes." Harry nodded. "Defeating him cost us friends and family. He took over the Ministry, but Hogwarts held out."

"He was fixated on the school. If he had focused on us, we'd never have managed to pull off some of our missions," Ron added.

"Do you think he'll go after Hogwarts?"

Ron grimaced. "I don't think so. He wasn't a battleship before. Hogwarts is not exactly near the sea."

"If his soul fragment merged with the 'spirit' of the Bismarck, then that may have influenced him and his goals as well," Hermione said. She ignored the way Hood narrowed her eyes - she had never heard about a ship's spirit. She knew souls existed, but ships had no souls. Their crew did though. "We don't know enough. Did the Bismarck use any magic?"

"She seemed to control the weather. She called on a storm to arrive and leave in." Harry frowned. "But she didn't use a storm to drive us from the sky."

"Did you see a wand?" Hermione made a few notes.

"No." Harry shook his head.

"Her radar was not working during the battle. If she could use that repair magic, I think she'd have done that," Hood said.

"If she can't use a wand, then that will limit her," Ron said.

"Unless one of the Death Eaters who were on Azkaban can do it for her. Him. Whatever." Harry shrugged.

"Unprotected humans will not survive long in a battle between ships," Hood said.

"So… tactically, she will not be able to repair damage quickly." Ron rubbed his nose. "Strategically, though, we cannot count on her being forced to… how do you repair your rigging without magic?"

"Uhh…" Hood blinked. "I'd be repaired in a drydock, optimally. Some make-shift repairs can be done by my crew, or a repair ship, but it's not ideal."

Harry tapped his scar. "If Voldemort is controlling the Bismarck, and if he cannot use a wand anymore, then he might not let others use wands. He'd hate to feel inferior to anyone."

"That would be exceptionally stupid," Hood said. "How could such a man have taken over Magical Britain?"

Hermione nodded. "He's not stupid. But this is not him - this is just a soul fragment. And as we noticed in our second year, those are more than a bit unstable, and not as smart as the whole, so to speak." About as smart as magical portraits, and everyone in Gryffindor knew just how dumb those were. "So… it's possible, but we shouldn't count on it."

"There were not that many Death Eaters in Azkaban anyway. Malfoy and Carrow were the only ones of note," Ron added.

Harry nodded. "We should have killed those two as well."

Hermione frowned. The Death Eaters had flocked to the Dark Lord every time when he had returned, and the trio had sworn early on that they wouldn't let any Death Eater live just so they could join Voldemort for a fourth time. Alas, the two dark witches had surrendered to the Aurors after the Ministry had been retaken, and managed to avoid the Veil.

"Hindsight is… what do you call it?" Ron asked.

"20/20," Hermione answered, reflexively. "But let us return to the main topic. We need to research shipgirls. We really need to find out how they… appear. The Bismarck managed to procure four of them, somehow. If we cannot duplicate that…" she trailed off.

"Pensieve time?" Ron asked.

She nodded. "I'll also need to examine you again, Hood."

"What about the notes you found?"

Hermione winced. "My computer's working on decrypting them." The damned cipher had proven to be more complicated to crack than she had expected to start with, and that wasn't counting the problem of scanning and decrypting pages handwritten on parchment. But since the cipher had been broken, it wouldn't take much longer, though. Or so she hoped. She glared at Ron, daring him to say he told her so, but he wisely decided not to rub it in.

Drawing her wand, she smiled at the battlecruiser. "So, let's get started."

Devon, Ottery St. Catchpole, May 5th 2001

Harry frowned, as he usually did when he saw the Burrow. The Weasley's ancestral home had been destroyed during the war - fortunately without loss of life, though both Molly and Arthur had been cursed. And Bill had almost died. The eldest Weasley son hadn't recovered until the war had been over. That was reason alone, Harry thought, to make a few changes.

But the family had chosen to rebuild it as close to how it had been as possible. The same gravity-defying house, the garden, the field… the pond behind it. And the gaping security holes in the layout. Harry and his friends had offered to pay for a better, sturdier, safer house. As safe and secure as possible for their family. But Arthur and Molly hadn't listened. Hadn't wanted to change it. They even had the ghoul in the attic replaced!

They tried to act, in Harry's opinion, as if the war had never happened. But the Weasleys had changed. Even though they did their best not to show it. Which, in his opinion, made it even more obvious. They were no Slytherins, after all.

"Wow… how can that house be standing?"

Harry looked at Hood, who was standing there, gaping.

"Magic," was Ron's dry answer, which earned him a glare from Hermione, whose quick explanation of magical construction went over the battlecruiser's head with a mile to spare, as far as Harry could tell.

But then, it took their mind off the upcoming dinner, which was a good thing.

Ron was the first to enter. "Mum, Dad! We're here," he announced. "We brought a guest too."

Molly stepped out of a kitchen and smiled at them. Her two-stage smile, as Harry liked to think of it. She started with a shy smile, then it grew - almost, but not quite, into the smile he remembered. "There you are! I was so worried!"

To Harry's surprise, she came forward and hugged them all, without the slightest hesitation. She was even crying when she released him. Of course - they were at war again! Molly would have known they'd be fighting. Risking their lives again. She'd have been so worried, again. How could he have forgotten this?

He glanced at his friends. Ron patted his mum's back with a sheepish expression, mumbling something about everyone being alright and safe. Hermione looked like she had just remembered something obvious she had forgotten. Harry smiled - he wasn't alone.

"Fred and George are coming with Angelina, as soon as they have closed the shop. Ginny might be a bit late, she said they have practice today. Despite, you know…" Molly frowned.

"You mean the attack?" Hood asked.

Harry closed his eyes. He should have known that the battlecruiser turned girl wasn't subtle. Or diffident.

"You must be Hood then," Molly said, her smile polite.

Hood, apparently oblivious, nodded emphatically. "Her Majesty's Ship Hood, Admiral-Class battlecruiser, Royal Navy. Pennant number 51." She beamed at the witch. "I would like to thank you for inviting me to dinner with your family!"

"Of course, dear." Molly answered, obviously confused. Apparently, Arthur hadn't told her what was going on. Swell.

Ron stepped into the breach. "She's the one who fought the enemy this morning, preventing another attack on the Ministry."

"I wasn't alone, Ron and Harry fought bravely! As did the Royal Artillery," Hood said, smiling brightly. "Your son was very courageous, Ma'am, attacking those monsters!"

"What?" Molly gasped, staring at the battlecruiser. Then she stared at Ron. Then at Harry. "What did you do?"

"They provided air cover while I engaged the Bismarck and her escorts, Ma'am."

"The thing that laid waste to London?" Molly asked, trembling. Harry quickly conjured a chair for her.

Hood blinked. "Ah… you didn't know?"

Hermione was rubbing her temple and Ron was once again hugging his mum. Fortunately, Arthur arrived at this moment, so he could take the blame.

It took five minutes to explain Hood's presence, and fifteen minutes to calm down Molly. Fortunately, the witch understood the need for secrecy. Although the look she shot at Harry told him that she hadn't forgotten what secrets he and his friends had kept from her in the last war. She wouldn't bring it up though - Ron's mum had learned that confronting the three of them about what they did - and now would do - in war was a fast way to ruin a family gathering. Like asking Molly and Arthur to be more security-conscious, as Hermione put it.

"Bill's not coming," Molly said as they helped set the table. "Too dangerous, with the recent attack, they said." She sighed. "I can't fault Fleur for that. Not with…" She shook her head. Neither of the three chose to comment on the fact that Fleur didn't consider the Burrow safe enough for her family. Not after she had dragged her fiancé out of the ruins.

"We'll do our best to defeat the enemy, ma'am!" Hood cut in, turning away from the family clock she had been examining.

"That's nice, dear," Molly said. "Charlie can't make it, but he's taking time off from work to visit as soon as possible."

Harry nodded. Everyone knew there was only one thing Charlie would leave his beloved dragons for - his family's safety.

Fred, George and Angelina arrived on time, and the mood lifted, as usual with the twins. They hadn't changed much, though their humour had become a bit darker. And, of course, they didn't sell love potions in their shop. Not anymore.

"And who are you?" Fred grinned at Hood. "Did the ménage à trois expand into a ménage à quatre?" The twins were also the only ones who made jokes about the trio's love life.

Hood looked confused. "Pardon?"

"Well, it's a family gathering, so you must be related to a Weasley. Since I know we didn't bring you, and mum didn't tell us they had taken someone in, and Ginny doesn't bring her friends to our gatherings, that leaves the trio here. Are you their 'plus one'?"

"Err… I'm staying with them. It would be irresponsible to leave their side, in case there's an… a situation," Hood said, with a forced smile. She understood secrecy, Harry knew, but cover stories seemed to elude her still. "I'm Hood."

"Let's eat now!" Molly interrupted the beginning interrogation, to Harry's relief. For once, the witch's unwillingness to talk about the trio's 'arrangement' worked out in their favor.

Of course, Hood's appetite caught the attention of everyone at the table, despite the battlecruiser having 'refueled' at Grimmauld Place already. Hermione had to tell the twins not to butt into 'Unspeakable business' to make them drop the matter - and only after far too much innuendo and jokes about 'Unspeakables' and 'Unmentionables'.

And then Ginny arrived, and Hood was given the third degree again, since the youngest Weasley wasn't about to let some 'blonde stranger' take advantage of her friends and brother.

All in all, it was the most relaxing Weasley family dinner Harry had had in some time.

North Sea, Azkaban, May 5th, 2001

Even hours after the battle, she was still filled with rage. Ambushed by an outdated battlecruiser! Driven to flight, even, by a ship she had sunk in three minutes before! Almost crippled by treachery! The perfidious Albion had shown their true nature once again!

But so had others! She ground her teeth at the cowardice Narcissa had shown on the field of battle, fleeing without orders instead of pressing the attack! She wanted to go and punish the craven cruiser again, but that would mean she would have to leave this soothing bath and feel the pain from her damaged hull and superstructure again - she had already worsened her damage when she had beaten the ship bloody.

Leaning back against the bathtub's edge, she calmed down. She had lost a battle, but not the war. She would fix her wounds, and then she would go and gather a real fleet. There wouldn't be any more experiments with turning witches into warships. No, her comrades, the warriors who had fallen in battle against England would rise again, more terrifying than before!

As she should have done before, she would go north, where half the Kriegsmarine was resting.

Resting, and waiting.