Chapter 55 - Growing Pains

Mistress Minerva McGonagall, Professor of Transfiguration, Head of Gryffindor House and Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts reflected to herself that her job had become more satisfying ever since James and Lily's boy arrived at the school.

At first, she was shocked at all the questions he had. Supposedly those Dursleys were going to explain everything to him but from the way they had treated him before his rescue by the Clan she doubted they would have done anything so helpful. And for all the Clan's virtues, knowledge of the Wizarding World was utterly beyond them before the Hogwarts Letter. It wasn't their fault, however, since her world had hidden itself away, becoming less and less bound to the rest of humanity.

She had found herself liking the boy from the start. He was polite, intelligent, curious and friendly. And Merlin he was thorough. She didn't find it that funny at the time, but now that she thought of it she laughed at the memory of Ollivander getting his own little prank turned around on him. Merlin knew that wizards could become rather eccentric, but the wandmaker showed off at every opportunity. It felt good to see him on the receiving end for a change.

And while she hadn't thought much about it before, she could see the advantage to getting backup wands. Indeed, over the holidays she had gone to get a second for herself. Ollivander had been as haughty as ever so she smiled thinly at him. "I thought I would give you the chance for more business, Mr Ollivander. On second thoughts, I will get a better wand elsewhere."

Ollivander had paled at that and caved in, finding another wand for her. This wand was a better match, too, something that Ollivander looked unsure if he should be pleased about or not. On the one hand, he had proved to get her the best wand, but on the other hand, it proved his original one wasn't as good as he wanted to claim. She paid him the money and walked out, triumphant.

Her mind returned back to the last Potter, smiling as she remembered her last visit there and the way all his girls doted on him, and how he pampered them in return just as much. She had been delivering Prefect badges, having badgered Pomona into letting her deliver the ones for Harry and Susan, as well as the Gryffindor one for Lavender.

Filius was with her, delivering the prized badges to Padma and Cho and taking the chance to chat with his favourite students. He even considered Harry an honorary Ravenclaw due to his high marks and highly active mind. Minerva had rolled her eyes at that comment but agreed that Harry would have made an excellent Ravenclaw, but that he was obviously Gryffindor material. Taking on the Basilisk blindfolded and clearing out an entire colony of Acromantulas was the kind of noble and stupidly brave thing Gryffindors loved best. The other teachers praised him, too, even Severus had said he wasn't the dunderhead or pampered prince he had been expecting.

But all of that she had known two years ago. What Minerva was struggling with now was that her feelings of pride and respect had become tinged with more. It all started with what she now knew to be an innocent comment from the young man that she had taken the wrong way. She had thought Harry had a crush on her, despite having a few girlfriends already, and deep down, she had been flattered.

Simply put, it was hard not to fall a little bit in love with the young man.

He always went out of his way to be kind and helpful, but would be the first line of defence to protect those he found dear. Minerva was lucky to count herself among that elite group. Her feelings were further complicated by the fact that the boy looked like a wealthy and influential young man who was devilishly handsome and could sweep any woman off her feet. All in all the kind of man that lonely housewives fantasise about.

She might be up there in years, but without her glamour, she could pass as an attractive thirty-something non-magical woman, which only made the situation worse given Harry had no problem with Angelique Marquette or Amelia Bones.

Lucius Malfoy, Lord Malfoy to those who knew good breeding when they saw it, was frustrated. He had thought the return of Lord Voldemort would bring with it everything he had dreamed of, power, glory and vengeance on the dirty Muggles who grew in numbers every year, crowding out their superiors or forcing them to live in squalor among them.

Muggles were filthy.

All proper wizards knew that, and Mudblood claims that they had learned how to clean themselves were just self-serving lies, of course. A true Slytherin could spot those a mile away. After all, without magic, there was no way they could get enough water and without that, they were just festering sores on the world that needed to be cleansed.

That was why he despised the Blood Traitors. They associated themselves with filth, allowing diseases to get into their pure world. It was also why he took pride in his work, making sure to clean the filthy homes the Muggles built for themselves, removing the stain of the inhabitants as well as removing their money, swapping it with those disgusting Goblins for real money, honest Galleons that he could use to improve their world.

Unfortunately, his Dark Master had refused to allow Lucius to carry on his work for the moment. Lucius knew he could never survive if it came down to it so he threw himself into the work of seducing more proper wizards and witches to the cause. The training the Dark Lord demanded became an outlet for his darker thoughts, purging himself of impure desires to supplant Lord Voldemort. No, that was not the Slytherin way. A Slytherin should be content to wield power from the shadows. Sadly, that was one lesson that his son seemed incapable of learning, and his dear wife Narcissa still refused to entertain the thought of bearing a replacement.

None of that was the current reason for Lucius' ill temper. No, that was down to that infuriating Bones bitch. The low-born bint refused to recognise her place relative to his or to allow him the freedoms due him as Lord Malfoy. She was keeping her Aurors on him, too, constraining him further.

Oh, he managed to slip away from them. After all, he was a proper wizard, not like the Halfbloods and blood traitors that infested the DMLE these days. On the other hand, it took far too much time out of his day to give them the slip and if he did it too often, he risked Bones replacing them with more competent wizards, so he had to ration those outings, saving them for more important ventures.

It was on one of those ventures that he had been sent by his master that day, acquiring more Re'em blood to sustain his new body. It was a relief in some ways to be out of Malfoy Manor and away from his dear sister-in-law Bellatrix. Azkaban had done her sanity no favours, making her even more insane but also more devoted to Lord Voldemort. The result of that was that she would often use that childish baby talk to taunt those Death Eaters whose devotion she felt insufficient, which was almost everyone really.

He was glad for the accidental improvement to his house's protections but the way it concentrated the Dark Lord's forces was a worry. Oh, no one could get in, of course, but it also drew attention having so many visitors constantly coming and going. While none of that was a crime, it meant that the less than legal activities they did perform were always at risk of leading back to him, and that was unacceptable.

Pointing that out to his master was equally unwise, however. The last time he had tried to give a subtle suggestion to spread out their forces, his Master's wrath had been roused. He had held Lucius under the Cruciatus for a minor eternity before releasing it, red eyes flashing as Voldemort coldly informed Lucius that if he questioned his authority again, he would not be so lenient, fingering his wand as he did so.

It was far from an idle threat. Other initiates, even long-time members, had been publicly executed and disposed like so much Muggle trash for just such an infraction. Failure also brought punishment, of course, and there was no way to resign even if one wished, something that fool Karkaroff had learned to his cost.

No, all things considered, being sent out like an errand boy to get supplies was humiliating but better than refusing to get them, even if he did long to go out on raids like in the good old days. At least the recruitment drive had bought his Lord's complete forgiveness.

Assembling so many wizards and witches under Voldemort's banner had given his Master an even greater number of supporters than ever before. Each new marked Death Eater made it easier to bring in others to be branded with the Dark Mark. This time, Voldemort would have control and power over them all.

It was an upbeat scene at the Kitsune Compound that evening. With the Prefect positions assigned, Harry's parents decided to throw their own party for him and his Jewels. In the end, Harry, Susan, Lavender, Padma, Cho and Daphne had all been selected by their respective Heads of House for the responsibility, over half the available positions had gone to Harry and his ladies. Pomona Sprout had paid them a visit of her own, explaining to the Hufflegirls her choice.

"All of you are bright young girls," she told them, "so there was little to choose between you on that score. Then I had to look at your personalities. Not everyone is suitable. I shudder to imagine what would have happened if Professor McGonagall had picked either of the Weasley twins as a Prefect, if they had the marks to begin with." Pomona muttered the last part under her breath, but still loud enough for everyone to hear and nod in agreement. "All that extra opportunity to make mischief would have made life horrible for at least some of the students."

"And just as not everyone is suitable, some are more suited than others. The position needs someone who can represent the interests of the school, someone who takes responsibility and is prepared to put in the long hours needed." Pomona smiled, "I am sure any of you would have worked hard, you're all good Hufflepuffs like that. Lastly, the position is one of leadership. It should be held by someone who makes a good leader."

Leanne nodded. "That's why it wasn't me. I am happy following Harry's lead. I don't need the spotlight, either."

Hannah agreed, cuddling into Harry's side.

"So it came to a choice between Susan here and Hermione. Hermione, in the end I chose to give it to Susan not because of any weakness in you but because of your strengths. You are better advised spending your time and energies on learning and researching than on patrols of the castle. You have a first-class mind and it would be a crime to waste it.

"Now, Susan is more at home in social situations which is a large part of being a good Prefect. You will have to exert your authority over other students, even ones in their final year. While I couldn't give two hoots about blood status, sadly, some students will, and they will resent any Prefect punishing them for their transgressions but all the more if the Prefect is supposed to be their inferior."

Hermione bristled at this until a hand on her arm caused her to look over at Harry. She could tell he was unhappy with the idea of letting the bigots win like that, but it was clear that the woman had made up her mind.

"All of this is for official records, however. In practice, Hufflepuff Prefects have often had the support of their friends in doing their duties. I am sure you are all bright enough to understand that." She gave them a smile, inwardly cursing Albus' 'request' that she give the position to Susan over Hermione, though Pomona herself had yet to formally decide between the final two girls when the 'request' happened. He claimed that he felt that Susan would be a wonderful choice but the timing was suspicious, coming barely a day after Amelia's ascension to Minister.

Still, he was Albus Dumbledore, her employer, and she had nowhere else to go if she lost her job. She had sold her home decades ago, spending all her time at Hogwarts had made the expense of keeping a house seem silly and Pomona had prided herself on being a sensible witch. In the years since, she had spent much of that money on her beloved greenhouses when Albus said the budget wouldn't cover new specimens, and she was afraid to ask her former students for help. She didn't want to be anyone's object of pity.

So when Albus, Headmaster of Hogwarts, 'requested' her to do something, she had to think hard on refusing him.

At least Susan really would make a decent Prefect. That was her consolation. And telling the kids that they could help her should prevent disaster.

She hoped it would.

When Sprout left, Harry decided to cheer up his girls by doing something silly. One tickle fight later and the girls were red-faced from laughter and Harry had a big smile on his face, right before they ganged up on him to hold him down and make him cry uncle.

The party that followed, thrown in celebration, was entirely non-magical but still special. The Clan had put together a 70s disco, complete with lighting, sound system and bar, though that last would only serve alcohol-free drinks to the minors. The music made up for any perceived lack, the beat catchy and bass loud enough to make you want to dance all night long, and that's just what Harry and the Jewels did.

School shopping went easily enough, especially as they already knew most of what they would need. For most of the subjects, the books used for fifth year hadn't changed in decades, which simplified making up the book-lists for all the students. All in all, it was a fun outing for them, pretending to be a ravenous horde descending on unsuspecting shopkeepers.

It also saw more expansion to the Potter Alliance. As Moony had mentioned before, Muggleborns had a greater than average chance of ending up in poverty after Hogwarts. Cut off from regular society and the skills needed to succeed in it, not to mention the absence of scholastic records, they were almost forced to choose to stay in the Wizarding World. However, the Wizarding World wasn't set up to give them a good start in life and Hogwarts, prior to the recent improvements, was a very expensive failure of a school in that regard.

The prejudice in society, allowed to breed in Hogwarts' halls, made it harder to set up connections with anyone wealthy enough to create new businesses and existing ones hired from family first, allies second and only rarely from the general pool of talent, no matter how competent they were or how incompetent their relatives were.

The Potter Alliance and the Lily Potter Foundation both offered ways for witches and wizards to move up in society, able to earn a good wage from profitable work or to start their own business if they had a good idea. Minerva, now able to provide a solution at the same time as she explained the problem, was much more willing to inform Muggle parents of the dangers and opportunities their children would face.

Unfortunately, the Hogwarts curriculum was fine for teaching its students about magic but businesses needed something a little different. What ended up happening was that following their Hogwarts years, a young witch or wizard would, if they had the right connections, be hired on by an existing firm and go through an apprenticeship there to learn the specific skills and especially the spells needed to do the work.

Places like St Mungos had higher standards, needing their staff to understand the more advanced, difficult and dangerous potions, which was why they had always insisted on NEWT Potions from applicants.

It was a similar case with the Aurors. They were supposed to be the elite, able to handle anything, which meant they wanted to hire more capable people from the outset rather than waste a lot of time and money on someone who just wasn't going to make the grade, potentially costing lives as well as money.

That meant that unless a Muggleborn got into NEWT Potions, something that had become rare since Snape took over the job, they had to make good connections during their school years in the face of widespread bigotry.

All too many of them failed this last and toughest test that they didn't even know they would face.

Thus, Minerva was very pleased that things were finally changing for the better and happy to help expand the Alliance, and the Foundation, as they lived up to their promises.

One new student who needed no convincing in this to get involved in the Potter Alliance was Hermione's little sister, Athena. She hoped to be sorted into Hufflepuff, the same as her sister and her hero, Harry, but they had convinced her that it wouldn't be the end of the world to be sorted elsewhere. She was so excited to be able to attend, not because of the chance to learn magic, but to be close to Harry.

It was the other new students who were more interesting. After a year of preparation, the Jewels were all going to be attending Glebelands with Harry in Cranleigh. Between making new friends and new connections, learning new subjects and, best of all, spending time with Harry and their families, they were all excited at the prospect. Normal 'new school' jitters were rather rare and always resulted in finding Harry's arms wrapped around them as he whispered words to reassure them.

It hadn't been that easy to get the transfers, however. First of all, a number of records had to be forged to create a paper trail for the girls raised in the Wizarding World. Next, they needed to have places to live which meant more construction and more red tape. And last but by no means least, they had to get the agreement of the school and of the town in general. The last thing anyone wanted was to annoy the neighbours and risk the story getting out.

Towards that goal of gaining support, the Clan had paid for, and built, a new building including a new gym and indoor pool, which turned out to be both a hit with parents and a decent tax break. It didn't cost the Clan much at all to build the facility but the market rate meant their holding company still received a sizeable sum of money even as the lowest bidder. Since the money went straight back to the Clan after their charitable donation, the net effects were that the school got a new building and the government paid only the cost of the tax break for it, a win for everyone involved.

Unknown to their neighbours, the homes for the girls would go mostly unused as such, though they were careful to keep them looking lived in, as none of the Jewels wanted to be apart from the rest.

Before they knew it, the day had arrived and they valiantly braved the traffic, heading to Kings Cross Station for another school year at the Scottish castle.

Waiting at Hogwarts was a very busy Minerva McGonagall.

She had not seen her superior and supposed Headmaster of the school all week. Whenever she pressed him, he was always busy trying to 'gather a few friends', a code she knew for reforming his old group, the Order of the Phoenix. While Albus no longer liked how she treated the children, that is, fairly and without regard for the colour of their robes, they still had a working relationship. After Albus had dumped even more of his responsibilities onto her plate, she was left with even more work to handle, three jobs that should each have been full time positions, as well as almost all of the fourth, his own as Headmaster.

It was for that reason that Minerva was strongly considering asking for the title and perks to go with the work and responsibility she was given. It was most unfair for her to be burdened by the job without compensation, after all. Not only that, she knew Albus truly didn't have the ability to do all of his own jobs so taking it back would do no one any favours, except possibly Albus' ego.

There was a Board of Governors meeting scheduled for the day of the equinox, a traditional day for considering changes and the balance of things great and small. It also happened to lie three weeks after the start of the school year, long enough for any early problems to arise but not long enough to solve them unless one was very lucky or very good. A number of Headmasters and Headmistresses had tried, unsuccessfully, to change it from that date, the Board voting against all such proposals with the excuse of 'tradition' on their side.

At that meeting, Minerva would be present along with her boss, part of the traditional grilling that happened every year. This year, however, rather than trying to defend Albus, she would be allowing him to take responsibility for the school he was supposed to lead. It was a little cold, perhaps, but the school and the students deserved the best they could give them, not the leavings of Albus' free time here and there. Maybe in time, Albus would even speak to her again.

To keep her mind off the unpleasant thought, she was working, as so often before, on last minute preparations for the coming year. Whether it was making sure there was enough food for the Feast or going over the budget again after one or another teacher tried to sneak in 'just a little something' for their class or for themselves, there was always work for her to do.

Added to those hassles was having to find a competent candidate for Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts. Always a difficult position to fill ever since that supposed curse was placed upon it three decades ago, Albus had happily shoved it off onto her, freeing up dozens of hours for his politicking or recruiting to his own little private club. Minerva trawled through lists of past students with good results, and was immediately rejected by over a score of them when she approached them. Giving that up as a bad idea, Minerva had then approached Amelia, asking if she had any recommendations or even staff she could afford to lose in order to ensure that the students got a decent teacher.

After some consideration, she had called in Auror John Williamson, a tall wizard with a ponytail as his only remarkable feature. Williamson was good at undercover work because of his lack of distinguishing features. He found it easy to be overlooked, even if his spellwork got countered on the job. He was hard to miss when he wanted to be noticed, however. He projected an intensity and his voice carried well at such times, something that a number of criminals had discovered to their cost.

When he arrived at the Minister's office, Williamson saluted out of habit before he was told to stand at ease. Amelia explained the proposition, giving the middle-aged wizard at least one year at Hogwarts to teach the next generation and get an eye out for good prospects for the Auror Corps, to be encouraged as needed. Amelia guaranteed that his pay wouldn't suffer, indeed, the DADA position was the highest paid at Hogwarts due to the supposed curse which made hiring a right pain in the neck.

After requesting some time to think about it, he came back later that day to say he would accept. The wizard had called up his wife who was thrilled at the news. She worried every day he went to work could be his last and surely teaching would be safe enough.

Williamson had taken one look at the previous year's assigned book-list, supposedly created by Alastor Moody although that was still in doubt, and chucked it out, replacing it with the one from his DADA Professor, the last one to last more than a year in the job.

Since the books were still in print, the change was approved and lists sent out.

That evening, all the students took the coaches up to Hogwarts except for the new First Years who were escorted by Hagrid as per tradition and took boats across the lake, catching their first glimpse of the famous castle.

The eleven-year-old boys and girls ooh'd and aah'd as expected. Even Athena, who had seen the castle plenty of times in Harry's shows, was excited though she wasn't impressed by the building but who she would see inside it.

Trooping up to the main entrance, they were met by "Aunt Minerva" as Athena knew her but in her sternly forbidding Professor look, admonishing them to line up in pairs and then admitting them inside. There were a number of outlandish guesses about the Sorting, mostly from the wizard-raised in the crowd over a hundred strong. The Muggleborns had been approached by the Potter Alliance once their letters had been sent and their acceptance received.

One of the titbits of information they gave out was how students were sorted. After Harry was surprised by the Hat, he felt other students would be too, and it was a stupid tradition to spring that invasion of privacy, they felt. A small bonus was that it gave the Muggleborns a leg up on their Wizardborn companions for once.

Eventually the students were called one by one to be Sorted. Athena waited impatiently for her turn, bouncing excitedly until Professor McGonagall called her name. She tried to settle down and stride over confidently like she imagined Harry had done, taking a seat on the stool and waiting as the Sorting Hat was lowered over her head.

"Another one?" She heard a soft voice grumble. "Look, young lady, you will need to lower your defences so I can do my job, alright? I suppose you're going to threaten me just like that Potter lad, too."

While a little shocked at the ancient magical headgear, Athena obligingly lowered her Yamanaka-style defences and replied, "There, now you can read away. As for threats, well, why don't I save those in case you put me into the Snake Pit? After all, one bad turn deserves another, and we both know that putting a Muggleborn who is the sister of one of Harry Potter's girlfriends into Slytherin would be a bad turn indeed, even with the improvement to the House since he arrived."

The Hat laughed. "You are right, it would be hard at first but it could bring out your greatness, you know."

"Only if I survive and don't kill the sods when they go after me. Then again, it'd serve them right for attacking a defenceless little girl," she grinned evilly, glad that no one could see her expression under the Hat.

"Perhaps. However, I suppose I should avoid bloodshed so Slytherin is out. Ravenclaw?"

"I do have the curiosity for it, but you sorted my sister into Hufflepuff and she is even brighter than I am."

"Gryffindor?"

"I would like to think I am noble but I would much rather be with my sister and friends."

"If you're sure, then it better be HUFFLEPUFF!" The Hat shouted the last part to the Great Hall. Her new housemates applauded politely and there was a smattering of applause from the other three, generally from Harry's friends who knew the little girl from her visits and wanted to encourage her. She got up, passing the old piece of felt back to Professor McGonagall and walked proudly to her table, taking a spot not with the other First Years but between her sister and her Harry.

"Well done, you little scamp." Hermione teased her affectionately, hugging Athena close.

"I didn't even have to threaten the Hat," Athena grinned, "well, not much. Just a little reminder that Slytherin would be unwise was enough. It felt like it was just going through the motions. How long was I under?"

"About ten seconds." Harry replied. "Welcome to Hufflepuff, little Athena," he gave her his own hug and she smiled brightly, "and we'll see you after the Feast. You better go sit with the other new 'Puffs for now, see if you can make new friends."

"Ok!" Athena would have fought anyone else telling her that but not Harry. Hermione rolled her eyes predictably, then gave the girl another hug before shooing her away with a grin.

When Athena sat down among the dozen or so 'Puffs already sorted, they were all ears, asking how she knew the Boy-Who-Lived and so on and she was the centre of attention, just as she had planned.

After the food was served and the meal joyously or dutifully eaten, Dumbledore got up and bid them all welcome. He again noted that the Forbidden Forest was forbidden, that the surly Filch had expanded his list of forbidden items yet again, and that they had a new teacher for Defence Against the Dark Arts, again.

Now-Professor Williamson stood up for his introduction, treating student reactions in much the same way he would treat suspects on the street, filing them away. The Weasley twins, notorious pranksters, were already on his radar and he noted them out of the corner of his eye, already planning some 'funny' pranks.

The Slytherins either ignored him entirely or kept what they fondly imagined were subtle eyes on him. The Ravenclaws studied him openly, seeming neutral, and the Gryffindors didn't really care. The staff were more interesting. Snape sneered at him, fitting the profile his boss had given on the man, including the notation that he secretly envied his position. McGonagall gave him her support in a glance before going back to watching the little devils they called students.

And the great man Dumbledore? His eyes twinkled and Williamson looked away immediately. Dumbledore was well known in certain circles as a Legilimens and Williamson was unwilling to risk the sanctity of his own mind to the man's good nature. It was just good sense not to tempt him, after all.

Like most wizards and witches of the last half-century or so, he had grown up hearing tales of how powerful and wise the old man was but since he became an Auror, he had discovered the other side of the man. Dumbledore had consistently voted against the death penalty even for the very worst of scum. Since the assault on Azkaban, a number of nasty boys and girls were free to rape, torture and murder again, all thanks to Dumbledore blocking their executions after being convicted of capital crimes. All that effort to 'save' worthless scum and yet he didn't bother lifting a finger to help one of his own supporters who was thrown away without a trial.

No, Dumbledore might have his heart in the right place but he was too soft with the guilty and too hard with the innocent for it to sit right with an Auror.

Watching the clock, Diana smiled to herself, knowing that at Hogwarts the Sorting was over. She was startled when the doorbell rang, not expecting any visitors. Mark was out somewhere, keeping busy, hopefully even busy preparing for his business course, and no one else had arranged to drop in.

Shrugging, she got to her feet and headed to the door, opening it and smiling. "Harry? Aren't you supposed to be in Scotland right now?"

"I am, well, the real me is. The other clones are all over the place right now. We got word that the Death Eaters are moving and no one knows where their target is going to be so I'm going to stay here tonight to help keep you safe, well, with your permission, I mean."

"And why is this the first I've heard of this danger?"

"Because Madam Bones' DMLE only found out two minutes ago." Harry cheerfully replied. "I got here ninety seconds ago and did a check on the place from the outside, first. I would have been here sooner except I had to let your son know, too. He's safe and someone else will be guarding him tonight. He insisted I watch over you instead."

"Thank you, Harry. Oh, relax, I am not faulting you." Diana smiled at her unexpected guest. "You got here faster than I would have thought possible."

Harry smiled back. To him, it was a slow response time. In thirty seconds, he could have killed dozens of times over so he had to assume the enemy could, too. Still, no harm done this time.

They would have to see what could be done to keep their allies protected full time. The various homes had all had their protective wards charged up by Lightning techniques but the Clan refused to trust wards alone. Voldemort's attack on the Ossuary proved they could be beaten fairly quickly by the enemy or at least made useless with the enemy bypassing their protection. More active defences were preferred, live guards who could respond intelligently to attacks or probes, and that meant the clones. They were powerful, independent and expendable, valuable in a way that would be hard to overstate when dealing with a peacetime population just now moving towards civil war.

As much as their allies had improved in their ability to defend themselves, there was no denying that Harry on his own was still the deadliest wizard in their alliance. It wasn't just his chakra abilities, either. Thanks to his parents pushing him, he had come up with ways to use basic Hogwarts spells to take out opponents, ones that the wizard-raised found shocking.

Transfiguration required concentration and focus and intent. That made its use during battle extremely difficult for most of the wizards and witches and explained why the usual tactics were to shoot spells instead of altering the environment. Due to his combat training, altering the environment was one of the things Harry looked to do instinctively. One of Harry's favourite uses for Transfiguration was to alter the ground around him. He made thousands of small caltrops and effectively pinned down an enemy, allowing his superior mobility to really pay off. Other times, he would turn the surface under his opponent into oil, great for tripping them up and also preparing them for the follow-up fire spells.

His other common battle tactic was to use Cheering Charms. They were quick to cast, invisible and could be cast silently. Enough of them would put anyone out of the fight, too happy to want to fight back, and it took longer to dispel them than to cast them. That was if the target even thought to dispel them before it was too late, and even if they did, it left them occupied while he was free to cast other spells.

Blinking, Harry realised his mind had wandered, a dangerous thing when he was supposed to be on guard, and he squeezed Diana's hand where it was on his knee.

"You're welcome. Really, I would have been here anyway but Mark insisted on it. He said he wanted only the best for you. He's a good son."

Diana loved hearing good words about Mark, of course, and it helped her to relax.

"Ok, so what exactly do you know about this threat?"

"Not much, only that it was something to further Riddle's goals," Harry replied. While many in the British magical community were getting better about the name Voldemort, the madman's birth name had no such problems for them. "While it is dangerous to try to predict the actions of someone so insane, we have to try.

"An attack on your family home or certain others would tell the Slytherins that being friendly to me is a death sentence, a way to retake influence within the House he considers to be his. An attack on my other friends or loved ones would still have the advantage of tarnishing my image, weakening my position and causing me pain, personally. All of these are worthy goals if his aim is to defeat me.

"Alternatively, he could go for a raid on Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, for an easy way to spread fear and panic, or on a Ministry target, whether by trying a raid there or setting up a trap for them.

"Lastly, there are more general attacks, whether on 'blood traitor' or other wizards and witches he considers undesirable which is just about everyone, or on 'Muggle' targets.

"In some ways, I would love for him to be stupid enough to go after an army base. He has no idea just how deadly they are since he rejected the Muggle world while in his teens. His Death Eaters are even worse off and any raid on them would cause destruction but cost him all the raiders he sent, at no cost to our forces. Still, I doubt he will. His methods have always been to use overwhelming force against his targets rather than to run more attacks but risk failure. That is why he showed a preference for attacking people in their homes where they were vulnerable rather than attacking head-on against Aurors and Hit Wizards."

"And that's why you're here, to keep me safe." Diana nodded, impulsively hugging the young man.

"Yes, Diana. I'll try to save your home if I can but my first priority will be you, then your belongings, then this house."

"So what is the plan?"

"First, do you have your things packed?" Harry asked. "An emergency pack is something that everyone in the Alliance was told to prepare, you know." It had been one of Amelia's suggestions, saving the Clan the trouble of steering someone else into making it.

She blushed at the patient tone of voice, so much like she had used with Mark when he was young. "No, I never got around to it. There didn't seem to be much point."

"Well, that is something you can do right now. If we have to get out of here, I don't want to have you trying to run back inside. I might have to get rough with you." Harry added with a charming grin. "Come on, let's get you prepared."

Diana led the way to her bedroom, grabbing her purse and one of the more useful bags she owned. It was charmed to be unbreakable, waterproof and bigger on the inside. Much bigger. She started grabbing clothes from her dresser and sorting quickly through them, taking a number of tops ranging from the decidedly practical to the alluring. Next, she put the bag on the bed and started going through her other clothes, taking all the ones she liked best.

Harry would have objected but he knew from earlier talks that the bag could hold plenty more than that and it would never weigh more than ten pounds.

As Diana headed to her jewellery box, she started to go through it then shrugged and put the whole lot into the bag. It was quicker than sorting through family heirlooms and getting rid of the costume jewellery. She then remembered she hadn't packed any underthings yet and went to those drawers, pulling them out and scattering them on the bed, ignoring Harry's presence.

She would have been mortified under other circumstances to have any man seeing her bras and panties but right then she was too focused on the task at hand to care. It was only once she had packed her 'essentials', including her favourite chocolate, that she noticed what she had done.

Harry was too tactful to mention anything, though he did like what he had seen, especially when she had changed into more practical clothes for running and fighting. He had been prepared to turn his back at that point but she just moved around him, getting changed as if it was nothing.

Instead, Harry made her an iced chocolate to cheer her up, and an illusionary one for himself to keep her company. The sweet treat did its job, and she gave a contented sigh at the first sip.

"Ok, now what, Harry?"

"Now, we wait. Unless you would prefer to leave, that is. We can head to a safe house and wait there for the word that the alert is over, or wait here. You would be safer if you left, but..." He trailed off.

"No. I won't give up without a fight. This is my home!"

"Right. I didn't think I could convince you to move, anyway, though if it becomes necessary, you will come with me, won't you?"

"But not a second before."

Harry had some suggestions for simple traps that they could leave for intruders, leaving Diana to make them to keep her from feeling helpless. He even estimated that they would take out a few of the Death Eaters that might be coming. What they could not do was stop a determined attacker.

That was fine. They would slow down enemies, giving him time to assess the situation, to make the call whether to stay and fight, or to go.

Once the traps were laid, the pair returned inside, making a last, thorough check of her home before retiring to the living room where they relaxed. Well, Harry relaxed and Diana tried but couldn't manage it.

"How can you sit there like you don't have a care in the world?" She paced back and forth, a bundle of nervous energy.

"Training and experience." Harry replied calmly. "I had plenty of jitters the first time I tried to get ready for anything like this, even though it was just a drill. I wore myself out long before the opposition tried to take me out. My Dad woke me up, chuckling to himself and I was so embarrassed! Hinata-Mum just smiled and explained gently that the drill was another lesson, that I had to master my fears rather than letting them get the better of me. They had explained it all before, but it didn't sink in until I made that mistake."

Diana smiled and nodded, glad to hear that Harry was human, too. She had done similar with Mark when he wanted to fly his first broom. She tried to tell him he wasn't ready but he didn't believe her so she let him take hers for a ride but only after casting a number of protective spells on both it and on the house and grounds. It was good that she had. He was fine for the first ten minutes, then he had decided to try a Wronsky Feint just like the Quidditch players used. Half a minute later, she was helping him up off the grass where he was spitting out dirt. From that day on, he took a little more notice of her warnings.

They chatted of lighter things for the rest of the night until she went to bed. "Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you in my room? I am trying to sleep."

"I know. Until the alert is over, my place is with you, keeping you safe."

"But..." She stopped, unsure how to object. On the one hand, she knew it was improper. On the other hand, he was risking exposure in order to protect her and he didn't have to do it. Besides, it would be churlish of her to make his job more difficult by throwing him out of the room. In the end, it was a matter of trust. She trusted Harry. "Ok, Harry. Thank you."

He knew that wasn't what she was going to say but he was glad she had accepted the inevitable. One way or another, he would keep her safe. "My pleasure, Diana. Good night."

"Good night, Harry."

That night, there was no attack on her house or any of their friends and allies. Still, the alert remained in place as their information was that it was still coming. The next night, Diana just held the door for him, closing it behind him, before getting into her bed and falling asleep. Overnight, there was an attempt to sneak into the Ministry, one that was discovered early before any damage was done but the intruders managed to escape unscathed.

From monitoring of Snape and Dumbledore, Harry learned that the attempt had been by one of the Death Eaters, trying to get hold of the fake Prophecy and that Riddle was laying low now while he tried to work out a way to bypass its defences. The alert was dropped and Diana found herself missing her recent companion.

Things settled down into routine quickly. Harry was nearly finished copying the Library, having left for last the more esoteric or plain useless sections like the ones on Muggle housing from the mid-1500s. It would have been interesting to a historian except that it was all stuff aimed at making magical houses look Muggle without giving up the advantages of magical lighting and construction. Stuff like reversible charms to make the walls look dirty or the roof appear to leak.

The Jewels were settling into their new school. The fact that the clones had no magic meant there was no temptation to draw and use their nonexistent wands for various tasks, and they relaxed far more, and more quickly, than expected.

At Hogwarts, the girls were getting ready for the first birthday of the school year, Hermione's. After several parties in previous years, she was unable to decide what she wanted to do and left it up to the others to surprise her with the details.

As classes ended on that Tuesday the nineteenth, Hermione was led blindfolded to a normally abandoned part of the castle.

After being led through a dizzying array of passages, up and down a bunch of stairs and thoroughly lost, Harry took off the blindfold, grinning when she gaped in shock.

Before her, an old classroom had been converted into a Regency ball, complete with band and costumes. Harry and his clones were dressed in period appropriate clothing befitting the Ten Thousand, the aristocracy of the time, or in officers' uniforms for the army or navy. She had to admit he looked quite dashing and she squealed when she looked down after an odd breeze had caressed her body, finding that she had somehow been put into a proper ball gown, just like the rest of the Jewels, she noticed belatedly.

The band started to play a reel and Harry took her hand, pulling her out into the centre of the dance floor as he got her moving, smiling and kissing him soundly as soon as she got over the surprise. "Oh this is wonderful!"

"And we haven't even got to the presents!" Harry laughed as he dipped her then reeled her back in, her cheeks a little flushed.

Each of them had left a clone in the Great Hall to keep up appearances, chatting away and somehow disappearing their food when no one was looking. The real girls needed no such pretence, indulging in some of Harry's finest creations. When Cho complained about having to decide between her figure and her desire for dessert, Harry beamed and told her that it was fat free and she could burn off any calories through stepping up her exercise.

The dirty minds listening in took his comment in other directions, ones they would all enjoy.

After dinner, Hermione opened her presents and danced more, danced until her feet refused to move another step and she demanded Harry carry her to bed. Quickly the rest of the Jewels echoed her demands except for Michelle, who waited until they were all gone to have Harry change her gown to a miniskirt and halter top before getting in some dirty dancing with her handsome lover.

That weekend was the one for the Governor's meeting. Minerva got her invitation and everything was normal about it except for the agenda, which had one block near the start left blank.

Chalking it up to someone's mistake, she didn't think much of it at all. Such things had happened with other meetings, especially staff meetings when Albus wasn't sure if he would be in attendance. On Saturday morning, at a quarter to eleven, she was standing outside the Boardroom, waiting for the Board to file in first before they called on Albus and her to give their reports.

Over the next quarter hour, they drifted in one by one, closing the door behind them and getting the meeting opened. Once that was done, they called in both Albus and her at the same time. The atmosphere was strained which was certainly unusual since as far as she knew, there had been no problems with the students or staff.

"Yes, thank you for coming. Now, report on the school, if you will." Augusta Longbottom commanded them, pointing to Minerva to go first. Over the next ten minutes, she gave from memory a rundown of each department from the status of the Greenhouses to how Hagrid's new chickens were settling into their new coop, then talked about the students.

The Weasley twins had been quiet so far apart from an incident their first week, trying to take the toilet lids from the Slytherins and being caught in the act by the DADA Professor hiding under a Disillusionment spell. The Muggleborns had been doing even better than last year as more of them joined the Potter Alliance, a fact that did not sit well with the Death Eater spawn but they had been biding their time before trying to get 'revenge upon the worthless Mudbloods', as some saw it. Instead, some of them actually appeared to be taking their studies seriously, which was good in one way and bad in several others.

And, of course, there was Harry Potter at the centre of so much, still doing his shows on the ceiling of the Great Hall and even taking requests from his friends in the know. Not that she would, or could, mention them to the Board, of course. Her Oath prevented such a thing unless she had his permission. Still, she did mention him and Miss Hermione Granger when asked about top students, something that had a couple of the Board unhappy at the thought of a mere Muggleborn outperforming their own brats.

Yes, while Amelia had intimidated Malfoy into losing his seat, she couldn't remove Nott and Travers too. The evidence she had only implicated Malfoy directly and even then she couldn't have convicted him when the Minister was taking his blood money.

Minerva let no trace of these thoughts cross her face as she gave her report crisply and confidently, her notes untouched before her.

After she had concluded her report, she expected them to turn to Albus for his thoughts and impressions. Instead, Augusta allowed a most unexpected trace of emotion to cross her stern visage.

"Very good, Professor McGonagall. I, for one, am glad to be the first to officially recognise you as Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It seems this school is again in capable hands."

The rest of the Board were angry, but whether over her pronouncement or the truth behind it, she couldn't have said.

Albus was angry too but refused to show it, instead treating it as another of the delightful student pranks, eyes twinkling and a grandfatherly smile in place before letting out a mild chuckle. Augusta's sharp glance convinced him this was more serious than he had hoped.

"Excuse me, Madam Longbottom. I had assumed this was an example of the fine humour we have come to expect from you." Dumbledore tried to appease the woman. "However, that does leave the pointed question as to what you mean. Obviously, Minerva cannot be Headmistress while I am Headmaster."

"Of course not," Augusta replied calmly.

"Then what do you mean?"

"I would have thought my meaning perfectly clear, Albus. I mean that the Board recognises Headmistress McGonagall as Headmistress. According to the records, you transferred the last of your duties as Headmaster to her sometime over summer. Naturally, that makes her the Headmistress. Your control of the Hogwarts wards is hereby revoked in her favour. You are to collect your belongings and leave the school by lunch time. Any items that belong to the school should be left in a box in your former office."

"Who gave you the authority to remove me?"

"Why, you did, Albus. Weren't you paying attention? I told you that since you gave away all your duties and responsibilities as Headmaster that you are no longer the de facto Headmaster. And you have been claiming for years that the budget is too tight to retain staff that would only be doing a job that someone else is already doing. Indeed, that was your position barely four months ago at the last meeting when a proposal was made, again, to seek assistants for the professors.

"Really, this is merely the recognition of the existing state of affairs." Madame Longbottom finished with a 'butter wouldn't melt in her mouth' air of innocence that fooled no one.

"And if I refuse to permit this joke to go any further? These are dangerous times and there are children who need to be protected."

"Then you should have seen to their protection rather than spending all of your time out of the castle." Longbottom hit back harshly.

"Minerva? Surely you can see this is a foolhardy course of action?" Albus asked, desperate for the first time in so very long.

"Nonsense, Albus. It will allow you more time for your bird watching and perhaps seeing to your duties in the Wizengamot. You should be grateful that this is all you are losing after what happened last year. Allowing an underage student into the competition after guaranteeing to everyone that only adults would be able to enter. Worst of all, though, was your treatment of Moody. You left your 'friend' to rot all year and did nothing. You still haven't gone to see him, have you?"

Dumbledore wanted to deny her accusation but it would be trivial to disprove any claim he made. He had felt guilty over his failure, too guilty to face up to the grizzled and scarred former Auror who was all too likely to hex first and that was even knowing it was Dumbledore rather than an impostor.

"I have written him, Minerva, expressing my regrets. As it happens, however, I have been busy with more pressing matters."

"More pressing than the school? That is exactly why I was prepared to put a motion to the Board today to allow you to retire gracefully. Whatever our problems might be, I still felt you deserved that dignity. However that may be, you haven't truly given the school your full attention the way it needs. The students deserve more of our time than just an hour or two at dinner here or there. They need to be the primary responsibility, not an afterthought." Her glare softened.

"Take it as an opportunity, Albus. You were always complaining that you were too busy. Now, you have more time to accomplish things. Those pressing matters won't go away, I fear."

Seeing the unity of the Board and even Minerva supporting them, Albus took his leave as gracefully as possible, promising to be back when they called for him. He was worried that his trusted friend and spy Severus would be endangered by this foolish course but there was little he could do, little he would do, rather. After the tragedy of his youth, Albus refused to abuse his considerable magical strength and breadth of knowledge by putting it to the service of war and tyranny.

The death of his sister still haunted him and he hated the thought of putting others through that experience. He doubted any of them would cope as well as he had.

Looking about the office that had been his own for decades, Albus gathered up his knick knacks and trinkets, the rare tomes and valuable items that various people had given to him in the years since he had defeated dear Gellert. It was one of the few times Albus cursed his magic making it all so quick and simple. A wave of his wand and it was all quickly flying into a trunk he had one of the elves prepare while Albus was still trying to wrap his head around the change.

Hogwarts had been his home for so very long that he hated the thought of leaving it.

Still, Minerva had been right. Reforming the Order of the Phoenix would go smoother now that he could devote all his time to the task. Voldemort had been reborn. So too must the Order be.

And, Merlin blast it, he still needed to talk to the Daily Prophet about getting the word out. The people must be warned, after all.

He stood slowly then slipped away from his office, all the portraits from past Headmasters and Headmistresses looking on as for the first time in over a century, a sitting Headmaster was ejected from his post and even his handpicked Deputy had turned against him. Wearily, he trudged down past the Great Hall, hoping to see something, anything, that would give him an excuse to linger. It was too early for lunch and the students were either out on the grounds, enjoying the last of the warm weather or up in the Library or their dorms. Barely a score were in the Great Hall, none of whom he recognised.

He kept up his Disillusionment charm as he headed down the path to the main gates where Minerva was waiting for him.

"Come to wish me well, Minerva?" he asked hopefully.

"I came to make sure this was not all a dream, Albus. Or a nightmare. I never wanted the job for myself, you know. All I wanted it was to see it done right. I tried to tell you. For decades I tried to tell you. But you refused to listen. You never listened. Not to me. Not to anyone."

"I did the best I could." Albus replied sadly.

"No. You didn't. You did the best you could in the handful of minutes you weren't doing something 'more important' and the school took a distant last to your games. You threatened the children with your games, Albus. That had to stop." She sighed, looking at the man who had been her friend. "Even now, you are not listening. I can see that clearly. Instead of thinking about the best interests of the children, you are trying to justify yourself, to cover up your mistakes.

"You know," she began in a curious tone, "in the Muggle world, what you have done would see a Headmaster sent to prison for decades. Repeated endangerment of the children in your care, Albus. Gross negligence. Obstruction of justice. I now see their ways are better in this. A school is for the education of the students, not a handy place to bait Dark Wizards or a way to test your pet theories, Albus! It is only our good fortune that no one has died! If not for Mr Potter, the Weasley girl and several others would be dead.

"So many mistakes, Albus, so many people paying for your mistakes." Albus looked like he was going to open his mouth, defend himself and she shook her head. "Just go. I hope the extra time to think will help you to see your way again. If that happens, I would like my old friend back."

It was the genuine regret in her voice that stopped him from speaking out. Instead, he gave her a last look then passed through the gates and Apparated away with a quiet 'pop'. A burst of her will and the Hogwarts wards responded to her call, closing and sealing the gates behind him.

Thank you all for reading and for your support.