Chapter 66 - Shocking News

While Harry and the Jewels were hard at work and play, life went on for their families, especially the non-magical parents. Nine o'clock on Saturday morning, the first wave of faux Death Eaters were unleashed on Hogsmeade, casting Stunning, Bone-breaking, Banishing and other spells at random. Some narrowly missed Draco Malfoy who let out a high-pitched cry and ducked into the narrow gap between two houses. He would later write an angry letter to his father, demanding to know why he hadn't been warned.

Barely a minute later, a full dozen Aurors arrived, their improved skills proving more than up to the task of subduing the supposed Death Eater rampage. As Shacklebolt looked around with his underlings finishing up cuffing and returning the prisoners to the Ministry, he talked to himself.

"This is strange. The Death Eaters have never attacked somewhere this public since his return, and they were even worse than usual. Why didn't more of them come like at the last attack?"

Unfortunately for his curiosity, he was still needed to oversee the clean-up then start writing a report on the whole mess. His fellow Aurors processed the new prisoners, getting them strip searched and then dumped into the holding cells until someone could question them.

While the Aurors were busy imprisoning the innocent victims, the true ranks of Death Eaters had found their own surprises.

The first came when they unleashed their attacks. While the assortment of Incendios did little damage to brick, that wasn't something to worry about. However, they had expected that the Banishing and Exploding Hexes would be able to bring down the Muggle homes quickly, allowing them to have fun with the terrified Muggle filth inside.

Instead, their spells ran straight into fairly simple but robust wards, ones strong enough to make Malfoy Manor, the Death Eater stronghold, look like paper. They noticed the absence of intent-based wards soon, however, and charged forth, crossing the ward-lines without a problem. Once inside the magical barriers, they opened up with more spells that again did nothing to the doors and walls which had been protected by Fuinjutsu, the Sealing Arts.

Their only sight of the Granger, Tonks, Perks and other families was to watch them all disappear in a yellow flash. After that, they came under attack from a rain of metal needles, each tipped with a sedative that could take down a grown man in a second. The Death Eaters had no idea who was attacking them but turned to where they each thought was the origin, raising shields even as many fell. Their Dark curses at the homes had scorched the walls but they were already down a quarter of their original strength.

The next wave of needles came in faster, hitting harder to puncture the magical shields which were destroyed by the extra force, leaving the needles to wipe out most of the remainder.

Before a third wave could hit home, panicked shouts activated the Portkeys, removing many of the Death Eaters from harm's way. The ringleaders only stayed long enough to cast Morsmordre, the airborne version of the Voldemort's Dark Mark, above the homes.

By the time they counted the cost back at the Dark Lord's fortress-home, the team leaders found that between them, well over a dozen Death Eaters had succumbed to fatal doses of the unknown compound.

While Voldemort was angry at their failure to kill the families of Potter's whores, he now had confirmation that they weren't the soft targets he had been led to believe. It was fortunate for Rookwood that he was already dead of overdose as it was his intelligence that had cost his Lord fourteen wizards and one witch.

The Dark Lord brought him back as an Inferius, a reanimated body, as a sign of his displeasure, but beyond that there was little he could do. He stormed out onto the grounds of the Manor, conjuring and blasting statues of that damned Potter while his temper raged.

In the Kitsune Compound, Naruto was on the phone to Amelia Bones.

"Yes." Naruto confirmed. "There were attacks on the Granger, Li, Moon, Patil, Perks, Tonks and Turpin homes. Between 10:15am and 10:16am, approximately a hundred and twenty Death Eaters arrived and immediately launched a volley of spells at each home. The reactive wards performed well from what I could tell, their spells blocked off short of the homes, then the Death Eaters charged inside the wards, casting more attacks."

Amelia was speechless. Harry's clone didn't have that problem, taking the phone from her unresisting fingers, getting the rest of the details and writing up complete notes for her while her brain rebooted. "Yes, thank you." Amelia heard him say.

"Harry- thanks." The Minister said as he gave the phone back and handed her the notes. "Okay, this was definitely a planned operation. Auror Shacklebolt's squad have just brought in another group of Death Eaters who attacked Hogsmeade just after ten o'clock. There were no casualties despite this being a Hogsmeade weekend. No one was even hurt."

"Are you sure they were Death Eaters then? They wouldn't have shown themselves so openly without taking the opportunity to attack people, and while I have a low opinion of their competence, they can't all have missed unless it was on purpose."

Amelia nodded, forgetting momentarily that Naruto couldn't see her, "I believe you might be right. I think I shall pay a visit to the holding cells."

One trip later and Amelia knew. Not only did the people have the glazed eyes so characteristic of the Imperius but half of them were Muggleborns! "Get them out of these cells and into the interview rooms," she growled, her Aurors scrambling to obey.

Rufus Scrimgeour had heard about her visit, walking in just in time to hear her order. "Hey! You can't order MY Aurors around like that. These are dangerous felons!"

"They are victims, Scrimgeour. Just look at their eyes. For Merlin's sake, why would Muggleborns wear that get-up?"

Rufus stopped in his tracks and nodded tightly. "Alright, hurry it up! Get them into the interview room right now! You! Get the Veritaserum ready." His Aurors scurried to obey and he stomped after them, Amelia following a little slower now that she knew things were under control.

When she was to all appearances alone, she asked "Harry?"

"Yes, Amelia?" His whisper was directed for her ears alone.

"I'm going to need to relax as soon as this is done."

"Yes, Amelia, it would be my pleasure." Harry replied and she could picture his grin even as he watched over her from the shadows. It helped calm her and she got serious again, prepared to do whatever she needed to see justice was done.

Twenty minutes later, a pattern was already emerging. The supposed attackers had been woken up tied up on tables where an unseen wizard intoned "Imperio!" After that, the Voice commanded them to head to a room where they stood for over an hour, waiting and doing nothing. Again the Voice came and they were ordered to Apparate into Hogsmeade and fire off spells and cause a panic but not to hit anyone.

While they recognised the voice of the wizard who had put them under the Imperius, that was no use, legally speaking. There were too many ways to alter a voice magically so the Wizengamot insisted that any witness had to see the person as well in order to identify them.

It did, however, confirm that they weren't Death Eaters, just as she had known it would, and they were quickly let go with a request to let the DMLE know if they remembered or learned anything more. Amelia wasn't hopeful.

She went back to her office, dismissed her guards to stand outside and raised all the wards before turning to Harry, quickly stripping off her blouse and skirt and proudly walking over to him, melting into his passionate embrace as he proceeded to show her one of the good things in her new life.

After the attacks on his Jewels' homes, Harry and the girls were outraged. It only got worse when they found out that no arrests had been made, nor could be made due to a lack of evidence.

"Why don't they get samples of their DNA?" Hermione demanded. The idea had arisen from the big murder investigation the year before but the others had to shoot it down.

"First of all," Susan explained, "the Wizengamot wouldn't accept it. Merlin, they wouldn't understand it but even if they did, it would be rejected as 'crazy Muggle nonsense'."

"Second," Harry added, frustrated, "you would never get the Wizengamot to agree to testing the 'fine, upstanding' bastards we think are involved."

Wordlessly, Hermione went into his arms, crying as the attack on her home set in. While there had been little real damage overall, a stray Killing Curse had destroyed her window, spraying glass shards into her room. Some of her favourite clothes, the earliest handmade by Harry for her, had been ruined. Worst, though, was the way it destroyed any feeling of safety in the home she had lived in before Hogwarts.

Leanne was already soaking his other shoulder. In her case, it was a swing her father had made for her. She just held on tighter to Harry, her other arm around Hermione's waist. Padma and Parvati were cuddled up together with other Harry clones around them, as well as Lavender hugging them both.

Sue Li, Lisa Turpin and Sally-Anne Perks though had their heads together and broke from their huddle.

"Harry," Lisa asked sweetly, "would you do us a favour?"

"Of course, Lisa, you know that."

"Would you kill Draco for us?"

That brought him up short. "I would love to," he said seriously, "but you know I cannot do that. He didn't do anything personally, this time, so he is, wonder of wonders, innocent. Also, any action we take against Draco at this time would inevitably be seen as vengeance. That would force the Headmistress to punish us severely just to keep things from exploding here at Hogwarts."

"So you won't do anything to the little toerag?!" Sally-Anne demanded.

"Now, I didn't say that, dear!" Harry replied with an evil grin. "Just saying that we have to be careful what we do and how we do it. We can't challenge him to duels, for instance. We can prank him, however. Him and the rest of the wannabes."

"Tell us more!" Sue Li demanded, and his grin only widened as he started telling them plans he made up on the spot.

Once that was done, they piled onto him and his clones.

Hermione and Leanne were already cuddled into the real Harry and as his hands rubbed them, removing their tension, their other reactions to the danger and Harry's proximity combined. The girls were about to hop off to let Harry up but his hands stopped them, though he did let Hermione turn around where she kissed Leanne, letting the love she felt for the other girl mingle with her lust, all three of them reaffirming their bond of love in the most primal of ways.

Just before she lost the ability to think to the pleasure more of Harry's clones brought her, Lisa felt a shot of pure gratitude that Harry had taken care of her worries just as he always did.

The first sign to Draco that his weekend was going to hell was when he sat down to lunch. The loud, wet sounds of breaking wind had been magically amplified by a well-timed Sonorus and carried his humiliation to the ears of everyone in the Great Hall.

The second sign was when a number of silent Cheering Charms hit him. There he sat before everyone with them all believing he had soiled himself and he couldn't stop laughing about it.

The third sign was when other fine, upstanding Purebloods had their own accidents. Nothing that broke bones or left any physical damage. No, all the harm was to their reputation and standing. Whenever he or any of his associates tried to get some respect, it would happen again soon after. By dinnertime, students had entirely stopped making way for them in the halls.

He couldn't even get some peace in the Slytherin Common Room that night.

"Oh, it's you." Davis had drawled dismissively when he poked his head in. Her voice carried well and heads turned, the other Slytherins clearly agreeing with her low opinion of him. She raised her voice, making it carry clearly. "I was given a message to pass along to you, Malfoy."

"Well, hurry it up then!" Draco had snapped, already stressed.

"The message is this: 'From this day forth, no Slytherin will aid you or listen to you. You have chosen to follow a madman into his path of misery. Now, you will reap what you have sewn.'"

"Who would dare?!"

"The true power in Slytherin, Malfoy. The one man in this castle to have hundreds of loyal allies across all the Houses and all years, all eager to follow him to greatness. The winner of the Triwizard Tournament." Tracey saw the beginning of comprehension in the ugly pointed face. "Yes, Malfoy, that's right. Harry Potter."

Daphne took her cue. "As Harry's right hand, I oversee things for him. Make no mistake, Malfoy. For all intents and purposes, you are no longer one of us. If you learn how to be a decent human being, you may be permitted to rejoin our society. Until then, the last words we have for you are these: Goodbye, Malfoy."

And with that, everyone in the Common Room, nearly fifty at the time, turned in unison away from him. When he called out, no one acknowledged him and the one time he tried to scream at them, force them to listen, the Seventh Year Prefects just cast Silencing spells on him. Draco vaguely recalled that the pair of them were rumoured to be engaged. Only when he calmed down did they remove them then return to what they were doing.

Draco could feel his position among the Snakes destroyed. He stormed up to his bed, facing the pillow as tears of frustrated rage cascaded down. As Draco fumed in his dorm, he moaned out loud. "Father failed me. He promised that the Mudbloods would pay today."

Unseen above him, Harry's clone heard every word.

In the morning, Harry saw Minerva as normal and when they were secure, he passed the information along, finishing "... and the Clan and Minister Bones will know by now, too. He knew they would be attacked and he didn't tell a soul about it. I believe that comes to a couple of dozen counts of being an accessory to attempted murder."

"Unfortunately, we can never prove it." Minerva took out a bottle of Laphroiag and a small glass.

Harry was shocked. "So early?"

Minerva looked up, noticing what she was doing and sighed. "Some days like today, I hate my job. I love teaching, the joy of seeing my students improving themselves, but as Headmistress, I am forced to protect some students when I would rather claw their eyes out."

Harry raised his eyebrows and she continued. "That is one of the hazards of becoming an Animagus. Your instincts from your animal form can contaminate you. I also have these ongoing WEA exams Amelia and I forced through on top of everything else. Getting a good idea of how every student is progressing sounds great but it's a lot of work and disruption. With Madam Marchbanks retiring, none of the rest of her department know what to do, it seems, and they had to bring in a dozen LPF employees. It adds up to a real headache."

"That makes sense, I guess. You know, Draco wasn't the only one to be upset by the Death Eaters' failure."

"I know, Harry. Like you, I can probably name most of the others." With a smidgen of regret, Minerva put away the fine whisky and leaned forward. Harry got behind her and rubbed her shoulders, getting an almost purr-like sound out of the woman as his fingers helped to ease her tension.

"Thank you, Harry. I will do my job fairly. I must. If I don't follow the rules, how can I expect anyone else to do so?"

Harry nodded, his respect for her returning. 'Tonight, I will keep her company if she still wants to have that drink so she won't be drinking alone. A minor sensory illusion maybe to give a hint that my drink is alcoholic too could also help that impression without clouding my mind with poisons.'

"If you find any evidence of behaviour that contravenes the school rules, pass it along. Anything that ought to go to the DMLE, I would appreciate you telling me as well. Is that understood, Harry?"

"Yes, Headmistress McGonagall-" Harry smiled and amended that at her glare, "Yes, Minerva. I am doing what I can to keep you up to speed on everything."

In the wake of the attacks, the Daily Prophet devoted its entire issue to the Death Eaters.

Amelia as the Minister for Magic confirmed that it appeared to be a coordinated attack at the families of girls aligned with Harry Potter. She added that it was both cheap and cowardly to ambush them like that, hiding behind masks, but that thanks to security measures put in place, no innocent lives were lost. The quote went on to appeal for restraint while the DMLE investigated this heinous attack.

The reaction by most British wizards and witches was a combination of anger and fear. The anger at an attack on innocent girls and the fear of Death Eaters created a very tense atmosphere.

In Potterville, the people were plain angry. If any Death Eaters had shown up, it was doubtful the locals would take any prisoners. At Hogwarts, things stayed peaceful due to Harry's control and the way that the bigots were subtly redirected away from the rest of the student population, often making them late but preventing serious confrontations.

With the situation inside the school calming, Minerva was able to relax again. That didn't last.

The Dark Lord stood before a carefully selected group of minions. While with one part of his mind, he was exhorting them to greatness for the cause, the rest of his attention was devoted to inspecting the troops. As he reminded them that this was a show of strength to cow the population of Wizarding Britain into submission, he wondered if they would be able to keep themselves under control.

As a safety measure, none of his minions' families would be anywhere near Diagon Alley when they arrived in force. He admired Narcissa's nerve to point out that danger to him, and would allow her to live in the style to which she had become accustomed so long as she continued to offer useful advice.

Finally, the minutes ticked down and Voldemort ordered the first wave, his hand-picked Death Eaters, to go in and create a perimeter for he and the rest to fill in groups of four rows of troops when they followed soon after.

As soon as the Dark Lord arrived, he unleashed a wave of magic that blanketed Diagon Alley with his power. The heavy spell sank into the cobbled street and widened the medieval thoroughfare, both demonstrating his sheer power and mastery of magic and preparing the way for his Death Eater troops. New stones filled in the gap as space and time was warped to his command. Making the change permanent sucked up little more of his reserves, though more than most wizards could ever command, but both made his alteration safe from an errant spell undoing his work as well as demonstrated his command of magic better to the unwashed masses.

Marching in twenty-nine ranks of seventeen, the Death Eater's footfalls echoed down the streets of the magical shopping district. While all the shops were open already that Saturday morning, they had arrived before the peak period.

Within a minute, all ten of the duty Aurors had arrived but were held back, grumbling, at the sheer number of Death Eaters and later trembling with fear and anger at seeing the reborn Lord Voldemort striding down as if he owned the whole country already.

The shoppers and shopkeepers watched, wide-eyed, as the Dark Lord and his minions occupied Diagon Alley without a fight.

Or at least, that was the plan. One of the off-duty Lifeguards had come off his shift and was shopping for a trinket for his daughter's coming birthday, and he refused to let them get away with it. He placed an emergency call directly to the Captain Anderson, commanding officer of the Lifeguards, explaining the situation, and sighed in relief when his superior answered and told him to stand by.

"Help is on the way."

The first that the Death Eaters knew that something was amiss was when the onlookers started disappearing quietly one by one, replaced by hard-eyed figures with oddly Muggle vests and helmets that were only glimpsed at best. When the last bystander had been removed from the Alley, taken to the Leaky Cauldron and on through to regular London, Captain Anderson sent a quick signal on his radio to his company of troops

"Hold your fire!" His first command cracked out, keeping his troops from jumping the gun.

"Captain?" His second was a hair's breadth from shouting at his superior.

"They outnumber us too badly, Lieutenant. That and this is no place for a fight. Hell, it's a shopping district! Even if we take them down quickly, we're still likely to lose good people or innocent bystanders to their fire. We're in the middle of bloody London! That said," he added with a predatory expression, "if they do start a fight, I want to scatter their ashes to the winds. Get everyone in position, out of sight and out of their line of fire."

"Got it, sir!" The younger man turned back to his troop, confident his Sergeants had got the men and women under control but checking anyway as was his duty.

Captain Anderson returned to his study of the would-be battlefield. Thanks to their gear, he could track the positions of his squads and through their multiple views, he could track the Death Eaters' march down Diagon Alley. The only sounds were the footfalls of rank on rank of Death Eaters, the only witnesses left were the Lifeguards and the Ready Squad of Aurors from the Ministry.

From what he could see, the Death Eaters looked a mix of confused, scared and angry, never a good combination, and the Captain appreciated the irony of the situation as he was relying on a Dark Lord to keep the peace and stop his Death Eaters from doing all the things that Death Eaters were notorious for doing!

Lord knows the Aurors couldn't do anything against nearly five hundred of the masked thugs who outnumbered them about fifty to one. His own eighty-five troops were good. He would gladly lead them against equal numbers of Death Eaters, even two or three to one, confident his people would come out the victors but not at six to one! No, if he did that, he would be leading them to their deaths, leaving their friends and families vulnerable to the bastards.

That was why, despite his very real desire to get to grips with the Death Eaters, he was holding back.

An interminable time later that couldn't have lasted more than a minor eternity to the Lifeguards watching it happen, Voldemort and the Death Eaters reached the far end of the Alley and left en masse. When their ears recovered from the thunderclap of so many wizards Disapparating, the Captain ordered his men out to check the Alley cautiously.

The only sign remaining that the Dark Lord's demonstration had ever occurred was the Dark Mark cast above for all the wizards to see.

Amelia had quickly made her way to the Leaky Cauldron, accompanied by her bodyguards, just as the majority of the shoppers and shopkeepers were being allowed to return to Diagon Alley by the Lifeguards. She had a quick word to Tom who ran the bar, getting his hurried agreement to her plan.

The crowd were a mixture of grateful and outraged over their cavalier treatment by the Lifeguards until they saw the Dark Mark hanging overhead.

Amelia Bones addressed the crowd, knowing she had one chance to counteract Riddle's psychological victory here. "The Ministry of Magic is proud to have the support of the Lily Potter Foundation and their courageous Lifeguards in the fight against Death Eaters and other criminals. They selflessly put themselves in harm's way to save many fine wizards and witches among you then returned to save your places of business and a symbol of our collective heritage. On behalf of the Ministry, you have our thanks. As a small token of that thanks, there shall be free drinks at the Leaky Cauldron for the next hour!"

The crowd cheered loudly, the adrenaline still in their systems adding to their automatic support of getting free booze, and Amelia smiled, satisfied she had put the correct spin on events to make sure things didn't get ugly. After all, while the crowd was happy now, they could easily have turned into an ugly mob.

Moving into the main part of Diagon Alley, Amelia had to call on her decades as an Auror to keep a straight face. She could imagine only too easily the pall of smoke and the destruction of shops and livelihoods if the Death Eaters had decided to fight. She could remember the casual way they handed out death and mayhem the last time around. They really had got lucky.

The lead Auror on duty had already reported what had happened to Scrimgeour and he had detailed half of his people to take down the Dark Mark but in a sense it was already too late. Hundreds had already seen the foul marker just as Voldemort intended, along with the march on Diagon Alley, and thousands more were expected to see the symbol later as the shops served their customers before they could remove it.

The Dark Lord was back.

Unsurprisingly, the story made the papers. The evening edition of the Daily Prophet devoted half of the front page to that and the rest to the Battle of Diagon Alley as they already called it.

Rita Skeeter had been buzzing up and down the Alley, listening in or asking questions of anyone who looked like they might have a clue, before hurrying back to her office and rushing out an article. "Chief! Here it is!"

"About time!" he replied, a clock on the wall showing that they would have to make haste to get everything done in time. He tore the proffered article out of her hands and scanned it quickly. "And you're sure about this? The Aurors really didn't do a thing to stop the Death Eaters until these Lifeguards stepped in?"

"Yes, Chief, I heard some of them grumbling about it. The head of the squad had ordered them to stand down because of the number of innocent bystanders and because they were outnumbered fifty to one."

"Alright, mention it, but highlight it as the Aurors making the responsible decision."

"Chief?!"

"It was the sensible choice. They would have died leaving the Aurors even more outnumbered. And now that You-Know-Who is back, I don't want to make Minister Bones decide that we are getting in her way. She might not bother to protect us," he added with a significant look.

"Okay, Chief. What about the rest of it? How do you want me to play these Lifeguards? Cowards or heroes?"

"Don't be stupid, Rita! Bones has already given them her public thanks which means unless we find something really juicy, we leave them alone. Especially as they were the ones who managed to get the innocent bystanders out and to stand up ready to fight the Death Eaters. Or do you think we should piss off people with the balls to do that?"

Rita had the ability to blush on command, and she used it now. "Sorry, Chief, I don't know what I was thinking."

The Chief just narrowed his eyes. He knew she was lying to him but for now it wasn't important. "Right, get back and make those changes, then get this over to the printers! Snap to it!"

"Yes, Chief!"

DEATH EATERS ATTACK DIAGON ALLEY! See Page 3 for details

YOU-KNOW-WHO IS BACK! See Page 5 for analysis

BRAVE AURORS AIDED BY THE PUBLIC!

Overall, the Potter Alliance and the Lifeguards were very happy with the coverage. There was still a lot of fear, however, at the confirmation. At Hogwarts, especially, the students had all been taught to fear Voldemort and his minions unless their parents had been part of the group doing the murder and torture.

In response, Draco tried to assert himself again, only to be slapped down by Harry Potter.

"Detention, Mr Malfoy."

"What for, Potty?" Draco sneered, swaggering as he was flanked by his goons.

"For your assault on a First Year Hufflepuff back there."

"The little snot should have got out of my way!"

"She was walking along with her friends when you barged your way into her out of that classroom, Mr Malfoy. She had the right of way."

"Are you saying a little Blood Traitor has more rights than a Malfoy?"

"I am saying that logic and decency both dictate you should have waited a few seconds, Mr Malfoy." Harry patiently explained. "And that will be another detention for your language. Come with me. Crabbe. Goyle. You may go now if you don't want detentions yourselves for supporting him."

The goons looked to Draco who was torn for a moment between ordering them to attack Potter or allowing them to leave. Unfortunately, his pride overruled his good sense and he sent them in.

Crabbe was the first to raise his wand, his mouth open to shout "Fiendfyre!" but he never got a chance. Harry's hand was already striking his face, forcing his mouth closed and making him bite his own tongue. Goyle was next, still too caught up in trying to attack to wonder how Harry had moved that fast. He tried to cast silently but flubbed the Cutting Curse he had in mind. That saved his life as Harry had shoved his arm so that Goyle's wand tip was pressing into his neck. With that out of the way, Harry lightly hit the back of Goyle's head, knocking him out.

Draco was furious, shouting "Densaugeo!" The jet of light of the Tooth-Growing Curse missed everyone, thankfully. Harry took his wand away, breaking the blonde's wrist in the process, before finally getting his own out. Casually now that the immediate danger was past, he cast a Binding Jinx at each of the three Slytherins and then a Mobilicorpus so that he would be saved the bother of having to carry them himself. He took them straight to the Hospital Wing as Crabbe was already bleeding profusely from his tongue and Goyle had a lump on his head from the single hit Harry landed.

Once in there, Harry briefly explained the situation to Madam Pomfrey, refusing to release them before he fetched a teacher. Luckily for Harry, Minerva was already on her way. The school wards had alerted her to the entry of multiple patients to the Hospital Wing and it was her duty to look out for her students.

"Very well, Mr Potter, but do not dally about," the stern woman had replied, already casting a healing spell on Goyle and leaving him on his side so that he wouldn't drown in his own blood. Pomfrey turned back to her patients, Vanishing the blood and examining them for any other urgent injuries.

Bang! The doors to the Hospital Wing blew open, Headmistress McGonagall charging in. Seeing three of the worst students in the school laying on beds and Harry standing watch, she sighed. "What happened?"

Pomfrey glared at Harry who ignored her anger and calmly replied. "I had given Mr Malfoy a detention for attacking another student, and a second for use of foul language regarding that student, when he signalled to Mr Crabbe and Mr Goyle. They all drew their wands to attack me. I interrupted their spells and made sure they were no longer a threat to myself or others, in the course of which they sustained injuries. I brought them here to the Hospital Wing so they could get immediate treatment. In support of this, I am willing to swear this under Oath."

"The Blood Traitor's lying!" Draco yelled. "He attacked us!"

"Detention, Mr Malfoy, for foul language. You will serve it with Professor Hagrid tonight. Now, are you able to offer any evidence in support of your version of events?"

"I'm a Malfoy!"

"I know, Mr Malfoy. Despite that fact and your own past, I am willing to listen to you if you can show me you are right."

"Potty- Potter has set my House against me!"

"Again, Mr Malfoy, you offer no evidence only more allegations. Even if Mr Potter had done so, what school rules did he break? Nothing you have said so far in any way excuses your actions. Would you be willing to swear an Oath to support your claims or have any neutral witnesses to the incident?"

"You would demand an Oath?" Draco was horrified.

"Not at all, Mr Malfoy. I am quite prepared to see you serve all three detentions that have been assigned as well as a week working to assist Professor Hagrid when he next mucks out the thestral pens. Your only options if you wish to stay at Hogwarts are to provide a real defence to the charges or accept your punishments."

"My father-"

"No, Mr Malfoy. Are you going to muck out the thestral dung or are you going to answer the charges?"

Draco deflated seeing that the witch would not back down. "I was walking out of one of the classrooms and that Duff, I mean that Hufflepuff girl wouldn't get out of my way."

"And what was she doing at that time?"

"Walking down the corridor with her M- friends." Draco bit out.

"What happened next?"

"I taught her a lesson about respecting her betters. One slap and she knew not to cross me."

"I think I have heard enough, Mr Malfoy. I only have one last question. How did you have your wand on you?"

"I took it from Professor Slughorn's desk. He had just left it lying there after our Potions lesson."

"Thank you, Mr Malfoy. That will be quite enough. You are hereby suspended from Hogwarts for a period of one week, effective immediately." Minerva cast a spell at the nearest fireplace, enabling Floo travel from it, and levitated the bound Malfoy over to it, throwing a pinch of powder into the fire and waiting for the flames to turn green before sending the student through it rapidly.

The flames returned to normal and Poppy was agape. "You just ejected one of my patients!"

"No, Poppy, you are employed to treat students and at this moment, he is not one. Have you finished healing up Messrs Crabbe and Goyle?"

"I have-"

"Excellent, Madam Pomfrey. In that case, I can eject them as well from this castle for their unprovoked assault on one of my Prefects." Minerva suited word to deed, and a minute later, the only people left in the Hospital Wing were Harry, Minerva and a stunned Poppy.

"If you will excuse me, I have letters to write." Minerva announced and left the Hospital Wing.

"But, but, Albus would never-" Poppy broke off, unable to complete the sentence.

"You're right, Madam Pomfrey." Harry said gently. "But does that mean the Headmistress was wrong?"

Poppy had no real answer to that though she was certain she should have one. Harry left her there to think while returning to his friends.

The students were also stunned by developments. If they had needed proof that Albus Dumbledore was no longer in charge, the news that Dark-leaning students had been suspended would do it. While Malfoy and his minions were far from well-liked, it scared many students that their own positions at Hogwarts were less secure than they had thought.

For the first time in living memory, there were no disciplinary incidents at all in Hogwarts for a full week.

It didn't last, nothing like that ever does, but at the end of that week, Ginny's brothers were caught planning a prank on Slytherin instead of studying as they were supposed to. They were intending to make them all belch flames with the aid of a self-replicating jinx on their cutlery. While Professor Flitwick was impressed with their concept, he had examined their work and declared that there was a thirty percent chance that anyone caught by it would burn their throats.

Fred and George were a little bitter about it. They claimed that they knew what they were doing and that it was all perfectly safe, having tested the spell on each other before moving forward with their plan. When Filius explained, at length, just how many ways the spell would go wrong, they paled further and further, their freckles standing out starkly against their skin by the end of his long list of side-effects.

"We didn't know!"

"All we wanted-"

"-was to make-"

"-people have fun!"

"Yeah, things have been so tense."

"Should we expel them, do you think, Professor Flitwick?" Minerva asked seriously, watching their reactions.

"Please, no!"

"Our Mum would kill us!"

"Really!"

"I doubt that, Mr and Mr Weasley," Minerva replied. "She would certainly have words to say, however. Now, since no one was harmed, I am prepared to be lenient if I can be sure you will never do something so downright stupid or malicious again. You must be considerate of other people around you, else why should they do the same for you?"

Fred spoke up. "Yes, Headmistress." George nodded hastily.

"Now, how can you convince me that you will not be repeating anything of this sort in the future? I would be remiss in my duties if I allowed you to practice magic once you leave here if I knew you would act up again and land yourselves in Azkaban."

George groaned, drawing a sharp glance from Minerva, before very carefully reaching for his wand. "I, George Weasley..." Less than a minute later, George sealed his Oath that he would never play a harmful prank again and that he would make sure his pranks were harmless before doing any.

Fred echoed his actions, neither twin noticing that their Charms Professor placed a specialised tracking charm on each of them, one that would let him know exactly which twin was which. One that allowed him to key in others for the secret now that they had a way to be sure of their identities. As the two Weasleys left her office quietly, Filius shook his head.

"To think, we might have been able to get quiet years if only Albus had been willing to do what was right instead of giving endless chances."

"Aye, indeed, Filius. Still, what is done is done. And I wouldn't count on their Oaths stopping them from causing more headaches, but it should hamper them if nothing else."

"Speaking of taking action, Minerva." Filius said slowly.

"Yes?"

"What did you do to Horace? He seems to be taking his duties far more seriously."

"I docked him two weeks' salary for his failure with young Malfoy. Allowing Draco to get his wand outside of class was bad enough since it undermines my authority. When Draco then used it to attack the Boy-Who-Lived, well, Horace understands the magnitude of the problem now. He seemed most grateful that I was willing to deal with this internally, this time."

Filius nodded thoughtfully.

"He also knows he has had his final warning. One more incident and he will be fired and humiliated before our world."

Over the next few days, Slughorn was strict with Draco, even going as far as personally making sure that the Malfoy scion was returned to his dormitory well before curfew began. He was still the genial host much of the time but he was more cautious about his words and actions. He also dropped much of the favouritism he was wont to show certain students though he still delighted in seeing his students increase their understanding of his subject.

The Wizengamot was afraid of Minister Bones. Her competence and drive to fight corruption and crime threatened their comfortable and lucrative arrangements. However, they were more afraid of the revealed Lord Voldemort. The recent demonstration in Diagon Alley scared many of them as they knew he would have no use for the body beyond a rubber-stamp for whatever actions he took if he won.

His return forced a shift in the balance of power within the body. Before, the Dark and the corrupt neutrals were fairly strongly united in their opposition to the Minister who threatened them. The Light were lukewarm in their support at best, mostly tending to neutrality or mild opposition depending upon the issue at hand, while only the actual neutrals and the progressives were willing to get behind her.

Now, the Light were forced into giving her their support and the corrupt knew they were better off with her than the alternative, removing much of her opposition.

Less than a fortnight after the battle and the Wizengamot had approved the expansion of the Auror Corps at last, as well as expanding their budget to help protect them from the Dark Lord. They felt it better to have to cut back on a few luxuries than for Death Eaters to come calling and take them all. The Wizengamot still opposed her on many other issues, naturally. They weren't going to hand over any more of their power than they were forced to the crazy witch.

The Daily Prophet was full of carefully selected letters to the editor calling for optimism and human interest stories reflecting the virtues of humanity. It was a shameless strategy aimed at avoiding a panic. Naturally, it didn't work completely.

Voldemort was the person that for two decades the British wizards and witches had taught themselves to fear. Such a history couldn't be overturned by a handful of newspapers. The long battle for public opinion continued.

Amelia only hoped she could keep things under control and prevent any riots at either Muggleborns or Purebloods. The aid of the Lifeguards was invaluable as the LPF had supplied them with phones they could now use to call for Auror support.

While Professor Slughorn was still counting the cost of supporting the Malfoy scion, someone else was running her own inventory. Diana Wilkinson had spent months mourning her husband, just as Pureblood etiquette had demanded of her. She had also found a special young man who had effortlessly got past all her barriers, worming his way into her heart with his kindness, his willingness to help and defend her, and most of all, by being there for her simply because he could and she was a friend.

Now, she was staring critically at herself in the wraparound mirror in her bedroom, twisting this way and that. Diana flushed slightly as she recalled how embarrassed she had been last week to ask Ino for fashion advice. Ino just smiled and helped her through a brief but competent fitting process, skipping the usual frills to get the measurements taken quickly. Ino had then talked Diana into revealing just what kind of outfit she had wanted and made it up for her that afternoon with the aid of her clones while they chatted.

The doorbell rang and Diana cursed under her breath. "I'm late," she said to herself about her guest, quickly putting a lightweight royal blue robe over her ensemble and answering the door personally rather than letting Dobby do it for her.

"Harry!" Diana's smile was warm and welcoming and she gestured, inviting him into her home. Her home. No longer did she think of it in terms of her late husband, and that was very much a good thing.

"Diana, thank you for inviting me over. Was there something I could help you with?" Harry knew from experience that there was almost always something that needed doing in the house or grounds.

"No, tonight it's just you and I, Harry. I hope you don't mind?"

"Not at all." Harry replied and smiled at her.

Diana just hugged Harry to her, relaxing as she always did in his arms. After half a minute, she moved to let go, taking his hand and walking to the lounge room. Diana guided Harry to sit down and decided to get things started off right, she sat in his lap, smiling in appreciation when his arms came up around her, supporting her.

"Harry, I know you have been wanting more than I was prepared to give."

"Diana, I'd never push-"

"Sorry, Harry, I didn't say that right. I meant, you would enjoy it. Until recently, I didn't feel comfortable with that. I worried about what the neighbours would think, what that frumpy Weasley woman would say."

Harry asked the question she wanted to answer. "What changed?"

"Voldemort. His movements have shaken things up. People have more important things to worry about than what goes on behind closed doors between two consenting people. When I realised that, I also realised that they weren't really why I had delayed things between us. I was afraid of change."

"And now?"

"I'm not afraid any more. Not when I worked out that it meant I'd have to be afraid of you, too." Diana leaned in, kissing him slowly and tenderly. Harry responded, his hands caressing her shoulders as the witch in his arms melted into him.

From there, their world narrowed to just the pair of them. Loving touches, caresses, kisses and looks were the order of the day. A while later, Diana broke off, her hair messy and cheeks flushed. Under his watchful gaze, she eased her blue robe off her shoulders, proud of the way Harry watched her every movement, groaning when she felt the evidence underneath her of how she was affecting him.

"Wow!" Harry breathed, seemingly unwilling to talk too loudly for fear of breaking the spell.

"Please, Harry, love me?"

An instant later, Harry was standing with Diana's legs wrapped around him, carrying her to her bed, his touch loving but supporting her weight with ease. He set her down on the edge of the bed and she took the robe off the rest of the way, displaying her body to his hungry gaze, wrapped only in the special lingerie. Harry noted that it was one of Ino-mum's creations but he had more important things in mind.

He took off his own shirt, letting Diana run her hands over his hard muscles as he kissed her again. While Harry took his time, Diana would never be able to remember later the events between that moment and later, laying back and looking down at Harry's hair as he introduced her to a new world of pleasure.

Diana knew she had a silly smile on her face at that moment but she didn't care, kissing Harry's face and caressing her extraordinary man. She felt an odd sensation down below then Harry moving his hand from between them. She shifted a little, testing, and smiled wider when she discovered that the mounting soreness from their exercise was all gone. She shifted again in a different fashion as she looked challengingly up at Harry.

It was a challenge Harry would always rise to meet.

Thank you for reading. As always, I thank my betas, Cloud Zen and Daisy Duck for their ongoing work on the story, correcting errors and pointing out problems.