Chapter 80 - Renaissance

The Ministry of Magic was on the edge of collapse. Between Minister Bones' ruthless cleaning house of supporters of the Dark Lord, the corrupt and the generally incompetent from the Ministry's ranks, entire departments had been virtually shut down even before the battle. In almost all cases, the services provided by the magical government were smoothly taken over by the Lily Potter Foundation.

For example, crime fighting was already provided by the Lifeguards and the career criminals had mostly fled Great Britain. Those who had made their way to the Continent were caught in short order by waiting police after tips from Alliance members about the unwelcome arrivals. While not a permanent solution to crime by any means, it did prove the new management had things firmly in their control.

The British and Irish Quidditch League enjoyed its freedom from Magical Games and Sports. The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, especially the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee and the Obliviator Squad, had been wiped out by the purge. However, the Foundation had taken up the slack, using the existing tools to track and talk to those involved in various incidents. In addition, they started introducing Muggleborns and their families to the new world as soon as the accidental magic was detected. While such a thing would naturally have outraged traditionalists and the Dark-aligned wizards and witches, currently those two groups were utterly irrelevant politically and socially.

In fact, the only gutted Department that hadn't been effectively replaced by either the LPF or fresh recruitment already was International Magical Cooperation. The equivalent of the Foreign Office, it had been held in contempt by the last dozen Ministers. For decades, most of the Ministry had regarded it only as a suitable dumping ground for Ministry failures who hadn't earned the greater punishment of Muggle Liaison. For example, Bartemius Crouch had been transferred to the Department after his failed bid to become Minister had blown up in his face with the trial of his own son as a Death Eater.

In the aftermath of the cleaning out of the Ministry, they had lost all but one of their personnel to the changes. Since Wizarding Britain had been at peace with its neighbours, the loss of this department wasn't considered as crucial as it perhaps should have been. Neither the Minister nor the Clan regarded staffing the department as a priority when they had so much else on their plates, leaving it with just a single witch who used clones to let her keep up with foreign news and correspondence.

As far as the wizard in the street was concerned, however, none of these problems in the Ministry had a negative impact on them. The new groups in charge were doing their jobs faster, more competently and with a minimum of corruption. There was even a prospect of tax cuts to come as a result of the leaner and cleaner Ministry's lower expenses though Amelia refused to promise them outright before they were confirmed.

Though some traditionalist witches and wizards wanted the Ministry back in charge, they were very much in the minority. Everyone else just wanted to get on with their lives now that the threat of Riddle and his Death Eaters was gone for good this time. The Ministry was paying the price of too many years caring only about itself rather than about the people it was supposed to serve. Really, Amelia Bones had to admire the way that the Clan had arranged for the British witches and wizards to give up their self-governance to a corporation controlled by 'mere Muggles'. Thankfully, the collapse of the Ministry was generating less and less paperwork, rather than more, for the Minister and she was thinking to make the transition official. Instead, Naruto made a different proposal to her.

"Are you serious?" Amelia asked when she heard the short version.

"Completely." Naruto assured her. "If you can hold the title until everything is ready, then you can hand over the responsibility to the regular government. Wizards and witches are already being encouraged to register with the regular government in order to more effectively integrate into that world. They're doing it of their own free will because it is making them richer."

"Yes, I know all of that. My own family's accounts are expanding nicely, thank you."

"Exactly. In a few years, it will be only a formality. However, by being the one in charge you can use that position to get the government to agree to a mutually beneficial reunification. Full rights and responsibilities as citizens for wizards and witches, Veela and even house elves will be part and parcel of that. Clauses like recognition of existing property and marriages would be one of the minimum requirements, we believe, to make the reintegration peaceful."

Amelia's mind shot down the path to marriage to Harry with Naruto's final sentence, exactly as he had planned, she was sure. "Very well, I see the benefits to us for that but what would they get out of the arrangement?"

"More taxes out of the Foundation for a start, as well as early access to people with rare and very valuable abilities for their departments and economy. I'd imagine warding various government offices would be a very valuable service in the coming years."

"Magic."

"And chakra. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, the Shadow Clone technique, is probably the single most valuable technique using chakra to the average person, it's literally the gift of time. Though the field of Fuinjutsu, Sealing, is likely more valuable overall." Naruto added.

"I am sure you're right. Although the benefits to the field of education and medicine would likewise be immense."

"However, all of that is for the future. While technically the use of chakra rather than magic is not covered by the Statute of Secrecy, that wouldn't stop the other wizarding governments from crying foul. To a large extent, they'd even be right to do it as chakra would break the division between the societies."

"Naturally. However, I am more interested in the idea that the regular government would accept the rather unconventional marriage of your son as legally binding. We are talking about him marrying not just one or two but dozens of women. How on Earth can we get that past them?"

"While most modern nations do only recognize monogamy, there has been a growing movement towards getting the governments in the West to recognize gay and lesbian relationships as well as other alternate lifestyles. Part of the support for that movement has been to get the government 'out of the bedroom', so to speak, and give recognition without bias so long as the participants are all above the age of consent. This is a movement we have been quietly encouraging, helping the election prospects of candidates in favour of this rational approach to marriage. It's even helped relations with the Middle East though only marginally."

"Can you really tell me that they will all vote in favour of a teenager having his own harem?!"

"Of course not. However, when it is slipped in as part of the package, assuming no one calls special attention to it, they are unlikely to object. Especially if we parade a number of 'normal' marriages before them as examples. If they discover it after the fact, they would have to admit they were fooled by a 'bunch of backwards witches and wizards', which would do a number on their own credibility. Prejudice cuts both ways."

"Ah, present them with a fait accompli, then?"

"Exactly. Going back to specifically undo the law for just one case would use a lot of political capital and could get them in hot water with the cases that could be brought against them. Much easier to sweep it under the carpet. As long as you don't flaunt it in the public eye, they should be willing to go along with it. That recognition of existing marriages alone won't permit the harem to grow further, however."

Amelia dryly replied. "We can live with that, I'm sure." 'Though Hermione will likely be disappointed.' She thought with an internal perverted chuckle.

That evening, the second after the battle, Narcissa returned to the Kitsune Compound under guard. Though partly to keep an eye on the cunning witch, it was mostly to keep her safe from any misguided attempts at revenge from both Light or Dark wizards. If there were any remaining Dark wizards by this point, that was. The way the Lifeguards reacted positively to her did the soon-to-be widow's reputation a world of good.

The former Slytherin, however, found what she liked best about her changed circumstances awaited her at the Compound. She dropped off her bags of shopping from the delightful Muggle fashion stores and kicked off her high heels. Narcissa admired herself in the full length mirror before putting on a pair of comfortable house shoes and making her way over to the day spa area.

The aromas of oils and scented candles and a dozen other things hit her as she entered bringing a Pavlovian smile to her face.

"Good afternoon, Harry." She greeted him happily and walked up to a massage table. "Do you think you can do me any time soon?" She couldn't help the flirtatious smile on her face.

Harry nodded. "Naturally, Cissy. I will be right over there." While Harry kept working on Jennifer's back, he made a clone who helped Cissy onto the table and fetched the oils she liked best. He admired her form as she stripped off and smiled at his gaze. He shook his head, reminding her that nothing would happen.

Cissy knew that but still she was moaning in anticipation of the pleasure to come even before the clone's fingers descended to her back. Despite that, she kept her eyes open and watching the Jewels wander in for their own pampering in singles or pairs, then later wandering out with their masseurs with openly lustful expressions. She sighed, feeling a warmth in her core but knew that however much she might desire to explore certain activities, it could never happen. The girls darting away weren't intentionally cruel but it felt like a punishment to see but never experience it for herself.

Naruto and his Angels watched over Harry as he went over the Foundation's finances from top to bottom. Although he had done this before, this time they weren't going to correct any of his mistakes. They were serious about making sure their son was ready and able to handle himself before they left. The knowledge was still bittersweet for Harry but the trust they were showing him was worth a little pain. Besides, he knew the Jewels would be happy to help him get rid of his headache.

"And done." Harry stretched and cracked his back, making Tsunade wince at the sound. "Ah, that feels better."

Ayame looked over his work and kept her approval to herself. While there were a couple of decisions she would have made differently, where Harry took a more conservative and overall law-abiding approach, he should still make a respectable profit with that plan. Of course, this wasn't going to be Harry's job as CEO, but it was important that he understand the facets of the business. Especially since the Foundation had reached the three billion pound mark and had dealings with over two dozen nations. There would be a lot of people relying on Harry's ability to sustain and grow the business when the time came, most of them without a shred of magic.

And that made her think of the reunification plans. It wasn't as simple as Naruto had told Amelia to get their son's coming marriage approved, nor as legal. The Clan had been selecting and grooming politicians here in the UK and elsewhere for over a decade now. Sometimes, that was as simple as a conversation with someone they felt would be a good candidate and stepping back. Most of the time, however, they had to use campaign donations, paid dinner parties, targeted advertising and other methods to put their chosen people into power. They also made sure that said beneficiaries remembered their patrons. While indeed most of them were in favour of keeping the law out of people's bedrooms, that wouldn't have stopped them from going along with the majority's opposition to polygamy. The scale of the favours they owed the Clan, up to their whole careers, would make up the difference between the support Harry would have, and what he would need.

Still, that was all in the future. For now, Ayame took Harry with her to the dinner table where her clones had made lunch for them all.

There had been a lot of discussion about what exactly to do with Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as the self-appointed Dark Lord Voldemort, et cetera.

Getting an agreement to kill the terrorist leader wasn't hard, of course. The Potter Alliance was formed of people who had no love of the Death Eaters or their leader and the murderous wizard had amply earned the death penalty through his crimes. Instead, the discussion was about how to do it and what kind of trial he should receive if any.

Amelia, unsurprisingly, wanted a public trial with all his crimes laid out for everyone to see.

Anko had suggested doing it now and in private. "Why don't I slip out and take care of it? I won't be a minute."

Harry was sure she had done so to get a reaction, and she certainly succeeded in that.

"Absolutely not!" There were a number of people shouting similar things but it was Minerva's voice that had cut through the rest. "That is the kind of thing the Death Eaters would do, when they weren't boasting of another murder, that is. We are better than that and must show it to the world."

"Hear, hear!"

"So what do you suggest?" Anko asked seriously.

"While I don't want any innocents present for such a sight, we must make it clear to all that the terrorist is dead and will never come back. While Amelia's zeal for giving everyone a trial is commendable, the purpose of them is to make sure that you punish the right person. Does anyone here doubt that Riddle has earned his punishment?"

Silence answered the Headmistress.

"So what would you do?"

"Have a public audience when we dose him with Veritaserum and get him to list his crimes. Air his dirty laundry on the Wizarding Wireless, too. Hearing it all straight from the wizard himself will help us in multiple ways. It will make clear to everyone that his execution is a matter of justice not politics. It will also show both the wizarding public and the regular government that we are not going to sweep him, and his crimes, under the carpet in some sort of misguided attempt at reconciliation." Minerva looked at Amelia for a moment. "I regret that the sheer length of that list will paint the Ministry and the Aurors in a bad light for failing to stop him earlier, though we all know that isn't your fault, but trying to cover it up will cost our people our honour."

Amelia Bones looked back at the witch then nodded. "I can see the sense in that. Strictly speaking, that wouldn't be a trial but it would be close enough for my peace of mind. Merlin knows his guilt is well known and confirmed from his own mouth! Very well. I can accept this if that is the decision of the Alliance as a whole. I do insist that a full trial shall be one of the options presented for the vote, however."

"I would expect nothing less." Minerva's voice contained her pride and approval of Amelia's stance, startling a faint blush out of the Minister from the praise.

Within the hour, the members of the Alliance voted on what to do with the former Dark Lord. Although killing him and being done with it had a strong swell of support, overall Minerva's idea of having Riddle make a public confession won out.

By the end of the third day since the battle, special editions of the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler had gone out. They were filled with articles detailing the coming spectacle and announcements had been made over the Wizarding Wireless Network. The immediate reaction of the wizard in the street was a mixture of disbelief, relief and anticipation. Not even the requirement to surrender their wands while in attendance dimmed their desire to see with their own eyes that the violence was over for good.

Early in the morning, thousands of wizards and witches made their way to the special theatre put up overnight by the Foundation at one end of Diagon Alley. They queued up in several lines, deposited their wands in lockboxes keyed to tickets they received and submitted to a quick scan for banned items before being allowed entry with a ticket that guided them to their seat. At ten o'clock, five and a half thousand people including representatives from other European countries and other magical species fell silent as Harry Potter walked out on stage to the podium, lapel microphone visible.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen and thank you for coming. Today, you shall all hear from 'You-Know-Who's' own lips the list of crimes and atrocities he has committed or ordered or planned. Today, the insurrection of Voldemort will be no more. The wizard who gathered power in the shadows, and gloried in using his magic for evil, will finally face the light of day."

With a flourish, the feared wizard was unveiled, magic bound and strapped to a chair and with his characteristic superior expression absent. In its place were all the signs of a man who has tasted true defeat, with a pair of Lifeguards at his back. Amelia Bones personally came out with a small bottle of the clear liquid the crowd knew to be Veritaserum. The Minister added her own Oath to confirm for the audience, and especially the reporters in the crowd and the people listening over the WWN, that she had tested the contents and found them to be satisfactory.

Harry accepted the bottle from her and as the Lifeguards forced Riddle to open his mouth, Harry allowed the three drops to fall onto his tongue. The self-declared Dark Lord visibly struggled but he was no match, with his magic bound, against the power of the truth serum.

"State your name."

"L-" Riddle tried to force out his preferred name but failed. "Tom Marvolo Riddle."

"State the name you created during your time at Hogwarts and under which you made your bid for power."

"Lord Voldemort." This time, Riddle made no effort to resist, his voice coming through clearly over the speakers.

Over the next hour and a half, Riddle was made to confess to crime after crime, murders and thefts by the dozen, as he recounted the story of his life since he had discovered his magic and heritage, son of Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle. More than one member of the audience found themselves unspeakably grateful for the buckets that had been left under their seats as the details turned their stomachs. The automatic air freshening charms got a work out, too.

When Riddle described the schadenfreude he felt killing the baby named in the prophecy, the relatively quiet crowd yelled out in anger. Wards prevented their words from reaching Riddle and being interpreted as questions by the prisoner while the Lifeguards went among the crowd, getting them to be quiet once more. Riddle then went on to detail the rest of his misdeeds from possession of Professor Quirrell at Hogwarts right under Dumbledore's nose until his plots and plans were brought to an end by the assault at Malfoy Manor.

Eventually, it was done. The last crime had been recounted, the last atrocity gleefully remembered. The lights came up in the theatre and Harry Potter came back out onto the stage. "As you have heard, Tom Marvolo Riddle has no care for the well being or happiness of anyone but himself. He has no remorse for his crimes, no regrets save being defeated and no intention of changing his mind. He recruited those like him at Hogwarts, seeking them out first in Slytherin and finding his Inner Circle from among their number. Their bigotry was the worst in the school, allowing him to dupe them easier. From there, he set out to take over a society that was all too willing to hear his message of hatred and superiority by right of birth.

"And that is what we must never allow again. It is not the length of your family's history of magic, not magic at all, that makes you great. It is the mark you make on the world, the lives you change for the better or worse, that makes you a hero or a monster."

The crowd went away thoughtful, chatting to friends and neighbours about everything they had seen and heard. A number were crying, finally getting the confirmation that missing loved ones were dead, murdered by or on the orders of Riddle. Never again would they call him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, never the Dark Lord or Voldemort. Instead, they would call him by the name he was given at birth: Tom Riddle.

A sign at the exit proclaimed that a special edition of the Daily Prophet the following day would cover the execution of Tom Riddle for treason. The newspaper that day sold out, both in Britain and overseas, as witches and wizards across Europe wanted to see for themselves the confirmation that the nightmare was over at last. Inside the paper after a warning to keep the children away, a single picture instead of the usual spread, Tom Riddle hanged. The caption told readers that his body had been thrown through the Veil of Death. Its very isolation increased the impact and the message went home. After decades of terror, he was gone, never to return.

The success of Riddle's confession prompted the suggestion that they force their captive Death Eaters to do the same. This was shot down, however, when someone pointed out that since there were nearly fifteen hundred Death Eaters in their custody, such an exhibition would take months, even with a dozen per day. Doing it on a smaller scale, just the high profile captives and a few of the rank and file, would be more practical. Matt Granger came up with the suggestion of collating all the confessions from the Death Eaters and putting together a book of them. A censored copy would be available to students and the full truth, with moving pictures and case histories, for adults to read.

Lucius Malfoy, looking much the worse for wear, was the last Death Eater to be shown in this way. He confessed under Veritaserum that he had lied to the Wizengamot, bribing its members into letting him get off the charges. He also admitted that he had needed no coercion to join the Dark Lord's cause. He had always enjoyed getting to torture and kill Muggles when he was sent out on raids and often he was the first to volunteer to go.

His death was apparently painless. According to the papers, he was thrown through the Veil of Death. What really happened was that he and the other Death Eaters had been given the Draught of Living Death and would be used to bring back many of the victims of Voldemort's second rise, even the first rise if they could find the bodies. When they ran out of victims willing to be revived, they would visit regular hospitals, reviving the recently dead there using the life force of the Death Eaters.

The general feeling in the Alliance was that this was no more than what they deserved and even poetic justice, using their deaths to bring 'mere Muggles' back to life. Besides, by almost all measures, the Death Eaters were worth less than the people they were reviving.

Justin cracked open a can of coke, passing it to Ernie before grabbing another for himself.

"Man, Harry, I am never drinking again!" Mark Wilkinson moaned as he carefully lowered himself into his chair, still recovering from all the partying and drinking at half a dozen celebrations for the end of the civil war.

Justin shook his head. He had come a long way since that somewhat snobby eleven year old boy that had entered Hogwarts, able to laugh and joke easily with his friends. "I tried to warn you, Mark, but you wouldn't listen, claiming I didn't know anything."

Ernie laughed, enjoying his own vindication. "Why didn't you get your hangover cured, anyway?"

"That'd be because my parents wouldn't do it for him. I still say that a prank like allowing his hangover was too cruel." Harry put in.

"Harry! Friend! Ally! You can do that technique, right?"

"Sure, but by now it's just your body complaining about putting in all that work removing the poison from your system. The poisons are already gone. You left it too late for that particular technique to do you any good. As your doctor," Harry smiled wryly, "I recommend you don't overdo the alcohol as much in future, or if you do, get the cure before you go to sleep. Failing that, keeping hydrated helps your body flush the poison away-"

Mark interrupted Harry before he mentioned the cures available. "Fat lot of good you are."

Roger Malone took pity on the guy, passing him a chilled can which he immediately put against his head, soothing his pounding headache. He knew just as well as the others that Mark only needed to drink more water and down a bezoar to deal with the residue. Obviously, Mark wasn't thinking that clearly yet.

The guys chuckled at Mark, settling into their seats as Harry fetched some snacks. "Thanks, Harry."

"So what did everyone think of the trials?" Mark asked the room when everyone was quiet.

Neville put up a hand, getting a laugh from Roger. "We're not in class now, Neville."

The Gryffindor blushed. "After six years at Hogwarts, it's a habit. And I'm worried. I'm not saying that none of the Death Eaters were innocents, or even that I don't think they deserved to die, but what will the ICW think of executing over a thousand Purebloods?"

"Who cares what they think?" Roger asked.

"You're Muggleborn." Neville began to explain.

"And a Hufflepuff. We stick together." Roger grinned. "I'm glad they're all gone. I think we all are." He got a bunch of nods from the other guys.

Neville ignored the interruption. "Right, but since you're Muggleborn, the ICW wasn't part of your life until you got to Hogwarts. It doesn't have a lot of power but it does have influence and a reach around the world." When Roger nodded, Neville went on. "Well, the ICW has a lot of European members and many of the wizards and witches under Vol- no, Riddle's banner were from their countries. Justified or not, won't those countries be upset about us killing their people?"

"So what?" Wayne asked.

"So, they could vote to censure Great Britain, possibly try to impose sanctions on us." Mark explained, holding up a hand for forestall any replies. "I don't think it's likely that they'll manage to pass a vote for sanctions, and a censure isn't really a big deal, but if they did, that would affect our trade, travel, our treatment overseas. Or at least, that would be the idea."

"What do you mean?" Neville was confused. "I thought if the ICW made a ruling, that was the end of the matter."

Mark grinned. "You're no Slytherin. The ICW, or the Ministry for example, can make all the rulings they like but if people don't want to obey then they have to use force of some kind, things like fines, jail sentences and so on. If the disobedience gets too common, they give up on enforcing it, like using magic against regular people, and ignore it mostly."

"Okay, I can understand that." Neville replied, the others nodding along.

"So, if we in the Alliance have enough support in Europe, their governments won't go along with calls to action against us in particular or Great Britain generally." Harry explained. "Besides, none of them have a standing army and the recent battles showed the difference between a mob of wizards and an army, however small. If you add in our other advantages, we don't have anything to worry about even if a few nations send their Aurors against us. The ICW doesn't matter without the support of the people or an army to give them teeth." Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Mark nod at that.

"What about our economy?"

"I've gone through the LPF finances, which is just about the same thing these days. We should be ok overall." Harry pronounced. "For the Alliance, assuming that whatever factor doesn't last longer than say a year, it will only cut into our growth. If it lasts longer that that then we might see some problems, though by then we can have replaced some of our production for the Wizarding World with more aimed at the regular world, making up profits there. We may need to focus our expansion there anyway. We're looking at saturating the magical markets soon."

"And that all means?" Wayne asked carefully.

"It means, let them try. We'll still beat them." Mark explained, grinning.

"Ok, so we don't have to worry about the ICW." Neville half-asked. "Still, a lot of people will be upset that so many have died at once, at least that's what we're telling them. One percent of all the wizards in Europe have died in the last couple of weeks."

Terry's lips moved as he did some sums and gave a low whistle. "That's the equivalent of seven million people in regular Europe."

The Muggleborns paused and Wayne nodded. "I see what you mean, Nev. Put like that, they'd have to react in some way to what we're doing."

"Yeah, you forget just how small the Wizarding World is, sometimes." Justin added. "It makes me glad I'm still going to school in the real world." He winked at Neville to show he was only joking.

"We'll have to wait and see, really. So! How did you guys do in the exams?" Mark asked curiously, changing the subject, his tone a challenge to the younger wizards.

"You first, how did you go in your business exams?" Terry hit back.

Mark put up a hand and wiggled it. "So-so. I am pretty sure I passed them all but I don't know by how much, and they won't start mailing out our results until next week. Now, spill."

"Actually, I'm pretty pleased. I only got one surprise on the exams, and I think I did well despite that section. Chemistry makes sense to me, you know?"

"Better you than me." Neville replied. "It makes more sense than Potions but it's got too much maths for my taste, all of these science subjects do, but I studied hard. I want to make my Mum and Dad proud."

Roger rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. "Like mine gave me a choice about studying hard. They're still hoping I get a good, regular job, I think, and they keep telling me I need to keep my options open."

"I, I guess they have a point." Anthony chimed in. "I've got no idea what I want to do when I finish school. And they keep asking me which university I want to go to."

"We've still got a whole year to decide what you want to do. That's plenty of time!" Roger protested. "I'm much more excited about going to Vietnam. We're leaving Tuesday week."

Ernie chuckled. "We know, you've only been telling everyone about it ever since they told you."

"Like you're one to talk. Your first trip overseas and where are you going? Disneyland. Just like a kid."

Ernie grumbled. "Hey! They have a lot of stuff there, not just for kids, and there is a lot to see. Including all those American girls. We're staying at the hotel at the resort, have all in one passes and we've even got passes for the water park."

"Yep, just a big kid aren't you?" Mark teased the young man.

"Ah, leave him alone." Harry chuckled. "At least he's getting to see more of the world while we're all young. Soon enough, we'll have to be productive citizens." Harry shuddered theatrically.

As the celebrations died down at last, witches and wizards across Great Britain tried to get back to their lives. Some, mostly, it must be said, former Slytherins, tried to take advantage of the upheaval but they already knew that messing with the Potter Alliance was a losing proposition. The Alliance proved that again by finding them quickly and coming down hard on them, locking up the worst offenders until they sobered up.

Indeed, the Potter Alliance had a large number of new applicants, both at home and overseas. While some of the independent businesses remained, the majority had folded, sold out to others or simply joined the Alliance rather than lose everything. Soon enough, the Clan believed, the Potter Alliance would control all magical commerce in Great Britain.

The new methods had already improved productivity and cut production costs, leading to better profits and lower prices to the consumers. And there were a lot of new consumers. One of the most controversial things the Foundation had done was make sales to non-magical customers and they strongly encouraged their partners in the Alliance to do the same wherever it was possible.

About one fifth of magical product lines could be sold as-is to those unaware of magic and of these, a fair number were proving to be very popular. The most popular, however, were the household products. At first priced cheap enough to be looked at, they were flying off the shelves now even with the price marked up above their rivals thanks to rave reviews and word of mouth.

One thing that had horrified Albus Dumbledore to discover was how few people even noticed his absence from the public eye after the defeat of Voldemort. He was the leader of the Light, after all. Naturally, he should have been there to ensure that their world dealt with the Death Eaters appropriately. He would redeem them to let them return to the Light by making sure their sentences were not overly harsh so that the love of their families could heal the wounds. Obviously, this would mean he would have to be seen in the Wizengamot and lead to him appearing in all the papers as the mentor of the Chosen One.

However, the Wizengamot was still suspended, the Ministry had all but shut down and essential services were provided by the Lily Potter Foundation. The papers were all under the control of the Alliance, too. Even if Dumbledore had been free, the rest of his 'just dues' would have remained impossible.

And if there was one thing Albus Dumbledore was not at that moment, it was free. The hits didn't stop there. He had lost the allegiance of the Elder Wand. His companion, Fawkes, had abandoned him. His own original wand had been taken from him. His magic had been bound with sets of prisoner handcuffs, for he was indeed the prisoner of young Harry's parents. And perhaps most dangerous of all, he had spilled his secrets. All of them. All of these setbacks seemed to lead to this moment.

"Understand me, Mr Dumbledore." Naruto told the ancient wizard with Anko and Yuugao flanking him. "You will pay for your crimes against our son. Years of abuse in a house where you placed him, compounded by your attempt to force him to return when someone slipped past your machinations and rescued him. Theft of over a decade of mail. Conspiracy to murder."

"No!"

"Yes! You set him up so that he would have no chance of survival while you knew of the many threats against him. You took responsibility for him when you kidnapped him from his home, from the wizard who should have raised him if James and Lily could not. And what did you do with that responsibility for Harry's life? You left him like the milk at the Dursley household with a note! You set the man who betrayed his parents to Voldemort in authority over him, knowing full well he would continue the abuse you had arranged for him with the Dursleys. And that's not even going into other things like your part in creating Voldemort or ruining the education of the young or your failures with Grindelwald."

"Listing all of your crimes and failures would take too long. To be honest, we would love to give you all the pain and horror you arranged for our son." Anko took over for her husband, giving an evil smile to help set the stage.

"However, we are reasonable people. Torturing you wouldn't teach you the right lesson, nor would it give you a chance to make amends for your many unforgivable acts over your life." Yuugao baited the hook and Dumbledore seized it gratefully.

"Yes, please let me!"

"There is a way, Mr Dumbledore. However, are you willing to pay the ultimate price?"

Dumbledore tried to appear as wise as possible as he nodded. "To the well organised mind, death is just the next great adventure."

It was a testament to just how far the mighty had fallen that he did not bother to protest his treatment nor plead for more life. He went meekly to his death, believing to the end that his soul would soon join that of his long-departed sister. None of the ninjas bothered to enlighten him with the truth of the 'next great adventure'.

This cooperation was in stark contrast to the erstwhile Potions Master of Hogwarts and triple agent Severus Snape.

"You can't do this to me!"

"We can and we have, Snape." Anko replied calmly, absently wiping off his blood from her hands while the traitor in front of her screamed. "Your days as a free wizard are over. Your protectors are gone, Dumbledore, Riddle, Malfoy, all of them have fallen, never to rise again."

"I don't believe you." Snape tried his best to sneer at the mad Muggle but the effect was ruined by his broken nose.

"Of course, you do, Snape. If any of them were free to help you, they would have done it by now. That is, if you are as important to them as you believe. If you aren't, well, they wouldn't be coming anyway. Either way, you are on your own and you know it."

Snape paled further than his usual pasty complexion or loss of blood could explain as that sunk in.

"So you see, Snape, that you really have nothing to lose by giving us everything we want. We are going to get it with or without your help and you may be able to spare yourself some pain."

Severus wanted to deny this wretched woman, wanted to watch her face as he got his revenge but above all, he wanted to escape his situation. Tied down by his wrists, elbows, knees, feet, so many places and with his magic cut off, he could barely move at all, and it was clear his captors were even more capable and experienced in pain than the Dark Lord on his best day. A brush of the woman's glowing green hand had stimulated all the pain nerves in his cheek, ripping a scream out of him as her way of introducing herself, ensuring that he took her seriously.

Seeing her confidently stalking closer, eying him like a cat would a mouse when it wanted to play, was more than he could stand. "Okay! I'll give you whatever you want, just tell me!"

"I think we'll start with an Oath, don't you? Yes, that would be best."

Snape nodded as rapidly as a house elf offered extra work.

Anko cracked an evil smile as she gave the greasy man the wording he would use, demanding he give honest answers to the spirit of the questions they asked him and to provide more information if he thought she lacked it. She would save Veritaserum until she had used this method first.

Once he had sworn it, the Oath made him only too eager to answer her questions. Truly, Anko didn't like torturing information out of people most of the time, didn't like what it did to her, rather, but certain clients knew how to give her job satisfaction. After all, there were the clients you served and then there were the clients you serviced, whether with a Fireball, a kunai or even this, and Snape had certainly earned his place.

Extracting information wasn't the only purpose of the session. They had other plans for Severus Snape and breaking his spirit completely was part of that.

Less than an hour later, senbon needles precisely poking into carefully chosen nerves, Snape broke from the pain which eclipsed even his dead master's Cruciatus Curse. "Please! I'll do whatever you want if you'll stop the pain for five minutes!"

Anko considered his begging and gave an evil smile. "Only five minutes and you'll do anything?"

"I'll kill a suckling infant, commit any crime, anything."

"Well, there was one favour I had in mind. Would you do that for me? One favour?"

"Yes! Merlin, yes!"

"Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind swearing an Oath to that effect, would you? Oh, I'll have to fix you up before you can do that, won't I?" She didn't have to do any such thing but Snape was hardly going to point out her apparent error.

"Of course! Thank you."

He accepted the paper she gave him, somehow willing his hands not to shake so badly he couldn't read it, and gave her just what she wanted. She even continued to heal up his body, setting his bones, closing his wounds and healing the hundreds of cuts she had made since he had been captured.

At the end of the five minutes' grace, Anko smiled at him again, almost making him wet himself at the decidedly evil expression. "It has now been five minutes, Snape. Shall we continue?"

Severus didn't want to anger the insane woman further and started volunteering information before she even asked this time. He was pleased when his plan worked, the supposed guardian of Lily's boy refraining from inflicting fresh injuries upon his person.

If he had known what she truly had in store for him, and why she really healed his body, he would not have been pleased at all.

Harry watched.

Hermione, Susan, Hannah, Leanne, indeed all of his girls did their best to keep his spirits up. They cuddled with him and his clones as he watched via a censored genjutsu through the whole procedure for reviving Lily Potter.

The Clan refused, point blank, to share the details on their Pure Resurrection technique with anyone outside the Clan. Harry was allowed to attend, though he had chosen to stay with his Jewels instead of being there in person. As strong a person as he was, he didn't want to see it so clearly. It was gruesome, disturbing, even to someone who had sat through six years of Potions classes at Hogwarts, in a way he didn't think he could ever get used to. And yet, he knew he could do it himself despite all of that. He cleared those useless thoughts and concentrated again on what was happening.

First, the Kitsunes had to dig up his parents from where they had lain these past fifteen years, something they'd done while the rest of Wizarding Britain was reading about Voldemort's defeat. After that, they had transported the caskets to the Compound under heavy guard, in fact the entire compound had more guards than ever before. The Clan refused to let anything interrupt this and risk what they were trying to do for their Harry.

Now, their hands glowed as they used a combination of medical and regeneration techniques, supported by fuinjutsu, the equivalent of magical runes, to restore the remains of Lily Potter to perfect condition. Their task had been made easier by the preservation spells placed on them by the Ministry after the attack on their home and legitimized with the remnant of the current one signing off on the paperwork.

Next, Albus Dumbledore was brought into the room. He looked at her body and smiled. Here, at the end of his life, he believed he had finally attained the beginning of wisdom. He nodded to Naruto and got into the coffin they had prepared for him, closing his eyes and keeping his peaceful smile even as they poured in a special ash tailored just for this technique and closed the lid.

Tears trickled down Harry's face as he watched, with Hermione and Meaghan offering comfort from either side. A monitor showed them only a general description of how things were going and that there were no problems encountered, the Clan's secrecy only unbending so far.

Their only warning that the process had finished was a soft ping and then Harry was on his feet, advancing toward the door.

Shizune-mum opened it before he got there, a smile on her face. She calmly closed it behind her before letting Harry talk.

"Can I see her?"

"In a few minutes, Harry. After our experience with Mrs Lovegood, we learned more about the process but she still has to go through a quick checkup. Rest assured, she looks to be in perfect health and she wants to see you, too, but this comes first."

Shizune-mum's tone hardened on the final words, leaving no doubt that this wasn't up for debate. When Ginny tried to speak up, she released a sliver of Killing Intent, just enough to stop them in their tracks as they realized she was deadly serious about enforcing the minor delay.

Harry nodded tightly. Whatever he wanted, he would have to be patient just a little while longer. Finally, after a minor eternity, Shizune-mum gave him a smile and re-opened the door for him and Harry dashed through,

He stopped cold at the sight before him.

Lily Potter was sitting up, clothed in some of the Clan's finest, and looking around her. Harry didn't notice anything more after she spotted him, her face lighting up in pleasure. When she spoke, her voice thick with emotion, his world narrowed to her alone.

"Harry."

He couldn't tell you how he got there but the next instant, he had her arms wrapped around him tightly. It was enough to make him glad for his reinforced bones, even as he gave back as good as he got. If asked, he'd have said he trusted his parents to have already given her body the same boost but truthfully, he didn't even think of it, only hugging her like his life depended on it.

After a time, he returned to awareness of his surroundings. That voice he remembered as hers was talking and he opened his eyes, blinking away the tears he hadn't even known were there. Lily was looking a little exasperated at him and he realized he had no idea what she'd even said to him.

"Mum?"

Lily's look dissolved into that radiant smile he loved. "I said, don't you want to introduce me to your friends?"

Startled, Harry looked around. Almost filling the room, the Jewels were arrayed behind him with a variety of expressions. Hermione looked impatient to be introduced. Ginny nervous, and Luna was purely happy for him, while the others ranged from amused to mischievous and everything in between.

"Yes, Mum. I would really like that. First, this is Hermione Granger. We met outside the Leaky Cauldron when Professor McGonagall was taking us through to show us Diagon Alley and do our school shopping..."

Harry gave each of his ladies an introduction to his newly returned mother, while in the back of his mind he simply luxuriated in the fact that the woman who gave birth to him approved of him. For a change, none of the Clan were spying on him, either. By their standards, they were showing an amazing level of restraint. He knew in their place he'd want to know everything about this, too.

He was broken out of these musings after naming the last of his ladies when he heard a growl coming from his mother's body, He looked in shock at her.

"What? I'm hungry, Harry. I feel like I haven't eaten in years."

And suddenly, they knew that whatever her protests, Lily Potter hadn't escaped the Marauder's taste for horrible jokes.

Harry had guided his mother to the dining room, whipping up sandwiches for everyone and then sat next to her as they all chatted over a bite to eat.

"These are really good, Harry." Lily praised him, making Harry blush.

"Thank you, Mum." It felt a little strange to be able to call her that but he would be happy to get used to that. "I'm really glad you liked them. I'll be glad to cook whatever you like."

Hermione and a few of the other witches laughed at that. When mother and son looked at them, Hermione answered their silent question. "Oh, I know Harry will be happy to cook for you. We were remembering other promises Harry gave us when we got to Hogwarts. The food there used to be pretty bad, until your son there got ahold of the house elves, that is. While they aren't happy that they aren't allowed to cook for us any more, they forgave him for it when he started to teach them new dishes to cook."

Leanne nodded. "I will never understand them, I swear, but they were over the moon that Harry taught them new ways to work. Apparently, even house elves like some variety in their lives."

Hermione's smile faltered for a moment before returning. "And you should see Dobby, who used to work for the Malfoy family. We've almost removed all of his slave conditioning and he's never been happier. I'm sure Mr Malfoy would be rolling in his grave if he had been allowed one."

Harry gave an evil grin. "Oh, there's more in store for him, Hermione. And we're making progress on curing the rest of the house elves, too. While they'll always be happy to have work to do, the others we're talking to are starting to accept that they should be paid for it, too."

"Good!" Lily's interruption brought everyone's eyes back to her and she answered the question she saw in his eyes. "Yes, Harry, I always thought that the wizarding world were daft to treat house elves so badly but I had bigger problems on my mind."

"Like a society that treated you as second class or worse." Amelia added sadly.

"And I knew I couldn't fix it by myself." Lily said quietly. "Certainly not when that madman was stirring up hatred and violence against innocent people, selling it as a return to some mythical golden age. While I never wanted you to have to face any danger, Harry, I am proud of how well you stood up to him. All of you, in fact." Lily met their gazes in turn. "If as many people had stood up for themselves back then, we could have saved ourselves from so much."

"Of course, it helps when you can send in clones to do the work." Daphne replied with a saucy smile. "Much safer than charging in blindly."

"Smarter, too." Lily smiled back. "A few of the Order tried that in the early days but we never did. I was that close to being sorted into your House, actually."

"How did you get out of it?" Daphne wondered.

"I pointed out to that ratty old Hat that it was supposed to Sort me into the House that was best for me. It would hardly be in my best interests to be among idiots who thought I wasn't worthy of my magic."

Harry chuckled. "I did something similar."

"We know." Daphne and Susan chorused, making their boyfriend blush.

"I might have told the story before. Just once or twice." He allowed.

"I always wondered how James got out of Slytherin." Amelia interrupted before the younger witches could embarrass Harry further.

"So did I for a long time. But, it's his story to tell. I'm sure you can wait a few hours longer." Lily's lips twitched as she fought a smile seeing the other witch's frustration.

Just then, one of Harry's clones brought in a round of drinks, including the ones that all his ladies liked so much. Lily held back a laugh at how easily he diverted Amelia's attention. Her second life was shaping up to be even more 'interesting' than her first one.

In another section of the sprawling Kitsune Compound, a very different conversation was taking place.

Severus Snape, with no trace remaining of his trademark sneer and superior manner, had finished confessing all his crimes. With difficulty due to their sheer numbers, he had named all the people both with and without magic he had maimed or killed since he started as a student in his selfish quest to extend his Potions knowledge. When asked why he did it, he had revealed that, at base, he believed that might made right. He had the power, he had dominated them, therefore he could do whatever he wanted. Besides, he had gotten away with it for so long, ever since his days with Lily, getting revenge for an abusive father upon scores of innocent people.

As for Lily Potter, well, she was his. It didn't matter what she felt or thought on the matter, she would always be his. He had been terrified when Voldemort decided to go after her, believing her to be part of the prophecy he had passed on, He hadn't cared if her baby died, and he had celebrated James Potter's death, but Lily was his.

He'd gone to Dumbledore, spun some sob story for the old fool and got private tutoring in how to lie to both the bastards, with his mind and with his tongue. The whiskered wizard never considered that his lessons would be used against him after getting a weakly worded Oath that Severus would help him out.

After Lily's death, Severus was enraged but there was no one he could take it out on, no one except the dunderheads he was given every year to teach about his one true passion. Every year, he was disappointed in his search for someone with the same gift for Potions that he had. So what if he took out his frustrations on the little bastards. It's not like they were anyone important. If they had been, he wouldn't have targeted them.

Now, after torture and interrogation at the hands of these damned Muggles, he was being moved to another room. That sadistic Muggle's voice penetrated the fog of his anger.

"Even though you no longer have any secrets from us, any information we could use, we still have some use for you, Snape. You remember that little favour you agreed to do for us? This is it." Anko waved her hand around and Snape's eyes locked onto the empty coffin on the low table.

"You see, I'll let you in on a little secret. You love secrets, don't you? Well, our resurrection technique requires fuel of a sort. No potions, no oils, no silly wand-waving would do, however. Instead, it is simple. A life for a life. And there is one person in particular whose life was snuffed out because of you, a special someone who occupied your thoughts while you were in school and even afterwards. Someone you had failed. Now, you are going to be able to fix that. Aren't you happy?"

Severus was about as far from happy as a human could get at the prospect of his imminent death. However, he took comfort from Anko's words. The only person who could possibly be worth his life was obvious. Lily Evans had died when he failed to save her, failed to talk the Dark Lord out of murdering a defiant Mudblood. If he truly must die, and escape was looking doubtful now that he was looking at the coffin resting there, then he could think of no one more deserving of his sacrifice.

"Let me go!" He shouted at the stupid woman, struggling to escape her grasp. "How dare you think to use me for this stunt. There are any number of worthless dunderheads around to take my place in this scheme of yours."

But, just because Snape wanted Lily to live didn't mean she was more valuable than himself, and he wanted to live, Merlin damn their hides! Use someone else, anyone else. He'd kidnap the patsy himself if they gave him a chance. Plus, then Lily would be alive and would be his again as she always should have been.

All his efforts were for nothing, however, not even slowing her by a single step on the journey. Trussed up like a turkey for Christmas dinner, wandless and trapped behind the strongest anti-Apparation wards he had ever felt, even if he could have escaped his bindings she would simply have overpowered him physically.

Anko lowered him into the coffin with a cold smile. "There is no fighting this, Snape. You were always going to die for betraying Harry's family. And you know you did agree to this final favour."

"Only now you're going to be used to bring my husband back to life." An achingly familiar voice called out, effortlessly grabbing his attention. "You have owed him your life these past twenty years and I intend to collect on that debt."

Snape's throat closed at this final injury, choking out any words he tried to force past it, denials and rants killed before they could be voiced. The coffin lid closed over him and the last thing he saw was Lily Evans' pleased smile.

James' return to consciousness was abrupt. While he had heard about Mrs Lovegood's experience, he hadn't known what to expect and he had been very close to rejecting the offer entirely. If it had been just for himself, he thought he would never agreed due to the human cost, but it wasn't just about him. It was about his family, his Lily and his only son, Harry, and James had realized during their resistance to Riddle and his Death Eaters that some people really were better dead.

Finding out what Snivellus had done to his family despite his supposed love for Lily and despite the Life Debt he owed to James himself had enraged him. This was not even mentioning the way Snape was happy to let his son be killed for some old fool's vision, had erased any reservations he had felt. This was restoring balance and family, and exacting justice, all in one package. Snape would die for his crimes and in doing so, restore a family his own actions had destroyed in the name of ruthless ambition.

He opened his eyes, already feeling the Clan's medics poking and prodding him a little more sharply than he preferred. "Alright, I'm up! See! Fit as a fiddle." He tried to sit up but a blonde woman, Tsunade if he remembered right, had her hand on his shoulder before he moved an inch.

"Lay down, Mr Potter. We still have work to do before we are ready for you to sit up, let alone stand as you were foolishly thinking of doing." Her stern expression melted a little. "Just hold on a little longer, once we know you're healthy again, and we will take you to Lily and Harry."

James relaxed his body despite his impatience. He had waited this long, he could hold out a while longer if it meant he could have his family back again.

Tsunade allowed her smile to widen. "Thank you, Mr Potter. You are in good hands now. We won't let any harm come to you or your family. Just relax as best you can."

James looked around himself while he lay back and the medics' hands roamed over him as they fixed up his body. Now that he was revived, they were adding the muscle and bone reinforcements while they double-checked he was healthy enough by their standards. He couldn't see the magic suppressors he knew had to be there nor much of what was happening as they kept him waiting. However, before he could grow bored of his position, that same woman was helping him to sit up and running him through 'just a few tests'.

When he had stood, walked, even ran on some weird moving bit of floor and lifted hundreds of pounds without a problem, they pronounced him fit. 'Fit is an understatement! I've never been this strong in my life!' James thought to himself. Further thoughts fled him as the door opened and there, looking more beautiful than he'd thought possible, was his wife looking even happier than on their wedding day.

He had to clear his throat twice to get it to work. "Lils?"

"Come here, you." Lily told him huskily.

James was sure he managed to Apparate, wards or no, because the next second he was right there with her in his arms and wonderfully alive. He breathed in, sure that air had never tasted so good in his life, as he hugged her tightly to him. He startled when another pair of arms encircled them both, opening his eyes to look into another pair of green eyes, matching his lovely wife.

"Harry." He felt such love for his family that no speech could ever convey it

None of the small family needed words for a while after that, letting actions convey the sheer joy of their reunion.

Their family moment was interrupted by a very fake-sounding cough from further down the corridor. The Potters looked for the source of the noise, finding two unrepentantly grinning loons also known as the Marauders Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Sirius' wife, Mary had refused to intrude on the moment, telling her still headstrong husband that this was his time to heal. She would be there afterwards and for all the days to come, but her presence would have felt rude and utterly out of place to her.

As the overgrown teenagers roughhoused in front of her, Lily sighed fondly and hugged Harry to her with one arm as she watched them muck around.

"Some things never change." Lily smiled at her son. "And one of them is that boys will be boys, even when they should be grown men by now. Come on, let's head to the kitchen. I know James will be starved and we can sit down to catch up on everything."

"Yes, Mum." Harry's grin lit up the room as he led her to the nearest kitchen and at the mention of food, the overgrown delinquents following in their wake. His Jewels were waiting for them.

Thank you for reading. As always, your feedback is appreciated. And a special thank you for your patience in awaiting this update.