Chapter 9 Reunions

Thanks to darrelldeam and alix33 for looking this over. All mistakes are my own, feel free to point them out.

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The letter said that someone, who Hermione thought was Pettigrew, had broken into Hogwarts and tried to kidnap her. She couldn't see his face when he grabbed her, but he was short and dumpy and had a squeaky voice. He seized her arm and tried to pull her in the tunnel behind the humpback witch. She fought and escaped. She told of how she bit, scratched and finally kneed him in the bollocks, then hexed him in the face with a boil hex, knocked him out and wrapped him in ropes. She then ran to get a teacher, but he was gone when they returned.

It wasn't until later they found out the man must have taken the first child he came across, which happened to be muggle-born, and ran. They found the mutilated body of the first year Hufflepuff a day later in the Forbidden Forest.

Hermione was devastated. The fact that someone had died pushed her fear for herself away. She was heartbroken that she hadn't known the spell to keep Pettigrew from transforming and that her Stupefy wasn't strong enough to kept him unconscious. She felt that it was all her fault the first year had died. She ranted and raved, and you could see the tear marks on the letter. Since Ron had the emotional range of a teaspoon, he was no help. Viktor had tried to comfort her, but he wasn't very good at it. She had worked herself up into quite a state during the letter.

Harry, of course, told his best friend that she wasn't at fault. He praised her for fighting back and getting away. He told her that he was very thankful she wasn't hurt. He warned her to be careful that it was probably a plot to get him back to England. He firmly scolded her for even thinking that a fourth year should know such a spell, smartest witch in her year or not. He said that it was up to the Headmaster to keep the students safe. He reminded her that Dumbledore knew Pettigrew was an Animagus and a Death Eater and that he should have strengthened the wards to keep him out. He reiterated that she was welcome to come to where he was at any time.

She said she'd talk it over with her parents and if they agreed she would.

Dumbledore was saying that Voldemort had risen. Hermione didn't know if it was true or not, but she was worried and scared. The Ministry was denying it and The Daily Prophet was called for the return of the Boy Who Lived one day and the next day stated that Harry Potter was a criminal that should be Kissed.

Harry and Sirius were concerned for their friends in Britain and the Council of Elders was keeping a close eye out for any sign of warfare there. There had been a debate on whether or not to form an army to protect the Amazon around the city in case of invasion. Their community was well protected and most everyone said that they didn't need one. It was still being discussed.

Sirius wrote to Remus to tell him that the Black Isle could be used as a halfway point for evacuees. He had gone there to tweak the wards so anyone in the company of a free house elf could get on the island. He asked the free elves to spread the word to the elves in England.

The secret project Dobby and the other elves had been working on was rebuilding and updating the old manor. Now there was a house that refugees could stay in until they were questioned and if they passed take them to the City of Z. If they didn't pass then they were told to find another country to take them. The people on the island had no idea where they were, only that it was in the tropics.

Remus sent a missive that Dumbledore had something very important to tell Harry and he wanted to meet the boy. Sirius told him, in no uncertain terms, that if it was that bloody important then he could write it down and send it through the werewolf. He restated that Harry wasn't going anywhere. Remus passed the message along and the Headmaster did write to Harry and told him about the prophecy.

Harry wrote back and stated that it didn't name him and hundreds of boys were born as the seventh month died. As for marking him as an equal, he felt that with the horcrux gone and that negated the prophecy for him. He further explained that the whole 'neither can live while the other survives' was plain bullshit and made no sense. The part that said the person had a 'power he knew not' could be a muggle who was skilled in combat. This prophecy could mean anyone or was no longer valid. He told the old man to leave him out of the war.

The Prophet was now saying that the Headmaster was barmy and that the Boy Who Lived wasn't needed and they were back to calling him a Dark Wizard. There was even speculation that Harry Potter and Sirius Black were the ones to kill the poor Hufflepuff, which was just plain stupid, since neither he nor Sirius had been seen in England for almost a year now. That didn't stop Fudge from blaming them for everything, from the clogged loo on the second floor to the grumpiness of the goblins.

Not many people left Britain, since there hadn't been any signs that Voldemort was actually alive. They were content to listen to the Ministry that everything was under control. So the Council of Elders washed their hands of them until such time they asked for help.

"I don't understand," Harry said as they sat in their usual chairs, after a nice dinner of Beef Wellington, "why aren't the muggle-borns leaving?" He thought for sure they'd run at the first sign of trouble.

"You really only have to look at the past to realize what's happening now. The whole community turned on you when you left with me, simply because a reporter said you must have helped me escape, which was true, but they couldn't prove that. Instead of saying I kidnapped you, you were turned into a bad guy and because of that, when your name came out of the Goblet of Fire, you were suddenly a Dark Wizard. The newspapers play on people's fears, especially ones like The Daily Prophet. The more fearful people get the more sensational the story," Sirius answered in a lecturing tone. "Now they are playing on relieving that fear and pointing the finger at the wrong people, because that's what's selling. I'll bet you that Fudge has everything to do with what they are printing."

"The Chronicle doesn't do that," the confused teen pointed out.

"That's because our reporters have taken a vow to tell the truth as they know it," his godfather explained. "The reporters of that rag in Britain don't take such a vow, and will write anything that will sell. So right now the Ministry is saying that Dumbledore has lost it and that they have it all under control and that anything that happens in Britain is my or yours fault. When it does come out that Voldemort is back, then they'll start calling for you to come back again."

"Still I'd've thought the muggle-born would be more open-minded. Maybe they're too… I don't know, scared, stupid, courageous— something. Or they think that I'll come and save them or Dumbledore will. Really, I just don't get it," Harry said, throwing his hands in the air in frustration.

"Don't try to understand how people think when they're afraid. Just be there to help the best you can when that cry for help comes. Well, in this case, the house elves will be there and we'll make sure they fit in here. You aren't going anywhere," Sirius said, jabbing his finger to his godson.

"No, I don't plan on it. I mean, I'd love to help my friends, but there is no way I'm helping the people who are calling me a Dark Wizard." He folded his arms and huffed at the stupidity of the Wizarding World.

"Right, changing the subject, how is your schoolwork coming along?" the older man asked. And the two settled on calmer topics for the rest of the night.

Harry and his friends were still exploring and the city was still prospering. School was harder than Hogwarts had been, but Harry was doing well. It had been difficult at first with the many different languages, but the Spell Research Department found a spell for translation, which helped immensely. They were still taught English and Portuguese, but other than those classes, the spell was used.

The City of Z settled in to a wonderful place to raise a family. Many women, of all races and breeds, were now pregnant and this would cause a baby boom. To the Council it was great news. The populace was still greatly segregated, but it seemed to be working out. There was very little discord and everyone mostly got alone. Since many people had sellable talents it caused the economy to blossom.

Houses in the city took on new looks. No longer was every house adobe, now there were brick, wooden, tiled and many other designs and sizes. One would think that was tacky, but to Harry, who had grown up in 'normal' Little Whinging, it was awesome. The story walls, that lined the pavement, were cleaned up and left intact and they added to the ambience of the many cultures.

They finally found out what the wards would do to criminals. One of the people from Knockturn Alley got it into his head to rob Barkley's. As he was breaking in the wards cast him from the city, his mind wiped and he was left to wander the Amazon. They never learned what happened to him after that, but no one tried to steal again. Even Player started behaving, though Harry was still cautious around his sneaky friend.

The gang speculated on what would have happened if murder had been the thief's intent. They also had figured out how he got through the dome to begin with. It was theorized that he hadn't meant the city harm when he entered, because at that time there was no bank.

A few months went by with lots of playing, working and exploring and in what would have been Easter break at Hogwarts, but was spring break here, there came strange new residents. They were a father and daughter that were found roaming the Amazon, by the Centaurs. They were looking for something called the Crumpled-Horned Snorkack. Nahand's herd had found them. When the two creature seekers confused the poor leader, it was decided to let the humans handle them.

So when they were brought to the dome, Sirius recognized them and after the standard questions, he asked if they wanted to move into the city and out of Britain. The father looked to the daughter and she dreamily said, "I think it would be for the best. The nargles say so, besides Stubby Boardman will protect us." She looked at Sirius with a beaming smile.

Harry, who had been sitting just inside the dome, laughed his arse off at the name. Sirius just looked confused. Xeno, as he told them to call him, said that his daughter, Luna, was never wrong, but to give them a week to put their affairs in order. And the two blondes left with the promise they would call a house elf when they were ready.

"Stubby Boardman, huh?" Harry teased when his godfather entered the dome.

"I haven't a clue. Isn't he the lead singer of the Hobgoblins?" Sirius asked, scratching his goatee in thought.

"I think so. Do you know who they are?" Harry inquired, looking at the spot the small family had just been.

"They're the Lovegoods. They own and operate the Quibbler. It's a magazine that writes about strange creatures, like the ones they were hunting. It's got some awesome runic crossword puzzles." He remembered those well.

It had been one of the few things that they could do in Azkaban. The warden thought if they got the newspapers then the Death Eaters would know they lost and it would make them more miserable. To Sirius the Quibbler had been a curse and a blessing, because the articles were delightful, but they made him have semi-happy feelings, which made the Dementors swarm. He did a full body shudder at that memory and then turned back to the conversation.

"Weird. Do you think they'll continue it here? It might be a nice change of pace to have something bizarre to read." Harry perked up at that, though he liked the Chronicle it lacked anything fun.

"Don't see why not, it would be different that's for sure," Sirius answered as the two walked to their home. "If I remember correctly that publication also writes conspiracy theories about Fudge and the Ministry, something about goblin pies. I wonder what they would come up with about the Council. Could keep us on our toes." He did wonder if Xeno would take the same vow as The Chronicle reporters did, and if he did would his paper change, for all Sirius knew those two truly believed everything they wrote.

"Yeah," was all the answer he got. Harry was deep in thought over the new development, there hadn't been many people he knew from Britain migrating here and this would be the first old schoolmates to join the community. He only hoped they got through the wards.

The Lovegoods came back a week later, with everything they owned. They chose a house that was at the edge of the city and set up shop. It had taken a week to make it look just like the Rookery. And soon enough they had the Quibbler up and running. Harry thought their house was wicked and when Luna started classes, he made sure to keep a protective eye on her.

At first Luna didn't fit in well with her new schoolmates, but then they reckoned that her imaginary creatures were a mask to keep people away, well, most of them. Some thought she was a seer. So the gang tried harder to pull her into making friends. After about a week of badgering, she was now the only girl in the group of boys. Zeeb loved her; to him she was a breath of fresh air. Jake wanted to protect the small girl. Jean, Zack and Harry were impressed with her research skills and spell knowledge. Player tolerated the airhead, as he thought of her, but conceded she was smart.

Harry continued to write Hermione and told her all about his exploits. She would chastise him for going into abandoned buildings and then tell him about the happenings of Hogwarts, which after the attempted kidnapping and the announcement that Voldemort was back were pretty boring. She did tell him about the second task and how she was a hostage, but she was knocked out the entire time, so remembered little. She continued to see Viktor Krum, and Ron was still on her case about it.

Harry was in two minds on that, on one hand he was happy for his friend that she had something good in her life. On the other hand, she was dating now and that might keep her in Britain. His mind was muddled on it, but in his letters he congratulated her and encouraged her to have fun.

Ron wrote a couple of times, but all he did was whine and try and get Harry to tell where he was. Harry wondered about that. Did Ron want to join him or was he trying to get information for Dumbledore? Harry wrote back and asked him about his family and what they would do if war broke out. Ron replied that his mum and dad were already in a secret organization led by Dumbledore. So Harry kept his secrets to himself and stopped writing his ex-best mate.

"Sirius," he asked one day, after a simple dinner of bean burritos, "have you ever heard of an organization led by Dumbledore?"

"Yeah, it's called the Order of the Phoenix. Your mum, dad, Moony, Wormtail and I were all a part of it during the first war. We helped in some battles, but Albus wouldn't let us cast any deadly spells, so we were at a disadvantage. It's mostly an information gathering group. If there had been any other organizations we would've joined them. Why?" Sirius asked with a tilt of his head. Moony had already told him that Dumbledore had reorganized the vigilant group, but he wondered where Harry had heard of them.

"Ron said his mum and dad were part of it. I think his older brothers are too. I was just curious if you ever heard of it. Do you think Professor Lupin will join again?" Harry asked, still a bit upset with that werewolf for not joining them. He had had high hopes that Sirius would be with an old friend.

"He already has. He told me that he is staying in Britain to help the war effort. And call him Remus or Mr. Lupin; he's not your professor anymore." He too was upset with Moony for sticking with the Headmaster.

"Right, Mr. Lupin," Harry nodded his head. "Did you guys ever decide on whether or not to make an army?" he asked, changing the sore subject.

"We reckoned we'd up the Auror force instead, get some Hit Wizards trained to prevent anyone wandering the forest from getting too close. We're going to call it the Ranger Department. They'll try and work with the Centaurs, though I doubt those two herds will be much help," his godfather answered with a serious look on his face.

It had been something he was outvoted on, and while he had the last word, he didn't use it often. That and the other elders made sense in their arguments. The wards will prevent any Dark Lord or Lady from rising within the city and kept outsiders… out. There was no need for an army, though they did concede in training all law enforcement officers in the use of guns. Here in Brazil it was easy to get your hands on weapons, all you needed was money and with him emptying his vaults and the treasure found in the pyramid, right now they had plenty.

"Right, thanks for telling me," Harry said with a grin, glad that his godfather wasn't holding back anymore. Sirius was not quite as overprotective as he used to be. The longer they stayed in the City of Z, the more relaxed the man became. Then again, Harry hadn't done anything stupid in a while. "I'd better get my homework done. Iago wants a three page essay that I haven't started yet," he said and left to do just that.

The Quibbler was a huge success. Xeno had hired the some of the house elves to deliver the subscriptions that were outside the city. The quirky articles were fun to read and the now seven teen explorers were looking for some of the strange creatures. Luna had given them some funny sunglasses to see the nargles and other mystical creatures. The boys of the group did see something, but they really couldn't describe what they saw.

Time went on and nothing was reported in The Daily Prophet, except a few disappearances, which could be anything from scared people running or Death Eaters killing muggle-borns. Since there was no Dark Mark in the sky the Ministry said it was migration. They were quoted in paper that the people that left were simply discontent with work and looking elsewhere for better employment.

A month went by and after an attack on their home the Creevey brothers and their family joined the City of Z. They were very angry at the British Magical Government for their lack of response to the occurrence. Colin had been told what to do by Hermione and when the Death Eaters entered their home, he called for Dobby. Dobby showed up just in time to blast the Death Eaters out of the house and quickly pop the family away to Black Isle. Then they were questioned by the Inquiry Committee and given the secret.

Colin and Dennis were ecstatic over seeing their hero again. They regaled him with all the gossip of Hogwarts and told him they never doubted him for a minute. The rest of Harry's gang thought it was funnier than hell to see these two worshippers and teased Harry relentlessly. Well, not Luna, but the boys were merciless.

Dumbledore continued to write to Harry, via Remus (who sent post via Winky), and begged him to come home. He tried everything from bribery to guilt tripping. He offered him the fifth year prefect position, captain of the Quidditch team and then turned around and stated how disappointed he was that Harry would leave his friends in danger. He would go on and on about how it was the boy's duty to come home and fight for England.

Harry stood firm on his resolve, he wasn't going anywhere. He told the Headmaster that they had given him the information he needed to win the war. It wasn't up to him, a half trained teenage wizard, to take on the most feared Dark Lord of the century or hunt down horcruxes. That was a job for fully trained wizards. He told the old man to leave him the hell alone.

Sirius was pissed and sent Albus a howler demanding that he leave his godson alone or there would be dire consequences. That didn't dissuade the old man, he kept sending Harry letter after letter, until Sirius told Remus that if he took another letter from that man, he would cut all communication with the werewolf.

So now instead of fighting Voldemort, the Order of the Phoenix was looking for the Boy Who Lived. Remus, being Dumbledore's lapdog, tried to get into the city. When he failed and had his mind wiped, Sirius cut all ties with his last friend and sent the Leader of the Light a cursed letter that caused the recipient's hands and face to break out in spots that couldn't be spelled away. In it he wrote that it was mild compared to what was to follow if he didn't desist in trying to get Harry.

Sirius took the betrayal hard. He thought after all this time that Remus wouldn't turn on him and Harry. He had told his friend everything they were accomplishing and had hoped the werewolf would join them. Remus had praised him in his posts and that had given Sirius hope of a reunion. Now he was hurt beyond how he felt when everyone thought he had turned on James. He ranted and raved for days, until he snapped at Harry for no reason. Seeing the devastated look on his godson's face, broke him out of his funk and he threw himself into his work.

The war started to pick up in Britain and families started disappearing and people started coming to the Black Isle. Many were Harry's old schoolmates, mostly from Hufflepuff. That had been tricky, one of the questions asked to the refugees was 'How do you feel about Harry Potter?'. If they answered that he was a Dark Wizard, then they were directed elsewhere. If they were uncertain, then they were given some of the truth and asked again. This information convinced quite a few that he was just a kid, but there were some that would not be persuaded otherwise, blaming Harry for the death of the first year, which made the green-eyed teen a bit depressed.

To get himself out of his sulking, Harry started dating more. He even dated Luna once or twice. That had been quite an experience, fun, but different. The two teens decided that they were better off friends and Jake took to seeing the quirky girl. Harry was happy for them.

More attacks started happening and more people died. Still the Ministry said they had it all under control and that is was the work of Harry and Sirius. And still the Headmaster tried to find his martyr.

Soon it would be summer and Sirius wanted to have the government stabilized before the population increased more. He fought the Council of Elders to make up their minds on what form they would take. They decided to keep the Council and have everyone voted in. The leader would now be called the President, the second was known as the Vice President, which was an office still shared by Matta and Melampus. The rest would still be called the Council of Elders, because you had to be over 45 to be on it. Bribery was not an issue, the first time someone tried, they were unceremoniously dumped into the Amazon, mind wiped and given what they needed to get back to civilization.

The University was finally up and running, it taught everything from Masteries in magic to law. Even though the intent wards kept crime down, law needed to be studied for political purposes and petty crimes.

Summer came and with it Hermione's letter on who won the tournament. It was Viktor Krum, without interference from outside influences; he was the first to grab the trophy. It had been close; Cedric Diggory had been one foot behind him. Hermione was torn between being happy for her boyfriend or upset that Hogwarts lost. She and Ron had gotten into a huge fight over it and now they were no long speaking to each other. She told Harry that she was going to be spending most of the summer in Bulgaria with Viktor's family and her parents.

Again Harry was divided. He had gotten over his lewd feelings for his best friend, but now she was getting closer to not joining him. Maybe he could write to Viktor and extend an invitation to the Quidditch star. Though he couldn't think of anything the City of Z had to offer the well-known man, since they didn't have a professional team. Still he'd see what he could do to make sure his best friend was safe.

A funny thing started to happen; pure-bloods were coming to the Black Isle. At first everyone was leery, but they passed the questioning and the wards, so they relaxed. It took a bit longer for the new citizens to blend into the multi-culture, but in the end they had no choice. The first time one of the British pure-bloods tried to enslave a free house elf he was banished by the wards. Again they had to wonder how someone with such a mindset got past the wards in the first place. They set up a committee to look into it and made sure everyone questioned knew the laws.

Harry had to admit those wards were Merlin sent. He didn't want to imagine what the city would be like without them. He even went to the ward stone and added more magic to them in parselmagic, which made him pass out. Sirius was pissed and a when he woke, after making sure he was okay, his godfather reamed him a new one.

"Just what the bloody hell were you thinking? I thought you learned your lesson about doing stupid shite like this? Didn't the throne teach you anything?" the enraged man asked as he paced by Harry's bed. "If Zeeb hadn't found you then you would have been out there all night. You're damn lucky that they didn't drain you dry."

"They didn't affect me like that last time. My magic is fine and after that arsehole tried to make Dinky a slave, I had to make sure they were fully charged," Harry yelled back. His arms folded defensively and his face a mask of self-righteous indignation.

"Harry, dammit, you've got to stop doing this shite. I know you want to help, and I respect that, but you are still half-trained and have never used parselmagic to that extent before. Why didn't you ask the Council to boost the wards? We have a department set up just for that purpose," Sirius questioned as he flopped in a chair, not calm, but calmer.

"None of you can use parselmagic. We haven't found any more parselmouths. I just wanted to help," Harry explained in a softer voice now that Sirius stopped yelling. He was still put out with the argument, but he could see that he once again acted without thinking.

"You are still fourteen years old, soon to be fifteen, you are to play Quidditch, do your part-time job, snog girls, hang with your friends and do your homework. Where in there does it say to amp up the wards?" his godfather asked with a quirk of an eyebrow.

"Fine, next time I get an idea like that, I'll come to you first," Harry pouted.

"You're grounded. School, work and then home," Sirius said, getting up to leave.

"How long," the teen sighed.

"A week."

That's not too bad. At least I won't be in this bed the whole time; Harry thought and said out loud, "Fine." And watched his pissed off godfather leave the room. He sighed and grabbed his homework. It was going to be a long week.

One of the families that came was the Bones. It seemed that Voldemort attacked their home and Amelia placed the life of her niece above her job and had the house elf pop them away. It was their house elf that told them about the paradise and called Dobby to come and get them. When Amelia found out that her beloved servant couldn't get on to the island without being freed, she gave her a scarf and then hired her on the spot. So now they had the ex-Head of the DMLE of Britain in their city.

Amelia quickly applied for work in the Law Enforcement Department. She was amazed with the computers, dazzled by the guns and stunned by the lack of crime. She was impressed that new and old magic was blended; so many Aurors and Hit Wizards could do wandless magic, though it wasn't quite a powerful as wanded. She had to start from a desk job, but was happy enough to be part of the team and soon enrolled in the University to get her law degree so she could join the government.

Susan adapted well to the new school, though she had to hire tutors to get her caught up in any of the subjects not taught or taught well at Hogwarts, like history and wandless magic. She became part of Harry's gang. They were exploring the Great Forest right now and she was impressed with Zeeb's knowledge and the rainforest itself. Harry had just gotten off restriction so he joined them.

The rainforest was a thing of beauty. The canopy blocked out most of the sun, but the many animals, magic or otherwise, made up for the lack of light. The monkeys chattered, the birds chirped, the insects buzzed, magical plants moved out of their path and the fairies fluttered. Susan could have sworn she saw Unicorns in the trees, but it was too dense to be sure.

They went and said hello to the herd and Nalla joined them in their exploring.

"Oh, Merlin, this is wonderful. I'll bet this is what the Forbidden Forest was supposed to be like," Susan gushed, looking at the monkeys playing.

"According to Iago, it was, well, without the monkeys. He said, that history says, that Helga Hufflepuff created the forest to be a sanctuary for all animals and half-breed forest dwellers. It was the introduction of werewolves, poisonous snakes and giant spiders that made it forbidden," Nalla imparted.

Harry felt a bit angry at Hagrid for releasing his pet into the forest and wondered how it was faring now that the Centaurs were gone.

"It's much worse now," Luna answered his unspoken question, "the Acromantula have taken over the whole forest. Hagrid had to move all of his pets to the grounds. He had to get rid of quite a few of them, like the Cerberus, some of the hippogriffs and the more dangerous ones. The Board put their foot down and he was quite devastated."

"Hmmm, I wonder why they don't go in and just clear it out." Harry wondered. It seemed like the logical thing to do to him.

"The Ministry says it's Dumbledore's responsibility and he says it's theirs," Susan said, very upset that there were deadly spiders near her old school. She was still trying to convince Hannah into coming here.

"Let's just finish exploring," Player all but snapped. He hated it when they got all reminiscing on their past lives.

"Come, I will show you where the villagers live," Zeeb offered, turning and leading the way.

They met the villagers and the two girls were equally enchanted and appalled. They thought they were quaint yet at the same time didn't understand why they would live wild in the forest.

The gang looked around the Great Forest for hours until Jean said he had to get home. So they all quietly talked as they made their way back to the city.

On the day before Harry's birthday, Neville, his parents and his gran were admitted to the city. "Neville, it's great to see you, but what made you come here?" Harry asked his shy friend. He looked at the not- quite-there parents and wondered if there was anything in the old magic that could help them.

"Dumbledore," the pudgy boy answered with a huff. "He's got it in his head that since you're not there, then the prophecy must be about me. Gran was furious. She tore him up one side and down another. Then when he tried to make me join his little group, she packed everything, grabbed mum and dad and we left. She still blames him for dad being the way he is. It was our house elf that told us about here." He was happy they freed Kippy and hired her on, but remorseful that they felt the need to run.

"Well, I, for one, am glad you're here. Let's get your mum and dad settled in the hospital and we'll find you a house," Harry said, slapping his friend on the back and leading the way. The two boys talked of the differences of the City of Z and Diagon Alley as Harry showed them where St. Starkey's was. After that, they rambled on about Hogwarts, until the Longbottoms were settled into one of the many houses the free elves renovated. "Oh and by the way, Happy Birthday," Harry added just as he was about to leave, remembering Neville's was the day before his.

"Thanks, this wasn't how I was hoping to spend it, but it's still better than hiding in some secret house that Dumbledore wanted me to go to," Neville said with a weak smile.

"Well, maybe next year it'll be better," he offered, trying to cheer the boy up. He asked if they needed help settling in and was told no, so he went home.

That night, after a dinner of fish and chips, Harry and Sirius sat in their chairs. They talked about all the people coming to the city then the teen got a thought. "Sirius," he cautiously started. "Do you think I'm strong enough to heal Nev's parents with parselmagic?" he asked, wary of the man's response after what happened with the ward stone.

Sirius ran his hand through his hair and held back a groan. "I don't know, probably. I'm leery about letting you try, but I know your saving people thing will make you do it with or without my permission."

"I won't do it if you say not to, but I'll be very irate if you don't let me try," Harry stated with a firm yet soft voice.

"I know. Tell you what, if you make sure a healer is with you, you can try to get Alice healed first. If that doesn't drain you then after a day's rest you can heal Frank," his godfather compromised.

Harry's face broke out into a beaming smile that could have lit the room. "Really?"

"Yeah, you might want a second job in St. Starkey's, because if you pull this off the healers are going to want you to do it with everyone," Sirius warned, half-seriously, half-jokingly.

The next day was Harry's birthday and they had a huge party to celebrate. Harry was overwhelmed, he had never had a party before and it was a novel experience. He got loads of presents, and every single one of his friends was there. They played games, ate all sorts of different biscuits and fudge and caramel cake, and drank loads of fizzy drinks. All in all everyone had a great time.

They waited until the weekend to cure the Longbottoms, just in case Harry passed out. Saturday Harry, Sirius, Neville and Augusta headed to St. Starkey's, snagged Healer Smite and went to the proper room.

Harry got Mrs. Longbottom to sit down. Then he put his hand on her head and hissed 'heal'. He felt the spell take effect and something was happening. He poured his magic into the spell a little at a time, until his patient gasped. He stopped the spell and looked at her.

Her eyes weren't vacant anymore. She was looking around the room and whispered, "Where am I?"

"Alice, oh, Alice," Augusta said, "you are safe now." Tears were pouring down hers and Neville's faces.

"Mum," Neville said, sinking to his knees in front of the woman he always wanted to know, but never could.

"Neville? Why are you so grown?" the poor confused woman asked, putting her hands on the teen's face and examining it, to see where her baby had gone.

"Mum, you've been sick a very long time," her son answered, tentatively giving his mother a hug.

"Where's Frank?" Alice asked, returning the hug of her son. "The last thing I remember is being attacked."

"He's still sick, Mum," Neville answered, tightening his arms.

"Harry? Are you okay?" Sirius asked, as he pulled his godson away from the reunion, though you could see there were tears being held back at the touching scene.

"I'm fine," came Harry's standard answer. "No, really, I'm fine," he quickly added at his godfather's disbelieving look. "I hardly felt any drain at all, it's not like before. The spell wasn't pulling at my magic, just tugging it a little." He shrugged his shoulder to show it was no great feat.

"Let me be the judge of that," Healer Smite said as she came up to them, having finished checking Alice. She waved her wand, looked at the readout and said, "He's a bit under powered, but he should be fine enough to do Mr. Longbottom tomorrow. You performed a miracle today, young man."

"Really, it was nothing, I mean, it was great, but I didn't do any…" he stuttered, only to be interrupted by his friend.

"Harry," Neville said, grabbing the other teen a drawing him into a huge bear hug. "You are the most brilliant wizard alive," he proclaimed. "Anything you want, it's yours, anything." His voice firmed with promise.

"I'm just glad I could help," Harry said humbly.

"If you ever need someone to cover your back, I'm your man," the pudgy teen promised with vigor as he let Harry go.

"We can both cover each other," Harry compromised, slapping Neville on the shoulder.

"Right. So I overheard that last bit and you'll do Dad tomorrow." There was a bit of sadness, but also understanding in his voice and face.

"Yeah, sorry I can't today."

"Harry, you've given me the best birthday present I've ever had. Never apologize to me— for anything," the teen was determined to make his new hero see he could do no wrong.

"Right, I'll let you get to know your mum better and I'll be back tomorrow," Harry promised as he edged his way towards the door, uncomfortable with someone else worshiping him.

Sirius was torn between chuckling and worrying. He settled on quietly laughing to himself as he led his godson home to rest.

The next day an almost identical scene played out and Harry was very happy for his friend. Neville got almost as bad as the Creevey brothers, but at least the former Gryffindor had an excuse. The dark-haired teen's friend took to teasing him whenever his fan club was out of sight. He took the ribbing good-naturedly and life settled down for Harry and Sirius.