Chapter 8

...We make war that we may live in peace...

~Aristotle

Casualty collection site
Near Bowes
December 1999

A large crowd was gathered in the newly created monument to memorialize the soldiers killed 'defending freedom', or what Emperor Riddle defined as freedom. The small quarry that two weeks ago was used as a casualty collection site for the assassin's dead, now showcases a stone monument. The structure itself wasn't all that impressive. Nothing but a ten foot tall stone prism centered in a small stone flower bed and walkway. The names of the dead soldiers were engraved on the stone to honor their sacrifice.

A large crowd turned up to remember the occasion. Rows of white chairs were placed in a semi circle around a small podium. In the chairs of the outer sections sat every major governmental department head within Britain. No doubt "volun-told" to be in attendance. The "victim's" families huddled together in the middle section silently crying for their loved one.

The Emperor solemnly walked to the podium and cast a voice magnification charm on himself. He took a minute to compose himself before speaking. Not because he truly felt the loss of life, but to play up to the crowd.

"Forgive me, my friends, for being blunt. But I must say what I am feeling. It would be a grave injustice if I didn't give these brave men that much. For they gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country...our freedom...our very prosperity that we are experiencing at this moment in time!"

Tom punctuated each 'our' and 'we' by elevating his tone and slightly banging his fist on the podium. His objective was to say words showing a relationship between him and the people so that they would think that the assassins have attacked them personally as well. Psychological word association on a political scale...damn he's good.

"There are those within OUR country that want to tear down what WE have built! The very harmony WE enjoy today is being threatened and brave souls, like the ones WE are honoring today, died defending what is right!"

The Emperor's nostrils flare for a moment in anger before he reigned it in. Whoever these people are were not just threatening Britain's 'harmony'. They were threatening HIS society!

The Emperor looked down in sadness and shook his head. He continued in a much softer voice, "there is nothing else I can say but to thank these men for what they have done. I can express my sorrow to their families...my prayers are with each one of you. I can also leave my friend, Peter Petegrew, a vow that his sacrifice WILL be remembered and WILL NOT go unpunished!"

After a slight applause, Tom spoke again, "Due to this security risk, I have enacted a protocol to have our intelligence agents listen out for suspected threats. I have just signed a bill that will increase our police and military force to meet these attacks head on. We CAN NOT be intimidated by their actions! WE WILL PREVAIL!"

Tom Riddle stepped off the podium and sat at his seat on stage as other distinguished guests said a few words. On the outside, he looked calm and attentive to all the other speakers. Inside his mind was racing. Plans and contingencies were being thought and noted for his country's upcoming future. His closest circle members have been recalled to attend Peter's funeral. Afterwards, they would go to his office and discuss his war with the other nations.

Of course he would try diplomatic solutions first...he wasn't a monster. The ICW is going to reconvene in a few months time and he had plans to show them exactly what he had accomplished. If they still didn't want to play ball...well then he would look to more persuasive means. 'Si vis pacem, para bellum, or in other words if you want peace, prepare for war', he thought

As the service concluded, his closest associates stood up and walked to the stone monument. Bella, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, McNair, the Lestrange brothers, and Igor Karkoroff each touched the memorial before faithfully following Tom Riddle to his limo.

...Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titilandus...

[never tickle a sleeping dragon]

~J.K Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Casualty collection site
Near Bowes
December 1999

Harry, Davin, and Lilliana watched in silence as the Emperor gave his speech. They blended into the grass and molded themselves into the earth surrounding the quarry. Two boring speakers later, Harry motioned for Davin to join him away from the crest of the drop off.

"You heard that right? He is using that night to swell up the military," Harry stated.

"We scared him, I guess we should be honored we rate such an action," Davin laughed.

Harry didn't even crack a smile, the extra forces would mean more people looking for them. The added intelligence agents means they would have to be very careful in their actions. Harry actually contemplated trying to assassinate Riddle right there and then. It didn't matter that there was a small army surrounding the service.

Harry transfigured a throwing knife in his hands and was about to get up and give it his best shot. Fortunately for the trio, Lilliana interrupted him, "hey, the service is done. The Emperor is leaving!"

Scrambling back to the edge, they watched as a small group started following Riddle into his white limo. Davin was quick to notice that Bellatrix Black was among them.

"Alright, let's make a statement of our own", Harry said. "Everybody good with the plan?"

When the two of them nodded in agreement, Harry gave one last parting comment, "just be ready"

Again, they nodded in agreement, then watched Harry cast a disillusion spell and disapparated quietly. They watched the grass across the street rustle erratically, which they signified as Harry's apparition point. 'Funny how nobody added anti-apparition wards for such a major event', Davin thought.

Harry, still invisible, silently crept up to the Emperor's limo. He moved to the passenger side of the vehicle as the driver held the door for Tom and the people following him. Harry took out his wand and quickly painted the assassin's logo on the rear passenger side door. As the last person was about the enter the vehicle, Harry stood and swiftly moved around the back of the car. He grabbed the unlucky man from behind and apparated to a spot where Davin and Lilliana would be waiting.

Harry didn't remember arriving at his destination. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Davin and Lilliana cast spell after spell until they were sure that everything was incapacitated. Then cast an Incarcerous spell to make sure the prisoner wouldn't get away. Since Harry was still invisible, Davin and Lilliana cast several Finite Incantatem spells to cancel out the disillusion spell.

After Harry was awake, they hit the blonde haired man with another stunner before they took a portkey to a more permanent area. They landed in an obscure section of Liverpool and ducked into an empty house. "We've used this place a few times for training", Harry said to Lilliana, "I guess it will do for a base of operations."

All three of them dragged the man into an empty room and took all of his belongings that was within his pockets. Lilliana left to go through the prisoner's wallet as Harry and Davin stripped the man down to his skivvies and tied him to a metal chair. They also checked for any hidden enchantments that the man would use to escape like a disillusioned knife or wand. Luckily, it seemed that their prisoner didn't have any.

"Well", Harry said to Davin, "that was a success, huh?" Harry started laughing, "snatched this fucker from right under the old bastard's nose!"

Harry turned on a bright florescent light hanging above the prisoner and the two assassins walked out of the room. "Let's see get a bite to eat before we start, I'm famished", Davin said before locking the door.

Back at the cemetery...
Tom Riddle's limo

"What the hell was that", Tom Riddle hollered to the limo driver. He craned his neck to look out the windows in search for the missing seventh member of his team. "Where is McNair?"

The limo driver stood dumbfounded at the door trying to speak. "I...I...He was there...then BOOM! He was gone!"

Tom Riddle and the rest jumped out of the limo and looked around the vehicle. "Did he apparate away, he doesn't even know where the hell we are going?"

"No...no sir. He bent over to get in and looked like he was going to fall. Then he...ummm...just disappeared!"

Tom Riddle walked around to the other side of the vehicle and looked at the field. The Lestrange brothers got out and looked around as well. "So what do we do Emperor", Rodolphus asked.

Tom turned around and was about to speak when he seen the logo Harry had painted on the side of the limo. The color drained from his face, 'they got to him', he thought. 'How', he asked himself perplexed. Rodolphus seen the logo and hollered a loud, "HOLY SHIT!"

Tom snapped out of it and looked at the attention they were drawing. Journalists and family members alike were watching Tom with his cohorts. He couldn't afford for McNair's kidnapping become public knowledge just yet. Especially right after his 'extra security' speech no less. "I found it", Tom said to Rodolphus as he pretended to pick up an object from the road. He smiled at the Lestrange brothers and told them to get back in the limo with a strained smile on his face.

When they were all seated, Tom looked at his friends, "They can't know McNair was taken yet! How the hell did they do it right in front of us? Were the wards breached?"

None of them had seen Tom so shaken up before. He was always calm and in charge of the situation. So when the Emperor asked his question, none of the others wanted to answer out of fear. But Karkoroff was not head of the Russian Mafia for nothing. "I didn't feel any wards Emperor", Karkoroff said quietly in a voice he thought was steady, "I didn't even know there were any."

Assassin's Liverpool hideout
2 hours later...

Harry, Davin, and Lilliana returned to the makeshift cell that held their half naked prisoner. His head was hanging to the front of him making his blond hair obscure his face. His wrists and ankles were tied to the metal chair they placed him in.

"According to his I.D, his name is Walden McNair", Lilliana said to no one in particular. She was too captivated in the moment, she never thought she would actually interrogate anyone. Lilliana wondered what they would do if he didn't tell the truth or sent them into a trap. Thinking about it, Lilliana wondered what Harry would do if that happened.

The man in question took out his wand and conjured a black hood over McNair's head. "Don't get too close and use the charm I taught you to disguise your voice", Harry told Lilliana. When she didn't seem to hear him, Harry gently touched her shoulder. "You don't have to do this you know. We can handle it."

"No...no that's alright...I'm alright", she croaked. After whispering the spell to alter her voice, she stepped back behind the two assassins to let them work. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her beating heart. When that was accomplished, she couldn't help to think, 'this sure the hell beats life on a farm'.

Harry cast an Enervate spell to counter the stunning spells that McNair was hit with. He took a minute to shake out the cobwebs. When he tried to move his arm to rub his head, he realized what had happened. He started to panic and thrashed around in the chair for a minute until he heard a hauntingly deep voice, "Settle down Mr. McNair. We only want to chat...for now."

"Who are you?"

"That doesn't matter at the moment. What matters is what we want...and what we will do to you if we don't get it."

"What do you want? I have plenty of money...I can..."

"We don't want your damn money," Harry's altered voice boomed within the room. He let the silence linger for a moment before he calmly said, "we just want to talk."

"What", McNair asked stupidly. "There are easier ways to arrange a chat, mate", he chuckled nervously.

"Let's talk about you. What do you do Mr. McNair?"

"I am the Head of the Department of Finance."

"So how are the finances as of late Mr. McNair? Good I hope?"

Confused McNair stuttered, "yeah...yeah, you can say that.."

"What else are you involved in."

McNair was getting impatient, he was used to opulence and people being inferior to him. Being subjected to such treatment, damn the cost, was grating on his nerves. With as much superiority as he could muster, he responded angrily at his captors. "What does it matter? Who the Hell are you?" After another bout of shaking the chair in an attempt to loosen his binds, he asked, "what do you want?"

"Right to the point I see", Harry said amused. "Very well then. I want you to tell me everything you know about Tom Riddle. Where his strength lies, where his bank roll comes from, who are his closest friends."

Harry would have continued, but McNair's repeated "no" ascended above Harry's. "I will NOT tell you anything about the Emperor. Do what you will, I'm not telling you a damn thing!"

"Oh really", Harry said. Truth be told, Harry expected McNair to refuse any information on Tom. So he didn't think anything of it when he conjured a thin bladed knife and stabbed McNair in his shoulder. As he screamed in pain, Harry felt a small hand grab his upper arm. Looking behind him to see who it belonged to, he looked into the frightened blue eyes of Lilliana.

With a start, Harry realized that Lilliana wouldn't be agreeable to this type of information gathering. Harry turned back to McNair and yanked the blade from the man's shoulder. He screamed in pain again from the jolt until it went away. If his head wasn't covered, he would have seen that Harry had also healed the puncture wound. His breathing started to return to normal when that deep voice whispered in his ears, "remember that as a precursor McNair. Think long and hard about whether or not you want to see how imaginative I can make this session. I'll give you a minute to think it over. If I'm not satisfied...I'll send you back to him in pieces."

The trio left the cell to converse while McNair started to whimper. When they shut the door and raised a silencing bubble, Lilliana broke down in tears. Harry ran up to comfort her, all angry thoughts about being interrupted vanishing instantly. "Hey hey, it's all right", he said soothingly. "I'm sorry about that." Harry hugged her and continued to whisper apologies in her ear.

Davin couldn't help but to realize how different the situation would be with Lilliana joining them. He wouldn't change it, but they would definitely have to find a way to work around it if she couldn't handle the blood.

He put his hand on her shoulder to get her attention, then using legilimency, projected his thoughts to her and Harry. 'Look, I know this is difficult. But in order to fight with us, you will have to get your hands dirty. Before we left, you knew there would be challenges. This is one of them. These men will not be going to jail or some out of the way place." Davin paused for a moment so his message could be processed, he hated to state the obvious, but..."we will be killing them."

Lilliana wiped the tears from her eyes and stepped back from Harry. "I was prepared to fight, and perhaps kill at some point. But I was not prepared to torture someone! I don't think I can do that." She held her head down in disappointment. She really wanted to help, and hoped they wouldn't send her back, but she knew deep down that she couldn't bear to watch it happen.

"Don't worry about", Davin said, "we have few methods we can use. We won't force you into it. In fact, if you can get your hands on some Veritaserum, we can probably get the info in a...", Davin had to think of a more politically correct term, "...cleaner fashion." It was weak, he knew, but nothing else came to mind.

Harry gave him a look that clearly stated "what the fuck?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sack of galleons. "Here, take this and get the main ingredients. Tomorrow, we'll get the rest. That way the shopkeeper will not have an idea of what we are brewing."

Lilliana pocketed the galleons, cleaned herself up, and left the safe house. She knew that Harry had ulterior motives for sending her away. They would more than likely continue with whatever they were going to do before she stopped them. It didn't matter to her, she just couldn't bear to be apart of it.

********oooo********

Lilliana was right though. As soon as she left, the two assassins reentered the cell. They didn't know how long they would have so they went right into the hard core interrogation techniques. They started off with water boarding, then they whipped him until finally they graduated to cutting large gashes into him.

All of which took place within an hours time. When they feared Lilliana's return, they healed McNair's wounds and cleaned up all the blood. They hit McNair with a stunner before leaving the room to compile the information they were able to gather; which was still not that much.

"Well", Harry started after cleaning the blood from his hands, "it wasn't a total loss. We can verify and adjust our questions for the dose of Veritaserum we will give him."

Davin agreed with Harry and had just finished cleaning himself off when the door opened. Tentatively, Lilliana entered the hallway expecting to hear screams. She was pleasantly surprised to find the boys sitting in the dining area. That was until she seen the bloody rags that they used to clean up with. She thought about berating them, even though she knew what they would do.

But, with a deep breath and a blind eye to her moral values, she asked, "so what have you learned?"

Harry grinned and went right into how McNair ratted out Karkoroff's involvement with the Russian Mafia. They also confirmed that Riddle had an army in South America, financial ties to the Middle East, and a plan to basically start another World War.

After the information sunk in, Lilliana asked Harry if they still needed the potions supplies.

Nervously, Harry answered, "Don't be mad ok?" After his girlfriend nodded her head, Harry continued, "We already have some Veritaserum. We don't use it too often because sometimes we are given bad information if we ask a question the wrong way. Physical pain is much better than potions. Besides, it takes awhile for Veritaserum to brew and we don't have the luxury of time." He also told her about verifying McNair's confessions with it.

She nervously cleared her throat, "is he still alive?"

Davin answered for Harry, "yeah, the only evidence of our activities was the rags you've seen."

Lilliana responded with, "so what do we do with him after the Veritaserum?"

Harry told her that even though they had general area to work with, they still needed specific businesses or people to go after. Being part of the Russian Mafia meant that Karkoroff was going to be well guarded. They also needed something more to go on before they tear down whatever ties Riddle has in the Middle East. "We are compiling some questions to ask to make it easier to find what we are looking for", Harry finished.

The rest of the night was spent arranging their questions and finding possible loopholes that McNair might exploit to get around the Veritaserum. They stayed up until the early hours of the morning before calling it quits to find a room to sleep in (separately).

********oooo********

There was no way in hell they were going to wait one lunar phase to brew Veritaserum, which legally can only be used by government officials. When they woke up, Harry showed Lilliana the little bottle he had acquired during one of his other assignments and administered a few drops to McNair. Lilliana asked the carefully selected questions that they put together. It took several sessions, but they eventually got all they could out of him. They were able to elaborate on Karkoroff's possible locations as well as the location to the South American based army. They decided that hitting the oil industry would cause more harm globally than to Riddle himself, so they decided against blowing up the refineries.

"Alright, so before we head to Moscow, I say we take a small break at your place", Harry suggested.

Lilliana thought it over. Since she left without telling her mother goodbye, she feared repercussions and the possibility of not being able to leave again. Minerva may be old, but she was still a very fearsome witch. "If we do, Mother might not let me leave", she said expressing her fears.

"Don't worry about it", Davin said. "We'll sneak you out, no problem."

"And if I'm stuck under lock and key?"

"They could lock every door and window if they wanted too, we'll just come up through the floor", Harry said with a smile.

Lilliana laughed a little. "So is that what my knight in shining armor is going to do? Instead of braving the dragon to rescue the fair princess at the top of the tower, you intend to just burglarize the castle and kidnap me?"

"Of course, if it means less time nursing my wounds from the dragon...and more time in your knickers!"

Davin choked and started laughing the blush adorning Lilliana's face. He could tell that she tried to come up with a witty response, but either out of embarrassment or fantasy, she could only muster a slap on Harry's shoulder.

"Let's get packed then", she finally choked out.

Once they were ready, Lilliana once again asked what they were going to do with their prisoner.

"Don't worry about him", Davin told her. "Harry is going to dump him off near the Imperial Center."

"But what if he tells them who we are or what he's told us?"

"Well", Davin said slowly, "he will not exactly be alive." When Lilliana looked like she was going to protest, Davin reiterated the point he made after McNair's initial torture session. "There will be casualties Lilliana. He is too dangerous to be left alive."

She had just finished accepting the fact when Harry met them at the door. "Alright, you guys go ahead and I'll catch up to you."

"Don't do anything foolish", Lilliana told Harry after a quick kiss, "and you better be right behind us."

"Don't worry, it will only take a moment", Harry said softly.

********oooo********

Harry only took a moment because McNair was already dead. His present for Tom Riddle was complete, all he had to do was drop off the body. He just hoped that apparition wouldn't ruin the corpse and the effect he was trying to achieve.

He quickly transfigured his current clothing into his midnight black monk robes complete with his rosary beads. Using another charm, he obscured his face in the shadow of his hood. He took out his wand and grabbed hold of the petrified body of Walden McNair and apparated to the Imperial Center.

He appeared directly in front of Tom Riddle's Imperial Center. Without wasting time, Harry raised him wand in the air to cast a sonic blast to get everyone's attention. The spell echoed throughout the city streets reverberating off the glass of the buildings and busting the windows of nearby cars.

After a slight pause, Harry conjured black fire in the palms of his hands and let the flame built menacingly. Without warning, he slapped his hands to the pavement causing the ground within the area to shake. The fire he held seeped into the street around him making a design the onlookers didn't care to see at the moment.

When the rumbling stopped and the evil looking flames died down, the people who were too afraid or too dumb to run away, looked to where the wizard was last standing. But, just as suddenly as he arrived, the dark robed magical was gone. In his place stood a short man with slicked blonde hair holding a giant box wrapped in black.

Aurors and Security officials near the Imperial Center rushed to the scene expecting a fight. When it was apparent that the man was gone, those in charge stationed them for crowd control. They ordered the obviously petrified man to be left alone until the scene was secured.

Before it could, the Emperor himself ran out the building and demanded to know the details. The lead Auror was in the middle of his report when Tom walked up to the spot where the dark wizard appeared. His eyes, at first, focused on the charred ruins of the street in front of his building. He instantly recognized the symbol it created.

Then he gave his full attention to the man in a black suit with slicked back blonde hair that was petrified holding a large box. Even though the man was a little disheveled, Tom knew it was the missing Walden McNair. He moved to greet is friend when the lead Auror tried to stop him, "sir we don't know if it is safe yet."

Tom stopped short and grabbed his wand. Feeling the magic in the air, he tested the area for wards and traps. When he was satisfied, he continued to move towards his missing friend. McNair's face was frozen in a painful, grotesque looking grin. His eyes were three times the normal size while his pupils were equally smaller making the whites of the eyeball stand out vividly. Tom realized that they were staring at the black velvet wrapped gift in his hands. Tom, erring on the side of caution, tested the box again for any nefarious spells.

Carefully, the Emperor lifted the lid to the box. He didn't know why he started with the box instead of undoing the petrifying spell, but something in his gut told him it didn't matter. He discarded the lid and peered inside the box to see a six inch silver ornament in the shape of a crucifix. Gingerly, he picked up the jewelry to examine in it and instantly recognized it as the calling card of the assassins.

Upon picking up the cross, McNair's body twitched. Riddle jumped in surprise thinking wild thoughts of inferi or something else dangerous. In doing so, the Emperor dropped the disgusting piece of jewelry. He was absently noticed the human heart in the center of the cross that was in place of the normal red ruby. The cross clashed and shattered on the pavement, the heart landed with a sickening 'plop'. But that's not what made the crowd retch.

When the cross shattered, it released the petrifying spell on McNair, allowing his severed body parts to fall to the street. It started with his arms. Then his head rolled precariously on his neck before it too fell. McNair's knees wobbled until gravity won out and he fell down in four different parts. His intestines leaked out of his torso when it came to rest; releasing a ghastly stench.

Horrified, Tom stepped back in shock. The glint of silver caught his attention near the dismembered corpse of his friend. The shattered particle remains of the assassin's sick piece of jewelry swirled and formed a message. Black fire, the same the dark wizard used, slowly scorched the air forming one letter at a time. For the second time in a week, the blood drained from the Emperor's face as he read the words that were written.

"Piece by piece."

********oooo********

Harry apparated to a few different locations before arriving at a clearing not far from Dumbledore's hideout. He stayed long enough to pray and cancel the transfiguration spells on his clothes. When he was done, he continued to Thatcher's Lane. Davin and Lilliana were only fifty yards away when Harry passed through the Fidelius Charm. Harry could hear the hollering coming from Minerva Dumbledore like she was right up to his ear. He instantly understood why Davin was awkwardly standing behind Lilliana as if she was protecting him.

Lilliana, to her credit, stood toe to toe with her mother. "I'm an adult Mum! I'm tired of living in hiding, I'm tired of living like this!"

"You may be of age, young lady, but that does NOT excuse the fact that you left without so much as consulting me," Minerva cried. "And you should be apologizing to your poor father! Since he let you go, I've had him sleep on the couch WHICH I deliberately transfigured to keep him uncomfortable."

Lilliana paused, trying to process that information. It wasn't her father's fault that she left. She was going to leave anyway, he just didn't stop her. She was about to voice that fact when Harry chimed in, "Wow! Mrs. D, that's pretty fucked up!"

"I'll tell you what is...", she said before Dumbledore ran out of the house and interrupted her. "I believe that is enough for now, my dear." He quickly approached the trio and 'ordered' them to the dining table. When they were enough distance away, Minerva rounded on her husband, "I was not done, Albus."

The old man sighed and tried to calm his wife, "I know dear, but I just learned of something even more distressing. Come and we'll discuss it together."

When they were all seated around the table, Dumbledore looked at Harry. He made his anger apparent when he addressed the young assassin, "I thought we agreed that you would not use this place as a safe haven?"

"We are not, sir. We've been staying...".

"Then tell me why you arrive moments after a major Department Head was brought before the government building?"

Minerva looked between the two confused, "what are you talking about Albus?"

Instead of answering his wife, Dumbledore continued to stare down at Harry. When the young man didn't volunteer any information, "did you kill Walden McNair?"

"Yes sir I did. But these two apparated directly from the unplotable safe house. I took care of Mr. McNair's arrangements, apparated to a few different places, changed my clothes and came here. I was careful not to leave any trace of my movements and...", Harry said timidly, "Lilliana wanted to come. She was a little homesick."

Dumbledore was about to actually raise his voice in anger to the young man concerning the 'arrangements' of McNair. But the father within him heard the last comment and his anger melted a little bit. Still in a somewhat less 'pissed off ' voice, Dumbledore started again, "I'm glad you took those precautions Harry. But what I really want to know is the involvement my only daughter had with the state of McNair's death?"

"What are you talking about father...", Lilliana said.

"She had nothing to do with anything of it", Harry interrupted. He tried to convey with his eyes to the old man not to reveal any further information. Lilliana knew McNair was going to die, what he didn't want to confess at the moment was the manner of said person's death. He wanted to explain the reasons and the expected governmental reaction to her in the hopes that she wouldn't view him as a monster. 'But I am a monster', Harry thought morbidly. 'But it must be done.'

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on the point of view, Dumbledore had started a legilimency probe thinking that the young man wanted to talk 'mentally'. Instead of a conversation, Dumbledore received a sense of love towards Lilliana and a violent need to protect her. Then Dumbledore was hit with a massive wave of self-loathing and acceptance. It only lasted a second, then when the old man realized that he misread Harry's intention, he pulled out of the mind probe.

Harry didn't even feel the mental probe. Otherwise, he probably would have been a bit embarrassed.

Dumbledore took pity on the young man. He leaned over to quietly whisper into the young man's ear, "don't let it change you Harry," he implored. "Confide in Lilliana, maybe she can help suppress the demons you apparently have."

Shocked at the sudden turn of topic, Harry nodded his head in agreement. Dumbledore reached for his wife's hand and escorted her out of the room leaving the trio alone.

********oooo********

After the impromptu meeting, Davin walked off to find Remus and some fire whiskey. Harry took Dumbledore's advice to heart and decided to talk to Lilliana. It started with the way he left McNair and how he had killed him. Then, the flood gates opened. He told her the details of his parent's death, the violent parts of his training, and finished with the assignments he had undergone.

Realizing that Harry was baring his soul, Lilliana listened and offered silent comfort to the man she had come to love. 'Love', she thought. 'Where the hell did that thought come from?'

But as Harry talked, she thought about their relationship and how it was going. She thought about the feelings she had for him and came to the conclusion that, 'Yes...I do actually love him!' Even telling herself that she had known Harry barely a month did not dissuade the feeling of love she had for him. It was unexplainable yet it felt completely natural.

After hours of chatting and emotional reinforcement well into the early morning, the innocent comfort she was giving Harry turned not so innocent. Simple kisses turned into a heated snogging session that turned into a heavy petting session. Before long, passion took hold and clothes were thrown everywhere.

By the time the sun rose, they were just falling asleep. Both were spent and glistening in the post-sex after glow. Mini dreams of what life would be like with the other ran through their head. Both wore smiles of contentment as they neared the realm of sleep...until the booming voice of Albus Dumbledore resonated throughout the room. "WHAT THE FUCK POTTER!"

Harry jumped clean out of Lilliana's bed, somehow managing to grab a pink stuffed dragon in the process to cover his man bits. Harry's brain couldn't catch up to his mouth as he tried to explain himself. Unintelligible grunts were the only noises he was capable of making at the moment. He moved around to the end of the bed and put his arm up in a placating fashion.

"I TOLD YOU TO CONFIDE IN HER...NOT VIOLATE HER," Dumbledore roared. Magic swirled around the retired headmaster subconsciously. Lilliana, still in shock from being caught naked in bed with Harry, could only watch as the air seemed to thicken around them. The drywall started crack as Dumbledore hollered something about betraying his trust. The old man advanced on Harry, backing him up to a tall window.

When Dumbledore started another tirade, Lilliana's door opened again to admit her mother. Her timing was somewhat impeccable as it distracted her husband enough to reign in his magic before it turned deadly. Unfortunately, for Harry mostly, not all of it was dissipated.

The mirrors in Lilliana's room smashed, the walls splintered hideously, and hidden dust jumped into the air from whatever hiding spot they originated from. And Harry, poor naked Harry save for a pink stuffed toy, was tossed out of Lilliana's window into the courtyard below. He flipped and spun until he landed on his side and slide to a stop, mercifully on his stomach.

Davin, Remus, and Arthur Weasley watched from the barn as Harry was tossed out the window. They ran up him to check for major injuries without turning him over. Looking up, Davin seen Dumbledore still standing at the offending window in shock. Trying to lighten the mood, especially since Harry was still alive, he conjured a sign with the number ten on it and showed it to the old man..

Opening his mind to Remus and Arthur, he laughingly told them, "Absolutely deadly in combat yet definitely cursed when getting laid", Davin told the others in amusement. "Maybe we should leave him out here so he can get a tan on those cheeks. I don't think he'll mind!"