Ninja Wizard V: The Order of the Phoenix 02
By David
Disclaimer: All of the Harry Potter characters belong to JK Rowling. Other ones are mine.
Author Notes: These marks [ ] indicate Japanese spoken. These marks ( ) indicate thoughts. This symbol * mark indicates animal speak.
Ninja Wizard V: The Order of the Phoenix 02
Chapter Two
"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?"
Harry stood in what was the living room of the house that was to be the base for his little group the next morning. He had to admit that Sirius was right, the location was ideal to operate from. Harry followed the two men as they walked through the house and he saw possibilities for each room. The house would become an expanded war room so to speak. Even the basement area was perfect for a spell arena. Harry turned to face Sirius and Lupin.
"Okay, this place is ideal, you guys were right about that. The area is perfect to move around unnoticed, the property is a bit smaller than Potter house but big enough, and it backs up to the woods out in back. Can we get the goblins to ward this place with a lot of good stuff?" Harry asked.
Sirius grinned. "Of course we can, Harry. Muggle repellants, the whole security thing. What did you have in mind for the rooms?"
"Gym in the one that overlooks the pool. Gotta keep up our workouts. The living room will be the main workroom. The upstairs bedrooms for guest and hospital rooms. The potions lab can go into the room next to the gym. We need to set up the fireplace to floo in or out, a security arrangement on that for unwanted company, but my biggest concern is a way to track DE movements so I'll know where to go when I need go after them if they raid someone's place," Harry said.
"The magical detector at the Ministry would be ideal, but there's no way I could get in there to get a look at it never mind trying to get the paper on the thing," Sirius stated. "We're just gonna have to do our best on that situation.
Harry sighed. "Yeah I know. Double the work for us. Would be nice if we had one."
"Didn't you tell us that you're meeting your folks this afternoon?" Remus asked. "Perhaps they know someone in the Japanese Ministry that could build us one."
Harry nodded. "I could ask when I meet them. Oh, that smaller room would be perfect for a computer center. Just have to harden the stuff so the magic around here doesn't blow it up. We need someone who's really good with that stuff to help with it all, and if they're a hacker that would be a plus."
"We can keep our ears out for anyone fitting that bill," Sirius said. "What I don't understand is how the DE's can use computers."
"The halfbloods and the muggle borns would know about computers, Sirius. The purebloods wouldn't as they have lived all of their lives in the Wizarding World," Remus stated. "My thinking is that either Voldemort knows and is ignoring that fact, or that he's in the dark about it."
"Just like the drugs that some of the DE's are selling to raise cash for him," Sirius said.
Harry made a face. "Be just like them to be involved in that stuff."
Sirius pulled out his pocket watch and studied it. "It's coming up on ten thirty, Harry. You need to get going or you're going to be late in meeting your family. Remus and I can handle getting things done here and set up."
"Right. I'll see you guys later," Harry said as he went out the front door.
Harry jogged down the path to the front gates. He paused halfway down the path and turned around to look at the house. It appeared to be a farmhouse and Harry did have to admit it had been a good idea to move the base of operations there. Nobody would give this place a second look if they stumbled across the place. Harry turned and jogged the rest of the way to the front gates. After looking around the area for a few minutes and making sure it was safe, he invoked the password to the portkey feature in his Family Ring and it took him to the alley just across the street from the Japanese Embassy. Harry casually strolled out of the alley once he was sure it was safe to and sat down on a park bench to observe the place and the surrounding area for a moment to make sure none of the Dumbledork's so called friends were there. Nothing raised any alarms in his head so he stood up, stretched, and began a slow walk towards the front door while keeping alert to everything going on around him. He made it to the front doors and went in. It never ceased to amaze him just how many people walked through the main lobby of the embassy as he heard several different languages being spoken. Harry went in the direction of the visitor's station and used his embassy card to enter, having gotten it when the family had first established themselves there as his parents worked as very minor diplomats. Harry had wondered just how his family had done it. He wanted to ask when they first got there, but realized that there were some things best left alone. So he never asked. Harry headed in the direction of what he knew to be the kid's area where the parents would drop off their kids for the day as they went to their respective posts. He knew Miyoshi would be there. He stood in the doorway going out into the yard and watched Miyoshi playing basketball with a group of kids and wondered when Miyoshi had started growing up. He shook his head and caught the ball as it went out of bounds.
"Hey, can I play?" he asked with a smile.
"TADEO!"
Harry sat at the table in the living room of the family quarters and listened to Miyoshi rambling on about what he had been up to since Harry had seen him last.
(Gee, had I been like that when I was his age?) Harry thought to himself.
[Are you listening, big brother?] Miyoshi asked impatiently.
Harry sipped his tea and put down the cup. [Of course I am. It's just that you remind me of myself when I was your age.]
[Really?] Miyoshi asked.
[Yes. You need to slow down and enjoy being young while you can. Don't be in a hurry to grow up, okay?] Harry said. [Now, is Mom and Dad coming home for lunch?]
[I don't know,] Miyoshi said. [Sometimes they do.]
Harry thought for a moment and then looked at the clock. It was now coming up on eleven thirty. [Well, let's plan on making dinner for everybody, okay?]
Miyoshi grinned. [Okay! Mom went shopping yesterday and got a bunch of stuff.]
[Good. That means we have a bit to work with then,] Harry said. [Now let's see, what can we do? We need to look and see what's here.]
Miyoshi raced off to the kitchen with Harry following him. This was going to be fun.
The first person through the door was Shizune, home from her secretary job. She paused in the doorway of the apartment and instantly knew Harry was there.
[Tadeo?] she called out.
Harry came out of the kitchen. [Hello mother,] he said and bowed formally.
Shizune hugged him. [It is good to see you my son. You look well.]
Harry stepped back. [Thank you mother, and so do you.]
[We are glad you are here. There is much to discuss,] she said.
[Can it wait until after dinner?] Harry asked.
Shizune nodded. [Of course, Tadeo. Your letters home have concerned us greatly. Now that I see you, I am relieved to see that you are well.]
The door opened at that moment and both Harry and Shizune looked to see who it was. Kotake was the first in the door, followed by Ichiro and then Hiroshi. Harry smiled as he saw them.
[Welcome home, my son,] Kotake greeted Harry formally.
Harry bowed. [Father, Ichiro, Hiroshi, it is good to see you again.]
{You look well,] Kotake said.
[I feel better now that I'm here,] Harry said. [I'm happy to see all of you again. I have made dinner for all of us.]
Kotake smiled. [Thank you, Tadeo. It has been a long day for all of us. Plenty of time to discuss matters after dinner, and there is much to discuss.]
Harry nodded. [Yes there is.]
[Let's get dinner on the table then,] Shizune said.
They followed her into the small dining room.
The conversation around the table had been light as a few funny stories were told, jokes exchanged, and food passed around. Once dinner had been cleared away and Miyoshi had been sent to his room to play on his xbox, the serious conversation began. Harry sipped his tea and took a moment to gather up his thoughts. Then he began by telling about the school year and left nothing out. The others just listened as they sipped their tea or sake. Then the questions began and Harry did his best to answer them all.
[Now we must tell you that we were approached by a man named Daito Souta a week ago,] Kotake began. [He wished to talk to us.]
Harry frowned at that. [That's the man who was at the tournament and then chased me through the forest as I was leaving this morning just after breakfast. Said pretty much the same thing to me. Yes, he is a wizard. The Japanese Ministry of Magic would know him. My dogfather is going to talk to them in the next day or two.]
Ichiro smiled at that. [I'm sure he loves being called that.]
[He does,] Harry chuckled. [He was the one who started that.]
Hiroshi spoke up. [What does he think of all this business?]
[I should introduce you to him and his best friend, Remus Lupin. Should have done that last summer. One of the things he did was to go and secure new property for us to base our operations from. His thinking was to protect Potter House from being discovered for one, and we can spread out a little better. It does have a few perks so it won't be all business there. We can key all of you into the wards so you all can get in whenever needed,] Harry stated.
[A good idea, Harry. I'd hate to see you lose that place too,] Ichiro said. [It's just too nice a place to lose and it's been in your Clan for ages.]
[That was the argument that they used on me and I did see their reasoning behind that,] Harry agreed. [They are working on it now to get it all set up.]
[What should we do with this Daito Souta?] Shizune asked.
Hiroshi leaned back in his place on the couch. [I say we meet him in neutral territory and see what he has to say. I am really curious as to why the Hand is interested in the coming war. Perhaps they have some kind of stake in all of this or some of their people are magical.]
Harry's eyebrows rose at the thought. [Never considered that. Yeah, let's meet the guy in a safe place and see what he's got to say. Then we can decide on how to deal with him.]
[Then it's agreed,] Kotake said. [Now, we have been busy tracking down DE's in the last few weeks as they are starting to make their appearance now that this Lord Voldemort has come back.]
They spent the next two hours discussing various people that Kotake, Ichiro, and Hiroshi had been tracking and what they did and who they met. Between the three of them they had developed more intel on potential targets. The meeting eventually broke up around ten thirty. Because it was so late, Harry decided to spend the night there. One thing was clear, there wouldn't be any kind of rest for Harry over the summer holiday from Hogwarts. The looming war had now become a reality.
A message was sent to the Japanese Ministry of Magic the next morning through Gringotts in an effort to locate Daito Souta and set up a meet. Sirius and Remus spent most of the day working on the new house getting the security measures in place. Harry went shopping and arranged for a few things to be sent to the house before it was put under the Fidelus and Unplotable wards. The obliviate ward worked great as the delivery people forgot why they were there in the first place. By late afternoon most of the stuff they needed was there. It was just a matter of setting it all up. Remus had been called away just before dinner having received an owl. Harry and Sirius wondered what it was all about as Remus rushed out the door. They would find out soon enough.
"Okay," Sirius huffed as he flopped down on the couch in what was the living room that would serve as the main war room, "the furniture is now in place down here. Let's take a break before we do the upstairs."
"I have to thank you for teaching me a lot of the household spells," Harry said as he handed Sirius a bottle of cold butterbeer. "They sure make the household chores a lot easier to do."
"I learned them a bit late in life as the Blacks had a number of house elves to take care of the house. But when I left my house at sixteen your dad's parents were more than willing to take me in. Your grandfather was patient with me and taught me a lot of the spells my mother neglected to teach me. Having the book to household spells came in handy. So make sure you study it so you can use the spells at Potter House. You don't want to get too dependent on Dobby to do everything even though he wants to. Gotta tell you, that's some gung ho elf," Sirius stated. "Glad you and Hermione bonded to them as they will be lifelong friends. Speaking of bonding, where's Fawkes?"
"I haven't seen him in a while. I think he went traveling around for a bit and that's good. Would be nice if he located others like them and found his family as well. The more I think of it, the more I'm convinced that it was something major that caused him to break the bond he had with the Dumbledork. Wonder what it was?" Harry asked.
Sirius sighed. "Must have been something he discovered about the old man, or he simply got tired of hearing the old guy plotting dirty against you. I'm convinced it was more of that than anything else."
"Well, we can speculate all we want, but it's between them. I am sure Fawkes will tell me if he so chooses one day, and yes, we can talk to each other when I'm in my bird form. A kick in the head, yah?" Harry grinned.
Sirius looked up at that. "Actually I'm not surprised by that as I can understand dog language when I'm in my dog form. You'd be surprised what a dog can tell you about his neighborhood. I've gotten really good intel that way. That's how we took down that one nest of DE's."
"Way to go!" Harry cheered.
Sirius snorted. "Yeah, and they managed to slip out on bail and we can't find them now. Someone inside the ministry managed to kill off the charges yesterday and Amelia Bones is steaming mad big time. She is the one who runs law enforcement for the Wizarding World."
"I'll remember that if I ever need help," Harry said.
"Good, and she knows that I'm your godfather so that makes things easier. So, are you gonna go hang out with Hermione at all this summer?" Sirius asked with a grin.
"I'm going to her house this Saturday night for dinner," Harry said.
Sirius sat up and smiled. "Ah, getting to meet the parents. How fun!"
Harry groaned. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that."
"Okay. The best thing to do would be to take little gifts. A bottle of something for her Dad, and flowers for both of the ladies. Dress up nice, but not formal. Slacks and a polo shirt would be ideal. Arrive on time, and mind your manners," Sirius stated. "You do want to make the right impression on the parentals. Very important."
"Yes daddy," Harry grinned.
Sirius sighed. "Our little boy is all grown up now."
"I know where I have a bar of flea soap," Harry shot back. "Time for Snuffles to have a bath."
Sirius turned pale at that.
By the time Friday mid afternoon came round, the house was completely set up except for the computer room. Remus had not yet returned from where he had gone to in a hurry. The Japanese Ministry of Magic reported that Daito Souta had received his letter from them so now it was a matter of waiting for him to appear. Harry was looking at the wall that he had set up with all of the intel he had gathered over the last four years. Thanks to Sirius being back in the Auror Teams, he had cleared up a lot more mysteries about some of the people that Harry had pictures for those who were posted on the wall. Harry decided to run an operation against Lucius Malfoy and see what kind of people he dealt with on a daily basis. Sirius had been extremely helpful there, providing Harry with a list of Malfoy Sr. associates.
"Yeah, I know this guy," Harry said, pointing to a name. "I've encountered him once before. He managed to give me the slip before I could move on him."
"That guy is bad news, Harry. Likes to do his killing up close and personal," Sirius said.
"I've been working on my close quarter combat tactics of late and even though I'm confident that I can beat him, I'll be careful of him. Never know what a cornered beast can and will do," Harry said. "He's a target of opportunity if he does cross my path."
"Well, just be careful," Sirius cautioned.
Harry stuck the list to the wall. "I plan on it. Believe me on that."
Sirius nodded. "Good. I haven't heard anything new on him so he may have gone to ground in light of recent events. When he does surface, I'll know it."
"Where's Remus?" Harry asked. "It's been a while since we've seen him last."
Sirius sighed. "Off talking to a few people he knows. Hopefully he can convince a few to turn to our side. Would be nice to have a few more allies."
Harry nodded. "Yes it would. But for now I would settle for having him back in one piece."
"I agree. Dinner still on for tomorrow night at the Grangers?" Sirius asked.
"It is. I plan on getting there around five or so," Harry said. "Really looking forward to it."
Sirius grinned. "So is it starting to get serious now?"
Harry thought about that for a moment. "Yeah, I guess it is. It was Hermione who wanted to move on to the boyfriend/girlfriend stage but not with all of the romance stuff just yet."
"Good move, kid. Take it slow and easy, don't rush things, and make sure she's in agreement about things relationship wise before making any more moves. Don't want to scare her away by moving too fast," Sirius said. "I know, I've learned a few things from some of my previous relationships with the ladies. All I can tell you is to just be yourself and she'll love you."
Harry smiled. "I will. I can be myself around her as I know I don't have to impress her at all. One of the boys from Gryffindor tried to impress her with some macho act and she really put him in his place. I don't think he ever tried anything with any of the girls at Hogwarts that year."
"Been there, done that, and lost my pride spectacularly. Your Mum put me back in my place in a big hurry. Then your Dad swooped in and she mashed him flat in seconds. After that he treated her right and… well, you know the story. They really were perfect for each other," Sirius said with a smile.
Harry could see the faraway look in the older man's eyes and knew he was remembering those days. Harry decided to leave him alone and let him remember the pleasant moments of his life. He knew Sirius had very few moments like that from his past and that sometimes it was a good thing to dwell on good memories to banish the bad ones. Harry knew he had one good memory to look forward to Saturday night. Dinner at Hermione's house. Harry hoped it would be an evening he would never forget in a long time.
Hermione and her parents lived in a small house in one of the better parts of London, a place called Battersea Park, the Grangers having their office in Chelsea Bridge Business Park. The Doghouse was located in Spooner Row so Harry would have to apparate into a dense stand of trees fairly close to the Granger house and walk a short distance to the house. Harry had been there a few times before and knew just where it was. Battersea Park was usually occupied by runners in the late afternoon so Harry felt reasonably safe in going there. Unfortunately a heat wave had started driving most people inside to seek relief from the heat. Harry had taken to carrying around a bottle of water that he kept cold with a chill spell that Hermione found for him to use. Harry had the goblins create a safe spot for him to arrive in that unsuspecting muggles wouldn't notice in the stand of trees on the edge of the park, not too close to the house as it could give away Hermione's location to anybody who might be looking for her and Harry didn't want that. He'd paid the goblins for an extensive security ward package on her home wanting to protect them. Hermione had appreciated Harry's efforts to protect her and her parents.
Harry spent most of the day working with Sirius in getting little things done to finish setting up the Doghouse as Sirius took to calling it. Sirius allowed Harry to pursue some of his current case files to see if there was any information that he could use or was missing from his files, or that could tie certain people together. Harry managed to put a few pieces, but by the time three in the afternoon rolled around, Harry was ready to call it quits.
"Had enough, pup?" Sirius asked as he came out of the kitchen.
Harry sighed as he turned to Sirius. "Yes. A lot of what I've got here is repeat information."
"Well, you're gonna have to put all of that on hold for now. You got a dinner date in two hours. Better hit the shower," Sirius said.
Harry smiled at that. "Now that's something pleasant to talk about."
"Well get going then," Sirius growled.
Harry stood up at attention and saluted Sirius. "Yes sir, General!"
Sirius started after him and Harry went around the far end of the tale as he laughed. Sirius chased him to the bottom of the stairs and stood there watching Harry run up the stairs. He sighed as he fondly remembered the one girl back in his first year of Hogwarts.
"Wish I could remember her name," he sighed as he turned back to the kitchen.
Harry came down a half hour later and Sirius turned away from the large conference table.
"Looking good, kid. First time meeting the parents?" he asked.
Harry shook his head. "I've met them before, and they are really nice people. I really like them, and they seem to like me a lot. You have to meet them sometime."
"I should," Sirius nodded. "Be nice to know who they are in the event I ever have to contact them for any reason."
Harry cringed at the thought. "And let you prank them?"
Sirius grinned broadly. "Oh what a brilliant idea!"
"I better warn them then," Harry sighed.
"Ah, come on, kid. I ain't that bad," Sirius
Harry sat up. "Oh? Who short sheeted my bed? Wrapped the toilet seat with saran wrap? Poured corn flakes under the bottom sheet on my bed? Put blue dye inside the shower head? Shall I continue?"
Sirius did his best to look innocent as Harry sighed.
"What am I gonna do with you, old man?" Harry asked.
"Love me?" Sirius asked.
Harry sighed once more. "You know I do. You're the closest thing I've got to a dad."
"Thank you for that. I appreciate that," Sirius smiled.
"It's the truth," Harry said.
Sirius walked over to where Harry sat and reached out for him. Harry stood up and Sirius wrapped his arms around Harry and gave him a hug. Harry felt warm and secure in the older man's arms. Deep down he was sure his dad would have appreciated Sirius being there for him.
"Oh, and one more thing," Sirius said as he lightly slapped Harry on the butt, "less of the old man thing, okay?"
Harry laughed as he returned the hug. "Yes daddy."
Sirius felt good as he watched Harry head into the kitchen. He hoped that these light hearted moments would carry them through what was to come. He knew deep down inside of him that Harry had to do what he had to do to stop Voldemort and the DE'S and he vowed that he would make many more light hearted moments to balance things out. He watched Harry sitting at the kitchen table sipping tea for a time as he thought of Harry experiencing life as he should. He snapped to when Harry came out of the kitchen and waved at Sirius.
"I'm heading out," Harry said.
Sirius smiled. "Good. Have a great time."
"I plan on it," Harry said and then apparated out of there.
Sirius sighed and turned his attention back to the table and the mound of paper in front of him.
Harry appeared in the stand of trees there in Battersea Park that he knew was safe. As per his habit he looked around to make sure it was safe to break cover. He noted just how hot it was.
"Damn. Nearly five and I had hoped it would get cooler," he grumbled as he set out for the Granger house.
The heat spell that had swept over England had been nasty. Everywhere Harry looked there was brown grass, dead plants, and wilting trees. The government had declared a water ration in an effort to save water. Harry wiped the sweat off his face as he headed to the path that would take him to Hermione's. He chanced to look up and saw what appeared to be a man in front of him at a distance about to enter a tunnel that would take them underneath a running track. As soon as the man entered the tunnel, the temperature suddenly began to drop. Harry shivered in the sudden cold and then suddenly realized why. No, it's couldn't be.
"Dementors!" Harry spoke out loud as the wand he used in school appeared in his left hand.
He broke into a run and slid into Getsumi no Michi in seconds and his pace sped up. He reached the entrance to the tunnel just in time to see a pair of dementors standing over the man lying on the ground. They turned to see Harry at the far end of the tunnel. One turned to Harry and started after Harry. Harry reached down inside of him and found the memory of Hermione kissing him. He took the joy of it and channeled it into the Patronus spell.
"Expecto Patronum," Harry intoned, and a heavy silver mist burst forth from his wand, and into the form of a stag.
The silver stag snorted and charged the dementor in front of him and completely destroyed it. The second one was leaning over the man and it barely turned its head to see what the commotion was. It stumbled back before the silver stag plowed into it, throwing bits and pieces of it all over the place. The stag turned to the man on the ground and nuzzled his face, and then looked at Harry. He nodded once before fading away. Harry ran over to where the man was and got down on his knees to roll him over and check on him. He was shocked when he discovered it was Dan Granger.
"Chikusho [shit]! Not you!" he yelled out in anger. "I gotta get you home!"
Using wingardium leviosa, Harry floated Dan out of the tunnel and towards Hermione's house. Thankfully there wasn't anyone around to see what was going on. The scorching heat had returned and Harry was sweating buckets by the time he got to Hermione's front door. He banged on the door a few times until Hermione opened the door.
"Harry, what?" she started to say as he pushed past her, her father floating behind him.
"What the hell happened?" Hermione shrieked as Harry settled Dan on the couch.
Harry quickly checked Dan's vitals. "Dementors."
Hermione ran upstairs as Emma appeared. She brushed Harry aside and checked Dan's vitals. Hermione came thundering down the stairs with something in her hands. "Honeyduke's best chocolate. Best cure for dementors, Mom."
She broke it down into crumbles and dropped it into her father's mouth. Dan's reaction to the chocolate was automatic, he swallowed it and slowly the color returned to his face. He came to after a half bar, and then managed to sit up.
"Here Dad, eat the rest. It will help you recover from them," Hermione said.
Dan slowly ate the rest and within moments he was looking better.
"What were those things?" he asked.
Harry sighed as he sat down on the other couch. "They are called dementors. Foul creatures that guard the Wizarding World's prison, a place called Azkaban. Sirius can tell you for a fact that it's the darkest, most foul place ever created to keep criminals in. What they do is they suck all of the warmth, happiness, and joy out of a person and make them relieve the very worst moments of their lives and induce the worst sort of nightmares in a person. They also do what's called the Dementor's Kiss, and there is nothing nice about their kiss. They will slowly suck your soul out of you and leave you with an empty shell of a body. The worst possible kind of death there is, as you slowly die from the loss of your soul. There is only one way to stop them, and that is an expecto patronum. I gotta call the goblins and see if I can get that added to the wards on the house here, the Doghouse, and my place."
"Uh Harry? We got bigger problems," Hermione said from the front window.
Harry joined her at the window and blinked at the sight. Several owls sat on the fence across the street watching the house. Harry had the very bad feeling why they were there.
"Idiot me!" he exclaimed, slapping his forehead. "I used my school wand to defend us!"
Hermione turned to Harry. "Does this mean that you're in a lot of trouble?"
A soft ding sounded from upstairs.
"My mailbox. I used the notification option," Hermione said as she raced upstairs.
She returned moments later holding out a piece of paper. "It's from Sirius! He says retreat to Potter House right now!"
Harry read the note and sure enough it was from Sirius telling him to do just that. It even had the secret mark inside the bottom of the letter s in his signature.
"Sorry about dinner Hermione," Harry apologized.
"Better get going, Harry. We'll be just fine. I ran off Dumbledork once before, how bad can a handful of wizard cops be?" Dan stated.
Harry nodded and mentally called out the password that would activate the ring's portkey function. He slumped against the wall in the arrival room and cursed his bad luck. After a moment he stood up as Constantine appeared.
"Harry," he nodded.
Harry looked up. "Real bad luck tonight, Constantine. Tighten up everything, scan all incoming parties for potential hostiles using them to gain access here. In fact, start doing that from now on. Just the people on the access list allowed in."
"As you wish Lord Potter," Constantine bowed.
Harry headed to his study and sat down at the desk. The paintings on the walls of the Potter relatives recovered came to life.
"Harry, what's wrong?" James Potter asked from his painting.
Harry sighed. "Shit happened, Dad."
"Harry! Language!" Lily Potter scolded.
Harry had to smile at that. He reached into the bottom drawer and pulled out a small bottle of firewhiskey and had a small nip of it. Then he related the events of the evening. By the time he was done, Lily looked extremely pale, his father was beyond pissed, and the rest of the Potter relatives were angrily muttering amongst themselves. Harry leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He meditated for a bit and then opened his eyes to see his letterbox glowing. He reached for it to find two letters. One was from Sirius and the second one was from Gring, the goblin lawyer Harry had on retainer. He read the one from Sirius first.
"Okay pup, you have some problems to deal with. First off, the Ministry wanted to hunt you down, snap your wand, expel you from Hogwarts, and drag you off to Azkaban. I was able to talk Madame Hopkirk out of that, so you are technically safe for now. Second problem is that they want to put you on trial for breaking the secrecy laws. I contacted Gring, so you should be hearing from him. My advice to you is to either stay at Potter House or here. The only time you go out is when you are operating in ninja mode. I've contacted the Yamadas and advised them on the situation. You might be hearing from them as well. Hang in there, pup. Not the end of the world. We'll beat the charges, no problem. Go work out. Destroy a few of the tangos in the training room," Harry read out loud.
"Sound advice, son. Go work out in the training rooms and try not to worry about the situation," James said. "Let Gring and Sirius run interference for you."
"Is Hermione's father okay?" Lily asked.
Harry nodded. "Hermione knew just what to do. She had a bar of Honeydukes chocolate in her room and she fed it to her dad. He came out of it just fine."
"Good show," Harry's grandfather Charles spoke up. "Right smart lassie."
Harry grinned. "Number two in our year, grandpa."
"Oh bravo!" a painting spoke up.
Harry turned to Gring's letter. "Lord Potter, I have been informed of your misadventure with the Ministry." Harry snorted. "Lord Sirius Black and I have negotiated on your behalf a hearing in the offices of the DMLE regarding this matter. I am confident that we can resolve this matter barring any complications that might arise. It is my advice to you to stay out of the public until this misunderstanding can be resolved."
"I think I speak for all of us here when I say this Gring fellow has good advice," Charles said. "Stay here for a time. I do have much to tell you, and hopefully it will help in your quest, not to mention a few stories about your father and his friends."
Harry nodded. "Okay, I will. Anything any of you can tell me how best to beat Voldemort will be considered. No, I don't think running him down with a pack of wild horses will help, although it might be a good distraction tactic."
That got a laugh from everybody. Harry turned to the desk and wrote out two letters, one to Sirius and the second to Gring informing them that he was going to stay at Potter House for a time. Then he wrote a longer one to his Japanese Family telling them of the evening's events. He leaned back in his chair feeling completely drained of all emotion. He sat there for a time and listened to the talk going on between the paintings. At one point he realized that he was hungry so he went into the kitchen and put together a salad and a sandwich. He put the dishes into the sink and headed into the TV room to see if there was anything worth watching and there wasn't. He leaned back in the recliner and relaxed. The next thing he knew the clock on the end table was striking midnight. He stood up and stretched, feeling things popping in his body. He left the TV room and headed up to bed. He hoped everything would look better in the morning. He hoped so. It was something Hermione would say, knowing her. He thought of his Japanese family. No doubts they would agree with her on that one. He was glad they had approved of her and the Grangers. He reached his bedroom and walked out onto the balcony. The hot air swirled around him and Harry was surprised it was still so hot at midnight. He hoped it would cool down soon. He left the doors open and headed to bed, dropping his clothes onto the big chair by the doors. He got into bed and stretched out once more and then relaxed.
The morning sun coming into the room through the open doors woke him up. He reached for fundoshi and shorts and got dressed. He headed downstairs, the smell of coffee making him smile. Dobby knew just where the best coffee could be found and brewed the best coffee he'd ever tasted. He took a detour to his study and found a few letters in there. He took them to the kitchen and found Dobby bustling around cooking.
"Master Harry!" the elf beamed.
Harry smiled at the hyper elf. He could always count on Dobby to make him smile.
"Good morning Dobby," Harry greeted him as he sat at the counter on a bar stool.
He sipped his coffee while pursuing his mail. Hermione was first.
"Harry, I'm at the Doghouse pursuing Wizarding law in regards to your situation. I know it's going to be just a hearing in the DMLE office, but I want you prepared. I've been in touch with Gring and forwarded to him a number of cases involving kids defending themselves and muggles that had very favorable outcomes in their cases. He told me he'd look at them," Hermione wrote.
Hermione was on the case.
"Lord Potter," Gring's letter began, "I have opened a dialog with a Madame Bones, the head of the DMLE in regards to your case. I have forwarded to her your statement of the incident that you sent me last night. Miss Granger has been kind enough to send me a few cases of kids defending themselves and muggles in dire situations with favorable outcomes. They will be most helpful in the event that they are needed. Special agent Black of the Aurors is investigating as well and I do await his report. I cannot stress enough that you stay at Potter House. The Dumbledork is looking for you as well as the bird club and it would not do if you were to be caught by them. I shall inform you of the time and date we are to attend the hearing."
"Wow, talk about being direct and to the point," Harry said through a mouthful of toast.
Dobby paused on his way to the sink. "Gringotts goblins are very direct and to the point. They don't believe in wasting time on anything."
"You've been to Gringotts?" Harry asked.
"For my former master many times," Dobby said. "Now I go for you to get money to care for the house and you."
"You're awesome, Dobby. Thank you for all you do," Harry said.
He turned to the next letter and discovered it was from Kotake. "Son, all of us are distressed over recent events. We think that you should stay in safety at Potter House until this all blows over. Should you go out on a run be careful as it could be a Dumbledore trap. I have contacted Sirius and offered our help. The one thing you need to know is that all of us are behind you."
Harry smiled. It was nice to know there was family behind him. The next letter was from Sirius.
"Hey pup, just relax and work on your training, list to your folks, and try not to worry about a thing. It's all under control," Harry read.
"With all of this support behind me I can't lose," Harry said to Dobby.
"Master Harry's enemies don't stand a chance," Dobby said confidently.
"Thank you for that vote of confidence, Dobby. I need all I can get. Now I'm gonna go down and get in a work out. I need to kick some ass," Harry said.
Harry pulled on a pair of trainers (what the English call shoes) and went for a run around the estate. He came back drenched in sweat. He grabbed a cold bottle of Gatorade from the cooler down in the training room and took a few minutes to cool down and then started pumping iron. Harry's body had responded well to the weight lifting he did on a daily basis and his body had taken on a muscular build. He took his time in doing each thing, working the weigh to complete failure. Once he was done with that, he headed into the spell area that the goblins had designed and built for him. In one corner was a group of simulated DE's and Voldemort. In the opposing corner was the Dumbledork and a few of his followers. Harry grinned at them as he assumed his position.
"Okay, who wants to get their ass kicked first?" he asked them.
Voldemort was the first to move followed by the Dumbledork. Harry grinned and charged.
Next Chapter: The action starts!