Part 0: The Prisoner

Notice: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the related intellectual properties. I just like to write a lot of drabble.

Hello to my supporters! As I had promised, I wanted to release everything on Christmas Eve. However, I will not be finished. The issue is not that the story hasn't been written - I honestly want a good reading experience devoid of grammatical and spelling errors. And that means I have to reread and check regularly and rely less on Grammarly which often misses things.

I recently got a new job in Finance, and I have to juggle long work hours and writing. Therefore, I will have to move towards periodic updates. This story is long at 400,000 words long. I will attempt to edit and release at least 15,000 words every day, for the next month. So, this book will completely arrive at the end of January.

I am still re-doing books one, two and three. The idea is that I will re-release everything (books 1-5) somewhere around August 2025. It will be a single story that will take us through the Peverell chronicles, up to that point. The final two books after that will merely be appended to that. The purpose of writing this series is to provide a long burn for those who wish to amuse themselves. Naturally, whatever issues that were complained about in the previous books are being rectified. That alone is a task, as I am still slimming down those books, even more. Just tracking my plot points is challenging. And then I do try to integrate actual scientific ideas into the magic, and even the magical system has to be limited in certain sensible ways, not to break the system. Basically, I have built my own Techno-Magic tech tree and I understand how everything works and progresses.

In this book, our characters decide to tour the world, as they go looking for 'old magic'. They also find themselves in situations where they do not necessarily hold complete superiority on the battlefield. I also wanted to embrace of idea of giving multiple cultures representation, and this will occur across this book (4), 5 and 6. Different parts of the world will be mentioned throughout the listed books. Also, there was a great attempt to make the plot more complex and rely more on inferences. I have done my best to strip away technical explanations, and they are only there if it is absolutely necessary. I also tried to convey the idea of characters coming of age, and managing their burdens, while they juggle issues like relationships and morality.

This series has become a method of self-expression and a labour of love. This is my gift to all of you, so that you may smile during this season, and well into the new year. And do not be afraid to leave constructive criticism or even flame me. Because I generally take the advice, and I do implement it :)

Chapter I: Shipyard

Part I: The Raven

The Chamber of Secrets hambug was over.

Harry and Hermione were in the workshop and were analysing the horcrux signatures. Voldemort's magical 'fingerprint' was being reworked - nationwide scans would occur to ascertain the location of the other horcruxes. While the signature algorithm was iterated with background computations, the pair decided on another project.

They began the development of a multirole troop transport.

As they brainstormed the shortcomings of the Thunderbolt-II, the demand list became extensive. Propulsion via only plasma thrusters would make kerosene fuel storage a non-issue. Hydrogen fuel instead, would come from water. Magical electrolysis cells along with aguamenti scavenging water tanks would suffice. Amphibious capability, improved cargo capacity, better aerodynamics and VTOL were being considered. Harry and Hermione considered that a blended wing-body design would synergistically resolve these issues.

Long range rail cannons and plasma turrets were additionally necessary for more firepower. Hermione had accepted Harry's "MOAR DAKKA" quip as a valid statement, even if expressed childishly. Multiple batteries of weapons emplacements were added to the design. Constant countermeasures to prevent unauthorised apparitions during missions were paramount. Also, the new superstructure needed to survive mundane guns, cannons, and anti-aircraft weapons.

Finally, it needed to look intimidating. The design language needed to be light years ahead of anything else. It needed to be a statement piece.

The feature list was an 'eat-your-cake-now and have-some-for-later' styled proposition. However, that did not stop the pair from trying to meet all the demands. Discussions included better ways to fabricate massive, but strong plastic structures. Aided by the trusty kettle and one popular SyFy TV serial later, a solution had come forth.

During the next two weeks small propulsion, durability and fabrication innovations occurred. The reactor output had quadrupled, and the exhaust mass multiplied by sixty four. The new Plasma Thrusters were utilizing high temperature ceramics with entangled magical cores. In conjunction with Bose-einstein condensate coolant, most of the heating problems disappeared.

With the completed propulsion modifications, the pair prepared for a test flight. The navi-com waypoint was set to Gringotts, as Harry observed the reactor like a hawk. As the reaction held steady, he made some small tweaks.

"Well, time to see if the math checks out?" Hermione asked.

"Your math has always been impeccable. She will fly." Harry countered.

Hermione started the pre-flight check, and Harry rubbed his hands, in anticipation. As he listened to the entire start-up sequence, he looked at the new assemblies through the window.

"Good on the water scoops, good on the Hydrogen feed on the reactor. Good on the superconducting acceleration, cooling is nominal and...right, we are fine!" Harry commented, excitedly.

Hermione dipped her chin slightly, before she smiled. She started the hovering thrusters and throttled along. As she increased the trust, the gunship continued to outperform initial expectations. The excitement could be seen on her face, as she gradually pushed the bomber. For the next seventeen minutes, they flew at approximately 2600 kph. The seven hundred kilometre journey stayed uneventful, as the reactor hummed. The bomber was far more fluid in the air.

"We will need a longer trip to push the engines very hard." Hermione declared.

"I know that some sub-atomic particles that would usually decay are being stabilised. New, super heavy particles. I know we are accelerating tau electrons out at high speeds, but there is something…...more…." Harry explained, as he wondered about the scientific mechanisms of the improvements.

"I want to suspect we are somehow dragging artificially stabilized heavy neutrons. That is the only thing that is heavy enough to move us. One top quark and two bottom quarks could give us enough mass. That is a heavyboi, for sure!" Hermione replied.

Harry nodded, as he considered that explanation to be possibly quite accurate. He laughed too – 'heavyboi' was her placeholder for some strange scientific name that would follow later.

"When the stupid war is over we can figure it all out. How many wizards and witches even investigated Lumos, for a start?" Hermione continued.

"True enough. Look, we are here!" Harry exclaimed, as the ship approached the Gringotts shuttle pad. The green-eyed teenager considered what he would need for his two upcoming projects. The troop transport was immediate and would test the new fabrication methods.

The other project was far more long term.

Gringotts London now possessed air traffic control, on its shuttle pad. Failure to provide landing codes would result in a painful death, as the roof was littered with Personal Defense Cannons or PDCs. Any unsuspecting airborne enemies, or anything else would receive endless rounds of plasma damage. And King Ragnok was always open to installing more guns. Harry provided the codes, as Hermione alighted gently and shut off the engines. The procedure was a running joke with Gringotts - only Harry and Hermione were using the shuttle pad in any case. However, Harry and Hermione encouraged the Goblins to follow the procedure.

Better to build the right habits.

Gringotts air control immediately messaged the Goblin King about his favourite visitors. Meanwhile, Harry and Hermione were evaluating the new engines, as they landed on an empty and cloaked shuttle pad.

"The plasma thruster is rather quiet. Doesn't cause much of a racket," Hermione considered. Harry examined the reactor, as the pair deactivated the protego-based flight harness.

"I will take whatever we can get," Harry countered, as he double checked their suitcase. "I don't think we are going to squeeze any more out of the reactor. My eyeballs are telling me that we cannot generate any more heavy plasma like this," Harry remarked.

"The arithmantic equations indicated as much. But it is fantastic for what it is," Hermione commented.

"From brooms to ion thrusters. Can you remember when I made the aerogel thruster?" Harry asked wistfully.

"I do. I am not religious, but I consider meeting you that day at St. Grogary's to be a holy day in my life," Hermione answered, as she playfully hit Harry's shoulder.

The pair exited the gunship, and boarded a hoverkart on the roof of the building. The exit hatch was sealed, and then pod took them to the Gurak manufacturing hub. After a ninety second journey, both of them were now in the jostling heart of Goblin territory. As both of them disembarked from the pod they walked up to the Goblin, himself.

"Good morning both of you. I have some good news. I was about to call you in, and you appeared on the radar. Goblins do consider such little things, a sign of luck!" King Ragnok insisted, with a toothy smile.

"We could use some of that! We made a lot of expensive things explode over the past two weeks. Our wallets need a paramedic!" Harry joked, with a lopsided grin.

"I suppose that is the cost of innovation. No problem with the new mining drones, yet. Everyone is being retrained as necessary, as most of the manual labour is being phased out. The other Goblin Enclaves are sniffing around, and they are demanding to meet both of you. What should I tell them?" King Ragnok inquired, curiously.

"Tell them that you are authorised to negotiate on our behalf. If they want to buy our mining drones, it will cost a pretty penny." Harry replied.

"Arthur, Cyrus and Reginald can handle that," Hermione replied as Harry nodded in agreement.

"Very well. Anyway, we managed to come across an old Norse scroll. It details a possible cure for lycanthropy. We sent a copy of it to your slates. I was on my way to contact you about this rare find, and traffic control alerted me. There is only a single location and nothing more. I do know that this is important to both of you," King Ragnok explained.

"Thank you, very much. Remus was the first to draw me into the magical world. I guess I always considered my adoptive mother, Mione and Lorna to be folks like myself – mundane folks. Sure we all have magic, but life always felt more familiar within the mundane world." Harry replied, as his eyes took on a look of nostalgia.

"I understand how you feel. Your life was disrupted by the bearded menace. That is not your fault. But then, look at where you are?" King Ragnok asked.

"True. I prefer Harry Potter as he is now, even with the occasional terrible events I rather have it no other way. I am even grateful for my pain because it…..saved others," Harry countered somberly.

On the boy's face, was a clear recollection of his missions.

"Indeed Harry. It gives me great pleasure that we have worked to spoil Dumblefuck's plans. Another day I will explain how Albus Dumbledore embarrassed the Goblin nation. It was a very underhanded deed, and you better believe that I am not done with twinkle-eyes, yet. It was twenty five years ago, but I remember it like yesterday." King Ragnok remarked.

"Dumblefuck had no business manipulating Harry's life. Always snooping around with his beaky sized nose into other's people's business. I had him pegged when he arrived at the old house, that evening. Then he whispers about the greater good in his office, all the time. Sounds like some type of lemon-drop communist," Hermione ranted. Harry and King Ragnok expelled a healthy bout of laughter. Hermione paused, as he reviewed the scroll. Harry decided that he was adopting that convention immediately. Lemon-Drop Communist or L.D.C sounded official enough.

"How goes the tunnel manufacturing?" she continued, as she scanned through the scroll on her dataslate.

"Our manufacturing rate is up to two thousand units a day since Yule. As Harry predicted, the biggest takers are Gringotts China, India and Africa. We are looking at a demand of three million units by January next year. A thirty per cent increase in demand annually is also expected," King Ragnok reciprocated, with a sly grin. King Ragnok was quite happy at the success of the products. In five years, Gringotts England would lead the Goblin enclaves.

"Damn, they are selling fast!" Harry exclaimed.

"Indeed Harry. We do have an issue to sort out eventually, as we would like to get higher density within the current manufacturing areas. Perhaps later. What is the manner of business today?" King Ragnok asked.

"We have a singular project to commission. It is far longer than the Thunderbolt-II at forty five metres. The vertical height and the wing length are far less. We call her the Raven." Harry remarked.

"I want to believe the smaller project is a testbed?" King Ragnok inquired.

"Correct. What we need is space. Also, seven million galleons in titanium, gold and assorted gems will be necessary. These materials are for fabricating the processing and emitter matrixes. The drones in our suitcase will take care of the rest of the fabrication," Harry elaborated.

King Ragnok looked at the suitcase and was perplexed. He decided to wait and see what they had developed. Surprises were a regular thing with the pair, after all. The mining drones over the last three months had eliminated in-person Goblin excavation.

"Send the list to requisitions, and I will have it loaded into a cart. What about the M.E.F Lilly Potter?" King Ragnok asked.

"Ah, she is going to be built soon. We are planning one hundred and fifty metres for the Lilly Potter. Consider the Raven to be a test case for the new manufacturing method that we are testing," Harry replied.

"I do believe I am missing something here. There is always the punch line with both of you. I don't see how the new aircraft can be built from a suitcase. What am I…..missing?" King Ragnok asked.

"The drones can manufacture more of themselves. And they will build what is necessary, without supervision. This one is a statement piece!" Hermione giggled, as she displayed a small illusion of the troop transport. King Ragnok nodded – he appreciated the curving lines and the organic shapes. She looked like a predator. She was sleek, rugged and looked like something from the future.

Harry chose from several caves he was familiar with, and one hoverkart ride later, the group had arrived. Gringotts' internal material stock was being offloaded by Timilf, via a kart. The goblin got her usual hug before Harry opened the suitcase. The beetle-looking drones then powered on and began with their subroutines. As they immediately identified the precious materials they scurried over. A small humming noise occurred, as solid materials became nanoscopic powder. Small protego fields facilitated minuscule foundry processes. Other plastic pieces were created via material deposition. As the drones levitated the minuscule components, they began to copy themselves. King Ragnok immediately understood the implications, as the beetles worked away.

"Could these manufacturing drones replace our facilities?" he asked, excitedly.

"Definitely. We can build anything with these guys as long as certain geometries are used. This project is our first big one. We will leave the drones to go about their business, with no supervision. We will see what happens in three months. They will manufacture fifty thousand copies of themselves." Hermione explained, as she examined the picture of the scroll.

"Very well. We will be implementing the paper currency and the magical ATMs by the middle of next year. If the other enclaves don't like it, they can voice their complaints. The gold will stay within Gringotts walls. The titanium wing is almost completed. We will be retraining everyone to use the necessary software packages." King Ragnok explained.

Harry and Hermione continued their discussion with the Goblin King. Ideas for a holographic user interface and the ATM pedestal were considered. Eventually, the pair left when everything was reasonably in order. King Ragnok wanted a banking experience like no other, for the upcoming Quidditch Worldcup. He was going to highlight Gringotts England as the leading Goblin Enclave.

Part II: Dobby is a confused elf.

Only two weeks ago, he had been in the service of the Malfoys. Dobby was chatting with Harry and Ronald in the kitchen, as he reminisced about recent events. Two weeks ago, seemed to be a lifetime, as he looked at his list of chores on his data slate.

After being freed, Dobby immediately apparated out of Hogwarts. He arrived at the old Weasley house and investigated the area. Mr Weasley had apparated into the kitchen, and was waiting for the diminutive creature.

"It is Dobby, I believe?" Arthur asked.

"Yes Masters Weasleys." Dobby replied as he looked around rather anxiously.

"Excellent. I am going to bond you to our House magic, and then we will carry you to the manor. We don't live here anymore, as this is just a distraction," Arthur replied.

After bonding with the elf, Arthur scanned Dobby with a data slate. The elf was enrolled into the warding scheme for Weasley Manor. Dobby then followed Arthur, as he crossed the forcefield. The elf stopped as he examined the tallest building he had ever seen, besides Hogwarts. Dobby received a tour of the garage and the other buildings on the ground floor.

"The Storms Lords had wards likes this!" Dobby squeaked.

"Indeed. He and his sister designed the building and the wards. They are good friends of ours. I know about your visit to his house last year. Let me show you all the floors, and we will get you settled in." Arthur insisted, as he gave Dobby a small back rub. Dobby began to cry and Arthur stayed silent and allowed the elf to settle down. He took his time and explained that the Weasleys did not do cruelty.

One hour later, the elf had to steady himself as he received his uniform and salary package. Arthur had explained that his elf would only utilise the best facilities. The poor elf had panicked, immediately. Dobby could not understand the situation, as he began to sob even more loudly. To him, such an offer had to contain some type of deception. Finally, the Weasley patriarch had to call Tipsy and Mipsy. After they had apparated in to placate Dobby his jaw hung in shock, as the 'real' story unfolded.

Harry Potter was the Storm Lord.

Later that evening, Tipsy carried Dobby into a designated medical area. The elf was appraised of the treatment he would receive, but still found himself curious. As he peered around at the modern looking equipment, his head swivelled about like an owl. Standing next to the mythical elf cradle, was none other than Master Healer Priya Singh. Even Dobby had heard of the woman - Lucius and Narcissa had not managed to find a single scrap of information, about the healer. As the woman got him seated, he found himself humbled by the woman's kindness. Meeting Sirius Black had also been surprising. Hoppity was cleaning the area, as she was filling in for Snaggletooth. The Greengrass elf explained some of the finer details, as she comforted Dobby. The additional information clarified some of the elf's confusion.

The newcomer slept many hours, as his old injuries were rectified.

On the third day, Dobby moved into another cradle in the workshop. Here he received some diagnostic scans, and his medical records were finalised. Kreacher helped Dobby to acclimatize, as he spoke about his changes.

"Welcome to the fold, Dobby. We have been playing them all for fools. And this pleases me greatly. House Black and its allies should be unchallengeable, after all." Kreacher explained.

"Master Harry and Mistress Hermione…..are mad kneazles?" Dobby pondered, as he gently tested his new voice, along with his better cognition. The improper grammatical structures hovered in his mind, and he felt unsure.

"Trust your instincts. Do not doubt yourself about your words. It will come, eventually. And please don't punish yourself Dobby?" Kreacher explained, as he had become the wise owl among the other elves.

"Lord Weasley already forbade it. It was…..I thought it was a dream at first," Dobby mentioned, almost unsure if he should be happy about the development. A small part of him felt scared. The idea of no immediate threats in the environment, was foreign to the elf.

"Good. There is much work to do to plan for the war. You will be unsure and the old habits will persist. We elves usually have a drink in the evenings. We try food from somewhere new or discuss what new skills we have learned. A support group. You will come to the meeting, this evening. Then we have story time or movie evening right after." Kreacher explained.

"Storytime? What for?" Dobby asked, although he was ecstatic.

"To learn language. Master Harry and Mistress Hermione read to us every evening and give us popcorn, when they can manage. Now, I read for personal fulfilment. My worldview changed – I serve my masters, but not blindly. And I am not afraid to make informed suggestions. We have a voice here." Kreacher explained.

"Can I meet Master Harry Potter and Mistress Hermione Granger?" Dobby asked.

"Better than that! Speak of the devil himself, and now I am here!" Harry yelled, as he entered the shopmwith Hermione in tow. The group had arrived from Gringotts, and Priya was already in the shop, as she had the evening off. She completed Dobby's treatment and his diagnostics.

"Hi mum!" Harry replied brightly, as the customary hugging session followed. Kreacher followed, as he gave Harry and Hermione high fives. Hermione then asked Kreacher to run some small errands for her. While flying back to Peverell Manor, she had a sudden idea about her research on the Druids. She desired to confirm something that could be the final piece of the puzzle. She also wondered how Harry would attempt to explain his 'misdemeanour'.

They were going to explain the 'combat amp' to the healer.

"What did you want to speak to me about?" Priya asked, as she thought about how much the boy had grown. She was sad that Harry had sacrificed his childhood. And yet in these fleeting moments, the boy often peeked out of the eyes of the teenager. Five years ago, Harry was a student in her class and was struggling to read. He knew nothing about magic, and was scared of everything. He had no friends and was alone and isolated. Now, he was a student at Imperial College and attempting his Bachelor's at only thirteen years old. Now, he dripped of magical power and was utterly fearless when he held a weapon in his hand. Hermione was his sister, even if biology denoted otherwise. Priya looked at the cautious facial expression. She reasoned that something controversial had been accomplished, and she carefully listened to the explanation.

"You might need to sit down for this one, mum. I think you should be genuinely angry. I gave myself a cybernetic implant of sorts?" Harry explained, rather softly.

"An….implant? This is besides the poison augment?" Priya asked, curiously. Harry dutifully nodded, as he stretched out his hand. As she cast her spells with her wand, she found no problems either. Now her face was a complete frown.

"Well, I am not detecting any problems. So you did a good job, whatever it is in your arm. Perhaps you can explain what you did?" Priya asked, with her voice expressing relief.

"That would be a good idea. Let us have a chit chat with Dobby. Then we can share those memories with you, mum. So Mr Dobby, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger at your service. Now, what happened was….…." Harry began, as he told an abbreviated version of his story.

Dobby had arrived at the infamous kitchen. He found himself shocked and pleased by the hustle and bustle. He also cried when Molly and Amba gave him much affection. The kitchen layout and the dishes were explained to the excitable creature. As he prepared to assume his duties, he found himself bombarded by the variety, as he spoke to the other elves. His magic began to hum, and he felt like he was at Hogwarts with other elves like himself.

As Dobby looked around, he realised that Narcissa Malfoy was nothing like the Molly Weasley

The redheaded woman was sensitive to magic, observant and intuitive. Narcissa was average and hardly used her wand at Malfoy Manor. Rather, she depended on snobby vocabulary and wealth to impress Wizarding England. Behind those words, was a forced falseness that always pervaded the woman's demeanour. Molly was the antithesis of that – She was genuine and her gratitude and magic swept away Dobby, into a river.

When the kitchen became quiet, the elf was also happy to speak to Amba and Ved. The elf was very surprised when Ved would often ask for his perspective. Dobby admitted that he did not have any opinions about anything, yet. He also admitted that he felt happy that his opinion mattered. Dobby eventually spoke to many of the other elves that were on shift. Hoppity, Snipper, Whootsy and many others from the familial network were there. Snaggletooth explained that elves could choose to do whatever they liked. Kreacher and the others preferred to work in fabrication or construction. Tipsy and Mipsy often led the domestic or kitchen teams. Dobby decided that he liked cooking the best, and he would prefer to work in the kitchen. After that, he would attend to his responsibilities at Weasley Manor. And even then, that was not much, as the house cleaned and maintained itself. Dobby was pleased about working for the Weasleys.

It probably infuriated the Malfoys in any case.

Priya found herself excited by what Harry had accomplished. Her probing had revealed total integration of the 'combat amplifier' into his physiology. She had carefully watched and examined his memories of the entire event. A sudden look of understanding appeared on her face, and Harry was now shocked. His mother exclaimed:

"Get the materials, I want you to do one for me. I saw where I can optimise some of the work you did, I will help you get better integration between the nerves. And then we can complete Hermione's amp."

Harry and Hermione were so shocked, that their mouths hung open, momentarily. Then, the realisation hit the pair - Priya could behave irresponsibly too.

"Ha, now you are a hypocrite now, mum!" Harry laughed as he grabbed the materials and the three of them got to work.

"I guess so. I understand your excitement now. Do you want to make your own goddamned needles? Fine by me, son. I can modify your magical core to make the amp more sensitive," Priya responded.

As the containment field was summoned around her arm, the area was sanitized. Then, the procedures commenced. The group spent the rest of the evening, as Harry made stale jokes about having a "funny bone" over the mental link. Priya added her optimisations as she began to feel the awareness of having another limb. To her, it felt like the 'magical implant' could 'process' information and adapt itself. If anything, Harry's nerves were growing around the implanted material, quite well. After Harry as finished with her implant, Hermione was next.

Part III: Meeting the Ringleaders

Arthur was quite surprised, when Lord Patil messaged him that very afternoon. Ronald's offer had finally piqued the man's interest. Lord Patil wanted to examine their 'operation'. The voice call outlined the family's deliberation over the last eleven months. The children were not any the wiser, but his wife had made up her mind. Lord Patil had also requested Ronald's presence, to Arthur's surprise. Mr Patil hoped that Ronald would provide some age appropriate company, for the evening. The Indian twins were still in shock - all they knew was that another Dark Lord was on the rise. And this information had been dropped on his daughters, only a couple of hours ago.

The red headed Weasley patriarch had to explain that his son was busy with band practice.

The response had earned a chuckle from the black bearded man. Arthur suggested that Ginny would come instead, and Lord Patil found this reasonable. Both of the men agreed on a meeting place far off in the countryside.

"Ginny, I would like to make the right kind of impression to ensure we get Lord Patil in our corner. I am employing some of Harry's preferred tactics!" Arthur joked with his youngest daughter.

"It does work wonders. I get that bunch now. What do you want to do, daddy?" Ginny asked.

"We will take the trainer. You can fly well enough?" he asked.

"Yes. Just a straight line isn't a problem. I don't have to do the whole Hermione thing and fly supersonic, and wreck everything. Let me get Stori. I like having my gunner." Ginny replied.

"Are you expecting to be attacked?" Arthur asked, with some concern on his face. His daughter was still haunted by her experience in Diagon Alley, and he did not blame her.

"Yes. I will take no chances. I think we should go with battle armour too. The medium one should be fine. If anything smells wrong, the safeties on the guns, come off. Immediately." Ginny countered.

"Very well. Having Astoria as a fellow Gryffindor might not be so bad, after all. Parvati is a housemate, isn't she?" Arthur Weasley wondered.

"That too. Plus, Stori won't mind taking a trip. We generally prefer to be a pair. Too bad we couldn't drive to get there. I am a far better driver," Ginny answered as she called her best friend on the communicator.

Ten minutes later, everyone was fully armoured. As the three of them stepped into the elevator, they ascended to the shuttle pad at the top of Weasley Manor. While Arthur still had a few extra pounds on him, he looked very dangerous. Arthur Cyrus and Reginald often went to the Gym with each other, and sometimes they ran the obstacle course as a team. The group had experienced noticeable improvements in their magic. Also, William had ensured that their gunwork was adequate. Arthur Weasley was not a soldier, but he could function as part of an effective militia, if necessary.

The Lion insignia of House Weasley had always been a part of the family's heritage. After Abraxas Malfoy's treachery, the symbol had faded away from public visibility. After all, the Weasleys did not own a Wizengamot seat. However, Harry usually branded every piece of armour he had ever produced. The stylized lion of House Weasley was present on the chest plate of Ginny and her father. Both of them waited for Astoria to arrive, within the Weasley Armoury.

The black haired girl arrived, and hugged Ginny. The Greengrass elm tree stood proud on her chest piece, by contrast. The group then picked appropriate weapons. Ginny and Astoria had decided on a pulse rifle and a combi-shotgun, respectively. Arthur preferred pistols, and selected the newest version of Harry's Type-8 Tormentor pistol. After the group left the armoury, they ascended to the shuttle pad via the elevator. Ginny sat down and ran the pre-flight checks, as Astoria double checked on the cannons. Soon enough, they were in the air, and Ginny made good speed towards the location on the navi-com. Upon arrival, Ginny landed some distance away from the meeting point. Everyone emptied from the back hatch, as the girls remained within the cloak. Arthur enabled the illusions for his armour and appeared to be a casually dressed wizard. The small, sleepy and distant village continued its activities, as the Patils appeared.

"Mr Weasley, good to see you." Lord Patil exclaimed as he shook the man's hand.

"Good to see you, Lord Patil. Padma and Parvati, hello to you too." Arthur responded as the girls gave polite waves.

"I have had discussions with my wife, about Ronald's offer. We have decided to look at your operation. We will take the necessary oaths, as this is house business after all. We must consider all the options if he is coming back." Lord Patil replied.

Padma, the sharper of the two twins, began to suspect the name of the mysterious Dark Lord. 'Coming back' was enough of a clue. Parvati, by contrast, was completely confused. She curiously watched around and hoped for everything to be over, soon. Padma, being the dutiful sister, gave Parvati a vicious pinch.

"What was that for?" Parvati asked in Marathi - The girls preferred to speak their mother's native tongue when they were alone, or at home. Parvati looked at her sister crossly, as she waited for an explanation.

"For you to pay attention, airhead!" Padma replied, as Arthur spoke to Ginny via the communicator. To the girls, he looked like he was mad. Lord Patil reasoned that something was behind the man. Ginny accessed her gauntlet and started the auxiliary power reserves. The group could hear a small humming noise as the turbines idled.

"What oath will be necessary?" Lord Patil asked.

"Just an oath to keep what you and your daughters experience this evening, secret will suffice. Any other oaths with my collaborators will happen on their terms, if you are joining. I will have some explaining to do, before you meet them," Arthur acknowledged.

There was a silent nod from the man, as he explained the importance of House business to his twin daughters. After the girls were clear on the severity of the situation, oaths were given. When they were all finished, Arthur nodded.

"Excellent. I am glad that here is a bit abandoned. Do not be...alarmed." Arthur explained.

As he dispelled the illusions, the armour and the pistol and the armour became visible. Lord Patil was astonished and began to suspect the larger issue. There was only one group of people who owned pistols, in the magical world. Lord Patil was not familiar with 'muggle weapons' but possessed many non-magical business associates. His research on the newspaper clippings, had filled in the blanks. Padma already suspected the 'collaborators' were the famed Storm Lord and Storm Priestess. The weapons and armour looked sleek and ultra-modern. Parvati, as the brawnier of the pair approved, even if she did not understand the implications.

Cool was cool, according to her.

"We will transport you, to our home. I have a…..carriage of sorts. Please follow me." Arthur insisted as the visitors walked a small distance. There was a huge pause among the three Patils, as they crossed into the invisibility envelope - Lord Patil had to rub his eyes. For a person who knew little about the Muggle world, the sight of the transport was enough to boggle his mind. Padma was staring at the floating engine assemblies and the golden glinting steel. Parvati was too happy to see two of her Gryffindor housemates. The two girls in battle armour was a sight indeed. Ginny and Astoria looked...intimidating.

"Astoria? Ginny? What is this?" Parvati asked as she ogled at the transport ship.

"This is what we fly, when we aren't on brooms. Your world is going to change, and you are going to meet our real friends this evening!" Ginny joked as the Indian family finished circling the ship.

"Oi! We are on a timetable. Get in, and we will explain while we get to her house," Astoria suggested.

The spunky brunette then dragged the Indian twins energetically through the back hatch. Lord Patil followed as Arthur got the family seated, and the ramp sealed with a solid thud. The visitors insisted on testing the chairs, as they looked precarious. Floating chairs were non-existent in the magical world, after all.

"I can assure you that they are quite solid. Make no mistake this contraption is well built." Arthur explained.

"I have an idea where this explanation is going. Yet, you will humour me nonetheless," Lord Patil replied, before sitting down.

As the Protego fields summoned makeshift seatbelts, custom illusions were displayed. "Safety Harness Engaged" comforted the family, as their heads swivelled around. Parvati even hopped around in her seat, as she treated it like the Gryffindor couch, in the common room. The seat responded by damping the movement, predictably.

"Well, it is firm but very comfortable. Much nicer than Hogwarts chairs," Padma stated, as her father nodded. His watchful eyes were confused, and Arthur suspected why this was the case. The trainer's interior had minimal internal panelling, which left the internals on display. Many of the structures could make people uncomfortable. Some of the polymer fibre bundles looked like distinctive groups of muscle fibres. There were no predictable rectangular and triangular gussets and brackets. Rather there were sweeping, flowing arches with bone-like honeycomb structures. The coolant and oil flowed through structures that resembled blood vessels and veins. Also were occasional standard nuts and bolts, and bundles of fibre optics. All the design choices made the experience like being in a living, breathing machine. The unforgiving alloy steel, glowing crystals, and twisting cables implied power and force.

As Ginny and Astoria seated themselves, their spinal interfaces snapped into position. As Astoria's head movement synced into the avionics, it articulated the cannons. The synthetic muscles contracted as the superconductor emitter plate positioned the engines. Ginny's light body wiggle mirrored into a small transverse twitch of the transport. The ship gently lifted off, and Arthur flipped around a seat to face Lord Patil. Ginny began to slowly throttle the engines, to 800 kph. It was a fairly respectable speed, and the group would arrive at Weasley Manor in 30 minutes. Astoria opened the viewports, as the alloy covers retreated into the body of the aircraft. As the visitors looked on, they appreciated the view of Muggle England. Arthur meanwhile, made the call to Harry.

"Harry, I got Lord Patil this evening. He wants to join us. You need to give me an exceptionality condition." Arthur explained. Lord Patil looked on and reasoned that Arthur had a special ear artefact, even if he could not hear anything.

"Er…sure. I am in the middle of…..er…...modifying Hermione's arm. You need to amuse them for one hour, and you can bring them. You have the appropriate permissions to convince them. Whatever you need to tell them, because I want them." Harry replied, as he channelled his magic.

"Excellent Harry. As for entertaining them, that I can do. The four of them are busy with band practice. The girls can keep them company?" Arthur suggested.

"Sounds like a plan!" Harry replied as he continued to weave materials into Hermione's bones.

"Good. See you later, Harry." Arthur replied before he terminated the call. There was a smile from Hermione and Priya, as Harry updated the both of them on the new visitors. Priya saw the Indian twins as possible candidates, for mentoring. Meanwhile, Arthur spent the rest of the flight explaining his 'friends".

The Storm Lord and the Rune Priestess became the topic of the conversation. Even Parvati who never paid attention to anything much, found herself spellbound. Arthur then shared the details of the Death Eater attack, and their rescue in Diagon Alley. While it was news for Padma and Ashok Patil, Parvati had already heard a similar tale. Astoria had told her story, in the Gryffindor common room, many months ago. Parvati's memories reminded her of the tall tale.

Astoria had been badgered, for long enough. For many months people wanted to know about the attack in Diagon Alley. People also wanted to know if she had seen the Storm Lord. Astoria decided to get the issue handled.

"Gryffs, I am done. Look, you want to hear what happened? Gather around," Astoria yelled, before a hoard appeared out of nowhere. There was a mass congregation, and the brunette had to hold off. Messages were sent, as both Gryffindor Towers appeared in the common room.

For the Gryffindors that one rainy night, Slytherin became a complex place. There were fractions within Slytherin and the house was ruled by a powerful minority. The completely evil narrative of the house, fell apart. Many of the Gryffindor half-bloods and other sympathetic purebloods understood. Then questions about a Slytherin sister had reared its head. Surprisingly, many year two students had offered to defend Daphne.

"For a pureblood, her most precious possession is her thermos. That is very funny!" Katie Bell laughed.

The purebloods were confused until Katie had to explain the function of the item. They were still confused – why would Daphne need a muggle item to keep her coffee warm? Katie had to explain it was one spell less, to cast. After some banter, Neville made it clear that Daphne and Tracey were off-limits. Anybody who went after them would have to deal with him. While they were not friends, they were close to "their lion" and "that would be enough reason enough."

Nobody ever questioned Neville Longbottom, in Gryffindor. Neville Longbottom was the Gryffindor Prince, after all.

And he was a prince that was liked by the others, very much. Draco Malfoy could only dream of having that type of support. After all, the seventh years were learning Defence from him, in any case. He also had unanimous support from the prefects. They knew that 'the five of them' were friends. Better not to let that information into the lower parts of Gryffindor house.

"Daphne and Tracey? That pug Pansy hates them. Good enough for me. Draco wants to bully Daphne, but he ain't gonna try that. They have been nice to everyone." Dean laughed.

"Thank you, Mr Thomas. Malfoy is a Ponce, and Pansy is a pug, but not everyone is bad across there. Not everyone was a supporter of Dork Moldyfork. Not my family." Astoria joked, as many Gryffs laughed. However, there were some calculating eyes, as they looked around.

"But your family didn't oppose him either!" another Gryffindor boy complained.

"Correct. My family was never too skilled at fighting. We are good at business and intelligence gathering, in particular. The bravery to fight is often backed by necessary skill. The other problem is that we are the third oldest house in Magical England. One wrong move and many others who have vendettas against us could strike. Consider that we have multiple enemies and..." Astoria trailed off.

"Third oldest magical house? What does that mean?" a mundane-born first year asked.

"Ah. If you know about Her Majesty, and the noble houses of non-magical England, some of that still exists here, in magical England"

"Oh...like...peerage then?" the boy asked.

"Exactly that, but we are separate from the non-magical world. The Blacks and the Potters were here first, and they arrived at the same time. The Potters were called Pottarius. The Greengrasses arrive third. Basically, if we went that route of openly opposing the Dark Wanker, my house could get stabbed in the back by….." Astoria replied, as she launched into the full details of her situation.

Astoria gave the Gryffindors a crash course on the Magical houses, during the rest of the night. She even covered Gringotts, Wizengamot politics and other issues. Many of the clueless people began to contextualize the information. She even mentioned that the Malfoys had levied heavily for the removal of the "Etiquette Club" almost two centuries ago. She explained that the system wasn't fair. She also suggested that 'mundane-borns' should still attempt their G.C.E and A Levels.

"How do you know about our education system?" another girl asked, as she seemed quite surprised.

"Oh, Daffy wrote the G.C.E Mathematics. Got all A's. She is studying for Pure Mathematics and the Further Mathematics paper." Astoria explained.

"She is doing Further Mathematics as a year three student? Is she fecking mad?" a random girl shouted. Astoria has to explain Daphne had the chops to be a theoretical mathematician. People soon understood that the Greengrasses were not bigots. They were open to accepting new things. However, the doctored Muggle Studies Syllabus did not help. Malfoy and his known associates became iridescently hated that night.

Contrary to popular belief, Astoria's explanations were not harmless. This breadcrumb was not a coincidence – there were pureblood supremacist types in Gryffindor. The messages were being tracked, via the data slate. The conversations between blood supremacist Gryffindors and other external parties were being faked. Invictus carried out his favourite pastime, as the "Enemy_listing_v1" was updated, in Microsoft Excel.

Parvati returned to the present as Ginny hovered the trainer on the shuttle pad. The visitors found the rumours on the magical grapevine, substantiated. The Weasleys were recapturing their previous wealth, according to the whispers.

Funny enough, Ernie and Terry had been responsible for starting the rumour, inadvertently. The pair of boys had been raving about the kitchen to their guardians. By word of mouth, Amelia Bones, Lord McMillian and Amos Diggory arrived one evening. It was the 27th of December, and Molly was happy to fuss over them. The variety, along with the cheap prices did not hurt the pockets of the customers either. Ronald had suggested that Aurors could have a 'grab and go' arrangement. Message your order, pay in advance and pick up, right before Auror deployment.

"Mr. Weasley, I want you for the Auror Corps when you are done with Quidditch, you hear me?" Amelia joked, as she smiled.

"Careful now. I like being challenged. I can throw down when I want to!" Ronald replied, with some sass colouring his voice.

"My boy tells me you, Neville and his girlfriend can take on Aurors. And my boy is many things, but a liar he is not." Amos Diggory joked, although his voice was impressed.

"Ced is an excellent seeker. He needs to begin to use wandless magic to feel out the snitch. And no it is not unheard of - Krum does it all the time. That is my secret to my goalkeeping. After the World Cup, I would not mind giving him pointers. Poults is working me hard on incorporating this into my goalkeeping." Ronald explained.

"With the way wizarding emotions run high during Quidditch, that isn't unreasonable. It makes a frightening amount of...sense." Amelia responded, as she nodded thoughtfully.

"I don't think Krum is aware of what he is doing. Charlie and I however are quite aware, and we practice the skill openly. I hope that makes a difference in the long run. Wandless magic almost seems like a legend, but it is a lot of focus." Ronald replied.

"I know many adults who aren't cut out for it. Moody can fold his socks windlessly, so it isn't really unheard of," Amelia replied.

As the rest of the night ushered in, the group left. The next day, the visitors were happy to distribute printed menus at the Ministry of Magic. People started flooding in, by lunchtime. A few weeks later, Molly had a spare room set up for Ministry of Magic workers. The Weasley-Singh kitchen became the place to get a quick bite to eat, with most Aurors. The supremacist purebloods stayed away, but that was no issue with Molly and Amba. Everyone was talking about the Weasleys - the food was good, and everyone felt like family. The other hushed whispers implied that they were no longer poor. They were offering well paid jobs even by the standards of the Ministry of Magic. Many older women were steadily joining the operation. The wizarding public began to understand the new situation.

The Weasleys were back.

Lord Patil reasoned that Arthur was certainly not a Ministry employee, anymore.

Weasley manor was now complete. It featured auto-tracking cannons and a massive force field. For privacy, an enhanced cloak hid the building. Nothing was visible until you passed within the narrow bubble of the tower. To deceive visitors, the main building was two hundred meters from the old Weasley house. Combined with the trees and the nearby flora, there was no reason to suspect anything. People could walk along the existing path and suspect nothing.

"The building is fantastic. Is it all bricks?" Lord Patil asked.

"No. It is a special concrete mix called graphcrete. It solidifies rapidly, in the presence of magic. Very durable. The wooden house used to be our old house. We have it openly visible, and it is some distance away as a diversion. This building was completed almost a year ago." Arthur explained.

"It is quite big too? Are those pointy objects…weapons?" Lord Patil asked.

"Yes, the Storm Lord as you call him did the architecture and weapons platforms. The invisibility ward was designed by him, and his sister. An old Weasley ward stone was heavily modified, and both of them made a force field."

"A force field?" Parvati asked.

"Imagine a building sized Protego that could be summoned only when you tried to pass the wards. Physically impenetrable. Normally conjuring such magic would kill a wizard. There are other ways around that with the right engineering. Our two friends, are fine mundane engineers by my standards. Technically, the Storm Lord is within a University engineering program, I think. But he was building things for a very long time before that.

The wards have been enhanced and hardened with all sorts of complex mathematics. I don't understand most of it, honestly. What I do know is that you will not be breaking the wards by guessing about sixty arithmantic numbers. The prime numbers for these wards number in the billions."

"The billions?" Lord Patil asked, as the Thunderbolt extended the landing gear and the ship set down. The safety harnesses were deactivated, as the hatch opened. Everyone emptied out the trainer and began to approach the glass door.

"Yes. It is an obscure field of muggle Mathematics called Encryption. Twofish-256 bit algorithm. Used in mundane banking. As I say our collaborators are talented and unusual. Please follow me, we are taking the elevator down to the kitchen," Arthur explained.

As everyone stood on the elevator it summoned the walls and the control panel. A voice command of "Ground Floor" came from the Weasley patriarch. The visitors observed the massive I-beams, as the platform descended thirteen floors. Most magicals were not aware of the advances in mundane civil engineering. The conjured illusions and controls were also fascinating for the girls. Padma examined the illusions that were conjured on the Protego walls. They included news from the quibbler, reminder lists, chores, and other schedules. Fred and George were tagged as being in America, as they were visiting muggle joke shops to get ideas.

"This is like the Hogwarts roof!" Padma exclaimed.

"Yes. That field of magic is called illusionary magic. It is one of the Rune-Priestess' favourite hobbies. It has become obscure, because it is wandless, and requires extensive use of the Mind Arts. All of the controls for the manor are like this," Arthur continued.

The elevator came to a gentle halt. As the doors opened, the party found Augusta and Cyrus waiting for them. While Lord Patil had not decided if he was ready to take any extra oaths, the magic he had seen so far had impressed him. His wife had reiterated that dead Death Eaters could not harm anyone. She too was displeased by Albus Dumbledore's soft policies, during the last war. Lord Patil considered that Arthur was not lacking funding or weapons. And if the network included Augusta and Cyrus, that suggested extensive preparation. Lord Patil had shared in their company last Divali, but this suggested a hidden alliance. Many of the recent jabs in the Wizengamot began to make sense. Lord Patil even considered that Lord Black had to be involved. He decided to observe, and he would eventually find out.

"Ah, Cyrus and Augusta. I think the explanation will be much easier now," Arthur joked. Cyrus smiled and Augusta winked, as she withdrew a bottle of high quality scotch.

"I have my favourite booze. Lord Patil, you will need a drink. Trust me." the Longbottom regent smiled.

"I don't drink alcohol, because of personal religious choices," Lord Patil replied.

"Aunty Priya doesn't drink, also. I think I will make you her favourite thing. Yes, I like to mix drinks! I think you like a House Bentley type of person!" Astoria replied.

"Surprise me then!" the Indian man smiled – non-alcoholic options were certainly welcome.

Part IV: The Band

The twins glanced into an open room, as the adult conversation continued behind a privacy ward. Padma knew Luna's hair, all too well. As she beckoned to her twin, both girls passed through a sound masking ward. They had walked into utter chaos, and the novelty of the situation became apparent.

Apparently, Neville and the rest...had a band.

The trio were blasting away on their instruments, and there were three others. The snake, the Indian twins already knew. However, the two newbies were a surprise. Tracey was on the drums, and Antoc and Clara were in a corner. The band was jamming to Delain's newly released "We are the others" and the twins got smiles as Ronald and Neville sang to their heart's delights. Clara's technical capability on the violin was observed, as she added her improvisation to the song. Antoc was not well known by many people in Hogwarts, but he enjoyed himself as he worked the strings on the bass. Parvati and Padma took a seat and listened.

When the band was finished with the song, the bunch traded grins. For Padma, the last Divali function was now suspicious. They had met two young people who were attached to this group. Padma began to wonder if Hadrian and Jean were…them.

"Hey Parv and Padma, welcome!" Ronald joked as the rest gave a polite wave.

"You guys have a band? You guys sound amazing!" Padma asked.

"We used to joke that our brother made many dulcet tones when he was hungry. We are running out of things to tease him about, and it is infuriating!" Fred replied, as he walked into the room and took out a monster energy drink from the fridge. George soon followed as he threw two packs of M&M's at both Indian girls.

"Absolutely pesky, him. All about hard work and self-improvement. He does have a winning voice. He might impress that bird that he has been chasing?" George remarked, as the twins left. Padma found this admission from the Weasley twins fascinating but said nothing. She began to wonder if Ronald's forlorn look in the library was related to the mystery woman.

"I guess Daphne is not a part of the band?" Parvati asked.

"Her talent is with academics. But hang around, and eat something. Maybe we can perform for both of you, and tell us if you think we can wow an audience. And then…we will discuss our new chapters Parv?" Tracey joked.

"Sure!" Parvati replied, as she considered that her sessions with Tracey in abandoned parts of the castles made sense. The girl often whispered to herself occasionally, and she considered that she too had a communication artefact like Lord Weasley. Clara joined the pair of girls on the small couch. She remarked, "These following songs are terribly inappropriate. I can't play violin for this, but I want to get a laugh. And to think that they want to sing this for the Wizarding Public? They are going to upset the nation with this!" Clara giggled.

"Are the songs…rude?" Parvati asked.

"Pretty much anything by Steel Panther is terrible, by Wizarding standards. Anyway, so we start in…..…3…...2..1!" Antoc prompted, as Ronald began:

"I would give you the stars in the sky

But they're too far away

If you were a hooker, you know

I'd be happy to pay

If suddenly you were a guy

I'd be suddenly gay

'Cause my heart belongs to you

My love is pure and true

My heart belongs to you

But my cock is community property"

The girls cackled after the utter amazement dropped from their faces. Ronald and the misfits brought the glory of parody glam metal to the twins. 'Community Property', 'Eyes of a Panther', 'Eatin' Ain't Cheatin', 'Turn off the Lights' and 'Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)' were performed. Ronald and Neville made it their business to use every single expletive that was present in the lyrics. For the twins, the idea that someone could write such outlandish lyrics was a revelation. After completing the set, the twins and Clara gave a standing ovation as the group decided that they had enough. Clara and Antoc packed up their gear, and flooed back to their houses, after giving their bandmates hugs. Parvati and Padma left, as Neville and the rest stowed away their items. Now the Indian twins were in the living room with their father, Arthur, Augusta and Cyrus. As Padma looked at her father, she became excited - it seemed that her father had bought into the proposition. She wanted to see if her suspicions would pan out.

"You two alright?" Lord Patil asked his twin daughters.

"Ronald and Neville's band is….pretty amazing. They are going to overtake the Weird Sisters, eeeeeaaaaaasy," Parvati giggled.

"Yes, I heard they were rebellious. Now I understand where it comes from, as we will be going to meet the ringleaders of this operation. So the Storm Lord and the Rune Priestess, we have already met. That would be Hadrian and Jean. However, their real names are….."

The twins had to shake their heads in surprise. For Padma, certain things made sense. No wonder the trio and the two snakes were so talented. They were being trained by the most powerful magicals in England. And to think they had met the two of them a couple of months ago, at a Divali celebration of all places? Daphne's sudden capability with Runes and Arithmancy was for obvious reasons. And if Neville was so competent because Harry had taught him magical combat, how good were the two of them?

The Indian twins were excited when Arthur explained, "I think we have passed enough time. Harry and the rest are ready for us. I suppose they managed to finish in forty five minutes, whatever they were doing. You will be apparated along with us…" Arthur explained.

Ashok, Parvati and Padma held the hands of Arthur, Cyrus and Augusta, respectively. The visitors were surprised when the illusionary controls were summoned from their 'transporters'. The visitors felt when the lightning touched their skin, and they slipped through a great interconnected network of magic.

Part V: The Artificer and the Priestess

When Parvati, Padma and Lord Patil arrived at the Peverell workshop, they were greeted by a tank in their peripheral view. The construction was in progress, as the beetle-like drones crawled over the surface. There was a small humming noise, as the plastic spray was deposited on the structure. Lord Patil after listening to the explanations, now had an appreciation for the efficiency of the design. As the girls looked around, they saw the other snake, along with some long pointy object. It was being rolled into the shop on a hover trolley, and it looked far more potent than the weapons on the 'trainer'. Daphne Greengrass the Slytherin Ice Queen, honestly looked like an undignified, wired racoon. As she turned and scribbled on the whiteboard, her messy loose hair flailed over her back.

Hermione was shaping water wandlessly, and looking at the arithmantic equations. Hermione had been so excited by her implant, that she had squealed when she activated it. She already had creative ideas for what Harry had named the "Power Loadout." As Padma walked in closer, Hermione gave the girl a mischievous wink that suggested, "Got you!"

"Hello….Hermione?" Padma asked cautiously.

"Indeed! Hermione the professional cat cuddler, at your service!" Hermione laughed, as she tossed the small ball of water at the girl and had a laugh.

Padma was now giggling and soaking wet, as the Ravenclaw began with the questions. Meanwhile, Priya was examining the first set of her spells, that had healed his broken body. She proceeded to rework some of the metabolic pathways. Harry would benefit from enhanced muscle, height and bone growth. Priya concluded her implant would greatly extend her capability. The next step was to combine its functionality with the Medi-Bracelet.

"I am going to the I.C.U first thing in the morning, and I am putting this to work. It seems we have visitors?" Priya asked.

"Yes, we do mum! We also have two new interns for you!" Harry teased.

Lord Patil and his two daughters stared at Thunderbolt-II which was mounted on the scaffold. The group concluded that this was the bigger, scarier brother of the trainer. Its thirty meter distance from pylon to pylon allowed the transport to act as a spectacular backdrop. Priya with Harry removed themselves from the infamous workshop couch, and greeted Lord Patil. While the interaction occurred, the girls found themselves gawking at the weapons rack. The older versions were proudly on display in the different alcoves. Parvati and Padma could see the repeated iteration of their designs. Finally were several of Luna's paintings of the pair, along with portraits of Lilly and James. To add to the drama, Daffodil and Grace landed in their 'dragon bay' after coming back from an afternoon trip. Then, Sirius and Remus appeared out of the woodwork.

"Evening Lord Patil. Lord Aurelian Black or correctly, Sirius Black at your service. Mr Remus Lupin is my old compatriot from Hogwarts. My fiancée needs no introduction. Master Healer Priya Singh. And finally, my adoptive son Harry Potter and my niece, Hermione Granger," Sirius replied evenly.

"Is that a…dragon?" Lord Patil asked with panic in his voice.

"That she is, but she is my child. Not a pet. Hi Parv and Padma. Welcome to the madhouse as Aunty Priya always says, to first timers. Daffodil and Grace, come over here and say hello." Hermione replied.

One minute later, Padma and Parvati were gingerly petting Daffodil. The dragon closed her eyes and behaved like a giant scaly cat. Grace silently sat on Hermione's shoulder as she nodded at both of the girls.

"Grace says both of you are so beautiful, that your father will have to kill someone before Hogwarts is over!" Hermione joked.

"Our grandparents say the same thing. It can…talk?" Parvati asked.

"Mentally? Yes, she can. She is Harry's magical familiar. She also acts as transportation if necessary. The transporters were built to emulate her magic. She can bypass standard anti-apparition wards, too!" Hermione explained.

"Bypass anti-apparition wards? That is just…..too much?" Padma replied. Parvati looked on wildly, as she had no idea what was an anti-apparition ward, in any case.

"Relax. Harry and I are the same people you met last year. Relax. After the initial shock, it won't be a big deal. The deception is necessary, and I am happy you are considering joining the war effort. We need intelligence operatives, and healers too." Hermione insisted. As Grace hopped on Padma's shoulder, there was a flash of lightning from elsewhere. The 'band' had transported into the workshop.

"Hey you!" Hermione replied before she skipped over to hug Ronald. Then she followed through by hugging the rest of the gang. Padma immediately realised who was Ronald's mystery girlfriend.

The Storm Priestess did like Ronald Weasley after all, even if she was not aware of it.

Parvati who usually giggled at Harry Potter stories as a young girl looked on as Daphne Greengrass and Harry Potter had a moment. They were discussing some type of weapon that they were developing. The eye-opener was the snake. Daphne Greengrass was full of all kinds of spectacular hand motions. It was quite shocking to see the mask lift from Daphne. Astoria's comment made sense now. Harry Potter was the Gryffindor person that Daphne Greengrass was trying to win over. Both of them gave off married couple energy. And worse, Daphne was spitting…..jokes? Since when was she a comedian? Harry was laughing at them, in any case. Parvati heard a whisper of the exchange, through her gossip sensitive ears.

"Hey spaceman, how is the spaceship going?" Daphne asked.

"No spaceship yet. The Raven is the priority. Not too bad, private Greengrass. Nifty work on the beetle done subroutine. You are one of us now. Being exposed to coffee was beneficial for us?" Harry quipped.

"You owe me big time for this, you tin-foil engineer!" Daphne countered.

"I might not be able to pay. Will I be evicted?" Harry asked as he laughed at being called a 'tin-foil' engineer. Harry liked being mildly insulted, as it was better than the usual adoring respect. Only Daphne was brave enough to go there, besides Hermione.

"I don't want galleons. One day I will come to collect my pound of flesh. Or rather, my two hundred and fifty pounds of it!" Daphne countered.

"You drive a hard bargain. Since when you were a comedian?" Harry enquired, as he squinted his eyes.

"Since I realised you prefer when I have a go at you, and I roast you. Honestly, all this respect is not good for you and Hermione. We heap too much praise on both of you," Daphne grinned.

"Hmmm. You know I like that. Take care, I can reply with appropriate comebacks if motivated. And you like the Merchant of Venice then? But your mother is named Ophelia and I think Hamlet is cool so…." Harry continued, as he accessed a diagnosis on the cannon.

"Our family loves Shakespeare. But actually, both our names have Greek origins," Daphne replied. Harry had a sudden moment of realisation – Daphne was a naiad or a female nymph after all.

"Pureblood much, huh?" Harry joked, as Daphne stood next to him and helped with the power cabling.

"Pureblood Hipster to you, good sir. George Carlin rubbed off on me. He is brilliant. I often rewatch Carlin's List of people who ought to be killed YouTube clip. I think it applies to Draco and his gang. They are a group of highly motivated morons." Daphne replied.

"Amen to that. Anyway, the tank substructure seems fine. It will be done in ten weeks," Harry replied.

"Yeah. Take a look at this…do you think I could write a magical assembly language?" Daphne asked, as Harry began to scratch his head, in honest curiosity.

Parvati and her sister looked on from the couch, as Priya filled in the missing details. As the conversation continued into the night, the twins became sad. Priya had to explain why Harry and Hermione had to kill adults, at the age of ten years old. Invictus also supplied battle footage from various operations, to accompany the narration. The visitors also reviewed recorded footage from the battle drills. Lord Patil considered that this group of eclectics could possibly win.

"I do not think my daughters are suited for combat with that level of violence. But they have been working hard with Madam Pomfrey. I would be willing to let them work as combat medics if the armour will protect them. The armour can block magic?" Lord Patil asked. most

"Harry and Hermione are working on unravelling the Crucio and the Imperius. After that, the armour will be magically impenetrable. The killing curse only ablates the nano-laminate. Even if you knick flesh with the killing curse, the magic will travel into the polymer first. The French Head Auror Luis Delacour and his squad are using the items, and they are battle tested." Sirius explained.

"I would like for my daughters to train – there was much discussion in my home about whether we should fight or not. I suggested that we migrate, and my wife became angry." Lord Patil explained.

"Oh, I understand this all too well. Peace is good, but we have to fight for what is right. Our people do not like conflict. And yet that laid back attitude has caused much trouble for us. It is time for the cowardice to go." Priya explained.

"That…is the issue exactly. My wife is from one of the many families that are distantly descended from Maharana Pratap. While we don't consider ourselves to be royals, my wife is a fighter and has a hot temper. Before she was arranged to me, she could easily take on anyone in her village with a sword. I often think she is braver than me. You remind me of my wife very much, Ms Singh." Lord Patil explained.

"Papa is from Maharashtra too. He was not born there, but moved there as a boy and met my mother. The death of papa's best friend changed him. The death of my best friend changed me too. Harry lost his parents. Molly lost her twin brothers. I had begged Harry not to fight, but he insisted. But after getting kidnapped? Things changed. I promised that if any of them came home injured I would fix them as good as new. As for Death Eaters, I say kill them all." Priya explained, resolutely.

That type of ferocity from a Hufflepuff was surprising for the pair of Indian twins. But with her experiences, who could blame her? It seemed that the woman had worked on learning to defend herself. Priya was in yoga leggings paired with an armhole tee with a sports bra. Her arms and her general physique were muscular. Sirius and Remus by Lord Patil's standards were physically imposing. Harry and Hermione needed no further explanation. They were close to Olympic Athletes, in stature. As the evening passed, a discussion about the commonly used artefacts followed. The group were introduced to the comm devices. Specifically, the girls were now looking at the 'Marauder Bracelets'. The live feed from the castle explained the stealth of the friend group. Sirius was strapping a transporter to Lord Patil's hand, and he was excited.

"This could take your family to India and back twice, before needing new power crystals. It is untraceable. We will provide the girls with similar items, but you will have control of where they can go. We prefer to operate silently." Sirius explained. Then, he took the visitors on a tour of the Hogsmeade apartment. Padma, after viewing the place decided she would prefer to stay there. It was more comfortable than the Ravenclaw dorms. Parvati still had reservations, as she was very attached to Lavender and Romilda. After the tour was done, the girls agreed to spend the evening at the workshop.

Priya was looking to learn Magic in India, and Lord Patil decided to fetch an item.

Lord Patil had volunteered to test the transporter, after the Hogsmeade apartment tour. Now, he found himself standing at his parent's house in India. He entered the small prayer room and considered an old family legend. The conversation had meandered with Priya, who wanted to learn the Indian methodology for casting magic. Lord Patil was only too happy to explain that when it came to healing and the mind arts, Indian culture was easily the most advanced at that type of magic. However, the magic was not for free. You had to be tested, and selected as deserving to learn certain traditions and skills. Generally, such agreements would be decided upon by the local families that held such knowledge. The religious implications of Hinduism were also woven into the situation. However, there was also another place that served to teach those who were seekers of knowledge. This path was very obscure and secret.

There was a Hindu Legend that Mount Kailash was the abode of Lord Shiva. There was much knowledge to be found in the surrounding mountains, as positively ancient ashramas were hidden away from prying eyes. Ashok had wondered if the area was magical – there were indications that this was the case, but nobody knew for sure. He picked up all the Sanskrit scrolls that were highly guarded secrets and ancient heirlooms in his family and brought them back to Peverell Manor. Priya would take copies of them before he returned them to his prayer room. Then, Lord Patil had tea with his parents as he explained that the new bracelet would allow him to visit regularly. They were quite happy, as they adored their granddaughters.

"Did it work?" Parvati asked her father excitedly when her father was transported back, approximately one hour later. Harry and Hermione grinned – if the man had reappeared in one piece, surely the transporter was functional. However, they both understood that the girls were overly excited.

"Yes, it did. This is an excellent piece of magic! Very convenient too!" Lord Patil exclaimed.

"Not to put a damper on things, but I would like to remind you that we haven't told you about Voldy's appearance. The school was emptied on the lawn, and Filch's petrified cat - that was the result of a sixty foot Basilisk having a stroll down the corridor," Sirius explained before the visitors became quiet. The rest of his explanation was like a knife that cut the silence.

"We are eagerly awaiting the next death trap. All that previous exposition was up until the start of the first year of Hogwarts. We will need to have another conversation and a lot more chai," Sirius explained.

"Wait a moment…..the banshee was….him?" Padma asked, now terrified as she realised the entire implication of everything.

"Yes, The public has seen Lord Voldemort and they have no idea it is him. Albus Dumbledore, I just can't understand him sometimes. He even interfered with Harry's inheritance. Oh, my wife was absolutely livid after hearing that!" Arthur remarked.

"Well, I have already taken oaths to keep everyone's business secret. What do you advise I do?" Lord Patil asked.

"Simple. Your daughters can train with those five over there. And they can work at Peverell Manor for the holidays, earn some good coin and still visit their family in India as regularly as they desire. The girls are welcome to add additional locations to our network, as we love to eat food from everywhere. Or if it is scenic, that also works. They can change as many power crystals as they need. If they are travelling somewhere, you will have parental control to authorise the transport, and you will be able to observe and listen if necessary," Harry insisted.

"This is a life changing thing for us. I do have many contacts in India. It might be a good place for you to do business. I have premises and you have the technical know-how?" Lord Patil asked.

"That would be great – I want to do broom manufacturing in India. I can't meet demand with what we have here. And I would be happy to employ people and pay them competitive salaries. Hermione and I are middle class British people who received a lot of help. So we do try to pass the help onward. That was why we got Uncle Cyrus and Uncle Arthur involved. We have too much work to do at this place." Harry commented.

"Perhaps we might be able to deal with two issues at once. I know your mother wants to learn Bharatanatyam, in India. She can enrol in an institution that suits her needs. When she isn't taking class, she can attempt to see if she can find the place mentioned in these scrolls. I want to believe that the mentioned places are where the Vedic form of magic is thought. Only the worthy are allowed in. But I do believe she can make the requirement. The test is to find the place. I hope your mother will find something of value." Lord Patil replied as Harry nodded.

Hermione eventually explained her creation of the Medi-Spray and many other useful potions. The final surprise was when she mentioned her latest project, as she motioned to the visitors.

"I already designed a wolfsbane replacement, that is getting rolled out in the Wizengamot soon enough Remus and a small pilot group have been using it for a year. It stops the transformation for three months at a time," Hermione explained.

"That could allow such people to reintegrate into Wizarding society. Can the person continuously take the potion?" Lord Patil asked.

"So far from what we have tested, yes. Remus and the pilot group haven't had any transformations for a year. I can't wait for Sirius to rub it in the toad's face. God, I hate Dolores Umbridge," Hermione complained.

"My wife called her an ugly pink-coloured elephant!" Lord Patil replied, as there was laughter in the Peverell workshop. Parvati and Padma hung around the group in a separate corner, as Neville introduced them to a manipulative Dumbledore, and footage of Lord Voldemort and the Basilisk. The separate folder for Draco had caused both of the twins to snigger endlessly.

The Patils were part of the operation, now.

When the family returned home that night, the Patil matriarch asked, "Well, was it important to us, husband?"

"I am glad you insisted. Tomorrow I will tell you what I have learned, as we need to sleep. On the bright side, we can see our parents regularly. He-who-must-not-be-named is coming back, but I think we will be prepared."

Aadarshaa Patil nodded, as she made a cup of tea for her husband. The twins had decided that they would continue to specialise in healing. That was a career direction they were interested in, long before they knew about Harry Potter and his gang of misfits. If their skills were needed for what was coming, they would do their best. Seeing the Avada Kedavra being stopped dead by the armour on the testing rig had fundamentally changed the Patils' options. And if Harry and Hermione were working on unravelling the Imperius and the Crucio, that would change things completely. Harry and Hermione had sent the girls home with the standard kit. It was full of transporters, shields, armour, Solar cells, shielded laptops and spare magical power banks. Between those and the smartphones, the twins planned to have a good time the following day. Tracey had volunteered to show them around the new items.

The rest of the next morning was spent as Padma and Parvati conversed in their mother tongue, between themselves. Naturally, it was quick and full of speedy words. However, they understood each other, easily.

"Well, that was interesting. Looks like Harry Potter isn't available?" Padma teased her sister.

"No different to Ronald. And Hermione does like him. Harry and Daphne like each other, too. They look a couple when they are discussing and building things." Parvati remarked.

"Maybe that isn't a bad thing. We can visit India as much as we want. We can find boys over there. Harry and Hermione gave us options! We could always get data slates to talk with who we liked?" Padma wondered.

"It is always about boys? Anyway...we will take all of them to that bomb-ass Pani Puri place that we like. Uncle will hook them up!" Parvati insisted.

"Excited about staying at the apartment?" Padma asked.

"Not sure. I want to hang out with Lavender and Romilda. I will see, I guess?" Parvati reasoned.

"Did you see it? Harry and Hermione are almost like their parents sometimes. Or maybe mentors might be a better word. Maybe it might be good for them to teach us too." Padma replied.

"Let Lord Vithala bless both of them, for their ability to see both sets of our grandparents. Tracey and I are working on the next novel. Being able to discuss the plot in person at the workshop will be good!" Parvati replied.

"It did get crazy, yesterday evening. I love their gunship. I have never seen so many weapons in my life. Maybe it wasn't a bad thing they killed the Death Eaters. Pansy and her friends love to spread racist shit about us." Parvati mentioned, as her sister frowned.

"Daphne wants to knock her teeth out. She is honestly my favourite Slytherin for wanting to do that, and she has always been decent with me. I have to admit that whoever Lorna is, she is crazy!" Padma replied.

The rest of the day, Padma and Parvati apparated over to Peverell Manor. Padma acquainted herself with the workshop bookshelf (which she adored) and Parvati got rides in Ginny's and Astoria's elongated Dune Buggy. Tracey loved being a fitness freak and for a girl, she could box quite well. She also was a specialist with obscure magical history – she and Percy had many discussions that were life changing for the pair of twins.

"Well ladies, I am glad that you have joined the war effort. As I was saying, Salazar was a basement goth and a very good engineer. We joke that he and Harry are similar." Percy laughed.

"So he wasn't a blood purist and had a non-magical wife?" Parvati asked.

"Pretty much girlfriend. I suspect that Salazar was a man who valued ambition, within the context of it being positive and useful. So all this edgy we own the system that Pansy talks about, that is responsible for the stagnancy? Salazar would consider that counterproductive for Slytherin." Tracey explained.

"The casual knowledge about magic and everything else at this place is something!" Padma laughed.

"We like our secrets too, girlfriend. Some of the records indicate that Salazar was the money man concerning Hogwarts. A consummate businessman. So, if he found out that purebloods have been blocking free-market capitalism? Oh, he would have set the basilisk on them, himself!" Tracey explained. Percy then nodded – he also believed the point was valid.

"Talking about the pug Tracey, we know Pansy from Charm School. She was always mean to us." Padma replied.

"She needs a useful hobby. If there is any new lore or history that you have, please do let me have a look. Tracey is an expert on Dark Wizards, but Penny and I prefer the Hogwarts lore. But we have been tracing the founders and their global activities. They have a documented presence." Percy commented as the girls nodded. Percy was only too happy to show the twins his projects. Padma asked the boy about the obstacle course, out of her curiosity.

"Not to worry, Tonks is coming over to have a run. You will get to see how it works," Penny replied. Padma continued to talk to Penny – she was her prefect after all, and Penny was quite happy to outline her massive job of balancing the budget. The rest of the afternoon was spent as the Padma took a liking to Daphne. Padma had many questions about runes, and Daphne had many questions about magic in Indian culture. Parvati and Tracey got settled into another part of the workshop and continued to discuss their new 'book'.

Later that evening, Tonks arrived with Charlie and the Weasley twins and they attempted the obstacle course. Fleur apparated in later and brought along Armand who was officially her cat. Hermione gave the twins a tour of her manor and they met William and Jean, who as muggles did not seem to be one bit bothered about anything.

Lord Patil was at home and was enjoying himself. Now he could listen to thousands of religious songs at his fingertips. He closed his eyes, as he enjoyed Jagjit Singh's Murli Manohar Gopala in his kitchen – a classic religious song that had endeared the hearts of millions, in India. The YouTube search had been piped through his data slate, and he caught up on a lot of things he had missed. His wife was particularly excited to listen to Bhimsen Joshi, as her kitchen was filled with haunting, but beautiful music.