Disclaimer: All charcters and world concepts are property of J.K. Rowling

Disclaimer: This is not the work of CNG25 but that of Lilausty, originally published on harrypotterfanfiction-dot-com.

Chapter 37: We Are the War

Breakfast the next morning was an interesting affair to say the least. Harry, at the insistence of the Gryffindor DA members went into the Hall last, since they didn't want McGonagall ambushing him without them present. The hall was quite noisy, with the students who were not a part of the DA blissfully unaware of the bombshell that would be dropped with the morning paper.

Harry sat down at the Gryffindor table and started eating, his gaze flicking to the other members of the DA scattered around the hall. Most of them looked like they hadn't slept much, but that the adrenaline from the night before was still in effect. They grinned at him whenever eye contact was made and he gave one in return.

"Ouch time." Seamus muttered.

Looking up to see what he meant, Harry saw McGonagall, Kingsley and Tonks striding towards him. The Headmistresses face was a cold mask of fury and even the Gryffindors couldn't help but shiver. Stopping directly before Harry she snapped, "Mr Potter, my office, NOW!"

Inclining his head he made to stand up but as he did so, so did all of the DA members. Those who were at the other tables walked over hastily to stand with their leader. McGonagall looked confused, "What is this?"

Neville spoke up, "This is loyalty Ma-am. We stand with Harry, where he goes so do we. Gone are the days when we let our leader take the fall for right actions. We shall not let you try and sweep him under the rug, we are with him till the end!"

The mutters of agreement from the other members were not soft and McGonagall looked taken aback for a moment. Obviously she had been under the impression that Harry had somehow tricked them into going into battle. It never once crossed her mind that so many students had actually elected to fight on their own terms.

Her eyes narrowed, "Very well, if you so insist, be in the Room of Requirement in 15 minutes, do not dare be late!" turning on her heel she marched out of the Great Hall, the other two hot on her heels.

Harry sighed, "Well, we are in for it now."

Ginny gave a giggle, "We have been in for it for a while now Harry, or have you just been too preoccupied to notice?"

He rolled his eyes as they started to make their way out of the Great Hall. Dean suddenly spoke up, "Harry, why haven't the ministry gotten involved? I mean, they didn't even come to the battle, but you would think that they would have come to Hogwarts during the night, if only to try and figure out who was involved!"

Harry shrugged, "Well, part of the ministry is under Voldemort's control. We have no idea how many of the employees are Death Eaters or Imperiused innocents. He could have sent some of his people to block off the alarm that an attack on St Mungo's would have signified. Pity for him that it actually worked in our favour since the Ministry was then not aware when we showed up!"

As they approached the Room of Requirement, they saw that the door was already open and Mrs Weasley was standing there, tear tracks down her face. As soon as she spotted her children she gave a cry of relief and dashed over to them, pulling them into bone breaking hugs.

Harry stood back, not wanting to interrupt, especially since he knew that Ron and Ginny would be breaking her heart soon enough.

"Ron! Ginny! You're alright?! Oh let me look at you. My heart just stopped when they told me that you were fighting Death Eaters! What were you thinking?! Answer me!" The anguish in her voice was quickly turning into anger and Ginny automatically pulled herself out of her mother's arms and stood back by Harry. Her face was wary as she surveyed her mother.

However, any argument was forestalled as McGonagall came out and gestured for everyone to get inside the room. As they did so Harry saw many people already inside, most of whom he only vaguely recognised. It was obvious that McGonagall had felt a little outdone by the overwhelming support the DA had shown Harry and had summoned pretty well the entire Order.

"Alright, now that everyone is here, please sit down and we can get started." The Headmistress began, sitting down at the front of the hall.

Harry sat down to the left with the DA imitating him and with a calm smile he asked, "Alright, may I ask what this large gathering is for?"

McGonagall looked ready to spit fire but in a strangled voice she answered, "Mr Potter, this meeting will pass quicker if you refrain from asking stupid and meaningless questions. You know quite well why you are here, your activities last night were far from secret!"

"Ah, that. Well Professor, I told you at the beginning of the year that school would be taking second place to my role in the war. I thought that you understood that?"

Flitwick spoke up, his voice squeaking slightly, "It isn't your role that we are talking about here, though that in itself is questionable. We are here to talk about your so-called followers and their abuse of magic!"

"Abuse? Is that what you call fighting?" Seamus asked incredulously.

"We weren't talking to you Mr Finnegan." McGonagall said firmly.

Dean rolled his eyes, "So you want to talk about us to Harry, whom you are determined to pin every single sin of our generation, when the people that really made the decisions have to stand by and listen? Ma-am, if you think that is going to happen you have some screws in backwards."

There were some gasps of outrage from the older members of the Order, but those, like the Weasley siblings, couldn't help but grin at the defiance of the DA. Harry flashed Dean a cautionary glance before sighing, "Alright Professor, say what you want to say and get it over and done with."

Obviously angry at being so flippantly dismissed McGonagall snarled, "You, Potter, swore an oath to not hold any DA meetings or training sessions! And now I find that you have been breaking that oath and not only that, you have been leading your blinded 'followers' who are nothing more than children into battle against enemies twice their age and experience!"

"First of all, do not insult me by saying that I broke my oath. I did nothing of the sort. I swore I would hold no meetings or training sessions at Hogwarts. You so easily forget that I own a castle of my own and can go there with whomever I choose, whenever I choose! Secondly, I do not see how you can say that the DA are blind, how can they be after the attack on Hogsemede? They knew what they were getting into, and I have in no way shape or form tried to coerce them into this war."

"Potter can't you see what you are doing?" Moody asked, his gravelly voice low and menacing.

Narrowing his eyes at the legendary auror Harry replied, "Apparently not Moody, why don't you enlighten me?"

"While we do not like it, it is obvious that you have been corrupted by the Dark Arts. You haven't been caught red-handed using any illegal spells, so you cannot be brought up on charges, for which many lament. But now you are dragging your entire generation down with you! You will simply replace Voldemort and his followers with yourself and yours!"

Harry didn't say anything, he didn't have to.

"HOW BLOODY DARE YOU? HOW DARE YOU COMPARE HARRY WHO HAS SACRIFIED MORE THAN ANYONE IN THIS ROOM TO THAT MONSTER WHO TEARS FAMILIES APART AND MURDERS FOR FUN?"

Many pairs of shocked eyes turned to Dennis Creevey who was on his feet, his own eyes flashing with barely repressed anger. Colin, who was grinning in admiration at his younger brother, grabbed his arm and pulled him back into his seat.

The other members of the DA were muttering in agreement amongst themselves with Terry speaking up, "Dennis is right, you all think we are simply children who need to be protected and that Harry is a big bad meany from whom we should be shielded. But don't you see that you are the hypocritical ones? The ones who should be ashamed? With one hand you ask Harry to lay down his life, to fight all of your battles for you, to be your saviour, and with the other hand you condemn him for the very same actions! Who here can say that they have faced Voldemort, what is it, six times now, and lived to tell the tale? WHO?"

"Mr Boot, no one here is debating Harry's good fortune where He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is concerned…" Professor Sprout began.

"Good fortune? Is that what you call it?" Ron spoke up.

Harry put a hand on his best mate's arm, "Easy Ron, they are right, I have had a lot of luck when dealing with Voldemort."

Ron shook his head, "That doesn't mean that your bravery should be discounted Harry! You go into war with your eyes wide open, knowing that you may not walk out again. No evil bastard would do that, they tend to hide in the shadows, sending in all their followers until they know it is safe to fight." Ron turned back to Moody, "That is why Harry will never turn evil Moody, he is too damn noble."

McGonagall opened her mouth, but she couldn't get a word in edgewise. It was like the floodgates for all of the DA's complaints about the Order to come spilling out. Neville was nodding firmly, "Harry has demonstrated that the act of killing is not what drives one to evil, but the intent behind the killing. You can kill someone as an act of mercy, as Harry showed us last night with Malfoy."

There were gasps and Tonks let out a strangled yell, "Malfoy is dead?!" Her eyes snapped to Harry's, surprise and wonder written in them.

Harry nodded, "Yes, when he turned down the offer to surrender, he tried to apparate through the wards of St Mungo's."

Those who knew what the wards were supposed to do when they detected battle magic within their grounds, winced. Harry sighed, "I used the GK spell."

"So you killed him in cold blood then?" Mrs Weasley asked her eyes and her voice stone cold.

"No! Don't you understand? He did it to lessen Malfoy's suffering, to end it quickly rather than having the man in agony for an extended period of time" Ginny burst out, exasperated.

"Or at least, that is what he told you." Kingsley muttered.

Hermione rolled her eyes, her annoyance overriding her sense of respect for authority figures, "Honestly, you are so blinded by your fear and anger at Harry's willingness to do whatever is necessary to win, that you cannot see the bleeding obvious two feet in front of you!"

"So you are saying that you are all willing to kill in this war? To actually end people's lives?" Someone from the back of the room asked.

Without any hesitation, the DA said as one, "YES!"

Obviously stunned at the decisions made by the DA, McGonagall was speechless for a moment. Kingsley took up the argument, "But you are simply children! Your biggest worries should be exams right now, or whether or not your boyfriend is going to dump you. Not when your next battle is going to take place! Why can't you leave it to us, the people who should be fighting this war?"

Finally Harry spoke up, "Three reasons Kingsley. One, you aren't fighting this war, at least not in a way that can be won. You throw away resources and people's lives without making any ground. Two, we are not children, to sit back and watch as the world around us disintegrates knowing that we could have done something about it. And three, which is something I have held off telling you simply to let you hold your faith in your esteemed leader, but the Order is n…"

"Potter! Silence!" McGonagall thundered, panic underlying her voice.

Ginny glared at her, "Why Professor? If Harry is the killing menace that you have tried to paint him as, what could you possibly have to fear from his statement? Could it be that you have worked so hard to denounce him, purely because you know that you are the fraud, and that if your so called 'followers' ever found out, you would be left out in the dark on your ass?"

"Ginny! Language!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed, her glare piercing.

However, the young red head's words were enough to cause whispers to circle round the room, the Order members looking at McGonagall curiously. The Headmistress was slightly pale, but before she could answer Augusta Longbottom spoke up, "So, what is this third reason young man? I am not getting any younger, and would like to get home as soon as possible!"

Harry nodded, "As you all know, when Professor Dumbledore died, Fawkes bound himself to me. What only myself, the DA and your esteemed Professor McGonagall know is that in that particular act, I became the head of the Order of the Phoenix."

There was a deafening silence which Ginny filled, "You have all been living a lie. McGonagall knew that Harry would become the leader, but her own fear of what that could mean, drove her to alienate him from the rest of you. When she took up the name 'Leader' the organisation which Dumbledore founded, died, to be resurrected with the creation of the DA."

"Do you deny it Professor?" Neville asked, his eyes burning fiercely.

The Headmistress was defiant, "Of course I don't! But so what? You were just a boy of sixteen when the Headmaster died, how could you expect me to put the war onto your shoulders, when you were recovering from so much?"

Harry's eyes flashed, "Madam, the war has been on my shoulders since I was one year old. I have known it, Professor Dumbledore knew it, and the DA know it. You have no excuse for betraying his last request like that, particularly since you knew the truth the whole time! You KNEW!" he practically shouted the last word.

Some of the Order were looking at McGonagall with alarmed and betrayed looks whilst others were still looking at the DA with worried stares. Hestia Jones asked, "Regardless of what Minerva may or may not have done, the question still remains about you lot. You say that you are the true Order now, well whether or not that is true is irrelevant. You are still children, most of you are underage, and it is not your fight!"

"Don't you understand? It is our fight! It always has been!" Luna replied, her voice no longer dreamy but bitingly sharp. "This war is about the future and we are the future, so how can you say that we are not the war? We have every right to fight for our lives as you do. We are sentient beings who can make sensible, though dangerous, decisions for ourselves."

The DA were nodding in agreement as Fleur asked, "Well, are you all willing to die? 'ecause zat is what zis war will require for some of you!"

"You are not asking us any questions that we have not asked ourselves many times Fleur, and the answer is still a firm yes. We joined Harry fully knowing the consequences. Do not think that we have been hoodwinked, because we haven't" Ron replied firmly.

"What about the training? You cannot possibly have learnt how to defeat Death Eaters by yourselves. Who has been training you?" Mr Weasley asked.

"The identities of those that have aided us shall remain secret. You saw them, briefly at Hogsemede, but if Voldemort was ever to learn of their names, all would be lost." Harry replied.

"But why? Why can't you tell us?" Tonks persisted, "They aided us well in Hogsemede, and they would be of great assistance in the near future!"

Harry shook his head, "Because someone here is a traitor."

Tonks's eyebrows went up along with a resounding "WHAT?!" from the rest of the Order.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Surely you considered it amongst yourselves? How else could Grimmauld Place have been so easily taken? Only someone who knew the location could have passed it onto the enemy."

McGonagall was shaking her head, "Potter, enough, you speak nonsense! We all know who the traitor was, Snape made that very clear when he murdered Dumbledore. I will not have you causing dissent amongst the Order on a frivolous and false claim."

Harry inclined his head, "Very well Ma-am, go ahead and believe that everyone that follows you is faithful. We saw how that worked out last war, with Pettigrew. All I am saying is that while Snape showed his true colours, it doesn't necessarily mean that we are spy free."

Remus spoke up for the first time, "So what do you suggest Harry? That we start pointing accusing fingers at everyone just because we are jumping at shadows?"

"No of course not. But pointing random fingers, and gathering intel on each other are two very different things Remus."

"This is a pointless conversation." Moody growled, "You children are out of control and it is time to bring you back under heel."

Instantly the DA went deadly silent, their looks were lethal as they surveyed the Order. Many of the younger Order members looked nervously at each other as Harry said softly, "Try it Moody, try it and you will see just how far from childhood we are."

"Potter, you and your fellow seventh years may be overage, but the majority of your followers are not. They fall under my jurisdiction and I say enough! As of this moment, you are expelled from Hogwarts, I expect the ministry will be arriving soon anyway, so I give them my permission to snap your wand at their leisure!" McGonagall announced, her voice trembling with fury.

Silence.

There was a soft laugh.

"Do you find something amusing Mr Potter?" she asked, her voice lethally quiet.

"Of course I do, or else I wouldn't be laughing now would I? You think it is so easy to expel me? Think again! By the end of the day I will have brought against you the full legal fury of the Earl of Stockholm!" Harry uttered.

McGonagall blinked, "And who may I ask is that? Muggles do not usually interfere with the inner workings of the magical world Mr Potter."

Harry drawled, "Then it is just as well that he is not a muggle Ma-am. But if in fact you do manage to keep me out of the castle, know this; I am wealthy beyond any of your dreams. I have enough money to support all of the DA for the rest of their lives so that they live like kings. Do not make the mistake of saying that expelling me is a punishment. Just like when Fudge threw Dumbledore out of Hogwarts during Umbridge's reign of terror, are you sure you wish to unleash me? Sure you want to see what I can do when I have no obligations except those of my own making?"

McGonagall looked slightly unnerved for a moment, but a mask of indifference and anger slipped over her face, "You cannot threaten me Potter! Unlike the toad-bitch, I am the true Headmistress of Hogwarts! Accepted by the castle itself!"

Harry grinned, "And yet you cannot tell that I am sitting in this room except by your own eyes, am I not correct?"

The Headmistress went white and she gasped, "H-How could you p-possibly know that?"

Harry shrugged, "The castle takes care of its own Professor, even from insiders. Do not make the mistake of thinking that you are the only one bound to Hogwarts, the only one who can read and alter its perceptions."

"Mr Potter…Harry…please, it is safer for you to stay here. Why can't you just agree with the Headmistress? You are risking your wand, not to mention your life!" Tonks pleaded, her eyes alight with worry.

Harry shook his head, "I am sorry Tonks, but I do not tell lies, and if I said that I agreed with her, then I would be lying. She has made her decision and I have made mine. I have tried to co-exist with her peacefully, but she has fought me every step of the way. Today though, she has gone too far, and I am leaving. Now that you all know the truth, any of you who wish to join me may do so. I will be staying at the Hog's Head for a few days before leaving for my home."

With that he stood up, the DA standing up with him. McGonagall looked shocked for a moment before yelling, "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

Harry's eyebrows rose, "Yes?"

"I expelled you Potter, not your 'followers'. They are to remain here, under my guidance, to try and bring them back onto the right path."

To her discomfit, the DA started laughing, Seamus especially letting out a full bellied-roar, "Surely you aren't seriously suggesting that we would stay here and let him go off on his own? Professor, you are barking mad! You have expelled him, fine, that means you have expelled us as well! Where Harry goes, so do we, or have you not got that yet?"

McGonagall went red and her wand went up, "Do not ask me to use force to restrain you. Potter, I am asking you to get them to remain."

Harry shrugged, "I told you before Ma-am, I do not control them, they make their own decisions. I would recommend you do not attack them though. I am not sure if it missed your attention, but we did manage to take out a Death Eater attack last night when we were outnumbered and we didn't lose anyone. If that doesn't say something about our skills then I don't know what will."

Some of the Order had imitated McGonagall, but before any spells could fly an enormous roar filled the air, "PUT YOUR WANDS DOWN! THE FIRST PERSON TO CURSE MY GRANDSON WILL WISH HE HAD NEVER BEEN BORN!" Augusta Longbottom pushed her way through the crowd, to stand between the two groups.

Her eyes were alight with pride as she looked at Neville, "Nev, your parents would be so proud of you, standing up for what you believe it. Know that while these other pigheaded adults cannot come to terms with the fact that you are all adults, I have never been prouder!"

Neville looked stunned for a moment before his face cracked into a grin, "Thanks Gran!"

"Augusta! What are you saying? That you approve of them fighting battles that aren't meant for them?" Molly gasped her face paling.

The elder Longbottom nodded firmly, "They are right, they are old enough to decide for themselves. It is not our place to force the younger generation for simply believing different things to us."

Fred and George spoke up, "Mum, if we attack ickle Ron and little Gin, in an effort to restrain them, how does that make us any better than the Death Eaters?"

Molly looked uncertain, "I just want my children safe!"

"Oh bloody hell Mum! We are in the middle of a war! No one is safe, not in Hogwarts, not at home, not anywhere! It is time you realised that." Ron burst out.

McGonagall's wand went up again, "Potter, this is your last warning. Tell the DA to submit!"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Fine! DA submit!"

No one moved a muscle.

Harry grinned, "See Ma-am, I do not control them. They are not mindless zombies, but human beings with the ability to choose for themselves."

BANG!

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"