AN: Sorry that this wasn't posted on Sunday, but I've been traveling the past couple of days and just wasn't able to get to it. I am back stateside now for the first time in a year, so you may notice a change in my posting times. I'm still posting on Sundays, but I was 7 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time before, so it'll just be different. Sometimes it probably almost felt like I was posting late Saturday and not Sunday. Now, it will definitely be Sundays.
Now, one small rant before I get to my normal review responses and then the chapter. Please keep reviews (mostly guest) civil. I do want criticism if it can help me improve my story and my writing abilities. Mentioning typos for me to correct, debating how I handled things and how I should have looked at something differently is helpful. Pointing out flaws is helpful. Telling me that my story is garbage and I'm a trash writer isn't helpful and no I won't be approving those comments. You sending me further comments about me "controlling" the comments because I'm not approving your comments isn't going to change my mind. I do this for fun, but I'm clearly not a professional writer. I don't make money on this, and I really started writing this story for myself and decided to post it and hope people would enjoy it. If you don't like it (though why you read 45 chapters before deciding you hated it is beyond me) then don't read it. I'm all for debates on Harry Potter lore, or paths my story can go, even if you don't like how I handled something. I'm happy to explain my reasoning, and you may still not like it. I'm happy to hear what you think would have been better, and I may agree or may disagree. That is all fine. At the end of the day, it's my story and I'm doing the best I can. If you think you can do better, than write your own story and let me know. I'll happily go read it and hope that you truly are a better writer than me and that you've created a story I can love.
Hateful comments about me and my story won't do and won't be approved. I don't want anyone reading those comments if they go to view my story. If you want to have the courage to create an account and post that comment yourself, go for it, but you probably know that it will get flagged and is against the site's community standards. Otherwise, fuck off.
For all others, thank you for your support and I hope you continue to enjoy my story!
scrappy8 - Thanks! Glad you appreciate what they're doing for Angelina.
GreengrassRebel - Glad you enjoyed the worldbuilding on pureblood society and that you appreciated Sirius's political maneuvering. Having Angelina rebel a bit and get something like a tattoo or changing her hair, or some other rebellious thing is an interesting idea. Hadn't really thought of that, but it does fit. Thanks for the idea!
Mando-Vet - You know, that's true! I've never really noticed that until you brought it up, but a lot of fics don't kill either of them. That is actually really disappointing.
jtmolloy11112002 - Thanks for your support! I'll keep rolling along!
Chapter 46
"Lina?" Harry said, a bit surprised to see her as he made his way down the stairs.
She smiled wanly at him from where she was curled up on the couch, a cup of something warm in her hands. Astra was laying next to her, her head in Angelina's lap.
"Hi, Harry," she greeted.
"What are you doing up at this hour?" he asked. It was nearly midnight.
She shrugged. "I always struggle to fall asleep in a new place, and well, I had a lot to think about, so I figured I'd just come and relax down here with a nice warm cup of tea. Astra was kind enough to keep me company."
Harry nodded in understanding.
"You had a lot sprung on you today," Harry said sympathetically, and she chuckled softly.
"So did you," she pointed out, and Harry shrugged.
"What else is new?" he retorted good naturedly, and she scowled.
"I really wish that wasn't an accurate statement, no matter how playfully you say it," she muttered. "What are you doing up?"
Harry smiled.
"I wanted to take a stroll through the woods. Maybe hallow more of the property," he said casually, and she shook her head in amusement.
"Only you would talk about something like that as casually as if you were talking about the weather," she told him, and then she looked at him curiously. "Would you mind if I came with you?"
"Of course not," Harry said easily. "You'll even be able to help me cover more ground."
Angelina looked interested at that, but then she frowned.
"You can't do your shadow magic anymore, which means you can't help me see in the dark," Angelina said disappointedly. "I was actually looking forward to seeing that spell Ron and Hermione talked about in action. We couldn't really see it when you used it during the Seventh Task."
Harry shrugged.
"It's a pretty bright moon out there, and we're so far from anything that the stars are out and clearly visible," he said. "It's honestly beautiful out there, and besides, Astra can help you out."
"She can?" Angelina asked in surprise, and Harry chuckled.
"She's pretty amazing," he said, and his familiar wagged her tail. "She can do a lot more things than people can realize. How about you go get some shoes and throw on some clothes for traipsing through the woods and we'll get on our way."
Angelina nodded, setting her cup of tea down and hopping off the couch. Harry waited patiently, with Astra now having sat next to him, and after only five minutes or so, Angelina came down the stairs wearing casual robes.
"Let's go," Harry said, happy to be back home and eager to get back out into the woods.
Angelina followed him outside, and while it was dark, there was quite a bit of light provided by the moon and stars.
"Angie, can you kneel down for Astra?" Harry asked and the older girl bent down as Astra approached her, her tail wagging excitedly. Harry knew she loved running out in the woods at night. She was a creature of the night after all.
Astra touched her nose to Angelina's and both dog and girl's eyes glowed briefly before Angelina gasped and Astra pulled back.
"Wow, everything is so much clearer!" Angelina said in amazement, looking around.
"It's only temporary, but Astra can share some of her power with others, like granting a mild form of nightvision," Harry explained. "It's not as good as the spell, but still enough."
"What about you then?" Angelina asked, as Harry gestured for her to follow him towards where the brooms were kept.
"I don't really need it," Harry admitted. "Being bonded with Astra, I took on some of her characteristics magically and in personality, as she did with me. In addition, as I grow stronger, with age or power, so does she, and it's the same in reverse. As she's gotten older and gained more power, I've gotten even stronger by feeding off some of her power. I don't really need the night vision spell anymore. It makes things even clearer, but I have about what you have right now naturally.
"That's incredible!" Angelina said, walking next to him, and he nodded in agreement. "What characteristics have you both given to each other?"
Harry shrugged.
"I didn't really think about it until after fighting the Death Eaters last year, but I think she made me more ruthless," he admitted hesitantly. "I didn't want to kill them . . . but I also didn't feel bad about hurting them . . . about punishing them. They escaped justice . . . they hurt innocents. I . . . well, it could be Hades's influence, but I think it's more hers. Hell hounds are what they are often called to those they inflict punishment or judgment on, and it's true. She doesn't like liars, criminals, oathbreakers, or cowards. At the same time, I think we've both pushed ourselves to being even more fiercely loyal and protective of our friends and family. She's far more understanding of the human language due to her bond with me. She doesn't mind, and often even enjoys being out in the day, something that is odd for Grims. She loves to explore, but she has also set down roots in her ties to myself and this place and even Hogwarts to an extent, something that is also a bit rare for Grims, but I also feel a bit more wanderlust and that's probably because of her."
"Wow," Angelina said, before she smiled. "Well, I'm not sure I see any downsides to any of that."
"Even the ruthlessness?" Harry asked hesitantly.
"Even that," Angelina confirmed with a smile. "You'll never go bad, Harry. Being protective of those who need it or have earned it from you is not something I see a problem with. I don't see a problem with not pulling the punches with Death Eaters and others like them.
Harry gave her an appreciative look.
"That's because you, and several of my other family and friends all have violent streaks yourselves," Harry teased, though he really was grateful for her words, and Angelina shrugged, though she smirked slightly.
"Don't fuck with the people I care for, and I won't have to eviscerate you," she said simply, and Harry laughed as they made it to the broom shack.
Harry opened up the shack and handed Angelina her broom before she smirked at him.
"Taking me for a moonlight broom ride, Harry?" she asked, teasingly. "I didn't realize you invited me to live with you for things like this."
Harry blushed and she laughed, and then he sighed, shaking his head.
"I can't win with any of you," Harry muttered, and Anglina moved forward and kissed him on his cheek, her arms around his neck, almost pinning him into her side.
"Oh, poor baby," she teased, and he pushed her away playfully, and she grinned at him. "Alright, Harry, where are we flying to?"
"Well, I've only been able to consecrate roughly forty percent of this property, which frankly I'm pretty proud of, considering it's over 7000 acres of ground to work on. I've consecrated the whole property to the south, and really I've covered everything east and west of the house, but there's a firm border to the north. I'm actually a bit short of the lake, so I'm taking you there to continue my work north. I'm hoping to get the whole lake protected by the end of the summer, if not further than that."
"I still can't believe that Sirius owns that much property," Angelina muttered, and Harry nodded in agreement.
"I've never really seen the numbers, but from what I understand, Sirius could spend insane amounts of money the rest of his life and would be unlikely to run out, though his kids or grandkids might have to be more frugal," Harry admitted. "This property was, I'm sure, expensive, but at the same time because it's mostly inaccessible for muggles, it was quite cheap all things considering . . . at least as he explains it. He also holds stocks and shares in several companies, and I know he owns another home, his parents home, which I guess is also a mansion. From what I understand, as Blacks died out, their fortunes kept funneling back into the Head family or surviving branch families, and Blacks were always good with money, so it just kept growing. Add fourteen years of investments and zero expenditure which probably helped."
"I've heard and I knew that many of the Ancient families have incomprehensible amounts of money," Angelina said, "but it's crazy to see it."
Harry nodded, and they hopped on their brooms and Angelina followed Harry as they took a nice flight through the night sky, finally touching down a couple minutes flight north of the property arriving at the rather beautiful mountain style lake that was in nearly the center of the property.
"Wow, this is beautiful," Angelina said in wonder, looking around. "I could definitely get used to laying out here during the day."
"There's nothing stopping you from doing so," Harry said before he nodded in a direction. "Over there is the edge of my protection."
"So, do we have to worry about running into anything while we're walking in the woods?" Angelina asked, only a little worried, and Harry shook his head.
"While there might be . . . probably are magical creatures that live or at least wander through this property, you don't have to worry about anything within my hallowed ground, and you certainly don't have to worry about anything at night."
"Why's that?" Angelina said. "What does hallowing the ground do?"
"It cleanses the energy of the area, marks it as a sacred place for Hades, and the gods and goddesses under him, and basically wards the area against creatures that aren't welcome in Hades's territory, which means creatures like lethifolds, unfriendly spirits, even vampires are unable to cross the border of my protected territory unless I or someone I delegate the authority to allows them in. Also," Harry said with a grin, and he nodded over behind her, and she glanced back and her eyes widened as she saw a Grim, one that wasn't Astra, "the territory acts as a beacon to friendly shadow creatures, and even draws them here as a resting home for them. This is sort of like a waystation for them to enjoy some rest and then move on, a hotel of sorts for creatures of Hades."
"So, we're protected in the dark," Angelina said, as the Grim, which was a bit larger than Astra, approached her, "because there are shadow hounds in the area and they'll protect us?"
"Yep," Harry said, glancing at her, seeing she was a bit apprehensive. "He's friendly, and he'd love for you to pet his back. Just don't move super fast, and be transparent," he advised. "He's friendly because it is in their nature to be friendly, and you'll have Astra"s scent on you, marking you as a shadow-hound friend."
"Ok," Angelina said, looking less nervous and extending her hand, and the larger dog came over and rubbed against her hand and Angelina smiled wide.
"He's one of the ones who came to our aid during the Tournament," Harry said, and Angelina's eyes widened in surprise, and she slumped slightly.
"I always felt bad about that," Angelina said mournfully. "I mean, some of those hounds died, didn't they?"
"Well, yes, but no," Harry said, pausing. "Hellhounds are sacred creatures of Hades and always return to his realm. Kind of like phoenixes, it's extremely difficult to actually permanently kill a hellhound. You'd have to destroy its soul and there aren't a lot of ways to do that."
"So, those hounds that died?" Angelina asked, a smile on her face.
"Returned to their home for rest and to be cared for," Harry assured her. "Eventually they will regenerate, or possibly already have. For a while, those hounds slain would struggle to exist in this mortal world . . . except in a place like this."
Harry gestured towards his hallowed land.
"This sacred land is fueled by Hades's godly power and can sustain a hellhound's lifeforce."
"That's incredible," Angelina whispered in awe. "So, hellhounds can't really die here?"
"It would take a lot more power," Harry said, thinking it through. "If their bodies were destroyed, they would return to the Underworld. Of course, if someone destroyed their souls, they could be slain. Lastly, if someone desecrated this ground, it would no longer be able to sustain the hounds, but that isn't easy to do."
"That's incredible," Angelina repeated.
Harry smiled and then turned away from her and started walking back towards the direction of the house, where the edge of his protections ended, knowing she'd catch up in a bit. Harry felt where his protections ended easily, even if he hadn't remembered exactly where they were. As he reached the border, Angelina caught up to him, a smile on her face.
"So, if I go out at night, I'm likely to run into shadow hounds all the time?" she asked a bit hopefully and Harry laughed.
"It depends on the hound, but he seemed to like you and Astra loves you of course, so I'm sure you'll see them often. If you could see them, or sense them, like I can, I'm sure you might run into thestrals around here, and if you look to the sky, you might see some moon ravens, though I haven't seen them very often. I haven't seen any cat-siths, but I wouldn't be shocked if they're around here as well."
"Brilliant," Angelina said. "So, how do you consecrate this ground?"
Harry waved his hand and the symbols of Hades appeared almost like a wall, purple, rising into the sky, and they seemed to flow, creating a dome over their heads.
"It's beautiful," Angelina said in awe.
"Well, would you like to help me spread this further?" Harry asked, and Angelina nodded eagerly.
"How can I help?"
"With some help from our friends, a horrifically long chant in Ancient Greek, our combined magical power and familial bond, even if not by blood, and the blessing of a god, we'll push this boundary as far as we can," Harry explained. "How far it goes is determined by the amount of shadow hounds here tonight and our own power, so with you here, we should be able to get quite a bit further than I normally can get."
"How far can you normally go?"
"Like I said, it depends on how many hounds we have helping or whether Sirius, Dora, or Remus added their power, but alone, with a half dozen shadow hounds, I make it about a hundred meters or so. I have hopes tonight to make it two or three hundred."
"Holy hell, Harry," Angelina exclaimed. "How often do you do this? How often have Sirius, Dora, or Remus helped, and how do you expect to double or triple what you normally do? I'm not as strong as you."
"Well, I did this quite a bit when I was still trying to fully learn and memorize it," Harry admitted. "All three adults joined me fairly often, and I think we have good potential because you are no slouch with power and there are nearly twenty hounds in the forest tonight."
"There's that many?!" Angelina exclaimed, looking around, clearly hoping to see them all, and Harry laughed.
"Yeah, there's a whole pack here tonight," Harry said, "though from what Astra has hinted to me, they've been staying here or at least hounds in general have been staying here more and more often. I'm not sure if it's because they love it here or if they're gathering for a reason, but I'm not complaining."
"Why would you?" Angelina said, still glancing around, clearly hoping to see a pack of shadow hounds just wandering by. "Alright. Let's do this."
Harry laughed as her eagerness seemed to be answered by the hellhound pack that started howling into the night.
It was good to be home. He knew he wasn't completely alright, and he knew things were going to get rough, but with his family around, he figured he would eventually get better.
**HP**
Harry opened his eyes, finding himself in a familiar chamber, facing his patron and matron who both seem to be looking through his very soul with how penetrating their gazes were.
"Lord Hades, Lady Athena," Harry said respectfully, even if he wasn't particularly happy with either deity.
"I must commend you on surviving the first skirmish of the next war," Hades said, his voice resonating like a bell. "Your defense of my realm is something Tom Riddle will not forget. For that, you have my respect."
"Why didn't you tell me what was coming?" Harry asked, trying to keep a tight lid on his anger.
"We told you to win," Athena said simply. "Knowing too much of the what could happen only serves to bring destruction upon you. You favored your honor and fair play with your fellow champions over our advice. Admirable, but costly, as you now know."
"Costly?" Harry said angrily. "Cedric died! That's not costly!"
"Diggory was warned," Hades said, his eyes flashing. "He was warned, and like you, he did not heed his patron. His fate was sealed when he fell to his pride. It is a fatal flaw for a reason. As Athena said, had you taken every advantage, you could have beaten Diggory to the Cup and thus spared his life. Choosing to be honorable yields great outcomes, but it can also lead to great sadness. Learn this well, hero. Good and bad actions all have consequences."
"So, your saying I got Cedric killed," Harry said glumly.
"No, your choice produced a possible future that led to Diggory's death," Athena said. "You are merely one part of the board, child. An important one, maybe, but still just a piece. Many different things had to occur to lead to this outcome. You also are not considering what might have happened had you been less honorable. Perhaps Diggory still would have died . . . or perhaps we would have ended up in a worse outcome."
"What could be worse?" Harry asked bitterly.
"Diggory dying and you never being used to revive Tom Riddle," Hades said.
"What?" Harry asked, incredulously. "How would Diggroy dying and Voldemort not being revived be a worse outcome?"
"Listen more closely, hero," Athena scolded sharply. "Use your brain and not your emotions. Hades did not say that Riddle wasn't revived. He said you weren't the one used to revive him. That indeed would have been the worst outcome."
Harry stared at them.
"I don't understand, my lord, my lady," Harry said.
"Harry Potter, you needed to be in that graveyard for good or bad," Hades said. "Tom Riddle needed to be revived because if this was put off, then Riddle would have returned far later . . . and it would have been far worse for the world. If Diggory had been the winner, Riddle would have used him to revive himself, simply because Riddle was desperate. That would have produced disasterous results."
"You needed to fight him, Harry Potter," Athena said. "You needed to either escape . . . or die. Either outcome will eventually lead to Voldemort's defeat. The path that you walked gives you the chance to fulfill your destiny."
"Does this have to do with the prophecy?" Harry asked, thinking it through.
"Yes," Athena said, nodding in approval. "The prophecy names you as the most likely one to defeat Tom Riddle. While you both live, Fate will work to keep you both alive and force a confrontation. Should one of you die, the other is free. However, that means another champion can rise up to destroy Riddle."
"With you reviving Riddle, the connection between you has been strengthened," Hades said. "This puts you at risk, but it is also a possible saving grace should you face your adversary before you are ready."
"The bond will test you to your limits," Athena warned. "That abomination's minds will try to corrupt you. You must resist this. You must fight his influence. You must remain true to who you are! Fighting his influence will help you grow strong. When you are ready, the bond must be broken before you are able to kill him."
"How do I break the bond?" Harry asked quickly.
"Death is the only way to break that bond, Harry Potter," Hades said ominously before he smiled. "Yet, a bond to Death you have. When the time is right, help you, the Gods of Darkness will, should you be worthy."
"You have done well up to this point, but now the stakes are higher than they have ever been and you will need friends, family, and allies to win this war. You need to grow stronger, faster, more powerful. Your family must do so as well," Athena counseled.
"How can I grow stronger?" Harry asked hurriedly. "I trained so hard this year and improved tremendously. "How can I make up the age and experience difference between myself and Voldemort?"
"Talk to your family and your closest friends," Athena said. "They can help you grow stronger, but you already know of other ways to increase your strength and the strength of others equally."
Harry frowned thoughtfully, not sure what she was talking about.
"Your path will be clear once you have reached your magehood, Harry Potter," Hades said. "That is what you must focus on. Only then will you have an unmatched bond to my realm and your path will be clear."
Harry could sense a finality to those words. He knew his audience with his patron and matron was at its end.
"Thank you for your counsel, Lord Hades, Lady Athena," Harry said with a bow.
"Remain true to yourself, hero," Athena whispered as Harry's vision started to fade. "Remember, your family is your strength!"
"Faith, Harry Potter," Hades voice sounded like it was being carried through the wind. "Faith is what we need. Trust us in life . . . and in death!"
**HP**
Prior to the return of Voldemort, one of the things he had been looking forward to was his chance to defend his title as the Under 16 Champion. With Voldemort back, his interest was dulled. When it finally came, he decided it was still worth competing, but in the end, the overall competition was rather lackluster.
First was that most of the Aurors that he most associated as friends or family friends at least didn't compete. They couldn't afford injuries with Voldemort's return, so he didn't get to see Kingsley, Savage, Alexis, Dora, or Sirius duel. Not even Kane Witcher competed, though Dora had confided he was in the Order, so he wasn't competing for the same reasons. Lexie was still off at school, and thus Harry was forced to watch many of the people that Harry had named as Death Eaters competing and generally dominating, leaving a sour taste in his mouth.
Second, he competed in four events, bow, sword, quarterstaff, and wizard's duel, and while he did experience competition in the physical weapon events, it just wasn't the same. That mainly was because Marina Witcher had moved up to the Under 18 competition, and of the new fourth years that could compete, Ginny Weasley was the one he felt would be the greatest challenge, at least among those he knew, but her mother wouldn't let her compete or let any of her kids come to watch because it wasn't safe, which meant that Harry had to find competition mostly from his own yearmates . . . and while they did compete with weapons, they just couldn't stack up against him in the wizard's dueling ring . . . not anymore.
He took fourth out of nine overall with the bow, which he felt was respectable considering he'd really only learned how to shoot the previous summer and had no practice at Hogwarts. Quarterstaff, he managed second, losing to Daphne Greengrass in the finals, his many spars with Mad-Eye coming in handy, but again, he'd only really had one summer working with the Quarterstaff, and it was hardly his best weapon. He won the sword competition, managing to beat Blaise Zabini who had barely clinched a win against Malfoy. Zabini had been good, but he still fell well short of Marina and of Fleur during the Tournament. Lastly, he retained his title as the Under 16 Dueling Champion, but it felt hollow since he found very little competition from his yearmates, especially after the amount of magic he'd learned while competing in the Triwizard Tournament. If it wasn't for being able to watch Katie, Angelina, and Alicia in the Under 18 bracket, he might have felt the whole week was a waste.
Thankfully, the Under 18 bracket was at least more interesting, however the absence of Cedric Diggory did strike a sorrowful chord in Harry's chest, and he could see it affected many of the other competitors, the Death Eater family members notwithstanding. Still, Angelina, Alicia, and Katie all performed very well, the experience they gained from assisting Harry with the Triwizard Tournament helping them leap past many of their competitors. The winner ended up being Marina Witcher, who likewise had improved over the year, but that was after a rather impressive duel against Angelina, and Katie and Alicia both managed to clinch third and fourth places respectively. So, it was at least nice seeing his friends do so well.
Still, the overall atmosphere was a bit uncomfortable with many of his competitors giving him cautious or distrustful looks, and some even fearful. Some of the duels he didn't need to even do much, his competition seemingly fearful to fight him. It was the third and final reason why he didn't completely enjoy his second foray into the Dueling Circuit, but assuming he was still alive, he had hopes of competing the following year in the Under 18 bracket, once again facing Katie and Marina Witcher.
He was also hoping that with Angelina and Alicia in the Under 21 bracket the next year, they might be able to do a team event, with him and Katie pulled up to their bracket to compete. It was at least something to talk about and possibly work on this coming year.
Still, people's attitudes at the Dueling Circuit did not give Harry high hopes for how his fifth year at Hogwarts was going to proceed.
**HP**
"There you two are!" Mrs. Spinnet said, smiling as she opened her front door which Harry and Angelina had just knocked on. "Come in, come in!"
Harry walked in a bit nervously, while Angelina walked in easily hugging Mrs. Spinnet. Both Katie and Alicia had come over to their home this summer, several times in fact, but this was the first time he was making it over to either the Spinnet's or the Bell's home since the end of the school year, since the Prophet had started slandering him hard. Since he'd seen how it affected even those who knew him at the Dueling Circuit.
It seemed though, his fears had been for nought.
"Hey Harry! Lina!" Alicia said, making her way down a set of stairs and she hugged her best friend first before she hugged Harry too, pulling back and ruffling his hair fondly, which he slapped away good naturedly, feeling some of his nerves leave, as Mrs. Spinnet laughed.
"You found someone to return the Jamie treatment to, I see," she said, and Alicia grinned, while Harry looked at them in confusion. "Jamie used to do that to Alicia all the time when they were younger," she explained, and Harry glanced at Alicia who shrugged.
"Big sister did it to me. I do it to my little sibling. Fair's fair," she said, grinning.
"Speaking of," Mrs. Spinnet said. "I hear congratulations are in order. That was some birthday gift, Lina."
Harry smiled, knowing she was referring to the fact that Angelina had agreed to join his family and legally become his sister on his birthday. She was officially Ms. Angelina Potter now, and Harry loved every minute of it. Dora had also become Nymphadora Tonks Potter, making her family name her middle name, since she planned to do that when she eventually married anyway, but joining his family as his sister, now making their family (the Potters) a branch family to the Blacks, increasing the prestige of both families.
Angelina's father had been furious. He had indeed been trying to marry her off and had almost managed a pairing with Marcus Flint through Flint's father when she had officially dropped his name. She had been quite relieved to know she wouldn't have to marry Flint or fight a long legal battle to try and avoid it.
"Thank you," Angelina said, beaming. "It's certainly been a dream come true being completely away from Kenneth."
"How have you both been?" Mrs. Spinnet asked, as she guided them into the dining area where dinner was already awaiting them, under warming charms. "Alicia tells me that you've been spending a lot of time flying."
Harry nodded, trying his best to think about the fun they'd been having, and not thinking about how most nights he woke up screaming with nightmares about Cedric's death and Voldemort's return, how Dora and Angelina were usually the ones who awoke him, and how either or both of his sisters had taken to often times sleeping the rest of the night in his room, to provide him comfort with Astra. He felt bad, but both had shot that down, saying they were happy they could be there for him.
He also tried not to think about how two of his best friends were barely writing to him, not bothering to send much more than short notes that basically only said they couldn't say anything, but would tell him when they saw him. Nothing more, and those were rare as it was. No, this was not time to think about that.
"It's like living with Oliver Wood," he said, commiseratingly, and Alicia laughed as Angelina glared at him, and he smirked at her.
"Well, she is going to be the Quidditch Captain," Alicia said, grinning. "She needs to make sure her star seeker is up to snuff. Can't have her own family not giving it their all."
They started bickering playfully at each other, and kept the conversation flowing between the four of them as they enjoyed dinner and the good atmosphere between friends and family.
When it was done, Alicia, Angelina, and Harry started several rounds of gobstones and exploding snap while Mrs. Spinnet turned in early because she had an early shift at the hospital the next morning.
"I'm ready for something different," Alicia said after their third round of exploding snap.
"Me too," Angelina agreed. "I'm day dreaming about enjoying a swim in the lake right now."
"Ooh, that would be nice," Alicia said, and Harry chuckled, knowing both girls and Katie were all quite enamored with spending time at the lake. When they weren't flying together, they were swimming or laying out in the sun. All three had visited a fair few times over the past month and a half or so that they'd been home from school.
"We could go right now," Harry offered up. "I'm sure the water's still nice, and Astra can easily take us all there."
Angelina and Alicia exchanged glances and then both grinned and nodded. Alicia went up to put on her bathing suit, while Astra took Angelina back to the house so that she could get her own suit on, leaving Harry with Alicia for when she was ready.
It was only fifteen minutes later, a note left for Alicia's mom in case she crashed at their place, a quick greeting to Dora, Sirius, and Remus who were lounging in the sitting room, time for Harry to change into his own suit, and a couple shadow travels before the three of them were lazing about in the water, enjoying the pleasant summer night under a beautiful, almost full moon.
"This is nice," Angelina said, her eyes closed, leaning back on a muggle pool noodle that Dora had bought.
"It is rather brilliant that you have this available," Alicia agreed. "I love swimming, and getting out here to hike, fly, or swim this summer has been brilliant. Much better than braving the crowds of Diagon Alley or going to the army range or trying to get in some time at one of the muggle community pools."
Harry was going to agree when he felt a chill start to take over. It felt like he'd been doused in icy water. Around them, the star-strewn sky was suddenly pitch black and lightless. The warm evening had turned piercingly, bitingly cold.
He started hearing a familiar scream and high, cold laugh, but now he could also hear other words.
"Bow to death . . ."
"Dementors," Harry rasped out, already swimming for the bank where his wand was, Angelina and Alicia hastening to follow. He had just made it to the bank when he saw them. There were over a dozen of them flying down from over the trees, approaching him and the two girls that had followed them back to his stuff.
Harry rushed for his wand, racing one of the dementors who flew at him, seemingly knowing what he was doing. He didn't think he was going to make it when Astra jumped out of darkness and intercepted the dementor.
"Harry!" Angelina called out, her voice weak, as Harry grabbed his wand and glanced back to see that several of the dementors had gone for the two girls, while the rest were zooming towards him, but slowly being engaged by several other shadow hounds that had joined the fight, coming out of the forest.
Alicia and Angelina were both wandless, and were falling back towards the water, trying to get away from the dementors, even though there was nowhere to go. Harry concentrated on the two girls, determined to protect his family.
"Expecto patronum!" Harry called out and his silver grim rushed out to protect the two girls, forcing the dementors away, but Harry didn't want them to escape.
They had trespassed on his home. They had tried to steal the souls of his family. Some were still doing damage to various grims, who were still fighting. No. The vile creatures weren't going anywhere. He wouldn't let them.
"Leash! Angie! Get onto the consecrated ground. They can't follow you there!" Harry called out, as he reached out with the darkness, and his sword appeared in his hand. He used his patronus to start corralling the dementors who weren't already in death throes with grims latched onto their throats, but with how many shadow hounds were appearing out of the darkness, Harry wasn't going to have to do much. The dementors had wandered into their territory. They hadn't realized it when they did so, but they had come to die.
Harry moved over to where Astra had pinned one to the ground, and Harry stabbed the creature where its face should be, and it screamed as its energy was absorbed into the sword and it died, leaving only its robes and a husk behind.
Harry continued around to all the dementors, ensuring their deaths if the various shadow hounds were still working on killing them, but it didn't take long before Harry had a sword with energy waiting for his use and seventeen dead dementors. From there, he channeled the energy from the sword into the injured hounds, the darkness energy closing their wounds and providing them strength. It was the least he could do for them.
"Are you okay?" he asked Angelina and Alicia who had shakily come out of the woods and moved over to where he was giving energy to the dozen or so grims that had approached him.
Both girls pulled him into a group hug as their answer.
"Thank you, Harry," Alicia said, her voice wobbly.
"We need to get back to the house," Angelina said, and Harry nodded, pulling back, eyeing the two girls carefully to see if he could see any injuries. Other than minor scrapes that they had while scrambling away from the dementors and probably while moving into the woods, they looked okay.
He looked back at the hounds, and sent out a grateful 'thank you' with his mind that he knew the hounds would understand.
Pulling the two girls back into his side, Astra brushed up against them and then they faded into darkness appearing back at their home. The three of them quickly made it their way into the house, their rapid movements catching the attention of Sirius, Dora, and Remus, who saw their alarmed faces and immediately got to their feet.
"What's happened?" Dora asked.
"Dementors," Harry muttered, and all three's eyes widened.
"Here?" Remus asked sharply.
"At the lake," Harry said. "They ambushed us, but Astra, the other grims, and I took care of them."
"Shit," Dora said, but before any of them could say any more a screech owl swooped in through the window and dropped a large envelope at Harry's feet, before it turned and then zoomed back outside.
Harry opened the envelope, already having a good idea what it was going to say, knowing how the Ministry was right now. He read it aloud.
"Dear Mr. Potter,
We have received intelligence that you performed the Patronus Charm at twenty-three minutes past nine this evening in an unpopulated, public area.
The severity of this breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery has resulted in your expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ministry representatives will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand.
As you have already received an official warning for a previous offense under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9 a. m. on the twelfth of August.
Hoping you are well,
Yours sincerely,
Mafalda Hopkirk
Improper Use of Magic Office
Ministry of Magic."
"THEY EXPELLED YOU!" Angelina exclaimed in rage.
"They can't do that!" Alicia said forcefully.
"If they think you're going to give up your wand without them even doing a cursory investigation, then they've got another thing coming," Sirius growled out.
"We need to gather the dementor remains," Remus said quickly. "Those are proof that dementors were here."
"Thankfully we also have two pissed off witnesses," Dora muttered angrily.
A resounding crack sounded in the distance, and a few moments later a very dazed looking barn owl flew into the room, dropped a letter at Harry's feet and then flew out like the last one. Again, he read it aloud.
"Harry-
Dumbledore's just arrived at the Ministry and he's trying to sort it all out. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR HOME. DO NOT DO ANY MORE MAGIC. DO NOT SURRENDER YOUR WAND.
Arthur Weasley."
"Hopefully Dumbledore can sort it out," Sirius said grimly.
"Now that we have to wait, are you three okay?" Dora said, looking at them more closely.
"We've been better," Alicia admitted. "Thank Merlin for Harry, Astra, and the other shadow hounds."
"I've never felt the drain like that before," Angelina said, her voice quiet, and Dora moved forward to the girl and wrapped her in a hug.
"The dementors are foul creatures," Dora said. "It just means we need to teach you both the patronus this summer, being that you're of age, we can have you practice everyday."
Alicia and Angelina both nodded appreciatively.
"Chocolate," Remus said, pulling a couple bars out of a cupboard in the kitchen and also quickly making a pot of tea with magic. "It really helps."
Harry hid a grin thinking about how those were some of the first words Remus had said to him when he met him on the Hogwarts Express at the beginning of this third year.
The three of them slowly ate some chocolate and sipped their tea while they waited, and they weren't waiting long before a third owl came, once again dropping its letter at Harry's feet, and he for the third time, opened it and read aloud.
"Dear Mr. Potter,
Further to our letter of approximately twenty-two minutes ago, the Ministry of Magic has revised its decision to destroy your wand forthwith. You may retain your wand until your disciplinary hearing on the twelfth of August, at which time an official decision will be taken.
Following discussions with the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Ministry has agreed that the question of your expulsion will also be decided at that time. You should therefore consider yourself suspended from school pending further enquiries.
With best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Mafalda Hopkirk
Improper Use of Magic Office
Ministry of Magic."
"Well, at least Dumbledore managed that," Sirius muttered.
"You know he's going to use this as his reasoning for wanting Harry at HQ, don't you?" Remus asked, and Dora and Sirius both nodded sadly.
"I don't want him there," Sirius muttered angrily.
"At HQ?" Harry asked. "What do you mean?"
"Dumbledore doesn't feel this place is safe enough . . . or at least he doesn't if there isn't an Order member here at all times watching over you," Dora said. "I argued that Astra was here and could get you out, not to mention it's a large property, and there's plenty of places for you to hide or be if Death Eaters attacked. Now, Angelina also lives here, so I would say that you're fine here, but Dumbledore doesn't feel it's safe enough."
"He's going to argue that this is proof," Sirius muttered.
"He's not completely wrong," Remus pointed out. "We didn't factor in the dementors coming . . . we thought they were still under the Ministry's control."
"They might still be," Dora pointed out. "This could be someone in the Ministry, whether on Voldemort's orders or not, striking at Harry."
"Still, we may not have factored in on dementors coming, but Harry was protected," Sirius said. "Astra, the rotating pack of devil dogs staying the night, and Harry himself took care of the problem."
"And got expelled or suspended for doing it," Alicia muttered bitterly.
"Alicia's right," Remus said. "Harry was more than capable of protecting himself, but it's clear that if he does protect him, the Ministry will do its best to expel him. We don't want this to happen again."
"No, we don't," Dora said with a sigh.
"So, Dumbledore wants me to live at HQ?" Harry asked.
On one hand, this was home for him, and home for his family, and he really didn't want to leave. On the other hand, he knew Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, and Hermione were all at HQ. It's why he was rather irritated with Ron and Hermione who had been writing him all summer short notes to say how they couldn't tell him much due to letters possibly being intercepted, and just that they were busy, and would tell him more when they saw him. The stupid part was that Dora, Sirius, and Remus filled Harry in a fair bit. They refused to tell him everything, which made him a bit irritated with them, but they still told him roughly what was going on, which meant that he knew more than Ron and Hermione, yet they clung to "not being able to write" without Dumbledore's permission. He didn't even really want information. He just wanted his friends to write to him.
He knew that he knew more than them too. He knew because of Ginny, who was simply smart enough to wait to send letters via Tonks, Sirius, and Remus, meaning that she felt she could say whatever she wanted, since there was no threat of the owl being intercepted. Because of Ginny, Harry knew that Ron and Hermione only had parts of what he knew, and he knew that them being busy was them slowly decontaminating HQ. None of them had even offered much of a reason why they couldn't visit other than Mrs. Weasley didn't think it was safe, which angered Harry. He felt safer at the Shadow Hold, as Sirius had jokingly named the place, than anywhere else. With the consecrated land, it was almost safer than anywhere else.
"He does," Sirius said grumpily, "but that's because he knows if you're there, you really can't go anywhere else, not without an adult taking you there, and you'll always have people in the house with you. Plus, it's under a Fidelius charm, so nobody that's not in on the secret can get in. It is the safest place when accounting for magical protections, though he doesn't factor in size or the rotating band of Hades enforcers that stop in all the time when it comes to this place. Plus, the protections on this property are extensive."
"What about Angelina?" Harry asked.
"Harry, don't worry about me," Angelina scolded, but Harry stared her down.
"You're family, so yes, I will worry about you," he retorted and she shook her head in exasperation. "She doesn't deserve house arrest with me, but if she's here by herself, and dementors come again . . ."
"I suspect Astra will make sure nobody encroaches on her territory again," Dora said with a chuckle, glancing at the hellhound in question, who had bared her teeth at the mention of dementors arriving again.
"It doesn't matter," Sirius said. "I own HQ, so if Angelina would like to go with you Harry, she will. If she would like to stay here, she obviously can. This is her home."
"If Harry's leaving, then so am I," Angelina said firmly.
Dora, Sirius, and Remus nodded, exchanging weary glances.
"I'll talk to Dumbledore," Sirius said. "It won't happen tonight though, so relax, and try to enjoy the rest of your evening. I'm going into the DMLE to see if I can figure out why the hell nobody thought to investigate anything."
"Yeah, it's going to be really easy to enjoy the rest of tonight," Angelina muttered darkly, and Alicia and Harry chuckled at that, some of the tension in the room leaving.
"Rest, Harry," Dora said. "We can talk about this more in the morning."
"Alicia?" Harry asked, looking at the girl in question.
"I'm going to bunk with Angie tonight, if that's okay?" Alicia said, glancing at Angelina, who was looking appreciative at that, and the adults nodded.
"Great," Angelina said, as she and Alicia without talking about it grabbed each of Harry's arms and started pulling him out of the room.
"Wait - what?" Harry asked in bemusement as he was led by the two older girls.
"It was a bad night," Alicia said patiently. "Which means sleepover."
"Come here pretty girl!" Angelina called, and Astra happily started following them, answering Angelina's call.
"Sleepover . . . " Harry muttered, confused.
"Yep," Angelina said. "You're joining us and Astra in a giant cuddle pile tonight for sleeping."
Harry turned to see Dora, Sirius, and Remus laughing.
"Save room for me!" Dora called out, and Angelina and Alicia both laughed as they smiled and nodded, still dragging Harry, completely bemused.