It all started like any other night at the Dragon Palace. The men who served the Dark Lord Dragon gathered to feast before Lord Dragon blessed them with his presence. He was to award his Soldiers for the good work they did today, and assign new orders for tomorrow.

It all went to shit when Lord Dragon brought in his prizes from the last raid. Lady Greengrass, her sister, and… her lover.

Then a crack rang out in the halls.

Lord Dragon with his witches and enforcer entered the Great Hall with a roar. "On your Feet! Weasley! Someone has entered the Castle and murdered one of my Guards. With a Muggle Fireleg. Nott thinks that the Witch-hunter is in the Castle. Break it down. Everyone else, prepare for Battle!"

"My Lord… you're Fucked." Ron Weasley licked his lips. "The only person who could take the Witch-hunter was Potter and he is…" his ears went red as his Anger and Rage flared. "That two faced Mudblood Whore! She proclaimed, and I quote, 'The Wizard Harry Potter is no more'."

"Yeah," Draco shifted on his throne. "So?"

"Granger made him a muggle." Ron drew his wand and blasted a goblet off the far table. "And now she has sent Him here."

"It's a bit worse than that." Greengrass had arrived. "Granger and I have foreseen this happening. It's not just the Witch-hunter after you, but the Master of Death. He has united the Hollows and erased the Soul of a Murderer from existence. Think Malfoy, you were there when he returned from the other side."

"No he wasn't." Tracy smirked from behind the Ice Queen. "Remember, He and his Parents ran as soon as they could when Longbottom stood up to Voldy. The Smartest thing he did all year."

A flick of Draco's wand and a ring of fire, ten feet across, sprang up around them. "Then all I gotta do is wait for him to try to rescue you three and fail." Draco laughed.

But his laughter was cut short when the three Witches vanished in a blue flash of a portkey.

"Impossible!" Draco Roared. "Only the Master of the Wards can…"

"Yes." A shimmering in the centre of the ring of fire revealed Potter, faded scar, green eyes behind gold rimmed glasses. "And you are not the Master here."

"How did you get in here?" Ron threw a curse at Harry. [Sectumsempra]

Harry just twisted out of the way. The dark cutting curse continued on to slice through three of the drunken Goons. "Weasle. Ferret. Skank, and Slut. You Die tonight. The Master of Death and the Witch Hunter have decreed this. Everyone else has a chance to survive. If you exit the Castle Gates and knell with your fingers laced behind your head. You have until the next cycle of Bells, then I am putting the Castle into Lockdown."

The Colt python in his left hand barked as he was folded into the void. The bullet hitting Nott in the forehead. The back of Nott's head exploded out, spraying Ronald with blood, bone, and brain matter.

"What was that?" Draco asked, in abhorrence.

"That was a Fireleg." Ginny sneered. "My question… who was he calling a Skank and who was he Calling a Slut?"

"Like it matters." Draco Roared to his feet again. "Tracy goes to the one who brings me Potter, Dead or Live." He started to exit through the back door. "Preferably Dead."

As the inner circle of the Dragon's Horde moved out, Ginny gathered the Rank and File and barricaded the Hall. It would take more than one man, be they muggle or wizard, to take them all.

Or so she thought.

After an hour and the Clock Tower Bell had rang its third set of thirteen, the candles that were part of the ceiling enchantment, started to work out and vanish.

When only the chandler in the very centre was left… a green fog billowed into the Chamber, obscuring everyone in the Room.

"Keep Calm." Ginny Called out. "Potter is just trying to scare us."

"Well… it's working." A Wizard snarked back. "You went here with him… hell, you shagged him. You know how batshit crazy he is!"

"He just could never Die!" Ginny Hissed. "It's Time we show him How."

"Oh Gin-gin," Harry's voice filled the silence. "I was wrong. I had thought that you were happy with the Career of Chasing for the Harpys. What happened to the sparky young witch that had the world by the ear?"

"You Left Me!" She yelled. "I was to be the next Lady Potter…and you left me! Draco promised me the Potter Estate once he had crushed the Ministry!"

"Well, the Lord … and Lady Potter have a bit of an issue with that." A whisper behind her left ear.

She spun and a cutting curse slashed through the air… killing three of the forty members of the Horde.

"Lies! There was no marriage listed in the Ministry!"

"It was a Muggle wedding. Why would we need to register with the Ministry?" The voice came from the area of the throne.

A quick and silent 'Confringo' detonated the throne and three witches and four wizards were pierced by the shrapnel of the gilded chair.

That was ten down.

"Were you fucking the Ferret?" The voice came from the ceiling. "I know you were not riding the Weasel. Even Draco was not that pureblood… not even Bella was that deep a purest."

"You are trying to enrage me." Ginevra struggled to reclaim her calm. "And no. But Pansy is a different matter… her screaming my name as I plow that slut… best sex ever."

"You should try Daphne." A shadow that looked like Potter passed under the chandler. "Even in the throes of ecstasy, she is graceful and Ladylike. It's like breeding an angel from above." A long pause, "Now Hermione on the other hand is like a wild cat in a sack tossed into the river. The ride is quick, wet, and I come out with more claw marks than a scratching post."

Then the thugs and goons started to fall unconscious around the room.

"What is happening here?" Ginny looked at her troops laying spread about the Hall.

Just as suddenly as it arrived, the Fog dissipated. Standing in the open doorway, Harry Potter was setting the Potter Cloak on the Table nearest him.

"Who were you calling a Skank?" Ginny turned to provide him with the smallest profile she could.

"When we were in school… I would have given that term to Parkinson. But from what I saw earlier… I think she is more a slut. A witch that had no better options." Harry shrugged out of the Duster, tossing it onto the Cloak. "But you had Options. Half the Gryffindor Tower would have given you everything you couldn't get yourself. The whole thing after the War was that you didn't want to be a kept Witch."

"That didn't mean that I would just stand there and let Greengrass take you and everything else from me!" a sickly purple bolt streaked past Harry's ear.

"No, but I needed a Lady Black and you were busy with your career. For the week before I left, I tried to talk to you about it, but first there was training, and then the PR circuit, and then team bonding and games." He removed the weapon rigging. "I waited for the last minute before accepting the Contract with Daphne. My little fyrefly was too busy soaring and burning to notice."

"I can promise you one thing." He adjusted his cuffs.

"Your Mother will be able to hold an open casket funeral for you."

WHHP

I smile down at the witch on the floor, her hair, a halo around her head as if she were only sleeping.

"Elf!"

"Yes Master Potts?"

"Please make that Ward Master Potts." I turn to look at the bodies of the Horde. Most were still alive. But I am so tired of killing. "Is the medical wing still open and operational?"

"Yes Sir."

"Put Ginny on a bed there." I flick my wand, My Death Stick, before allowing it to vanish up my sleeve. "Strip the rest and dump them in the middle of the Acromantula nesting grounds. Warn the Master of the Colony that human children are off limits, but if any Adults find themselves in the recognized Hunting Grounds, they are fair game."

"Yes Sir." When He snapped his fingers, instead of the Work being done, twenty Elves appeared and fell on the dead, dieing, and the soon to be.

"Everyone is okay with this?" I frowned at the Elf at my knee, knowing that they were normally gentle creatures.

"Those who knew about us, abused us… prevented us from working. Not as Punishment but for self entertainment. Stinky Feet and Lord Dickless ignored us as long as they were fed and the cleaning was done." The Elf pulled on his ear, a sign of distress. "The Females and No-No were even polite." He nodded. "It will be good to get the Students back in here."

When I was the only one in the Great Hall, the Four Ghosts arrived. Peeves floating along in their wake.

"Lord Peverel." Helena, the Gray Lady greeted me like an old friend or lover. "Thank you for ridding us of those… verim."

"Please. Address me as Lord Potter, Lord Black, or as Harry when I'm in public. I felt something settle across my shoulders and Core as I stepped out of the Witch. Why do I think I am trapped in the Castle?"

Helen flushed. "Because you are. Until your Death you can not be away from Hogwarts for more than a Fortnight. In exchange for this Sacrifice… You are Lord Hogwarts. You are the third person to take the Title. It does not fall to your Heir. It takes the combined declaration of each House Ghost and the Spirit of Hogwarts. The Sorting Hat is the mouthpiece of Hogwarts."

The Friar smiled. "You are not the Headmaster or a Professor unless you want to be. I will instruct the Elves to ready the Lord's Quarters…" he turned towards the Cloak… "Or… I think they are ahead of us."

"They usually are." I smiled at the ghost. "Please make sure that my Quarters have at least three bedrooms besides mine."

I tapped the coin on his chest. "Hey Beautiful, how are things?"

"That's the Slut I remember. A few more of those and I will allow you to serve the Mistress." Daphne's voice sounded from the coin.

I chuckle. Daphne has always been a needy lover… second only to Hermione.

WHHP

Dawn arrived cold and quiet.

The Shadows of the Forest broke as a Centaur and a Spider the size of an Eastern European coupe stepped out into the sun and stopped.

And Waited.

After about five minutes, an Elf popped up before them.

"Greetings Servant. We have come to speak to the Lord of Hogwarts." The Centaur spoke softly.

The Elf popped away.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry in his trench coat and Witch Hunter gear crested the hill overlooking the two envoys.

"Good morning." I smile as I come to a stop six feet from both. "Bane. How reads the Sky?"

"Red Sky this morning. Blood was spilled." The Response was not an answer, but it answered enough.

Click Click "The Warm Meat was welcome. But why…"

"Your Progenitor did not choose to live here. The Colony has only one… maybe two purposes here. You are a Defensive Ally… and maybe a resource for silk thread. Any Adult that walks in your grounds is fair game. But before we leave, we will set in stone the borders of those grounds. The Centaurs are due an equal amount of the Forest… and maybe a bit more if they are shepherding the Unicorns. I don't want the Colony to starve… but I won't let the Colony overrun the Forest."

Click Click. "What is the Silk thread worth to you?"

"Equal weight in Cow, Pig, or Fowl. We can even set up scales to balance it out."

"And what of us?" Bane sneered.

"What does the Herd want from the likes of Us. And remember that I can only guarantee our pack as long as I live. I am willing to meet Yearly to reopen talks. And you can come here to ask for help. The Centaurs are even Welcomed to the Castle. Too many people fear the Might of the Colony for me to welcome you to the Castle."

"We must take this to…"

"I understand." I smile and I offer to shake the hand of the Centaur. "In the morning, Tomorrow. I will bring my Females. We will have 'First Meal'. Each of us can bring two others. Advisors and the like. I would advise that you bring one whose view is not in line with yours. I presume you are vegetarian…" Bane clasped my forearm almost to the elbow, before turning tail and disappearing into the shadows.

I turn and offer the same hand to the spider. It reached out with its foreleg, and brushed my palm. "Will you need something to eat or will last night's leavings hold you?"

Click Click "Pig." and it was gone even faster than Bane was.

"And note to self, six feet is too close."

TBC