Harry dove out of the way as the shattering hex slammed through where he had been a moment ago before rolling back to his feet and casting a stream of cutting hexes, one after the other. Sirius wasn't prepared for Harry to retaliate that quickly. He managed to deflect the first two, but the barrage was coming too fast and he was overwhelmed by the others. The hexes slammed into him one after the other.
Thuck
Thuck
Thuck
Harry dusted himself off and approached his godfather. "Are you ok? He was dressed just in a pair of shorts, as even this early in the morning it was quite warm.
"Yeah. Wow. Your casting speed is insane."
"What's insane are these 'wand condoms' that the Yanks came up with," Harry pointed to the golden ring that was sitting on his wand just above his hand. The device turned all spells cast from the wand into phantoms – illusions of themselves.
"Ugh, don't call it that." Sirius grimaced.
"I thought you appreciated that sort of joke," Harry helped him to his feet.
"I usually do, but the guys I drink with, it's 'wand humor' 24 / 7. It get old after a while, even for me."
"Then find a better class of drinking buddies."
"They ARE the better class of drinking buddies. They are respectable businessmen and restaurateurs. But the Bahamas aren't like merry old England – there are no purebloods here, or if there are, they don't advertise the fact. Having a stick up your butt won't win you any friends here."
As Harry poured himself a glass of water form the ever-full pitcher seated in a patch of sand, he asked, "So how is Daphne?" Ever since their blow up on the first day, she had been avoiding him. That was a week ago now.
"She asked me to train her in dueling. She's surprisingly good, but most of her spells are school-girl hexes."
"Yeah – Hogwarts is the last place she practiced." Harry downed his glass, "It's probably for the best that she practices some, if she's going to be staying with us."
Sirius sat down cross legged and cocked his head at Harry for a moment, "Harry, can I ask what's going on between the two of you? I know I'm not one to speak but you seem to have unresolved issues."
"Nah. Their resolved. Very resolved." Daphne wanted nothing to do with him, and he was fed up with her attitude as well. If that didn't count as resolved, he didn't know what did. "And how come you're not one to speak – I thought you had a girlfriend?"
"Ugh.. HAD a girlfriend. She decided to move to the States, and there's no way I'm going there. Them damn Yanks have too many rules"
And an extradition treaty with wizarding England, but that part went unspoken.
"Another round?" Harry asked taking a fighting stance.
A half hour later, both men were covered in sweat as the mid-morning sun poured down on them.
"Let's call it a day – Hermione says that Dumbledore should be arriving around noon," Harry grabbed his shirt off of the ground as he turned to head inside.
"Bring Daphne a bouquet of rose-myrtle." Sirius called, pretending it was an afterthought, "Sometimes that'll bring 'em around."
Harry snorted, "Yeah. You told me that the last time you tried that with YOUR ex, you spent two weeks growing your balls back." Rose-myrtle was a magical flower - a magical aphrodisiac, to be specific.
"So you're done with her?"
Harry shrugged, "There's only so much a guy can take."
*UHD*
Albus Dumbledore arrived closer to evening, strolling through the front door leading a tired looking group of expatriate Englishmen. Molly Weasley, Bill Weasley, Sturgis Podmore and Remus Lupin came in just as the residents of Sirius House were getting ready to sit down to dinner.
"Sorry we're late – we had to go through Ireland, and Remus was delayed in customs because of his condition."
"Charlie is coming as well once he get his dragons squared away, but as a Ministry employee Arthur is too closely watched. He's staying with some friends for now. And the others have decided that they can do more if they stay behind." Molly volunteered the status of the rest of her family as she set her suitcase down on the floor and immediately began bustling about officiously, inspected the wards on the house.
"Actually, you're just in time," Hermione greeted them, "Harry is making dinner for everybody today, and it is just about ready."
"I didn't know that he cooked," Molly replied suspiciously. Cooking was woman's work, and a man was not to be trusted in the kitchen.
"If you could show me to to the kitchen, I'd love to speak to him for moment before everybody converges onto the dining room," Albus added.
Hermione nodded, intrigued, leading the way to the kitchens where Harry was just pulling a casserole from the oven as a house elf, working as a sous-chef to him, stirred the soup.
"Harry, do you mind if we talk for a moment in private? It is about the prophecy."
The house elf, seeing the look that Harry gave him, set his pot to stirring itself. "I'll go get the drinks," And popped away.
"Should I go also?" Asked Hermione.
"No, stay," Harry replied.
"So she knows?"
"That I am Harry Potter? Yes."
Albus cast a privacy charm, adding self consciously, "I trust everybody here, but just in case." The least time this prophecy had been overheard, it had led to tragedy. "The prophecy that you have probably heard is incomplete. There is a second half, that only a handful of people know: 'and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.' That means..."
"We know what it means, Headmaster," Harry interrupted. He wasn't a school boy who needed to heave things explained to him.
Hermione added "We already spoke to McGonagall, and she told us the whole prophecy as well. I was hoping she had gotten it wrong." She glanced at Harry to see how he was handling it, "I guess you do have to confront him."
Dumbledore sighed, looking much older than when Harry had last seen him. "He was gone for so long that I had hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but I expect it is unavoidable now."
Harry shrugged, "I dueled him once, in Albania. He is powerful, but not very creative. And even that… I think that whatever happened to him when the Killing Curse reflected back at him weakened him. Or maybe he just got old. Whatever the case, he wasn't as scary powerful as everybody claimed he was." He went on to recount their battle. "I would say we're pretty evenly matched."
Albus listened to Harry's story, "I suspect that you caught him by surprise because he underestimated you – arrogance was always his weakness. But you can't count on that again. As to what happened to him during the past two decades – I believe that he spent them almost dead, but that he used dark magic to tie his soul to this world, so that he could be brought back to life with the proper ritual."
Harry paused as he thought back to the books he had read down in the Department of Mysteries, "I'm not certain how you would tie the soul to keep it from passing on – the book I read didn't mention it – but I did read of a ritual to restore a soul into a body. It relies on a drive for revenge against a hated enemy, and one of the components required for it is the blood of that enemy. But his strongest opponent is you. Or me, if he knows the prophecy. Without blood from one of us, the restoration will not be as effective."
Albus nodded, impressed – It had taken him two years after the Quirrel incident to learn of this ritual, which was why he was always so cautious with his blood. "I imagine that is why he has been moving slowly, because it took this long to regain his strength. But he is canny, and known may dark rituals. Expect him to have increased his strength the next time you meet. And even if he has not, his knowledge of obscure dark magic is vast."
Harry nodded, "I know. I have been training every morning with Sirius." He nodded towards the training grounds, where currently Daphne was working though drills on her own.
Dumbledore nodded, though he doubted that any wizard other than himself would be able to match Voldemort if he wasn't being overconfident. And he didn't have the stamina for a protracted dual anymore. As he looked out to where Harry pointed, he started in surprise. "Do you trust her?" Albus asked. He didn't want to be constrained by stereotypes, but she HAD been a Slytherin.
Harry paused to consider. "Yeah, I do."
Hermione interrupted, "Which doesn't mean that we should. Daphne is very… transactional. She may be loyal to Harry because of their…" she paused awkwardly, "shared history... as Slytherins, but she is not loyal to the rest of us." Hermione was not certain if her animosity to the other woman was based on fact or jealousy, but she did not like her one bit.
Albus nodded his head. "That is the Slytherin way. Severus is the same."
*UHD*
As everybody sat down to dinner, it almost felt like they were back in the Burrow, eating Sunday dinner with the Weasleys.
"How is Ginny?" Harry asked Bill, as he passed the casserole.
"I don't know. She and Ron both disappeared – Mom's statement that they were going to fight against Voldemort is based more her expectations of us than any clear communication from my sister. All I know for a fact is that I spoke to Fred a couple of days ago, and he had a letter from Ginny stating that they were going to hole up in the countryside." He shrugged, "The clock at the Burrow still shows them as being ok, though."
"I understand Ginny going into hiding – she's an Auror, and she's not going to accept this new mockery of a DMLE, but why Ron?"
Bill gave Harry a puzzled look, "Because she's family. He went with her to help."
"Do you think she will be ok?" Harry had a hard time visualizing the well meaning, overly earnest gryphindor skulking about as a spy or a saboteur. That sort of thing really wasn't in her wheelhouse.
"Yeah, though she's probably going to end up neck deep in it – she's always been a fighter." Bill paused before adding, "but Mom is still convinced that it will only be us menfolk doing the fighting."
*UHD*
That evening Hermione comes to Harry's room. "Harry, with everybody starting to come together, we need to straighten a few things out." She begins nervously.
Harry looked up abruptly. Something about her tone set his heart to racing. 'Is she going to..' Living together during that operation in Lecce had been very nice, but.. relationships weren't built on 'nice'.
"We need to to square away who's in charge. A lot of the old guard will expect Albus to take the reins of the fight against Voldemort again, but this is your battle. The prophecy says so, and you have the training. Albus.. he's very wise, and you couldn't ask for a bettor advisor, but he's too old to lead this new war!" When she was a first year, Dumbledore had been the epitome of wizard-hood for her, but now that she had had 4 years away from Hogwarts, she could look at him with fresh eyes. His wrinkles didn't make him look 'grandfatherly' any more. They just made him look old. He looked exhausted, and during their brief conversation in the kitchen, he didn't sound as sharp as he used to.
Harry stood up and enveloped Hermione in a hug. "Thank you!" Having Hermione's unconditional support was like a weight had lifted off of his shoulders. They stood like that for a moment before Hermione lifted her head up and pulled his lips onto hers.
As the stood kissing, Harry's hand slipped up under her shirt. Hermione breath caught for a moment, but before Harry could stop, she quickly whispered, "No, continue".
That was the last thing either one of them said for a long time.
*UHD*
Hermione was a world class worrier. So for her to wake up feeling calm and happy was rare. She turned off her alarm spell and stretched… 'This is not my bed!' She sat up right. 'Oh, right.' She was in Harry's room. In Harry's bed (though the man himself had already snuck out). Despite all of the potential complications, that thought still brought a smile to her face. But after a moment she sighed. 'Time to get cleaned up & face all of those 'complications.'' She peered out the window – yup – Harry was already out in the yard training.
Out of the blue, a sudden bolt of panic washed through her. 'I hope I didn't mess up our friendship!' Logically, having sex with somebody you had been friends with since forever should lead to a wonderful romantic relationship, but according some of the books she had read, it could sometimes do the opposite, ending the friendship instead. Her stomach roiled. 'Well, I'll take it one step at a time. First, breakfast'. At least she had been smart and started her contraceptive charms as soon this whole adventure with Harry had started, so that was one thing she didn't need to worry about.
*UHD*
As Hermione walked down the stairs, she could hear Molly's strident voice, "No amount of wards are going to keep us safe if we have someone like that here! She's a LeStrange - I have seen her at Ministry functions, hanging off of that beastly man's arm!"
"I am a LeStrange in name only," Daphne retorted, "And maybe not for much longer."
Molly gave her a skeptical look – she was always more mistrustful of women then men. "Be that as it may, I don't want her sitting in the background like some spider, listening in to our discussions. My Bill will be raising the wards, and I don't want her keyed to them!"
"I have perfectly fine wards," Sirius interrupted. Hermione looked around in confusion – she had not had her morning coffee, and her mind was still busy worrying about Harry.
"For a house. Not for this. My son is the finest warder at Gringotts. He will make this location as secure as a bank. Which we will need if we are going to be talking sedition! But no amount of wards will help if we have a quisling in our midst!"
"Fine. I can tell when I'm not wanted" Daphne gave a pointed glare at Hermione, who was still standing at the base of the stairs, not certain which side to take.
'Oh, shit! We didn't cast silencing wards on the room last night!' Realization dawned on Hermione. Before she could say anything (what could she say?), Daphne brushed by her, before turning around half way up the stairs. "I'll go get my things. And for the record, I am choosing to leave!" And almost ran the rest of the way up.
Which was when Harry came in from the yard. "What… is Daphne ok?" He started up to follow her when Hermione grabbed his arm, "Not now – let her cool off," she whispered, explaining the situation.
As Harry turned to face the others, Sturgis spoke up into the silence, "Molly's right. She's a Slytherin, and she was married to the enemy. We can't trust her."
"Well," Sirius interjected, trying to break the tension, "How about I give you guys a tour of my still?
*UHD*
Half an hour later, Daphne stormed down the stairs to find Harry reading a newspaper in the front room. "Here." He set aside the newspaper and walked up to her, handing her a small envelope.
"What's this?"
"It's the keys to an apartment that Sirius owns in town. He stays there when he has business." Or when he got too drunk to apparate home. "You can stay there. And the money is for groceries and such." Seeing Daphne's skeptical look, he added "It's not charity – I want you to settle in and keep an eye on the town, in case somebody from England shows up." With the level of inbreeding most of the new Ministry employees were demonstrating Harry doubted that any of them would think to come under cover. "You can report on any would-be spies."
"You still trust me?"
"Daphne, we were together for three years. Of course I do."
Daphne stared at Harry long enough to make him nervous before taking a step forwards and quickly brushing her lips against his cheek before heading out the door, her suitcase floating after her.
*UHD*
"Well, all of you know me as Harry Dursley, and you came here at my invitation, so I will get things started." Harry stood up, kicking off the first Order meeting. He could see the surprised look on Albus' face, before he nodded in resignation. They had discussed Harry taking charge, but it wasn't the same as seeing him do it. The room was comfortably full with the Order seated in the sofas or around the little tables scattered haphazardly about. Two more members - Cedric Diggeroy and Kingsley - had arrived that morning . "We all know why we are here - we are going to restore England to its rightful government - so I won't belabor the point. The first order of business is securing our new home and base of operations." Harry swept a gesture at the surrounding building. "Bill, how are the wards?"
"They wards look good. I sealed up some holes in the ones Sirius already had in place, countering some known exploits, and added a second layer of alarm wards around the grounds, so we will know if anybody apparates or portkeys in within a half mile of the house." One of the advantages of being far away from other magicals was that you could do such things.
Cedric looked confused, "I thought Albus would be running things."
Albus stood up, "its ok. I am in overall charge, but Harry will by my right hand, taking care of some of the day to day routines. As Harry has rightly pointed out, I am getting on in years, and much of the work will require a younger body. And there is nobody I trust more to do this than Harry, for several reasons that I will have to keep private." One of which he had just learned this morning – he had known that the DoM-OO existed of course, but he had not realized that Harry was one of their operatives. "He has both a unique motivation and training that make him indispensable."
Cedric nodded, uncertainly, but the others were quelled by Albus' reassurances, even Molly.
Hermione frowned. This wasn't the unquestionable transition of power that Harry had wanted.
"Kingsley, do you know anything about the disposition of the Aurors?"
The large black man stood. "Many of those that were employed by the… rightful administration have been let go. Specifically, anybody who questioned the legality of the orders from the new Head of DLME, Yaxley. And after former Auror Robards was attacked on his way home, most of them have gone into hiding. Auror Tonks is helping them find places to stay."
Harry nodded. That made sense - Nymphadora had worked a lot under cover, so she would have contacts.
"In general, the atmosphere among the former Aurors is much like the rest of the populous – tense, and unhappy. They won't tolerate this tyranny for long!"
"I've had more freedom to walk the streets in the past couple of weeks than you," interjected Bill, "and while you're right that people are scared, they aren't quite willing to rise up against the oppression – too many have heard that Voldemort has returned from the grave, and even his lieutenants have a reputation as monsters. And slowly they will grow accustomed to this new 'normal'."
"Unless we do something about it!" Hermione interrupted angrily.
"Unless we do something about it." Harry repeated in a measured voice. "And from what I am hearing, the whole dictatorship is held up by Voldemort. The new government hasn't shown any particular skill, instead ruling through fear. Remove Voldemort and his top cronies, and it will collapse."
"But he came back from the dead!" Molly interrupted, "What's to stop him from doing it again"
Harry turned to Dumbledore, "Albus, any theories on how Voldemort survived?"
"Voldemort – or Tom Riddle as he was called when he was a student at Hogwarts, was always a talented student, with a fascination for the dark arts," Albus began, rambling slightly. "He would often press me and the other professors for information on them, and he delved deeply into the Restricted Section under any pretext he could."
"But can you guess what specific art did he use?" Remus asked.
Albus sighed and turned to Bill. "The wards are secure against any prying ears?" At is his nod, he continued, "I was hoping not to speak of this, as it is a magic most foul, but I expect Tom used horcuxes to bind his soul from death." He went on to explain the vile ritual used in creating them. "And he made more than one, as we know one was destroyed by Harry in his Second year."
"The Diary?"
"Just so."
"How do we find the others?" Asked Hermione as at the same time Kingsley asked, "How many did he make?"
"I am afraid I do not know. Tearing even one piece off of your soul is horribly dangerous, so I cannot imagine doing it more times. As to how to find them, I have been considering that puzzle for some time, and while I am no closer than I was, I do know that Tom was always arrogant – he wouldn't use a rock or something innocuous. He would only accept the best to house his soul. It would be something of personal significance to him."
Hermione glanced at Harry to see if he caught that Dumbledore had already known about the horcuxes and yet never shared information with anybody. But Harry didn't seem perturbed. 'Uh. Harry is just as bad as Dumbledore at not sharing information.' She made a mental note to talk to Harry about that. A relationship with secrets couldn't last. She turned back to Dumbledore, who was now rambling about the sword of Gryphindor. "You seem to remember him quite well – can you provide your pensive memories of Tom, so that we can get a sense of where he might had hidden his horcuxes?" She asked. Ever the scholar, she was already jotting down ideas. "Maybe something that he was often seen wearing"
"That's a good idea – Hermione, you're in charge of that," Harry turned to Sirius, "But none of what we do here will be any good back in England if we don't have a reliable way to get there and back. Can you organize that?"
"Yeah, I know some bootleggers. They have their own international portkeyes. But it will take a week or two to set everything up – those guys are not easy to reach."
'Great – I'll now be working with the same people I was trying to arrest just a few weeks ago.' Harry sighed and made a note. "I think that's it for now. We still need to find some source of reliable information from the new Ministry." He looked around the room, but everybody shook their heads – they didn't know anybody. "In that case, I may need to make a trip to England and see if I can find somebody," Tonks or Weasley might have have an agent inside.
"I have a source that used to be close to Voldemort's inner circle." Albus finally admitted, "I will try to contact him and see if he is willing to act as a spy again."
One of Harry's eyebrows quirked up, as his estimation of the headmaster improved, 'Maybe he's not just an old duffer.' "Great. But for now, let's break for lunch"
*UHD*
After lunch everybody went off to their own thing, for most that was to finish settling in to their new home away from home.
"Hermione, can I pick your brain for a minuter?" Harry asked.
"Sure, what do you need?" Hermione smiled up at her boyfriend. She still wasn't used to the idea – they had been friends for a long time and Harry had always kept a certain distance within their relationship, but suddenly all those barriers had disappeared.
"I think we're going about this the wrong way – there is no way we'll be able to find all of the horcuxes. We don't even know where to start looking, especially if we're going to operate from outside of the country like this. Instead, we need to come up with some way to trap him, like a genie in a bottle in that Aladdin movie."
"You saw that? With how strict your step parents were, I'm surprised they took you." Strict was Hermione's polite way of phrasing it. Maybe after they had been dating for a couple of months, she would feel comfortable saying out loud what they were – emotionally abusive and unloving bastards.
"They rented it after it came out on VHS, and I watched it when they did." They didn't object to him watching movies, as long as he stayed in the back and didn't make himself known.
"But they didn't invite you to sit with them, did they? They treated you like an outsider in your own house!" Hermione replied, trying to control her temper. She knew she shouldn't criticize Harry's family, but.. "Children should loved and cherished, not treated as servants!"
When Harry shrugged, Hermione retorted, "don't shrug at me – you're not somebody to ignore except when there are chores to do – you are a great person!"
Harry smiled, "I love you too," and kissed her lightly, "But we should focus on ways to deal with Voldemort." He sat down and pulled out a pad of paper, to doodle on as he deliberated on their options. "My thoughts are twofold: one, we need to find a way to dispose of Voldemort that doesn't involve killing him, and two, we need to set up an operations base back in England. Because while the Bahamas are a good spot for people to come and strategize and organize support, they are too far away for tactical action."
"And Dumbledore is muscling in and taking over the operations here." Hermione huffed.
"You noticed that too?" Harry smiled, "It's ok – we'll leave him to do what he's best at – organization & fundraising, while we take a small group back to England, to reconnoiter and maybe place some spies in the ministry."
"And see what other resistance there is to Voldemort," Hermione added. "After all, you aren't the only one who's heroic enough to stands up to him." She slid over to sit on Harry lap and kissed him again. She knew they were supposed to stay focused on fighting Voldemort, but it was hard, sitting in the balmy Bahamas evening with her new boyfriend looking so good just inches away.
When they broke apart Harry felt momentarily guilty that he was kissing somebody other than Daphne. But at the same time, this relationship was mind-blowingly different (and strange): He couldn't imagine having this sort of conversation with Daphne. They had barely talked at all. 'But Daphne is also somebody who shouldn't be ignored except when there are jobs for her to do.'
*UHD*
That evening, Harry apparated to outside the apartment that Daphne was staying at. It was actually a small cottage, a block away from the main entertainment district. He knocked, "It's me, Harry. I brought dinner."
Daphne opened the door and glared at him for a moment before stepping aside and letting him in."Why are you here? I thought you would be spending the evening with your friends." She placed a special emphasis on the last word.
Harry opened up the bag he had casting warming charms on and pulled out a pot, "I thought we were friends as well."
"Are we? Your little stunt cost me my home and my position in society." Daphne circled back to what had happened at the Zambini's. Partly because it had thrown her world out of kilter, and partly because holding on to that anger was all that kept her from falling to pieces.
"Not everything is about you. Here try some of the chicken tikka masala."
Dahpne lifted the lid and sniffed. "That smells good. Is this a local dish?"
"No, I made it."
"How come you never told me that you cooked?" As Daphne said that, it occurred to her that there were many things she didn't know about Harry, despite their relationship. She immediately clamped down on the surge of hurt, like she always did, sealing it up inside. Instead she went to fetch a pair of bowls. "About the raid on the Zambinis - I know you didn't do it to hurt me, but you did. And everything that happened afterwards was a big shock. I am… still processing it." She took a taste, "This is good." They ate in silence. Finally, she spoke. "I feel like.. I'm not me. No, more like the Daphne that has existed for the past ten years is dead, and a new Daphne has risen from the ashes, phoenix like. I have nothing, and I know nothing. No money, no friends, no useful skills. Everything is starting from scratch. I guess it can be liberating, and maybe it will be, but right now it's scary, and I really need to find my footing before I am ready to face the world." It felt good to come out and say all the things that had been bothering her, instead of hiding them inside, like usual.
"In that case, nice to meet you Daphne, I am Harry Dursley."
Daphne took Harry's hand and shook it, "Nice to meet you. I look forward to getting to know you." 'Maybe he never told me about himself because I never asked.'
*UHD*
The following day, Sirius arrived at the house just as Harry was coming in from his morning exercises. "Harry, this is Madam Dominique. She knows a lot about the loa." He led the way to the room that Harry had taken as his own. "We can talk here."
Madam Dominique was a tall, dark skinned women with a strange cloth hat wrapped around her hair. She had a steely gaze and hands that been discolored from mixing potions. As Harry explained what he had learned about the Zombi drug she nodded along. "I will see this wand now."
Harry passed her the stubby wand device, and watched as she manipulated it. She first rubbed her thumbs over it, before bringing it up to her face and inhaling deeply. She then clasped it between her palms and pronounced some words in a language that Harry did not recognize. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she stood like that for several minutes.
"This is a powerful mojo. A powerful evil." She finally exhaled, as she reluctantly returned the wand to Harry. "It is an abomination for controlling loa. Loa are mischievous by nature, they like riding in people, but they usually only watch. They maybe make the host do a prank or two and then they will leave. Forcing them to take total control of a person like you describe… this wand can do it with a simple exertion of the caster's will. But this 'false face' where the loa rides a person for weeks, controlling all their actions, it causes injury to both the person and the loa."
"But if the loa is commanded to just make small adjustments to a person't behavior?" Harry asked.
Madam Dominique shrugged liquidly, "That is easier on the loa, as it is in keeping with their nature, but it is still not good." She paused to consider before adding, "there are many ways to control a person – Imerio spell, zombie potion. This is a new one, but no less evil."
"I thought this was used to make the Zombi potion," Hermione interrupted – she had joined the group as they arrived at Harry's (and her?) room.
"No – the usual process to make a zombie involves two potions that take months to brew, and which the victim must be made to drink over a long time. The procedure can take sometimes a year. That is why while creating zombies is frowned upon, it has never been fully banned – it is just too much work for it to be a problem. But this.. this is like making zombies in a factory!"
She sat down at Harry's desk and took a swig from a hip flask. Her eyes began to twitch and she muttered to herself in an undertone. After a moment she returned to normal. "The spirits say that there are two of these," she tapped the wand in Harry's hand, "and that they were created by a powerful vodun 50 years ago. And before you ask, no they do not know where the other one is."
"Thank you for your help," Harry replied.
"You are welcome." She turned to Sirius, "And you owe my brother a crate of the pineapple rum."
As they walked her to the door, she added, "this wand is bad. You should destroy it."
*UHD*
Meanwhile, in Merry Old England:
Three teenage girls hurried home from Diagon Alley. School was starting in a week, and this was their last opportunity to hang out together before the younger two had to return to Hogwarts for their final year. And with all the… changes recently, they were terrified to leave home.
The Headmistress had written their parents a letter reassuring them that nothing at the school would change, but everybody knew it was just a matter of time until the Ministry cracked down on Hogwarts and started enforcing the anti-muggle born directives. Not that the girls were muggle born, but they had seen the sort of people who were now patrolling Diagon Alley, checking people's identification papers.
Scary men with lascivious eyes that were just looking to abuse their new power.
Not that 'not going' was an option – the Ministry had also written their parents a letter, making the THAT very clear. One of their family friends had tried to transfer their son to Beauxbatons. The father had been arrested the next day. He was only released after they canceled their transfer application.
"Do you think we'll have Hogsmead weekends?" Sally asked as they rushed past the boarded up storefront which used to be Fortescue's.
"How can they not?" Replied her friend. "Here – I'll go up on my own." Her apartment was just three doors down, and she didn't want to inconvenience her friends. But as the three girls paused, two rough looking men dressed in muggle business suits stepped out of the shadows.
"Pureblood filth must die," Intoned the first in a monotone, menacing them with a muggle toaster.
"You can not run. You can not hide," added the second one, pointing an alarm clock at them. Both had the dead eyes of somebody under the influence of Zombi.
Suddenly there was a 'pop' and a tall man in wizarding attire appeared, "Do not fear, ladies. I will save you!" He hissed, raising his wand. He glanced over at the teens and gave them a winning smile, to make sure they got a good look at their savior, before hitting the two 'attackers' with quick Avada Kedavras in succession, killing them both in less than a second.
The girls recoiled in horror from the hairless, snake-like face of their 'rescuer'. And when the strange wizard started casting unforgiveables, they ran in terror.