Unknown Castle

Voldemort was furious. He had just suffered the loss of thirty werewolves who would have added nicely to his ranks. His follower Greyback was on the continent recruiting some more but this foray on the part of the ministry had hurt him. What was worse; there could be no retribution on the ministry for the act. He was still presumed to be dead and even Dumbledore had stopped harping that he was back. Maybe the old fool was doing something behind his back but he definitely was not readying the brat for war. He had seen the memory of the duel from Lucius. The boy was pretty mediocre. It looked like he had no extraordinary power or spells and that the Malfoy boy's spells missed mostly by luck. Even when he did raise a shield, he seemed incapable of blocking more than two ordinary curses. No, the potter boy was hardly a threat.

Things had not been good for him though. He had thought that the dark faction would be able to keep the idiot Fudge in his place and he would do nothing to ready the Aurors but then the boy had changed everything when he took his seats upon the Wizengamot. He had thought the boy was son of a blood traitor and a mudblood but he turned out to be descended from the oldest of families. Even his noble ancestor Salazar did not go back that far.

He had a strong steady force with him and he had been content with working in the shadows until Frank Longbottom had come out of nowhere and became the Minister. As soon as he assumed the office, he was putting the ministry back into shape. According to the most recent report from his spies in the ministry, they had 200 Aurors and they were still recruiting. Voldemort knew he had to up his game if he was to stay ahead of the Ministry and to that effect, he had asked Greyback to recruit with more vigour. It was a pity that Greyback could not go to wizards to recruit them because they would have killed him on sight. Of his servants, Lucius who had big coffers and enough influence could not go to the continent without being prosecuted. No other was as influential as him. He had sent his death eaters to other European countries to find more followers. The 30 werewolves who had been killed the other day were hardened criminals and he had hoped to turn many children and wizards to lycanthropy. He had not expected the Ministry to attack in such an aggressive manner and kill every werewolf they had found.

A move like that would have caused some unrest in the past, but; not under Minister Longbottom's administration. The story in the Daily Prophet and his reputation as a warrior who worked in the best interests of the people just made them love him more.

He had also wanted the Vampires. He had sent Mulciber to contact 3 of the covens in neighbouring countries. But they had all refused to join Voldemort. They had told him that a ruthless Vampire Hunter named Petrov had been hunting them for the past month with his squad. Interestingly, the vampire hunter did not eliminate them outright but told them that if they stayed out of the upcoming war, he would let them live. Voldemort had decided that he would deal with the Vampires when he had triumphed over the Wizarding World for good. As for the vampire hunter, he did not know what was coming for him.

The ministry was putting all the old warriors in their place already. Alastor Moody was in his position as the Head of Aurors which was troublesome. Rufus Scrimgeour who had a well-earned reputation as a warrior from the last war was in charge of the Magical Law Enforcement Patrols. He had been given unrestricted powers to act as he saw fit. Amelia Bones who was a veteran Auror was head of the DMLE and she had no problem with making difficult decisions in the past war. He was thankful that Barty Crouch Senior was not alive or he could have been a pain in his side. The man's impulsive action to send Death Eaters to their death just for having the mark would have been fatal to the morale of his forces.

He, of course, knew something of everyone who was in-charge of things now. Moody was a sadistic wizard who was a living nightmare for his forces. During the first war, he had killed dozens of them and put as many more behind bars. Frank Longbottom had escaped him three times. Amelia Bones had caused a lot of unprecedented trouble for his followers. He also needed to break his most trusted followers out of Azkaban because he knew he would need them. Some of them may be useless from too long exposure to Dementors but may be some were sane enough to command his forces. He would need to train his forces so that they could cast spells properly or they would be sitting ducks.

He had been meaning to march against the Wizarding World since long but the blasted prophecy held him back. He needed to hear it and his followers could not get near that thing. He had lost two of his followers to the prophecy already. Flint had died in St. Mungo's and another was struggling for his life. He could not make a move against the ministry unless he heard the prophecy. He of course knew who gave the prophecy all those years ago but he could not abduct her from under Dumbledore's nose. The old fool knew her importance and as a result he did not want her out of his sight and kept her in that classroom on the north tower.

He had prepared a list of things to do- To kill Dumbledore, Bones, the Longbottoms, Moody, Black, Scrimgeour and Peverell; to break his trusted followers out of Azkaban; to get the prophecy. But right now, he wanted to sit tight and let the little storm pass. Losing 30 was a heavy loss but he would persevere. There would be time enough to even the score with the Ministry. The chaos would start with getting his followers out of Azkaban after he was sure that the fortress could be breached without sustaining more loss than he stood to gain by it. He however would need a portkey or a couple of them to take his forces to the fortress when he was storming it. The fortress was such that he could not make a portkey to get there but only ministry issued portkeys would work. Apparition was also not allowed and if it were someone else, the dementors would have killed them but they would follow Voldemort. He also kept his pet Nagini around knowing how important she was for his survival. If Dumbledore suspected a thing, he would stop at nothing to find those precious soul containers and destroy them.

Somewhere in the dense impenetrable Jungles of Africa

Harsh Vardhan was sitting in a tent, wearing his battle gear. The battles all over the continent of Africa were taxing for the mystics but there was nothing that they could do except doing their duty. Having the honour of being the favoured one of Mother Magic was not easy.

One mystic entered the tent in a hurry with a missive in his hand. Harsh surmised from his body language that he had brought some news which required his immediate attention. He addressed the newcomer, "What is it, Martand? Has something happened?"

The mystic presented the letter to him, "Guruji, this letter has just come from Adrishpuram".

Harsh took the letter and cast a detection spell before he opened it. He read the letter at once and then read it again for the message to sink in. He folded the letter and slipped it inside his clothes and said to himself, "As he commands".

Hogwarts, a week later

It was near dawn and Harry Potter was standing atop the battlements with the crew he had assembled for the catapults. This morning, he was waiting for the three more people he had been looking for. He had been looking actively for people who could man the remaining catapults and no one had caught his eye until a day ago. Two nights ago, Fay Dunbar had cornered him in the common room.

-Flash Back Starts-

It was a change from his busy schedule that he had found time to spend in the common room with his house mates. It was also necessary to maintain a charade of normalcy for others. As it was, Ginny had asked him once or twice as to where he disappeared to in the evenings. He had consulted with Vikram who told him that it would not be amiss to skip practice a day or two in a week. He was already getting sufficient practice with the Order sessions.

He was lounging in one of the chairs near the fireplace when he was interrupted by someone, "Harry.".

He opened his eyes to find Fay Dunbar standing near him. She was a girl of 5 feet 6 inch height, had a petite frame, Auburn hair and grey eyes. He asked her, "Hello Fay, what can I do for you?"

She said to him hesitantly, "We need to talk".

He motioned for her to continue, "Please do go on".

She sounded a little nervous, "not here. Somewhere private".

Harry rose from his chair and followed her out of the tower to an empty classroom on the sixth floor. After he had secured the room, he turned to her, "Now tell me, Fay. What can I do for you?"

She said, "I want to join your order".

He was surprised but hid it well, "What order?"

She smirked, "Lavender Brown should really be careful with her mouth. I over-heard her talking to Parvati who admonished her for speaking too loudly".

Harry shrugged, "And why should I allow you to join? What stake do you have in this war, anyway?"

She said to him a bit hotly, "I have lost people to that maniac. My father was an Auror who was killed in the last war during a raid on Diagon Alley. They never found who had done it and I am determined to have vengeance for his death".

Harry asked her, "When has vengeance ever helped anyone, Fay?".

She retorted, "Then why are you planning to fight if you are not seeking vengeance for your parent's deaths?"

Harry sighed, "Miss Dunbar, I do not have animosity or hatred toward anyone anymore. I do seek to defeat Voldemort (she shuddered) because he is a threat to the safety of the wizarding world. While he lives, people will die. I am sorry but I cannot allow you to join if you want in for personal reasons".

Fay was about to cry, her eyes brimming with tears. She folded her hands and said to him hoarsely, "I beseech you, Lord Peverell. I come as a supplicant and ask this boon of you to let me join. I will fulfil whatever role you assign for me without keeping my personal vendetta above everything".

Harry was torn. On one hand, he wanted to refuse her but on the other hand, she was formally asking a boon as a supplicant and it was nothing more than what others asked of him. He decided to give her a try though, "I will allow you in the order, Fay but on the condition that if I ever feel that you are letting your personal feelings cloud your judgment, I will banish you post-haste".

She replied gratefully, "I am thankful, Harry. I promise I will not place my personal feelings above the greater good".

Harry had been scanning her mind for any kind of deception but there was none. She was a pureblood from a minor house but she had no mind shields whatsoever and it had been easy for him to go through her mind and determine where her loyalties lie.

Harry nodded and took her to Hermione to put her name on the parchment. After that was done, he told her to join him atop the Astronomy Tower before dawn broke and right now was waiting for her to turn up with others. As it was, he had not yet shown the catapults to his friends. Only those who were entrusted with using them knew of their existence.

-Flash back ends-

Fay came to the tower with her broom atop her shoulder. Soon afterwards, others followed with their own brooms. Sometime during the last week, Harry had met with Dumbledore regarding replacing the school brooms.

-Flash back starts-

Harry entered the Headmaster's office to find the old wizard doing some parchment work. He looked up and pointed Harry to the other seat. As Harry sat, he asked him, "What brings you here, Harry?"

"Headmaster a few days ago, I had commandeered Madam Hooch's brooms for students who are entrusted with working the catapults. I found that those brooms are ancient and in rough shape. Most of them belong in some museum rather than a school. A big reason that we have so many flying accidents generally in the first flying lessons of the first years is that the brooms are so old that a novice cannot fly them".

Dumbledore took a long breath before he started speaking, "Harry, your complaints are valid but the brooms cannot be replaced because we do not have enough money to finance education of poor yet deserving students and give the best facilities. Since the last war, the grants of the ministry have not been sufficient to meet our needs. With the money we raise from tuitions, student fees, alumni grants and fund raisers, we cannot give the best to them. I raised the issue before the Wizarding Examination Authority again after Minister Longbottom assumed office but the Ministry's income is not sufficient to meet the war expenses and to give a budget raise to the school".

Harry sat in contemplation for a few moments before he turned to the older wizard, "If you do not mind Professor, may I use your floo?"

Dumbledore nodded, "By all means, my boy".

Harry threw a pinch of floo powder in the fireplace and said, "Rosier Estate, Dorset".

A few seconds later, Remus Lupin was entering the office of the Headmaster followed by Sirius Black who then took a seat and then Harry turned to Dumbledore, "Professor, while I do not intend to boast, I have more money than I could spend in several lifetimes. I intend to create a trust fund worth 1 million Galleons with these two as trustees. The money would be invested in businesses which will earn you a healthy return in addition to five Hundred thousand Galleons payable to the school for use to upgrade, replace or repair facilities Which are in need. The interest generated from those returns shall be enough in addition to the ministry grants to run the school properly and allow you to provide best facilities. Also I have some shares in Quality Quidditch Supplies and in lieu of the income generated to me from them, I can ask them to supply a dozen brooms to the school as a donation in the name of James and Lily Potter alongwith Quidditch gear and other paraphernalia. Not a broom like Firebolt or the Nimbus, mind you but a Cleansweep or Comet would be equally good. Would that help?"

Dumbledore beamed at him, "Indeed my boy. That will do nicely"

Sirius added, "And I will add five hundred thousand to the fund he has promised. I have substantial inheritance left to me from Uncle Alpharad and it is of no real use to me. Better to be of use to someone than to just lie around and generate interest".

Dumbledore gave him a big smile, "people like you both are very few in this world who do such good works for others. I thank you both on behalf of all of them who will be benefitted by your generosity".

Harry turned to Remus, "Meet Griphook and ask him to do the needful and ask Uncle Ted to draft the trust agreement. I need this to be done in a week from now. Also, contact Quality Quidditch Supplies through him and ask him to send 6 Comets and 6 Cleansweeps to Hogwarts as a donation in the names of James and Lily Potter".

Remus nodded, "This will be done, cub".

-Flash back ends-

Later, Harry had asked Remus to purchase 4 brooms in addition to those already ordered and had kept them shrunk in his trunk. He had gifted them to those in charge of the catapults who did not have their own brooms. There had been only two of them though- Mandy Brocklehurst and Lisa Turpin who had a broom which was old.

Three others that he had found to man the catapults were Justin Finch-Fletchely and Dean Thomas. Dean's name was suggested to him by Seamus who said that Dean could do it. He did not know if Dean was up to the task but he was willing to give him a chance. Justin was selected after the Hufflepuff had shown immense improvement in aiming a spell at any designated target in the last training session. He knew that they may disappoint him and was ready for the disappointment to come.

As they all arrived, Harry asked them to follow him. When they reached the battlements, he confided the Fidelius secret to them and enjoyed the gasps of shock and surprise that escaped from the students gathered.

After they quieted, Harry started addressing them, "These catapults will be instrumental in the upcoming war if Hogwarts is besieged. For that reason, it is necessary for you all to learn to use them so there will be no problems on that count. For now, the existence of these is secret from others and as such I do not need to tell you that not a word of what we are doing here should find its way to others. These are calibrated primarily to slay giants and as such, no magical ammunition can be loaded into them but only things which would incapacitate or kill a giant. Later that may change though. I have too many people to look after and too many things to do, so Seamus Finnigan will be in-charge of these beauties. If any of you have a problem, you can voice your opinions. I will hear them and if necessary, I will address them".

No one protested. The Irish wizard was more than accomplished at his task and they were happy to leave him in charge. Harry had not also expected any protests from these students considering they generally followed whoever was willing to lead them.

After that the students started to take their turns at the catapults. Dean and Justin turned out to be accomplished at them claiming it reminded them of muggle games they had played. Harry was satisfied with the work done by now. September was ending and they had made their preparations which were needed aside from training the students at defence.

Great Hall

After a two hour gruelling work-out which involved much cursing and whining from the students, the session was over. Harry had started to teach them to dodge by the simple expedient of taking turns with Neville at pelting the students with high powered stingers which felt like Bludgers and left nasty bruises. There had been quite a few trips to the infirmary in the last few days but the students to their credit, did not back out of the sessions.

-Flash back-

Harry had been cornered one day by the medi-witch after 7 students had gone to her complaining about bruises. She had sent word to him through a first year to come and meet her when he had the time. Harry was initially worried because before this she always wanted to keep him out of the infirmary and would groan when he visited but this time, she was calling him.

He went to the infirmary to find her busy administering to a few students who had accidents in potions and asked him to take a seat in her office. She came after a few minutes and as she sat in her seat, she glared at him, "Have you entirely forgotten me this year, Mr. Peverell".

With a remarkably innocent expression, Harry said, "Not at all Madame Pomfrey. I'm sure I sent you a patron just last week".

She made a visible effort to control her expression as she recalled Malfoy's stay in the infirmary. He had to be the most unpleasant patient she had ever had to put up with.

Then Harry continued with a sheepish grin, "Madam Pomphrey, I did not intentionally deprive you of my company. It's just that this year I have been lucky enough to not need your services, that's all. Nor is there anyone baying for my blood this year. So, there was no real reason for me to visit and considering the fussing you do whenever I turn up, it made me wary".

She mock scowled, "I do not fuss over anyone. You are just one patient who does not stay out of trouble and you never come for little injuries like a bruise or things like that".

Harry gave her his best lop-sided grin and she smacked him on his arm, "That will not work on me, Peverell. Your roguishly handsome father could not charm me and he was more suave than you".

Harry smiled but said nothing. She started again, "Can you explain to me why I get a steady stream of students in here with nasty bruises on their body like somebody beat the hell out of them but they claim that it was only a stinger?"

Harry smiled nervously, "Madam Pomphrey, they are learning to dodge. Sometimes they are too slow. Besides I never use over-powered hexes. I did not know that they have such sensitive skin".

She rolled her eyes, "Tell that to someone who might believe it. Those bruises are not caused by ordinary but powerful hexes. Please see to it that I do not have to bother myself with such petty injuries anymore or I will give your bed to them to recuperate here".

Harry protested, "No, that bed is mine. MINE. I won't let you give it to anyone else".

She smirked, "then please control the power in your hexes. I would rather that my potions are not used on minor injuries".

-Flash back ends-

After the work-out he arrived at the table for breakfast. This morning he sat at the Hufflepuff table with his friends soon following him. If the puffs were enraged, they said nothing. Ernie took a seat beside him and so did others. He had started to sit at different tables for different meals and his friends usually followed suit except for the Slytherin Table. He never sat there for the simple reason that doing so would likely upset some members of his order or those who were working as spies in the Serpent's pit. If they were recognised, things would be difficult for them.

Zacharias Smith who had just come to the table, sneered, "What are you doing here, Peverell?"

Harry gave him a taunting smile and said, "I think I am having breakfast with my friends, Smith. Do you have a problem with that?"

He curled his lip, "This is not the Gryffindor table and no one is your friend here".

Ernie shot him down, "Smith, Harry is our friend and as such, he is welcome to sit here. You got a problem with that, take a seat further down the table".

He seethed, "I thought you were my friend, Macmillan".

Ernie gave him a smile, "I am your friend, but it is you who is making it an issue. If you are comparing yourself to Peverell here, then you have to be at least of his status before you go posturing".

"What do you mean?"

Ernie was still calm, "He is a lord of Five Houses one of which is an ally of my house since as far back as history goes. As such, it is my duty to look out for him. You might be descended from Helga Hufflepuff but the main family line has been extinct for centuries while he is Lord of one of the most ancient families. I know your family had a blood feud with his in the past which ended with the death of the then Lord Smith but that is ancient history now. Why would you beat a dead horse, I do not know".

Smith said nothing. He took another seat down the table with a few other puffs that stayed aloof of Harry. Daphne arrived at that moment and took a seat at the table. She had been acting strangely for the past week or so, sometimes trying to keep distance between herself and Harry, other times trying to be a close friend with him.

He asked her, "Daphne, what is wrong? I have noticed that you have not been your usual self for the past week or so. Is something wrong?"

She shook her head and gave a look that said "Talk to you later".

The classes had been going well. He had settled into a comfortable routine. Since he had started to spend two nights a week in the common room, he had more time to do his reading and finish his assignments. He had no dearth of study material considering he had a trunk full of books with him and often times, he was buried in some book or other. However he was also careful about the books he picked because once or twice, he had taken out a book accessible only to a Black and Hermione in a quest to know what he was reading had tried to touch them which would have been fatal because most of them were laced with nasty curses. He could not remove the curses from them because they were mostly about family magic or there were things in them that should not be known to everyone. There were also a few younger students who were approaching him to ask him a thing or two about their studies and he helped them.

Room of Requirement

Today was a session for the members of his little order and he was teaching. They were still doing the bombarda. It had been three sessions already but Harry wanted to make sure that they could do it with ease so he was giving time to it.

The only change in strategy that he had made was to have the students cast spells at dummies and not at each other. He could not afford any accidents that would raise questions.

As the students gathered, they divided themselves into groups and set to work. Harry generally strolled around the room and corrected people if their aim was off or they had problems in casting. There were many who could cast expertly now but there were still a few who were having troubles. He would patiently explain everything to them and then let them try it again. He had noticed that it was generally the witches who required his attention something that had caught Susan's attention and often times it was she who would intervene in his place.

After an hour of casting, he stopped them and asked how many of them could do the impedimenta charm. When asked why, he simply told them that since it was not easy for them to fight with a werewolf, it was one spell which could give them some chance of making an escape.

When Hermione asked how, he adopted a scholarly demeanour and started explaining, "When you are in a close fight with a werewolf, the impedimenta can stop them for a second or two. In those crucial seconds, if you are powerful enough then you can use some of these spells like the bombarda or a reducto to injure them. But since they are magical creatures that really won't do much to them unless there are two or three people casting those spells simultaneously. If you do not want to fight them, you can make an exit from the situation either by disapparating or applying a scent masking charm on yourself and silencing spell on your feet with a disillusionment charm. Since they cannot smell your presence anymore or see you, chances are that they cannot find you. They can be killed by powerful dark curses, which you do not know and would not have the power to cast if you did. They can also be killed or disabled with silver weapons, but to use them, you would have to close to melee with them. This is dangerous for several reasons, they are fast and strong. Their bite or even their scratch can curse you with lycanthropy. This is why I am teaching you to escape from them rather than trying to teach you how to kill them".

Hermione spoke after a few minutes of silence, "so, that means we must know at least two or three spells which are not taught in our regular studies, the impedimenta jinx, the scent masking charm and the silencing spell?"

Harry nodded, "Yes but I would also caution you to not approach one unless you are in groups or you can match its speed".

As they had discussed, Harry started to teach them the impedimenta jinx which was not very hard for them to master but it took an hour for all of them to learn it and do it almost without a thought. Harry also had noticed the growing closeness between many of the students who gathered to practice in the Room of Requirement. He knew of Hermione and Ronald, Neville and Hannah but Tracy was spending much more time around Fred now while George was happily being oblivious working with Angelina. Lavender Brown was getting cosy with Seamus Finnigan while Stephen Cornfoot was working with Sally Anne-perks and Ernie Macmillan was working with Megan Jones. He mused that in a few months there will be many couples walking in the corridors of the castle.

After the session ended, he dismissed the students in groups and returned to the common room to spend some time being a normal teen with his friends. This evening, Ronald challenged him to a chess match and Harry declined saying he had no intention of losing so many matches in a go. The mystic had taught him many things but chess was not one of them. He however encouraged Hermione to take up the challenge and for the next hour watched her lose three matches in a row. Hermione, deciding that she had enough excused herself and wandered off.

Next day

The next day, Harry was cornered by Daphne who had waited for others to go while Harry finished swimming. When he came out, she was there looking anxious.

He asked her, "Now tell me what is bothering you, Daphne? I have never seen you look so troubled".

She said hesitantly, "A week ago, when we were leaving the fourth floor, Luna cornered me and Tracy while we were on our way to the Dungeons. She sounded different that day".

"Different?" Harry asked her, "Define different".

"I meant different for her. She did not have the dreamy look in her eyes nor was she skipping as she usually does. She just came up to me and asked me to stop being your friend. She did not even mention any of her creatures like she always does but spoke frankly. She warned me that there is death and misery to come and that it will be unbearable for you if you continued being my friend".

Harry was thoughtful for a long time never having heard of Luna acting out of character. The way she lived around others was a way to keep her sanity and her secret from others but openly warning Daphne did not bode well either. If she was risking her sanity and her secret, there must have been something worth it however he could not figure it out yet.

He replied to Daphne, "I do not know what she meant. I do not see any problems with us being friends. I have a lot of friends and why she would only warn you is beyond my comprehension. I would only ask you to be careful of people around you and who you are telling these things".

With that she went to the Dungeons while he walked to the Gryffindor tower.

His own training was working well for him. He could now fly at a decent speed though nothing like a broom but everyday was an improvement. He had tried to cast the Dementor slaying spell. When he did, it really took a lot out of him. Vikram had told him to try it twice a week so that his core could get accustomed to the demands of the spell. For an average witch or wizard, maintaining the spell for even a minute would be a major accomplishment however it was not advised for them lest they passed out due to magical exhaustion. Vikram told him that the spell could work against all dark creatures but it was typically used only against Dementors because there was no other means. He also had finished mastering the Sanskrit spells which were in the book given to him by Pawan. There was not much to learn nothing new but only to practice what he had learned. He had also mastered the mage vision which was accessible to a handful of wizards and could even penetrate through a polyjuice disguise. This was in the Peverell Grimoire and he believed that it would come in handy sometime. Lately Vikram had started to duel him with lethal spells only and in all the duels that they had done, neither had bested the other.

As Harry went to sleep this night, the weather was turning bad with dark black clouds in the sky swirling and threatening to rain any day. If the signs were to be believed, the storm would be a lightning storm and the rain might go for days.

Sometime in the middle of the night, two figures in the castle rose from their beds and stealthily went out of the castle. While these two figures were out for the same reason, they did not know it. One of them went towards the edge of the Forbidden Forests where they met with a man who took them out of Hogwarts by apparition while the other figure went towards the Quidditch pitch and locked themselves in one of the locker rooms. As the storm started to brew overhead, they pulled a phial out of their robes and waited for the right moment. Lightning started shattering the darkness of the night sky and the storm clouds. Each aimed their wand at their heart and said an incantation and quaffed the potion in one go.

Next Day

Next day, the rain was coming down in buckets and Harry didn't want any of the students to drown or sink out of sight in the mud, so he cancelled the morning work-out. There was simply no way that they could go out and run in these conditions. Reluctantly he sent everyone back to their dorms. The students gleefully returned to their dorms to catch up on their sleep.

Harry knew there was nothing he could do and he enquired after Susan from Hannah noticing she was not there. Hannah told her that Susan was still in bed and that she was going to have some fun with waking her up with a jet of water in her face.

Since there was some time before breakfast, he returned to the tower to do some study and found Neville was still asleep. He whipped his wand out and sent a powerful stinger at Neville but the spell stopped a foot before his bed. Harry was surprised at the presence of a ward around Neville's bed. With a few detection spells, he realised that they were basic wards erected to stop spells or solid objects from passing through. Interlaced in the wards were an alert ward and a ward to petrify someone if they got too close. Harry had practiced ward breaking, but simply breaking Neville's wards wouldn't be much fun. He smirked mentally and erected a ward in close proximity to the one which Neville had placed then went down to the common room.

After an hour, there was a great commotion in the fifth year dorms with Neville Longbottom shouting at the top of his lungs and cursing everyone that he could remember. Harry rushed to the dorms with everyone and they found Neville Longbottom hanging upside down and cursing. He came down after about 10 minutes when the wards expired.

Classes in the last week became more tiresome. The teachers were more demanding and assigned them tons of parchment essays.

Potions was the best subject easily with Harry dominating the dungeons now. The condition was such now that the other students had even stopped trying to catch up to him knowing there was nothing they could do to match him with everything going on. Snape had taught them the Calming Draught and was teaching them the Draught of peace now which was used to relieve anxiety.

As it was, most of the fifth year was up at dawn, running laps around the lake before being pummelled by the duo of Peverell and Longbottom for an hour and then returning to the castle stiff and sore. The regular classes were still onerous and then the homework in addition to two days a week in the room of requirement. Those who were on Quidditch teams had two or three nights more per week for practice on top of that. Together it all made school life very tiring for them.

Transfiguration was easy because he could do all and more than Professor McGonagall required. She had mastered them the inanimate conjuration and did not start a new topic until she was sure that every student in her class could perform those conjurations with ease and had spent the last week making the students perform inanimate conjuration. Mercifully she did not give more homework on the switching spell and proceeded to teach them to transfigure a dinner plate to a mushroom.

Flitwick did not give them much trouble except for setting them to revise whatever he had taught in the previous years. He however gave them homework on the topics so that it would brush up their knowledge and OWLs would be easier for them. So far, he had made them revise the banishing charms, Incendio, Locomotion charm and was planning to teach them the colour changing charm next.

Professor Sprout was giving them no trouble. She was teaching them as usual. At the end of each class, she assigned reading ahead for the next class and short essays to see if what they had learned today had sunk in.

On the side, she had got a few of her fifthe and sixth year puffs to work on the plants in the newly set-up greenhouse and had confided in Harry that she was not going to teach about them to the class which was passing out this year because information about the newly acquired plants would be required to be furnished to the Wizarding Examination Authority before they gave their nod to include them in the NEWTs syllabus. The puffs who volunteered to care for those plants were from the Order of the Snow Leopard.

Runes was interesting because there was so much that Harry was learning for the first time. He had started to enjoy her classes greatly. The theory made him understand the principle behind everything that he was doing and how it worked. He regreted that he had wasted two years on Divination because he thought it would be an easy grade. Runes was way better than Divination. For divination, you either had the sight or you did not but Runes could be learned and there were so many uses for them. The amount of homework for Runes was insane but Harry managed it with diligent learning and a glare or two from Susan who wanted him by her side when they studied in the library.

Care of Magical Creatures was easy for them because he already knew the animals they were supposed to be learning about and had more rational answers for the teacher than others. His answers were based on his practical experiences and not on text book reading unlike Hermione who still read every word in a book and committed it to her memory. Harry had realised that his friend had eidetic memory and that was the reason that she could read like she did and she had a well organized mind.

Defence was exciting. Since the professor was one that the students liked, no one ever missed any of his classes and he was yet to pick up a text book to teach them something. Generally he would take them to the practice ranges he had set up, show them the spell he wanted them to know and then let them practice while observing his students and correcting them if required. He had taught them shielding and dodging already and now was teaching them reducto. While most of the class had already perfected the spell in the training sessions in the Room of Requirement, they dutifully cast the spell in the practice range not to let others become suspicious. There were many who were not part of the Order of the Snow Leopard so they had to keep up appearances.

History of Magic was the toughest of the lot. Professor Hughes kept them on the edge of their seats by telling in detail the history of Dark lords in the past who had tried to seize power, their strategies, their failures and the response of the wizarding world to them in general. It seemed that every new Dark Lord had looked like the worst in history until the next one came along. After classes, she often assigned them two foot of parchment to write about the said dark Lords. It required them to read a lot but it was also eye-opening in ways.

Last week had also been Hermione's Birthday on September 19th. Harry had taken the others and snuck out of school after classes. They had spent the evening in the Three Broomsticks in a private parlour upstairs. Harry gave her a book about Occlumency which was in his library. The book did not give all the details about mind magic but had excellent instructions about learning Occlumency while purposefully ignoring Legilimency. He knew that she wanted a book on the topic but as there were none in book stores and she had no wizarding family to give her one, he had decided to do it. She was a sister to him after all. Ronald had given her a book about Numerology which was very expensive while others also had given her gifts, of which there were books mostly.

5th Floor, Hogwarts

Harry was walking from the classes alone when someone called him from behind, "Lord Peverell".

Harry turned to find Astoria Greengrass looking at him strangely and he gave a slight bow to her, "Yes, Miss Greengrass. How may I serve you?"

Astoria said neutrally to him, "I was looking to have a word with you without a third party being privy to it".

Harry thought for a second before he nodded, "Follow me Miss Greengrass."

She followed him to a classroom where he locked it with the strongest locking spell he knew and cast the imperturbable charm upon the door. He then turned to Astoria, "How can I serve you, Miss Greengrass?"

Astoria asked him, "Please call me Astoria and tell me is there anything going on between you and Daphne?"

Harry asked her thoughtfully, "What do you mean?"

Astoria scoffed, "So you are just as dense as other blokes and clueless. I thought you would be better than them".

Harry chuckled, "You speak the truth, Astoria. When it comes to girls, you are still a mystery to me. Perhaps if you spoke more plainly, I could understand you better".

Astoria asked him frankly, "Are you and Daphne an item? Are you both seeing each other?"

There was no mistaking what Astoria was saying now. He employed Occlumency to keep his outward demeanour calm while he quickly rifled his own memories of his interactions with Daphne. Now that he thought about it, she had been quite forward with him. Then he put it together with that strange talk he had with her by the lake. He had to think and think fast. Daphne was a friend and a priceless ally. He didn't want to mess that up.

All this took a few moments before he answered, "Astoria, if we were an item, as you put it, I am a gentleman and I would not dishonour her by talking about it, not even to her sister. But, no. We are not seeing each other in that way. I am yet exploring my feelings towards others and I am not sure yet. May be in a few months I will know. I am curious, though, what makes you think that we might be an item?"

Astoria looked at him poker faced, "How do you explain to me why a bloke would ask out a girl and take her to a date sneaking out of school? As far as I know, you need to be secretive only if you have got something to hide. Daphne however has been very forthcoming about her feelings. She has been infatuated with you since I can remember".

Harry felt uncomfortable, "You are right, I have been dense. I felt bad because she asked me out for the first Hogsmeade weekend and I did not answer her properly. I wanted to make it up to her, so we went to Hogsmeade together. We sneaked out because I didn't want people talking. As I already said, I am still exploring my feelings towards others. It may change someday or may not but that is in the future. For now, she is one of the people I trust".

Astoria pouted, "That is disappointing. And here I was expecting to know some juicy details or encourage you to drag her to a broom cupboard".

Harry felt uneasy and stuttered, "Are you not a little young to talk about such things yet?"

She gave him a bright smile, "I will thank you to not determine for me what I can do or what I cannot. If things progress between you both, I intend to hear it before anyone else".

Harry had no experience with prying little sisters. He just shook his head making a mental note to talk to Daphne about it when he got the chance.

As it was nearing dinner, he decided to bring it up with Daphne. There was no way he could go about being her friend if she thought that way. Harry was telling the truth to Astoria when he said that he had not thought that way about Daphne and he had to make sure that Daphne also knew it.

Great Hall

Harry sat at the Gryffindor table waiting for others who were in the library or engaged in different tasks. Daphne slipped into the seat beside him as she asked, "What has got you in a tizzy, Harry?"

Harry eyed her warily, "Your sister, that is what has got me in a tizzy".

Daphne arched an eye-brow, "What did she say?"

Harry raised a privacy ward around them, "She cornered me after classes during the day and asked for a word. As I granted her request, she asked me if there was something going on between us. She also claimed that you are infatuated with me. Can you shed any light on that?"

Daphne was blushing hard but controlled her blush and said to him, "I suppose I cannot hide this anymore? Well, she is right and I have been infatuated with you for the better part of the last four years now. Since I am not a Gryffindor, I did not have the courage to admit this to you".

Harry was looking at her with a poker face expression and it took him some time before he could reply, "Daphne, I will tell you what I have told Astoria. I am not sure of my feelings towards you yet. You are one of the people that I trust but I do not know anything more than that. It may change with time or it may not. For now, I enjoy your company. I am glad of the fact that you are one of my best friends now".

Daphne nodded, "I understand Harry".

They could not continue their conversation further because Tracy chose that moment to interrupt them followed shortly by others. Harry was happy to drop the conversation because he did not want to deal with it. Daphne did not push it because she knew it might erupt into a fight.

Serpent's Pit

"I am going to murder her, Trace. I swear I will. Father would get angry but I will convince him that I did it because it was necessary. Mother would be a little upset but she would come around. I will ask Harry to defend me from the Dementor's kiss in my trial in the Wizengamot".

Tracy was laughing hearing her friend rant. Daphne had just told her what Astoria had done and she was enraged. She wanted to lay the ground work before making her move but Astoria had ruined it for her. Now she could not face Harry without thinking that he knew everything and her attempts to snag him were done for.

"Calm down, Daph. She is a child and was only trying to help you in her own twisted way. Think about it this way, now you do not have to gather up the courage to tell him that you have feelings for him. He knows it and maybe he would stop being clueless now and may even start returning your affections".

Daphne calmed down a little thinking it may lead him to return some of her affections in one form or another but all the same, she was angry with Astoria for ruining it. She was planning to write a letter to her mother anyway and ask her to rein in Astoria.

Green Hues

Frank Longbottom was in the parlour after a tiring day. He was sitting with Alice and Augusta enjoying sometime as a family. The moments to enjoy quiet time with his family were few and far between. With his job as Minister of Magic and Alice working in the Auror Department demanding most of their time and energy.

They were both starting to get some of their old prowess back. They were still not like they had been in the past, and maybe they never would be, but that would not stop them from giving their all in the upcoming war, come what may.

As they were sitting in the parlour making idle chat, Neville's owl, Hector flew to them from the open window and landed before Frank presenting his leg to him. Frank detached the letter from the owl and started to read it. Neville wrote at least once a week to them from school but this was the second letter this week which was unusual for him. With a frown Frank started to read the letter.

Dear Father,

As you well know Harry was sent on a werewolf hunt last week. I and his other friends wanted to go with him but he turned all of us down telling us that we could not help him in the task but would be an obstacle since we cannot fight with a sword. While I would agree with him on this point yet it was not easy to see him go traipsing off to slay werewolves knowing I would be useless even if I went with him.

I wish to ask you if you could send me a sword out of the Longbottom Family Vault. He had promised to us to teach us to wield and swing swords so that I can stand beside him the next time. Needless to say that being his godbrother, it is my duty to do so. If you do send one, please send it through our elf as I would like to attract as little attention as possible.

Love

Neville

Smirking Frank handed the letter to Alice wordlessly. She read the letter in one glance and looked at him as if asking a question. When Frank did not answer, she impatiently asked him, "What do you wish to do with his request?"

"I will honour his wish, of course. You know he will not stand back and let Harry face everything alone. He is too noble for that".

Alice sighed. "If that is your wish, then I am coming with you to find one for him".

Hogwarts, next day

The next day, when they returned to their dorms after classes, Neville's elf popped into the 5th year dorms startling Neville, Harry and Ron who had just returned from classes and were changing into more comfortable clothes.

The elf had apparated into the dorm rather loudly. In the next instant, three wands were trained on it but before anyone could fire a spell, Neville's voice boomed out. "Don't fire it's just my house elf".

The house-elf was shaking from fright and Neville picked it up in his arms and patted its back for a few minutes before he asked. "What brings you here, Squeaky?"

The elf said in her squeaky voice. "Master be sending sword to you, master".

She produced a scabbard with a sword in it and handed it to Neville. As he took it, she disapparated. Neville took the long sword out of its sheath and examined the sword more closely. It was made in the same shape and style as the 10th century Carolingian sword. Unlike those ancient blades which were made of welded, braided steel, this blade was of goblin forged silver and was all one colour. The blade, cross-guard an pommel were all forged in one piece with craft and skill which would have been beyond the skill of even the legendary sword smiths of Seville. The single edged blade was about three feet in length. The pommel ended in a series of five rounded lobes, while the hilt was decorated with costly gems and had the Longbottom Crest on it. The blade was sharp and hummed in his hands. It was quite different from the sword Harold Peverell had because it did not have a basket guard, the blade was a single edge and it was clearly intended to be wielded with one hand. The hilt was rather plain except for the gems which adorned it. There were runes running through its body and just above the hilt, the house animal of House Longbottom i.e. a Hippogriff was drawn.

Harry looked at the blade in awe for a few seconds before he found his voice. "Mate, what do you need a sword for?"

Neville smirked. "So you do not have an excuse to leave me behind the next time you go running to face werewolves."

Harry started to protest but Neville shut him down. "Mate, this time you have to listen to me. You cannot always tell us what to do. This war is not just yours but for all of us who oppose them. You are the leader we look towards but that does not mean that you can dictate our course of action. Now either you will teach us how to use a sword or I will obtain the services of a master".

Harry looked at him open-mouthed, surprised that Neville could shut him down. He thought for several moments before a half-smile started to form on his face. He turned to Neville, "Deal. I will teach you to swing it at least provided you can find a place for us to practice without others watching and you cannot use the Room of Requirement for it because that place is hardly secure".

Neville smirked. Harry of course did not know about the little room on the third floor which Dumbledore had put under a Fidelius for him to practice his magic. He turned to Harry, "deal, mate. Meet me on the third floor at 9:00 where we had met Fluffy".

Ron who had been watching the conversation while saying nothing realised that his friends had just planned something without including him in it and he raised his hands. "Hang on you cannot do this to me. You both cannot leave me out of it".

"Sorry Ron but it looks like there is nothing for it. I had already told you that you need to bring your own equipment. As it is, I do not want to involve anyone in it but Neville will not be left behind and he has a sword to his credit".

Ron huffed but controlled his tongue knowing anything he said would cause trouble and with his propensity to put his foot in his mouth, he might end up saying something which would not be appreciated. He decided to corner Hermione and ask her what they could do.

Third floor

Harry met Neville at the third floor after dinner and they both snuck out without anyone knowing except Hermione and Ron. Hermione knew that Harry would not bow down to her and there was only one person he would really listen to and that was Susan. Susan was not powerful but she had a way with him and Hermione was yet to see him deny anything to her. While others may say this was bloody blackmail but to her, it was just using one of your resources and Gryffindors were nothing if not resourceful.

Neville took him to the left wing where there was a statute of a mermaid. Harry raised an eyebrow at him. "Are we here to see a mermaid, mate? Because trust me, I have seen them and they are nothing short of ugly".

Neville whispered in his ear, "The sanctuary of the mermaid can be found beside the mermaid statue in the left wing on the third floor of Hogwarts Castle.". Harry eyed Neville looking surprised, "Fidelius? You did not tell me that you have a special room for you. Who cast the charm?"

Neville smirked. "Dumbledore did that. He wanted me to keep it a secret so I can practice my family magic here in peace, away from the gawking eyes of others and learn whatever he is teaching me".

The lesson started with the basic stance which took him ten minutes to achieve after which Harry taught him about how to swing it. Harry had talked with Vikram who had told him that there was nothing wrong with teaching sword fighting to Neville or to any of his friends. The prohibition was mostly about teaching them to use the weapons to cast their magic through it. That was a long forgotten secret accessible only to mystics now.

After Neville had practiced swinging the sword for 30 minutes, Harry conjured two sticks which were the same length and balance as the swords and tossed one to Neville. As Neville caught it, Harry started attacking him vigorously and for 10 minutes mercilessly pummelled Neville. By the time he was done, Neville was out of breath and panting with bruises on his body from all the times that the sword had hit him and he could swear that he was going to be sore for the next few days.

Harry vanished the two conjured swords and turned to him. "Next session will be two days from now. I expect you to do better than that. Also you cannot go to Madam Pomphrey for the bruises. Let them heal on their own. This is a part of this discipline".

Neville meekly nodded wondering if he had made some kind of mistake when he insisted on learning sword fighting.

REVIEWS

A/N- I read some very interesting theories in the reviews lately. I would say that I was amused however I am not saying anything about coming chapters just now. That would ruin things. I loved the reviews guys and sorry that this chapter was late but professional commitments tend to do that sometimes.

THANK YOU HYPERGYM FOR THE EDIT.