In Harry's study on Firewall Island, the fireplace and lights flared to life as two teens walked in.
"Can I take your cloak for you?" Harry asked Hermione.
"Sure, thank you," she said as she shrugged off the Hogwarts robe and let him hang it up on the coatrack next to the fireplace.
"Knock knock," someone said before actually knocking on the half-open door.
"Come on in, Mr. Dunbar," Harry called as he shrugged out of his own robe.
"Just in from Hogwarts?" the older man asked knowingly.
"Yes, sir," Harry answered as he tugged off his tie as well.
"We came as soon as dinner finished," Hermione said.
"Please, Harry, call me Maxwell," he said before stepping further into the room.
"Oh, hello," Harry greeted as he saw the woman behind him.
"This is my wife, Georgia, if you haven't met."
"Hello," she said in a pleasant voice. She was a short, plump motherly woman with a long blonde braid. Harry got definite Hufflepuff vibes from her.
"We've met in passing, I think," Harry said with an easy smile.
"Nice to see you again, Mrs. Dunbar," Hermione greeted.
"Call me Georgia, please, there's too many Dunbars running around here."
"Of course," the brunette agreed with a laugh.
"Please, have a seat," Harry said as he gestured towards the comfortable sofas and chairs around the fireplace.
"Sorry to drag you out of Hogwarts, dears," Georgia said once they were all seated.
"It's no trouble at all," Hermione assured them. "I'm sorry we had to schedule this meeting so late."
Fay's uncle reminded Harry a lot of the girl herself. He owned Dunbar construction and had been a great help with a lot of the projects undertaken by the DA and Diggory War Relief Fund.
"Tea?" Harry asked as a service appeared on the table between them.
"Yes, thank you," Maxwell agreed.
Harry served each of them before sitting back in his chair and giving them an attentive look.
"Hermione wouldn't tell me what this meeting was about so I'm pretty curious. What's going on?"
"Go ahead, love," Maxwell nudged his wife gently.
"Lord Potter-" she began.
"Please, just call me Harry," he interrupted gently. "We all live here together, after all."
"Right, see, that's sort of what this is about," she said nervously. "A lot of people live here and it seems like a lot of people work here too."
"That's true."
"One…office," she hedged out the word. "In particular is a little…troublesome."
Ah. Harry knew where this is going. One glance at Hermione confirmed it.
"Now that's not to say that we don't appreciate all of the good work he's doing, Merlin knows someone has to get the truth out there," Georgia hurried to continue as she saw the realization on his face. "It's just that sometimes it's a little loud or smelly or outright, well, dangerous!"
Harry winced while trying not to wonder about the smelly comment. He had a feeling that he didn't want to know.
"Xeno's a great chap, he really is," Maxwell said. "But he's a hairsbreadth away from taking that tower down."
Yes, Xenophilius Lovegood and his running of the Quibbler from Firewall had provided plenty of excitement for those around the castle.
"I won't lie to you — I've had this discussion a few times already. Each time we think we have a solution, something else happens," he sighed.
"After the erumpent horn…incident," Hermione said delicately. "We think something a little more drastic might be in order."
"What are you suggesting?" Harry asked reservedly.
"Since we heard the Lovegood home had been destroyed, we wondered if we could rebuild it here rather than wait until after the war," Maxwell said.
"That way, he could move his newspaper business to an outside structure," his wife added. "And the rest of the castle will be a little quieter during the odder hours."
"I wouldn't want Xeno to feel like we're pushing him out of the castle," Harry frowned.
"He wouldn't," Hermione assured him. "We've already talked to him about it."
"You have?"
"Yes," she confirmed. "He's been having some logistical issues running the Quibbler from the tower anyway; even with magic, there's not quite enough space."
"The owlery is the main issue," George told him. "He has a riot of a time sending out the paper with all of the new subscribers."
"Apparently, there's a lot of confusion between Quibbler birds versus pet birds," Hermione mentioned.
"When did you talk to him about this?" Harry asked curiously.
"A couple of days after the erumpent horn incident," his friend answered.
"Then why didn't you talk to me about it sooner?"
"It took some time to get a few of the…finer details cleared up," she hedged.
"What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously.
He'd known Hermione long enough to know when there was something she was holding back or not saying, which was definitely the case here.
"Well…" she said slowly. "Have you thought about what might happen to Firewall after the war?"
"I assumed everyone would go home."
"Some people will, sure," she agreed. "But some people, like Xeno, already lost their homes. A few have lost their businesses."
"Well of course they're welcome to stay here however long they need."
"What if they wanted to stay forever?" Hermione asked with a neutral expression.
"What?"
"The privileges associated with the Gryffindor title leave some options open, Harry," she said bluntly. "You could start another Hogsmeade, so to say, here on Firewall. Eventually, we won't need a Fidelius anymore and we can open it up to the public."
"We could make this a new wizarding settlement," Maxwell said.
"One where you have the rare opportunity to choose which witches, wizards, or magical beings get to build homes here," Hermione explained. "You have the right to collect rent and enforce rules — this could be the first truly integrated magical settlement."
"You want to start a village…here?" Harry blinked, sitting back in his chair.
"Potentially," Maxwell hurried to say.
"Right, this isn't even in the planning stages," Hermione agreed. "It's just an idea."
"Could we really do that?"
"The law is on our side," the bookworm confirmed. "You have the right to build on your land or sublet it as you choose. You even have the right to collect rent and enforce rules."
"But would anyone really want to live here?" he said with a furrowed brow. "We already have Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade."
"Exactly," Georgia agreed. "And that's all we have."
"Not everyone is comfortable going into the muggle world or has the opportunity to travel to other countries," Maxwell explained. "Their options for entertainment are Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley."
"This island is gorgeous," his wife said. "There's also a lot of land available. Hundreds of people could live here, more even."
Hermione waved her wand and formed a rough map of the island over the table.
"The castle is positioned on a rocky outcropping overlooking the meadows, hills, and the widest part of the loch. There's a narrow outlet and cliffs near where it leads out to the sea but the area you can see here nearest the castle would be an ideal place to begin constructing a settlement," she explained.
"That's a lot of open space, not to mention the land further out along either side of the loch," Maxwell mused. "We have the space for a village easily triple or quadruple the size of Hogsmeade."
"Trust me, a magic-friendly beach in Britain would be a huge hit in the summer," Georgia said. "And there's tons of waterfront land on either side of it — I know at least five people who would kill to live with a view like that."
"In the future, any settlement could expand out from there," Maxwell said as he gestured to the same spot Hermione had.
"That sounds like a huge undertaking."
"There's no need to rush into anything," Hermione assured him. "Like we said, this isn't even in the planning phases."
"But the first step would be Xeno's house," Harry said. "And if we build one house, I'm sure it won't be long before we build another. We need a comprehensive plan in place before that becomes an option."
"Well, we weren't actually planning on building Xeno a house, per say."
"We weren't?" Harry asked Maxwell curiously.
"Initially, I thought Xeno would want to reconstruct the Rook exactly as it was," the older wizard answered.
"He doesn't want to do that?"
"Yes and no," Maxwell grinned.
"Xeno wants to build a lighthouse here," Hermione said as she pointed to the map.
The loch reached into Firewall Island like a narrow finger. The widest part was the innermost part that was visible from the castle. The narrowest part was where it reached the sea. The island formed two towering cliffs on the east and the west that boasted hundred meter drops into the sea from their highest points. Hermione was pointing at one of the plateaus on the southernmost tip of the island.
"On the eastern side?" Harry double checked as he peered at where she was pointing.
"Given how rocky the hill on the west side is, the east side is a better place to build the Lovegood home," Maxwell said. "Or lighthouse, I should say."
"The cliffs on the east slope back down towards the rest of the island pretty gently," Hermione said. "The western side raises up in rocky ledges and would be a lot of work to make it walkable. As it is, it's an intense hike. Most people just fly out if they want to enjoy the view."
"We'll have to build some sort of fence or ward to make sure no one can fall off the cliffs," Harry said. "I didn't realize people were already exploring near them."
"It's quite the view," Maxwell shrugged. "But we'll work out some safety measures. That's a good idea. Maybe a ward to limit how far broom flyers can go as well. We wouldn't want them leaving the wards unintentionally."
"Are there wards like that?"
"Of course," he confirmed. "People normally use them around Quidditch pitches so that players don't range too far outside of muggle-repelling wards. That was a big problem in the late nineteenth century."
"Well I don't see a problem with building a Lighthouse there. It's a good spot for one; it looks out towards the sea on one side and towards the loch and castle on the others. It's pretty far from here though," he noted.
"It's a very quick broom ride," Maxwell said. "I've already been out to have a look. It's a nice spot."
"It would be the farthest southern point of any future settlement," Hermione told him. "The central and eastern grassy areas would be the bulk of it; the west is fairly rocky and good spots to build on are fewer and farther between over there."
He nodded at that. She had a decent point. The western and southwestern side of the island rose up a bit more dramatically with chunks of rock and large boulders. The other side had far more open land and the cliff that the lighthouse would overlook had a long, gentle slope leading up to it with fewer rocky outcroppings to clamber over.
"It also gives us an excuse to landscape in that direction so that we can eventually connect the lighthouse and the castle with a footpath," Maxwell noted.
"Interesting," Harry said thoughtfully.
"Is this something you're open to?" Hermione asked.
"Honestly?" he asked. "Yes, I think so. I mean I don't see why not, at least. What would be the first step?"
"Right now, we'd plan for a settlement between the beach and the castle. The lighthouse will be pretty far to the south east side of that to start with and the castle will overlook it all."
"Okay," he nodded. "That sounds fine."
"The problem is, right now the castle is hard to access by foot because it's built up on a tall, rocky ledge."
"Yeah, those stairs are rough," he agreed. "I know some people here use them to hike down to the beach."
"Right," he agreed. "So in the short term, we'd start landscaping the entire front of the castle. With the goblins help and a lot of magic, we can reshape some of that rock and turn it into a sort of terraced garden."
"The house-elves have been working with Neville on some plans for it; from the way they go on, it'll be worthy of a royal garden."
"Knowing Neville's talent for it, that wouldn't surprise me."
"It'll also give those house-elves something to do," Georgia chuckled. "Those little dears are always trying to find something to help with."
"There'll be ponds, waterfalls, and tons of walking paths and multiple sets of much safer stairs so everyone can get down to the fields and back up to the castle," Maxwell said. "From there, we build a cobblestone path towards the lighthouse."
"Plus, everyone will love an additional outdoor space to stop them from going a little stir crazy," Georgia said enthusiastically. "Taking a turn about the gardens sounds lovely to me."
"For now, it'll just be a path to the lighthouse. In the future, it becomes the first road we build along for any future construction," Maxwell finished.
Harry nodded thoughtfully before giving Hermione a long look.
"You really think this could work?"
"I do."
"And you don't think it would be spreading us too thin?"
"For now, it's just landscaping and one construction project that we don't need to rush through," she answered. "In the future, we'll need teams and committees to help make plans. That's a long ways off, however, and even then there are a lot of parents and family members here that would love to help with something like this. If we take it slow, I don't see why we can't handle this."
He nodded one more time before setting down his empty tea cup.
"If everyone is on board, I'm on board," he said. "I'd like to see the final plan for the lighthouse though."
"I'll get it to you once it's finished," Maxwell confirmed. "But it might be a little while yet — we're working with Xeno on the design."
Harry looked mildly alarmed at that.
"Don't worry," Georgia assured him. "I have the final say over exterior design and colors."
"Nothing can be done for the interior though…" Maxwell shuddered.
"That man might be genuinely color blind," the blonde woman said with a laugh. "Sweet as a plum though."
"Maybe we should consult Luna as well," Hermione said thoughtfully.
"It will be her house too, after all," Harry agreed. "Though they're both welcome to keep their rooms in the castle as well."
"Do you think Luna will balance out some of her father's more eccentric design tendencies?" Georgia asked hopefully.
Hermione and Harry were silent for a beat, holding each others gaze. Then, they both let out a loud laugh that had Georgia's face falling slightly.
"I wouldn't say that," Harry chuckled.
"But Luna is lovely," Hermione assured her.
"Well, I'm sure she'll be able to help keep him on track," Georgia said.
"Yes, we really need to hash out exactly where he wants the printing press and owlery as well," Maxwell said.
"Well let me know if there's anything I can do to help."
"We will," Maxwell promised as he and his wife stood from the love seat they'd been occupying.
"Thank you for the tea, dears."
"Anytime," Harry said. "Thank you for constantly assisting around here."
"We're happy to help," she smiled warmly.
Once the two left the room, Harry and Hermione stood as well.
"That was surprising," he said.
"Sorry to spring that on you," she apologized. "I wasn't trying to keep it a secret, I just didn't want to overwhelm you."
"It's okay, Hermione," he assured her. "It's nice to be let in on the plan but I also appreciate you waiting until you had some concrete ideas."
She smiled warmly before they both put on their cloaks.
"Should we tell everyone else about it and what it could mean?" he wondered.
"Why not?" she asked. "I'm sure most of them want to be the first residents."
"I have a feeling that I just signed myself up for a lot more work than I realized."
"Oh definitely," she chortled.
"Don't laugh — I'm putting you in charge of most of it."
"You'll still have to sign a stack of forms as tall as you are by the end of it."
"Ugh," he groaned good-naturedly. "Did you just trick me into more paperwork?"
"Don't worry," she said just before their portkey triggered to take them back to Hogwarts. "I'll help you with some of it."
…
"This feels weird, that's all I'm saying," Neville said as he stared at the doorway in front of them skeptically.
"It feels weird that Slytherin built his secret chamber entrance in a girls bathroom to me too, Nev, but we do what we've gotta do," Harry said as he waved his wand for a second to counter the DA's wards over the second floor girls bathroom.
"I don't think he did," Blaise pointed out. "This style of restroom wasn't even invented in his time. He would have had a chamber pot."
"So one of his descendants made sure it got hidden here?" Ron asked skeptically.
"Probably," Blaise shrugged.
"Merlin, Slytherins are weird."
"We are not weird," Blaise sniffed. "We are cunning. I assume they hid it here because the placement of this bathroom threatened the Chamber's secrecy when builders began adding modern loos."
"Sure. He couldn't have just hid it entirely though? It had to be hidden in the girls bathroom?"
"Maybe it was a female descendant."
"Either way, a loo is a strange choice for the main entrance to a legendary chamber."
"Just get inside," Harry said with an eye roll as he hurried them all in.
"Hey boys," Megan said, making Neville jump slightly. She was leaning against one of Myrtle's stalls apparently waiting for them. The ghost herself was thankfully absent. "You four here for the tour?"
"Hey Megan," Harry greeted. "And yeah, we are."
"Everything is just about up and running," Daphne said as she stepped out from behind the sinks. It made Neville jump again and earned her a dirty glare.
To demonstrate, she waved a hand over the sink with a snake on the tap. A pulse of magic from her DA ring triggered the new opening mechanism. When it opened, they saw a clean tunnel that was well lit by a spiraling path of runes that were carved all the way down to the bottom. There was also no longer a loud, stone-on-stone grinding sound when it opened and closed anymore.
"Woah, nice," Harry said.
"It's an air tunnel," Daphne said. That explained the quiet breeze they could feel and the whistling noise they could hear.
"That's some serious rune work." Blaise commented.
"Papa Dunbar had some good ideas," Megan said before stepping in with an excited gleam in her brown eyes. "Geronimo."
Daphne followed with much more grace, allowed herself to be pulled down by the constant stream of guiding air. The boys followed after a shared shrug.
"Woo!" Ron cheered as he floated down quickly and landed easily on his feet.
"Woah, there's no more rat bones," Harry said as he looked around the round area the tunnel dropped them in. "And you expanded this area."
Daphne stared at him with an unimpressed expression. "If that's all you were expecting from this renovation, you're going to be very surprised."
"I've seen the price tag," he said dryly as Blaise landed behind them. "I half expected to find a replica of the Taj Mahal or something."
"Not quite," Megan said. "Sorry to disappoint."
"If the rest of the chamber is as bright and clean as this area then I'm already the opposite of disappointed."
"Yes, we spent all that gold on torches and sconces," Daphne said sarcastically.
Regardless of their ribbing, Harry meant what he said.
"Wow you're right, Daphne, he really is aiming high," Megan said in a deadpan tone.
"I had to come here when I was twelve to fight a basilisk to the death," he said in a similar tone. "This place used to feature in a fair few nightmares so sue me if I'm pleased not to have to slug though gross pipes and tunnels."
"Bloody Gryffindors," Blaise muttered under his breath. "Can't believe you did that at twelve years old. Who even…"
"Moving on," Daphne said, interrupting his muttering as she gestured towards a large, elegant archway. It used to look more like the jagged mouth of a cave. "Let's go this way."
"What's through there?" Ron asked, reviewing the plans as he pointed to the smaller one. From what Harry remembered, it used to look like a slimy metal pipe. They'd turned it into a hallway with a rounded ceiling and leveled flagstone floors.
"A bunch more sealed tunnels, pipes, and some cells, actually," the Slytherin answered.
"You added dungeons?" Harry asked with a screwed up face.
"They were already there, Potter," the pretty blonde said with an eye roll. "What do you take us for?"
"We're not really sure what to do with it since it's not part of the main chamber; if we ever went into lockdown behind the second door, it'd be cut off."
"We'll just leave it be then," Harry shrugged as he followed the two blonde girls towards where a huge snake skin had used to lay. "Maybe the twins will want a workshop here or something."
"That doesn't sound safe, mate," Ron muttered discouragingly. "Think of the castle foundations."
"This space may be smaller than you remember," Daphne explained as they walked through the immaculate corridor. "We had to make it a bit more narrow for structural reasons."
"It looks totally different," Harry said. It truly looked nothing like the dank tunnel he and Ron had caved-in years previously.
"All I remember is the cave-in," Ron said. "I don't recognize it at all anymore and that's definitely a good thing."
"In the interest of not causing any more of those, we added a lot of support columns and walled some areas off to keep this feeling like a smooth corridor rather than a cave."
"It worked really well," Neville said. "This wouldn't look out of place in the upper castle if not for the lower ceilings."
There were a few tapestries and a couple busts but there was no furniture that might encourage people to linger in the corridors. To Harry's surprise, the circular snake door was still waiting for them at the end of it, gaudy emerald eyes and all.
"Why'd we keep it?" Harry asked with a touch of distaste.
Daphne reached out and brushed her DA ring over the door. Like the entrance to the chamber, it also unlocked at a touch of the enchanted jewelry.
"Because it's a surprisingly strong door," Megan answered. "Hermione compared it to muggle blast doors. With all of the enchantments working for us instead of against us, it's another layer of security."
As soon as the door swung open, Harry saw an immediate difference.
"Hey, no more ladder!" he exclaimed.
Previously, one had to climb through the hole in the wall using a slimy old ladder. There was a two foot drop if anyone tried to walk through it like a normal doorway. Harry was personally glad to see it gone; it had been extremely difficult to get a half-conscious Ginny back up the ladder while he was still recovering from a basilisk bite.
"The first time Lavender visited, she almost took a nasty fall," Megan said. "We had to find a way to fix it after that."
"Especially once we realized what a problem it would be if multiple panicked Hogwarts students were rushing to get in here," Daphne tacked on.
"Yeah, one ladder would not be a good idea," Neville agreed.
"We managed to do solve the issue by terracing our way up so it's sort of like extra large stairs," Megan said as she gestured down. "It's the common area, of sorts."
Each of the terraced steps that Megan had described were occupied by dozens of small sofas, cozy armchairs, and enchanted fire pits. On the lower level where Harry had first met Tom Riddle, there were now four long dining tables and benches similar to those in the Great Hall.
"We had to raise the ceiling directly over this area, smooth it out, and reinforce it to compensate for all the changes," Daphne said. "The original columns helped a lot with that which is why they're still here despite Megan's best efforts."
"At least you tried," Ron said to Megan in a reassuring tone as he gave the snake columns and decorations an unenthused look.
They were walking down into the main chamber now and the differences were striking. The ceiling, which became dramatically higher as they walked deeper into the chamber, was still cavernous and rocky but it was no longer covered in dangerous stalactites or dripping water. Two huge chandeliers hung from it now, three-tiered cast iron things that weren't very decorative but they certainly provided plenty of light.
"Those columns are pieces of art," Daphne said with a sniff.
"They really aren't."
"They are," she insisted. "They have a pleasing symmetry and excellent carvings. Not to mention the fact that they are a literal piece of history."
The design team had placed long, narrow carpets in the direct center of the chamber that stretched from the entry to the doorway that used to be the mouth of Salazar Slytherin. More of them were placed in the various corridors leading away from the main hall. Each one connected back to the long, center carpet and gave the illusion of pathways within the spacious chamber.
"You should've let me get rid of them," Megan muttered.
"I already let you make the carpet runners purple," Daphne huffed as she looked at the various narrow carpets spread across the room. "Salazar Slytherin would have been irate."
"It's the DA purple," Megan defended. "That seemed more neutral than a house color and I certainly wasn't agreeing to Slytherin ones, whether or not this is the Chamber of Secrets."
"I like the purple," Harry said. It was the same as the ones on their cloaks and robes.
"Thanks. And I'm just saying, Daphne," she continued undeterred. "I could've taken those columns down easy."
"While bringing the chamber down on our heads as well."
"Nuh uh!" Megan denied.
"Oh that's real mature of you," the blonde said with a roll of her icy blue eyes. The sparkle in them betrayed her amusement. "You might as well stick your tongue out too."
"I don't know, she sounds sure enough," Neville said. "I trust her."
"That is not confidence inspiring when it comes from a Gryffindor such as yourself," Daphne grumbled.
"I'm no Harry," Neville defended. "He's the epitome of a Gryffindor; he took on a basilisk with a sword for Merlin's sake."
"Well don't say it like it's a bad thing, now you sound like one of them," Ron said as he jerked his chin towards Blaise and Daphne.
"Speaking of the basilisk," Harry said as he looked at the area they were now standing in. "This is exactly where the corpse was."
"And people think I'm dark," Megan muttered loudly.
"I was just going to say," he said with a light glare aimed at the Hufflepuff. "That this place looks so much better without it laying around."
"It looks so much better without Salazar Slytherin's grimacing face looming over everyone," Megan corrected. "The snake was cool. I still say that we should do something fun with its skeleton."
"What could possibly be fun-" Ron began to ask before stopping suddenly to consider what he knew about Megan. "Never mind."
"You're right," Neville said. "It looks way better without the grimacing bust."
"Was it hard to take down?" Harry asked.
"It was harder to modify the doorway and block the trapdoor that lead to the basilisk's lair," Daphne answered. "The spells maintaining those ghastly pools were tied to the spells on the doorway which were tied in to the underwater bridge that would rise on command."
"We had to destroy the drawbridge to fully dismantle the entire thing," Megan said with a grin that implied she'd had way too much fun with that task.
"It was incredibly spell resistant," Daphne frowned as she remembered it less fondly.
"Not spell resistant enough," Megan said with a toothy grin.
"Clearly not," Blaise said dryly as they looked at the back wall that was almost totally unrecognizable.
"You're so destructive," Daphne grumbled.
"Hey I managed it without leveling the entire chamber," Megan defended.
"Might've been an improvement," Ron muttered.
"That's exactly what I said!" she said with clear vindication. "We would have been better off starting from scratch."
"It looks like you kind of did that already," Neville pointed out as he stared at the entirely changed facade where the image of Slytherin had previously loomed.
"Yeah but we should have picked a new theme. Maybe badgers?"
"You sound ludicrous," the Greengrass heiress scoffed. "Need I remind you that we're not trying to entirely deface a historical chamber?"
"Need I remind you that we did literally de-face it?" Megan said with a raised brow.
That stumped Daphne for a second because it was hard to argue with. They had, indeed, entirely removed the large statue of Salazar Slytherin and thus defaced it in more ways than one.
The almost megalithic bust was entirely gone. The wall was now mostly smooth aside from a vault-like round door set into the very center of it.
Curved stairs on the left and right side of the door protruded out from the wall and seemed to curl protectively around the entrance to the truly secret chambers. Where they met above the door, they formed a rounded out balcony.
Harry squinted at the doorway a little. It was surrounded by a strange stone arch that looked like it was part of the original statue.
"Is…Is that arch around the doorway the mustache of Salazar Slytherin?"
"Yeah," the Hufflepuff grinned widely.
"It's the only original feature left on this wall," Daphne said drolly.
"Though the stairs on the left and the right of it were carved out of the rest of the face," Megan pointed out. "So they're made of the original feature."
"That's not the same," Daphne grumbled; this was clearly a longstanding argument.
"Potato, tomato," Megan said, mispronouncing both words.
"That is not how the saying goes," Harry told her.
"Eh," she shrugged, unconcerned.
Ron was still squinting at the balcony. It would make a good place to address anyone in the main chamber or for the professors to keep an eye on the students. Yet it had a strange shape and he wondered…
"Did…did you lop off the head of Salazar's statue and build the basis of the balcony along his sunken eyes and cheekbones?"
"Yes," Megan grinned. "It was so much fun."
"Why does no one ever invite me to the fun demolitions?" he wondered aloud.
"Finnegan is normally hogging them all."
"Ah, I could see that."
"The inner chambers are still secure, right? Slytherin's library and the other chambers should stay at least a little secret."
There hadn't been more than fifteen books on the shelf in Slytherin's study and they were all in another language; some form of Gaelic or Welsh. Harry tuned Hermione out when she went on about it. Still, they should be protected as the pieces of history that they were.
"Yes, they are," she said. "The door below the balcony will only open for DA members."
"The DA chambers are behind there too," Megan said. "We have everything set up according to Ron and Hermione's plans."
"Even the war room?" Ron asked.
"Especially that," Daphne nodded. "We also have our own separate training hall and dorms."
"Where are the student dorms?"
"Boys through the smallest door on the left, girls through the smallest door on the right. From there, the room are broken down by year and last names," the Hufflepuff answered. "All in all, we have 58 dorm rooms already loosely assigned to students."
"There's two common rooms on either side," Daphne continued. "But we expect that most students will want to hang out in the main chamber."
"I think you might be right."
"What's to the right?" Ron asked, nodding towards the small arch.
"The medical area and the greenhouses," Megan responded. "Though it's still incomplete. Lanuaria is is waiting on some supplies and Neville's going to pick up some sprouts from the Longbottom estate this weekend."
"It'll be completed pretty soon then?"
"Should be," she agreed.
"And through the bigger arch?" Harry asked.
"There's fourteen large classrooms through there, even one for potions," Daphne answered. "And there's a library at the end."
"A library?"
"Oh yes," she said. "Apparently, some of us have been copying the school's library for years. And one of our claws always makes two copies in case she loses one."
"Oh Merlin," Ron groaned. "Don't tell me-"
"Lisa."
Harry shook his head. "So she gave up her copy of pretty much the whole school library?"
"Plus the restricted section," Megan agreed. "And Hermione's added more than I can count."
"She has free rein over the Potter books," he agreed. "And all the others too."
"Either way, Madam Pince will be in heaven."
"You say it like we'll definitely be using this in the long term," Harry said with an unhappy frown. "This is a worst case scenario bunker, if that."
"Actually," Ron disagreed. "Let's call a meeting. A few of us have had some ideas."
Daphne, one of the ones he had been sharing ideas with, nodded in agreement. Harry just looked confused but sent out the signal anyways.
…
In the Cathedral, a good majority of the DA had gathered around.
"So what ideas were you talking about, Ron?" Harry asked.
"Well we've got this great big Chamber now, right, completely ready to move students into if there's an attack but how useful would it be if the attack comes before the students are secured?"
"We have early warning systems in play," Blaise spoke up. "We'd have enough time to get the students moved."
"In small groups," the redhead responded. "They'll all ask the same questions, they'll all be panicked, in an unfamiliar place, without the professors because we're assuming they're monitoring the attack."
"What else could we do?" Zacharias asked.
"Move them into the chamber before any attack happens for the duration of the war."
There were some immediately exclamations at that. Not all of them were in disagreement and after a moment the murmurs died down to allow Ron to continue.
"I'm not saying we start this month or even this year. Possibly after the Christmas hols?"
"Depressing as it is, this is going to be the last Christmas many ever experiences," Ella voiced. "We know it's likely that the Dark Lord will up his attacks. Students will come back scared and possibly unconvinced of the safety this institution can offer them given it's history. They'd probably be less resistant to move to a more secure location."
"Thanks, Ella," Harry said somewhat sarcastically at the uneasy shifting she'd caused, however right she was. "So move them in after the Christmas holidays?"
"If we require that everyone leave for the holidays, it gives you the opportunity to take over as Lord Gryffindor out of the students eyes," Hermione agreed. "And the public's eye, possibly, if the Headmaster cooperates."
"He'll help keep my title under wraps," the emerald-eyed boy said surely in a darker tone.
"Dumbledore will have to cede control regardless," Zara Valli spoke up. "But if he wants to save face, he'll have to make it look like it was all his idea. He may very well keep the truth and your title out of the light. This also allows you to avoid the board as headmasters don't need any sort of approval to move dormitory, meal, or classroom locations."
"If they come back from the holidays and are led right into the Chamber, it'll jar them less than doing it once they're already back and settled in," Anthony Goldstein added.
"What will we do with the students who would stand against us?" one of the Carrow twins asked.
The room mulled that one over for a bit.
"I still don't see any issue with using the Draught of Living Death," Lilian Moon declared. "Technically, we're well within our rights as denizens of Hogwarts threatened by outside forces to act against enemy spies or threats within our walls."
"Especially if we use reasonable restraint," Sally-Anne agreed. "And have it administered by Healer Silva."
"But will the professors really agree to it?"
"If we can force Dumbledore into agreeing to it," Lilian said. "And even if he doesn't."
"I'll start getting everything put in order then," Hermione voiced. "In case we actually have to dissolve the board."
"I'll help," Lisa volunteered. "Is there anything else?"
"We have a few more spells to submit into the training plan," a small group of Gryffindors spoke up.
From there, the meeting continued in the same vein.
…
For a moment, a solid thunk was the only sound that could be heard. Then, the entire Quidditch pitch erupted in cheers. Granted, there were only ten people left in the lower levels of the stands plus those on the pitch itself but to Ron Weasley it felt pretty great.
He'd just solidly beat that pompous airhead Cormac McLaggen.
Now, Ron liked to think he'd gotten over his inferiority complex when it came to his brothers but this was Quidditch. The ultimate competition. It didn't help that he'd had to listen to McLaggen going on and on about how great he was. When the time came though, the blonde boy couldn't deliver. He'd let through the quaffle twice and nearly missed two others. On the last throw, he'd tried a spectacular sloth roll but ended up almost sliding off of his broom chest-first without ever getting near the ball or hoop.
When the redhead's turn had come, he hadn't let through a single ball and now he was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
"Great saves, mate," Harry congratulated as he flew over to the rings on his own broom. "You're the new Keeper!"
"That was awesome, bro!" Ginny exclaimed as she flew over too. "Especially that fourth save with the tail spin."
"I wasn't that happy with it," he said with a frown. "Ball didn't go quite where I was aiming."
"It landed in front of McLaggen's feet," Harry snorted.
"I was aiming at his gut."
Ginny just shook her head. "You're such a good sportsman, Ronald."
"First match is next month. I'm sure you'll perfect your aim by then," Harry assured his friend.
"We can only hope."
…
"Hello, Riptuck," Harry greeted.
"Hello, Lord Potter."
"Thank you for seeing me this evening," he said as he stepped into the goblins office.
He went ahead and took a seat, knowing the goblin preferred to get right to the point and expected him to know to make himself comfortable by now.
"I was authorized to take on the construction contract," the goblin said by way of opening. "Gringotts is willing to contract another team of builders to you."
"That is good news," Harry said as he crossed his legs, adjusting his fine-cut casual robes. He hadn't wanted to wear his school robe to the bank even if he was staying under the radar.
"Given the nature of your wards, the same builders present for the reconstruction of the castle have been arranged to handle this project."
"Excellent," he said. Hermione wouldn't have to share the secret with anyone else.
"I have arranged the contract for signing as well as the bank draft, unless you would like to discuss the fee."
"No," Harry shook his head. "I'm sure you've quoted me a fair price."
Riptuck nodded. They had. They even liked this wizard a little so they hadn't snuck in any secret fees. Well, just the one standard sneaky fee but everyone knew to expect that, right? It was a given.
"Do they think there'll be any problem cutting into the rock?"
Maxwell wanted to cut into the rock that formed one of the lower ledges Firewall was built atop to make a grassy plateau. Smaller terraces and stairs would be built from the ground up to the new plateau and then another set would be built from the plateau up to the castle.
He could handle most of the landscaping for the front of the castle but shaping the rocky decline was better suited for goblin-magic. They wanted it to look like a somewhat natural incline from sea level up to the castle so that it would join with any eventual buildings more cohesively.
"The foundations of the castle are more than a hundred and fifty meters from the proposed alterations," Riptuck answered. "It is possible."
"And they are willing to return to the island? I wouldn't want them to do anything they don't want to do."
"Of course they are," the goblin answered as if they had never considered saying no. "They approve of the symmetry in the proposed design plans as well."
"Yes, I'm excited to see how it turns out," he said with a wide smile. "I am glad that we'll have the best help possible to make it happen."
He was actually really looking forward to seeing the plain space outside of the castles front doors turn into something beautiful. Once the goblins were finished, Maxwell and his team would turn it into a formal garden with water features and grassy areas for picnics and relaxation. He could easily see the appeal of something like that.
"Here are the required documents," Riptuck said.
"Let's get to signing," he said, reaching for the quill.
…
On Thursday, Harry was surprised to find a letter from Sirius.
Normally the man didn't bother with parchment letters. It was password protected and enchanted but Harry treated it with reasonable suspicion until he began reading.
"Mione," he called to the girl sitting at a study table in the Gryffindor common room. "You're gonna want to hear this."
"What is it, Harry?"
"Apparently, Sirius has been using old connections from his auror days to make some new friends."
"Anyone we'd know?"
"Someone he wants us to meet," he said. "Lucas Masson."
"The French mercenary?" she asked with some shock.
"Woah, did you say Lucas Masson?" Seamus asked as he approached their couch. "He's not a mercenary, Hermione. He's a master duelist and the unofficial leader of the European hit-wizards. He's a freedom fighter."
"Unofficial leader?" Hermione questioned.
"Freedom fighter?"
Seamus looked around for a minute, taking stock of the younger students, before he began talking in a low tone.
"Yeah, me mum used to talk about him," he began. "He fought against the French government and helped with the military coup in the Algerian colonies in the 60's. He was a soldier or something but became a freedom fighter after that. Don't really know what he does now."
"Then what do you mean, unofficial leader of the hit-wizards?"
"It's just something people say," he shrugged. "Hit-wizards don't work for ministries for very long. You think they do nothing when they leave?"
"So what did Sirius say?"
"I guess he knows more than a few of Masson's guys," Harry answered. "He wasn't very specific. Asked if we could rendezvous tomorrow night."
"He really used the word rendezvous didn't he?" she asked with an eye-roll.
"He also signed with 'Roger. Over.'"
They all shook their heads with fondness.
…
Harry, Hermione, and Ron were easily able to slip out of the castle Friday night before dinner. They were each wearing casual muggle clothes under a warm jumper.
They made their way into muggle London by way of public floo and found themselves stopped in front of Crocker's Pub soon enough. When they stepped into the classic English pub, the three teenagers looked slightly out of place.
Harry, however, walked in confidently and headed towards the back. The young waitress looked confused but her boss, the bartender, took one look at the young man and just nodded.
They knocked on the door before stepping in, counting four people in the room. Sirius was there and stood from his seat to come hug his godson.
"Harry," he greeted warmly. "Good to see you. And you, Hermione, Ron."
The other three men were standing against the wall facing the door. They took notice of the hulking form of a distinguished looking man who was probably in his seventies though he didn't look it. He had a scar on his cheek and a layer of rugged grey stubble. He was flanked by two rather nondescript brunettes who resembled each other slightly.
"I'd like you to meet Lucas Masson and his associates, the Quinn boys."
"Pleased to meet you," Harry responded, stepping around Sirius and extending his hand. "I'm Harry Potter, this is Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley."
Masson shook it firmly then nodded to the other two teens.
"I have heard much about you, Mr. Potter."
"Harry is fine," he said. "And you shouldn't believe everything you hear. Sirius said you wanted to talk to us?"
"We apologize for seeming abrupt," Hermione cut in. "Our absences would be noticed if we're gone too long."
"Wouldn't want you to miss your lessons, girly," one of the Quinn boys said. While it wasn't scornful, it was certainly a dig.
"Hermione," she corrected firmly, less than fond of diminutive pet names.
"Right," the other brother agreed sarcastically.
"Mr. Black believed we could be of some use to each other," Masson answered in a very lightly accented voice. "Though he has yet to elaborate on the matter."
"Sirius?" Harry asked.
"The Dark Lord's been gathering mercenaries," the former prisoner began. "Recently, he's been trying to track down Lucas."
"Looking for alliances?"
"Non," the frenchman laughed. "He wants my head. But someone always wants my head, this is not the problem."
"Then what is?" Hermione asked.
"He already has his alliance with Mercer and his men."
"Mercer?"
"Michel Mercer," Sirius answered simply. "He's got a long-standing feud with Lucas. Now he's digging around again on Voldemort's orders causing trouble."
"What did he find?"
"He could find nothing on me," Masson answered. "But some of my men have lives that are not so barren. Wives, children, ailing mothers and grandmothers. Already, safe houses have been compromised three times and we must move them again."
Ron had a concerned look. "Security leak?" he questioned.
"Absolutely not," the man responded. "Safe houses are easy to find if they are isolated and people are easy to find if they are not. We put them far away, they are detected and we put them in big city, they are spotted. Mercer is simply very good at tracking. I do not know why Mr. Black thought you could help with this."
"It depends, Mr. Masson," Harry said bluntly. "On where you stand and where your people stand in this war. Are you all against the Dark Lord? Even if you won't fight him, are you all against him?"
"Do we look like the sort of men who support mad British tyrants?" one of the Irishmen asked in a thickly accented brogue.
"Or the kind who avoid fightin'?" the other asked.
"Then I'd assume Sirius introduced us because we can provide safe haven."
"Safe haven?" Masson asked with some surprised while the Irish brothers scoffed.
"How many people are we talking here? Twenty, thirty, forty, fifty?" Ron interjected.
"Around thirty," the frenchman answered hesitantly after shooting Sirius a heavy look. "Sixteen of which are my men. The rest are the families."
Harry and the other two teens began having a wordless conversation with a few hand movements.
"It'll be fine," Hermione spoke, stopping the confusing wordless conversation about whether the new wing at Firewall was ready enough. "Construction's nearly finished already. The elves are doing the rest."
"Mr. Masson," Harry said as he turned back to the older, burly man who was clearly both confused and bordering on irritated. "You could say that we're all part of an independent organization dedicated to stopping the Dark Lord and protecting innocent lives. I've known since I joined the wizarding world that he'd be coming after me and now he is so I and my friends have prepared. We have a goblin warded and Fidelius protected property and your families would be welcomed there."
"Fidelius? You are all but teenagers."
"And we have the highest stakes out of everyone in this war. We're protecting our future, Mr. Masson. We're going to fight him, teenagers or not, and we're ready to protect those who might be caught in the cross fire."
"We already are protecting them," Ron added.
"My own parents live there," Hermione spoke up.
"And this organization," one of the Quinn's drew out the word doubtingly. "Would we have heard of it?"
"No," Harry answered honestly. "That would tip our hand too early. Right now we're preparing."
"Preparing how?" Masson asked. "You must take our questions with a grain of salt, young man."
"Oh I do," he promised. "I understand your skepticism, I would be doubtful too. Are you familiar with the Diggory War Relief Fund?"
"The fund that has been paying to rebuild or relocate magical and non-magical families alike, funding St. Mungos and the British auror department? Yes, we are familiar."
"That's owned and operated by us," he revealed with a shrug. "So we more than have the resources to house your families."
"So you intend to make war on Voldemort?" Masson asked.
"We intend to finish the war he started by whatever means necessary," he corrected.
"I believe this is something that we will find most agreeable. But there is much to talk about," Masson declared. "My men are not hired or paid by me. We are more of a…protectorate. I connect them to employers and other contacts. Perhaps some will work for free if you house their families."
"We would take in their families regardless," Harry said. "They don't have to fight if they don't want to. And if they do, well. We can talk about employment contracts once everyone's gone over the basic secrecy contracts."
"Anyone who chooses to come live with us will have to sign an additional contract that everyone who knows the secret has signed," Hermione added. "All contracts are written and bound by Gringotts and notarized with the Potter family barrister."
"Iron clad," one of the Irish boys muttered with grudging respect.
"Wednesday, we arrange for a meeting with everyone."
"All sixteen of your men?" Ron asked.
"Seventeen with myself," Lucas answered. "My men will be paranoid. We cannot meet in a place like this."
"Will an empty safe house work?" Harry asked after shooting a look at Ron and scratching his head.
"As long as it is not in Britain."
Hermione muttered thoughtfully before turning to Harry.
"Do you have your pouch with you?"
He pulled back his cloak and detached the expanded carrying pouch from his belt before handing it to Hermione. She stuck her hand in with a focused look and withdrew the Potter family ledger or, rather, a copy Harry made that she could access. She shuffled through a few pages before withdrawing a sheet of parchment.
"Undeveloped island in the Philippines?" she asked the elder man.
"Unwarded?"
"Basic muggle repelling ward last recast 27 years ago," she answered. "No anti-apparation or portkey wards."
Masson shared looks with the two brothers before nodding agreeably. Hermione handed them a copy of the coordinates and, after a final round of hand shakes, they left.
"So, what do you kids think?" Sirius asked once they were gone.
"I wouldn't say I trust them," Ron answered. "But he's the Lucas Masson. It's highly unlikely he's allied with Voldemort and once they see what we have to offer, they could end up being valuable allies."
"What Ron said," Harry shrugged. "A meeting though with sixteen mercenaries?"
"Most of them aren't mercenary's, Harry," Sirius lectured. "Some of them are ex aurors and hit-wizards that wanted to do more. I considered taking a few free-lance jobs on more than one occasion."
"Is that how you know them?" Hermione asked.
"That and a few skirmishes here or there. The Dark Lord certainly had it out for Masson during his first rise."
"They're around the same age then?"
"Masson is older by a few years."
"How did he catch Voldemort's attention?" Harry prodded.
"French soldier turns British hit-wizard — he was cutting down the Death Eater ranks."
"So he's solid," Ron concluded.
"He's solid."
"That doesn't mean all his people are," Harry reminded.
"You might be surprised," Sirius said. "Either way, he seems to like you. You three handled yourselves well," he turned to Hermione and put on his best Irish accent. "Especially you, girly."
"Oh hush, Sirius."
The three men laughed at that before they said their goodbyes and departed.