Calypso's Candle was a restaurant frequented by his parents; his mum had given the owner's their start up money.
The old couple had offered him a private room at any time of day or night, no question. That included during the school year as the auburn haired woman didn't ask any questions as she ushered the three teens in.
"I'll have a meal sent up once your friends get here, dear," was all she said.
"Thank you, ma'am," Harry replied as he hung his cloak on the hook.
They didn't have to wait long for Amelia and the Diggory's to arrive.
"I didn't even know they were open this time of night," the soft voice of Mrs. Diggory said. "And a private room at that. What is going on, Amelia? Is the investigation at the manor still ongoing?"
"No, ma'am," the stern woman responded. "There's some people who wanted to meet you."
"Meet us?"
The door opened to reveal the three newcomers whom they all stood to greet.
"Harry Potter?" Amos asked as he adjusted his glasses with some surprise.
"Megan? Is that you, dear?"
"Hello, Mrs. Diggory."
"What are you three doing out of school? Here, of all places."
"Well we needed to talk to you, actually," Harry answered. "We know that you were attacked last night and we know that you've considered leaving Britain. You probably don't feel safe in your own home."
Mrs. Diggory's eyes started watering at the reminder of what could have been but she steeled herself easily enough.
"What does that have to do with you three?" Amos asked. "Or you, Amelia?"
"You're aware that you could be targeted again?"
"We know," Mary Diggory responded. "We're lucky to be alive. If it weren't for-" She stopped herself and shot a nervous glance towards Amelia before recovering herself. "Well, we're quite lucky, that's all."
"It wasn't luck, ma'am," Megan cut her off. "If anything, it was Cedric looking out for you even now."
"Cedric?" Amos whispered softly. "What does this have to do with our boy?"
"Did Cedric ever tell you he was part of a study group, Mr. Diggory?" Hermione asked, drawing their attention.
"H-he said something about a group he met with every now and then."
"Well, we met a lot more often then every now and then. Cedric was one of our best tutors; we started the group in his fourth year which is when he joined up. We all knew him very well."
"He was in a study group with you three?" Mary asked, confused. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"When he died," Megan's voice caught a little bit. "It hit our group hard. We started to realize just what we were facing. We realized that Voldemort didn't care if we were adults or children or infants, he'd kill us just the same. After what he did to Cedric-"
"After we lost him, our group changed. Our focus and priorities changed. Protecting the school became one of them and protecting our families became another. That meant protecting Cedric's family, you, as well. We used his blood sample to key ourselves into your perimeter alert wards — when they fell, we knew, and we made sure the right people knew too."
"Those people, in purple-"
"Our friends," Harry said. "You're Cedric's mum and dad. The least we can do for him is let no harm come to you."
"Which is why we have another offer for you," Hermione picked up. "We have a secure location where all of our families live. People you probably know from the Ministry or media as well as muggle families. It's under numerous wards including the Fidelius — you'd be safe for the duration of the war."
"You're offering us safe haven?" Amos gaped.
"Fidelius?" Mary echoed his tone.
"Yes," Harry answered. "It's my property but we have over one hundred people living there including some of the people who rescued you last night."
"All this because our son was in your group?"
"No," Harry said. "Because you're innocent. But you could say we've had our eye on you because of Cedric."
"Is it safe, Amelia?" Mary asked the monocled woman in a low voice.
"I don't think that's an offer we're in any position to decline," Amos answered after sharing a careful look with his wife and Amelia both.
"Then let's go over a few more things…"
…
The elder Diggory's were completely settled into their new suite on the island by the weekend. Their own house-elves had seen to the repairs and cleaning of their now-sealed manor so they didn't have anything to worry about there.
A week had passed and things had panned out with the centaurs.
Their commander, Balthazar, had arrived early on Saturday much to the shock of Sean and Jimmy Peakes who were sparring near the portkey landing area.
"We weren't sure you would be comfortable portkeying into the castle," Ron admitted.
"We figured you'd want to meet in the forest," Gareth added.
"If a foal can spend a night in the castle, a warrior can spend mere hours," the broad, muscle-bound centaur said as he pawed the flagstones beneath his feet.
"Fair enough," the redhead chuckled. "Welcome to Hogwarts."
After some quick introductions, the youngest Weasley brother escorted the centaur over to a pre-prepared tall table.
"Would you like anything to drink or eat?" Sally Smith offered.
"No, thank you."
They took a seat on tall barstools while the centaur placed himself on the other side of the table in front of a map of the forest.
"So as you can see here around this edge of the forest, we've set up some…"
During the course of this meeting and the next two, Gareth, the Sally's, and Ron hammered out some plans. With the help of a surprising amount of centaur forces, they had a solid basis for the defense of the forest, castle, and village.
Augusta was now using the Ravenborough seats to vote in the Wizengamot and was also aware of the full scope of the DA.
She'd signed the contract surprisingly willingly (they were apparently quite common in her day) and couldn't be more proud of her godson. She and Andromeda were working together closely to synchronize their politics without alerting their other allies that they were working with a family of different affiliations.
Remus was finally meeting with Harry and Sirius.
They'd be using a private room at Calypso's Candle again though it was midday on a Sunday. Sirius and Remus had arrived before Harry and were already waiting in the windowless candle-lit room.
"Didn't Lily and James used to come here?" Remus asked his friend. "What are we doing here?"
"We're meeting someone who can fight this war better than Dumbledore. Someone who already is fighting this war better than Dumbledore."
"You insisted I sign a secrecy oath but still haven't told me more than that."
"That's because he's waiting on me to begin," Harry said as he slipped into the room and closed the door behind him. He set stronger privacy wards before lowering his dark blue hood.
"Harry?" Remus asked in shock. "What are you doing out of school? Do you know how dangerous it is?"
"In a little diner off the main alley on a Sunday?"
"Death Eaters could be anywhere."
"I can tell you where they are. There's two across the street- wait, one now. He's shopping for a new pair of gloves, he is. There's two in Gringotts, three shopping up the alley, and eight in Knockturn."
"What?"
"We've got a map of them — fairly decent idea of where most, though not all, of them are."
"Who is we? You and Sirius? What is going on?"
"It's a long story, Remus, and it starts in my first year."
…
"And Dumbledore doesn't know anything about this? A student army, right under his nose?"
"No, he doesn't," Harry answered. "And it's going to stay that way. We're not just students either. Sirius has been with us for awhile now and he's wanted you to join. Quite frankly, I don't trust you to pick me over Dumbledore."
"Is that the choice here?"
"No," Harry said. "You signed the contract — you can go back to the Order knowing what you'd know and you wouldn't be able to say anything about it. I don't care if you do."
"It sounds like there's some tension here, Harry," Remus read correctly. "Maybe we should talk about that before we talk about anything else?"
"I don't really know you," he said frankly. "And that's sort of the problem. You didn't have any problem mentioning how close you were to my parents in my third year but where were you before that? While I was living with the Dursleys or even just once I reentered the magical world? Then you catch me hunting Peter Pettigrew in the halls and you confiscate the map and use my dead parents memory to shame me?"
Remus looked slightly blown away by the amount Harry had to say and shook his head lightly as if to take it all in.
"Harry, I asked Dumbledore where you were, if I could see you, but all he would say was that you were safe. I wrote you a letter on your eleventh birthday but the owl just came back rather ruffled. When I started teaching, so much was happening with Sirius' escape and the dementors around the school, other things took precedent. You were thirteen and out of bounds with a murderer on the loose — perhaps I took it too far but it was out of concern for your safety."
Harry took in the honest expression on Remus' face as well as the hopeful anticipation on Sirius' face before sighing slightly.
"I'm sorry for bringing all that up right now," he waved off. "Right now we all just need to work together and keep old resentments off the table."
"Finally," Sirius crowed, a little too excited for Harry's taste. "The teenage stubbornness comes to an end."
"It's not a teenage trait, Sirius," Remus disagreed.
"Potter then?"
"Evans all the way," the werewolf said, noticing how the emerald-eyed teen perked up at the mention of his mother.
"Yeah, you're right."
"But back to the subject on hand. Why does Sirius think you can fight the war better than Dumbledore? And why did he say that you already are?"
"We've already stopped two Death Eater attacks and an ambush in the Ministry. Our group was responsible for the death of Bellatrix LeStrange and Yaxley Sr."
"The Halloween attack on the Diggory's?" Remus asked, jaw dropping. "Kingsley was one of the first responders — he said it looked as if trained hit-wizards fought there and scrubbed it clean."
"He wasn't wrong," Harry shrugged. "I can't tell you more unless you've signed the actual membership contract. If you do, you could come live with us and more than a hundred of our allies."
"You live with a hundred people?"
"Yep," Harry agreed. "Under Fidelius."
"Say yes, Remus."
"And our healer has the right connections for Wolfsbane," Harry tacked on.
"And you'll get to spend more time with me!" Sirius added. "And the pup."
"How could I say no to that?"
…
"Bring arm up, Carmichael," Craven's accented voice called out to the seventh year Ravenclaw on the mats.
He and Gillian Ossett were practicing hand-to-hand maneuvers with a couple of other pairs under the Russian mercenary's tutelage.
"Must move faster, boy."
"Not a boy," Eddie grunted before dodging an elbow.
On the other side of the room, Lanuaria and her apprentice had all of the healing inclined members practicing some more complex spells on dummies.
"Well done, Graham," the healer praised warmly.
"Took me a bit longer than I thought it would to learn that spell," he said with a furrowed brow.
"The coagulation spell is a complex bit of magic," Lanuaria assured him. "You picked it up about as fast as I did, if I'm honest."
He looked content with that. At the next table, the senior healer's apprentice was coaching a student through a high-level purging spell. The two blondes had been working on a spell for the last hour.
"A little tighter on the inner wand motion, Hannah," Audrey coached.
The younger blonde girl made the necessary adjustment and watched the poison ooze from the wound properly.
"Got it!" she cheered as a smile replaced her concentrated mien.
"Well done," she praised. "Now remember to be quick with the charm to siphon the poison away."
"Can't I just vanish it?"
"Often, it's the key ingredient in an antivenin or necessary evidence for law enforcement," Audrey explained. "That's why you want to siphon it into a vial instead of vanishing it unless you're sure you won't need it."
On the dueling platform, Amelia and a small group of hit-wizards were running drills with twenty or so students. Near them, Harry and Neville were dueling it out using only shields and shield breakers as an endurance test.
"Gotta be quicker than that, Longbottom!" Harry teased.
"I'll show you quick," he grumbled before jerking his wand into a silent spell-chain.
"Oof!" Harry huffed as he hit the ground.
Neville looked pleased with himself; timing the tripping jinx and the transfiguration of the floor had been difficult.
"Don't go getting cocky on us, Potter," the other Gryffindor teased.
His confidence had improved by leaps and bounds; he was hardly recognizable as the scared first year who'd lost his toad on the train.
"Yeah, yeah," Harry groaned. "Good shot."
"Not sure how well it would work in a real fight. The timing was a real challenge," Neville said as he walked over to Harry.
Sirius and Remus watched as the broader boy pulled Harry up from the training mat while continuing to chat casually. The werewolves eyes were wide as he watched the other groups scattered around the room practice other spells. They were performing maneuvers he would have never expected from school children.
"I wonder if that's how my face looked the first time I saw these guys," Sirius said aloud.
Remus turned his wide-eyed to his friend and moved his mouth incredulously a few times before any sound came out.
"This is incredible," he said. "I still can't believe Harry's done all this…"
"He hasn't done it alone, Remus," the other adult said with uncharacteristic seriousness. "You wouldn't believe how hard these kids work. Have you finished reading your journal yet?"
"Not yet," he shook his head. "There's years and years of material there."
"Have you gone over their current projects?" Sirius asked.
"Equinox based wards, complex rituals, Japanese runes, patronus variants, legal loopholes — is there anything I've missed?"
"The Diggory War Relief Fund."
"I saw it in the index — is Harry a donator?"
"Donator?" Sirius laughed. "Finish that journal as quick as possible, Moony. This group doesn't donate to the fund — they run it."
"What?"
"They started it and they run it," he repeated. "A couple of the kids in particular and a couple of Gringotts goblins handle it. They're doing so much good…"
"James and Lily would be proud."
"Yeah," Sirius agreed gruffly as he watched his nephew hold an unwavering shield under Neville's barrage of spell fire.
Their conversation was interrupted by the tolling of the Hogwarts bells. It was the curfew call so most of the students began dispersing. Harry elected to remain by the dueling platform and was joined by Remus and Sirius. Surprisingly enough, they were also joined by the solitary Daphne Greengrass who's face was stormy.
"What's up, Daphne?" Harry asked curiously.
"I've received word from my personal elf within the manor," she began. Her schooled features couldn't completely hide the negative nature of the news. "The Death Eaters made themselves welcome and intimidated my father no more than ten minutes ago. He is to make a sizable donation to the Dark Lord while giving Astoria's hand to Malfoy. Apparently, they would also have use of one of our summer homes."
"Are your parents alright?" Harry asked in concern. "Why didn't we see it on the maps?"
"My father allowed them through the floo and their visit was swift; no more than ten minutes. One of them struck my mother," she answered in an icy voice. "And now it appears my father intends to comply with their demands; he's sent summons to the family barrister for tomorrow afternoon."
"To draft a contract? To Malfoy?" Harry sputtered.
She nodded, eyes hard. "I believe it would be best if I- we, spoke to him tonight."
"You want to try to convince them?"
"I will not try, Potter," she said snappishly (which Harry didn't take personally). "My mother will not remain in that manor and my sister will not be married off to that ferret."
"Who are we bringing with us?" Harry asked, holding his hands up in surrender.
"Blaise and Tracey. They are retrieving my sister," she answered before pausing. "And yourself."
"We're gonna need more than that," he said, whistling sharply to stop anyone else from leaving. "I need Flora, Hestia, Susan, Hannah, Neville, Hermione, Zara, and Ella."
The last six were still in the room but someone had to send for the two Slytherin twins. Harry turned to the group of ten or so hit-wizards.
"Would four or five of you mind accompanying us?"
"We're in," the Irish Quinn brothers volunteered after a shared look.
"I come," Craven decided.
"I'm in," Marcy volunteered, rolling her shoulders.
Multiple obvious knives and curved swords were strapped to her person; she'd put on a melee display tonight and so looked quite intimidating.
"To the Greengrass Manor?" Marcus Theron, a British former hit-wizard, asked. Harry nodded. "I'd love to see old Baron."
"You know my father?"
"He and your uncle got involved in a pub skirmish when I was still an auror," he smirked. "I made him spend the night in the drunk tank without a sobriety or hangover potion."
She blinked at that but composed herself and nodded.
"What's going on?" Susan asked.
Flora and Hestia had arrived by now so everyone was given the rundown and the general plan.
"Dress robes or battle?" Neville asked.
"Battle," Daphne answered as she and everyone else performed the necessary wand movements to switch their robes with their armor. The hit-wizards were included in this as by now they also possessed a standard set of armor and the DA trunk.
"How're we getting in?" Marcy asked.
"I have created a portkey that will place us in the second-floor foyer," Daphne answered as she held out dark grey scarf.
"Where are we?" they were distracted by the opening of a portrait hole and the voice of Astoria Greengrass who, unlike Colin's younger sibling, hadn't been made aware of the DA yet. "What's going on, Zabini? Did you kidnap my sister?"
Her eyes landed on the group of intimidating wizards and the mixed-house students then widened.
"Daphne?"
"Astoria," the blonde battle-robed teen said as she strode across the floor towards her sister.
"What's going on? What is this place? What're you doing hanging out with Potter?"
"Potter is my ally, sister, and yours too," Daphne answered bluntly.
"What?" Astoria parroted. To her credit, she didn't act completely surprised by the unlikely alliance. Like her sister, she hid her true emotions well.
"Tonight, our father was intimidated and threatened by a group of Death Eaters. One of them even struck mother. He plans to comply with their demands for money and property and he intends to marry you off to Draco Malfoy."
"He's going to marry me off to that slimy git?" the smaller girl screeched. "I'll kill that bastard! Both of them."
"Neither of us is going to commit patricide," Daphne soothed cooly. "But the manor is no longer safe and our father is no longer sane. He will be convinced or left behind."
"Left behind?"
"We're moving mother somewhere safe," she answered. "To the place I've been spending my summers."
"So you were out of the manor!"
"I was, yes."
"What have you been doing?"
"Fighting the Dark Lord. Making allies. Training. We will speak more of this later."
"Alright," the girl replied as she worried her lip. "You wouldn't happen to have another set of those robes, would you?"
Daphne's icy facade cracked for a second before she snorted lightly.
"Let's go."
…
When they arrived in the tall but narrow wood-walled foyer with a grand staircase at their backs, they were greeted by the startled scream of a middle-aged woman with her blonde hair in a somewhat messy-bun. She was wearing a casual but still elegant house robe and bore clear resemblance to her two daughters.
"Who are you-" her eyes widened. "Daphne? Astoria? What are you doing out of school?"
"Mum," Astoria greeted as she broke rank and ran toward the woman. "Salazar, look at your face! Daphne was right, the Death Eaters did hit you! Are you okay?"
The pale woman's eye and cheek was already heavily bruising. She ignored her daughter's wand tip as Daphne cast a diagnostic charm.
"Your cheekbone is fractured," the Slytherin growled angrily. "I can't believe there were Death Eaters in our manor. How could father let this happen?"
"H-how did you girls know?" Mrs. Greengrass asked as her eyes darted around. "And who are these people? How did you get here? Is that-"
"What is the meaning of this?" Baron Greengrass blustered as he exited a corridor.
"Father," Daphne greeted as she stepped up coldly. "It's time we talked."
"What are you doing out of Hogwarts?"
"What are you doing cooperating with Death Eaters?" she cast back. "You would give them the hand of your youngest daughter? To a foul fool, none the less? A marked Death Eater? You would doom our family?"
"Child, you know not of what you speak. You're too young to comprehend the situation," he retorted, brushing back a lock of salt-and-pepper hair from his temple. "There's little choice."
"There's many choices, Lord Greengrass," Harry interjected.
"Harry Potter?" the man asked, finally focusing on the faces behind his daughter and zeroing in on their armor. "What…"
The Longbottom heir. The Valli heiress. The Carrow's prized daughters. The Bones and Abbott heiresses. The Zabini heir, Adriana's boy. The Wilkins heiress.
"While you have floundered and hid, I have built my allies," Daphne answered. "I will never stand with Voldemort. I will never stand as a neutral. I will always be against his tyranny and baseless ideals. And unlike you, I will protect my family. Mother, you need to come with us."
"Come with you?"
"The Manor clearly isn't safe when there are Death Eaters being let in left and right."
"I had no choice!" Baron growled angrily. "What other option have I, Daphne? Dumbledore? Neutrality? Both mean death."
"There is another option, sir," Harry spoke up again. "Dumbledore isn't the only one who's been preparing for this war. In fact, we've been preparing for longer. We can offer your family sanctuary behind the strongest set of wards money can buy as well as a Fidelius. They won't be able to reach you and your wife would be safe."
"And what of my children in Hogwarts?"
"Already under watch," came the immediate response. "There's more than fifty students who would stand in their defense including some in Slytherin that have been assuring their safety since their first year."
"You are but children. You think they could not take them from the castle?"
"No, I don't think they could," Blaise Zabini spoke up. "It's my job to make sure the castle and grounds are patrolled each night. We're constantly monitoring interactive maps that track the location of each castle inhabitant; the standards of security have increased in Hogwarts."
"And if they were for some reason kidnapped, there's more than a hundred people who would storm a fortress to retrieve them."
"All school children, I'm sure."
Marcus Theron lowered his hood and stepped forward slightly. "Do I look like a school child, Baron Greengrass?"
"Hit-wizard Theron?"
"Not any longer," the man smirked.
"This isn't a game," the Greengrass father tried.
"We know this isn't a game," Daphne cut in coldly. "We've been in this since the beginning. We started planning as soon as He rose again. We have allies, contacts, safe houses, and plans that Dumbledore can't match and the Dark Lord won't expect. Come with us or don't but you will not be marrying my sister off to Death Eaters."
Icy blue eyes held the steel grey of her father's for several long moments. There was silence as father and daughter battled their wills. Just as Daphne began to fear he would remain unconvinced, the lines at the corners of his eyes softened infinitesimally. He gave a short nod of agreement that had his daughters shoulders sagging in relief.
"Cadence, instruct the elves to pack our things and seal the manor," Baron declared decisively.
"Winky," Harry called.
The short elf appeared quickly in her dragon hide armor and clean-pressed robes. "Master calls?"
"Would you add another bedroom and bathroom for Lord and Lady Greengrass to the suite arranged for Daphne and Astoria?"
"Winky be expanding the Lady Greengrassies rooms," she curtsied out to do her job.
"Our suite?" Astoria asked in confusion.
"I made plans for both of us at the safe house this summer," her elder sister answered stiffly. "The elves will add another room for mother and father."
"Wards," Harry called out.
Neville and Susan immediately began erecting powerful privacy charms and anti-bugging charms before Hermione stepped forward with a few pieces of paper in hand.
"Sign the secrecy contracts," Daphne said shortly; Hermione would have explained it a nice way but her parents were smart enough to know they were necessary and non-optional.
They were signed with little fanfare and Hermione shared the secret of Firewall Island.
In a short time, Greengrass Manor was packed and sealed with most of the valuables being sent to their Gringotts vault. By the end of the night, Daphne's family was settled safely in their new rooms.
The girls returned to the school a little after midnight. They were relieved but their hearts were still a little heavier than they were before. It was clear that the war was escalating and each step brought it closer and closer to home.
They just had to hope they'd done enough to be ready.
…
"I'm telling you, he's blown away, Prongslet," Sirius continued as he took a bite of steamed veggies. He and Harry were having dinner together in his suite at Firewall again. "He's proud of you. So am I for that matter."
Harry cut his steak a little too sharply and scraped the bottom of the plate. His godfather was the only one who winced at the noise.
"What's wrong?"
"I still don't really care for Remus," Harry admitted with a shrug. "Beyond him being your friend and my parents friend, I mean."
"But-"
"But what, Sirius? Everyone was right; I shouldn't hold a grudge against the man for not being there in my life. I wasn't really his responsibility anyways. Holding a grudge now is just gonna hinder the war effort so I'm pushing it to the side. I respect the fact that he's willing to fight but that's about it."
"Harry…"
"No, I've thought about it some more," the teen said. "Dumbledore kept him away from me for a decade. Fine; can't argue that. I know I had some mail redirection wards on me. But to only send one letter? To reach out once then never again? He didn't even reach out to me during my fourth or fifth years unless you were with him."
"You're not wrong," Sirius said, surprising the teen. "I'm not going to defend him or argue some point for him. If you want answers to those questions, ask him. I do know that he really cares about you Harry and there's nothing he wouldn't sacrifice for you should you ask."
"I don't need sacrifices, Sirius," the teen responded. "His help with the war effort is enough. Maybe I'll talk to him about it later. I don't really have the time right now."
The older man shrugged and went back to his steak. Maybe he'd have words with Remus on his own.
…
"Hey."
Neville looked away from the fire in the Gryffindor common room and towards Harry who had jerked him from his reverie.
"Hey," he echoed back, still clearly lost in thought.
Harry sat down in the adjacent arm chair. For a couple of minutes, neither of them spoke as Neville stared into the fire.
"She's finally dead," Neville said, breaking the silence. "She's actually gone."
"Yeah Nev, she is," he agreed. "She can't ever hurt anyone else."
"But-" the broader teen stopped and started his sentence before he closed his mouth, brow furrowed.
"But you don't feel any better, right?" Harry asked. "Even with her gone, you still feel the same way you've always felt."
"Yeah," he agreed softly. "I mean, don't get me wrong — I feel better that she's gone. No one else is going to die by the wand of Bellatrix LeStrange. But nothing's really changed, you know? My mum and dad…"
"Revenge doesn't change what happened to them," Harry finished for him. "Doesn't replace a lifetime of lost experiences. Doesn't change the fact that they weren't there because of the actions of a psychopath."
Neville just nodded with pursued lips, firelight flickering across the planes of his face.
"I wish…" he trailed off again, trying to find his words.
"Wish you'd been one of the ones throwing spells at her?"
"No," Neville said. "I'm not upset that I didn't get a shot in at her. I'm upset that- that her death was so easy, you know? I-I, I wanted her to suffer. I wanted her to feel what she made my parents feel."
"Still wouldn't have changed anything, Nev," Harry reminded him. "Her pain and suffering wouldn't have erased theirs. It would have just left you with guilt you don't need. We're better than the Death Eaters because we don't stoop to their level and cause pain because we can. She's been punished for her own sins. Now, all we can do is make sure her friends get the same."
"And make sure no one else gets hurt."
"Not if we can avoid it," the younger-by-a-day teen confirmed.
…
Most of November passed in a flurry.
With more help, Hermione and Chie were making progress with the ritual scrolls. As they had both Bill Weasley and Craven helping with the translation, they'd made progress by leaps and bounds.
The DA as a whole was making progress especially with the help of the hit-wizards and mercenaries. They had quickly found their place in the group, many of them acting as mentors to the younger members.
Hannah, Leanne, and Wayne Hopkins had been working with Remus on something werewolf related.
Xenophilius, Luna's father, had officially joined the group and was adding his unique spin to the meetings he chose to attend. He and his daughter were doing…something. No one knew what really.
Near the end of the month, Fleur brought some interesting information about the Dark Lord's movements in France.
"So his moves have definitely spread across the channel?" Lisa Turpin clarified with the French girl.
"Oui," she confirmed. "The giants in the Auvergne mountain ranges are surely considering an alliance now."
"The wolves aren't," Remus spoke up. "They're one of the groups I'm sounding out."
"Wolves and giants aren't the only creatures he tries to sway," Fleur continued. "The veela have come under his eye now."
"What interest would the veela have in joining him?"
"If his promises were true he would give us more rights, things that our ministry denies us," she explained. "Things have become worse in France for veela as fear of the dark spreads. The government all treat us more harshly."
"Harshly?" Harry queried with a furrowed brow.
"The French ministry is not terribly unlike the British ministry in regards to their treatment of dark creatures," Lisa answered. "So I imagine things have only gotten worse now that war is a threat."
"Are veela dark creatures?" Sean asked curiously.
"According to their ministry classifications, yes, because they transform into 'partial-beasts and are prone to insurmountable violence' when provoked," the Ravenclaw answered. "The French light wizards feel threatened because of the stirring in the darker factions there. With things going the way they are here, they fear war spreading across the channel. They're increasing their regulations, like Fleur said, so both the light and dark factions of the French Ministry are pressuring dark creatures for different reasons to the same effect."
"So both sides of the government are working against the veela?" Harry clarified.
"And the werewolves, vampires, and other mixed-raced beings," Lisa confirmed. "Much like Britain is; that's why those factions are joining the Dark Lord. They have no where else to go."
"What can we do?"
"Not much that I can think of," she answered. "This is a political issue; it boils down to creatures rights. In effect, we need more advocates for their rights but the war is causing less."
"Why aren't we doing that?"
"Because we're focusing on fighting the war," Daphne answered. "Not playing politics."
"At least part of this war is political," Gareth pointed out. "Not that we can really effect it."
"Our family names can though, can't they?" Harry continued. "Maybe we should talk to some of the adults or Wizengamot members. We're already using my votes to support war preparations and block the dark sides legislation. Why can't we support creature rights? Muggle born rights? Ministry reform? Budget changes? More than just the war front is important. If it weren't, we wouldn't be fighting for it."
The group mulled that over for a minute.
"My father might go for it," Zara Valli spoke up after a moment. "If there's enough big names attached to the list, some good press, he could be convinced…"
"You know Gran will," Neville added.
"I could speak to my father," Daphne agreed slowly.
"Maybe we should figure out everyone, including parents and allies, that might be able to help with politics and stuff," Harper Lee spoke up. "I mean, they're always talking about how they want to be more involved, right?"
Everyone agreed and eventually it was decided that all of the relevant parents and allies would begin fighting on the political battlefield.
"That is all well and good," Fleur spoke up with a slight frown on her beautiful features. "But that does not help anyone now nor does it help the French. The veela fear attack by the Dark Lord or scared wizards."
"The only thing that we can do is have Harry offer them asylum as Lord Gryffindor. Since he owns enough land to constitute a duchy, the Ministry couldn't complain if he chose to host a hoard of dementors," Hermione told her.
"A duchy?" Jimmy asked, confused. "As in, dukes? I thought Harry was a Lord, not a duke."
"Gryffindor was actually a duke," Padma, the Ravenclaw Patil twin, spoke up. "It wasn't until later that the Crown relegated dukedoms to muggle titles. Many of the 28 were dukedoms at one point. Out of all of them though, only Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin retained their lands because they were shared."
"To this day, that's why Hogsmeade is the only magical village. This bit of the Mountain range is the only part of Britain that belongs solely to the wizards," Lilian added.
"So even though he's not a duke, his lands are a duchy," Hermione continued. "It's an interesting little legal loophole that only applies to the founders titles. It's written about in the book left in your Gringotts vault, Harry."
"But wouldn't they have to be housed on the grounds?"
"No," Hermione said. "One, any of his lands become part of his 'duchy' even away from Hogwarts. Two, giving them asylum is essentially vowing for them and assuming responsibility for them. It also assures them the same rights Harry has aside from those directly associated with lordship."
"What do you mean, his rights?" Sean asked.
"It gives any under his protection basic rights like freedom of speech, right to a trial, etcetera," Lisa explained. "But not his right to vote on the Wizengamot or invoke honor duels."
"Fleur, are you in a position to offer the veela asylum?" Harry asked the blonde directly. "Or am I better off sending a letter?"
"My mama is one of the seven matriarchs," the blonde admitted after a long moment. "One could say I am in that position, yes."
The emerald-eyed teen wasn't sure what that meant but he knew it was somehow significant based on the faces of his compatriots.
"Do that then," Harry directed.
"And then what?" the french girl asked.
"What do you mean?"
"What are the terms?"
"Terms?" Harry passed and thought. "They'll have to sign the same contracts as everyone else at Firewall."
"Harry…" Hermione said shortly. "You do realize that you're offering asylum to, what, 200 veela?"
"250," Fleur corrected.
"Oh," the boy scratched his head. "Oh I could see how that would be a stretch."
"And why we should have a few general terms," the bookworm added.
"I don't think my uncle can expand the castle any more than he has already," Fay contributed dryly. "He's only barely finished the new Lovegood Lighthouse."
"Is that what we're calling it?" Ron asked absently.
"Well," Harry drew out the word. "We have a lot more island to work with, don't we?"
…
Despite how eager Harry was to see how the newest construction projects on Firewall had turned out, he didn't have the chance to visit until now. He was definitely suitably impressed.
"Wow."
"Yeah," Ron echoed him with wide eyes. "Wow."
The Golden Trio had just stepped through the main doors of the castle. They were standing in the middle of a new courtyard. With Firewall being L shaped, the courtyard occupied the square area created by the castle walls. It was fenced in by chest-high hedges.
"Bloody hell," Ron said as they all looked around, craning their heads.
"Maxwell told me what they had planned but the picture in my head doesn't do it justice," Harry said, letting out a low whistle between his teeth as he took in the changes.
In the center, there was a large three tiered fountain. A few benches were placed along the walls. There were numerous stone flower pots filling the courtyard with bright blooms and sweet scents despite the season.
"This looks like something out of a movie," Hermione said with wide eyes.
"You haven't seen it before either?" Harry asked curiously.
"When have I had time?" she asked rhetorically. "I read the reports but I didn't expect this."
"Look at this tiny tree," Ron said with a chuffed look. "It's as tall as I am."
There were numerous trees like this dotting the courtyard in-between flowering hedges and stone planters.
"Looks like a dwarfed crabapple tree," Hermione noted as she took in the white blooms covering it. "I wonder how they've got everything to bloom out of season."
"Definitely a question for Neville," Harry said as he noticed an arched opening in the hedge fence. "Looks like we need to follow the path through there."
"We haven't even seen the terraces yet," Hermione said as they quickened their pace out of curiosity.
Once the rest of the formal gardens came into view, all of their eyes widened.
"Bloody hell," Ron said again.
"They outdid themselves," Harry said once he found the words.
"I'll say," Hermione agreed breathlessly. "It's like the cover of a cheesy romance novel out here."
From above, the strong symmetrical lines that defined the garden were striking.
"Is that a hedge maze?" Hermione asked incredulously.
"Two of them, it looks like," Harry answered absently.
"Right, it's symmetrical," she muttered.
There were two large fountains at the center of the spiraling hedge mazes. There were also a number of other ponds and water features that created a soothing white noise.
"Look at all of the elves," Ron pointed out with a nod.
Now that she was looking closer, Hermione could spot at least six elves right away that were tending to various things in the gardens.
"They look pretty happy," Harry said, echoing her thoughts.
"Yes, they seem very content," she had to agree.
The path they were on split into two identical paths through the gardens. The first set of terraces were fully landscaped; the planted flowerbeds were exploding with color. Decorative stone steps led down to the wider, open section the goblins had smoothed out for them.
"They actually managed to make the plateau into a lawn," he noted.
"I would have never guessed this was just a hunk of polished rock not too long ago," Ron told him.
"Right?" Harry agreed. "The grass looks incredible."
The path branched off on either side to continue down to the lower terrace or to lead them into the center of the lawn. That area was left free for events, picnics, or games but was bordered by benches, hedges, and flowerbeds.
"I'm more impressed with the terraces," Hermione admitted. "I wonder what system they have in place for irrigation."
"If Maxwell doesn't know, Neville will."
"This is why we've barely seen Neville, isn't it?" Ron asked.
"Probably."
"He's been rushing off to spend every spare minute here," the redhead chuckled.
"I don't blame him," Harry said. "Is it just me, or does it feel warmer than it should?"
"I'm not going to complain about it."
"Look, the Li's and the Corran's are having a picnic on the plateau," Hermione pointed.
With the terraced effect, they could easily see down over everything. The two families were clearly enjoying themselves. They were often spotted together as they both had young children in the same age range.
"The lighthouse looks pretty wicked," Ron said as he pointed.
It looked small in the distance but it was clearly recognizable as a lighthouse.
"Is the light on?" Harry asked curiously.
"Xeno always leaves it on," Pearl Moon said as she walked by them where they'd stopped on the path.
"It's daylight though."
"Tell him that," she said with a laugh. "You kids here to enjoy the weather?"
Pearl was Lilian Moon's mom. Harry had to admit that she wasn't what he expected from a pureblood lady. She was smiley and easy-going. If she didn't look so much like her daughter, Harry would have a hard time believing she was related to the studious, serious Slytherin at all.
"Something like that," Harry responded with an easy smile.
"Well it's a beautiful day for it," she said. "I'm off!"
They waved as she pulled a broom out of her pocket and mounted it sideways. She returned their wave then flew off towards the beach.
"Isn't it cold?" Harry asked as he watched her zoom off. "For the beach, at least."
"We're wizards, aren't we?" Ron asked with a laugh.
"A couple of weather charms makes it the perfect day to relax near the water," Hermione agreed.
"Maxwell and Georgia are waiting in the lighthouse, right?" Ron asked.
"Yeah," Harry confirmed. "Everyone have a broom?"
"I'll ride with Ron," Hermione said with a light blush on her cheeks.
"I see," he said, wiggling his brows.
"Oh shove off," Ron muttered as he pulled out his broom.
Harry did the same thing and mounted his quickly. Hermione was still eyeing Ron's as if it might bite or speed off when she was halfway on.
"Let's do a quick fly over the gardens to get a better look," Harry suggested with a wink. "You can catch up to me at the beginning of the path to the lighthouse."
"Sure, mate," Ron called before turning back to Hermione and offering her a hand. "Come on."
"You won't go too fast, right?" she double-checked.
"Of course not," he promised. "Just a slow turn around the gardens then a trip to the lighthouse. I'll fly low too."
"I'll hold on tight, just in case," she said, giving him a shy grin.
"Good idea," Ron said as he returned her smile. "But I'd never let you fall."
…
Eventually, the three friends flew towards the lighthouse. Once they were close enough to make out the details, they stopped and hovered so they could take it all in.
"It's pretty wicked," Ron said first.
"The stones are interesting," Harry commented.
The building was made up of a mix of darker and lighter stone that gave it a slightly weathered look. There was a little cottage with a thatched roof built onto the left side of the lighthouse and a small chimney sending up cheery curls of smoke.
"It looks like it's been standing here for years rather than months," Ron said, unknowingly picking up his line of thought.
"That's what I was thinking," Harry told him.
"They salvaged some of the stone from the original Rook," Hermione informed them.
"Wait, really?" Harry asked, looking at it with new eyes.
"It's made of a mix of old and new stone," she confirmed. "Maxwell thought that might make it feel more like home for Luna and Xeno."
"That's really kind of him," Harry said.
"I thought so too," she agreed.
He looked up at the building for a moment. There were numerous small windows set around the body of the lighthouse at random intervals. Each one had a planter-box hanging below it containing a variety of colorful blooms.
"It's very unique, isn't it?" Hermione asked without any judgement in her tone.
"It definitely looks like the kind of place the Lovegoods would live," Harry responded.
"Yeah, and it still looks like the Rook too," Ron agreed. "Just with the addition of the ruddy huge glass house on top."
"That's the lantern room," Hermione said informatively. "And the balcony around it is called the gallery."
"Of course you'd know that," the redhead said with a good-natured huff.
The cobblestone path from the castle ended at the beginning of a long, waist-high fence. It was made of vertical wooden slats and had a matching, propped open gate. A winding gravel path led up to the lighthouse.
"I'll be right back," Harry said.
He flew up a little bit and looked around the back of the building for a moment.
"The fence goes all the way along the cliff face on the ocean sides," he told them when he returned. "So at least no one'll fall down the rocks."
The lighthouse had a good view and was accessible by foot since it was at the top of a long but gentle slope. The far side, however, had a steep drop down a rocky, seaside cliff.
"Oh good," Hermione said. "Maxwell mentioned a ward as well."
"There's not much of a back garden though."
"I think Xeno can make-do with the front," Ron said. "It already looks pretty good."
Harry had to agree. The area behind the fence looked like a classic, wild English garden. It was very different from the new gardens around the castle but he found it equally charming.
"He had a garden just like it in Ottery St. Catchpole," the redhead continued.
"I think they were able to salvage a few of the bushes and trees he kept near the pond," Hermione told him.
"Ahh, okay," he said. "I thought I'd seen those bushes with the weird orange fruit before."
"Dirigible plums," Harry supplied easily. "Luna told me about them."
"They're quite rare, actually," Hermione said.
For a moment, Harry remembered the only other lighthouse he had ever seen. When his uncle dragged them out to a shack in the sea to avoid the barrage of his Hogwarts letters, he'd seen a lighthouse through the storm. It had looked far different than this one when it was illuminated by the flashes of lightning in the midst of an angry sea.
"It's not as big as I expected," Harry said musingly. "Do you think he'll have enough room for everything now?"
"I would think so," Hermione said thoughtfully. "We'll have to ask for the tour."
"Really?" Ron asked, surprised. "You thought it would be bigger than this?"
"Muggle lighthouses can be much larger," Hermione told him. "Though I would say this is a fairly normal size; it looks like it's about thirty meters tall."
"I've only ever seen the Needles lighthouse around the Isle of Wight and it's much bigger," Harry told them. "And there wasn't a little house attached to the bottom."
"It looks very cozy," Hermione said as she stared down at it. "It seems like it's a good size for this overlook as well, not that we expect any ships to come in."
"I think this is plenty tall," Ron decided.
"Agreed," Hermione said. "Speaking of — can we get our feet on the ground again, please?"
"Sure," Ron laughed.
"Looks like they're waiting for us anyway," Harry said with a nod towards the front door of the cottage.
Xeno was waving them down enthusiastically. They could see his wide grin before their feet even touched the ground.
"Welcome, welcome," he said exuberantly.
"Hello, Xeno," they chorused.
"Welcome to the Lovegood Lighthouse," he said as he proudly straightened his magenta bowtie before gesturing to the building behind him. Then, he awkwardly cleared his throat. "That is, ah, if you don't mind calling it that, of course-"
"No worries, Mr. Lovegood," Harry stopped him with a wide smile. "That's the perfect name for it. You're welcome to call this your home for as long as you'd like."
The man gave Harry a wide smile with sparkling eyes (which were thankfully not watering like they had been the first time he'd seen the rook-like lighthouse) before nodding his head.
"It looks even bigger from down here, blimey," Ron commented.
"The garden is lovely," Hermione complimented.
"Come inside, come inside," he urged them, gesturing them into the house. "I've just put a pot of tea on."
Luna had clearly helped decorate the space because they recognized some of her paintings of fanciful creatures and underwater scenes decorating the walls. It was very cozy, however, and reminded Harry more of the Burrow than anything.
The fireplace was on the far wall in the kitchen and dining area. The sitting room and staircase were in the lighthouse portion of the bottom floor so the wall was partially curved.
"Maxwell, Georgia," Harry greeted when he saw the couple seated around the fireplace in the kitchen.
"Hello again, dears," she greeted as she stood up with a warm smile.
"Nice to see you again."
"I've just seen the area outside of the castle for the first time," Harry told them. "I have to say, I'm blown away. You've done an amazing job with everything, really."
"Well it wouldn't have been possible without the goblins help," Maxwell said modestly.
"And everyone helped with the planting, especially Annette Tolipan," Georgia added. "And the house-elves of course."
"I never realized I could replace half of my men with just a couple good elves," Maxwell muttered. "And they'd never call in sick after a night out at the pub, they wouldn't."
"Oh hush," Georgia huffed at him. "But those elves really are miracle workers."
Harry hid an amused smile at that.
"I'll have to find some way to thank them," he said.
"Tea, anyone?" Xeno asked, branding a wide tray loaded with cups.
"Please," Harry said with a smile, reaching for a cup. "Thank you."
"So how are you settling in, Mr. Lovegood?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Oh, excellently, really. Luna's been around helping set the place to rights, as you can see."
Georgia sipped at her tea delicately as she took in the mural over the fireplace. It colorfully depicted a mating dance between some sort of duck-like creatures with alarming anatomical correctness.
"Yes, we see," she said with a polite smile.
"And you don't mind being away from the castle?" Harry checked.
"Not at all," he answered lightly. "This feels much more like home, I must say. There's a reason why I lived and worked from the Rook — I enjoy being at home."
"I just don't want you to feel hidden away out here."
"I'll have plenty of visitors, I think. A fair few come just to look around."
"It's a great view," Maxwell pitched in.
"Luna's also made me promise to attend a meal a day in the castle, at minimum," Xeno added with a sheepish look. "Otherwise I might forget to leave the loft."
"So you've already got the Quibbler up and running from here?"
"Oh yes," he said enthusiastically. "In fact, I've the press running now. I really should get back up there to keep an eye on it."
"We'll have a chat and then bring them up so you can show them around, eh Xeno?" Maxwell offered.
"Yes, yes, perfect," the man said before bustling over to the staircase and disappearing.
He was certainly a funny man, Luna's dad. He was capable of moments of intense focus but that attention could switch to something else in a heartbeat as they just saw.
"Now then," Georgia smiled. "What can we do for you three today?"
"Thank you for meeting us here," Hermione said. "It's hard for the three of us to get away together for the day and we wanted to see the finished construction projects."
"It's no problem," Maxwell said. "We understand."
"If we had another project proposal, would you be open to taking the job?" Harry asked bluntly.
"I don't see why not," he answered immediately. "You're already my best paying customer. Right now you're just about my only customer since business has died down a bit recently. War's not a big facilitator of a kitchen remodel, you know?"
"Fair enough," Harry chuckled.
"Plus, any project here runs so much smoother. I've never seen the goblins so cooperative and I've also never worked with the help of so many house-elves."
"Hopefully that'll help us work against the odds here then," Hermione said with a sigh. "Because Harry has potentially invited quite a few more asylum seekers, shall we say, and we don't think the main castle has the potential to accommodate them."
Maxwell whistled through his teeth.
"How many people are we talking here?" he said. "We've just finished sort of resetting Xeno's old tower in the castle so it's habitable again."
"He was the only one staying there; we moved everyone else out just to be safe after the first small implosion," Georgia explained. "Just before the second explosion, actually, so it turned out to be good thinking."
"Erm," Harry said before deciding to ignore that. "And how many can that accommodate?"
"About twenty bedrooms, half as many bathrooms."
Harry winced. "Ah, well, you see…"
"We need to accommodate roughly 250 or more people," Hermione answered for him.
"Merlin's beard," Maxwell said, sitting back in his chair with wide eyes.
"You don't do things by halves, do you?" Georgia asked with a similar look.
"He definitely doesn't," Ron snorted.
"You'll need a whole other castle at this point," she continued in surprise.
"You know, I thought you would ask for something like this sooner than later but I didn't think it would be on this scale," Maxwell said, still looking surprised.
"I didn't plan to start constructing more buildings so soon either," he admitted. "But we have the space so we might as well use it."
"We'd need the goblins help again," Maxwell admitted. "If you're wanting to build one large structure, that is."
"That was the idea, yeah," Harry confirmed.
"I suppose we could just build multiple small buildings," Hermione mused.
"I think they'd appreciate being mostly together though," Ron disagreed. "They might be uncomfortable being split up in a new place."
"It sounds like you're talking about a group of people in particular," Georgia prodded curiously.
"Oh, ah," Harry looked at Hermione who just shrugged. Everyone had signed secrecy contracts so there was no harm in telling the older couple. "We're starting talks with the French veela convent."
Georgia's jaw dropped. Maxwell blinked owlishly.
"You really, really don't do things by halves," Georgia finally got out.
Harry had to laugh because she certainly wasn't wrong.
"Do you think it's possible?" he asked.
"I think it'll take a goblin survey team to even get an idea of what we're working with," Maxwell said. "But I think it's very possible, yes."
"I'll try to make an appointment with Riptuck then schedule a meeting with the builders if he approves. Would you like to attend that meeting with me?"
"Absolutely," Maxwell accepted immediately.
"Alright," Harry said.
"I think we should try to incorporate some French architecture into the design," Hermione said. "We need one suitable for the island that doesn't clash with the castle while also making them feel more at home, if possible."
"We could always see if Gringotts Paris would be willing to look at the survey report and design a building that fits within its parameters and our requirements?" Maxwell suggested.
"I'll ask Riptuck about that as well," Harry said, making a mental note of it.
"I'll draft the letter for you," Hermione offered.
"You're the best, Mione."
"Would you all like the tour for now?"
"Oh, please," Hermione said as she began to stand up. "I'm very curious about how the Quibbler offices have integrated into the new space."
"Right this way…"