A/N:  A bit of a warning here, there is some pretty graphic violence towards the end of the chapter.  Not enough to warrant a rating boost, in my opinion, as there won’t be any kind of graphic sexual nature or extreme language to go along with it.  Thanks,

-Kevin

Harry Potter and the Unlocked Knowledge

Chapter Eleven: Quidditch, Wedding, Press Conference

It was later that same evening that found quite a crowd in the Headmaster’s office.  Gwenog Jones, along with several men who Harry did not know, anxiously greeted Harry when he walked in with Ron and Katie.  Professors McGonagall and Slughorn were standing off to the side near Professor Dumbledore; also notably present was the sneering visage of Lucius Malfoy, recently exonerated from his Azkaban sentence.

“Harry Potter!  Good to see you again!”  Gwenog said as she vehemently shook Harry’s hand.  “We didn’t really get much time to talk there on the pitch,” She continued, “but I’d love to hear more about your Quidditch exploits!  You ride a Firebolt, eh?  I got mine when I played for the English National Team, most all of the Nationals have ‘em for every player.  They’re something, right?”  Gwenog played for the English National Team?

“Yeah, my Firebolt’s great…it was a gift.”  Harry would have said more if the others in the room hadn’t decided that the captain had taken enough of Harry’s time to herself.

“Harry Potter, what an honor!  Philbert Deverill, Puddlemere United General Manager.”  Puddlemere?  I thought it was the Harpies who were interested?  Is this a National spectacle or something?

"Gwendolyn Morgan, Mr. Potter, manager of the Harpies."  Said a witch about McGonagall's age; Harry could tell that at one point she'd likely been quite pretty.

"And I, Mr. Potter, am Einion Llewellyn, owner of both those fine teams!"  Said a rather portly older gentlemen.  He reminded Harry strongly of Professor Slughorn, who was seated in a large, comfortable chair eagerly observing the meeting.

"Pleasure to meet all of you.  This is Chaser Katie Bell and our Keeper Ron Weasley."  Harry quickly introduced them.  Ron quickly showed his vast knowledge for useless Quidditch trivia.

"Are you the Harpies captain who hit the Heidelberg captain with your broom in that '53 game?"  He asked wide-eyed to the Harpies manager, who smirked teasingly at him.

"Why, you are quite well versed in Quidditch history, my boy!  An excellent game - we trounced them soundly and I got to pretend I was a Beater!"  Ron was awed, for whatever reason Harry couldn't tell.  He decided to object to Malfoy's presence immediately.

"Mr. Malfoy, I was wondering what business you have here."  Harry said with almost all traces of politeness and mirth gone.  Lucius narrowed his eyes at the pompous brat.

"As the owner of a Quidditch team myself, I am the most able Hogwarts governor to attend to such a situation."  At Harry's look of disbelief, he smirked maliciously.  "Oh yes, hadn't you heard?  Part of my exoneration by the Wizengamot included their belief that I have a say in our future wizards' education.  I was quite pleased, of course."  Dumbledore, however, was not quite so pleased - whether this was because Harry now had a history of publicly brawling with Death Eaters or Malfoy's appointment in general, Harry couldn't tell.

"I see.  Well, Mr. Llewellyn, to what do we owe the honor of your presence?"  Harry said, flashing the older gentlemen a smile that was eagerly returned.  Malfoy seemed intrigued by this out-of-character turn for Harry - the boy had never interacted with anyone so well, much less a rich adult stranger!

"Ah, call me Einion, Harry!  If I may call you Harry, of course," Harry smiled and nodded, "Well, I've heard that you three are all quite promising young Quidditch players and that the Harpies would like to sponsor you for the Junior Leagues!"  Harry smiled easily while Ron was whipping his head up and down so fast Harry believed he might need the Hospital Wing.  Katie, while not quite as excited as Ron, was acting similarly.

"Well, that's all well and good for Ms. Bell; after all, I believe our Gwenog wants to give you a tryout anyway!  However, the Harpies, as is well known, only field witches, so it presents a unique little problem to send you two off when you can't possibly play for the Harpies.  So Gwendolyn flooed me up and told me your problem, and I called up Philbert here," He motioned to the Manager of Puddlemere, "Who thought it a splendid idea that Puddlemere - my other team, you know - sponsor the two of you boys!  Both organizations have worked together for some time, and the publicity will be beneficial to both teams, so everyone wins!"  He said excitedly.  Lucius Malfoy took this opportunity to interrupt once more, which caused Harry to notice that Professor Slughorn seemed less than thrilled to hear him speak.  Interesting.

"Einion, if I may just repeat myself, I believe that these students are all receiving an unfair advantage.  They were allowed to play against an inexperienced team and you haven't even seen half of the players -" He began in a drawl.  Einion brushed him off with a wave.  He must be well-off indeed to treat Lucius Malfoy like that.  Although I did steal half of Malfoy's fortune...

"Tosh, Lucius, and you know it.  Both boys showed incredible talent - of course Ms. Bell flew splendidly also, but I daresay her inclusion isn't objected.  Anyway, its my prerogetive to sponsor whomever I please for the Junior Leagues.  You can sponsor your own students...oh wait, I believe Mr. Potter will have to approve those appointments now, won't he?  Yes...he'd be a half-owner, wouldn't he?"  Einion chuckled as a cold mask of fury dropped onto Lucius' face.  Harry was quite certain that if Dumbledore wasn't there, he'd have been fighting off curses despite the prominent company.

"I'll be correcting that Ministerial oversight as soon as I'm able, have no doubts, Einion," Lucius snarled, failing to contain his temper as it leaked into his harsh tone, "And I'm sure that the two flyers Wimbourne sponsors will be quite a hit at the Juniors.  Obviously my advice is going on unheeded, so I shall not remain in such company with no purpose!"  Harry cleared his mind with Occlumency and looked into Lucius' eyes quickly, and unsurprising scenes flashed before his eyes.

"Please, Master, we tried!"  Lucius begged.  He was writhing on the floor with both of the Lestrange brothers, only Bellatrix in attendance as Voldemort tortured his highest Death Eaters.

"Get that money back, Lucius!  Do whatever you must!"  Voldemort screamed in his unnatural high squeal.

"My Lord!  I'll go to Hogwarts now, there's a Quidditch game where Potter plays, perhaps an opportunity will present itself!"  Lucius pleaded.  Voldemort yelled, "Crucio!" one last time before sending the blonde aristocrat off.

Lucius' eyes drilled into Harry's, while the boy merely smirked, amused.

"Good day, Mr. Malfoy.  I hope I'll trouble your mind no longer."  A deadly glare shot his way immediately, a slight flush staining Malfoy's porcelain skin as he nearly shook with rage, shoving past Ron and Harry violently.  It seemed Azkaban had done quite a number on the Malfoy patriarch's control of his temper.

"Heavens, prison must have been rough on the man," Slughorn said lightly from his corner.

"Yes, he seemed quite easily perturbed, I believe.  Quite understandable, but inexcusable nonetheless.  Really, he shouldn't have emerged unto polite society until he was...healthy again."  Einion said with a smile.

"Now, as for you three!  We have just a few little things to go over as part of the sponsor contract."  Einion continued with a smile.  Gwendolyn Morgan and Philbert Deverill, the two General Managers of the team, withdrew packages and returned them to full size in the Headmaster's office.

"Now, the main event from a publicity standpoint is the press conference featuring all of us, you three, and possibly Professor Dumbledore and your Head of House.  Just a bit of an announcement, maybe a speech from Harry thanking us and telling everyone how excited he is - there's a good lad!  And, of course, a bit of paraphenalia for you three to wear under your uniforms and outside of class!"  Philbert passed Harry and Ron official Puddlemere jerseys without names on the back, along with a brand new set of matching pads and gloves; Gwendolyn did the same for Katie.  All of the present teachers, of course, also received jerseys.

"Of course, you'll wear those uniforms when you play at the Juniors, and wear the pads, too.  Bit of advertising for the photographers there, in addition to letting the scouts know we have first crack at you!"  Indeed, the contract did indicate that Puddlemere was allowed to the proposition Harry and Ron before any other team, and the Harpies had the same deal with Katie.  Since both teams were quite good, particularly the Harpies, this was really an added benefit.

"Now, for the Juniors, you'll need decent brooms, so here's…a Brand New Nimbus 2100 for each of you!  Harry, you can still fly on that Firebolt of yours, I don't think anyone would begrudge you that!  And, of course, we'd love to have you at Llewellyn Field out over the summer some time, kids.  Both of my teams practice there alternate days, you know, so you can come out and maybe watch, maybe do a little flying...heck, I bet we could set up a pick-up game with members of both teams if you give us a little advance notice!"  Einion said, encouraging the kids to sign.  Ron had long ago put his quill to paper - about the same instant the new broomstick was revealed, in fact - and Katie had just began initialing each page of the contract, while Harry held out just a bit longer, thinking it over.

After all, I don't know what all I'll be doing this summer, Tom...Dumbledore will be gone, I might be in charge of the fight against Voldemort!  Can I really afford to go to some silly Quidditch League in Eastern Europe?  Or waste my time flying around when I should be practicing dueling?  Harry questioned, holding his quill above the signature line as Einion urged him on silently.

You also have to live your own life, Harry.  Your parents wouldn't want you to single-mindedly pursuing this task, nor would even Dumbledore expect that of you.  Live your life first, fight Voldemort second.  Otherwise you've nothing to fight for.  He said sagely.  Harry nodded and neatly put his name on the final line.  Einion smiled broadly and shook Harry's hand vigorously.

"Excellent, Mr. Potter, excellent!  I think we should schedule our press conference sometime soon...perhaps on the next Hogsmeade weekend, just before your break!  Splendid, splendid...I'm certain all of your friends will want to come, after all.  And of course, I've heard about your little Defense seminar - what a marvelous idea, I say!  I'll be sure to have both the teams there in a show of support, we can address that at the press conference, too, as I'm sure there'll be questions."  Philbert and Gwendolyn shook hands with Harry, Ron, and Katie one last time before leaving the Headmaster's office through the fireplace.

"Right, Harry, I'll be lookin' forward to dueling you at that seminar!  And Bell, keep up the good work and we'll see about that tryout!"  Gwenog called before following the managers and owner, leaving the students alone with the professors.  McGonagall, not even bothering to hold in her smile while looking at the two professional uniforms she now held, was the first to congratulate her students.

"Well, I can certainly say that Gryffindor was represented splendidly this evening.  Congratulations to all of you, and jobs very well done."  She made to leave before pausing, "Harry, you may serve your second detention with me next Friday."  Harry shook his head as his Head of House left.

"Well, I must say that I always did see greatness in all three of you!  Good show, good show!"  Slughorn clapped like an amused infant in his excitement.  He might have connections to two professional teams, now, after all.

"Goodness, I can't wait to spread that news around my Christmas party.  Harry, I've already had just dozens of requests from a few old friends to get invited so they can see you; I can't believe how many I've had to turn down!  Heavens, we'd have had to hold it in the Great Hall!"  He chuckled in amusement at his own joke while his chins bounced wildly.

"Really, though, now all three of you are just going to be the guests of honor!  Ron, dear, you must invite your whole family, I dearly want to meet them.  I've heard that Bill is quite the curse-breaker, after all, and I know so many friends in the Goblin Liason office, I'm just certain we have a few mutual acquaintances.  And Percival!  I've heard all about him from several highly placed former students - that one's making waves!"  Slughorn failed to hear Ron's vehement, "Stupid Git Percy..."  "And I'll have you know I've enjoyed a number of Wheezes since those marvelous brothers of yours started their shop...why, I must congratulate old Arthur and your wonderful mother Molly on such a fine group of young citizens they've produced!"  Harry had to hold back a smile when he thought of Molly's tearful reaction to that declaration from Slughorn.

"Anyway, I'll see you children in Potions, marvelous flying today, by the way!"  Slughorn called when he finally waddled out.  Dumbledore smiled as he watched the old codger leave.

"I agree, fine flying from all of you.  I particularly enjoyed a few of your aerial antics, Mr. Weasley.  Quite the dexterity you showed, I'd never have guessed.  Now, why don't we discuss this press conferences of yours and the following seminar, Harry?  Your friends are welcome to stay, as I imagine they'd hear retellings soon in any case.

"Obviously, such a public spectacle could be an invitation for Voldemort's forces, so we need to think of some protections."  Dumbledore said seriously.  Harry had given this some thought, and Tom had given it even more, so Harry relayed what he'd come up with.

"Well, sir, let's start with the press conference.  I think that, given the three weeks notice, Scrimgeour can loan out some Aurors...I'd say maybe seven or so, including Kingsley and Tonks, and maybe post some more Order members like Moody around the crowd just in case.  Also, I was thinking maybe put up a small warding scheme around the podium area to give us even more of a bit of protection.  If things get rough, I'll Side-Along Apparate Ron, and Katie can Apparate herself out.  We should set up an emergency area under Fidelius or something - maybe the Shrieking Shack?   Or maybe just Grimmauld Place, that might do."  Katie and Ron had turned to him, Ron absolutely shocked and Katie looking somewhat oddly at him, while Dumbledore had just raised his eyebrows slightly.

"That is...quite a thorough security plan, Harry.  I'm glad you did not blindly agree to that conference like I feared.  Although I am a little uncertain as to just when you were able to come up with it."  Dumbledore said in a smile.  Well, it helps when I have two minds working...Harry thought nervously.

"Well, I guess those lessons with Alastor taught me to always have a few plans on the backburner..."  Dumbledore nodded.

"I'm sure he'll be glad to hear that.  You make several good points; You may write to Rufus and request his Aurors, I doubt that he'd give you a hard time, since he already has Aurors throughout Hogsmeade for your benefit - unofficially, of course.  I will also talk to Bill Weasley about creating that warding scheme; he is quite talented at crafting them as well as shattering them.  At this moment, I am...less than inclined to cast an additional Fidelius Charm, and since I am the only person I know of who actually knows the complex and nearly forgotten charm, we shall use Grimmauld Place as the Apparation Point in case of danger."  Dumbledore had a point that not even Tom knew how to perform the Fidelius Charm.  It was, however, contained in one of the books that Harry took from Dumbledore's personal library; Harry quickly learned the amazing spell, as well as how it worked.  

"That sounds perfect, sir.  Thank you.  As for the seminar, I believe it would be quite foolish for the Death Eaters to try anything, as we'll have the entirety of the D.A., most of the Auror and Hit Wizard ranks, as well as yourself and the teaching staff present to ward off such an attack.  But if they try anything, I'll make sure Fred and George send me some goodies to help deal with them."  Harry had some ideas of his own about surprises for the Death Eaters, but let Dumbledore think he'd rely exclusively on the twins' creations.

"That sounds adequate for now.  Incidentally, congratulations for receiving an award from my own favorite team, Harry.  What an exciting evening you've all had!  Why don't you head back to your common room and display the spoils of sponsorship to your classmates?  I'm quite certain they'll be anxious to see your new uniforms and broomsticks."  Indeed, Ron was clutching his new Nimbus like a precious infant.  Harry and his friends made to leave, but Fawkes seemed to object to his lack of petting, and with a squawk, he exploded in a ball of fire and reappeared on Harry’s shoulder, causing Ron to jump away quickly.

“’Lo, Fawkes.  How’ve you been?”  Harry asked with a laugh, easily casting a bit of the Aguamenti charm to put out the burnt robe.  Fawkes preened as he lavished the attention, eventually leaving Harry’s shoulder to return to his perch.  Harry silently repaired his burnt robes and bid the Headmaster goodbye.

“Bloody hell, Harry, does Fawkes always do that to you?”  Ron asked as he clutched his broom close trekking through the hall; perhaps he was afraid that Fawkes would catch alight his broomstick?

“He’s never done that precisely before, but he usually complains unless I pet him some or at least send him a greeting.  We’ve been on good terms since he helped me fight that Basilisk.”  Harry said, smirking at that last part.  Katie shook her head at him.

“You know, Harry, other boys say things like that to be prats, but you are actually serious about it.  ‘Fighting a Basilisk’ is like a turn of phrase, kinda like tickling a sleeping dragon…You know, I shouldn’t be giving you ideas.”  She said with a roll of her eyes and a smile at him.

“Oh no, if I come upon a dragon, sleeping or otherwise, I just know to hop on my Firebolt and get the heck out of there; trust me, I have experience.”  He said, grinning.  They came upon the common room and opened the door to an annoyingly long session of ‘oohs’, ‘aahs’, and ‘wow!’


It was the next morning at mail that Harry received a reminder of something he’d definitely forgotten in all of the events of the prior month.  A tawny owl, the type typically rented out from Diagon Alley, dropped a gold and black embossed parchment for him; curiously, he found a handsome printed script with a witch’s scribbled writing crossing out some parts and adding to others.

You are hereby formally invited to the joyous union of Nymphadora - Don’t call me that, Remus! – Tonks and Remus John Lupin.  Please join us for this celebration on December 21, 1996, at Headquarters.  Only Order members and my mum and dad are invited, so no worries there!

“I guess I’ll have to pop into Headquarters to make sure that Kreacher has the place done up right…though Tonks may be ordering him around.”  Harry said to Ron and Katie.  Dumbledore agreed later that day that telling Ms. Bell the location for the wedding couldn’t hurt.


And so Harry found himself in the Transfiguration classroom, kneeling on the floor – he’d thankfully cast a cushioning charm beforehand, so his knees weren’t as sore as they could have been.  He’d been deep into meditation for two hours now, attempting to find his blasted Animagus form, but having no luck.  He’d definitely spent way more time than Tom had finding his form, and indeed nothing had been revealed to Harry at all in the blackness, not even a habitat, a smell, the feel of the forest slithering beneath him as Tom had felt.  Perhaps he just had no animal form, no animalistic nature that best expressed his own instincts.  

Well, Harry, you have recently undergone a transition that is likely previously unheard of.  Perhaps your form has not solidified itself just as your own personality changed, is changing, even, from our merging.  Harry got the mental picture of his Animagus form as a two-headed troll bashing the other head with a club.  Useful form…

And just like that, the picture emerged.  At first it was slight, only a few streams of color, but suddenly he was there!  In a forest of some kind, with vegetation all over, green exploding into his vision.  Suddenly, the animal on display was disturbed somehow, and Harry saw what must be his form.  It was the same mental picture, the same animal that Tom had seen all those years ago.  But while it excited the cruel boy, Voldemort at that time already, Harry was somewhat disappointed.  He’d found his form.  He was a Black Mamba snake, just like Voldemort.  Marked as his equal, indeed.


“Hey, mate, it’s no big deal!  So what if you’re a snake…better than a mosquito or something, right?”  Ron said that following Saturday in the training room.  Since Harry had found his form, McGonagall no longer forced him to stay; she’d misinterpreted his gasp of horror – after all, it meant that he had the same personality as a 16-year old Voldemort – as one of excitement, and was even more excited when told her that he’d only show her his form when he finished the transformation.  Privately, he debated ever completing the transformation.

“Right, Ron…better than a mosquito.”  Harry said distractedly.  Ron was still having trouble regularly levitating his feather – he seemed to have a bit of a mental block for wandless magic – and so it randomly shot across the room as he sighed and pulled out his wand to summon it back.

“Accio feather,” Harry said lazily as the feather zoomed to his hand.  He handed it to his scowling friend, who took it and attempted to repeat the exercise.  Katie had moved on to attempting to levitate a book, but so far all it had done was shake a little.  Being unable to dedicate a nearly constant stream of attention to the task, as Harry had done when he worked over the summer, none of them had progressed well.  Hermione, who’d never made up with Harry, per se, but was hanging out with them again and even speaking with Harry now, had begun reading a few books from the Restricted Section on the topic – there weren’t many there, and even those were quite dated – but not yet attempted the wandless magic training.

“Harry, I’m telling you, you’re doing it all wrong!  It says quite clearly here that you first do the meditations, then attempt the self-transfiguration on limbs and eventually greater portions of your body.  Nowhere does it mention levitating feathers!”  She said exasperatedly.

“And I’m telling you, Hermione, that the reason it takes years is because no one knows wandless magic enough to succeed with those transformations at first.  Practice easier wandless magic, then build up to the big stuff.  And the meditation can be done at any time, even if you have improved your proficiency with wandless magic.”  He explained for the twelfth time.  She’s far too obsessed with established protocol.  When I was her age, I never followed instructions.  Of course, I believed that the instructors were much less capable than myself…but I had the right mindset, if not the correct reasons.  Tom said with a mental roll of his eyes at her.

“Well then why doesn’t the book say to do that?!”  She questioned angrily.

“Maybe he never tried my way, so he doesn’t know how much better it is.”  Harry said with a smirk that caused Ron to laugh and Katie to roll her eyes.  Hermione followed Katie’s example, but her eye roll had little to do with his humor.

“Fine!  Wingardium Leviosa!”  She said, pointing to Ron’s feather without her wand.  The feather didn’t so much as budge.  Hermione looked shocked, as though she expected her theory to carry over perfectly on the first attempt.

“Wingardium Leviosa!”  She called again, with a swish and flick of her finger.  Again, nothing happened except her face got red as she got angry.  Flustered, she yelled, “WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!!” And the feather burst into a puff of smoke.  Harry chuckled appreciatively.

“Don’t worry, that happened to me a few times too, Hermione.  Good attempt.”  He casually conjured up another feather for both her and Ron.  With Hermione beside him on the floor, instead of curled up in an armchair with a dusty book, Ron had much more incentive to succeed, and thus his next attempt sent the feather into the air and his ears reddened.

“Good work, Ron.  Help Hermione a bit, will you?  I need to study my form some.”  And so Harry spent his Saturday in observation.  It didn’t feel the same as it had for Tom, however, almost like something was missing from the picture, something that Harry was missing.  He was forced to end that session a bit early, however, and soon was running to the edge of the Hogwarts wards under his Invisibility Cloak so that he could Apparate to Grimmauld Place to check it out.  A soft ‘pop’ later and he was gone entirely.

“Reemy!”  He heard a female voice call out in a sultry fashion.  Who’s here?  Who could possibly have broken in?  Is this the wrong place?  But Harry was sure he was in the right spot.  He stuffed his Invisibility Cloak back in his enlarged inside pocket before he drew his wand and cursed silently.

Should have worn my dueling robes, damn it!  Find Kreacher…he might be able to help.  Indeed, as he burst into the kitchen silently, he saw the elf there making dinner.

“Master!  His Darkness has returned!  Oh, Thank you, Master!  Your punishment was most cruel and vicious, but I’s put up with it like a good house elf!  Sending dirty evil halfbreeds for Kreacher to serve...” Kreacher shuddered as though the very thought would be relived in the presence of a Dementor.

“Half-breeds, Kreacher?  Who is here right now?”  Harry asked urgently.

“That dirty werewolf and changing half-Black.  Ugh, Mudblood bitch, Mistress would never have allowed her inside, Mistress would have –” Harry cut off the thing – was it back to its babbling insanity? – quickly.

“Yes, Kreacher, how is your Mistress doing?  Still hanging?”  Harry asked, a plan to get rid of the vile Mrs. Black in his head.

“Oh yes, Master, she is being most pleased to hear about your Dark self as the new Lord Black.  I is telling her about all your wonderful wickedness, and she is being most impressed, she is!”  Kreacher had tears of adoration in his eyes as he clung to Harry’s right leg, kissing him just above his knee.

“Excellent, Kreacher.  I was wondering if you’d like to have her portrait for yourself, hang it up in your room and all that.  I just wouldn’t want her to be lonely, after all…” Kreacher looked up at Harry shocked, tears streaming down his face.

“Oh Master!  Kreacher is not worthy of –”

“Are you disagreeing with me, Kreacher?”  Harry’s cold tone forced Kreacher’s mouth shut and he hit the floor in a bow.

“Of course not, Master, you is knowing best, of course!  Kreacher will move the portrait immediately!”  Harry, meanwhile, decided to see to his guests.

The Black manor looked extraordinary, to put it lightly.  Every surface gleamed with fresh wax or polish – the floors so dark they could have been polished ebony, and silver adornments filled the walls.  Gleaming silver sconces in every room, supporting elaborate lights that Harry didn’t remember from when Sirius and the Order were using the house.  Door handles were also fancy silver, often with fine crystals embedded in them – were they diamonds?  Truly, the Black house had been an investment beyond Harry’s ability to fathom; Voldemort knew that not even the Malfoy Manor had such decorations.  The state of the house notwithstanding, what excited Harry the most was this most excellent opportunity to embarrass Remus and Tonks.  Smirking to himself, he focused as hard as he could on the figure of Remus, attempting to use his Metamorph Medal.  He grew slightly as he reached Remus’ approximate height, his hair lightened and grayed slightly, and his entire visage got a sort of worn and exhausted look.  He quickly made his way to the rather noisy room and burst in.

“What the hell is going on here?”  Harry said in Remus Lupin’s voice.  He saw Tonks and Remus jump apart and cover themselves in sheets.

“R-Remus?  What is going on?!”  Tonks shrieked , jumping off of the bed and taking the sheet with her, leaving Remus to fall off of the other side, nude.

“Who are you?”  He said weakly, attempting to cover himself.  Harry fought to keep his face looking angry as he drew his wand without wandless magic like he was used to.

“I could ask the same of you.  I could also ask you why the hell you’re in bed with my fiancé!”  Harry said in barely contained rage.  He thought that Remus would react this way, not in a blind rage attacking everything in sight.

“Wha-what?  Tonks is my fiancé!  And what is this?  Polyjuice?”  Remus had a sort of calculating look in his eye as he looked around the room, likely trying to find a wand; Harry had noticed that it was on the side of the bed Tonks was on, not Remus’ side.  That would be good for when he revealed himself.

“Is that what you used, Polyjuice?  Clever.  But of course, Tonks should be able to tell who her real fiancé is.”  Tonks looked quite bewildered when both Remus’ turned to her.

“Of course, Tonks, tell him he’s an imposter!”  The real Remus cried, still attempting to cover himself.  She looked hard at both versions of her future husband for a moment.

“What color was my hair when we first met?”  She asked slowly.

“Bubblegum pink,” both men said immediately.  Then they turned to scowl at each other identically.  Tonks made an odd face at their synchronicity.  Remus narrowed his eyes a moment.

“Did I get a Time-Turner or something, and come back to prank myself?”  He asked confused.  Harry decided to end the joke and just laughed aloud, returning to himself.  Tonks shrieked and Remus jumped across the bed, leaping for his wand.

“Relax, you two, it’s me Harry!”  He said, still chuckling.  Tonks’ eyes narrowed and she just started cursing the boy, Remus joining in.

“That wasn’t funny you brat!  What the bloody hell were you thinking?  I ought to curse your arse off!”  Harry was howling with laughter as her curses ineffectively bounced off of his Absolvo shield.

“Harry, what are you doing out of school?”  Remus asked as he grabbed a portion of the sheet from Tonks to cover himself.

“Well, I was just going to check up on this old place to make sure everything would look good for your wedding.  I got about the scare of a lifetime when I heard what I thought were intruders, and so I decided to pay you two back for it.  I think I succeeded quite well.  Nice bum, by the way, Nymphadora.”  The auror growled and shot off a rather powerful hex that actually burst through Harry’s shield, causing him to duck.

“Thanks for the comment about my bum, Harry, but don’t call me Nymphadora!”  She said.  Harry chuckled appreciatively.

“Well…I’ll let you two get back to it, owl me if you need anything for the wedding – remember, cost isn’t an issue, since the Malfoys are paying for it!”  Harry called cheerfully before closing the door and locking it quite securely.  The rune he traced on the door wouldn’t allow it to be opened for about twelve hours, as his little gift to the couple for interrupting.  With a slight whistled tune and a soft ‘pop’, Harry returned to Hogsmeade and used the tunnel beneath the Shrieking Shack to make his way back to the castle.


Far too quickly, the end of term came upon the N.E.W.T. students as they worked diligently through a rather exhaustive series of tests in every subject.  Harry was the only one in his year to find the tasks simple and even enjoyable in some cases.  Professor Flitwick fell out of his chair in surprise when he asked Harry to perform a water charm and Harry said clearly, “Aqua Eructo” and a torrent of water flooded the Charms room.  It was one spell he’d learned from Grindelwald’s grimoire, and useful because it was the only charm the Dark Wizard had found to remotely combat Fiendfyre, whose detailed use was also on the pages.  Flitwick squeaked excitedly and gave Harry full marks after he easily cast the Protean Charm on a sheet of parchment, their most recent Charm project.  Tom, of course, was more than familiar with that charm, and his experience allowed Harry to complete a particularly fine one that copied his writing to the other sheet.

Professor McGonagall, too, was pleased when Harry conjured up a beautiful red rose for her upon her asking him for a conjured item.  For large scale, he concentrated hard and was able to conjure a Jacuzzi filled with bubbling water and functional jets.  The teacher giggled at him and rolled her eyes before dismissing it easily.  That was lucky, because Harry was fairly certain that such a conjuration would not have lasted more than twenty seconds or so.  Fairly drained, he was almost tempted to use his Metamorph Medal when McGonagall asked him to transfigure his hair and then his nose.  He gave himself greasy hair and a hooked nose like Snape, which caused her to smirk and nod before giving him full points.

Snape didn’t even bother hiding his loathing for Harry during the practical Defense examination.  He still didn’t trust Harry because of his observations; Harry was only slightly worried because his accusations were surprisingly insightful.

“Potter, pretend that dummy is an Inferius and demonstrate how to combat it.”  He said with a scowl.  Harry lazily let off a silent Blasting Curse that destroyed the dummy and knocked Snape off his stool next to it.

“Fifteen points from Gryffindor!  Now I need a new dummy, Potter!”  You could always ask Draco to volunteer, Harry thought; he kept this to himself, however, merely smiling pleasantly at the teacher.

“The proper way to combat an Inferius is through the use of fire, Potter, not knocking me off my bloody stool!”  Snape reprimanded.

“I’m sorry, sir, was the heat from the Blasting curse not effective enough?  In addition to destroying the target Inferius, it would also drive back its friends, I think.  I can’t really think of a more effective solution other than possibly the use of Fiendfyre.  And since I’m not proficient in the use of that particular spell and didn’t want to burn down all of Hogwarts if it got out of control, I decided to use a Blasting curse.”  Harry said in a pleasant, rather amused tone.  He was, after all, picturing Snape and Draco as twin dummies, and it was enough to take the edge off of Snape’s comments.

“Fine, silently cast a shield to protect against my spells.”  Uh oh, this could turn messy pretty quick.  Harry decided to erect both an Absolvo shield and a gleaming silver Imprimis shield; Snape’s curse hit the gleaming shield with a resounding ‘Gong!’ and impacted against the wall leaving a rather nasty looking black mark.  Likely Snape’s curse would have easily penetrated a standard Protego shield, as Harry expected.  Two more quick spells from Snape, along with a snarl and a mark that looked suspiciously like an ‘A’, and Snape ushered him from the class, calling in the next victim.

Professor Sprout’s test was fairly standard – a bit of wrestling with a few dangerous plants and Harry’d finished easily.  Slughorn’s exam was again different, in that he sat by while Harry and the class completed their Blood-Replenishing Potions and Draughts of Living Death – cheerfully proclaiming Harry’s potions to be stellar examples of the Art of Potioneering.  Harry left the dungeon with a rather convincing fake smile after Slughorn loudly announced that he’d “Be seeing Harry at his party this Saturday evening!”

Early Saturday morning, however, found Harry giving up his Hogsmeade visit, instead discussing with Bill Weasley Harry’s planned ward scheme for the podium.

“Really, Harry, it’s rather brilliant, but I’m not sure just where you came up with this stuff.  I’ve never heard of a directed Repelling ward being used like that…but it makes sense, and I’d be willing to try it.  So we’ll throw in that shield charm I like as well as that chain scheme and be done with it, eh?”  Bill said enthusiastically.  Harry agreed, and began carving the few runes upon which the scheme would be based; inconspicuously located near the base of the podium.  Harry used a trick that Tom learned in Albania to trace boundary wards that linked to the physical wards to delineate the barriers of the scheme, thus saving them from displaying the wards from all of the questioning reporters.

All in all, Harry found that Bill was quite a devious little warder, and more than a bit malicious – he’d learned his lessons in Egypt quite well.  The new scheme, with Bill’s additions to Harry’s basic plan, would leave any unauthorized trespasser a good thirty feet away, unconscious, and tightly bound in black magical cord and anchored with reinforced chain.  A well placed Sectumsempra might damage the chain, but Harry had expended quite a bit of his energy in that particular ward, so the caster would have to be quite powerful.  Of course, all of the effects could only be reversed by Harry himself.

“Bloody fine job, Harry!  Little Ronnie never told me you were a warder – and a damn clever one, too!  If I didn’t know better, I’d say you spent some time in the field curse-breaking or something!”  Well, I spent quite a fair bit of time plundering the treasures of Eastern Europe, so I’ll take that as a compliment.  You aren’t without your own skill, Weasley.  Tom responded in Harry’s head.

“Yeah, well, I’ve taken to reading up a bit on wards, they’re pretty fascinating, I think.”  Harry said without giving away too much.

“Read up a little bit?  The only one I know who can do blood wards like those – so that only you can release the effects – is Dumbledore himself!  In fact, I copied that particular scheme into my copy of Golinard’s Field Curse-Breaking Manual** – it would have been useful in a few occasions I can think of.  I won’t ask as I know you probably won’t tell me, but I think I need to thank the Headmaster for that trick.”  Harry smiled and shrugged as though to intimate that Bill was correct – though truthfully it was merely one of the Headmaster’s many books that Harry had learnt it from.  Voldemort had more than a passing knowledge of blood magic – taught to him by an Albanian Vampire named Bashkim, in fact – but had been more interested in Dark curses and powerful rituals than protective wards at the time.  

“Well, Bill, are you ready for the press conference?  I can’t think of anything else we can do to prepare.”  Harry said, inspecting the grand podium.  Banners supporting the Harpies and Puddlemere were erected the previous evening, and both teams’ colors riddled the stage, an interestingly nauseating blend of blue, green, gold, harpies, and bulrushes.  Harry thought that all of the pomp that the two teams thought this press conference might generate was being overestimated, but Einion Llewellyn wanted it all, and the man’s family was long known for getting what they want; they were as influential as Malfoys in the world of Quidditch.

“I think that’s all we can do, Harry.  Wait for the Aurors to arrive, then the Quidditch people, and then Katie and Ron so you can key everybody into the wards, and by that time we’ll be about ready to start the show.  I’ll be hidden in the audience, Fleur too, if there’s trouble.”  Bill just finished walking away when the first batch of Aurors did arrive.  With them were Kingsley Shacklebolt and Tonks, just as Harry’s requested.

“Wotcher, Harry!”  Tonks said brightly with a wave.  She was wearing the red Auror cape, so Harry supposed she was to be one of the Aurors on display.

“We’re the four who’ll be near the podium.  Shack and Livingston there will be out on display, Proudfoot and I’ll be behind the stage in case of trouble.  I know Dawlish and Savage are two of the Aurors who’ll be undercover in the crowd.”  She informed.  Harry nodded as he began to adjust the wards to allow those four access.

“Anyone check to see if Dawlish has been Confunded lately?”  He asked sarcastically, causing Kingsley to smirk.

“I checked him myself, Harry, just as you asked,” He replied in his deep bass voice, amusement present.  “A little curious as to why I was checking, but he was fine.”  Tonks cast a few revealing spells on the podium and whistled appreciatively.

“Crickey, Harry, look at the warding on this thing!  Did Bill Weasley help you out?”  Harry smirked at her, finished with the adjustment.

“But of course…after all, little old me can’t possibly have come up with such an advanced scheme…” Bill took the opportunity to join in the conversation.

“I added a few things, but that one was mostly your own work.  Which books did you say you read about those wards in?”  He asked curiously.

“I didn’t.  But I think they’re pretty rare.”  Bill raised an eyebrow at his evasion, but the Aurors, not knowing much about wards and their complexity, moved on to talk with Harry about likely battle plans.

“Right, Harry, so first priority is to get you three kids to safety.  You three will Apparate away immediately to…you know where.  We’ll get the Quidditch folks and the Ministry people to the emergency Portkey in the back of the tent next.  They’re priority two, people.  Finally we will open the tent for the public.  The four Aurors outside are tasked with distracting any potential threat and ushering the public towards the tent once it opens.  Livingston and I will join those four outside while Proudfoot and Tonks work inside the tent to get those people away to safety in the Ministry.  Harry, do you understand that you are not to stay here and fight?”  Kingsley said seriously.  

“Of course, Kingsley.  I have to get Ron to safety, after all, and look after Katie.  I won’t put their lives in danger.”  Harry responded with a somber face.  All of this planning seemed unreasonable even a week ago, but Snape’s recent reconnaissance indicated that the Dark Lord was indeed planning an attack on the well-publicized Hogsmeade announcement.  The streets of Hogsmeade were getting increasingly crowded with students hopping between shops and a slightly larger than normal number of adults – likely anticipating the press conference.

“Harry Potter!  My boy, how are you?”  Einion said in a tone frighteningly reminiscent of Slughorn as he walked up.  Harry smiled and nodded appreciatively.

“Einion, great to see you again, of course!  I must say, those new Nimbus brooms are really something; we’ve been out flying on them a few times now.  Doesn’t have the top speed of the Firebolt, but I really think it might actually be better for Beaters – the thicker handle gives a bit sturdier base than the Firebolt, you know, better platform to Beat from.”  Harry said complimentarily.  Gwenog Jones had showed up halfway through his speech and grinned at him.

“Quite true, Harry!  I use the Nimbus 2500 in place of my older Firebolt.  The ‘bolt is good for Seeking and Chasing, but Beating’s more about sending the Bludgers off quickly.”  Gwenog said.  She was lazily carrying her Beater bat over her shoulder – a trademark for her, and had her other arm around Gwendolyn Morgan when she strode up.  The older woman nodded politely at Harry, while Philbert Deverill, much more formal than any of the others, shook his hand.  None of the Quidditch people had been informed of the extreme likelihood of an attack, just been told that Harry was a high-priority target for Voldemort.  Harry began adjusting the wards for all of the new arrivals, and had just finished when more guests showed up.

“Mr. Potter, good to see you again!  Quite the press conference organized around you today!”  Rufus Scrimgeour said when he strode up, Percy Weasley by his side.  Einion Llewellyn thankfully took the lead with the Minister and accosted him before he could really dig into Harry.

“Minister Scrimgeour, what a pleasure!” Einion begins with pleasantries, “Oh, of course I’ll be coming to your little seminar!”  The Minister nodded and said something, after which Einion loudly proclaims, “Of course, I think our young Mr. Potter is quite gifted in many ways – one of the reasons I recruited him, of course!”

“Harry!”  Katie walked up with Ron and Hermione close behind.  Ron held a large bag full of Honeyduke’s chocolate while it appeared that Hermione spent her time and money at Scrivenshaft’s quill and ink shop.  Katie had small packages from both stores, as well as Gladrag’s Wizardwear.  

“Hey guys, let me adjust the wards for you two…” Harry said as he began the final addition to the ward exemptions.  Hermione looked curiously at his wand work, but made no comment.

“Harry, I can’t believe that you’ve been working with Bill this whole time, and haven’t even visited the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer or something!”  Ron said; Hogsmeade trips always made Ron fairly excitable, and the pre-Christmas trip especially so.  He likely had completed all of his shopping in Honeydukes, if the past was any good indication.

I wonder what Hermione will think of that.  She’s probably expecting a ring…Harry almost laughed at the thought of Ron giving Hermione a ring, but Tom probably wasn’t too far off the mark.  The two hadn’t officially “dated” yet, since this Hogsmeade weekend was so busy and they hadn’t had a chance, but they were more often seen together, sometimes even holding hands.  And Ron was quite more likely to have a goofy grin on his face at all hours of the day.  Harry was also pleasantly surprised to find that, while the number of fights between the two hadn’t stopped, the duration was noticeably shorter, and it often ended with them leaving for a few hours and coming back with ruffled hair.  So far he supposed that things were going well with his friends.

“Oh, well, it’s been fun to learn from Bill, he’s quite knowledgeable and pretty devious with these wards.  Of course, I don’t understand most of what’s going on, but he’s been good at explaining it to me.”  Harry said with an easy smile.  Hermione immediately began in on questioning which runes were used and in what order and a multitude of other questions, but Harry was saved again by Einion's arrival.

"Ah, if it isn't my wonderful little flyers!  Come, come, you three need to come into our tent and get those uniforms on!  Hurry now, the press is watching.  Good day, miss!"  He called to a somewhat put out Hermione who attempted to follow them.  Katie sidled up next to Harry inconspicuously while Ron and Einion talked excitedly.

"I know you know more about that ward scheme than you let on, Mr. Potter."  She said quietly.

"Perhaps I do, Ms. Bell.  Perhaps I can get you a copy of said scheme."  Katie's eyes lit up in excitement.

"If you do that, I'll be sure to give you a proper reward, Mr. Potter."  She said with a smirk as a huge flash went off, causing them both to jump and Harry to summon his wand to his hand immediately.  Fortunately, it was just a camera flash.  Unfortunately, the photographer was accompanied by Rita Skeeter.

"Harry!  Oh my, it's been so long, we simply must do lunch some time!  Oh, how you've grown since I last saw you, too...Dick, definitely get a few photos of just Potter for Witch Weekly.  I'd bet he'll make the cover."  She said to her photographer, dropping her sickly sweet voice for one of a harsh, demanding tone for just an instant.  She looked back at Harry and her smile once again leaked sweetness.

"Now, all this excitement over Quidditch!  How do you ignore the constant calls for 'the Chosen One' to do something about You-Know-Who enough so that you can focus on the silly game, Harry?  Do you think public entertainment more important than combatting the Dark Lord?  Or are you really just after the money and fame that the sport brings?"  Harry resolutely ignored Rita's questions as he grabbed Katie and hurried over to the tent, preventing the girl from cursing the reporter.

"Ugh, that bitch!"  Katie called once they reached the inside; it was, thankfully, Silenced.

"Don't worry about her, let's get you into a Harpies uniform."  Harry said diplomatically.  He put his own Puddlemere jersey on overtop his dueling robes - in case of attack, he certainly didn't want to be without them, after all - and accompanied Ron near the corner with Gwenog Jones.

"See, boys, that's why I always carry my Beater's bat with me in public.  Skeeter gets fresh and just whollop her a little!"  The rather vicious woman said with a decidedly crazy glint in her eye as the students made their way backstage ready to emerge.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, as I'm sure you all know I am Einion Llewellyn, proud owner of the Holyhead Harpies and Puddlemere United Quidditch Organizations.  One of the most important duties that Quidditch teams have, of course, is preparing future generations for the sport.  To this end, I've always been a proud sponsor of the Quidditch International Junior Leagues, where the best of our kids can go to train with the current professionals and hone their skills.  This year, I have the honor of announcing three children who will go to the Leagues thanks to my organizations.

"The Holyhead Harpies are going to sponsor Gryffindor Chaser Kathryn Bell, and Puddlemere United is going to sponsor Keeper Ronald Weasley and Seeker...Harry Potter!"  Einion finished to raucous applause as the kids emerged on the stage to pose next to the Managers and Einion; Gwenog was seated towards the back of the stage with Minister Scrimgeour, Percy Weasley, and Ludo Bagman.  Out in the audience, Harry smiled as he saw Mrs. Weasley with Bill, Ginny, and the twins - resplendent in acid-green dragonhide jackets - cheering in the crowd.  He also made out Mad-Eye Moody, his eye spinning wildly looking for imminent danger.  He smiled at the familiar faces and was almost growing relieved that it seemed the threat of attack was over.

'CRACK' 'CRACK' 'CRACK'  

The familiar cracks of amateur Apparation sounded as men in black cloaks and white or silver masks emerged onto the scene.  "Crucio!"  The wards around the podium flared up in brilliant gold as Harry's overpowered Absolvo shield barely held up agains the power of the Unforgivable.  Harry mentally cursed and grabbed Ron, attempting to haul him and Katie back to the tent.  Two Death Eaters who had Apparated onstage and approached the podium too closely soon regretted it as they were flung back.  They hit the roof of a nearby building and hung limply from it, suspended by the chains and cords that Harry and Bill created.

"Aaaah!"  Harry heard the sound of a familiar female voice cry out in pain - Tonks!  He glanced back and saw that three Death Eaters were visible behind the stage where Tonks had been, all of them casting, though one didn't seem to be focused on the Auror.  Harry felt a brief tingle as some sort of magic passed over him, and immediately grabbed Ron and Katie and attempted to Apparate them to safety according to the plan.  He turned on the spot, but nothing happened.

Damn!  Anti-Apparation Jinx!  Harry thought viciously.

"Ron, Katie, get to the tent and Portkeys.  I'll help Tonks!"  He left his friends near the entrance to the tent and dove off the back of the stage.

"Reducto!"  Harry led off, merely attempting to get the attention away from Tonks.  It worked rather well, and the two who were previously attacking the Auror - where was the other one? - looked up at him and took aim.  Their masks were white, not the telltale silver of an Inner Circle Death Eater.  Harry dodged their poorly aimed Cruciatus Curses and sent a silent Confringo directly between them.  Both assailants went flying from the blast, one hitting the wards on the stage and getting thrown back a considerable distance.  Harry fired off one of his modified Stunning Spells at the other and hurried over to Tonks.  

"Harry," she said weakly as she got up.  She appeared to have been hit in the face with a bludgeoning curse of some kind, as well as likely hit by one or more Cruciatus curses.  "What are you still doing here?  Get going, now!"

"Anti-Apparation Jinxes, Tonks, I sent Ron and Katie away via Portkey, but I had to help you first.  Where's your partner?"  He said, helping her towards the tent.

"Ran off to the front of the stage when all the commotion started.  Could 'a used his help, I think."  Harry smirked - still in good humor, that was a good sign.  He opened the tent to find havoc inside - a silver masked Death Eater was dueling both Ron and Katie.

"Crucio!" The man said savagely as he sent a curse at Katie, who was already on the ground.  He laughed as he sidestepped a curse from Ron.  Harry saw red as his girlfriend writhed in agony under a curse he knew all to well, and he shot off one of the curses from Grindelwald's book that he'd yet to test.

"Afflagrans!"  He said as a blast of fire shot out of his wand at the Death Eater.  It was considerably stronger than a mere Incendio, it seemed, and the Death Eater was forced to shield himself to avoid getting cooked - Ron immediately grabbed Katie and helped her up, the two of them heading towards the exit.

"Well if it isn't the Golden Boy!  I think I'll -" What he would do, Harry never found out as he broke through the Death Eater's shield with a verbal "Sectumsempra!" that popped the shield like a bubble and sheared the man's mask off; the Death Eater avoided decapitation by less than an inch.  Beneath the mask was Rookwood, a former Unspeakable recently escaped from Azkaban.  Tom remembered him to be a formidable duelist and a Master of Transfiguration.  Harry dodged his return curse - bright yellow, possibly a Bone-Shattering curse, and decided to return a similar spell.

Grindelwald had been very interested in spells concerning bones, it seemed, and had modified several common dueling spells for increased power, lethality, and pain.  Harry almost snarled as he silently released Osdetero, possibly the most vicious of the bone-related spells in the grimoire.  The sickly yellow curse hit Rookwood - the man's reflexes slowed by his stint in Azkaban, apparently - in the left shin as he dove to the right.  He screamed in agony as his bone was first shattered into pieces, some of them breaking through the skin of his leg, and then pulverized into splinters.  Tonks quickly stunned the man before shooting Harry a look.

"Where the bloody hell did you learn that one?"  Tonks asked, impressed.  Harry shot off a blue stunner at the Death Eater before answering.

"Dumbledore's private library.  I've...never used it before.  Bit gruesome, eh?"  He attempted to smile, but truthfully felt a little sick, seeing that curse in action.

"Yeah...what's the incantation and wand movement?"  Tonks asked excitedly.  Harry chuckled before joining his friends outside.  If possible, the scene was even more chaotic.

Small fires were visible on every nearby building, evidence of missed curses.  Even with the Order members battling valiantly, the Death Eaters seemed to have a slight advantage.  Moody could be seen towards the opposite end of the stage battling a silver masked Death Eater, and Kingsley towards the middle combatting two in white masks.  Professor McGonagall stood next to Remus Lupin as their opponents were beset by a striking variety of transfigured animals - including an entire pack of wolves - and a variety of curses from Lupin.  The non-Order Aurors each were dueling one Death Eater, and Bill Weasley seemed to be losing ground to a silver-masked Inner Circle member.  Fred and George were standing around their mum, Ginny, and several other younger Hogwarts students - Harry could make out the Creevey brothers - valiantly sending many varied curses and jinxes towards the white-masked Death Eater attempting to terrorize the students.  Apparently they had been replacements, because Harry saw who he thought were Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood laying still near the students.  Hermione seemed to have joined up with Katie and Ron, and the three of them had encircled two Death Eaters in white masks, who were frantically shielding and dodging as the friends closed the circle.  Near the stage itself were Percy Weasley and Minister Scrimgeour alongside Gwenog Jones valiantly defending against four Death Eaters, protecting Einion, Philbert, and Gwendolyn along with Ludo Bagman from the curses.  Gwenog could be seen using her wand defensively as she hefted her Beater bat and moved closer to the attacking Death Eaters.

"Tonks, go help the Minister and Percy and get those Quidditch and Ministry people to safety.  I'll go help Fred and George get the students out of here."  Harry said in a commanding voice.  He veritably flew towards the twins before flinging the inexperienced Death Eater against the wall with a satisfying crunch; he stayed down, but Harry hit him with one of his stunning curses anyway.

"Alright, you all get out of here now!  Passageway through Honeyduke's to Hogwarts.  Let Dumbledore know, so he can send Flitwick and some other teachers or something."  Harry said, moving to help his three best friends while keeping an eye on the twins' departure.  When he saw the twins emerge alone a few moments later, he nodded and   joined his friends as the twins set off to cause mayhem among the Death Eaters as they frivolously tossed objects with a myriad of effects near the Death Eaters.  One Death Eater had been knocked unconscious by Ron, so Harry hit it again just to be certain, and the other soon joined it when both Katie and Ron hit him with Bludgeoning Hexes that almost certainly broke every rib.  Harry stunned him as well, before heading towards Tonks and the Minister.  The Minister had torn apart the front of the stage to use as a barricade that was now blackened from spell damage.  Tonks had joined them behind the barrier and was tossing curses out, so Harry decided to do a pincer attack.

He let loose with a series of tripping jinxes, flinging hexes, bludgeoning hexes, and his personal stunning spells that immediately overpowered the shield of one Death Eater and took him out of the battle.  One of the remaining turned around to combat him while his allies concentrated on the Minister.  When his foe unleashed a yelled, "Crucio!"  Harry decided to fight fire with fire and unleashed another of Grindelwald's curses.  "Lacero!"  He called out.  A forest green curse came out and hit his enemy in the chest.  The Death Eater's robes were shred as lashings appeared as though from a scourge, splaying open his chest to the bone as Harry attempted to ignore the nausea he was feeling at causing that damage and sent a stunner at the prone, unmoving body of the now-fallen Death Eater.  Grindelwald's curses, while frightfully effective, were rather graphic in their effects.  That particular one he noted was used to make examples of prisoners in camps.

The two Death Eaters left between Harry and the Minister now realized that they were significantly outclassed, and activated what must have been hidden Portkeys on themselves as they suddenly disappeared.  Tonks ushered Einion, Bagman, Philbert, Gwendolyn, and a resisting Gwenog to the tent, while Percy resolutely followed the Minister to the nearest Auror/Death Eater pair.  Harry smirked at the excited look on Scrimgeour's face - it was apparent that his heart lay not behind a desk, but out in the field.  A slam was heard across the square; when Harry turned his head, he saw Bill Weasley lying in a heap on the ground.

"Avada -" The silver-masked Death Eater began.

"Bill!  Impedimenta!"  Percy called frantically as he saved his brother.  The Death Eater raised a shield and turned to face the advancing redhead replacing the one he'd defeated.  Harry was about to join him when Kingsley's voice called out.

"Harry!  Help Mad-Eye!"  Indeed, Moody was now on the ground, his artificial leg severed at the knee, as he furiously rolled and shielded himself from the deadly curses his opponent flung.  His age worked against him, though, as his opponent had clearly exhausted the old Auror by forcing him to dodge the deadly Killing Curses and wear himself out.

"Telum Conicio!"  Harry said angrily from behind the Death Eater.  The railroad spike, red hot, hit the black robed wizard in the right thigh, throwing him to the ground.

"Damn you, Potter!"  Tom recognized the voice of Rastaban Lestrange, a Death Eater with a long grudge against Moody.

"Avada Kedavra!"  Harry immediately conjured up a sphere of marble that intercepted the deadly curse and exploded into powder.  Several more immediately began circling his head like a mystical crown.

Langlock!  Levicorpus!  Everbero!  Harry said, releasing a simple chain of spells that was mostly avoided by the veteran Death Eater.  Lestrange, his mouth now shut thanks to the spell from the Half-Blood Prince, let out a few spells that were noticeably weaker than the verbal spells he'd spouted off earlier.  Apparently the fool was an amateur at nonverbal casting as well as Occlumency, as Harry was able to see precisely what his next action would be with a simple glance into his eyes.  Finally the savage Death Eater was able to reverse the Langlock curse and spoke again.

"Stop bloody moving, Potter!"  Harry's glance into his eyes was enough to see Lestrange's plan a moment before it happened, but he was unable to prevent it as Lestrange yelled, "Crucio!", his wand pointed at Alastor's chest.  Moody, unable to move quickly enough, was hit dead on and screamed in agony.

"Flagro Flagello!"  Harry yelled, a whip of fire emerging from his wand as it had from Dumbledore's in the Ministry.  He flung his whip at Lestrange and managed to wrap his wand arm in fire, the Death Eater screaming from his burns instead of Moody now, who lay silent.  Harry saw the flash of a photographer’s camera, but ignored it as he continued fighting.

"Osdetero!"  Harry yelled only an instant after dispelling the fiery whip.  He heard Lestrange yell, “Ramicis!” at the same time.  Harry’s yellow curse impacted Lestrange right in his chest, which exploded outward in an unholy display of gore as his ribs were pulverized.  Lestrange’s purple curse impacted against the barely present Absolvo shield that Harry had managed to erect hastily with his ebbing energy.  Lestrange’s eyes widening beneath his mask, he muttered something unrecognizable before disappearing from a hidden Portkey.  Harry’s own eyes widened as the Dark curse impacted him and he felt his organs moving roughly inside of him.  He knew they might be ruptured seriously, but had to tend to the others needing immediate care first.

"Alastor!"  Harry yelled, running up to the unconscious Auror.  Harry's hand tightened around the piece of shrapnel from the stage that he'd thoughtlessly summoned and he said, "Portus," before dropping the new Portkey onto Moody's still body and transporting him to Madam Pomfrey's Hospital Wing.

"Death Eaters, retreat!"  Harry heard a voice - he thought it might have been either Rodolphus Lestrange or Avery - call out before all of the remaining bodies of the Death Eaters, even the unconscious ones, disappeared with the telltale 'whoosh' of a departing Portkey.

“Everyone alright?”  Harry called out.  Various replies were heard.  Bill was Portkeyed away by an increasingly pale Harry, and Hermione, who’d likely had her hip broken by a Death Eater’s Bludgeoning Hex, also requested one.  Percy volunteered to fill out the paperwork to allow Harry to legally make a Portkey when he saw that Scrimgeour wasn’t arguing with Harry’s flagrant violation of that edict.

“I think that we should all head up to Hogwarts for a check over by the Medi-Witch there, just in case of any injuries unseen.”  Scrimgeour declared, eyeing Harry as he did so.

 Just as well, Harry.  The press has returned.  Harry fought the urge to curse at Tom’s observations and transfigured another piece of the stage shrapnel into a hula-hoop and said, “Portus” one more time.  This time, he visibly wavered before saying, “Everybody hold on.”  The large group of remaining students, Aurors, and Order members all placed their hands before zooming off to land in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, where Harry prompted fell to the ground and did not get up.

**:  Kudos to the first reviewer to identify the story of origin for “Golinard’s Field Curse-Breaking Manual”.