Chapter 10 - Phoenix Burning Part 1

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Harry and his group suddenly appeared on a beautiful looking terrace.

Fleur said "Follow me, my mozer will be able to help us."

Harry quickly dusted himself off, and followed Fleur and the rest of the gang towards the beautiful French manor. They walked a little ways up this black cobble stone pathway. Bill was carrying Gabrielle followed by Fleur, Xiana and he was guarding the rear. Fleur opened the backdoor to the manor and yelled

"Maman, ou est tu?"

"Ici, darling, why are you back to early?" Madame Delacour came into view and screamed.

"Vat is wrong with my baby!" She ran to Gabrielle to go pick her up.

"Ve vere attacked by death eaterz. Harry pulled Gabrielle away from the killing curse. She may be in shock. Maman we need ze healer!"

"Yes, of course" replied her mother. She carried Gabrielle up to her room and when she came down, she went to the fireplace and made a couple of floo calls. When she was done she came back and said.

"Fleur take your friends to the dining room and get some drinks going. Madam LaSalle is on her way. I have also called your father and he should get here within 30 minutes." She looked really nervous and walked back to Gabrielle's room.

By this time Fleur had given each one of her friends a large glass of Napoleon brandy. She took a seat and took a good look at everyone. Her eyes settled on Harry and said.

"Arry, I want to thank you a second time around for saving by baby sister from death yes."

"I'm just glad I made it on time, those blasted curses were too damn close this time around. I think Gabrielle is understandably in emotional shock. She came very close to dying today" Harry had that far away look in his eyes as he was talking. They could all see the haunting look in his eyes when he spoke.

Xiana was nearly in tears and said "Harry, I want to personally thank you for saving all of our lives today. If it weren't for you we would most likely be dead. No insult on your abilities is intended Bill."

"None taken Xiana, I know that I couldn't have taken on 18 death eaters and survived. The question I want to know is how Harry was able to do this?"

They all turned to him and he looked at each one of them. This was as good a time as any to get some kind of handle on their feelings and thoughts. He brought out his legilimens abilities and began to gently probe each one in turn.

He was glad in that everyone was still recovering from the shock of the attack. Their natural mental shields were weaker than normal, and he was able to slip by with next to no pressure. Looking at Bill he could see that the man was very confused. He could not believe that a 16-year-old kid had done this much damage. He went digging further and found out that his loyalties for Dumbledore were not cast in stone.

Harry got the impression from Bill that the old man was not fighting the war effectively. Well, Well Harry thought. This is quite interesting. He found that he was a very proud individual like all Weasleys and was very much in love with Fleur.

He looked at Xiana, and found that she felt ashamed at her performance during the battle. She missed her dead twin brother very much. She was very insecure and felt incomplete. Not unusual Harry thought. Magical twins share an even deeper mental connection then muggle twins do. Looking into her mind he received the impression that she had a big rift with her family. She was a proud woman and Harry imagined that all Zabinis were proud. Finally he got the impression that she liked him a lot. Interesting times three he thought.

He turned towards Fleur and found that she was also a very proud woman. She was very close and protective of her baby sister. She loved Bill very much. She did not know if she wanted to move to England and leave her beloved France. She had been very surprised by the savage brutality that he had used to deal with the death eaters. She was a bit intimidated by him now. Shit, Harry thought, he vowed to make her understand why he had acted the way he did. Harry finally said.

"When we have all seen the healer, and had a few more of these mentally relaxing drinks I will give you some of these answers. You must understand that I cannot reveal everything. Everyone has secrets. I will give you enough information for all of you to make your own opinion of me. If you can't accept what I am trying to do, I'll understand." They all thought about it for a minute and they agreed that it was a reasonable request.

Xiana was dying to know how he could fight so well. She had been so damn scared when the attack came. If Harry hadn't taken charge and told them what to do, she would have made a break for it. She felt so ashamed for being so scared and freezing up like that. Here she was a graduate of Beauxbatons and she felt she couldn't fight her way out of a gnome attack if she tried. She felt so useless. Here was Harry Potter, still in school and he ended saving all of their asses. How bloody humiliating was that?

Xiana thought that he looked so mature and yet he looked like he was so alone. Xiana was brought out of her thoughts when they all heard the fireplace roar. Madame LaSalle stepped out of the fireplace and walked over to Fleur immediately. Madame LaSalle said.

"Fleur, where are you hurt?"

"Oh, I'm fine Madame but Gabrielle, Xiana and 'Arry are hurt. If you guys don't mind, could Madame see Gabrielle first?"

Both Harry and Xiana said it was perfectly all right. Plus the Brandy was starting to act as an effective painkiller at any rate. Within 40 minutes Madame had looked at all of their wounds and with some effective spell casting and some potions they were made good as new. Finally Bill's curiosity got the better of him and said.

"Well Harry, let's see if we can get some of these questions answered." He said that more as a statement then anything else. It annoyed Harry a bit, but he let it go. He needed to start building his ranks. Every war has generals and soldiers.

"All right, why don't we go into your backyard Fleur, I have to show you something." Harry turned to Xiana and said, "We just met this morning, but I feel I can trust you. On top of that, you are a friend of Fleur's and I trust her. You are more than welcome to join them."

"Thank you Harry, I would be honored to be included in your group of friends."

With that said, they walked towards one of the Unicorn statue. It truly was breath taking. It was made of pure white marble and a solid silver horn sticking out of its forehead. Harry dug into his pocket and took out what looked to the others as a small rectangular box the size of a muggle paper back book. It was black and had diamonds covering its sides.

Harry put it down on the ground and enlarged it. Bill was looking at this enlarged trunk with fascination. It seemed to be a third bigger than your average trunk. There were also fist size elliptical diamonds inlaid into the outside wood panels. Harry put his hand to the H.P engraving, the lid of the trunk glowed blue for a second, and then a click was heard. Harry led the way and proceeded down a set of stairs.

Fleur, Xiana, and then Bill followed Harry down the steps. Bill reflected that he had never seen a trunk that had a set of stairs that went this deep. They must have dropped 20 ft into the trunk before they came to a stop. They were then staring at a set 15-feet high metal door. This was a metal that Bill was not familiar with. Harry turned around and said.

"Before we go in, I need you all to swear a wizards oath that you will not divulge the secrets that I am about to show you." They all swore a wizard's oath to that effect.

Harry then explained to them that blood wards protected the entrance, but since they were with him, he just needed to key their magical signatures to the portal. They all came forward and placed their palms on the crystal and they were all recorded in turn. Harry then opened the first set of doors and repeated the same procedure for the inner doors. When the group finally walked past the inner doors and had their first look inside they became speechless.

They kept opening and closing their mouths for a few seconds until they managed to snap out of their wonder. Everyone was deeply impressed with the living accommodations. Harry decided to give them the grand tour. He showed them the living room, the kitchen, dining room, library, training gym, potions lab, the upstairs bedrooms, baths, and the electrical generators. Fleur said.

"Arry, this is incredible. From the floors to the furniture's, this place is amazing!"

Xiana was speechless. She was utterly impressed with the display of magic that went into creating this home. She was curious and said "Is this your official home Harry?"

"No" answered Harry. "This is my portable home away from my real home. I discovered my real home early this summer. "

Xiana said nothing but gave Harry a long stare and merely raised her right eyebrow. Bill finally recovered his vocal cords and said.

"Where in the name of Osiris did you buy a trunk like this?"

"I didn't buy it Bill, I made it. Here let me show you" He brought them back down through the living room and on to the library. He went to the outer left shelf and under crafts; he pulled out his fabrication manual and handed it to Bill. Bill picked up the book and started studying it. The more he read the more he became impressed with the fabrication details. Finally Bill said.

"Well Harry, reading your book I have no doubt that you built this trunk. This is way too detailed to be anyone else's work. However the time needed to build this palace would have taken a lot longer than a month. How did you manage to construct this so quickly?"

"I'll answer your question, but first let's get comfortable as this could take a while."

Harry brought them back to the living room where every one took a chair by the fireplace. Xiana took the time to admire the Potter family tapestry. Studying the tapestry, Xiana realized that the Potters were an ancient wizarding family.

Harry sat them down and went to the bar. He came back and gave them each a glass of 16-year-old Lagavulin single Islay malt whisky. Harry thought that they were going to need this with the story he was about to tell them. Harry knew that he was on delicate grounds. He needed them to understand that although he used dark magic, he was not evil. He wanted them to understand that magic is not black or white. They ought to realize how corrupt the magical ministry was. Above everything else, Harry wanted them to understand the events that led him to make the decisions that he did.

Harry decided to start with the event before the start of his 5th year. He explained about the botched attempt by the ministry to have him expelled from Hogwarts. He described the events leading up to the dementor attack on him and his cousin. He then explained the trumped up charges from the ministry and him getting absolved due Mrs. Figg being present to witness the events. Harry then explained Umbridge and all of her power abuse. He showed them the marks from her Blood Quill. At that point Fleur had her hand in front of her mouth looking horrified. Xiana had a murderous look to her and Bill just shook his head.

Harry then explained about the defence club that he co-founded with his former best friends. Bill looked up sharply when he said former best friends and made a mental note to ask Harry to explain what he meant.

Harry then explained how Dumbledore told him to take Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape. He told them of the sheer animosity between him and Snape and the botched Occlumency lessons. Harry described the mental connection between himself and Voldemort.

Harry explained how he had fallen into Voldemort's trap by believing a false vision sent to him. Harry recounted to them that the planted vision was about his godfather Sirius Black being tortured at the department of mysteries. Harry told them of his meeting with Umbridge after his OWL exams, and her admission that she was the one who sent the Dementors after him and how she was willing to use the cruciatus on him. He described their escape and their journey to the department of mysteries.

Harry finally explained how they reached the hall of prophecy and the ensuing battle with the death eaters. He told them about the Order of the Phoenix and how they showed up to help them. At this point, Harry took a moment to compose himself, his hands were shaking, and he could barely control the sobs coming from his mouth. Harry could feel hot tears coming down his cheeks. He excused himself for a minute to regain his composure. When he came back he told them how his godfather died at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange by falling into the veil.

Harry told them that on the same night that his godfather died, Dumbledore decided to let him know about a prophecy between him and Voldemort. At this point he did not elaborate on the specifics but let them know that in the end he has to kill or be killed by Voldemort. Harry then described how betrayed he felt at Dumbledore's hands and the rest of the wizarding world.

Harry made them realize that Dumbledore knew of the prophecy since he was born, but never bothered to train him to help face his destiny. He explained the betrayal of his parent's wishes for him to be sent to a loving family. Harry felt it was necessary to explain to them his early years at the Dursleys.

By this time the girls had tears in their eyes, and Bill had a murderous look on his face.

He also recounted to them how Dumbledore had manipulated him and kept the existence of his family vault a secret from him. To prove his point he took out the letters from Griphook, Sirius' will and his parents' will, and showed it to them. With these revelations the group simply could not believe the treachery and the pain that he had endured so far.

Harry explained how he snuck out of his uncle's house and made his way to Diagon Alley. He met Griphook and learned about his inheritance and how to put an end to Dumbledore's manipulations. He explained his ultimate desire to train himself to avenge his parents and Sirius.

Harry enlightened them about finding Odin's eye. He didn't go into all of the specifics but enough for them to understand that for every day passed this summer he experienced 30 days in flux time training. Without giving too many details, he listed all of the subjects that he had studied so far.

To say that they were impressed was an understatement. Of course they now understood the incredible price that he paid in his pursuit of knowledge. He had next to no companionship, and his life seemed all work and no play. Harry also detailed his journey and final success with the mind arts.

He explained to them some of his discoveries regarding a new method of apparating, but he kept the major technical details to himself. The group now had a brief understanding as to how he had managed to portkey them through the wards after the battle. He decided not to mention his discoveries of Naquadah and Naquadria. Harry felt that he needed to keep his most profound discoveries a secret for now.

At length, Harry talked about his training regiment and his tutors. He described his breakthrough in body magic mixed with martial arts. He finally told them about his plans to continue his studies with his tutors in charms, transfiguration, and martial arts. He notified them that he was going back to his training regiment until August 21. Then he paused, closed his eyes, and with as much venom as he could muster told them that he was going to confront Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix and sever all ties with them.

The group could literally feel the air getting colder and the air crackling with magical energy when he mentioned Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix. At this point Bill's brain was on overdrive. He now remembered the fight between Remus and Dumbledore around the kitchen table. He began to realize just how bad the old coot miscalculated. Bill needed a few more points clarified and asked the next set of questions.

"Harry, Dumbledore has obviously missed the boat on a lot of things, but he always gave the impression that he cared about you." Harry snorted at this.

"I am nothing but a chess pawn to him Bill! He never gave a shit about my feelings or me. He locked me up with muggles that used and abused me. He went against all of my parent's wishes. All he wanted was to keep his weapon safe. Forget about my physical and mental well being. He brought me out whenever Voldemort reared his ugly head. One of the problems with all of this is that he has known about the prophecy since before I was born. Yet, he did nothing to train and prepare me to face my destiny."

After a few minutes of thinking Bill replied, "Why would he not train you? It makes no sense Harry."

"I believe I have found the answer to that question. However I'm afraid you are going to have to wait until August 21 when I confront Dumbledore about it."

"Fair enough." replied Bill. Bill suddenly remembered one of Harry's earlier statements and said.

"Harry what did you mean by former best friends?"

Harry sighed. "Bill, just before we left school, both Hermione and Ron told me that they were going on vacation. The day after I got back from Hogwarts I went to Gringotts. That morning before I went to the bank I stopped at the Leaky Cauldron. Guess who happened to be sitting just behind me?"

"Ron and Hermione" Bill said in a low voice. Bill had an inkling of what was coming next.

"Right you are. I found out that they never had any intention to go on vacation. Instead they were going to train with the Order all summer. But that's not the best part you see. I clearly overheard them talking about being inducted into the Order of the Phoenix last summer. They fucking lied to me Bill! They god damn betrayed me to that kaniving old bastard all fucking year!" Harry spat out.

"Are you sure Harry?"

"As sure as the sun comes up Bill. They have been keeping tabs on me, and reporting any unusual occurrences to the headmaster. As I said before, I heard their confession as clear as day. How could they do this to me? I always thought that true friends stick together no matter what. I guess they weren't my true friends after all."

"I don't know what to say Harry. Ron has always had a streak of jealousy, but it seems to be getting worse as the years go by. He probably saw an opportunity to put one over you and didn't properly consider the consequences. I don't think he realizes it, but he is becoming more like Percy as he gets older. His ambitions are overriding his heart."

"You would think that after the events of the Triwizard tournament, he would have learned from his mistakes."

Harry could see how Bill was tormented in admitting this about his own brother and a quick peak into his mind told him that he felt great shame for Ron's actions.

"I know he is your brother Bill, but I will be severing all my ties to him and Granger. I can no longer accept these betrayals from people I once considered family"

"I understand how you feel Harry. I would do the exact same thing in your place. It seems the headmaster's manipulations go a lot further than I ever imagined."

Bill's face grew stony hard when he thought of the headmaster's games. Bill always considered himself a happy go lucky kind of a guy. Maybe he should have questioned the old man's motives a hell of a lot more. One thing for sure, he now believed that when the time came he would sever his ties to the Order of the Phoenix. His conscience demanded no less. He had to get to Charlie and see where he stood.

Harry looked at Bill and decided to push his argument. "Think Bill. Does it make sense to train Granger and your brother with Aurors all summer but keep me locked up in a room to rot away for the rest of the summer? If you were the ultimate weapon against Voldemort wouldn't you want to be trained as best you can? "

It was Xiana who answered, "No Harry, from what you have told us there are to many inconsistencies in your headmaster's actions". Harry decided to peek into her mind and assess her true thoughts. He was surprised by her honesty. She didn't feel pity but rather sad at the way he had grown up. Harry also got the impression that she also felt genuine admiration for him and how he had dealt with his problems. This pleased Harry very much. He was starting to really like Xiana Zabini.

Fleur at this point was thinking very hard. She knew from the Triwizard tournament how noble and brave 'Arry was. However the young sweet boy that she knew then had been replaced with this hardened young man. He was still as brave and noble, but he had definitely lost his innocence. She above anything else wanted to hear his thoughts on studying the dark arts. Finally she said

"Arry, I wanted to know if you have any fear of becoming an evil wizard by studying and using the dark arts no?" Harry looked at Fleur, and knew how he answered this question would either bring her in his camp or sever their ties. Harry said.

"No Fleur! I'm not going to turn into an evil wizard by studying and using the dark arts. Granted what I did today was utterly ruthless. However you must understand that we are in a war. We are in a war with the most despicable creatures on earth. They don't care about rules and regulations. They use the unforgivables as if it were candy. They go after babies, children, rape young girls and women, attack the elderly. Who ever happens to be in their site is fair game. If we are ever going to win against these people, we have got to drop the stupid ministry guidelines and start fighting fire with fire!"

Harry paused to let his words sink in. He could tell that they were considering his words very carefully. He decided to press his argument.

"You know some one once told me that there is no good or evil, only power. I say that there is no light or dark magic. Magic itself is neutral; it all comes down to intent." He took a sip of whiskey and continued.

"Tell me this, what if I use a light spell such as a trip jinx in order to cause someone to fall down a set of stairs with the intent to kill them. Wouldn't this make me evil even though I used light magic?" He waited for them to absorb his words. Realizing that no one was interrupting he continued.

"What if I use a dark spell on a death eater and help prevent an innocent little girl from being raped. Does that make me an evil wizard because I used dark magic even though my intent is to do well? Life is rarely black and white but infinite shades of gray. Magic is no different, it's a tool. How you use this tool determines if you are an evil, gray, or light wizard." No one interrupted so he pressed on.

"Remember this, most of the spells that the ministry considers dark magic is labelled as such because most people do not have the power to cast these spells. Our dear ministry wouldn't want anybody to be better than them. That would be far to threatening to their position!"

Xiana found herself agreeing with everything Harry said. Her family had certainly delved into the dark arts. Some more than others, but none of them turned evil. They could protect themselves with it that's for sure. Her father taught her a bit of dark magic in her 6th year. It was nothing compared to Harry's level. She wanted to really learn how to fight. She hated the death eaters and Voldemort and one way or another she was never going to feel as helpless as she had this morning.

Xiana decided to approach Harry when he was alone and ask him if she could come and train with him. He certainly had plenty of room in this trunk. She had saved up some money and could pay him. She had no attachment here. Her home was England. The only reason she had not gone back yet was that she had no idea of what she would do once she got there. She was still pissed off with the rest of her family.

There was no way in hell that she would agree to any arranged marriage by her parents. She would choose the man she married. Maybe while studying with Harry, she would figure out what she wanted to do. She came out of her musing and caught Harry starring at her. She smiled and slightly inclined her head towards him. Harry smiled back and acknowledged her nod.

Bill and Fleur looked at each other, and both came to the same conclusion. They would both join Harry and train with him whenever they could. It had become painfully clear that he was the central figure in this war and his ideas on fighting it were better than anything out there. They needed to learn dark magic, and from what they had seen Harry do, he would be more than competent to teach them. Bill spoke first.

"Harry, I believe that Fleur agrees with me, and we would like to join you. Do you want us to quit the Order of the Phoenix now? Also I think we would also benefit from you teaching us some dark arts if you are willing."

Harry's face showed great relief at finally gaining some allies. From the book of Sun Tzu, he had learned that no war can be fought without gaining intelligence from the enemy. Harry said.

"I want to thank you both for your support and loyalty. You don't know how much that means to me. I think it might be wise for both of you to stay in the order and gather any intelligence you deem fit to pass on. This way we will have intelligence on Dumbledore and the Ministry's activities. I have a feeling that after Voldemort is taken care of; the ministry will be gunning for us. I for one plan on being ready for that. As for the dark arts, I'll be glad to train you. Just give me times and dates that suite you both"

Bill and Fleur stood up and they both came over to Harry. Bill and Harry shook hands while Fleur kissed him on both cheeks. Fleur said.

"Bill, we need to go see how Gabrielle is doing." They both told Harry that they would meet him later on to organize some training schedules. Harry saw them out of the trunk and came back to the living room to see what Xiana's plans were.

Harry sat himself down and was about to ask Xiana her thoughts when she suddenly spoke up.

"Harry, as I said before, we only met this morning. But I want you to know that I agree with your position. I do condone the use of dark magic especially if it is used for fighting evil. I wish that I could have been of some use this morning. I was so scared and I froze. I felt so helpless! I don't ever want to feel like that again. I have a sixth sense about people, and my gut and my heart are telling me to trust you. With my twin's death, I no longer have any reason to stay here. I have enough money and if you would be willing, I would like you to teach me dark arts and how to fight."

Harry could read the anguish on her face. Her beautiful eyes were locked with his, and Harry could tell that she clearly meant what she said. He had seen her thoughts and knew that she would not betray him. Truth be told, he was yearning for companionship. The quicker he could build a war council the better it would be for him. Harry knew that he could not fight the war by himself. Harry replied.

"Xiana, I'll be glad to help you train. I can use every ally I can get. I must admit, that my training up to now has been quite lonely. Write down all of you training and any special abilities that you have, and I'll design a training plan to bring you up to speed as quickly as possible. You have already finished your NEWT so you should have a very good grounding in the core courses. We will go back to my official home later this evening. Tomorrow afternoon I'll be meeting with my martial arts, charms, and transfiguration tutors. If you want you can take part in these tutoring lessons with me."

Harry could see her smile. He did not need to poke into her head to know that she was genuinely glad that he accepted her to train with him.

Xiana said, "Thank you so much Harry. This means a lot to me. "

"You're welcome." Harry replied.

They spent the rest of the afternoon talking and getting to know each other better. They both found it very easy to talk to each other. They each realized how like-minded they were. In talking with her, Harry found that she was an animagus and that her form was that of an Egyptian Saker Falcon.

She in turn found out that he was a parseltongue. For some reason Harry found himself able to finally talk about Sirius and how he died. He had ruthlessly repressed his feelings of mourning for so long. He missed his godfather a great deal and felt cheated on not being able to tell him how much he loved him.

Xiana in turn told him about the death of her twin. She never had a chance to say goodbye. The body had been cremated before she had a chance to see him one last time. All she was told was that he had died from some ancient curse while on a dig in Egypt. She did not lay any blame on the curse but rather on her parents for forcing Xoran to be on his own too early with no support.

Xiana explained that her brother met this really wonderful muggleborn witch of modest means and they fell in love. One thing led to another and she became pregnant with his child. Because she was of modest means, her parents wanted Xoran to force her to have an abortion and leave her.

He immediately became disgusted with their parents. One thing led to another and Xoran decided to dissociate himself from the Zabini name. Not long ago his girlfriend and wife to be Liana gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She has her family to help support her, but she is still struggling. Xiana explained that part of the reason she also stayed behind after graduation was to help Liana with her little nephew.

Harry could tell how much she despised what her family had done. Harry looked at his watch and realized that it was nearly 6:00 pm. He told Xiana that they had to get going. She asked him if she could drop off at her apartment and pick up her possessions. Harry agreed and they decided to say good bye to Fleur and Bill. They also wanted to say farewell to Gabrielle.

They got out of the trunk. Harry reduced and pocketed his trunk. Xiana shook her head slightly. She still could not believe the display of magic that went into creating his trunk. They made their way to the back of the Manor, and met Fleur and Bill sitting in the lounge. It appeared that Fleur's father had arrived home. The moment he spotted Harry, he came over and introduced himself.

"Bonjour Arry, my name is Armand Delacour. Fleur and Bill explained how you saved by baby girl early this afternoon. I just want to say that I am in your dept. If not for you I would be burying my daughter right now. If you need anything please let me know. I just came back from the battle scene, and let me say that those bastards deserved everything they got in spades."

"Thank you, sir. I am very fond of Gabrielle. I couldn't sit still and watch her be murdered in cold blood. "

"Gabrielle would like to see you before you go, is that o.k.?" Armand said.

"No problems, sir." Harry replied. They took their leave of Bill and Fleur. Bill told him that he and Fleur were going to use their weekends to train with him. Harry told Bill and Fleur that it was a great plan. This way they would not arouse any suspicion.

When Harry entered Gabrielle's room, she noticed him right away, jumped out of bed, and threw herself into his arms. Harry picked her up and sat down on her bed. She thanked him profusely for saving her life again. She was shaking and crying on his shoulder. Harry held her tight and gently rubbed her back. Harry really felt awkward around crying girls. He guessed that with practice he would get used to it.

Harry told Gabrielle that she was going to be O.K. He told her that she was brave and that she would make a formidable witch when she was older. He tucked her into bed and kissed her forehead.

Watching the interaction between Gabrielle and Harry, Xiana couldn't help but admire his gentle side. He genuinely cared for people close to him. Xiana came over and showed him a map with the coordinates of her apartment and apparated there with him. Once in the small apartment, Harry enlarged his trunk and told her to find herself a room she likes upstairs and to take all of her things there. Harry helped her with her books and other items.

Morning of July 31 at 4 Privet Drive

Remus Lupin was under an invisibility cloak and was carefully making his way to #4 Privet Drive. He looked at his watch and noticed it was 4:30 am. It was early enough that the Dursleys should be sleeping. At least he hoped that no one was awake. He approached the house and carefully looked at his surrounding. He wanted this to be as quiet as possible. He whispered Alohamora on the front door and carefully made his way inside.

He stayed in the entrance way for a little bit, letting his wolf senses assess the situation. He senses picked up nothing unusual and he proceeded to the kitchen. Remus approached the kitchen and stopped in his tracks. He looked at the kitchen table and was utterly bewildered by the contraption lying on top of the table.

He noticed a crystal vase sitting on an obsidian stand. The vase was pulsing at regular intervals. It was pulsing with a deep crimson color. Remus looked closer and now recognized crystals and blood in the vase. This was beyond anything he had ever seen or understood. To say that he was freaked out was an understatement. He decided to do some more exploring so he cast a sound proof spell on this boots and proceeded up the stares to Harry's room.

Remus made sure to keep good balance and stopped every four steps to listen for any sound. Hearing no sound he made his way to the bedrooms. Remus began having an uneasy feeling. He finally made it up the stairs and noticed Harry's bedroom door was cracked slightly opened. He opened the room and to his great surprise he noticed that the room was bare except for his old trunk, which was sitting at the end of his bed. The bed was made but looked liked it had not been slept in for weeks. At this point Remus was starting to panic. He went to the trunk and opened it. It was completely empty?

He decided to check on the other occupants. If he found out that they hurt Harry Remus was not going to control himself anymore. He was going to loose it. Remus decided to check on his whale of a cousin He opened the door but found no one there. He then decided to check the master bedroom. He opened but found the same evidence as in Harry's room.

It looked like no one had been here in a while. At this point he was starting to really panic. He made his way back to the living room and sat down on a couch. He needed to think things out. As he sat down he noticed a calendar by the fire place it appeared to have lines across the dates. He got up and went to take a closer look. Remus noticed the word vacation written on top of the crossed out lines. He flipped the calendar and noticed that the lines ended Aug 18?

Remus was now completely loss. Did Harry go with his relatives on vacation as a birthday present? That seemed highly unlikely. Hell they despised him. Of course these days, Harry gave as good as he got. If Tonks' story is to be believed, the Dursleys got a kick in their rear end last month. Maybe they shipped him out somewhere? Did Voldemort get to him?

That last one was the most unlikely scenario. There would have been an attack and the wards would have alerted them at any rate. The final thought that he dreaded the most was that Harry had run away. Remus knew the anger that the teen was harboring. Dumbledore sent him back to a place he does not consider home without any moral support from people who essentially hate him.

Remus knew what was happening at headquarters, and he could not fathom the logic that the old goat was using. Remus was getting genuinely pissed at the puppet master. Harry was the last link to the marauders. He loved the kid as if he were his own.

Remus knew that deep down he was close to making a life altering decision soon. His loyalty to the marauders and to James and Lily demanded no less. He would quit the Order of the Phoenix and sever all ties to that manipulative old bastard. He cared for Harry first and foremost. He still respected the old mans' powers, but not the man himself.

Dumbledore made far too many law breaking decisions for his taste. Remus finally made up his mind and decided to wait around. If past experience were any indication, someone would show up sooner or later. To get to the bottom of this, somebody would have to stay in the house. Tonks and Moody needed to agree to his proposition. He decided to make himself comfortable and wait.

Remus sat on the couch and drifted off to sleep. Suddenly his Phoenix pendant started to get hot. He swiftly got off the couch and looked at his watch. It was now 12:30 pm. Oh, Oh, trouble in paradise, he thought. Remus sat thinking for a minute and decided to apparate back to Grimmauld place. When he got there the whole place was in pandemonium. Kingsley, Fletcher, Tonks, Arthur, Charlie, Bones, Donavan, Minerva, Molly, Moody, and Dumbledore were gathered around the table.

Dumbledore got up and everyone went quiet. Dumbledore then said "Alright everyone! We just got word from the ministry, Voldemort is attacking Azkaban as we speak, I have portkeys for everyone, please take one, and activate. Stay in groups of three and try to stop the death eaters from escaping. Everyone activate!"

Remus was about to pick up his portkey when Tonks accosted him and in a low voice said.

"Did you get a chance to talk to Harry?"

Remus said, "Harry is not there, and it looks like no one has been there for some time. To hell with keeping watch from a distance he said. We need to be present in the house when someone shows up to get some answers. "

Tonks thought about this for a while and said, "All right, I'm in. You need to get Moody on board. One question that has been running on my mind is do we tell the headmaster about these development?"

"No! Let's keep this between us for now. No need arising undue suspicion on Harry." They then picked up the portkey and they were off.

Later that evening everyone had long faces. There had been a multitude of attacks across England and overseas. This had greatly stretched ministry and the Orders resources. The main target had been Azkaban. Regardless of their efforts, it had been ransacked. Voldemort had cleaned the place out and had rescued his inner circle to boot. As predicted by Dumbledore the Dementors had left their post and joined Voldemort. There were rumors coming from the ministry that one of Voldemort's raids had failed miserably and he had lost many troops. No other information was forthcoming however.

To make things a lot worse, the youngest Weasley boy Ron was bragging that with his new training he could have stopped some of the death eaters. Remus thought that the little shit was getting way overconfident. Hermione was no better. She actually thought that she was ready to step up to the plate and fight death eaters at will. He had witnessed their duelling skills. They weren't up to spec that's for sure.

There arrogance was getting a bit much. In reality they wouldn't stand a chance. Death eaters don't play to lose. They go straight for the jugular. Their current training is no match for people who have mastered the unforgivables.

Remus decides to retire early to his room and think on this morning's event. He couldn't hide his feelings of worry concerning his cub. To hell with the Order, he thought. He had to get back there tomorrow. With these thoughts in mind, Remus laid himself to bed and went to sleep.

July 31, 2:30 pm At Riddle Manor in little Hangleton

There had been early celebrations going on at Riddle Manor that afternoon. The Dark Lord himself was quite happy with his success at breaking Azkaban. Having the Dementors on his side was quite a bonus. He was now waiting for his remaining squads to come back from their raids. It did not take long for hell to brake loose. The Dark Lord would mark this day as a victory with worry. However unknown to him, this would also be the day where the end of the Dark Lord's reign began.

The Dark Lord was in deep discussions with Bellatrix when the recently released Lucius Malfoy came barging through in the throne room and bowed low to his masters and said.

"My Lord! There has been a serious situation developed with our attack team in France!"

The Dark Lord sneered and said, "What do you mean a serious situation? You better start making sense Lucius. I do not like playing games."

"My Lord, I beg your indulgence to come and see for yourself. I do not think that you would believe my explanation."

The Dark Lord looked at him for a few seconds and said," Very well, show me. I want all of my senior lieutenants to be present. Bellatrix, Lucius, Rabastan, Crabb, Goyle, Rudolfus, Liam, Snape and Avery meet me in the portkey chamber."

When they got there they were dismayed beyond belief. Three of their brethren looked to be in a catatonic state and one of them was holding the decapitated head of Antonin Dolohov. The Dark Lord was surprised to say the least. Of his 22 men attack team, three were left. One of his senior members was decapitated. This act of ruthlessness was unheard off from ministry aurors. Except for Romania, all wizarding ministries shunned such acts of brutality. He needed some answers fast. Finally he said.

"Lucius go and fetch my projection pensive. Crabbe and Goyle gather these imbeciles and bring them to the throne room. The rest of you get our new recruits, I want them to see what new battle tactics the Aurors are using." The Dark Lord would later ponder why decided not legilimens these cretins. In one single move he had instilled terror into his troops from an unknown power. This fear would later play quite well into his opponent's hand.

They all gathered in the throne room. And the Dark Lord instructed these last three to put their memories of the battle scene into the pensive. They had all been prepared to see some new Auror tactics that they could study and learn from.

What they saw however was nothing of the sort. The first few minutes of the fight had been predictable but it quickly turned into a horror show that had some of his new recruits pissing themselves. They witness one faceless wizard utterly obliterate their brethrens. None of them including the Dark Lord had ever seen this type of dark magic and brutality.

Severus was shocked for two reasons. One he could not imagine a wizard wielding this kind of power. Second he had never once in his service to the Dark Lord seen him with a look of fear on his face. The fact that the Dark Lord did not recognize this kind of dark magic was baffling to say the least. Severus paid close attention to the battle scene and tried to memorize as many details as possible. He had to show this to Dumbledore.

Finally after studying the battle scene a few more times, the Dark Lord said, "Well, well, well. It would seem we have a new player in town. We need to find out all we can about this wizard. I want you to hit all of our information resources, bars, banks, stores, and restaurants. I want all contacts to be alerted tonight. I want information on this bastard in three weeks time. If you fail me, there will be dire consequences!"

Suddenly Avery spoke up "My lord, I was just doing some scanning charms and noticed that these three have been tagged with a tracking charm that I do not recognize?"

The Dark Lord's face twisted in pure fury, whipped out his wand, and cast CRUCIO on the three victims. They screamed and convulsed on the floor for what must have been 5 minutes. "You fools, you may have compromised our location. All of you work as one and remove the charms immediately."

"Right away my lord!"

Everyone was just staring at the victims when Voldemort screamed "You morons, you have your assignments, now scram before I feed you to my pet!" Everyone immediately trampled over each other to get out of the way. After everyone was out of the throne room, Voldemort decided to ask Snape if he had made any headway with the muggle loving fool on getting the little shit back into his Occlumency lessons.

"Snape!" Voldemort bellowed.

Snape rushed to the Dark Lord and went on one knee and said, "You called my lord"

"Yes, I need to know how you made out with getting the brat back on his Occlumency lessons!"

"I am sorry my lord, but the muggle loving fool will only allow me to do so come September."

Voldemort said, "You have failed me Snape." Before Severus could reply, the Dark Lord cast CRUCIO for a good 2 minutes. Voldemort lifted the curse and said.

"You can redeem yourself by finding out where he lives and plan his capture. I need to access him mind. Therefore we will attack him within three weeks time. Make the preparation. Do not fail me again Snape. You are not exactly high on my favourites list right now."

"Yes, my lord." After his lord's permission, Severus picked himself off the ground and made his way to the portkey room. Severus was officially cornered and he knew it. He had to find a way out of this. He wanted nothing more than for the little bastard to suffer, but his loyalties were with the old coot. Little did Severus know that a muggle by the name of Vernon Dursley would see him out of his tight spot?

Maybe he could leave a warning of an attack to Potter but do it on very short notice as not to arouse suspicion. Severus took his portkey and off he went back to Hogwarts.

Meanwhile, the Dark Lord pondered his situation. His dark arts knowledge was not fully recovered yet. There were power rituals that he needed to complete and he could not afford to retrace back his steps across the world to acquire this knowledge. He had to break into that worthless brat's head. Easier said than done, he thought.

He could not afford to wait for September, with this threat to his power, he needed to take action soon and for that he needed his full knowledge back where it belonged. That little bastard had been the bane of his existence for far too long.

The Dark Lord carried on with his planning, lost to his own mind and oblivious to the rest of the world.

Back at Xiana's Place

Xiana came back out of her trunk bedroom. She had chosen the bedroom across from Harry. She thought the whole concept of a trunk manor to be absolutely brilliant. When she knew Harry a lot more she was going to ask how he did it. Heck her new bedroom had more space than her whole apartment. She had never tried a muggle whirlpool bath. She was excited to try. She came back down through the living room and heard Harry swear in the library. She made her way and asked him.

"What's wrong Harry?"

Harry replied, "I put a tracking charm on those idiots earlier this afternoon and just as I was going to pinpoint where they had port keyed the charm disappeared. I have a general location. It's some where close to a place called little Hangleton but that's it. They must have discovered the charms and disabled them. "He put away the atlas geography globe that he had been working with and asked Xiana.

"Are you finished with your packing?"

"Yes, I just carried in the last of my boxes. We can go any time you want." They both made their way out of the trunk and Harry shrunk and pocketed his trunk.

He took out his wand and told her to hang on to his arm. She looked at him and gave him a coy smile. She took hold of his left arm and Harry concentrated on his new apparition signature and cast the apparition charm. He could have simply done it without his wand but why drain himself. He might as well make use of the amplifying properties of his wand.

Within seconds, they were standing on Potter castle grounds. Xiana had a good look around and found the terrace to be absolutely beautiful. She told him so. He told her that he would thank his elves for their spectacular work.

She noticed the giant weeping willows along with the red oak trees. There were spectacular flowerbeds and a beautiful waterfall that fed a pond where several families of black swans were residing. The grounds and castle must have easily taken over 1000 acres of land.

The entire west side of the grounds was sitting on top of a beautiful cliff. The cliff edge was framed with 3 feet granite wall and walkway. The granite wall circled the entire circumference of the cliff.

Toward the east side, she could see the black granite castle. It was beautiful with its turrets and gargoyle-laden edge.

The doors were decorated with what she assumed was the Potter family crest. On the left hand side was a black unicorn and on the right hand side was a gold griffin. Along the edge of the door were silver snakes. As they made their way towards the door she noticed the scorpion statues and asked him for its significance. He told her that it was to honor the ancient priest who had created the dark magic that he was now using.

Once he said that he noticed two mistakes with his earlier conjuring. The scorpions were missing the black Phoenix. He told Xiana how stupid he was and explained why. He took off his shirt and conjured two mirrors. He told Xiana to hold one mirror to his back. He wanted to remember the details of his tattoos. Xiana did as she was told. She found it very difficult not to touch Harry. He had an incredible physique. His muscles were so well defined.

She was practically drooling, but held herself as only a Zabini can. If this continued she was going to have a nice long cold shower. She looked at his tattoos and could not help admiring the intricate details and the scorpion was simply mesmerizing.

Harry forced himself to concentrate. This was becoming extremely difficult with Xiana so close to him. He was feeling light headed and he figured it was due to his second head stealing the blood from his regular one. He took out his wand and conjured a beautiful obsidian black Phoenix. He levitated he new 6 feet tall statue and set it above and in between his two scorpions. He also noticed that he had etched the Orion nebula.

In Greek mythology, Orion was a giant and a great hunter. Harry realized that he forgot to etch the nebula Canis Major for the star Sirius. He switched the nebulas around. The Head of the Phoenix was facing North and looking at the constellation Canis Major and the Dog Star Sirius. On the south side was the hunter Orion. Now Harry was Happy.

Xiana was now quite impressed with his transfiguration abilities. They went through the front doors and were greeted by Dobby and Winky. Xiana was surprised to see two-house elves being employed. Of course, if the castle is rather large so it's no surprise that there would be enough work for them.

Harry told Dobby and Winky what a fantastic job they had done with the castle grounds. They both blushed and smiled warmly at Harry's praise. He asked them were they were with the upstairs rooms renovation. They were halfway done due to a lack of building material from the muggle manufacturers. Apparently an order was forth coming this week that would allow them to finish. Winky asked them if they were hungry. Harry replied that they were famished. Both Dobby and Winky said that supper would be served within 45 minutes.

Harry decided to give Xiana a grand tour of his home. He started out with the first floor and worked his way to the bedrooms. Harry explained all the renovation ideas that had been completed and explained about the use of muggle electricity and such. He showed her the electricity generators that he had created. For her part Xiana listened to every detail he was giving her. She found the renovated castle to be exquisite in taste and comfort. She loved the blending of exotic woods, marbles, and granite.

Of course Zabini manor was no shack to say the least, but it was not on par with this castle. They ended up on the second floor and once again Xiana chose a bedroom adjacent to Harry's. Her choice of bedrooms was not loss on Harry however. Finally they went back to the first floor and Harry took her to the library. Harry introduced her to Anubis. The snake had startled her at first. If ever there was an intimidating creature it was his snake.

She knew that Harry was a parseltongue but it was still shocking to hear him speak the snake language. Both of them would never know of the events between Anubis and her twin. As smart as Anubis was, he was still a snake and to him all magical humans had different magical signature even twins. He did not recognize Xiana as the twin to his victim.

Harry told Xiana that Anubis had scanned her mind and found her to be worthy. Harry told her that his snake would never bother her. Harry explained to his snake that she was part of the family from now on.

Xiana found those words very comforting. Finally Winky popped in and told them that supper was ready. They proceeded to the dining room and sat down to an excellent French style supper. Harry never realized that they could cook ethnic foods. After supper they both retired to the living room and settled in front of the fireplace.

They both sipped some brandy and looked into the fire. Xiana took that moment to look at Harry. She could see that he was in deep thought and noticed that his face showed a grimace every now and then. She thought he was probably reviewing today's events. For her part she felt quite bewildered herself. This had not been an easy day. The slight throbbing in her arm was a testament to that.

She nonetheless felt happy about her situation today. Well no sense in worrying too much about the future. What will come, will come and there is nothing anyone can do about it. She had lived by that credo all her life.

Finally, Harry looked at his watch and noticed that it was 11:00 pm. "Well Xiana, I guess I'm going to turn in. Tomorrow is going to be busy. I have to get a hold of my tutors. While we train we will be living in the trunk. We will be getting our charms, transfiguration, and martial arts instructor. I will be tutoring you personally with Occlumency and Legilimency if you are interested in learning the mind arts?"

Xiana replied, "Harry that's wonderful. I feel like I have so much to learn, I'll take anything you wish to teach me."

"O.K I'll make up our schedules. I plan on including some leisure and relaxation time during our training I hope you don't mind," he said.

"Not at all, I don't think that I could train for 14 solid hours at any rate." she replied.

They both walked upstairs and said good night. Harry got in his room, changed, and practiced his Occlumency. After 15 minutes his head hit the pillow and he knew no more. Meanwhile, Xiana decided to take a long bath. Baths always helped her relax, and she had a lot to think about. Most of all she needed to sort out her feelings.

While sitting in the tub, Xiana reflected on her family. Zabinis were cool and calculating by nature, but something about Harry simply brought down her natural reserves. After pondering a host of questions, she finally admitted to herself that she was starting to fall for Harry. Maybe this is what they call love at first sight, she mused. She would just let time take care of things.

After and hour-long bath, she got out, dried herself and sank into bed. She loved sleeping au natural and the comfort of this bed was exquisite. Within minutes, she too was fast asleep.

August 1, 1997

Harry woke up early, and went straight to his physical workout. He always hated missing his physical workouts. He had grown attached to his routine and never wanted to change it. When he was done with his workout, he showered and got dressed. He decided to wear dark gray slacks and a black shirt with emerald and silver tri on the borders. He made sure to put on his basilisk vest and dragon hide boots and his basilisk wand holders. Today was sapphire day. He picked up one of his charmed scorpion earrings, and put it in his right ear.

This was his morning ritual. When he was done he crossed the hall and knocked on Xiana's door. She had apparently woken up early and had showered and gotten dressed as well. She came out of her door looking absolutely radiant and they both went off to breakfast. As usual Dobby and Winky cooked enough food to feed nearly eight people.

"Dobby! How in the world do you expect us to eat all of this food?" Harry said.

Dobby however refused to be chastised and answered." Harry Potter is a great wizard who trains very hard to fight evil wizards. Harry Potter needs lots of food to train sir." Dobby finished deadpan.

Harry just sighed and noticed Xiana's smile. He started smiling as well. Xiana herself couldn't help it. She had immediately taken to Dobby and Winky. She loved the way Harry respected his elves. She had always loathed the way some of the so-called pureblood family's treated their elves.

When they were done breakfast, Harry got up and gave Dobby and Winky more ideas on the castle renovations. Harry had asked Xiana what she thought about his plans, and she had given him many great ideas, which he had implemented in his list. When he was done with his instructions, they both left to go to the front grounds. Harry chose to lay his trunk by one of the big trees. He picked one of the big weeping willows by the pond. He took out his trunk manor, and enlarged it.

They both went inside to set things up. Harry explained how he had set up this system for security reasons. He explained that throughout his training he had never shown his tutors his family castle. He described that the trunk wards were designed to allow a portkey room from which people came and went without coming from the main trunk doors.

Harry then proceeded to key her into the blood ward and keyed her magical signature throughout all of the rooms. He wanted her to have full access to his trunk manor. When they were done he told her to get comfortable and he would be back later this morning. He explained that he had to go to Gringotts in order to contact his tutors.

If Xiana found that weird, she didn't say. She just shrugged her shoulders and went to unpack her boxes. Harry went to the portkey room. He briefly wondered if he should disguise himself. In the end he decided against it. He was sick and tired of hiding. At any rate even if he was found out, he didn't give a shit. It's not like the bird soldiers could do anything against him anyway.

Within seconds he was standing in front of Gringotts. He made his way to the counter and asked to see Griphook. He was told to proceed to his office. After an hour going over documents and such, and giving Griphook his portkey rings for his tutors.

He decided to go have a look at Quality Quidditch Supplies in Diagon Alley. The thought of his old Firebolt brought a lump in his throat. It was the only present he had gotten from his now deceased godfather. That bloody bitch Umbridge had taken it away and destroyed his beloved Firebolt.

Well you can always replace material things. It's the sentimental value that is priceless. Within 15 minutes he was looking at the new Firebolt SX. It could apparently do an extra 25 km/hr. The thing can go at an astounding speed of 175 km/hr. It was fast, but for some reason he was slightly disappointed.

Harry wondered if he could build his own broom. Hell he built his trunk so why not. What he needed was a special crafts book on broom making. He was sure he could get something like that at Flourish and Blotts. He was about to turn around when he heard the all too familiar voice of one Hermione Granger. Of course the weasel aka former best friend was no doubt close buy as well. He didn't dare turn around just yet.

Ten minutes earlier, Hermione Granger had checked in at Flourish and Blotts to see if the sixth yearbooks were in. Ron was tailing her and complaining to no end about being back here again. Hermione turned around and said.

"Look Ron, we have already been through this. I want to get a jumpstart since our NEWTs are coming in fast and furious. We only have two years to prepare for our finals you know!" Ron gave her this queer look and said.

"Mione! That's two bloody years from now? At any rate we just finished our OWL, we don't even know what courses we can take, and therefore what books to buy?"

"Well, I'm going to get every course subject, that way I won't miss anything, so there." She stamped her foot and humph. She was about to cross the street when she quickly caught a glimpse of a face she thought she knew quite well. She was not sure at first, because this individual had long jet-black hair that went up to his shoulder blades, and was tied in a ponytail. She was sure she caught a glimpse of that well-known scar.

"Ron, see that man over there going towards Quidditch Supplies? I think that's Harry."

"What?" Ron said. "You are barking mad Hermione. There is no way that's Harry. For one thing he is being guarded and Dumbledore wouldn't risk having him out in the open like this. Plus he is way too tall to be Harry."

Hermione replied "I'm telling you Ron, I have a feeling about this!" she said in an irritated voice. Ron knew too well how she hated being questioned.

"Fine, let's go check him out." He replied.

They both started tailing him and when they got close enough to his back Hermione hollered.

"Harry Potter, is that you?"

Harry cringed and slowly turned around. He looked at both of their shocked faces and narrowed his eyes. He had conveniently forgotten about these traitors, but seeing them now, it was starting to piss him off. After about ten seconds, he said.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm out doing some much needed shopping. What do you want?"

Both Ron and Hermione were quite shocked to see that it was Harry. What was more shocking was his extremely cool demeanor. Finally, Hermione found her voice and said.

"Harry, you are not supposed to be out here. It's too dangerous for you! There is a reason why the Headmaster has guards helping to protect you. You have to get back to your house immediately or you are going to get in trouble." She said that as if that settled the arguments, and Harry would do what he was told. What she didn't expect was his reaction.

At this point Harry was fuming. She always thinks she knows more than everybody. That over confidence of her is going to be her downfall. "Well if you like being on house arrest why don't you go?" He sneered at them.

Hermione was taken back a notch by his vehemence, but she was far too stubborn to know when to back down so she plowed on and said, "Well It's not me the Dark Lord is after now is it? Besides Dumbledore knows what he is doing. You should listen to him. You know what happened last time you didn't listen!" If she thought that this would cower Harry she was greatly mistaken.

Suddenly Harry exploded in a towering rage and said, "How dare you throw my godfathers death on my shoulders. His death is due to that manipulative, cock sucking, slimy, old bastard headmaster and his fucking lap dog Snape. Don't you ever bring this up in my face ever again or so help me god I'm going to fucking hex you into oblivion. And who the fuck do you think you are telling me what to do! You are not my mother, much less a friend. So both of you can crawl back into your dear headmaster's ass and die there!"

By then Hermione was in shock and her eyes were brimming with tears. Ron's face had turned tomato red. Of course being Ron, and not having any control, he rounded on Harry and pointed a finger right in his face and said.

"Who do you think you are talking to Hermione like that?"

"Well maybe for once she should learn her own limitations about what she knows and what she has no fucking clue about. If she stopped for once being the all know it all she tries to be, and think about what she was saying to me then I may have been more lenient." Harry replied.

Ron sneered and said, "Getting a little too big for your pants Potter! You don't seem to understand who your friends are Mr. Bloody Big Shot. You may not think so, but I'm more capable than you will ever be. Maybe it's time to give you a little lesson in manners." By now Ron had a slight grin on his face.

"Yah, I learned all there was to know about you definition of friendship in 4th year you fucking hypocrite" Harry replied.

At hearing Harry's comeback, Ron's face went from red to a nasty purple shade that would make his uncle Vernon quite proud. Harry could see Ron was debating whether to curse him or not. Harry looked at Hermione's fuming face and Ron's constipated look. Harry decided to let them have it. He owed them nothing. He brought forth his emulated Dementor aura to full power.

Both Ron and Hermione noticed a glow surrounding him and his eyes were like green shining globes and it looked as if lightning was going off in them. At this point they both looked at each other and they were both thinking the same thing. Harry looked truly frightening. Suddenly they notices a cold chill surrounding them and they began reliving their worst memories. It was as if a Dementor was present. Ron was starting to panic and Hermione had dropped to one knee and was holding her head in her hands. Suddenly Ron found the strength to pull out his wand and cast flipendo.

Harry saw Ron bring his wand out and release a curse at him. Harry broke contact and quickly side stepped to the right. The spell missed him by inches, while he stepped out of the way, he rapidly flicked his wand back in his hand, and cast stupefy.

Harry had not tamed his spell either, and Ron was not been quick enough to get out of the way. He was hit square in the chest and flew about 20 feet backwards and hit a cart. He lay crumpled in a heap. Serves the bastard right, Harry thought. Meanwhile Hermione had noticed his wand, and it was not his Holly wand. Where in the world did he get this wand? Lastly, Harry turned towards her and said.

"Better go check on the idiot. You might need some help reviving him. He will be out for a while. I'm going now, but don't worry I'll be seeing your headmaster at headquarters on the 21. We have lots of unfinished business to take care off. See you in the funny papers." He spat. Hermione just glared back at him. With that Harry walked towards Flourish and Blotts.

Hermione stood there in the street for about 15 minutes just too shocked to move. Finally she gathered her wits when she notices a few pops and some ministry aurors showed up to see who had used underage magic. They spotted Ron some 20 feet off and asked Hermione what spell had been used on him. She replied Stupefy. It took about 10 minutes with Hermione and the help of two aurors working together to enervate him. When he stood up he was coughing blood. Better get him to St-Mungo's to get a check up. She forgot to tell them that Harry was at Flourish and Blotts.

Why had he been so angry, she thought? Granted she could have used more tack when it came to Harry. She hated being patronized and so had reacted without thinking. One thing for sure, something was drastically wrong. There were so many questions running in her mind. Where was that hate for Dumbledore coming from? Where did he get that wand? How did he become so big in such a short span of time? Granted magic was mystifying and could account for it, but she highly doubted that. He was not only tall but was cut like an athlete? She needed to get to St-Mungo's and then to headquarters. She had to see the headmaster.

Meanwhile, Harry was mad at himself. He let his temper get the better of him. In the process the Order would now go at him with all they had. They would try to track him down and bring him to headquarters for questioning. Well, what the hell, he thought. In 15 days he was going to be emancipated. Oh, well there's no sense crying over spilled milk.

At any rate if felt good to curse the bastard for his betrayal. Harry made his way to the craft section and found the book he was looking on broom building. He paid for it and got out of the store as quickly as possible. He turned a corner and found an empty spot. Harry looked around to make sure no one was looking and apparated back to his home.

He went to see Dobby to find out if he had gotten a shipment of Ironwood yet. He found Dobby and as they had promised they had just gotten back from getting all of the remaining materials to complete the renovations. He asked if there were any Ironwood extras that he could take. Dobby assured him that he had added an extra 20 percent to his purchases to make up for any mistakes and such. Harry took two pieces of wood and thanked Dobby.

By that time it was nearly 11:30 am and he apparated back to his trunks portkey chamber. He went to his workshop and stowed his book and wood and went to find Xiana. She was currently in the kitchen. When she saw him she had a big smile for him. After his encounter with his former friends he found that gesture heart warming. They began to talk and he told her of his little escapade.

Xiana for her part thought that Harry had been far too easy on them. From the way he described his former friends, they were people that she would despise no doubt about it. She hated brash people, but she despised conceited individuals. She understood that they had been friends for a long time and that probably explained why he had not cursed them to a greater extent.

Xiana has kept herself busy by unpacking and getting to know her new living accommodations. She had been very impressed with the pantry and the ethnic food selection. She ended up heating up a Moussaka dish with a Mediterranean salad and some butter beers.

During dinner, Harry found out that Xiana was also a Quidditch freak. He told her about his broom-crafting book that he bought. He told her that on their spare time, if she was interested they could learn to make their own brooms. She was genuinely excited about learning how to make her own broom. They finished dinner and cleaned up. After mealtime was over, they decided to go to the living room and review the training schedule. They agreed to stick with this for the time being.

August 1-20 Odin's Months

5:30-7:00 am Physical training running for 30 to 45 min, work on a set of muscle arm, then chest, arms, legs…est. Include 30 min of Tai Chi

7:00-7:15 showers

7:15-8:00 am Breakfast

8:00- 10:00 am Martial Arts /Body Magic

10:00-11:30 Ancient Dark Arts Theory/ Practice

11:30- 12:00 lunch

12:00- 2:00 pm Transfiguration

2:00- 4:00 pm Charms

5:00-6:00 pm Arithmancy with Xiana

6:00-7:00 Supper

7:00-9:00 Rune Studies/ Muggle Studies (Alternate every second day)

9:00-11:00 Xiana/ Harry Leisure time.

Bed

By the time they were done it was nearly 1:00 pm. They went into the portkey room and waited for his tutors to show up. It didn't take long for Akima, Yadislav Klunichov his charms and runes expert, and Michael O'Toole his transfiguration specialist to arrive. He made sure that everyone knew each other and he proceeded to show everyone their room. Akima knew where to go. Harry had been very happy to see Akima greet him warmly and with a huge grin on his face.

Akima for his part was very happy to be back. He had first accepted this job for the money but soon found himself liking Harry very much. He was very proud of how Harry had dedicated himself into becoming a sword and martial arts expert. He knew that his level of drive and dedication was rare indeed. In the process he in turn found himself becoming a much better wizard. He was eager to learn from the other two experts and hoped that they would also accept to learn from each other.

Once again, Harry asked his other two tutors if they wanted to form a study group so that they could all learn from each other. Everyone had been very enthusiastic with the idea. They listened to Harry's plan and all agreed to the timing schedule. He promised many breaks and left the evenings free for everybody to do what they wanted.

He explained about flux time and how it worked. They had all been interested in seeing the contraption, but Harry made them understand that for security reasons he had to keep it hidden. They understood and proceeded to get settled. And so the last phase of his training began. Little did Harry know that his life would change forever during this time?

Earlier at 12 Grimmauld Place

Hermione and a shaken Ron had marched into the kitchen at headquarters with a furious look on their faces. Remus Lupin, Minerva McGonagall, Tonks, Moody, and Dumbledore were sitting at the table eating one of Molly Weasley's fine lunches. Moody looked up and noticed their faces and said.

"You look like you ran into some trouble. Did you find any death eaters?"

"No, but we ran into Harry and just came back from St-Mungo's." At those words, everyone stood up from his or her chairs. The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes was gone and his face became a mask of concern. Dumbledore was the first to gain his voice and said.

"Please sit down and tell us what happened from the beginning."

Hermione started from the time they left Flourish and Blotts. She told them about spotting Harry, and confronting him at Quidditch Supplies. She told him about his physical changes. Hermione then explained how they had confronted him about being seen in the alley and his sarcastic comments and very condescending language towards the headmaster.

Finally, she explained about Ron trying to bring him in but he ended being cursed by Harry instead. She also explained how they had felt before things got physical. She described the strange glow in his eyes and the white aura surrounding his body. She then explained how incredibly angry he was and when he turned his hate on them they began feeling real cold and it was as if they would never be happy ever again. Later on Hermione would curse herself for forgetting to mention the wand.

As their story was told, Dumbledore face took on a look of worry to the point where he collapsed back in his chair and brought his hands to his temple and began to massage them. It seemed that he was developing a splitting headache by the second. Remus Lupin narrowed his eyes and slowly looked at Tonks and then Mad Eye. It was as if a silent massage passed between them all to not reveal their earlier findings to Dumbledore.

Finally, Dumbledore said, "Remus, Tonks, could you please alert the others, we need to call an Order meeting for tonight. It would seem that Mr. Potter has gone sight seeing. He must be found immediately and brought back to his relatives. Alastor could you please follow me to Mr. Potter's residence, we need to see what is going on."

Unknown to Dumbledore, Remus was seething inside. It took all of his strength to not blow a gasket at the old coot. He obviously didn't give a shit in finding out the cause of Harry's desertion from his relations. He just cared about finding him and sticking him right back there. Remus felt himself becoming disillusioned by the minute with this whole setup and Harry's treatment at the hands of the headmaster.

Two hours later, a very disturbed Dumbledore walked into the kitchen at 12 Grimmauld place. Their visit to #4 Privet Drive had left far more questions than it answered. This was perplexing to say the least. After many spells, Dumbledore had finally figured out what the glass vase on the kitchen table was for. It was strengthening the blood wards.

It seems that Harry had come up with a stroke of genius. He would never have expected the boy to come up with something like this. With that contraption, Harry would have been able to leave his house without any deterioration to the blood wards. No alarms would have sounded due to the blood wards staying intact.

The bigger question is how long has this been going on? Where had he gone? What was he up to? There was a multitude of questions with no answers. He had to get the boy back no matter what. If his plan was to succeed, he needed to control the boy to the end.

After supper, the Order met to discuss Harry's situation. After his report, most Order members were shocked. Molly had been the most vocal of the lot, insisting that all resources be sent out immediately to fetch him. Severus had patently called her stupid for pointing out the obvious. At that point, a near riot had broken out between her children and Severus. Dumbledore had gotten mad enough to get everyone's attention. They eventually settled down enough so that some of the members could ask some questions. Hestia Jones was the first to speak.

"Why would Harry leave the safety of his relations?"

"Gosh, I don't know! His godfather dies and the headmaster feels that to properly heal he should be made a prisoner under house arrest and forced to endure his relatives who absolutely hate him and treat him like a slave. Gee, if it was me I would want to stay!" Remus replied with deep loathing.

"That's enough Remus. We have already gone over this. If you cannot follow orders than I will be forced to remove you from the order." Said Dumbledore with his eyes narrowed.

"Hey, that's fine by me. However, I would like to point out that Harry and I own this property. So if I am no longer part of the order then kindly exit these premises and don't let the door slap you on the ass on your way out." Replied Remus.

No one said anything for a minute while the headmaster was trying to figure out how to not reveal his ultimate plan while appeasing the wolf. It was getting harder and harder to do. Why couldn't people just listen to him without asking so many bloody questions? He knew best how to handle this war.

Finally, Dumbledore realized that he needed a headquarters' and remembered a famous muggle quote. 'To grow a beautiful rose you have to shovel a lot of shit.'

"I'm sorry Remus. I'm afraid that today's events have made me rather upset. I did not mean anything by my words. Please accept my apology." Dumbledore said.

Remus didn't believe a word of it, but just nodded his head at the headmaster and left the room. Finally, after another hour of questioning, everyone left for his or her assignment. If they were not able to find him, then at the very least he promised Hermione that he would show up on the 21. He knew the lad was mad at him. He was going to throw him a few carrots and that should appease him enough.