Chapter 20 - The End of an Era 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.

Hello Everyone. To all my faithful readers I am sorry it's taken me nearly two months to post, but year-end in engineering projects is the same as Christmas shopping during the last seven days. It's been nuts! This is why this is a 30 k+ chapter.

I wish I had more time to take part in Yahoo groups and all that but the truth is that my time has been quite limited this past six months. I hope the New Year brings some decent pace of work.

Now I need to vent off about some of the fan fiction I see out there. Folks I'm sorry but chapters that are less than 2000 words should not be considered chapters. Second thing is WHAT IS IT WITH THE SLASH!? I hope to God that Daniel Radcliff doesn't read FanFiction. Net. He would be wearing a chastity belt. It just seems that there is an awful lot of it out there. Especially MPREG, Basic biology should tell you it's pretty damn impossible, unless you are willing to put up with the worst case of constipation in the history of mankind. Enough said about that.

Also what's with the bloody I must abuse Harry by the Dursleys stories? He is a wizard who is supposed to be equal in power to Voldemort. Do you honestly think that someone who has the power to do accidental magic would let himself be beat up by some fat pig who can't even see himself pee. COME ON!

For those of you who still use stupid fourth year douche bag spells for their fights here is a link that translates English to Latin. USE IT and make your fights a little better.

Harry is not Jesus Christ, he is a Soldier who has to kill Voldemort. IT IS OK TO KILL DEAT EATERS TOO GET IT!

Oh yah, before I forget there is definite gore in this Story. YOU have been warned. All right On with the Show. Sorry about my rant but I had to get it off my chest.

Harry walked out of the classroom trying to control his anger. It would have been so easy to just grab the bloody bat and portkey him to his Lair and let the Weasleys take care of it. He had promised Bill that he would have free reign where Snape was concerned. If nothing else, he was doing it for Charlie. In the wizarding world there was nothing more sacred than blood ties.

The Weasleys on his side wanted to avenge their brother according to their code, and Harry would be damned if he would interfere with that. He knew damn well the feeling they were going through. In hindsight it might not have been the best strategy to attack his old potion master. The worst that could happen would be for Dumbledore to become even more suspicious of his ties with the Scorpion Sorcerer.

Harry walked to the third floor wing where they had met Fluffy back in his first year and found it to be empty. Harry apparated to Potter castle to his library and made his way to the safe where he kept all of his important papers. Blood wards and a slew of very nasty dark spells protected the safe itself. Currently only his wife and himself had access to it. Harry took his wedding ring and put its imprint against the obsidian panel, which had the matching depression to his ring. The moment his ring matched the depression, all the wards, and protection spells came down. He took out the original copy of his parents' will and his bank account transactions record and reactivated the wards.

Harry checked himself to make sure that he had his cloak and hood were properly fastened, and took out his Holly wand. If the idiot at the Ministry decided to confiscate his wand, he didn't want it to be his creations. When he was done checking himself, he pictured the statue of magical brethren at the entrance to the ministry building and apparated there.

Harry immediately found himself facing the statue and took stock of his surroundings. Harry turned towards the statue to take a closer look and sneered. All the other races were looking at some tall wizard and witch as if in awe. If those same magical creatures were here right now, they would probably blast the fucking piece of trash to pieces.

The wizarding world really thought that their shit smelled better then everyone else's he thought. Harry looked around once more and finding the coast clear, he took down his hood down and proceeded to the reception desk. Harry waited in line until his turn came was looking around when he saw a caricature of the Scorpion Sorcerer in poster form and a wanted ad below it. The ad said that the ministry would pay fifty thousand galleons for any information leading to the capture of the Scorpion Sorcerer. Harry smirked at the ad, nothing like being wanted, he thought.

Finally he made his way to the clerk. She looked fairly pretty with dark brown hair and light gray blue eyes. "Name and purpose for visiting the Ministry of Magic?"

Harry answered back, "Harry Potter here to see Amelia Bones from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Griselda Marchbanks of the Wizarding Examination Authority." Harry saw the woman look towards him and her eyebrows were nearly at the top of her scalp.

"Oh my God! I can't believe that I am seeing the Harry Potter." She kept stuttering. "Wait until my girlfriend hears about this, she is so going to freak." She was mumbling to herself at which point Harry had completely tuned her out.

After more mumbling, Harry having heard quite enough of the stupid worshipping act cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me! I really need to get going. Do you need anything else from me?"

The girl suddenly looked up and blushed furiously. She must have realized that she had been muttering out loud. Finally she found her voice and said, "Sorry Mr. Potter, I need you to leave your wand behind before proceeding inside the inner doors."

Harry smiled and handed over his holly wand. The clerk gave his wand a good look; much more then she should have and gave him two passes. Much to Harry's pleasure, she never bothered to check for any other wands. Harry attached the passes to the front of his cloak and proceeded towards a large map at the main entrance to the main door. He quickly located Amelia Bones' office and walked in.

Amelia was currently looking at some file folders on suspected death turned around to look at her board and crossed out Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. She looked more closely at her files and also crossed out Vincent Crabbe Jr, Gregory Goyle and Draco Malfoy names. She didn't even know that they had been death eaters until the mark was found on their bodies. She still shuddered at her memories of this morning's investigation. The sudden appearance of the Malfoys' mutilated bodies with the scorpion mark on their forehead had been a real wake up call.

She herself had mixed feelings about this Scorpion Sorcerer. From all accounts he was fighting Voldemort with a vengeance that the ministry could learn from. It was also very obvious that he was fighting Voldemort's minions with dark arts, which she wasn't very enthusiastic about. She could not deny its effectiveness however, and wondered if the ministry had boxed itself with their stupid regulations. In the end it wasn't the magic but the intent that mattered. She was brought out of her musing by the imposing figure that was marching towards her.

It soon became clear to her whom this imposing figure was. She was looking at none other than Harry Potter himself. Looking at his face, she instantly knew what was coming. She vividly remembered the events in August between Dumbledore and Potter. She had resigned from the order because of it. That event had caused her to really question Dumbledore's motives and character.

It seemed to her that Dumbledore was willing to sacrifice any of their most treasured laws for his so called greater good, which in reality were his own personal gains. She still had her copy of the Potter will that Harry had given them during the August had since checked the validity of Harry's claim, with some of her deep undercover agents working at careful analysis of the facts, she had been astounded at the depths of Dumbledore's crimes. The fact that Dumbledore had completely ignored the wishes of the blood parents was unthinkable. The wishes of the parents override any others.

Harry marched up to Amelia Bones and said, "Madame, could I take a few moments of your time and discuss some very important issues involving Albus Dumbledore."

Amelia looked into his glowing eyes and said, "What can I do for you Mr. Potter?"

"I would like to file a lawsuit against Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Albus Dumbledore has violated the Edict of 1124 as stipulated by Charlemagne and passed by the House of Lords concerning wizarding wills and titles. I also charge Dumbledore with failure of financial decree of 1491, paragraph 6, subsection E. Dumbledore wilfully withheld information on my true financial status and stole from my trust vault without my knowledge and forged my signature of said transaction. I also charge Dumbledore with intent to cause psychological and bodily harm to my person during my six years of education at Hogwarts." With that Harry pulled out several parchments with the official Gringotts seal on them. Harry also pulled out a vial of silvery liquid out of his pocket.

Harry continued, "As you can see, the first two accusations can be proven with these documents carrying the official Gringotts seal. Madame, if you have a pensieve, then my memories, which are contained in this vial will prove without a shadow of a doubt what Dumbledore had planned for me just recently. I am fed up with being the recipient of his constant manipulations in my life. It is my firm belief that this man has wielded power for far too long. Dumbledore needs to have his influence severely curtailed. Who really knows how many other people he has manipulated? The objective of my lawsuit if to have him removed as Chief Mugwump and from the Wizengamot altogether. His powers at Hogwarts should also be severely curtailed."

Amelia had expected some sort of grievance but nothing to this extent. It was now clearly evident that the breech between Potter and Dumbledore ran far deeper than she had ever expected. Her gut instinct screamed of ulterior motives, but she had no evidence to the contrary. She looked at Potter's piercing green eyes and said, "I believe in these two documents. Please give me a second to get a ministry pensieve to view these memories of yours. You do realize that what you are doing will create a big power vacuum that may very well favor Voldemort?"

"Madame, I firmly believe in your department's ability to screen all potential candidates when the time comes to find us a new Supreme Mugwump." Harry replied.

Amelia nodded and went to fetch the pensieve. She came back and had Harry pour his memories for viewing. The special ministry models were developed by the unspeakables and projected the memories like a three dimensional hologram. She looked towards Harry and said, "Mr. Potter, due to the charges being laid, and the position that this individual holds, it would be prudent for a senior ministry trustee to witness your memories. Do you agree with this suggestion?"

Harry thought about it for a moment and replied, "Very well, if he is trustworthy then I have no problem with it."

Amelia took her wand and sent a message charm toward the door behind her desk. Five minutes later, a tall blond haired gentleman walked through the doors and introduced himself as Sirius Goldstein. Amelia explained to him what was going on and he took out a notepad and waited for the memories to play out. Amelia then took her wand and touched four different runes and muttered some incantations and the memories started playing.

As they were viewing his memories Harry detailed the events as much as possible as they were playing out. He knew that she would spot several of his curses as dark or gray magic but he hoped his arguments would be enough to convince her that he needed to use this type of magic. When the memories were done, Amelia turned towards him with a frown on her head. Harry waited for her to say something.

Amelia had been stunned to realize the extent that the headmaster went into to disrupt Potter's life. Clearly there was a lot more going on at Hogwarts than anybody could have possibly conceived. She looked over at her deputy who seemed to have a permanent crease on his forehead. Finally Amelia cleared her throat and said, " Mr. Potter, I find myself shocked by these events and at the same time intrigued by your repertoire of spells. If I am not mistaken I can tell that some of them were dark magic. Would you mind commenting on your use of these spells?"

Harry immediately replied, "Madame Bones, the manipulations you have just seen have actually been going on since I first came to Hogwarts. Nearly every year I have been at Hogwarts my life has been in constant danger. Last school year after the DOM fiasco, I came to the firm belief that If I was to ever have a chance of defeating my enemies, then using the useless spells taught by the grossly incompetent teachers hired by Dumbledore to teach DADA classes would be no where near enough to protect me. As the muggles say "Know Thy Enemy". I have learned from my mistakes Madame Bones. Yes I was using gray magic, and could just as easily have used dark magic to achieve the same result. You will notice that I never killed anyone. Had they been death eaters, one of the spells I used would have hit them with steel balls instead of ice balls. I am no longer a wide-eyed easily impressed eleven year old boy. I have learned these past five years that magic is all about intent and of itself magic is neither light nor dark, only a tool."

Amelia looked deeply into his green orbs and slowly nodded. What Potter said, was no different then her own personal belief. It is true that Dumbledore has been throwing his weight far too much these past decades. She opened her bottom right drawer and pulled out a blue parchment. She wrote an official declaration and told Sirius to file the declaration and send one of the official ministry owls to Hogwarts to inform its headmaster that he would be appearing before the Wizengamot, and the ministry courts. The reason for court proceedings are due to his many violations of the following wizarding laws….etc The official court date is set for November 15.

Satisfied with his plan, Harry thanked Madame Bones and Sirius for their due diligence and left to find Griselda Marchbanks who had just been re-instated as the Head of Wizarding Examination Authority once the ministry high inquisitor had been sacked. Fudge, during the summer had been forced to admit that Voldemort was back. The press had completely ridiculed him for ignoring the warnings given to him a year ago by the boy-who-lived and the old coot. Harry walked down a large corridor until he saw the sign Wizarding Examination written in large gold letters. Harry walked into the door and immediately saw the old crone sitting at her desk.

Harry walked over and waited for her to acknowledge him. She was busy scribbling a note when she suddenly bellowed, "Well, what do you want sonny? Make it quick, at my age you never know if I'll kick the bucket right here and then."

Harry laughed and said, "I'm sorry to disturb you madam, but I would like to know the procedure for taking my NEWT early?"

She looked him in the eyes and instantly recognized the young man as Harry Potter. She finally said, "Well this is certainly not a request we get too often, however we do have provisions for such an eventuality. You must first fill out this application form, and then pay 200-galleons up front. That's why most people wait for school year to be over. The ministry pick up the tab you see. The reason for the fee is that the examiners are usually busy doing other ministry work during the regular year and early examinations fall under overtime work. If you can afford the fee it's no problem. "

Harry decided to make her think he was seriously thinking about it, just so she knew that he did not regard their time for him as something that was no big deal. After about a minute he said, "That's fine madam, I will pay the 200-galleons. It's very important for me to get my exams out of the way. My family portfolio requires me to finish school early. I have many businesses that need attending and remaining at Hogwarts is certainly not helping. When is my first exam?"

The old crone looked at several parchments and a calendar and started writing dates. When she was finished she handed him his exam schedule. Harry noticed that his first exam was Tuesday and he would have an exam every second day from after. 'Well that's not too bad,' he thought, there was at least a day in between for review.' Harry filled out his application form and paid the fee. He walked out of her office and made his way to the ministry apparition point walking, he was formulating his plans when heard his name being called in a whisper. Harry suddenly tensed and turned around slowly while pulling one of his stiletto daggers from his robe. Harry hissed and said, "Who are you?"

Harry suddenly felt a silencing ward forming and tensed even more. He noticed that some people passing by were taking notice. Harry relaxed a little and looked as if he was examining one of the paintings on the adjacent wall. Harry heard the gruff voice again and immediately recognized it as Moody's.

"That was a good recovery you just did there Potter. I thought for sure you were going to attack me. It's good to see you using your brain."

Harry narrowed his eyes and while faking examining the painting said, "How do I know you are the real Moody? What is the secret code that I gave you to contact him with the muggle cell phone?"

Moody replied, "You showed me how to use the cellone and told me to type Scorpio."

Harry smiled and said, "That's a cell phone Moody."

"Yah, yah, I can never keep up with the blasted weird names muggles have for their contraptions. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I want in. That last job at Malfoy Manor clinched it for me. I also have some important information to pass along concerning Azkaban but not here."

Harry replied, "It's good to have you aboard Moody. You'll have to take a loyalty oath when you meet him. There is no negotiating where the oath is concerned."

"I don't have a problem with that. It shows the lad practices Constant Vigilance. A very noble trait if I do say so myself."

Harry nodded and took out a black bracelet. Harry looked around to make sure no one was close and pulled out his wand from his Basilisk holster and touched the bracelet. Harry concentrated on the coordinates and the bracelet glowed a deep navy blue. When he was done he gave the bracelet to Moody and told him that it was a specialized portkey and that it would activate for Monday afternoon at 3:00 pm.

Moody put the bracelet on his wand hand and left. Harry sheathed his wand and made his way back towards the reception desk to collect his wand. When he was done he made his way to the apparition point and went back to the Scorpion lair.

Following DADA Class Earlier That Morning

Severus was shaking with righteous anger. How dare that bastard spawn of Potter's threaten him? Severus had no doubt that the brat was into dark magic. He could sense it off him. Dark magic always left a certain type of aura. There had to be a way to use this against him. If he was honest with himself he would admit that the lad had shaken him. The callous way in which he was playing with Draco Malfoy's eyes was unsettling to say the least. Severus was getting close to the headmaster's office when he bumped into someone and tripped.

Sheeting with rage he pulled himself up and bellowed, " Watch what you are doing you stupid little sot!" Severus narrowed his eyes when he noticed who he was dealing with. With a smirk he said, "Well, well, well, if it isn't Longbottom and his little sot Miss Lovegood. I would have thought that five years of education at Hogwarts would have increased your I.Q beyond that of a house plant." The reaction Severus got was nothing like he expected.

With speed that was almost a match for Harry, Neville whipped out his wand and pushed it deep inside Snape's nostril and with pure venom in his voice hissed, "You can insult me all you want Snape, but if you ever disrespect Luna in front of me ever again I will make sure that your bat brains adorn the walls of Hogwarts permanently. You will apologize to Luna immediately or I will perform a tonsillectomy through your nostrils, which should provide enough payment for your cheek. Now, what's your choice?"

Luna was shocked yet pleased with the way Neville was protecting her honor. Neville had changed a lot under Harry's tutelage. Long gone was the meek and shy boy whom she had met in her first year at Hogwarts. Neville was now very powerful, confident, and one of Harry's top lieutenants. Neville would never again let anybody push him and he would defend his interest with extreme prejudice. Luna finally said, "It's ok Neville, it's not important."

Neville bellowed, " It's important to me Luna, no one disrespects you like he did. NO ONE!"

Luna with misty eyes rubbed her hand on his back. Luna had never had anybody fight for her like this until she met Neville and Harry. She felt so much love coming from Neville and it brought such warmth to her heart.

Luna looked into Neville's eyes with a dreamy smile on her face and said, "Professor Snape is obviously affected by a colony Bramble Benthams which must have taken residence in his prodigious nose. If you didn't know, they are closely related to Doxins but much smaller and produce a toxin that affects the frontal lobe of the brain and perpetually makes the victim an insufferable bastard."

Neville looked at Luna and was fighting real hard not to break into fits of laughter. She had managed to insult Snape while making it look like it wasn't his fault. God she could make him laugh no matter the situation.

Severus meanwhile was feeling mighty uncomfortable with the heat of Longbottom's wand in his nostril. He could feel the anger and power coming from the boy. Severus was seething on the inside but he was at a slight disadvantage at the moment. Severus turned his head towards the loon and with as much loathing as he could muster said, "Miss Lovegood, I apologize for my inappropriate words. Mr. Longbottom I will see you in detention."

Neville answered back, "I don't think so. If push comes to shove, I wonder what the board of governors would do if they found out how you treated females at Hogwarts."

Severus was once again on the defensive and seeing no way for retribution at the moment sneered and spat, "Get out of my face the both of you and watch your backs." Severus walked off and Neville was sure her heard Snape say Gryffindor assholes.

Severus was in such a fit or rage that he didn't notice he was standing in front of the Gargoyles. He took a deep breath to calm himself and finally looked up and said, "Acid Pops." Within seconds he was sitting in a chair facing the headmaster's desk.

Albus must have heard him come in because he came down from his suite and said, "Severus my boy, what can I do for you?"

Severus sneered, "I'm almost certain that Potter uses dark magic headmaster. I had a slight altercation of sorts with him this morning. In his usual arrogant self he threatened my life. In the process I found him playing with these." Severus dropped Draco's eyeballs on the headmaster's desk.

Severus noticing the frown on the headmaster's face continued, "He told me that they were a gift from the Scorpion Sorcerer. As you can imagine I was quite shaken to see my godson's eyeballs rolling on my desk. I'm convinced that Potter knows who the Scorpion Sorcerer is. We must find a way to get the information from him. I can't prove it but I also have this feeling that more then one student is associated with the dark wizard. Just a few minutes ago, I had an altercation with Mr. Longbottom, which resulted in Longbottom nearly cursing my nostrils to oblivion. This action is completely out of character for the little plant-loving coward. I'm afraid that this Scorpion Sorcerer is recruiting from your school headmaster."

Albus looked deeply into his potion master's eyes, and replied, "I have come to the same conclusion as you have Severus. However, as you well know all of my plans so far have met with complete failure. The fact that Harry is hardly at the castle makes it much more difficult for us to gain control over him. I exude tremendous control within the wall of the castle Severus, but when he is hardly here it is very hard to find out what he is up to. Perhaps it's time that we take the bull by the horns and get our hands dirty."

Severus gave the headmaster a feral smile and said, "Headmaster, I believe that a stay in the hospital for Mr. Potter would quite beneficial for us. I would give us the time needed to break into his memories don't you think? It's high time that the little bastard had his ego taken down several pegs. I feel it would be quite easy to engineer a duel with the boy. With my knowledge of the dark arts, I can injure the boy enough, which should cause an overly long convalescence on his part. With several mind-altering potions, I can speed up the time it takes to break his mental defences. With your powers of Legillimency, he will be no match. If he should become permanently injured during the duel, so much the better. He would have no other alternative but to turn towards us for protection. "

Albus looked into Severus' eyes and gave him a calculating smile. He analyzed the plan from different angles and figured it was a well thought out plan. It was even better for him as it posed relatively little risk to him, and by agreeing to Severus demands, this would only strengthen the spy's bond to him. Not to mention, that seeing the brat hurt would bring him great joy.

The little phony had cost him much these last three months. To add insult to injury, Albus would even volunteer to be Severus' second. This act alone was bound to scare the brat. He was renown to be the most powerful wizard on the planet after all. Albus hated to admit it, but the truth was that he had a large ego and was vain. It was a poor man indeed that couldn't admit to his own faults. Looking into Severus' expectant eyes he finally nodded and said, "My dear boy, I must say Salazar himself couldn't have done a better job of coming up with this plan. However, I must warn you that Potter seems to have some knowledge of the dark arts. He did take down a strike force of 12 DA students after all."

Severus smoothly countered, "Headmaster, a few weeks of dark arts training during summer doesn't equal years of training in the subject. Lets be honest, The DA leaders even with their Auror training, are nothing but whelps compared to trained death eaters. Believe me, Potter will be no match for me."

Albus analyzed his potions master very carefully and finally said, "To improve on your plan I will volunteer myself as your second." Albus noticed the almost orgasmic look on the potions masters face. Albus couldn't help thinking how easy it was to snare people with honey.

Albus then said, "When do you plan on engineering your confrontation with Potter?"

Severus thought about it for a moment and said, "From my sources I have learned that the Dark Lord is planning something big, so I'll most likely be very tied up next week, however the week after would be good. Potter will be having DADA then. Hopefully he'll show up for class this time around. His attendance had been most erratic headmaster. If he fails to show up for class, I'll make sure to get him by mid November."

Albus narrowed his eyebrows and replied, "Very well Severus, I leave it into your capable hands."

Severus took this has his dismissal and nodded to the headmaster and left. Albus watched his potion master leave and hoped that this time this plan would bear fruit.

Unknown to Albus at the time he would come to see this as the official beginning of his downfall

Friday Afternoon Scorpion Lair

Harry with his body magic in full swing was currently practicing his martial arts and sword technique with his old mentor Akima, Blaise and Remus. They were giving him a wicked workout, he had to admit. He was relishing the workout. Nothing like heavy physical exercise to drain away stress he thought. Harry saw Blaise move in with a sideswipe while Akima made a quick frontal thrust attack with his katana.

Harry parried Blaise and then dropped to the floor and made a backward roll to avoid Akima's downward thrust. He had evaded both strikes only to run almost at Remus, who had a downward strike incoming. Harry saw Remus strike coming for his face and barely had enough time to bring up his katana and parry the blow. Harry made another backward roll and crouched back on the balls of his soles, with his body magic at full power he was able to jump almost twenty feet in the air and land behind Blaise. Harry fired a stupefy spell through his sword and watched Blaise drop.

Akima and Remus were standing one hundred and eighty degrees apart with Harry in the middle. Harry suddenly relaxed and reached out with his magic. He brought out his aura reading capability and decided to wait for the first attack.

Remus was getting jumpy, and felt that Harry was about to attack at any second due to the fact that he felt Harry's magical probe. Remus took the initiative and brought his body magic to bear. That coupled with his werewolf attributes made him deadly strong and fast. He jumped forward with his sword in his left hand and his wand in his right hand. He thought he finally had Harry as he let off a dark curse, and approached him at frightening speed with a forward thrust of his katana.

The moment Akima saw Remus attack he decided to open up the second front. He brought his body magic to its full capacity which he knew was no where near Harry's level but was still more than adequate and decided to follow with a Samagachie feint and a Torano frontal attack.

Harry was at one with his mind, magic and body. He suddenly felt Remus and Akima breach his magical perimeter and based on what his magic told him he let his instincts take control. Just as the curse was about to hit, Harry dropped into a crouch position, which left Remus curse sailing overhead. The moment Remus landed on his feet with his sword thrust forward, Harry parried with a low-level roundhouse kick which, swept Remus' legs from under him and caused the werewolf to crash hard on his back and knock his breath out. Harry immediately cast a wandless stunner at him. With no time to react, Remus was knocked out.

After dispatching Remus, Harry had just enough time to feint to the left from his crouched position and avoid the frontal kick coming for his head, which Akima had just launched. Just as he feinted to the left, Akima immediately sent his sword in a forward attack. Harry saw the sword coming at him and brought his katana in a mantis parry, which assimilated Akima's attack and allowed him to use his katana and sweep his sword at Akima's legs.

Seeing Harry's riposte, Akima jumped back to avoid the hit. This proved to be the error that Harry had been looking for. Harry suddenly jumped forward, and with his body magic, he managed to propel himself five feet in the air and twisted his body in order to complete his aerial roundhouse kick. Harry managed to connect with Akima's head, which knocked him unconscious. When all of his opponents were taken out, Harry turned around to see all of his troops staring at him. With a slightly annoyed voice, Harry said, "As entertaining as this little display may seem, don't you all have duelling practice to be going on with?"

Everyone nodded and went back to work. Before everyone was back at it, Harry said, "Today is a good day to practice team duelling. I want to see one on two, one on three, one on four and then the gauntlet. I want you to also be practicing the dark arts from the lament scrolls and Necron's six volumes." Harry heard many grunts but everyone one got into it. Everybody in the lair suddenly went to duelling formation, which allowed Harry to wake up his comrades. The only people missing were Bill and Fleur.

Practice finally finished at around 5:00 pm. Harry wanted to relax for the weekend and spend as much quality time as he could with his wife. Harry knew that Bill and Fleur were searching for land sales close to where he was. He couldn't blame them. The area was absolutely beautiful. With their new financial muscle they should be able to buy a very nice piece of land close to the island of Tyree. Harry also knew that Neville and Luna were also looking for a nice plot of land close to where he was. Harry felt very happy about this. He considered his friends as an extended family of sorts. According to Luna they were to meet up with a sales agent within the hour. Harry told his council to relax for the weekend and that Monday they would be welcoming Mad Eye Moody into their ranks. At that last bit, Tonks rolled her eyes but managed to smirk at the same time.

Tonks couldn't help it and said, "Harry how in Merlin's name did you manage to get Moody on our team?" Harry could tell from her face that she was completely flabbergasted.

Harry smirked and said, "Let's just say that Moody is less than enthralled with the actions of our current ministry and the turkey club."

Every one who heard the comment broke out into laughter. Harry took part in many of the duels, providing the necessary muscle to make all of the participants put in their very best performance. Without the right motivation, it was natural for people to slack off. When they were done, Harry took a nice long soak in the mineral pool. When he was finished, he showered and made his way to the command center. He found Remus pouring over several maps and seemed to be writing a list of sorts.

Harry took his time and studied the map that Moony had punched up on the monitor dawned on him that he was looking at real estate registry of a place on the north of the Island of Tyree. Finally out of curiosity Harry said, "Remus, what are you doing?"

Remus turned around and with a sly grin said, "Well with my new found wealth, I thought that it would be nice to create Lupin Manor. I'm currently looking at a piece of land right on the ocean that's not too far from Potter castle. If it works out, I would like to build my new home there. I also want to surprise Tonks when the time is right. I love the proximity of the sea and being close to you. I hope you don't mind?"

Harry immediately replied, "God no Mooney. I would love to have you stay close. After all family is supposed to stay close together, right? I'm really happy that you finally found someone to share your life with. Believe me I know what's it's like to be alone. "

Remus winced at hearing Harry's words. Remus had a much better understanding of how hard Harry's life had been thus far. Poor Lily and James must be extremely bitter knowing the manipulations that their son has had to endure in his short life. Well enough dwelling in the past he thought. He looked at Harry and nodded at him. It was his way of letting Harry know that he understood without any pity. For one, Harry would be extremely pissed if he knew that pity was directed towards him.

Harry nodded at Remus and said, "Well, besides land hunting if you aren't busy you and Tonks can join Xiana and me for lunch tomorrow."

Remus then remembered something very important that he needed to tell Harry. Remus answered back, "I won't be able to make it. Yesterday I found out from one of my old friends from back home who also shares my little furry problem that for the first time in 500 years there is a worldwide gathering of the werewolf clan leaders out in the Scottish Highlands not to far from the Loch. This is also the first time in over two thousand years that the Manitou clan from North Western America will be there."

Harry frowned and replied, "What is so special about the Manitou clan?"

Remus answered back, "The Manitou clan is the oldest werewolf clan in the world. Not much is known about them. The one thing that it known is that they have been around since before the last ice age. We do know that during the first war, Voldemort sent an emissary to that clan with an offer to make them his top servants if they agreed to join him. Well that didn't go to well with the clan elder and basically told Voldemort's emissary to take his offer and stick it up his ass. Voldemort was incensed and sent twenty of his best death eaters to wipe them out. "

"What happened?" Harry asked.

Remus continued, "Soon after they made contact with the clan, Voldemort lost contact with his team. Three weeks later a very large box appeared at Voldemort's lair. How they knew where to find him remained a mystery. However, the large box was made up of the body parts comprising the death eater attack team. Voldemort never bothered with the Manitou clan ever again. The Lougarou, Ragorth, Sioban, Celthasi, and Kalaban clan will also be present. These make up the most powerful werewolf clans in Europe. I'll be going to get more information on why the clans are meeting. I'm almost sure that it's related to Voldemort somehow."

Harry sat back in his chair and tried to think of a reason why the entire werewolf clans were meeting. His logical mind began formulating strategies for each scenario that he came up with. Each of his solutions had strengths and weaknesses. One thing for certain, if the werewolf side with Voldemort then it's going to make life really difficult for all of them. Of course this might be the right time for a bold move. Harry was reminded of the famous French General Napoleon Bonaparte and one of his most memorable quotes. When formulating stratagems for war, always remember 'Laudace, Laudace, Toujour Laudace'.

Harry finally looked at Remus and said, "Why don't we let the Scorpion Sorcerer take the initiative?"

Remus replied, "I'm listening."

"I would like them to see what the Scorpion Sorcerer is all about. I'll get dressed up and conjure some critters for visual effects. The Scorpion Sorcerer will then explain his vies and plans for the wizarding world in a very general way. If the clan members philosophically agree with his precepts then both sides should formally initiate contact for further discussions. This way it will look like the Scorpion Sorcerer knew of the clan gathering and you came and made the presentation to the clan members. What do you think?"

"Well, I'll give this to you Harry your plan is bold as hell. With werewolves it's best to be upfront and direct. They are not known for their cultured ways. It won't cost us anything by trying. For all we know they may not be here for Voldemort anyway. The gathering may be for an entirely different reason." Remus answered.

Harry said, "All right let's do this. Let me get my gear and call forth my pets."

Forty minutes later Harry was finished with his presentation to Remus. For his part Remus took out the fresh memory and deposited it in the pensieve. When that was done, Remus made sure to take all of his battle gear with him and hugged Harry before he left. Harry wished him good luck and told him to be extra careful. Harry then told Remus to just portkey out of there if he ran into trouble. Remus assured him that he would. Charlie's downfall was still very fresh in their minds.

Harry looked at his watch and noticed that it was nearly 7:30 pm, and decided to go home. He wanted to look over the scrolls and books from the Malfoy secret library. Harry pictured his bedroom at Potter castle and within seconds found himself by his wardrobe. Harry took his time and took off his battle robes and weapons. He looked in his wardrobe and took out a royal blue silk robe with black and gold Egyptian runes imprinted on it. When he was done getting himself comfortable he made his way down to the kitchen. When he got there he found Winky putting away a pile of groceries.

Winky was busy putting away the groceries when she felt her master enter the kitchen, she immediately stopped what she was doing and said, "Master Harry, you is back. How is your day be sir?"

Harry never could sneak up on his elves. He replied, "I am fine Winky. I was going to ask you if you have any left over supper, I'm starving."

Winky curtsied to Harry and said, "Winky is sorry but there is no left over master, but Winky will make fresh supper for master. Winky can have it ready within the hour is this ok?"

Harry smiled and replied, "That would be fine Winky. I'll be in the library. When it's ready just let me know."

Winky curtsied and said, "Winky will tell master when supper is ready."

Harry nodded and asked, "Winky is Xiana home yet?"

Winky answered, "Mistress is home master, and she is with her mom and her Brinni in the living room."

Harry furrowed his eyebrow wondering why his mother and sister in law were here at this time. Harry certainly didn't mind, they could drop in any time they wanted. Harry couldn't recall Xiana mentioning a visit so he just shrugged it off and made his way to the living room. As he got closer to the French doors separating the kitchen from the dining room and the living room he could hear Xiana sobbing. Harry immediately started thinking that someone had gotten hurt and quickly made his way to the living room. The moment his burst in, he saw his mother in law and Brianna trying to comfort Xiana. Harry burst into the living room and both Xenna and Brianna turned around to look at Harry.

The first thing that Harry noticed was Xiana's tear face and said, "What happened? Is everyone all right?" To his amazement Xiana stood up and bellowed, "How can anything be all right, if you don't get yourself killed, then those Vampire and Veela sluts are going to take you away from me!" She sobbed and took off running upstairs.

Harry stood there with his jaw hanging open and after a few minutes he managed to reign in his thoughts long enough to say, "What the hell is going on?" He was about to follow Xiana upstairs when he felt a hand on his forearm and he looked down to find that his Xenna had stopped him. With a very confused look on his face Harry looked up into her eyes pleading to understand what was wrong. He looked at Brianna who gave him a very sympathetic smile.

Finally Harry heard his mother in law telling him to sit down. Harry was very confused but he obeyed anyway. Xenna looked at him with a very sympathetic smile and finally said, "I know this must be very confusing to you Harry. I'm afraid that what you just witnessed is a consequence of her pregnancy. Harry, she is not thinking logically right now and she is scared. I'm afraid that she is a victim of what we women call a hormonal hurricane and it's messing her up. I beg of you to just be patient."

Harry in a confused state simply said, "I just want to help. I know I'm not very good with emotions, but I really want to understand why Xiana is so upset?"

Xenna sighed and answered back, "Harry, she is very stressed out and as a result of her condition her deep seated insecurities are surfacing. She is afraid that in the very near future you may be forced into accepting a marriage of convenience to satisfy some sort of treaty protocol, which would cause her to share you with someone that she truly hates."

Harry looked at his mother in law and then at Brianna and instinctively ran a hand though his black mane before bellowing, "NEVER! Never will I accept a treaty that compromises my beliefs. When I married Xiana I swore an oath to myself that I would protect her and stay faithful to her no matter what. If these other races can't understand my deep-seated beliefs then they can go to hell and to hell with their treaty. I love your daughter with all my heart and would die before betraying her."

Brianna with her voice breaking replied, "Harry we believe you with all of our hearts. I think that my sister simply needs to have you to herself for a little bit with no interference from the outside world. She is worried about the paper, about you battles, about her pregnancy. To make things worse she is imagining that the Vampires and Veelas are going to steal you away from her. Now all of these issues coupled with her hormones being all over the map have just overwhelmed her into thinking the worse. I think you know what you have to do. Mother and I will make sure that no one bothers you for the weekend. Just be there for her and she will come around. I can swear on it. "

Harry was struggling with all of his might to keep his emotions from running out of control. The thought of Xiana hurting emotionally was just too much for him. With his eyes misting he looked at Brianna and his mother in law and said, "I'll do whatever is needed to make her fears go away. She means everything to me. I can't defeat Voldemort without her." Harry looked at them both and simply nodded. He slowly got out of his seat and made his way upstairs.

Harry found his way to the master bedroom door and stopped. He didn't know what to say to Xiana to allay her fears. When it came to strong emotions, he always had a tough time dealing with them. From as far back as he could remember it had always been his gut reaction to just clam up and ride out the problem. It had been survival at the Dursleys' to just never bring your emotions to the surface. This was different. He was married and his wife was scared. It didn't matter that most of her fears were due to hormones. The fact was that in her mind her fears were very real. He decided to just let his instincts take over. Harry gently knocked on the door. Hearing no voices he slowly pushed the door open and saw his wife standing by the bay window looking out over the western grounds and the sea.

Harry smiled, when he needed to think, he always sat himself by that window. One of his work desks was just to the right of the bay window. For some reason, the sea always managed to calm and refresh his mind. He wondered how many of his ancestors had stood by that same window admiring the same sight. He noticed that his wife had her arms around her self and was quietly sobbing. Harry made his way to her and gently put a hand on her shoulder.

She didn't knock his hand off but instead brought her right hand to his and gave it a squeeze. Putting his fear of rejection out of his mind, Harry took his hand off and gently brought his arms around her and rested his chin on top of her head.

Her hair smelled like fresh strawberry. She leaned into him and he complied by tightening his hold on her. Both of them stayed like that for quite a while. It was now pitch black outside but they could make out the reflection of the moon on the sea. The sky was clear and Harry instinctively looked towards the constellation Canis Major. He found the star Sirius burning brightly. Harry wondered what his Godfather was doing in the other realm. Hopefully, he was with his mom and dad causing an unbelievable amount of mischief.

Xiana for her part felt content to just have her husband's strong arms around her. She needed to spend more time with Harry. Due to their insane schedule they could rarely let their hair down. That meeting with the Vampires and the Veelas had unnerved her more than she realized. She was genuinely scared that she would have to share her husband with some other woman due to treaties. She couldn't understand why the wizarding world used women as bloody bargaining chips for just about everything.

She finally found her voice and whispered, "I'm sorry love. I'm just being stupid. My hormones aren't helping my head any. I am trying to be strong for you, but I'm also scared and jealous that I am going to have to share you with some Vampire or Veela strumpet in order to secure treaties. You would think that being brought up in our world since birth I would know better, but it seems that my head and my heart aren't exactly on the same wavelength these days. I guess that with all the fighting that has been going on lately, I keep seeing you go down in battle and leaving me alone to raise our children."

Harry swallowed hard and replied, "Babe, you will not be sharing me with any other woman I swear this on my magic. I love you and only you. I have made my commitment to you in the eyes of nature herself. You are all that I have ever wanted or will ever want in a wife. I am resolute in my beliefs. If these allies don't want to acknowledge my own beliefs then I want nothing to do with them." Harry looked into her eyes and he noticed her nodding at him to continue.

Harry whispered, "As for dying? You know that I can't guarantee that I won't die in this war. After all we are at war and anything can happen. However, I want you to know that with you at my side I don't see how I can lose. I am no longer a stupid little Gryffindor golden boy charging in hoping that the fates will smile kindly on me. My Slytherin side is fully awake and in charge, thank Merlin. You know I am doing everything in my power to keep us safe. I honestly think that with training and planning we have the winning combination to survive this war. I haven't let our victories go to our heads, babe. Despite our triumphs to date, Voldemort remains a very powerful and cunning wizard, and I don't plan on letting our collective guards down until he is gone once and for all. This also goes for Dumbledore. They will both regret ever tangling with us."

She turned around to face him and gave him a passionate kiss. Harry then held her and made small circles on her back. This always seemed to soothe her. Xiana rested her head on his chest and said, "I love you so much Harry."

Harry lifted her chin to meet his eyes and gave her a passionate kiss. When he ran out of breath he pulled back and replied, "I hope you know I love you more than anything in this world, babe. How about we have a nice candle lit supper in our room tonight?"

She wiped away her tears said, "I think that would be great." Harry nodded at her and went into the hallway and then called out, "Winky?"

Winky immediately popped to him and Harry got down on his knee and told her that Xiana would be joining him for supper in their bedroom. Harry then asked her to find Dobby and whispered instructions into her ears. She blushed and told him she was going to tell Dobby to get to it right away or she would scold him severely. Harry smiled at her and went back into the master bedroom.

Within half an hour his workroom had been transfigured into a beautiful dining table for two with red candles lighting the room. Harry took Xiana by the hand and let her to one of the plush chairs. He seated himself and within minutes the table was filled with braised lamb, black currant jelly, couscous, spinach salad, chilled fresh apple juice and chocolate moose cake. They took their time and talked about everything that has been going on these last two weeks. Harry asked her about her latest articles and they talked about Neville and Luna, Bill and Fleur, Remus and Tonks and by the time they were done talking they were both laughing hysterically.

Finally Xiana looked deep into her husband's emerald pools and smiled. She finally collected her thoughts and said, "Thank you love. I really needed this."

Harry looked back and smirked. He took her hand and replied, "You don't think that this is the end of our night, do you?"

She gave him a mischievous smile and said, "What do you have in mind?"

Harry took her hand and guided his wife to her feet. He then led her towards the master bathroom. He opened the door and led her in. Upon entering the bathroom she gasped. Their large Jacuzzi whirlpool tub had beautiful lily pads floating and the scent coming from the room was sublime. There were hints of tropical flowers and passion fruit. The room was illuminated with floating black candles. The roof was charmed to allow the night sky to be seen.

The moon was almost full. There were silk robes hanging on the back wall. There were bowls of strawberry, passion fruit, and chocolate lying by the edge of the tub. Throughout the room there were little islands filled with tropical plants. In the background she could hear classical music playing. Xiana immediately recognized the music as one of her favorite pieces. It was Chopin Nocturnes in F playing. Xiana closed her eyes and felt like crying. She couldn't believe that Harry had arranged all of this for her.

She let out a small sob and hugged the stuffing out of him. Harry kissed her forehead and then pulled back and took off his clothes. He then looked into her eyes and slowly disrobed her. As the robe fell off her shoulders he marvelled at her beautiful body. She looked like a goddess in his eyes. Harry could clearly see the start of her bulging tummy.

Finally unable to contain his emotions he said, "I hope you know that you are the most intelligent and beautiful woman that I have ever met. I love you with all my heart." Harry passionately kissed her and led her into the tub. The bubbling swirling water felt wonderful. He took a bottle of scented oil and began massaging her back. Harry took his time. He felt his stress starting to bleed off. When he was done she did the same to him. He then took the scented oil and began massaging her front. He gently caressed her nipples, which were rock hard by then. He could hear her whimper with lust.

Harry moved behind her and pulled Xiana's back towards his chest. He then began kissing the nape of her neck while gently caressing her nipples. For her part Xiana felt a tremendous heat build in her region. Her vagina felt as if it were on fire. She kept moaning at the wonderful pleasures that Harry was giving her. Harry then took his left hand and wandlessly Accio'd one of the plush towels. He then laid it on the landing just at the entrance to the tub. He again cast two different cushioning charms on the towels and then lifted his wife in his arms.

Xiana by then was savagely aroused. She felt Harry picking her up but didn't care. Harry laid her down on the towels and began caressing her tummy while sucking on her nipples. Harry started kissing her tummy and slowly made his way towards the Garden of Eden. Once Harry had reached his goal he parted her labia and ran his tongue from her entrance to her most sensitive region. He suckled on her nerve center bringing gasps and waves of pleasure to her. Harry could taste his wife's hot juices and kept coming for more. Harry took his middle finger and gently entered her. Soon he was stroking Xiana back and forth while licking her nerve center. Suddenly Xiana cried and Harry could feel her muscles tighten around his finger.

Harry raised himself on his knees and spread Xiana's legs apart. Harry took the head of his erection and positioned it at Xiana's entrance. He heard her gasp and then gently pushed himself into her. Harry began stroking back and forth with his hips. Harry parted her labia with his fingers and started running small circles around her nerve center with his thumb. Harry quickened his pace then took his other thumb to rub her hardened nipples.

For her part Xiana was in ecstasy. She could feel her husband's erection stroking inside her. The pleasure he was giving her was surreal. She started arching her back and willing her hips to meet his strong stokes. Her fingers were digging into his thighs. She was moaning and gasping and finally, she couldn't hold on anymore and exhaled loudly as she came. Within seconds, she felt Harry's rhythmic release. She could feel the sensual release of his seed inside her. She let the waves of pleasure pass through her body. She felt all of her stress bleed away and turn to ash. She looked up at the ceiling to see the moon rays reflecting a silvery glow on her husband's back.

She smiled in content. She felt Harry slowly pull out and he picked her up and brought her back into the Whirlpool tub. They spent another hour in the tub eating fruits talking and laughing. When they were done, Harry took her hand and pulled her out of the tub and cast a drying charm on them. He then robed her and made their way to the bay window. They both looked at the moon reflecting on the sea and after a while they went to bed. They were both naked and Harry grabbed her by her waist and pulled her against his chest. Xiana rested her head on his broad chest and fell into a very peaceful sleep.