Chapter 19

Alastor Moody paced outside the ward at St. Mungos in which the Longbottoms were permanently hospitalized. He was waiting for Mrs. Longbottom, Neville's formidable grandmother to finish inside with them. Neville had asked Moody to go and see if he could assess his grandmother's attitude toward one Harry Potter.

She was certainly against Lord Voldemort, but she wasn't a particularly active member in the Order of the Phoenix. If the results of today's meeting were favorable, Mrs. Longbottom would find out about both Harry Potter and her son's involvement with Potter's Legion.

The door to the ward opened and Mrs. Longbottom walked out of it in her usual vulture hat with the big handbag. She smiled at Moody. "Thank you for waiting, Alastor. I've just received some rather pleasant news from one of the healers."

"Oh? What was that, ma'am?" Moody asked politely as they made their way down the hall and eventually toward the Apparition point.

"Frank and Alice seemed more responsive to my voice and presence today." Mrs. Longbottom pronounced proudly. "The ward's resident healer seems to think that this is a sign that they are coming out of their mental condition. He thinks that frequent visits from family members would help their recovery immensely."

Moody smiled at Mrs. Longbottom. "That's wonderful news. I imagine that maybe a visit from Neville could do wonders as well. Do you have any plans to have him visit soon?"

She shrugged indifferently. "When school gets out I suppose. They would hardly recognize him I think. Besides, I would not want to get his hopes up for nothing. The healer stressed that maybe they would go back to normal within a few days or weeks."

"At least they're still alive." Moody said carefully, making an attempt to segue the conversation into a discussion about the Potter family and then onto Harry.

"Ah, yes. The Potters. Do you know how young Harry is these days?" Mrs. Longbottom said, unknowingly taking Moody's bait.

"Well…" Moody said as he launched into the whole story. A half-hour and several blocks down the street later, he had related the whole story concerning Harry and Potter's Legion. Neville's grandmother had shown little emotion throughout, and Moody hoped that he had not just made a mistake.

Mrs. Longbottom smiled. "The whole thing with young Mr. Potter seems rather confusing, Alastor. I can't help but be proud of Neville though. He's become a natural born leader. I reckon that the skill will come in handy."

"Yes, I'm sure it will. I was wondering if you would consider working with those of us who believe Harry innocent against You-Know-Who." Moody said hopefully.

Longbottom sighed. "Of course I'll help. Potter is likely not happy with certain people in our world right now. We need people that he would have no enmity against. I can't guarantee my skill in a fight with Death Eaters however.

"Not everyone has to be a front line fighter." Moody said wisely as he thought about the situation with Frank and Alice.

Though Mrs. Longbottom seemed to be on his side, there would still be no convincing of her to allow Neville to visit his parents before the end of the term at Hogwarts. In his not so humble opinion, he thought that Neville should visit as soon as possible. Not only that, if the Longbottoms were to recover…

Harry looked thoughtfully at the conference table and chairs which dominated the small room in Nair'icaix that he now stood in. His studies had excelled greatly and according to Bellatrix, he could easily rival any of the best duelists of the wizarding world. That meant that there was no longer any excuse for him not to do anything against Voldemort. This meeting would set things in motion.

There was a knock on the double doors and it opened to reveal Bess who bowed formally to Harry. "Milord Polairix, may I present Lord Hiscophney, Count of Trazkaban."

The count then strode in with a feral grin and Harry gave a smile while holding out his hand. "I'm pleased that you could come, Count."

Hiscophney took Harry's hand and shook it firmly. "It is of course an honor, my Lord."

Harry considered asking him to call him Harry, but decided against it. Count Trazkaban seemed to be set on formality and Harry needed all the presence of authority that he could get at this meeting and the many others to follow. However, he still spoke. "I hope that you don't mind, but I also invited Queen Xerina to attend this meeting as well."

"Not at all." the count replied magnanimously.

"Good." Harry said as he gestured for the count to take a chair. The count did so and he followed suit. Why was he being so friendly? Weren't the relations between Hiscophney and Polairix tense at the best of times? The ring quickly informed him that count had gained quite a bit of status by allying with Polairix. Harry put his mind at rest knowing that the count had no ulterior motives that would harm him.

After a very short wait, Bess presented Queen Xerina. The two men stood up and welcomed her before all three sat down. "I had not expected to see you here, Count." Xerina said, with a surprised smile.

"Well, here I am." Hiscophney said as a nervous smile crossed his lips.

Harry watched them thoughtfully. Apparently the two rulers knew each other or had at least met at some point in time prior to the meeting. That could be good, or bad. Nevertheless, it was time to press on with his goals. "I've called you both here so that we can discuss the upcoming hostilities with Lord Voldemort."

"What makes you so certain that such fighting will occur?" Xerina asked.

"Because I am against what Voldemort is doing and if I don't go against him, he'll try to kill me anyway." Harry said. "It will be only a matter of time before the fighting comes to our doorstep. I think that we would be better off fighting at his doorstep."

Hiscophney nodded, this time with a more serious attitude. "Yes, war will come eventually. I've already refused an alliance with Voldemort. In his eyes, I am now the enemy. Whether or not I am his enemy, he will come against me once Britain falls."

"Point conceded." Xerina said.

"Good." Harry stated. "However, this war will not as simple as killing Voldemort. The Ministry of Magic is against me personally- and at this point in time, barely acknowledges that Voldemort is a force to be reckoned with. We will have to change that. The Ministry must acknowledge fully the dangers it will soon face."

"Yes, that does make it a little more difficult." Hiscophney muttered thoughtfully as he considered what Harry had said. "I take it that you don't want to wage total war against this Ministry. Would that be correct?"

Harry nodded. "There are many good people who work in the Ministry. Their leadership is just a bit awry. Basically, I want to fix the Ministry and then do whatever I can against Voldemort."

"Diplomacy for the Ministry, war against the Death Eaters." Xerina said, summing up Harry's basic goal.

Hiscophney nodded sensibly. "That will work. I suggest that you divide you efforts between working with the Ministry of Magic and fighting against Voldemort. I would gladly volunteer to lead any forces or expeditions that are sent against Death Eaters. I also have some 'contacts' in the Ministry and other places that could prove to be useful."

"I can help with diplomacy." Xerina volunteered. "You can appoint me as some sort of ambassador or liaison to make it more official. Then of course, the Ice Army is yours to use."

"Okay, that sounds like a good set up." Harry said. "I can't think of a way to deploy our forces unless we have intelligence that is quick enough to get us to any Death Eater attacks. So, Hiscophney, why don't you assemble a small group force that is ready to go at a moments notice in the case that we are alerted to some sort of attack."

"As you wish, my lord." Hiscophney said readily.

"Xerina, get ready to open negotiations with the Ministry of Magic. You should probably try to connect their law enforcement assets with our own group so that we can help fight. Any intelligence they can provide will be valuable. However, do not let them know who I am. If they know that they're dealing with Harry Potter, it will sour everything up before it even starts." Harry instructed.

"Of course." Xerina said.

Hiscophney then cleared his throat. "I just thought of something. Where does the special force stay and how do you contact it yourself and let them know when to move?"

"I didn't think of that." Harry mused. "It would depend I suppose. Are you going to have your people in the group, or a combination of Ice People and your people?"

"For the sake of simplicity, let's just stick with my people for now." the count decided.

Harry nodded and he tried to think up a way for him to communicate quickly with the count. Finally a solution presented itself and saved Harry some thought. The ring glowed and Harry realized that he could connect other rings to it. "Do you have a ring or a piece of jewelry that you wear often?"

"Just my signet ring." the count replied.

"That will do." Harry announced as he held up the hand with the ring. "Touch your ring to mine and that will connect them. We then can communicate through them with out thoughts."

Xerina held out her hand which also bore a ring and smiled. "Don't leave me out."

The three leaders then touched the faces of their rings to each other at the same time and the rings all glowed for a brief amount of time. When the light coming from them faded away, Harry gave the system a test run. 'Can you hear me?' he thought, directing his mind toward the ring and then by proxy to Hiscophney and Xerina.

Two seperate voices chimed in his head, "I can."

Harry smiled happily. "Good. Now that we can communicate like that, you can just station the forces your assemble on your own island for now." They then decided on a date for their next meeting and then adjourned.

Neville strolled down the hall after having a conversation with Professor Tura which brought her up to speed on all the events that had occurred during the year with regard to Potter's Legion. She seemed to be very concerned about fitting in with the group and often asked if the fact that she had never met Harry would matter. He assured her that it likely wouldn't.

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" roared a familiar voice just as Neville stepped past a statue which depicted one of the Founders.

Neville rolled his eyes without even blinking. "You're going to have to find a new way to surprise me, Moody. You've used that one on me too often."

"If you take that attitude, then things that would be considered normal will take you by surprise every time, lad." Mad-Eye lectured as he removed his Invisibility Cloak and fell into step with Neville as he made his way down the hall.

"Sure…" Neville said, not quite understanding what Moody was trying to get at. He wasn't willing to try and figure the whole thing out though, it would only confuse him more. "I don't suppose that you came to call on a social visit."

Moody shook his head gravely. "I am afraid that I've come to discuss a slightly personal matter. Is there a place in which we can have a private conversation and not be overheard?"

An amused snort came from Neville. "In this castle, the walls have ears. There are a lot of walls."

"Try your best to find a suitable accommodation." Moody instructed dryly.

"As you wish." Neville snickered. He abruptly turned into a door that they came upon and entered the room. Moody's face blanched when he saw that the door had a sign on it proclaiming the room to be a girl's restroom. "If Myrtle isn't here…"

Moody shook his head and closed the door with a locking charm. They did not need anybody walking in on them like this. Neville, meanwhile, methodically opened all the stalls to check for interlopers and found none. Myrtle was not present. Moody spoke when Neville signaled that all was clear. "First of all, son- what did you mean by the walls having ears?"

"Apparently, I'm the prime suspect in the school's investigation against the leader of this rogue Defense group that seems to be meeting under everyone's noses." Neville said. "I've had Dumbledore, McGonagall, and other Order members trailing me everywhere."

"I see."

Neville pulled out his wand and conjured a pair of chairs for them to sit in. "What did you want to talk about?"

Moody sighed and took one of the offered seats. "I wanted to talk about your parents, Neville." He held his hands up when he saw Neville's expression change. "Hear me out. I was at St. Mungo's today to meet with your grandmother about Potter."

"Oh? How did that go?" Neville interrupted, interested to hear about his grandmother's position before they moved onto the serious things.

"She seems to be willing to support us." Moody answered. "The point is that when she came out, she told me that your parents seem to have… improved a bit."

Neville looked at Moody as excitement slowly welled up inside him. "Really? How so?"

"They seem to be more responsive to other people." Moody revealed. He then continued to explain everything that Mrs. Longbottom had told him after she had visited them and then finished with his grandmother's decision to wait til summer to let him visit.

Joy seemed to be bursting from Neville, though he was doing his best to retain his reserve and not let it overcome him. He was disappointed however. Summer wasn't really all that far away, but it was still a while away. Then he realized that the aged Auror had not come to Hogwarts to taunt him. "There's more to this. What is it?"

A pause followed before Moody explained. "Before the First War ended, your parents were developing a rather important spell that we hoped would be able to take You-Know-Who down once and for all."

"Would it have taken him down?" Neville asked carefully. "Without a doubt?"

"No one is really sure about that." Alastor answered. "The spell was designed to target the core of evil in a person, at least that's how your parents described it. Even if it was not capable of being efficiently used against You-Know-Who, it would be able to at least fight evil in any way that it was manifested."

"Interesting." Neville said as he carefully dissected the new information. Moody was content to wait him out. Finally, Neville came to some conclusions. "You think that it would be helpful if my parents recovered and were able to complete the spell."

"Yes." Moody said affirmatively. "Their prognosis is positive right now. There's a small chance of complete recovery. I think that if you were able to visit with them, they might somehow improve more. Unfortunately, your grandmother isn't inclined to let you visit for a while. The sooner the better, I think."

The teenage boy had already come to these conclusions about his parents however. The ex-auror had not gotten to it yet, but Neville was quite sure that he would propose that he sneak away from Hogwarts and visit on a weekend or night. Would it be worth the risk though? "We should ask Harry what the best step is." Neville said to Moody. "If he says to go ahead, then I'm all for visiting my parents as soon as possible."

"Of course." Moody said, pleased that the boy had been able to grasp the meaning and necessity of the situation by himself. He was truly becoming quite mature. "Send an owl to Harry tonight though."

"Why?"

"The Dark Lord knew of your parent's work. It won't be long before he hears about their improving condition."

The blood drained from Neville's face and he gave Moody a hasty goodbye before making his way to the owlery, already conjuring the necessary writing utensils.

Harry studied a very tense Neville from across the dining room table in Nair'icaix. He had received a urgent letter from Neville quite late in the evening and had decided that it would be best for all parties concerned if the whole situation was discussed immediately. A portkey had been instantly mailed and as soon as Neville had arrived, Harry arranged for a midnight snack of sorts.

"So, should I visit my parents before the end of term or not?" Neville asked, realizing that despite his strong feelings on the situation, Harry might possibly be able to see it from a clearer point of view.

A smile crossed Harry's face. "Only if you can ensure that you don't get caught. They would expel your from Hogwarts for sure if you were caught off the grounds like that." He then grew somber as he continued to address Neville. "It's not whether or not you should visit that bothers me about the situation."

"Voldemort?" Neville supplied.

"Yes." Harry nodded. "I'm not sure as to whether it can be done or not, but St. Mungos should have its security staff increased somehow. Maybe it would even be best to move your parents to a safer location."

"To where?"

"Maybe here. I don't know the extent of your parent's condition though. Would it be even safe to move them?" Harry mused as he grabbed a small sandwich from a silver platter and shoved it into his mouth.

Realizing that despite his frequent visits, he still didn't know that sort of information, Neville shrugged. "If I visit, I could try to find out more about the situation. There's always the possibility that what they were working on could be helpful to you as well."

"You've already sold me on visiting them. There would be nothing I would want more if I were in your position." Harry declared with a grin. "I'm sure that they could help as well. I would advise visiting them late at night and if possible, on a weekend. The regular staff won't be at the hospital and therefore, the normal staff won't tattle on you. Get Moody or someone to help make you a Portkey."

"What about security?"

"I'll talk to Bellatrix about that. She knows more about my power over St. Mungos since she's the one who went and bought it." Harry answered as he picked up the rubber ducky that had served as Neville's Portkey and reset it for Hogwarts.

Neville grinned. "Thanks, Harry!" He then disappeared.

"My pleasure." Harry said pleasantly to no one in particular as he realized that he was actually fairly sleepy. He then quickly made his way up to his room and attempted to climb into bed as silently as possible so as not to wake Bellatrix.

His attempts failed however, evidenced by Bellatrix rolling over and cuddling up to him. She didn't say anything, but Harry was pretty sure that she had stayed awake waiting for him. He smiled, basking in the feeling of being loved by someone so dearly.