Once the Potters decided on the wording, printing the challenge to the Dark Lord was easy. They had several thousand copies printed. Presenting it as "props for an advertisement film" made the printer nod understandingly and ask no additional questions.
Buying two radio-controlled large drones from an aviation club was also easy enough. Not being experts at flying these fragile paper and balsa constructions, they weren't sure they could land them without damage, so one for each location was a prudent buying decision.
They decided to spread the challenge as soon as the students were safe at home, to prevent them from becoming hostages.
They made the preparation at the Manor, casting all the spells they wanted on the pamphlets and on the drones. That night, way after midnight, they carpeted Diagon Alley and its annexes with the pamphlets. Surprisingly, they managed to land the drone without harming it, mostly due to the multitude of protection charms cast on it.
Half an hour later they repeated it over Hogsmeade, before Dobby popped them back home.
That evening, with Remus and the twins helping, they broke into the transmissions of the WWN and repeated the challenge several times verbally. The stage was set.
The morning report went as expected. "The Dark one is even more furious. He killed the one who brought the pamphlet to him and destroyed the radio when he heard that challenge there. He's afraid, but can't allow himself to show it. He started planning, though. He intends to take Hogwarts a day before the duel and make sure you're killed on arrival.
"We checked the school. Only Draco Malfoy stayed there since he can't go to the Manor. Snape was going to take him to Gringotts and help with the heir ritual. Now, it seems doubtful if he would be able to do it. The Dark Lord ordered him to stay at the castle at all times and make sure his army can come in through the wards."
Harry smiled. "We're going to help these two. I intend to relieve Snape of the wards and take control instead, so he may visit Gringotts. According to a few documents that Fleur found, Dumbledore paid for some of his services with Potter money. I'm sure the goblins would be interested in his version of that tale."
Indeed, in the two weeks since his visit at Shell Cottage, Fleur sent him many interesting documents, not all of financial value only. He found that the Potters were Gryffindor's descendants and the main contenders to the title of Lord Gryffindor, making him the heir of this founder. With Ravenclaw line extinct and Slytherin line just as much, since the resurrection didn't count, he owned at least half the school. He wasn't even sure if there was a Hufflepuff heir. The goblins, through Fleur, assured him that Hogwarts would recognize him as an heir as soon as he claimed his position.
Due to her advice, he claimed both Potter and Gryffindor lordships and got the rings to prove it. He had no doubt that Hogwarts would accept him as an Heir.
Soon after breakfast, he had his small "army" ready. Aside from the Potters, it included Remus, Ted, Luna, Dean and twelve young volunteers, each carrying a wand and a handgun. A few were also carrying shotguns, or, in the case of the Potters, sniper rifles. All had been seriously training for as long as they could.
With the house-elves' help, they all landed at the corridor leading to the Headmaster's office, where another house-elf was making sure that Snape couldn't leave. Not that he intended to.
Harry felt the castle welcoming him in a way he'd never felt before. It was wordless, but it was a very warm welcome as if a traveller has returned home after a long absence. The castle was certainly recognizing his Heir position.
Harry didn't think it wise to be the first to walk into the office. He doubted that Snape would try to kill him, but he would certainly not be very cooperative. While Remus was not much dearer to Snape, he was at least respected. That was why it was Remus who stepped in when Harry ordered the door open.
Snape's hand shot to his wand but he didn't do anything else. "What are you doing here? You should leave immediately. It's too dangerous to be here when the Dark Lord intends to meet Potter's challenge. The castle itself may suffer."
Remus smiled. "That's actually why we're here. We thought it would be wise to come earlier and not let your Dark Lord wait."
"Whom do you mean by 'we'? Potter must be out of his mind to put this challenge. The Dark Lord will wipe the floor with him. He'd better leave the country while he still can."
"That wouldn't help him much, would it? The Dark Lord, who marked him as his equal, will stop at nothing until he killed Potter or died himself."
Snape paled some more at hearing the words, so close to the prophecy. "The Dark Lord can't die. He did some unthinkable things to make himself live forever."
"Not quite. Most things done with magic can also be undone, don't you agree? As far as we can tell, your Dark Lord is just as mortal as any of us since his pet snake died. Doesn't he hide in his hole and refuses to meet even his most loyal?"
"Are you sure he's now mortal?" Snape was feeling a new hope, but dared not let it rise.
Remus shrugged. "As sure as I can be. Now, I believe you promised your godson to help him at Gringotts. You should keep your promises, you know."
Snape realised that Remus knew quite a bit more than expected. He must have had some very detailed information both from Hogwarts and from wherever the Dark Lord stayed. "The Dark Lord ordered that I keep an eye on the wards to let his army pass a few days before the duel."
"Well, that's two days from now. You're bound to finish your business with young Draco by then. We can watch the wards for you until then."
Snape felt like he was pranked by the Marauders again, a feeling he didn't like at all. He still replied truthfully, "There's nobody here to pass the wards to. The deputy is not here, and in her absence, only an Heir can take control."
"Oh, we can take care of that. You see, the heir of Gryffindor is here, ready and willing to take control. Shall I call him in?"
Snape nodded, unsure what else to expect. Harry came in, still in his Peter disguise.
Snape looked at him, unable to recognise the young man. "Have you learned at Hogwarts? I can't remember teaching you."
"You've taught me, alright, but I looked quite different at that time."
Harry cancelled the voice change and spoke again. "You may recognise me now, professor."
"Potter?! Are you suicidal? Challenging the Dark Lord is not a recipe for long life, you know."
Harry shrugged. "I didn't challenge him as a baby and he still came after me. He failed then and every time we had a confrontation. He'll fail this time too."
Snape shook his head in disbelief. "So, you are the Heir? But so is He. How do I know I can trust you to protect the school?"
"That's quite gross coming from one intending to let the dark army in, don't you think? Besides, the current Dark Lord is not an Heir. The heir of Slytherin died on that fateful Halloween. This one is just a magical construct that looks roughly like a man."
Snape took a deep breath and decided to show his cards. "There are two layers of wards, separated about ten meters from each other. My plan is to let them through the outer wards and then trap them between the two layers. The Dark Lord will kill me for that, but he wouldn't be able to take control and release the wards before they disabled his army. Can you do it?"
"I've already killed, so that is no news for me. I only think we could slightly improve on that plan. Now, just show me how to control the wards and how to pass control, just in case. You may then take Draco to Gringotts and then vanish, as far as the Dark Lord is concerned."
"Just keep Harry's new looks secret. We need to save a little surprise for Tommy boy, don't we?" Remus asked.
"Tommy?"
"Didn't you know? His real name is Tom Marvollo Riddle, a half-blood. He rearranged the letters to spell 'I am Lord Voldemort.' He showed me this himself in the chamber of secrets, before I killed the basilisk and his memory in that diary," Harry told him.
Snape paled some more, despite looking quite white already. "I'll keep that a secret. What else do you want from me?"
"Just go. With some luck, you regained your life. Otherwise…" Harry didn't think he needed to elaborate.
Snape nodded understandingly. He spent a few minutes explaining the wards and then put on his outer robes. "Try not to be stupid, for once," he told Harry and left the room. There was an air of finality in the situation.
Harry waited until he detected that Snape and Draco had left and then raised the inner wards to disallow anybody coming in, except for house-elves and whoever they brought. He let the outer wards stay at close to the minimal level, which allowed everything except extremely dangerous creatures in. He then tweaked the outer wards to only allow house-elves and whoever they carried out.
With the castle empty, the small force took a quick tour to find the best positions for casting or shooting and then erected the appropriate guard posts. Due to the wards, they didn't yet need to man the positions.
\/\/\/
Draco was quite content that Snape had changed his plans once again. He didn't know why he was told they couldn't go to Gringotts as agreed and then why it changed. He was only content to finally have a chance to take his inheritance, as he believed he deserved.
"Let me do the talking," Snape warned him before going in. Draco's mouth could only cause them trouble.
Snape approached a teller and told him, "My godson has just lost his father, but for some reason which he doesn't know, he didn't get his inheritance. We'd like to check why that happened and perform the ritual if there's nothing to prevent it."
"Go to room 104 at the corridor on the left." The goblin pointed at the corridor, which was barely visible from their position. "Next…"
The door to room 104 was open and the goblin inside it looked much friendlier. "Come in, come in. How can I help you?"
Snape repeated his previous introduction and the goblin started checking.
Two hours later, Draco could finally wear the Lord Malfoy ring and was urged to go see his account manager. Snape thought of going with him, but the goblin stopped him. "The first meeting is strictly for the account owner. He may, at his discretion, allow others to join for later meetings. Besides, we have a small matter that we found out while checking the accounts of the late Albus Dumbledore and we were wondering if you could lend us some help."
By the time they finished, it was already nightfall. The goblins had nothing to charge Snape of, although the transactions had been illegal. The goblin was still very polite. "I'm sorry our discussion took so much of your time. Is there anything we can do for you as compensation?"
Snape thought this was his best chance, his only chance. "I'd like to leave Britain for good and leave no trace behind me. Can you help me with that?"
The goblin nodded seeming quite happy. "Indeed, we can, but we must first free you of that ugly tattoo. You may never stay hidden while bearing it."
"Can you really do it? I wish I knew earlier."
"That will be at a cost, of course, but it's not prohibitively expensive. It will be two hundred Galleons plus the cost of the potion to heal the scar after the treatment, a total of two hundred and fifteen. I know you can afford it."
Snape was just too glad to agree. He signed as requested and was led to the Gringotts infirmary. He would never be seen coming out of Gringotts, but the New Zealand branch would let a man with black greasy hair out of its gates a few hours later.
\/\/\/
Draco left the bank in a very subdued mood. He found out that most of the Malfoy money had been spent on bribes and on financing the Dark Lord. Whatever was left there a few days earlier was further reduced by a very large sum returned to Lord Black, as a result of the annulment of his parents' marriage due to breach of contract. He still had enough money to feel richer than the Weasley, but not by much. How could that happen? And who was this Lord Black who destroyed his future?
He had no time to dwell on it. His Dark Mark suddenly burned. He was expected to present himself in front of the Dark Lord. Nobody refused such an invitation and lived.
The Dark Lord was very clear. "I want you to reopen Malfoy Manor to my forces. I also need you to finance their stay."
"My lord, I've just got my inheritance and don't yet know how to handle your request. Can you give me somebody to teach me so I can do as you please?" Draco tried to sound as inoffensive as possible.
"Ask Snape to do that. He was spotted in the bank with you. Where is he?"
"I'm sorry, my lord, but he wasn't allowed to join me when I met my account manager and I didn't see him after that."
The Dark Lord was in no mood for complications. He solved them by one word. "Crucio!"