Chapter Twenty Seven – The On-coming storm.
The small group landed back in front of the main entrance to the school. As they landed they were approached by the headmistress with an odd look on her face.
"Professor McGonagall, can we help you?" Harry asked politely.
"Well, I think we can help you. I have just had message from Kingsley. It seems that Oliver Wood was on holiday in Mexico when he stumbled across an old friend of ours. He contacted the local Auror force and they apprehended the miscreant. The Aurors contacted Kingsley and he went over to check it out and just sent message back to confirm."
"That's great Minerva, but who are we talking about." Hermione asked.
Minerva grinned at them; it was not often these days that she could get one over the pair so she was enjoying the moment.
"It's an old friend of your Harry, they have Snape!" she replied.
Harrys eyebrows rose into his hairline at the news and he was about to reply when he felt an increase in magic and the crack of thunder. Turning he saw Cassie with a dark expression on her face and magic crackling around her fingers.
"HE'S MINE! I WANT THAT BASTARD BROUGHT TO ME AND I WILL KILL HIM, I'LL RIP HIS BODY APART, I WILL TORTURE HIS SOUL UNTIL THE END OD DAYS, I WILL MAKE HIM PAY FOR WHAT HE DID TO ME!" she growled in a voice no one had heard from the school before. She had reverted to her adult form and her dress had taken a dark colour.
"Cassie….CASSIE! CALM DOWN." Harry ended up yelling at her.
The magical being ignored him and Harry had to walk over to her and showing true Gryffindor courage, he grabbed her sparking arms and held them as he looked into her glowing eyes.
"Cassie, not now, you need to calm down." He said to her gently. Slowly Cassie seemed to calm and the magical storm that had erupted around her died away.
"Father…..I'm sorry…" she said in a broken voice. "He hurt me so much though." She whispered as Harry drew her into an embrace, as he held her she slowly reverted back to her child-like form.
"I know Cassie, I know but you are better than that; you are better than HIM, you do not want to tread that path." He told the distraught woman.
She sobbed against his chest as he held her; Hermione moved across and held the pair as well. Looking up Harry spoke to the headmistress.
"What is Kingsley going to do with him?"
"Well he was going to use an international portkey and bring him here, but now I'm not too sure." She replied to him.
Cassie looked up and wiped her eyes. "Minerva, bring him here, I will behave but if he tries anything then….. Has anyone told 'Lotte?" she asked.
"Goodness, no; I have better have a word with her." The headmistress replied.
"Don't worry Headmistress, Harry and I will talk to her. We will also speak to our angry daughter as well." Hermione told her casting a look at the now subdued entity.
"Sorry mother." Cassie told her.
"Don't worry love, its fine." She told the young entity in her arms.
"Ok, can you ask Kingsley to bring him her, I want him contained and in magical suppression cuffs before he leaves Mexico, did you say? Yes, ok. Bring him straight to the dungeons we are using for the others. I don't want him in contact with any of the students." Harry told her sternly
"Off course Lord Emrys." The Headmistress replied aware that Harry had taken charge of the situation. "How was the search, did you find what you were looking for?" Professor McGonagall asked trying to change the subject.
"Good, we have a lead but with your permission we need to bring in a curse breaker. We were going to ask Bill Weasley – keeping it in the family as it were." Harry told her, reverting back to student mode rather than school owner.
"Off course that will be no problem. Will you be staying here tonight?" she asked.
"No I think we will go see Charlotte and then go home; Luna?" he asked turning to the Vampire.
"I think I'll come with you, I'm getting hungry and people here seem to turn a little green when I have my meal. At least with you two you don't seem to mind." She replied back to them.
Hermione giggled as she flung her arm around the shoulders of the young vampire.
"No Luna, we don't mind at all. Cassie, where is your sister? Is she in her quarters or the Hufflepuff rooms" she asked the school.
"Her parents are not here right now so she's with her friends in the dorm room, you know the way?" Cassie replied.
Hermione shut her eyes for a second before nodding. "Yeah, coming Harry?" she asked. Harry stood and the pair walked away towards the Hufflepuff dorms, followed by the blonde Ravenclaw.
The trio soon made their way to their way to the Hufflepuff dorms which were located in the basements with the entrance located along the kitchen corridor. As they walked up to it, instead of having to tap the barrels covering the entrance, they silently and swiftly moved out of the way as the school recognised its true owners. They entered the low ceilinged room much to the surprise of the students sat in the chairs and at the tables working. One of the elder students, not immediately recognising the three, jumped up with his wand raised.
"Who the hell are you?" he yelled before his hand was lowered by another hand placing it gently on his.
"You really don't want to do that." Hannah Abbot gently told him. "You really don't want the consequences of upsetting Lord and Lady Hufflepuff now do you?" she told him. The students eyes widened as he recognised the pair and his body started to shake. Harry finally took pity on him.
"Not to worry, no harm done. You have quick reactions though." He complimented the student.
"Thank you Lord Hufflepuff, sorry for any offence." He stuttered.
"It's Harry, just Harry." He replied much to Hermione's amusement. With a glare at his wife he continued. "And no offence taken, thank you Hannah." He told them. The student sat back down and Harry and Hermione wandered over to where Hannah had been sitting with Susan.
"Hannah how are you? Is Susan treating my 'sis' well?" he asked with a slight smile.
"Very well Brother, I still miss my Dad but Sue and my friends have been amazing. Now that we are a couple I was worried about been accepted, but apart from a few stupid comments from some of the Snakes, everyone has been brilliant." She said with some enthusiasm. Susan had cuddled up to her on the soft looking sofa and Hannah had put her arm around the red head as she spoke.
"So have you two thought about a date?" Hermione asked.
"No not yet, we are sorta waiting on Harry to ...er you know... get rid of him." Susan replied, blushing as she spoke.
Harry snorted at this and muttered under his breath, "You and everyone else." Before stating in a louder voice, "Trust me, were working on it."
"Sorry Harry, that must of sounded really whiney. I didn't mean it that way." Susan said. "If only Auntie was still around we would have more of an Auror force but since she was ki..." she broke of as the tears formed in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Susan, I really didn't mean anything by it, and I am sorry about your Aunt, I never really spoke to you about it; she was a good woman." Harry said.
"I still miss her, she was like a mother to me, if it wasn't for Han, I'd be all alone in the world." She said, causing Hannah to gently kiss her cheek. After a little while, Susan looked back up at the trio in front of her.
"Not that is isn't nice to see you three, but I'm guessing that there is another reason for you coming here?"
"Yes, can we speak to Charlotte please if she's around?" Harry said.
Hannah stood and walked up to one of the other students. "Can you run up to the first year dorm and ask if 'Lotte can come down please." The student nodded and ran up the stairs. A few minutes later there was a noise of a few people coming down the stairs. In the middle of a group was Charlotte who upon seeing Harry and Hermione gave a shriek and ran over to the pair, throwing herself into their arms.
"'Mione! Harry!" she yelled as she smothered the pair with kisses, taking a little more time with Harry than absolutely necessary."Mione, I'm so so sorry about your Dad." She said with a few tears in her eyes.
"Thank you 'Lotte that means a lot to me." She told the young girl.
Charlotte kissed Hermione on the cheek before turning to the small group of girls stood at the back of the room.
"Come and say hello to my friends." She enthused, dragging the pair to the small huddle of nervous looking first years.
"Everyone, this is Harry and Hermione. They are the ones that saved my life!" she told the group.
"'Lotte, I don't think they need to be told who they are, everyone knows who they are." Hannah told the excited young girl.
"Oh Yeah!" Charlotte replied with a growing blush.
"Why don't you introduce your friends to us?" Hermione kindly asked.
"Well, this is my friend Tracy Dabshaw, her mum is a Muggle and her dad is a wizard." She told them pointing to a small brunette with a pretty face. "This is Lorna Yu, her dad is from China and her mum is Welsh." She said indicating a tall willowy girl with pretty oriental features and starling green eyes. "And this is Rebecca Saltash or Becky as we call her." Finally indicating the small red head that was sat with the others. All three girls shyly nodded at the famous pair with nervous smiles on their faces.
"Hello, I'm Harry, this is my wife Hermione and this is our good friend Luna." Harry told them. Luna smiled and grinned, showing her fangs as she did. All three girls looked scared and jumped backwards.
"Don't be afraid of Luna, sure she's a Vampire but she's a good Vampire aren't you Luna?" Charlotte told them as she hugged the blonde girl.
"Charlotte, we need to talk to you about something serious, would you mind if we stepped out for a little while with you. This information is quite sensitive." Harry told her. Charlotte looked nervous and nodded and led the trio to her quarters that were adjacent to the Hufflepuff's rooms. As soon as they were in the large and comfortable living area Charlotte turned around to face her friends.
"What's the matter?" she asked. "It's not my parents is it?"
"No 'Lotte, your parents are fine, but we do have some news for you. Snape has been found and he is being brought back here..."
"That BASTARD! I'll kill him, I'll rip his knackers off, and I'll rip out his heart and eat it, I'll, I'll,I'll..." she spluttered in rage.
"Charlotte Perkins, you will do no such thing. You are better than that and you know it!" Harry told her sternly but with a kind look on his face. "You are been told this because you have the right to know and you may bump into him when he is been transferred here, but Snape will stand trial for his crimes when all this is over and he will pay the price, but you will not harm him."
"Aww Harrrryy, can I not just beat him up a bit?" she whined.
"I will allow you to face him; you have that right to face your demons, but that is all." He told her. "If it's any consolation, I had to have the same conversation with Cassie; she wanted to hurt him as well. Charlotte, killing someone, no matter how justified does things to a person, trust me I know. You are still young and I would spare you than anguish if I can. You will live a long, long time and I'm sure in that time you may end up having to kill someone but not when you are a child, not if we can help it. I had to kill someone at eleven and trust me you do not want that mark on your soul." He told her. Hermione had taken his hand as he spoke and rested her head against his shoulder in support. Charlotte looked angry for a while before she sighed.
"I guess you're right, but I want to see him, I want to look into the eyes of a man who could do that to a child."
Harry nodded to her; she deserved to see her aggressor and murderer. It would not be easy for her, but he could see how she needed to do this. As they stood there Harry became aware that Cassie had arrived and she walked over to hold the young girl.
"Don't worry 'Lotte, I will not let him harm either of us again, ever again." She told her.
Charlotte hugged the entity back and soon cheered up.
"Ok, so when is the slimy greasy git getting here?" she asked.
"Not sure, but soon. Don't worry we will make sure he doesn't spoil your home." Harry told the young girl. Charlotte raised her eyes a little as she thought about Harry's statement. He was right; Hogwarts was her home, more so than any other student. She was tied to the castle in a very unique way, and the thought of someone with such evilness about them been brought into her home sickened her.
"Good, make sure he doesn't, and when all this is over I want him and the rest of that slime out of my dungeons... well your dungeons Harry but you know what I mean." She said with a blush as the end.
"Lotte, for as long as you are alive, Hogwarts is your home, it will always be yours if you want it." He gently told her.
"Thanks Harry, that means a lot to me." She whispered.
"How are you getting on?" Hermione asked her.
"Oh great, my friends have accepted me and my mum and dad are happy that I am alive. They are planning on staying here during the holidays and we going to have some of their furniture brought here. Cassie has made a set of rooms for them and we are hoping to ward them so electrical items will work here. My dad is hoping that his telly will work her cos he doesn't want to miss Match of the Day. My studies are coming along really well, since my ...er accident it seems my magical powers have grown quite a bit." She told them.
"Well that's good, if you want a hand with the wards for your dad just let me know." Hermione told her.
They all chatted for a while before Harry and Hermione decided to make a move. Kissing 'Lotte and Cassie on the cheeks, much to Charlotte's embarrassment; Harry took hold of Luna's hand and with a wave the three vanished from the room.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
Silently the trio arrived in the hallway of the cottage, only to hear a ranging argument coming from the kitchen area. Raising an eyebrow they all walked quickly to the kitchen to be met with Dudley cowering behind Lisa who was holding her wand on Fred and George Weasley. Molly was stood in the centre of the two camps with her arms raised to both sides. Lisa was yelling at the Twins, who in turn were laughing at her.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Harry yelled in a loud voice, making all the occupants jump in surprise.
"Oh Harry, thank Merlin your back. I was thinking I was going to have to hex both sides to stop them." Molly gushed at him.
"Yes well that's good, but could someone please explain why you are in this predicament?" Harry growled.
Everyone started talking at once causing Harry to raise his hand in anger.
"Lisa, you first." He said.
"Well, these two were planning on pranking poor Dudley here once they found out that he was here. I know that he hasn't always been an angel but I overheard some of the things they were going to do to him and I just had to stop them." She said, with Dudley still behind her nodding his head as she spoke.
"I see, Boys?" he replied looking at the two twins.
"Well, it's like this.."
"..He's a Dursley and.."
".. they all deserve a hard time..
"..for what they did to you..."
"so we are just..."
"..looking out for you Harry."
The twins replied in that annoying manner they sometimes adopted when they wanted to swing peoples opinion.
"Boys, if you continue to speak like that you will annoy me, and that's something you do not want to do. Now Dudley is a Dursley, and yes he has done some questionable things in the past, but we cleared the air between us the other night and besides that he has just lost both his parents and above everything else, HE IS A GUEST IN MY HOUSE AND HE WILL BE TREATED WITH RESPECT! DO YOU UNDERSTAND." He yelled magic crackling off him and making the air smell of ozone. Both twins backed away with fear in their eyes as they looked at the pissed off mage.
"Yes Harry." George said
"Sorry Harry." Fred replied
"Sorry Dudley." They both said.
"That's better now, I know Dudley has mistakes to atone for, but he is trying and I for one am going to allow him to try, now please can we all..."
He was interrupted by Remus running into the room with a wild expression of his face. He ran up to Harry grabbing his shoulders with both of his hands.
"Lupin...Lupin...Remus what is it? Has there been an attack?" Harry asked, with fear in his voice.
"It's...Its...Tonks...She's..." he stuttered; his eyes wild.
"Calm down man, what's happening?" Harry asked, now getting worried.
Remus took a deep breath and tried to calm down; finally he was able to talk.
"It's Tonks, she's having a baby!" he finally said, pleased with himself for getting out a full sentence.
"Yes Remus, we know she's having a baby. That's what pregnant women do." Harry calmly told him.
"No, no, no! You don't understand. She's having a baby now! Her waters just broke." The wild eyed werewolf told him. Harry gaped at him in surprise. His mouth opening and closing in a pale imitation of the man in front of him. Hermione sighed to herself.
"Molly can you go to Tonks, I'll get Poppy here and then sit these two down. Twins –bugger off! Lisa can you take Dudley back to your rooms for the moment please – thanks." She said, looking at the giggling Luna with a disapproving look. Waving her hand she conjured a tall glass and with another gesture it was full of blood. "Luna, dinner! Look after Remus and Harry please." She told the now happy vampire who was clutching the warm glass to herself.
Hermione walked over to the fire and tossed in a handful of glittering floo powder and proceeded to poke her head into the green flames. Speaking to the unseen Mediwitch she had a brief conversation during which Molly had ran up the room shared by Tonks and the wolf. Harry and Remus were sat at the table looking wild around the eyes as Luna merrily drank her dinner. A few minutes later the fire flared once more and the figure of Poppy Pomfrey stepped through.
"Where is the mother to be?" she asked Hermione.
"Through here Poppy, thank you for coming." She replied. As they were about to leave Molly arrived with a grin on her face.
"She's not got long Poppy, but she said and I quote; 'Get that fucking wolf up here now! He got me in this situation and if he thinks he's sitting downstairs whilst I push this small human through my fanny he has another thing coming!'" the red-haired witch said, her face almost as red as her hair with the swearing.
"Oh Shit!" Remus said as he stood.
"Come on Remus, it won't be that bad." Poppy smiled as she took the unresisting hand of the man to his room. Molly looked around at the three people left and smiled.
"I'll put the kettle on then shall I? A nice cup of tea whilst we wait."
A few hours later the kitchen was full of people. The twins had crept back in and were sat with Bill and Fleur who despite teaching at Hogwarts chose to spend most of their evenings at the cottage. Emma Granger was sat with Molly who was sat with her head on Arthurs shoulder. Dudley and Lisa and her family were sat at the second table. Someone had travelled to Andromeda's house and the grieving wife had run up to her daughters room to be with her for the birth of her grandchild. It had only been a few weeks since the death of Ted Tonks had been announced; killed by snatchers it seemed. Andromeda had taken the news badly and had asked to be left to grieve alone, but the imminent birth of her grandchild was enough for her to break her solitude and make the journey to the cottage.
Harry made his way over to Bill and Fleur.
"Bill, can I ask a favour of you please?" he asked in a quiet voice.
"Sure Harry, how can I help?" came the reply
"Well, I need your Curse Breaking skills tomorrow if you are free."
Bill raised an eyebrow at the younger man as motioned for him to continue.
"We are looking for the last Horcrux as you know and we know that it's Excalibur. We don't however know exactly where it is but we believe that it's in a secret location on an island on a lake somewhere. We did some tests today after Ginny found some reference that the lake may be the Black lake and we found something most odd when we flew across the lake." Harry explained. He went on to tell Bill about the odd disturbance that occurred when Hermione flew through the location they had found.
"Well, it does sound promising, and the sort of thing that I can help you with. You say that someone checked the area and found no sign of a concealment charm?"
"Yeah, nor a Fidelius, but she did say that something odd was there."
"Ok, we can check it out tomorrow, if that's okay with you Fleur?" he asked his wife.
Fleur nodded and turned to Harry.
"'Arry, may I come along please? I am studying curse breaking with Bill and this may be helpful."
"If you're sure Fleur and so long as Bill's happy then sure, I don't see why not." Harry replied. Bill nodded at his wife and soon their thoughts turned to the events unfolding upstairs, Bill's hand caressing his wife's stomach.
It was late and suddenly after numerous cups of tea the sudden sound of a wailing baby could be heard within the walls of the cottage. For some reason the sound of the cries brought tears to Harry's eyes and he clutched at Hermione's hand. For the sound was that of hope and innocence. Hope that the future would bring better times for the new soul that had suddenly arrived in the world. A soul full of innocence and raw potential that it made Harry's heart beat faster. He had to win; he had to stop the evil if that innocent soul was to have the life it deserved. Hermione looked over at him with tear filled eyes and nodded her head in silent agreement with him. She rested her head on his shoulder and briefly shut her eyes. A few minutes later the door opened and Remus came in with a wondrous expression on his face, his eyes moist from tears. He was carrying a small bundle, wrapped in a clean white blanket.
"Everyone, I want you to meet my son. I want you all to meet Teddy Lupin, named after his brave grandfather." He said in an awed voice. "Harry, Hermione we want you to be god-parents if you would consent please." He told the awed pair.
Slowly Harry stood followed by Hermione. They made the slow walk over to the man and both peered at the small face of Teddy. Bright blue eyes gazed back at them and as they looked they slowly turned green and then a golden brown colour. All three gasped at the sight, evidently Teddy had inherited his mothers Metamorphmagus ability.
"We would be honoured Remus, honoured." Harry said with a choke as he gently brushed his finger against the cheek of his new god-son.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
The ten giants stretched as they awoke in the large forest near the Malfoy's manor. One of them lumbered over to the food pen and reached in for a snack. The muggle woman screamed at the giant incoherently, only for the cried to be suddenly cut off as the creature bit the woman in half. Smacking it lips together it finished off its breakfast before walking over to the stream to drink its fill. It momentarily raised it head as it heard the screeches of over a dozen trolls that were penned at the other side of the field. This in turn woke the dragons who roared at the trolls. The few Deatheaters that were looking after the growing army ran to try to calm the situation before the dragons got loose again. That had happened the previous evening and two of the trolls had found themselves as dragon food before order could be restored. The manor house was full to the brim with new recruits as well as seasoned Deatheaters. Voldemort had managed to nearly double his numbers with new recruits and with the addition of the dragons and trolls his army was nearly complete.
"Wormtail! Where are you? You useless excuse for a wizard?" Voldemort yelled. The cowering wizard ran into the throne room and nearly flung himself on the floor.
"My Lord, How may I serve you?" he asked.
Voldemort glared at the man prostrated in front of him and considered killing him, but he needed the rat's organisation skills.
"Numbers Rat? How many Dementors do we have?"
"Over five hundred my Lord, they are currently feasting on a nearby muggle village."
"Good, and with addition of the Inferi we are nearly ready. The loss of the Vampires is ...troubling but we will wipe the so called army of light from the face of the Earth."
"When do we go my Lord?" Wormtail asked in a gleeful voice.
"Soon my little rat, soon. We will go to Hogwarts then and we will kill them all. Send in Bellatrix, I need to sate my hunger and her body will please me."
Wormtail left the Dark Lord as Bellatrix wafted into the room naked and with a lustful look on her face.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
The figure walked slowly down the almost deserted alley. The figure was tall and slender but of the features nothing could be seen due to the large hooded cloak that was being worn. It made its way past the whores and beggars that lined the sides of Knockturn Alley before it entered the more salubrious surroundings of Diagon Alley. Despite the lateness of the hour some of the restaurants and drinking establishments were still open and the street lamps lit the alley in a flickering but friendly light. The figure made its way to the gleaming white building of Gringotts. Always open, the guards stiffened as they watched the approaching figure. When close enough they dropped their halberds to block the way.
"Halt and identify yourself!" one of the guards asked.
The figure slowly raised its hands to show that it didn't carry a wand and then raised its hands to the hem of the heavy woollen hood of the cloak. Gently pulling the hood down to reveal a woman's face with starling blonde hair she quietly said:-
"My name was Narcissa Malfoy, it is urgent that I speak to Harry Potter!"
Chapter Twenty Eight – Cometh the day, cometh the war
The sun broke through brightly through the partially closed curtains as Harry woke in the arms of his beloved Hermione. They had stayed up late into the night congratulating Remus and Tonks on the birth of Teddy with the aid of some bottle of champagne that Dobby had found in the Cottage's wine cellars. Tonks was tired and sore but in high spirits as she held her new son close to her. Everyone was happy for the pair and even more so after Poppy had declared the infant free from any werewolf traits; at least as far as she could tell. Teddy however still had kept changing his eye colour to whatever the colour was of the person holding him at the time.
Harry awoke with an odd sense of anticipation tinged with fear. For some reason today was going to be important, that much he could tell. He lay in bed for a little while, watching his wife sleep. He loved looking at her so much and very gently his kissed along her jaw-line. This action caused her eyes to flutter open and she smiled at the man kissing her.
"Morning Harry, sleep well?" she asked with a grin. Despite the potions she was on, they had practised making their own little Teddy well into the night.
"Yes my beloved, I did. We had better get up, we have a busy day ahead of us; I have an odd feeling about today Mione. Something is going to happen." He stated
Hermione laughed at him, "Okay Professor Trelawney!" she teased.
"Why you!" he grinned back at her and began to tickle her mercilessly
Soon however the pair were dressed and making their way to the kitchen where they were met by Emma and Molly. The pair had become very close since the death of Dan and Molly seemed to be glad of the female company having been in a family of nearly all males for such a long time. Luna was also sat at the table, and empty glass in her hand and a expectant look on her face as she saw the pair enter
"Morning you two, lovely day for a change." Molly called out as she poured them both a coffee.
"Morning Molly, morning Mum; how are you doing?" Hermione asked as she magically filled the little Vampires glass with some of her blood. Luna grinned an eagerly slurped some of her breakfast, smacking her lips as she did.
"Well love, the baby seemed excited to 'see' Teddy arrive last night and has been doing gymnastics ever since, feel." She said as she took her daughters hand and gently placed it on her swelling belly, whilst looking slightly green as she watched Luna and her Breakfast. Hermione's eyes grew wide and tears suddenly appeared in her eyes as she felt her unborn brother kick his mother's belly.
"Wow, that's just amazing. Does it hurt mum?" she asked.
"No, in fact it feels quite nice, like a reminder that despite everything there is still hope and life. I know your father would have been happy to feel it; he was when you were in there. He used to lie with his head on my belly and talk to you for hours. It was so cute and it made me happy; he would talk about anything from the football scores to his hopes for your future. He was a good man and I will never find another like him, but I am able to remember the good times and they mean more to me than the bad. I know he is still with us somehow and looking after us." She said with a sad smile.
"I love you mum!" Hermione said as she hugged her mother.
"And I love you too, both of you!" Emma replied a she brought Harry into a hug with her.
"Now what are your plans for the day?" she asked.
"Well, we are off back to the school to see if we can find the sword, we are just waiting on Bill and Fleur to get ready." Harry said as he helped himself to a slice of toast. As he was speaking the red-haired curse breaker and the beautiful Veela arrived dressed for action. They were both wearing dragon skin tunics and dark coloured trousers and boots. They both had their hair tied back into neat ponytails.
"You two ready?"Bill asked.
"Don't you want breakfast?" Harry replied.
"Had it, I hope you don't mind but we had Dobby bring it up to us earlier. It seems that the youngest Weasley wanted food early." Bill told them with a nod to Fleur's still flat belly.
"Well in that case let's go." Hermione said as she finished of the coffee and the slice of toast she was eating.
"Ow are we to get there?" Fleur asked.
"That's easy Fleur, we will take you."
"Ow, you cannot apparate to 'Ogwarts, Everyone knows that." She said with a confused look.
"Who said anything about apperation?" Harry replied with a cheeky grin as he took the blonde Veelas small hand in his and faded away.
"Whoa! What the hell? Where did they go?" Bill asked in concern as he looked around the room. Hermione giggled at the worried curse-breaker.
"Don't worry Bill, come on I'll take you." She told him as she took his hand and Luna's with her free hand. With a nod to her mother and Molly the three faded away.
Emma looked at the spot in amazement where the two teens had vanished from.
"Is that normal Molly?" she asked her friend.
"Not even close Em, not even close." The red-haired matriarch replied with an astonished grin.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
Bill glanced around in amazement as the walls of Hogwarts silently appeared in front of his eyes. He stumbled slightly as Hermione let go of his hand as he looked around. He immediately saw Harry grinning at him and Fleur looking just as shocked as he felt.
"Wow! That was amazing. I didn't feel a thing. Even Dumbledore couldn't do that!" he muttered as he walked over to Fleur to check of she was okay. Happy that she was unharmed he turned around to face the young man.
"Ok Potter, explain how you can do something no other wizard can do and apparate us to Hogwarts?" he demanded.
"Bill, we cannot tell you everything but suffice to say we are both a little more powerful than most and how we got here was nothing to do with apperation. We do not know what it is called but it was developed by Merlin and we are the only people we know of that can do it."
"M-M-Merlin, what? How err?" Bill said stupidly, causing Fleur to giggle slightly.
Harry sighed; Bill seemed to have missed most of their explanations. "Well you know that Merlin was our grandsire?"
Bill nodded remembering the conversation a few days ago.
"Well, we got more than just his staff and good looks, we also got a lot of extra power and knowledge, part of that is how we travel." Harry explained.
"Oh, ok, anything else I should know?"
"Nah don't think so." Harry said as he strode of towards the main doors, looking over his shoulder he added, "Well apart from the fact that Mione and I are immortal!" he grinned.
Hermione laughed as she observed the now dumbstruck pair. Gently she reached over and shut Bill's open jaw with a slight 'clack' and took both his and Fleur's unresisting hands.
"Come on, I'll explain as we walk." She said as she pulled the two with her and followed her husband with Luna giggling as she followed.
"Wha...Immortal?...Merlin...Shit!" Bill stuttered incoherently as Fleur gaped at the receding figure of Harry.
Bill had barely recovered the power of speech by the time the quartet had made their way to the headmistress office.
"Ow are we going to get up? We don't know the password." Fleur asked. Harry grinned and winked at the stature guarding the entrance. Amazingly the statue winked back and glided out of the way.
"She's waiting for you Lord Hogwarts."
"Cheers Cecil!" Harry replied.
"Wha?" Bill uttered once more. "Lord Hogwarts?"
"Well it's quicker than saying Lord Harry James Hufflepuff-Griffindor-Slytherin-Ravenclaw-Emrys-Potter. With the best will in the world it's a bit of a mouthful." Hermione giggled.
"Come on you four!" Harry yelled from half way up the stairs. "We haven't got all day!"
Silently the remaining four joined Harry on the moving staircase and soon were all sat in front of the headmistress desk.
"Well Mr Weasley, I guess we will need someone else to cover your lessons today as you seem to be performing extra-curricular activities for us." Minerva said with a mock scowl.
"Sorry Minerva, but I seem to have been drafted by Lord Hogwarts here!" Bill replied glaring at the innocent looking Harry. "He seems to be a little loose with some of the facts however."
Harry smiled at the older man; he genuinely liked the scar faced man and enjoyed teasing him.
"Sorry Bill, but some facts are secret, others...well I forget sometimes who I've told and who I haven't. We really need your help however with this." He told the man.
"Well okay then, but when this is over we are having a chat. Who else are we waiting for?"
"Your sister and Neville as well as...Ahh her she is." He said as Cassie faded into the room.
"Bill and Fleur, may I present Cassiopeia or Cassie as she likes to be known. Cassie is the magical representation of Hogwarts and sort of my daughter.. well she likes to call me father anyway." Harry said as Cassie smiled and nodded to the new pair.
"Pleased to meet you again." She began only to be interrupted by Bill.
"Again?" she asked.
"Well I was aware when you were at school here and very much so when Miss Delacour...sorry Mrs Weasley was visiting. Fleur, I must apologise for some of the students here and the way in which they treated you. It was unkind and unjust and you did not deserve any of the names they called you."
"Thank you Miss Cassie, dat is very kind of you." Fleur replied.
"Lord Potter, I have to inform you that Snape arrived last night. Kingsley brought him near midnight as most students would have been asleep. He is in the dungeons as requested." Minerva told the young man.
"Thank you Headmistress. Cassie does 'Lotte know?" he asked the school.
"Yes father, I told her this morning. She is eager to see the slime-ball, as am I." Cassie told him with an odd gleam in her eye.
"Bill, do you mind waiting a little while, this won't take long." He asked the elder man. Bill nodded and sat in one of the chairs.
Harry left with Hermione and Luna with Cassie tagging along. They walked down towards the dungeons where they were met by a nervous looking Charlotte.
"You ready for this 'Lotte?" Harry asked.
"Mmhuh!" Charlotte nodded and with that they all walked down the steep stone stairs to the dungeons.
"He's in the cell at the end Harry." Cassie told him as they walked past the other cells that contained the remains of the punishment squad. Most were sat sullenly on their bunks but one - Pansy, stood as they walked past.
"Potter, you have to help me! I was under the Imperius all the time from Draco and then Millicent. Please you have to help me?" she pleaded as they walked past the cell opening. Harry stopped and looked at the frightened girl. He used his powerful occlumency powers to reveal the truth and found that the girl was speaking honestly. She had been used and abused ever since she had come to Hogwarts. First by her father and then Draco and his gang of thugs, and more recently by Nott and Bulstrode. She had been repeatedly raped and tortured as well as becoming pregnant by Goyle and been forced to have the baby aborted.
Harry paled as the extent of the girls suffering became known to him. If he was right the poor girl didn't even belong in Slytherin but was a Hufflepuff through and though. The Imperius curse that was cast on her just before she left her home for Hogwarts by her Death-Eater father had skewed the sorting hats ability and she ended up where her tormentors wanted and needed her to go.
"Oh you poor thing!" Hermione uttered as she read the thoughts flowing through Harry's mind. With a wave of her hand the bars vanished and she walked over and took the broken girl in her arms and held her as she wept the tears of the dammed.
"Don't worry Pansy, we will help you but first let's get you somewhere safe. Dobby!" Harry called; smiling at the diminutive elf arrived.
"Master Harry, how may Dobby help?" he asked wringing his hands in desire to please.
"Dobby, this is Pansy, she had been under an Imperius curse for a long time and has suffered much because of it. Can you take her to the Cottage and explain what has happened to her to Molly. Do NOT let anyone of the others at the house say anything bad to her because of her past actions as they were not really her actions. Ask Molly to feed her and look after her until this is over. Pansy, go with Dobby and you will be looked after; don't worry he nor anyone at my house will hurt you." He told the frightened girl.
With a nod, the grieving girl took the hand of the small elf in a tentative grip and tried to smile at Harry in thanks. However the expression came out as more of a grimace due to her torment. Harry just nodded at her as Dobby took her away to her salvation.
"Shit, this war stinks!" Hermione said.
"Yes, another reason to bring it to an end."
"Father, I'm sorry...I never knew!" Cassie whispered. "I failed her and I failed you."
"Nonsense Cassie, everyone makes mistakes and you were still coming to terms with your 'humanity'. The Imperius is absolute, and nothing could have allowed you to know the truth." He told her giving her a brief hug as he spoke. "Come on let's find Sniverlus."
They walked down the corridor past the remaining cells until they got to the one at the end. Sat with his head in his hands was the form of the ex-headmaster and the old potions master. The figure seemed lost in thought and did not raise his head as the small group got to his cell.
"Hello Snape!" Harry said. Upon hearing his voice, Snape's head whipped up and stared at the man in front of him in horror and fright.
"Potter! I should have known! How are you alive? I saw you fall; I saw you dead!" he snarled at his nemesis.
"Magic Snape, just magic. I have someone who want to meet you." He told the man in a quiet voice. He stood to one side and allowed Charlotte to walk forward. Snape looked at her in confusion for a second before recognition dawned on his face with a mounting horror. His eyes bulged in his face as he stood and began to back away from the young girl until he hit the back wall of the cell.
"NooooooOOOOOOOOOO!" he cried as this one young girl, one that he knew he had killed stood before him with accusation in her young eyes. Snape slid down the back wall of his cell to his knees, his eyes wide and mouth agape in horror.
"B-B-B-But your dead!" he whispered. It was the last thing he ever said. Slowly, section by section, piece by piece, his brain shut down. Within two minutes he was knelt there, eyes wide and unseeing, mouth open with a small amount of spittle falling from one side. Cassie walked through the bars and stood in front of the man. She waved her hand in front of his eyes and tried to rouse him but it was a futile gesture. Serverus Snape, the scourge of Hogwarts was catatonic, his mind snapped and unable to process the facts presented to him. However long he would live; it would be a mindless zombie.
"Good!" was all Charlotte said as she took one last look at the man and then turned and walked back out of the dungeon.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
They were back in the headmistress office discussing the recent events with Bill and Fleur. Charlotte had gone back to the Hufflepuff common room to be with her friends citing the need for something fun to take her mind of recent events.
As the small group was chatting the conversation turned once more to the task they had to perform. Harry was about to tell them his plan when he was interrupted by the arrival of Ginny and Neville complete with brooms, each carrying two apiece.
"Bill! Good to see you big brother, you remember my promised Neville?" Ginny said handing one of the brooms to her elder brother.
"Yes, good to see you Neville." Bill replied with a slightly fierce expression on his face as he shook the now scared young man's hand. "Why the brooms?"
"Well the place we are going to is in the middle of the Black Lake and we thought that this..." Harry told him as Neville silently handed to other broom to Fleur, blushing as he did so.
"No, no, no. This won't work. Harry how much do you know about Curse Breaking?" he asked.
"Not much Bill, why?" came the reply
"Well its hard work, can take a lot out of you, and can be dangerous to perform and totally and utterly impossible to do whilst flying around on a broom in the middle of a freezing lake!" he told the younger man.
"Ah!"
"Yes Ah. We will need a stable platform for me to work on and it needs to be fairly large. How big is the area we think this island is?"
Cassie replied to this. "About five hundred square feet. After you all left last night, I flew back over and measured it."
"Cassie, that could have been very dangerous you know." Hermione scolded.
"Sorry Mother, but I was fine. Nothing on the site of Hogwarts can hurt me; it would be like me hurting myself."
"Oh, I suppose, hadn't thought of it that way." Hermione told her.
"Anyway, we are going to need a boat?" Harry asked Bill who nodded back. "Ok, Cassie any ideas?"
"Well I don't have one, no one has ever asked to go sailing on the lake, and we just sorta ignore it." The school told him.
"Okay well I'll have to make one when we get to the shore. Headmistress is the pontoon still there that we used during the second task of the Triwizard cup?" he asked.
"Yes, I think so, Albus made it and his conjuring tended to be permanent." She told him.
"Ok, let's go then." He said as he led the small party through the school and out on to the short walk down to the lake. However as he got to the main entrance he was met by a small contingent of Goblins lead by Silverfang.
"My Lord, apologies but I have an urgent message for you. You must come to Gringotts as once."
"Silverfang, it's good to see you my friend. I'm a bit busy now, can this not wait?" he asked, slightly annoyed by the timing of things and this second interruption to his plans.
"Sorry my Lord, my grandfather has asked me to tell you that a lost Black sheep has returned to the fold and she has an urgent message for you."
Harry's eyes widened as her unravelled the riddle in his head. He immediately figured that a member of the Black family had returned to the light, but who? He immediately dismissed Bellatrix; she was far too gone to make that sort of return. Andromeda was already with them so that only left someone he didn't know about or ... Narcissa?
#You think this is about Narcissa don't you?# Hermione thought to him, obviously picking up his stray thoughts.
#Yeah, it could be important, but the timing is lousy.#
#Always is lover-boy, always is, what are we going to do?# she thought back.
#what we always do Mione.# He thought to her grinning at he did.
#Make it up as we go along?# she sighed.
"Yup!" he replied out loud alerting the others to the fact that they had been conversing silently. "Bill, can you and the others give us five minutes whilst we sort this out?" he asked the older man. Bill nodded aware that Ragnok would not contact anyone unless he thought the news important.
"We'll be back shortly, have some more breakfast...that's what I'd do." He told them as he and Hermione silently vanished leaving Silverfang and his escort looking around in confusion.
"Er right then, we'll be off I suppose...bye then." He stuttered and activated the special portkey he had been given. Even Professor McGonagall was smiling at the shocked goblin.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
Ragnok was sat at his desk with a cup of Goblin coffee next to him. Goblin coffee was an unusual drink in that the only similarity to the drink made from roasted coffee beans was the name 'coffee'. If anyone other than a goblin was to drink the concoction they would be in for a terrible surprise for it was made from the roasted remains of the lava bean. Lava beans only grew next to the crater of live volcano's and were hotter than the most powerful of muggle chillies. Ragnok rather liked it and was on his second cup of the morning when Harry and Hermione silently appeared in front of him like ghosts. Despite his years as a Goblin warrior and all the training he had received; he squealed like a new born goblin and nearly dropped his cup. This would have been bad as the drink would have dissolved his rather nice desk and possibly a large amount of the floor.
"D-D-Duke Pendragon...sorry Harry you startled me. I was assuming that my grandson would bring you, where is he by the way...oh here he is now!" he finished as a sheepish Silverfang let himself into the office followed by two annoyed looking guards with weapons drawn. They had heard the scream from the office and had been debating what the odd sounding noise had meant when Silverfang had come rushing up looking very embarrassed.
"Thank you guards but you may stand down; I was just surprised by the appearance of Duke Pendragon and his lovely wife here." Ragnok told them with as much dignity as he could muster.
Harry smiled as he saw the cup in the Goblins hand, "Ah Coffee lovely!" as he picked up the cup and slugged it back.
"Harry! NO!" Ragnok tried to warn him, but he was too late. Ragnok was about to send for a healer, sure that Harry would be screaming in pain in a few moments. However Harry just stood there and smacked his lips together and smiled.
"Lovely, a little too much sugar but very nice." He told the gobsmacked Goblin leader. "Now as much as I would like to chat, time is short, so I understand someone needs to speak to me?" he asked.
Ragnok sat a little straighter in his chair amazed that Harry had managed to drink the coffee and seemed to enjoy the beverage; not only that but he and Hermione had been able to breach his office without any sound whatsoever.
"Well yes Harry, Narcissa Malfoy came to see us last night. She insisted that she was now to be just called Cissy Noname as she rejected her Malfoy husband and believes she has no right to her maiden name. She has insisted that we contact you so she can speak to you."
"Okay, I'd guessed as much, where is she?" Harry replied.
"I shall have her brought here if you have no objection." Seeing none, he sent Silverfang to bring the witch to the room. When she arrived it was a shocked Harry and Hermione that greeted her. Gone was the arrogance and disdain in her gaze; what was left seemed a broken soul.
"My Lord Black." She said as she sank to her knees in front of Harry her head bowed. Harry raised his eyebrows at the title and looked at Ragnok.
"Technically she is correct; as Sirius was the last Lord Black and he left you everything in his will, you do inherit the title. We did not wish to burden you with another as you seemed so distressed by the others." Harry nodded and gulped. Soon his names would be so long that by the time anyone got to the end they would have forgotten what they wanted to say.
"Please sit Narcissa, I really don't like people kneeling in front of me." Harry told the woman, taking her hands and pulling her to her feet and allowing her to sit in a vacant chair. Narcissa sat but kept her head bowed.
"Please my lord, call me Cissy." She muttered.
"As you wish Cissy, please look at me and tell me what you want to tell me." Harry answered.
Cissy slowly looked up at Harry and both Harry and Hermione were shocked to see tears rolling down her face.
"I'm so sorry my Lord; I have wronged you in so many ways. I have no excuse except that when Lucius died, it felt like I had awoken from a nightmare. My mind was clear for the first time in years and I could see all that I had done. I don't know what curse was used but all though my marriage to that monster it felt like a dream, one that I could not wake up from. I knew what I was doing was wrong but I could not stop myself. Now that he is dead I am free. My other regret is that I could not save my son; I know he is as good as dead now, but in all honesty he was lost years ago. Lucius and that bastard Voldemort corrupted and killed him." She wept. All in the room could feel her pain and sorrow, and Hermione had tears welling in her eyes.
Cissy looked up suddenly, "My lord you must prepare; he is coming and soon, tonight maybe." She told him.
"How do you know this Cissy?" Harry asked.
"My Lord, despite my curse, there were times when I felt my mind more my own. During these moments I could act. Don't forget that the Manor was my home for many years and I have many faithful servants to help me. One of these was my old house elf Daisy. She was very small and was very good at concealing herself. She has remained at the manor and report back to me what is happening. The Dark Lord is worried about something you are doing and is planning on attacking Hogwarts. His forces are down in numbers but he still has many at his disposal. You must stop him or the world is lost."
Harry leaned back in his chair as he absorbed the news. This was both worrying and pleasing at the same time. The fact that Tom was worried implied that Harry was on the right track with locating the last Horcrux, but the threat to the school needed tackling. But first a lost soul needed some help.
"Narcissa Noname, I give you back that which was taken from you. I give you back your name. You are now Cissy Black, daughter of the house of Black. So mote it be!" he said as the magic swirled around the pair of them. Cissy's mouth dropped open; this was more than she could ever have hoped for. She had her name back and she now had the chance of dignity.
"My Lord, I cannot thank you enough, I-I-I don't deserve this..."
"Nonsense, Cissy and please call me Harry. Now if I could prevail upon Silverfang to take you to Potter Cottage. I believe there is a sister of yours along with a new addition to the family that would love to meet you." He told her. She gawped at him before checking with Hermione who nodded back at her. She tentatively hugged him and quickly kissed his cheek.
"Thank you Harry for giving me my life back. I will not let you or the family down again."
With a nod at Silverfang, the young Goblin took hold of the now happy witch and they both popped out of the room.
"Ragnok, thank you for the chance to speak to her. I need to go back to the school to alert them and to get our forces in place."
"Harry, before you go, I have mustered a legion of goblin Warriors to help in your struggle. Tell the Headmistress to expect them within the hour. If they could have somewhere to rest before the fight that would be appreciated.
"Thank you Lord Ragnok this is a grand gesture. For some reason I think by this time tomorrow this will all be over – one way or another." With that both he and Hermione faded out of the room.
"I think it will my young King, I think it will." He muttered to himself before summoning his Master-at-Arms.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
As soon as Harry and Hermione arrived back at the school, Harry summoned Cassie to him.
"Cassie, he's coming! Tonight possibly, maybe sooner. Take the wards to maximum and activate the castles defences. I need to talk to Minerva." He told her as the three ran down the corridor, "Where is she?" he asked.
"Office My Lord! Defences are now at full. All Gargoyle soldiers are activated and awaiting your command." Cassie said to him. She had morphed into the older image of herself, aware that the time for childish pursuits was long gone. This was serious, this was war.
Harry waved at Cecil, who opened quickly as he senses the urgency. Harry and Hermione flew up the stairs and burst into the office.
"Minerva, He's coming tonight. I have placed the castle on high alert and activated all defences. You need to get the younger years to safety and summon the higher years to fight. Call all in all of our people and be aware that Ragnok is sending a legion of Goblin Warriors. We need Hagrid to contact the Centaurs and ask them to help as well. Luna I need you to help get the higher years ready to fight, any that can't ask them to help look after the younger students, any that are untrustworthy banish 'em to the dungeons. " He ordered.
Professor McGonagall was aware that this was not Harry Potter the student talking to her but Lord Potter, owner of the school.
"Yes My Lord, anything else?" she asked.
"Yes, contact the people in Hogsmeade, those that can help and are willing are welcome. Those that cannot or won't should flee." He told her. "Bill we need to get to the lake and find that sword, it has almost been confirmed that we are on the right track and we do not have a lot of time."
With stern expressions everyone went to complete the tasks they had and soon Harry, Hermione, Bill, Fleur, Ginny and Neville were on their way to the lake. They were quickly joined by Cassie, now back in her child persona.
Soon they got to the small wooden pontoon that they had used to dive into for the second task a few years ago. Harry looked around for a second, his memories strong of that day and he caught Fleur's eye.
"I never thought I'd be back 'ere 'Arry. It brings back bad memories to me. My sister still talks about you, you know. She would love to meet you once more; you are something of an 'ero to 'er."
"That would be nice, maybe we can all get together, you know ask Viktor over and we can raise a glass to Cedric." He said. Fleur nodded and looked out over the lake with a wistful look on her face.
"What sort of boat will we need?" Harry asked Bill.
"Something simple like a barge will do, basically we just need a floating platform for me to work on."
"Like this?" Harry asked as he looked to the water. Suddenly a large flat bottomed barge appeared with a small wheel house at one end and raised sides that could protect the occupants from waves.
"Wow, perfect. How are we going to power it, I'm guessing no one knows how to sail and I don't have an outboard engine on me?" Bill muttered.
"Yeah I thought of that." Harry said and suddenly there were three ropes attached to the bow of the craft complete with odd looking harnesses on the other ends. "We attach these to myself, Gin and Nev and we can use our brooms to tow you out to the location."
"Perfect, what about Hermione? Is she not to help tow?" he asked looking at the brunette witch.
"Well 'Mione despite been brave and fearless is a tad scared of heights so will keep you and Fleur company of the barge. Cassie will fly with us and tell us when we get to the location." He said. Hermione stuck her tongue out at him but still looked pleased not to be flying once more.
Bill, Fleur and Hermione climbed onboard the barge whilst the others climbed into the harnesses. Once secure they mounted their broom and hovered over the barge with Cassie floating next to them.
"Remember this is not a race, we need to fly slowly and in a strict formation so that the barge has a smooth passage. Any problems just holler and we can stop. Ok?" he told the three on them, Harry was in the centre position with Neville to his right and Ginny to his left. They all nodded and slowly they flew away taking the slack as they did so. Once they were in position, Bill untied the rope that was holding the barge to the pontoon and moved to the wheel house to help steer the barge. The three on brooms slowly took the strain and the barge began to slowly move off, gaining momentum as it did. A few minutes later they were moving at about five miles an hour and Bill signalled that this was just the right speed. Too much more and they ran the risk of the barge becoming unstable. It was cold twenty minute later when Cassie signalled for them to stop. Bill moved away from the wheel house and dropped the large iron anchor that was at the stern on the barge. The three fliers descended to the barge and removed the harnesses.
"Ok, now what?" Neville asked. The barge was moving slightly in the swell of the lake and Neville was quickly feeling a little sick. Noticing this, Harry once more made a slight gesture and the motion stopped; the barge stock still and the only sound was the water slapping against the high sides of the vessel.
"Thanks mate!" Neville told him.
"No problem Nev, beginning to feel a bit queasy myself there. Bill anything?" he asked the red-head.
"Give me a second will you, Merlin you are impatient!" Bill chided but with a grin.
He stood at the side of the boat and waved his wand in a very precise pattern whilst chanting in an unknown language. He began to sweat and sway as he stood, but never dropped a word nor did he mess up a gesture with his wand. After about three minutes he let out an explosive amount of air and dropped to his knees. Fleur rushed to his side and held his head as the elder man panted slightly before he turned and pulled himself back to his feet.
"Merlin, that's tough but yes it there, the whole island is hidden by a very obscure charm that I have read about but never seen. It takes a really powerful magic user to cast it and I'm not sure if I'm powerful enough to break it."
They all looked at him surprised. "What sort of charm is it Bill?" Harry asked.
Bill sighed and tried to collect his thoughts. "Well it's complicated and a bit obscure, but you know how you can hide things with concealment charms or by invisibility cloaks and the like? Well this is a bit different. There are other ways to hide something, one is in time. You can shift an object back in time slightly so when you are in normal 'time' you cannot get to it, but that would still make the object visible. This is quite different; it seems that the island has been shifted in space and time; into another dimension, one that is parallel to ours but distinct. It's very hard to do and would make the object almost impossible to detect."
"Shit!" Hermione muttered. "I know about this charm from my Ravenclaw knowledge. Where the hell did Tom read about that one?"
"You know of the charm?" Bill asked in a surprised voice.
"Yeah, I have all the knowledge of Ravenclaw in here." She said as she tapped the side of her head. "However, this information on how to break the charm was not there."
"Well I know how to break it, but I'm not powerful enough to do so." Bill told her.
"Well then I suggest a merging of talents. I'll provide the power and you will provide the knowledge." Hermione said with a grin.
Bill grinned and the pair of them began a conversation that the rest had no chance of following.
"Harry are you sure that you want Hermione to do this? Is she powerful enough?" Fleur asked.
Harry laughed and smiled at the young French Veela. "Don't worry about 'Mione. We are equally as powerful as each other, but she is still the brains of the outfit. She can do anything if she puts her mind to it." He told her with a smile that slightly faltered when Bill proceeded to remove his shirt and stood at the side of the barge bare-chested.
"Don't worry Harry, I don't have designs on your wife lovely as she is, I will need her to place her hands on my back as I perform the ritual in order to provide me with the power I need. Skin to skin contact works best and I will need both my hands free in order to do this. One other thing, I have detected a tamper charm in the concealment field; this will alert Tom as soon as we do this. You had better let the school know to be ready for any counter-strike. Oh and any chance of a warming charm, its sodding freezing stood here half naked?" he finished with a plaintive look. Harry smiled and waved his hand over the half naked curse breaker who smiled in thanks.
"Cassie, can you tell Minerva what Bill has just said and warn them that Tom may make an early appearance once we do this." He asked the young girl.
"Done!" she said.
"How, you are still here?" Neville asked in confusion.
"Well, I am also with the headmistress, don't forget I'm not really real. I am the school and I can appear anywhere, any number of times."
Neville's mouth formed an 'O' of understanding as he grinned at the young girl. "Cool!" he said, causing Cassie to giggle at him.
"Right, are we ready?" Bill asked, impatient to get this done.
Everyone nodded and he took up his position at the side of the boat. Hermione gently placed her hands on the shoulder blades of the older man, causing him to flinch.
"Sorry, cold hands!" Hermione grinned in a tight smile.
Bill just nodded and turned to face the lake once more. He shut his eyes and concentrated. Slowly he raised his wand and began to speak in a low and controlled voice. The words were like smoke in the air, no one could manage to understand them or to even remember the words once spoken. His wand waved in intricate patterns leaving yellow and golden swirls in the air as it moved. Hermione's hands began to glow as the power coursed out of her and she began to sweat despite the cold wind. After a few minutes Bill began to speed up his speech and movements, the sweat dripping of his brow as he now yelled the words of the spell. A faint humming could be heard in the air and without warning; there it was! A small wooded island appeared directly to the side of the boat. An inhuman scream could be heard as the island appeared that faded into the wind. Stood on the shoreline of the island was a figure. The figure raised its head and slowly pulled back her hood revealing a startlingly beautiful face with dark, almost black hair.
"Welcome my King, my son. Welcome to your destiny." Nimue said in a musical voice.
I.Y.I. .
Deep in the dank pits of Malfoy manor Voldemort screamed and rolled around in pain as he felt his last hiding place become exposed. The backlash from the broken spell was agony.
"Bella! Prepare the troops, we go to Hogwarts now!" he groaned in pain.
"But my Lord, we are not fully prepared." She tried to tell her lord and master.
"CRUCIO!" he yelled at her as the sickly yellow spell hit his most trusted lieutenant. He released her after a few seconds.
"I don't FUCKING care, we march now! We are going to destroy Potter, all he holds dear and that SODDING school once and for all!" he replied.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
"Harry, he knows! He's coming!" Cassie said as she gazed at the impossible woman in front of them. "It begins!" she whispered.