Sunrise Over Britain :: Chapter 4

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Professor Severus Snape walked out onto the stage at gunpoint. Behind him stood another figure that looked strangely familiar.

Harry nudged Hermione in their seats. "Watch this," he whispered.

"They could be brothers!" gasped Hermione.

The figure behind Snape prodded him with the barrel of the Submachine gun. "Say the words!" he snarled in a light German accent.

Snape glanced back at the man and frowned. He too was struck by the uncanny resemblance. Shrugging he began to speak.

"The authors of this pathetic tale wish you to realize they are not JK Rowling. They own nothing of the Potterverse and make no claims upon the copyrights therein," Snape said disdainfully.

"Now watch, he's gonna say it!" Harry exclaimed to Hermione.

"Say what?" asked Hermione in exasperation.

"His own famous words."

The figure behind Snape prodded him again with the machine gun. "In the words of a famous American, Yippee Kai Yay Motherfucker!" the man growled, then pulled the trigger.

"Hans Gruber, we got him especially for this chapter," Harry said smugly.

Hermione watched the famed terrorist turned thief blow Snape into multiple pieces and she found herself strangely aroused by the sight. Without even thinking her hand slid to Harry's crotch and caressed him.

"I can't believe you're writing this stuff!" Alyx said turning on Bob in a fit of anger.

"Oh come on. You won't let me write fun stuff like Harry having a harem and dozens of orgasms a night with fifty women. So I have to turn to Man's second best friend. Violence and explosions!" Bob retorted, barely looking up from his playing Doom 42.

Sunrise Over Britain
Chapter 4

Irish Ministry of Magic, (May 9th)...

Brogan Mallory looked up from his desk as Michael O'Dalley escorted Amelia Bones and Arthur Weasley into his office. This was the first time he was meeting them here. Previously they had met at Haven or in the Public Affairs Office prior to the press conference a few days ago.

Smiling, Mallory waved the three to seats. They then sat quietly for the few minutes it took his aide to bustle about serving tea.

"Minister Bones, as the host country to your Ministry, we have received a number of inquiries from other Ministries, along with offers of assistance that I need to pass along to you," Mallory said as the door closed behind the aide.

Amelia nodded seriously. "Yes, I was hoping that our Press Conference might start some diplomatic wheels turning. We are most anxious about opening dialog with the Canadian and American Ministries as soon as possible." When Mallory raised an eyebrow in question, she hurried on. "I do not mean to cast an aspersions on your ministry, Sir, or upon your hospitality...," she said.

"Please, Amelia, call me Brogan," offered Mallory with a vote winning smile.

Amelia adjusted her monocle and eyed him for a moment, trying not to scowl. Her view of politics was skewed by roots in law enforcement and Fudge's tenure as Minister. While she understood the need for political posturing, at least intellectually, it didn't mean she had to enjoy it.

"As I was saying, we have a number of items which rightfully belong to the British Government. From what I have learned, both Canada and the United States have offered to host the British Government in exile. There is some talk of the government perhaps locating to New York City so it can be close to the Security Council. In any event, we want to begin the process of returning these cultural items."

Brogan was about to say something when he realized that O'Dalley was laughing. He frowned and turned to face his Auror turned special liaison.

"I apologize, Minister," O'Dalley said, still chuckling. "But I'm sure you recall the British complaining about the 'Cultural Bandits' that were robbing museums all around the country?"

Mallory leaned back in his chair. As the pieces fell into place, he turned to gape at Amelia, who smiled sheepishly at him while Arthur fidgeted in his chair.

"Just how many cultural objects are we talking about here?" asked Mallory in an astonished tone.

Amelia looked at Arthur, who had the grace to blush. "Several thousand I think. I don't have a complete count of what we took. We warned the Prime Minister that we would be taking steps to ensure that the British Cultural treasures were preserved."

Mallory shook his head in a mixture of awe and amusement and made a note on a piece of parchment. "Alright, I'll try to set up a meeting with both the American and Canadian Ministry representatives for you. Is there anything else?"

"Yes, sir," offered O'Dalley. "As you are aware, Lord Potter is planning on dropping the Fidelius charm on the town of Haven once they have a working constabulary. Right now they're training forty people to work as such, but they would like to put their force under Irish control. Essentially, the idea is to assign the town of Haven four Aurors. One would be the nominal head of their constabulary, while the remaining three would cover an eight hour shift. Lord Potter has offered to pay seventy five percent of the Aurors pay with our government picking up the remaining twenty five percent.".

Mallory leaned back in his chair. "Mr. Potter's participation in the press conference has done a number of good things for our people. Morale is up and the peoples confidence in the government is high. They know the fight isn't over, but they are determined. I think Mr. Potter's idea has merit. As it stands, our own Auror recruitment is up by nearly sixty percent, and the head of our MLE is in seventh heaven with his new budget."

Mallory paused for a moment, thinking quickly. "When do you expect to drop the Fidelius charm?"

"No later than the end of the month. It will take us at least that long to get our constables trained properly," answered Amelia.

"Would Mr. Potter be willing to show off the town to the press?" Mallory asked in a hopeful tone.

Amelia frowned. "I'm not entirely sure about that, Brogan. Harry... he is an intensely private young man. He does what he does not because of the fame or glory. He does it because he's the only one who can. I promise you I'll ask him on your behalf. I have no doubt in my mind that he would be willing to allow you and myself to show the press around the town. But for himself? I think he'd be happy to never see the press again in his lifetime, let alone have to address them or escort them around."

"Yes, I sensed his discomfort around the press and whenever anyone spoke about his exploits," Mallory said. "He is clearly not a politician, but his natural shyness makes him even more endearing to the public. I'm afraid he will never be able to live his life outside of the public eye, Amelia. You might want to sit him down and try to explain that to him."

Amelia nodded thoughtfully, then consulted her notes. "Oh, that reminds me, Brogan. Harry has asked me to pass his thanks to you and your Aurors for agreeing to provide security for the ritual they will be conducting tomorrow night."

Mallory smiled and waved that away with a hand. "Nonsense. Mr. Potter is a welcome guest to our country. If we can help by providing a little extra security for a rite, then so be it."

Amelia returned his smile. Neither commented on fact that the 'little extra security' included fifty Aurors.

Parliament building (May 9th)...

Lucius sat behind a large ornate desk and enjoyed the view from his window. He could see the near empty streets and military convoys patrolling them. Power was back on to most of the city, except those areas too damaged by fires. The military had combed through employment files of the utilities and forced people back to work, often at gunpoint. In some cases, families had been executed in order to get people working.

There weren't many civilians visible on the streets, and those that were quickly went about their business. People were afraid to interact on anything but a superficial level.

When the office door opened, he looked up from his musing to accept a report from one of his Death Eaters. He quickly scanned the report, frowning. The team that had gone to HMP Erlestoke had reported back that their target was already dead. When the power failed, and the support personal had fled the prison, the inmates had been locked in and were not fed or watered. Lucius was not pleased. This was a personal project of his, one which he hoped to present to his master as an accomplished fact, and it was beginning to look like he had thought of it too late.

Although someone can survive without food for a fair amount of time, water is an entirely different matter. A person can die from dehydration in as little as five days to as much as two weeks. It had been nearly four weeks since the prison had been abandoned, leaving one Vernon Dursley to die. Petunia had suffered a similar fate, a fact he had learned only yesterday. According to his records, that left only Marge Dursley, an unrelated aunt who had limited value in his mind, and a cousin, Dudley. He scribbled a note, which he then passed to the waiting Death Eater. The man took the note and left the room quietly while Lucius turned to contemplate the scene from his window again.

Outside, the word quickly spread, find Dudley Dursley. Find Dudley and bring him to London, alive and unharmed.

Padfoot Manor...

Hermione watched Harry and worried. As the time approached for them to invoke the Rite of Summoning, he became withdrawn and surly. She knew why he was upset. The problem was she didn't know how to fix it, or even if it were fixable.

She had spoken with Remus and Tonks about it, as well as her parents. Not that it had done her any good to do so. They all seemed to think that if anyone could reach him, she could.

Harry was upset about the upcoming rite because of the nudity involved. He wasn't upset at the others being naked as much as he was concerned about himself being naked. Hermione understood his problem, but his reason behind it was one she didn't have much experience with. In the last few days, as the time of the rite approached, she'd come to realize that she had much the same problem, though it was for different reasons entirely.

She had been certain that being naked in front of others wouldn't bother her. She and her parents had visited clothing optional beaches in Europe in the past. It hadn't even phased her when her own parents went au natural at those beaches.

It was startling to realize that while such things were perfectly fine for her parents, the idea of doing such a thing herself made her skin crawl. And that revelation gave her an idea. Perhaps together they could combat the fear.

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"I think we need to talk about something. Come over here," Hermione said softly. Her eyes sparkled mischievously.

He eyed her suspiciously, but did as she asked.

She stood and cast a silencing charm on the room, then sealed it to prevent anyone from walking in. Smiling at Harry, who stood uncertainly in front of her, she began to unbutton her blouse.

"I realized," she said softly, "that we're both very uncomfortable with nudity. Though our reasons are different, the results are the same for both of us."

Harry's eyes widened and he swallowed nervously as she peeled out of her blouse.

"Tomorrow night," she continued, "we'll have to be naked in front of our closest friends, when the fact is, neither of us is even comfortable being naked with each other. We've tried it a few times, like in the bath, but always in dim lighting."

She reached around and unhooked the clasp of her bra, then shrugged her way out of it before reaching for Harry and the buttons on his shirt.

He stood, immobilized by her actions, and knowing what a deer felt like when caught in the headlights of a muggle car. What was worse, she kept talking to him. Didn't she realize how distracting it was? He gazed at her naked breasts and opened his mouth to tell her just that, but nothing came out.

"Love," she said as she unbuttoned his shirt and kissed his exposed flesh, "there's nothing about your body for you to be ashamed of. The scars are not your fault, and they're only the outer most part of a very complex and beautiful person."

Harry moaned slightly and helped her remove his shirt. Every time that they had made love, or been naked together, it was with reduced lighting. It was at night and the light of his Everlast Candle softened the stark lines that crisscrossed his torso. He trembled under her touch as she embraced him and he reveled in the feel of her bare breasts against his skin.

"I want you," she whispered into his ear. "I want you to take me, now in the bright light of day. I want to watch your beautiful body and I want you to watch me. I want you to know that I love you for more than just your body and that the scars that bother you so much mean nothing to me."

When she unbuttoned her skirt and let it fall to the floor, his mouth went dry. When she knelt in front of him and unfastened the front of his pants and let them drop to the floor, his head spun as the blood dropped further south, leaving all rational thought nothing but a vague memory.

She suppressed a grin when he popped out of the front of his boxers and she gripped him lightly in her hand. She looked up at him and smiled impishly, then ran her tongue along his length. Harry groaned and clenched his fists fighting the urge to guide her head with his hands. She did it a second time, then she stood and led him over to a day bed in the room.

She sat behind him on the bed, and he tensed when he felt her begin to caress the scars along his back. The haze that had replaced his thoughts receded and his hands fisted as he resisted the urge to stand up and move away from her.

"You are not your scars. They are part of you, yes, but they don't define who you are," she said in a husky voice.

Harry shivered as her breath ran along his back. He try to accept what she was saying, but it wasn't easy. He turned to face her and looked into her eyes. Seeing love and trust reflected in them, and not the disgust or pity he had half expected, he knew she was right. To her, his scars meant nothing.

Reaching for her, he felt the weight of shame lift from his shoulders as he pulled her into his embrace. When he lay back on the bed, taking her with him, he thought, the light of day never looked so good.

Haven School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

Ginny went about her classes with the rest of her school mates, but her mind and heart weren't entirely in it. Tomorrow night she and the rest of the outcasts would participate in a rite, last performed over fifteen centuries ago. That the rite was ancient wasn't a problem, but the requirement of being naked was not a prospect she was very comfortable with. She felt she could handle it, although she never expected to have to expose herself to so many people at one time.

No, what bothered her was the fact that Charlie had not replied to her owl. She had written Charlie's boss and had learned that he had left the same day he had received a letter from a family member. She could only assume that the letter he was talking about was his own. The question now was a simple. Where was Charlie Weasley?

And as if the problem with Charlie wasn't enough to distract her from studying for her OWLS, her brothers had stopped by last night with gossip that her father might be crushing on a widow in Haven. That piece of news both elated and worried her. She wanted her father to be happy, but it really signaled the end of his relationship with her mother. Intellectually, she knew it was over, even if she was still alive somewhere in Britain, but her heart frowned over the idea.

Ginny sighed and pushed away her school books. Perhaps it was time to write another letter to Charlie...

Padfoot Manor...

Neville Longbottom looked at the note that the house elf had delivered and smiled. Millicent Bulstrode had sent it, saying that she would be sending him cuttings from a giant flesh orchid later today along with seedlings for sunflowers and mandrakes. He shook his head, remembering that Millicent's plans to escape Voldemort had collapsed in the final rush to evacuate Hogwarts and she had ended up coming to Haven with the rest of the school. Her family had been one of the first rescued by the extraction teams after the students arrived.

The work that he and Ginny had performed during the evacuation had enabled Professor Sprout to quickly restart the greenhouses at the new school. Neville had helped her as much as he could until he had been pulled off for his current project.

Neville couldn't help but grin and puff his chest out with pride. Harry had given him leave to set up greenhouses large enough to support the hospital. Harry had also instructed him to be 'exotic' with his thinking. He wanted Neville to plan on building a set of greenhouses capable of supplying both common and rare potion ingredients.

This was a side of Herbology that Neville had never experienced before, but Professor Sprout had some good suggestions for him. He had been looking to construct typical railway style greenhouses when a comment from Hermione sent him scurrying to the library to check out the advancements made by muggles over the last century. As a result, and with the help of the house elves, he had put together four traditional greenhouses, and two of a more advanced geodesic design using Fresnel lenses. The advanced lenses had to be purchased from muggle suppliers, unlike ordinary glass, which could have been conjured. But the net result was a greenhouse that enabled Neville to provide a blooming season all year.

Professor Sprout was so impressed with the design she wanted him to write it up for Backyard Herbologist Magazine.

Neville leaned back in his chair and thought about the ritual they would be undergoing tomorrow night. He had no problem with himself being seen naked, but he was ashamed to admit he did have a problem with others seeing Ginny so. He and Ginny had talked about this over the past week and really hadn't reached any solution or conclusion, other than the fact that she would be naked in front of other guys. Something in their conversation however sparked an idea in him.

"Nevie, I know it bothers you, but have you thought about how much it must bother someone like Harry?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"You know how he is about those scars of his. I can positively promise you that Harry is not going to be looking at me and lusting after my naked body. He's going to be too embarrassed. And Draco? He's bonded to Luna! He couldn't look at me like that even if he wanted to. Remus? Mr. Granger? Both of them have their own wives and girlfriends to keep them in line and I doubt they're going to be interested in looking at me. No, I see what Harry's doing by choosing who he did. He picked couples only. In doing so, he arranged it for each person to have someone there to support them, someone who loves them above all others.

"Harry did it right. I do feel sorry for him though. He must be tormenting himself over this. He carries a lot of extra guilt from what those muggles did to him," she said sadly.

Neville's expression hardened. If Harry can put up with this, then so can I, he thought. Ginny's right. Harry must be tormenting himself right now.

Ballincollig, County Cork, Ireland…

Charlie slowly reconnected with the world and realized he was laying on a comfortable bed. His leg was sore and his body was stiff, but otherwise things didn't feel too bad. He lay for a moment longer, trying to recall exactly what had happened when it all came flooding back to him. He opened his eyes and blinked madly in the bright sunshine.

There was the sound of a muggle television nearby and, from outside the window, came the rumbling of trucks on the street. He started to sit up, but his strength gave out before he could.

"Rest easy, Charles," said a familiar voice.

Charlie whipped his head around and he looked up. Albus Dumbledore stood in the doorway, smiling benignly.

"Professor Dumbledore? Where... what..."

Dumbledore crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. He pat Charlie on the shoulder. "Rest easy, Charles," he repeated. "I found you in an alleyway that is commonly used as an apparation point. You were unconscious and magically exhausted."

Charlie frowned and tried to recall the events. "Yes, I was in London, looking for signs of my mother or of Ron. Ginny had sent me a letter asking me to come to Ireland, but I went to England to find Mum. There was a muggle army patrol on the street. I ran. I remember a burning in my leg and I apparated as soon as I felt myself starting to fall."

Dumbledore peered closely at him. "You are still weak from exhaustion, Charles. I will bring you some food. As for news of your brother and your mother, I fear the worst for both. Young Ronald was trapped in greenhouse number six when the back wall was opened to the Forbidden Forest. I fear the Acromantulas made short work of him. As to your mother, she vanished before the troubles began. The divorce between your parents hit her very hard, I'm afraid. I did try to locate her, but after the change of government, most of the Order was forced to go into hiding."

Dumbledore stood and walked to a small kitchen. Taking sausage, bread and cheese out of a muggle refrigerator, he made quick work of slicing and arranging it on a plate. Placing the food on a tray, he levitated it over to Charlie. He then filled a teapot with water and, with a flick of his wand, heated it.

"I take it you didn't find any sign of your mother, Charles?" he asked, his voice sorrowful.

"No, sir," Charlie said, his mouth full of sausage. "I found one great Aunt still in her home, but everyone else was gone."

Dumbledore poured them both a cup of tea and nodded sadly. "Yes, I fear we're in for very dark times. Voldemort has won the war in Britain, and our best hope for fighting him is being controlled by dark influences. But no matter. Charles, you must rest for a while still. You are not ready to be up an about yet. Another day or two should do the trick. Then we can talk of important matters and make plans."

Charlie had glanced up sharply at Dumbledore when he mentioned dark influences, but he didn't comment yet. Turning back to his breakfast, he tore into the meal. He was barely finished when a wave of fatigue washed over him.

Placing the tray on the night stand, he was asleep moments later.

Dumbledore vanished the tray from the table and sat contemplating this turn of events. He had caught the press conference Harry had given in Stonewall Lane, but had arrived too late to intercept him. The next morning, the Dublin Daily was full of coverage of the event. He read Harry's words again and shook his head. Harry had brought over four thousand people with him! The number astounded him and made him even more eager to find the boy. Once he controlled Harry Potter, he'd have those people backing him as well.

Padfoot Manor...

Emma looked up as Dan entered their bedroom. She put down her quill to look at the pile of books her husband was struggling with. He stumbled over to the table and dropped them with a loud crash.

"I swear I don't know how you and Hermione do it," Dan said in an annoyed tone.

"Do what?"

"How do you manage to memorize all these spells and wand movements? I always knew you were both smart and it always made me proud, but lately I've begun to feel a bit like a moron here."

"Memorization seems to come easily for both of us, Dan, but the ability to memorize isn't really a measure of intelligence," Emma offered in a placating tone.

"I know that, love. But while you and Hermione look at something and memorize it almost immediately, I get stuck struggling with it," he grouched as he pulled out a small book from his back pocket. It looked to be mostly plastic with a spiral bound flip top. Opening the book, he flipped several pages until he found a clean one. Then, tapping his wand to the new page, a hand appeared over it, holding a wand. A moment later, Dan's voice named the spell, gave the incantation, then the hand made the appropriate wand movement.

Emma blinked in surprise and watched her husband go through the movements for the spell several times before she overcame her shock. "Dan? What is that?" she asked curiously.

Dan looked at her and smiled mischievously. "This, my oh-so-incredibly-intelligent-and-sexy-wife," he said smugly, "is my version of crib sheets for wizards. I used the same idea in college, although I admit I had to read the pages. Remus helped me with the spell to record the image and the voice. Each page contains one spell."

"B-B-But did Remus show you how to enchant the pages like that? The playback spells aren't for enchantments, I thought," she said in protest.

Dan shrugged. "I don't know. I just know that Remus showed me the spells and Harry showed me how to make the first page, then I used them to build myself a little reference book. I had to have O'Dalley find me the plastic sheets I needed, but an office supply store had them."

Emma frowned and summoned a house elf who she sent off in search of Remus.

Hogwarts Castle...

Peeves rummaged through the boxes Harry Potter had brought him. After some digging he found exactly what he was looking for. Many of the pranks that Harry had left him were nothing more than that - pranks. Annoying they may be, but they weren't what he wanted. However, one box was filled with objects much more deadly. Stuffing his pockets, Peeves decided it was time for him to stir up the black cloaks.

Sir Nicholas watched Peeves for a moment before he turned to the Bloody Baron. "This doesn't look good," he murmured.

"No, but we may have some new company when he's done," the Baron replied with a feral grin.

Peeves turned transparent and floated through a nearby wall. His plan was a simple one. Besides, he had permission from Harry Potter himself to wreak a little havoc, didn't he?

Haven Operations Center...

As much as Harry would have loved to spend the entire day making love to Hermione, they both realized they had duties to attend to. Harry kissed her gently and promised to meet up with her at dinner, he needed to talk to Draco and Miles. He helped her get dressed first and, in doing so, nearly caused her to change her mind about what they'd do that day. He only laughed while she grumbled about it being unfair that he had to kiss her skin before covering it with clothing.

Harry was whistling as he walked the path from the back of the manor to the Operations Center. The center itself was a squat, non-descript building. From the outside it was a single story brick building with a few windows and several large doors. The inside was an entirely different matter. The building extended several levels below ground. The first level contained most of the administrative offices and planning areas. The second level contained classrooms, an auditorium for large briefings and several reinforced training areas. There were two additional levels below that which were slowly being occupied as new needs arose.

Miles looked up at the knock on his door and, spotting his visitor, he smiled warmly. "Harry, come in!" he said, waving the young man to a chair.

"Draco will be joining us soon. He sent me an owl a few minutes ago letting me know he would be a little late."

"Excellent. While we're waiting, have you had a chance to look over information the Irish provided us?"

Miles frowned. "Yes, but I think you're more on the mark in regard to the numbers than the Irish are. I figure we're looking at one hundred marked Death Eaters. The real problem is, with Voldemort stuck in Britain now, any other recruits Dolohov picks up will not be marked."

"What about those heading into Britain to join him?"

Mile rummaged through a stack of parchments before finding the one he wanted. "According to my counterparts in the French and German Ministries, they have noticed a significant drop in the number of undesirables they've been monitoring. The Germans report several Pureblood societies have all but vanished from their soil. We could be looking at Voldemort swelling his ranks in Britain to as many as two or three thousand Death Eaters once they're marked."

Harry scowled. "I'm such an idiot, Miles. I should have made the ward to work in either direction, but I was only concerned about keeping Voldemort locked up inside Britain. Now I can't modify the ward without removing the existing one and, frankly, I don't think I want to go through that again."

Miles scowled, recalling Harry's illness after he'd erected the ward. "Yes, I quite agree."

"Alright, since we can't stop the flow of men to him, at least for now, let's talk about what we can do," Harry said evenly.

Miles reached for another piece of parchment. "Well, of the four hundred and twenty families which comprise the Hogwarts student body, we've located three hundred and twenty of them and rescued two hundred and ninety. Thirty families have sided with Voldemort and have been placed on the 'Do Not Rescue' list.

"Our primary concern is finding those missing one hundred families and identifying which of them should be rescued and which shouldn't. Voldemort has set up two camps, which 'troublemakers' are sent to. At first, it seemed as though everyone was getting sent to a camp, but things are starting to settle down in that regard. That, we believe, is partly the result of Lucius Malfoy's influence on Voldemort. He always was a pragmatic bastard," Miles said, grimacing.

Miles and Harry both looked up as Draco entered.

"I see I'm just in time. What has my illustrious sire done this time?" Draco asked wryly.

Miles motioned him to a seat. "Just. I was telling Harry about our problems locating those last one hundred families."

Draco scowled. "Yes, well I think we may have a bit of a handle on that, but I need to run over to the school and talk to Professor McGonagall. Some of the elves have mastered tracking for their masters. It was a talent they used to keep an eye on small children. I have five elves that can track people down, assuming that we can provide a personal object that belonged to at least one member of the family.

"If that isn't successful, then we have no choice but to tackle the camps the hard way. The problem with that idea is that, while the elves can maintain an invisibility spell, they are almost as effected as we are by dementors."

"What about the students of those families being put on the 'Do Not Rescue' list? What are we telling those kids?" asked Harry curiously.

"Minerva and I spoke about that several days ago, Harry. If the student is fifth year or above, Minerva decided to tell them outright. In all instances however, after they got over their shock and anger, the student has disavowed any actions taken by their family. Two seventh year students have gone as far as asking for legal council in regard to breaking all ties to their family. For those younger than fifth year, it was decided not to tell them just yet," Miles offered.

Harry stood and walked to the map that took up one wall. "Alright, when can we begin searching for the missing one hundred families?"

"I can start by the end of the week, Harry," Draco said softly. "We still need to find out if we can track them or if we're going to do it the hard way."

"Good enough, Draco. Thank you for your efforts, and thank your elves for me."

"Harry," Miles began, hesitantly. "There is one piece of bad news which I am reluctant to bring up, but I took the liberty of having some of Draco's elves do a quick pop over to see if your relatives were alright."

Harry stiffened and he turned away from the map to glare at Miles. "I have no relatives alive except for those here in Haven," he said coldly, though his eyes blazed with anger.

Draco and Miles exchanged a look. Draco shook his head slightly to warn Miles off of the delicate topic. Miles acknowledged the message and continued on with his list of things to talk about.

"Yes, well, according to Amelia, we should see the first American contingent of volunteers, some one hundred trained Aurors, just around the end of this month. Canada has offered another one hundred Aurors, and offers of volunteers from other Commonwealth nations have poured in. Amelia is in talks with several other European countries that are interested in offering help."

Harry thought for a moment. Most of the countries involved had been appalled by what had happened in Britain and the offer of help came mostly out of fear that it could happen to them as well. It wasn't a noble reason for offering help, but Harry wasn't about to turn them down on some noble principle.

"Miles, we need to start thinking about what we're going to be doing with these volunteers once they arrive here. Some will be bringing their families, adding to our overall population. The numbers don't bother me. What does bother me is what we're going to do with them." Harry frowned, thinking of the mass of soon to be bored people sitting around Haven with nothing to do. And many of those people would be trained Aurors. He shuddered at the thought. Bored people could quickly cause problems.

Miles' eyes lit up with excitement. "Harry, so far we've been rescuing people, and reacting. We currently have a force of roughly two hundred wizards and witches. With the volunteers coming in, we'll easily double that, and double that again. It will be time for us to stop reacting and start making Voldemort react instead."

Harry turned back to stare at the large map, all the while thinking furiously about what Miles had said. Finally his eyes came to rest on one section of the map.

"Azkaban," he breathed.

Miles blinked in surprise then grinned wolfishly. "Aye, an attack on Azkaban and perhaps a mass breakout would be a big blow to him."

Harry turned away from the map, his eyes gleaming. "Let's get planning for a raid on Azkaban, with the intent to break out as many prisoners as possible," he said. He paused for a moment, thinking quickly. "Let's plan on a small but very noisy raid on Diagon Alley at the same time."

Miles jotted down some notes and began to chuckle. "Very good, Harry. A small ruse and a main thrust elsewhere. Draco, Caleb and I will start working up the details. When do you want to launch this raid?"

"We shouldn't be too hasty. I think we should wait until we have some of the volunteer forces here and trained to work with our men," offered Harry.

"Good enough. We'll get on it," Miles replied.

A few minutes later, Harry left the office. Looking back just before he closed the door, he grinned. Miles and Draco already had their heads together and were taking notes at a furious pace.

Hogwarts Castle...

Anthony Edwards was a minor cog in the great war machine wielded by Voldemort. A sergeant with only minor responsibilities, Edwards led his group of ten Death Eaters from their quarters outside of the castle into the Entrance Hall. Voldemort kept the number of people allowed in the castle to a minimum, but somewhere along the line he had absorbed a healthy dose of paranoia. As a result of that paranoia, the castle was routinely patrolled by Death Eaters.

Edwards checked over his men carefully. He had once been caught by Voldemort with one man not wearing his mask and had suffered several agonizingly long minutes under the Cruciatus curse because of it.

Glancing up, he mentally checked his route. He hadn't been a student of Hogwarts, so the idea of the moving staircases was unusual in his mind. When Voldemort had taken over the castle, something had happened that caused most of the castle's magic to drain away, freezing the staircases in place. He had heard the tales of the moving staircases and frankly he was grateful they didn't move anymore.

Edwards led his men upwards into the castle, their patrol route started on the seventh floor and worked its way down to the dungeons before repeating.

"Hey, did you see the new batch of muggle girls they brought in last night? I swear some of them are real lookers," exclaimed one of the men.

Edwards smiled, hearing that. His men might not be the greatest group of wizards working for the Dark Lord, but they were loyal, and happy to be working for such a great man.

"I can't wait to get my hands on one of them," said another. "Do you think they'll start passing them out as rewards again, or will we still have to share them?"

Edwards stopped the men on the landing of the fifth floor and motioned for them to be silent. "What is that?" he said quietly, staring up the staircase.

At the top of the landing to the seventh floor was a bright light. It was indistinct at first, but it was slowly resolving itself into a form of a young man with black hair and intense green eyes. Edwards and his men pulled their wands and started up the staircase cautiously.

"That looks like Harry Potter," one whispered.

Edwards nodded and tightened the grip on his wand. He paused and waited for his group to gather together on the landing of the sixth floor. As soon as the group was together, a small figure appeared and hurled three objects at them.

"Down!" shouted Edwards, and then gave action to his words by diving to the floor. As his men followed him down to the floor, he saw the three objects sail over his head. There was a sound of three muffled reports against the wall. Relieved, Edwards climbed to his feet and scowled at the poltergeist.

"Nasty black cloaks!" shouted Peeves as he floated out over the hall of stairs. "Nasty Wizards, spill your gizzards!"

One of the Death Eaters raised his wand and Edwards pushed it back down. "Don't bother. He's a poltergeist and none of your spells will affect it. The castle also has ghosts and we can't do anything about it because we don't have anyone with a necromancy skill anymore. Our Necromancer died in Potter's attack on the Ministry."

The men stared at the pesky poltergeist for a minute, then Edwards turned to look at the figure at the top of the landing. From this vantage they could see it was some sort of projection.

Edwards took a single step towards it... and the landing pulled away from the wall. The floor creaked ominously and everyone froze. The upper and lower staircases swung with the landing and Peeves laughter cackled and echoed in the hall.

With a loud cracking sound, both stairways gave way. Edwards and his men screamed as they plummeted the distance from the six floor to the ground. Peeves danced a little jig, then he turned and bowed to the illusion of Harry Potter before running through a nearby wall.

The fall itself probably wouldn't have been fatal, had they not brought the other staircases down with them.

The bottom of the hall exploded in a shower of wood, stone and metal. Mixed in were bits of bone, flesh and blood as several tons of material that had once been the hall of stairs crashed to the ground. A huge plume of dust filled the hallway.

Voldemort himself stepped from his chamber to see what all the noise was about. As the dust slowly cleared, a dreadful silence filled the hall only to be broken by the faint moaning of a Death Eater, whose arm had nearly been severed clean off by flying debris. Voldemort's eyes flared red dangerously and the castle rang with a joyous shout.

"Old Snakeface is quite a disgrace, wizard's gizzards in his face," shouted Peeves and then he broke into a fit of giggles.

Voldemort hands curled into fists and he flew into a rage, killing the wounded Death Eater. He vowed to put Lucius on to finding him a new Necromancer.

Padfoot Manor...

It wasn't until late in the day when Remus was finally able to catch up with Emma and Dan. Remus slipped into the room and watched quietly while Hermione gave them their lesson in ancient runes.

"The use of the Ehwaz rune, depending upon its alignment, can either strength or weaken the spell. For example, Ehwaz reversed Kenaz would mean to weaken the power output where an Ehwaz Kenaz would strengthen the power output," Hermione said, then paused to look at Remus curiously.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Hermione, however your mother sent me an elf earlier in the day asking for me to see her," he offered apologetically.

Emma looked confused for a moment, then her expression brightened. "Oh yes! Dan, show Remus your book."

Dan stared at his wife for a moment, then reluctantly reached into the back pocket of his pants to remove the small book he had made and handed it to her.

"Remus, I remember you and Hermione talking about how you were looking for ways to turn Haven into a profitable venture for Harry. Well, I think I might have find a partial answer to your problem. Or rather, my resourceful husband has," Emma said proudly.

Dan looked embarrassed and Hermione looked intrigued as Emma waved around the small book. Remus watched the family with thinly veiled amusement. As Emma explained, Dan looked increasingly embarrassed and Hermione was practically bouncing with excitement.

"Think about it, Remus. We can make books like these that can be sold worldwide to students. They're tough, nearly impossible to tear and the plastic is dirt cheap when purchased in quantity," Emma said in an exuberant tone.

"Why limit it to things used only by students?" asked Hermione, catching her mother's infectious enthusiasm.

Remus took the book from Emma, looked at it and then glanced back at Dan. He then placed the book down on the table, activated a few pages and watched the display carefully. Seeing that Dan had used the spell he'd given him, he then closed the book and ran a few tests on it. "You used the spells I gave you, didn't you, Dan?"

"I did, yes. Your playback spells did exactly what I wanted them to do," he replied, confirming Remus' suspicions.

Remus walked over a chair and sat down. He stared at Dan intently, clearly gathering his thoughts. "The spells I gave you are great for playing back a memory. They're like an instant Pensieve, but only work on one memory. What I am curious to know is how you took a playback charm and managed to imbue a piece of plastic with it, as well as a specific memory?"

Dan shrugged. "I just used the spells you gave me, Remus. Harry walked me through setting up the first page and helped me form the memory. After I got the first page down, the rest was easy," he replied in a defensive tone.

Remus looked at Hermione and could see she was now glancing between the book and her father. Then she grinned wildly at her father. Emma's expression matched Dan's. Both were confused and didn't understand why Remus was making a fuss about it.

"Harry," Hermione said with a grin.

Remus nodded, then turned back to Dan. "I think you've spent so much time around Harry of late that you don't realize how many totally unique things he's capable of doing. Harry could be an enchanter if he wanted to be."

Seeing Dan and Emma's puzzled expressions, he ran a hand through his tousled hair and thought quickly. "Alright, let's try it this way. You both know that any wizard or witch with sufficient magical strength can make something like a portkey, right?" At their nods, he continued, though more slowly. "What you may not know is that most of us are limited, for the most part, in what spells we can imbue an item with. It's not based on strength or knowledge, it's based purely on a talent one is born with, not learned, much like Nymphadora's metamorphic talent. An enchanter has no such limitation set upon them. They can take any spell and imbue any object with it. It's a rare talent and enchanters are an important part of the Wizarding world."

Seeing that Dan and Emma now understood the difference, he tried to hide his grin at Hermione's obvious impatience and got on with it before she could interupt.

"There are few ways of adding magic to something. Mixing it with a potion, or sometimes creating it from a potion, is two ways to go about it. The Weasley twins and their famous Canary Cremes is an example of a transfiguration performed using a potion mixed into a candy. Both Fred and George have the ability to also take a regular object and enchant it with a spell. About one in six wizards can enchant objects."

"I can't, I've tried," offered Hermione, her disappointment obvious.

"I can't either, Hermione," replied Remus. "But it was an ability that both James and Sirius had, so I'd invent the spells and they'd do the enchanting.

"Dan here has been working with Harry and Harry helped him do the first enchantments. Neither of them realized just how valuable a skill that really is. It's something to be proud of Dan."

Remus reached out and picked up the book. "Now, as to the book, I think Emma may be on to something. What we have here is a study aid that could easily be the companion to the regular textbooks. When one considers the number of students there are at any moment we could be looking at selling fifty thousand copies per year internationally. Yes, Emma, I think you were right to tell me about this. I'll speak to Harry about it in the morning. Dan, would you mind if I borrowed the book until tomorrow?"

"Sure, take it, but Harry's already seen it. In fact, it was his suggestion as to how to organize the book and put it together."

Remus grinned. "I think we can run with this. We've been looking for things to help get Haven on it's feet. This will really help."

Ballincollig, County Cork, Ireland…

Charlie Weasley slowly opened his eyes again. It was much later than when he was last awake.

"Ah, we're awake again, are we? Tell me Charlie, how are you feeling now?" asked Dumbledore in a kindly fashion.

"Better, Sir. Much better in fact."

"Excellent," Dumbledore said, smiling. "You are still weak from your ordeal, but you seem to be recovering quite well. Here, I have taken the liberty of preparing a meal for you. Eat, and afterwards we will talk of things, some good and some not."

Charlie took the offered platter of food and hungrily tore into it. As he ate, he tried to remember why Dumbledore had been separated from the Order, the school and his family. There had been rumors of a disgrace, of attacks and several deaths at the school, but those had been mostly rumors. Both his father and Bill had written him about Ron, but neither had gone into great detail except to say that Ron had sexually assaulted Hermione Granger and had brought great shame upon the Weasley name. Mum's letter about the matter was disjointed and didn't make much sense. She apparently placed all of the blame upon Hermione and said she had ensnared Harry Potter under her spell.

That didn't make much sense to Charlie, but he had to admit to himself that he didn't know Hermione all that well. He had met her during Harry's first task at the Tri-Wizard tournament and a few times afterwards. She seemed like a nice enough girl at the time. One thing from both his parents letters had been clear on one subject. Dumbledore had tried to defend Ron at his hearing, while Hermione and Harry were on the prosecuting side.

Charlie sighed as he ate. He finally had to concede to the idea that he simply didn't have enough information and the fact that his family had always trusted and respected Dumbledore weighed heavily in his favor.

"Professor? Just what is going on?"

Dumbledore smiled gently down at Charlie and took a seat nearby. "Now that is good question. Let me see if I can put it in proper perspective for you.

"During the summer, when Harry Potter went missing, I have reason to believe that he fell under an evil influence. During the school year, he deliberately orchestrated a series of character attacks on myself and others, which resulted in massive changes occurring at Hogwarts. I believe that Harry truly believes he is doing the right thing, but he is being led by the Brotherhood of Druidic Knights, a dangerous Wizarding society. Furthermore, I'm not sure the Brotherhood still adheres to it's ancient and noble ideals, since Harry has surrounded himself with people known to be supporting dark arts. For example, one of his principle advisers is none other than Narcissa Malfoy and her son, Draco.

"There are other people close to Harry who have corrupted him further. And I think what we're looking at is a separate organization from Voldemort's. Considering the changes that Harry has undergone, I would not even rule out some form of mind control being used on him. Perhaps even a Liquid Imperius curse."

Charlie struggled to consider the idea that Dumbledore had presented him with. He found it hard to believe that Harry would turn dark, and yet... Narcissa and Draco Malfoy? The Malfoy's had always skirted around the edge of being dark, at least legally, and they had a ruthless reputation. It wasn't an impossible concept that Narcissa was somehow controlling Harry Potter and his friends.

When Charlie yawned and leaned back against the pillows on his bed, Dumbledore smiled gently at him. "You must rest. Another day, perhaps two, and you will be recovered. For now, rest, think about what I have said and we will discuss it more when you are more awake."

Charlie nodded and closed his eyes. Tomorrow would come soon enough and he and Dumbledore would be able to figure out what to do.

Draco reinvents Q Branch, morning of May 10th...

Draco trudged up stairs to the ground level of the Operations Center. Training with the elves had been progressing rather well and they were working with Caleb's Auror forces very well. But he wasn't satisfied. The problem was a simple one, the extraction teams, and his elves, needed equipment that didn't exist. Draco knew enough to recognize that fact, but he lacked the ability to do anything about it.

Stepping out of the Operations Center, he blinked in the bright light and considered whether to run over to the school and have lunch with Luna or head back to the manor house and have lunch with his Mum. Narcissa had been put on the late night shift as a healer trainee at the hospital and she was usually awake by noon to meet with him for lunch.

Opting to take lunch with his mum, he set off down the narrow path towards the manor house. He hadn't gone very far when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming up behind him. Turning, he was startled to see the trees on the path being shoved aside and a large ogre striding up the path with a heavy club over his shoulder. Draco squeaked in surprise and the ogre stopped and stared at him.

"Draco tasty!" bellowed the ogre and it unlimbered the club and stepped forward.

Draco took off at a dead run in the opposite direction as fast as his feet would carry him. He was more than halfway to the manor house and ready to start shouting to everyone that a ogre was coming when it dawned on him that the ogre hadn't followed him. The second clue was the fact that a non-speaking creature like an ogre not only knew his name, but clearly spoke it. Skidding to a halt, he turned and faced the direction from which he had came. He could clearly hear the laughing in the distance. Frowning, he started towards the sounds of the laughter, then he paused and cast a disillusion spell on himself. Training with the Aurors of the extraction force and his elves had managed to teach him a few things about stealth that Slytherin house hadn't.

Sneaking up on the sound of laughter he was confronted with two sets of twins, one red-headed and the other blond. The other curious matter was the floating ring which seemed to be displaying what the Ogre would have seen.

"Find another person, Georgie!" said one of the blonds.

"Yes Georgie, do find another," teased the other red head, obviously Fred.

Intrigued, Draco changed his mind about stunning them all and hanging them by their toes in the nearest tree. Instead, he watched as George began to move around and noticed that the movements within the ring echoed George's movements. Dispelling the illusion charm, he stepped out from behind a tree and cast a cannon blast spell. The loud explosive sound knocked Fred off his feet and George collided with the two blonds. All three fell in a heap.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen," Draco said with a wry smirk.

"Merlin, Draco! Are you trying to give us heart attacks?" whined Fred.

"Well, if you two weren't playing around scaring people, I wouldn't have to return the favor, now would I?" asked Draco, offering Helga a hand up.

"He does have a point, brother mine," said George.

"Oh, I know he does. I just refuse to admit it." replied Fred.

Draco sighed in frustration. "Can you guys at least pretend to be serious for a moment? You two have more inventive talent in your little finger than any ten wizards I know and you're wasting it on jokes."

Fred straightened to his full height, which was a good three inches over Draco. "Wasting? I will have you know we've been inventing stuff..."

"Yes! Thats my point, George!" exclaimed Draco.

Fred looked insulted. "Wait a tic! I'm Fred! He's George," he said pointing at his twin.

George looked up from one of the blonds he was holding. "I am? Oh, wait, that's right. It's an even day. That makes me George today."

Draco grabbed his head and pulled hard on his hair. "ENOUGH!" he bellowed and both sets of twins recoiled from him. "There are teams that go out every night putting their lives on the line, and they need equipment to make their job easier. You two," he said, jabbing a finger at the now subdued pair, "have the know-how and inventiveness. That Ogre, can you make it smaller? Don't you see? You can see what the Ogre saw, probably hear what it hears as well. If you could make the same thing, only instead of an Ogre you used a pixie or a fairy, the extraction teams would have a tool that would allow them to explore an area safely! They need so much and you two are playing games!"

Fred glanced over at George and the two communicated silently for a moment. "Draco, it's not like we don't want to help," said George.

"But Miles told us to leave the dangerous work to the professionals," finished Fred sadly.

Draco folded his arms across his chest. "Yes, he's right, you two aren't trained for the extraction teams. I'm training with them now and it will be months before I'm good enough to go along. But Miles is wrong, you two have uses right now."

"What about us?" protested one of the blonds.

Draco looked surprised. He was only vaguely familiar with the two girls and barely knew their names.

Fred grinned broadly. "Inga's right. They'd be dead useful, even if they aren't witches."

"I'm Helga, not Inga," protested Helga annoyed that Fred would think she was her sister. Inga, Fred's girlfriend smacked Fred on the arm. "Stop thinking she's me!" she pouted.

Fred looked to George for support, but George knew better. Instead he suddenly found some overhead clouds extremely interesting.

Draco ground his teeth in frustration. "Fine! Look, you four, I'm in charge of providing support services to Miles and his people. As of this moment, you are going to be put to work inventing the equipment the teams need. I'll speak to Harry about it and get his approval."

The four twins grinned broadly at Draco and he knew he was opening a major can of worms, but he also knew the Weasley twins were the most dangerous pranksters on the planet. If the Johansen twins were half as good on the muggle side, the quartet would be truly formidable.

Derreenataggart West, Evening of May 10th...

Harry stepped into the grand foyer of the manor and looked over his friends. He tried to suppress the chuckle that threatened to escape. Each was dressed as if they were going on a winter trek, knowing full well that once they arrived at Derreenataggart they would be getting naked.

Beside the core group who'd be participating in tonight's ritual, Minerva, Narcissa, Bertrand, Amelia and Arthur had been asked to attend as observers. Harry had approached each in turn and explained the rite and its requirements. He felt it was necessary to include the parents wherever possible. Terry's parents had decided that since Amelia was attending it wasn't necessary for them to attend as well. Harry accepted that. He knew that Terry's mum, a witch, was settling in nicely at Haven, but his father, a muggle engineer, was having difficulty immersing himself into a mostly Wizarding town. It was an issue that Harry knew he would have to address at some point, Terry's dad wasn't the only muggle in Haven.

Right now they were getting ready to portkey to Derreenataggart. There was still several hours before the appointed time, but he wanted to give people time to get used to the area. Nodding to everyone, he grabbed a hold of the hula hoop that Remus offered and motioned for the others to do the same. Tonks had the second hoop to keep the crowding to a minimum.

Hermione smiled shyly at Harry when she stepped to his side and grabbed onto the portkey. He was about to say something when the foyer vanished. A moment later they appeared in a large tented pavilion. Harry waited until every one had appeared before walking to the front of the tent.

"Everyone please, give me a moment of your time," Harry said, holding up a hand. He waited a few moments as everyone turned to face him before continuing.

"We are two hours ahead of schedule. The rite begins at midnight. We arrived early so that everyone could take some time to examine the circle and get used to the area. We are currently in a field left fallow. Next to it is a farmers field and the two are separated by a fence that has been charmed with a notice-me-not spell, so I do not expect any difficulty with the farmer, unless you cross that fence. Do us all a favor, leave the poor man's crop alone and stay on this side of the fence. Also, for our protection, the Irish Ministry had graciously provided us with an Auror security detail. Please do not bother them. Now, if everyone will follow Remus, he will take us out to the circle, where you will be allowed to roam about for the next hour and a half."

Stepping from the pavilion, Remus led the group towards the circle. It sat upon a small knoll and was ancient, with only eight of the stones still standing. Two others, toppled over, lay nearby and another two were missing entirely. The axial and portal stones were on a east/west axis. Unlike the other stones, the portal stone was wider and taller.

From the stone circle one could look out and see the Atlantic Ocean. Even though it was well after dark, it was possible to look out from the circle and see shipping traffic making its way to nearby port cities.

Hermione looked at the circle with an intense curiosity. She had read about these circles, and read some of the conjecture as well. Some thought that the circles were actually an ancient form of Wizarding transportation. The portal stones seemed to suggest that was the case, but the problem with that theory was most circles were active only under specific astronomical conditions. To be used as a transportation system would mean the circle would have had to be active all the time. And everyone knew that wasn't the case. The circles are too tied to the astronomical calendar.

Suddenly Harry squeezed her hand painfully. "Look! That building is moving, Hermione!" he exclaimed. Dan, who was standing behind him, chuckled. Hermione looked at the bright lights in the distance and frowned for a moment until she realized what it was.

"Harry," Emma said gently, "that's not a building. That's a ship, probably a cruise ship, considering its size and the way it's lit up."

Harry looked startled. "We're that close to the ocean? Bloody hell, Remus should have told me! I would have come here earlier then."

"Why Harry?" asked Hermione. His reaction puzzled her.

"I've never been to the ocean before," he replied in an awed whisper.

Hermione frowned. She and her mother exchanged a glance. Harry had been deprived of so many experiences they took for granted. Dan clapped a hand down on Harry's shoulder and he looked up at him.

"Later in the summer I'm going to insist we all take some time off. Emma and I know a place in the south of France that we can take you to, where you can get your fill of the ocean," Dan offered. Harry smiled shyly, looking like a five year old who'd just been offered a lap by Father Christmas.

Hermione tugged on his hand. "Come on, Harry, let's take a closer look at the circle. You won't be able to see much of the ocean in the dark. We'll come back here when it's light."

Harry nodded and let Hermione lead him back into the circle.

Dan and Emma watched the two wander away. "You know," Emma said in a sad voice, "I always thought I would find great fulfillment in helping my grandchildren experience new things. I never thought I'd start early with my future son in law."

"Emma..." Dan admonished.

"I know, I know, Dan. It's just that these little slips he makes, like never having gone to the ocean, it tears at me and I know it tears at Hermione..."

Dan closed the distance between himself and his wife and took her into his arms. "Em, don't you worry about Harry. Hermione will take good care of him and we'll help her. He's never been to the ocean before, or the mountains, and yes, I asked him about them a few days ago. He is working hard to put his past behind him and we'll help him. But we can't help him if we keep stopping to lament over what he's never had.

"It's way to early to think about grandchildren, but you're right. We're going to help Harry experience things he's never experienced before. He's a little old to cuddle and hand over to a pile of puppies for the fun of it... Well, maybe Hermione can do the cuddling for us," he concluded with a chuckle.

Near the portal stone, Harry and Hermione looked in Dan and Emma's direction and grinned. "That looks interesting," Harry murmured. "Must be the idea of her getting naked," he joked.

"Harry!" Hermione said, swatting his arm. Privately she had to agree, however. Her parents hadn't been the type to display a lot of public affection towards each other. You knew they were in love by how they acted, without all the public displays. It was, in Hermione's opinion, something she thought she would have wanted for herself, but Harry had other ideas. Harry wasn't into extreme displays of public affection either, but he was always close enough that he could reach out and touch her hand, and he did so, frequently. And every so often he'd shock her by being more overt. And privately Harry was surprisingly affectionate with her.

Hermione turned to look at Harry. His gaze was fixed on the portal stone, but it was unfocused.

"What is it? What do you see?" she asked him, her tone tinged with worry.

"The stone," he murmured, "it's radiating power. It feels like I'm looking at something that can look into my very soul and see every flaw and every stain... and yet it feels caged, trapped within the stone. The whole circle is infused with power, but this stone the most of all."

"Will this be a problem?"

"I don't think so, Hermione. We came here to awaken something. Perhaps what I'm seeing is the aura of what we're going to awaken."

Ginny and Neville...

Not far from where Harry and Hermione stood, another couple faced a different issue.

"Look at it, Ginny. It's the Celtic range flower! They're very rare and only grow at sites that are considered sacred..."

Ginny placed both hands on her hips and stared at her boyfriend. Sometimes he could be so dense! "Neville, forget the flowers for a moment. I want to talk to you."

Neville looked up from the flower he was holding in his hand. "Hmmmm?"

"I know we've talked about this, Neville, but I want you to keep your eyes where they belong tonight."

"Ginny, you know I've only got eyes for you," Neville said bashfully.

"Yeah, well, tonight you won't have just me to look at." she grumbled.

"We're not going to have that tired old argument again are we?"

Ginny looked down at her feet. For the most part she directed the way their relationship ran, but every so often she would say something or do something and Neville would take charge, putting her firmly in her place.

Neville reached down and cupped her chin, pulling gently until she was looking at him. "Ginny, for every couple here, each guy would say their girl is the most beautiful. I'm no different. You hate your red hair and your freckles, I love each and every freckle and, if I have to, I'll spend the rest of my life telling you that. Maybe someday you'll believe me," he told her firmly.

Ginny's eyes misted and Neville pulled her into a tight embrace. He held her firmly, the flower long forgotten.

Draco and Luna...

Of all the couples present tonight, Draco and Luna were perhaps the one least worried by the upcoming ritual. The soul bonding Luna had performed to save Draco's life was firmly in place and it served to re-enforce their feelings for each other. The bond was serving another, equally important purpose. It was allowing Luna to become more focused on everyday events without the spacey feeling she previously imparted to everyone.

Luna nudged Draco, motioning him to look at Ginny and Neville, who were embracing. "In a way, I almost feel sorry for our friends, Dray..." Luna said softly.

Draco looked at Luna in surprise. As long as he had known her, she had never had anything bad to say about anyone.

"What do you mean?"

"Look at Ginny and Neville. They are so much in love, and yet are so insecure about it."

Draco smiled gently at her. "Not everyone has the advantages we have, Luna. I know how you feel, even when you're going to sleep in the school and I'm kilometers away in the manor. I can feel you through our bond."

"I know, Dray. But look at Harry and Hermione. They're so close to having something like what we have, but they can't seem to take that extra step. Something is scaring them."

"Could they have a bond like ours? Your magic created our bond and, from what I've read, it's very unique in all of the magical world." Draco asked.

"Harry and Hermione could," Luna replied softly. "His ability to manipulate auras is very similar to what my magic did. What is an aura, but the light generated by the soul? My magic mixed our souls, beloved. Harry could do the same thing by linking his aura with Hermione's."

"Have you spoken to Harry or Hermione about this?"

Luna frowned. "I would like to, but I'm not sure it's my place to bring this to their attention. Should I get involved? He's touched her aura a few times and each time it's excited her, and frightened him."

Draco scowled and marched over to a nearby standing stone, thinking furiously. Finally he turned and walked back to her. "I don't know, Luna. I think you're right to be cautious but, on the other hand, if you had some material to back up your idea, you could show it to Hermione. She could take it from there."

Luna smiled. "She would, wouldn't she? That girl has two loves in life. Harry, and learning, and she's in seventh heaven when she can combine the two of them."

Draco lightly gripped her arm and motioned her attention back towards the pavilion where Remus was signaling everyone to come back.

Upon re-entering the pavilion, everyone noticed that while they had been gone the interior of the tent had been changed. There were now twelve small rooms and one large central area, where Remus now stood to address them.

"Folks," he said, having gotten their attention, "I know we talked about this, but I wanted to let you know we've taken a few precautions. While we can't do anything inside of the circle, I have placed a set of obscuring charms outside of the circle that will make it impossible for anyone to see inside of it. Those of us inside the circle will appear fuzzy and indistinct to those outside.

Now, since I am the only one here who speaks Gaelic well enough, I will be casting a translation charm on everyone present so that you will understand what I'm saying. Follow my lead and remember the incantations we discussed. You know the English version and, with the translation spell in place, you will incant in modern Gaelic. The rite is in Gaelic and while we could possibly try it in English, we have no guarantee that it would work.

"Finally, you'll note we have twelve rooms here in the pavilion. In each room you will find a simple white robe. Change out of your clothes into the robe. Remove all your clothing and jewelry. Once everyone is changed, we will proceed from the pavilion to the circle. Once inside, I will signal for everyone to disrobe, then I will begin the rite.

"We don't know what to expect, so don't let anything startle you into rash action, like leaving the circle," Remus concluded warningly.

When everyone nodded their understanding, he smiled. "Good enough. Let's go get into our robes, shall we?" he asked with a wry grin.

The Stone Circle of Derreenataggart...

Harry stepped into the circle and positioned himself near the portal stone. He had read the auras of the stones in the past hour and knew this stone was probably the source of the greatest potential danger. Being close to it allowed him to watch and possibly shield the rest should a problem arise.

Only eight of the original stones were still standing. Two more had fallen and two were missing entirely from the circle, but their psychic imprint remained strong in the circle. Stones might be missing, but the power was unbroken. Remus had marked standing positions carefully, taking into account the missing stones. Hermione was to Harry's right, and her parents were on his left.

As everyone formed a circle within the circle, Remus stepped into the center of the group. Once, a long time ago, an altar stone would have been situated at the center of the circle. Now Remus stood where that ancient stone had once been.

Remus looked around and nodded to himself, seeing everyone was in the right position. From outside the circle he heard Amelia call. "Two minutes to midnight, Remus!"

Taking a deep breath, he opened his robe and let it slip from his shoulders to the ground. Remus then eyed everyone in the circle as, one by one, they dropped their robes. Harry cringed slightly as his robe fell to the ground and Hermione reached out and touched his hand. He looked over at her and she smiled impishly at him like she had yesterday and he couldn't help but remember where that smile had led to. Everyone was looking at their partner or refusing to make eye contact with anyone except Remus.

Remus held his wand aloft and he traced an intricate series of movements in the air. The burning tip of his wand etching the air with fiery runes in its wake. He traced four distinct patterns of runes, one for each of the four cardinal compass points, then he stopped and traced a single rune over his head. Once that rune was complete, it exploded with a golden brilliance and a dome of light grew to encompass the entire stone circle.

Amelia Bones exclaimed in dismay as the golden dome burst forth and quickly turned opaque. The circle and those on the inside were now totally isolated from everyone else.

Within the golden dome, Remus lifted his wand again and said an incantation. From the tip of his wand a small golden ball emerged to float. He then turned to nod at Harry.

Harry lifted his staff and repeated the incantation. This time a much larger ball emerged and moved to join with Remus'. The two merged into one large orb.

When Harry was finished, Hermione lifted her staff. She had opted to use her staff tonight since it was ideal for working a ritual, where fine control was important. Her orb was about half the size of Harry's. One by one the outcasts, Hermione's parents and Tonks added their orbs to the now huge ball floating above Remus' head.

With the orb now complete, Remus made a motion to start the final sequence of the ritual when three voices cried as one.

"HOLD!"

Remus tore his eyes away from the huge glowing ball hovering over his head and looked at the people assembled. Harry, Tonks and Luna were all glowing, surrounded by a soft nimbus of bluish-white light. All three had a glazed look in their eyes. As one, they stepped into the center of the circle. Harry placed a hand lightly on Remus' shoulder and Remus found himself flung from the center. Draco and Neville managed to catch him before he could crash into the dome surrounding them all.

Harry lifted his staff to the hovering orb and his nimbus flared around him. "Eocho mac Tairdelbaig, son of Aonghas and Ceana, I, Harry, son of James and Lily, Magic's child, command thee to awaken. Thy time hath come!" he cried in a loud voice.

Harry took one step back and Luna took his place. "Eocho mac Tairdelbaig, son of Aonghas and Ceana, I, Luna, daughter of Bertrand and Vespa, Gaia's child, command thee to awaken. Thy time hath come!"

Then Luna stepped back and Tonks took her place. "Eocho mac Tairdelbaig, son of Aonghas and Ceana, I, Nymphadora, daughter of Theodore and Andromeda, Changling's child, command thee to awaken. Thy time hath come!"

The others shared a concerned look at this strange turn of events. The ritual had somehow gotten out of their control and three of their members were under an unknown influence. Hermione raised her wand to interfere.

"No!" hissed Remus. "We have started this, it must be played out!"

She reluctantly lowered her wand and watched as Tonks stepped back. Harry extended his staff upwards, Luna and Tonks did the same. They touched the points of their wands and staff together and the hovering orb roiled as if it had become liquid. A moment later came a tearing sound from the orb as it moved to the portal stone. It seemed to suddenly deflate as it connected and poured its energy into the stone.

As the orb deflated, the portal stone began to glow and a dense mist roiled from its surface. Within the mist came flares of light, as if hundreds of fireflies were trying to light the night. Even the golden light of the dome dimmed as the mist filled the circle.

The sparkling lights danced across the surface of the stone, then moved out to fill the entire circle. Everyone present felt an uplifting of their spirits as the dancing lights filled the dome. The surface of the portal stone bulged oddly and the lights on its surface increased their speed. As the lights moved, everyone moved out of their position to stand behind Harry, Luna and Tonks. Whatever had taken control of the ritual was not finished with their friends just yet.

"Who awakens me from my slumber?" said a voice with a strange echo.

Harry, Luna and Tonks bowed at the sound of the voice and Harry stepped forward. "We summon you, Eocho mac Tairdelbaig. Darkness stalks the realm and thy brotherhood must return to its ancient task."

"Old blood and older magic I sense among you and your companions. Approach, one at a time, and announce thyself so that I may know thee."

Harry walked to Hermione and took her hand. She could see that whatever the controlling force was that had taken over Harry was more in the nature of guiding him than controlling him. He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her softly, then smiled shyly at her. She let him lead her to the portal stone. There, Harry stopped and placed one hand flat upon the stone.

"I am Harry, son of James and Lily, of the house of Potter. I stand before you with my chosen, asking for guidance," he intoned in a formal tone, then he looked at Hermione meaningfully.

Placing her hand upon the stone, she spoke next, using the same form as Harry had. "I am Hermione, daughter of Dan and Emma, of the house of Granger. I stand before you with my chosen, asking for guidance."

Hermione gasped as she felt another presence in her mind. This was unlike her experience with Harry during their legilimency training, or even when he touched her aura with his own. This presence was commanding, firm and unyielding, but not hostile. The presence paged through her memories, from her growing up as a muggle to her discovery that she was a witch. She saw flashes of her life, some events she considered vastly important and others that seemed inconsequential. The troll during her first year, her purchase of Crookshanks. Her impressions as she watched Harry run the maze during his third task of the Tri-Wizard tournament, Dolohov cutting her chest with his curse, and Harry waking up after his illness.

Bemused, she let Harry led her away from the stone allowing Luna and Draco to take their position.

Luna placed her hand upon the stone and spoke. "I am Luna, daughter of Bertrand and Vespa, of the house of Lovegood. I stand before you with my chosen, asking for guidance."

Draco placed his hand on the stone repeating the phrase and he moaned as if in great pain and fell to his knees. "There be darkness and stain upon this one. Foul deeds and fell events he hath partaken of," said the voice in an angry tone and a buzzing sound like hundreds of bees emanated from the stone.

Luna lifted her head defiantly and pulled Draco's hand from the stone. "Nonetheless, he is my chosen and has renounced his ways. I have chosen him over others and will cleanse the stain from his soul. The evil upon him was forced their by his sire and not of his choosing."

There was a moment of silence, then the voice from the stone spoke again. "Very well, child of Gaia. Few wouldst have the ability to cleanse his stain, but thou dost," the voice said reverently. Then the voice turned harsh. "Draco, of house Malfoy and Black, thou have been found wanting, but I sense the potential within you. Thou can cause great good or great harm. Thou doth stand at a crossroad, one path leads to the light, the other to your doom. Know that I will hold thee to a higher standard than these others. Only thy chosen has stayed my hand this day."

Draco looked up at the stone, his face contorted by fear and pain, his breath coming in great gasps. Luna knelt and Draco leaned into her. She smiled softly, wrapping her arms around him. Harry stepped up behind the couple and carefully lifted Draco to his feet. He drew a shuddering breath and nodded gratefully to Harry, then they all moved away from the face of the portal stone.

With the way to the stone clear, Tonks and Remus moved forward. Harry watched the pair with considerable worry. If Draco could be held accountable for actions his father forced on him, then who knew what Remus would be held accountable for as a werewolf.

Tonks placed her hand on the stone and repeated the ritual words, then Remus did the same. There was a moment of silence which grew into an uneasy pause. Remus trembled as the spirit rifled through his memories.

"My daughter," said the voice in a gentle tone, "thou art sure this be thy chosen? He is cruelly afflicted and through no fault of his own, doth harbor a great dark beast within his breast. For nigh unto two score years he hath combated the beast and won, but his strength doth wane and soon the beast must win."

Tonks grasped Remus' hand, holding it tightly. "He is my chosen and I want no other. His beast is contained and I will give him of my strength to fortify his fight."

"Very well then. Remus, of house Lupin, place onto me both thy hands," commanded the voice.

"Long ye have fought to control the beast within thee and long have ye suffered with this affliction which began in thy earliest of years. Changlings child has chosen you as her mate, but even her power cannot rid thee of thy affliction, for such knowledge has been lost in the antiquity of time. Thou art cursed, my child, but have borne thy burden with honor. Darkness dwells within thee, but from a curse to a boon I will turn it," said the voice.

Remus gave a strangled cry and his entire body burst into a multicolored halo. Collapsing to the ground, he writhed there for what seemed an eternity before the halo faded from sight and he returned to normal.

"Now dost thou control the beast within, Remus of house Lupin. Rise and stand like a man among thy family."

Tonks bent over and pulled Remus to his feet. The former marauder followed her to stand next to Luna and Draco, his expression was a mixture of relief and wonder. Harry watched the pair curiously, sure that Remus would have a tale to tell when this night was done.

The next couple to approach the stone were Hermione's parents, Dan and Emma. Emma placed her hand on the stone copying the motions of the others. A moment later, Dan copied her motions and the two stood silently in-front of the portal stone. In some ways, the process reminded Harry of the Hogwarts sorting hat with its strange mixture of verbal and mental communication.

Once all the couples had communed with the stone, the lights dancing across its surface began to speed up again.

"A strange and diverse group thou art, and yet all here are bound to a common purpose. Prophecy lights thy path but denies thee the tools to complete thy tasks. All presented are worthy, even the dark stained one who bears the protection of Gaia's child and Magic's child.

"This is the time that was foretold many eons ago. Prophecy and Brotherhood merge to face a fell foe," said the voice from the stone. Then the surface of the Portal stone began to bulge outwards. As one, each person within the circle grasped their upper arm as they felt a burning sensation. The stone bulged more, then the bulge rebounded back into the stone. The surface rippled as if made of water and out of the stone stepped a figure. The golden dome that covered the circle exploded outwards in a great flash of light and a howling wind whipped away the mist.

The figure stood nearly two meters tall, with long white hair, a neatly trimmed beard and, most surprisingly, he was translucent. He raised both hands upwards as if in prayer and the golden dome that surrounded the stone circle vanished from sight. "Math Mathonwy, Teutates, Cailleach Beara and Danu

I call on thee, Gods of old! The conditions are met. The Brotherhood reborn. Bless our rebirth and help our children find their way out of darkness!" he cried in a vast voice.

High above the stone circle a meteor appeared and plummeted to earth. Spitting sparks and flame the meteor appeared to slow and change its course until it finally came to a stand still only a few meters above the stone circle. The molten stone hovered for a moment longer then gently lowered itself until it floated between the figure's arms.

"I, Eocho mac Tairdelbaig, invoke the Brotherhood as mentor," said Eocho. The stone seemed to split into twelve equal parts and each part moved to hover in front of each person.

Harry reached with his hand and grasped the glowing stone expecting his hand to burn with its heat, but the stone was strangely cool in his hand. The stone flashed white and then vanished, leaving him holding a medallion on a heavy chain.

Eocho nodded at Harry in approval, while the others, encouraged by his results, did the same.

"Each of thee now bares the mark of the Brotherhood. No matter what family thou had before, all present are family, now and forever. In thy hands dost thou hold the badge of office. Thou hast, each of thee, asked for guidance, and guidance I shall provide. I am Eocho, mentor. Grasp thy badge and but think of me when thou hast need and I shall come," said the figure of Eocho and then he slowly faded from view.

Harry felt strangely calm, as if the rite had left him a profound sense of peace. He lifted the badge and placed it around his neck, then he bent over and scooped up his and Hermione's robes. He handed her the robe and before she could even think about putting it on, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. He kissed her neck gently and she moaned slightly in his ear. He released her to put his own robe on, knowing that she had felt his stiffening arousal and he had no intention of letting anyone else know. He turned to see each couple had been similarly moved with their own partners and he smiled.

"Merlin's beard!" exclaimed Remus as he released Tonks and put on his robe. "Did you feel the power?"

Harry pulled his badge out from under his robe and examined it. It was a simple Celtic cross overlaid atop a Celtic knot. It was made of metal, despite having come from what was obviously stone and it had a silvery sheen to it, as if it were lit with an inner light. The back of the badge contained a single rune.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think it would be best if we didn't remove these medallions," he said in a low tone. "There is more magic in them than would be needed for a summoning charm."

Hermione looked over at Harry's medallion after examining her own. "The rune is different between Harry and myself and I don't recognize it."

Remus looked at his medallion and then glanced over to look at Harry's. "The rune on mine is different also. Mine looks like Ansuz, but it's different, not the same."

"I think the next step would be to put together a list of questions for Eocho," suggested Hermione.

"Tomorrow," Harry said firmly. "It's late and I think we all could use with some sleep. We started something tonight and I'm sure we all have a lot of questions about what is going to happen next. I just don't think we'll get answers to those questions tonight. When we get back to the manor, I'll ask Dobby to prepare a mid morning brunch. I think we can all do with a bit of a lie in this morning."

Remus nodded and pointed to the pavilion not far from the stone circle. "We can use the portkeys we used to get here to go home. I'll go talk to Amelia and let her know we're all all right, though tired, then we can leave."

Harry laid his arm over Hermione's shoulders as they walked to the pavilion. She leaned into him. "I don't know if I want to get dressed just to go home and get undressed again," she murmured against him.

"Are you that tired?" Harry asked her.

"No, I just don't want to have to spend all that time dressing and undressing. You have something I want very much tonight, Potter," she said with a grin.

He tightened his grip on her and ducked his head as they entered the tent.

Ballincollig, County Cork, Ireland (May 11th)…

Dumbledore woke in a foul mood. The previous night his detectors had lit up like sky rockets, wakening him from a sound sleep and wakening Charlie Weasley. The detectors were crude and could only say that the magic was definitely from Harry Potter and that it was coming from the area around Castletown, on the coast. He attempted to apparate to the location immediately, but the published coordinates for the town were closed off by Irish Ministry Anti-Apparation wards.

Only Ministries used wards that sent people polite messages that stated an area was closed off until further notice after you'd bounced off them. They thought it rude not to do so, while the person apparating usually thought it rude to be thrown back to their destination point so firmly. Private wards would have kicked him out and left no message at all in his head. Making a portkey was out of the question, since he had never visited the town and could not visualize the arrival location.

To make matters worse, the noise of the detectors had awoken Charlie Weasley and he had to spend time calming down the irate red head. So it was with no small amount of annoyance that Dumbledore awoke this morning in a less than jovial mood. On the other hand, Charlie had recovered enough that Dumbledore woke to find him busy cooking breakfast.

"Good morning, Mr. Weasley," offered the old wizard as he entered the room.

"Good morning, Professor," Charlie replied, placing a platter of eggs and sausage on the table. "I hope you don't mind me making breakfast for us? I thought with what happened last night you might want to get a early start on checking out that disturbance."

Dumbledore filled his plate and smiled. "Not at all, Charles, and you are quite right. If we cannot apparate to Castletown this morning, we will have to do it the old fashioned way and travel there as muggles do."

Charlie looked up sharply at that comment and tried to hide a smile. No matter how hard Molly had tried, Arthur had managed to instill a fondness for all things muggle in his children. They didn't obsess over it like their father did, but they still enjoyed visiting the muggle world now and then.

Dumbledore peered over his half moon glasses at Charlie. "How are you feeling this morning? Do you think you could stand a trip?" he asked in a jovial tone.

"Professor, I know I make a poor patient and I'm itching to get out and about. My family is in danger and I need to do something about it."

Dumbledore chuckled. "You will my boy, you will. And I daresay your family will be grateful, once they learn of what you've been doing. Now, let us get ready to go visit Castletown and see if we can discover why Mr. Potter was using so much magic last night."

Charlie nodded, then paused. "Professor, how do you think Malfoy is controlling Harry? Ginny wrote me one time saying Harry could throw off an Imperious curse."

Dumbledore paused and thought frantically for a second. "There are a number of possibilities, my boy. He could be coerced into performing for them via some sort of curse on a loved one. That's a possibility which I think is likely. However, my heart fears that they may have used a liquid Imperius. And if that is the case, only another dose will overcome the first."

Charlie looked shocked. "B-B-But that would destroy his free will entirely!"

Dumbledore sagged his shoulders as if he were defeated and nodded his head sadly. "Yes, I am aware of the damage it will do to Mr. Potter. Let us hope it will not come to that, however."

Charlie walked over and placed a comforting hand on the old man's shoulders. "It will be alright, Professor, you'll see," he offered encouragingly.

Dumbledore shook himself and privately congratulated himself on his acting skills. "Come, young Charles. Let us go see what we can find out."

Padfoot Manor...

Harry took another helping of eggs from a platter on the table. He smiled as he listened to Hermione and Remus debate over the questions they should be asking Eocho. The two had started wrangling over the issue as soon as he and Hermione arrived at the table and hadn't stopped. On the other hand, their argument meant that the rest of them could eat in peace.

Harry coughed loudly to catch everyone's attention. Looking unsure of himself, he had one question he had to ask. "Who here feels different this morning?"

Dan looked up from his plate. "I'm glad I'm not the only one noticing the change," he murmured. Emma glanced at him in surprise.

"What? I did ask you about it before we came down to brunch. You said you didn't notice anything, but I'm telling you, something has changed," Dan said firmly.

"I felt it also, Harry. When I woke up I tried performing a simple levitation spell on a quill. You remember, like we did in Flitwick's class in first year? I'd swear I was able to force the feather to float just by levitating the tip of the quill instead of the whole thing," Neville said fervently.

"Yes!" exclaimed Dan, "It's like we've been focused."

Harry leaned back in his chair thinking for a moment. "I felt that also, although I haven't tested my magic this morning. But that wasn't what I was asking. After the ritual I felt a kind of peace. Always before, when I thought about Voldemort, I felt anger. It was frightening just how much anger I felt. I still feel the determination to take care of Voldemort, but its like the anger is controllable now."

"I think we all came away from the ritual with changes like that Harry," offered Remus.

Harry turned to his old friend. "And what of you, Remus? Eocho said some rather startling things to you yesterday."

"I'm not sure," Remus replied, a bit worried. "I can still feel the Lycanthropy within me, but it feels different somehow. It's almost as if I now have control over it, rather than the other way around."

Luna laughed and everyone turned to look at her in surprise. She didn't often interject herself into these conversations.

"What's funny, Luna?" asked Harry.

"Remus," she said with a smile. "He's no longer a werewolf, he's a were-animagus."

Remus flinched back in his chair, his expression thunderstruck. "A were-animagus? Is that even possible?"

"Oh, Remus, of course it's possible. Eocho's coming caused the birth of many new species last night. I can't wait to see the Golden Ostaphant up close. They're supposed to be larger than a sperm whale. If that kind of magic can cause the start of new species, it can certainly fix one tired old werewolf," Luna said dreamily.

Remus looked as if he wasn't sure whether to be insulted over the "old" comment or not. Tonks, on the other hand, simply slid under the table, weak from laughter. Emma tried to hide her smile behind her cup, while Dan and Harry laughed openly. Remus growled in his throat and glared at Harry. Unfortunately for him, his glare of death no longer worked properly.

When the laughter finally died down, Harry rapped on the table. "Alright, I suspect over the coming days each one of us is going to be meeting with Eocho privately. I'm not sure if he can appear on his own, or if he has to be summoned. But for now, why don't I summon him and we can see about getting started?"

Looking around the room and finding no objections, he pulled the medallion from under his shirt and held it in his hand. Concentrating on Eocho, he waited. Barely seconds passed before a form coalesced at the head of the table.

Harry looked at the figure carefully. He noted the ancient robes he wore, his feet bare.

"Who summons me?"

Harry stood and walked to the head of the table. "I did, MÃºinteoir," Harry said respectfully.

"What is it you wish of me, Maglios?"

Harry looked perplexed. "I'm sorry. Maglios?"

Eocho looked at Harry sadly, then he surprised everyone by speaking in modern English. "Has so much of our old ways been lost then? You are Maglios, leader and warrior king to your people."

Harry blinked in surprise and Eocho smiled in return. "Sit and listen, my children. Learn the history of our Brotherhood."

Harry took his placed next to Hermione at the table.

"Long ago, in a time when men were cruel and oppressed even their own brothers, there arose a king. King Mag was a stranger to this land, born of a woman not of the people, but of the captured concubine of his father. Mag's rule, unlike his neighbors, was a gentle hand and his land prospered because of it.

"Eventually other kingdoms looked upon King Mag with jealousy. An alliance between three neighboring kingdoms resulted in the downfall of Mag's kingdom and with his dying breath he did curse those that would conquer his people. Mag's son, Arthimus, fled our shores and traveled far and wide learning all that was good, and all that was bad, about man. He traveled into the east and learned from the masters of lore. As he traveled, he gathered his allies. Arthimus, with his mate, Chysta, formed the core of the Brotherhood. Around them they gathered many who would follow them and abide by new laws, laws originally created by King Mag.

"In honor of King Mag, the leader of the Brotherhood is always called the Maglios. Eventually, Arthimus and Chysta returned to Mag's kingdom and freed his people from the oppression of the neighboring kings.

"As Arthumus assumed the throne, he passed the Brotherhood to another and, in so doing, set the foundation for the Brotherhood for all time.

"In days to come I would speak with each of you, alone and with your chosen mate. Much time has passed and there are things which I do not understand. There is much for each of us to learn. All of you have proclaimed to have a chosen mate, and yet many are not mated? This is something which violates our laws and which I do not understand."

Harry exchanged a worried look with Hermione and Remus, then he turned back to Eocho.

"Honored MÃºinteoir, as far as we can tell, some fifteen hundred years have passed since the Brotherhood once existed. Much has changed in that time and I am sure that Remus can help you understand these changes, as well as helping us understand the ways of the Brotherhood. But for now, can you tell us what happened last night? Most of us awoke this morning to find things have changed for us."

Eocho smiled gently and once again address them in a more formal, ancient manner. "Yes, thou art as impatient as I sensed, Maglios. Very well then, the burden of Brotherhood is not without its benefits. In agreeing to uphold the law in a selfless manner we receive certain refinements. Some of thee will discover thy magic hath grown in strength, others will discover control has improved. Still others will learn that other qualities have been enhanced.

"There will be things thou wilt learn that will be unique to the Brotherhood and it is important that all of thee have the ability to learn it. After we all speak privately, we will speak again as a group, and begin to learn the unique magiks of the Brotherhood."

Hermione was practically bouncing in her chair at the idea of learning something that had been lost for all these years. Eocho nodded in her direction. "Thy quest for knowledge does thee credit, my daughter," he said gently to her.

"Honored MÃºinteoir, will we have time to talk of other things? We have several ongoing research projects that your magic might be able to help us with..." She said, then stopped when Eocho held up his hand.

"We will have time to speak of research and magic, child. My time among thee is limited to when I decide thou art ready. Last night thou didst awakened the Brotherhood, but thou art just babes, knowing little of our ways and traditions. My task is to train thee and I will be here until that task is complete."

"Maglios, I will come again to thee this evening. I would speak with thee and thy mate then," Eocho said, then he faded from sight.

"Well that left me with more questions than answers," quipped Draco.

"At least it explained why we feel different this morning," said Dan in a soft voice.

Author's Notes:

This is the point you dread the most in the file. The AUTHOR'S NOTES!!!!! So first, let me say that Alyx and I hope you all enjoyed your holidays. If you didn't, please don't take that as an invitation to telling us what a miserable time you had. We enjoyed ourselves.

To those reviewers that must insist that they explain to us the physics of things like Apparation. Please don't. You make yourself look like an idiot trying to put a scientific explanation on magic. IT'S MAGIC.

I don't get it. A reviewer that claims to be a slash writer of Draco/Harry fics rolling their eyes over the names for Hermione's parents. Lets roll our eyes over the concept of Harry ever falling in love with a guy, let alone his hated enemy. Sure the names are lame, but then I won't tell you what I think about Harry being gay.

Does anyone really believe that at this point Dumbledore is up for being forgiven? Perhaps in another story, but not this one.

We haven't seen the last of the Dursleys, although Petunia and Vernon are pushing up daisies at this point.

Any resemblance between Snape and Metatron in the previous chapter was purely coincidental.

Charlie, working in Romania with the dragons never got the full story from anyone and even when people did write to him, he ended up getting conflicting stories.

Luna says Nerfherders are truly one footed. She is our resident expert on strange creatures so we have to take her word for it.

We have it on good authority that Hermione is properly chastised by her performance during the proposal scene and has volunteered a spanking by Harry. However if you want to see that particular scene, you'll probably have to go over to one of Kinsfire's stories. Alyx won't let me write stuff like that.

And finally we're taking a break from the Pet Peeves for a while because we found ourselves starting to repeat peeves. Never a good sign.

Back to:: Harry Potter » Sunrise Over Britain

Sunrise Over Britain
Chapter 4 - Labor Pains

By Bobmin

Sunrise Over Britain Chapter 4 - Labor Pains

By Bobmin

Sunrise Over Britain
Chapter 4 - Labor Pains