"Great Scott, Potter, This is War!"
Chapter Eleven - Conversations and Confrontations

By Aaran St Vines

Previous Chapter One - "Defenseless Muggles" Chapter Two - Defenseless? Not Defenseless at All Chapter Three - The First of Three Visitors Chapter Four - Alastor Moody and Steph Granger Chapter Five - The Paladin Program Chapter Six - An Offer Vernon Can't Refuse Chapter Seven - Harry Potter: Spell Monger, Paladin, and Heir Chapter Eight - Aberration Day Interim Chapter Nine Chapter Ten - Sanctuary Chapter Eleven - Conversations and Confrontations Chapter Twelve - Time with Ginny and Thunderfire Chapter Thirteen - Harry Goes International Chapter Fourteen - Harry and the Wizengamot Chapter Fifteen - The Three-Thirty-Three Families Chapter Sixteen - Business and Pleasure Chapter Seventeen - Business Dinner or First Date Chapter Eighteen - There's Fighting and Then There's Fighting Chapter Nineteen - Coming to an Understanding Chapter Twenty - The Founding Mothers and Fathers Chapter Twenty-One - Peace In Our Time Chapter Twenty-Two - A Day That Will Live In Infamy! Next

 

Thanks go to my new industrial strength writing coach, Kokopelli, and my new professional level proof reader, ebdarcy. Thanks also go to my beta reader, alli-_lynn.  

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The morning after his sixteenth birthday, Harry had a Paladin Program 'visit' with Padma Patil. Their time together consisted of an enjoyable conversation after he fended off her quite vigorous attempts to kiss him for the first two minutes. As Harry was no longer on the Acceleration Potions, they had no chaperone. After the surge had passed, Padma seemed mortified by her advances towards him. She said that she was upset not because of her surge of amorous interest, but because it was so one-sided. She acknowledged that everyone had to start over to control their urges after Aberration Day, but she had not been aware that this did not apply to Harry. Most people don't mind being too foolish if others are acting similarly. She was startled and embarrassed that he didn't act in a like manner.

Harry quickly explained why he was not out of control. He was uncomfortable explaining his actions on Aberration Day and why he was no longer taking the potions, but he felt he owed Padma an explanation. He downplayed his fight, but the account would soon be out among his friends; at least this way he controlled the story. Harry was grateful that Padma had asked permission to tell others his story and he agreed after enlisting her promise to tell the facts of the battle and its subsequent effects on him as he had told them.

Padma said she understood why he hadn't had a hormonal surge at the beginning of their visit, and she seemed to have put her embarrassment behind her by the end of the session But, to Harry's surprise, when they stood to part, she threw herself at him again. This time she was able to get past his defenses and land her lips on his. After a moment, he was able to push her away gently and assure her, once again, that he was not upset with her. This puzzled Harry, as usually the hormonal surges occurred only at the beginning of visits, not at the end.

Padma appeared to be mortified and she apologized profusely, again. Harry, though confused by the occurrence, quickly allayed her fears before departing, citing an upcoming Potions session. As Harry walked away a bit flustered, Padma's shocked look slowly turned to one of delight. Apparently she'd enjoyed the kiss.

Harry's Potions tutorial was a bust. He was supposed to meet with five other students and Professor Jiggers, who he'd never met in person, having only corresponded with him for the past month. When he entered the classroom, however, Shelly Fawcett and Lilith Moon (both from Hufflepuff) and Lavender Brown all rose and tried to snog-assault him.

Ron Weasley and Steve Cappers helped restrain the young ladies and both suffered bruises for their efforts. Steve was a rising sixth year Gryffindor also in the Paladin Program who lived in a different Gryffindor Tower dorm from Harry and Ron. Upon entering the classroom Arsenius Jiggers did some fancy wand work and Harry's assailants were placed behind a temporary invisible barrier. Professor Jiggers immediately rescheduled Harry for a private tutorial early the next day.

Harry made his way to the Great Hall for an early lunch. He had been shocked that the young women had gone after him so; he assumed it was because their 'visit' sessions had only just finished. Everyone still taking the Acceleration Potions had visits at the same time.

As he crossed the Entrance Hall heading towards the Great Hall, Harry heard his name called. It was Remus Lupin.

"Profes- uh- Remus," Harry still had a little trouble calling his former professor by his given name. "It's good to see you, what are you doing here?"

"Good to see you, Harry. I've been giving individualized Defense tutorials for those wanting to join the Paladin Program this school year that didn't make the grades to qualify for N.E.W.T.s level. None of them were DA members, I might point out. I had also hoped to catch you after your Potions tuition. You're out earlier that I had expected. Were you going to lunch?" When Harry nodded, Remus continued, "I also have some guardian business to discuss with you, and I'd like to spend some time together if we could. Do you have set plans for the rest of the day? I thought we might go somewhere to grab a spot of lunch."

"I'm free," Harry replied. "My Potions is rescheduled for tomorrow morning. Other than that I'm on my own. I wanted to do some research, run, and exercise. Maybe even get in some dueling practice, but the day outside is lovely, and anyplace would be a great change other than here, Grimmauld Place, or- well, my new quarters. What'd you have in mind?"

"Someplace where we stand a chance of not being recognized," Remus said blandly. "I'm thinking far to the north near Inverness, about ten miles west, is the town of Dingwall. It's a quiet, mixed Muggle and Wizarding community, where everyone pretty much keeps to themselves. If we wear these cloaks and keep the hoods up we'll fit in nicely. It's bright and sunny there today but very windy and therefore chilly. We won't be the only one's there using hoods."

Remus held out a non-descript charcoal gray cloak that was obviously of high quality. "Very nice," Harry said, "and I see you've taken Sirius' encouragement to heart and upgraded your wardrobe. You could use a little more color, but this is very dapper nonetheless."

Remus chuckled.

They turned and headed to Dumbledore's office to Floo north. Just before entering the corridor to the stairway, Justin Finch-Fletchley rounded the corner with Hannah Abbott following. Seeing Remus first they both made to greet him, but as Harry entered their line of sight, Hannah lurched at Harry in kiss-attack mode.

Harry grabbed her wrists and held her back, and Justin quickly moved to take her from him. "Goodness, Harry, why is she...?"

"I don't know, Justin. Something to do with the effects of Aberration Day is my guess. Glad it's you here and not Ernie," Harry answered matter-of-factly; he'd heard Hannah and Ernie were now a couple.

The Hufflepuffs departed, leaving guardian and ward to walk on. Lupin kept cutting his eyes at Harry to see his reaction to Hannah's actions, but there was nothing to see. Previously Remus would have expected Harry to be embarrassed by such a display, and some teenaged boys would have found the event a great ego boost. Harry, however, might've merely been brushing a piece of lint from his robes, he apparently had not been phased by the event.

Lupin observed that Harry did show some emotion a few minutes later as he fell out of the Floo fire at the pub in Dingwall, covered in soot. The Grey Dragon pub was as dodgy-looking and quiet as the Hogs Head in Hogsmeade, but it was pristinely clean. Remus ordered for them, wanting no one to hear Harry's voice.

The barkeeper pointed them to a table but Lupin asked for an out-of-the-way booth near the back. He leaned in towards Harry. "I'd cast Muffliato if there was just a little more noise in here, but it's as silent as a tomb in here. There's no cover for the buzzing that spell produces, and these wooden walls and floors will ring with any words we-"

With his hand carefully under the table, Harry shot his wand out of his right sleeve and whispered "Ductus Taciturnitas," while he casually waved his wand. The wand disappeared into his sleeve again, "That draws off sound from this table into a hole of silence. Outside sounds head our way like normal, but ours don't leave our immediate area. Sucks'em back you might say."

"Where'd you learn that one? Did you monger it?" Lupin asked.

"Not one of mine, I'm afraid- found it in a book. I really must apologize to Hermione soon. She's been right all along. I've made my way through a number of the books in my Defense library this summer, and I've ordered a number of books from Flourish and Blotts. They've even forwarded Muggle books to me from WH Smith Co. I've had so much time on my hand and nothing else to do. Since learning to speed-read, I find that I'm not bored with reading any more and I can read for hours at a time. At that speed, I find my comprehension is much better; I also finished all my summer assignments weeks ago for every possible class I might take, just for something to do. Now I know why she's so prepared for class. Once you get the hang of it..." Harry waved his hand as if the idea was now very common to him. He smiled a bit sheepishly at his former professor, who had been second only to Professor McGonagall in pressing him to read all of his assignments.

A bored looking scullery maid brought their meals, taking no notice of their hoods. About half of the patrons that day were similarly under wraps.

They both had huge roast beef sandwiches on eight-inch long hard, crusty rolls. The bread was laced with pungent mustard streaked with horseradish sauce. The chips were hot and huge, and there was a crunchy whole ten-inch long, ice-cold dill pickle on the side, over two inches thick. Before Harry were two sandwiches and a double portion of chips. Four butterbeers were laid before them as well.

Without looking up the woman sniffed, "Call if you need anything, pudding perhaps, otherwise...." She left trailing off that last sentence.

"Thanks, Remus, I'm starved." Harry stared silently at the plate for just five seconds, then dug in.

A grin in his voice Remus said, "I know you're not on your strict diet, or we wouldn't be here, but you are still exercising I'm told, so I thought you'd like two."

They munched away, wolfing down their food in companionable silence for the most part. Remus asked about Hannah's reaction. Harry related being perplexed by that himself and told of the events of his Potions tutorial.

Although he had much more to eat, Harry finished about the same time as his guardian. "Harry, we've continued checking your owl posts for hazardous material," Lupin began.

"No one's been hurt in the process have they?" Harry interrupted.

"No, and we've only discovered one Dark posting, which we were able to handle easily. However, I received a post yesterday from Gringotts as you did. Reading mine I knew yours was similar, and I'm sorry, but I couldn't come see you yesterday. I don't want you to think I'm withholding..." Lupin said, pausing to choose his next words.

"If you'd been waiting for weeks to tell me I might have, Remus, but with a one day delay, I don't think you're keeping me ignorant."

Harry looked straight into his guardian's eyes. "Remus, please don't feel you have to be uneasy with me. I spouted off yesterday to that lot in the library because the general consensus automatically assumed I was going Dark. To your credit, you didn't make that assumption.

"Ever since we spent that day together behind Mrs. Figg's house, talking about Sirius' will and my parent's faith, I've realized you've always treated me fairly and evenly. I'm not fragile. I'm not going Dark, and I'm not as temperamental as I was last year. I value being your ward, and I'd like us to be friends if we could."

Lupin's face showed a range of emotions during this brief monologue - everything from caution, to concern, and finally to joy. "I'd like that very much, Harry. I still feel bad about not telling you at the start of your third year that I was a friend of your parents, but Dumbledore was right that I could guard you from Sirius better if I kept my distance. Then in less than twenty-four hours, Sirius was proven innocent you found out about your Godfather, and I had my painful transformation, resigned and left Hogwarts. It was best for your safety, but I still wish we'd had more time together then."

He looked carefully into Harry's eyes for any sign of emotions, but there was nothing amiss. He continued. "About the Gringotts letter; the Goblins asked me to go over this with you first. You see, you were supposed to receive your inheritance from the Potter family on your eighteenth birthday, instead of when you came of age at seventeen. It's part of the Potter entailment and not uncommon with older Wizarding families. Your mum and dad left orders for Gringotts to make sure your school account never ran out, so you would be amply funded until then." Lupin stopped and stared at his empty plate.

"What don't you want to tell me, Remus?" Harry asked.

Lupin plunged ahead. "Goblins have their laws and we have ours. The Ministry's Goblin Liaison Office was founded to make sure our laws worked together but did not impose on each other. From our perspective Goblins hold a more piratical view of fair play in business dealings, but they deal with us as we want. We in turn, bank with them in most ways as they want. This is not a problem because Goblins view banking laws more strictly than any others on this planet, magical or Muggle.

"And here's the rub for us. Goblins calculate age in a way that only they understand. They pay attention to birth days, but not our birth dates. They recognize July 31st, but not necessarily 1980 as your birth year. Goblins' maturation cycles vary, so one Goblin may come of age at fifteen, and another not until twenty. It's a biological thing that I find very confusing. Since you're so fond now of reading, I'll find you a book on it if...."

Remus was smiling and Harry held up his hands. "If you think I really need to read it, I will, but otherwise, what's this have to do with me?" Harry asked.

"That's just it, Harry, the Goblins at Gringotts declared you to have attained your Goblin majority yesterday, which to their minds means that you're eighteen. They couldn't begin to care less what year you were born. This has never happened before, and, er, sorry, I know how much you dislike being different. Fortunately, this information was posted to the records at the Ministry by a friend of the Order. He made sure it was recorded but that it did not come to anyone's attention that we wouldn't want in the know."

"So what's this mean, Remus?"

"It means, Harry, that you're now of age and declared eighteen, not just seventeen. You are the sole heir with complete control of the Potter Estate with all rights and privileges, and you must meet with the Goblins soon to sign any number of papers they hold to activate this. In the Wizarding world, even if you inherited before your seventeenth birthday, you wouldn't attain this aspect of your majority. But there's one technicality in your case. The Potters were one of the three hundred and thirty-three original families that signed the compact treaties in the early fourteen hundreds, forming the Ministry of Magic and all other Wizarding governmental institutions in Great Britain.

"When anyone receives the position of head of a three hundred and thirty-three family, he or she instantly becomes of age for all purposes, Wizarding and Goblin. This is an old law that can never happen now because the head of a family becomes titular head only after being declared by the Goblins as having attained Goblin majority, which usually means eighteen years old for humans, but, Harry, you've-"

"But I've done it again. I've done the never-done-before." Harry's face showed no real emotion, and his voice only sounded slightly dismayed.

Not knowing how to react to that statement, Remus continued his delivery. "You have two months to sign the necessary paperwork, but it would be better to do it sooner rather than later. The Goblins are absolutely discreet, but you never know who might go snooping in the Ministry. Best to have this all settled so there's nothing that can be bothered.

"I do have a tentative appointment set for you for 2:00 today, but I can cancel it easily if I Floo call them in the next..." looking at his pocket watch Remus said, "Oh, thirty-three minutes, before 1:30."

Harry just stared at nothing for over a minute. He showed no emotion on his face, and Remus noticed not for the first time since Aberration Day, that Harry could drift off into a blank-faced void if he so decided.

After less than a minute of blank, silent pondering Harry asked, "Do we have to Floo there? I hate the Floo and Portkeys; I can never land upright, and the Floo makes me so sooty. I feel... incompetent... doing either of those."

Remus smiled. "They have a VIP Apparation Room. It's warded and confidential. Albus told me of your accuracy and skills; three Apparations, two under battle conditions so to speak, and one over four hundred miles, and he says you are quieter than most adults doing it. You've never been trained, never read a book on it, or any of the Ministry pamphlets?"

Harry smiled sheepishly for just for a moment. Remus saw in this moment a slight trace of the boy he'd taught several years before. The sheepishness vanished, possibly it was never there. Harry said, "I had to do it that day. I knew your lot were going to the rescue, but it was Hermione. For her, or Ron, or Ginny I'd have crawled through fire. But the only way I could help was to Apparate there, so I did." He was pensive for a second then continued, "Could I get my Apparation license today after we square up with Gringotts and I'm officially of age? I don't mind not having it. I wasn't dunned after the last Apparation to Hogwarts' gates. But I would like to be legal, and if I am of age to the Goblins, wouldn't the Ministry, I mean..."

"You have something there, Harry. I believe that the systems of records at the Ministry are all linked to the file where your Gringotts information was entered. If it takes less than an hour at the bank, we can Floo to the Ministry and just go to the testing area. Someone's always there testing applicants until 5:00 each day, and after a few brief written questions the actual testing only takes fifteen to twenty minutes. I don't know about the lines this time of year or time of day, but we can keep our hoods up with a Cooling charm activated if need be, and just see how long it might take."

Remus pulled his moneybag and dropped the amount for lunch and a generous tip on the table. They walked out the back door, and he said, "Harry, do you see the tall hilltop right behind the town?"

"Yes, there's a plateau of some sort at the top."

"That's it exactly. Let's Apparate to that plateau, right from here. You up to it?"

Harry grinned. His smile became slightly distant, and with less sound than someone quietly snapping their fingers, he was gone.

Remus said to no one there, "Albus said he could do it, but it's still amazing." Then he Disapparated from the pub; just not quite as quietly as Harry had.

At the hilltop, Remus went through the different test procedures that would be asked of Harry, and gave him a brief rundown on all of the questions that would be on the simple written test.

Then Harry asked, "How do you Apparate to a place you've never been or seen? I mean, I'd never been to the Grangers', but I had seen that picture of their parlor often in Hermione's notebook. It's from a Christmas a few years back, and the three of them looked so happy that she loves looking at it when she misses them. But how am I supposed to go to this VIP Apparation point at Gringotts. You don't have a picture of it do you?"

Remus pondered the question for a moment. "The picture method is not common, few can do it. You probably Apparated to where Hermione was more than to the place in the picture. We're all linked through magic in someway. Your affinity for Hermione probably made the location part easy for you. The test today, if you take it, will be to go to places you've already been. That's the only method for most wizards and witches. Knowing the address helps. Your magic won't let you Apparate into something. The fact that your breeches were embedded in the wall at the Granger's shows that you were in very strict control of your landing place. Usually, your magic would have let you miss it. It won't let you Apparate into a solid wall, or a piece of furniture, or into a person in an Apparation zone.

"However, if you are very inexperienced at Apparating, or not paying attention at all, that's when splinching usually occurs, oh, and if you try it drunk. Friends don't let friends drink and Apparate."

Harry smiled and said, "Muggles have an expression like that for drinking and driving a car."

"Oh, do they?" said Remus. "The one about Apparating has been around for over two hundred years I believe. Wonder how the Muggles heard it?

"Anyway, Harry. I'll Apparate to the VIP zone at Gringotts ahead of you and you follow me. Let's test it first. I'm going to go to some place in or around the town down here. You concentrate on me for five or ten seconds or so, until you have me clearly in your mind, and then come find me."

Remus disappeared with a crack. Harry did as he was told, and in a few seconds he appeared right beside Remus. They were on a hilltop on the opposite side of the river.

"Excellent, Harry. I'm going somewhere far away from here; halfway to London, about two hundred and fifty miles away. Give it a try."

Five seconds later they were in a field somewhere. It was a good bit warmer.

"Fine work. Fine work, Harry. A little more on Apparating to people. With experience, if you are near someone when they Disapparate, you can usually follow them within five seconds after they leave. This is how the MLE chases criminals some times. However, if you know someone better, you can follow that person more easily, and after a longer wait period - twenty to thirty seconds perhaps. Know someone really well, and know where they are, maybe even having been there before or having seen a picture of the place, and you can Apparate to them regardless of time. This is how you made it to the Grangers' most likely. We've got about twenty-five more minutes before our appointment at Gringotts. I want to try one more experiment beforehand," Lupin said.

'Crack,' and Remus was gone. 'Snap,' and Harry was in the back garden at the Dursley's.

"Remus-"

"Harry, we're safe here for a few minutes, probably longer. The protection wards are in full effect, and the Dursleys are away today. Albus believes there was no connection made between your recent battle and this place. I just wanted to try an experiment. One last confirmation about the two tasks we want to accomplish today.

"That Boulder Bomb curse you mongered. That's what you called it, right? Could you do it again? And more important, do you think you could banish it afterwards?"

Harry looked reflectively at nothing at all for a few seconds. He nodded, raised his arm and his wand shot out of his sleeve. Then he slashed it down quickly pointing to an open space roughly ten feet away. Half a second later a boulder close to six feet in rough circumference and four feet high crashed onto the grass. The ground shook, and even though he'd expected it, Remus jumped slightly in shock.

"Harry, you didn't say anything?"

"No, I modified the spell so I didn't have to. Is that all right?" Harry asked.

"It's your curse; you mongered it. So, if you can make it silent, then who's to say? But, you normally won't study wordless magic until half-way through sixth year."

"Yes, but I've read about it. And Hermione tried it once in Charms. It worked for her but Professor Flitwick discouraged it. She explained the principles to me. Wordless is hard to do on other spells and such, but with my own stuff, well...." He just shrugged his shoulders.

The former professor walked over to the boulder and tried to push on it. It did not move at all. He pounded a fairly smooth part with his fist. He stepped back and nodded to Harry in its direction.

Harry pointed his wand at the boulder and cast, "Relegato Totalus!" The huge stone was gone and Harry retracted his wand into his holster.

Remus' eyes went wide and he said, "You didn't use the normal banishing spell?"

"No, you know that it only makes low mass and low density things go away. When you use it on a person all it does is push them around. I had to make the Boulder Bombs much larger and denser. That's why they stay solid in a fight. It has to be broken away by rough curses and spells. But after I created one of them, I had to be able to get rid of them. I had to figure that out before I mongered the spell to create them in the first place. I could levitate them but where would I take them here at the Dursleys'? I concentrated on the physics of it for a while, and then just mongered this spell to clean them out of my room."

Remus gaped at Harry with his mouth opened. In two seconds Harry realized it had happened again. He sighed, "What'd I do this time?"

Remus snapped his jaw shut and looked down before looking back up. "Well, er, you're not supposed to conjure items out of the air with such large and solid form. That's why such items banish so easily or just vanish after a while for children and weaker witches and wizards. When the Fighting Barrier comes up out of the ground, it uses the dirt, which is why it's so hard on a witch or wizard to cast, and why it lasts so long under an attack. Of course you have apparently made that charm much more efficient. My amazement, sorry, is that you've cast the same solidness out of the air. Steph Granger told me about quantum physics, briefly. I've studied much of standard Muggle science, but nothing that complex."

Harry said, "Well, don't tell Hermione I've done this, she doesn't like it when I don't follow the rules. School rules are one thing, but breaking the laws of science as we understand them applied to magic - I'm not sure how she'd take that." Harry asked stoically, "Is that all you wanted to see?"

Remus blinked. "Well, er, yes. And also it's been over five minutes since you cast that first spell here. Notice it? No owls from the Ministry. Of course, Mafalda Hopkirk has finally joined the Order of the Phoenix because of your, er, activities the other day. She's been a friend of ours, and Albus has been working on her. Her detection equipment could do a lot of good in our fight with the Death Eaters. She can't just Floo us with anything, leastways until the Minister of Magic approves such things - fat chance with Fudge in office. But after your fight, she's now a big Harry Potter fan," seeing Harry's face drop he rushed on, "I mean she now wants to fight in this war, as opposed to sitting on the side lines, and you were the one to make her see things more clearly.

"She agreed that if she picks up underage magic use near here she won't record it as an infraction, but will send an owl only to warn you. The fact that no owl has come tells us that no under age magic has occurred here, so you must truly be no longer underage. So, if we finish with the Goblins in time, we have every right to expect the ministry to allow you to take the Apparation test. Who knows what they'll actually do, but... we'll see. You ready to follow me to Gringotts?"

"First." Harry shot out his wand again and transfigured their cloaks into fine robes, not dress robes, but what he'd seen as business attire robes around Diagon Alley. He then said, "How's that?"

"Fine Transfiguration work, Harry. More reading?"

"And practicing. I guess I'll definitely have to tell Hermione that reading is helpful. I think I'll wait until Ron's not around though."

Remus laughed and then cracked off to the bank.

Within seconds Harry followed.

~*~

They had arrived nine minutes early. An ornate sign on the wall stated "Time is Money." Harry had heard Vernon prattle on about time being money whenever his uncle himself wasn't running late. Harry wondered if it was originally a Goblin expression, or human.

The Goblin at the front desk thanked them profusely for being ahead of schedule, and the chime of the clock on the mantle in the meeting room hadn't sounded the top of the hour when they were seated. Director Gultangk as he introduced himself, had been waiting for them in the room and he also thanked them profusely for being early.

Harry went through the process of signing any number of documents. Gultangk had a normal pace for explanations he seemed to be following and Harry understood most of it. Three times however, Harry had stopped the director and asked questions that took several additional minutes to answer. Each time, Gultangk seemed more and more displeased to answer, though he did answer Harry's questions completely. Each time that he returned to his standard recitation of facts, the Goblin began with the sentence, "Time is money."

Early on Gultangk told Harry that he had over nineteen million Galleons in ready reserve drawing interest, compounded daily, and that the stocks, bonds, and other investment instruments more than tripled that. Property values had not been assessed in nearly a year, but at that time, the property net worth had exceeded eleven million Galleons.

Lupin seemed surprised, not because of the amount, he knew the rough worth of the Potter estate. Remus' surprise was that Harry seemed untouched by the astronomical numbers being bandied about.

After the third time Harry interrupted Gultangk to ask a question, the Goblin looked at his watch and answered succinctly. Then Harry sat bolt upright as if he'd just realized something. He said, "Director Gultangk. Time is money. Please forgive me for not realizing the situation. There is a standard amount of time you've set aside to help me today, correct? Please begin charging my ready reserve account at your standard going rate plus ten percent for any time I ask for above and beyond my allotment.

"I want our years of association to be profitable for both of us. I demand that you charge me above normal rates and I expect you to deliver your highest quality in service and assistance. If I am being rude or a poor businessman by your standards in asking this, please forgive me. I mean no offense."

Lupin looked fearful because of Harry's boldness, but Gultangk produced a truly wicked looking and apparently delighted Goblin smile.

"Mr. Potter. Few wizards even attempt to understand Goblin ways, and our mutual relationships are poorer for it. The standard rate I charge for my consultations is fifty Galleon an hour, the average weekly wage for a wizard clerk starting at your Ministry of Magic. At your request, I will charge you fifty-five Galleons an hour and endeavor to provide you your money's worth. At any time you may question the value I deliver for the time I charge.

"However, I will add one hour free of charge to your time allotment today in appreciation of your perceptiveness and business acumen. Time is money, but I have nothing scheduled before 4:30 today that will hold me from answering any and all questions you raise," Gultangk said, swiveling slightly in his chair.

"Director, is there some book or pamphlet I can read to better acquaint myself with Goblin business practices, and if it is permitted, how may I read about Goblin society, government, etc.? Forgive me if I'm being too bold."

Gultangk looked at Lupin. "Is he serious?"

Remus looked the Director squarely in the eyes. Lupin was the one who had told Harry that Goblins did not trust those who would not look then squarely in the eyes. "Harry Potter is a most truthful and determined young man, and none of the derogatory things that you've read about him in the Daily Prophet are true. He says what he means."

Gultangk turned back to Harry and said, "Mr. Potter. Please allow me to purchase at my expense several books that will help you. They are not large, so they will not impinge on your school reading, but they will be of assistance. I will also place one hour's credit to your account in our information department to allow you to ask that source any question you have on Goblins and things Gobbledegook. Do you have language skills? Would you like to learn our language, at least the basics?"

"I've never had the opportunity to learn any other language than English, but I'd like to try, I think, if my school schedule permits," Harry said earnestly.

"Fine. We Goblins speak different languages like you humans do. Gobbledegook is the language of Goblins on what you call the British Isles. And, it's the language of commerce in the Goblin world. We have developed learning books to teach our tongue. One teaches Gobbledegook-in-English, but I believe it has never been purchased.

"You spend no time really learning it. You use a pillow when you sleep, am I correct? We use a wooden board, so I'll have the volume adjusted. You place the book under your pillow and it teaches you while you sleep. I'll also send you at my expense the first book in the series. I believe there are a total of ten. A stake-mate of mine, what you might consider a dorm-mate with life long connections, owns the company that produces these books. I will include how to contact him if you desire any of the next language books or any other reading on Goblins or finances, beyond what I send you. I will also arrange for him to give you the clique discount of one percent. We Goblins work in affiliations, what you might consider a clan or zaibatsu. A clique is an affiliation three steps below a stake-mate. Cliques are entry level, but all of our lasting relationships begin there."

Harry said, "Thank you very much, Director Gultangk. I am sure I do not begin to appreciate what you are doing for me in this. I owe you a favor, and trust you to ask one of equal value should you need to do so.

"You are most welcome, Mr. Potter."

"Please call me Harry, sir."

The Goblin paused for a moment. "As one I consider an Affiliate, it is appropriate that I call you Potter, and you call me Gultangk. No non-Goblin knows or hears our given names. Ministry officials often delete my title, which presumes familiarity not given. We expect such rudeness from time to time, but few have been given permission to do so."

"Once again, Gultangk, I am honored and grateful for your trust. Now, since time is money, let us proceed, shall we?"

Harry had the slightest smile on his face. Lupin's face showed he feared Harry had gone too far. Gultangk looked slightly shocked, but in a moment what appeared to be Goblin laughter emitted from his nose.

Finally Gultangk said, "This valise has all of your Family Patents for the Potter and Black families, and their hereditary assignments, stativus, interrex, and interrex saeculum. Before you ask, those are Three-Thirty-Three Family designations within rights and commitments of those ruling family lines. I am not qualified to explain that matter further.

"With this inheritance you now own two first level vaults, Potter, and you'll need them. If you choose to keep your third level school vault we will rent it's use from you for one hundred Galleons a year. If you choose to sell it, the going rate for that level, below the half number mark, is twelve hundred Galleons, but you could probably bid it up a bit."

"I think I'll not sell, Gultangk," Harry said. "I will be glad to rent it to you though. What say the revenue from that vault goes to the Displaced Goblins Relief Fund, under the stipulation that I do not have to wait until the end of the full year contract should I need it sooner? Fair?"

The Director briefly showed his teeth - a disconcerting look, but one the two wizards had come to see as positive. "That is most generous, Potter, and nearly unheard of. Only one other wizard has made such a donation."

Harry said, "I bet it was Professor Dumbledore, wasn't it?"

Goblins are well known for their poker faces in business dealings. Just for a moment, Director Gultangk let his slip. His eyes widened a bit. "The donor wished to remain anonymous." But the guess had been confirmed.

Gultangk hurried on. "Is there any further way we may be of service to you, Potter?"

"Do you have anything like a Muggle credit card, hopefully? Something for me like my house-elf's account that allows Dobby to access whatever he needs at certain Wizarding stores and then it takes the money from my vault. I'd like something that hopefully works everywhere, magical and Muggle?"

"There is our Gringotts Forum Disk." Gultangk rang a small gong on his sideboard and a golden disk with chain appeared in a velvet-lined box in the center of his desk.

"Potter, take your Gringotts key in your left hand. I'll hand this disk to you and it will shock you slightly. Then it will be registered for your use only." Harry did so. "Place it on the cash register of any Wizarding business, and it will transfer funds immediately rung. Ask about that before you place it there.

"When Muggles see it, it appears to be a Barclays Platinum Excelsior Card. It works anywhere normal credit cards are accepted, and in Muggle Cash Transfer Machines. You place it on their registers as well, and all Muggles around it think you are using it as a credit card, even though it is a metallic disc. Just use your vault number as an identity number. Of course that assumes that your magical presence will allow you that close to such Muggle devices.

"Because of your magical emanations you may want a friend to use it for you, and you stand back a few feet or so. Point your wand hand at it if a friend does this for you, and it will work. It has enough Muggle disillusionment charms on it that they won't notice the odd behavior."

________________________________

"Remus, do wizards or witches ever carry two wands or more?"

Lupin looked at Harry for a moment but his eyes indicated he was thinking. "I believe Mad-Eye does, and many of the Aurors do, I think. Why do you ask?"

They were walking into the bank's secured Apparation area. Just then Tonks Apparated in and headed to a door away from them. Lupin had told Harry that Aurors used the site as well as important Gringotts' clients.

She didn't recognize them as their hoods were up. Harry shouted her name just as she stumbled on the carpeting. Startled, she whipped out her wand, but before she knew what had happened, Harry had covered the six feet to her, caught her, and relieved her of her wand.

"Cor blimey, Harry. Give a girl a fright would you. And if you tell Moody you disarmed me I'll hex your nose off. I know all about noses," she volunteered.

"Sorry," Harry said. "Do you have a minute or two?"

"I just popped in to see Bill. I'm off this afternoon, but I'm going by the office for a few minutes anyway. He and I have a date for dinner tonight, and I wanted to double check when. Wotcha need?"

"You're dating Bill, er Weasley? I thought... never mind. Er, can Aurors carry two wands?"

"Sure thing. We have a license to carry as many as we want, but no one's going to carry more than two or three. Each one is magically registered like your first one. I carry a second in my unmentionables, which I guess I just mentioned. I've thought about one for my boot. Only Moody carries more than three, wouldn't you know. Why'd you ask?"

Harry looked down. "You saw the memory the other day. I lost my wand for a few moments and it might have been disastrous. Can a civilian get one of those permits?"

"The Director can give a permit to anyone, but rarely does as you might guess. The Minister of Magic can also. They give them to certain civilians with a demonstrated need, such as security guards and such. Most of us like you down there in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but you have to be of age, Harry. Sorry."

Harry looked at Remus. Lupin said, "Keep this quiet, please Tonks, but the Goblins at Gringotts have declared Harry to be of age. It's confusing, but something about how Goblins come of age at different times. Harry's the first wizard I've heard of to gain his majority under that clause. They seem to be quite taken with Harry here.

"We've checked and the Ministry apparently has him in the records now as eighteen, believe it or not. We're going there right now for Harry's Apparation tests. You should see how accurately he Disapparates, and quiet too."

Tonks said, "So you want another wand, all registered and legal like?"

"It's just that, when I lost my wand in that fight, it would've been nice to have a back up wand to draw and keep fighting. I'm right keen on my wand, but..." Harry paused sadly, and slowly continued. "If I'd had a spare wand a few days ago I might have drawn it instead of doing that wandless Fireball curse. I put too much power into it. I didn't want to incinerate Flint, just catch him on fire enough to make him leave." Harry stopped speaking and stared at his hands.

"I'll... I'll ask, Harry." Tonks swallowed. "I'll go and ask right after I see Bill. You're high on Madame Bones list right now, what with the dementor attacks being foiled and... well, the other day. And she says her niece can produce a Corporeal Patronus because of you, so I'm sure she'll agree. What say you Disapparate there right now. You take your test and I'll be along in a mo' or three."

Lupin said, "We'd better Floo there, since Harry doesn't have his license yet. But we'd appreciate it if you see Madame Bones about this and meet us at the testing area." Remus paused, then said, "Oh, and Tonks, would you ask if she'd grant me a second wand permit also? Same sort of reasons as you two have for them."

"Sure thing. See you boys soon. It will take me only a few minutes here, then to the Ministry."

Harry and Remus Flooed to the Ministry. The testing room was right off the Floo and Apparation Concourse. Harry tripped out of the fireplace, but did not fall. Remus removed the slight dust from his hooded robe, and the mess from Harry's. In the testing room they silently took a number and waited in the corner of the room where they could talk. Harry turned his back on everyone else but Remus, and swished his wand through the same spell he'd used at the restaurant so they could hear his number called, but could speak in private.

Harry said, "I thought, well, I'm not sure how I... I thought you and Tonks might be dating."

Remus chuckled. "I could certainly do worse than Tonks. We've spent a lot of time together Harry. The Tonks family was the only family Sirius had after leaving the Blacks. We'd see her a lot, but she was three when Sirius and I finished Hogwarts. She would call me Uncle Remus back then. I'm fifteen years older than her, which is still a bit of a reach at my age. I'm seeing another woman, one closer to my age right now. I'll not say who, 'cause it's early still, but I'll let you know if we become more of a couple."

"I thought Bill was dating Fleur Delacour," Harry protested.

Remus smiled. "The operative word being 'was.' The Weasleys talk about this openly, so I'm not telling tales out of school. Bill couldn't stand the attention Fleur received as a veela. Plus, he never seemed sure she hadn't used her powers on him. When he questioned her it caused Fleur to blow up at him.

"Tonks was three years behind Bill at Hogwarts, and says she's had a crush on him since her second year when he made prefect. They've dated a month I believe.

"Fleur has apparently captured Charlie Weasley's eye over June and July. Veelas come from Eastern Europe, and as a standard practice all foreign nationals at the Dragon Preserves take a veela antidote potion regularly. It makes you aware of the attraction and able to fight it. Charlie says that she's not that powerful compared to what he's seen. He's back in Romania now, but I believe they correspond."

They became silent for a while. About half of those ahead of Harry had gone by this point. "Harry, Dumbledore sent word that he's been delayed a day or two more. He asked that I apologize to you for the delay."

"I know. Fawkes brought me a message early this morning."

Remus sighed, which caused Harry to look up. "You may not have thought about it Harry, but we in the Order, along with Steph Granger, have gone over that Pensieve memory of your fight a number of times to learn as much as we can, and to see who we might identify as Death Eaters. It never occurred to me, but we didn't ask your permission. Did we offend you in that?"

"No, though I'm glad to know about it," Harry said. "As much as it might bother me, I'll give my other memories of my fights with Voldemort if you think they might help - just for the Order. I don't trust the Ministry, even though I'd like to help the good Aurors as much as possible.

"Remus, why does it have to be so confusing? Why can't we all be on the same side, fighting Voldemort? Here I want to be an Auror, I think, and there are Aurors I'd fight on sight, and Aurors I'd die for. That can't be right, can it?"

"No, Harry, it's very wrong, but it is all too human. We could spend days, as people before us have spent decades discussing it, but I just think that men, and women of course, so people in general sometimes want what they want more than they want what is right and good. If someone wants wealth and goes about it honestly - investing, starting a business, providing a service or product, then God bless them in their efforts. The Weasley twins stand a good chance to become wealthy, and more power to them.

"Likewise, if someone wants to be in government and serve the people, and aspires to be Minister of Magic even, that can be a worthy goal - if they truly try to serve the people to the best of their abilities. They're allowed to make mistakes, monumental ones even, if their hearts are in the right place and they try as best they can. But a number of those seeking wealth and/or power place their own gain or status above honesty and the good of those they serve or govern. Minister Fudge is one of the worst examples I can think of in recent history."

"I've thought along those lines, Remus, and I've read a bit on the subject. You apologized about looking at my memories. I never want to be that sensitive with you. And I hate being that way with Professor Dumbledore. It's just... well, he doesn't know what went on, but he's so sure I didn't have it too bad at the Dursleys.' I guess he knows now if he's looked at the memories I gave him." He looked up. "You're my guardian. I'll show you those memories as well. If we have time we can go by Grimmauld Place and I'll make another temporary Pensieve and let you watch. It won't be silver after I transfigure it, so it'll be safe."

"Harry, now that you're of age and the head of a Three Thirty-Three Family, I'm not really your guardian anymore."

"Can I still treat you like you're my guardian, Remus?" Harry asked earnestly. "There's so much I don't know and there are so few people that I trust."

"When you're a hundred and I'm a hundred and twenty, I'll still have your best interest at heart, but it pleases me to hear you ask, Harry."

"Remus, will you be with me when I talk to Dumbledore when he's back? He just doesn't understand sometimes. He jumps in thinking he knows what I'm saying or what's best for me, which is about to make me go spare. I want to be a part of the decision making. I guess now that I'm of age; I can make all my own decisions without listening to a word he says, but that would be foolish. He is very powerful, knows tons more than I ever will, has lived over a hundred and fifty years, defeated his own Dark Lord, and is amazing in a fight. I'd be nuts not to want his help and guidance.

"Yet, I don't think I'm being childish when I insist he keep me informed about things that involve me, and that I be a part of making decisions about my life. Is that too much to ask? It's my life, such as it is. I have a job to do, a battle to fight, but I'm a person, not a weapon."

"Harry, I don't know what to say. I never thought about it that way before now, but we in the Order have probably been talking about you like you were that eleven-year-old boy who knew nothing of our world. But you're the warrior leader I'm going to follow into battle, aren't you? You're preparing to fight a war and I'm piddling around wondering if you should have two wands or not.

"I'm the foolish one, Harry, and I'm sorry."

Harry turned and looked Remus straight in the eye. Lupin squirmed slightly. "Remus, I have never felt that you've treated me that way, or thought of me like that. If you have, then I accept your apology, but I'm not the same person who stormed the Department of Mysteries with no plan of action and my friends in my wake. I'd like to think I took to heart what you told me at the start of summer holidays and I'm becoming what you, Moody, Mr. Granger, and Dumbledore want me to be. But since I am, I need to be treated accordingly. Remus, you're doing just fine. You've not bothered me about Spell Mongering, and your help today has been invaluable. I am not in a place where I can take care of my affairs, but you've brought this business with Gringotts to me as soon as you could, and now without any fanfare of or hesitation, you're taking me to test for my Apparation license, and to buy another wand if I can.

"Do you really think Dumbledore would just let me do these things without an argument? Being able to Apparate has been useful so far this summer, now I'll be able to do it legally. The second wand might be crucial. Don't you think Dumbledore would think I might use it to get away with pranks around school, and stop me?"

Remus thought for a moment and then said, "I think if you presented it to him with your reasons, and if he listened until you finished explaining, he'd agree. Molly Weasley on the other hand..." Remus grinned.

"Let's not discuss her," Harry said with a smile. "As much as I love her, and I know she loves me, she still sees me and Ron, and Ginny, like we were still on the platform waiting for the Hogwarts Express back in first year."

"Harry, maybe it's because I was a Marauder, but after I got over the initial shock of knowing you were a Spell Monger, I immediately understood that what you said had to be true. Mongering in and of itself is no more evil than the person practicing it. Your wand example works. Another is that there are about as many Dark potions as there are beneficial ones. No one even regulates potions tampering or creation. They do put restrictions on potions after they're created if need be, but some should have never been developed.

"I also want you to know that after you left us the other day, Dumbledore came to a realization that he has treated you like a child much too long. He admitted it before all of us. You mentioned that the first memories you left for him were of the Dursleys; what was in the second temporary Pensieve?"

"Excerpts from Snape's classes over the years and from his attempts to teach me Occlumency. "

"You'll have to show me those memories as well, if you don't mind," Remus said.

"No problem, Remus. Oh, they're calling my number."

The test administrator turned out to be a classmate of Lupin's, a lady named Pamela Tallow. She quickly agreed to keep Harry's name quiet. She seemed delighted to meet the young man, although she'd immediately looked to his scar. She only mumbled that she had thought he was a year younger, but when she entered his name into the ledger, nothing happened as she paused, so she handed him the written test.

Harry headed towards one of the empty school desks in the corner she'd pointed to. The written test consisted of only ten short answer questions. Lupin's brief tutorial that afternoon covered them, so Harry finished in a few minutes. Scoring it took less than a minute.

Tallow took Harry and Remus into a room about half the size of a Quidditch pitch. She asked Harry to crack from marked point to point about the room. Then she asked Harry to Apparate to the Apparation point at Diagon Alley, near the Leaky Cauldron. Remus told them to wait while he Apparated there to check for security risks. He disappeared and reappeared less than twenty seconds later. While he was gone, Tallow told Harry that she had never tested anyone as quiet Apparating as Harry was. Lupin arrived back and the three of them were at Diagon Alley in seconds.

"Now, Harry, I need to see you to go one more place - a little distance this time, but under one hundred miles. I know you've been to Stonehenge, but Muggle tourists are wandering all over it this time of day in the summer. Have you been to Woodhenge? It's about eighty miles from here." As she was speaking Tallow pulled out a picture of the historic site, as she spoke.

"Where do you want me to land?"

"Harry-" Lupin started.

Tallow said, "We have a permanent Disillusionment charm on this corner of the meadow right there. Have you seen it?"

Harry stared for a few moments. Remus called his name again, but didn't a third time when Harry ignored him.

Harry handed the picture back to her, smiled, and Apparated away.

"Pamela, he's never been to either Stonehenge or Woodhenge. He's Apparating to a picture."

"But... that's impossible for a new..."

"You'll find that Harry specializes in the impossible. None of the bad things you've read are true about him, but all of the good things are. And half the good things have not been published. Five or six weeks ago Harry Apparated for the first time to a place he'd never been, focusing on a memory of a picture he hadn't seen in weeks."

A small snapping sound occurred and Harry was back. "You guys coming? It's a gorgeous day."

Snap. Harry was gone again.

Remus grinned because Harry had startled Tallow a bit. "Pamela, Harry had received no training in Apparation that first time, but one of his best friends was in danger and Harry just decided to Apparate to her rescue. The second time he Apparated he brought a Squib with him to save her life. The third time he went from London to the gates of Hogwarts with pinpoint accuracy - all with no training. Please don't make a fuss over this. Harry's a modest young man. And we'd better join him now."

They both found Harry running around the meadow chasing after a dog, who's master seemed to be nowhere in sight.

After a few minutes in the sunshine, they Apparated back to the training room. A rather subdued Tallow filled out the paperwork, but gave Harry a genuine and admiring smile as she handed him his license.

Harry and Lupin walked out of the room and found Tonks near the door. "I'm sorry. Have you been waiting long?" Harry asked her.

"Less than five minutes. No worries. You both have multi-wand permits now, signed by Madame Bones herself. Any messages for Bill? I see him at 7:00 tonight."

"Just send him my regards, Tonks, and thanks again for this."

"Anything for you two. See ya."

They walked to the general Apparation Concourse. "Remus, can't we just Apparate in front of the counter at Ollivanders rather than going to the Apparation Point at the other end of Diagon Alley?"

Lupin said, "If his counter area is full, you'd end up outside or not be able to go there at all. Of course knowing Ollivander, if anyone can, he might have anti-Apparation wards up inside his shop. If he does, we'll just end up outside the wards, in front of the building.

"Alright, you know his shop counter area pretty well, go ahead and I'll be right behind you."

Harry smiled and left the building. Just before he joined him, Remus noticed once again that Harry's Disapparation noise was getting quieter.

There was a slight bump in his Apparation trip, and Remus appeared outside of Ollivander's, about six or eight feet from the shop front, staring toward the door. Anti-Apparation wards. He thought Harry should be right next to him, but he wasn't there. Lupin quickly spun around and knew a fraction of a second of panic, but as he completed his turn, he came to the dirty window of Ollivander's and saw Harry through the panes of glass. He rushed in to see Ollivander as he'd never seen the wand master before, holding a wand tensely at his side.

Harry was saying, "I'm sorry Mr. Ollivander. I... I just Apparated here to your counter area and..."

"Obviously, Mr. Potter, Good day to you, Mr. Lupin. Apparently, Mr. Potter, I have been too late in doing the annual maintenance to my anti-Apparation wards. I had intended to do so next week. They must be weaker than I thought. I'll close early today, right after I served you, and attend to it. Here for a spare wand, gentlemen?"

Harry never ceased to be amazed at how Ollivander knew what the clients who entered his shop came for. Looking at his guardian's face, he saw that he was not alone.

"Harry and I would like back-up wands, and I am interested in looking at your wand arm holders."

"Excellent, excellent, gentlemen. In your situations a second or even third wand would not be ill advised. If I may hold your wands for a moment, it will help me guide you to another. As the older wizard, Mr. Lupin, you should be easier. May I?" Moments later Ollivander entered his shelves and began to pull boxes, but he continued to speak slowly to them.

Identical to Harry's own experience when he was eleven, Mr. Ollivander told about the wand choosing the wizard, and gave the length, core material, and wood composition of eight wands that did not chose Remus. The ninth, a twelve-and-a-half inch cherry wood with a unicorn hair core responded to Remus with a lovely shower of red sparks and chose him. Ollivander drew out an arm wand holder from under the counter and handed it to the werewolf to try for comfort and ease of use.

Harry moved his arm up and his wand shot out into his hand and extended it to Ollivander.

"Excellent draw, Mr. Potter. I see you've been practicing."

"Not really, just every day use."

The wand maker said nothing, but had an odd look on his face. After going back for two minutes into the shelves ands stacks, muttering to himself the whole time, Mr. Ollivander came out and said, "I well remember your first wand, Mr. Potter; we had a time of it, but in all of these I do believe we will find one to back up your first wand.

"If you don't mind, Mr. Potter, may I take a minute or two and have you try several I doubt will work with you? Their response when you hold them should help me in some wand research I am doing."

While they were waiting for his turn to take the Apparation test, Harry had told Remus about the kindness he'd been shown by Mr. Ollivander in the summer before his third year, when Harry had helped with the annual inventory. At that time Mr. Ollivander had told him the story of the founding of Ollivanders as a wand making establishment in 382 B.C., which also brought magic about in Great Britain as it was known today.

Lupin looked hesitant about Harry helping with such vaguely described testing, but Harry quickly agreed. The wand maker continued, "I am most grateful. This is an eight inch oak wand with a unicorn hair; stiff, for Defense work, but much too short for you."

Harry took the wand and held it up and away from them. In a second a small shower of golden sparks began to exit the wand, and filled the ceiling. It lasted for roughly six seconds before ending. Harry laid it down on the counter. He was relieved that nothing had blown up.

"Most curious." Ollivander spoke with much more awe than he'd had when Harry had first succeeded with the brother wand of Voldemort's. All three were quiet for several long seconds.

"Please try this one; eleven inches, willow and dragon heartstring. Very swishy and good for Charms. Should be too flexible for you."

A nearly similar golden flow of sparks occurred.

Harry began, "Mr. Ollivander...?"

"Please, Mr. Potter, just humor me." He reached to a wand mounted on the wall, covered with dust. "Fourteen inch spruce with a half core of unicorn hair."

Once again the golden sparks occurred, but maybe for one or two seconds less time than the two times before. The wand maker took it from Harry and replaced it on the wall.

Mr. Ollivander began taking all of the wands before him out of their boxes, over two dozen. While doing that he said, "That wand from the wall was made during the Grindelwald war, when core materials were in short supply. Those half-core wands were never effective for anyone. I was only able to produce a few red sparks from them, and I can get a few red sparks out of a piece of unfinished wand-tree wood."

On and on, with all of the wands handed him, Harry produced similar golden showers of only slightly varying lengths of time. When he'd laid the last one down, the smoke was rather thick in the room, and absentmindedly Harry swished his hand in the air. The smoke vanished.

Remus had not moved at Harry's right during the entire exercise. Ollivander's silvery eyes were wider than Harry had ever seen them. He said, "The most curious thing yet. Wandless and wordless and just now a sixth-year I do believe. Correct, Mr. Potter?"

Harry nodded. He hated any attention about being unusual, and regretted using the small charm he had mongered to clear the air in his potions lab. But the special attention ended.

"Please allow me to show you gentlemen something." He drew his own wand from his robe pocket and laid it on the counter. "The Ollivander's have had an affinity with every wand we've made. We can produce red sparks from any wand and even rough wand tree wood strips as I mentioned. Please observe."

He picked up his own wand and raised it like the two had tested their wands. A shower of golden sparks left his wand much as Harry had produced. When it stopped he blew on the end, and replaced his wand in his robe.

"Hardly anyone who isn't an Ollivander has ever produced golden sparks, and we only seem to do it with a select few wands in addition to our own wands. Please consider wand making as a profession, Mr. Potter. We've only trained Ollivanders here since 382 B.C., but in your case I am willing to make an exception." Harry just nodded with a dazed look on his face.

Mr. Ollivander returned to the subject at hand. "Normally a second wand is for a particular type of magic that your original wand was not as attuned to. Your friend, Miss Granger - her wand, for instance, vine wood and dragon heartstring, is particularly attuned to Charms, and Transfiguration almost as well. She might want a second wand stronger in Defense, such as yew or holly and phoenix feather.

"You two stated 'back-up' not secondary wands, so I brought out wands that would lean towards Defensive magic as your original wands do. Coincidentally, Mr. Lupin, cherry wood and unicorn hair at twelve inches was the preferred wand combination of the great dueling master of the early 1800's, Oscar Trenchworth.

"But you, Mr. Potter, have the luxury of choosing your own wand based on whatever criteria you wish - length for concealment, color or design for eye appeal; any choice will perform almost or as well as your original wand."

Harry stared for a moment, shook his head, and said, "Please narrow the selection, sir, based on what you think. Defensive back-up is my concern."

Ollivander thought for a minute and said, "This eight and half inch ebony and dragon heartstring would hide well in a boot, as would this nine inch holly and unicorn hair. I see you have your present wand in an arm holder. This twelve-inch ash and unicorn hair would conform to your other arm as easily as your holly and phoenix feather wand does now.

"Have you ever considered double wand fighting, Mr. Potter?" Seeing the inquisitive look on the young man's face the wand master continued. "It's not approved for formal dueling, but since you can perform some wordless and wandless magic, with a fair bit of practice you should be able to use two wands at once. There is a small tome on the matter written by Gregorovich, the Ukrainian wand master who made Mr. Krum's wand. I will order it for you if you like.

"One more wand you may consider, Mr. Potter since you have choices: this eleven inch, mahogany and phoenix feather, just like your father's - for sentimental reasons." Harry and Remus stared at the last wand with mixed emotions obvious on their startled faces.

Harry pulled his Gringotts Forum Disk from his pocket. "I'll take all four if you don't mind, and an arm holder. Please add in Remus' purchases as well. I have this one on my right arm since I'm right-handed. Is there a different style for the left arm?"

Lupin was as surprised by Harry's decision as Ollivander, but when the wand maker looked his way, he nodded quickly. Harry was holding the mahogany wand and did not see the exchange.

"I see by your Forum Disk that you can easily afford this, Mr. Potter, congratulations on your majority, however you attained it." When Harry looked up startled, Ollivander explained. "Gringotts only gives out those Forum Disks to rather well to do wizards who are of age. I do not mean to be wrongfully inquisitive, I merely deduced that somehow you have come into you majority a year early, and have access to the Potter Estate or some other source of substantial funding.

"If that information is to remain unknown, use only Galleons within the Wizarding world and use your Disk as a funds source only in the Muggle world. I am discrete, and will honor your Disk for this transaction as well as your privacy. I am most grateful for your patronage. Please allow me to send you the book by Gregorovich as a small token of gratitude for choosing Ollivanders. The book should arrive within a week."

Outside Lupin asked, "What are you going to do with all of those wands, Harry?"

"I'm not really sure. All of them together are over kill, but I don't know which one or two I might like. Another one on the arm and one in a boot might make sense; I might be able to reach one and not the other." He got quiet for a moment. "And I just like the idea of having one like my father's."

They walked out of Ollivander's and turned to walk to the Apparation point for Diagon Alley. Harry wanted to go by Eeylops Owl Emporium to purchase treats for Hedwig.

In their path stood Dawlish, an oddly bewigged Williamson, and two other wizards Harry had never seen before, all in Auror blue.

"Come with us, Potter, peaceable like," snarled Dawlish, his wand in his hand but by his side. "You're wanted by the Minister of Magic for questioning."

Lupin stepped between Harry and the four and asked, "What charge is Fudge using to justify bringing him in like this?"

"Potter here's been practicing Spell Mongering. You know that's something only a Dark wizard would do."

Lupin said, "Dark wizards also attack innocent children walking to the park." Dawlish frowned and stiffened, drawing his wand arm up just a bit.

Before Lupin could protest further Harry asked, "The Minister wants me. So Fudge has gone through the proper procedure to gain a warrant of inquiry from either the Wizengamot or Madame Bones?"

"You're a minor," Dawlish snarled. We need no warrant for-"

"NOT, as of two hours ago, Harry said. "The Goblins at Gringotts co-signed my majority papers this afternoon. Take me in without the proper paperwork and you'll be liable. My lawyers will have you so tied up my children will gain their majority before you're out of court."

Dawlish frowned. "I'll risk it."

Harry smiled for a moment and Disapparated from the spot.

Williamson frowned and asked, "Where'd he go? His doesn't have an Apparation license."

Lupin said, "He does as of an hour ago. He probably popped up to Hogwarts."

Dawlish sneered. "No one with an hour-old Apparation license can go over four hundred miles. Half that's a stretch."

Lupin looked defeated. "You're probably correct. Let's pop to where you attacked him a few days ago."

Remus Apparated to that particular alley opening and waited. In a moment Dawlish and Williamson arrived, unwittingly confirming the attack and denying their tale of trying to assist Harry with the Death Eaters. Remus immediately Disapparated. It took several long seconds for the two Aurors to concentrate and follow Harry's guardian.

Remus arrived at the Ministry Apparation Concourse, which was crowded with the end of the day employee migrations home. He'd purposely arrived right by a Floo fireplace and used it to travel to the Leaky Cauldron. He jumped right back in the fireplace and made it to the fireplace at Gringotts main hall, near the door. Unless one knew the person well, even an Auror couldn't follow someone taking such a convoluted path. Remus quickly walked outside the bank and randomly Apparated to Woodhenge, the Dursleys' back garden, and the wizarding artist colony in Penzance.

He paused for over a minute to catch his breath; no one was following him. He Apparated to a forest clearing half way between Penzance and Hogwarts, and then on to the front gates of the school. He waited another minute, and then walked in.

When Lupin was fifteen yards inside the gates, Harry disillusioned right by his side. Remus jumped and half drew his wand.

"HARRY!" Lupin exclaimed. "You've scared a year off my life. What the-"

"I've been reading about Disillusionment charms. They've seemed to work at the Dursleys,' but I've never had a chance to try one with an unsuspecting, er, victim shall I say?" He grinned at his guardian.

"You need to go to your safe place, wherever that is. I'll stand here just in case..."

"Remus, I fought those two to a standstill the other day, before I had that surge from the aberrant potion. And I didn't use any of my serious Defensive magic with them other than the Freeze spell. I'd love to face that lot now. I've developed a few binding spells of my own design I'd like to try. Then I'll take them to court for illegal arrest and assault.

"Come on. Let's go to the Great Hall. It's not dinner yet. Maybe I can find a house-elf to bring me a silver goblet. I'll transform it and show you the memories I showed Dumbledore. Then I'll go to my sanctuary and stay there until Dumbledore comes home and sorts out Fudge. Again."

_______________________________

The next day Harry knew he'd be taking the rescheduled Potions tutorial. He'd been reading Potions texts all summer so far, and had brewed the potions as he'd been instructed to in his correspondences with Professor Jiggers. Unknown to him, Harry was both ahead and behind those that were studying the subject this summer. His actual potions work was ahead of schedule, and he was ready for the start of classes, but he'd had gaps in his knowledge of the theory needed.

Harry arrived a few minutes early for his personal tutorial in Potions. All other Paladins were in mandatory exercise programs at the moment. Harry had been training and exercising between 5:00 to 8:00 that morning, and he'd do more before the day was out.

Jiggers entered the room less than a minute after Harry. The aged wizard stood just at Harry's eye level. He had a barrel chest, blue eyes that any woman would covet, and a shock of white hair elegantly coiffed around his head. He wore a gold-rimmed monocle in his right eye, was very dapper in his expensive dress wear, and if it were the late 1890's, Jiggers' would be in the height of Muggle fashion.

"Potter," he wheezed breathily and made no attempt to look at Harry's famous scar. This delighted Harry whenever it rarely happened. "I'm Jiggers, Professor Credence Xavier Arsenius Jigger. I've seen the results of your O.W.L.s and I'll tell you that you'd have advanced in my class these many years ago, to N.E.W.T.s level without any tutoring. Imagine the nerve...

"However, you've not done so at my insistence. None of you are going forward with an Exceeds Expectation without a bit more theory. I've even sent work to those with Outstanding grades in potions to make up the deficiency that I've seen in all of you that I've tutored. Even your Miss Granger missed two questions I'm thinking of on her O.W.L."

"Here." He handed Harry a thin textbook entitled, Addendum to Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger by Arsenius Jigger. "And no. I'm not so vain that I want my name on the book twice. My good friend and business partner, Tyranus Slug, whom I'd like to bludgeon to death in his sleep, also wrote a book impertinently titled Magical Drafts and Potions, after my book with that title was published. His was idiotic and pedantic and of no use at all. He wrote it in a fit of pique when I was given the Potions master's position here at Hogwarts in twenty-eight.

"He's since repented of his childish stupidity and has actually agreed to buy back every one of his books that can be found to avoid lawsuits. He could always mix and brew with the best of us, but had a nasty habit of telling others what to do out of order. Wrote the same way. Well, every other potion he wrote about in his book either blew up or poisoned people, so it was cheaper to buy the miserable books back than deal with the solicitors suing him."

Moments after the start of this tirade, Harry realized that this was the Arsenius Jigger who'd written their standard Potions book. Along with Hermione's help, studying that book closely had probably gotten Harry to the theoretical grade he'd received in Potions, probably his practical grade also.

Jiggers continued his rant, "I should have insisted that the basic book be republished with this addendum incorporated in it, but something about Wizarding copyright laws. Some Muggle once wrote, 'First, we kill all the lawyers.' Not a bad idea except we need then so much.

"Anyway, once you understand this little booklet and what it means, we'll be finished this summer and you'll be a betters Potions student come September first.

"So, tell me Potter, what can you put in a potion?"

Harry was taken aback by the abruptness as well as scope of this question - and the ridiculousness of it. Then he tried to answer it. "Um, well, all sorts... there's hellebore and armadillo bile, and-"

"No, no. Categories. How many categories of materials or ingredients can you put in a potion? What types of things?"

Harry had no clue from five years of potions at Hogwarts and his EE in Potions Theoretical. But he did remember a possible answer from his Muggle grade school science classes. "Er, solids, liquids, and gases?"

"Muggle schooled before coming here weren't you?" When Harry nodded Jiggers continued. "Only the Muggle-schooled seem to know that, and even some of them didn't pay attention in classes. Your Miss Granger started reciting the entire Periodic Table of base elements, but I finally got her to answer that question as simply as you did.

"Yes, solids, liquids and gases. What happens when you mix some granulated solids in a liquid - think when they disappear?"

"They dissolve?" Harry said hesitantly.

"Yes, Potter, good. If you keep pouring in that solid, they eventually can't dissolve any more, then it's__?"

"Saturated."

"And Severus said- well, never mind. When it reaches saturation point what can you do to get the liquid to absorb even more of the solids?"

"Add heat." Harry answered this question more confidently. He'd always enjoyed the simple Chemistry classes he'd had in Muggle school, and had been disappointed when Potions was so different."

"You're going to do fine. Potter. Change of direction. What can you do to a potion while you mix it?"

"Well, you can heat it-"

"Yes, but think just a little broader, what does heating do?"

"Changes temperature, raises it."

"Now you're there. Heating is under the category of changing temperature, just like just cooling it or actually freezing it.

"Here're the basics of this book. There are three categories of ingredients: solids, liquids, and gases. The basic categories can be broken done further, such as solids can be animal, vegetable, or mineral. There are seventeen categories of things you can do to a potion such as change temperature, stir, agitate, separate, and so on. There are fourteen qualities of ingredients such as lubricity, coefficient of friction, and abrasiveness. There are nineteen basic types of magical spells or charms that can be done to a potion, and twelve basic types of spells, charms, hexes, or curses that can be incorporated into a potion. Learn these categories, and then learn the different types of effects of a potion on those who ingest them. Also, learn the types of possible ingesting effects on magical folks, Muggles, Squibs, magical creatures, magical animals, and non-magical animals. Also how animate objects, inanimate objects, and objects under spells, charms, and et cetera can be effected or affected by potions."

Jigger seemed most excited as he rattled off this list of potions related facts, figures, and trivia. He stopped and took a deep breath. "It sounds complicated, but it is not a lot of overall information. Learn these categories of information, then any fact you learn about potions making goes into a one or more of these categories. You'll find you can remember information much more easily - and more important, if you understand these rules you'll more easily realize what you're doing and where you're heading with a potion. You won't fumble around until Lumos goes off in your head. You'll have a framework for scientific investigation and analysis in potions making."

The little Potions master stopped and sighed. He lowered his hindquarters just a few inches so he could perch on the teacher's desk in front of Harry.

Jigger exhaled and said, "And that's the problem with my addendum. It is all about the scientific method as applied to potions making, and these proud pig-headed dunderheads think they're too good to use a Muggle idea in their work. The magical folk at Beauxbatons and Durmstrang translated this work into French, Spanish, German, Bulgarian, Russian, Basque, Croatian, Polish, and a host of other Slavic languages. They've benefited from this book. On the whole, all their students are better potions makers than ours here in England. The Americans love the idea of the scientific method. They like mixing Muggle and Magical technology - no bias hardly whatsoever. Snape refuses to use this addendum, and Dumbledore won't force him."

Jiggers spoke this last tirade with a wistful look on his face while looking off into the distance. Then he looked Harry fully in the face. "You'll not brook such foolishness, will you, lad?"

"No, sir, what you said makes good sense. I always liked chemistry in school."

Jigger smiled warmly for the first time since entering the room. "I knew that if Severus didn't like you, you'd be a bright lad."

Then Jigger looked two inches above Harry's right eye to his scar. But Harry didn't really care.

Over the next five days, Harry read the book through twice, basically memorizing the categories and effects. Three more private tuitions with Jiggers and Harry had a thorough grasp of the concepts. They spent ninety percent of the time together creating potions that demonstrated the tougher concepts so Harry could understand them in practice. After seven days Jigger dismissed Harry from further tutorials for the rest of the holidays, but charged Harry to review the materials several times before school began.

Jiggers also took great delight in telling Snape what a fine Potions student Potter was, "...after he studied my addendum, of course."

~*~

That afternoon after his first session with Jiggers, Harry decided to stay in his room in the Friary at St. Simons to study and exercise.

Lupin was still intercepting and vetting Harry's incoming posts. Hedwig delivered Harry's Daily Prophet with a note from Remus stating that Harry was in the news again.

This time it wasn't a front-page headline story. The entire front and second pages were occupied with the possible conflict with vampires taking place in Eastern Europe. Harry didn't know for sure, but he believed that was what occupied Dumbledore.

No, the story about Harry and Spell Mongery was on the third page above the fold. The headline used his name, but Spell Mongery wasn't mentioned until the first sentence. It accused Harry of mongering spells and using them in the estate where the Dursleys lived with over a hundred other Muggle families.

The article stated that Harry had apparently mongered a number of violent spells and curses with no other intent but to hurt people. It mentioned in the next paragraph all of the past accusations regarding Harry's mental instability. The unnamed author did not call Harry Dark, but the rest of the article cataloged the destructive lives of the Darkest Spell Mongers that had lived. There was nothing telling that he had used his mongered spells in self-defense against any number of Death Eaters. The implication was glaring - Harry was going Dark.

Along with the paper Hedwig brought Harry his posts for the day. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny sent a joint note, along with all of those at Grimmauld Place, stating they did not believe the accusatory article. There were also quick notes of support from Susan Bones, Ernie Macmillan, Lilith Moon, and Sally Fawcett. The letters from the last two were perfumed.

Harry appreciated their support and sent back quick thank you notes to each, but he just knew there had to have been a number of negative and derogatory posts for him that Remus had culled.

An additional note told Harry that Dumbledore would be back that evening, and asked to see him at 11:00 the next morning if convenient. Remus added that he would accompany Harry to that meeting as requested.

Harry threw himself into editing a paper he was writing on Shield charms for the DA. He also re-read one more time the teaching agenda for the expanded DA that Dumbledore had requested from him five weeks before. He ran on his track for an hour, exercised, and started trying to monger a standard Binding charm so Finite Incantatem wouldn't release the person bound.

Occlumency training with Father Martin was going well. Each night he would spend almost thirty minutes practicing what he'd learned, and had a fairly restful night. He rarely slept more that five hours, and felt very rested with that amount.

On his own training regimen he was up, training and exercising by 5:00 AM, if not earlier. Dobby fixed Harry a massive breakfast by 8:00 and the two discussed many things while Harry ate.

With a little more than ten minutes to go before his appointment with Dumbledore Harry crossed through the barrier between St. Simon's and Hogwarts. Five minutes later he was crossing the Entrance Hall to head to the tower where Dumbledore's office resided.

Harry watched several girls heading towards the Transfiguration classrooms, trying to avoid them. Therefore, he did not spare a glance to his sharp right. Draco Malfoy came up from the dungeons where Snape's office lay, and pulled his wand, sending a Disarming spell Harry's way.

Harry's reflexes had been heightened on Aberration Day to a fine point. Upon hearing the start of that spell, he rolled forward towards a suit of armor. In mid-roll his wand was out to return fire when he had a target.

Draco had scrambled back down several steps using the level of the floor of the entrance hall for cover. He fired a Petrificus Totalis that Harry didn't bother to dodge as it was so wide of its mark.

Harry shouted, "Incarcerous!" and kept running in a zigzag pattern toward Draco. Malfoy was bound securely and fell back down the stairs. Harry ran after him, wand raised. At the bottom of the steps he dodged a Severing Charm that hit the wall by his head and sent rock shards into his face and neck.

Harry cast, "Inclusi Munio!" A Battle Barrier appeared in the middle of the floor eight feet from the first step. Harry jumped behind it and pulled Draco in line with the barrier to protect the bound teen.

At that moment Harry heard two shouts. Remus called Harry's name from the top of the steps, and Professor Snape's distinctive rasp shouted his name as if it were a profanity from down the darkened corridor.

"Hold your fire, Severus," Lupin called as he ran down the steps.

"Potter, you arrogant little bast-"

Snape had walked forward and was beginning his tirade from six feet away. In a blur Harry made his way around the barrier, wrenched Snape's wand out of his grasp, tossing it back down the corridor. He pinned the professor to the wall by sticking his wand in the Snape's cheek to the point of causing a bruise.

"When you call me that name, Professor, you falsely accuse my mother. I'll not have that. If you want to get technical, I'm an orphan, not a bastard."

The potions master raised his hand to push the wand aside, but Harry's left hand grabbed his wrist and pinned it to his chest.

"Understood?"

Lupin had said nothing to this point, but the look in his eyes might kill. He finally asked, "Snivellus, did you send a Severing charm towards Harry at head level? That could have killed him. Why you...." His wand was out and he too headed toward Snape.

"Accio wands!" Draco and Snape's dropped wands shot up the stairwell. Lupin's was ripped from his hand. Harry's was pulled away from Snape's face, but he held onto it with some difficulty. He replaced the wand back in the professor's face but not pressing his skin.

Harry recognized Dumbledore's voice.

"Headmaster, I insist you have this whelp expelled from school!" Snape shouted.

Harry shook Snape's clasped wrist and poked the wand almost into his eye socket to silence the man he held captive.

In a deathly low voice Harry said, "Headmaster, I insist you call for an MLE officer with three Solicitor's Pensieves. I want my memories, Malfoy's, and Snape's for the last few minutes recorded for a meeting of the Board of Governors. I want this man removed from his post for attacking a student with deadly force."

Snape might have been slapped, judging by the look on his face. His actions had been called into account in a way that would cause him a great deal of trouble. It would be very difficult for Dumbledore to protect him.

The Headmaster began, "Harry, I am sure this was a misunderstanding-"

"No, Headmaster," said Lupin. "Harry was in a clear light here at the base of the stairs. Snape was in darkness down the corridor. Snape cast the Severing charm, but Harry only cast a Defensive Battle Barrier charm.

"It was Draco that started this by sending a Disarming spell followed by a Body Bind spell at me before I cast anything," Harry said tersely. "I'd done nothing to warrant such an attack. I hadn't even seen him."

Lupin had his wand back from Dumbledore by this time and tried to release Draco from his bindings. The ropes wrapped tightly around his body from mid calves to just below his nose, cutting off his ability to speak. Finite Incantatum did not release him. Nor did Dumbledore's cancellation spell.

Harry saw the request in Dumbledore's eyes, and mumbled under his breath the words that released Draco.

Harry said, "Attack me from behind again, Malfoy, and I'll leave you that way for a while."

"I'll get you for this Potter, just you wait-"

Harry waved his wand wordlessly at Draco and said, "Ten." After Draco went silent Harry said, "In ten minutes you'll be able to speak again. Enjoy your rest from conversation."

Harry turned and began walking up the stairwell.

"Potter, remove this spell from Mr. Malfoy, and remove this barrier from my dungeon!"

Harry said, "It's time sealed. No vocal sounds from Malfoy for ten minutes - nothing I can do about it. And as for the barrier, Stativa Ancora. You remove it." A heavy dull protective coating appeared, covering the Battle Barrier.

Harry moved quickly up the steps and walked briskly towards the headmaster's office. Snape began to raise his wand towards Harry, but after one low growl from Lupin Snape turned his attention to the barrier.

Lupin made his way after Harry, and Dumbledore followed after glaring at Snape for a moment.

~*~ Harry fumed silently until all three were seated in Dumbledore's office.

"Harry, you must calm yourself. You shouldn't talk to a professor like that." Dumbledore droned. "Please, have a lemon drop."

Harry leaned forward. "Is that all you have to say about the subject?"

"What would you have me say, Harry?" that Headmaster asked wearily.

Harry closed his eyes. He took several deep breaths. "We desperately need to negotiate some boundaries, Professor." He reached out and took a lemon drop, sucked it briefly and then spat it out before he started laughing. "Do you really eat these? They're stale."

"Eat them? Why yes. Stale? These are from a new box I purchased just last week."

Harry grinned. He drew his wand and made a circle in the air. Then he called out Dobby's name. The looked at the two and said, "It's a way to call Dobby when he's where I'm staying now."

Dobby appeared with the usual house-elf Apparation sound. "You called, Harry Potter SIR?"

"Dobby, your source for Muggle foodstuffs, they have gourmet candies don't they?"

"Yes, sir, Harry Potter SIR."

"Would you please go there and purchase a case of the finest lemon drops they have? Please ask for a new case from the latest shipment, and offer to double the price if you can have the freshest back here in less than a half hour."

Dobby smiled and was gone in a wink.

"Professor, let's skip your precious Professor Snape for a moment," Harry said calmly. "I want to discuss Draco Malfoy. When you first told me about the Paladin Program, you said that it was open for any qualifying sixth or seventh year this autumn, regardless of house. I asked about Draco, and you doubted he would join. You did NOT promise he wouldn't. We both assumed he wouldn't, based on the chivalry requirements and equal treatment for all blood heritages. Evidently he agreed to those terms.

"Also that day, you agreed to tell me about anything that pertained to me. My first question is why I wasn't informed about Draco's admission to the program? I believe it's obvious why I'd want to know."

"Harry, I promise, I planned to tell you today. If I must I'll swear an oath-"

Harry held up his hand. "There's no need to swear to me, Professor. Your word is good enough, and I'd challenge anyone who doubts it. Please continue."

Dumbledore swallowed. "I had intended to tell you today. I did want to see if they would stick to the program. You were secluded at Privet Drive so I waited to see if they'd persevere. Now that you have access to Hogwarts it was on my list of things to tell you. In addition to Mr. Malfoy, Tracey Davis, Clark Spinks, Pansy Parkinson, and Millicent Bulstrode have also joined. I had hoped for Mr. Zabini and Miss Greengrass, but they rejected the offer out of hand."

Harry looked stunned. After a moment he said, "Tracey and Clark I don't know, but they've been neutral enough in all of the Slytherin problems we've had, I guess. But Pansy and Millicent were with Draco in Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad. They were really cruel."

The Headmaster said, "Miss Parkinson follows Mr. Malfoy as she always has. I had to accept them when they made the commitment. I was as surprised as you, but I have renewed hopes for them.

"Miss Bulstrode is an altogether different proposition. Five days after holidays began, her family was attacked by Death Eaters, and all were killed except her. She happened to be at Miss Parkinson's that afternoon.

"Apparently her maternal grandmother was a Muggle. They'd told everyone, including Miss Bulstrode that she was a Squib. Her parents had never joined Voldemort, but had espoused his beliefs. However, her brother had joined the Death Eaters just the previous month. He died before their house, wearing his Death Eater robes, with the mask flung down, trying to defend his family.

"This has been kept out of the press, but it's the exact type of information that needs to be broadcast to all, particularly purebloods.

"Miss Bulstrode raised quite a ruckus wanting in the program after that. She had refused just that morning. She is one Paladin this summer that might approach your commitment to training. She has asked to talk to you if you'll allow it. I am not sure why she wants to, but I am obliged to ask, Harry."

"Absolutely. When can I meet with her?" Harry asked. "I... I want to tell her how sorry I am for her loss. I believe I can sympathize."

All three were quiet for a moment.

Harry continued, "Er, based on that, I definitely would like to talk to her first, but I'll most probably do all I can to include her with all the others as we train. Hermione won't like it. Millicent has treated her roughly on at least two occasions that I know of. But Hermione will listen to reason. Also, I'll start working on Ron right away, even before meeting with Millicent. He'll jump to the wrong conclusion about all the Slytherins, not just Malfoy and Parkinson."

Harry had calmed himself, and now had a smile on his face. "Professor - we've had a bit of unpleasant history between us - especially in this past year. I want us to have a good working relationship, and yet we seem to be arguing a lot lately. We must work together for the common good, don't you agree?" Dumbledore nodded and started to speak, but Harry cut him off.

"Oh, and before I go on." Harry reached into his robe and retrieved three thick scrolls of parchment. "About a month ago you asked for a lesson plan, training schedule, or whatever, for the expanded DA. We never really talked about how it would work, so since I had plenty of time alone, except for Dobby and Hedwig, I developed several options.

"There are basic year-long outlines for each term as a school club, and as practical classes in the afternoon. The classes' idea assumes that the Paladins will spend formal instructional time on these subjects, and that such classes will be optional for the non-Paladins at Hogwarts.

"I have curriculums for first-years, second and third-years, fourth and fifth-years, and Paladin sixth and seventh-years as well as non-Paladin sixth and seventh-years. I recommend that upper-year students act as assistants in the lower year classes or clubs. It will give the younger students someone to identify with in addition to the teachers, and gives the older helpers the opportunity to learn by teaching. I think I benefited more last year from teaching the DA, than from actually practicing the spells for the class.

"There's an old Latin proverb. I think it's Exemplum Doceo, but I may have mispronounced it. Anyway, it means "the example teaches." In this case it teaches the student and the teacher. Maybe all teaching does that. I'll have to think about it."

"So here are three scrolls of my ideas."

At the end, Harry had been arranging the scrolls on Dumbledore's desk so they wouldn't fall. He then looked up, and back and forth from the two he sat with. He looked puzzled for a moment about their expressions, and then he blushed and seemed perturbed.

"What? Oh. You're either amazed that I'd work on this so hard, or astounded that there are three scrolls worth. Or maybe it's my improved vocabulary."

Remus chuckled. Dumbledore stated that he was impressed with all three.

"Well as I said the other day, the speed reading has helped my learning and retaining. The Latin proverb made too much sense not to remember. And there aren't three scrolls of information; it's one scroll of information copied twice so you'd have extras."

"Harry, I'd hate to think you've been so bored that you'd take the time to copy this scroll twice more. We have Copy Quills here at Hogwarts."

"No, sir; I wrote it once, then I mongered a charm to imprint the entire text from the one scroll onto another. I can conjure a copy of the scroll with writing, but it's not permanent. Permanence is a challenge. This spell just conjures the text onto an existing parchment as it is on the first scroll. That's not too hard to make last. It takes about a second for each yard of parchment. That's much faster than a copy quill."

Dumbledore said, "That's an amazing bit of magic. I'd like to learn those charms."

Harry grinned like the kneazle who'd just caught a mouse.

"But, Professor, that's evil Spell Mongered magic," Harry said melodramatically. "You'd have to pay for it, of course. Aren't you afraid of being thought Dark if you use such spells and charms?"

Dumbledore looked surprised for a moment, then, actually blushed. Lupin laughed out loud.

The Headmaster raised his hands as if in surrender. "Harry, I've thought long and hard during my travels of the last few days. I purposefully take a Thestral carriage flight in many of my travels so I'd have time to think. You are absolutely correct that Spell Mongering is only as good or as evil as the witch or wizard doing the mongering. To compare it to Potions making was a fine analogy. I've not researched your claim that there has been a smear campaign to discredit Spell Mongery, but I don't doubt it to some degree at least.

"It was your Spell Mongering that caused Minister Fudge to send his Aurors to bring you in," Dumbledore said. "I pointed out that since there are no laws about the matter, he was in error. Cornelius said that he had the right to question anyone; he says he wasn't going to arrest you. I responded that he needed to make a request next time, not a demand. I informed him you would gladly answer questions with either me or your guardian present, and perhaps a lawyer. But requests of that sort need to be an invitation for a certain time, not an Auror capture attempt."

Dumbledore's eyes went wide for a moment and rushed on. "I meant no presumption on your person, Harry, that procedure follows the law and gives you leeway to act as you see fit. I didn't mean to insinuate myself in your affairs."

Harry held up his hand. "Professor, I would want either you or Remus, or both of you there in such a situation, if I couldn't avoid it altogether. You don't need to apologize for that.

"I don't want us to have to be overly cautious with each other. It's inefficient." Harry lowered his head and said a little more quietly, "I'd rather that we try to be friends.

"In the future, just make a statement along those lines and then say that you'll confirm it with me. That way you've given us both all the outs we need. In such matters I trust your judgment above anyone else I know.

"Which reminds me - could you recommend a book or two about our laws and government? I have a feeling my troubles with Fudge won't go away. And before you say 'Minister Fudge,' Professor, the Minister is someone I deem unworthy of the respect of his title, and thus I will use it sparingly. In public I'll use his title, but here; among friends who know his character, or lack thereof, well, among friends it'll be just Fudge."

Dumbledore smiled. "Cornelius has rubbed me the wrong way also, but I use his title with those I cannot talk with as we do here. I'd also like to think that we are among friends now. I appreciate your candor and discretion, Harry."

This was an obvious end point on the matter, so Harry changed the subject. "Professor, I'm committed to the Paladin Program. I feel it's a fine opportunity for me to learn what I need to know for the task ahead of me, and I'm most grateful to you for it. But that program is not the only effort I'm going to make to prepare. Please wait one minute, Professor."

"Remus, has the Professor here told you of the prophecy about my future, and why Tom Riddle attacked me as a baby?"

"No, Harry." Remus was amazed that Harry used that name for Voldemort.

"Professor, you told Snape, but not my guardian? AND, before you say it, I'll call him Professor Snape to his face, in front of other students, and before other staff members, but here between the three of us, and with my friends, he's just Snape. Accept it. I'll campaign for Fudge's reelection before I show your Potions master the respect you think he deserves, which I can't fathom. You have other problems more important to solve than that at the moment."

Harry turned to his guardian and angled his shoulder slightly as if to preclude Dumbledore from the conversation. "I regret not telling you sooner, Remus, but I really don't want anyone to know. Now you must. I have to negotiate a working relationship going forward with our leader here, so I hate to ask this of you, but I must ask you to listen and save all your questions for later." Lupin nodded in agreement.

"The prophecy destroyed at the Department of Mysteries was originally given to Professor Dumbledore. I've seen his memory of it. It says that I am the only one that can kill Voldemort - and it's kill or be killed. Neither of us can truly live while the other remains. I do somehow have a power he knows not, so I have hope. However, I don't know what that power is, even though there are good theories, and, Remus, one way or another I will kill that evil monster."

Harry spoke at a speed and with a tone that brooked no interruption. "Now, Headmaster. You're the leader of the war effort against Voldemort, and I'm committed to follow you. As you agreed, I expect to be kept informed of anything bearing on my part of this fight. However, I also expect to be party to making decisions in my regards, not just told what to do. Agreed?"

"Harry, I and older and wiser heads have your best interest at heart, and we know what you need to go forward."

Dumbledore stopped to breathe at that moment, and Harry jumped in, seeming to change the subject abruptly.

"Professor, I spent the days at Hogwarts after Sirius died and the days up until the Grangers were attacked, beating myself up about two things: my guilt about his death and the fact that this prophecy made me feel like a weapon, not a person.

"I felt like a tool, something to be used, and perhaps discarded or broken after use. Now don't get me wrong, you never said anything that night to make me feel that way. I'm just telling you how I felt during that time.

"Then, the Grangers were attacked. I had a purpose, and when I realized it, I decided it made no difference what I was; I wasn't going to let my friends die. Whatever my role, whatever I had to do, I was going to prepare to fight to win.

"When we spoke that day at Mrs. Figg's, I began to feel more like a person not a weapon. This feeling grew because of all you did for me - getting Remus, Moody, and Mr. Granger to confide in me, helping set up my room, and setting up that library for me to read through.

"But since you set up my room, I haven't seen you or anyone else except Ginny and Hermione, until the battle. Now, I'm not complaining. I realize why I was so isolated. With Dobby added to Hedwig, and with the 'visits,' this has been the least lonesome July I've had in my life. But in spite of all that, I've had hours and hours each day just to think. I've thought a lot about what I've done, and what other people have done, or failed to do, and I've concluded that the only thing that I can do in most instances is to forgive.

"I've gone back over most of my life to see what I can learn to improve my situation going forward. There are a few facts I want to share with you two. I've also decided there are a few questions I want to ask you, Professor, and one or two for you, Remus, as well.

"There are, however, several questions I never want to discuss or know the answers to because I've chosen forgiveness. Let's start with those."

Lupin and Dumbledore looked at each other; both seemed confused a bit.

Harry looked at Dumbledore. "Professor, you viewed my two temporary Pensieves I hope?" Dumbledore nodded and was about to speak, but Harry continued. "I fully understand why you sent me to live with the Dursleys. It's for the blood protection; I accept that. Had I been found like the Longbottoms were, well... let's not go there. However, I never want to know why I went through what I did at their hands. The reasons cannot be helpful to our future relationship. Either you never checked, which was negligent on your part, or you did, which was cruel of you if you knew and left me be. Either way it's bad, so I just decided to forgive you. So we'll never discuss that any more.

"Next, I never want to know why you let Professor Quirrell sit ten feet from you at the head table for a school year, and you never detected Voldemort was on the back of his head. His incompetence as a teacher was enough to remove him, yet you either never checked his classes, or you knew of his poor teaching and did nothing. In my mind, this is another matter for forgiveness.

"Likewise, I never want to know why Lockhart lasted almost a year as the Defense professor. He was worse than Quirrell by leagues.

"You did provide Remus here, my third year. You were an excellent teacher, Remus, but if you had known about this prophecy, would you have taught me any differently?"

Lupin said, "The Patronus charm is one of many things I would have taught you, but because I didn't know of this prophecy you had to beg me to show you that charm. Knowing, I'd have taught you so much more."

Dumbledore remained silent as if he realized Harry needed to deliver his prepared speech.

" I never want to know why a Death Eater could pose as your good friend Alastor Moody, spend a year here, and not be discovered. "His Polyjuice efforts were perfect, but surely Crouch couldn't know enough to fool all of you who knew him.

"I know Umbridge was foisted upon you, but I never want to know why no one did anything to help us learn, particularly those of us with O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s.

"I never want to know why Hermione has discovered and showed me more magic that's useful in a fight than everyone else combined except for what I taught myself this summer.

"Headmaster, I want you to know that that day I committed to the Paladin Program, I said that I'd rather follow you than anyone else. That has not changed, but we need to work together differently.

"I am at peace with not discussing these issues ever again. They are spilt cauldrons to be left and forgotten. I need no explanations. Now, unless there is something astounding you can say about these matters, can we leave them as I want them left?"

Dumbledore pondered this for several moments. "As you wish, Harry."

"Thank you, Professor. I am truly past them.

"Moving on. After the first day of having my training room, I got tired of practicing the same old Defensive spell and charms I'd known. Though I can still spend some time improving my aim, those spells were... I don't know, boring. I began reading ahead in my schoolbooks and found little useful, so I went to my provided library. I learned a number spells, but most of them were either too gruesome, or not powerful enough, or too draining to use.

"Learning Spell Mongery helped. I examined the spells I liked and made a few of them more efficient where I could. Apparently I'm too young to start learning to monger, the old Spell Monger Magister never took an apprentice before the age of thirty, but once again, my ignorance appears to be bliss. Much of the magic I read about gave me ideas for spells and charms I could create. I developed a number of useful bits and pieces and then I unfortunately had a chance to see how they'd fair in a real fight.

Harry leaned back and looked at the two. "Do you see the problem, gentlemen?" They both looked perplexed and shook their heads. "I'm the only one teaching me how to survive in this war. And I'm okay with that - for now. I've taken up Steph Granger's offer to teach me to knife fight. This morning at 5:00 I had my second lesson with him.

"You told me, Professor, that you have a number of instructors coming to teach us this year. I'm looking forward to all of them, but I'm not waiting for them. I've decided I'm primarily responsible for my life, and I will see that I have all the preparation I can get. I'll be studying on my own up to the day the Hogwarts Express leaves. Once here, if I am not convinced I am receiving what I need, I'll hire the best in the world to come here and teach me if necessary.

"Now, Professor, I expect your teachers to be enough, but I am not going to fail in my appointed task. I will kill Tom Riddle, regardless of the cost. I will do what it takes."

Harry stopped and looked down at his hands. No one spoke; though silent it was obvious that he was not finished.

"I ran on my treadmill the night of my birthday as hard and as fast as I could. I was very upset about the treatment I'd received at Grimmauld Place about Spell Mongering. I expect the Daily Prophet, the Ministry, and many of the students in other houses to believe the worst about me. On my birthday, however, many of my friends and the Order rejected me out of hand. It seemed to me many of you would have liked me to die that day instead of monger the magic I used.

After two hours of running that night at top speed, I was so sore... well. I cooled off and plopped on my bed, near tears of frustration. Then it hit me. Everything became clear, gentlemen.

"I am not a weapon; I am a warrior. I'm not just a warrior; I am a leader of warriors. I will kill Riddle, but as you told me, Remus, I'll never get close to him by myself. God help me, but I'll have to lead many others into that fight. Many will probably die, probably some of my friends. I might go insane afterwards at the lives lost, but..." Harry looked down at his hands again.

"Gentlemen; I need to be at the forefront of an army fighting my way to Riddle. I'd rather none of my friends including you two be there for safety's sake, but if none of you follow me because you don't believe in me, then so be it. I'll do whatever it takes to defeat him. If my friends don't support me and I have to go a bit "Dark" to win, then I'll kill myself after the victory to prevent myself from becoming the next Dark Lord.

Quietly he said, "Generals have to count the cost, train and plan to prevent as much loss as possible, and then.... This is war. God help me, I've got to spend the lives necessary to end this. I'll spend mine as well."

The room was silent for nearly a half minute. Under the circumstances and the weight of the matter discussed, what could be said? Dumbledore and Remus had looks on their faces as if they wanted to say that it would not be as Harry described. But they didn't. Perhaps in their heart of hearts, they knew it would be as he said, the prophecy ensured it. And if he were present, he would be one of the leaders, if not the leader. Harry's determination was frightening.

Remus knelt before his ward. "Harry, you'll never go Dark; it's not in you. And I'll never leave you to this alone. I'll fight and work just as hard as I can to see you have that trained army there you need when you need it. I said two days ago that you're preparing for war at an age when I was playing at childish things. No more."

Dumbledore cleared his throat and quietly said, "I'm sorry for the past, Harry, and the burden you now bear better than I could have at your age." He worked his hands over his eyes as if they were tired. "We will work together on this. You are a student still, and I want you to be able to enjoy your life at least a bit, but we do need to work together.

"I have done things in certain ways for most of my life, Harry. I intend to change, but I need your patience. I commit that it is not my intent to leave you out of decisions. Your kind offer to work with me, and your commitment to my leadership, means a great deal to me. You don't just follow me because of your age and my position. Nor do you explode with the temperament of youth that I displayed quite often at your age. You prove your wisdom beyond your years.

"I commit to work with you, Harry, but I need to think on how to put substance to this commitment. Can we meet back in a day or two? I'd like to read your plans for the DA, discuss this with Remus and probably others, and just ponder this for a while.

Harry said, "This is new to both of us. I can't say that I have many ideas about how this will work, but I respect you, Professor. I want to learn from you. I need your guidance and wisdom and insight. Since you apologized, I accept, but it really wasn't necessary."

At this moment Dobby popped into the room.

"Here is Harry Potter SIR's lemon drops, Harry Potter SIR."

"Thank you, Dobby. I am very grateful."

The house-elf beamed, having satisfied his master's request. "Will Harry Potter SIR be eating lunch in his room today?"

"No, Dobby, but I'll be there in the late afternoon and look forward to dinner. Could we have lamb fixed Elven style?"

"With boiled tubers, Harry Potter SIR?" The house-elf almost danced with delight.

"That would be delicious, but please make sure all the sap is drained. The fibers stick to my teeth otherwise."

"Dobby apologizes again, Harry Potter SIR."

"No need to apologize. I love your cooking as much as I love Mrs. Weasley's, but if any of you tell her I said that I'll deny it." They chuckled and Dobby grinned.

"Dinner will be at the regular time unless Harry Potter SIR calls. And I made treacle tarts again." The elf popped away.

Harry chuckled. "He really likes to spoil me. I guess I enjoy it too much to stop him, and he's so happy when I allow it. Now what's that look for?"

Dumbledore said. "You eat elven food?"

Lupin said, "I didn't even know they had their own food styles. Never thought about it."

"It's very high energy. They work at such a pace and so hard, everything they eat seems to be power-packed. I eat it several times a week, not more often because it's so spicy. They eat the same meats we do, half our vegetables and add to it things from the forest. Nothing of what I've tried tasted bad yet. But Dobby refuses to make me any elven puddings. He says no human would try them. I think it has something to do with insects, so I don't ask. I'll have him fix something special for the three of us sometime if you're game."

The dubious look on their faces caused Harry to smile and go on with the discussion.

But first he said, "Now, Headmaster, Remus, try one of these lemon drops. You'll go Muggle for these from now on, I'll wager."

Remus tried one and then said that it was the best lemon drop he'd ever tried. Dumbledore was in ecstasy. They talked for several minutes about Muggle confections. The headmaster was most pleased with Harry's gift of two pounds of the sweets, and the teen offered to keep him supplied through out the year. "Just tell me when you're low, and I'll have Dobby handle it. I find Honeydukes makes great chocolates and magical treats, but their Muggle style hard candies aren't that good."

Harry paused. "There is one more issue I'd like to discuss, Professor, if you have the time."

"My day is flexible, Harry, if yours and Remus' are."

"I want to discuss Draco. You say he agreed with all the commitments of fairness required of me. Now for no reason other than spite, he just attacked me when I wasn't looking. He shot both a Disarming spell at me, and a Full Body-Bind. That would be considered a serious attack in the corridors during school term, and would be punished severely. What do you intend to do about it?"

"I will ask Professor Snape to mete out suitable punishment. Please don't hold this against Mr. Malfoy. He has had a parting of the ways with his father, and I have hopes of turning him back to the Light."

Harry closed his eyes and lowered his head for a long moment. Dumbledore seemed about to ask him if he was well when Harry raised his head.

"I'm afraid that's unacceptable, Professor; for five years Malfoy has started every confrontation with us, not the other way around. I give you my word. I accepted your word, but if mine is not good enough, I will draw every memory off into your Pensieve, or in a Solicitor's Pensieve. I'll also submit to Veritaserum for questions on this subject.

"In almost all cases, your precious Professor Snape has been asked to administer punishment, yet Malfoy served no detention or lost points, while Professor McGonagall has been most strict with us Gryffindors. I believe the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs can tell similar stories.

"And now after all of this, Malfoy attacks me for no reason, other than he's a prejudiced, spoiled, despicable person - heavily leaning to the Darkness. Why is he still allowed any access to this school?"

"Harry, perhaps if you'd have followed Miss Granger's advice over the years and ignored him, things wouldn't be at this level of tension between you. After all, for the most part these incidents have been just insults."

"So, that's your answer." Harry said in a deadly calm voice. "Very well, next question."

"Had I not pretty fair reflexes, I'd be severely cut or already dead from your precious Professor Snape's Severing spell this morning. What do you have to say about that? How do you intend to deal with him?"

"Harry, Professor Snape stated that he couldn't see who it was when he cast that spell-"

"Professor, what if you had been running down those stairs to check on a wounded or ensnared student, or Madame Pomphrey, or another student? He could have killed someone."

"Yes, Harry. I see your point. I will talk to Professor Snape about his choice of spells while in this school. You know, he has a rough task before him spying for the Order as he does."

"Yes. Spying on Tom would be difficult, perhaps impossible...."

"What do you say, Professor, about those memories I left for you of your precious Professor Snape's teaching methods towards all houses except his own, over the last five years? Also, what about his continued assaults on my mind while he was supposed to be teaching me Occlumency?"

"Harry, you bring up several disturbing points over and again. I have talked to Professor Snape about his teaching style on occasions. You know, he walks a fine line being head of house for Slytherins. So many dislike them, not without cause in some cases. I believe he helps them along specially to ease the feeling that the other houses are against them.

"Also, I have already expressed my displeasure with Professor Snape regarding your Occlumency lessons. You will no doubt need to continue with those lessons with him this school term since you will not be fully trained with William by then. I propose-"

"NO! Save your breath, Professor."

Dumbledore was startled by this interruption.

"Headmaster, I have picked up a good bit of Occlumency in the few days I have been working with Father William. Amazing what I can learn from a decent teacher."

Dumbledore looked shocked that Harry mentioned his whereabouts in front of Lupin.

"Yes, now my guardian knows where my sanctuary is, but seeing that Snape, the one person supposedly on our side that I trust the least knows, I don't think Remus is a risk.

"Back to Occlumency lessons, I've made more headway in two lessons with Father William than I did all the times I met with your Professor Snape. My new tutor is rather angry at you, Headmaster, for subjecting me to what I endured. Anyway, if I'm not far enough along by the time school begins; Father William has agreed to continue.

"But rest assured, I'll owl Riddle the complete prophecy before I spend one more minute in such lessons with Snape. And if he tries to enter my mind, I'll know, and I'll do whatever necessary to throw him out. That's not open for discussion."

"Headmaster, back to Draco Malfoy and your precious Professor Snape. I read a fascinating phrase in a Muggle book recently. 'The world is upside down.' Have you heard it? It's used when something is the exact opposite of the way it should be.

"We have a student, a group of students, primarily from one house, causing most of the trouble. A struggle of some sort occurs, and both sides are caught. The instigators suffer little if at all, but those defending themselves are definitely punished.

The moral for the Slytherins? We can do what we want with no consequences. A few days ago I killed Marcus Flint, he thought that way on the Quidditch pitch at least. Many Slytherins act this way, and instead of suffering the consequences of their actions, they are protected by your precious Professor Snape.

"The moral for the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs? Protecting yourself gets you punished. Do you wonder why so many refuse to join the Order of the Phoenix, expecting the government to protect them?

"Another possible moral? Get even hard. You'll be punished if you stick up for yourself, so hurt the Slytherin badly when you do attack.

"The final possible moral? It doesn't pay to be righteous, so go dark and join the Death Eaters."

Dumbledore looked like he wanted to disagree, but Harry rushed on to prevent it.

"The other thing that is upside down is a teacher attacking students, mostly verbally, and recently physically. What would you say to Minerva McGonagall if she'd sent a Severing curse at a student? If you can say that your surprise at her doing so would have been any more than your dismay at your precious Professor Snape doing so, then you have a double standard for him as well as the students."

Harry looked at his watch. "Professor, I want you to think about something. You'll no doubt want to respond now to what I've just said, and to what I want you to consider. But once I tell you what I want you to think about, I want you to take time and think about all of the ramifications of these questions.

"My friends are in the Great Hall and I am meeting them for lunch. I have just a few more minutes until they expect me, but I do thank you for your time."

Harry nodded while he said this and Dumbledore did as well.

"Professor, think about this and send me an owl when we can chat again about your answers.

"I've observed that you are big on redemption. You want to help people recover from their mistakes and failings. That's admirable.

"In my second year, you knew I wasn't being truthful when I'd heard snake language in the walls of the castle. You've never punished me for that, or any other misdeeds that were brought to you. I am grateful that you give such second chances.

"I believe it is that same sense of redemption, the mercy you give us when we don't deserve it, that will make you struggle with the following issues. However, I insist you resolve this problem in some manner.

"A fair number of the Slytherins, particularly Malfoy, cause most of the bad feelings to come their way. He has never shown any intention to stop his cruelty. Now he's in the Paladin Program, fair enough, but will you hold him to the same standards you'll expect from me and from all others? I hold you responsible for his actions - you, not your precious Professor Snape. Had I attacked another student like Draco did me, what would Professor McGonagall be doing to me right now? Do you even imagine your precious Professor Snape has any intention of punishing Draco? If so, you're dreaming.

"My first question or series of questions - will you hold these Slytherins to the same standards of conduct that I'll be held to? Slytherins have never been held so accountable in my experience -- will it start now? Once again, I'm not talking about your precious Professor Snape, will you hold them to the same standards? And how will you start now to change their practices of the last five years?

The next questions have to do with your precious Professor Snape himself. Do you believe he teaches at the level of your other professors? Not his knowledge level. Even I apparently learned from him well enough to receive an Exceeds Expectations on my Potions O.W.L. Or was that Hermione's help?

"No, as a teacher, the manner he treats his students, the care and concern he shows all his classes, the regard with which he is held by his students - how does that compare to all of your other professors - even Professors Trelawny, Binns, and Hagrid. Not to mention Professor's McGonagall and Flitwick, or Professor Lupin here.

"How does he compare, and how do your other professors think he compares? Have you ever asked them? Would you tolerate his actions from any other professor without serious reprimands?"

Harry's eyes burned into Dumbledore's with an overwhelming passion. "Life is not fair, a fact that I well know. But is all of this anywhere near fair? Or is your mercy for those leaning towards the Dark discriminating against those leaning towards the Light?"

Harry's tone changed as he leaned back. "Please do not say anything about this now. Just think about it. And you can deliver two messages that I have never been able to communicate effectively myself.

"First, somehow make Draco Malfoy understand that I am through playing games with him. The next time he attacks me as he did today, or attacks one of my friends, I will hurt him. After the second attack, I will hurt him a lot."

Dumbledore's eyes widened with this threat, and he interrupted, "I believe I can assure you Mr. Malfoy will not attack you or your friends this year, Harry. Threats of violence are not needed."

"I don't consider it a threat, Professor, only a guarantee of what will happen. Tell him or not, your decision, but I will act as I've said should he not live up to your expectations.

"But you may have missed the point. It's not just me, or my friends, or Gryffindors. Ask any non-Slytherin third-year or below, at least one in three, maybe more, will tell you of being mistreated by Malfoy himself. Probably all of them have been mistreated by a Slytherin at one time or another. It's larger than me and my friends.

"The other message you can relay to your Potions master. You promise that he's loyal to the Light, and yet I see no evidence that supports that proposition - instead what I see is that he's playing both sides. You say you cannot tell me why you believe in him. I've told you and showed you my memories. They are why I cannot accept his place in this fight that you give him. Therefore, I hold you responsible for his actions and for giving him this message for me. That's not unreasonable of me, as Headmaster, you are responsible for the conduct of the students and the staff of this school.

"Please tell your precious Professor Snape that I am an adult now and so is he. Anyone sending lethal spells my way, I will treat like a Death Eater, and I will respond with equal or greater force. The next time anyone sends a deadly curse towards me I will not hesitate. You may want to tell him, if he doesn't already know, what happened to eight Death Eaters the last time I was attacked."

Both men were stunned by this pronouncement, and tried to say something as he quickly rose. Harry raised his hand to quiet them.

"I'm going to meet my friends. Please stay here, Remus, and discuss this with Professor Dumbledore. He needs you. I'll be in the Great Hall when you're done. If you have time this afternoon, I'd love to spend some of it with you. We have loads to talk about above and beyond the prophecy. Headmaster, please owl me when you wish to discuss this after some time of reflection. Thank you both for your time."

Harry turned and walked two paces before Dumbledore called out, "I'll make sure you don't have to fear Professor Snape, Harry."

Harry paused, but didn't turn around. "Let's set a couple of things straight. First, I don't fear Snape. Second, you trust him and I don't. I think it is as likely that he spies now against you rather than the other way around. Because I don't trust him, I'll be on guard and he'll not succeed in attacking me.

"You, however, do trust him. You're not on guard. My fear is that he'll get you killed, Professor, or worse, kill you himself."

~*~

Harry walked out and the door closed behind him. Remus took the opportunity that the silence provided. Harry's guardian had an odd look on his face, almost one of humor.

"Er, Albus, before we discuss this, I'd like to say something. I have always admired something about you. You've handled the difficult job over the years of working with and directing a diverse group of people, creating fairly cohesive organizations in the Order of the Phoenix and the staff of Hogwarts. You've very caringly and for their own good manipulated people to do the right things under difficult circumstances. I compliment you by calling you a benevolent manipulator when you have to be. You certainly don't do it lightly or with any self-interest, but you've done what has been necessary."

Lupin grinned a most wolfish grin. "And now, Professor, you've just been manipulated into doing the right thing for a number of Hogwarts students and staff members. Harry even turned your offer of lemon drops around on you and gave you candy.

"He forgave you without discussion. He called for the best in you. He reminded you of your responsibilities. He gave you several charges you cannot fail in completing in some manner. He called to your better judgment and professional pride."

Remus paused and smiled. "Well done, Harry. Well done indeed."

Lupin's smile disappeared. "I must also thank you again for what I've thanked you for in the past. I owe you an enormous debt in your arranging for me to attend Hogwarts. It's an opportunity many despise you for, but I'll forever sing your praises.

"But there is one debt that trumps what I owe you. I owe Harry a greater allegiance that I owe you. Please work with Harry and me to make this work. If I have to choose between you two I'll go with him without a thought.

He's graciously forgiven and chosen to ignore situations I'll struggle to not ask you about. He's not asking much. You've agreed to include him in decisions regarding him. All the more he asks is for justice - no, not justice, that would require that we go back to right or punish past wrongs with Malfoy and Snape.

"He only asks for justice and fairness going forward. You'll have to explain it to me as well as him if you chose to not give it."

Dumbledore looked like he'd just been re-transfigured from being a ferret.

Lupin changed the subject. "Now, please tell me everything about this prophecy."

___________________________

Harry succeeded in avoiding two female Paladins on his way to the Great Hall. The house-elves maintained sandwiches, soup, homemade crisps and fruit from 10:30 until 2:30 each day for the staff. They also delivered the required meals for each Paladin present for that meal. At any one time there were never more than ten or fifteen students at Hogwarts during this unique summer program. Usually there were none. But between the various 'visit' scenarios, tutorials, and other required training going on, Hogwarts was livelier this summer than it had been for many centuries in the past.

Instead of sitting in the Great Hall, Harry saw Ron, Hermione, and Ginny standing at the corner of the stairs leading to the Potions classrooms. He walked up to them quietly and heard muttering coming from below.

Snape's clear voice rang out. "I don't care, Filch. You're the caretaker of this castle. Clean up this obstruction immediately." His boots could be heard clearly ringing away from the bottom of the stairs.

Harry slipped past his friends and before they could say anything he quietly ran down the stairs and greeted the caretaker. "Hello, Mr. Filch, have a problem here?" The Battle Barrier Harry had erected and casehardened earlier still stood. There were a few scratches on it, and a small acid burn it seemed. But otherwise it was unchanged.

"Oh, Potter." The man was the master of the nasal, slow drawl speech mannerism, laced with a major dose of sneer and a dollop of sarcasm. "The professor there won't tell me how this got here. He's apparently exhausted his choices in removing it. I've no clue what to do. Magical Mess Remover by the barrel won't handle this, I don't think."

"Could I try, sir?"

Filch stepped back. "Knock yourself out, lad."

By this time Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had made their way down the stairs. "Harry?"

Harry held up his hand for silence. He drew his wand and cast one spell that caused the sheen on the barrier to vanish. Then he stepped back and cast a second spell that caused a small wind funnel to appear around the barrier.

"Step back. You may want to cover your eyes."

As they watched the funnel grew in intensity. The funnel spout moved to the top of the barrier. The funnel top lengthened and pointed up the staircase and out of sight. Slowly at first, but with increasing speed, granules of the barrier chipped off. The particles began to loosen and go up the funnel, changing the coloring of the wind spout.

Harry said, "Back up the stairs," to his friends who were behind him. Filch followed as he edged around the disassembling barrier.

Harry reached the top of the stairs as the last of the barrier material dissolved away up the spout, leaving the floor as it had been. Harry had kept his wand out as if directing the funnel. He turned and trotted towards the doors of the main hall. They pushed open as he and the funnel approached.

Harry made it outside and down the steps from the main doors. He trotted out and away from the castle. He raised his wand above his head and made a sideways and upward whip-like motion away from the castle. A sound not unlike a large Zonko's firecracker occurred, and the powdered barrier material flew out to lightly cover several hundred square yards of grounds with a dusty mist that dissipated over the next thirty seconds or so.

Harry turned to his friends. Hermione made to ask a question, but he asked that she wait for a minute more. He jogged back up the steps to where Filch stood.

"Beholding to you, Potter."

"Mr. Filch, could you do me one small favor?" The caretaker arched an eyebrow. "Would you please not tell Professor Snape that I removed the barrier? If he asks just tell him..." Harry looked puzzled for a moment, then smiled. "Just tell him 'professional secret' and let him think you did it. Would you mind doing that? You wouldn't be lying, just..."

Filch considered the request, and gave the lad one of his best-manufactured evil-caretaker smiles. "Fine, lad. But if the headmaster asks..."

"Oh, no worries, tell him, just not Snape."

"Alright," he drawled. "Now off with you. I've no time for lollygagging with misbehaving students, even on summer holidays."

~+~

Filch decided he couldn't wait to tell Minerva about this, so he crept his highly developed creep for student intimidation until he was in the corridor leading to the Transfiguration classrooms. Then he nearly skipped his way to McGonagall's office.

~+~

Harry led his friends at a quick pace to the Great Hall. There were two professors eating at the head table, and several students, all Paladins apparently, eating towards the front of the hall at the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables.

The four sat at the back end of the Gryffindor table as close to the corner of the room as possible. Hermione took seven books of varying sizes out of her book bag and placed them on the table. The prescribed Paladin lunches appeared before Hermione and Ron, in appropriate portions for their sizes. A platter of sandwiches, a bowl of crisps, and a tray of fruit appeared in front of Harry and Ginny. Pumpkin juice appeared in their goblets, but there was a pitcher of pumpkin juice and a pitcher of water on the table as well.

Lightning fast, Harry shot his wand out of his right sleeve and said, "Ductus Taciturnitas," while he waved his wand around the four of them. The wand retracted instantly and he said, "That draws off this portion of the table into a hole of silence. Sounds head our way like normal from all around us, but no sounds leave our immediate area."

Harry immediately began eating sandwich after sandwich, as ravenous as Ron after a day of de-gnoming the garden. Ron joined him after a moment, and Ginny reached for a sandwich shortly after. Hermione spoke instead, "Harry, how...? What was that barrier and how did you...? Is this more Spell Mongering?"

Harry raised his hand. "Hermione, don't you have to eat that on a time schedule? I'll make short work of this and start telling you about everything that's happened since my birthday. And I'll tell you about the meeting of minds Dumbledore and I had on Spell Mongering. I know you won't eat unless I at least tell you that he's okay with it, under certain guidelines that I told him I was already following."

Hermione said, "But, Harry-"

Harry looked at his watch and said, "Eat Hermione, the world will wait but your food schedule might not." They ate in silence for the next few minutes, but Hermione clearly wanted to ask her questions.

As they finished Harry said, "I found that charm to keep conversations private in a book when I looked for something less obvious than a Silencing charm. We could've gone to the Room of Requirement, but I don't want to appear like we're being too secretive. Most of what I have to say is not a secret so much as no one else's business. Now, I can sit here and talk with you, and no one will know what we're saying or that I'm blocking sounds. Although Dumbledore might know it if he passes through the sound wall I've put up, I doubt anyone else will, except possibly Flitwick, or maybe McGonagall.

"I know you have a lot of questions. I've spent a good deal of time deciding how to explain stuff. I just spent almost two hours with Dumbledore, so I'm a bit wound up. What I'd like to do is go through what I've discovered about what happened to me on Aberration Day, what that's caused to happen since then, and what I've been up to. I have a lot of surprises for you, almost all of it good. I'll start with your concerns about Spell Mongering, but let me say I'm really doing very well this summer. But before I start, is there anything you want to tell me that I might not know and is sort of urgent?"

Hermione said, "You've seen the accusations in paper about you and Spell Mongering?"

"Yes, I have an idea about that, and Dumbledore said he's working on a way I can help the Ministry with my talents. That will get Fudge off my back, for a while at least. Anything else?"

All three shook their heads negatively, so Harry continued. "I see, Hermione, that you've read the only seven books in the Hogwarts library that mention Spell Mongery. I've read them also."

"You've read all these books, Harry?" she asked.

"Yes, Hermione. Don't faint, Ron, but Dumbledore gave me a Muggle book on speed-reading. Appears I didn't like reading because I read too slowly to remain interested. Now I read about three times as fast as I did, and surprisingly, I understand better than I did because my mind's fully engaged. I finished my summer homework on the four core Auror courses eight days after we started the Paladin potions. Since then I've studied everything I can to help with the future, mostly in two areas. I've read or at least read through forty-eight of Defense books for the DA this year, and for the fights that are coming. To help with my Spell Mongery, I've read books on Charms, Transfiguration, history of magic, and even one book each on Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Those two aren't really needed for Mongering, but I was interested, and they should help me understand what I need to go forward.

"I've also read several Muggle science books to better understand the nature of the universe. Quantum Physics is particularly fascinating. It's really opened doors in my Mongering."

Hermione looked shocked and delighted with Harry's admissions. Ron just looked shocked. Ginny smiled at the two and looked back at Harry.

Harry sighed and rubbed his forehead for a moment. "Let me back up. Dumbledore and I discussed on my birthday that Spell Mongering is no more inherently Dark than Potions is. There have been a hundreds of evil, poisonous, hurtful, and cruel potions thought up, and no one blames Potions itself, just the potions' creators. Spell Mongering is equally no more evil or good than the witch or wizard doing the mongering - just like Potions.

Harry kept going. "My wand and Riddle's are brother wands. I could probably use his, and he could probably use mine. Are wands bad or good, or is it just the wizards who use them? Spell Mongery is not bad per se, even though some Mongers have made a Dark botch of it. But did you read about Osbert Blacwin, Hermione? He's the Spell Monger who created Thunderfire, the anti-vampire weapon. Ah, I see you've heard of it."

"Harry." Hermione had been lowering her head like she always did on the rare occasion when she had been found in error - the very rare occasion. The mention of Thunderfire had caught her attention in spades. "Thunderfire was a very important charm. It's been lost for almost eleven hundred years. Are you saying you know how...?"

"I know how it's supposed to be mongered. I just haven't got around to working on it yet. I couldn't monger away on it at the Dursleys'. I need a lot of room for experiments on that sort of volatile spell. I'll try to monger it now that I live... well, where I live. It could get rather hot working on it, especially in close quarters.

"The point is, Thunderfire's a charm designed by Spell Monger Osbert Blacwin, who lived in the ninth century. He had a bad cold when he was trying to create something like your bluebell fire in a jar. He sneezed when he was completing the final mongering steps. He blew the roof off of his workshop and burned it and his house to the ground. He sold Thunderfire to the magical governments of that day for enough money to rebuild his home and shop, and then had a steady income from training what passed for Aurors back then to fight vampires. I bet everything you read about Thunderfire never mentioned Osbert Blacwin or Spell Mongery, did it? Where'd you read about it?"

"It was a footnote in the Journal of Arithmantic and Numerological Research, in an article about Thunderlight."

"Yes, the journal for Arithmantic Spell Crafters." The disgruntled look on Harry's face showed a little more of his opinion of the Crafters.

Hermione said, "Harry, they've done a lot of good, and their magic is available and free to all."

Harry said, "The problem is that the Arithmantic Spell Crafters in the Ministry of Magic have spent the last millennium spreading false statements that my trade is bad, evil, Dark even. I don't know why they've done it, but I think they were afraid that Spell Mongers would take their jobs. Mongers have a number of limits on their trade that Crafters don't, but Mongers have advantages also. Instead of fair competition, the Crafters now seem to have a monopoly, and yet what have they created in the way of new magic lately?

"Did that article in the journal mention any great new bit of magic they've created in the last hundred years?" She shook her head again. "Well I have nothing against them, but they've done nothing of real importance since 1879 that I can find. And they've slandered Spell Mongery to the point where Fudge wants to send me to Azkaban forever with no trial. Dumbledore is trying to save me once again from something I should be celebrated for - not that I want that. Thunderfire may save me from jail, if I can figure it out. Who'd have thought a possible vampire revolt might help my case?"

The three listening to Harry said nothing about vampires, but all three had discussed the horror of fighting vampires that morning at breakfast.

"There's sort of a rough beauty to Spell Mongering, Hermione. It's an art - not fancy - but like looking at a jagged rock cliff and seeing the beauty in it. I just... I just feel like it's right when I monger a spell or charm. I mentally hammer or bang it into shape, or perhaps I use an axe in my mind or a torch or forge so to speak. It's an act of will... I, uh, don't really have the words. I just...."

"Harry, I don't understand." Hermione seemed to hang on Harry's every word. Ginny and Ron paid close attention, but lacked the fervent curiosity that possessed their bushy-headed friend.

"And I can't explain so you'll hear what you normally need, Hermione." He turned from her to include each of his friends. "Look, do you guys believe me when I say Spell Mongery isn't evil, just certain Mongers were?"

They all three nodded.

"I promise to show you how I do it, and maybe even teach you how to monger if you like, but I have a number of other things to tell you now."

Harry told them about the Goblins and how he'd been declared of age and inherited his full family estate. He told of passing his Apparation test and getting additional wands. He didn't tell them about the confrontation he'd just had with Dumbledore. He decided on the spot to discuss that with them after he and the headmaster had resolved the issues pending. He definitely didn't want to mention the Slytherins in the Paladin Program until he heard back from Dumbledore and met with Millicent Bulstrode.

He looked at his watch. "It's 1:25. Do you guys have places to be?"

Ron said, "Thanks for noticing. I have to rush to McGonagall for a Transfiguration class."

Hermione said, "I'm giving a practical Charms tutorial to three Hufflepuffs soon." They stood. She sighed. "Harry, you know I don't like having things I read in books upset, but if Dumbledore.... Well, the most important thing is that I believe in you, Harry. I'm still don't understand, and I hate that feeling, you well know. But I believe you don't have a Dark bone in your body."

She paused and looked down at her hands before looking up again. "I've never fought like you had to that day. They weren't trying to kill us at the Department of Mysteries, because they were afraid of damaging the prophecy. You, however, have faced killers, and if you have to monger spells to defend yourself, who am I to judge?

"I saw my sweet mother kill two Death Eaters right before my eyes, while I did nothing to protect us." She looked down again. While still looking away she said softly, "Perhaps I need to learn some more, er, effective Defensive magic."

Ron had taken Hermione's hand while they were standing there. Harry realized it was the first overt display of affection he'd seen between his friends. They'd covertly held hands at his birthday party.

"Time to go, Hermione," Ron said. "Harry, Dumbledore said that we can see you here at Hogwarts often. Tomorrow we've got the tuitions, and then visits, and then exercises. Can we meet here tomorrow afternoon sometime? We have the afternoon free, but we have to run some time. What say we run together, about 2:00?"

"Sure, I'll be here. Meet you here in the main hall, go on you two."

As they left, Harry turned to Ginny. "Have time to talk, Gin? I just don't want to go back to my er, room right yet. I'd like company. I've missed the Paladin visits with you. Can you take me not running at you?" He grinned remembering his attempts to snog her during 'visits' earlier that summer.

She chuckled. "Alright, Mum doesn't expect me until about three. I was just going to go to the library, but I have nothing particular to look for there. What do you want to talk about?"

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~ Thanks for reading and reviewing. ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

 

 

Disclaimer--- What belongs to J K Rowling is J K Rowling's. Everything left is mine, I guess, but remember the old adage: "There is nothing new under the sun."

However, that which is mine is copyright 2006 Aaran St Vines.

 

Previous Chapter One - "Defenseless Muggles" Chapter Two - Defenseless? Not Defenseless at All Chapter Three - The First of Three Visitors Chapter Four - Alastor Moody and Steph Granger Chapter Five - The Paladin Program Chapter Six - An Offer Vernon Can't Refuse Chapter Seven - Harry Potter: Spell Monger, Paladin, and Heir Chapter Eight - Aberration Day Interim Chapter Nine Chapter Ten - Sanctuary Chapter Eleven - Conversations and Confrontations Chapter Twelve - Time with Ginny and Thunderfire Chapter Thirteen - Harry Goes International Chapter Fourteen - Harry and the Wizengamot Chapter Fifteen - The Three-Thirty-Three Families Chapter Sixteen - Business and Pleasure Chapter Seventeen - Business Dinner or First Date Chapter Eighteen - There's Fighting and Then There's Fighting Chapter Nineteen - Coming to an Understanding Chapter Twenty - The Founding Mothers and Fathers Chapter Twenty-One - Peace In Our Time Chapter Twenty-Two - A Day That Will Live In Infamy! Next