Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The months started flowing by. Christmas came and went. Harry had decided to focus on the telephone idea in his own time and worked on a couple of other projects in the meanwhile. He went home once or twice over the weekends to get more coal for his storage devices and to deliver a couple of hundred monitoring and projection strips for Marauders Inc. to use. He'd had to take a bit of time setting up a recording function for them as well, and he had needed to teach the head of security, the big wolf that went by Daniels, how to use the system and how to handle and store the recordings, mentioning that the millimetre thick plates were made of pure diamond, as he went.

The wolf had laughed, until he explained that he had made them himself. Apparently it hadn't been possible for anyone to transfigure diamonds in the past. It was supposedly impossible. The respect he saw in the big wolf's eyes, at being entrusted with such valuable items, and at the ease with which Harry had done it, made him happy. The Alpha's cub was mighty indeed.

The Study Group was doing well as well. He'd made some progress with the girls and they were very comfortable in his personal space, which was what he had planned all along. They needed to be as comfortable with him as he could make them, since he wanted them to show him affection in public. Anyone that saw them should wonder if they were all his girls, which only some of them really were, in his head. It would protect them better, that way.

Hermione had not complained about him giving the other girls more attention, since that first time, and had stopped complaining about his plans for the future. He treated them all with respect and tried to never make it seem like he cared for any one of them more than the others. Her only problem at this point, by his reckoning, was the way she had been brought up.

Neville seemed to be completely fine with the current plan. He actually seemed to relax more, now that he thought of the girls as spoken for. He didn't get flustered around them, like he did with Hannah Abbott, who had recently caught his eye. As Harry recalled, the boy had been making eyes at her for years, his last time around, but hadn't made a move by the time Harry had quit school to go on a horcrux hunt. He suspected he'd fair better this time, though.

The school had fallen in love with the cinemas. The second one had become the designated one for the younger students, and there was always something on show there that anyone could watch. The first cinema, where Filch sat, was the one for films rated higher. The professors had stricter ideas of what was acceptable than the official ratings and some films were only shown to the seventh-years due to their graphic violence or depictions of more adult relationships.

Harry had taken the time to get all the Star Wars films on his collection as well. It had been reasonably well received. People had needed to explain some things to the people who didn't know anything about space, but the story was still an epic one, even if you didn't understand all the science fiction. The biggest thing that came from it, was a sudden desire to own a lightsaber by the male population of the school. No matter who you were, lightsabers were cool.

Harry had taken some time to consider how he would try to make one, but he never got any inspiration. He could do a blade of force magic and even emulate the light and what heat it was supposed to have, but it would never feel right without the sounds and the edge, which could cut through seemingly anything. When he realise that, he gave it up as a bad job and moved on with his life.

It was nearing the end of the school year, when Harry finally got word that Sirius and Remus had gotten the cup. They didn't tell him how, but they confirmed it was the real thing by using Tom's reaction as a gauge. He had stopped making demands at that point and had started pleading to not be destroyed.

Harry didn't care for their reassurances. He arrived home ten minutes later, having sent a message to McGonagall, to inform her of his whereabouts, just in case she got all twitchy again. He didn't like her angry at him.

He walked into the kitchen to find both men sitting there bloody and bruised, sipping on tumblers of firewhiskey. "What the hell happened?!" he asked.

"You made it sound easier than it was." Sirius complained. "Flying a dragon out of Gringotts is at least off my bucket list."

"You used the plan I used?!" Harry asked incredulously. "Why?! You have much stronger magics than I did back then. And Remus, why would you go along with that insanity?"

Remus looked ashamed of himself. "It did sound like fun to ride a dragon and being the first person to successfully rob Gringotts."

"How did you even get some of her hair to impersonate Bellatrix?" Harry asked.

"We went to visit her in Azkaban." Sirius shrugged. "We're family and being wrongfully incarcerated gave me the leverage I needed to make the arrangements. Remus took some hairs wandlessly from her and her husband."

"At least we didn't stick entirely with your original plan." Remus interjected. "We do have a way to smooth things over with the Goblins."

"Yeah, what's that?" Harry asked.

"An upgraded security system." Remus said with a smirk at him. "That and we'll claim that we didn't steal anything, publicly. The idea is for us to say that it was a test, to see if we could do it."

"Then we'll offer to help them make it so it can't happen again and make them an offer to install a centralised surveillance system with recording functions and everything." Sirius added as he chuckled, but winced, when his ribs didn't like the action.

"We even hid ourselves and the dragon, before it left Diagon Alley, so there's no chance of a muggle having seen us." Remus added. "And we arranged with Charley Weasley to bring some Dragon Handlers to recapture the beast. He didn't know what we were planning, but he was there, waiting for our escape and followed with his people on brooms."

"Hope you don't mind, but we had to give him access to a monitoring plate with a tracking charm connected to a camera plate, which we left on the beast." Sirius said. "We thought it best to not have a magical dragon on the loose in the muggle world."

"At least you didn't leave as many loose ends as we did." Harry allowed, taking out his board and writing a message to Madam Pomfrey.

'Harry: Could you do me a favour and make a stop by Grimmauld Place? Remus and Sirius did something stupid and need a little attention.'

Poppy received the message and sent one to the Heads of House.

'Poppy: Could someone look after the infirmary for the next hour please? I have a couple of patients outside of Hogwarts that 'need a little attention'.'

'Minerva: I'll go with you. I have a suspicion about who.'

'Pomona: Leave the infirmary to me, Poppy. I'm on my way.'

Poppy changed to Harry's message and replied.

'Poppy: I'll be seeing you in a couple of minutes. Keep the fleabags away from alcohol. I've got a potion or two with their name on it.'

'Harry: Too late.'

Harry didn't need to wait long. Poppy arrived with Minerva and marched into the kitchen and directly to the two men. "What did you two do this time?" she asked.

"We robbed Gringotts." Sirius said proudly, but then winced as Madam Pomfrey started checking him over. "Careful! I was injured, woman! You're supposed to be a Healer!"

Poppy stood back and looked at him. "Would you rather I don't help?" she asked with an upturned eyebrow.

"Sorry, Madam Pomfrey." Sirius said meekly.

"That's better." Poppy said.

"What could possibly make you do something as foolish as trying to rob the Goblins?!" McGonagall exclaimed then.

"We didn't try. We robbed them." Sirius said through his teeth as Poppy cast a couple of spells to support his cracked ribs. Then she started adding a salve to help with the bruising.

"It was for Voldemort's last missing item." Remus said.

"It would have been simpler to infiltrate Azkaban and just kill the Lestrange family. Then you could claim to be the last blood relation and walk into their vault." Harry said with a shake to his head. Both the older men looked up at him, in shock. "What, you didn't want to discuss things." Harry said.

"While I agree with Harry," McGonagall shocked them by saying, "I would have simply told the Goblins that they had a stolen Hogwarts Founder artefact in that vault. There are laws that would have forced their hand to go confirm and retrieve the item."

"Or you could have claimed the vault, without killing anyone." Poppy added. "The Lestrange family are all in Azkaban for life. They've been declared legally dead. You could have walked in without any attempts to steal. You should know this Sirius. I'd think you'd know all about it after being sent there yourself."

"Moony, ever think that we should get these people to consult for Marauders Inc.?" Sirius asked.

"Padfoot, my friend, I think you might be right." Remus said, as Madam Pomfrey moved to him, after having taken care of Sirius's last injury. "It might be useful to have a talented healer and mistress of Transfiguration on our side as well."

"On the bright side, we can still claim to have broken into Gringotts and escaped with our lives, on the back of a Dragon." Sirius said, deciding that he could still claim the experience as a win.

"Why not just fly out using the flight-harness?" Harry asked. He'd given them both one, after all.

"We had them on, for a backup." Sirius said. "But come on! We flew a dragon out of Gringotts!"

Harry shook his head as he turned around and walked out of the kitchen, intent on visiting the vault. "Where are you going, young man?" McGonagall asked.

"I'm going to check that they stole the right item." Harry said. "Knowing these idiots, there's a fifty-fifty chance that they got the wrong thing."

"I'll go with you." McGonagall decided, following him, her wand appearing in her hand. "Best not to tempt fate."

Harry shrugged and took her with him. Harry led McGonagall into the Fidelius protected vault and Tom Riddle instantly appeared before her.

"Professor McGonagall! They are going to kill me!" he begged. "Don't let them kill me, please?!"

She looked at him with an expression of loathing as Harry went to the place where the cup was kept. "Tom Riddle. You are a murderer who led others to murder, **** and torture. You will receive no sympathy from me. I hope they destroy you in the most agonizing way imaginable for all the harm you have done."

Tom looked aghast at the woman. He had never been a student of hers, but he knew who she was. She had joined the staff of Hogwarts after Dumbledore was elevated to the station of Headmaster and couldn't teach Transfiguration anymore. He had always heard that she was strict, but fair. "I didn't want to do those things, but I needed an army to protect the wizarding world!"

"You should have joined the Aurors, then." McGonagall said as she watched Harry returning with a smile on his face, ignoring the apparition as he usually did. "It's authentic, then?" she asked him.

"Real as it comes." Harry agreed. "It's a shame the idiot here decided to corrupt these items as he did. If it was me, I'd have used a diamond and then thrown it into the ocean. Way safer than items of historical value that will always be mentioned in books."

"He was likely hoping to have the items used so that he could return one day." McGonagall said, thinking of how the diary was going to take the Malfoy heir's life to come back.

"Still." Harry said as he led them from the vault. "With so many horcruxes, one of them could have been something indestructible and inconspicuous. If he was after real immortality, he should have become an alchemist, or gone after Flamel from the beginning, when he had the manpower."

"Fortunately, we'll never have to worry about that monster again, once you've taken the time to secure his items and the phylactery on the moon." McGonagall said. "If that's still the plan, anyway."

"It is, but we're letting Tom think the plan has changed. We may need some information from him one day and the threat of his destruction keeps him nice and compliant." Harry smirked, knowing the man couldn't hear them anymore.

They went back upstairs and Harry confirmed that they had the right item. They found Sirius writing a letter, which he intended to send to the Goblins. It was being dictated by Madam Pomfrey, since she had been the one with the idea. They would send it that evening still, to claim the vault that they had robbed, stating that they were testing to see if Gringotts was as safe as it could be to keep their fortunes safe. Then they would make the offer to fix the flaws they had used to bypass the protections.

When the letter was done, McGonagall asked, "You two wouldn't know what's been happening to all those missing Purebloods, would you?" The Purebloods had been experiencing a decrease in their number for several months now.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Remus said with a straight face.

"Don't lie to me, young man. I've seen that face at least one too many times." McGonagall said.

"The wolves have been gathering 'Imperiussed' Death Eaters and keeping the ones that confess to having joined willingly, under Veritaserum, and obliviating the innocent ones." Sirius said. "Remus can't tell you, since he's the leader of the pack. He must look out for his people."

"And how many people have you let go?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Two." Sirius said with a shrug. "Turns out there were actually Imperiussed Purebloods. Who knew?"

"I didn't." Harry said honestly. "Is that why Pansy and Daphne's fathers are still around?" he asked hopefully.

"Actually, no." Sirius said, pulling out two small diamond discs and handing them to Harry. The smaller discs were still the same thickness, but much shorter, even if they contained audio and video. "Pansy's father admitted to joining willingly as well. Daphne's father was the one that tried to get our family secrets and arranged your little meeting."

"Why haven't you told me?" Harry asked, looking at the discs. It had become standard practice to record the interviews. "And why are they still free?"

"We didn't want to upset your girls, just yet." Sirius said. "We've got both their signed and sworn confessions, along with the recordings, and have obliviated them of the experience, so that they could be brought to justice, when it suits us. Daphne's father thinks he was beaten in a bar fight. The wolves had a little trouble containing their emotions, when they found out he was the one who tried to have you abducted."

"They were going to abduct him?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes." Sirius said. "They have ways of 'persuading' people to give them information. They intended to do what we've been doing. Obliviating you of the experience after getting all your secrets. They were questioning you under Imperius to try and ascertain if you knew enough to be useful."

"How am I going to tell them?" Harry asked as he frowned. This could end badly for him.

"I suggest honesty." McGonagall said. "I think they'd both appreciate straight-forward answers."

"This will have a big impact on their lives, but they are both strong willed." Madam Pomfrey said. "Sit them down and tell them frankly. Offer them the opportunity to make arrangements, too, if you can. It will allow them to make preparations."

"Thanks for the advice." Harry said as he thought about how to broach such a subject.

"Oh, Daniels asked me to let you know that the coal you requested is in storage." Remus finally said.

"Coal?" McGonagall asked.

"I use it to make the storage for recordings, like the films." Harry said, holding out the discs for her to see.

"I thought those discs were glass?" McGonagall said with a quirk of her head. Then her eyes widened. "No. You couldn't! Really?" she asked finally, when Harry just looked at her, like it was obvious. "But how?!"

"What are you two talking about?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Diamond!" McGonagall said looking at the discs in his hand. "He's been making diamond!"

"Isn't that against the laws of transfiguration? Something about permanently making something more precious than the base ingredients?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Diamond is a condensed form of carbon." Harry said. "Apply enough heat and pressure and the crystalline structure changes, until you are left with diamond. Then I simply transfigure that into a solid plate that is useful to record information on. The process is obviously not something I'm sharing, so no telling!"

"That process has been tried!" McGonagall exclaimed. "The best that transfiguration masters get is a substance known as graphite!"

"You need to add more pressure and heat." Harry said. "If the carbon atoms bonds with three other carbon atoms, you get graphite. You need to take it one step further to bond four atoms with each other."

"What are you talking about?" McGonagall asked.

"Science." Harry said. "Atoms are at the base of every substance, including air. If you know how, you could potentially make anything from the structure of something else, as long as the correct atoms are present."

"Where can I learn about this?" McGonagall asked. If what Harry said was true, there was a whole field of study that would enhance her own capabilities greatly. Permanent transfiguration of substances never before heard of in the magical world, with just a bit of knowledge that this boy possessed.

"I've got a couple of books." Harry said with a smile. "I'm almost done with my high school chemistry education. Hermione could likely teach you a thing or two as well. She's a better teacher than me."

"Outdone by a twelve-year old?" Sirius chuckled, happy that Harry's mood seemed to be improving. "Doesn't feel good, does it?" he asked.

"I've always known that she was smarter than me." Harry shrugged. "If she continues at her current pace of studying, she'll be caught up with me by the time I go to college."

"You're still planning on that?" Remus asked. "But you've built your own space-ship!"

"Two words, Remus." Harry said. "College parties."

"But, you have all your girls!" Sirius objected. He'd spent a long time convincing Harry to start that up.

"And I'll take them along." Harry said easily. "I'm sure they'd love all the attention that they get. As I recall, all of them are going to be quite beautiful, by the time they reach sixth-year. I'll get into many fights to protect their honour."

"You wouldn't be thinking of abusing your power, would you?" McGonagall frowned at him.

"Using, yes. Abusing, no." Harry said. "Some drunk boy tries to hit me, he'll break his hand and I'll not even feel it. I'm not planning on starting anything either."

"You will not become a degenerate alcoholic like Sirius, while you are in this family, young man!" Poppy exclaimed.

"Hey!" Sirius exclaimed. "I'm not that bad anymore!"

"What is in that glass in front of you?" Madam Pomfrey asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's different." Sirius said. "We were celebrating our success."

"Well, since that's going to be your only drink, you can take these potions I brought along." Poppy said producing two potions for the both of them. "Before bed, okay?" she asked with her arms crossed.

"I'll make sure he takes his medicine." Remus assured her, picking his own up and pocketing them.

"Make sure you do." she said.

"I think it's about time we returned to the school." McGonagall said. "Next time you plan something stupid, speak to those wiser than yourselves first."

As they walked out, Harry said, "Technically they used the plan that we used the first time around and they knew it would work. They even added one or two steps."

"But they also used the plan of people who didn't have the options that we do now." McGonagall said. "Last time, the Dark Lord was in control and you had little choice in the matter."

"There is that." Harry allowed as he pulled the two women into a hug and apparated them to the border of the wards of Hogwarts.

"Harry! I told you not to do that!" Poppy exclaimed in shock.

"I was coming this way anyway." Harry said, letting go of them and walking back onto the school grounds. "I thought I may as well bring you along." he called behind him.

"That boy." Poppy huffed.

"He's just letting a little steam off." Minerva said. "He's worried about his conversation with the girls. He started this campaign to win them over, to extend his influence through all the houses and to protect them, but I think he's grown truly fond of all of them. He's really worried about losing them now."

"Well that's stupid." Poppy scoffed. "He saved them from the attentions of not just that first boy, but any that may have done so later. They couldn't doubt his intentions if they tried. Even if he told them to do something they didn't understand, they'd likely do it, before thinking of asking why."

"That's not good either, Poppy." Minerva said. "He doesn't want devoted servants. He wants friends and perhaps something more, but never subservience."

"I know that Minerva, but he's not just a boy. He's a symbol for hope." Poppy said as they finally started walking after the boy, well out of earshot. "Like those stupid heroes he loves so much, he doesn't just beat the bad guys. He also sets an example that the other boys have started copying when they realised how much attention Harry was getting."

"I've noted that myself." Minerva stated. "I'm not going to complain about that either."

It was the next day, just after class, and Harry was back in the cinema. There was nobody there and he had called the two Slytherins to meet with him. Just him and them. The rest of the study group had the day off and were focussing on their own studies, as they often did. They preferred company, but with how much time they spent together, a little time on their own was often appreciated.

The girls arrived to see him pacing in the reception area. He stopped as he saw them. "Hi." he said lamely.

"Hello." The girls chorused. "You asked us to meet with you?" Daphne said, trying for a smile, even though she was nervous. The girls both suspected that this was about what had happened at the beginning of the school year. They both thought their fathers were at least partially responsible for what had happened.

"I did." Harry said nervously.

"This is about our fathers, yes?" Pansy asked. Harry nodded. "Well? What did your people find out? Are they responsible?"

"Yes and no?" Harry said/asked. "I think it will be best if you both saw it for yourselves." he finally decided and walked into the projection room, after sealing the doors shut behind them. Filch kept the projection room pristine, since it was his responsibility, so Harry walked up to the right place and placed the disk into the projector. It was capable of reading audio, since some of the films in their collection were of lower quality and didn't require three separate inputs.

Then he led them to the cinema, before sitting down. "I haven't watched these, so I don't know how this will go." he said as he started the playback.

The girls watched as Pansy's father was brought in unconscious and force-fed Veritaserum. Then he was woken and he was asked to confirm his identity. Then the questioning started. The first of the questions were to establish his status as a willing participant in the terrorist organisation referred to as Death Eaters. The questioning was carried out by Daniels, the big muscular werewolf head of security.

After admitting his willing participation, more questions were asked. His crimes were listed and his accomplices mentioned. When the interview was done, he was knocked out and obliviated. Pansy's face didn't change. She had known all along, though she was disgusted with some of her father's crimes.

Next, Harry quickly loaded the other disc. Much the same interview took place, but the man wasn't a Death Eater. The crimes he had committed were fewer as well, but he did confess to having collected many family magics over the years. It didn't matter if it was friend or foe. He was greedy for knowledge and often hired people who he would obliviate, but paid well for their services.

His business was also built off of a lot of manipulation and backroom deals and using knowledge he gained in the muggle world to make investments that tended to pay out rather well. Daphne was shocked with what she heard, however. She knew her father wasn't a nice man, but she didn't know about the specifics of his crimes. He was one of the ones who had played with people's memories while at school and she had broken down in sobs at the revelation.

"Why did you show us this?" Pansy asked as she hugged her weeping friend.

"Because I wanted you to be prepared." Harry said. "These recordings were made a while back. Your fathers will not be allowed to run free forever. We're thinking you might want to make preparations, before they disappear as many other Purebloods have."

"So your people are responsible for that?" Pansy asked with a frown, as she thought about it. But then she surprised him by nodding in agreement. "Good. I hope they are all dead." she said. "Do you know when my father will 'disappear'?"

"They are waiting for word from me." Harry said.

"You may give the word for my father." Pansy decided. "I am prepared."

"My… my mother and sister will need me to be there for them." Daphne said through her tears. "Can we wait till the end of the year with him?"

"Of course Daphne." Harry said. "I'm sorry I put you through this."

"You didn't make him into the man he is." Daphne said as she extracted herself from Pansy and leaned to the other side, where Harry sat and hugged him, crying on his shoulder. "You're only trying to bring evil men to justice."

She cried on his shoulder for a bit as he held her tightly, giving her the comfort she needed, while he held out a hand for Pansy, who took it. Then he squeezed her hand and she smiled sadly at him.

When Daphne had calmed down some, she sat back a bit and said, "Thank you, for being honest and telling us." Then she leaned forward and kissed him. It was little more than a peck, but it wasn't just a friendly thing either. It was also Harry's first kiss this time around. She then blushed, despite herself, and got up to leave.

Pansy soon got up as well and when Harry joined them, she turned on him and kissed him as well. When she broke the two-second long kiss, she looked him in the eyes and said, "That's for being who you are and for trusting us with your secrets. I'll never betray your trust, Harry, I swear it." Then she turned around again and left with Daphne, trying to hide her blush. It had been all three of their first kisses, after all. Pansy may act cold and dignified, but she was just a girl, who had just kissed her crush.

Harry stood in the door for a bit as he looked after them. He had no doubt that the other girls would know soon. The inner circle were all the best of friends. He was just glad that the girls had taken it in the way he had meant it. He didn't want to shock them, but it would be worse for them to find out later that he had known what had happened to their missing fathers.

He went back to the projection room and took out the disc, storing it in a hidden pocket, and left to go to dinner. He doubted he'd see Daphne or Pansy there, already. Daphne was still emotional and they would have gone somewhere private to talk. They didn't want to show their vulnerability in Slytherin house.

When Harry sat down, he noted a blush on Hermione's face, when she saw him. Did she already know? How quickly had word gotten out? "Hello Hermione." he said anyway and smiled at her.

"H… hi Harry." she stammered.

"Anything going on that I should know about?" Harry asked.

Just then Parvati sat down next to her. "We were informed of the, event, earlier. We girls all agreed to let the others know, when that eventuality occurred." she said, her own blush on her face as she smiled shyly, even as she spoke with as much confidence as she could.

"I see." Harry said. "Is this going to be an issue?" he asked.

"No." Parvati said, turning to dish up. "As long as you don't mind doing it again later. To avoid jealousy, you understand."

Harry didn't know what to say, so he stuffed his mouth, even as his face betrayed him with a blush of his own. He blamed the hormones.

"What are you all talking about?" Neville asked, from where he sat on Harry's other side. He had watched the blushing and smiles and heard what they had said, but he couldn't figure out what they were talking about.

"Later." Harry said.

Neville nodded at that and continued his meal. When he was done, he asked, "Harry, did you ever make any progress on making a lightsaber?"

"The science doesn't exist for it." Harry said. "I can emulate a couple of the effects, but the really cool stuff from the movie simply doesn't work in real life."

"What's the problem?" Neville pressed.

"Well, lightsabers are supposed to use some form of light right?" he asked. Neville nodded. "Well, light, including high density ones, don't make physical contact, so they would pass through each other. Even if you could make a lightsaber, you'd never be able to battle like they did in the films."

"But, what if we just wanted toys, that looks and acts like a lightsaber?" Neville asked. He doubted he'd be allowed to own such an amazing weapon, anyway.

That stumped Harry for a bit. Then he realised he was thinking of it all wrong. They were just kids who wanted to re-enact parts and play with the things. No matter how grown up kids acted, they were still just kids. Why was he thinking of supplying children with real lightsabers anyway?! They'd definitely get hurt!

"You know what, Neville, I didn't think of that." Harry admitted. "Let me think about it for a bit longer. I'm sure I can come up with something if it is just for play."

Neville smile victoriously. "Awesome." he said.

"Hey, Harry?" Fred asked.

Before George could ask, Harry said, "Yes, Fred, I can make more than just one or two, but let me figure it out first, okay?"

"Thanks, Harry." George said with a smile of his own.

Harry smirked at them and then he left, with his friends.

When they were in the passage before they got to the Gryffindor common room, Neville asked, "Can you tell me now what you were talking about?"

"I had hoped you forgot." Harry said.

"Harry kissed Daphne and Pansy." Parvati said for him.

"Technically, they kissed me." Harry corrected, but a little smile crossed his face. "But I'm not complaining."

Neville blushed, like the schoolboy he was, and stayed quiet.

Hermione was suspiciously quiet as well and left for the girls' dorm as soon as they arrived.

"Is she going to be okay?" Harry asked.

"She's thinking about what happened." Parvati said easily. "She'll be fine by tomorrow."

"She does like using that amazing brain of hers." Harry accepted.

That evening was a quiet one. Harry was relaxing with his friends and feeling much better, now that the Slytherin girls knew what was going on. Before bed, Parvati hugged and kissed him on the cheek and smiled at him. Strangely, this touched his heart more than the kisses that Daphne and Pansy had given him. He blushed as he watched her leave.

"Anything you want to tell us, Harry?" Fred asked.

"Anything new happening in your life, which your devoted apprentices should know about?" George added.

"Yes, actually." Harry said as he smiled at them. "Never let your guard down." He lifted them up and flipped them so that they both landed upside down on a couch looking at him.

"One of these days," Fred started, not even righting himself and folding his arms, like he was sitting upside down on purpose.

"You're going to teach us how you do these things." George finished, following his brother's lead.

"We'll see pigs fly before that happens." Harry said, as two pigs with little angel wings started flying circles above the twin's heads, tweeting like little birds.

"Is that a yes?" Fred called after him, as Harry walked away, smiling. Maybe one-day, he'd actually teach the twins something, in exchange for an actual apprenticeship oath. For now, he had a toy lightsaber to design.

It took him a couple of days, but by Saturday, he'd finally perfected the process. It wasn't really all that difficult. A rune or two to create a tube of force. A spell to give it the light. The sword would create the sound as it moved, but the best part was that he had made it so that the 'swords' could react to each other. The clashing sounds of lightsabers and the light where they connected was a tricky bit of magic, but he finally figured out how to make the light and sound effects affect each other in the correct way.

He walked into the Great Hall and approached Neville. "Hey Nev, think fast!" he called as he tossed a tube at the boy.

Neville did not think fast, but Hermione always did, and she quickly caught the tube right as it would have hit his head with her wandless magic. She'd never gotten over the need to use a hand to point or direct her magic, but she compensated by doing it under the table.

Neville was shocked at the floating tube, but then his eyes widened. "No way!" he exclaimed as he took it from out of the air, where it had hovered. It was all shiny metal and had a button on the side. He pointed it away from himself and pressed the button. A green tube of what seemed like glowing energy extended slowly from the hilt as the power of the force tube built to the pre-set length. The sound of a lightsaber was met with awe from the boys in the room.

Harry smirked at him and held his own tube pressing the button. From his extended a red tube. "Are you ready to join the Dark Side, Neville?" he asked.

Neville smirked. "Never!" he exclaimed as he shot from his seat and approached Harry, blade at the ready. The ensuing 'battle' was met with much enthusiasm and Harry was shocked at Neville's proficiency with the blade. Harry was almost defeated and would have been if not for his magically aided strength.

"Where did you learn swordplay?" Harry asked as people cheered, when Neville finally admitted defeat.

"Fencing." Neville said with a shrug as he switched his blade off, watching it retract into the hilt. "Grandmother was afraid that I'd be a weak wizard and had me trained in fencing, so that I could defend myself."

"Neville Longbottom. Hiding skills and strengths I never knew about." Harry chuckled. "If I hadn't cheated, you'd have won!" Neville parried like a master and had Harry off centre more often than not.

"I thought you were too strong." Neville nodded in understanding. "That last attack almost made me drop my new favourite toy."

"Yeah, about that, these are still tubes of force." Harry warned. "If you hit someone with it, you could still break bones, so be careful."

"I will." Neville promised. "How did you end up figuring it out?" he asked as the twins approached with looks of both admiration and hope.

"Magic my good man!" Harry said with a smile as he threw an arm around Neville's shoulders and led him back to his seat. "Magic always succeeds where science fails and visa-versa."

"You made them!" Fred said.

"Did you remember ours?" George asked.

"Sure did." Harry said, as he produced two tiny lightsabers and lit them up. They were red, and the size of a pencil, fully extended. He handed them over, smirking at them.

They looked at the lightsabers, disappointment written on their faces, but then they started to grow in their hands until they were the same size as Harry and Neville's.

"Red, since, as my apprentices, you're obviously on the Dark Side." Harry said with a smirk. They didn't necessarily hear him, as they were already play-fighting. "Remember that those can still hurt you!" he said loudly.

"Yes, Master!" they said together.

"Mister Black!" McGonagall exclaimed as she approached. "I can't have you handing out weapons to students!"

"What?" Harry asked real confusion written on his face. "They don't have blades." he said. "They are basically sticks that look pretty."

"Sticks of force magic!" she exclaimed. "In a toy that people will use to try and bash each other's heads in!"

"We do have wands you know." Harry said. "We carry deadly weapons all the time."

"But those aren't made in the image of a sword, meant for bashing and hitting." McGonagall said. "I can see what you were trying for, but I'm afraid these toys are not suitable for children as young as yourself and the Weasley twins."

"Hey!" the twins exclaimed. "What about Neville?" Fred asked.

"As Mister Longbottom said, he's had tuition in fencing and will know how not to hurt people." McGonagall allowed. "Mister Black and you two troublemakers don't have such a qualification. I'm afraid that I will have to confiscate those."

Harry smirked and held his out to her. "I've made others." he said with a cocky smile.

"If I see you playing with them, I'll just confiscate them too." McGonagall smiled back. She turned to the twins, but they were already running to try and escape. "Now see what you've done?" she asked.

"Hey, I handed mine over, like a good obedient student." Harry said.

"And told me you have more. They don't have that option." McGonagall said as she sighed and walked out of the Great Hall in long quick strides, going after the twins.

"Excuse me, Mister Black?" a voice asked and Harry turned around. It was a teacher Harry recognized, but didn't know.

"Yes?" Harry asked.

"If the tube of force is Runes based, I may have a solution to your problem." the professor offered.

"Oh? Do tell." Harry said with a smile. "Professor…?"

"Bathsheda Babbling, Professor of Ancient Runes." she introduced herself and Harry greeted her politely.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Professor Babbling." he said.

"Same." the professor said. "You could always modify the rune to exclude certain types of physical contact." she said. "In practice such runes are used in places like the entrance to Platform 9¾."

"You know what Professor? I think I'm going to like you." Harry said. "Why have we never met?"

"Because you, young man, have already exceeded the scope of runes that we teach at Hogwarts, if the books I've seen you reading is any indication." Professor Babbling said with a shake of her head and a smile. "Fortunately for you, I am also a Mistress of the practice and could still teach even you a thing or two."

"When, where and how much will it cost me?" Harry asked instantly.

"After your normal classes on Monday. As for the price, perhaps you could see your way to explaining how you produced the other effects?" Professor Babbling offered. "My own attempt at creating such a device, leaves me sadly disappointed."

"You've made a functioning lightsaber?" Harry asked, astounded.

"How could I not?" she asked. "The idea was fascinating, when I first saw the film. I've been wracking my brain trying to come up with all the effects, though."

"Oh, we'll be getting along swimmingly." Harry said as he bid her farewell.

When Harry sat down, Hermione asked, "Harry? When you have something that works, could you see your way to giving me one to give to my dad?"

"Of course, Hermione." Harry said. "I wouldn't forget the man that showed us the film in the first place."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Harry."

Harry was glad that Hermione had finally smiled at him again. There was something wrong with the day if Hermione Granger didn't smile at him.

"I don't want to give one away, but could I also have one?" Parvati asked.

"I'll make one for everyone in the study group if they want it." Harry promised.

Suddenly he was inundated with requests to make toys for the whole of the male assemblage and some of the females.

Harry sighed. Then he stood up. "Anyone that wants one of these, will be able to purchase them from the confectionary stands at the Cinemas, once I've figured out how to make ones that aren't instantly confiscated, and as stock becomes available. Stop asking, please? I want to eat breakfast." That stopped the requests rather quickly.

Things soon settled back into what passed for normal and Harry was finally able to relax as chatter filled the hall. The twins soon came back in with McGonagall, as she carried the three lightsabers in her hands. Harry informed them that he'd be working on making one that won't be confiscated and they finally relaxed and smiled again.

Most of Saturday, Sunday and the classes on Monday were boring to Harry, since he couldn't focus on his own work and the idea of spending time with a Runes Mistress made him just want to skip classes. Unfortunately, by Monday, the Runes Mistress was likely giving class, so he wouldn't be able to go, even if he did skip classes.

By the end of classes, he activated his flight harness and shot through the corridors and made it to the Runes classroom in record time. He arrived so fast in fact, that students were still exiting the class and he floated there impatiently, ignoring the gasps and looks as he looked out over their heads, to see the professor, who was looking back out at him with a bit of amusement and a lot of questions on her face.

Once he entered, the door was closed and they got into the subject of making toys, and maybe one or two actual weapons.

Bathsheda Babbling had succeeded in creating a blade of force, much like Harry had made a staff. Her blade however was so thin, if it was visible and aligned with your eye, you wouldn't be able to see it. Since it was a construct of force, however, it was nowhere near as brittle as it sounded. Her problem was making it look, feel, sound and act like a lightsaber.

They started working on that first. And in a short while, her blade glowed and sounded like a lightsaber, but only when viewed from the side. That was resolved by introducing Harry's runes for the tube of force, with a modification to allow it to go through physical matter. That left her with only one problem. The sword needed to be oriented correctly to still cut.

She could do it manually of course and the button on the lightsaber was placed so that the thumb was in place when the blade was oriented correctly, but that wasn't what she wanted. She wanted it to cut in whatever direction the blade was moved.

Science ended up solving that problem. A tiny gyroscope, which Harry quickly transfigured, was placed just below the blade and charmed like he had done on his spacecraft to remember his orientation and elevation. The blade was then put on a ring of bearings, to turn with the movement and making whatever direction the blade moved, be the direction the blade is oriented. Then they tested it without the tube to ensure it was working correctly, which it did.

The last modification they came up with, was a modification to the force blade. In the movies, the blade seemed to cut through anything, no matter how much pressure was applied to the blade. As it was, if one placed the blade on a surface, the bearings made the blade turn sideways, if not applied with enough force and speed.

The force blade now had a natural hum, as the force was in constant motion at a tremendous speed upwards. At first the effect changed the shape of the blade, to curve backwards slightly. It looked like a katana, but that wasn't what they wanted. A bit of playing with the structure fixed that as well.

What they ended up with, was a lightsaber that would cut through anything with minimal contact and which could cut in any direction, depending on the movement of the blade. It looked exactly like a lightsaber and as far as they could tell, functioned exactly like one too. The only thing that would stop the blade, was if someone had another lightsaber. Even one of the toys would stop it.

The experimentation and modification of the weapon took an entire month, but by the end, they had achieved their goal and were rather happy with the result. They didn't stop at the first one either. They made four more. One for Harry, one for Neville, one for Daniels and one for Hermione's dad. All of them had two settings as well. The first setting was the normal staff. The second, had the blade.

Harry had had to make the actual blade function be very obvious, so he made a slider at the top, which would show green for safe and red for deadly. The colour of the blade would change with it. Instead of a standard colour, the deadly blade would shine purple. If you see purple, you're going for the kill, not that he expected to need something like that anytime soon.

Harry would present the weapon he made for Daniels, the Head of Marauders Security, when he was back home from school. He doubted the man would need one, but he suspected his staff-like function would be useful as a baton. He'd likely be making more of those for the other security wolves as well.

He'd already modified the other four toys to pass through matter and had more like them sold at the confection stand at a decent price. Harry offered the future production of the toys to Professor Babbling. The runes were the longest part of the process and he had other things to do. He took 20% for his effort with the charms and spells that made the effects.

Soon children were having play-fights all around the school and challenging each other. Neville turned out to be a tough challenger to beat and people started asking him for advice and he ended up making quite a few more friends. Harry even saw him practicing with a few of them on occasion. He was very happy to see Hannah Abbott was one of those. Good for Neville.

The school year was nearing its end and Harry had to start spending more time with the study group as Hermione decided that they needed to focus on their studies. Everyone was spurred on by her fervour, but he injected some much needed levity, when things became too stressed.

The girls of the group had started hugging and kissing Harry on the cheek more often. All but Hermione had gotten in on the action. Harry was fine with that. If she ended up not joining his long-term plans, he could live with that.

He remembered how she looked at the Yule Ball every time he tried to think of her only platonically, though, which stopped that thought in its tracks. How she looked at the Slug Club dinner that one time, was even harder to ignore. But he prevailed and never once stopped showing her affection in the way he had come to. Just because things wouldn't go further, didn't mean that he would stop showing her that he cared.

By the time that the exams ended, Harry had other plans in motion. He'd invited those who would join him on the first Wizarding moon landing. Filius Flitwick, Rolanda Hooch, Neville Longbottom, Sirius Black, Poppy Pomfrey and Albus Dumbledore were all on the list. The headmaster had insisted that he goes along, but his Vow would protect the mission and the delivery of the items to their new permanent home. Poppy wanted to be there, in case of any medical emergencies.

Remus would not be joining on the off chance that the moon somehow affected his lycanthropy. Harry had thought about but decided against inviting Professor Babbling. Until this first mission was over, only those in the know and those he could trust with his secrets could go.

Remus and Sirius had even made something that they might find useful later and Harry couldn't wait to finish with his mission. To set up shop, as it were.

The school year ended with Gryffindor winning the House Cup, despite Harry's success at not adding any points to the tally. Snape had tried 'helping' by deducting points, but Harry's study group were raking them in, and, since there were more Gryffindors than the other houses, they ended up making quite a difference. The fact that their diligence had spurred others on, made a difference too.

Lockhart had also survived the year, barely, and had decided to leave teaching behind him. Harry had arranged a little meeting with the wolves for him, once he left. While the man had been useless as a teacher and reasonably harmless to the students, besides his sub-par teaching, he was still a criminal, who needed to be brought to justice. The school's population had been warned, by those in Harry's group, that if they wanted to learn anything useful, that they should study the material that was available in the library, otherwise they would not pass the OWLs and NEWTs.

The group rode the train back to the Platform in their compartment, chatting amiably and enjoying the free time, by planning what they would be doing during the holiday. Luna and Ginny had joined them, and the compartment was a little cramped, so Neville excused himself to go join one of the others. The slight blush left Harry to think that he had a certain blond Hufflepuff, with the surname Abbott, he would be attempting to join.

The compartment was still full, with Harry and the eight girls all seated around him, chatting happily, but it wasn't overflowing. During the ride, they received many visitors, all wishing them a good holiday. The seventh-year girls that had been impersonated, also showed up to thank Harry again and to hug him goodbye, since they would not be returning to school.

Daphne wasn't looking forward to going home that day. She knew her father had disappeared the day before. Harry didn't want to wait until she was there, and risk some sort of confrontation that put her, or her family, in harm's way. Pansy was very supportive, having been told of her father's disappearance by her mother, a month prior. They were seated next to Harry, with Daphne next to him and Hermione on his other side.

When they left the train, it was to find Daphne's mother and sister, Astoria, looking anxious and worried. Harry didn't approach or speak to them, and they quickly left with Daphne. He hated that he was part of what caused them such pain, but the man could not be left to do as he had been. He greeted the other parents of his group, including the Weasley Matriarch, Molly.

She had no problems hugging Harry and thanking him for helping Ginny with her schoolwork, but Harry denied his involvement, saying simply that Hermione was the one to thank. She was the one that had helped the younger girls the most, considering that she was becoming quite the tutor. He suspected that she might one day decide to become a teacher, with how she smiled every time she helped someone with a difficult concept. Mrs Weasley thanked her as well, at that point.

The Grangers were there as well and promised to be in contact, since Hermione wanted to visit Harry as she went through her muggle schooling revision. They had two months to get a head-start on their studies for the next year, and only working on those on Saturdays left her slightly frustrated that she had taken on so much. Harry highly doubted she would be tempted into taking every course next year, but wouldn't put it past her.

Xenophilius Lovegood was an interesting man to meet, again. He was quirky, and funny and full of energy and wit. Harry told him that he'd be working on a project this holiday that she had helped him out with and he smiled a knowing smile. She apparently had a knack for things like that. That's when Harry was introduced to Luna's mother…

"Pandora Lovegood." she introduced herself, smiling at the boy. "Good to meet you, Mister Black."

"Um." Harry said intelligently.

"We'll be discussing this, when we have the meeting this holiday." Luna said, even as she hugged her mother from the side.

That shook Harry out of his stupor. "Of course! Excuse my manners, Mrs Lovegood. Harry Black, at your service."

There were a few more pleasantries, but Harry was thoroughly thrown off balance, by the presence of the woman he was sure had died in the last timeline shortly before Luna was meant to start school. He was ashamed to admit to himself that her death had somehow passed him by. He'd not even considered saving her, as he should have.

The meeting with the girls to tell them his story was scheduled for the day after the moon expedition. He would have Remus, Sirius, McGonagall and Pomfrey there as well, for support. He suspected he may be getting some answers as well.