9-10

Chapter 9 Reunions

The letter said that someone, who Hermione thought was Pettigrew, had broken into Hogwarts and tried to kidnap her. She couldn't see his face when he grabbed her, but he was short and dumpy and had a squeaky voice. He seized her arm and tried to pull her in the tunnel behind the humpback witch. She fought and escaped. She told of how she bit, scratched and finally kneed him in the bollocks, then hexed him in the face with a boil hex, knocked him out and wrapped him in ropes. She then ran to get a teacher, but he was gone when they returned.

It wasn't until later they found out the man must have taken the first child he came across, which happened to be muggle-born, and ran. They found the mutilated body of the first year Hufflepuff a day later in the Forbidden Forest.

Hermione was devastated. The fact that someone had died pushed her fear for herself away. She was heartbroken that she hadn't known the spell to keep Pettigrew from transforming and that her Stupefy wasn't strong enough to kept him unconscious. She felt that it was all her fault the first year had died. She ranted and raved, and you could see the tear marks on the letter. Since Ron had the emotional range of a teaspoon, he was no help. Viktor had tried to comfort her, but he wasn't very good at it. She had worked herself up into quite a state during the letter.

Harry, of course, told his best friend that she wasn't at fault. He praised her for fighting back and getting away. He told her that he was very thankful she wasn't hurt. He warned her to be careful that it was probably a plot to get him back to England. He firmly scolded her for even thinking that a fourth year should know such a spell, smartest witch in her year or not. He said that it was up to the Headmaster to keep the students safe. He reminded her that Dumbledore knew Pettigrew was an Animagus and a Death Eater and that he should have strengthened the wards to keep him out. He reiterated that she was welcome to come to where he was at any time.

She said she'd talk it over with her parents and if they agreed she would.

Dumbledore was saying that Voldemort had risen. Hermione didn't know if it was true or not, but she was worried and scared. The Ministry was denying it and The Daily Prophet was called for the return of the Boy Who Lived one day and the next day stated that Harry Potter was a criminal that should be Kissed.

Harry and Sirius were concerned for their friends in Britain and the Council of Elders was keeping a close eye out for any sign of warfare there. There had been a debate on whether or not to form an army to protect the Amazon around the city in case of invasion. Their community was well protected and most everyone said that they didn't need one. It was still being discussed.

Sirius wrote to Remus to tell him that the Black Isle could be used as a halfway point for evacuees. He had gone there to tweak the wards so anyone in the company of a free house elf could get on the island. He asked the free elves to spread the word to the elves in England.

The secret project Dobby and the other elves had been working on was rebuilding and updating the old manor. Now there was a house that refugees could stay in until they were questioned and if they passed take them to the City of Z. If they didn't pass then they were told to find another country to take them. The people on the island had no idea where they were, only that it was in the tropics.

Remus sent a missive that Dumbledore had something very important to tell Harry and he wanted to meet the boy. Sirius told him, in no uncertain terms, that if it was that bloody important then he could write it down and send it through the werewolf. He restated that Harry wasn't going anywhere. Remus passed the message along and the Headmaster did write to Harry and told him about the prophecy.

Harry wrote back and stated that it didn't name him and hundreds of boys were born as the seventh month died. As for marking him as an equal, he felt that with the horcrux gone and that negated the prophecy for him. He further explained that the whole 'neither can live while the other survives' was plain bullshit and made no sense. The part that said the person had a 'power he knew not' could be a muggle who was skilled in combat. This prophecy could mean anyone or was no longer valid. He told the old man to leave him out of the war.

The Prophet was now saying that the Headmaster was barmy and that the Boy Who Lived wasn't needed and they were back to calling him a Dark Wizard. There was even speculation that Harry Potter and Sirius Black were the ones to kill the poor Hufflepuff, which was just plain stupid, since neither he nor Sirius had been seen in England for almost a year now. That didn't stop Fudge from blaming them for everything, from the clogged loo on the second floor to the grumpiness of the goblins.

Not many people left Britain, since there hadn't been any signs that Voldemort was actually alive. They were content to listen to the Ministry that everything was under control. So the Council of Elders washed their hands of them until such time they asked for help.

"I don't understand," Harry said as they sat in their usual chairs, after a nice dinner of Beef Wellington, "why aren't the muggle-borns leaving?" He thought for sure they'd run at the first sign of trouble.

"You really only have to look at the past to realize what's happening now. The whole community turned on you when you left with me, simply because a reporter said you must have helped me escape, which was true, but they couldn't prove that. Instead of saying I kidnapped you, you were turned into a bad guy and because of that, when your name came out of the Goblet of Fire, you were suddenly a Dark Wizard. The newspapers play on people's fears, especially ones like The Daily Prophet. The more fearful people get the more sensational the story," Sirius answered in a lecturing tone. "Now they are playing on relieving that fear and pointing the finger at the wrong people, because that's what's selling. I'll bet you that Fudge has everything to do with what they are printing."

"The Chronicle doesn't do that," the confused teen pointed out.

"That's because our reporters have taken a vow to tell the truth as they know it," his godfather explained. "The reporters of that rag in Britain don't take such a vow, and will write anything that will sell. So right now the Ministry is saying that Dumbledore has lost it and that they have it all under control and that anything that happens in Britain is my or yours fault. When it does come out that Voldemort is back, then they'll start calling for you to come back again."

"Still I'd've thought the muggle-born would be more open-minded. Maybe they're too… I don't know, scared, stupid, courageous— something. Or they think that I'll come and save them or Dumbledore will. Really, I just don't get it," Harry said, throwing his hands in the air in frustration.

"Don't try to understand how people think when they're afraid. Just be there to help the best you can when that cry for help comes. Well, in this case, the house elves will be there and we'll make sure they fit in here. You aren't going anywhere," Sirius said, jabbing his finger to his godson.

"No, I don't plan on it. I mean, I'd love to help my friends, but there is no way I'm helping the people who are calling me a Dark Wizard." He folded his arms and huffed at the stupidity of the Wizarding World.

"Right, changing the subject, how is your schoolwork coming along?" the older man asked. And the two settled on calmer topics for the rest of the night.

Harry and his friends were still exploring and the city was still prospering. School was harder than Hogwarts had been, but Harry was doing well. It had been difficult at first with the many different languages, but the Spell Research Department found a spell for translation, which helped immensely. They were still taught English and Portuguese, but other than those classes, the spell was used.

The City of Z settled in to a wonderful place to raise a family. Many women, of all races and breeds, were now pregnant and this would cause a baby boom. To the Council it was great news. The populace was still greatly segregated, but it seemed to be working out. There was very little discord and everyone mostly got alone. Since many people had sellable talents it caused the economy to blossom.

Houses in the city took on new looks. No longer was every house adobe, now there were brick, wooden, tiled and many other designs and sizes. One would think that was tacky, but to Harry, who had grown up in 'normal' Little Whinging, it was awesome. The story walls, that lined the pavement, were cleaned up and left intact and they added to the ambience of the many cultures.

They finally found out what the wards would do to criminals. One of the people from Knockturn Alley got it into his head to rob Barkley's. As he was breaking in the wards cast him from the city, his mind wiped and he was left to wander the Amazon. They never learned what happened to him after that, but no one tried to steal again. Even Player started behaving, though Harry was still cautious around his sneaky friend.

The gang speculated on what would have happened if murder had been the thief's intent. They also had figured out how he got through the dome to begin with. It was theorized that he hadn't meant the city harm when he entered, because at that time there was no bank.

A few months went by with lots of playing, working and exploring and in what would have been Easter break at Hogwarts, but was spring break here, there came strange new residents. They were a father and daughter that were found roaming the Amazon, by the Centaurs. They were looking for something called the Crumpled-Horned Snorkack. Nahand's herd had found them. When the two creature seekers confused the poor leader, it was decided to let the humans handle them.

So when they were brought to the dome, Sirius recognized them and after the standard questions, he asked if they wanted to move into the city and out of Britain. The father looked to the daughter and she dreamily said, "I think it would be for the best. The nargles say so, besides Stubby Boardman will protect us." She looked at Sirius with a beaming smile.

Harry, who had been sitting just inside the dome, laughed his arse off at the name. Sirius just looked confused. Xeno, as he told them to call him, said that his daughter, Luna, was never wrong, but to give them a week to put their affairs in order. And the two blondes left with the promise they would call a house elf when they were ready.

"Stubby Boardman, huh?" Harry teased when his godfather entered the dome.

"I haven't a clue. Isn't he the lead singer of the Hobgoblins?" Sirius asked, scratching his goatee in thought.

"I think so. Do you know who they are?" Harry inquired, looking at the spot the small family had just been.

"They're the Lovegoods. They own and operate the Quibbler. It's a magazine that writes about strange creatures, like the ones they were hunting. It's got some awesome runic crossword puzzles." He remembered those well.

It had been one of the few things that they could do in Azkaban. The warden thought if they got the newspapers then the Death Eaters would know they lost and it would make them more miserable. To Sirius the Quibbler had been a curse and a blessing, because the articles were delightful, but they made him have semi-happy feelings, which made the Dementors swarm. He did a full body shudder at that memory and then turned back to the conversation.

"Weird. Do you think they'll continue it here? It might be a nice change of pace to have something bizarre to read." Harry perked up at that, though he liked the Chronicle it lacked anything fun.

"Don't see why not, it would be different that's for sure," Sirius answered as the two walked to their home. "If I remember correctly that publication also writes conspiracy theories about Fudge and the Ministry, something about goblin pies. I wonder what they would come up with about the Council. Could keep us on our toes." He did wonder if Xeno would take the same vow as The Chronicle reporters did, and if he did would his paper change, for all Sirius knew those two truly believed everything they wrote.

"Yeah," was all the answer he got. Harry was deep in thought over the new development, there hadn't been many people he knew from Britain migrating here and this would be the first old schoolmates to join the community. He only hoped they got through the wards.

The Lovegoods came back a week later, with everything they owned. They chose a house that was at the edge of the city and set up shop. It had taken a week to make it look just like the Rookery. And soon enough they had the Quibbler up and running. Harry thought their house was wicked and when Luna started classes, he made sure to keep a protective eye on her.

At first Luna didn't fit in well with her new schoolmates, but then they reckoned that her imaginary creatures were a mask to keep people away, well, most of them. Some thought she was a seer. So the gang tried harder to pull her into making friends. After about a week of badgering, she was now the only girl in the group of boys. Zeeb loved her; to him she was a breath of fresh air. Jake wanted to protect the small girl. Jean, Zack and Harry were impressed with her research skills and spell knowledge. Player tolerated the airhead, as he thought of her, but conceded she was smart.

Harry continued to write Hermione and told her all about his exploits. She would chastise him for going into abandoned buildings and then tell him about the happenings of Hogwarts, which after the attempted kidnapping and the announcement that Voldemort was back were pretty boring. She did tell him about the second task and how she was a hostage, but she was knocked out the entire time, so remembered little. She continued to see Viktor Krum, and Ron was still on her case about it.

Harry was in two minds on that, on one hand he was happy for his friend that she had something good in her life. On the other hand, she was dating now and that might keep her in Britain. His mind was muddled on it, but in his letters he congratulated her and encouraged her to have fun.

Ron wrote a couple of times, but all he did was whine and try and get Harry to tell where he was. Harry wondered about that. Did Ron want to join him or was he trying to get information for Dumbledore? Harry wrote back and asked him about his family and what they would do if war broke out. Ron replied that his mum and dad were already in a secret organization led by Dumbledore. So Harry kept his secrets to himself and stopped writing his ex-best mate.

"Sirius," he asked one day, after a simple dinner of bean burritos, "have you ever heard of an organization led by Dumbledore?"

"Yeah, it's called the Order of the Phoenix. Your mum, dad, Moony, Wormtail and I were all a part of it during the first war. We helped in some battles, but Albus wouldn't let us cast any deadly spells, so we were at a disadvantage. It's mostly an information gathering group. If there had been any other organizations we would've joined them. Why?" Sirius asked with a tilt of his head. Moony had already told him that Dumbledore had reorganized the vigilant group, but he wondered where Harry had heard of them.

"Ron said his mum and dad were part of it. I think his older brothers are too. I was just curious if you ever heard of it. Do you think Professor Lupin will join again?" Harry asked, still a bit upset with that werewolf for not joining them. He had had high hopes that Sirius would be with an old friend.

"He already has. He told me that he is staying in Britain to help the war effort. And call him Remus or Mr. Lupin; he's not your professor anymore." He too was upset with Moony for sticking with the Headmaster.

"Right, Mr. Lupin," Harry nodded his head. "Did you guys ever decide on whether or not to make an army?" he asked, changing the sore subject.

"We reckoned we'd up the Auror force instead, get some Hit Wizards trained to prevent anyone wandering the forest from getting too close. We're going to call it the Ranger Department. They'll try and work with the Centaurs, though I doubt those two herds will be much help," his godfather answered with a serious look on his face.

It had been something he was outvoted on, and while he had the last word, he didn't use it often. That and the other elders made sense in their arguments. The wards will prevent any Dark Lord or Lady from rising within the city and kept outsiders… out. There was no need for an army, though they did concede in training all law enforcement officers in the use of guns. Here in Brazil it was easy to get your hands on weapons, all you needed was money and with him emptying his vaults and the treasure found in the pyramid, right now they had plenty.

"Right, thanks for telling me," Harry said with a grin, glad that his godfather wasn't holding back anymore. Sirius was not quite as overprotective as he used to be. The longer they stayed in the City of Z, the more relaxed the man became. Then again, Harry hadn't done anything stupid in a while. "I'd better get my homework done. Iago wants a three page essay that I haven't started yet," he said and left to do just that.

The Quibbler was a huge success. Xeno had hired the some of the house elves to deliver the subscriptions that were outside the city. The quirky articles were fun to read and the now seven teen explorers were looking for some of the strange creatures. Luna had given them some funny sunglasses to see the nargles and other mystical creatures. The boys of the group did see something, but they really couldn't describe what they saw.

Time went on and nothing was reported in The Daily Prophet, except a few disappearances, which could be anything from scared people running or Death Eaters killing muggle-borns. Since there was no Dark Mark in the sky the Ministry said it was migration. They were quoted in paper that the people that left were simply discontent with work and looking elsewhere for better employment.

A month went by and after an attack on their home the Creevey brothers and their family joined the City of Z. They were very angry at the British Magical Government for their lack of response to the occurrence. Colin had been told what to do by Hermione and when the Death Eaters entered their home, he called for Dobby. Dobby showed up just in time to blast the Death Eaters out of the house and quickly pop the family away to Black Isle. Then they were questioned by the Inquiry Committee and given the secret.

Colin and Dennis were ecstatic over seeing their hero again. They regaled him with all the gossip of Hogwarts and told him they never doubted him for a minute. The rest of Harry's gang thought it was funnier than hell to see these two worshippers and teased Harry relentlessly. Well, not Luna, but the boys were merciless.

Dumbledore continued to write to Harry, via Remus (who sent post via Winky), and begged him to come home. He tried everything from bribery to guilt tripping. He offered him the fifth year prefect position, captain of the Quidditch team and then turned around and stated how disappointed he was that Harry would leave his friends in danger. He would go on and on about how it was the boy's duty to come home and fight for England.

Harry stood firm on his resolve, he wasn't going anywhere. He told the Headmaster that they had given him the information he needed to win the war. It wasn't up to him, a half trained teenage wizard, to take on the most feared Dark Lord of the century or hunt down horcruxes. That was a job for fully trained wizards. He told the old man to leave him the hell alone.

Sirius was pissed and sent Albus a howler demanding that he leave his godson alone or there would be dire consequences. That didn't dissuade the old man, he kept sending Harry letter after letter, until Sirius told Remus that if he took another letter from that man, he would cut all communication with the werewolf.

So now instead of fighting Voldemort, the Order of the Phoenix was looking for the Boy Who Lived. Remus, being Dumbledore's lapdog, tried to get into the city. When he failed and had his mind wiped, Sirius cut all ties with his last friend and sent the Leader of the Light a cursed letter that caused the recipient's hands and face to break out in spots that couldn't be spelled away. In it he wrote that it was mild compared to what was to follow if he didn't desist in trying to get Harry.

Sirius took the betrayal hard. He thought after all this time that Remus wouldn't turn on him and Harry. He had told his friend everything they were accomplishing and had hoped the werewolf would join them. Remus had praised him in his posts and that had given Sirius hope of a reunion. Now he was hurt beyond how he felt when everyone thought he had turned on James. He ranted and raved for days, until he snapped at Harry for no reason. Seeing the devastated look on his godson's face, broke him out of his funk and he threw himself into his work.

The war started to pick up in Britain and families started disappearing and people started coming to the Black Isle. Many were Harry's old schoolmates, mostly from Hufflepuff. That had been tricky, one of the questions asked to the refugees was 'How do you feel about Harry Potter?'. If they answered that he was a Dark Wizard, then they were directed elsewhere. If they were uncertain, then they were given some of the truth and asked again. This information convinced quite a few that he was just a kid, but there were some that would not be persuaded otherwise, blaming Harry for the death of the first year, which made the green-eyed teen a bit depressed.

To get himself out of his sulking, Harry started dating more. He even dated Luna once or twice. That had been quite an experience, fun, but different. The two teens decided that they were better off friends and Jake took to seeing the quirky girl. Harry was happy for them.

More attacks started happening and more people died. Still the Ministry said they had it all under control and that is was the work of Harry and Sirius. And still the Headmaster tried to find his martyr.

Soon it would be summer and Sirius wanted to have the government stabilized before the population increased more. He fought the Council of Elders to make up their minds on what form they would take. They decided to keep the Council and have everyone voted in. The leader would now be called the President, the second was known as the Vice President, which was an office still shared by Matta and Melampus. The rest would still be called the Council of Elders, because you had to be over 45 to be on it. Bribery was not an issue, the first time someone tried, they were unceremoniously dumped into the Amazon, mind wiped and given what they needed to get back to civilization.

The University was finally up and running, it taught everything from Masteries in magic to law. Even though the intent wards kept crime down, law needed to be studied for political purposes and petty crimes.

Summer came and with it Hermione's letter on who won the tournament. It was Viktor Krum, without interference from outside influences; he was the first to grab the trophy. It had been close; Cedric Diggory had been one foot behind him. Hermione was torn between being happy for her boyfriend or upset that Hogwarts lost. She and Ron had gotten into a huge fight over it and now they were no long speaking to each other. She told Harry that she was going to be spending most of the summer in Bulgaria with Viktor's family and her parents.

Again Harry was divided. He had gotten over his lewd feelings for his best friend, but now she was getting closer to not joining him. Maybe he could write to Viktor and extend an invitation to the Quidditch star. Though he couldn't think of anything the City of Z had to offer the well-known man, since they didn't have a professional team. Still he'd see what he could do to make sure his best friend was safe.

A funny thing started to happen; pure-bloods were coming to the Black Isle. At first everyone was leery, but they passed the questioning and the wards, so they relaxed. It took a bit longer for the new citizens to blend into the multi-culture, but in the end they had no choice. The first time one of the British pure-bloods tried to enslave a free house elf he was banished by the wards. Again they had to wonder how someone with such a mindset got past the wards in the first place. They set up a committee to look into it and made sure everyone questioned knew the laws.

Harry had to admit those wards were Merlin sent. He didn't want to imagine what the city would be like without them. He even went to the ward stone and added more magic to them in parselmagic, which made him pass out. Sirius was pissed and a when he woke, after making sure he was okay, his godfather reamed him a new one.

"Just what the bloody hell were you thinking? I thought you learned your lesson about doing stupid shite like this? Didn't the throne teach you anything?" the enraged man asked as he paced by Harry's bed. "If Zeeb hadn't found you then you would have been out there all night. You're damn lucky that they didn't drain you dry."

"They didn't affect me like that last time. My magic is fine and after that arsehole tried to make Dinky a slave, I had to make sure they were fully charged," Harry yelled back. His arms folded defensively and his face a mask of self-righteous indignation.

"Harry, dammit, you've got to stop doing this shite. I know you want to help, and I respect that, but you are still half-trained and have never used parselmagic to that extent before. Why didn't you ask the Council to boost the wards? We have a department set up just for that purpose," Sirius questioned as he flopped in a chair, not calm, but calmer.

"None of you can use parselmagic. We haven't found any more parselmouths. I just wanted to help," Harry explained in a softer voice now that Sirius stopped yelling. He was still put out with the argument, but he could see that he once again acted without thinking.

"You are still fourteen years old, soon to be fifteen, you are to play Quidditch, do your part-time job, snog girls, hang with your friends and do your homework. Where in there does it say to amp up the wards?" his godfather asked with a quirk of an eyebrow.

"Fine, next time I get an idea like that, I'll come to you first," Harry pouted.

"You're grounded. School, work and then home," Sirius said, getting up to leave.

"How long," the teen sighed.

"A week."

That's not too bad. At least I won't be in this bed the whole time; Harry thought and said out loud, "Fine." And watched his pissed off godfather leave the room. He sighed and grabbed his homework. It was going to be a long week.

One of the families that came was the Bones. It seemed that Voldemort attacked their home and Amelia placed the life of her niece above her job and had the house elf pop them away. It was their house elf that told them about the paradise and called Dobby to come and get them. When Amelia found out that her beloved servant couldn't get on to the island without being freed, she gave her a scarf and then hired her on the spot. So now they had the ex-Head of the DMLE of Britain in their city.

Amelia quickly applied for work in the Law Enforcement Department. She was amazed with the computers, dazzled by the guns and stunned by the lack of crime. She was impressed that new and old magic was blended; so many Aurors and Hit Wizards could do wandless magic, though it wasn't quite a powerful as wanded. She had to start from a desk job, but was happy enough to be part of the team and soon enrolled in the University to get her law degree so she could join the government.

Susan adapted well to the new school, though she had to hire tutors to get her caught up in any of the subjects not taught or taught well at Hogwarts, like history and wandless magic. She became part of Harry's gang. They were exploring the Great Forest right now and she was impressed with Zeeb's knowledge and the rainforest itself. Harry had just gotten off restriction so he joined them.

The rainforest was a thing of beauty. The canopy blocked out most of the sun, but the many animals, magic or otherwise, made up for the lack of light. The monkeys chattered, the birds chirped, the insects buzzed, magical plants moved out of their path and the fairies fluttered. Susan could have sworn she saw Unicorns in the trees, but it was too dense to be sure.

They went and said hello to the herd and Nalla joined them in their exploring.

"Oh, Merlin, this is wonderful. I'll bet this is what the Forbidden Forest was supposed to be like," Susan gushed, looking at the monkeys playing.

"According to Iago, it was, well, without the monkeys. He said, that history says, that Helga Hufflepuff created the forest to be a sanctuary for all animals and half-breed forest dwellers. It was the introduction of werewolves, poisonous snakes and giant spiders that made it forbidden," Nalla imparted.

Harry felt a bit angry at Hagrid for releasing his pet into the forest and wondered how it was faring now that the Centaurs were gone.

"It's much worse now," Luna answered his unspoken question, "the Acromantula have taken over the whole forest. Hagrid had to move all of his pets to the grounds. He had to get rid of quite a few of them, like the Cerberus, some of the hippogriffs and the more dangerous ones. The Board put their foot down and he was quite devastated."

"Hmmm, I wonder why they don't go in and just clear it out." Harry wondered. It seemed like the logical thing to do to him.

"The Ministry says it's Dumbledore's responsibility and he says it's theirs," Susan said, very upset that there were deadly spiders near her old school. She was still trying to convince Hannah into coming here.

"Let's just finish exploring," Player all but snapped. He hated it when they got all reminiscing on their past lives.

"Come, I will show you where the villagers live," Zeeb offered, turning and leading the way.

They met the villagers and the two girls were equally enchanted and appalled. They thought they were quaint yet at the same time didn't understand why they would live wild in the forest.

The gang looked around the Great Forest for hours until Jean said he had to get home. So they all quietly talked as they made their way back to the city.

On the day before Harry's birthday, Neville, his parents and his gran were admitted to the city. "Neville, it's great to see you, but what made you come here?" Harry asked his shy friend. He looked at the not- quite-there parents and wondered if there was anything in the old magic that could help them.

"Dumbledore," the pudgy boy answered with a huff. "He's got it in his head that since you're not there, then the prophecy must be about me. Gran was furious. She tore him up one side and down another. Then when he tried to make me join his little group, she packed everything, grabbed mum and dad and we left. She still blames him for dad being the way he is. It was our house elf that told us about here." He was happy they freed Kippy and hired her on, but remorseful that they felt the need to run.

"Well, I, for one, am glad you're here. Let's get your mum and dad settled in the hospital and we'll find you a house," Harry said, slapping his friend on the back and leading the way. The two boys talked of the differences of the City of Z and Diagon Alley as Harry showed them where St. Starkey's was. After that, they rambled on about Hogwarts, until the Longbottoms were settled into one of the many houses the free elves renovated. "Oh and by the way, Happy Birthday," Harry added just as he was about to leave, remembering Neville's was the day before his.

"Thanks, this wasn't how I was hoping to spend it, but it's still better than hiding in some secret house that Dumbledore wanted me to go to," Neville said with a weak smile.

"Well, maybe next year it'll be better," he offered, trying to cheer the boy up. He asked if they needed help settling in and was told no, so he went home.

That night, after a dinner of fish and chips, Harry and Sirius sat in their chairs. They talked about all the people coming to the city then the teen got a thought. "Sirius," he cautiously started. "Do you think I'm strong enough to heal Nev's parents with parselmagic?" he asked, wary of the man's response after what happened with the ward stone.

Sirius ran his hand through his hair and held back a groan. "I don't know, probably. I'm leery about letting you try, but I know your saving people thing will make you do it with or without my permission."

"I won't do it if you say not to, but I'll be very irate if you don't let me try," Harry stated with a firm yet soft voice.

"I know. Tell you what, if you make sure a healer is with you, you can try to get Alice healed first. If that doesn't drain you then after a day's rest you can heal Frank," his godfather compromised.

Harry's face broke out into a beaming smile that could have lit the room. "Really?"

"Yeah, you might want a second job in St. Starkey's, because if you pull this off the healers are going to want you to do it with everyone," Sirius warned, half-seriously, half-jokingly.

The next day was Harry's birthday and they had a huge party to celebrate. Harry was overwhelmed, he had never had a party before and it was a novel experience. He got loads of presents, and every single one of his friends was there. They played games, ate all sorts of different biscuits and fudge and caramel cake, and drank loads of fizzy drinks. All in all everyone had a great time.

They waited until the weekend to cure the Longbottoms, just in case Harry passed out. Saturday Harry, Sirius, Neville and Augusta headed to St. Starkey's, snagged Healer Smite and went to the proper room.

Harry got Mrs. Longbottom to sit down. Then he put his hand on her head and hissed 'heal'. He felt the spell take effect and something was happening. He poured his magic into the spell a little at a time, until his patient gasped. He stopped the spell and looked at her.

Her eyes weren't vacant anymore. She was looking around the room and whispered, "Where am I?"

"Alice, oh, Alice," Augusta said, "you are safe now." Tears were pouring down hers and Neville's faces.

"Mum," Neville said, sinking to his knees in front of the woman he always wanted to know, but never could.

"Neville? Why are you so grown?" the poor confused woman asked, putting her hands on the teen's face and examining it, to see where her baby had gone.

"Mum, you've been sick a very long time," her son answered, tentatively giving his mother a hug.

"Where's Frank?" Alice asked, returning the hug of her son. "The last thing I remember is being attacked."

"He's still sick, Mum," Neville answered, tightening his arms.

"Harry? Are you okay?" Sirius asked, as he pulled his godson away from the reunion, though you could see there were tears being held back at the touching scene.

"I'm fine," came Harry's standard answer. "No, really, I'm fine," he quickly added at his godfather's disbelieving look. "I hardly felt any drain at all, it's not like before. The spell wasn't pulling at my magic, just tugging it a little." He shrugged his shoulder to show it was no great feat.

"Let me be the judge of that," Healer Smite said as she came up to them, having finished checking Alice. She waved her wand, looked at the readout and said, "He's a bit under powered, but he should be fine enough to do Mr. Longbottom tomorrow. You performed a miracle today, young man."

"Really, it was nothing, I mean, it was great, but I didn't do any…" he stuttered, only to be interrupted by his friend.

"Harry," Neville said, grabbing the other teen a drawing him into a huge bear hug. "You are the most brilliant wizard alive," he proclaimed. "Anything you want, it's yours, anything." His voice firmed with promise.

"I'm just glad I could help," Harry said humbly.

"If you ever need someone to cover your back, I'm your man," the pudgy teen promised with vigor as he let Harry go.

"We can both cover each other," Harry compromised, slapping Neville on the shoulder.

"Right. So I overheard that last bit and you'll do Dad tomorrow." There was a bit of sadness, but also understanding in his voice and face.

"Yeah, sorry I can't today."

"Harry, you've given me the best birthday present I've ever had. Never apologize to me— for anything," the teen was determined to make his new hero see he could do no wrong.

"Right, I'll let you get to know your mum better and I'll be back tomorrow," Harry promised as he edged his way towards the door, uncomfortable with someone else worshiping him.

Sirius was torn between chuckling and worrying. He settled on quietly laughing to himself as he led his godson home to rest.

The next day an almost identical scene played out and Harry was very happy for his friend. Neville got almost as bad as the Creevey brothers, but at least the former Gryffindor had an excuse. The dark-haired teen's friend took to teasing him whenever his fan club was out of sight. He took the ribbing good-naturedly and life settled down for Harry and Sirius.

Chapter 10 Some Major Surprises

A week after healing the Longbottoms, Harry had a new job. Now his time was split between the Spell Research Department and St. Starkey's. He was still only allowed to work four hours a day, but he wasn't put out by that. It was summer after all, and he wanted to spend as much time with his friends as he could. That and he was still trying to find a good girlfriend.

The healers only had Harry heal those that can't be cured normally. They cited that sometimes the body needed to heal on its own. So he was mostly learning new spells and having a blast. He was still undecided at what he wanted to do when he got out of school, and this new job was giving him more opportunities. Now he was being trained in research, politics and healing. His grades were good so he could get into the University if he wanted to; it was only a matter of picking a major.

The gang was still exploring, but with more people fleeing to the City of Z there was little left, so they mostly examined the Great Forest. The boys still teased Harry about the Creevey brothers and Neville, but only out of their earshot.

"I can't believe you have people who fawn over you like that," Jake said as they were walking through the trees. Neville had just left to go and get a new wand, since his dad needed his, and Jake was right —he was fawning. "I mean, you're a great guy and all, but damn." He knew most of the gossip behind the Boy Who Lived, but he and his dad had been secluded from Diagon Alley, so he thought they were just kid's stories. Now after seeing the Creevey brothers and Neville, he knew better than that.

"Trust me this is nothing compared to what I had to go through at Hogwarts," Harry said with a pout and a blush. The girls from Hogwarts nodded in agreement, both of them remembering the tough time Harry had in that school.

"But, why?" Zeeb asked. While he had heard of some of the scarred teen's exploits, he still knew very little about his former life.

"Right, you don't know," the boy hero said and then proceeded to tell him all about the legend of the Boy Who Lived with plenty of input from the British teens. He told him what happened to his parents on that fateful Halloween and how he was treated the first time he walked in to the Leaky Cauldron. He sneered at the books he had found about his supposed life story. The girls, Jake and Zack confirmed that those stories were foolish and childish, yet full-grown adults believed them.

Zeeb laughed his arse off. "They think a very small… child could kill a grown wizard? One it is said to be a… Dark Lord." To him this made no sense.

"I didn't say it was true. I, for one, think it was something my mum did and Sirius thinks so too," Harry frowned at his friend a bit hurt that he would take his misery as a big joke.

"You correct, it is not a… laughing matter. You parents were lost," the native teen said, much calmer now. "Sorry, it is … ummm… stupid, is the word?" Harry nodded that was correct and Zeeb beamed at him. His English was getting much better the more he hung out with his friends. "I find it funny the way your country… worships you."

"We, in France, do not believe zuch storiez. We alzo think that et waz Lily Potter, who waz the 'ero zat day," Jean added his two Knuts worth. Which was true, France laughed at the Brits for putting their reverence on an infant and not on the parents, who were fully trained magicals.

"Thanks for that," Harry said, clapping his two friends on the back. "I just wish the British would think the same. Maybe if I write an autobiography they'll change their minds?" he asked, quirking a questioning eyebrow to the girls.

"I don't know, Harry," Susan said doubtfully, a crease on her forehead, "Your story has been told for almost fourteen years. I don't think you're going to change anyone's mind." She gave a sad shake of her head. Now that she knew Harry better, she knew all those rumors about him in Hogwarts were silly and exaggerated. She had apologized to him for thinking he was the Heir of Slytherin, stating she was just scared and it was the only information they were given. Harry had forgiven her, which made her very glad that he was such an understanding person.

"I think Susan is correct," confirmed Luna, "I remember Ginny reading those tales when we were kids. She firmly believes everything written about the Boy Who Lived."

"Can we talk about something besides Harry?" Player asked a disgruntled frown on his face. "We've been searching the forest for weeks and haven't found any of Airhead's creatures. I want to find more treasures, let's go back to town and look at more buildings."

The rest of the group grimaced at the half-goblin; he had been getting moodier as the days went on. He was fighting more and more with his mum and she was ready to have the Council wipe his mind and send him on his own. She was starting to think that he would do better with full-blooded goblins. At least that's what they were getting from what they heard when those two fought. Their voices were heard throughout their neighborhood.

The Aurors had to step in quite a few times to make them quit disturbing the peace, which caused the two to fight again. It almost made Harry feel bad for his friend, until he heard the reasons behind those fights. Player was constantly complaining that there was no future for him here, and he hated everything about the City of Z. If Harry wasn't such a softhearted person, he would have dropped his friendship then and there, but since Player hadn't actually done anything wrong, he couldn't justify it. Everyone was entitled to their opinion.

"I don't believe we will find anymore treasures," Luna predicted in her dreamy voice, ignoring the derogatory nickname. "The adults are done with their construction and are now looking at all the abandoned buildings. There are none left for us to explore." She gave a shrug of her delicate shoulders and then wandered away to look under one of the bushes. Jake watched his girlfriend with a fond smile, before turning and glaring at Player, who backed away from the giant boy.

"Then I'm going home," Player snapped and stomped off.

"I'm not sure he's going to stay in the city much longer," Harry theorized as he looked to where his friend disappeared.

"You're probably right," Zack said. "Let's look for something to do. We're not going to find any of Luna's animals today. It's getting to dark in here." He was right; it was very dimly lit in the forest right now.

So the group set off to the city to see if there was anything left to explore, but Luna was correct the adults were scouring the left over buildings and houses. They were putting the artifacts they found in the museum and stuff that could be sold as antiques were put in stores. So the teens went to the dance club for a while, then spilt up and went home.

"Sirius," Harry said, that night after a dinner of pork and rice, "do you know what happened to the Dursleys?" He was hoping the other man knew. It had been a thought that plagued him for a while now. After all the letters the Headmaster had written he was actually worried about them.

"I really don't know, I never thought about them," Sirius said, scratching his goatee. "Maybe you should have Dobby pop over there and find out. Why do you want to know? I mean, they were right bastards to you." He was confused, if it were his family he'd have been shot of them, but then again, this was Harry.

"Yeah, but they're still family, not family I want to see again, but I don't want them dead," the green-eyed teen explained. Then he called for Dobby.

"Harry Potter is wanting Dobby?" the little elf asked. He now wore mostly elf jeans and T-shirts. Most of those shirts stated 'I is being The Great Harry Potter's Elf'. Which technically he wasn't, but it made the little guy happy, so Harry shrugged it off and let him claim what he wanted. Some of those shirts read 'I is being Leader of the Elves', which Harry did approve of.

"First of all, how are you? You guys aren't working too hard, are you?" Harry asked his friend. The elves were still very busy in the city and popping around the world to get would be citizens. They were over a hundred strong now and growing with each pure-blood that fled their country, since they had to free their elves to get on Black Isle.

"Oh, no, sir, we is living goodly. We has our village builts and is hiring out to good jobs. Soon there will bes baby elves. Dobby is being Leader of the Elves," Dobby said, puffing out his chest with pride. He was responsible for keeping the elves from overworking, taking care of Harry and Sirius (mainly cleaning), being the voice for the elves in the Council and popping off to rescue people. He was very happy with his jobs. Harry paid him for his work here, and he got a wage from the city coffers for his other contracts.

"I know and I'm very proud of you," Harry said, giving his excitable friend a hearty pat on the back. "Do you need a pay raise? I'm not sure five Galleons a week are enough." He quirked his eyebrow at the elf, he made twenty and knew the economy was rising.

Five Galleons a week was the going minimum wage, since everything was still really cheap, a pair of good dragon hide boots cost ten Sickles and a two bedroom house cost around five hundred Galleons. He knew once the population picked up wages would go up and house elves would be paid the going rate, it would be part of the laws, but Harry felt they deserved more because they worked the hardest.

"Dobby is still being the best paid. With what Harry Potter pays Dobby and what I's getting for other jobs I's making twenty Galleons a weeks. We elves is not needing very much monies, we is happy to gets by with whats we has," came the firm answer that brooked no argument.

House elves lived mostly on magic and the City of Z was bursting with unused magic, so they were healthy and a bit over powered. The money they made was mostly used to build their little village and buy clothes. One of the more adventurous elves had even partnered with a squib to open a clothing store, just for kids and elves. The squib designed them and the elf made them, it was a good business.

"Right, fine, I have a job for you. Can you go and check on the Dursleys? Just see if they are still alive," the dark-haired teen requested, not wanting to fight his littlest friend.

"Dobby can do," Dobby said and popped away.

"You don't expect them to be alive do you?" Sirius asked, and then sipped his tea.

"I'm not sure," Harry said with a frown. "It's something Dumbledore mentioned in his letters. He said that I've doomed them by moving out of their house. Something about blood wards." He rubbed the back of his head. He had looked at some of the books, but still didn't know what those wards were for.

That caused Sirius to spit his tea. "Blood wards! He put up blood wards?" he ranted, throwing his cup and started pacing, flinging up his arms and glaring at the wall like the old man would be outside for him to strangle.

"That's what he said. Why are you upset?" the teen asked as he watched his godfather roam angrily around the room.

"Those vile wards will drain the magic of the one they're set to. It would explain why you are so much more powerful now. Well, that and the horcrux being gone." He fixed the teen with a stare as if one of his questions had been answered. They were all impressed with how much magic Harry had now that he was here in the city, compared to how little he had going through the forest. Which considering his Patronus was a lot, but now it was more. The dark-headed teen was easily one of the more powerful teenagers in the city.

"Oh, well, it's good I left then," Harry said, shaking off the irritation he felt at Dumbledore. It was just one more thing to distrust the man about.

Dobby popped back into the room. "They is not being wheres they were before, sir. They is being somewheres in Australia. It is taking Dobby a minutes to find them," he reported.

"Well, at least they are alive." Harry gave a sigh of relief.

"They is being very much alive, Harry Potter, sir," the house elf agreed with a nod of his large head.

"Thanks, Dobby. That was all I wanted to know," Harry said with a beaming smile.

"Yes, sir, Harry Potter, sir." And with that he popped away.

"Well, that's something," Harry said thoughtfully, still watching his godfather, who had flopped back into his chair.

"Yeah, I'm glad for you," the still angry man said, running a hand down his face. "I'm going to send Albus another jinxed Howler." And he left to do just that.

"Right, you do that," the teen said, then got up to do some of his summer homework. It was mostly reading with a few essays, but had been putting it off and now he needed to get it done.

The next morning Harry got a shock. Dobby popped into his room, very excited. "Harry Potter's Grangy is being on Black Isle," the hyper house elf shouted, bouncing on his toes, making he ears flop about his head.

"What? How? What happened?" Harry demanded loudly, jumping out of his bed and running for the door, not even stopping to dress. He felt it was probably something bad that brought Hermione here without warning.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Sirius asked, grabbing the fleeing teen by the arm and twirling him around so he would be facing him. He had run to the room when the shouting started.

"Hermione is on Black Isle. I have to go and get her," the teen said, struggling to get out of his godfathers grip.

"No, Harry, you don't leave the dome. For any reason," Sirius said, firming his hold on Harry's arm. "She'll be questioned just like everyone else and I'm sure she'll be here soon." He dragged the boy to the living area and pushed him in a chair.

"What? No! If she's here something must have happened. I need to get to her," Harry repeated, getting up from the chair, only to be pressed back down, making him glare at his godfather. Didn't the man understand how important this was?

"Harry, listen to me," Sirius commanded, giving the teen a shake of the shoulders. "She's safe there. She'll be here soon. If it makes you feel better, I'll go and make sure she's gets here today." He too was concerned as to what had made the girl and her family flee Britain. From what he had been told Hermione was a very level-headed young lady and would only panic if her life was in danger.

Harry stopped struggling at the offer and thought for a moment. Then he slowly nodded his head and got up and started to pace. He trusted Sirius to see to Hermione, but he was anxious to see his friend again and find out why she was here.

"Dobby will be going back right now, to protect Harry Potter's Grangy," Dobby said and popped away.

Sirius got dressed and had Winky pop him to the island. Harry restlessly walked around the room. Then he got it into his head to get dressed and wait by the entrance. After putting on comfortable jeans, a T-shirt and his boots, he sprinted to the portal and paced there.

A half an hour later, Hermione and her parents were there. She looked terrible, her clothes were rumpled, her hair was bushier, tear tracks lined her face and the bags under her eyes didn't help. She was holding on to a suitcase like it was all she owned in the world. She saw Harry and dropped the luggage and quickly moved inside the dome. Her parents and Sirius followed, talking among themselves.

Harry ran to his friend and gave her a bone-crushing hug. "Oh Merlin, Hermione, what happened?" he asked as he continued to hold the now crying witch.

Hermione sniffed and tried to get herself under control. After five minutes of silence from the teens, she pulled a back and started her tale. "Oh, Harry, it was horrible. We got back from Bulgaria and our house was destroyed, the Dark Mark was floating over it. We went to my parents' practice, but it was gone, completely flattened and the Mark was there as well. I called the Knight Bus and we went to Ginny's, but the Burrow is gone too, again with that cursed sign. I got scared, I did not know what to do, so I had Mum and Dad pull all their money from the muggle bank and we snuck into Diagon Alley and exchanged it at Gringotts. Then I called Winky and she popped us to that island." She wiped the tears from her face and looked at her best friend.

"What about Dumbledore? I mean, I'm happy you're here, but why didn't you go to him?" Harry questioned softly, running his hand through her hair and then pulling her into another hug. He knew Hermione still put her faith in Dumbledore, mostly. She had been drawing away from the man, but her respect for authority figures was still strong.

"I tried, but… Oh, Merlin, Harry, I don't know where Hedwig is" — Horror morphed her face —"or Crookshanks. I left them with Ginny and I have no idea if the Weasleys are okay," she wailed. Tears started again over the possible loss friends and pets. While she wasn't talking to Ron, she and Ginny were still close.

"I'm sure they're fine, right now let's worry about you." Harry said as calmly as he could, though he too was concerned about the Weasleys, his friend was top priority. So he turned to Hermione's parents, who were also looking rough around the edges. They too were holding on to suitcases. Sirius had picked up Hermione's. "I think there's a house near ours, the prior people had a baby and needed something bigger, so they moved out last week," he said to the adults.

"Right," Sirius said as he stopped his conversation with the elder Grangers, who was telling the older man pretty much the same story. "Let's get you guys settled." He started down the path to the city, the Grangers next to him. Hermione and Harry followed behind, arms around each other, offering comfort.

Hermione looked around and started asking questions. "Why is it so tepid here? That rainforest needs humidity, how is it still thriving? Where did you get Unicorns? Is that a hippogriff I see? How many people live here? Do they all get along? Wow, it is so beautiful," she gushed, taking a look at the city for the first time.

Harry couldn't help but chuckle, which made Hermione glare at him. "The dome is the answer to most of those questions. It keeps the air on the grassy planes and the city warm, while making the forest hot and humid. The animals just showed up on their own, and no, I don't know how they got here. It's not like I can ask. The snakes say they just followed the magic. There are about seven different races of people living here, making the population about eleven hundred, and yeah, they mostly get along. The wards make sure of it," he answered her rapid questions.

"Oh, okay, I have so many questions," she said, trying to overcome everything that had happened the last few days. So she continued her rambling until they got to the empty house. Harry did his best to answer.

Sirius and the Grangers were having a conversation about them being able to work. They had enough money, but didn't know how to get equipment or if it would work. Sirius told them it wouldn't, but they had inventors that could make up equivalents. He would help in any way he could.

So the group chatted on as they adults looked over the house. It was a three bedroom wooden house, with a master bath and a guest loo. There was a fully functioning kitchen, a dining room and a living area. There were two studies and a large back garden. Too say the adult Grangers were shocked at the low price of what was equivalent to £50,000 for such a house was an understatement.

Hermione picked one of the rooms and was thinking about how she wanted it decorated. She was still sad that they had had to run, that and possibly having lost her only female friend and her cat, but she was very determined to move on until she knew otherwise. She was safe here, her parents were safe here. Harry promised.

So Harry, Sirius and the Grangers set out to High Street, which had the best shops. First they set up a new bank account at Barkley's and set up the purchase of the house at a realtor's. They would stay at the inn and the paperwork would be ready in a few days, since they were paying cash. The realtor was quite used to fast deals.

Then Harry and Sirius told them the wonders of the City of Z. The Grangers were very impressed with the many cultures and races that mingled in the inner city. Hermione was confused at the segregated neighborhoods and how they worked, but Harry said it made the different breeds more comfortable and they weren't going to force them to live differently.

After being told she would get a full tour, Hermione settled on finding what was needed for the house. She, with the help of her best friend and his godfather, guided her parents in what to buy and how it worked. She would squeal at each new invention and scold Harry for not selling them to the outside world, until he reminded her that the city was in hiding. It took the rest of the day to get the family kitted out, and arrange delivery, but they had lost everything and were starting fresh. They had to drag the bookworm from both the bookstores and the library.

After letting Hermione get settled for a few days, Harry took her to meet his friends. She was very shy, only having one female friend and one boyfriend; she was unused to being surrounded by welcoming people. She made a mental note to write Viktor and Ginny.

"So this Hermione," Zeeb said with a winning smile as the two approached. "I like her," he announced, making Hermione give him a questioning look. He didn't even know her.

"Hermione, this is Zeeb, Jean, Zack, Jake, Player and you know the girls, I think," Harry introduced with a gesture to each person.

"Ah, Lady 'ermione, et iz a pleazure to meet you," Jean said, kissing the back of her hand and making her giggle.

"Thank you, kind sir," she answered, with a blush.

"Any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine," Zack said, shaking her hand. "You're not going to go all doe-eyed on Harry are you?" he asked with a teasing smile.

"Ummm, no, I don't think so," she answered, shaking his hand and cutting a questioning look to Harry. He just waved it off and smiled.

Jake engulfed her hand and gave her a hearty handshake, making her almost dislocate her shoulder. He grimaced and apologized, "Sorry, sometimes I forget. It's good to finally meet the person behind the tales."

"It is alright, I have another friend, well teacher, who does the same. No harm done," Hermione answered with a pat on the very large arm.

"Why haven't you fixed your teeth?" was Player's greeting.

"W…what?" the confused bushy-haired girl said. Harry had told her she wouldn't be bullied here, so now she didn't know whether or not to take that question as such.

"Player," Harry snapped, rounding on his shorter friend, "that was completely uncalled for."

Everyone was glaring at the half-goblin, getting very tired of his sniping.

"She's magical and has big teeth. I just wondered why she hasn't fixed them," Player tried to defend himself.

"Don't mind Player, Hermione, the nargles are messing with his mind," Luna said, coming up to the dazed girl and giving her a hug, which caused the said girl to become more muddled.

"Luna Lovegood, right?" She pulled away from the unwelcome embrace and looked at the little blonde.

"Yes, so glad you remember me," Luna said, a faraway look in her pale blue eyes.

"Susan Bones, correct?" Hermione asked, turning to the last girl, who if she remembered correctly was more level-headed.

"Correct. It is good to see another girl here," Susan beamed, shaking Hermione's hand. "Neville and the Creevey brothers are around somewhere. I have to warn you they are a bit over the top on Harry." She gave a teasing wink to the messy-haired boy, making everyone in the know laugh at that understatement.

"Well, I remember the Creevey brothers' hero worshipping, but why Neville?" Hermione asked Susan, knowing that Harry would just downplay his actions. Last time she had seen the shy boy, he was quiet and didn't take any sides when it came to the gossip on Harry.

"Harry revived the Longbottoms," the sandy-haired girl replied with a huge smile.

"You what?" Hermione exclaimed, whirling towards her best friend.

"It wasn't that big a deal," Harry protested, holding up his hands, making his other friends snort.

"How? St. Mungo's tried to cure them for years. How did a non-healer succeed where they didn't?" she questioned, looking at her best friends as if he were a puzzle she couldn't solve.

"Parselmagic," Jake jumped into the conversation, defending Harry as always.

"Oh," she said and deflated a bit. Harry had told her all about that, so she should have guessed he would use it. Harry was just glad they didn't tell her what happened with the ward stone, she'd start yelling and he didn't want to argue with her right now.

"Come, we show the lady around," Zeeb suggested, always the peacemaker.

"If we aren't exploring then I'm leaving," Player stated as if to make them change their plans.

"I promised Hermione a tour of the neighborhoods," Harry said with a casual shrug, not really caring if the rude boy joined them or not. He was still peeved at that last biting comment the half-goblin made to his best friend.

"Fine," Player spat and turned and walked away.

"He isn't a very pleasant fellow," Hermione observed with a wrinkle of her nose.

"He was alright when we first started hanging out, then he got moody. I think he'll be leaving soon," Harry said, echoing he previous statement and taking her arm and guiding her to the Veela part of the city.

The gang waxed poetic on all the different the districts. They toured the city for two days to make sure she understood where everyone was. Harry had to leave in the afternoons for work, but his friends said they'd take care of her.

Hermione was ecstatic to see the free elves village and gave Harry a rib-crushing hug. He, of course, protested he had nothing to do with it.

The war in Britain was starting to get out of hand. Voldemort finally announced his return by leading an attack on the Ministry. He wanted that prophecy, whether Harry was there or not. If it wasn't about the Boy Who Lived, he felt it would tell him who was supposed to be his downfall.

The Daily Prophet once more changed its tune and was begging Harry to return. This time Harry did write them a letter telling them to piss off. They, of course, retaliated and called him a coward.

With the mass migration to Black Isle, it wasn't hard for the Order of the Phoenix to find out where they were running to. The Headmaster got it into his head to ask the Hogwarts house elves, since it had been reported that it was a house elf that saved the Bones. They had no choice but to answer him. The Order tried to break the wards on the island and was starting to succeed, when the free elves added their own protections, leaving them to start over.

It was a minor setback for the City. Now they might have to find another way to get people here. There was a committee set up to go over plans. It had been a sore point that they missed that loophole in their scheming. They knew the city was safe, but worried for the escapees.

Harry was just thankful that pure-bloods never lowered themselves to asking slaves anything, at least he hoped they wouldn't. He did wonder why the Headmaster didn't free an elf to get inside the wards, maybe he couldn't free the Hogwarts elves, or maybe they popped away if he did. Harry didn't know.

"Sirius," Harry started, it had been a week since Hermione came and now he was thinking about his ex-best mate. "I'm worried about the Weasleys." They had just finished a dinner of steak and potatoes and were settling in their chairs for their nightly talk.

"Your compassion will always amaze me, Harry," Sirius said as he scratched his goatee and sighed. "As far as I know they're okay. Bill was one of the people trying to break the wards on Black Isle. So I know he's alive. I'll send some post out and see about the rest," he offered, getting up and moving to the table.

"Dobby," Harry called, remembering the Dursleys.

"Harry Potter is calling Dobby?" his littlest friend asked.

"Can you find the Weasleys, or Hedwig?" the teen requested.

"Dobby has tried already, sir, but he is not finding them. Harry Potter's Grangy is asking Dobby to do the sames. Dobby thinks they is behind wards, sir" the little elf said sadly. "Dobby is not knowing how to finds animals." His ears sank in disappointment.

"Right, thanks anyway," Harry gave him a kind smile. "You're the best."

Dobby sadly nodded his head and popped away and Harry went back to his summer reading. He had gotten Hermione all the books she needed to catch up on the schoolwork, but she would need tutors to get completely up-to-date.

A week went by with no word on the Weasleys, but at the end of that week they got a very good surprise. Hedwig flew through the portal, carrying a very scraggly looking Crookshanks. She was flying low with her heavy burden, but seemed determined to find her human. If Harry hadn't been looking at the Unicorns, she would have had to fly to his house. He was very thankful that he had to do a paper on them for summer homework and that he had put it off to the last minute.

Harry had no idea how they flew over the ocean, for all he knew they were stowaways on a ship. He shook off that silly thought and ran to his owl. He was just glad they were there. "Hedwig!" he shouted and picked up the tired bird, who had flopped on the ground after dropping the cat. "Oh Merlin, you look awful. Let's get you home." she did look bad, her feathers were rumpled and she was so thin that Harry had no idea how she managed to keep ahold of Crookshanks. He wrote it off as magic and turned his attention back to his feathered friend.

Hedwig opened one yellow eye to glare at her human and tried to nip him, but she was just too tired.

Crookshanks gave a pitiful meow and walked slowly besides Harry, who would have carried him, but his arms were full of owl. The three went to Hermione's house first, to drop off the bedraggled cat. Hermione gave a cry of relief seeing her beloved familiar and picked the poor animal up and cooed over him.

Harry left them to their reunion and went home to tend to his. He conjured up a perch, gently place Hedwig on it and hurriedly got some food and water. Hedwig fell on the water like she hadn't had any in days. It took three days of tender loving care to get the owl to where she would fly around the house.

School started and the gang made sure the Hogwarts students caught up with the rest of the class, not wanting the teens to flounder. Hermione, of course, was the most proficient in her work, Luna being a close second. Neville and the Creevey brothers toned down their hero worship enough that they started hanging out with the rest of the gang without ribbing. Everyone enjoyed the classes and the girls made sure the boys kept up with homework.

Voldemort succeeded in getting the prophecy after his third raid on the Ministry, but without Harry's connection to the Dork Lord, they had no idea what he was planning. They didn't have spies in the Death Eater camp and talked to the free elves and got volunteers to do the dirty work. They didn't care about the war; they only wanted to know if Snake Face was going to come after Harry.

The two elves that did get inside reported that Voldemort was not trying to find the missing teen, since the prophecy told him nothing. He was more concerned about winning battles. The Council of Elders gave a huge sigh of relief, but upped the Rangers patrols, just in case.

Months went by and the British Ministry of Magic fell to the hands of Voldemort. Dumbledore was fighting a losing battle, because he split his troops. One to fight and one to find Harry. So Sirius sent an anonymous, but very informative letter to the Muggle Prime Minister and told him what was happening in his backyard. Then they washed their hands of the Order. It wasn't their fault that they weren't looking for the horcruxes they had been given all the information they needed to win.

The Council of Elders asked the free elves to get the muggle newspapers so they could keep track of the progress of the British Army. It seemed the PM was making far more progress than the Order. Battles in England's street were fought and won. The PM hired the goblins to find the soul containers and continued to fight the Death Eaters with deadly force.

When the muggle-born camps were set up by that bitch Umbridge, the free elves would break in and grab the prisoners. The New Ministry never knew how they got out, but there was a new bounty out for Sirius and Harry, because people like Dolores still believed that Sirius was a wanted criminal, who would sneak in and disturb their new regime.

Sirius and the Council had erected a ward stone, much like the City of Z's, but without the Fidelius. A dozen wizards charged the stone on Black Isle and now it was a human annex village to the major city, much like Hogsmeade. There was now and dome and the Order nor anyone else could penetrate it, the dome was set only to Z's free elves.

That bounty was the downfall of Player. He thought he now had the chance to make it rich and tried to kidnap Harry. The wards reacted violently. They froze the betrayer and completely wiped his mind. He was now the equivalent of a newborn babe. He was rejected from the city and left to wander the Amazon. They learned that Nahand's herd took him to the edge of the forest and left him at the first village that Harry and Sirius came across when they first entered. That village took pity on the confused human looking half-goblin, thinking his odd eyes part of his retardation. They must have been friendlier than Harry thought.

Harry was heartbroken that one more of his friends turned on him. He tried to apologize to Player's mum, but she just hugged him and firmly stated that it was not his fault. She had seen it coming for a long time. Still Harry felt bad for her.

"Sirius," Harry said, "do the wards always wipe the mind completely?" They were sitting at the table eating a breakfast of hot cereal.

"No, usually they just wipe all knowledge of the city."

"Oh, I was just wondering why Player's mind was gutted," he said in a questioning tone.

"I'm just guessing, but I think it's all about the penalty fitting the crime. You have to remember the people who lived here before had different ideas on punishment. They were far stricter than our society, for all we know attempted murder could cause the perpetrator's death. But if we want to keep the city peaceful, we will not mess with the wards." He tapped his finger on the table to emphasize the words and gave his godson a firm look.

"Right, no messing with the wards, got it," Harry said, hands held in the air.

"Time for school and work," Sirius announced, getting up from his chair and grabbing his briefcase.

"Yeah, see you tonight," Harry agreed, looking at his watch and grabbing his bookbag.

Black Ilse was becoming overpopulated and they would need to either get the people in to the city or ship them off elsewhere. It was now the number one priority. Questioning was done faster and more citizens were added to the city. Still more were asked to go elsewhere; the problem was most had nowhere else to go.

The muggle-born that were rescued didn't have a Knut to their name; their vaults had been seized by the New Ministry. So a kind of welfare system was put into place. They were to work for the government, doing things like filing, street cleaning or janitorial services for a wage, and they could pay back the small loan for their houses. Most were more than happy to do this, because they were safe now.

They had to close the city to refugees when the population hit three thousand. They didn't have the room for anymore, and the economy wasn't big enough to handle building larger domains, but they were sending missives to other governments to take the fleeing people. France opened their doors to them, and Russia reluctantly offered them a deal much like the City of Z. Other countries, like the USA let them come and gave them welfare to start them off. Some of the refugees went to muggle Britain to live with relatives.

Soon everyone who could be rescued was and now the war was being fought with just the Death Eaters, the Order and the British Army. The muggles were winning. They had even fought the Order on two occasions, when the vigilante group messed up their missions. The PM was pissed at Dumbledore and told the old man, in no uncertain terms, to stay the hell out of his way. The goblins were slowly but surely finding the horcruxes. They had so far found a ring, a necklace, a cup and were now searching Hogwarts for something on their radar.

Dumbledore conceded defeat in finding Harry and turned his sights back to where they belonged.

The City of Z read with morbid fascination on the slow destruction of magical Britain. With most of the muggle-born and half-bloods gone, the population there was down to under two thousand. Hogwarts had to close their doors for the first time ever. Diagon Alley was in a shambles and Hogsmeade wasn't much better. Voldemort thought he finally got the type of community he wanted, but he soon learned that he was wrong.

School and work were going okay for Harry as the months passed. Hermione was fitting right in with the gang and all the teens were growing and thriving. Hermione had long ago written Krum and told him that she was safe and that he was welcome to join her. He said he would think on it and get back to her. She was still waiting and really hoped he would, but let him make his own choice.

It took months of battle, but the muggles won. The goblin had gotten all the horcruxes and Voldemort died by a bullet to the head, fired by a man who happened to be born as the seventh month died and had lost his parents in the first war. He bared a scar on his arm from that night. Sirius was the one to learn this and Harry laughed his arse off, sending a Howler to Dumbledore to rub it in his face.

The City of Z sighed in relief. They no longer had to worry about Britain, but continued to keep their eyes open for wars. The Rangers still patrolled the forest and every now and then would pick up a straggler.

A few of the British went back. They were told their minds were to be wiped of all knowledge of where they had been these past months. They were more than happy to comply if it meant they could go home and help rebuild England's magical community.

Dumbledore never tried to contact Harry again and the stress of the war had him dying in of a heart attack a few months later. Remus tried to get invited to the city, but Sirius said there was no way in hell he'd let a traitor in his life again.

The Muggle PM, fell on the Wizengamot like a rabid dog, making them reform the entire government, and repelling all of the biased laws. They would never be 100% unbiased, but they were much better. The PM office made sure to keep a close eye on them thereafter.

Sirius found out that the Weasleys all made it through the war, not unscathed, but alive. It was thanks to Albus that they survived, he had hidden them away. It was a small thing that made Harry a bit more thankful to the man, but he still didn't forgive him for all of his other trespasses.

The Lovegoods and Bones stayed, they had made a life here and didn't want to leave. The Longbottoms and Creeveys also remained, not wanting to be away from their hero. The City of Z continued to hide behind the dome, but many merchants flooded the outside countries with the new inventions, bringing more money into the city.

The government ran a proficient municipality and their coffers also grew with new taxes. More public relations departments were created and everyone had a voice in the Council of Elders. Sirius held office for three terms and was replaced by Amelia Bones, who held it for two. Jeuel stepped down and one of the other villagers took his seat. Matta and Melampus stayed for two terms, Gundabald took their place. Dobby was the voice for the elves for five terms. Voting was always fair as the dome wouldn't let anyone cheat. They had settled on a vow that everyone who held office had to take, the non-magicals were given a contract that was spelled with the vow and when they signed it, it became binding.

The dome was amped up every year by Harry, who made sure he had a healer on hand. A few more parselmouths were found in the city and Harry trained them on parselmagic, though it took two or more of the others to charge the stone.

As years went on and the population and economy grew, skyscrapers were built and they now were almost seven thousand strong. Many of the citizens moved away. They didn't have to have their minds wiped, since they had family and friends staying. They simply took a vow never to tell.

Harry and Sirius were still wanted men, so they never stepped outside the dome. They had made a good life here and were more than happy to continue it. He and his family moved into one of the penthouses in the inner city. Embracing the district with open arms.

Years went by and Harry became a healer, his saving people thing guided him to that career choice. He married a girl from France and had two children.

Hermione became President, after graduating with top marks in law, and married Krum, who started a City of Z Quidditch League with three teams, so far they had no kids.

Sirius retired and married a muggle-born lady and had three boys. He added to the little house that he and Harry had shared; he was content in his life and never looked back.

Jake and Luna married and had two kids. Since neither of them was on the run, they often went out to find the Crumpled-Horned Snorkack. To this date they hadn't found it.

Susan married Zeeb and he taught her the ways of the rainforest. They had two children and were very happy in their lives.

Neville settled down with one of the pure-bloods that fled England and they had one child. He studied Herbology and became the teacher for the school.

All of Harry's gang married and had kids, he was thankful that he had such a large group of people who liked him for just being Harry, even his fan club started thinking of him that way.

The Centaur tribe still roamed the Great Forest and they swelled in numbers. Nalla moved to the city with one of the males and they settled into a nice life.

All was right for the City of Z. All of the mixed people got along and procreated. It was now a thriving metropolis. It now housed everything anyone could want. A theme park, theaters, shopping malls, tours through the Amazon Rainforest, museums, and many more forms of entertainment. The different districts were fun to walk through and the restaurants and pubs were exotic. They had public transportation and cars were designed to work in the City. The buildings grew and the people prospered. The wards held strong and crime was never an issue.

Harry and Sirius did what they set out to do; they found a safe place to hide and created a utopia.