Chapter 14: Armed and Ready

The other boys did write back, making Harry happy they hadn't shunned him. Now that he had proved that Voldy was back, the papers were singing his praises. Seamus had said that his mum had said awful things about Harry, but now she was glad he was going to be at Hogwarts. Harry wasn't sure how he felt about that.

The public was just too fickle.

While no one knew about the prophecy, there was talk that Harry was the only one who could end the Dark Lord. Harry was not happy about that. He just wanted to be a kid. Not some superhero.

"Harry," Fred said, a few days later, "come and see what we've got for you." He motioned Harry to join him in the prank room.

"Is it ready?" the excited teen said, almost running to get there sooner. He had been waiting for ages to see what they had come up with. Those two were brilliant, and he knew he wasn't going to be disappointed.

"Yup," was all the twin would say, he held open the door for the younger teen. There was a million watt smile on his face, which was matched by his brother's.

George was there, holding two boxes. He handed the first one to Fred.

"This is our best invention yet," Fred said, opening the box and showing a large number of tiny wands. They were the size of Harry's pinky finger. They were all black with a silver stripe on the tip. They looked like magician's wands.

"Wands?" Harry asked, not sure what the doxies could do with them. They were magical sure, but could they use a wand?

"Not just any wand," George said, picking one up and aiming at the wall. He only flicked it once and a purple spell came out and splashed against said wall.

"Wait, these are preloaded?" Harry asked, catching on quickly. That might actually work. The doxies would only need to put magic in the wand and the spell would fire.

"Yup, they all have the same spell for now. We're working on other spells. These have a different kind of stunner. The only way anyone who gets hit with one of these babies is getting up, is with the smelling salts," Fred explained, waving his hand to the smelling salts on the table.

They had all decided to have some with them in case they needed to wake anyone. The doxies all had some around their neck, but they wouldn't be around the twins. Fred was pretty proud of that invention as well. Sure, Harry told them what they were, but they got the combination correct and the most effective.

"You mean the spell won't wear off?" Harry asked, not sure how that worked.

"Yeah, it will, but not for over an hour," Fred said, sheepishly. "But before that time is up, they need the smelling salts," he reiterated.

"What's in the other box?" the younger teen asked, taking the box of wands, and tucking it under his arm.

"This is for you," George said, opening the box in his hands. Inside were cubes of something black. "This is Peruvian Darkness Powder," he said, picking a cube up and throwing it into a corner.

That corner was instantly swathed in shadows. No light penetrated the corner, and Harry couldn't see the wall on the other side of the darkness.

"If you're in a jam, look for the exit, drop the cube and run for it," George said, handing a few of the cubes to Harry.

"We're going to sell these as a joke, but they are part of the defense line," Fred said, taking the box from his twin and putting it on the table.

"We have one more thing that we worked hard on, just for your doxies," George said, taking up a box from the bed.

"Really? You guys have outdone yourselves already," Harry said, blown away by the fact that they did so much for his little army. He must have tickled their invention bone with all they have thought up.

"We only got these done yesterday," Fred said, turning to his brother and waving in a flourish manner.

George opened the box, and inside was over a hundred little hats. They were Robin Hood style with a feather and everything.

"What?" the confused Harry asked, not sure why the doxies would need hats.

"These are part of the defensive line too. They are the Headless Hats. They are supposed to hide your head, we couldn't make them cover the whole body. But," he paused dramatically, going so far as to hold up a theatrical finger, "they can hide something as small as a doxy," he finished with a flourish.

"That's great," Harry said, bouncing in place. "I was worried since they can't be armored," he added, grabbing a hat, and putting it on his middle finger. "How do they activate them?"

"There is no phrase to activate them since your doxies can't talk. So, they have to reach up and tap the feather," George stated, touching said feather on the one on Harry's hand.

Harry watched in amazement as his whole hand disappeared. "This is great guys. I don't know if I can ever repay you. Let me pay for these," he said, taking the hat off his finger and putting it back in the box.

"Your money is no good here," Fred said, patting the boy on the shoulder.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have anything to invent with," George stated, patting the other shoulder.

"I'm going to go give these to the queen," Harry said, his throat tight. Even if his other friends were snubbing him, he still had the twins. Well, Ron was still speaking to him, but it was stilted at best. He was still angry that Sirius had kicked them out of Grimmuald Place.

Harry made it back to his room and called the queen. She was ecstatic for the protection the hats would give her family. She exampled the wand and found that the doxies did indeed have just enough magic to use the one-spell wand.

Harry told her about the darkness powder and what it did. He stated that if he threw it, they were to stay in the bag. They wouldn't be able to see otherwise.

She called the troops out and they practiced with the hats, but not the wands since they were only one use. The doxies had a grand time shooting Harry with prank arrows, proving they were indeed invisible.

Finally, they all went back into the bag, and Harry went to bed.

Hphphp

It was the last day before leaving for school and they had yet to get their letters. It was around ten in the morning when Dumbledore showed up. He had their lists.

"Ah, here we go," the old man said, handing each one their letter. "There was a matter of finding professors," he added at all the confused looks. "I had to find a potions master," he said, still trying to clarify.

"Does that mean Snape's gone?" George asked, his voice hopeful.

"Professor Snape will be teaching DADA," Albus stated, with a stern look. "We are hopeful that we can find the curse and remove it from the position. Thereby letting him continue teaching," he finished, still looking at them with disapproval.

The three teens groaned, making very disappointed faces. That was the last thing they wanted. Snape teaching them dark arts, or the defense thereof. True, the man had coveted the role, but was he going to be as useless as he had been teaching potions? They really hoped not. It was the testing years for all of them. Harry's OWL year, and the twins' NEWT. The last thing they needed was an incompetent teacher.

"Sirius," Dumbledore said, looking to the only adult in the room, "there will be a meeting tonight." He was still upset that Sirius had kicked the Weasleys out, but he was glad that the Order could still meet here. That way he could monitor what was going on between Sirius and Harry.

"Sure, after I get these guys kitted out," Sirius said, taking Harry's list and perusing it. "It shouldn't take long," he said, handing the parchment back to his godson.

"When are we going?" Harry asked, wondering if he had enough money in his pouch.

"Now," the dogman stated, turning to Dumbledore. "If you'd be so kind," he said, making a 'leave now' motion with his hands. He knew that the Alley was going to be packed, what with the letters coming so late. Which was this man's responsibility to make sure people had time to shop.

"I will take my leave," the old man said, walking toward the door. "I will see you at seven, Sirius," he called behind him.

They watched him leave and looked at one another.

"I can't believe Snape is going to be the DADA teacher," Harry finally broke the silence.

"I think we're all thinking the same thing," Fred said, nodding to his brother, who nodded back.

"Let's just go," Sirius said, moving to gather what he needed, which was just his money bag.

"Wait, I need to get mine," Harry said, turning only to be caught by the sleeve. He turned to glare at Sirius.

"I've got you," his godfather said, smiling at the teen.

"What? No, I've been buying my own supplies since I started," Harry said, ripping his sleeve out of the other man's grip. He was proud of the fact that he could be independent. He didn't want to give that up.

"You shouldn't have. Let me do this, but go get your bag and your doxies," the other man said, the twins having already left to get their money.

"What do I need the doxies for?" Harry said as he made his way to the stairs. "This discussion is not over," he added, not wanting the man to think he just gave up.

"I want them to be able to behave in crowds. That and I want them to protect you if something happens. We are in the middle of a war, you know. I don't want you going anywhere without them. You are a team," Sirius said, following Harry up the stairs so he could finish the conversation. He ignored the comment about the other topic. For him, it was over.

"I guess," Harry said, seeing the reasoning as a good one. They had trained for any eventuality. He hoped. Mostly it was if Harry was hurt, kidnapped, or otherwise compromised, then the doxies would swarm. They were getting quite proficient with the bows and arrows. The daggers didn't really need training since that was mostly sneak attacking. Which now that they had the hats, was a piece of cake.

When he got to his room, he called the queen while he got his money bag and bank key. They were in his trunk. He rummaged around, while she came out of the bag.

"What?" she said in her usual greeting. There were no niceties for the doxies. He thought about teaching them manners, but felt it was overstepping his bounds.

"We're going out. I want three of you to maintain outside surveillance while we're shopping," Harry explained, putting his key in his pocket and his bag on his belt. He then picked up the doxy bag and slung it over his shoulder. "Just hover over my shoulder," he instructed, kindly.

She nodded and flew back inside the bag. Harry didn't see any come out, but they touched his shoulder to let him know they were there.

The bag itself wasn't that interesting. It was a simple messenger bag. Black with a flap that hung over the front. It was made of dementor cloth, so it was slightly cold, but there was a notice-me-not charm, that held better because of what it was made from. However, Harry was thinking on making it look cooler, when it came out that he had his private army.

And that will come out, one way or another. His secrets never stayed secrets for very long. Mostly because he told people who couldn't keep their mouths shut. Ron would say things in anger, and Hermione would tell the teachers anything she felt was harmful. Hagrid was a kind soul, but couldn't keep a secret to save his, or anyone else's, life.

Harry was determined to keep this secret for as long as possible. The only way it was getting out, was if he was attacked. Though with the hats, no one would see them, so that might not be what outed him. However, people would know something was around, and they might link it to Harry.

He was going to have to go over when it was okay to come out, and when to let him protect himself. He didn't want them to attack the likes of Malfoy, unless the git was really trying to hurt him. Then it was all bets off.

Hphphp

The four of them made their way to Diagon Alley in relative peace. The twins were fussing as to whether their mum was going to pay for their supplies, or if they were going to have to dip into their own funds. They were for the latter since their family was quite poor. They just weren't sure if they had enough revenue to cover it all.

"I'll cover what you can't," Sirius offered, as they made their way through the Leaky Cauldron. He held up his hands at their protest, "Think of it as an investment in your company. How about a 5% share?" he said, thinking that was a good deal. He was sure these kids would make it big.

"We want a contract," they said together, stopping from walking and putting their hands on hips.

"No problem. I'll get Ted to draw one up," Sirius said, a chuckle in his voice. He started walking again and they came to the wall. Tapping the bricks, he made the barrier open.

Diagon Alley was packed. There were students and families everywhere. Harry wondered how long it was going to take, with this many customers. There were lines out every store. The noise was almost overwhelming.

"Let's hit the bank first," the teen suggested, moving that direction.

"Good idea. I can give the twins money from there. That way there's a confirmed amount to put on the contract," Sirius said, following Harry.

They all noticed how the crowds would go silent as they passed, then whispers followed them everywhere. Whether it was about Harry or Sirius, they didn't care. It was irritating either way.

"You put up with this all the time?" Sirius asked, not used to the attention. He knew it was going to happen, but damn. Didn't these people have anything else to talk about? He wasn't that interesting.

"Yup, welcome to my life," Harry said, not bothering to lower his voice. Neither had Sirius. They were more than happy to let those gawkers know that they were being bothersome. The note of derision in Harry's voice caused a few to look away with guilty expressions.

"You would think that the threat of war would be more important," Fred said, glaring at another fangirl, who was eyeing Harry like a piece of meat.

"Yeah, you two aren't that exciting," George stated, he too glaring at the crowd.

"Don't bother," Harry said as he nudged a gawker out of the way. He didn't shove him, just gently guided him to stand out of his way. "They didn't listen to me when I said Voldemort was back," he said, saying the Dark Lord's name on purpose.

The crowd shivered and looked everywhere, like the man would show up at any moment. They parted to let Harry and his company through. They didn't want to be there when the Dark Lord showed up.

"Stick with Voldy," Sirius suggested, putting a hand on Harry shoulder to guide him to the bank. "There was a taboo on his name last time. That's why no one says it."

"Why the fuck did no one tell me that?" the angry teen stopped and rounded on his godfather. All this time he could have been putting his friends and family in danger. He had only used the nickname because he thought it was a good taunt.

"I thought you knew," was the man's defense. "You rarely call him by his name since he's been back," he pointed out.

"No, no one ever told me. Dumbledore always told me to call him by his name," Harry said, and started back to the bank, which was only a few feet away. "Fucking arsehole," he grumbled under his breath.

"I don't know why that man insist on that. He knows of the taboo," Sirius said, thinking of all the times Albus did tell everyone to call the Dark Idiot by his name. It didn't make sense.

"Voldy it is," Harry said, getting over his anger. They were now at the bank, but the lines were just as long. They were going to be here a moment. "Since you are paying for me and the twins, how about we start shopping with what we have on us, and you can catch us up?" he asked, not wanting to stand in these lines.

"Okay but keep an account. I want to give you back what you spend," his godfather said, noting the way people were getting out of his way. He sneered at them in such a way that would put Snape to shame.

"Sure," Harry said, lying through is teeth. He wasn't going to let Sirius pay for everything. He had enough to at least get his books.

The twins on the other hand were going to keep track. They were more than happy to let Sirius invest in their company.

The three teens left the bank and headed to the bookstore. There was a line almost around the block, and they got in the end of it. It was going to be a long day.