Chapter 14

Harry returned to Texas after that and parked the ship in its spot, proudly out in the open in front of the house. Then they went to Grimmauld Place, where Bill would stay while he learned his new trade. Harry could have just shrunk the ship and taken it through Grimmauld Place, but he was enjoying the chat with Bill, while he explained all the systems on the ship.

The next two weeks were spent in teaching, for Harry. He needed to impart certain concepts to Bill, since the magical world really was a different culture. They ended up watching a film or two, so that Bill could understand what they were showing the students at the school. Harry had to explain the security system and the concept of the storage diamonds, as well.

The diamonds had caught him as a surprise. Harry had to explain how he had succeeded and the theory behind manipulating the structure of carbon atoms. That seemed to interest Bill greatly, just as it had McGonagall, and he resolved to start studying the science, so that he could see what possibilities opened to him. He also pointed out that this form of magic should definitely be considered family magic, as Harry could make himself infinitely wealthy, by producing diamonds and selling them.

Harry wasn't interested. He knew muggles would be able to tell that the produced diamonds were artificial, since they could both produce and inspect diamonds to confirm such things. To him, the diamond strips were a more valuable tool, than a resource to be sold, anyway. He had been able to use glass for all the transmission plates, but the only storage medium he had made so far had been diamond. Since he had discovered the method, he stuck to it.

He resolved to go to the library with Bill, to see if there were other uses they could find. While there they discovered a section on DIY. The subjects covered were vast and Harry couldn't decide what books to get. He was just staring at the section, when Bill asked him why they didn't just copy the books.

"Copy the books?" Harry asked.

"Duplication charms?" Bill asked.

"Of course, but those make only temporary things." Harry said incredulously. "Do you mean you know a permanent duplication charm?"

"No, it still makes only temporary copies of things." Bill shrugged with a bemused smile. "But you don't need the book permanently, right? And you could always copy the copy, before its magic fades."

Harry hadn't thought of that, but the idea had resonated with Harry. He got a smile on his face and quickly put all the books down, so that he could go home and make a quick and dirty new artefact, using skills he had already learned.

Bill was focussing on making parts of things he had already been taught in that time, and three days later, Harry introduced Bill to his new item. After a quick demonstration, Bill's face lit up in understanding and he, too, got excited. He'd need to learn how to add to the new item, but Harry really wanted Bill capable of using this feature, so he stepped up his education a bit. Hermione was going to be ecstatic when she found out.

After Bill had been taught the new function and how to use the new item, they went back to the library, to start adding to their collection. It took them a couple of days, but soon they had a decent collection and had covered every subject in the DIY, science and mathematics sections, from the beginning of high school all the way through to college and university. Harry had been certain to add everything he and Hermione would need for their extra studies as well, adding them to a special section called 'Extra-Magic Education'.

By the time the new school year was about to start, Bill had finally been able to create his own Comm, and Harry had enjoyed watching him celebrate by calling Charlie. It hadn't been a long conversation, since Charlie had to go, but the look of triumph on Bill's face, at seeing the success of his first device, was very encouraging. Harry helped him make the necessary parts and protected them with his magic, so that Bill could start on production when he was ready, and completed a couple of devices, which he would be handing out to his study group.

On the day that they were to take the express, Harry had arranged that the families who he trusted, including the Parkinson and Greengrass matriarchs, would meet an hour early at the Station.

The Grangers arrived a little earlier than the rest, as was expected, followed shortly by the rest. When they were all gathered, Harry stood before the group. Families Bones, Brown, Dunbar, Granger, Greengrass, Longbottom, Lovegood, Parkinson, Patil and even the Weasleys were all there, along with his Guardians, McGonagall, Poppy and Bill.

"Ladies and gentlemen." Harry started. "Thank you for joining us today. I have no doubt that you will be very pleased with your decision to be here. I'm not going to make a long speech about this, so let's get the demonstration of my latest creation started." He turned to Bill. "If you would please go to the designated location, so that the demonstration can be underway?"

"Certainly, Mister Black." Bill said with a bit of a smile. "I'll see you in a short bit." he said as he winked and then he apparated away.

"Bill has gone to one of our companies' many locations. He will let me know when he is in position." Harry said.

"How will he be contacting us?" Xenophilius asked. He was standing next to his wife, who were both standing behind Luna. Seeing Luna's mother there still freaked Harry out a bit. The idea that Luna was the one to bring him back had never really slipped his mind. Something about it seemed both appropriate and very weird.

"With the new device." Harry said, trying to shake the feeling and pulling out the sleek black device and showing it to them. He had decided to change the colour scheme and had coloured the aluminium black. "This is a Communications Platform, or Comm. It's like the Comm Boards some of you are currently in possession of, but this one has a couple of extra features, along with a new, better design." Harry said. His device pinged just then, with the sound they all knew to mean there was a message.

Harry turned the Comm around and tapped the glass. A message appeared and Harry turned the device around to show it to the people. "Bill has arrived at one of our American bases of operation and he is ready." Harry said. The message had simply stated that he was in position. "Observe." he said, before he turned the device around again and said, "Video Call Bill Weasley."

There was silence for a short while, before a face appeared in the air in front of Harry. "Hello, Mister Black." Bill said.

"Hi Bill." Harry greeted, before he turned the Comm around to show the people around them the image of Bill, as he started to slowly walk around the assembled group. "Would you care to tell our guests about the weather over there?" Harry asked.

"Well, it's still a couple of hours before sunrise here, so all I can say is that it's dark outside." Bill said.

"As you can see, the Comm does not require a stationary position, but I'm certain you'll be explaining its use as a portable Floo, when you tell your friends about the Comm." Harry said. "The best part about this, is that you can carry it in a pocket and always receive messages from your family, or call them when it suits you. I don't know how the wards at Hogwarts will affect this, but the preliminary tests show no loss of communication, whatsoever."

"Why are you showing us this?" Mister Patil asked. He had a suspicion, but didn't want to assume. It was most likely protected family magic, like the boards had been.

"I'm glad you ask, Mister Patil." Harry said as he turned the screen around once he'd completed the circle he had been walking around the people. He ended the call and said. "Call Bill Weasley." There was silence for a moment as Harry put the Comm to his head. Then he spoke. "Yes, this part of the demonstration is complete." Then he blushed, "Come on, Bill! They are all watching and you know it!" Silence for a second again. "Yeah, yeah, I see your point. Just, get back here already." Then he ended the call again and turned to the people.

"As you can see, you don't need to see the other person, nor have such a public conversation either.��� Harry said. "The idea being, that you can talk in private and also not have to look your best to make or receive calls."

Bill then reappeared at his side. "Where are we?" he asked.

"Private conversations and not needing to get dressed." Harry informed him.

"Right." Bill said. "I know that you ladies always want to look your best, when you appear in public, so I suggested that he mention that." He said with a smirk. His words had been something along the lines of making calls naked, which was why Harry had blushed, but for a demonstration, that was perfect for them to see the usefulness.

"Too true." Harry said. "Like when Bill called me while I was still asleep. I could answer the call and not even have to get out of bed."

"The messaging function has been useful to plan our days as well." Bill said. "Harry has more manners than me though. He sends a message for me to read that asks me to call him when I'm available. I just call him." he shrugged.

"You still didn't answer my question." Mister Patil pointed out. "Why are you showing us this? Why did you call this meeting?"

"Right." Harry said, nodding. He turned to Bill, then. "If you'll do the honours?" he asked.

Bill nodded and pulled out a bag. Inside the bag were many Comms. He took out a Comm and a small manual and walked to the Patil patriarch. "This one is yours." he said, handing them over. "I will need to register it with the Index, before it will work, though, so please be patient while I hand the others out." He proceeded to hand out Comms to one parent of every family, Professor McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey, and then he handed one to every student, all Harry's friends and every Weasley there.

Remus and Sirius already had theirs. So did Daniels, but he was the only wolf that had one at this point. Bill's first job would be supplying Marauders Inc. with more of the devices.

"You're just giving us these?" Augusta Longbottom asked. "Aren't they valuable? Aren't your family secrets in them?" she asked. She was not a fool. She could see the usefulness of these items, but she knew family magic was involved and wouldn't offend the burgeoning young entrepreneur, by asking him if he was certain he wanted to spread his family magic around like this.

"You are all people I believe I can trust." Harry said.

Bill scoffed. "And the protection magic screams trust."

"These items can still get stolen." Harry pointed out. "But yes, they are protected from people learning their secrets. Any attempt to tamper with them will destroy the magics and disable the registration to The Index."

"The Index?" Padma asked.

"I needed to invent a new way to connect the devices." Harry said. "The index is how these things are all connected and able to communicate. How it functions is a Trade Secret." He looked at Luna, then. "Luna actually gave me the idea that led to the creation of the Index."

Luna's parents smiled at her, and Luna smiled at them and Harry, nodding in acceptance of the statement. She'd not tell anyone what she had told him.

"These will be valuable, though." the Dunbar mother said. She was muggleborn, and knew about cell phones. "You could sell these and make a lot of money." she pointed out.

"That is the idea, later on." Harry agreed. "For now, I've given my Co-Head of Research and Development, Bill Weasley, the task of finding a way to teach other people parts of the process of making these, while ensuring that they can't tell anyone else or use the magic for personal gain."

"We must protect our interests, after all." Sirius said. "Marauders Inc. is the only company with this product and we intend to keep it that way."

"What about rental fees?" Mrs Dunbar asked. "Or contacting someone on the muggle network?"

"Your Comms will not have rental fees or charges associated with use, and there is no connection to the Muggle network at this time. We will be looking into both of those in the future, though." Harry said, happy that there was someone that knew these things, to broach the subject.

"Muggle network?" Augusta asked.

"Muggles have something similar." Mr Granger said. "It relies on our technology, though, and you need to pay to use the networks. Long distance calls are also expensive and muggles can't make calls on their cell phones that have an image, like these 'Comms' have." He turned to Harry. "Well done, young man. I suspect you beat the muggle world by a few years with this."

"How many years, do you think?" Harry asked, interestedly.

"Ten to twenty, I suspect." Mr Granger said. "There is such a thing as video calls, but it is unreliable over distances and the quality suffers depending on the speed of the line. There's nothing near this quality available anywhere, though."

The purebloods in attendance were shocked at the news that muggles had anything like this, but looked satisfied that this version was better in most regards.

"How much were you thinking of charging for these?" Mister Patil asked. He had an idea that he'd later be speaking with Bill about, seeing that he could contact him on these nifty devices.

"Bill would be the one to ask about that." Harry said. "He'll be in charge of setting up the production line and securing things, so he'll need to know how much to pay people and we'll need to consider some other factors, like the available clients in the wizarding world. We also don't know how quickly demand will rise for these, but I suspect we'll need to produce a large stockpile and get some people in the ministry using them first, to set an example of the usefulness."

"I can see my way to equipping the Auror department with these." Amelia Bones said instantly. She had been hoping the Comm Boards would become available, but these would be infinitely more useful. "Provided they aren't too expensive, of course."

"We'll see about getting the Auror department a discount." Bill said, interrupting Harry. For all he knew Harry would offer them for free. While he could see how useful such a thing would be for both advertising and quicker response, they were starting a business. Harry obviously knew nothing about that, so he'd have to take charge. "I'll be in contact with you, once I've set up production. Marauders Inc. will be assigning their staff with these first and that's the first order we'll be filling. After that it will be first come, first served."

"Put the Aurors at the top of the waiting list, please?" Amelia said instantly.

Mister Patil had been about to ask the same. His international holdings would benefit greatly from this. "Patil Trading will put in an order for five hundred of these to start with, after Madam Bones, of course." he said.

"Please contact Bill after this." Harry said. "For now, we need to get you registered. Bill, if you would?"

"Of course, Mister Black." Bill said. Business was already looking up, and they'd not even begun to sell their equipment. He was excited. "Mister Patil, if you would? Please hold the Comm in your right hand and wait for me to nod. Then you can state your name, as you will be referenced when people call you. You can use your position or your full name, but it needs to be unique, so that The Index can know you from any other Patil that registers in the future. I, for example, can be contacted by using just my name, Bill Weasley. William Arthur Weasley is just too long and will make people call me William."

Mister Patil nodded and Bill cast a spell silently and without a wand movement, touching his wand to the Comm when he was done. They had set up the devices already, but the registration name needed to be changed. That could be done from either the Index itself, or from the Comm, which was what Bill was doing. He nodded and Mister Patil stated his name for the Index to record, the unseen scribe making the change on both sides.

"Congratulations, Mister Patil. Your Comm is now registered on The Index." Bill said. "Please remember to modify or mark the back of the Comm in such a way that you don't confuse it with another in the future. The black metal part is safe to transfigure with either a design or label." he said, holding his Comm up so that Mister Patil could see his. It was still black, but there was a design with a Wolf and a Dog both howling at the moon on either side of a lightning bolt. His initials W.A.W., for William Arthur Weasley, engraved below the image. "This is the logo for Marauders Inc. and my initials."

"Thank you Mister Weasley." Mister Patil said. "It will be a pleasure to do business with you, I think."

"I think you're right." Bill said with a smile. "Please remember to read the Manual. It explains all the functions." Mister Patil nodded and stepped back, so that the other people could register their Comms.

Bill proceeded to register all their Comms and by the time they were finished other people had started turning up.

"Well, it seems our time is up." Harry said. "Thank you all for joining us and please feel free to call Bill with any comments or complaints. He will note them for future applications and modifications."

"These are only our first attempt." Bill said with a nod. "For any features you would like to see in future versions, please contact me."

The people were soon saying their farewells and the children, who had been mostly silent, really wanted to get on the train to thank Harry personally. Little did they know, that he had a couple more surprises for them. The group entered a compartment and, since Ron was with them, because of the gathering, they offered him a seat. He refused, thankfully, most likely planning on showing off the Comm to his other friends.

When the door closed, Harry was mobbed by the girls all thanking him profusely for their Comms. He received many kisses on the cheek and hugs. Neville just shook his head and smiled at the scene. When Harry was finally able to sit down, Neville said. "Thank you, Harry. Now my gran can check up on me all the time." He said it with a lopsided smile, though, so Harry didn't think he was really upset.

"Didn't you say that she was acting strangely?" Hermione asked. The entire group had still been writing on the Comm Boards to each other and Neville had mentioned that his Gran was giving him knowing looks and being less overbearing.

"As soon as she saw the lightsaber and I told her that I was teaching my friends how to use a sword, she just looked at me funny and nodded. Besides that, I didn't hear a bad word from her. Something must have changed." Neville said. He was worried for his Gran. Was she dying?

"You've changed." Hermione said. "You may not have noticed, though, since you're always staring at Hannah and her rear-end."

Neville blushed and the other girls all laughed. "Not that you're wrong to look." Daphne said. "She does have a shapely behind." This made Neville's blush increase.

"Hey! I don't point out every time I see you girls looking at Harry's rear." Neville said, finally defending himself. "I'd appreciate it if you treated me with a little common courtesy?" His statement had the desired effect of having most of the girls look away and blush themselves. "Not fun having it pointed out, is it?" he asked.

"That's what I was talking about, Neville." Hermione said through her blush. "You are more assertive, confident. Your gran probably noticed. It's a good characteristic, as long as you're not overconfident. That is more unappealing than no self-confidence."

"You've also lost some weight." Daphne said. "Probably because of all the exercise."

"I have been training more these days." Neville allowed. "I keep on getting challenged and I'm currently in the top position in our year."

"And the year above." Harry corrected. "Even I can't beat you."

"Only because you stopped cheating." Neville said. "You have almost no skill with the sword. Your magic moves faster and hits harder than you normally can though. I doubt even a seventh-year could stand up to you, when you use your full capabilities."

"Dumbledore couldn't stand up to him, when he uses his full capabilities." Pansy scoffed. "Seriously, why aren't you running the school yet?"

"Too much admin." Harry said instantly. "I'll need an entire staff to do the job Dumbledore neglects."

"The staff is already there." Hermione pointed out, with a smile. "They'd likely follow you if you declared yourself Headmaster." She was joking, of course, so when Harry looked contemplative, she slapped his arm, knowing he was just playing along.

"So, what did you get up to this holiday?" Susan asked. "Any new Dark Lords on the moon?"

"Not yet." Harry said. "Honestly, I'm hoping that that will be the only one I ever have to deal with."

"Deal with?" Pansy asked. "Don't you mean dealt with?"

"I needed some information on how to treat one of his Death Eaters, to get what I want, so I had to bargain with him. It's not like I can make his existence worse, though, so he pushed for some entertainment." Harry said. "He's now watching a sequence of the movies I've collected and copied onto a recording crystal." He called them crystals in public, not wanting word spread that it was diamonds. The movies played at the moon house and Voldemort could see them through a monitor crystal he left with him. The quality wasn't great, but it was watchable.

"Why is there still a Death Eater walking around?" Hermione asked.

"He's in a useful position, for me to manipulate when the need arises." Harry admitted. "He's too scared to do anything and we have people monitoring his movements."

"He's watching muggle movies?" Pansy asked, changing the topic back to Voldemort.

"I thought it would be apt." Harry said. "Seeing what he missed out on, by being who he is."

"He probably just thinks it's annoying." Daphne said.

"Without the ability to switch it off and with nothing else to do, he has little choice." Harry chuckled.

"What a torturous existence." Susan said sarcastically. "Poor Dark Lord, gets to watch movies all day long."

"He'll get tired of them at some point." Harry said. "Then he'll start to hate every single song and phrase on every single movie. And they will never end. They are on a permanent loop."

"No less than he deserves." Susan said, after a moment to consider it.

"Okay, that's enough of that conversation." Harry said, suddenly pulling himself away from the thought. "I have one more thing to show you." he said as he pulled out a larger board from an inner pocket of his jacket. "This is a new item I made. There's only two right now and Bill has the other."

"What does it do?" Hermione asked looking at the rectangular board. This one was also black, but its glass was currently blank.

"Access Library." Harry said, and a list appeared in white lettering. "This is my Library. I used some magic to link books in the public library to a similar system as the Index. It would normally try and make an entire copy, but, using a couple of runes and spells, it allows me to select a book and then look through the pages."

Harry saw Hermione's eyes bulge and her mouth hanging open. Padma and the Slytherins had similar looks. In fact, it seemed his entire study group had similar expressions. Shrugging, he looked for the books for that year and tapped on the potions book's name. The glass changed to show the cover of the book and Harry tapped the right side of the glass and the next page appeared. Then he held his finger on the right side and it started cycling through the pages faster and faster.

"You like it?" Harry asked.

"This is amazing!" Hermione shouted. "THIS IS AMAZING!"

"Ouch! My ear! I'm sitting right next to you, Hermione!" Harry complained grabbing the offended auditory organ.

"And you have all our school books in that one device?" Padma asked. Her eyes were gleaming in a way he had never seen. There was greed in those eyes.

"That and a large collection of muggle books." Harry answered, finally letting go of his ear.

"Can you connect this Library to our Comms?" Hermione asked, more quietly, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"I tried that." Harry said, taking his own Comm out. "Access Library." He said and the list appeared in his glass. He selected a random book and turned a couple of pages to show them. "See, you can't make out a thing. The page is too big, so the text is all small and unreadable."

Hermione took the Comm from his hand, with a roll of her eyes and incanted, "Engorgio." The Comm grew in her hand until it was the same size as the Library device. Harry felt like an idiot. "Boys." Hermione scoffed as his eyes showed shock. "Why do you always do things the hard way?" she asked.

"Huh." Harry said, intelligently. Then he smiled at Hermione. "You really are the smartest witch of our generation, aren't you?" It really wasn't that she was smart, in this case. He'd just overlooked the simple solution somehow, while he was considering muggle ways to solve the problem.

Hermione smiled a satisfied smile and lifted her chin. "You should have just asked." she said.

Padma took out her own Comm and said, "Access library," but nothing happened.

"I didn't link all of your Comms." Harry said. "Only mine, while I was experimenting."

"Can you do it now?" Hermione asked.

"Fortunately for you, I set up The Library access to be added through the Library Interface." Harry said lifting the device. "I should be able to add all of your Comms." He had done that so that he could copy the Hogwarts Library into The Library. Bill would likely be adding to the Library too, when he found time.

Harry wasn't even finished with the sentence, when all the Comms were held out to him, so he obliged and bonded them all to have access. When he was done, he said, "Just, don't show this feature to everyone? I just know all of Ravenclaw would be banging down my doors if they knew."

"Forget the Ravenclaws." Padma said. "Madam Pince would claim the Library Interface and have the students use only it, to leave her precious books alone."

"Maybe I should make her, her own one, with a few interfaces." Harry asked. "She'd likely help adding books to the collection if she thought it would protect the books."

"The only problem being that you would need to teach her the magic involved, to add books." Pansy pointed out.

"I might be able to set something else up." Harry said. "Bill was telling me that I should try and make things that apply both the magic and their protections, so that exposure to my actual family magics are limited. If I can figure out how, I might be able to make something that will add the books without teaching her the magic involved. Or Bill might have some ideas. He was a curse-breaker. He's had a lot of experience with unique magics."

"Why did you decide to hire Bill Weasley?" Hermione asked. The story of how they had met hadn't come up yet.

"There was an issue that he needed help with, and Neville was the one to bring it to my attention." Harry said looking at the boy. "You were right, by the way, but let's not share the details. It's a private matter. Either way, thank you. You are partially responsible for stopping the issue."

Neville nodded. "Neville told you?" Ginny asked. Her mother had not told her the details, but the gratitude of the family told her that it was a huge deal.

"Neville was telling me about something similar, and a couple of things I had heard clicked together for me." Harry admitted. "Without him, the problem might not have been solved for many years."

"What was the problem?" Hermione asked again. She hated not knowing and Harry was talking around the issue on purpose.

"It's a private matter." Harry said again. "If you really need to know, speak to Bill or Mister Weasley."

"Thank you, Neville." Ginny said to him, with a smile he had never seen on her face.

"You're welcome, Ginny." Neville said, nodding his head.

Luna was just looking at Harry with that dreamy smile on her face. "You are not so bad, you know." she said.

"I had hoped." Harry said with a lopsided smile at her.

"You can start wooing me, if you want." Luna said. "I don't see it ending badly now."

"Are you saying you're joining the 'plan'?" Daphne asked.

"I like all of you." Luna shrugged. "I don't see why not. Who's going to be head wife, though? I need to know for when I tell mummy and daddy."

"We've not discussed that." Pansy said. "We're waiting until everyone is ready to decide. Harry still doesn't have enough titles to make it all legal, either."

"There is a plan in place for that." Harry said. Remus and Sirius had said that they would handle that, so Harry left it with them. He did demand to know before they did anything, though, so that they could add to the plan if necessary. The Gringotts job had been a bad bit of business, but they had been able to smooth things over with the Goblins, who now had a new magical security system.

"Why can't we wait to talk about these things until we're older?" Hermione asked with a blush. She wouldn't be able to admit it now, but she had decided to join them. She didn't know how she'd tell her parents, though.

"Because being honest about it now helps us build the trust we'll need later to make the situation not just acceptable, but one we want." Padma said.

"It doesn't happen often, but in our homeland, magical men sometimes take more wives. It is a symbol of their power. If the man has strong magic, it is desirable to have more children, to carry that strength." Parvati said.

"Maan and pita already know of the plan and will be talking to your guardian about it in this coming year." Padma said.

"Soon, likely, now that they have these." Parvati said as she held up her Comm.

"Maan and pita?" Hermione asked.

"Mother and, I'm assuming, father?" Harry asked.

"Yes." Padma agreed. "When we are married, you will be 'Pati'."

"Husband." Parvati explained with a small blush.

"I love learning these things." Harry said, ignoring his own blush.

"Your parents will be talking to Mister Black?" Hermione asked, referring to Sirius.

"It is traditional for parents to discuss these things, before things become official." Pansy said. "My mother will likely do the same. It is her duty to ensure I marry a man in good standing, which will be a good match for me. She has been informed of the plan as well."

"Same here.��� Daphne said. "But my mother is likely not ready to discuss losing me to another family. With my sister joining the school this year, I worry for her. She's all alone with only the house elf for company. I gave him specific instructions to keep an eye on her, though."

"If you want, we can find her a place with the carers at one of the wolf resorts?" Harry offered. "The Veela take good care of our people."

"The elf can keep her from neglecting herself and now I can call her and see how she's doing." Daphne said, holding the Comm up. "Thank you for this. It will be useful to stay in contact. It's difficult to know how a person is feeling in letters."

"I'm sorry about your dad, Daphne." Harry said. He was a bad man, but that didn't mean he wasn't loved.

"He did it to himself and his family." Daphne said instantly. "I don't blame you or your company."

"Maybe it would help if you could show your mother his confession?" Pansy asked. "I know it helped me to know what he did."

"Only if Daphne thinks it will help." Harry said.

"It may." Daphne allowed. "I don't like her so stressed and sad. She worries for Astoria as well. She's weak and gets sick easily."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Harry asked. "Does she suffer from some sort of immunosuppression?"

"Immunosuppression?" Daphne asked.

"A disease that makes it difficult or impossible for the body to recover from other infections." Hermione said.

"No, she suffers from blood malediction." Daphne said.

"What's that?" Harry asked, not having heard of it before.

"It's a blood-borne curse that sometimes appears in the family." Daphne said.

"Blood curse!" Harry exclaimed.

"Harry!" Neville exclaimed excitedly, but looked around the compartment, not knowing how to talk about it without revealing the private matter of the Weasley Family Curse.

"It's fine, Harry." Ginny said. "I trust this group not to tell anyone."

"It's still not my place to reveal these things." Harry said.

"The Weasley family was under a Family Curse." Ginny said quickly, before Harry could interrupt.

"Ginny?" Daphne asked. "What do you mean 'was'?"

"I found a way to lift the curse temporarily." Harry said, looking at Ginny through narrowed eyes. "I wasn't going to tell you that."

"I'm sorry Harry." Ginny said. "But would you really not help them if you can?"

"No." Harry admitted. Then he sighed. "Okay, here's the thing. The Weasley Family curse is still private, so no asking about what it was or how I helped. I can't give you specifics, as it is a new trick I came up with. The important thing to note, is that I'll need to leave the train with Daphne and her sister, to go sort this out."

"Right now?" Daphne asked, a little hope in her heart and voice. They had always known Astoria would not live a long life.

"Contact your mother and ask her where we should meet. I need a place I know, so Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade or the train station will work." Harry said as he stood up and took out his Comm. "I'll need Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall with us. I promised them not to do this without supervision."

He stepped out of the compartment and quickly called McGonagall.

"Professor McGonagall speaking, is this you again, Sirius?" McGonagall asked.

"Hi Aunty Min." Harry said, smiling at the idea that Sirius had already been causing mischief.

"Harry? Why are you calling? Have you already found something going on again? Has anyone been hurt?" she asked quickly.

"I found another Family Curse. I'm going to arrange to have it fixed before the start of school, so we have a couple of hours." Harry said.

"Who?" McGonagall asked.

"Daphne Greengrass has a younger sister starting school this year. Apparently she suffers from something called a blood malediction that runs in the family." Harry said.

"Merlin!" McGonagall exclaimed. "Very well. Where are you meeting? I'm assuming the Greengrass girl is contacting her mother?"

"She is. I don't know where we're meeting yet, but I'll tell you once I know." Harry confirmed.

"I'll get Poppy and get to you once you let us know." McGonagall confirmed. Harry could already hear her walking. "Be careful exiting the train and don't splinch yourself or the girls, okay?"

"I'll be careful." Harry promised. "I'll send you a message when I know where." He then hung up the Comm and went back into the compartment.

"They'll be waiting at the Leaky Cauldron in ten minutes." Daphne said instantly, standing with Pansy, when Harry appeared through the door.

"They?" Harry asked.

"My mother and Daphne's were together. She insists on coming along." Pansy said. "And so do I."

Harry stood there looking at them for a moment, before he sighed and nodded. He should have expected it. "Fine, but nobody else. I'm already apparating the four of us." Harry said. "Where is your sister now?" he asked Daphne.

"She's sitting with some other first-years. She has a friend or two among them and wanted to meet her new year-mates." Daphne said, as she walked out the door to go find and fetch her sister, Pansy following closely behind.

"I'll wait for you here." Harry said as he took out his Comm again. "Call Bill Weasley." he said.

"Bill here." Bill said.

"Bill, we have another curse to work on." Harry said. "Mind meeting us at the Leaky cauldron in ten minutes?"

"I'll be there." Bill said instantly. "You work fast." he added.

"Astoria Greengrass has a hereditary blood-curse." Harry said. "I just found out."

"That makes more sense." Bill said. "Have you called Madam Pomfrey?"

"Aunty Min is getting her." Harry said. "We'll see you soon." Then he hung up and said, "Message Minerva McGonagall. Dictate Message. Leaky Cauldron. Ten Minutes." Then he tapped the Comm to finish the dictation. He looked at his other friends, "Sorry about the urgency, but I'm guessing you're not going to complain?"

"I'd have liked to go with, but I can understand why you're not taking us." Hermione said. "Be careful, though. Side-along Apparition is supposed to be difficult and dangerous."

"I can handle it." Harry assured her. "We should be back at the school by the feast. If we're running late, I'll try and send a message. In the meanwhile, you girls can read the manual for the Comm so long. Get used to the features." He received a couple of nods and the girls all wished him luck with a hug and a kiss to the cheek. Even Susan got in on the act. Maybe she'd had time to think about it?

Daphne and Pansy soon returned, with a younger girl. "Astoria, this is Harry Black. He's going to take us somewhere to try and do something important. Mum will be meeting us."

"What about the feast and the sorting?" Astoria asked.

"We should be back by then." Harry said. "Nice to meet you Astoria." he said belatedly.

"What if we're late?" Astoria asked nervously.

"Then I'll sort you myself." Harry said.

"You can do that?" Astoria asked.

"He's Harry Black, sis." Daphne said.

"He can do anything." Pansy assured the younger girl.

"Including flying off of a speeding train with three passengers." Harry said as he transfigured a large hole in the ceiling of the compartment. He turned back to the girls and winked, before levitating the girls up and through the hole, making Astoria scream, and flying after them. He closed the hole and then flew, with them, to the side of the train-tracks, where he landed. "Okay, give me a hug girls. It'll be easier to apparate us all that way."

Daphne and Pansy hugged to his side and drew Astoria in, before she could object. They soon landed in Diagon Alley, at the arrival point, and moved into the Leaky Cauldron. There were a couple of chuckles and concerned looks from the patrons, thinking that the children had missed the train, or somehow went to the wrong place.

"What are we doing here?" Astoria asked.

"Meeting mum and some other people." Daphne said. She was both worried and excited.

They didn't have to wait long, and Daphne's mother soon walked into the Pub, followed closely by Pansy's mom.

"What's going on Daphne?" her mother asked as she hugged both her daughters.

"Harry has something to discuss. It's urgent and couldn't wait." Daphne said, not wanting to spill the beans in the pub.

"It is of a private nature, but you don't have to worry. I'll explain everything once we've moved to a secure location." Harry said.

"You can use one of the rooms upstairs if you want?" Tom, the barman, offered.

"Thank you, Tom, but we'll be going to another location. Sorry for arranging the meeting here." Harry said.

"Happens all the time." Tom waved it off. "Just thought I'd offer."

"Thanks." Harry said, flipping him a coin for a tip.

"You're welcome, Mister Black." Tom said, before he moved off and chased off some of the patrons who were blatantly eavesdropping.

Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey walked in from the Alley, with Bill leading the way, having opened the door for the older ladies. "We're all here, then?" Bill asked.

"As far as I can tell." Harry said. "Should I have invited someone else?"

"Madam Bones." McGonagall decided. "Seeing this might be a good way to find more… clients… in the future."

"That's a good idea." Madam Pomfrey said. "Perhaps, next time, we can invite a healer from St Mungo's?"

"Next time." Harry confirmed, taking out his Comm. "Call Amelia Bones." he said.

"Harry?! There are people here!" Daphne whispered harshly.

"So?" Harry asked as he waited for Madam Bones to pick up. "Let them look. They'll be able to buy these soon enough." he added.

"This is Amelia Bones?" Amelia asked, not having had time to use the device, but having seen Harry use it.

"Good morning Madam Bones. This is Harry Black." Harry said. "I'm sorry for interrupting your morning, but Professor McGonagall suggested I ask you to join us for something we'll be doing in the next couple of minutes."

"What will you be doing?" Madam Bones asked. Harry thought she sounded amused.

"I can't discuss it right now, since we're in the Leaky Cauldron. I don't want people to hear." Harry said.

"Is it important?" she asked. Why was the boy not on the train? He should be spending time with the girls and getting to know her Susan.

"I wouldn't call you if it wasn't." Harry confirmed. "Can you take an hour or two off?" he asked.

Amelia considered it, but then decided to use the opportunity to its full advantage. "If I was reachable wherever I went, I'd be able to do this more easily." she said. "Perhaps, before asking me to do this in the future, you could provide a way for me to be contacted in these cases?"

"Fine, I'll set you up with another Comm." Harry sighed. "But only one. I have to prioritise my people first, after that."

"Deal." Madam Bones said. "I'll take a portkey and be there in a minute. It's good to be the Head of the DMLE."

"It'll be just as good to have the Head of the DMLE just a call away, considering I'll be giving you the perfect way to be at my beck and call." he joked, before hanging up.

There was some murmuring as the Patrons all digested this. "You'll likely be headline news tomorrow for that stunt." Professor McGonagall said.

"She was trying to leverage the situation to her advantage. I just returned the favour." Harry shrugged.

They didn't have to wait long, before Amelia strode into the room. Harry turned on the spot and led them all out the front door, so that they could apparate to Grimmauld Place. Those in the know took hold of someone and they soon arrived in the house.

"Harry?" Sirius asked, sitting up, when he heard the arrival. "What are you all doing here?"

"Blood curse." Harry said, walking to the vanishing room. Sirius scrambled to get up and joined them, knowing what was coming. Harry hadn't let him go to the moon on his own, so he wouldn't miss a chance. He also loved seeing people's reaction to everything they were about to witness.

The room switched to Texas and Harry waited in the room, not going out, yet. He looked up at the people. "Okay, so here's the situation. Over the holiday, I worked on breaking a family curse. In that case, I had to do things differently, because of some circumstances outside of my control. In this case, however, since the whole family is here, I might be able to break the curse on Astoria Greengrass, who has a hereditary blood-malediction."

There were gasps from those who didn't know and Harry waited for the information to sink in. "There are only a few ways to break a curse like this and I happen to know one of them, having invented most of it. If you want me to try it, or observe my attempt, you will need to promise to keep what you see today a secret."

He looked at Madam Bones, "I'll not expect an unbreakable vow, but I do expect you to not spread this around. If it works I'll be able to do something that will have a couple of people very unhappy with me and anyone associated with me. If we can keep it quiet, though, we could possibly help many more people."

Amelia sighed, when she realised that her Susan would be put in danger for revealing anything she learned. The old families loved cursing their enemies. "I can do that." she said. "But for my silence, I'll be expecting some questions answered truthfully."

"I can do that, but I'm not giving you any secrets that aren't mine to give or that might put more people in harm's way." Harry said.

"Fair enough." Amelia said.

"Is it dangerous?" Lady Greengrass asked.

"It has a hundred percent success rate, so far." Harry said. "That being said, I only used it the once. But the theory is sound and worked without side-effects, exactly as predicted."

"Hi. Bill Weasley. Curse-breaker currently under the employ of Marauders Inc." Bill introduced himself. "He's not saying it, because it's confidential, but the family curse he lifted was on the Weasley family, through the Prewitt line. The Malfoy family had the curse on us, cast by Abraxas Malfoy, Lucius's father. I was the first one to use this method and I will vouch for it. It is painless and I've since learned of the methods involved. It is perfectly safe, as long as Harry is the one to do it. He has a specific skill needed to perform it."

"It's family magic, though, so we'll not be sharing that part with you." Harry said, nodding at Bill in thanks for volunteering that. He had not brought him for that, but it helped.

"Mum, I trust Harry with my life, but it's your decision to continue." Daphne said.

"I'd do it." Pansy said with a shrug. "Like I told Astoria, he can do anything." she said confidently.

"He really can, can't he?" Astoria said, seeing Harry's confidence. "Mum, please let him try?" she asked her mum. She knew why she was always so weak and why she got sick all the time. She also knew her Mum was very worried for her at Hogwarts, almost not sending her, when the letter came.

"If you can guarantee my girls will be safe, I'll allow you to try." Lady Greengrass said. She would normally not be in charge of such decisions, but she didn't have a choice but to proceed. Anything that might save her daughter.

"Hold on." Lady Parkinson said. "We don't even know the slightest thing about what he's about to do. You can't seriously trust a thirteen year old boy to do this? No matter how talented he is, nothing can break a family curse, without the caster allowing it."

"There are a few exceptions." Bill said.

"But we'll be explaining them on the way." Harry interrupted, as he walked to the door and held it open for the guests. "You can still decide not to continue," Harry said, "but our time is limited. Astoria really doesn't want to miss the sorting."

The guests soon exited and Harry opened the saucer's hatch for them. "We're going into space?" Amelia asked, realising that the ship was the same one they had seen Harry pilot into space last time she was there.

"In a manner of speaking." Harry allowed. "Don't worry. It's a short trip. Only a minute. You won't even need to buckle up."

The explanation left the guests with more questions, but they were focussed on the prospect of seeing a blood-curse removed. Harry went to take his seat and Sirius guided the guests to seats of their own. Harry quickly manoeuvred the ship into the garage, closed it and opened it again, ignoring the shocked gasps of the passengers. He landed them outside again and opened the door. "Welcome to the Moon House." he said, walking out. "Mind your step, the gravity is lower on the moon."

"How are we on the moon?" Daphne's mother asked.

"It must be the same method we used to get to Texas." Amelia theorised. "I suspect the house and property has some sort of protections from exposure?" She had done a bit of reading after seeing Harry's trip into space last time. She had been impressed with all the precautions the boy must have taken.

"You've been studying." Harry said, as he helped steady Astoria, who had stumbled because of the lower gravity. "Wards are set up to both protect and hide the house. Muggles couldn't find it if they tried."

"I've been wanting to come to the Moon House." Pansy said.

"Me too." Daphne added. "We never got the chance, though, and Harry is always so busy."

"I'm sorry, girls." Harry said. "We'll make time during Christmas Break, okay? Maybe we can be the first people to celebrate Christmas on the moon?"

"Let's focus on the task at hand first, shall we?" Poppy asked, only a little bit steadier on her feet, since she'd been here before. "We have a blood-curse to lift."

"Yes. Perhaps you want to tell us why we came to the moon for this?" Lady Parkinson asked, as she followed McGonagall's example and walked slowly.

"Bill, if you would?" Harry asked.

"Certainly." Bill said. "We've been working on trying to break other curses as well, like for the few people who want to remove lycanthropy."

"You can cure werewolves?" Daphne's mother asked. Perhaps these people really could save her little girl.

"Temporarily, it turns out." Bill said. "With lycanthropy, the curse has been around for so long that it re-asserts itself with the full moon. It's such an ancient curse, we don't even know where it originated, and it has only grown in strength. The Blood-Malediction, though, isn't such an old curse. There is a possibility of removing it, if we can target the entire family that carries it. With the curse on the Weasley Clan, when I made contact with someone still under the curse, it jumped to me again."

"The Curse runs in my family." Lady Greengrass said. "We are the last that carries it in our blood."

"That's perfect, then." Harry said. "If we can lift it from all of you, at once, there would be no more carriers to infect you with. May I ask why not all of you show symptoms?"

"It only appears in some of our family, sometimes skipping a generation entirely." Lady Greengrass said. "Even so, we all carry the potential to pass it along to our children."

"We can't have that." Harry said, as he held open the door for the guests. "The gravity is normal in here, so don't trip."

"You really should put a railing or something here, from the ship, so that people can hold on to it." McGonagall said as she stepped into the house, maintaining her balance. Harry was standing there to help any that struggle to acclimate.

"That's a good idea." Harry said. "I'll do it before we leave."

"Anyway," Bill jumped in again, "The way your curse works, would require the original caster to lift it, or we can replace it with a greater curse, which would nullify it. When the greater curse is then lifted, the other curse is gone. The reason we're doing it on the Moon, is to create distance between you and whatever family cursed you. The vacuum of space is difficult for magic to move through and we're far away from the Earth, so there is little chance of them even realising it is being removed."

"So, you're going to curse us to save us from a curse?" Lady Greengrass asked.

"How do we know you will lift the new curse?" Lady Parkinson asked. She knew how people were tricked into accepting curses. If it seemed like this was one such an occasion, she'd put a stop to it. The only problem was, she couldn't see a benefit for the Black boy. She knew he cared for the girls and didn't want to think he was using them, but she wouldn't trust him blindly either.

"Why do you think I suggested we bring the Head of the DMLE?" McGonagall asked. She knew there would be suspicion. Purebloods had been doing underhanded things for a long time, after all. "She'd hardly allow Mister Black to kill people and get away with it."

"Kill?" Lady Greengrass asked.

"It's how we remove the curse." Harry said. "We stop your heart for twenty seconds and then, when the curse is lifted, we start it again."

"But you're talking about murder!" Madam Bones exclaimed.

"Only kind of." Harry said with a shake of his head. "Temporary murder."

"And you've done this?" Madam Bones asked Bill Weasley. "Are you insane?!"

"I'm still here aren't I?" Bill asked. He saw that this was going nowhere, though, so he sighed and looked at Harry. "Will you please curse me to death, so that we can show them?"

"Okay." Harry said. "Good idea. It'll show them the process and prove that it's safe." He didn't really want to do it, since there was no real need. He was still killing someone, after all, but he realised there was a need for trust. "Just let me record it, so we don't need to do this again." He said as he pulled out a piece of glass and placed it against the wall, where it vanished. Then he confirmed that it was recording and nodded.

He then transfigured three tables and had Bill lay down on one.

"You can't be serious!" Madam Bones objected.

"This is my choice." Bill told her. "I trust Harry to do this. If I do die, I absolve him completely."

"I'm about to curse your heart to stop. Do you accept and agree to this?" Harry asked, exactly as he had done before.

"I, William Arthur Weasley, being of sound mind and clear of compulsions, agree to accept the curse in its totality." Bill said formally, again.

"So mote it be." Harry said and cast the spell. "Your heart will stop in thirty seconds."

"Now undo the curse." Madam Bones said urgently.

"Weren't you listening Amelia?" Sirius asked. "His heart needs to stop, so that Harry can prove he can start it again. A greater death curse is the only way to ensure that any other curses don't linger."

"It's fine, Madam Bones." Bill said. "Just wait and see." He turned his head back and stared at the ceiling, blinking every other second. And then he stopped blinking as his body went limp and his head rolled to the side. Astoria screamed in horror, at seeing his dead eyes looking at nothing.

"Madam Pomfrey, if you'll please confirm that Bill Weasley is deceased?" Harry asked calmly, ignoring the scream, even as his magic moved into position to start the heart again.

"Can't you just bring him back now?!" Madam Bones asked urgently, even as Madam Pomfrey dutifully cast a spell to confirm he was dead.

"Bill is dead." Poppy said. "That should be enough time for the demonstration. Bring him back." she instructed calmly.

"Of course, Madam Pomfrey." Harry said. His magic was already working and Bill's eyes closed when his heart started again. "Enervate." Harry said aloud for the benefit of those watching and Bill's eyes shot open.

"What?" Bill asked as he sat up and everything rushed back to him. "Oh, right. Is that enough of a demonstration?" he asked the unbelieving watchers.

"I don't believe it." Madam Bones said. "You really can raise the dead!"

"It's simpler than that." Harry said. "The human brain doesn't suffer damage for several minutes after the heart stops. The curse stops the heart. I know enough biology and a certain spell, which I created myself, which causes the part of the brain that sends the signal to start the heart, to function again after the curse stops it."

"And where did you learn to manipulate the brain and heart?" Lady Parkinson asked.

"I study a lot." Harry admitted.

"But what and where did you study that?" Lady Parkinson insisted.

"Muggle science." Harry said. "They know more about the human body than magicals. They are much more advanced than wizards in that regard." He wanted to say 'in most regards', but thought better of it.

"Muggles?" Lady Greengrass asked.

"It was them landing on the moon back in 1969, that inspired me to do the same." Harry said. "Without muggles, your daughter would suffer for the rest of her life. Without them, the Weasley family would be doomed to live with their curse forever. Don't doubt muggle intelligence, even if you want to doubt their power."

"But… Muggles?" Lady Greengrass repeated.

"Okay, look-" Harry started, getting angry now, but he was interrupted.

"Do you think Madam Pomfrey is a liar?" Professor McGonagall asked dangerously. "Do you think her incompetent?"

"Of course not!" Lady Greengrass said instantly.

"Then, even if you doubt Harry and his knowledge or even the muggle source, why would you doubt her judgement on this?" Professor McGonagall asked. "Do you think she would be fine with him risking your lives unnecessarily?"

Lady Greengrass was quiet at that, but finally turned to Lady Parkinson. "What do you think I should do?" she asked. They were friends and she trusted her judgement.

Lady Parkinson stood there contemplating. She had seen it with her own eyes. She couldn't doubt the results, even if she didn't trust the source. And she definitely trusted Madam Pomfrey. Finally, she sighed. "I think that I have doubted my Pansy's trust in the boy for long enough. He has nothing to gain from this, except maybe our favour and he would hardly jeopardise that by failing. I say let him try. Even if it fails to remove the curse, I doubt he would let you die."

Lady Greengrass sighed then, as if in relief. She had hoped her friend would suggest they do it. It was the first and only hope she had to have her daughter outlive her. With her husband missing, she didn't have any support besides her friends. "We'll do it." she finally said.

In short order, the ladies all lay down and gave their consent, with their nerves driving them to still imagine the worst, but trusting what they had seen. Harry wouldn't let them down. They just hoped he could lift the curse. Harry stood over them and placed the curse. There were a few tears as people looked around to possibly the last things they would ever see and then everything went black.

---

Astoria Greengrass blinked her eyes as she woke to see the smiling but tearful face of her mother and sister. "Hi?" she asked as Madam Pomfrey helped her sit up.

"How are you feeling, dear?" Madam Pomfrey asked kindly. She had suggested that they enervate her last, so that she could test her for any lingering effects of the curse.

"I, don't know." Astoria said as she thought back, wondering what had just happened. Then she saw Bill and remembered his dead eyes, but they were alive now and full of happiness. "I died." she said.

"Only for a couple of seconds." Harry said. "I brought you right back."

"Did…" she tried, not wanting to hope, but needing to know, "Did it work?" she finally got out.

"The curse has been lifted." Madam Pomfrey assured her.

"Confirmed it myself." Bill said. He was the curse-breaker, after all.

"So, I'll be stronger now? I won't get sick?" she asked.

"Well, the curse has been on you your whole life." Madam Pomfrey said. "You'll not feel much stronger for a while, but a regimen of potions will soon fix that." she assured her. "Congratulations, my dear. You will live till you're old and grey, like me."

"I wouldn't call you old!" Harry objected. "Experienced maybe, but never old."

Madam Pomfrey smiled at him for a moment, but turned back to the girl, "Do you feel like getting up?" Astoria looked at her mother and nodded. Lady Greengrass was flooded with so much relief and joy at hearing the impossible, that she broke down in tears, while Daphne wasn't far behind. They were holding each other as they watched the youngest member of their family smile at them and got off the table.

Astoria had taken one step, before she was engulfed in a hug by both her family members.

Harry watched in satisfaction as his deeds led to a little respite in the harm his people had caused the family. He wouldn't change what they had done, but he still felt bad about their grief. Hopefully this helped a bit.

---

Professor McGonagall had gone into the kitchen and made tea, which she brought back to the sitting room, where everyone was now seated. They discussed the process that had just taken place and also why things needed to be kept secret, along with some of their plans. After a while, though, they were back on the topic of family curses.

"I still don't understand how all this worked." Madam Bones was saying. "I won't soon doubt you again, though, Mister Black. I'll tell you that."

"Do you think you could use what you know now, to start gathering a list of cursed people for us to help?" Bill asked.

Amelia had another idea though, "Would this process also release people under the influence of other magics?"

"What did you have in mind?" Harry asked.

"If someone gave a magical vow, for example?" she tried.

"We'd have to research that." Harry said. "I suspect it would depend on the wording of the vow, most likely."

Amelia sighed. She'd had to keep things under wraps in the past and she'd like to be released from her own vows, but she understood that not everything could be changed in one go. "I'll start putting it together. Do I have your permission to talk about this?" she asked.

"If you can find a way to keep it from the wrong ears." Harry said.

"We wouldn't want certain old families learning that we can counter their favourite punishments and family curses, after all." Bill said.

"I understand." Madam Bones said. "Just, keep my Susan safe, should this somehow get out, okay?"

"She'll be safe at the school." McGonagall said. "Mister Black here set the Heads of House up with certain of his family magics to be able to monitor things more closely. Professor Sprout has also been quite diligent, as you know."

"Yes, I'd heard about the McConnell boy." Amelia said. "It was a bit of bad business, that."

"Wait, what?" Harry asked. "There was another one? Why wasn't I told?"

"Harry, a lot goes on that we don't tell you about." McGonagall said. "It's not your responsibility. Suffice it to say, when we noticed something was going on, we had Mister Filch and Madam Pomfrey look for the students and we handled it from there."

"What's this?" Lady Greengrass asked.

"Mum, we told you how Harry saved us right?" Daphne said. "He didn't like finding out what was happening, so he set things up to protect the students."

"With redundancies and everything. Harry doesn't do anything by half." Pansy nodded along. "Those of us in his group have been under his protection for a while now. Nobody wants Harry angry at them."

"It seems that my presence hasn't curbed some people's actions, though." Harry said darkly. "I'll have to remedy that."

"You will do nothing to draw negative attention to yourself, young man!" Madam Pomfrey said sternly. "You are making a positive change in the school. If you scare the innocent, you'll be breaking that image."

"Right now people look up to you. Your actions are always under scrutiny." McGonagall agreed. "Best not to give them reason to doubt you, okay?"

"Fine, but we can't let this happen every year. We need to do something visible. We can't hide the fact that we keep on stopping these predators." Harry said.

"The headmaster doesn't want to cause a panic, by announcing that these things were happening." Madam Pomfrey said.

���That's his justification anyway. I still say that he's trying to protect himself." Sirius said. "Doing all he can to protect his image as some sort of all-knowing saint."

"I can't go against him." Madam Bones said. "He's still the Supreme Mugwump and Chief Warlock."

"We'll just have to work around him." Harry said. "I think I have an idea about that. It won't be pretty, though."

"What did you have in mind?" Lady Parkinson asked.

"I was thinking about the fact that the magical world doesn't have Libel laws." Harry said with a smirk.

"Libel?" Lady Greengrass asked. "Like, defamation in writing? Are you planning on having an interview?"

"Better." Harry said. "I intend to have the old goat defame himself."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Professor McGonagall asked. "He may not be who we had hoped, but he's still trying to make the world a better place."

"And failing horribly." Sirius said.

"Every time he hides what people do wrong, to hide his failings, he's basically encouraging the next idiot to try." Harry said. "I can see the positive there, by outing wrongdoers, but wouldn't it be better to stop the innocent from suffering in the first place. There is a saying: The best defence is a good offense. If we attack the problem, it will protect more people in the long run, and stop problems before they happen."

"The opposite can be true as well." McGonagall said. "If we can protect the students first, the offenders may decide not to do what they are planning in the first place. Attacking the problem by defending against it properly."

"Either way, something must be done visibly." Harry said. "A good deterrent is always a visible one."

"You are no mere boy, are you?" Lady Parkinson asked. "You are far too insightful."

"Occlumency." Harry lied. "I started arranging my thoughts and studying psychology as early as I realised the world wasn't going to just hand me an easy life."

"I think I see now why my daughter wants to join your family so desperately." Lady Parkinson said. "You are not one to sit idle and watch things happen. You intend to charge that which you perceive as injustice head-on."

"Perceive?" Sirius asked. "Don't you think that the abuse of children, even by other children is wrong?"

"I didn't say that." Lady Parkinson said. "I agree with him completely on that. I do have him to thank for my daughter's well-being, after all. I just don't know about all this muggle influence. I can see that I've been short-sighted about them, until now, but that doesn't mean it will be easy to accept that us magicals are being left behind."

"If he can hide the muggle influence in the changes he brings, the old families will more easily adjust and accept those changes." Lady Greengrass said, nodding along. She wouldn't look down on muggle intelligence and ingenuity any time soon, herself, but those who support the old ways, aligned to any faction, would still resist on principle, if they knew.

"We're already taking steps to ensure that people don't make the connection." Bill said, thinking about his father and what they planned to do. "Harry has already recruited someone with experience in both the law and application of muggle technology in the wizarding world. With their help, we intend to apply what changes Mister Black envisions, in such a way that there can be no objections or even a hint of impropriety."

"He's already taken those steps?" Madam Bones asked. She thought she knew who they were talking about. If Harry had truly lifted the curse on the Weasley family, and her reports of a meeting that happened in the ministry recently was anything to go by, Harry was playing a larger game than she had thought. Taking steps to prepare for a future, littered with change for the better, would make him quite a few enemies. Her Susan would no doubt be wrapped up in it all, but at Harry's side, she'd likely be in the safest position imaginable.

"This isn't just an altruistic endeavour." Bill said. "We're also running a business. If there is opposition, which I'm sure there will be, we need to cover ourselves, so that our client-base doesn't diminish when someone makes wild claims to interfere."

"With the Comms being as useful as they seem, I doubt you'd find opposition there." Madam Bones said. "More likely, your opposition will want in on the profits and attempt to block your sales of the items in public locations or arrange other ways to try and profit from you. You must be on the lookout for anything like that."

"People that offer you deals on materials or who seem to have good ideas about something to add, which only they can." Lady Parkinson said, nodding along. "I have no doubts the Floo Company will not be happy on diminished sales of Floo powder, either. Perhaps you should approach them, or incorporate some sort of renewable fuel for the Comms which they produce?"

"Mother!" Pansy objected, knowing their family had ties to the Floo Company. "We shouldn't be thinking of our profit in all this. If Harry makes money and our families combine at some point in the future, wouldn't we profit more in the long run?"

Lady Parkinson had the grace to blush slightly at the statement. "I'm only thinking of protecting my future son-in-law."

"Our future son-in-law." Lady Greengrass added, slightly possessively. "The Greengrass family stands behind Harry Black completely for what he has done for our youngest." she added importantly. "To join our families in recompense is only fitting."

Sirius had a victorious smile on his face at hearing that. "Ladies, you are more than welcome to discuss this with me over dinner sometime. For now, though, I suspect Harry would probably like to return the ladies to Hogwarts?" he asked, looking at Harry.

"We're going to be late!" Harry exclaimed, jumping up. "Sorry to cut the discussion short, but Sirius is right. We have to start moving." He turned to Amelia, "Madam Bones, it was good to see you today, and thank you for joining us. Should we need to do something similar in the future, can I rely on your participation, to satisfy those who may not trust the process?"

Amelia got up and held out her hand to him, which he took and shook. "You have my support, Mister Black. I will be in contact with Mister Weasley for arrangements and for the delivery of the other Comm you promised."

Harry looked at Bill, "She gets the first new Comm." he said. "She wants to be available to us at any moment we call, but wants her people to have the same capability."

Bill chuckled at that, knowing Harry was playing with fire, when he saw Amelia's eyes flash. "Of course, Mister Black. Anything that gets us the support of the Head of the DMLE is going to get top priority."

"You boys just like riling me up, don't you?" Amelia asked through narrowed eyes.

"Harry is just playing, Madam Bones." Pansy said. "I know he holds you in the greatest of esteem."

Lady Parkinson nodded at her daughter's attempt to smooth things over for her future husband, like a good wife should. She may be young, but Pansy had always been a smart girl, who took her duties seriously, with one eye set on the future.

Harry took the time to make two rails as he walked to the ship and entered, standing by the door to help anyone that struggled to adjust to the change in gravity.

"Why do we have to take the ship, when we come here?" Madam Bones asked, looking at the open garage. Surely they could just walk in and be transported back.

"It's a precaution." Harry said. "With the unknowns of how magic is affected in space, there is always the possibility that solar flares or some other cosmic anomaly could break the connection of the transport, mid movement. If you know anything about space, you know humans couldn't survive in it without specific protections." The fact that he had had to add many times more power to the magic, to accomplish that amount of distance wasn't mentioned.

Amelia nodded at that, shuddering at the thought. "I didn't think of that." she admitted.

"That's why Harry is in charge." Sirius said proudly. "He may be young, but he's dedicated to his projects and takes everything into consideration, to keep everyone safe."

"You've raised a fine lad, in him." Amelia complimented, still remembering their conversation from when she had gone to get him from Azkaban. He had then seemed like a poor choice, but it seemed that the Potters had made a good choice, after all. She'd been hard on him, then, to ensure he took his responsibility to the boy seriously. It seemed she had either been right to do it, or wrong to underestimate him. Either way, she wouldn't take back what she did, considering the outcome.

"I wish I could claim that." Sirius said as he led Amelia to a seat. "Remus is the responsible one. I only taught him occlumency and the tools of the trade. He's a smart kid, though, and doesn't need either of us to shine."

"Sirius Black, humble?" Amelia asked.

Sirius chuckled. "I wouldn't take credit for the achievements of others. His pranking skills, though-��

"Remus taught me most of that, too." Harry interrupted.

"But who taught Remus?" Sirius countered.

"My dad, obviously." Harry scoffed. "Remus is far too smart to need you to teach him anything."

"I'll agree that he's smart, but he was always a bookworm." Sirius said. "Without me there to liven things up, he'd likely be a professor or something."

"He'd make a fine professor." Harry allowed. He knew it to be true, after all.

"Exactly." Sirius said in victory as he finally took his own seat.

The trip home was quick and Harry surprised the adults by hugging the girls to him and instantly apparating away.

"He can apparate?" Amelia asked. "And side-along three others?"

"How do you think they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron?" Bill asked. "There's also the fact that we're still in Texas and he's going to Scotland."

"But they were supposed to be on the train!" Amelia exclaimed. Everyone knew the dangers of apparition while in transit.

"Harry has many skills you may not know about." Sirius chuckled. "Don't worry though. I doubt they were still on the train when he apparated and he wouldn't be stupid enough to try that either."

"But he's under-aged and doesn't have a license!" Amelia pressed. "That's a punishable offence!"

"Are you really going to arrest him?" Sirius asked. "After all, any extra skills he has to keep that study group safe, are just extra skills to protect Susan."

"Don't throw that in my face." Amelia warned dangerously.

"Then get him a license or something." Sirius said. "I know you have the power to make exceptions. Personally, I'd rather keep the skill off the books, but I suppose it's up to you."

Amelia had remembered that she had a Comm, though, and had taken it out. "Call Harry Black." she said into it.

It rang a couple of times before Harry answered. "Hello?" he asked.

"Are you all safe?" Amelia asked urgently.

"Of course! Sorry about the abrupt departure, Astoria really doesn't want to miss the opportunity to make friends at the feast." Harry said.

"I can allow it this time, but you are getting an early exemption and taking an apparition test." Amelia said. "If an Auror saw what I just did, you'd be under arrest and receive a large fine."

"I don't mind fines." Harry said flippantly. There was a strange sound like rushing wind that Amelia only picked up on now that she wasn't panicking about the children.

"What's that sound?" she asked.

"We're flying." Harry said. "The wind is blocked, but you can still hear it if there's a lot of wind around the ward."

"Do you have a broom on you at all times?" Amelia asked.

"No." Harry said simply. "Sorry, I've got to go. We're about to enter the school."

"Tell our mothers that we're fine and that we'll call them after the feast!" another voice called from somewhere close by Harry. It sounded like the Greengrass girl.

"I'll do that." Amelia said. "We'll be in contact, Mister Black."

"Bye!" Harry called before ending the call.