Chapter 21 - The End of an Era Part 2

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Saturday Morning October 18

Michael and Blaise portkeyed to Potter castle on the Northern terrace close to the lake. Michael and Blaise were walking along the stone path when they noticed two people on brooms flying at insane speed and doing acrobatic manoeuvres that would have him chucking his breakfast. Hi could see Harry's owl Hedwig flying with them. She seemed to be having a grand old time. Michael looked at his son, but unlike him he seemed enraptured with their flying. Must be a youth thing, he thought. They finally reached the front door and made their way to the parlor. Michael looked up and saw his youngest daughter and wife walk up to them.

Michael walked up to his wife and gave her a quick kiss. He then said, "I need to speak to Harry, do you know where they are?"

Xenna replied, "Yes, Harry and Xiana are flying on their new brooms. I am sorry love but you will have to wait until Monday morning like everyone else to talk to Harry."

Michael furrowed his brows and said, "Why?"

"Your daughter needs some time alone with her husband. Xiana had a bit of a breakdown yesterday. Her pregnancy, the war, the paper, the long hours away from Harry and everything else in between finally got to her. She needs quality time with Harry and I'll bloody make sure she gets it. Short of an impending disaster nobody is going to be bothering my daughter and son in law this weekend. Do I make myself clear?" Xenna replied.

Michael just nodded and finally said, "No problems dear. I can certainly wait until Monday to meet Harry. Well since we are here I'm sure Blaise like me would love a cup of coffee. "

His wife was gentle and went with the flow most of the time. However, when she got serious about something it was better get out of her way. Now, if she managed to get pissed off, it was much safer to hightail out of her line of sight. When she got pissed, she was down right scary. That was one of the many things his daughters had inherited from their mother.

They all made themselves comfortable and had coffee and scones. They all caught up on the latest gossip and what Xiana and Harry were up to. It turns out that Michael wasn't too crazy about having his eldest pregnant daughter doing aerial acrobatics, but it seemed that she had arm twisted Harry into doing it. His eldest had always been a firecracker. They talked about the impending lawsuit that Harry had filed against Dumbledore and how they were going to bring the dissident Wizengamot members into their camps.

Michael, Brianna and Blaise left shortly after they were done. Xenna stayed to mind the fort.

11:00 AM Saturday Morning Weasley Family Plot

All of the Weasley clan was gathered around Charlie's coffin waiting for the elder to finish reciting the wizard burial rites. Muggle and wizard funerals were done very differently. The tombstone of the fallen had for example a charm that allowed a three dimensional image of the person to float above the tombstone. That morning however a stranger could have cut the tension in the air with a knife.

On one side of the coffin stood Molly, Arthur, Percy, Ron and Hermione. On the other side stood Bill, Fleur, Fred, George and Ginny. Looking at Molly Weasley one could tell that she was preparing another rant. With tears in her eyes she was eyeing her eldest son Bill and her supposed daughter in law. She kept wailing about how her poor Charlie had killed and that his soul was now dammed. Bill himself was building a head of steam that could power a muggle ship across the Atlantic. Bill had long ago understood that his parents were somewhat gullible but for the woman to berate her dead son because he had killed in the line of defence was just too fucking much. She kept ranting on how the great Albus Dumbledore had always said that there was always an alternative to killing someone.

For his part Arthur had his eyes narrowed at the twins and his daughter. They were dressed to the nines and Arthur felt like they were making a statement against him. This got him thinking as to where they got the money for the duds. He had always been a bit sensitive when it came to money issues but for his own children to make that type of affirmation cut him to the bone. Ron and Hermione kept glaring at Ginny. Ron for himself seemed wary of Percy. They had already gotten into some nasty arguments to the point where wands had been drawn. It had taken both Arthur and Molly to prevent and all out cursing war.

For her part, Ginny was not even paying attention to the loser branch of her family. She had tears running down her cheek and kept thinking about Charlie and the bastard that had been responsible for his death. Since discovering that Snape had been responsible for her brother's death, she had spent a lot of time thinking about the best way of torturing the bastard. She had many ideas but nothing concrete yet.

Harry had given her a lot of ideas that involved potions in one form or another. She thought that it was quite fitting that the bastard should suffer under his precious potions. Besides Snape, the other two people that she could not stand anymore were Granger and Ron. To her they were the biggest bunch of narrow-minded hypocrites that she had ever come across. The other person she could barely stand was her mother. The insufferable gullible woman was driving her to insanity. Ron and Granger had ratted her out about her relationship with Blaise and her mother had immediately labelled him a death eater in training.

Ginny had asked her mother about proof, but all she had for proof was based on a report from Dumbledore, which stated that the family must be dark because they had refused the old man in joining his precious order. Ginny had countered by telling her that Order of the Phoenix was nothing but a bunch of cowardly sycophants that bowed to the headmasters every whim. She told her that was the reason that Blaise parents had never joined Dumbledore.

Her mother had slapped her, which had prompted her to slap her mother back to her mother's utter shock. She had then screeched at her for daring to hit her and that now she fully believed Ron's narrative on what was going on at Hogwarts. She had then told Ginny that she was to quit seeing Blaise immediately. Ginny had told her that she could take her order and stuff it where the sun doesn't shine. Ginny then told her mother that she would not be welcome to see her grand children.

This had set both her father and her mother into rants. Her mother had then called her a slut. With tears in her eyes she had fled to her room. By then Bill and the twins were furious at their parents and had started a major row with them. Their father wanted to know where they had gotten the nice clothes. They had told him that it was none of his business. Molly had gotten into the fray and accused them of being nothing but little ingrates just like the Potter brat.

That last slander had finally done it for Bill and the twins and they had laid into their parents to the point of accusing them of being Dumbledore's stooge. Ron had accused them of being Potter's pets and that they were a disgrace to the Weasley clan. Hermione kept saying that Harry would be the next Dark Lord. She told them that Harry delving into the dark arts was the only way he could have beaten her and Ron. The twins replied that a drunken garden Gnome could beat them in a duel blindfolded. They called Hermione the Beaver with no power.

They then told Ron that he was barely above a squib and that he should have been a wet spot on their mother's sheets. This had caused Arthur to pull his wand to hex the twins but they had been faster and had petrified their father. Molly had in turn cast a cutting hex at both of them, which had completely enraged the twins. Bill had finally cast a full body bind on his mother who kept screeching bloody murder. To say that the Weasley clan was fractionated was an understatement.

What hurt Bill the worst was the contempt that his parents had towards Fleur. Bill finally understood that his parents were part of the old world that Harry had been talking about. Bill had now seen it first hand. It was no wonder their world was so fucked up. Bill realized that he would be breaking all ties to his parents, Ron, and Percy. The philosophical divide between them was too great now. Bill had looked into the twins' eyes and Ginny's and realized that they had come to the same conclusion he had.

Bill could see the hurt in Ginny's eyes where their parents were concerned. He would have to talk to Blaise to make him realize what Ginny had given up for him. Bill also realized the depth of Dumbledore's brainwashing. He had to hand it to the man, he sure knew how to conquer and divide. His parents simply couldn't see that they were his pawns and nothing more. If Dumbledore was such a good friend of the family and if his Phoenix members meant so much to him, why was him absent at Charlie's funeral. He had tried explaining it to them but they refused to understand. His parents kept making excuses for the man.

Finally Bill brought his head up just as Charlie's casket was lowered into the hole. Bill let a tear flow down his cheek one more time. Ginny was crying and was being held by the twins. Once the coffin was lowered, each member picked a clump of dirt and threw it at the casket. When they were done, both groups looked at each other without saying a word. Bill simply sneered and grabbing his wife's hand he turned around and walked away. The twins and Ginny followed suit. Ginny could hear her mother ordering her to stay behind. Ginny didn't care anymore. She was cutting her ties and would follow her heart. The second war had finally taken its toll on the Weasley clan.

October 18, Saturday Afternoon Ministry of Magic

Minister Fudge was sitting at the head of the international conference. He was talking to Claus Rinhaus of the Belarus consortium. Sitting next to him were the other thirteen members of the European wizarding governments. Like most governments in their century, dangerous criminals were difficult to handle. Wizarding prisons were very expensive to their respective governments.

In fact, maintaining a wizarding prison and its legal system easily accounted for nearly forty percent of the ministry budgets. It was estimated that most prisoners cost on average 3 thousand galleons per person per year. Most of these countries had laws that tied their hands when dealing with their criminals. Most countries banned execution, which included England. Unlike England, no other wizarding country possessed an isolated place such as Azkaban to house its prisoners. Even with the Dementors gone, Azkaban remained the most secure high security prison in all of Europe.

Cornelius Fudge had gotten the idea that England could offer its facilities to the other wizarding countries to house its most undesirable elements in Azkaban for a percentage of their ministry budgets. The amount would be much lower then what they were currently dishing out to house their criminals. Most of these countries had readily jumped at the opportunity to rid themselves of their less desirable elements.

Many of these so-called criminals not only included dangerous wizards and witches, but also very high-ranking Vampires, and Werewolves. Looking at the figures in front of him, Fudge figured that he could add an extra 500 million galleons to his coffers. The deal as he now called it would go a long way in shoring up his dwindling support. He would show them how competent of a minister he was.

With this little deal he mused, he would be able to lower taxes, which every one wants, he thought. Now he would have to hire more Aurors to help manage the increased criminal population. These were all minor details as far as he was concerned. Now that Voldemort had taken the Dementors back and broken out his inner circle, he no longer had a reason for breaking into Azkaban.

Cornelius Fudge would be remembered as the man who finally balanced the books. With the extra money influx which would be coming in, he could drop his efforts at bringing the Goblins to his side. He had always hated dealing with the ghastly little bastards. He was brought out of his musing by the Greek minister.

"Minister Fudge, I have carefully reviewed the contract document and my only real concerns are the security measures that you outlined in this document. I don't know about my other colleagues but I feel that housing so many dangerous criminals in one central location will require a lot more security than a beefed up Auror division." Minister Pastoulie said.

Cornelius could hear the other ministers agreeing with Pastoulie and decided to ask for their advice and said, "Gentlemen, if I can have your attention please. I am willing to listen to any suggestions that you may have. I understand your need for extra security I assure you that my goal is the same as yours. Does anyone have any idea?"

Finally the Romanian Minister Anatoly Varnesqu said, "Why don't you make use of Dragons and cast some dark wards? We can easily give you upwards of twenty dragons. The bloody beasts are breeding out of control anyway. I can have some Ridgebacks, Horntails, and Hybridian blacks, which I believe are native to your Scotland anyway at Azkaban within the week. I'll also loan you some of our keepers and trainers to help train English wizards. "

Minister Badru from Egypt then added, "My country can help you strengthen the wards around you prison. Our top curse breaker is also well versed in casting ancient Egyptian wards. What say you?"

Cornelius made a show of thinking about it for a moment and agreed to their proposal. Azkaban would become even mightier than it already was. He finally said, "I agree to you proposal. I'll have to go before the Wizengamot and repeal some of our more backward laws, but I don't see that as an issue, especially when they see the benefits in return. Now if there are no objections I suggest we sign and adjourn this meeting. Once we have instituted the security measures and moved the prisoners, I'll release the information to the Daily Prophet. At our current timeline, I estimate that by the end of November everything should be in place. "

With the signatures out of the way, Cornelius called on his lackey Seymour Whitethorn to make copies of the documents. With the legalities out of the way, Cornelius shook hands with the other ministers and he was off to the records department. Unknown to Cornelius at the time, future wizards, and witches of Great Britain would come to know him as the most incompetent minister to ever rule in all of British wizarding history.

October 18, Romania in Negoiu mountains in the Southern Carpathian Region

High in Negoiu Mountain stood a very ancient and gothic looking castle. The castle itself was made of black polished granite. Its black spires and foreboding gargoyles gave it a cold and eerie feeling. Shauna of the Grangel clan loved her home and was glad to be out of the blasted blizzard, which so often hit this region of the world. No one could apparate into their castle due to extensive blood wards on the castle and the grounds. One had to walk a thousand feet up the black granite steps to reach the entrance to the castle. Of course, all along the path Shauna could smell the guards. Her keen sense of smell was one of the traits passed down to her clan.

From the smell she could tell that the Nosferatu were guards this month. They were gruesome and lethal. No one else matched their bloodlust. Even to her they were frightening of course being the daughter of Nicademus they would never dare lay a hand on her. She looked up to see the last of the demon gargoyles pass her by and she soon found herself in front of the castle doors. She took the demon style knocker and knocked seven times.

She heard a voice bellow, "Who dares disturb the Prince gathering?"

Shauna recognized the voice of Leander of the Ventrue. Typical of his clan he was a pompous ass who thought it was his clan's birthright to rule the Camarilla. Of course, everyone in their world knew it was the Methuselah who ruled their world. Shauna answered, "It is I, Shauna of the Grangel clan, daughter of Necadimus."

She heard the large door open up to reveal the very aristocratic face of Leander. He looked her up and down and finally said, "It is good to see that you are alive my lady. I have heard tales that your little adventure on that blasted Isle met with some difficulty? There are rumors circulating that your group was rescued by a very interesting wizard."

Shauna would have to search and punish those members of her group that had loose tongues. She knew that it would do no good. First allegiance was to the Camarilla, then their respective clans and then to the leader, unless you were talking about the Methuselah. Finally, Shauna gave him a very predatory smile and replied, "My, my, aren't we inquisitive? You know what they say about loose tongues." She then let out a deep feral growl and showed her fangs.

Leander took a step back and simply creased his eyebrows. He slowly backed away and said, "I mean no disrespect my lady. I am just eager for news of the outside. The inner politics of the Camarilla can become quite stale and boring after a fashion. I guess my own desire for action has made me a bit forward. I beg my lady's forgiveness for my actions."

Shauna looked into Leander's eyes to see if she could detect any deceit, but found none and replied, "Very well, all is forgiven. See that it does not happen again. I can tell you that there is a lot of truth to the rumors you have heard. The Scorpion Sorcerer is no myth that much I can tell you."

Shauna walked past Leander and she could hear him muttering to himself about interesting development. If only he knew, she thought. She made her way to the great staircase, admiring all of the ancient relics, which adorned the castle. There were Roman soldier uniforms from centurion to legionnaire. She noticed the glass case that contained the writings of Fluvius Cammilus. He had been a Roman military commander and inventor. He had also been one of her father's best friends 2300 years ago. Her father had kept all of his works and personal possessions.

Walking further she smiled as she noticed the Alexander the Great shrine. On display were his personal weapons, writings, and armor. Her own father revered Alexander the Great. He was perhaps one of the greatest military genii of all times. Her father had personally decapitated a member of the Ventrue clan when he had dared badmouth Alexander the Great. The various texts and writings from the different shrines would be priceless in the muggle world.

She finally reached the great spiral case and soon found herself walking the eastern hallway. She finally reached the portrait of her mother Lariana and entered the room adjacent to the portrait. She found her father sitting by the fire drinking blood from a Venetian wine glass. Her father adored the quality and artistic finesse of Venetian crystal.

She approached her father and kneeled before him. He took his hand and placed it on her head. When he was done she looked into his glowing crimson eyes. She couldn't help the shiver that coursed though her. Her father radiated power. The camarilla Princes feared her father's power. His strength, speed and cunning were unmatched except for the older Methuselah. Her father Nicademus had once told her that the only person he ever feared was Cain himself.

Her father was the first to speak, "I am glad to see you unharmed, daughter. It has come to my attention that you were attacked and captured by that British Dark Lord whom they call Voldemort. Tell me of your adventure. "

Shauna began describing her tale. She explained her meeting with Lucius Malfoy, and his inner circle of friends. He had some of the local Vampires, but soon she had realized that they were not of the Camarilla. She then explained the fight that had occurred and how the Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort had entered the fight and began subduing her pact using very obscure magic. She explained her capture and their torture. Describing her torture and that of her brothers, she noticed her father's eyes becoming pitch black. She then described her rescue by the Scorpion Sorcerer.

She explained his destruction of Malfoy Manor. Shauna then gave her father a full description of the help that the Scorpion Sorcerer gave her team. She gave her father a full debrief of the information session that she had shared with the Scorpion Sorcerer. She explained that he was fighting their ministry and the Dark Lord at the same time. She told him of the power he seemed to posses. She told him about the twin Scorpions and the dark Phoenix markings on the back of his battle robes.

Shauna was dismayed to see her father react so forcefully at her description of the markings. She noticed her father staring out at the fireplace and noticed his eyes glazing over. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. Finally he broke his silence and told her that the last time he had seen that particular mark had been over two millennia ago. He finally told her of the ancient priest of Amunaptra in ancient Egypt and the power that they wielded. He described witnessing first hand the carnage that the ancient priest could wield. During the great invasion of Egypt the Scorpion order had simply vanished overnight.

Finally, Nicademus looked at his daughter and said, "We are entering dark times Shauna. Our spies tell me that the Sabbat are preparing for a major offensive soon. Methuselah Xanthos of Lasombra clan of the Sabbat is preparing to join this Voldemort. It seems you have found a very powerful Sorcerer to fight with us. I need to see him personally and talk with him. If he is what I think he is, then we would be fools to not align ourselves with him. It would seem that the power of the ancients has awakened. This is a sign, I can feel it! I have not told anyone yet, but for months now I have been getting visions of an immensely powerful sorcerer bearing the scorpion mark fighting the snake king. "

Nicademus looked into her eyes and said, "I feel a great war coming between the Sabbat and the Camarilla. I can see this Dark Lord Voldemort aligning himself with the Sabbat. They share the same goals after all. They think themselves better than muggles and wish to rule in the open. We have to crush them once and for all. We have no choice but to pick our champion. Give me your thoughts daughter."

Shauna took her time to collect her thoughts and said, "My Lord, from what I have experienced this Scorpion Sorcerer is not someone to be trifling with. He means to eradicate this Voldemort and destroy their ministry. He hopes to bring all of the other magical races under an equal government. He thinks in multiple dimensions and is heavily immersed in all forms of magic and muggle sciences. He is supremely intelligent and is also a paradox."

Nicademus narrowed his eyes and said, "What do you mean by paradox?"

"He seems to be a man of extremes. To his allies and the innocents his heart is pure. To his enemies his heart is as black as night and is utterly ruthless. The way he has taken out death eaters so far make our assassin squads look like muggle priests." Shauna explained.

Her father looked grave as if debating whether he should tell her something important. He finally looked up into his daughter's eyes for what seemed and eternity and said, "Tell this to no one but I have been getting very strong visions of a jackal and a scorpions army fighting the undead. I have seen cities on fire and rivers of blood. I have also seen the rebirth of Etosha and a new beginning. With my knowledge of our prophecies and these new visions I believe that this Scorpion Sorcerer is also the long awaited Gehenna, the long-prophesied knight of the apocalypse. Send word to the Scorpion Sorcerer that Methuselah Nicademus, leader of the Camarilla and member of the Grangel and Tremere clan requests an audience. Ask him if he could meet us for November 20. We must hurry. The opposition is gathering."

Shauna was shocked to her core at her father's revelations. She always thought Gehenna had been nothing but a myth. That prophecy had been made a very long time ago during the anti-deluvian battles, lost in the antiquity of time, so she thought. She could barely keep her legs from trembling and sat down in her chair. To her knowledge, her father to date had always been proven right with his prophecies. A mighty war was coming that would once and for all decide the fate of the Camarilla along with the rest of the magical races.

Nicademus then said, "Send word to ALL of the princes in Europe and North are to mobilize for a Camarilla summons to be held at the castle for November 20. We must stop the petty squabbles and focus on the real enemy. The princes are to meet the Scorpion Sorcerer. There will be fights, and blood will be shed but in the end we will have one voice and one path, I swear by Cain."

She looked into her father's burning red eyes and replied, "As you command father." Shauna stood up, bowed and returned to her own chambers. She pulled out the funny muggle contraption called a cell phone and debated whether she should call him right now or not. She finally decided to wait until Monday afternoon to contact him. Until then she was going to enjoy her stay at home. She had a hunt to prepare for.

Monday Morning October 20 Riddle Manor

Voldemort was sitting on his throne reviewing his latest plan. If he could pull it off then he would gain a powerful force at his side. Twelve years as a spirit had given him a lot of time to ponder his past mistakes. He had wanted power at all cost to the point of subjugating everyone else. This had been a foolish goal. He would gladly share some power with his new potential allies. Their philosophy closely matched his. Muggles were nothing but toys and food. He was brought out of his musing when he heard his inner chamber door open. He looked up to find the rat, Bella and Mulciber walking towards him.

Mulciber walked to his Lord, dropped to one knee and kissed the hem of his robe and said, "My Lord, I have great news for you. It would seem that our esteemed minister of magic took it upon himself to relieve the good wizards and witches of Britannia from heavy taxes by allowing over 600 criminals from all over mainland Europe to be relocated to Azkaban. There are many powerful dark wizards, witches, vampires, and werewolves that will be coming to their new home by the end of November, my Lord."

To their shock their Lord suddenly started laughing like a maniac. They were all looking at each other in bewilderment. They had never seen their Lord let go of his emotions as he had just now. This was either very good or they were in for a very bad time indeed. Unable to take the stress Bella threw herself at his feet and said, "Please my Lord don't punish us. If we have done something wrong, please tell us."

Voldemort stopped laughing and looked at his inner circle bewildered. Why did they think he was going to pushing them? Suddenly he winced and remembered his old self. "Bella! Rise this instant. I have no intention of punishing you for now unless you do something really stupid or fail your mission. This iiissss very good news indeed. With the Dementors we will break into Azkaban and free as many prisoners as possible. They will either join us or die. Our first priority will be the Vampires."

Mulciber was never very quick and sometimes his mouth could get him into trouble. Mulciber suddenly uttered, "Why in hell would we free those wretched creatures first. Let them rot, what is wrong with you?"

Mulciber suddenly realized where he was and suddenly became white as a sheet. He looked up at his Lord's face to find him in a towering fury. Why couldn't he ever shut the fuck up, he though just before he heard his Lord bellow, "CRUCIO."

Voldemort held the fool under the curse for over two minutes. Mulciber ended up loosing control of his bodily functions. When he was done he said, "Don't any of you fools contradict me ever again. The wizards and witches there are important, but I have been in secret negotiations with a very old Vampire of the Sabbat pack. Let's just say their beliefs closely match my own. I was supposed to make my way to the Roman ministry and break some of their princes. It now seems that the fates once again favor your Lord. That fool Fudge will deliver them to me. Saves me time and energy. Azkaban will bestow her fruits once more to us. With these princes indebted to me, I will be able to form a powerful alliance and then we can start searching for this Scorpion Sorcerer and terminate him, then Dumbledore and finally Potter."

Voldemort looked at Mulciber and bellowed, "Take the fool away and clean him up. Maybe this will teach him to keep his worthless tongue to himself."

Bellatrix looked her Mulciber being carried out and swallowing nervously said, "What about the ministry, my Lord?"

Voldemort looked directly at her with his crimson eyes and gave her a leering smile and said, "What about the ministry? My dear Bella, surely you can see that keeping that retard of a minister in power suits our ends rather nicely for now, don't you think? Don't worry Bella, when the time comes, I'll give you the chance to play with Fudgy. Far be it for me to deny you that which you do so well my tortuous Bella. "

Bella looked at her Lord and smiled, "You are most generous my Lord."

Voldemort nodded at her and then said, "Enough of this chit chat. Bella get a hold of Severus and tell him to meet us for supper. Then send word to everyone else to meet us for 8:00 pm. We will meet in the strategy room and plan our little break out. When we are done they won't have a clue what hit them. "

Seeing that no one was moving, Voldemort looked up towards the ceiling and sighed. He finally controlled his temper just enough and yelled, "Well what are you waiting for? MOVE!"

Everyone scrambled to get out of the throne room. Voldemort went back to his throne and hoped to God that some these convicts had brains. If he was honest with himself he missed Lucius slightly. The man was as smarmy as a bottle of virgin olive oil but he could get the job done most of the time. When he got his hands on the Scorpion Sorcerer he was going to kill him very slowly. His face twisted into a mask of fury thinking about the bastards.

Unknown to Voldemort Fate had her own agenda, and Voldemort was quite low on the scales of things!

Monday Afternoon October 20 Wizard Ministry

Mad Eye Moody was slowly making his way to the central apparition point cursing the stupidity of the Ministry. This was the ultimate brain dead move on their part, he thought. At no time in his distinguished career had he met such an incompetent ministry. To think that the bloody morons were going to actually import criminals took the last straw. Fudge had done it. He had single-handedly created a quagmire that had the potential of creating such havoc on the British wizarding population that should his prediction come to pass, not one family in Britannia would be spared from death. He hoped to God that the Scorpion Sorcerer could do something about this. The Order of the Phoenix already knew about the ministry deal, but he had preached restraint. He believed that all would work out in the end. The man had completely gone south.

He reached the apparition point and took out the ring given to him by Potter and activated it. Moody suddenly found himself in a large chamber and immediately took out his wand. Moody looked around to see a lot of people suddenly staring at him. Moody stood at attention and surveyed his surroundings. The chamber was impressive to say the least. He had never seen such a place in his entire career. He noticed the myriads of training equipment and was nearly blown away by the people who were there.

Moody with his jaw hanging down recognized Tonks, Bill, Fred, George and young Ginny Weasley. He noticed a lot of other people he didn't recognize. Moody suddenly looked up and saw a figure completely hidden in a battle cloak. With the hood pulled down, he could still make out the glowing green orbs emanating from the shadows of his hood. The charms put on his cloak and especially around his hood had to be dark magic. Moody was using his magical eye but even it couldn't penetrate the obscuring charms.

There was no question in Moody's mind that the aura of power that the man was projecting was genuine. Moody couldn't see Potter anywhere but figured he would show up soon. The mysterious man was suddenly in front of him and formally said, "Welcome to our training camp Master Auror Moody. It is a pleasure meeting you. Harry has told us quite a bit about you. I was told that you were interested in joining our little group?"

Harry turned around and in a grave voice said, "All right all you! The show is over. Now get back to work. Show the man here what you can do."

Harry turned back to Moody and said, "Auror Moody, if you could please follow me we need to talk." Harry let Moody to the command center and was rewarded by the bewildered look on Moody's face. Moody was looking at all of the muggle technology and was very surprised to find it operating in a very strong magical environment. They finally reached the command center and Harry asked Moody to sit. Moody agreed and then Harry called for one of his house elves to serve refreshment.

Moody was the first one to speak and said, "Well I can certainly recognize who you are. I have been watching your battles and I must say I am very impressed with what you have accomplished. I have been watching your exploits for some time now, and I find your politics and tactics to be much more in line with my own way of seeing and doing things. I told Potter that I was interested in joining your group. I wish to offer you my services as an experienced Auror and I am willing to make a pledge of non-disclosure to you at your request. "

Harry sat back and examined Moody. The old man still had it in him, he thought. The fact was that Harry liked Moody and felt that the man had way too many shackles imposed on him from the ministry and the turkey club. Harry finally cleared his throat and said, "Mr. Moody, I am pleased that you have shown interest in my organization. I feel I must point out to you that I am a dark arts user and that I don't plan on relinquishing their use in the near future. I heard somewhere that sometimes the only way to beat an opponent is to fight him at his own game. If you find yourself unable to use the dark arts for philosophical reasons, then I am afraid that our meeting is over. However, I don't think that this is the case with you. Am I correct in my assumptions?"

Moody looked at the man and replied, "No, you aren't wrong. Only fools fail to make use of their full arsenal."

Harry slowly nodded at Moody and shot back, "Now like all of the people who willingly follow me, I ask for a magical oath that states you will never reveal the secrets that you are about to learn and that you are willing to learn the dark arts. As I said earlier, if my suspicions are correct, I suspect that you already know a great deal about the dark arts. If you work with us, I believe that we can greatly expand on that knowledge. What do you say?"

Moody gave him one of his crooked smiles and said, "I Alastor Moody, do hereby swear on my magic and proclaim that I do so of my own free will. I swear to never reveal who the Scorpion Sorcerer is and any information about his organization. I swear on my magic that I will lend my knowledge, and skills in service of the Scorpion Sorcerer." A slight teal aura was exchanged between them sealing Moody's bond to Harry.

Harry looked at Moody and said, "Now it is time for me to reveal who I am." With that Harry slowly brought his hands to his hood and pulled it back. Harry felt like erupting into fits of laughter. The look on Moody's face was bloody priceless. The man looked like he was about to shit himself.

Moody could not believe his eyes. Potter was the Scorpion Sorcerer. Moody suddenly bellowed, "Merlin's beard! Fuck me Potter!" Suddenly Moody started laughing so hard that he fell off his chair and couldn't stop erupting into fits of laughter. After several minutes the man began to breathe again and slowly got himself back into his chair. He finally managed to say, "Potter how? I mean, how were you able to become so accomplished in the dark arts over one summer?"

Harry decided to take pity on Moody and began his explanation. He explained Odin's Eye, the trunk manors, his discoveries in magical theory, his training in the dark arts, his discoveries in mixing muggle science and magic. He gave him a detailed explanation of how the electronics worked. When he told him that the Scorpion Lair was the old Chamber of Secrets underneath Hogwarts, he nearly had an apoplectic seizure. Harry took him on a detailed tour of the lair and explained all of its functions. He then gave Moody a detailed account of all of their adventures to date and how they had appropriated Voldemort's war chest. He finally introduced Moody to his old mentors and the rest of the troops.

Moody for his part was simply bewildered to no end towards the end of his afternoon. Now that he looked back, all of the little details that hadn't made sense since he had investigated Potter in Surrey began to gel. When he pieced the time lines in his head, all of the dots led to Potter. After seeing that Odin contraption, he could see how Potter had become so strong. The boy had studied non-stop for nearly five real equivalent years. He had studied so much that he had become a class of warrior above anything he had ever seen.

He couldn't believe the sophistication of Potter's organization. Who was he kidding he thought, he was now part of this organization and felt a sense of elation that he hadn't felt in a very long time. He had a good look at the training that the troops were doing and the only word that came to his mind was brutal. From the looks of things these Hogwarts sixth years could put the ministry's Aurors to shame. These troops weren't hindered by ministry decrees. Their training in magic coupled with muggle science was more powerful than he could have ever dreamed. Voldemort had definitely met his match in Potter.

Finally Harry sat down with him and explained all of the positions that were available in the organization. He asked Moody where he thought he would best fit in. There was research, intelligence, trainer, front line soldier, propaganda, recruiter, and tactician. After some thought, Moody decided to start with tactical planning and training. He planned on reviewing his dark arts knowledge and then go on a massive crash course in dark arts training. He would spy on the order and the ministry.

Harry brought him to stores to be fitted with a portkey ring, a new Raptor broom, a new set of battle robe with the scorpion emblems, and told him that he would be fitted with a new wand come next full moon. Harry explained the connection between the full moon and the wand bonding process. To Moody's ever increasing joy, Harry explained the improvements and performance of the new Raptor brooms.

When he was done Moody seemed to go deep in thought and said, "Potter, I have some urgent news that you need to know. The bloody idiot Fudge has made a deal with the other European ministries and in exchange for some galleons, he has decided to house all of the criminals from mainland Europe in Azkaban. The fool thinks the place will be fool proof with some fancy wards and some dragons. Within two weeks time, Azkaban population will increase by over 600 wizards, witches, vampires and other nastiness."

Harry brought his hands to his temples and began massaging them. Fudge seemed incapable of making any decent decisions. The man was a bloody moron plain and simple. The fucker had to die; he was simply too damn dangerous to keep in power. Harry looked up at Moody and finally said "Voldemort has already broken into that bloody prison. Where the fuck are our minister's brains?"

Harry sat there thinking of the gold nugget that Fudge had given Voldemort. There was no way in hell that Voldemort wouldn't jump at the opportunity to increase his ranks with some of the most despicable wizards and witches that Europe had in its ranks. From all accounts the man's forces were running on vapour. His little campaign of terror seemed to have a major impact on his recruiting. They needed a plan to deny Voldemort his prize.

While Harry was thinking, Moody at the top of his head said, "One thing for sure we haven't heard a whole lot about the Dementors lately and I have a feeling that they are going to play a big role when he decides to attack."

Harry looked at Moody gobsmacked. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten about those putrid fucking horrid nightmares. He was stunned. How could he of all people forget about Voldemort's most faithful allies? His new top priority now was to figure out a way to protect his troops from their influence.

Thank Merlin that Moody had reminded him. He finally took Moody to the trunk manor to show him his room. He took the time to explain how he had invented the trunks. He took some pity on Moody because the man looked completely bewildered. When Harry had showed him how all of the trunks were connected by floo and that his new portkey ring could punch through any wards, he left him to get acquainted with his new residence and went back to the command center.

Harry looked at his watch and noticed that he had about forty minutes to kill. He decided to do an Occlumency session in order to catalogue his new data and reflect on his weekend. Thinking about the weekend brought a smile to his face. It had started a bit rocky, but taking time to relax with Xiana had done them both a world of good. He honestly didn't know what he would do without his wife. Harry remembered that he needed to find out what Horcruxes were and their importance to Voldemort. Harry decided to make his way to the great hall for some supper and entertainment.

Harry left the command center and was about to apparate to Myrtle's bathroom when he heard two voices that could only spell trouble. Harry turned around to find two smiling faces beaming at him.

Harry cocked his eyebrow at them and said, "Fred and Gorge, how can I help my two favorite business partners?"

Fred and George looked at each other and said in unison, "Oh great and mighty sponsor of Weasley Wizard's Wheeze we come to bring you tidings that the time has arrived to launch the new line of Techno magic products which has come about from your gracious donations and discoveries."

Fred looked at Harry and said, "It has come to our attention that our world had been held back due to a, shall we say, lack of vision by our fearless leaders."

"Therefore, a new line of product is just begging to be let loose on the deserving masses." George continued.

Fred grinned and added, "What my dear brother Gred is alluding to is that we would like to capitalize on your intellectual discovery concerning muggle electronics and magic and have a whole line of specially modified muggle entertainment. These include such things as stereos, television, and VCR to name a few. We believe that it is high time that our world discover how the other half-lives!"

George added, "We are ready to market these products to all of the wizards and witches and wanted your blessing and muggle factory contacts which would be able to manufacture these delicacies for us. Of course due to intellectual property rights, we feel that you are entitled to thirty percent of the proceeds if that is ok with you. We'll be using our own newly acquired funds to finance the new business, and would incorporate the new line of products as Weasley's Techno Magic supplies. What do you say?"

Harry thought about it for about ten minutes analyzing all the pros and cons and decided to add some stipulations. "It would be good for wizard and witches, especially the pureblood kind to see the benefits of muggle inventions. However, I don't want to give away our significant advantages. I don't want to market any communication equipment such as cell phones, computers and any other hand held communication devices until Voldemort and his merry band are gone.

It would be smart to also make it look like it was your company that made the electronic changes on the muggle equipment. I don't want the opposition to even think that we outsourced this merchandise to specialty muggle industries. Make sure to pick a place preferably outside of England where your merchandise can be delivered to. You can then portkey it back to your store. Also make sure to destroy all invoices before the merchandise reaches our world. I know I may sound a little paranoid here, but I would rather be safe than sorry. Is that o.k. with you guys?"

Fred and George looked at each other and smiled. They turned towards Harry and said in unison "Deal!"

Harry laughed at the twin's antics, and remembered that he wanted to discuss an idea with them and said, "Now that we have that piece of business taken care of, I was wandering if you guys would mind modifying one of your inventions. I was thinking of your mini swamp. If we come across giants in battle, it would be nice for them to step into a nice swamp that could then encase them in a rock coffin. Do you think that would be feasible?"

The twins looked at each other and seemed to be communicating silently. They started throwing ideas at each other until George turned around and said, "Harry my boy, it seems that this is your lucky day. I believe that we can modify the swamp to turn into stone. This will involve some very delicate charms and potions work, but it should work."

Harry smiled back and replied, "Well, I haven't talked to Hagrid since my little confrontation at Grimmauld place, but I think we need to find what the giants are up to. I am positive that Voldemort has sent agents to recruit them or will be forcing them into an alliance somehow."

The twins cringed at the mention of the giants siding with Voldemort. They may not have joined him yet, but they had to be prepared for any contingency. Harry finally looked up and said, "Well I have to get going and make an appearance." The twins saluted and portkeyed out of the lair. Harry was slowly making his way to the center of the lair when his cell phone went off. He dialled in and to his surprise he found himself talking to Shauna. Harry immediately activated the special GPS locator function on his phone and returned to his conversation.

They talked for about ten minutes. She told him that her father, their leader wanted an audience with him. She gave him apparition coordinate and told him to meet them on November 20. She told them that he could bring two people with him. When they were done, Harry punched in a code and read the coordinates that the cell phone had recorded. The coordinates from his cell phone almost matched to a tee the coordinates she had given him except for a few seconds difference. He decided to memorize the cell phone coordinates and key them into his ring.

The difference could be attributed to the fact that he had to apparate or portkey outside of some established wards. Well, he thought, they might not appreciate someone passing through their wards but he was going to do it anyway. Their wards were no doubt based on blood magic. He needed to make a show of his power and what better way than portkey through wards that are deemed impregnable. Harry was very familiar with blood wards since he had raised many of them on his ancestral castle and grounds.

Harry disillusioned his battle robes into his school robes and apparated back to Myrtle's bathroom. He slowly made his way towards the great hall. He was careful to make sure that no one saw him come out of the bathroom. He looked at his watch and noticed that supper would start in about ten minutes. Student population was slowly making their way the great hall. He just hoped that chilli pepper and the beaver would just leave him alone. In order to calm his mind he reviewed his memories from his weekend with Xiana. They needed to have their time off on a regular basis, he now realized. He finally reached the great hall and seeing that Neville and Luna were sitting towards the end of the Gryffindor table he went and sat with them.

Neville was talking with Luna about their latest training session and about Moody joining them when he saw Harry make his way to their table. Neville smiled and said, "Oi!" Harry smirked and sat in front of them.

Neville looked around and seeing no teachers, cast several privacy charms. He then looked at Harry and whispered, "Before I left, I saw you receiving a phone call, is everything all right?"

Harry smiled and replied, "No I think it's great news. You remember the vampires we rescued? Well she just phoned me to let me know that the leader of the Camarilla wants and audience with me."

Luna and Neville looked at each other and both of their eyebrows were near the top of their hairline. Luna was the first to speak and said, "An alliance with the entire Camarilla against Voldemort would be very powerful. Of course the Camarilla has been fighting their own enemies for a very long time. Unfortunately, for us we don't know who they are. We could be stepping into a hornet's nest. With an alliance it would mean their enemies also. "

Harry looked at Luna and couldn't help admire her intelligence. She was easily the equivalent to Beaver in brainpower. Harry dissected her analysis and then looked up and said, "Luna is right. We have to tread carefully with this. I imagine that I'll be learning a lot more about who their enemies are. In the mean time it would be to our advantage to develop more potent weapons against Vampires. I was just thinking about a muggle weapon called sarin gas. It is a potent neurological toxin that kills muggles fairly quickly. The toxin is extracted from the castor bean."

Harry paused to review his analysis and continued, "I was wondering if we could create the equivalent using some sort of magical plants, which would affect most magical life forms. If we could create an antidote to go with it, it would give us a huge advantage on the battlefield. Neville, could you have a look into it for me? No one can match your herbology skills, if there is such a thing you are the man for the job. The second thing is I would like both of you to accompany me on November 20 to meet the Vampire clans. There is no way in hell I want to bring Xiana with me. She would be killing half the female population on site. If you are too busy, let me know and I'll find two others."

Neville and Luna looked at each other much like Harry did with Xiana. Their silent communication lasted a few seconds and then Neville answered, "We'll be there. In the meantime I'll get started on my new project. I think I have the perfect plant in mind."

Neville then turned to Luna and said, "I'll need to carry out a few tests first."

Neville turned to his fiancé and said, "Babe would you like to assist me?"

Luna gave him her usual dreamy smile and replied, "I would love the chance to experiment with you sweetie. Of course you do realize that we'll have to be careful with the Nebeloneous Razorbacks, they are a right pain this time of year."

Harry and Neville looked at each other and smiled. Luna was one of a kind, as Neville would put it. It was clear to Harry that Neville absolutely adored Luna. Harry was about to ask Luna a question when a very familiar voice decided to grate on his nerves once again. Harry slowly turned away from Neville to see the faces of Chilli Pepper and his sidekick Beaver Von Granger glaring at him. Harry put as much venom as he could and said, "Why are you still talking to me? I thought I made it quite clear that I no longer wanted anything to do with you two. You are dead to me already. Now please do yourself a favor and get away from my face, you're starting to make me nauseous." Harry turned around to talk with Luna.

Ron was fuming once again. Every time he saw Potter he wanted to bash his face in. One day he was going to get him. He was about to curse but Mione put her hand on his arm and shook her head. Ron gathered as much venom as he could and spat back, "Don't get too comfortable Potty, this isn't over by a long shot." Both he and Hermione took a seat at the other end of the table.

The teachers were now sitting in their respective chair. Dumbledore had been watching the exchange between Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. He had hoped that the Potter brat would slip and start a fight. Albus needed some ammunition against the lad, if he was going to discredit him. He was hoping to sway public opinion against him and make him drop out. All alone he would soon find himself disadvantaged and would be at his mercy. Suddenly Albus heard a screech that heralded the arrival of mail. Albus spotted a Gringotts owl going to Potter.

He was about to reach for the Lamb stew when he noticed an official ministry owl land in front of him. Albus took the rolled parchment away from the owl and broke the official seal from the Magical Law Enforcement department. As he read the letter his face suddenly blanched. He never expected the Potter brat to have it in him to take him on in this manner.

Well he thought, if it's a fight he wants then by Merlin's beard he was going to get one. After all what does he know about the laws of the Wizengamot? Albus thought that he could beat Potter with his clout. After all he had returned the money back to him, and as for his parents' will, he was going to discredit his parents' choices. That would be enough to sway the upper house of Lords. There was no doubt that this little charade was going to cost him. Damn that little upstart. Albus looked towards Potter who was looking straight at him and found him smirking.

Albus narrowed his eyes and slowly took the letter and ripped it in half in front of his face. He noticed that Potter was now laughing. Albus was seething with rage. He finally noticed that the hall had gone completely quiet. The teachers were now also giving him a queer look. He realized too late that Potter had once again caused him to lose his composure.

Albus slowly put the letter down, and acted as if it was just a nasty letter. He gave everyone his genuine smile and went back to his stew. The hall slowly came back to its usual noise level. Albus waited for a few minutes and slowly turned his head towards Severus who was looking straight into his eyes. Looking at him with his eyebrows scrunched up, Albus slowly turned his head back towards Potter. Severus followed his gaze and found himself looking at Potter. Albus was rewarded by the venomous look Severus was sending the Potter brat. Albus mused that Potter was going to find it difficult to attend to his lawsuit from a hospital wing.

Harry himself had received a post owl, which he recognized as belonging to Gringotts. Harry took the letter from the beautiful black eagle/owl cross breed and gave the owl some of his sausage. Harry opened the letter to find that it was from Golderek who was head of the Goblin high council. It basically said that due to a very important worldwide Goblin council, their meeting for November 5 would be delayed until November 30. Harry shrugged and went back to eating his conjured meal. He didn't mind waiting for the Goblins. Truth be told, he had way too much on his plate as it were. He needed to get through the NEWT first. Harry looked up at the enchanted ceiling to find that it was dark and raining. Harry looked at the black clouds and finally went back to his meal.