Chapter 25 - The End of an Era Part 6

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.

November 15 Early Afternoon Potter Castle

Harry woke up early to prepare for his day. He was going over his checklist. Storage trunk check, two magical bombs check, healing and energy potions check. He was going to wear his full battle gear today. You never knew in these large gatherings who was out for your blood. After yesterday's incident Harry thought, he wouldn't be too surprised if Dumbledore hired a hit wizard to take him out. Harry pictured how he wanted his robes to look like, and hissed a parseltongue illusion charm on his battle robes.

His battle robes shimmered blue for an instant and now looked like the robes an Upper House Lord would wear. They looked like they were made of black silk. On the left side of the robe was the Potter family crest. The crest was a black unicorn facing a gold griffin on a royal blue background. Along the edge of the door were silver snakes. On the right hand side of his robe was the Black family crest. The crest itself was a Hybridian black dragon inlaid on a crimson red background with lightning bolts embroider in white on the outside of the crest. He had let his jet-black hair down, and was now fanned in a crest along his shoulder blades. His final addition was an emerald scorpion earring. He heard Xiana calling to him and made his way downstairs.

Xiana was putting the final changes on her royal blue robes when she saw her husband walking down the stairs. First thing, she noticed was his flowing jet-black hair, and his glowing green emerald orbs. The robes he was wearing were stunning. He had both the Potter and Black family crest to which he was heir too. He was for the lack of a better word stunning. She could feel the power and confidence rolling off him. The robes accentuated his imposing height and physique. She was so turned on right now she could shag him on the couch until he passed out.

Harry looked at his wife and saw the hungry look in her eyes. Well, he knew he was going to be busy tonight. He came down and said, "Babe, if I do say so myself you look gorgeous." He gently lifted her chin and gave kissed her.

"Damn Potter, do you know what you're doing to me right now?" She smirked.

"I know love; just keep these thoughts until tonight. Believe me, just looking at you and I want to shag for the rest of the day. First, let's go kick Dumbledore's old wrinkled ass."

"Eeewww," She made a face at him. Xiana took one last look at her robe and furrowed her brows and said, "Love, how much longer do I have to disillusion the Potter crest on my robes? Dam it all to hell! I'm a Potter and don't care if the world knows it or not. I'm sick of hiding who I am. I want the world to know that I am the wife of Harry James Potter. "

"I know love. It won't be much longer. I have a feeling that the world is going to learn very soon that the Scorpion Sorcerer and Harry Potter are one in the same. On that day, we will no longer hide who we are." Harry kissed Xiana and made their way to the fireplace. They floo'd to Zabini manor and met the rest of the family. They left Zabini manor and floo'd to the ministry building. They met Remus, the twins, and Moody. Moody came so that he could consult with some of his unspeakable friends. For the twins, it was something about teaching a lesson to their younger brother on why it's not nice to be throwing Crucio at your sister. Xiana, her mother, Brianna, Theo, Blaise, and Ginny went to get clearance so that they could be in the spectator isle.

Harry followed Michael through a different set of doors. They needed to be cleared so they could be admitted to the main floor. On their way there, they ran into Dumbledore and his crowd. They looked at each other and both men narrowed their eyes at each other. Before anyone had the chance to say anything, Molly Weasley pushed past her husband and rounded on Harry with surprising speed and without warning went to slap him in the face. The hand however never connected. Years of Quidditch and duelling practice had honed Harry's reflex to peek condition.

He caught her hand, and squeezed hard. The Weasley matriarch cried out in pain. Arthur Weasley rounded on Harry and levelled his wand at him and with venom in his voice said, "You have three seconds to let her go if you know what's good for you boy."

Harry threw her hand away from him and slowly turned his gaze towards Arthur and replied, "How on earth I ever considered you family is now completely beyond my comprehension. Your nothing but a bunch of prejudiced sycophants blindly following a has been. Tell me, is he worth it? You've already lost half your family because they don't believe in the status quo system that Dumbledore loves so much. Your blind loyalty and refusal to analyze the facts and think for yourselves have ensured that your family will stay split. You've certainly shown your true colors where other magical creatures are concerned. Don't expect Bill to invite you to his home."

Molly took this time to bellow, "Enough! You are the cause of my family's breakup. Dumbledore is right, you will be the next Dark Lord."

Michael decided to step in before it came down to wands. He had no doubt that his son in law could wipe the floor with that lot, but there were greater strategic issues at stake. Michael cut in and said, "Enough, you will cease speaking with my client. You want to fight, then do it in the courtroom. Not here. "

Harry understood the underlying massage and simply nodded. He followed his father in law to the security chamber. Harry could feel some sophisticated detection wards wash over him. He let out a sigh of relief when no alarm sounded. He gave the Auror his old holly wand. His other two new wands remained concealed. The basilisk boots and holster coupled with his own brand of charms made sure that nobody could detect them. Harry felt as secure as he ever was in these situations.

They walked past a huge set of bronze doors and stepped into what could only be described as a time capsule. The Wizengamot courtroom looked like an exact replica of the Roman senate during Gaius Julius Caesar's reign. His father in law had told him what to expect, however, to live it in its totality was a bit surreal. The place looked magnificent there were no other words to describe it.

Digging into his Occlumency folders, he found the one on ancient muggle architecture. The courtroom looked a lot like the ancient Roman Pantheon. The building was circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns. There were eight in the first rank, with two groups of four behind under a pediment opening into the rotunda, under a coffered, granite dome, with a central opening also known as the Great Eye, which was open to the sky. A rectangular structure seems to link the portico with the rotunda. In the walls at the back of the portico were niches for statues of Merlin, Morgana le Fay, along with four other statues, which looked remarkably like the four founders of Hogwarts.

On either side of the main floor, between the huge marble columns were the spectator seats. The main floor seemed to be split into factions. To the north of the main floor, one could see a set of marble stairs leading to upper and lower semi circular rings. The rings apparently seated the Lords. The lower ring, which seated the lower house Lords, was made of black marble. The upper ring, which seated the upper house Lords, was made of white marble. Below the lower ring, was a white marble chair with a set of gold scales floating above the chair? This chair was supposed to be the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. Since Dumbledore held that position and was now on trial, the chair would be filled by one of the senior jurors from the ministry's law enforcement department.

A bronze door opened to the left of the chamber and a man dressed in white robes with Celtic runes slowly made his way to the chair. He was carrying an ivory staff with a mace like ball at the bottom of the staff ending with crystal ball sitting on top of a golden dragon's head. He made it to the chair and turned towards the audience and said, "I, Rufus Scrimgeour will be acting Chief Warlock and primary juror for these proceedings."

He took the staff and tapped it three times on the granite slate and Harry could see small tendrils of energy emanate from the bottom of the staff. Scrimgeour bellowed, "The Pentakrem is now in session. I would like to call forth the accusers to stage their charges."

Harry watched his father in law slowly make his way to the podium to address the House of Lords. He was wearing a beautiful emerald green robe with black Celtic runes embroider on the lapels. The back of his robes had a large replica of Stone Henge. Harry smirked - his mother in law was a staunch druid follower. Harry couldn't fault her. The magical powers of the ancient Celtic druids were unmatched anywhere.

Michael took his time getting to the podium. The stakes have never been higher. The game was afoot. He reached the podium and took his time scanning the audience and the House of Lords. With a confident and booming voice he bellowed, "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, you stand accused of violating some of our most coveted laws. You sir violated the Edict of 1124 as stipulated by Charlemagne and passed by the House of Lords concerning Wizarding wills and titles. Your second violation is your failure to divulge critical information pertaining to Heir vaults. You failed the financial decree of 1491, paragraph six, subsection E. Ladies and Gentlemen of the court, as these irrefutable records will indicate. Dumbledore wilfully withheld information on my client's true financial status and illegally stole from his trust vault without his knowledge. Dumbledore also saw fit to forge his signature of said transactions. Finally, we come to our third violation. This violation charges Dumbledore with intent to cause psychological and bodily harm to his person during his six years of education at Hogwarts."

Once the charges were read, the spectator booths exploded into shouts and accusations from both sides of the floor. Even the House of Lords were eyeing each other with suspicion. Scrimgeour lifted his staff and hit the granite slate while bellowing, " QUIET! This court will not tolerate dissension. Spectators will hold their tongues or be forcibly removed from these proceedings. "

Scrimgeour then rounded on Dumbledore and asked, "How do you Plead? You may make your statement at the podium."

With a wariness belying his age, Dumbledore made his way to the podium. Inside however he was seething with rage. For the hundredth time, he wondered how in the world the Potter brat had bested him. Everything was going so good until the little shit developed a brain. He finally reached the podium and addressed the House of Lords by saying, "On the first two counts I plead guilty. On the last count, I plead not guilty. I know that some of you are shocked, but please let me try to explain the context under which I made those decisions. "

Scrimgeour turned towards the House of Lords and said," The evidence pertaining to the first two violations are irrefutable. Albus Dumbledore has asked permission to address the court to allow him to shed light on his decisions. Those of you in favor cast Lumos."

Scrimgeour counted the votes and said, "The court will allow Dumbledore to speak."

With his hands clasped behind his back, Dumbledore looked at the crowd and slowly turned his gaze to the House of Lords and said, "You must understand that the decisions I made have always been for the greater good. You see, to understand the decisions that were made, we need to go back to that awful Halloween night back in 1981. A couple of years before that night, a seer by the name of Sybil Trelawney made a prediction concerning a child who would have the power to defeat Voldemort and that the Dark Lord would mark him as his equal. That night Voldemort for whatever reason decided that the Potter child would be his downfall. We all know what happened after that. What you have to remember was that all of his supporters were still out there and would have stopped at nothing to finish their master's job. On that night, quick decisions needed to be made. The child needed to be kept safe until he was ready to meet his final destiny...etc."

Dumbledore gave them his full explanations on why he overlooked these laws. Dumbledore finished by saying, "So you see, until recently I still believed that using the scar was the only way to defeat Voldemort. I make no apologies for trying to make the right decisions to defeat Voldemort."

Meanwhile, Ron Weasley was sitting in the isles looking at the proceedings and feeling completely bored and hungry. He looked at his former best friend and sneered. He whispered to Hermione, "I hope the bloody boy who just won't die gets his lawsuit thrown back in his face. I'm going to get something to eat, do you want anything?"

Hermione looked at her boyfriend and replied, "No, thank you Ronald."

Meanwhile, two other figures on the opposite isles were watching Ronald Weasley very carefully. The moment he left, both figures left their seat. They had a little rendezvous to keep.

Ron simply nodded and left. He silently slipped past the courtroom and made his way to the snack bar. He bought quite a bit of pumpkin pastries, and a slice of cinnamon loaf and two raspberry stuffed pastries. George was the first one to spot the jealous git. He and Fred positioned themselves behind one of the statues and cast a disillusion charm on themselves. The twins waited until he was passing the statue and together synchronized their spells. Fred cast Silencio, Petrificus-Totallus. George cast Accio Ron.

Ron was quite bewildered. One minute he is walking with pastries in his arms and the next moment he is facing the twin menace from hell. Ron was about to scream for help, but found himself silent. The next question that came to his mind was how in hell could they still have their wands?

Fred was the first to whisper, "Hello you little git. We heard all about the fight that took place in the great hall yesterday."

"We also know that you shot a Crucio spell at our little Gin, Gin. Now, that wasn't nice was it?" George sneered.

Fred continued, "Remember little brother, nothing inspires forgiveness quite like revenge."

George pulled a little box from his pocket and said, "You see this little vial. That dear brother is over a months worth of hard work. This is one of the potions, which make up our PPP box. By the way, PPP stands for puss, pestilence and pain." Fred had gathered all of his food and emptied the vial over several food items.

With a very evil grin on his face, Gorge cast Obliviate- Momerati. This modified form of Obliviate acted as a time delay block. Little Ronniekins would remember everything in about three hours. Cackling evilly, the twin's made their way back to their side of the isle.

Back on the main floor, Michael walked up to the podium and looking at the Lords bellowed, "Albus Dumbledore! Who made you king of Britannia? How dare you insinuate that all of your decisions were for the greater good? Your theory of the link was proven false and in the process of indulging your whims, an innocent boy had to endure physiological and physical abuse at the hands of the worst sort of muggles. You told us how imperative it was for Harry James Potter to be kept safe from Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. Therefore, you dumped an innocent baby on muggles who hate anything to do with magic and by proxy hate anything to do with Harry Potter. You condemned him to thirteen years of hell on earth."

Michael surveyed the crowd and took a sip of cold ice pumpkin juice. He suddenly whirled on Dumbledore and continued his rant, "You claim to not have known that he was mistreated, yet you had one Arabella Figg from your Order of the Phoenix keep tabs on young Harry. Let's take Hogwarts acceptance letters. You as headmaster have to approve each and everyone off them. Harry Potter's was sent at the following address. The letter showed Surrey, Little Winging, #4 Privet Drive, cupboard under the stairs?"

Turning around to face the House of Lords, Michael continued, "Now I ask each and every Lord on this court who have had or taken care of children. In your opinion, is it normal to have a child live in a cupboard? Now to top it all off, the reason Harry Potter had to endure this hell was because one of our most cherished laws was broken. There is a reason why the wills and inheritance decisions as set out by parents in our world MUST NEVER be broken. Terrible consequences can befall those who have broken this special magical bond. At this point in time I would like to call on Harry James Potter to explain to us the third logic regarding the violation."

Harry looked around the hall from one side of the isle to the other. He stopped at a particular spot in the far corner where he spotted a Vampiric shield. He smirked at the being, and slowly turned his gaze back towards the House of Lords. He quickly brought to memory the Lords, which had been targeted for termination. He smirked and rose to his full height. He moved toward the podium with grace and power.

That day many people in the court would remember many things from looking at the boy-who-lived. Some would remember his incredible physique. Many witches were left hungry that day. Others would remember his eyes. Those deep glowing emerald orbs that looked eerily like the color of the Avada-Kadavra curse. One thing that every one could agree on that day was the sheer power of his magical aura and the might of his personality.

Meanwhile, unknown to all of the people in the court, one very old vampire was paying particularly close attention to one particular individual. Methuselah Nicademus of the Camarilla had been very busy this last week. He had been reading the ancient text, and reviewing all he knew about Gehenna Black Raven prophecy. A child born to ancient blood, He would bear the mark of the element cast by the dark. He would suffer greatly under the false prophet. He would be reborn from the ashes of neglect, and betrayal. The power of old would awaken once more. The scorpions would awaken to battle the three standards. Three seals were doomed to failure; Fate would not be denied her just reward. The black phoenix would rise again to seek justice from the dark. From the ashes of Armageddon, a new world would arise. Etosha would once again rise.

It had been a stroke of luck Nicademus thought to be in this court. He remembered seeing the daily prophet, in the reception area a week ago. He had perhaps read the bloody paper twice in the last six hundred years. Nicademus didn't waste much time on the affairs of witches and wizards. Usually if there was something important, his underlings made sure he knew about it.

The front cover that day had caught his attention. The cover showed a picture of a very old wizard and a young boy. After searching his memory, he recognized the young face as that of the boy-who-lived. For some reason he had noticed the lighting bolt scar and suddenly a verse in the prophecy clicked. He had spent the remaining week going over the ancient prophecy. Here he was a week later, sitting in an ancient court putting the pieces together.

He now had to figure out who the standards were. Nicademus was brought out of his musing when he felt a gentle magical probe rest on his person. Without panicking, Nicademus began looking towards the senate floor, when he spotted the boy-who-lived looking at him. Nicademus couldn't believe what he was seeing. Vampiric illusion wards are better than Wizarding ones by a long stretch, yet this boy knew where to find him and saw him smirk in his direction. Nicademus could only stare at this boy and smirk back. Yes, he thought, the young man certainly fit many aspects of the ancient prophecy. He needed more information on the boy-who-lived.

Harry began his speech, "I'm sure many of you are wondering why I'm confronting the great and powerful Albus Dumbledore. The simple truth is that I want justice rendered for the wrongs this man has perpetrated on my parents and me. It has taken me a while to realize who Albus Dumbledore really is. This man whom you think is the champion of the light is in fact a wolf in sheep's clothing. Once I managed to throw off his grandfatherly act, I finally realized that he had been manipulating me ever since he gained knowledge of the prophecy. I began to analyze all of the trials and tribulations, which were thrown my way year after year since I started my magical education at Hogwarts. It became obvious that he was using me, and my unwanted fame as an icon to rally forces to his Light banner. He tried to make me believe that I should save everyone. He was trying to make me the hero I never wanted to be."

Harry paused to gage the audience and the House of Lords. Satisfied with the expectant look on their faces he continued, "From the very beginning, the puppet master has been pulling my strings. When I was a first year student, he gave me the means to confront Voldemort for the Philosopher's Stone instead of protecting it himself. Do you really believe that a wizard as powerful as he, a man who claims to have fought the dark forces for over a century, had not detected Voldemort's dark essence residing in his DADA teacher for a whole year? Dumbledore set up my whole first year so that it was I, and no one else, who would have to face the Dark Lord and thwart his plans in obtaining Nicholas Flamel's Philosopher Stone. Dumbledore almost had Voldemort resurrect himself right under his nose."

Harry paused and took a sip of water. He looked around to see many people whispering. Harry continued, "During my second year, there was the great debacle about the Chamber of Secrets. Fawkes, his phoenix, could have teleported Ginny Weasley, a girl who was taken as a hostage by Voldemort, from the Chamber of Secrets anytime, yet he let me face a full-grown Basilisk at twelve with only a sword. All along, the headmaster could have stepped in and prevented me from facing such a dangerous creature. Yet, he did nothing. In my third year, I found out that my godfather Sirius Black has been innocent all along. How strange that the person who should have taken care of me according to my parents will was incarcerated for thirteen years without a trial. How in the name of God, does anyone get sent to Azkaban without a trial? Again that year my life was in jeopardy. I had to fend off Dementors, werewolf and an unregistered rat animagus by the name of Peter Pettigrew. He was the one who was secret keeper to my parents, on Dumbledore's suggestion. Now the plot thickens."

Harry paused once more to let his words sink in and continued, "With all of the events, my most trying year was yet to come. The year of the Tri-Wizard Tournament was a bell ringer for me. The whole thing could have been called off if they had given me a dose of Veritaserum and found out that I never put my name in the goblet. There was a reason why you had to be seventeen years old in order to participate. On age alone I didn't meet the requirements. As an organizer of the tournament, and a judge, and headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore could have prevented my entry in the tournament at anytime. That year I was forced to fight Dragons, Acromantula, giant Crabs, Sphinx, and not least Voldemort himself during his re-birthing ceremony. That year I had to watch a good friend get Avada Kedavra in front of me by Peter Pettigrew. To top it all off, I was shipped back to my abusive muggles and kept completely isolated. All on Dumbledore's orders of course."

At that moment, Harry heard a disgusting noise. He turned towards the isle to see a white looking Ronald Weasley flatulence a yellow/green gas cloud and shit himself. He heard the beaver berate Weasley for his disgusting behavior. Harry could see people fainting in their vicinity. He suddenly heard the unmistakable howl of the Twins from the other side of the isle. Harry was now biting his lips to prevent himself from rolling on the floor.

Scrimgeour tapped his staff and bellowed, "Aurors, you will remove these peons from my court. They are banned from any future court proceedings until they have taken an etiquette course."

Harry stifling his laugh, waited for the commotion to die down. When order was restored Harry addressed the court one last time and said, "My fifth year at Hogwarts is when I began to question everything that had been fed to me. I began to realize, that I had been kept ignorant of our world for a reason. I began to realize that I had been controlled from the time my parents died. I was kept ignorant of my status as a Lord, ignorant of my family vaults, ignorant of our law system. I was forced to follow one man's every whim without question. Finally, the Slytherin in me woke up and demanded answers. Once the answers began to flow, I realized that my whole life had been an illusion. I was nothing but a pawn, a weapon to be sacrificed when the time was right. I'm here to tell you that I am no longer anyone's pawn. I am no one's chosen one. I decide when to fight. I AM THE MASTER OF MY DESTINY."

Harry looked around the courtroom and continued, "Again, how many of you have read the Daily Prophet this morning? The headmaster once again for the greater good disregarded the laws concerning the use of Veritaserum on underage wizards and witches and proceeded to spike their beverages. In the process, he killed two students. Are the educational standards in Britain so low that we are forced to accept criminals for teachers and headmasters? All I ask is that justice be done. Thank you for your time." With that Harry bowed to the Lords and went to sit down.

Michael leaned over and whispered, "That was very well done Harry. You had the Lords listening to every word."

Rufus Scrimgeour stood up and said, "Does the defence wish to cross examine?"

Dumbledore stood up with his eyes twinkling and with an air of confidence replied, "I don't see the point."

"Very well then. Lords you have seen the evidence, and heard the testimonials. Both houses will retreat to cast judgment. You will deliberate for thirty minutes, at which point you will come back and give us your verdict."

Harry and Michael were talking about houses and renovations. Thirty minutes passed fairly quickly and the House of Lords came back. The senior Lord came and gave a parchment to Scrimgeour. He took his staff and pounded on the floor, at the same time he bellowed,"Silence."

"The Plaintiff and Defendant will both rise." They did as they were told.

Scrimgeour cleared his throat and said, "Albus Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, you were found guilty of all three violations. As a result of your criminal acts, you will henceforth be removed as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. You are also removed as Supreme Mugwump from the International Confederation of Wizards. You will never again be allowed any kind of influence within the Wizengamot body. Due to your past contributions fighting dark wizards, namely Grindelwald, we allowed you to stay as headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, you will have to share that position with an appointed ministry educator. All school rules, balls and educational changes will have to be agreed by your counter part and approved by the board of governors. It is clear that over time you have abused the power and privileges of your office. You have the rest of the day to clear out your offices."

Harry chanced a look towards the headmaster and noticed all the color drain from his face. It looks like the old coot never expected this outcome, he thought. It was one of the many things that the headmaster shared with Voldemort, and that was over confidence. Harry could see the headmaster's emotions fighting for dominance. He could see shock, disappointment, resignation, and finally anger. The headmaster turned his head towards Harry's position and gave them a look of pure loathing. Harry simply smirked, which seemed to enrage him further. Harry heard Scrimgeour bang his staff once more.

"As you all know, we are in a state of war. Voldemort has come back, and the Wizengamot cannot function without its Chief Warlock. Under the Cypriot charter, article 3, sub paragraph (d). The House of Lords will vote for a new Chief Warlock. The Lower House Lords will nominate candidates and through negotiation, and votes will narrow the field to two finalists whom are judged worthy of the position of Chief Warlock. These two finalists will be given to the Upper House Lords for final vote. The lower house will now retreat to the antechamber to cast their votes."

Harry looked at his father in law and gave him a small nod. If Scrimgeour only knew how many Lower House Lords were on the Scorpion's payoff list. It will be interesting to see how long snake face takes to ice his puppets once he finds out he was double crossed. It's much easier to stay in the bliss of Imperio than to fight its effect. Most of these Lords are nothing but weak sheep anyway he thought. They wouldn't have a smidgen of the willpower necessary to overcome its effect.

The Lower House Lords came back after an hour of deliberation, and handed their results to the Upper Lords with a copy to Scrimgeour. Scrimgeour banged his staff again. Harry was getting sick of the idiot banging his staff. He was going to shove that bloody stick up his ass real soon if he didn't stop. Scrimgeour bellowed, "Our two final candidates for position of Chief Warlock are Michael Zabini, and Terrence McClain. The Upper House Lords will now deliberate in the antechamber to pick the new Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot."

As anticipated, the Upper House Lords came to a much quicker decision and were back within thirty minutes. The eldest of the Upper Lords handed a parchment to Scrimgeour and took his seat. Scrimgeour banged his staff again, which caused Harry to roll his eyes. Once the court was silent, he announced, "The post for Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot will now be filled by Michael Zabini." Many people in the isles were shouting cheers and clapping. Harry smirked, because he had a good idea who was on the cheering section. He noticed his father in law looking at him and winked. Harry winked back and stood up to go shake Michael's hand. He got close enough to whisper, "Excellent news if I do say so father."

Michael whispered back, "This is a great victory Harry. Now we move to our final phase of the day. I'll see you home later." Harry smiled and gave him a small squeeze on the shoulder.

Harry was making his way back towards the courts security lobby. He was making slow progress as many people came by to congratulate him. He wished that he could be with his wife and the rest of the family to celebrate their victory, but with Dumbledore and his cronies walking about, it was far too dangerous to show his cards yet. The last thing he wanted was for them to discover Xiana and his true ties to the Zabini family. All in good time he thought.

Late Afternoon, November 15 Potter Castle

Harry apparated back to Potter castle and went to pick up his storage trunk and magical bombs. He finally removed the Parsel charms on his robes. Harry loved the natural look of his Basilisk battle robes. With a quick look in the mirror, he made sure he had all of his weapons. He looked at his watch and decided to go downstairs to converse with his familiar.

Harry found his familiar soaking up the warmth from the permanent heat charm that was over his home. Harry hissed, sss "Anubis, how would you like some action?" sss

sss "That sounds wonderful master, I have been living the good life too much, I need exercise. Are we going to battle?" sss

Harry couldn't help but smile at his familiar's enthusiasm for battle. Harry hissed back, sss "This is more of a search and destroy mission. Mind you, when are these missions ever simple? In all honesty, I don't know if we are going to battle. There is a high chance that we will though." sss

sss "The change of scenery will be good." sss

Harry opened up his robe and let Anubis wrap himself in a comfortable position. His head was resting on top of his left shoulder. Once they were set, Harry knelt down and pulled out his invisibility cloak. It was best to go undercover for now, until he was sure that all potential threats were neutralized.

Harry concentrated and went deep in his mind. He was looking for specific images of Dumbledore manor that he had downloaded from the old coot's mind a while back. The trick was that he had to say the special password while picturing where he wanted to apparate. From the glimpses that he got from Dumbledore's mind, the manor was under a modified Fidelius charm. Apparently, the keeper was not a person but an object. Harry had never heard of such a thing. Of course, the old bastard had been around for a while, and God only knew what kind of knowledge he kept to himself.

After a minute of sifting, he found several images and a trigger word. One image looked like a parlor and the other was a huge library. Harry decided on the library. Harry had a love of books and he was sure that Dumbledore had books, scrolls, and ancient manuscript that even he didn't possess. Now that he thought about it, there was no need to empty Dumbledore's library. He only wanted books that he didn't have, as for the rest they could burn for all he cared.

" Dobby?"

With a soft pop Dobby appeared in front of him jumping up and down, "You is needing something master?"

"Yes Dobby, I'm going on a mission. The place I'm going too has a large library. However, there is no need to bring back books, which I already have a copy of. Would it be possible for you to bring the Potter library master index book, and compare our book listing with the books, scrolls, and manuscript contained in the other library?"

Dobby thought about it and snapped his fingers and replied, "I is know how to do this master. Dobby simply put glow charm on books we is not have. Can Winky assist Dobby master? Time be much less with Winky help."

"Sure thing Dobby, but you'll have to wait until I call for you. Probably many wards need to be taken down before you can join me. Before I forget, when I call, you must think the word Errigal. It's the only way to get past the modified Fidelius. "Harry had no clue what an Errigal was, but he knew it was important.

He just hoped that he had the right password or he might find himself in Antarctica, or worse yet five thousand feet in the Indian Ocean. Harry flicked his wand from its holster, and put his invisibility cloak on. Harry concentrated on the image of the library until he had complete definition and thinking about the word Errigal, he apparated to Dumbledore manor.

Harry suddenly found himself in a library. He quickly brought his aura reading abilities to bear and scanned the entire room. As expected there were quite a few wards interlinked with each other. Harry looked up and found an enchanted ceiling. It was almost dark, and Harry could see lighting streak across the sky. It gave the whole place and eerie feeling. Harry found several moving pictures and cast Immobilus-Tempest. All of the pictures were immobilized. Last thing he needed was for one of his blasted ancestors to alert Dumbledore.

Harry pulled out a map and took out his cell phone. He wanted a GPS reading to find out where he was in England. His phone beeped and Harry read the coordinates. He pulled out his Atlas map of England and triangulated the coordinates. Damn he thought, according to these coordinates, he was in Northern Ireland on Aran Island. Looking slightly to the northeast, he spotted a mountain named Errigal.

Harry starred at the map gob smacked until realization damn on him. That evil bastard he thought. All along, he could have put his parents under a different Fidelius, which didn't rely on people. The hate he felt towards Dumbledore was beyond imagining. The only downside to this modification he realized was that if a person was alone and died, the Fidelius being tied to such a large object would go down once the object was destroyed. In the case of a mountain, well the chances of finding the place were next to none. He had used a dark Fidelius, which allowed the caster to become his own secret keeper. It might be worthwhile to cast this from of the Fidelius charm on his property also. This form of the Fidelius would be a nice back up to the ones he already put on his estate. This way if he accidentally died, his estate and family would still be protected.

Harry was about to start working when he felt himself frozen. What the fuck is going on, he thought. Suddenly he heard a small cackling laugh and was rewarded by the presence of an elf. Harry looked at his right hand and was able to identify the elf's curse as a high power-petrifying curse. Not panicking, Harry brought out his body magic and with concentration tried removing the offending block. It was useless he thought, without his wand he couldn't remove the petrifying spell. He should have activated a perimeter alarm charm. Harry was pissed at himself for being so careless. Harry could feel Anubis moving up to his shoulders. With a sneer on his face, he waited to see what would happen.

The elf walked around to get a good look at the intruder. All he could make out were the two glowing green eyes deep inside a hood. The elf tried several revealing charms but came up empty. The elf finally said, "What is you doing in my master's home? Master will be most pleased to find intruder in home. Master be missing special ingredients for potions. Master likes to play. I go and tell master now."

Harry could let the little bugger ruin his plans. Harry bellowed, "Wait! Why can't we talk a little? I want to know about you. I would like to know your name. Are you the only elf in this manor? How does Dumbledore treat you?"

The elf gave Harry a weird look as if to say, why is wizard talking to me, but answered him, "My names be Grindelwald. My master be real mad if find intruder in home. I go now and bring master back."

"Wait! I would like to speak to the senior elf."

To his surprise, the little elf became quite agitated. In an enraged voice the elf said, "Grindelwald is only elf needed for Dumbee manor. I be only protector."

Seeing as the elf didn't seem to be all there. He knew just how to get out of this situation. Harry knew he was taking a big risk. Elves were capable of doing powerful and destructive magic when angered. He sent a telepathic message to Anubis and in a mocking voice replied, "I'm sorry, but you don't look much like a protector. In fact, I get the feeling you can't do much period."

The elf lost his composure and with a feral look on his face, marched right up to him. He raised his left hand towards his face and pointed a glowing finger between his eyes and hissed, "Perhaps is time Grindelwald teach little wizard a lesson in magic's."

The elf flicked his eyes inside the hood and spotted two glowing sapphire eyes. The elf immediately brought his right hand up, but it was too late. Anubis struck with lighting speed and bit the elf on his eyeball, and scalp. The eye popped like a balloon, spraying eye goo everywhere. Within seconds, the elf dropped to the ground trashing. Harry could see the color of his skin changing. With one last breath, the elf arched his back with his hands clutching his face. The elf was as dry as a mummy. The moment the elf died, his petrifying spell dissipated.

Harry hissed, sss "Thank you great one. I'll make sure to get you a large box of your favorite treats." sss

Anubis replied, sss "It was my pleasure master. His magic tasted sweet. If we find more can I have them?" sss

Harry hissed back, sss " If we find more, they are yours great one." sss Harry was reminded of a quote, 'Somewhere out there is the beast and he's hungry tonight'. He thought the quote to be quite fitting where Anubis was concerned.

Why did the old goat name his elf Grindelwald? Probably this made him feel superior every time he saw the elf, he thought. Harry looked down at the elf, and banished his remains outside. No sense having his house elves freak out.

Harry looked at his watch, and got right down to business. He started casting every curse, ward, and jinx-revealing spell from his arsenal. To his surprise, the place had very little traps or nasty curses. The old fool probably thought that his form of the Fidelius was all he needed for protection. There was a definite lesson to be learned about overconfidence in anything. Harry was using his magical aura reading capability to its full power. He didn't want to miss anything. He ended up removing over a dozen curses and an illusion ward around the north section of the library. When he was satisfied that the library was clear he called his elves.

Through their link, Harry called Dobby and Winky. Within a minute, they were standing in front of him. Harry got down to their level and said, "All right, I've finished removing all of the curses I could think of. However, please feel free to use you brand of magic to make sure that I haven't missed anything. Now, I'm going to explore the upper floors. Use the storage trunk to transfer the books you collect. Don't wander away from the library. When I'm done up there I'll meet you back here." Both elves nodded their heads and began their work.

Harry scanned the stairway to make sure it was clear. He put on his invisibility cloak, and began making his way up the second level. The second floor had at least twelve bedrooms and a master suite as far as he could tell. There were knights, and other statues at every second door. Harry immobilized all of the paintings and was about to search the first bedroom when his scan revealed something odd about the statues and knights. Upon closer inspection, he found that they were warded and jinxed to attack anyone not keyed to the bedroom ward.

Harry got to work removing the bedroom wards and blasting the statues to smithereens. The last thing he needed was another surprise attack. Harry took out his sword and began inspecting each bedroom. The first five rooms were nothing but regular bedrooms. In one of the rooms, he found a decked up ten pin bowling area. Upon closer inspection, he found the pins had moving pictures of naked Hags on them. Harry's eyebrows nearly rose to his hairline at this revelation. Who would have thought that the great light wizard of the century had a fetish for naked hags? Harry shook his head and kept exploring the rooms.

He finally reached the master bedroom and cautiously opened it. He peeked inside and found a large canopy bed made of solid red oak. There was an adjacent bathroom and a private office. Harry went through the desk but found nothing but junk. He brought out his aura reading to bear and scanned all of the adjacent rooms but found nothing. He was about to leave the master bedroom when he happened to look at the large mirror sitting on the dresser. He noticed dark ward lines emanating behind the mirror. He pulled back the dresser with the mirror and could now clearly see the wards on the wall.

He quickly recognized the blood ward guarding the illusion ward. What ever was behind the blood ward had to be pretty valuable, and Harry wanted it. The most pressing problem at the moment was how to deal with the blood ward. He certainly didn't have any of Dumbledore's blood in his possession. The elf mentioned something about the old coot playing with his potion kit. Perhaps he could find some of his blood in his potions lab. Surely a manor such as this had to have a potions lab.

Harry looked at his watch and nearly hexed himself. What a stupid moron he was. The moment he came here he should have activated his watch to get a lay out of the place and find out where the enemy was located. Getting real sloppy, he thought. He pressed the crystals and completed a full 360-degree turn. Suddenly a map appeared which showed him the location of the potion lab. Down the dungeons we go, he thought. Over half an hour later, Harry came back to the master bedroom with a small vial of blood. He sure hoped it was Dumbledore's. Who would have thought that the great light wizard of the age was using dark arts to ward his house? Harry drew a series of six runes around the ward. He then poured a drop of blood on each rune and waited. He wasn't disappointed. The runes glowed an eerie blue, then red and finally black. The last of the runes disappeared and the ward came down. Harry removed the illusion charm and noticed a muggle type safe. Harry made quick work of the safes door and what came next would stay burned in his mind for a very long time. Before him lay two Philosopher's stones. Both stones were lying on top of old tomes and diaries.

Harry just stared at the stones and kept opening and closing his mouth. One of the stones he immediately recognized from his first year trial. The second stone was slightly bigger and almost had the shape of a heart. Behind that was another book which looked ancient. Again, Harry was shocked. Here was a copy of the book of Azuli and the Halls of Ma' Ati also known at the book of the dead. There were a few other books, which seemed interesting. Harry looked back at the Philosopher's stone and couldn't help feeling sorrow for the great Alchemist Nicholas Flamel. I'll bet he never thought that his so-called friend would double cross him and lead him to his death. Harry remembered reading the article in the Daily Prophet on the life and times of Nicholas Flamel. The Flamel's had passed away and the editorial had been a tribute to the famous wizard.

Harry couldn't figure out why there was a second stone. He hoped the tomes and diaries held some sort of explanation. There was an obvious reason why Dumbledore wanted the stone. He couldn't help remembering another of the headmaster's favorite quote, 'Death is but the next great adventure.' It sure looks like the headmaster fears death like everyone else. Another bullshit quote from the master puppeteer, he thought. Not wasting anymore time, Harry cleaned out the safe and went downstairs to see how Dobby and Winky were doing.

Harry went back to the library and spotted Dobby, "Dobby! How is the collection coming along?"

Dobby looked up from the storage trunk with his big tennis ball eyes and replied, "Dobby and Winky be done in five minutes master."

Harry nodded and went inside the storage trunk. He went into the fourth chamber and put the stones and the books in the safe. He warded it and went into the fifth compartment to pick up his magical bombs. He came out of the trunk just as Winky was coming with the last load of books. When she was done, Harry sealed and reduced the trunk. He secured the pocket book size trunk inside his battle robe and told his elves to get back to Potter manor. When they were gone, Harry went upstairs and placed one of his bombs with a twenty-minute delay. Harry went in every room and conjured propane fog. He made his way back to the library and planted another Naquadah bomb there. He then conjured propane fog throughout the first floor. When he was done he apparated within a kilometer of the manor and waited.

Harry looked at his watch and dropped flat on the ground and covered his ears. Suddenly, he heard and felt the tremendous explosion, which shook the grounds and caused a pressure wave that sent debris flying overhead. Harry waited a minute before getting back on his feet and noticed for the second time a massive column of swirling electric blue fire. As before the blue fire consumed everything it touched. The foundation of the Manor was also turned into slag. Harry took his wand and looking above where the manor once stood he hissed "Ahak-Nakeb." A large scorpion appeared above the manor with its stinger moving back and forth.

With a malicious glint in his eyes Harry whispered, "Reap the world winds mother fucker. This is for all the people you fucked over Dumbledore. Today I took your prestige and your home. Soon, I'll take your life. Let's see how you handle this loss." With that Harry apparated back to Potter castle.

Meanwhile back at the ministry of magic, Dumbledore was still seething in rage. He had those bastards in his pocket, how dare they turn on him after everything he did for them. It was time to take the kid gloves off and show them the error of their ways. This was a major blow to his plans. It had taken decades to nurture and put into place people who would do his bidding. He was putting one of the last items in his trunk, when he felt a tremendous cold down his spine. The second thing he felt was a weight lifting from his magical core. The color on his face suddenly drained, as he recognized the implication of the signs. How can this be he thought, it's impossible. He dropped what he was doing and ran to the nearest apparition point. Within minutes, he had apparated to his home outside the now non-existent wards.

Dumbledore couldn't believe what was happening. The Dumbledore ancestral manor was nothing more than a slagheap. He looked up in the sky and noticed a large scorpion. Looking at the blasted scorpion, he lost control of his aura and with pure venom cast Relegatio. A pale blue light shot from his wand and struck the scorpion. The lights intertwined until both were gone from the night sky.

The realization of what it meant to lose his home suddenly hit him like a battering ram to the head. He didn't really care about the money. The books he had a copy of most of them stashed in his Gringotts vault. The biggest losses were the stones. He needed the stones to create a new body. The biggest question he had was HOW? How had that dark bastard learned where his home was located? He kept that information behind his strongest Occlumency shields. He had never felt so frustrated. Nothing was adding up, and his enemy had him in the cross hairs. Was this his retribution for the death of those insignificant brats? He had to get a grip on himself. Merlin be praised, he still had other properties where he could relocate. You don't live to be 154 years old and not acquire assets. He needed to pull back and analyze the situation.

He came very close today to just chuck the headmaster position and tell the ministry to kiss his ass. The only thing that kept him was the fact that he needed the school resources for his long term plans. Through the school, he was able to get the rare ingredients he needed for his research. Losing the stones had set him back at least a decade if not two. He had enough elixir stashed in his vault to see him through though. He had been so close to success in making the third stone. If he ever found who this Scorpion Sorcerer was, he was going to make him eat his own intestines. With that thought in mind, he apparated back to the ministry of magic.

November 15, 9:30 pm Potter Castle

Harry apparated back to his library, and took out the storage trunk. He called his other two elves Dez and Rico.

Both elves showed up arguing over the results of some mineral scan. Dez looked up at Harry and said, " What is you need Mater Harry Potter sir?"

"I have some books in the storage trunk that need to be cataloged in the master index book, and put away in the library. We should have enough shelves for these, but if not then please expand the library as you see fit."

Dez and Rico bowed, and with gusto got to their new assignment. Harry went down in the trunk and picked up the diaries, tomes and the stones and apparated to the master bedroom. He went to his desk and opened the left lower door, which contained a safe. He stowed the books and stones there, and put several wards on the safe.

With all of the new information Tiamat had given him, and the discovery on the Philosopher stones, and the fact that he needed to build a staff, record his new knowledge and get prepared to meet all of the other magical races essentially spelled flux time. His next meeting was on November 20 with the Vampire clans. Four months in flux time should be enough. This would also give him a chance to further train his second batch of recruits. Harry could hear the family gathering downstairs, so he put away his battle robes, showered, and dressed smartly. Making sure he looked his best, he made his way downstairs to celebrate their victory.

Harry spent the rest of the night celebrating with his family and troops. He told his immediate family that the raid on Dumbledore manor had been a success. Two blows in one day for our dear headmaster. Michael was ecstatic. Xiana and the other girls spent the night discussing the paper, the twins, and room decoration. Harry was able to find Remus alone, and told him about all of the new books, which now belonged to Potter library.

He also explained that he had found the Philosopher's stone in Dumbledore manor. Remus was flabbergasted, never had he expected such a discovery. Harry asked Remus to help him research what Dumbledore had been up to, and why there were now two stones.

Harry also told Remus and Xiana that he needed to go into flux time to research, build, and train. Remus let him know that he and Tonks had been thinking about doing more training. After a short strategy meeting, Harry decided to pull all of his inventions team into flux time to finish off their projects. Xiana wasn't too keen on him going but she understood the need for it.

Towards the end of the evening, Harry cornered Neville and Luna and told them about going into flux time to work on his project and prepare protocols for when they met the Vampires. They both agreed. They weren't going back to Hogwarts anyway. They had more pressing things to be done then worrying about Dumbledore spiking their food.

November 15, 11:30 pm Diagon Alley

Three figures were slowly making their way to Ollivander shop under a disillusion charm. The leader also known as Wormtail was a balding man with bad breath and teeth. He was always jittery and seemed to speak in a squeaky voice. Tonight however, he seemed to be even more nervous. He stopped across from Ollivander and asked his colleagues to check for wards. Sure enough, there were a series of wards protecting the old establishment.

They whispered among themselves going over the type of wards that were erected. After reviewing the list, Wormtail pulled out a series of spells he had looked up in his master's library and picked up the ones he thought were the best for the job. Wormtail was known for his escaping talents, and information gathering. His talent in blending was tops. His rat form gave him tremendous advantages. However, Wormtail had never been known for his extensive magical knowledge. He tended to miss the finer details when it counted. This night of all night was no different.

The trio managed to disable the wards, but none of them thought to scan a second time once they had breached the front doors. Wormtail was the first one to cross the door threshold. He scanned the area making sure that there was no one present. He cast an illusion ward to make sure no one could see them from the bay window. He motioned for his escort to follow him.

Ollivander had always been a light sleeper. It just so happened that he had finished modifying the family trade book, about an hour ago and had simply crashed in his cot. The stinging on his left arm suddenly awakened him. Someone was in his shop. He cast a disillusion charm on himself and felt the cold feeling sweeping on his body. He then cast a silence charm and carefully made his way downstairs. He was now in his workshop and slowly made his way to the storage area. He was almost there when he heard three voices whispering. Ollivander flattened himself against the wall and waited to see who was invading his shop. It didn't take long for him to spot the Death Eater mask on their faces. They had expanded a trunk and were starting to load wands.

Ollivander calculated his odds and figured he couldn't take on all three. He didn't know if they were new recruits or inner circle members. What was important now was to salvage his mahogany cabinet. This is where he kept his most powerful wands. The strategy was to sow chaos in their ranks. With that thought he picked his the furthest target closest to the door. This way they might think that the attack was coming from the street. He whispered, "Aquilo-Bipennifer". Not expecting an attack from behind, the Death Eater was decapitated on the spot. The body was cut in half, with the intestines and liver falling to the floor. Blood was gushing everywhere. The result was not as he expected. He took out his portkey ring, and ran for it.

Wormtail was the first one to spot him. He was still shaking horribly when he fired his Avada Kedavra, which barely missed Ollivander. Wormtail cried, "Get him before he escapes fools." They both took different side of the shop in the hopes of cornering Ollivander.

Ollivander ran to the back of his shop and quickly removed the ward around his cabinet. He touched a rune, which glowed yellow, and the cabinet was portkeyed to a secure location. He then activated his portkey ring and vanished just in time as two Avada-Kedavra spells slammed into the wall where Ollivander had been standing.

Wormtail who was now very agitated, told his partner to get back to the trunk and load as many wands as possible. Wormtail looked at his watch and confirmed that they had only ten minutes.

November 16, 00:30 am Potter Castle

Harry was in the master bedroom getting ready for bed when his cell phone rang. He picked it up and found himself speaking to Akima. Harry asked, "Is he safe?" More talking and finally he said, "All right, I'll see him tomorrow. Take care"

He hung the phone and put it on the table. Xiana noticed his frown and said, "What is it love?"

Harry turned around and replied, "Ollivander's was attacked tonight. He barely escaped with his life. Three Death Eaters raided his shop. It would seem that Voldemort is getting ready to make a move. Why would he need wands except to arm a whole lot of people who don't have one? I swear, if I meet Fudge on the battlefield, he's toast."

Xiana rubbed circles on his back, and she could hear a sigh from him. Harry stripped naked and found his wife under the covers. They kissed and held each other tight. They both fell into a blissful sleep their love for each other keeping the world's demons away.