Chapter 10 Preparations

Three weeks is what it took to get the refugees in shape. They could now erect shields and banish their knives at targets. Cutting curses were also used to take down the dummies. The DA wasn't idle either; they learned a multitude of old spells. They all practiced daily, even the healers and non-combatants. Everyone in the fortress could now defend themselves enough to get away and hide. Harry would watch the practices with a huge grin. Everything was coming together.

Halstead was now running like a small town, there were even a few shops set up for bartering, mostly for altered clothing and things that were found on the eighth floor and fixed. People were tending the greenhouses and livestock with the house elves. There were plenty of others to help the healers. Mostly everyone was working together to keep the fortress up and running. There were a few that complained about the hard work, like Ron and Dick, but they were told to suck it up and get busy.

Harry had made one more speech to get the crowd motivated. He remembered Luna's warning and didn't make any promises. He simply told them that they were doing well and soon they would all end this war. He encouraged them to help others with spell work and practice.

Every day, away from prying eyes, Harry would practice his power deep within the woods. He had to dodge his stalkers, Ron and Dick, but he used his Cloak to avoid the two. He knew why Dick was following him, but he had no clue what was up with Ron. When he got to a clearing he took what he knew and used it well. He had to learn control, because the first time he did a blasting curse he took out three trees. And while he would be more than happy to use that kind of strength on Voldemort, the destruction could harm any ally in the area. So he learned to narrow the spell so it wasn't so widespread. It took a week, but now he was able to blast a branch at a time.

Remus used the woods to transform on the full moon and the wards kept the werewolf from the keep, which made a lot of people relax. His transformation reminded the leaders that Tom recruited werewolves so they scrounged up silver knives and practiced spells that would create silver darts. Though there was a comment that removing the head worked just as well and an overpowered cutting curse would do just that.

Those three weeks passed in a flurry of activity, and there was a meeting tonight and the same people as before were there. It was just after dinner and they were gathered in the portal room. Kingsley once again took control.

"We've got the refugees doing well. They can watch our backs, or protect the non-combatants. If we use the wards as a shield they should be able to help with the trap. Harry, what is your plan?" the bald man asked as he looked at the teen in question.

"Well, I've been talking to Ashliegh, who has been loads of help, and we decided that most of the trap will have to take place outside the wards, which end at the walls. We'll need a group of people, who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty, to hide out there. Then we call Tom's made up name and when they pop in, we attack. McGonagall and I have been teaching a few people how to transfigure them into rocks. Then we should be able to put them in the magic null cells," Harry explained the bare bones of his plan. "Or we could simply kill them, either way doesn't bother me," he added with a shrug.

"That's a good start," Kingsley nodded. "We'll refine it with the team doing the ambush. Who wants to volunteer?" he asked, looking at the people seated. Harry, McGonagall, Flitwick, Remus, Kyle, Dick, Neville, Hermione and Luna raised their hands. Tonks pouted and held her bulging belly. "We should also have people on the walls. There are quite a few muggles that are dead accurate with arrows. They can stay behind the wards and fire from there. You nine will be outside the walls under a disillusionment charm or blinds. Don't wait, as soon as they apparate in— fire. If you're going for the kill, do so at that moment. We will have the element of surprise, don't lose it. Like Harry said, we can't do this more than a few times before they catch on, so take advantage of it."

"Are you sure you want to kill them? There is a chance they can be reformed," Arthur said, remembering Dumbledore's words. Molly and a few others nodded with him.

"We have talked about this, Arthur. We are left with little choice at this point. There is no justice to be had at the Ministry while Tom is in control. The Aurors and Hit Wizards are all under his command. Any of the good ones are here, dead or fled early. Right now this is war; it is kill or be killed," Remus answered with a sad shake of his head. He thought all the talks they had in the last few weeks had stayed that naive notion.

"Remus is right, Mr. Weasley," Harry added, looking at the redheaded dad and hating to see the defeat in his eyes. "I don't like it any more than you do, but it is time to put pacifism away and fight back."

"I know, but I think I will sit this one out, I can't bring myself to take a life, not unless I have to," Mr. Weasley slumped in his chair.

"Don't worry, Dad, me and Charlie will be staying out of it too," Bill said, reaching over the table and patting his father's arm.

"That does make me feel a bit better. Thank you, Bill." That meant all of the Weasleys were staying out of the fight, they would stay behind and protect the castle.

"Right, now you nine and myself will get together in the morning and go and see where a good spot is," Kingsley said, moving the meeting along. "Is there anything else we should know?"

"We need more potioneers, the healers are running out of potions and they aren't talented in that area. While they can brew, they mostly relied on buying their potions, and they can't get in touch with their suppliers from here," Tonks said from her place at Remus's side. She was rubbing her belly and had a small grimace on her face. She had been having back pains all day and it was uncomfortable sitting in this chair.

"Well, hell," Harry said, trying to think of anyone they could bring. "Fred and George are pretty talented, we can ask them."

"That's a good idea, but they might not be able to keep up with demands," Kingsley nodded, also thinking of a solution.

"Can't the house elves go and purchase what's needed?" Neville asked. They used their house elf for such things, and he was mighty glad that Kipper was with his gran, helping her with his parents.

"They tried, but there's two things holding them back. One, no one brought any money and there's no way we can get to Gringotts. Two, Tom has closed all the stores in England to the public," she answered, her hair turning blue as she fidgeted in her seat.

"Is there any way to get gold outside of Britain?" Harry asked as he turned to Bill. "I have plenty in my vault and I can share a bit," he offered, thinking of his money just sitting there doing nothing. Perhaps he could get Dobby to make a withdrawal, but then he'd have to bind the elf. He looked at Hermione and cringed, yeah, that wouldn't go over well. He'd talk to the little guy later to see what he could do. As far as he knew no one else in the keep had any money, well maybe some of the pure-bloods, like the Greengrasses and the Longbottoms. He'd ask them later.

"I don't know the workings of Gringotts' banking system; I was a curse-breaker. I can ask Fleur tonight," the oldest Weasley boy answered with a shrug.

"Bill, I'm going to leave you in charge of finding a way to get us money so the house elves can buy what we need. Talk to the richer among us and see if they can contribute," Kingsley stated, then turned back to the room. "What else?"

"Ginny approached me the other day with some concerns about Severus," Arthur said hesitantly, knowing what he was about to say would start arguments. "She thinks he may actually be on our side. From what she and a few others told me, it might actually be true."

There were shouts of denial that Snape would do anything but kill and maim.

"That slimy bastard killed Dumbledore," Harry spat as he rose from his chair to be heard, his mind flashing back to the dead body of the Headmaster falling off the tower. "He's proved what side he's on." He sat back down and took a deep breath, trying to get control over his anger. Luna put a hand on his shoulder to steady him and he gave her a thankful grin.

"Yes, but, according to Ginny and her friends, he also protected the kids as best as he could. If he were a true Death Eater, he wouldn't have done that," Mr. Weasley argued softly. He then told them what the kids had told him about all the times Snape rescued them from the Slytherins and the Carrows. His mind was confused, but if Severus could be saved, shouldn't they be doing what they could to help him.

"Even if all that is true, we can't trust him. And even if he is on our side, which I completely doubt, his dark mark won't make it through the wards," Harry said in complete denial that Snape of all people might be on the Light side. Well, he didn't know for a fact that the Dark Mark would prevent him from entering, but he really didn't want that slime ball anywhere near him.

"Okay, we'll shelve that for now. Anything else?" Kingsley asked, running a hand over his head. He was tired, he had been training people for a month now, and it was getting exhausting. He looked around the room and could tell almost everyone was in the same state. They would have to use the rituals to revitalize before they carried out the trap.

"We'll be eating game along with our beef, pork and chicken. Charlie and a few muggles are going hunting in the woods. Halstead was not prepared for all these people. With only one house elf here, for however long the poor dear was alone, there just isn't enough food. While there is still livestock they don't want to run out," Molly answered as she tried to think of ways to get more food to the keep.

"We emptied out quite a few houses that are now standing there full of food. Why don't we do some raiding? We can either get the house elves to pop over and bring provisions, or we can go ourselves, though I don't really like that last part," Hermione said, tapping her chin in thought.

"Yes, and they can also raid the greenhouses at Hogwarts," McGonagall said with a small bit of pride in her voice, nodding her head. She always knew Miss Granger was a very smart witch. She was very proud of her little lion.

"Those are both excellent ideas. Molly, Pomona and Minerva you get with the elves and set it up," Kingsley stated and the three women nodded in agreement.

Suddenly there was a loud cry of pain, making everyone's head snap to where Tonks was sitting. She was grabbing her belly and groaning loudly. Her hair was cycling through so many colors, so quickly they couldn't keep track.

"Oh dear, looks like it's time," Molly said, rushing to the girl's side.

"Oh, sweet Merlin, that hurt," Tonks said when the contraction passed.

"Come, dear, let's get you to the hospital floor. I'm not sure if they have a maternity ward, but they will get you as comfortable as possible," Mrs. Weasley said, pulling her gently out of her chair and guiding her to the door.

"Shouldn't we levitate her?" a very concerned Remus asked as he went to his wife's side and took the other arm.

"No, no, the walking will do her good," Molly answered with a motherly smile, patting the protesting Tonks on the arm.

"I'm going to kill you, just thought you should know," Tonks said to the werewolf as she clutched her back in discomfort.

"Yes, dear," was the only answer she got.

The trio made their way out the door and the rest could hear Tonks groan in pain and spit threats at Remus.

"Well, that was fun," Kyle said with a chuckle, making the rest laugh with him as they heard another dire threat float through the door.

"Will she be okay?" Harry asked, looking worriedly at the door.

"She will be fine," Luna said, patting him on the arm. "She is only having a baby."

"Right now that the excitement is over; Hermione, how is the Horcrux situation?" Kingsley asked, bringing the attention back to the meeting.

"Well, we've found a way to get the one in Harry's scar gone, and we're close to getting the rest nullified. It seems that Herpo the Foul had a way to draw them all to one location. He was scared that people would find them and wanted a way to bring them to where he was. It was one of the reasons no one ever discovered where his was located. He would simply call it to another vessel," she said, bouncing in her chair.

"You mean to say, that that… man might still be around?" Dick asked as he glared at Harry. He was still under the impression that the boy was possessed. He had been keeping a very close eye on their savior.

"No," Bill answered firmly, shooting a glare at the annoying man. "It is a little known fact that the human soul can't survive without its host. The ones we found in Egypt were mostly defunct with only a residue of the original soul piece." He never liked this guy, and he had no idea why Kingsley kept bringing him to these meetings.

"That's right, according to our research they won't survive after five hundred years," Hermione agreed, pulling out her notes.

"Well, we can't wait that long to get rid of Tom, so do what you have to do to get rid of the one in Harry," Kingsley ordered.

"We'll do it tonight," Bill stated.

"We'll have to use Merlin's ritual room," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Wait, does Tom know about this?" Harry asked, worry showing on his face.

"We don't know. The book was really old and hard to understand. However, I don't believe so; the book read like a journal. It was really dark. We're not sure who wrote it, but from what we could get it might have been an apprentice of Herpo's. We can't take the chance that Tom knows, so when we get them here, we'll have to destroy the soul pieces right away," Hermione answered as she shoved her unread notes in her bag. "Which reminds me, Harry, we did find the good man who took down Herpo. His name was Dareios and he killed him with a sword, so there," she added smugly.

Harry just stuck his tongue out at her, and the rest of the group, barring Luna and Neville, looked at the two confused.

"Right, well, then it's agreed. Moving on, is there anything else?" the bald man asked.

There were 'nos' and shaking of heads, so he called an end to the meeting and everyone left, except Bill, Hermione and Harry. Neville and Luna both asked if they could help, but Bill said the fewer people the better so they both left reluctantly.

"Are you ready for this, Harry?" Hermione asked, putting her hand on his arm.

"Yeah, I want that bastard out of my head," he answered, patting her hand reassuringly. While his nightmares were gone, he still felt the creature's anger and it was irritating. Tom was mad all the time and it interfered with Harry's meditation.

"Alright, let's get this done," Bill said, standing and making his way to the door.

The trio made their way to the ritual room and Bill had Harry strip down and lay in the middle of the star, which caused both teens to blush furiously. Hermione pulled out a large green crystal, about the size of her hand, and placed it by Harry's head. Bill closed the circle and stood at the dark-haired boy's side.

"Alright, Harry this will be really easy," the redhead stated in a calm voice. "You just lay there and meditate; me and Hermione will do the rest."

"Why do I have to be naked?" Harry asked, his blush covering his entire head, and his hands covering up his privates. He wouldn't even look at Hermione, who was doing her best to stare at his scar.

"We're going to be pulling anything foreign away from you. That might just be your clothes as well. Like I said, I haven't done this on a human before, so why take the chance," Bill answered as he smirked at both teens' embarrassment. "Right now, I need you to start mediating. Then when you've found your center, I want you to enter your core. This will give us the power to blast the Horcrux out of your head. Then me and Hermione will trap it in the crystal."

So Harry started his journey to his core. He soon stood outside the column and basked in the warmth. He heard Bill say to enter it, and cautiously made his way there. When he was completely encased in the light, his whole body lifted five feet off the floor, and it radiated a light so blinding that Bill and Hermione had to shield their eyes.

Bill conjured some sunglasses, handed a pair to the witch and lifted his wand. He said the incantation to repel any foreign objects out of Harry. A dark wraith burst forth from the scar and shrieked its defiance about being aborted. Bill and Hermione corralled the wraith and shoved it in the crystal, which promptly turned black.

Harry cried out in pain as his magic purified his body. This had an unexpected side effect, the basilisk venom and the phoenix tears started pouring out of his pores and dripping on the floor, creating a small puddle that ran down to where the crystal was. The combined power of the two liquids made for a powerful elixir; one part to kill, and the other to cleanse. When it hit, the crystal started to melt, making the spirit scream again. It turned from black to clear as it too was cleansed and was now a solid plate pure crystal.

The two not screaming had to cover their ears and watch in helplessly as their friend started rotating around until he was facing the floor. Little things like splinters and bits of dirt also flew out of his body. A plethora of curses, Dark and Light, seemed to add to his already glowing body until they fade away. A tar like substance dripped from his scar and trailed to the floor and sizzled when it hit the puddle.

Two long minutes later, the screaming stopped, but Harry was still floating. Hermione carefully reached over and guided him away from the puddle. When they got clear Bill started to frantically talk to Harry, trying to get him out of his core.

"Harry, if you can hear me? You need to come back now," he said as calmly as he could.

The dark-haired teen didn't say a word. He was being comforted by his magic and didn't want to leave.

Hermione started to stroke his back in an attempt to let him know she was there. "Harry, please come back," she whispered in to his ear, desperation lacing her voice. "Please, we need you."

Harry, hearing the anxiety in his friend's voice, slowly pulled out of the overwhelming feeling of power. He was very reluctant to leave, he had never felt so clean in his entire life, it was like his very soul was purified, but Hermione sounded like she needed him, so he made his way back to reality.

"What a rush," he said when his opened his eyes. "I'm fine," he added. He noted that he was drifting above the floor and willed himself to stand. "Really, I've never felt better," he said when he was on his feet. He rubbed her arm and she threw herself at him. Then she realized he was naked and jumped back, her face tomato red. He was still glowing, so he tried to draw the light back into his body. It worked and he no longer was a human torch.

"Well, that was unexpected," Bill said with a huge smile.

"What happened?" Harry asked as he made his way to where his clothes and glasses were, only to be thwarted by the circle, which a blushing Hermione quickly took down. The dark-haired teen quickly made his way to the pile and donned his underwear.

Bill told him what occurred and Harry grunted when he was done, not sure what to say. "Why haven't you told anyone you hold that kind of power? It would've been nice to know before we did this, so I could've been prepared," the redhead chastised them.

"I just don't want to deal with the hero worship if it gets out. Sorry, we weren't trying to make things difficult," Harry said, sheepishly as he pulled on his pants.

"I get that, I really do, but you need to let those who are fighting with you know what to expect," Bill said, folding his arms. "If plans are being made then they need to know all the facts."

"Fine, I'll tell people tomorrow," Harry sighed, pulling on his shirt and putting on his glasses. He shoved his bare feet into his trainers and put his socks in his pocket.

"It will be alright, Harry," Hermione stated, coming up to the now clothed teen and putting her arm around his waist. She knew how he felt about getting attention.

"I know it's just…" he said, throwing his arm around her shoulder.

"You'll always have me," she said, patting his chest and leaning her head against his shoulder.

Bill watched the two friends comfort one another and then cleared his throat. "We should put this in a vial," he said waving to the puddle. "It might be useful. What is it, anyway? And how did it get in your body?"

So Harry told his story about his second year, which made the redhead sad that his little sister had to suffer so, but very, very thankful that Harry had saved her. His parents never told him the full story; only that Ginny had been hurt and would require a Mind-healer for the summer. They had asked if he could contribute to her medical cost and he gladly sent them some money. If they had told him about the diary, he probably would have known about the Horcruxes much sooner, which proved his point about people holding things back.

"Thank you," Bill said, giving the teen a one armed hug. "I will always be in debt to you for saving my sister."

"She's family," Harry answered, not wanting to brush his thanks aside, but still not liking being praised.

"Still, you saved her," the tall redhead said as he pulled away from the teen and looked him in the eye.

"Okay."

"Let's bottle this and then get to bed," Hermione said, tired from the spell. She pulled out a vial and handed it to Bill.

"Right," Bill nodded, waved his wand, guided the puddle into the vial, pocketed it and led the way out the door. They parted at the bottom of the stairs and Hermione and Harry made their way to their beds. Both still blushing as they said good-night.

The next morning Harry took Kingsley aside and told him about his newfound power. Kingsley scolded him for not letting the group know sooner, and then started making plans to incorporate it into the trap. Soon enough the group of ten stood outside the wards, looking for an area they could lay the ambush.

Remus was grinning like a fool and told everyone who would listen that he was the proud father of a healthy baby boy. He, of course, immediately asked Harry to be godfather, and he was more than happy when Harry gave him a big hug and told him yes.

The rest of the team all congratulated him and then set their minds to the task at hand. They ventured about twenty feet from the walls, and found a clearing in the trees. It was open to the fortress, so the people on the walls could fire if they needed to. While they were scouting the area for hiding places, they heard a loud noise come from the woods. They all turned and lifted their wands.

Hagrid and his very tall brother came into their sight, along with a herd of centaurs. Grawp was thundering through the trees looking like a lost child. He was tied to Hagrid with a large thick rope on the wrist of his right arm; the other end was tied around his big brothers waist. The half-giant was cooing and consoling his little brother to come along. The centaurs were way behind them, keeping their distances from the young giant.

"Hagrid," the call went out, and the group lowered their wands. No one approached, not knowing how the young giant would react.

"Alright, you lot?" the bruised and battered half-giant said as he patted his brothers leg to keep him calm.

"Alright, Hagrid," Harry answered. "How did you make it back?"

"Twere easy, just had to follow the path," Hagrid said with a big smile.

"Oh," was all Harry could think of saying.

"I'm goin' ter get Grawp settled nearby. I brung this lot with me, 'cause they were being 'unted," Hagrid stated, waving his large arm to the horsepeople. Then he took his brother's hand and led him back into the woods.

The centaurs veered off and circled around the two brothers. They looked a bit beat up as well, it must have been a long journey. The leader of the centaurs came up to Harry and gave a short bow. "Hagrid has told us that you would offer us sanctuary. He informed us that there were woods here that we could dwell in until this conflict you are fighting is over."

"Yeah, and if you could lend us your expertise in using bows and arrows, that'd be good. Not that I'm saying you have to, but every little bit helps," Harry said, shooting a look to Kingsley, who was making his way to the two. He looked over the herd and didn't see any of the centaurs he knew; Bane, Firenze, Magorian or Ronan. He didn't want to ask what happened to them, since the ones here all looked pensive and nervous, if the hoof stomping was anything to go by.

"Mars is very bright, I feel that we have no choice but to lend our arms," the leader, who still hadn't introduced himself, stated as his tail swished and his back legs stomped the ground.

"Right, thanks for that. My name is Harry Potter. May I have yours?" the dark-haired boy asked.

"I am Gulland," the centaur answered, with a bob of his head.

"Good to meet you, Gulland. I'm Kingsley, I'd love to talk to you, but right now we're in the middle of something. Perhaps, you should get with Professor McGonagall and figure out a way your herd can get to the walls. You can give us a hand on our plan and she'll tell you what we're up to," Kingsley said, shaking Gulland's hand and waving to the transfiguration teacher, who was standing off to the side.

The leader nodded his head and made his way to the professor. They moved towards the gate and the herd followed.

"Well, that was unexpected," Kyle said with a grin.

"Let's get back to planning," Kingsley said and they once again scouted the area. It didn't take long; there were plenty of places to take cover. The Head Auror would get with the centaurs and the muggles to make plans for the walls. The group had a quick discussion and decided the sooner the better, so they set the date for the trap in a few days' time. Then they broke off to do other things.

It was still rather early in the day, so Harry and his friends made their way to the dungeon, to talk to the twins. They found them in the labs, brewing Merlin knew what.

"Fred, George," Harry said, when they got to a point they weren't stirring. The twins turned, dropped something and pasted big smiles on their faces with innocent looks that fooled no one.

"Harry, what can we do for you?" Fred said, tucking something under the bench with his foot.

"Has anyone talked to you about brewing for the healers?" the dark-haired teen asked, looking under the bench and seeing a brown leather book. He squinted his eyes and peered through his glasses trying to see the title.

"No. Why? Do they need potions?" George asked as he nodded greetings to the others, who were coming into the room.

"Yeah, seems they're running out, and while they can brew, it isn't something they can do well," Harry answered distractedly still trying to read the title of the book.

"What are you two hiding?" Hermione butted in, summoning the book to her hand. "'Potions for Battle'? Why would you be hiding this? Have you found anything we could use?" she asked with a tilt of her head as she started flipping through the pages, Luna peering over her shoulder. Neville came up to Harry and nodded to the twins.

"Well," Fred said, "we have found a few things. The problem is we can't get them to work. A few of the ingredients are extinct, so we're experimenting with modern stuff, but it's not going well," he admitted with a pink tint to his cheeks, hating to admit they had failed.

"Have you asked Ashliegh? He might be helpful," Harry inquired as he glanced at the cauldron that was bubbling something toxic green. He wrinkled his nose at the smell and moved back.

"We didn't think of that," George confessed, a bit embarrassed. "Never asked a ghost for help before."

"I'm about to go and find him. I'll ask for you," Harry replied, and then he looked at his friends. "Anyone want to come with?" Ashliegh had made himself scarce the last week or so, and Harry wanted to know if the ghost was okay. That and there was a question that had been bothering him.

"I think I'll stay here and help the twins," Hermione said, still thumbing through the book.

"I'm going to go and spend time with my parents," Neville added with a serene grin. He was still overjoyed to see his parents every day, even though it was bittersweet. They still didn't recognize him, but they were looking healthier, which again made him hopeful that they might one day return.

"I will accompany you, Harry," Luna said as she grabbed his hand in a now very familiar gesture, causing the twins to wink and nudge each other. Harry just rolled his eyes at their antics.

So the couple took off to find the wayward ghost.