The Calm Before…

The weeks after returning to Hogwarts passed in a sort of daze for Harry. Always dominating his thoughts were Voldemort and the uncertainty of when the attack would come. Snape could have been fed false information. The quiet infiltrations of the country that Amelia kept finding could be a diversion. The pattern from the past years could be broken. Voldemort could get spooked. His allies could get spooked. So many things could force the conflict before Harry's side was ready.

He quickly forced himself into a routine in order to avoid dwelling on the issues. They still weighed on him, but as long as he kept busy he could keep the stress to a minimum. No matter the horror show coming he did still have to pass his O.W.L.s after all. The one time he'd tried to get out of it Hermione and Daphne had both ganged up on him. Hermione was adamant about him not neglecting his studies – completely irregardless of the fact that he could likely pass his N.E.W.T.s for Ancient Runes in Third Year and that was really the only important class he needed for the life he planned after Hogwarts.

"Harry James Potter! No future husband of mine is going to drop out of school with one passing grade to his name! You march back into that library and start studying, right now!" she had yelled, her face crimson and hands clenched into fists.

"You may be content just running Potter Runes, Harry, but I plan to change our society," Daphne had piggybacked into the argument. "How is it going to look if I end up the Consort of a man who couldn't even finish his O.W.L.s?"

Harry had rolled his eyes, mumbled about domineering women ruling his life and trudged back to his revisions. He couldn't even say he disagreed with them. It had just been a nice fantasy avoiding the tests and all…at least for the few minutes that the idea had existed…

On the weekends Harry could almost always be found in the Defense Association's training sessions assisting Daphne and the rest with teaching the students advanced combat spells. Sirius, McGonagall and Flitwick were proving to be extremely welcome additions to those extra periods as their presence allowed for greater freedom with Harry's own activities during the sessions.

In contrast, his weekdays turned rather predictable. Harry'd go to class, finish the homework, revise for an hour, train for an hour, help Fred and George's assembly team to craft the more complex rune schemes for an hour, then spend any remaining time in developing potential new combat/defense runes. Unfortunately the R&D periods weren't proving very productive beyond streamlining the creation of already existing items.

Crumpling up yet another failed design, Harry scowled and shoved his papers away. "This is ridiculous! I'm having better luck advancing the Gold Digger than I am finishing up this thing!"

"The Gold Digger was the one that converts lead into gold right?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Figure I've got like ten to fifteen years left of work to iron out the kinks; assuming I keep leaving it as a side project."

"Well let's hope you move it up the priority line at some point. We need to be ready for whenever the next generation starts looking at school. You have four women who all want children, Harry. That's going to get expensive and it'd be nice to have a backup to the store," Hermione said. She turned a page in her book and smiled before jotting down another note on her pad.

"Are you even listening or just appeasing my fragile male ego?"

Hermione shrugged. "Both. Probably more the latter. Did you know that Nifflers were where wizards got the idea for an expansion charm from? Magicals were interesting in replicating the holding ability of their pouch."

"That is very interesting, Hermione," Harry said snorting in amusement at her ability to multitask. "Mind if I borrow that book for a few minutes? I really need to look at something besides runes for a bit."

Hermione marked her page and passed it over with heavy sigh. "Just when I was at the good bits too. I've been trying to figure out how Newt Scamander managed to capture a Nundu by himself…he's horribly vague about the whole incident. Want me to take a look at this scheme for you?"

Harry shifted the book onto his lap and blinked at his partner. "How do you avoid getting whiplash changing topics that fast?" At Hermione's arched eyebrows, Harry rolled his eyes and passed her his own work. "I was trying to make a stone that would let me rapidly shoot out multiple Yamato Cannons. Failing that, at least maybe just smaller balls of energy rapid fire. I'm starting to think it's just not possible without getting more exotic materials."

"Have you considered metal options?"

Harry nodded as he flipped through the pages to try and find an interesting article. "Yeah. The magic doesn't work well with the metal. Ends up completely shorting out the entire scheme. Shiva hasn't mentioned that in class?"

Hermione sighed and nudged his side. "Of course she's mentioned that. I just thought maybe you could use that shorting effect to channel the energy without breaking the stone."

Harry looked up at her and frowned tapping his finger as he considered that option. After several moments he shook his head. "No, I don't think it would work. The energy wouldn't be able to properly form into a coherent matrix before shorting out. Good idea though, Mione."

Both students nodded and turned back their respective work. Harry finally found an article that seemed promising and started reading. His frown returned in full force before he was halfway through the article and he was openly scowling as he starting into the last part. Coco started to bump into his foot repeatedly, squeaking out worried huffs as Harry finished the article and slammed the book closed. Standing up he left it on the seat behind him and sidestepped the little snorkack. Hermione's head rose to stare at him as he started walking quickly to the portrait hole. "Harry? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, thank god!" Harry yelled over his shoulder. "I'm going to see Shiva for a few minutes. I'll be back before curfew. Probably."

As the entrance started to swing closed again, Harry heard Hermione say to Luna, "He was on this page I think. What's an Obscurus?"

Harry hurried along the corridors and coming to a stop in front of the door to Shiva's office he started knocking insistently. A muffled, "Give me a minute!" sounded from the other side. Harry just kept knocking trying to calm his roiling stomach and stop his tattoos from itching. "Jeez, I'm here, I'm here! Who wants what?" Shiva asked yanking the door open. As soon as the there was enough clearance Harry leapt forward and wrapped his arms around the woman. "Harry? What's wrong, kid?" Shiva patted his back and awkwardly stepped back into the room flicking the door closed as she dragged him fully into her quarters. "Lils, it's Harry. You should put some clothes on."

"Roger," Lily's muffled voice said through the closed bedroom door. Harry dimly noticed that Shiva was in a bathrobe and shorts though he couldn't really be bothered to care all that much.

"Hey, kid, what's wrong?" Shiva asked gently lifting Harry's face from her chest and wiping a finger down his cheek. He hadn't even realized he'd been crying until then…

"Thank you," he whispered and buried his head into his adoptive mother again. "Thank you!"

The bedroom door opened and Lily came out with a small frown. "Harry?"

"I got this, Lils," Shiva said waving the other woman to the couch. "What am I being thanked for, kid?"

Harry strangled the manic laugh that tried to bubble out though he didn't quite manage to catch it all. He took a few deep breathes and when he was sure he wouldn't devolve into a blubbering mess he said, "You got me away from the Dursleys. I…I never realized how bad it could've been. I've always said I was fine. I've always avoided talking about them. About how much I hated being different and getting punished for something I couldn't control and didn't understand. I never knew that…I didn't…I could've…thank you, Shiva!" He felt the tears start streaking down his face this time. "Thank you!"

Harry felt a third hand settle onto his back and knew his other mother had left the couch. "What prompted this, Harry? Did someone say something?"

"I read about Obscurials," Harry said softly. A gasp from above him and a tightening of Shiva's arms told him he didn't need to explain further.

"Goddess, I never even thought of that…" Shiva muttered. "Lily, when a magical child actively suppresses their magic due to mental or physical trauma it bottles up like a volcano. Given enough time, enough pain and enough power the child becomes an Obscurial releasing a destructive rage force called an Obscurus. There's…never been a documented case of someone surviving that for long and only one who even managed lived past ten that I know of…"

That annoying, manic laugh escaped Harry's control as he shook his head. He felt his mothers' hands tightening on him more. "We all know the rules don't tend to apply to me. I would've been the second case of that probably…Good thing Vernon usually stayed away from actual beating huh? There probably wouldn't have even been a Privet Drive…"

"Ariana," Lily whispered. Harry felt her shake for a moment before she moved to envelop the other two. "Yet another thing my family owes you apparently, Shiva."

Shiva stayed silent for a long time. Eventually all three seemed to calm down enough for her to say quietly, "Once Voldemort is gone, those relatives are following right along in his wake, kid. I promise you that."

The next day, was the regular DA meeting though Tonks had stopped by to help out for a bit this time. Harry'd given Hermione and Luna a brief, heavily edited, explanation of why he'd run off the night prior and proceeded to use the perfectly timed meeting to take out some of his remaining stress. His spells were more powerful, his casting faster, his runes more prone to breaking, his tattoos more itchy…he'd even swapped into Midnight for a few minutes to practice jumping between the shadows of different people in the room.

Breathing hard Harry finally sat down on a bench to take a break when Su came up to him. "Someone's worked up," she said arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

Harry shrugged. "It's not really a secret. Just needed to work through some stuff."

Su shrugged. "You make the mistake of thinking I'm criticizing. I'm not. I think this is a good time to step up your dagger lessons if you're game. You channel that energy into your stances and movements and we'll make you into a martial master in addition to a rune master and a duel master."

"I don't need to be a master at hand-to-hand, Su," Harry chuckled. "I just need to hold my own. "Master is a bit out of my reach for the time we have."

Su rolled her eyes and yanked him to his feet pushing him towards the little section where she taught her – admittedly small – group. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just grab the black and silver ones. Colin's up to this point too so you two are facing off against each other. Harry, use your longer reach. Colin, use your agility and size."

The older Creevy brother nodded to Su. He cast a nervous smile at Harry which Harry quickly returned. "Ready, Harry?" Harry nodded and they set off.

The fight was hard. Harry was used to firing off spells while he jumped around the battlefield yet for this they were going without wands or magic of any sort. Colin actually had a bit of an advantage because of his slightly higher speed and his smaller build presented a reduced target. Harry finally managed to get in a jab to the stomach at the same time that Colin skidded and slashed across Harry's inner thigh.

"And goal!" Su called. Both students helped each other up and Su came over shaking her head. "Not bad overall, but the aim is to survive. A pyrrhic victory isn't a true win. Gryffindors…getting killed while you strike the lethal blow is not a good strategy. Work on shifting the opponent's lunging blade with one dagger and striking with the other for next time guys."

As Su walked away, Colin visibly gulped and turned to Harry shuffling his feet. "Harry, um, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Colin. What's up?"

"Well, you see I was wondering if…It's just that…Would you go to Hogsmeade with me?!" Colin finished in a rush, his cheeks flaring crimson.

Harry sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Colin, you're a really nice guy, but I'm already dating four people that I love very much. I'm not planning to break anything off with any of them at this point in our lives."

Colin grimaced. "I figured. Just wanted to be sure, you know…did I ever have a chance? Maybe if I'd asked earlier? You know…before the whole thing with Daphne?"

"Err," Harry fumbled for an easy way to put it and came up blank. Running his hand through his hair Harry decided it was probably better to just rip the band-aid off. "I don't really think so, Colin. I just don't really swing that way…I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault," Colin said his lips widening into a semblance of a smile. "We're born how we're born. Thanks for being straight with me, Harry." He walked a few feet away and stopped to turn back with a frown etched across his features. "I can still keep taking pictures though right? I promise they're all innocent and um well um – "

"Sure, Colin, you can keep taking pictures when mood strikes you as long as they are wholesome," Harry said rolling his eyes. Keeping the younger boy away from his camera for even a day would probably win Fred and George some money, but Harry wasn't going to be the one to dash that hobby. Colin smiled widely and nodded hurrying off.

Harry had just put the knives back into their sheathes when Daphne called the group's attention. "Okay, everyone is doing very well. I want you all to keep practicing what we learned today. Next week's class is cancelled for Fifth and Seventh Years in order to allow them a final study weekend." Harry snorted at that. He still wasn't sure whether that had been Daphne's or Hermione's idea though he could see both reaching that conclusion independently considering their class ranking. "Professors Black, Flitwick, Potter and McGonagall have all offered extended office hours throughout the week in order to make up for the lost time. Have a pleasant evening and don't hesitate to ask one of your peers for assistance if required!"

The group started to file out of the Room while Harry continued to clean up the area near him. Tonks threaded out of the throng and paced over to him. "You know, the Room resets all that stuff the next time we open it up, Wonder Boy."

"Still seems like we should clean-up though," Harry said shrugging. "It only takes an extra few minutes."

"Well let me help then," Tonks said picking up some of the mats and lugging them into the corner. They worked in comfortable silence for a few minutes as the last of the DA members left. When it was just the two of them left Tonks asked, "So...what got you so worked up last night? Hermione mentioned it to me this morning."

Harry grimaced and shrugged. "Guess that's why you showed up to help with the training today?"

"That and the war council meeting in the afternoon," Tonks agreed with a smirk. "It's not always about you, Wonder Boy."

"Oh really?" Harry's raised eyebrows and askance glance had them both laughing in short order. Coming down from the amusement Harry shrugged again. "Honestly, Nym, it's not that big of a deal. I was reading Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and found the article about Obscurials is all."

Tonks frowned at that. "I remember hearing something about that in training...some sort of super powerful, invisible raw magic force or something?"

"Something like that. That's the Obscurus itself. The Obscurial is the wizard releasing it. Basically repressing your magic while still young leads to bad things. And death," Harry said. He leaned against the wall folding his arms across his chest. "I just got spooked that that could've been me if Vernon had gone one step further or if Shiva hadn't gotten me out when she did is all."

Tonks nodded and stepped forward to lightly kiss him. "See, not so bad talking about your feelings is it?"

"You should take your own advice sometimes, Nym," Harry replied with a low chuckle snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her against him. He sighed at the feeling of her pressing close. "This is nice."

"It better be nice, Wonder Boy," Tonks murmured, smirking in amusement. She pulled back and tilted her head to look at him with a playful grin. "You need to loosen up and relax a bit, Harry. You're way too worked up. Close your eyes for a minute, I've got a surprise for you."

Harry raised his eyebrows in question, but did as he was told. He found it was best not to try and predict what his partner was up to. He felt Tonks pull away and heard a rustling of fabric, followed by a muffled curse as a dull thump sounded. "You okay, Nym?" he asked cocking his head curiously.

A grumble was the answer, before she spoke up. "Don't mind me, the crash dummy and I got into a disagreement," Tonks said. "Ah, much better. You can open your eyes now, Harry."

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MATURE SCENE BELOW

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As Harry cracked his lids, it was all he could do to not drop his mouth open at her. Tonks had tossed most of her clothing onto the mats in the corner leaving her clad in just her combat boots, fingerless gloves and black thong. Her toned voluptuous legs, firm bum and athletic form weren't the product of any sort of metamorphic talent, he knew. He'd seen her enough to know that Tonks' sensuous form was the result of real hard work. Harry licked his lips as she paced closer swaying her hips seductively.

The image of beauty broke somewhat as Tonks' boot caught on something and she squawked indignantly, flying forwards through the air. Harry reached out and caught her slamming them both into the wall behind him. Looking at Tonks glaring at the mat behind her Harry couldn't help laughing which soon set her off as well. "You and your clumsiness," Harry murmured brushing a lock of pink hair out of her eyes.

Tonks' lips lifted into a rueful smile as she shrugged. "What can I say, the Room apparently has it out for me. At least my hero was here to catch me." She shook her head and the hair in his hand switched into cascading gold flowing down her back. Tonks lifted a hand and held it over her forehead in mock theatrics. "Oh my prince! You have rescued me from the horrific fate of the evil Room!"

Harry's laugh shook them both and he shook his head lightly kissing Tonks' hand. "Sorry, luv, the innocent princess thing just does not work with combat boots and gloves on."

Tonks eyed him and rolled her eyes in amusement, shifting back into short blue hair and pulling back to stand up. "Well I could always switch to Tracey I suppose. She's a strong type, I could see her in boots." Tonks posed with one arm behind her back and settled into a low stance. "What do you think?"

Harry hurriedly shook his head. "Please don't give me ideas. I'm fine, I really don't need to see Tracey naked."

Tonks tapped his chin with a smirk and raised eyebrows. "Hmm, well anyone else you got the hots to see under their clothes? One of your Chaser friends perhaps?"

He sighed, exasperated. "Nym, I'm dating four girls including one who can constantly shift little things here and there to always be someone ever so slightly different. I don't need to fantasize about anyone else."

"Spoilsport," Tonks said shaking her head. "Well, one day I'll wheedle your fantasy out of you. Or I'll switch to Fleur and you can have two of the girl at once. There's an idea…"

Harry stepped forward and placed a hand behind Tonks' head gently pulling her into a deep kiss. When their tongues started to twine against each other Harry pulled back and kissed her nose ignoring the mewl of protest. "Just because I don't ask for changes doesn't mean you have to search for ones, Nym."

"I know. But it's fun being able to choose to shift for you, Harry. You don't ask, which makes it my choice. I'll stay me for this time."

"Fully you or this you?" he asked.

"This me. I still don't really like my default you know."

Harry shrugged. "Nice breasts though," he said with a smirk.

Tonks rolled her eyes and stepped into him letting her chest drop down into the B range. "Just for that mister you get to play with them smaller today."

Harry laughed as Tonks started to pull his shirt over his head. "Someone's eager."

"Someone is talking far too much and ignoring his randy partner," she returned sticking her tongue out at him and proceeding to remove his shoes and trousers in record time. Her boots were kicked off and joined the growing pile as she let Harry drop them both to the few mats still on the floor.

"Did you already cast the contraceptive charm, Nym?" Harry asked lightly kissing her neck.

"On the potion, Wonder Boy," she breathed out suppressing a shudder at the tingling from his lips. "But yeah. Door's locked and silenced too."

"Good," Harry murmured. He lifted his head and without warning shifted one arm underneath her arse and leaned forward laying Tonks out flat on the mat. Her brief protest died as he shifted his mouth onto her nipple gently rolling it between his tongue and grazing it with his teeth. He couldn't help but wonder if the piercings there shifted as she did to avoid discomfort; the tiny bar certainly looked like it had to adjust slightly if she altered her breasts too much. Unaware of his musing, Tonks gasped and wrapped her arms around his head. Harry didn't let her keep him trapped there for long though and quickly started to trail kisses down her delightfully muscular stomach.

Reaching her damp center soon enough, Harry lifted his head to meet her eyes. Tonks' bright green irises stared back at him and his smile widened. Her irises always seemed to shift to match him when he'd gotten her ramped up. Diving down between her legs, Harry, ran his tongue briefly along her lower lips until he found the small button at the top. Tonks' moan of pleasure, and slight tremble, was enough to let him know he was in the right spot. Smirking to himself, Harry shifted his thoughts so that the next words he spoken were in Parseltongue.

He didn't say anything that made sense – he'd long ago learned that simply humming in the language or murmuring sweet nothings was more than enough to satisfy the girls. His tongue rapidly vibrated back and forth with the hisses and flicks. Tonks gasped and clutched his hair with her hands pulling him against her harder and her legs wrapped around his shoulders. "Merlin! I swear, men were behind vilifying Parseltongue! No woman would ever speak out against this!" She shuddered and bucked underneath him reaching release ridiculously quickly and dampening his lips somewhat.

Slowly easing off his humming, Harry unwrapped Tonks' legs from his shoulders and crawled up her body placing soft kisses as he went. He spent a moment on each breast before returning to her mouth and plunging his tongue inside to do battle with hers. Tonks responded eagerly flinging her arms around his neck and wrapping her legs back around his arse. She pulled him into her and shifted her body subtly to make them fit better together. Pulling back Harry murmured, "Not interested in me teasing you today then?"

"Screw teasing, just fuck me, Harry, please!" Tonks whispered taking his ear into her mouth and nibbling.

Harry suppressed his own grunt of approval as he pushed his hips back far enough so when he bucked forward again he entered her with a muffled clap. Tonks moaned loud in appreciation and Harry couldn't help the answering one from his own mouth. He'd only gotten in a few thrusts before Tonks was shuddering underneath him again and her arms clamped around him hard enough to bruise, mewling piteously. Harry lifted his head and kissed her nose as she came down from her high, continuing his slow thrusts. "You cheat."

"Hey if you've got the power, use it," Tonks said, between gasping breaths. "Just because I can extend my – uh! – G-spot a tad to make sure you hit doesn't – mmph! – mean I'm cheating per se…" She protested grunting slightly as they continued.

He chuckled. "You're cheating. Wait til I tell Mione."

Tonks moaned again clutching him tighter. "I look forward to it, Wonder Boy."

Chuckling Harry pulled back bringing her with him as he sat up. Tonks ended up in his lap still seated firmly around his length and mewling in satisfaction. "Ride me," Harry whispered into her ear.

No further encouragement was needed as Tonks started bouncing up and down enthusiastically, her breasts moving with her pleasantly as she went. Harry managed to get one nipple back into his mouth long enough to flick at it with some more with Parseltongue. He hummed gently sending a shiver of pleasure resounding through Tonks' body. Harry felt her shudder again and then cry out. He let her breast pop back out of his mouth. He could feel his own release building up, but it wasn't quite enough yet.

An idea striking across his mind, Harry grinned. He leaned back and gently prodded Tonks. "Stand up and turn around, Nym." She quickly complied on legs that were shaking ever so slightly. As his partner knelt down to plant herself on him again, Harry lifted up to meet her halfway. As soon as he was buried back inside her wet folds, Harry immediately rose to his knees and, leaning a hand on her back, pushed her forward onto all fours. Tonks groaned in appreciation of the new angle as Harry started thrusting again.

He watched the beautiful arc of her back and leaned over to kiss the space between her shoulder blades while reaching around to grab a hold of her swaying breasts. He enjoyed the sensation of some of her slick lubrication dripping along his shaft and off his bollocks, reveling in knowing how much he was pleasing her. This time, when Tonks started shuddering underneath him – even more strongly than before – her legs gave out completely and she collapsed to the ground moaning long and loud as she clenched around him. Her climax, massaging his length with her fluttering spasms, sent Harry over the edge and he bit down gently on her neck. Groaning into his lover's tender flesh, Harry let loose inside her repeatedly, before he let his weight settle onto her back. Panting heavily, his manhood still inside her, Harry gently leaned up enough to kiss Tonks' flushed cheek and the edge of her mouth as she turned her head. "Bloody hell, Nym, you need to visit more often!" he gasped.

She chuckled, rolling over with some effort and poking him gently in the chest. Blowing a strand of sweaty hair out of her face. "You're just saying that because, you…" she teased her finger down his chest tantalizingly, "just got laid."

He snorted in amusement, and she reached down with one hand to tease her button a little while the other massaged one of her breasts. "Want to go again?" she asked hopefully.

Harry chuckled. "You are incorrigible." He sighed as he sank into her properly once again, "But yes, I would enjoy that quite a bit I think," he laughed.

She groaned, panting slightly as he bumped over her G-spot and rubbed against her cervix. "Best boyfriend ever," Tonks moaned happily in reply, quivering in anticipation.

MATURE SCENE ENDS

After another few hours with Tonks, both she and Harry cleaned up and briefly left the Room in order to reset it to the Conference configuration. They opened the door just as Hermione, Luna, Daphne and Tracey turned the corner. Tracey smirked at the couple and wiggled her eyebrows. "Wow, that's a pretty good time-span you two. No wonder Harry can satisfy you all."

Harry's face turned crimson while Tonks just grinned wide. "You better believe he can. We all know you're jealous Trace."

Luna shrugged. "No she isn't. I can keep up." That effectively killed the conversation as Tracey just smirked and the others tried to think of something besides what Luna was like in bed.

Harry managed to get his blush under control as the rest of the core group filed into the room and took their seats around the table. As Sirius sat down he nodded to the others. "Amy can't make it so I'll fill her in later. Anyone feel like starting?"

"I'll go," Harry said standing up. "Before we start with the main meeting, I want to go over two things. First, Bane passed on word that we've found the main Acromantula nest. Are we still sure we don't want to take out that threat immediately?"

Lily grimaced and nodded along with McGonagall and Flitwick. "Unfortunately, yes. I've dealt with this in the last war; if we attack one of the elements he'll retaliate with the full force immediately. We've made that mistake before and it cost us dearly. We simply can't risk it."

Harry sighed and nodded. "Well, at least we have a target for once they start the attack." The others nodded around him. "Alright then, second issue. How sure are we of the timetable? I know that Snape is giving us all he can, but are we certain that Voldemort is feeding him correct intel? It probably isn't too hard to figure out that Snape is a spy…"

Flitwick shrugged. "Honestly, that is somewhat immaterial. Voldemort can know Snape is a spy all day long, but it's simply impossible to craft a large scale assault for a particular window and have a single individual expecting a different time frame. Magic can do quite a bit, but not that. Also…we know he will either attack prior to, or after the end of, the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. Riddle is smart enough to know that there would be far too many additional skilled adult defenders should he choose that specific week."

Harry nodded again. "Okay. Fred, George, how's our production looking?"

The twins saluted with matching grins. "On track partner. The last set of items just started being put together this morning. We should be delivering the final crate to the troops in a few days. All that's left are the main castle defenses."

"I got those covered already," Shiva said. "The rune clusters are primed and the standalone comm relays are already set up. Each station is linked to Auror Headquarters as well as to Potter Manor in case we need to evacuate to the second front. Gringotts has a tie-in too as do the French, Australian and Bulgarian Ministries. All central stones are large enough to maintain active links with the entire network for about two hours before we have to shut some down to avoid burnout."

"The defenses themselves are Mortar Circles on the ramparts?" Harry asked.

"Yup. Bill and I," Shiva said waving a hand towards the other seated Weasley, "managed to get them tied into the main castle wards so they'll leech the power from the ambient magic instead of having to latch onto the ley lines."

McGonagall grunted her agreement. "I've personally ensured that all castle Prefects are fluent in their use."

Harry nodded. "Good. We have evacuation routes set up through the Chamber and this room. Students can portkey out directly from the Chamber since it's outside the main protections though if they come here they'll have to be partway into the created tunnel in order to get outside the boundaries. All our allies have reported in ready as well." He looked around at the group before plowing ahead. "Now for the topic that we really need to hit on…Nagini."

Remus, Tonks and Sirius all scowled while a light pattering of feathers briefly showed on Fleur's arm before absorbing back into her skin. The rest in the room just narrowed their eyes and waited. "Voldemort isn't stupid. Insane, yes, but not stupid. There is a chance that he won't bring her along…" Harry said hesitantly. "We know he wears the ring so that isn't a problem, but if we do end up killing the bastard without getting the snake…"

Sirius shook his head. "I say we still off him. Took the arsehole over a decade to cobble together a body again. We'll be able to find and destroy the stupid slithering wonder by then."

Flitwick snorted. "Why push our luck? We should aim to capture him instead in order to be certain. There is precious little information that says what may happen should the Horcruxes be destroyed while Voldemort's spirit is ephemeral. There is every chance he will remain and we will be forced to tangle with the monster yet again."

"And just how are we supposed to capture him?" Remus asked waving for Flitwick to fill them in on the grand plan.

Harry took charge of the conversation before anyone else could start bickering. "I think I'll be able to if we have to." All pairs of eyes snapped to him and any murmurs ceased immediately. Harry closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He stood straighter and faced his friends and allies. "Look, let's be realistic here. He has decades of experience on me. I've held my own until now and I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve and on my bandolier however Voldemort still has a reputation for being one of the strongest wizards of the age for a reason. I'm confident that I can pull out ahead and take him out. However…I'm fairly certain that even my strongest attacks won't kill him in a single shot. I plan on being able to wind him or knock him senseless, but I doubt I'll be unintentionally killing him. Get me next to him and I'll get him on the ground for capture."

A few grimaces greeted that response though most of the people present sighed and nodded. Millicent was the first to speak up about the potential flaws. "So if we manage that, then how do we keep him down?"

Daphne stood, her expression frozen into her Ice Queen persona. Harry had to hold himself back from reached out to grasp her hand seeing that. His eyes briefly met Tracey's to find the other girl in a similarly conflicted position with her own fists balled and her lips set into a thin line. "We prevent him from using magic to the best extent we can." Daphne held up a hand to stop anyone from interrupting her as she forged on. "Voldemort is skilled in wandless magic so simply destroying his wand is not enough. We need to amputate his limbs after we capture him. Arms and legs both. Wandless magic is still possible at that point, but only after weeks or years of practice. It will be enough time for us to delve into his mind and ascertain the location of the snake."

Lavender held up a questioning hand and waited for Harry to wave her on before she started to speak. "Um, so if we have him in our custody at that point, rather than cutting off all his limbs…" she turned slightly green and had to pause for a second as she gagged. "Rather than amputating, why don't we just obliviate him? Make him into the next Lockhart. The man can finally speak again from what I hear, but he's barely at the toddler level."

Padma shook her head. "It's a good idea, Lav, but it's too risky. We'd be leaving a Horcrux out there and if that thing managed to leech enough strength from Nagini it could come back and re-embody like the diary one tried to do. Voldemort probably locked the snake under a Fidelius with himself as Secret Keeper."

"Anyone know what happens when the Secret Keeper forgets the secret?" Su asked frowning.

Lily sighed. "The secret remains protected unfortunately. The charm doesn't break until the Secret Keeper dies and even then it only splinters into the remaining personnel who previously knew the secret. Once that second set dies, the Fidelius permanently falls."

Parvati paled. "Bugger. So since Voldemort can't die without Nagini dying first…that's a brilliant defense…"

Harry quickly shook his head and started speaking again before anyone could lose hope. "It's good, but it's not foolproof. If he's still able to keep out all the interrogators I'll figure out a way to get the information out of him with a rune. It'll all be a moot point though if he's confident enough to take the snake with him."

"Or paranoid enough," Hermione said. Many questioning glances found her leading the brunette to shrug. "Tom Riddle's primary trait beyond a need to gain control of everything around him has always been paranoia. With so many of his safeguards confirmed destroyed…there is not insufficient reason to suspect that he will be afraid to ever let the snake out of his sight. Instead of searching for a hidden house we will merely have to contend with felling whatever cage he has erected around Nagini when he arrives with her in tow."

Fleur's grin had a distinct edge to it that could probably chill the heart of any demon it was directed at. "Leave zat to me. Between curse breaking and ze passionfyre I will have ze Horcrux destroyed in short order. Simply keep his attention off of me for a few minutes."

"I got that," Harry said directing a large smile and thankful gesture to his partner. "You'll have all the time you need, Fleur. Now, was there anything else anyone felt immediately pressing for the group?"

As specifics were discussed Harry looked around the room at his friends. If someone had told him five years ago that he'd wind up surrounded by some of the most loyal and competent people in the country, calling them all friends and trusting his life and the lives of others to them…he'd have called that person insane and laughed in their face.

What a difference having a family had made.

Harry looked over the people arrayed throughout the Great Hall and gulped. He had never been so thankful for the experiences of previous years – and the tutoring of his more politically aligned partners. Standing in front of dozens, no, hundreds of people from varying nationalities and races was always going to be intimidating. Without the prior boons he'd likely have been quailing under such attention. That certainly wouldn't have looked good considering he was supposed to be their general…

"I appreciate everyone being willing to stay in the castle's guest quarters for the next three weeks," Harry said, his voice carrying to all corners of the room. A series of nods and smirks answered him. "The O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s start next week so we expect the attack to come shortly. Please ensure you remain within the assigned areas to maintain the secrecy of your presence."

One of the Australian volunteers waved two fingers in the air and called out, "Question, mate, how sure are you about the loyalty of the rest of the students not in the room?"

Harry grimaced and leaned back against the desk to prevent himself from shrugging. His mother shifted slightly from her position nearby and stood up beside him. Lily nodded towards the Australian Auror before replying, "We're pretty sure that most of the people who would betray us have already been kicked out or are otherwise too wary to do/say anything. Just to be safe though we are asking you to remain within your assigned sections until the operation commences. Only people who have been properly vetted will be trafficking those areas."

A goblin frowned in response. "Will we be required to berth above ground, Lady Potter, Warrior Potter?"

"No," Harry said shaking his head as Lily resumed her earlier position and left the floor to him. "The goblins have an area near the Chamber of Secrets actually. We found a side tunnel that is still within the main Hogwarts wards. Now to go over some of the major items you should've recently received." Harry paused to ensure that everyone was paying attention.

"The robes that are being handed out now are called Armor Robes," he said gesturing to parcels that Fred, George and Lee were distributing. "They are a bit heavier than regular robes so I recommend practicing with them in order to get used to the extra weight. They'll shield you from a few spells; though if too many hit it in short order or if a spell is too powerful, the robes will disintegrate." A few snickers greeted that pronouncement and Harry barely managed to prevent his face from blushing red.

One goblin held up his hand and at Harry's nod asked, "Warrior Potter, is the damage from spells cumulative or will the armor regenerate after a time?"

Harry frowned. "It's not so much a regeneration as a recharge. The robes work because of runic inscriptions on the stone inlays. As long as you allow enough time for the runes to bleed off the energy they've absorbed you'll be fine."

Su's hand was the next to rise only barely beating out Viktor. "Harry, you said a single strong spell would cause it to be overload. What type of strength range are we speaking of?"

"Fred?" Harry said nodding for the Weasley twin to take that question.

"From our bench test, any spells up to the Sixth Year curriculum can be taken up to three times in five seconds before catastrophic failure. Seventh Year spells drop that to two spells in five seconds. Anything Fourth Year and up that is relatively overpowered will also lead to immediate failure. Same with most of the dark spells. You'll be able to block a single bone-breaker or blood-boiling curse for example, but expect to be running around in whatever you have on underneath afterwards," Fred said no trace of his usual joking.

George jumped in on his twin's heels. "And for the love Merlin people do not think that this can tank a Cruciatus or Killing Curse. Both will shred through it like parchment."

Lee held up one finger and grinned. "Ironically, it actually can block a single Imperio. Make of that what you will."

Harry blinked and stood up straighter at that. "I created a robe that can block an Imperio?" he muttered. Shaking his head of the distraction Harry held up another two rune stones. "Moving on, these two are your Dementor defenses. This is the Silver Spirit. I'm relatively certain most people already know about this one, but for those who don't, it functions similar to a patronus spell. The major exception is that this can actually kill a Dementor instead of just ward it off. Be careful with its use; if the apparition is forcibly dispelled there will be some feedback on the caster." He grimaced remembering the time his evil doppelganger had proven that rather painfully. "The second one is a Dementor Anchor. This was originally designed to function as a tattoo so if the Dementors get close you need to be certain that it's physically touching your skin in its entirety. The idea is it can prevent the creature's Kiss from working. I'm…honestly not entirely certain if it'll work as a rune stone instead of a tattoo so please don't rely on it except for emergencies."

He paced back to the head table and picked up another rune stone showing it to the crowd. "This is the Sanctuarykey. It's basically a fancier version of a portkey. This one however can tunnel through the wards around Hogwarts. Each has been keyed to work with the specific individual in order to prevent Death Eaters from stealing one and using it to escape. They're all already targeted to our rendezvous location as well. Try not to use this unless you're completely surrounded. We don't want to telegraph that we have this option to our enemies. Also, there's no easy way back from the rendezvous so assume that once you use the key you're basically out of the fight. This is a one-time use thing as well. That Sanctuarykey is going to be massively overloaded by jumping through these wards so if you use it…as soon as you land throw the thing into the air. It's going to explode. There's no point in sugar-coating this and there's no way to avoid it – unless you're leaving via one of our two designated evacuation routes in which case you shouldn't be using the Sanctuarykey anyway. If you do use it I really can't stress this enough: upon landing, throw it and cover your head to avoid shrapnel. Healers will be standing by to help with minor injuries."

One of the French Aurors frowned. "Zis sounds dangerous to use…"

"Well compared to my prototype from last year this is downright comfy. I'll take some stone shrapnel over bleeding from every orifice thank you," Harry said deadpan. The Frenchman paled and some others in the room nodded emphatically. "Look it's just a last resort for active combatants. I don't want anyone else from our side to die if we can avoid it at all."

Millicent grinned and smacked a fist into her open hand. "Yeah, we just gotta kill all the other guys instead! Make them die for their stupid beliefs instead of us for our cool ones!"

Harry rubbed his forehead and silently counted to five as many of the occupants voiced their agreement and those nearby slapped the Slytherin on her back. "Sure. Let's go with that. Okay, moving on…"

There were children lying about all around the castle taking advantage of the weather. Some were reclining against trees, some were throwing items at the giant squid, some were practicing and some seemed to be simply sleeping. Voldemort looked on the ancient castle grounds with a thin smile. The grounds looked just like he remembered…a brief flare of regret ignited within him before Voldemort ruthlessly suppressed the emotion. Attacking this place was not his choice. It was Harry Potter's choice. If the boy had simply submitted then Voldemort would not have been forced into this course.

He wouldn't destroy the castle. Probably not at least. Surely he'd be able to crush the pitiful resistance before too much damage to the grounds accumulated. Then he'd rebuilt and turn it into the seat of his power. He'd install puppets in the Ministry and he'd rule from Hogwarts. It had always been more home to him than the orphanage after all and he had no attachment to the actual Ministry building. And didn't a King deserve to rule from the most opulent, most defended, most impressive location available?

"Wormtail," Voldemort hissed. The simpering little fool quickly stepped out of the ranks and bowed. "Was the path clear?"

"I checked the tunnels I remember, my lord," Wormtail said shaking his head up and down vigorously. "Many are collapsed. Two were open, but with obvious traps installed. The one leading through the Shrieking Shack is not practical without first felling the Whomping Willow."

"At which point we will already be deep within the grounds voiding its usefulness," Voldemort said narrowing his eyes. "So a frontal assault is the most efficient option. Once again you fail to impress me, Wormtail."

The little rat of a man shuddered and fell forward trying to kiss the hem of Voldemort's robes. "Forgive me, master! I will do better!"

For a brief moment Voldemort toyed with torturing the man just for fun. It would stoke the fear of his person in his new 'allies'. Surely if he was willing to torture his own man for something outside the fool's control then he'd have no issue with torturing any of the others only tentatively helping him. After several moments of contemplation Voldemort suppressed a sigh. He couldn't risk Wormtail's screams alerting the castle with their attack about to commence. A few moments wouldn't do much, but there was no need to test that. "Stand and return to your position."

Ignoring the simpering, Voldemort scanned the castle one final time before turning his gaze to his minions. "Their exams begin tomorrow. They are tired. They are frustrated. They have exhausted their reserves. They are weak. We are strong. We are righteous. We have magic itself on our side. Today we begin the new era of magical supremacy! Today…today we show these fools just what power means!" The troops remained quiet though large grins spread across the faces not fully covered by masks and hands pumped the air. Voldemort smiled and turned around to face his objective as Nagini slithered around the confines of her magical shield bubble next to him. Harry Potter would fall today and Voldemort's power – and immortality – would be assured. "Commence the assault!"