Chapter 56

Andre sat on his bed, head in his hands, as he sighed in frustration. 'Everything went wrong today,' he thought despondently. He and the rest of the study group had spent hours in the library, trying to figure out what to do.

The only saving grace had been the fact that he had finally convinced them of the threat Potter presented. They were still on the fence about putting him down for good, but they were at least taking him and his group more seriously now.

He still didn't know what to tell Celestia. They had done all this without any input from her or the Alumni.

Potter would be on his guard now, and as much as hated to admit it, he was no fool. They wouldn't get another opportunity to lure him or his friends away again. Malfoy had already cleared out of the Slytherin common room by the time they arrived at the castle, not that they expected him to remain there after they found him out.

They couldn't risk attacking Potter directly, not without drawing far too much attention to themselves, but it didn't seem like Potter was rushing to expose them either, so they were effectively at a stalemate.

"Hello Andre," Morgan said, making her presence known as the child looked up in surprise.

"Celestia!" Andre said, his eyes widening as he got to his feet.

"It's alright," Morgan said, keeping a serene look plastered on her face, despite how she truly felt. "Sit down, please."

"Yes," Andre nodded his head, awed that Celestia would take the time to talk to him personally. "Of course, but what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you, if that's alright?" Morgan asked, sitting down on the bed beside him.

Andre felt his heart beat faster as Celestia sat down beside him. He had never been this close to her. He felt himself getting flustered, despite his efforts to remain calm, and nodded his head, not trusting himself to speak.

"I know about what happened," Morgan said, projecting a sense of concern. "Are you alright? I know Lucian is your friend."

Andre nodded his head, getting himself back under control. "He's going to be ok, but it's going to take some time to cure him…. It won't be in time for the ritual."

"I'm more concerned about you and the rest of the study group than the ritual," Morgan lied. "It's my fault that it came to this."

"Your fault?" Andre asked, looking up in surprise. "What do you mean? You didn't do anything wrong."

"I should have asked you to stop when I saw things getting out of hand," Celestia replied. "And now, because of me, you're all in danger."

"We chose this," Andre said adamantly. "All of us. We want to help you. You saved the world with your sacrifice, and we're going to bring you back home. I promise."

"Thank you, Andre," Morgan said, smiling softly at him. 'It's so easy to manipulate these children,' she thought to herself. 'It's not even a challenge anymore.'

She could see the look in the boy's eyes as plain as day. The fool was actually in love with her, but it cut both ways. He was fanatically loyal to her, but also far too emotional, and prone to making mistakes that would ruin all her plans. She had to handle him carefully to make sure there were no more screw ups.

"Potter's clever," Andre said, hating to admit it. "He knew just what to say to distract us, but we know who he is now. We have the advantage."

"You need to be careful with him," Morgan said, adding another carefully thought out element to her manipulations to keep him under her thumb. "The way he fights, the advanced spells he knows. They're familiar. I didn't put it together when we spoke to him, but now I'm sure."

"Sure about what?" Andre asked curiously.

"He's a member of the Order of Set," Morgan replied, keeping her voice solemn.

"What?" Andre asked, in surprise, his eyes widening. "How can that be? He's been working against us from the start. Why don't we know about him?"

"There was a divide in the Order a long time ago," Morgan replied. "It was the reason Helga fled here in the first place."

"I remember," Andre replied, thinking about his early lessons from when he'd first joined. "The side of the Order that became corrupt, the ones that wanted to rule over our kind instead of helping them."

"Yes," Morgan nodded her head. "It was foolish of me to think they would have simply disbanded for all this time."

"What do they want?" Andre asked.

"What they've always wanted, the Darkhold," Morgan replied.

Andre looked at Celestia. It all made sense now. "That's why Potter is so strong. He must have used the rituals and spells from the Darkhold, too."

"I suspect so," Morgan replied, smiling internally, but projecting a solemn look. "And now they want it back."

"We can't let that happen," Andre replied, thinking about all the damage Potter could do once he got his hands on it. "We have to tell the Alumni. They'll know what to do."

"No," Morgan shook her head, knowing that she couldn't allow any more scrutiny from the Alumni. "You don't know what the divide was truly like," she said, spinning another practiced lie. "They would do anything to get the book back, and I suspect they've already infiltrated the Alumni."

"You think the Alumni are compromised?" Andre asked in surprise.

"I don't know for sure," Morgan admitted, "but Potter isn't working alone. He can't be."

"Who?" Andre asked, knowing that Celestia likely had someone in mind already.

"I'm not certain, but I suspect Lord Niven. He was the one pushing for Potter to join, wasn't he?" Morgan asked.

"You're right…" Andre agreed, thinking about it for the first time. "He told me to tell Potter everything. We have to tell the other Alumni," he decided. "They'll know what to do."

"You can't trust them," Morgan said, shaking her head. "That's exactly how the divide happened the first time."

"Then what do we do?" Andre asked, not sure how to proceed.

"Don't tell the Alumni anything," Morgan said. "They did all this to make you look weak, so they would have no choice but to push back the ritual to open the portal. They must need more time to enact their plan."

"But if we free you first, then their plan will fall apart," Andre realized.

"Yes," Morgan said, nodding her head. "I'll be able to stop them."

"What should we do about Potter?" Andre asked. "He isn't going to stop either."

"You need to be careful with him," Morgan said, seeing the threat the child presented. "He's too well placed socially and politically. If you go after him publically, you're the one who will be vilified, not him."

Andre sighed, seeing Celestia's point. Everything Potter had done endeared him to the public, and the actions of his family granted him a lot of sympathy as well.

***

Talbott looked across the table with a tired sigh at his friends. Andre was late, something that rarely, if ever, happened. 'It was never like this before,' he thought. They were all at odds with each other now, each of them having a different idea on how to handle things, but they had also never faced a threat like this either, someone that knew all their secrets, and had manipulated them for months.

He looked to his side at the empty seat Lucian usually took. Their plan to deal with Harry and his friends had been an unmitigated disaster, their own plan being turned around on them.

The date for the ritual was getting closer, and without Lucian, he wasn't sure how they were going to pull it off. 'Maybe we really will have to push back the ritual,' he thought forlornly.

He knew the rest of the study group was thinking the same thing. How could they not? They all knew the risks of the strengthening ritual, and without freeing Celestia, they may not even be around for the next time they attempted the ritual.

Andre walked into the library, seeing his friends already there. "Good, everyone is here," he said, sitting down in his normal seat. "We need to talk about what we're going to tell the Alumni."

"What do you mean?" Ismelda asked, raising an eyebrow. "We have to tell them the truth," she said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"She's right," Talbott agreed, hating the divide that had taken place between him, Andre, and Ismelda, worried that it might never be mended. "Lying about what happened will only make things worse."

"No," Andre shook his head. "I talked with Celestia last night," he revealed, feeling no small amount of pride that she had spoken with him directly.

"What?" Ismelda asked in surprise. "What did she say?"

"She understood why we did what we did," Andre explained. "She isn't upset with us."

Beatrice sighed with relief, glad that was at least something they didn't have to deal with. "What does she want us to do?"

"She doesn't want us to tell the Alumni what really happened," Andre explained. "She thinks they may be compromised."

"Compromised?" Talbott asked, his eyes widening in shock.

"Yes," Andre said, nodding his head. "Remember the divide? When the Order turned against Celestia and wanted to keep the Darkhold for themselves?"

"Sure," Elspeth said, "but what does that have to do with anything?"

"She thinks Potter is one of them. That's why he's after the Darkhold, and wants to stop us from freeing Celestia," Andre explained. "And she doesn't think he's working alone."

"The Order? They're still around?" Talbott asked. "What have they been doing all this time?"

"Who knows?" Andre said, shrugging his shoulders. "But it's a safe bet they want to pick up where they left off, and have probably been searching for us for centuries."

"Alright," Ismelda said, accepting Andre's reasoning. "What do you want to tell the Order?"

"Celestia thinks their plan is to push back the ritual," Andre explained. "They're going to use what's happened to convince the Alumni that we aren't ready, that we need to wait. We can't let that happen. We need to do something they won't expect."

"Like what?" Talbott asked.

"Lie to the Alumni," Andre explained. "We tell them Potter was the one that attacked Lucian and took him by surprise, that he must have used Veritasium on him to find the chamber, then used the draught on him for good measure. When we found out what happened, we went after Potter and managed to chase him off, but not before he blew the hole in the forbidden forest," Andre concluded, laying out his plan.

"That could work," Ismelda said, a smile forming on her face, followed by nods from the others, glad they could at least salvage something from this mess.

"I know we've had our differences, especially recently," Andre said, looking around the table. "But we need to come together now," he implored.

Talbott nodded in agreement. "The mission is what matters," he agreed, glad they were finally back on track again.

Morgan watched, hiding her presence from them, a sly smile forming on her face. She had staved off the Alumni finding out about the children's blunder, and risk them looking more deeply into the Darkhold, and discovering her true plans, but she would need to take a more active role now, making sure they didn't derail her plans again.

***

Harry looked across the great hall at Egwu. It had been a week since their battle in the ritual chamber. The older student met his eyes, sending him a frosty glare.

Harry sighed, looking away, not sure how to proceed. For the moment, they had the advantage with Lucian in the hospital wing, but he doubted it would last. Now that the study group knew who they were, it was only a matter of time before they attacked.

Harry was shaken from his thoughts when he heard the piercing screech of his hawk, Dermott. He looked up, seeing the owls giving him a wide berth as he landed in front of him, snatching up a few pieces of bacon as he otherwise ignored him.

Harry reached out, untying the letter on its leg, and watching as the hawk again took to the air and left.

Harry,

I was able to setup a meeting Fudge. It's off the books, and it has to be today. Meet me in the Leaky Cauldron today at 1.00.

Ted.

Harry crumpled up the letter before using a quick incendio to turn the letter to ash as he breathed a sigh of relief. He had been waiting since the Christmas party to talk to the Minister, and with any luck they would have a way to deal with the study group and the Alumni soon.

"What is it?" Ron whispered, leaning in.

"I'll tell you about it later," Harry whispered back, not trusting anyone to overhear them. "But I'll be gone for the rest of the day," he said, standing up and leaving the great hall.

Ron nodded his head as he went back to his breakfast. He didn't even have to look up to feel the eyes of the study group on them. It was nerve racking, knowing that at any second they could be attacked.

In the week after their fight in the ritual chamber, there had been a lot of questions, by both the Professors and the students, all wondering what could have happened. There had even been an article in the Prophet about it, and a brief visit by the Aurors, but it hadn't amounted to much.

The Aurors didn't have any leads to go on, and wrapped up their investigation quickly, suspiciously so, considering the circumstances.

Hermione watched Harry leave, a worried look on her face. They had all stuck together like glue since the study group found out who they were, and now Harry was going off on his own again.

She could see out of the corner of her eye that the study group had seen Harry leave as well, but thankfully, none of them stood up to follow him out.

***

Harry walked into the Leaky Cauldron to find Ted already there, waiting for him. He gave a quick wave to Tom before making his way over to him.

"Good, you're here," Ted said, standing up. "We have to go. We can't be late."

Harry nodded, following Ted outside.

"Hold on to this, Harry," Ted said, holding out an old key. "It'll take us where we need to go."

Harry nodded, feeling the familiar tug behind his navel as the port key activated. He looked around, finding himself in an old village. "Where are we?"

"The Cotswolds," Ted replied, leading Harry to a pub. "It was Fudge's idea," he explained, opening the door.

"The Falkland Arms," Harry read out loud before following Ted inside.

They made their way to the back of the pub, finding Cornelius already there, waiting for them in a booth by the window.

"Harry," Cornelius greeted him with a warm smile. "It's good to see you again. Ted was telling me you had something important to discuss with me."

"Yes," Harry said, sitting down across from Cornelius as Ted sat down beside him.

"It must be important," Cornelius surmised, "especially after all the trouble Ted went through to set up this meeting. Does it have anything to do with that company you mentioned a few months ago, Evergreen?"

"No," Harry shook his head. "To be honest, I haven't given Evergreen much thought. There's something else I found out about," he said, wondering where to begin.

"The perimeter is secure, Minister," a woman said, moving to sit down beside Cornelius.

Ted's eyes widened in surprise. "Nymphadora? What are you doing here?" He asked, staring at his daughter in shock.

"You know her?" Harry asked, looking at Ted curiously.

"This is my daughter," Ted replied, still in shock at seeing her here. "What's going on Nymphadora?" He repeated.

"That's my doing," Cornelius replied, knowing that he'd blindsided Ted, but saw no way around it.

"What?" Ted sputtered, looking back and forth between Fudge and his daughter. "You just started Auror training! You shouldn't be involved in any of this!" he added, fearing for her safety.

"I know you're upset, Ted," Cornelius said, trying to placate him. "In your place, I would be as well, but after your warning, I wasn't sure who I could trust the Aurors."

"So you pulled my daughter out of Auror training?" Ted asked, rounding on the Minister, shocked that he would put his only daughter in the middle of all this.

"The Minister didn't do anything wrong," Tonks jumped in. "I volunteered."

"You don't even know what you volunteered for!" Ted countered, trying to contain his anger. "And I don't want you anywhere near this!"

"Ted, what's done is done," Cornelius said, wanting to get things back on track. "What am I doing here? Why did you ask for this meeting?"

"Ted," Harry said. "She's already here, and we can't wait until you can arrange another meeting like this."

"Alright, alright," Ted relented, knowing that Harry had a point, planning on dealing with his daughter later.

"My friends and I found some students performing a ritual in the Astronomy tower," Harry explained.

"A ritual?" Cornelius asked, furrowing his brows. "I'm sorry. That's not really my area of expertise. What were they doing? The animagus ritual?" He guessed.

"No," Harry shook his head. "It was a ritual to increase their magic. They sacrificed an acromantula and took its magic."

Tonks looked at Harry skeptically. She had heard he was a smart kid, but was quickly reevaluating that opinion. "I think you're mistaken," she said gently, thinking back on her theory work during her Auror training. "Trust me, I know. There's no ritual to take the magic of another being. It's been attempted many times over the centuries, but no one has ever done it successfully."

Harry could hear the mental sigh of Merlin as he listened in on the conversation, feeling his frustration.

"Are you sure about this, Harry? Absolutely sure?" Cornelius asked, trusting Harry's judgment.

Tonks frowned, looked at the Minister strangely, wondering why he was taking a first year at his word, especially about something so farcical.

"I'm sure," Harry said, placing the tome he stole from the study group on the table. "I took this from them."

Tonks looked at the book Harry placed on the table. Just from a glance, she could tell it was old, but it didn't mean the ritual was real. There had been plenty of fakes over the years, and most of those had been claimed by the department of mysteries.

"Mr. Potter, I think the department of mysteries can look into this for you," Tonks said, reaching for the book. "This kind of thing is under their purview, but I wouldn't worry about it. These kinds of things are usually exposed for the hoaxes they are."

"Nymphadora," Ted said, placing his hand on his daughters, preventing her from picking up the book. "That book isn't going anywhere near the Ministry. It's way too dangerous."

"Dad?" Tonks said, looking at her father as if he had grown a second head. Her father was the most level-headed person she knew. 'Why is he playing along with this child's fantasies?' She thought.

"I wish this was a hoax, Nymphadora, I really do," Harry replied. "But it isn't. These people have attacked my friends and me multiple times, and they won't stop until they get what they want."

"Just Tonks is fine," Tonks interjecting, hating when people used her first name.

"Attacked?" Cornelius asked, leaning in. "Is that what happened to Lucian Bole?" He asked, remembering the article in the prophet, and the Auror investigation.

"He's one of them," Harry revealed, "But my friends and I were the ones that used the draught on him."

"What?" Tonks demanded, sitting up straight. "That was you?! The Aurors are looking for you!"

"That isn't important right now," Cornelius said, cutting Tonks off. "You're here for my security, not as an Auror."

"But," Tonks said before receiving a glare from her father. It was a look she was very familiar with growing up and knew well enough to remain silent.

"They've tried to kill us more than once," Harry continued. "They want to open a portal to another world and bring someone here."

Tonks remained silent, but she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked back and forth between her father and the Minister, and could see how seriously they were taking Harry's story, and she couldn't understand why.

She had to hand it to Potter. He certainly had an imagination, but what he was talking about was just impossible. Opening portals to other worlds? Stealing Magic? It was ludicrous.

'He's dad's biggest client,' she thought a second later, knowing how important Potter was to her father's business, but this was ridiculous. 'He shouldn't be indulging him like this.'

"Look Tonks," Harry said, seeing the expression on her face. "I know how this sounds, but I'm telling the truth. We're all in danger," he stressed.

Tonks bit her tongue, knowing what she really wanted to say wouldn't be taken well by either her father or the Minister. "Do you have any proof?" She asked. "Anything actionable?"

"Other than the ritual book no," Harry shook his head.

"Well then, let me take the book to the department of mysteries," Tonks repeated. "They'll know if this is the real thing, or some kind of fake."

"Absolutely not," Fudge jumped in. "I trust Croaker about as far as I can throw him, and a ritual like this will be way too tempting for him. It'll disappear into the Department of Mysteries, and who knows what he and the Unspeakables will do with it after that."

"Respectfully, Minister, that isn't your call. Ritual books fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Mysteries. We have to turn this over to them," Tonks replied, reciting her training manual.

"This isn't going to work," Merlin sighed, offering his opinion. "They want proof we can't give them."

"You're not an Auror, not yet," Cornelius reminded her. "Right now, you're here as my security, and this conversation doesn't go beyond this room. Is that clear?"

"Yes Minister," Tonks replied.

"When are they planning on doing this?" Cornelius asked.

"I'm not sure exactly, but it will most likely be in the spring," Harry replied.

"Do you know who's involved?" Cornelius asked.

Harry nodded, listing off the members of the study group, along with Lord Niven.

"That's definitely going to be a problem," Cornelius replied with a sigh. "Their parents are all on the Wizengamot, and that doesn't even count the trouble Egwu's father can cause with the Prophet."

Harry nodded, having the same thoughts as well. The Engwu's were the majority owners of the Daily Prophet and likely had a lot of favors they could call in on the Wizengamot to make things more difficult for them. "I know where the ritual chamber is," Harry offered. "The plan my friends and I came up with was to release the magic they've stored and stop the ritual that way."

"I take it the plan didn't work out," Cornelius said, seeing the expression on Harry's face.

"No," Harry shook his head. "It was a trap. They were waiting for us. They lured us there so they could use the Draught on us. We were lucky to turn it around on them."

"Alright, that's at least something," Cornelius nodded. "It'll take some time, but I can recruit some Aurors, maybe even a few trainees, and we can see about making another attempt on it."

"Unlikely," Merlin replied. "They're not fools. They wanted you to find the chamber the first time. This time, it won't be so easy. The chamber will have protections, and will be heavily guarded."

"They wanted us to find it," Harry said, agreeing with Merlin's assessment. "It won't be nearly as easy to get back to it a second time."

Tonks sighed mentally, not sure what to think anymore. The story Harry was weaving seemed preposterous, but both the Minister and her father believed every word.

"I don't see any other options," Cornelius said with a sigh. "It's the only play we have."

"I'm not saying I believe you," Tonks said, looking at Harry, "but if this is as dangerous as you say it is, whoever you send against them isn't likely to come out of this alive. They'll have no idea what they're facing."

"Do you have a suggestion, Miss Tonks?" Cornelius asked, seeing the contemplative look on the girl's face.

"A reconnaissance mission," Tonks replied. "Tell me where the entrance is. I'll sneak inside and see what we're dealing with, then we can at least create a strategy to deal with this."

"Absolutely not!" Ted said, shaking his head vehemently. "You're not going anywhere near that chamber, Nymphadora!"

"This is my job, dad," Tonks replied. "It's what I signed up for."

"No offense Tonks," Harry interjected. "But there really isn't a way to sneak in. It's a long stone corridor with no cover. They'll see you coming, no matter what you do."

"Don't be so sure," Tonks said with a smirk, changing her form to that of the waitress that checked on them earlier, before quickly changing back. "I just need a good look at one of the study group, and I can walk right past them."

Harry looked at Tonks in a new light. "You're a Metamorphmagus."

Tonks nodded, somewhat impressed that the first year knew about her ability.

"It's still too dangerous," Ted said, putting his foot down. "What would your mother have thought?"

"Ted, we're dealing with an invasion," Cornelius broke in. "Who's to say that this Celestia isn't the only one that comes through this portal?"

Harry looked at the Minister, never having considered the possibility. Who knew what Morgan could have got up to over the centuries? Was it really that farfetched to think she hadn't done some recruiting?

"No, it isn't," Merlin replied gravely, knowing that Morgan had more than enough charm and charisma to recruit others to her side.

"If the wrong person overhears this, it's going to cause a panic," Cornelius continued. "And considering what's at stake, that's only going to benefit them. The Wizengamot will call for an inquiry, there will be endless debates about which branch of government should investigate. Trust me, I know. The Wizengamot is extraordinary good at wasting time."

Ted sighed, looking down at his table, seeing the Minister's point. He believed in his daughter, but the study group already knew who Harry was, and he couldn't discount the possibility they would figure out who she was as well, and put a target on her back, too. 'I can't lose my daughter too,' he thought, desperately.

"Dad," Tonks said, placing her hand on her father's. "I can do this. I'll be ok, I promise."

Ted huffed, knowing that his daughter wasn't asking for his permission. She was a grown woman now and made her decision. There was nothing he could say to talk her out of this. "….When will you do it?"

"Today," Tonks said firmly. "The longer we wait, the longer they have to prepare."

"Alright," Cornelius agreed, standing up. "I need to get back to the Ministry. They're going to wonder where I am if I stay much longer."

"Wait," Ted said, standing up as well, regarding the Minister. "You could have chosen anyone to accompany you here today. Why did it have to be my daughter?"

"You're the one that gave me the idea, actually," Cornelius replied. "You said the Aurors were probably compromised. So I had to find someone who had the training, but wasn't corrupt. Who better than the Auror trainee at the top of her class?"

"And the fact that's she's my daughter didn't factor into your decision at all?" Ted asked suspiciously.

"Of course it did," Cornelius replied, surprising Ted with his honesty. "I figured that any child of yours would have inherited your sense of right and wrong."

Ted sighed as he was reminded again how good a politician Fudge was, knowing exactly what to say to cut off any other arguments you had, get what he wanted, and somehow compliment you at the same time.

Without another word Cornelius turned on his heel, a knowing smile on his face, confident that he'd read Ted correctly.

***

Tonks walked beside Harry as they made their way across the castle grounds. She looked up, using her hand to shield her eyes against the afternoon sun as she stared up at the castle.

It had only been a couple of years since she graduated, but looking around now, it felt like nothing had changed, and she was a seventh year student all over again.

"You should change your appearance now," Harry said as they got closer to the castle. "We can't risk anyone seeing you."

Tonks nodded, thinking the same thing as she pictured in her mind one of the younger students she had known, and changed her appearance before pulling out her wand, and transfiguring her clothes to a Hogwarts uniform.

"You said they knew about your friends," Tonks said as Harry opened the castle door any they stepped inside.

"Yes," Harry replied. "They're safe. The study group won't find them."

"How can you be sure?" Tonks asked. "Believe me, I know. There are a lot of secret passages all over the castle, and the common rooms aren't as secure as you think they are."

"There's a room we found," Harry explained. "No one else can get to it but us. They're waiting there for me."

"Alright," Tonks said, accepting his answer for now and getting down to business. "Where to?"

"The fifth floor," Harry replied as they made their way to the staircase.

"I thought you said it was underground," Tonks replied, following along.

"It is," Harry agreed. "But the entrance is on the fifth floor."

"That's a new one," Tonks replied. "I thought I knew about all the secret passages."

"It first leads to a storage room filled with broken furniture," Harry explained. "It probably wasn't much interest to the students that found it over the years."

"Makes sense," Tonks nodded as they headed towards the staircase, making their way to the fifth floor.

"So where is it?" Tonks asked as she followed Harry to the mirror.

"There," Harry said, pointing to the mirror, watching as the reflection rippled. "Follow me," he said, stepping on the desk and walking through.

Tonks stared after Harry. 'It's not like the other secret passages,' she thought to herself, looking at the mirror. The other passages almost seemed like they were designed to be found, or stumbled upon by accident, but this one required actual intent.

She took a breath before climbing up on the desk and followed after Harry.

Tonk's eyes widened as she felt someone wrap their hand around her mouth and pull her back. She was just about to bite their hand and attack when she heard a voice whisper in her ear.

"Shh," Harry whispered into Tonk's ear. "We're not alone. Nod if you understand."

Tonks gave a curt nod before Harry pulled his hand away. She followed his gaze, squinting into the darkness. She could see a light, shrouded by the piles of broken furniture, and heard voices.

"It has to be the Alumni," Harry whispered. "They're guarding the entrance."

Tonks nodded, straining her ears to hear what they were saying, but couldn't make it out. "I need to get closer," she whispered, pulling out her wand. "You stay back."

Harry shook his head. "There's four of them, probably more in the corridor. You don't stand a chance against them on your own."

"I know what I'm doing," Tonks whispered back adamantly. "This is what I've trained for. You're not ready for something like this. Go back, I'll find you afterwards," she ordered sternly.

Merlin snorted, "the girl is certainly full of herself, isn't she? She doesn't stand a chance against even one of them."

Harry nodded mentally, agreeing with Merlin's assessment. He could feel how strong they were magically, and Tonks was out matched.

"They've performed the ritual, at least once, and recently," Merlin observed.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Harry whispered. "They're stronger that you think they are."

"I appreciate your concern Harry, but I'm at the top of my class," Tonks whispered, losing patience with the first year. "This is exactly the kind of thing I was trained to do. Now. Go. Back," she hissed before creeping forward.

Harry sighed in exasperation, watching her go, strongly considering sending a stupefy at her back, and dragging her out.

"That's not a good idea," Merlin warned. "Too high a risk of them seeing your spell. You'll just end up drawing them right to you."

'Do you have any better ideas?' Harry thought back, watching as Tonks got closer and closer.

"She'll at least make a good distraction for you," Merlin replied. "Use it to your advantage and flank them from the other side. They shouldn't give you too much trouble, but be quick about it. We don't know how many of them are in the corridor, or when they'll show up."

Harry nodded as he circled around, keeping an eye on Tonks as he pulled out his wand.

Tonks ducked behind a pile of broken desks, peeking her head out, and getting her first look at them. She didn't recognize them, but they were obviously British.

They had set up a table and chairs, and were playing cards, talking about the start of the next quidditch season. Their robes were black, allowing them to blend into the darkness, but they had obviously lowered their guard, not expecting anyone to show up.

She knew this was her chance and rose to her feet. "Stupefy!" She shouted, nailing the first one between the eyes and sending him face first into the table. Targeting the next one, she was about to use another stupefy when they drew their wands, returning fire.

Tonks ducked her head behind the broken desks, a spell sailing over her head, missing her by mere inches. She scrambled back, unable to even return fire as she dodged their spells, looking for cover, cursing when her wand slipped out of her fingers as she dodged another spell.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a jet of red light strike one of her attackers in the head, and sending him crumpling to the ground. Her eyes widened as Harry appeared, the two remaining attackers whirling around to face him.

Harry surged forward as he jumped into the air, applying iron skin to his knee before smashing it into one of their heads, and sending him sprawling to the ground, his broke nose sending out a spray of blood.

As he landed, he turned it into a roll, quickly getting back to his feet as he took advantage of the momentary shock of the remaining Alumni. "Flipendo!" he said, sending an overpowered knock back jinx at him, slamming him hard against the stone wall, and sending him crumpling to the ground.

He whirled around, just as the Alumni with the broken nose got back up on his hands and knees. Raising his leg, he brought his heel down on the back of his head in a devastating axe kick, and took him out of the fight.

"Stupefy!" Harry shouted, knocking out the Alumni slumped against the wall for good measure.

Tonks looked up at Harry, her jaw dropping open in shock. 'He just took out three trained duelists in less than five seconds!' She thought, not believing her eyes.

"Tonks," Harry said, extending his hand to help her up. "Are you ok?" When she didn't respond, he looked at her in concern. "What happened?" He asked, looking her over. "Did you get hit?"

Tonks shook her head, taking Harry's hand as she got to her feet, feeling properly humbled. She had seen fully trained Aurors duel as part of her training, but she doubted that even they could have acted as quickly and decisively as Harry had done just now.

"Tonks?" Harry repeated, wondering what to do. 'She doesn't look like she's injured,' he thought.

".. I'm fine," Tonks finally said, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment as she got to her feet. "My wand," she said, mentally cursing, remembering she had lost it in the fight.

"Accio wand," Harry said, watching as the Tonk's wand flew into his hand. "Here," he said, handing it back to her. "I don't think it's damaged."

Tonks said nothing as she took her wand back, looking away.

"Do you recognize any of them?" Harry asked, looking over the downed men as he checked their pockets for anything useful.

"No, should I?" Tonks asked, following Harry's lead, glad that Harry hadn't chosen to rub in her face how poorly she had handled herself.

"No, it was a bit of a long shot, I guess," Harry conceded, standing back up. "From what I understand, the Alumni are supposed to be prominent people in the wizarding world, but I guess it makes sense that some of them would want to keep a low profile."

"Most likely," Tonks agreed, standing up. "From what you told us about them, I doubt they wouldn't want all their members to be public figures."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "It's not going to get any easier from here, though. There's a door over there," he said, pointing at a wall. "But it leads to the stone corridor. We're not going to have any cover if they attack us in force, or be able to take them by surprise like we did here."

Tonks stared at the wall Harry was pointing at, not sure what to do. Any thoughts about this being a figment of Harry's imagination had died a quick death after they stepped through the hidden passage, and she didn't like her chances against them without any cover to hide behind either.

"We need to bring in the Aurors," Tonks decided. "That's the only way we can take the chamber."

Harry shook his head. "It's too risky. If any of them are working for the Alumni, they'll take us by surprise, then we're as good as dead."

Tonks nodded, unable to refute Harry's logic. "Show me the door. We can at least take a peek inside and see what we're dealing with."

"Alright, give me a hand with this," Harry said as he pressed his shoulder against the wall.

Tonks nodded, hearing a grinding noise against the wall as it slowly gave way and swung open. Holding up her wand, she peered down the hallway, seeing how far it extended.

"How far is it?" she asked.

"It took us a while," Harry replied. It goes underneath the lake, and about halfway into the forbidden forest.

Tonks strained her ears, listening for any sound, but it was quiet, "maybe it was just them," she said, thinking out loud. "The chamber could be unguarded. We may not get another chance like this."

"No," Harry shook his head. "I doubt they're taking any chances after what happened."

"After what happened?" Tonks asked.

"When we went down the first time, the study group was waiting for us at the entrance to the chamber. We had to fight our way out," Harry explained. "We ended up having to blow a hole in the ceiling to escape. I went back to check a day later, and the hole was already fixed."

"Shit," Tonks replied. "You didn't seem to have much of a problem with the guards. Were the students you said that were behind all this that much stronger?"

"They're in a different league," Harry replied. "I don't know how many times they've performed the ritual by now, but they're well above most adult wizards in terms of power."

"Alright," Tonks sighed, accepting that going any further was not a good idea. "Let's get out of here."

"At least she's talking sense now," Merlin agreed.

Harry didn't acknowledge Merlin's comment as they made their way back to the mirror, wondering if it was a good idea to come here in the first place. It wouldn't take much for the study group to figure out it was them, and there was no telling how they would choose to retaliate.

He breathed a sigh of relief looking around, half expecting the study group to be waiting outside the mirror for them. "What now?" Harry asked, looking at Tonks.

"I'll report back to the Minister," Tonks replied. "He'll want to know what happened."

Harry nodded. "Alright," he said as they made their way back to the stairs.

"…Harry," Tonks said, turning to look at the first year.

"Yeah?" Harry asked.

"How did you do that?" Tonks asked the question that had been nagging at her since she saw the way Harry fought. "I've been in Auror training for more than a year now, and not even our instructors fight like you."

Harry paused, hoping this question wouldn't come up, but knew it wasn't one he could avoid, so he settled on telling her a version of the truth that wouldn't give away his secrets. "During the summer, I made a friend. He was a Green Beret," he explained. "He taught me how to fight."

"So, that was a muggle fighting technique?" Tonks asked, impressed. "I didn't know they could do stuff like that."

"I'm not anywhere near as good as he is," Harry replied. "He could wipe the floor with me without even trying."

"It's unconventional," Tonks replied. "In Auror training, we're taught to avoid hand to hand."

"No," Harry disagreed. "Wands are too slow when you're up close," he said, thinking back on his fight with Lucian. "You can always tell where they're aiming, and the time it takes to verbalize each spell gives your opponent too much time to react."

"I don't know about that," Tonks disagreed. "When I need to, I can make my spells pretty fast."

"I thought so too," Harry replied. "But I realized something recently. When you cast a spell, it accelerates as it leaves your wand, and also changes course slightly based on your intent, so in mid to long range, they're more effective than close up."

Tonks was about to reply when Harry came to a sudden stop. "What is it?" She asked him curiously.

Harry's eyes widened as he saw who was coming up the stairs, and also cutting off their only escape route. "That's Beatrice and Elspeth," he said, locking eyes with them as they drew their wands. He extended his senses and cursed mentally when he realized there was no one else on the seventh floor. "We need to go," he said, grabbing her arm as they broke into a run.

"What?" Tonks asked as they ran. "What's going on?" she asked, just as a spell whizzed past her shoulder, only saved by Harry pulling her to the side at the last second.

"It's them," Harry replied, as they turned a corner, just barely avoiding a spell himself. "They're using stunner's," he realized. "They want to take us alive."

Without looking Tonks pointed her wand behind her, "Stupefy!" she shouted, hoping to tag one of them, only for Beatrice to raise a shield, catching the spell.

"You can't match them spell for spell!" Harry said. "They're too strong."

"Do you have a better idea?" Tonks demanded, breathing hard, just as Harry pushed her away from another on coming spell.

Harry shook his head as they continued to run, thinking furiously. He still couldn't detect anyone in the corridors or the classrooms they passed. 'The Gryffindor common room is close by, and so is the room of requirement,' he thought, jumping to the side to avoid another spell.

"They corralling you," Merlin said, noticing how their spell fire increased when Harry tried to turn towards the Gryffindor common room.

'Shit,' Harry thought, realizing where they were being led. 'The corridor to Ravenclaw tower.'

"Yes," Merlin agreed. "The rest of them are probably waiting for you there."

'They knew I wasn't with the others,' Harry thought. 'They must be using the wards to keep the others students away too.' The problem was there was nothing he could do about it. He knew his shield spell could only take a couple of hits at most before it collapsed. It wouldn't last anywhere near long enough to mount an attack.

"We need to keep moving," Harry said to Tonks. "They're leading us to the entrance of the Ravenclaw common room. We have to get away from them before that."

Tonks nodded, sweat pouring down her face as she struggled to keep pace with Harry.

Harry glanced at Tonks, seeing the state she was in. She was already beginning to slow down, and he could hear Beatrice and Elspeth getting closer. That was when he caught sight of a large window, and a plan formed in his mind.

"Tonks, I'm going to need you to trust me," he said, grabbing her hand. Just as they approached the window, he raised his wand. "Bombarda!" he shouted, causing the large window to explode outwards.

Tonk's eyes widened, letting out a scream as Harry pushed her forward and out of the seventh floor window, panicking as she saw the ground quickly approaching.

Harry grabbed the back of Tonk's shirt as they fell, turning his body as he used his magic to harden his fingers, digging them into the stone wall of the castle, and slowing their descent.

Mid scream Tonks noticed they suddenly slowed, and could hear a distinct screeching noise. She turned her head, looking toward the sound to see sparks flying from Harry's fingers as they continued to slow.

Harry strained to hold on to Tonks and keep his fingers dug into the wall. They were slowing down, but it was still going to be a rough landing. "Brace yourself," he warned as they got closer and closer to the ground.

Tonks stopped screaming, her training finally kicking in as she braced herself, just moments before they landed on the ground in a heap.

Tonks groaned, checking herself over, but other than a few bruises from the rough landing she was ok. She looked up to see the surprised faces of the two students that were chasing them.

"Are you ok?" Harry asked, staggering to his feet.

"I'm ok," Tonks said, taking Harry's offered hand as she got to her feet. "What about them?" She asked, looking up at Beatrice and Elspeth.

"They won't follow us," Harry said, extending his senses, and picking up on the other students outside and on the ground floor of the castle. "Too many witnesses," he explained.

"Are you going to be ok?" Tonks asked. "Maybe we should get you and your friends out of the castle," she suggested. "I doubt they're going to stop coming after you."

"It's not an option," Harry replied regretfully, remembering the discussion he had with his friends. None of them wanted to leave him to face the study group alone, and he couldn't leave, not with what was at stake. "Someone has to be here and keep an eye on them, otherwise we won't know when they open the portal."

"You weren't kidding about how strong they are," Tonks agreed, still remembering the crackle of magic as their spells whizzed past them. "If even one of those stupefy's hit me, I think I would be out for a week."

"They're gone," Harry said, watching as Beatrice and Elspeth repaired the window.

"You still have the book, right?" Tonks asked, getting an idea. "The one they used to get stronger? Give it to me," she suggested. "I can take it to the Department of Mysteries. They can figure out how the ritual works, and we can use it to level the playing field."

"No," Harry shook his head vehemently. "Nothing good will come from using that ritual."

"It helped them, didn't it?" Tonks argued back.

"That kind of power comes at a price," Harry explained. "A big one."

"It can't be too bad if they're willing to go through with it," Tonks replied.

"They're dying," Harry explained bluntly. "They have another three or four months at most, and that doesn't even count their mental stability."

"Mental stability?" Tonks questioned.

"Yes," Harry explained. "They're getting more aggressive. It was slow at first, so I didn't notice right away," he said, thinking about his confrontations with Andre and Lucian in particular. "Their bodies aren't supposed to contain that much magic. It's what's causing the side effects."

"That's why we need to look into this ritual," Tonks implored. "Maybe there's a way to help them, or even a safer way to do the ritual that won't hurt us."

"No," Harry repeated, shaking his head. "That's what everyone thinks when they find out about it, but it never works out. It's unnatural. We weren't meant to have that kind of power."

"It didn't seem to stop you from doing it," Tonks pointed out.

"What are you talking about?" Harry demanded, looking confused.

"I saw how you handled yourself," Tonks accused. "No first year should be that strong."

"I'm not stronger," Harry explained. "I just found ways to use my magic more efficiently, and play to my strengths."

"What magic? What techniques?" Tonks demanded. "They're not teaching anything like that in the Academy. Where did you learn them? It can't have been from that muggle friend of yours."

"She doesn't beat around the bush," Merlin observed. "You're going to have to be more careful about how you use your magic in front of strangers in the future."

'Thanks,' Harry thought back sarcastically. 'But that doesn't really help me here.'

Harry stared back at Tonks, not sure what to say. She was Ted's daughter, but he didn't know if he could trust her with his secrets.

"Fine," Tonks growled, looking away. "Keep your secrets, then," she said, walking away. 'Who the hell are you Harry Potter?' She thought. 'He's far too skilled for a first year, heck, even for a seventh year.'

Harry watched Tonks go with a sigh, knowing that he hadn't heard the last from her about it.