In Pursuit of the Unknown Power

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Apparation Theory



Harry awoke in the morning to a mouth full of blond hair and a naked witch thrown over top of him. It was nice, but it wasn't Gin and Mione. He really needed to see them, and he didn't think he could wait until school started.

There was a sudden flurry from the corner of the room and Hedwig landed on his pillow opposite Luna, he though she might be almost jealous but decided that was just the crazy talking. "Hey Girl, what's that you got?"

She held out her leg and he untied the letter she nipped his fingers affectionately and flew back to her perch. He opened the letter to be hit in the face by his two most favorite scents in the world; Vanilla and Strawberries. The parchment was covered in overdone lipstick kisses and the handwriting alternated back and forth. Harry's smile threatened to break his face in two.

Our Harry,

You have no idea how much we miss you, time seems to be standing still without you here. Thank for being so thoughtful and protecting us and my parents.

The writing changed here.

Harry oh Merlin I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I can't say it enough. I need you so bad it hurts even with Mione here to help me out. You had better set aside some time when we meet back up because you wont be able to walk for a week if I have my way, and neither will I.

Back again to Hermione,

Harry we both love you and we both hope you are having a wonderful time with the other girls, I am very glad for your photographic memory as I want details. And you better make that two weeks once we are together again, because after she is done with you, you're all mine.

Now that being said, the roses were beautiful, and Hedwig does indeed know my secret. I really wish Muggles were allowed to have Floo connections as I see no easy way for us to come visit. Apparation will help immensely if you can get it down quickly. Seeing as you have had this strange power boost I am betting you get it within the week, however there is bound to be material in my library, god I love saying that, that you should read first.

Ginny once again took over,

We can't explain in words how much we love you and miss you, you mentioned that empty feeling inside where we should be, we feel it too Harry. Thank you for not forgetting us. This year is going to be hard but we both promise to behave… mostly.

We love you Harry Potter,

Mione and Gin

Everything was alright with the world for a few minutes. He looked down to find Luna staring at his face with a large smile. "Good morning Harry, you seem to have woken up happy." She said dreamily.

He leaned in and kissed her soundly, "I woke up to you, and a gift from Mione and Gin. Life is good at least for now." Her grin doubled.

"Well if what I am seeing at the moment is true you should be much happier right about…"

"Harry!" Susan jumped in the bed and claimed his other shoulder, kissing him deeply for a few moments, It was hard to kiss her through his smile but he managed.

Gabrielle sauntered in after her shaking her head but also smiling. "Good morning Master, it is time for your wake up call, Non?"

Harry just smiled as he repositioned himself and ran his hands down Luna and Susan's stomach's, Susan knew what to expect and had already spread her legs to allow him access. Luna quickly caught on and did the same rolling her eyes back into her head as he began to touch her.

They repeated the performance from the morning before with Susan doing the honor of cleaning his member for him. They all showered once again before heading down to breakfast.

Luna sat down next to Ron again and whispered something to him. He looked up and waved at Harry who waved back with a funny look on his face. He sat down and began eating wondering what Luna was playing at. She had all but declared her love for him last night, and yet she still sat next to Ron who she knew for a fact was just using her.

Still lost in thought he almost didn't notice Moony and Tonks arrive. She was carrying a small suitcase and had a broom strapped to her back. "Wotcher Harry." She called.

"Uh, Hey Tonks, what's all that?"

"Oh, well I am supposed to be security for you so if you don't mind I'll be moving in." She said with a forgive-me-grin.

"Will you be sharing a room with Wolfy here then?" Remus who had just taken a sip of tea promptly spit it out again.

"Uh, no Cub, she will have her own rooms." He said red faced. Harry just grinned at them.

"That's fine, it will be nice to have you accessible at all hours." He said to her with a straight face. Noticing a faint hint of redness around Tonks' neck. Me 4 Tonks 0 Harry thought.

"So I really want to get the house wired, but I really really want to learn Apparation. I'm at a loss at what to do…" He said thinking aloud.

Gabrielle looked up, "You know Harry, ze elfs would love to help, as would I. Zis means you can see how to do it and zen have a lesson with ze Nymph." Tonks glared at the girl but was not certain if that was an intentional slip or a language problem.

Harry grinned at Gabrielle knowing she did it on purpose. "Yes, that sounds like a reasonable compromise Nym." He said turning his Patronus fueled gaze on her, making her choke and blush.

"Right then, Uh, I will just go put all this away…" She nearly ran from the room and Remus began laughing.

"That is some trick Harry, you'll have to teach me sometime." He commented getting the blush from him that Tonks had failed to.

Molly was getting uncomfortable and bade them all good morning as she left the room. Susan took the opportunity to pick on Harry some more. "Oh, that was his come shag me look. It put Ginny out like a light from what I hear, and nearly the same to me. I don't know exactly what he does, but it works."

Remus' eyebrows were nearly to his receding hairline as he turned his eyes on Harry. "Oh really?"

"So anyway, it sounds like we have plenty of helpers, should we get started after breakfast?" Harry asked trying to divert attention from himself as the girls giggled around him.

Laughing quietly he nodded and after they all finished he walked them out to the back garden where he had placed all of the supplies.

"Now this," He said pointing at a large spool of black cable, "Is highly shielded 240 volt high temperature electrical wire. The shielding is to help negate ambient magic though nothing is foolproof but as long as you don't go casting at an outlet it should be fine." Seeing the dumb looks on the others faces he tried not to be so technical.

"What we will be doing is running this throughout the house inside the walls. We will be vanishing one section of the wall at a time and after that one section of stud at a time, we don't want to take out all the studs at once because that part of the house will collapse. So we will proceed in one-foot sections. Remove wall, vanish a section of stud, place cabling, put back the material around the wire, put the wall back over top. We will also be installing a breaker box in each room that will trip in case of Magical interference or power surge. And a main breaker that controls the whole house will go in stairwell by the kitchen." Dobby and Winky nodded as if they knew exactly what they were doing. Gabrielle elected to pull cable as needed rather than perform the magic and Harry felt a bit lost but decided to give it a try.

After his first stud completely disappeared however, he changed his mind. This was one spell he had not yet 'fixed' in his training sessions and could only cast out loud. He needed to learn control of something this delicate. So apologizing profusely he bowed out, Gabrielle and Remus waved him off as, with the elves helping the job would be done by lunch. Harry was to come back later and help Remus with placement of the overhead lighting.

Harry climbed the stairs to find Tonks, she had chosen a second floor suite and was reading a magazine on the bed when Harry walked in.

"Hey Nym, so you ready to do some training?" He asked startling her from her reading, he watched in amusement as she fell off the bed before glaring up at him from the floor.

"Who told you it was alright to shorten my name? I hate my name!" She said grumbling as she stood up.

"Nobody, you never told me not to call you Nym though, does that mean you like it?" He asked her still grinning from her accident.

"I don't know," She said looking confused. "I guess it's better than Dora or Nymphy, which by the way will get you castrated if you ever call me that again, understood?"

"You know," He said turning his shag-me gaze on her for fun, "You seem awfully interested in my bits, that's the second time you offered to touch them."

Her breathing sped up and she looked like she was about to panic, "I never, I mean I did, but that's not what I meant, not that I… Wait! What the hell was that?" She asked him as her brain caught up to her body once again.

"I have no idea what you mean Nym, now Apparation?" He asked trying to be suave but thinking to himself he had a very effective weapon against females at least. Maybe next time Pansy Parkinson opened her mouth he would give her 'the look' and make her faint or wet herself.

"Sure, lets head outside. So you decided not to help Wolfy with the wiring?" She asked as they headed back down the hall toward the stairs.

"I was in the way really, with the elves helping they will be done with that part by lunch easily. I decided to use my time more wisely. Besides my vanishing skills left something to be desired."

"Having control issues huh? I hear it's perfectly natural for a boy your age." She commented and darted down the stairs as he tried to grab her. He began running to catch her jumping over the wires in the hall and getting yelled at by Remus and an angry Winky. He stopped in the kitchen as he remembered Susan was supposed to be learning as well so he turned and walked up the hidden stairs and found her, nude, doing her Occlumency in the Ladies rooms.

"Hey Susie?" Harry called quietly; she came back to reality shortly after that with a smile, once again rubbing and pulling on her nipples. He though she might be doing it on purpose this time but didn't care as his eyes didn't leave her chest.

"Must it be so chilly in here? I like the look, but the tingly feeling is distracting." She commented with a smile as she watched his eyes bouncing along with her hands. "I ask you again Mr. Potter, any specific reason or just wanted to see me naked?"

He grinned at her as he helped her stand and pulled her into a hug so she could feel his erection. "A little of both." He whispered into her ear causing her breathing to speed up.

"Oh really?" She asked quietly and pulled him into a kiss. He pulled away and smiled.

"Actually I am about to start practicing with Tonks and thought you might want to join us."

She grinned at him and began throwing her clothes back on and grabbed his hand dragging him out the door. She chattered at him as they walked down the stairs. "They actually have an Apparation course you can take at Hogwarts, but you need to be seventeen or nearly there."

"Oh, so Ron and Mione will be able to do the test at school then?"

"Well Hermione certainly will, Ron will be able to do all the classes but can't actually take the test until he is of age." Susan said as the walked through the kitchen and out the door to find a very annoyed Tonks.

"Where did you run off to then?" She asked him with her wand out, arms crossed, tapping her foot on the ground.

"Uh, I had to go grab Susan." Tonks eyes narrowed for a moment before she smiled as if nothing had happened.

"Right then, what do you know about Apparating already?" She asked.

Susan spoke up first, "Only what I have read, Destination, Determination and Deliberation." Harry just looked confused.

"Uh, it feels like being squeezed through a hosepipe. I don't know anything else but what you told me before, and that it's weird that everyone sounds different." He answered.

"That's alright, here is what I am going to tell you. If you mess up, you can splinch. That means you might leave a piece of yourself behind. It isn't usually painful, and almost never deadly. But it is very embarrassing; there is a whole team of people at the ministry who get paid to put people back together. I tell you this because a lot of people get scared. Don't be, I can put you back together if something goes wrong, standard Auror training."

They both nodded so she continued. "The three D's are annoying and old fashioned. What they really mean is concentrate on where you want to be. Then let your magic flood your whole body as you visualize yourself occupying that space, finally you just do it. You turn as if to walk the other direction, but instead of taking a step, you end up in the other place."

Harry still looked a little leery, but decided it was enough like his Wandless magic he could figure it out. That combined with his Occlumency and he should get it down in no time.

"Right," She said looking back and forth between them. "The first step is to Apparate short distance without splinching." She waved her wand and two bright pink Hula Hoops appeared on the ground. "I want each of you to try and will yourselves into these rings. Remember, concentrate on the place, visualize yourself there as you let your magic flow, and then just go. Ready on three?"

Both teens' eyes went wide but Tonks still began the count. On three they both turned and were now facing the house in the same spot. Tonks laughed quietly behind them. "Well, it isn't like I expected you to get it on the first try so don't feel bad. Lets try again without a countdown. You clear your mind or whatever and when you're ready just go. I am only here to supervise and fix accidents. Only to the rings, now go!" Tonks said as she conjured a Muggle beach chair and sat down to enjoy the show.

Harry decided it might be easier if he stepped into the ring. So he did and looked around, cataloging the view with his photographic memory. He then stepped out of the ring and took note of the difference in his perspective. He closed his eyes and felt for the connection with his magic, that tingle he could feel without his wand in his hand. He built it up inside like he had during his Wandless magic exercises and imagined himself standing in the middle of the ring. Then he stepped…

With a faint pop Harry found himself standing inside the circle with a huge grin. Tonks looked up at him with a surprised look on her face, before she promptly began laughing.

"What? I did it! Did I lose an eyebrow or something?" He asked only then did he notice that everything was a bit blurry.

As she continued to laugh from the ground Susan walked up to him and kissed him lightly on the lips before slipping his glasses on his face. "That's an interesting trick lover boy. Jumping straight out of your clothes will save loads of time." And then she too began laughing hard enough that she fell on the ground.

Harry looked down to find that he had left all his clothing behind him when he moved. Grumbling he walked the few steps to the pile and began getting dressed. He was thankful that his nudity no longer bothered him, but two attractive witches laughing at his nude form was not helping his ego any.

"Are you two done bloody laughing now? Care to explain what happened Nym?" He asked which caused her to stop laughing, though she was still smiling.

"Looks like you held your magic a little to close to the vest, or in this case chest. You need to extend it a bit to include your clothes or you end up splinching them. That is how most splinches happen, people not concentrating and forgetting an arm or an eyebrow."

Susan nodded, "Harry what did you do anyway? That had to be the quietest Apparation I ever heard!"

"Dunno, guess I underpowered it a bit." He shrugged. Tonks had a contemplative look on her face.

"What do you mean by underpowered?" She asked.

"Well, if I didn't use enough magic to include my clothes, then I probably didn't take all that much air with me." He said shrugging but both girls looked at him in rapt attention.

"Harry, why don't you try again, this time overpower it just for fun. Make sure you include your clothes though." Tonks said.

Harry nodded, closed his eyes and forced as much of his magic as he could, he spread his arms out to his sides imaging taking the whole bubble of air around him. Then he turned…

He appeared once more in the hoop with an enormous Crack that knocked Tonks out of her seat and blew Susan stumbling back. "Holy Crap Harry! My ears are bleeding!" Susan said poking her fingers in her ears trying to get them to stop ringing, though there was no blood.

"Harry what the hell?" Tonks asked.

He looked at her before shrugging again. "Alright look. If you take a balloon and blow it up halfway before you pop it, the sound isn't nearly as loud as when you blow it up until it bursts right?" He asked and she nodded. "Did you go to a Muggle school before Hogwarts?" He asked her and she got a confused look on her face before nodding.

He continued, "So you know about sound waves and air pressure, at least in general terms?" She nodded and Susan did as well. "Well, if you use too much magic, if you take too much air with you, you are displacing an equal amount of air when you reappear causing that pop, or Crack in some cases." He said looking at Tonks as her eyes grew wide.

"How the hell did you figure all that out in five minutes?" She practically shouted at him.

"I've been listening since I got here. You gave me that little talk after Dumbledore left and got me thinking. When Remus normally Apparates he only pops loudly, but when we side-alonged there was a crack. I also notice how the elves are nearly silent when they pop, and I even saw Dobby sort of flow away once like a cloud, which was completely silent. So I bet there is a way to slow down your movement and not make sound at all, but I will need to test it."

Both of them stared at him for a full minute, "What?" He asked finally getting uncomfortable.

"I have to bloody try this!" Tonks said as she closed her eyes and Crack! She was behind them. "Damnit!" She exclaimed.

Harry turned to her and put his hands on her shoulders waiting until she looked him in the eye. He used Legilimency to help calm her down, pulling soothing thoughts to just under the surface. When she had calmed down a bit he spoke. "Nym, you told me you know Occlumency. Center yourself real quick and try to feel your magic." He whispered and as if hypnotized she immediately did so.

"Alright now I want you to calm down and visualize yourself Apparating into that hoop, but don't make that final step. First you need to feel the magic." She nodded after a moment and her breathing settled.

"Now see if you can reduce the feeling of that magic. Just slow down as if you are learning it all over again, and visualize just yourself and your clothes." She did so and nodded again. He let go of her and told her. "Now go."

She moved into the hoop with a loud pop, but nothing near the noise level she normally produced. She opened her eyes slowly and a grin started to grow. Suddenly she threw herself at him and kissed him as she had in the hallway two weeks ago. Before she blushed and pulled away. "Um, yeah, uh thanks. That was bloody amazing!" She said quietly.

Susan looked back and forth between them grinning before Tonks caught her look. "What? I was just thanking him properly is all."

Still grinning she turned to her boyfriend, "Harry, will you help me like you just helped her? I want a reason to 'properly thank you' later." She said with a wink causing his breath to catch and his pants to get a little tighter.

He took a few deep breaths to center himself again before repeating the steps with her. Again he was surprised when she acted almost as if he had hypnotized her. He walked her through his entire process including the visualization exercises before he let go of her shoulders and told her to go.

With a pop about twice as loud as Tonks' she arrived in her hoop, however Harry grinned at her as he bent over and picked up her bra from the pile of clothing on the ground. "Looks like I'm not the only one with a new trick?" He said with a laugh.

She stalked over to him, completely ignoring her nude form and wrapped her arms around his neck kissing him thoroughly and causing his eyes to glaze over a bit before she began getting dressed again.

He came back to himself still grinning stupidly before he turned to Tonks again. "Now that was a proper thank you!" He said.

She just shook her head and grumbled something about teenagers as she walked back into the house. "I'm getting us some Butterbeer, you two keep practicing, and keep your damn clothes on!"

After she disappeared into the house, they both continued popping around the yard pausing for a drink with Tonks until Susan looked as if she was nearly going to collapse. "Merlin Harry, why aren't you exhausted?" She panted as she took Tonks' beach chair.

"Dunno, Super Magic?" He asked only half joking and she nodded remembering his little display from before. She never did ask if he knew what had happened.

"Wait what do you mean Super Magic?" Tonks asked curiously.

"Well," Harry said trying to put his thoughts in a way that would make sense. "When Dumbledore told me the prophecy I was pretty miffed and I blew up half his office. I don't know if I unlocked something or what, but ever since then my magic has been all wonky. You were close to the mark when you talked about my control issues earlier. That's what I work on all day upstairs." He finished looking at her.

"What do you mean though?" She asked conjuring another beach chair and getting comfortable.

He concentrated and silently conjured a chair like theirs. However his was much brighter colored and the metal was unidentifiable but curiously strong. He sat down.

"So what, you can do a little non-verbal magic? That's standard to pass your NEWT's nowadays though it's a bit advanced for just a fifth year graduate." Tonks said hiding her stunned expression by sheer force of will.

"Yeah, but see…" He silently transfigured a nearby pebble into a pillow and tossed it across the garden about six feet away. "Watch."

He called for it with a summoning charm and was knocked over by the force of it, letting out an "Ooof" as he hit the ground. "If I use the incantation out loud I overpower it, I have been relearning every spell they teach at Hogwarts, as well as a few I picked up during the tournament and elsewhere. I have to re-teach myself how to control my magic and the simplest way to reduce the power of my spells is to do them non-verbally." He said shrugging.

Tonks was still stunned and it started to show. "But, that's, I mean…" She spluttered.

"Yeah, exactly my thought." Harry said with a grin. "That's why I give up and chalk it all up to Super Magic."

Susan nodded. "It makes sense, sort of. It's almost like doing it out loud focuses it more." She trailed off lost in thought.

"Anyway, for now I am relearning it all non-verbally. Then I will work on my actual control both verbally and non-verbally. Eventually I plan to try Wandless magic again." Tonks gave up and exclaimed.

"Wandless magic is a fairy tale. I mean Dumbledore can do a few parlor tricks but really it's completely useless!"

Harry pondered her for a moment. Then he stood and handed her his wand. "Hide this somewhere on you where I can't see it." He turned his back and walked what he knew was his maximum distance and waited.

She put it in her back pocket and then called out to him. "Alright but I don't get what you're trying to show me."

He remembered what the tingle felt like as he called out 'Relatio' and suddenly Tonks was wrapped in ropes and bound in place. If she moved she was going to fall over.

"Bloody Hell!" Tonks exclaimed.

"No kidding!" Susan said with wide eyes.

"I am trusting both of you with this information. Now what I just did was not technically Wandless magic. I was just able to focus my magic through my wand at a distance. I don't know how it works, but I do know next time Voldemort ties me to a gravestone I am not going to be defenseless." He looked Tonks in the eyes until she blinked and looked away.

"Of course your secret is safe with me, but… Can you get rid of these please?" She asked and he nodded sheepishly as he called out the counter curse, releasing her. "Thanks, anyway as I was saying… Bloody Hell!"

"I agree, that is why I am working so hard to figure out what's up with my magic all of a sudden." He shrugged as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled his wand from her back pocket. Getting a blush for his trouble and grinning at her.

"So, Susan looks beat, is that enough for today then?" The girl in question nodded.

"You might be alright to work on it again tomorrow. If you both feel up to it come find me and we can work on longer distances. If you keep going at this rate I think you can test for it by the end of the week Harry." He beamed at her praise and they headed inside for Lunch.

All of the walls were back in place properly as far as Harry could see; it looked like all they needed to do was decide on placement for overhead lighting. When they entered the Dining room they found Remus with the Dining Room chandelier sitting on the table in front of him.

"What are you up to now Wolfy?" Tonks asked as she kissed his cheek.

"Just wiring this up so we can turn the lights on in here, but leave the candles for 'mood lighting' as Harry puts it." He said not looking up from the much smaller wiring than Harry had helped with earlier.

"There we go, Harry would you help me put this back up? Just levitate it while I hook the wiring in from the ceiling and screw it back in place." Harry nodded and was thankful he had already made it past /[Wingardium Leviosa/].

Remus quickly finished putting it in its place and climbed back down. Harry released the spell and Remus gave him an appraising nod. "Silent casting, you know that is NEWT level? Very nice Cub." Harry just shrugged.

"Part of what I have been working on in the training room. It will be a huge advantage in a firefight if they can't tell what I'm casting." Remus just nodded as he walked around the table to the door by the kitchen and flipped the switch.

Glorious completely man-made light flooded the room, chasing away the shadows and in general making a huge difference. Harry felt more at home in this room than he had for a week in the rest of the house. Harry sighed as he sat down and just gazed at the beautiful twinkling crystal chandelier.

"Brilliant Moony, thank you so much! When did you hook up the power?"

Remus smiled. "About half an hour ago. There was no way to test the wiring without hooking it up first. This is the first light fixture I have installed. But there are outlets along the walls every six feet just in case you can find that many things to plug in. The switches are in place next to every door already and the breakers are hidden behind a portrait in each room, or in the closet of the bedrooms." He said this as he went to the hallway door and flipped the switch turning the light off before turning it back on." In the kitchen the outlets are mostly at counter height in case you want some appliances and a few along the other walls as well. All that is left to do is wire up the lighting."

"This is amazing! I never would have thought it could be done this quickly." Harry said still watching the twinkling lights.

"Well those elves caught on really quick and were soon doing the job for me. They were able to do entire rooms and hallways at once. Dobby was especially excited to do the basement for some reason." Remus said slightly confused.

"Oh, I told him he could have a Telly in his room once we got wired. Do you know how to install Cable as well?" Harry asked. Remus nodded with a large grin. "Good, I can't wait to have real television and some Muggle Radio's in this place. Seriously there is only so much to do around here before… uh… never mind." He said blushing, which Remus chose not to comment on, but Tonks couldn't help laughing at. Susan just kissed his cheek.

"Nothin wrong with a little 'never mind' Harry as long as you're safe and respectful." Tonks said causing both Susan and he to blush again along with Remus who dropped his head to the table with a Thwack!

'Damnit, Me 5: Tonks 1' He thought to himself.

The rest of the day was spent hanging light fixtures and Harry planned a shopping trip soon. He wondered if Amelia was ever going to have time. He decided he would just have to spoil Susan a bit the next day if need be. Then he had a sudden insight, he found parchment and ink and wrote a note for his estranged girlfriends.

Ladies,

I got the house wired and it's bloody incredible. Sorry for the language Mione but there is real fake… well you know what I mean. There is man-made light throughout this whole place and it finally feels like home.

I'm writing because I plan to head to Harrods tomorrow to do some shopping for Tellys and other gizmos. Susan also has a serious lack of Muggle clothing. I hope you two could find it in your hearts to met us at Harrods at noon for lunch and shopping. I plan to spoil the lot of you so you can leave your bankcards at home if you wish.

Luna is staying with us, Molly seemed to think she would fall for Ron but she is getting awfully friendly with me. The girls have worked out a sleep schedule so they do not have a problem sharing. Tonight is Gabrielle's turn again, which means I probably won't sleep.

I plan to tell you all about it tomorrow if we get the chance. Otherwise I can't wait to just hold you in my arms, and remind you why you are important to me. Susan and I have gotten a lot closer. She told me she loves me. Hannah told me she could, and Luna… well Luna is a mystery wrapped in an enigma but she has explained to me why she is how she is and there is nothing wrong with her. We had a wonderful time last night, which again, I hope to tell you about at the store, it's a big place, there is bound to be a broom closet somewhere…

I look forward to seeing you; Hedwig should easily make it to you and back by noon tomorrow.

Good Night with feeling,

Harry

Hedwig was more than happy to take his missive to the other girls. Soon it was time for the Order meeting. He headed down to wait in the kitchen to wait for people to arrive. Tonks joined him and they shared a Butterbeer as they waited.

"So what really happens at these things anyway?" Harry asked her.

"Well, the last few have been pretty boring with He-Who-Is-Bald-And-Pasty laying low." Harry sniggered.

"Well Bald-n-farts is back, so what do you expect?" He asked her.

She giggled, "Well, you already know about the attack on the Minister and Susan, what you probably don't know is that Emmeline Vance was murdered that night. The Muggles were rather baffled that she was killed in a room that was locked from the inside. So they are on the move again, the question is what are they doing next, and what can we do about it."

He pondered the question for a bit. "What, so the entire purpose of the Order is to sit around and wait for him to attack?"

"No, we used to guard you too. Remus has been in touch with the Werewolves and you know about Hagrid. We are doing information gathering and trying to be foreward thinking when it comes to those who might side with He-Who-Has-No-Hair."

"What kind of training does the Order do?" Tonks gave him a blank look. "I mean do you get together to learn new spells or develop tactics? Anything?"

She looked at him with her mouth open, "Um, no, nothing like that. We just kinda try to get there while the Ministry finishes its tea. You know?"

Harry growled. This whole thing really came down to him versus Tom. The Order was nearly useless in it's current form. He remembered the photo Moody had showed him last year, most of the people in the Order in the last war were Aurors and former Aurors, or family of Aurors. All of them people who had likely already had training. Most of the people he had met in the current order were old folks who just wanted to do something instead of waiting for the Ministry to step in.

"I don't mean to knock it or anything, but with Amelia in charge at the Ministry, it seems like what we need is not an undertrained reactionary force. We need an army." He said lost in thought.

"You mean like Dumbledore's Army?" She asked him.

"I don't know. Speaking of which I am changing the name, we're going to go back to the original which was Defense Association. It's mostly because I am too used to saying the DA . I don't like what I am hearing about the almighty Order of the Phoenix. Again, no offense"

"None taken, now that I think about it you're right. We were pretty useless as an intelligence gathering organization until you had those visions. Snape gives us information when it is too late do anything, or tells Dumbledore who has to keep from reacting too strongly or risk revealing his role as a spy. And only a few of us are Aurors, the rest really are just well intentioned people." She trailed off lost in thought.

Soon people began arriving in the back garden, Harry was happy to feel only a few of them try to get into the house via Apparation, apparently the note had made it around. Harry nodded and waved to the ones he didn't know well as they entered the dining room. Remus, Molly and Arthur had joined them in the kitchen greeting everyone. They decided to head in and find seats before there were none left.

Upon entering Harry saw that there was apparently some magic involved, as the room magically resized itself to accommodate the number comfortably, including adding chairs to the now longer table. He sat down at his usual spot opposite the kitchen door earning him glares or looks of confusion from the other gathered members.

He felt the wards flare just before Dumbledore walked in from the kitchen. He was getting tired of the old man and quickly found his connection to the wards. If anyone hit the wards rather than the Apparation point only organics would be transferred to the back garden. The persons clothing would appear where they intended to arrive. He couldn't wait to see the look on the old mans face when he showed up outside starkers. Then he quickly dropped his head to the table with a loud Thwack!

Some of those nearest to him turned and looked at him strangely and he just smiled and waved. Dumbledore called the meeting to order.

"Thank you all for coming, first we need to go over old business. Remus what can you report on the climate within the Werewolf community?"

He was interrupted before he could begin as people began asking why Harry was at the meeting. "Mr. Potter has graciously allowed us the use of his home and he is legally an adult. I see no problem allowing him to attend meetings as a non-operative member. However that is new business, Remus?"

There was more grumbling as people all tried to talk over one another. Finally Harry had had enough and pulled his wand performing the 'Cannon Blast' charm Dumbledore used at Hogwarts. Unfortunately he had not practiced, nor thought to try it non-verbally, resulting in the entire room falling nearly unconscious at the sudden pressure wave. Moony actually did pass out thanks to his hypersensitive hearing. Harry quickly revived him and apologized as the others regained their equilibrium.

He spoke, "Thank you all for joining me in My home this evening. Most of you know that the prophecy you were guarding at the Ministry was regarding myself and Voldemort." Half the room winced and Harry looked at Dumbledore as he spoke with venom.

"This is an organization dedicated to defeating Voldemort and half of you cannot even stand to hear his name? This is pathetic!"

The Aurors and former Aurors in the room including Tonks, Moody, and Shacklebolt all looked on approvingly, but a little witch in the back spoke up. "How dare you speak to us, speak to Him like that!"

Harry turned to look at her, he pulled his memories of the Cruciatus curse and threw them through his eyes like he did Patronus memories, she quickly fainted and he kept his glare in place just in case anyone else interrupted him. "I Dare because it is my right. This is my home, and this organization is centered around me whether you believe it or not." He turned on the Headmaster with his glare and the old man shivered as his legs buckled and he sat down in his chair. To his credit he did not pass out. "I Dare because this organization is next to useless.

"Rather than having casual meetings and reacting to Death Eater attacks. You should be training constantly and finding out where Voldemort," Some winced again and he cursed in Parseltongue; a few passed out just from hearing it. "You should be taking the battle to him. If you cannot bring yourselves to do it I will have to form my own army. The children of Hogwarts are probably more effective in a fight than most of you thanks to me."

He turned back on the Headmaster, "I am tired of this Dumbledore, and I expect you will still allow me to run my Defense Association as a school sanctioned club. If you will not I will run it anyway much like I did last year. We cannot take the fight to him while we are stuck in school. But many of those will be graduating this year, and most of them will graduate with me next year. I expect you all to think long and hard about the priorities of this organization! I for one no longer wish to be a member."

He got up and walked toward the door to the kitchen before he turned to face the room once more. "Many of you are probably going to accuse me of going Dark now; Tough! I am going to do what needs to be done to take that snake-faced bastard out of this world. I would appreciate your help, but until you grow a spine I will do it on my own. Oh, and the Apparation point is in the back garden, from now on those who wish to test my defenses will learn a lesson." He said the last with a look at the Headmaster who cringed slightly once again. Snape entered the room with a flap of his cloak and sneered but before he could say anything Harry pinned him against the wall with his gaze. He then turned and made his way back up the stairs to the training room, which was still in dueling mode. He conjured targets at the far end of the room and began firing verbal Reducto's at them, having to conjure more after each hit.

He couldn't believe that the last line of defense for the Wizarding world was that room full of old ladies and cowards. That Dumbledore left them so defenseless, that it all really was up to him. How was he even going to get close enough to Voldemort to finish him if he had to wade through Death Eaters first?

He did not realize that he had dropped his wand at some point and kicked it across the room. He was summoning and destroying his targets Wandlessly though still using the incantations. The explosions pulled the girls from the Ladies room at the same time that Tonks reached the top of the stairs. They all stared at him for a few minutes as targets appeared and exploded in rapid succession with no visible movement from Harry. Tonks was the first to notice his lack of wand.

Her training was taking over and she knew approaching him at the moment would just make her a target. Taking a page from his book she fired a Canon Blast in-between his spells and finally caught his attention. She felt the pain behind his eyes and had to look away before she was physically ill. Seeing this he suddenly calmed and his eyes cleared as he rushed to her side and pulled her into a hug.

"Oh gods Nym, I'm so sorry. I forgot to shut it off. Are you hurt?" He pleaded with her.

Luna, Susan and Gabrielle crowded around them as well. Gabrielle called for Dobby and he appeared changing the room to the full seating configuration and popped away, quickly he came back and dropped off five shot glasses and the bottle of Firewhisky the Twins had given him for his birthday before disappearing again.

The girls helped Tonks up and sat Harry down on the couch where they all tried to cuddle with him at once as an amused Tonks looked on. She poured them all a shot, which each took gratefully.

"Don't worry Harry, I don't know what the hell that was but I only got a little taste of it. Is that what you did to Dumbledore?" She asked.

He nodded. "What the hell is he playing at?"

"I don't know Harry, I don't think any of us second guessed him until this evening. There are those who will still follow him blindly, I on the other hand am inclined to follow you."

He looked up suddenly and locked eyes with her, and caught her sincerity before he consciously stopped his Legilimency. "Why?" He asked quietly.

"Harry I know better than most that you have a job to do, and you seem prepared, or at least preparing to do it. The old man may be past his prime. We need new blood to fight this war, not a bunch of old Fogies."

He nodded. "I don't have a plan Tonks, I just want people to train in offensive and defensive magic. I want them prepared in case of an attack. On themselves or others. Snape be damned if we can't use the information he is able to gather. I still wonder whose side he is really on, and don't you dare give me that Dumbledore trusts him crap."

She grinned at him, "I never liked the greasy git anyway, can't teach for shite. I did self-study for my Potions NEWT and still got into the academy. What do you want me to do Harry?"

That caught him off guard. "For now? Make sure you and anyone you can get to join you are actually learning and practicing. There are things the Order is doing I agree with, I just couldn't stand to be in the same room with most of them any longer…" He trailed off.

"So you want me to be your spy in the Order?" She asked with a large grin.

He grinned back, "After that display I doubt he is still going to want to feed me any information. He gave me a wizard's oath but I am willing to bet he can find a loophole. That man needs to come to me with his hat in his hand and beg me for forgiveness, he needs to admit that he has in the past, and still is making mistakes left and right. Just because he killed Grindelwald doesn't mean he is the best leader against Voldemort." Tonks nodded.

"Right then, if you are calmed down a bit now I will go spy for you." She smiled as she got up and headed back down the stairs.

"What the hell happened?" Susan asked now that she could get a word in edgewise.

He quickly told him of his observations and his overreaction. They consoled him and agreed with him for the most part. He suddenly wondered where his wand was. They found it against the wall on the other side of the room and all realized his display of power had been completely Wandless.

That revelation made him a little woozy. Whether it was completely in his head or not he was suddenly exhausted. Gabrielle called for Dobby and asked him for a Revitalizing Draught which he quickly supplied. Harry felt much better afterward.

The whole thing had been draining but his witches decided he needed to be pampered to help him clam down. Harry was promptly dragged into the bathtub and treated to a few shows and sensations. Before Gabrielle dragged him off to bed at 10pm. It was her turn and she claimed she was not, in fact, trying to kill him.

He questioned her honesty as they fell asleep at one in the morning.


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