FicWad

WARNING: Much Violence and Language. Some scenes may be considered offensive.

Chapter 4:

Shopping Sucks

Harry woke up and stretched his muscles, yawning loudly. He stopped mid-yawn and rolled out of bed, flinging a small throwing knife across the room where it thudded against the doorjamb beside a startled Susan Bones.

The red-head stared at the quivering blade next to her head and slowly moved her gaze to a sheepish Harry standing in naught but a pair of rather tight boxers. Harry grinned at her and made a beckoning gesture with his hand, causing his knife to rip out of the doorjamb and fly back to its' sheath.

“Yeah, sorry about that. At least I missed right?” He nervously chuckled as Susan continued to stare at him.

Susan finally noticed his state of undress and began to blush, her porcelain cheeks glowing as she continued to gaze on his body. Her keen eyes noted several scars marring his body as he moved about getting clothes. Her gaze lingered on a very large scar on his arm, just above the crook of his elbow.

“Harry! What is that scar on your arm from?!” Harry looked down at his arm and shrugged.

“Second year. Basilisk bit me. In its defense, I did shove a sword in its mouth in the moment before.” He glanced back at Susan, who was covering her mouth in shock. “What?”

“I didn't know that story was true! I thought that was something that the Weasley twins had just made
up!” Harry laughed.

“I wish. No, it's true. Now, as much as I enjoy giving a good show to a very lovely lady, I do need to change clothes. I'll see you downstairs in say, 10 minutes?” Susan somehow became even redder as she nodded and left the room.

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Harry emerged from his room wearing the long black duster from the previous day, slung over a black silk shirt and khaki pants. The shirt had the top two buttons undone while the pants were held up by a black belt with a rampant lion buckle. The numerous rings on his fingers glinted in the light while the large silver ring shone from its place on the necklace around Harry's neck. He walked down the stairs at the end of the hall to see Susan standing at the base, looking about the room suspiciously. The ginger girl wore a different pant suit from the day before, dark red to contrast her blue eyes and somehow not clashing with her hair.

Harry vaulted the banister of the stairs to land soundlessly beside the girl, causing her to jump in fright and smack him in the shoulder.

“Harry! Don't do that!” Harry's grin didn't dim with the blow.

“Now, now. A little fun is necessary every now and again. Now, where is young Alex? We have quite a lot to do and less time to do it in.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Alex came flying down the stairs in a whirlwind of excitement.

“Hey! What are we going to do today?” Harry chuckled at his enthusiasm.

“We are going shopping. And by we, I mean you and Susan. At least for the moment. I have a couple of meetings that I need to attend to first.” Alex visibly deflated at the thought of shopping without Harry. The tall teen bumped his chin up softly with the side of his closed fist so the boy could see his emerald eyes. “Don't worry, lad. You'll be meeting up with me at ten, just like the other kids and their families.” Alex perked up at the thought of meeting other magical kids his age. He looked up at Susan as she nodded and smiled.

The pair left the Leaky Cauldron headed for Muggle London and an early morning of shopping. Harry's bright grin faded as the pair left. He looked down at a dark shape lying in the corner under the stairs.

“So. You thought you could attempt to kill someone under my charge, did you? I'm afraid you were quite wrong in that idea, Mr. Nott.” The darkness surrounding the bundle collapsed to reveal an older man with blue eyes staring at Harry with fear.

---------------------------------------------------7 Minutes Before-------------------------------------------------

Harry glanced up from the trunk that he was rifling through to find a shirt, recognizing the tingle going down his spine as the proximity ward that he had placed around Alex's room. He abandoned his search and tore out of his room clad only in his pants, hooking his arm around the doorjamb to quickly turn the corner to sprint down the hall. He found a man in a black cloak casting spells at the lock on Alex's door, obviously attempting to break the locking enchantments that Harry had set up the night before.

Harry silently slipped up behind the man and quickly put him into a sleeper hold, covering his mouth to muffle any sounds of struggle. As the man struggled to hold on to consciousness, he began to drag him down the hall towards the stairs. Harry put the now-unconscious man on his shoulder and jumped the banister, landing with the barest of sounds beside an open section under the stairs.

Harry clicked his fingers, willing ropes into existence to wrap around the mysterious man's wrists and ankles. He wrapped the man up in his own cloak and shoved him into the space under the stairs, another click of his fingers causing the darkness to deepen and hide him from view. A silencing ward ensured that, even if the man woke before he had an opportunity to retrieve him, no one would hear him.

---------------------------------------------------End Flashback----------------------------------------------

Harry grinned at the bound man, causing a shiver to go down the man's spine. He put his hand on Nott's head and the two vanished in a wisp of smoke. They reappeared in a blank stone room that contained only a single hard backed wooden chair. Nott flew back into the chair as soon as they reappeared, the ropes binding him shifting from his wrists and ankles to include the chair as well. Harry motioned with his finger and the silencing spell he had put on Nott lifted.

“Potter,” Nott sneered. “When my Master and fellow compatriots find me, they'll...”

“Do absolutely nothing. Just like every other time they've tried to kill me.”

A subtle flick of Harry's finger plunged the room into darkness, save for the single lamp above Nott. The older man strained his eyes to find Harry in the blackened room. The young man's voice boomed out from darkness around Nott, seemingly coming from all over the room.

“Nott, you have failed our society. You have targeted and murdered both Muggle-borns and Muggles alike. You are a terrorist of the worst sort, preying on women and children for your demented amusements. Your life is already forfeit. Answer me these questions three and ever swift shall your death be. Attempt to deny me answers and you will feel agony beyond reckoning.” Nott sneered as he tried to hide the fear that Harry had stirred in him.

“Come out and face me like a man instead of rhyming at me like a child!” An eerie chuckle echoed through the room.

“A funny comment from one who preys on children and runs at the sight of a warrior. First question: How many attacks are planned today?” Nott spat on the ground.

“Fuck you.” A single knife flew out from the darkness and lodged itself in his right shoulder, dragging a scream of pain from the older man.

“Wrong answer. I'll ask again, politely, then it gets rather nasty. How many attacks are planned today?” Nott continued to scream until another knife flew out and slammed into the chair just in front of his genitals, causing him to stiffen immediately.

“Six! Six that I know of! But there could be more!” Harry smirked in the darkness, unseen by Nott.

“Good. Question two: Where do they intend to attack?” Nott shook his head until another knife dug into the wood even closer to his twig and berries.

“They are stationed all around the alley! Everyone had to independently pick their locations!” Nott's breathing was labored and panicked.

“Fantastic. Now, last question: Who told you about the outing today?” Nott clamped his mouth shut, thinking that nothing the boy could stomach to do would make him talk. That was vital information for his Master. Besides, nothing could be worse than the Dark Lord's torture curses, right?

Harry sighed. A cut to the side with his dagger sliced through a rope beside him. Nott had just enough time to see a metal cylinder swing down before his world exploded in agony. The cylinder hit his shin hard enough to crack it in half. He clamped his teeth around his scream of pain and shook his head again. Another cylinder swung in from the left and broke his upper arm, forcing the dark wizard to scream in pain despite himself. A third cylinder fell from the right to shatter his knee.

“Who is your mole,” Harry boomed from the darkness. “Tell me!”

“Never!” Another cylinder dropped straight down into the older man's thigh, snapping the thick femur in half. Nott screamed in anguish.

"The mole!"

"Eliphias Dodge!" Nott collapsed, sobbing in his agony. Harry appeared behind Nott and drove a blade through his base of his skull, killing him instantly.

“Efallai y byddwch ddod o hyd heddwch a maddeuant yn y byd nesaf.(May you find peace and forgiveness in the next world. (Welsh. Google translate))” Forest appeared in a gout of flame over Nott's corpse, grabbed it and vanished again.

Harry staggered to a bucket against the wall and threw up into it, shakily leaning against the wall afterwards. Forest reappeared on Harry's shoulder and trilled softly to him. The teen smiled tiredly at his phoenix friend.

“I hate killing in general, but this is the worst sort of killing.” The phoenix trilled at him again. “I know, friend. It's for the general good, but it doesn't mean that I have to like it. Cold blooded murder is never something that I want to get used to. That marks the point where I have gone too far.” Forest nipped his ear sharply before trilling at him. “Aye, Forest, I remember the creed that the Potters created all those centuries ago when we began hunting the dark. 'Damned by the flesh, saved by the blood. (This came from another fanfiction, San'en by MechenManachewagan on fanfiction.net. Not my own idea, unfortunately.)'” Harry sighed. “Come on, friend. I still need to run to the bank before we meet up with the rest of the group for this shopping excursion.” Forest erupted into green flames while clutching the tall teens' shoulder, transporting them out of the room and back to the rented room in the pub.

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Harry emerged from the room while slinging his duster onto his shoulders, the long tail billowing around him in a manner to make Snape jealous. A sword sat on his hip, along with a dagger sitting on the opposite hip, both simple and functional in design.

He quickly exited the pub and entered a crowded Diagon Alley, making sure that his weapons were hidden by the duster. The shopping center was jammed with school children and their parents, fighting to get all their school supplies before the last second rush, and it would not do for any of them to see the Boy-Who-Lived so heavily armed.

Harry walked purposefully through the crowd, the people moving out of his way almost unconsciously, to reach Gringotts. The reflective white building loomed over the other buildings, starkly contrasting with the dirtiness of the rest of the Alley and almost glowing in the brief morning sunlight.

Harry entered the bank and made his way to an open teller station, noting that there were many more guards than the bank would generally have on the floor. He walked through the lobby, boots softly clicking against the gleaming black floor, eyes seemingly focused solely on the open teller. Harry could hear a small squad of guards detach from one wall and follow him through the bank, a quick glance to the side revealing that they were trying to be inconspicuous and failing horribly. Harry ignored the guards for the moment and stepped up to the teller window.

“Teller, I wish to speak with Senior Account Manager Vaultbreak about my account.” The guards crept closer to Harry and the teller, still trying to keep from looking suspicious and still failing. “And since when has it been the practice of Gringotts to send guards after their clients?” The teller looked up with a frown, ready to tell the pushy human to piss off and stop being so paranoid (Who did this wizard think he was? Master Auror Moody?) until he caught sight of the approaching guards. The goblin blinked and opened his mouth to inquire about the extra security when a shiny blade burst through his chest.

Harry pivoted and cut a knife out of the air with his dagger as the lead goblin shouted, “The Dark Lord sends his regards!” The teen continued his pivot and tossed a handful of glittering powder from a belt pouch into the eyes of the goblin clambering over the body of the dead teller, causing him to collapse in pain and clutching his eyes. The tall man bobbed to the side to dodge a thrust to the spine and spun around, drawing his sword along the way to block a slash at his stomach. He swept aside another thrust from the front goblin before lashing out with his dagger and slicing open the throat of the goblin beside him. A third goblin sent a backhanded slash at Harry's legs with his halberd, forcing Harry into a jump to avoid being hamstrung. Harry landed on the counter and flicked out the tip of his sword to menace the approaching pair of goblins before jumping over a second strike by the halberd-wielding goblin and striking out with his dagger to cut the haft of the pole arm in half.

The goblin snarled in shock at his weapon being rendered useless and lashed out with his claws in an attempt to disembowel the wizard. Harry front-kicked the goblin in the stomach, knocking him back as the wizard dove sideways to avoid another sword strike aimed at his neck. He caught a downward slash from the first goblin with his sword and deflected it to the side, then calmly redirecting a stab as he stepped into the guard of the second attacker and smashing the pommel of his dagger into the goblin's skull. Harry flicked his dagger in an underhanded throw at the original attacker and followed up with a slash that separated the goblin's head from his shoulders. He pivoted on the spot, swinging his sword in a wide arc to shear the skull off the goblin he had kicked before sneaking up behind him. Harry walked over to the goblin that he stunned and casually stabbed his sword into the ground... with the goblin's hand conveniently in the way.

The wizard looked around, trying to see if any more goblins were preparing to ambush him, and saw an axe swinging down at his head. Harry threw himself into a diving roll to escape the attack, the axe strike smashing into the floor where his head had been, grabbing his dagger from where it had landed from his throw earlier. Harry popped up to his feet and tossed a throwing knife from his sleeve at the massive goblin who was ripping his axe from the ground. The goblin contemptuously swatted the blade from the air bare-handed and snarled at the tall wizard.

“The Dark Lord has promised much for your head. And I will gladly throw your skull at his feet!” The goblin howled the last word of his declaration as he launched himself towards his opponent. Harry braced himself, looking like he would stand and take the charge, and then slipped to the side at the last second. The tall teen buried his dagger into the goblin's ribs while planting the blade of another knife into his brain. Cold emerald eyes stared out at the bank as the goblin took a final breath.

“If Voldemort wants my head, he'll have to come for it personally.” Harry ripped the slim blade up and out of the goblin's skull. The other wizarding patrons of the bank looked at him in morbid curiosity and undisguised fear as he once again looked around for more threats. More than one pureblood looked at him in disgust for resorting to Muggle fighting methods and in fear for defying agents of the Dark Lord himself.

Harry spied a contingent of guards surrounding a single figure and marching towards him. The teen grabbed his sword and yanked it from the ground, ready to fight again. The figure in the center, an ostentatiously dressed goblin in bejeweled robes and dripping in jewelry, held up a hand and boomed out a greeting.

“Stay your blade, for we have much gold to discuss!” Harry relaxed a fraction, recognizing the old greeting from his discussions with Merlin during his training. He shoved his sword back in its scabbard, though he kept his dagger in hand.

The well-dressed goblin knelt down beside the massive goblin that Harry killed last and examined the ragged knife wound that had put down the warrior. His guards went around him and began to drag the bodies away from the bank floor as the lead goblin stood up and nodded at Harry.

“I commend your knife skills, Lord Potter. I've not seen such precision with a blade since your great-grandfather fought in the first Great War and I feared that it would never appear in your family again. Come, we have matters to discuss.” Harry followed the goblin, sheathing his dagger as he moved around the dead goblins that littered the ground around him. He drummed his fingers on the pommel of his sword as he followed the goblin into the bank.

“Master Goblin, you have the advantage of me. You know my name, but I'm ignorant of yours.” The goblin grinned, unseen by the trailing human.

“My name is Senior Account Manager Vaultbreak. I was under the impression that you came here to speak with me.” Harry raised an eyebrow, the only visible sign that he was surprised. He hadn't expected to get a meeting immediately with the Senior Account Manager, let alone be met by him in the lobby. The wizarding teen shook his head to clear the remaining adrenaline from his system after his battle, forcing clear thoughts into his head.

“Senior Account Manager, I wanted to discuss irregularities with my account.”

“I am aware,” Vaultbreak snarled. “If you had not come in this week, I was going to send you an owl to request a meeting. Certain people have been taking liberties with the Potter accounts while you have stayed away from the bank. Unfortunately, the bank does have the authority to call them to accounts, something that the Ministry has made sure of lately. They have curtailed our ability to call mishandled accounts into question without the consent of the legal owner, even if the owner is a minor who is not aware that there is a problem.” Harry's dark brows furrowed together as he considered the new wrinkle in his plan. He then looked at his watch and winced.

“Master Vaultbreak, I have an extremely limited amount of time to speak with you today. Now that I know that the problem may run deeper than I had originally thought, I would like to postpone our discussion until I can go over the records and find exactly what is missing. Is there a time convenient for you later in the week to meet with me to discuss our options?"

Vaultbreak spun around and roared as he lunged at Harry, knife in hand set to disembowel the teenage wizard. Harry grabbed the thrusting hand and twisted it to the side, forcing the goblin to drop his blade. Harry's other hand grabbed Vaultbreak by the throat and slammed him into the wall, staring hard into the goblin's black eyes.

"That was impolite. I've got very little patience for goblins trying to kill me right now, I just killed several in the lobby. Now, I sincerely hope that you have a good reason to attack me or I will rip your throat out." The wizard loosened his hand enough to allow the goblin to speak.

"I was hoping that the killings in the lobby were not a result of you falling into the darkness. Your swift and vicious response to threats required a test of that theory." Harry raised one dark eyebrow.

"And the result?"

"Depends on why you have a limited amount of time today." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Because I have a group of young Muggle-born students that I am guiding through school shopping in the Alley today. I'm already running behind what I should be and need to be on my way." The teen released Vaultbreak and stepped back. The goblin bowed at the waist in apology to Harry.

"I believe that you are neither of the dark nor the light. You walk the line of grey that separate those who fight for justice and those who fight 'for the greater good.' I am honored that you have decided to continue your family's legacy in the grey." Vaultbreak opened a door next to him and waved Harry inside.

The tall teen sat in a chair situated in front of a large oak desk and looked around the office. One half of the room was covered in books and ledgers while the other held several different types of weapons, showing the balance between warrior and scholar that Vaultbreak was obviously trying to maintain. The soft leather on Harry's chair squeaked as he shifted positions, the teen waiting patiently for his host to gather files and sit down. Vaultbreak gently stroked a set of runes set into the doorjamb before crossing the small room and sitting behind the large desk. The goblin set a small pile of file folders onto the desk and flipped open the first one.

"Lord Potter, these are the records for your accounts over the last decade." Harry's eyes widened slightly.

"Over the last decade? My accounts should have been dormant for most of that time, even after I rejoined the Wizarding World. The only activity that account should have is school expenses and what I withdraw for supplies at the beginning of every year." Vaultbreak nodded his head solemnly.

"Aye, milord. Your vault is current around 400,000 Galleons less than you had when the vault was closed on November first 1997. Not that you are in danger of being financially insolvent, mind you. However, that is a rather significant amount to be missing. More than a simple clerical error can cover. If we could plan for a long meeting sometime in the next few days to go through this stack and verify what are legitimate transactions." Harry nodded and shrunk the stank with a wave of his hand.

"Agreed. One week from today, if that is convenient for you."

"Agreed. Hopefully there will be fewer dead bodies next time around," Vaultbreak said with a wry grin. Harry let out a short bark of laughter as he pulled out a pocket watch. The laughter died in his throat as he looked at the time.

"Bloody hell!" Vaultbreak raised both eyebrows in surprise at his outburst. Even when he was attacked, Harry had not cursed. The teen looked up with frustration clear in his eyes. "I'm late. Or rather, I will soon be late. I have to meet someone at the end of the Alley in four minutes and we are at least ten minutes from the Leaky Cauldron." Harry pivoted on his heel and sprinted out of the office, stopping barely long enough to wrench the door open. Echoes of Vaultbreak's laughter echoed through the halls as the dark-haired teen tore through the hall, dodging pedestrians and goblins alike.

As he ran, he willed a change in his wardrobe. The khaki pants tightened slightly around his leg muscles and transformed into a rougher material while the shirt lost its' buttons and melded together to create a seamless front. His duster hem shortened as the top tightened around his broad shoulders and his arms. (Think Conner's coat in Assassins Creed III without the various belts and straps.) His shirt and coat rippled and changed colors to a light grey as the teen burst out of the front of the bank and he vaulted the stairs to land in a run on the street. Harry bobbed and wove through the crowd, never seeming to slow down as he avoided knocking people over.

Harry popped out of the human mass several minutes later and slowed to a walk within a step, smoothing his hair and straightening his sleeves as he opened the portal back to the Leaky Cauldron. He could see his target leaning against the wall next to the door of the pub, apparently completely oblivious to everyone around him. Harry could see the subtle eye movements and the slight flare of nostrils that indicated the man was aware of everything and everyone around him. The tall teen slid over to him, careful to remain out of sight and downwind, and leaned against the wall beside him. The man was wearing shabby, worn clothes and had the beginnings of a beard on his face.

"Hello, Remus." The brown-haired man jumped and whipped his head around to meet a pair of twinkling green orbs.

"Harry! How? What? Where did you...?" Harry threw his head back and laughed.

"Let's answer that in order, shall we? Yes, me. How? I walked casually. People tend not to notice when someone just walks around them. And before I can answer what, I'm afraid you'll need to clarify what you want to know." Remus motioned at all of Harry.

"All of you! The clothes, newfound ability to sneak around me and the fact that you're taller than me!"

Harry straightened off the wall and frowned at Remus.

"Huh. I guess I am taller than you now. Hadn't realized that. Anyway, I got the clothes from a store. Well, not this particular formation, they're transfigured, but the base clothes were purchased from a store. The sneaking skills, well that's a secret. Very hush, hush, you understand." Remus worked his jaw up and down with no words managing to make themselves known. Harry's eyes lost their amused sparkle and hardened. "Remus, we have a problem. Our trip has been compromised." Remus stiffened.

"How?"

"Eliphias Dodge. I don't know if his betrayal was willing or not, but he told the Death Eaters the details of our trip. Keep your wand handy, we may have need of it soon."

Remus eyed Harry as the young man crossed the courtyard towards the pub's back door with a concerned gaze. The werewolf struck as the teen passed by, launching a fist at the back of his head. Harry leaned his head out of the way of the fist and grabbed the offending arm, pulling Remus off balance. The young man took a firm diagonal step forward and twisted the arm in his grasp, forcing the older man into a hunched position with Harry's palm firmly pressed against the back of his extended elbow.

"Hey Remus. Whatcha doing?" The older werewolf thrashed briefly and tried to break Harry's grip until he felt a slight burning sensation against the back of his neck, a sensation that he identified as silver. Harry leaned down to Remus' ear and said again, "Remus. Whatcha doing?"

"You are not my cub!" Remus snarled "Harry has never been this aggressive or skilled with unarmed combat!" Harry sighed and let Remus up.

"That's because no one bothered to teach me how to fight. My family has a rather long history of fighting with all available means, from magic to armed Muggle combat. That is a history that I was purposefully left ignorant of for the majority of my life and that is a slight that I do not intend to let go." Remus went to speak but Harry glared at him. "I am not a child to be sheltered nor a lamb to be meekly led to slaughter. I will not be sacrificed for the salvation of the masses. I learned to fight so that I might survive to continue the Potter line so that it may continue to fight the dark." As Harry spoke, his magic erupted into an aura around him. The strength in his voice and the power of his aura created a huge presence, forcing Remus to his knees with the intensity. Remus looked up at Harry only to see a hand in his vision.
"Are you satisfied that I'm who I said I am?" Remus nodded as he took the helping hand up. The only people with that much magical power were Voldemort, Harry, and Dumbledore. And he wasn't evil nor were his eyes constantly sparkling, so it had to be Harry.

"Good. Now, we have a group to meet," Harry looked at his watch and paled, "right now. And we're not even close to the meet point. We should probably Apparate from here." The dark-haired teen pulled the werewolf to his feet and clamped his hand on the man's shoulder. A flash of green fire appeared over them and they promptly disappeared from the courtyard. The pair appeared in a dark alley somewhere in central London and Remus staggered sideways, vomiting into a nearby trashcan.

"What in Merlin's blue balls was that about?" Harry turned a little green at the mention of one of his mentors' nether regions.

"Let's not use that metaphor any more, shall we? And that was called Flashing. I need to think of a better name..." Remus weakly nodded.

"Your naming abilities does need some work. But pushing that aside for the moment, why exactly are we in a dark alley in," the werewolf took a sniff of the alley air and recoiled slightly, "what seems to be in the middle of London?"

"We're here because we have to meet my tour group. But first you need a little maintenance." Remus raised a bemused eyebrow as Harry slashed his hand down in front of him. He then yelped in a very unmanly fashion as his clothes writhed around and transformed from a set of worn robes to a fitted black suit.

"What the hell! Warn a man before you transfigure his clothes! That's a very disturbing feeling!" Harry laughed as he stepped out of the alley.

"It's to keep you in character, Moony. You're security, remember?" Moony blinked and nodded. Harry led the way out of the alley and turned left, striding quickly up to a small group of people surrounding a young redhead. As the two men drew even with the group, they could hear the calming tones of Susan Bones trying to calm the agitated parents.

"Please be patient! Harry said that he will be here and that is what he is going to do."

"And that is what I have done! Hello everyone, I apologize for being late. I had to take care of a couple things and pick up our security. Allow me to introduce Mister Remus Lupin." The two fathers looked expectantly at Lupin, who raised a brow.

"What?" Lieutenant Colonel Evans stepped forward to stare down at Remus.

"Well, man, what are your qualifications? You're supposedly in charge of protecting our children on this venture, we should know why you are qualified to do that." Harry moved to step between Remus and the other man but Remus raised his hand.

"My qualifications are extensive. To start with, I have lived in the wizarding world my entire life and know it intimately. I fought in the first war, both against the Death Eaters who work for Voldemort and against the snake bastard himself. I spent almost ten years in the French Foreign Legion, leaving as a Captain after serving in Kosovo, Rwanda, the Central African Republic and the Congo. I received the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations (War Cross for Foreign Operational Theaters (Wikipedia) for my service in Kosovo and was wounded in action during multiple conflicts."

"Don't forget the dual Mastery's in Runes and Defense," Harry interjected with a grin. Colonel Evans inclined his head slightly to the werewolf.

"My apologies, Captain. I'm a little uneasy with this entire thing and took it out on you." Remus nodded.

"Understandable. I consider Harry to be as good as my own child and I constantly worry about him." That comment earned him a elbow to the ribs. "Ow. Alright, we do need to get a move on since Harry and myself were both running late and I'm sure that no one wants to spend their entire day shopping. Does everyone have their lists? Good. Follow me." Remus pivoted on his heel and led the group down the street towards the Leaky Cauldron. Harry dropped back to the rear of the pack, keeping his eyes on Alex. The boy was chatting happily with Mark and both were trying to pull the shy Francesca into their conversation. Harry grinned and nudged Susan, who was walking beside him.

"I see that you have managed to impress the Hufflepuff inclusion trait on Alex already." Susan giggled softly.

"Only to balance the Gryffindor brashness that he's already picked up from you. I believe you may have another fan in the works." Harry shuddered.

"I need to be sure to keep him away from the Creevy brothers. Good lads, but they tend to try my patience. And the photo thing is just bloody creepy. Susan giggle again until Remus shouted back to them.

"Come on, lovebirds! We've got a schedule to keep!" Susan blushed while Harry shouted back.

"Don't be grumpy just because Tonks couldn't help with guard duty today!" It was suddenly Remus' turn to blush and shush. The group stopped just outside of the Leaky Cauldron and Remus turned to address the group.

"Parents, hold on to your child if you want your first look at the Wizarding World." The adults all grabbed their child's hands and Alex dropped back to stand with Susan and Harry. The women hid a grimace as the grungy Leaky Cauldron came into view.

"This is it? This," Valeria Zanzotto exclaimed, "is the entrance to the mysterious Wizarding World?" Remus shrugged.

"We've been hiding in plain sight for millennium. If there was a shining monument, then it would be rather hard to hide, wouldn't it?" The Italian woman begrudgingly nodded before going back to examining the pub's exterior. Remus opened the door to the pub and jumped when Harry appeared beside him.

"Moony," Harry murmured, "I'll take point." The graying werewolf nodded and allowed the tall teen to go first. Harry stepped into the pub and immediately batted away a dark-colored spell that flew in from a dark corner. A subtle flick of his wrist sent a small knife into the throat of the caster, dropping him silently. Harry's emerald eyes swept the room as he stepped to the side to shield his charges seeing the dead body. He motioned for Remus to lead the group inside as he walked forward.

The group walked through the pub and suddenly became aware of a hundred stares all focused on their small group. A low growl, so deep it was almost subsonic, resonated through the pub and the patrons abruptly interested in only their drinks. Remus smirked, his face hidden by shadows. Remus and Susan hustled the group through the main room quickly and out into the back courtyard. Harry disappeared for a moment while they were moving through the room, reappearing as soon as they reached the courtyard and wiping his hands with a cloth.

"Sorry about that, everyone. Visitors are always an object of scrutiny around here," Harry said as he moved to the back wall and tapped a series of bricks. The entrance to Diagon Alley opened up as Harry stepped to the side. "Welcome to Diagon Alley." The group looked around in amazement. Susan and Remus grinned at Harry as they watched the parents look around in childlike wonder. Harry clapped his hands together to get their attention.

"Come on, let's get moving. We have little to do and a lot of time to do it in... Wait! Scratch that, reverse it." The remaining tension from the pub eased away with the joke. Harry led the group down the street, keeping his eyes peeled for any suspicious movement as he blazed a path to the bank at the end of the street.

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Susan stared at Harry's back as he led them through the alley, curious over the sudden changes that her peer had gone through over the summer. She had gotten to know him during the past school year while he led Dumbledore's Army. He had enlisted her fairly early on in helping him teach the younger members of the group and she gave him advice on tactics and strategies that she overheard from her aunt training Aurors in the DMLE. During the school year, Harry had been ruled by his emotions, similar to the phoenix legends of old. He was passionate and capable, but had little focused drive beyond surviving the next challenge.

The man, a term that she whole-heartedly labeled Harry with now, was very different from the brilliant but shy boy he had been before. Now Harry was not ruled by his emotions , thrown from one emtion to another like a ship in a storm, but tempered with a steel will and iron control. He was always capable, but before it felt like he was stumbling around until he reached the right answer. Now he was confident and sure-footed. His eyes were always sweeping the room for threats until something caught his entire attention. Once that attention was on you, it was a formidable presence that held you in place. At dinner the night before, he had been courteous and kind to her and Alex but was firm and unyielding today in regards to security and safety.

Harry's head turned and Susan caught a glimpse of his eyes. When he had talked to her on the way to the Leaky Cauldron, they had been full of cheer and light. Now they were cold and full of steel, giving the impression that nothing was beyond his ability to protect them. Susan shivered looking at his eyes. She was quite happy that Harry Potter was not her enemy.

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They reached the bank quickly and Harry allowed Susan to take over the discussion.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Gringotts Bank. It is the only banking establishment in the British Wizarding World and it is run by goblins. Yes, goblins are quite real and they are not very pleasant creatures." Harry snorted and leaned over to Remus.

"To be honest, humans aren't all that pleasant of creatures either." The werewolf chuckled in agreement. Susan glared at the pair.

"ANY way, there are a couple things that you need to understand about goblins. First, they love money. The phrase 'Time is money' is something that they take very seriously. Do not treat them like they are a Muggle teller and try to engage them in small talk. They don't like it. Second, carefully look over any document they give you to make sure it actually is what they said it is. Standard banking procedures otherwise. Let's go inside." Susan led the group up the stairs to the front entrance and Remus moved to follow. Harry caught his elbow.

"Moony, I'm not exactly on the best terms with most of Gringotts right now so I'm going to stay out here. I'm just going to make sure the area is secure before we start shopping." Remus shot Harry a look that said he was going to be interrogated later before disappearing up the stairs with everyone else.
Once everyone made it into the bank, Harry withdrew several small grey spheres from his coat pocket. A minor application of focused will and magic set the spheres floating around his head. A more intense moment of focus forced the spheres to dart away in all directions.

Harry reached into his inside pocket and pulled out a small black object. He tapped the glass screen and it lit up, showing several different views of the alley and its surrounding side alleys. Harry tapped twice on one image, enlarging it to take up the entire screen. It was a birds-eye view of the set of shops just beside the bank. A dark-haired man sat on the roof with a telescope, looking intently at Harry. The man raised his arm to shade his eyes and his sleeve fell back, revealing a Dark Mark. Harry raised his free hand up to shoulder level and opened his hand. He slashed the hand down, clenching the hand into a fist as he did so. The screen lit up with a flash of light and the man disappeared.

Harry looked back up into the sky to see one of the grey balls hurtling back to him. He caught it and examined it briefly.

"Looks like the CED (pronounced 'seed') works as well as I hoped." Harry heard the shuffling of feet behind him and turned to face the bank entrance, stowing the sphere and the glass device in his coat as he moved.

"Ready to go?" Everyone nodded, so Harry pivoted on his heel and led them down the stairs.
"Alright, so we need to keep some organization during the trip, so let's set the guard. Remus, take rear guard. If you happen to come across any trustworthy mates, see if they can fall in. Susan, take up the left flank and do the same with any DA members that you see. I'll take point. All those who have not been here more than once, keep your eyes and ears open and hands inside the vehicle at all times! You don't want to miss any of the magic!" With that, Harry started down the alley, pointing out the various shops and interesting sights along the way.

The group stopped at the numerous stores where the kids needed to purchase supplies. All of the large purchases, like trunks and cauldrons, were shrunken and carried in extra bags. Harry and Susan made sure to point out more economical options for cauldrons and trunks ("You only need a pewter cauldron until sometime in fourth year.") and Remus had plenty of anecdotes about his time in school to keep the younger ones entertained.

Remus kept noticing that every few minutes, Harry would disappear from the group and slip outside for a few minutes, only to reappear several minutes later without a word. No one else noticed except for Susan and she was pointedly ignoring that fact.

While they were in Flourish and Blotts, their last stop (Olivanders was a trip set for the next day), Remus made a vague excuse to get away from the group once he noticed Harry was no longer standing inside and ducked out of the store. He went and looked in the alleyway beside the bookstore and saw his adoptive cub standing there, staring at a small black pane of glass. He walked down the alley and stood just out of reach.

"What are you doing, Harry?" As the werewolf expected, Harry jumped and lashed out a hand. He didn't expect a small grey ball be thrown at his face and hover just in front of his nose.

"Bloody hell fire, Remus! I almost killed you!" Harry glared harshly at his friend while Remus looked curiously at the floating sphere.

"Kill me with a floating marble?" Harry gave him a flat look.

"I call it a CED. Camera Eliminator Droid. I have several floating around the Alley today, looking and eliminating trouble." Harry snatched the ball out of the air and held up his screen for Remus to look at. The image was of a man sitting at a table, very obviously watching something intently. He shifted positions and his sleeve moved as he lifted a cup to his lips. Harry froze the image and enlarged it for Remus. A Dark Mark sat very obviously on the man's left forearm.

"How can this little ball show this image on whatever it is you have?" Harry laughed.

"Fairly advanced technology and Runes that I combined in a bit of an experiment. Rest assured that it works and that's good enough. Now for eliminating the problem." He concentrated for a second and the image on the screen flashed brightly. Once the flash died down, the image was of a cup on a table, but no man was present.

"Wait! What happened to the man? Where did he go?" Harry made a calming motion with his free hand.

"Don't worry about it. He isn't dead. At least not yet." Remus' puzzled eyes grew hard.

"What do you mean, yet?" Harry shrugged.

"He may have some information I need. So he's safe in a magically induced coma and a non-disclosed location until I have a chance to interrogate him." Remus had a slack jaw and wide eyes at his cub's nonchalant description of capture and interrogation.

"Interrogated? By who?" Harry looked at his parents sole surviving friend with cold eyes.

"By me. Once he shares everything he knows, his fate will rest in his own actions. If he is a joyful murder and rapist, he will die. If it is a simple matter of coercion, then we'll see." Remus narrowed his amber eyes and growled.

"And what gives you the right to interrogate, let alone murder someone?" Harry's cold emeralds met his flaming amber ones.

"The Wizarding World gave me the right. You gave me the right the second that allowed Albus Dumbledore to hold me up as a savior. I never asked to be a savior or a hero, but if that is what I am meant to do, then I will do whatever is necessary to save this world. Even if that requires me to drown in the blood of my enemies so that you can survive to see tomorrow, I will do it when I deem it necessary. If you had possessed the resolve in the last war to kill the snake bastard and his demented followers, our world would not be facing the current crisis and I wouldn't have to take drastic measures." Remus opened his mouth to object but Harry shut him down with a glare. "You know that I'm right. You served in the military and know that not everyone can be redeemed or rehabilitated. The point of war is to win and you cannot win if you only fight defensively. War is not dying gloriously for your cause, it's making the other bastard die gloriously for his cause." Remus gathered himself up and glared at Harry.

"What would your parents think of you killing others?"

Harry's eyes flashed darkly and a terrible pressure fell on Remus. The werewolf fell to his knees, struggling to breathe under the pressure of Harry's magic exerting itself in response to his anger. He managed to look up and saw that the very air surrounding Harry was warping and darkening, making the teen look larger and more ominous.

"DO NOT take me to be an ignorant child," Harry boomed. "The Potters have been fighting the darkness for a thousand years! We have marched the line between the light and dark faithfully all that time, feared by the dark and reviled by the light. The light cannot stand our methods because they fear their use and the dark hate our hunters who never allow darkness to escape them. I have not fallen to the dark because I have to kill, I am preserving those in the light because they will not have to stain their hands like I have." The oppressive aura faded and suddenly Remus could breathe easily again. He looked up to see a hand in his face. The aging werewolf grabbed the hand and allowed Harry to pull him up.

"I can't let you do this alone, Harry."

"Then," Harry said with a grin, "I have only one question. Can you fight under this young whippersnapper?" Remus matched his grin.

"I think I can fight beside another Potter. So if we aren't light or dark, what is our affiliation?"

"We're of the gray. We are damned by the flesh but saved by the blood." Harry's grim smile faded before he could explain his last sentence and he whipped his head around to focus on the front of the store. He yanked out the small black screen and tapped it, cursing sulfurously before shoving it back in his pocket. Remus raised an eyebrow.

"I wasn't aware that a goat could physically do that to a human. I almost pity the goat more than the human." The teen threw an irritated glare at him before sprinting down the alley and rounding the corner. Remus blinked and ran after him. He caught up to him just as he entered the bookstore. "Harry! What's happening?"

"The bastards decided to send a final wave of Death Eaters to try to take us out," Harry whispered to his friend. "They're sending the youngest and the oldest Death Eaters in one final shot so they won't have to face us one on one. They're hoping we won't fire at the young ones and give the older ones a chance to take us out." Remus lengthened his stride to match the taller teen as he strode to the counter. A glance from Harry sent the werewolf to gather their group together. Harry stopped at the counter and knocked on the scarred wood.

"Sir, do you have a Floo in this store?" The clerk shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. The Merchants Guild banned Floos in public areas save for Gringotts and the Leaky Cauldron." Harry hung his head and sighed.

"Of course they did. Why leave an obvious and convenient escape method? Ok, do you have an upstairs Floo?" The clerk smiled. Obviously this teen wasn't listening.

"I told you, sir, the Merchants Guild..." The thin clerk was jerked forward by his robe.

"I asked you where your Floo was. Your building has an active chimney currently billowing smoke, which means that you have a functional fireplace. And fireplace in the Wizarding World means Floo. So I'm going to ask one more time: Where. Is. Your. Floo?" The clerk shakily pointed to a virtually invisible staircase in the back corner of the store. Harry smiled grimly. "Good. Now, you're going to lead every woman and child to that Floo and out of this place. Understood?" The clerk nodded quickly. Harry turned to walk away.

"Wait," the clerk shouted, "why are we leaving?" Harry paused and slightly turned his head towards the clerk.

"Death Eaters." The clerk collapsed to the ground at the word. Harry sighed and swung himself onto the counter. He saw Susan in the crowded store, keeping their group together along with Remus. The teen flicked his wand free of his wrist holster and it transformed into a staff. The top held a white uncut jewel and had glowing runes spiraling around the wood. The bottom was shod in steel and the wood was a dark holly, just like the wand. Harry slammed the staff into the scarred wooden counter.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

"Everyone listen up!" Every eye in the store turned to stare at Harry. "A situation has developed and it is imperative that we act calmly. There are around fifteen Death Eaters massing in Knockturn Alley to try and storm the store." Pandamonium broke out. People were screaming at Harry and each other, panicking at the thought of Death Eaters coming. One man screamed that they should just offer up the Muggleborns and hope they were satisfied with that. Harry was happy to see Susan Bones punch that particular soul in the face. He waited a few more seconds and slammed the butt of the staff into the counter again.

BOOM.

"Silence!" The entire store fell into a stunned silence. "Panicking is not helping. Now, the clerk here has informed me that there is an active Floo connection in the upstairs flat. DO NOT MOVE!" The man that Susan had punched froze in his scramble towards the staircase. "This will be done in an orderly manner befitting of citizens of the United Kingdom. Women and children are the priority, men act as rear guard. Susan!"The ginger girl shoved her way to the front. "You'll be the lead. Floo to Professor McGonagall's office, passphrase is 'Griffins Pride'. Once everyone is clear, send a message to your aunt at the DMLE. Understand?" She nodded determinedly. A voice floated in from over the murmuring crowd.

"And why should we do anything you say? For all we know, they're here for you!" Harry's sharp eyes quickly picked out the speaker, a well-dressed wizard in the back of the crowd.

"Oh good. So you're volunteering to lead the rear guard while the women and children head for safety? Good man." The man turned red and quickly shook his head. "Alright then. So, men stay put, women and children, head for the stairs. Whoever is willing to stay behind and protect the shop, stay at the front with me." Susan moved to the back of the crowd and began to lead the women and children to the back staircase. The sales clerk began to move that way as well, presumedly to open the Floo, until Harry grabbed him.

"What?"

"Before you abandon us to our fates, I need you to activate the ancient defenses on the shop." The clerk put on a fake confused face.

"Ancient defenses? What are those?" The clerk maintained his innocent fascade until Harry grabbed his shirt collar and slammed him into a nearby wall.

"The ones that were built into the shop in 1454 at its establishment."

"I can't, man! The Merchant Guild ordered that all ancient wards were to be dismantled because their defensive measures were deemed too harsh!" Harry snarled in disgust and tossed the clerk aside.

"Fuck. Alright, time for a new plan." Harry jumped back onto the counter and whistled sharply. The gathered men grouped around him. He looked over them. About ten men had decided to stay behind, not including Remus and himself. As he looked over all of their faces, he saw that they were all either very young (just over his age) or fairly old (over sixty) and all of them looked terrified. "Alright lads, we have to take up ambush positions around the store. Since we don't have the wards, we have to win by trickery and underhanded tactics." His declaration was met by blank stares. Remus sighed and heaved himself up onto the counter with him.

"We have to fight indirectly. Hide in the shelves. Only shoot when you have a clear shot at them and they do not have a clear shot at you. If they see you, run for cover. No heroes here, just people trying to survive. If you can, use the books as creative weapons. Throw 'em, make them explode, make them attack if you can, do whatever possible to slow or disable the Death Eaters. Remember that you are fighting for your families and to keep them safe. You're not helping if you're dead." The assembled men nodded nervously and dispersed throughout the store.

Harry winked at Remus and leapt up into the rafters. Remus sighed at his young friends' enthusiasm as he stepped down from the counter. He walked to the front shelves and and began to carve defensive runes into the wood.

He looked up a couple minutes later to see a thin teenager standing at the front display windows, staring out at the street. Remus rolled his eyes and rushed out to him to drag the idiot back to a hiding place. The instant Remus seized his arm to pull him back, the teen pivoted and lunged at Remus with a silver knife. Remus reacted with instincts borne from years of training by the Foreign Legion. He captured the boy's thrusting wrist and broke it, snatching the knife and reversing it into his chest.

Remus froze as he saw the life leave the stranger's eyes, suddenly registering that he had just killed a teenager not much older than Harry was. His amber eyes quickly hardened as he remembered Harry's speech outside.

"We are damned by the flesh but saved by the blood." Harry dropped down silently beside him.

"Now you understand the Potter's creed." Remus nodded solemnly. Harry placed a foot on the window sill and launched himself back into the rafters. Remus looked outside one more time before disappearing back into the shelves.

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Marcus Flint booted open the door of Flourish and Blotts, rushing in with two other people. He was confused, admittedly an emotion that he was familiar with. He expected lots of screaming and chaos, not an empty store. Flint motioned to the two men behind him to fan out and began to walk forward.

He moved into the first set of shelves, looking around for any people to terrorize. He was briefly aware of brightly flashing runes set in the shelves before experiencing horrible pain and then blissful nothing.

Mario Prevalli was a newly minted Death Eater fresh from Italy. He was tall and thin with dark hair. His dark eyes eagerly darted around the store as he walked through the shelves to the left of the door. He had volunteered to participate in the leading assault squad, eager to please his new Lord and supremely confident in his abilities as a dueler.

Mario whipped around when a bright flash erupted next to him, his wand at the ready. He felt a slight pain in his neck and tried to shout out to his fellows, but no sound came out. The thin Italian wizard felt a boot in his back and his body pitched forward, but his head dropped straight down. Mario's final view was up the hem of his own robes.

Sal Domino looked around nervously. The overweight man never really wanted to go first. He was more of a 'go in last and join the raping and pillaging' sort, honestly. Going in first was bad for his projected health. He had survived the first war by never volunteering unless he had to and he had kept out of jail because he was never at the front of the group and identifiable.

The older man heard a rustling noise behind him and turned to see a large tome fly into his face. It hit him in the head with a thud and knocked the man out. He collapsed to the ground in a boneless heap. His unconscious body was dragged away quickly and all evidence of his presence was erased.

Harry looked around the store from his perch in the rafters. Everything that was disturbed by the first three intruders was back in order, including the blood from the beheaded Italian and the scorch marks from the exploding runes that killed Flint.

He heard the front door jingle as it opened and he moved across the rafters to see who was coming inside. He saw eight men fanning out through the store. Half a dozen were more young men between eighteen and twenty-five. He sighed and pulled several CEDs out of his pocket, flicking them like marbles towards the youngest men once they were isolated. The two oldest men were both wearing silver Death Eater masks, signifying that they were the elite inner circle.

Harry whipped his head around when he heard an explosion and darted towards the sound. He saw one of the youngest men who stayed to defend the shop laying on the ground, surrounded by three young Death Eaters.

The tall teenager cursed quietly, green eyes darting around to locate the nearest elite before deciding a course of action. Harry dropped feet first into the crown of one Death Eaters skull, crushing the poor man to the ground and softening his own landing simultaneously. He flicked a slim knife into the throat of the furthest Death Eater and lunged at the closer one, slamming a knife-edge strike into his throat. The surprised man choked before he could shout and Harry slid behind him to put him in a choke-hold, swiftly twisting to break his neck. The teen grabbed the unconscious man on the floor and dragged him further into the store.

Remus appeared next to Harry, dodging a thrown knife from the startled man.

"Watch where you throw those. How many tangos are down?" Harry gave Remus a confused look.

"Sorry, military language. How many Death Eaters are down?"

"Ah. Well, three are dead. I wasn't able to clean up in time to keep it clean, though. I sent out four CEDs to capture the youngest four so that we don't have to kill them. There are two elites in here somewhere and we need at least one alive." Remus nodded.

"Send a CED to get one."

"They aren't exactly combat-capable. They're made for capturing stationary targets. They have to acquire the target over several minutes. It isn't a perfected technology yet." Remus snorted.

"Seemed like they were combat-ready when you threw one at me in the alley." Harry gave him a flat look.

"Yeah, it was more intended to go through your eye and scramble your brain than shoot you." Remus turned a little green at the thought.

Another scream rang out in the store. Harry and Remus jumped up and ran to find the source of the scream, hoping it was one of the Death Eaters who ran into a non-silenced trap and not one of the men that stayed to help them.

Remus watched Harry bound up into the rafters again as he melted into the shadows around him. A quick Disillusionment Charm made him virtually invisible as he crept closer to the screaming. As he rounded the last corner, he saw one of the old men who had stayed behind laying on the ground under a bright red curse. Remus suppressed a snarl as he recognized the Cruciatus Curse. The werewolf glanced up and saw Harry slinking along the rafters out of sight. Their eyes met and nodded to each other (though how Harry could find him through the Disillusionment Charm, Remus would never know).

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Walter Travers laughed as he held the Torture Curse on the helpless old man who had flung a book at his trainee's head. This was the most fun that he had in years! Fourteen years in Azkaban had made an already unhinged man into a truly insane man. Travers looked over at his partner, the aloof Antonin Dolohov, and gleefully shouted, "Come on! Join the fun!"

Dolohov shook his head slowly. "Afraid not, Travers. I'm going to go check on the others. The three I sent to the other side of the store haven't checked back in yet." With that, Dolohov walked away from his insane compatriot. Travers flicked him off as he lifted the curse. Travers, a tall muscular man even after Azkaban, pointed at the trainee who had been hit by the book.

"You! Hit this old bastard with a Cruciatus!" The trainee shuffled up and lifted his wand to cast the curse. He lifted his eyes to look at Travers, only to see the man's head fall off his shoulders. The young man went to scream and was struck in the throat. His eyes bugged out as he tried to drag deep breaths and failed. He saw a brown-haired man stand in front of him with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry, child." The trainee saw a bright flash of light and felt nothing.

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Remus looked at Harry in surprise.

"Why use up a CED on him? He was getting ready to use the Cruciatus!" Harry shook his head.

"He never cast it. As firm as I am about taking out threats, I do believe in a second chance. If when I interrogate him, he has no remorse and expresses only the desire to continue terrorizing others, then he will die. Until then, he has the chance to redeem himself." Remus smiled at his adoptive cub.

"What about him," Remus asked, pointing at the beheaded man on the floor.

"He was a rabid dog, fit only to be killed for the betterment of society," Harry said coldly, glaring at the dead man.

The werewolf grabbed the twitching defender off the floor and hauled him up onto his shoulders.

"I'm taking him upstairs, along with whoever else I run into. It's too dangerous for amateur hour now that Dolohov is here." Harry nodded.

"Right. I'm going to take down Dolohov and then grab who I can to pull upstairs." With that, Harry bounded back into the rafters and out of sight. Remus jogged through the store, grabbing three others who were hiding as he went. Once he got to where Harry had left the unconscious man from before, he directed two of the men to carry him with them. Together they all quietly moved upstairs to safety. As soon as everyone was there, Remus looked at the five.

"I'm going back downstairs. Harry will need some help. Stay here and stay quiet." Three frightened faces nodded. Remus nodded and stood, casting another Disillusionment Charm on himself and seemingly disappeared to the eyes of the three conscious men.

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Harry skulked around the rafters above Dolohov, maintaining a single CED floating beside him. Every couple of seconds, he slid his small screen out of his pocket and checked the progress of the CED's capture. The last time he looked, it was at ninety percent and climbing.

Suddenly, Dolohov pivoted and searched the room. Harry froze himself and the floating CED, hoping that the man would overlook him. His screen beeped, attracting Dolohov's attention and signaling that the CED had a lock on Dolohov. The Death Eater dove to the side as the CED shot it's beam at him, avoiding capture by inches.

Harry cursed and dropped straight down to fight Dolohov. As the older man regained his feet, Harry observed that he was much slighter than his reputation would suggest. The dark-haired man held his wand ready even as he staggered to his feet, his equally dark eyes never leaving Harry's. Harry flicked his wrist and caught his wand, transforming it into a staff the moment it hit his hand.

"Potter. I see that you are the reason that my men have been disappearing." Harry grinned.

"I'd hate to brag, but yeah. Most of your butt buddies are dead, so I'm afraid you won't be able to find something to keep you snug and warm overnight. But if you surrender now, all your worries will go away." Dolohov barked out a laugh.

"Ha! Surrender just to go back to that shithole of a prison for a couple days? I don't think so." Harry's grin widened.

"Oh, you won't go to Azkaban. I'll keep you entertained for a little while and then you'll have a nice long sleep. Forever." Dolohov started.

"What? The Golden Boy of the Light threatening to kill me?"

"No. A Potter promising your death. You're old enough to remember the stories about Potter Hunters." Dolohov's eyes narrowed.

"Those are only stories. Your father was as big of a supporter of the Light as anyone."

"I'm not my father." With that, Harry lunged forward, swinging the steel-shod butt of his staff at Dolohov's head. The short man dove forward under the strike, pivoting around to cast a violet-colored spell at Harry. Harry slashed his staff through the spell, dispersing it, and threw a knife at Dolohov's leg to slow him down. Dolohov tried to dodge the knife, but it sliced across the top of his thigh as he tried to roll away. The man jumped up and his eyes widened as he saw a CED fire directly into his face.

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Harry breathed out in relief as he saw Dolohov disappear. He rubbed his shoulder where the remnants of that violet curse had impacted. He was lucky that his staff tore through most of that curse or he would have joined the Italian in the Headless Hunt. Then Nearly Headless Nick would never forgive him! Remus emerged from the shelves to his right with his wand out.

"What happened to Dolohov and the others?" Harry shook his head as he shrunk his staff back into its' wand form and slid it back into his wrist holster.

"I captured Dolohov and the two youngest Death Eaters. One is still at large in the store and there are still at least two waiting to come inside." Remus looked around, peering towards the front of the store.

"Have you found the other five men who stayed behind?"

"No and it's worrying me," Harry said with a shake of his head. "They should have at least fallen back to the stairs by now or found one of us."

"Alright, you get back to the rafters and search out the remaining Death Eater while I go hunt down the others." Harry nodded and climbed up the shelf beside him to jump into the rafters.

Remus prowled through the store, sniffing the air to find a hint of the men who had volunteered to stay behind. He paused when he smelled an eerily familiar scent and growled. Blood was in the air and it wasn't from Harry's previous kills.

The graying werewolf dashed around the next set of shelves and saw two men messily arranged in a pool of their own blood and entrails. His amber eyes darted around the immediate area, hoping to see the bastard who had killed them. He heard a creak and threw himself sideways just in time to avoid a silver knife slicing through the air.

"So you couldn't resist seeing your own handiwork again, could you?" Remus picked himself up and glared at the young Death Eater who had blood covering his hands. "You really are a piece of work, aren't you?"

The young Death Eater grinned insanely at Remus.

"If I bring the head of one of the most famous werewolves in Britain to my Master, He'll reward me greatly!" Remus snorted.

"Then you really have gone crazy. Don't you know you don't fight a werewolf barehanded and alone?" Remus put his wand away and pulled out a long-bladed knife from behind his back. "Gotta say, I'm glad that Harry slipped this to me earlier today."

The Death Eater sprung forward with the knife, slashing wildly. Remus deflected the knife and punched the younger man across the mouth. The man stumbled past him, spitting blood as he went. He lunged again at Remus, stabbing at his chest with singular focus. Remus shifted to the side, snagged the incoming wrist and locked it in place. He snapped the wrist and buried his own knife into the base of the Death Eaters spine, killing him instantly. The werewolf let him drop to the ground as he walked over to the men who had died.

"I wish we could have found you sooner." He knelt down and closed their staring eyes. He heard Harry drop down behind him. "I found two men and a rabid animal. All of them are dead."

"I can see. I found the other three. One was pretty badly injured, but the others were helping him upstairs. I told them to Floo to Saint Mungo's immediately." Remus stood up.

"Harry."

"Yeah?"

"The ones outside? They don't get out of this unscathed."

"They won't."

Harry grabbed Remus' shoulder and squeezed it supportively. They turned to leave at the same time, both marching towards the front of the store, Harry transforming his wand back into a staff and Remus pulling his wand back out. They were determined that the Death Eaters outside were going down.

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Harry booted open the door and walked out on the street. Looking up and down, he saw that it was still packed to the brim with shoppers. Remus stepped up next to him and glanced to both sides.

"Where are they?" Harry shrugged.

"Maybe they got scared and left."

"Yeah, because we're that lucky." Harry chuckled.

"Oh yeah."

The pair dove to either side as they fought to get out of the way of two burst of green light that appeared in front of them.

"Remus! You good?"

"Aye! You see where that came from?" Harry picked himself up before answering.

"No. I lost track of the origin when I was making sure I didn't die." Another beam of light flashed in from the crowd, prompting Harry to dive away again. He rolled to his feet and saw Remus launch a spell at the man who tried to kill him. Another green burst appeared, heading for Remus, and Harry jumped up to deflect it. He batted the spell with his staff, launching it straight back at the caster. The man slumped over, very obviously dead, while the man who had tried to kill Harry was pinned to the ground by multiple vines growing out of the concrete.

Screams erupted from the crowd as Aurors Apparated into the Alley, surrounding Remus and Harry. Several Aurors threw spells at Remus, most of them missing quite badly, until a tall black Auror got in the way. Remus sighed in relief at seeing the man.

"Kingsley. Thank God." Harry snorted, maintaining a balanced stance with his staff at the ready.

"I'd thank God if you had shown up about twenty minutes ago. Can you get your men to stop pointing objects of destruction and death at me? I get a bit trigger-happy when I feel threatened." Kingsley blinked and looked at the assorted Aurors aiming their wands at Harry and Remus.

"Aurors! Stand down!" Slowly, everyone lowered their wands. Harry straightened up and twirled his staff, shrinking it mid twirl so he could slip it back in the holster.

"That's better. So I assume that Susan got word to you? Obviously, you wouldn't be here otherwise. I knew I should have gotten her to send word before doing the evac..." Kingsley gave Remus a confused look.

"Remus? What exactly is going on? Who is he and why am I looking at a dead man and a restrained man?" Remus raised his eyebrow.

"Kingsley, who called you here?"

"We got a tip that a massacre was taking place and assumed..." Harry snorted.

"Assumptions will just get you killed. Long story short, I was escorting a group of Muggle-borns and their parents on their first Diagon Alley trip. Death Eaters got wind of the plan and decided to stage a massacre. We stopped said massacre, albeit a mite messily. Now you're here and obviously Susan didn't get in contact with you or you'd already know this." Kingsley blinked and looked at Remus.

"What?" The werewolf groaned.

"That's Harry, by the way. He hit a bit of a growth spurt. We were ambushed by several Death Eaters, most of which are now dead, while escorting a group of Muggle-born families. We sent everyone through to Hogwarts and Saint Mungo's, but Susan Bones was supposed to contact the DMLE." A sudden 'CRACK' filled the air, prompting everyone present to whirl and brandish their wands. Albus Dumbledore, flanked by half a dozen wizards and witches, appeared just in front of Flourish and Blotts. Harry grimaced.

"Well, shit. He wasn't supposed to find out about this yet..." Dumbledore looked around and gave Harry a curious stare.

"Harry, you have quite a lot of explaining to do." The teen grinned sheepishly.

"This could take a while..."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Holy crap! Almost 12,700 words in this one! I believe that makes this my longest ever chapter on any story I have ever written! Well, stay tuned for more chapters in the coming months (I know, I'm super slow writing). Please Read and Review!

Signing off,

bobjones