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“Harry, dear, breakfast is- HARRY JAMES POTTER WHAT ON EARTH DID YOU DO TO YOUR CHEST!” Mrs. Weasley had gone up to get Harry for breakfast, only to spot the Hungarian Horntail Harry had received the previous day.


“Nice Horntail, Harry,” complimented Charlie. The dragon keeper then cringed under the glare he received from Mrs. Weasley.


“Ah, well, I always sort of liked dragons and the idea of a moving tattoo sounded cool,” said Harry sheepishly.


Mrs. Weasley, realizing there was nothing she could do, went back to the kitchen with an exasperated sigh. The dragon, which had been waking up along with Harry, jolted to attention when it noticed a grinning Ginny had been taking the whole scene in.


“You mentioned you thought you’d like a Horntail. You said it was much more macho than a Hippogriff,” commented Harry. Harry dressed, went down and found Remus and Tonks holding a copy of The Prophet.


“You made the front page again kid,” said a grinning Tonks. Harry took the paper and saw the headline.



Potter Slams Minister:


Calls for release of Shunpike, claims “It’s all about perception” with Minister.


In an impromptu press conference yesterday, the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, 17, criticized the Ministry, calling its defense pamphlets “a sham” and accusing the Minister of knowingly locking up innocent people to make the administration look good. Potter specifically called for the release of Stan Shunpike, who was arrested last year for suspected Death Eater activity and called the current ministry “just as corrupt as Fudge’s.”


Mr. Potter, who was at the ministry yesterday to receive his Apparition license, was seen having a verbal dispute with the Minister this month at the funeral of mentor Albus Dumbledore. Reporters were told that Harry was simply overcome by grief, as Dumbledore and Potter were known to be quite close.


When asked for comment, Ministry officials were split on their views of the controversial Chosen One.


“I know Harry well,” said Percy Weasley. “He spends his summers with my family and I was a prefect during his early days at Hogwarts. In my experience, he has always been something of a loose cannon. He lost many points for Gryffindor. He has always done things his own way, sometimes with good results, many times with bad.”


Other Ministry officials, however, speak highly of the young Boy-Who-Lived: “I met Harry about 2 and a half years ago and have since gotten to know him fairly well. That boy has a better sense of right and wrong than about 80% of the Ministry,” praised one Auror who asked not to be identified.


(Continued, pg. 6, see Special Report: Potter’s Defense Tips, pg.7)


“This may be the first unbiased article I’ve ever read in this paper,” commented Ron.


Lupin and Tonks took the four teens by Portkey to a path leading into a large white gate. The fence surrounded hundreds of acres. Harry could see a huge mansion, surrounded by all sorts of Magical plants, a forest on all sides of the mansion, broken by the occasional trail or the Quidditch pitch.


“There is a list inside the manor. The gate will open for anyone whose name is on that list. It should open for me,” explained Lupin, who proceeded to push the gate open. The awestruck group entered the grounds. “Your father lived here until your family had to go into hiding. The last time I was here the forest had some pretty interesting animals.”


“Um, what kind of interesting? Hagrid interesting?” asked a nervous Harry.


“Oh, Hippogriffs, a few Thestrals, your father loved flying, whether it was on a broom or an animal,” explained Lupin.


Harry gave a sigh of relief; he could handle Hippogriffs and Thestrals. The group entered the house, which they soon discovered to be even more impressive on the inside than on the outside. As soon as they entered, they were met by a house elf that looked to be at least Kreacher’s age, but had a much more pleasant expression on its face.


“Master Harry, you is returned like I knowed you would! I am Sadie, the Head House Elf of Potter Manor,” introduced the house elf.


“Head House Elf? How many House Elves are there?” asked Hermione, a slightly outraged expression on her face.


“There is five total. There was ten, but five is dying over the years,” responded Sadie.


“Well, first order of business. You will all be paid five Galleons a month,” said Harry, pacifying Hermione.


“Master Harry is too kind,” cried Sadie. “But it is not needed. Lady Lily is already having us paid sir.”


“Well, Sadie, would you mind if I brought in two other House Elves? This place seems pretty big for even five house elves to take care of,” asked Harry.


“I is not minding, sir. I is liking the extra help,” responded Sadie.


“Dobby, Winky.”


“Harry Potter has called, sir, and Dobby and Winky is answering the most noble of wizards,” said Dobby as Ron, Ginny and Tonks sniggered.


“How would you both like to come work for me here at Potter Manor? You will be paid five Galleons a month for your work,” asked Harry. Dobby readily accepted, but not after attempting to get Harry to lower his salary.


“Winky? What about you?” Harry turned to the female elf.


“You mean I is being a part of a family, sir?” asked Winky. “I is liking that very much Master Harry.”


After introducing everybody to Sadie, they went on a tour of the house, which contained 20 bedrooms4 floors, each with its own bathroom, some of which were just as nice as the Hogwarts prefects’ bathrooms. The house was outfitted to run Muggle electronics, contained portraits of various Potter family members, a dueling room outfitted with a platform that could be raised for more formal duels. Ron and Harry thought Hermione was going to faint when she saw the Library, which put even the Hogwarts library to shame in both variety and quantity. Harry was so eager to see the rest of the house he didn’t even notice the portrait that hung next to the door. The man in the portrait had untidy black hair, knobby knees and glasses. The woman had red hair and brilliant green eyes.


“Hello son,” said James Potter, getting Harry’s attention. “I see Mooney finally brought you here. I was wondering when I’d get to see you.”


“Dumbledore came by after Sirius died and told us all about you. We’re so proud,” said a teary eyed Lily Potter.


“Speaking of Padfoot,” said Ron as he picked up the portrait of Sirius and cast a sticking charm, reuniting the three true marauders once again.


Harry told them about his life at Hogwarts, filling in the holes Dumbledore hadn’t been able to fill. Soon Lily, James and Sirius were giving the tour, moving from portrait to portrait. Remus had charmed the doors to open and close automatically, to allow Norbert to go on “rat” patrol without being hindered. Sirius and James both laughed as they heard the story of how Harry had accidentally set the Boa on his brutish cousin.


After the tour was complete, the group settled in the main sitting area. Harry, Ron, Ginny and Remus set to work on a making a Marauder’s style map of the manor and grounds while Lily and Hermione were engaged in a discussion on House Elf rights (Harry was sure he heard Ron mutter “mental” at least twice). After a few hours, the map was complete and the friends decided to continue their Animagus training. Under the guidance of Sirius and James, the teens ended the day very close to completing their training (Ron was to become, like Harry, a lion, while Hermione was to become a fox).


The kids returned by Floo to the Burrow in time for dinner. That night Harry was playing chess with Ron when Norbert slithered into the room. “Harry,” the serpent hissed. “There is a rat sitting in your room. He has a silver paw like you told me to be on the lookout for.”


Harry jumped up, wand drawn.


“Harry, what the-“ asked a confused Ron.


“Wormtail’s in my room,” explained Harry.


He and Ron darted up the stairs to find a gray rat sitting on his bed. The rat spotted Harry and was replaced with the human form of Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew went to speak, but was interrupted by two sets of rope appearing and binding him. Harry checked his map of the Burrow and saw that Wormtail was alone.


“You! What do you think you’re doing here?” asked Harry.


“I have a warning,” said Wormtail, fear evident in his voice. “The Dark Lord is planning an attack here. He will come in two weeks time. He needs time to gather his forces. He’s going all out for this one. He’s looking for you, Harry.”


“Why should I believe you? Why would you tell us this?” asked Ron.


“Because, I have a life debt to pay off to Potter,” explained Pettigrew. “Now we’re even.”


“No,” corrected Harry. “But we will be, Sectum-” Harry’s curse was too late.


Wormtail was gone, his watch having been made into a Portkey.


“Damn it!” shouted Harry.


The teens ran to the living room, where the rest of the family had sat and was listening to the wireless.


“Harry, I heard you shouting. Is everything all right?” asked Ginny.


“No, the Burrow needs to be evacuated. I just got a warning from Wormtail. Voldemort’s planning an attack here in two weeks; he’s going all out for this one. Unfortunately the rat Portkeyed away before I could get any more information out of him” said Harry, the Burrow gasped, both at the sound of the Dark Lord’s name and at the news that the Burrow would be attacked.


“Harry, are you sure his information is accurate?” asked Mr. Weasley.


“Positive,” said Harry. “He owed a life debt to me.”


“What do we do Arthur?” asked a worried Mrs. Weasley.


“You could come to Potter Manor,” suggested Harry.


“Harry, that’s not necessary. We wouldn’t want to intrude,” said Mrs. Weasley.


“You wouldn’t be intruding,” insisted Harry. “The manor is plenty big enough to hold all of us, and we’ve been given enough warning to move all of your possessions there until it is safe to return. You gave me a place to stay when I needed one,. Please, allow me to return the favor.”


“Come on, I want to see if Prongs left anything else of value,” insisted Fred excitedly.


Finally Mr. and Mrs. Weasley relented. The family settled into an uneasy sleep, and woke up the next morning, packing their belongings for the stay. The family was awestruck as they entered the manor. They were in the middle of the grand tour when Dobby appeared in front of them.


“Mr. and Mrs. Wheezy, your presence is requested in the library,” informed Dobby.


He then led the confused parents to the library while the rest of the family continued the tour. After the teens finished their tour, they entered the library. Hermione, even though she had already seen it, still looked ready to faint. They found Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, in conversation with Lily, James and Sirius.


Harry introduced the rest of the Weasley children (though he had to do it over Fred and George’s chants of “we’re not worthy” as they bowed to the portrait of Prongs). They chatted for a while before it was time to continue the tour. Lily gave a tearful thank you to Molly and Arthur as the family left. The tour concluded with a debate over who would get the master bedroom. Harry was able to convince the eldest Weasleys to take the room. The next few weeks were spent exploring the grounds, practicing dueling and playing Quidditch. After an intense debate, Harry, Charlie and Ginny had decided to get their brooms and determine once and for all who the best seeker in the family was. Harry edged out Charlie, though Ginny did well considering she had little experience at the position.


The next day, Mr. Weasley had come across a Muggle wheelchair and, after an explanation from Harry and Hermione as to what it did, Harry thought up a brilliant idea. Once he made sure Hermione had left, he asked, “Hey, to you think we could enchant this to fly like you did the car?”


Mr. Weasley’s eyes lit up at this and the two had the chair flying within the hour. Remus and Tonks came to dinner that night. After they had eaten their fill, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione informed the adults the four of them would like to join the Order.


Mrs. Weasley looked like she was about to protest when Ginny cut her off.


“I know you think we’re too young, but we’re not children anymore, we haven’t been for some time. We’re the only ones who know the key to ending this war and we’ll need to have access to the Order’s information if we are going to have much of a chance of completing our mission.”


The adults looked at each other in silent conversation.


“Well, I don’t like it, but I guess you’re right, there’s a meeting tonight,” conceded Mrs. Weasley.


The group Flooed to headquarters an hour later and didn’t miss the surprised looks on the members’ faces when they entered and sat down at the table.


“The first order of business,” announced Professor McGonagall. “Is whether to induct the four young people seated here today.”


“The Order is only supposed to induct member’s who have completed their education. One of them is not even of age,” said a member Harry hadn’t met before.


“No one in this room knows Voldemort better than we do,” responded Harry, the room gasped at the name. “Look at you, you can’t even say the name, how can you fight him when you play right into his hands!”


“I don’t see how you kids pretend to know him better than us.”


“When someone spends your whole life trying to kill you, you get to know them pretty well,” said Harry darkly. “Dumbledore made sure I knew Voldemort well.”


After much debate, the order agreed to let the teens join. They were taught how to send messages with their Patroni. The Order then discussed the imminent attack at the burrow.


“All evidence indicates that this will attack will include most if not all death eaters, Inferi have also been moved into the area,” reported Kingsley.


“Do we know if You-Know-Who will be there?” asked Dumbledore’s brother Alberforth.


“He will be,” answered Harry.


“At this time, we can neither confirm nor deny-” started the same Order member who had fought against the teen’s induction into the Order. Harry had learned this order member was named Harold Smith, father of pompous classmate Zacharias Smith.


“I’m telling you, he will be, with out a doubt,” said an annoyed Harry.


“Mr. Potter, we have no evidence to say with such certainty-”


“Voldemort has given his Death Eaters orders that no one but him is to kill me. The purpose of the attack is to kill me. Therefore he will be there,” interrupted Harry.


They went on to debate over whether or not to engage Voldemort, eventually agreeing with Harry that it would be useless to fight, as his numbers were too large.


Before leaving, Harry asked Lupin whether or not he had found out why Harry and Ginny had conjured each other’s Patroni. He had told them no, but Harry had the feeling that he knew something and wasn’t telling him.


The next morning Harry and Ginny Flooed to Hogwarts and, after visiting with Hagrid and Grawp, they entered the Headmistress’s office to find their former Headmaster.


“Ah, Harry, Ginny I wondered when you would come to visit me again,” greeted Dumbledore.


“Hello, Professor, we simply have some things we need to clarify,” said Ginny bitterly. She had not forgotten the things she saw in the pensive about the Dursleys.


“Ah yes, I hear you learnt the extent of Harry’s mistreatment at the hands of the Dursleys. I must confess, that I had no idea Howlers could be sent to portraits until your mother sent me one after learning of Harry’s bedroom under the stairs,” said Dumbledore. “I hope you understand that it was for the best that he be sent there. It kept him safe.”


“But did you need to leave him there alone?” asked Ginny. “Couldn’t he have had somebody there to stand up for him? He was left with no one while the Dursleys starved him!”


“I’m afraid I was not aware that they starved Harry until I received the howler from your mother,” said Dumbledore, looking a bit ashamed.


“Well, you didn’t bother to find out. You told me yourself you knew the Dursleys wouldn’t treat me well when you left me there. But the only time anyone ever made as much as an attempt to get them to treat me better was when Mad Eye and Lupin threatened him. I never had anyone looking out for me on Privet Drive,” said Harry a bit more harshly than intended.


“Harry you know as well as I do that that is not true. There were members of the Order like Arabella Figg standing watch the entire time,” said Dumbledore, sounding as though he was trying to convince himself more than he was Harry.


“And where were these members when Dudley was going “Harry Hunting” or when he was locked in the cupboard for 72 hours straight because Dudley blamed him for pushing him down the stairs, professor?” asked an irritated Ginny. “Did it not seem necessary to do something? Could Mrs. Figg not have stood up for him once in a while? She was there for his protection and had been for his whole life yet you told her to do nothing. When he came to the Burrow for the first time, it was clear that he hadn’t eaten well since he got back from Hogwarts. I know my mother told you that as well. You knew and yet you stood idly by.”


Dumbledore sighed. He knew she was right. He had left Harry alone and unloved and it had scarred him, perhaps more deeply than Harry was willing to admit. Dumbledore had never realized just how much pain he had caused the green-eyed boy sitting before him. First because he forced him into an abusive home, even though he had plenty of other options; then because of his reluctance in telling him the prophecy, he had lost the man who was the closest thing to a father that he had ever known. And yet, despite this, Harry had remained “Dumbledore’s man, through and through.”


“We’re getting sidetracked,” said Harry. “We didn’t come to discuss the past. I received some vary interesting information from Dobby and Winky over the summer. It seems that Ginny and I are undergoing some kind of bond. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”


“I might have suspected that the two of you would be connected through what is called a Life Bond. Lily and James shared a similar bond, though they did not get a chance to complete the final stage of the bonding process. I also suspected that this bond would be the Power the Dark Lord Knows Not. When I heard that the two of you were dating, I thought that Miss Weasley seemed like the most likely candidate for Harry’s bond mate, as you both share a few similar traits. You both love flying and are excellent Seekers. You both can be quite stubborn and you also both hate it when people leave you out of the loop because they feel you are too young. Tell me have either of you come upon any new powers over the summer?” asked Dumbledore.


“Well, we’re very close to being Animagi,” said Harry.


“We’ve also mastered Legilimency and Occlumency over the summer,” added Ginny.


“And we’ve come across some new spells in my parents’ notebooks. They seemed easier to master than other spells,” remembered Harry. “All of these things we would have done without the bond, but we seem to be mastering them quicker than usual. The only thing I can think of that we wouldn’t have been able to do normally is conjuring multiple Patroni.”


“Yes, Minerva told me about that. Couples who are bonded like you two are so connected that they draw strength from each other. Once you both become fully trained Animagi, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could each take the other’s form,” explained Dumbledore.


“What can you tell us about this bond? Is there anything else we need to know?” asked Harry.


“Life bonds are developed in stages. You two haven’t fully completed the bond yet, however. The first stage is completed when both parties involved have risked their lives for the other. Mr. Potter came very close to death in the Chamber of Secrets. Had it not been for the timely intervention of Fawkes, the Basilisk venom would have taken his life. Ginny risked her life to help Harry when she accompanied him to the Department of Mysteries,” said Dumbledore.


Ginny looked shocked at the news that Harry had been dying in the Chamber.


“The second stage comes when the parties involved realize and act on their feelings for each other. Stage three is completed when the couple shows their complete trust in one another. I am under the belief that this stage was completed when you were helping each other with Occlumency. You let each other into your minds, and that showed complete trust. Harry, you also we perfectly ok when you found out Ginny had been in your Pensieve, despite the fact that you undoubtedly had things in there that you intended to keep from even your closest friends, in this case Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger, who have been at your side through thick and thin. It is at this stage that your powers start increasing. There is yet another stage, which is completed after what is called a Bonding Procedure. At this point, you will share each other’s knowledge of magic and each of your spells will have both of your powers behind them. For example, if you cast a stunning spell, it’s effect will be as if both of you were casting it. In addition to the generally increased powers of your spells, spells that are driven by feelings of love and happiness such as the Patronus Charm will be at least fifty times as powerful, if my calculations of your normal power levels are correct, meaning you will be able to conjure over 50 Patroni. Because of your shared knowledge, Miss Weasley will be able to skip her sixth year at Hogwarts. You two will be the most powerful magicians in the world, possibly in history.”


“So what exactly is this procedure?” asked Harry.


“It is quite simple. You must each create a wound on the other’s person. A small cut on the forearm should do. If you are at that stage, allowing your blood to drip into the others wound will act in a manner similar to Phoenix tears and heal the wound. This will also complete the bond,” explained Dumbledore.


Harry conjured a small knife and the teens completed the bond, as soon as the wounds healed, a floodgate was opened in the teens minds and they were privy to all sorts of new information, Spells, knowledge of animals, even Quidditch tactics and facts were transferred. After regaining their composure, Harry and Ginny discovered that they were now able to do their Animagus transformations and could indeed take each other’s animal forms. They made their way to the fireplace, intending to Floo back to Potter Manor. However, Harry got a better idea and they flew Buckbeak to the Manor to join the other Hippogriffs to give Hagrid more time to tend to the Forbidden Forest. This displeased Mrs. Weasley’s. Ginny left her rambling about her and Charlie's fascination with “dangerous creatures”. Harry entered the dueling room to find Remus, Tonks, Kingsley and Mad Eye with Ron and Hermione. They had been helping the four fine tune their dueling skills, though Harry and Ginny had quickly surpassed their tutors and Ron and Hermione were closing in.


“Thank you for agreeing to help,” began Harry as Ginny belatedly joined them. “I propose a little contest to see just how far we’ve progressed. I want the six of you to go up against Ginny and myself.”


“Don’t get me wrong, Harry, you two are some of the best duelers I’ve seen. But two on six odds are hard to overcome, even for you,” said Lupin.


“Well, I guess you don’t have anything to be afraid of then do you, old man?” taunted Harry good-naturedly. Lupin recognized the look on Harry’s face. It was the same look he saw on James whenever he was looking for a challenge.


“I’ll show you old man. All right, we’ll all have five minutes to position ourselves around the manor. No using your map. The last team left with a man standing wins,” decided the Werewolf.


“How about we make a little tougher? If a team member gets knocked out or disarmed their teammate can revive them and get them to rejoin the fight,” suggested Ginny.


The teams moved into position. Harry placed himself on a small landing area on the roof of the house, giving him a vantage point from which he could observe the grounds. From there, Harry was able to stun Kingsley and Hermione from hundreds of yards away without to pair knowing what hit them. Once Harry moved into position, Ginny crossed the grounds out into the open, drawing the other four into attacking her. As soon as Harry noticed his opponents moving in, he grabbed his Firebolt and darted down. Ginny stunned Ron and Mad Eye while Remus and Tonks, who had not been expecting Harry’s arrival, were disarmed by the raven-haired teenager. The fight lasted a total of 90 seconds.


“Impressive, Potter. Not the tactic I expected and certainly not one I would have tried. I saw Ginny moving across the grounds and assumed she would be heading to one of the trails in order to make it harder to gang up on her. Didn’t expect you to try and take us head on,” praised Mad Eye when they regrouped . They repeated the exercise five more times; with the battles lasting anywhere from 3 minutes to 1 and all ended with Harry and Ginny the victors.


“All right, I want a real challenge this time,” said Harry after the last battle, which had ended in a manner similar to the first, with the Firebolt replaced by Buckbeak.


“Dobby!”


“Yes Harry Potter sir, you is calling Dobby?” piped the House Elf.


“Yes Dobby, could you please get the rest of the Weasleys to come here. I’d like their help with something,” asked Harry.


Soon Fred, George, Bill, Bill’s wife of one week Fleur, Charlie and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were in the sitting room.


“What can we do for our favorite financer?” asked Fred.


“Harry and Ginny have been dueling the six of today-” began Remus.


“What, you went up against them two on six? I know they need to be trained hard but they could get hurt,” said Mrs. Weasley.


“Actually, Molly, it’s our safety you should be concerned for. Harry and Ginny have beaten all of us,” said Lupin.


“Five times. And not one of them lasted longer than 3 minutes,” added Kingsley, sounding impressed.


“We were wondering if you wouldn’t mind helping them give us a challenge,” said Ginny.


Again the groups split up, Harry and Ginny took longer in these battles, which lasted 10, 20, 15, 25 minutes, with Harry and Ginny winning each time. The group agreed to one last battle, which consisted of Harry and Ginny sitting on the couch. Their twelve opponents came bursting in from all sides and were quickly knocked out using the same spell Dumbledore had used to escape the ministry Fifth Year.


“All right, you kids know something and I want to know what it is. Beating the six of us is one thing, but you just beat twelve very powerful witches and wizards and this last time you weren’t really even trying,” said Tonks after the group was revived.


“This has something to do with your visit with Dumbledore, doesn’t it?” asked Hermione.


“Yes. Ginny and I have a life bond,” answered Harry. “The power of most of our spells is doubled. The power of the spells that are driven by love and positive emotions are increase by more than fifty times now that we have completed the bond. We are also able to take each others Animagus forms.”


The room filled with expressions ranging from awe to pride. Fred and George looked mildly frightened, and Harry’s Legilimency told him that they were trying to remember if they had any pranks planned for the couple, as they did not want to draw the ire of the two most powerful people in the world. Hermione looked as though she was pondering something.


“I need to go to the library,” said Hermione as Ron mouthed what he had dubbed “her catch phrase” behind her back. “Honesty, Ronald, there’s a mirror right there, I can see you,” she added with an exasperated tone.


“Ok, what’s this about, Hermione?” asked Harry as the group hurried into the library.


“One of the basic rules of magic is that for every spell, hex jinx or charm, there is at least two ways to magically counteract it, though not every way me be possible for every witch or wizard,” said Hermione.


“In the case of the Avada Kedavra spell, only one way has been discovered. We know your mother’s sacrifice saved you when you were a child. Dumbledore always said that love had saved you. Using this knowledge, as well as the fact that the two of you share a bond that’s driven by love, you should be able to create a shield charm that will be able to block the Killing Curse. However, this couldn’t be your normal Protego shield. What we need is to find an enchantment that combines both love and the Shield Charm.”


“A brilliant idea, Hermione,” said the portrait of Lily, who had heard most of the conversation as the teens rushed towards the library. “I don’t believe anyone has ever attempted to create an emotion powered Shield Charm, but I don’t doubt that one would be possible.”


“So you mean it may be possible to block a Killing Curse? That’s supposed to be impossible,” said Ron.


“It would probably be only Harry and Ginny could create a shield strong enough block a curse that powerful. For anyone else, it would simply be an extremely powerful shield, likely capable of blocking just about any other spell,” explained Hermione, who spent the rest of the day in the library.


Fleur agreed to check the library at Beauxbatons for information, while Ginny, Harry and Ron would go back to Hogwarts to check its library the next day. Kingsley and Tonks offered to use their resources at the Ministry. Harry, however, had a more important job for them.


“I need a list of all known or suspected Death Eaters, dead or alive, from both wars that have the initials RAB. For the ones that are dead, get me information on how and when they died,” asked Harry.


The next day was spent researching various emotion driven spells and shield charms. They had agreed that their most likely avenue would be to combine an enchantment from a charm driven by love with an enchantment for a shield charm. They returned to the Manor with extensive lists of possible shield enchantments, intending to test their strength.


However, their project was soon put on hold with the arrival of Tonks, who had the list of Death Eaters Harry had requested. One name stood out to the quartet, Regulus Arcturus Black.


“Hey, Ginny, do you remember when we were cleaning up headquarters? There was that locket that no one could open,” asked Hermione.


The eyes of the group lit up. “Yeah. I think Kreacher ended up stealing it,’ remembered Ginny.


“Kreacher!” bellowed Harry.


“The Half-Blood calls, and Kreacher must answer,” grumbled the ill-mannered House Elf.


“Yeah, yeah. Listen, when you were taking a lot of Mrs. Black’s possessions, did you come across a large locket?” asked Harry.


Kreacher’s face skewed as he tried to find a loophole to avoid answering. Unable to find one, he finally relented, “Yes master, Kreacher did see the locket that belonged to Master Regulus.”


“Get it and bring it to me,” ordered Harry.


Kreacher disappeared with an angry crack and reappeared with the large locket. The green S left no doubt that this was indeed Slytherin’s locket. Harry dismissed Kreacher and turned his attention to the Horcrux.


“What do we do now?” asked Ron.


“Well, I can think of one way to destroy it, but I’m not sure if anyone of us can do it,” answered Harry.


He drew his wand, instructing the other three to stand behind him and, summoning up every hateful, evil thought he had ever had, said, “Avada Kedavra.”


A green jet of light rushed from Harry wand, connecting with the locket, which give an ear-splitting screech as a white smoke rose from it.


“Three down, three to go,” said Harry.


The group agreed that they had done enough for one day and celebrated their success on the Quidditch pitch. The next day they began testing shields.


“Amourus Protego,” shouted Harry while thinking of Ginny.


Three stunners, courtesy of Ron, Ginny and Hermione, rushed towards Harry, only to be absorbed by a large shield that covered most of the room. It was a white color similar to a Patronus.


“Well, that’s by far the most powerful shield I’ve seen,” commented Hermione.


Unfortunately, there was no way to test the shields effectiveness on killing curses without actually attempting to use the killing curse on them. Still, the group knew that they would have quite a surprise in store for Voldemort the next time they encountered him.