FicWad

Harry Potter and the Dark Lady
Chapter 23

Godric’s Hollow
Potter’s Field
Monday
24 Feb 97
18:00

“Ernest, goddamn it, sit down.”

Ernest Luther Lyles looked at his friend and comrade of twenty-one years and said, “Jimmy Ray Jones, what the fuck have I told you about taking the Lord’s name in vain?”

“Here, Ernest? Really? I mean, the stuff we’ve seen these people do and you’re still on about that?”

“Just because you managed to live this long don’t mean nothing, other than God has plans for you, you heathen.”

Jim rolled his eyes and Ernest suddenly sat beside him with his back to the same wall, looking out over the room.

Jim looked at him. “Spider sense?”

Ernest nodded. “That and I saw a bunch of privates at the boot wash.”

Jim nodded. They had actually suggested the boot wash to the frustrated Sally Ann after their experiences in other training areas. Hell, the only one the U.S. Army used that wasn’t a swamp was a desert. They had both gotten kisses they weren’t going to tell their wives about for that.

Speaking of wives.... “Luther, you and Sally still coming over tomorrow?”

“Yeah, well, depending on the privates.”

Jim nodded. It always depended on the privates and what idiocy they got up to. “You know, Barb sent that thank-you to the Duke for the quarters. First time she’s ever done that.”

Luther laughed. “First time we ever lived in a Castle, too.”

Jim nodded again and then they sat back, unsmiling, and nursed the tankards of ale Sally Ann had sent them as the privates came in and sat.

SSG Lombard, SSG Woodman, Hagrid, and Argus came in behind them. “’ere, what’s wrong with you two? You’re both about worn to a frazzle.”

Charles looked at Hagrid. “Well, as we just came back from one of General Ham’s ‘little’ training exercises covering most of Siberia and lasting the whole weekend we missed the Quidditch, again.”

Hagrid nodded in sympathy. He had watched part of one of those in the operations theater at the Castle. The troops always came home near physical and magical exhaustion. Apparently they were damn good at what they did, though.

Angelic brought them tankards and kissed Charles before scampering away. The privates gave with the wolf whistles and then cut them off abruptly when SFC Jones, back in his dark corner, leaned forward into the light.

Sally Ann smiled at her best waitress as Angelic came back to the bar. “So are you going to tell him tonight?”

Angelic just smiled and nodded. That was why she was working now—she wanted the day off tomorrow. Charles would be happy—well, most likely—and that combined with his weekend would perhaps make him…well, never mind. Suffice it to say she had covered all the eventualities. He would make a good father, that she was sure of.

Hagrid leaned back and set his tankard down with a thunk. “Yeah, the Quidditch. Good thing Jennifer Goldstone is back. The Harpies are still on top. I wonder why their play is so much better than everyone else’s, though? I mean, now that Harry isn’t flying for them any more I expected them to drop a little, but they keep on shutting teams out.”

The conversation turned to Quidditch as Angelic brought dinner to them and SFC’s Jones and Lyles.

The Potter’s Field filled with the usual crowd but they were much more subdued than usual, most just eating and then pushing off for their beds.

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Potter Castle
Monday
24 Feb 97
19:12

“Harry, go shower—no, Harry, no Haaaarrrrryyy.”

The mates smiled and laughed as Nym was flung naked into the bath and then joined by the still exuberant, naked Harry.

“Harry! It makes the tub all icky when you just jump in all over mud!”

Harry just grabbed the weakly protesting Nym and pulled her into his lap. “Harry, are you going to talk or did that last knock on the head Guroku gave you make you stupid?”

“Icky, Nym?”

“Icky, Nym? That’s all you have to say?”

“Erm, no actually.”

“Everyone, we did great, and please pass my compliments to your troops.”

Nym gave up and smiled. They had done great. It was a bit amazing really.

Hestia came in and lowered herself gratefully into the bath. Not only was the Command Staff fulfilling their function, they were acting as the final reserve and Harry had committed them against the Giants today. The Anak had proved tough, capable fighters.

“Harry, put stingy Nym down and come over here with me. Eeeeek!”

Hestia and Nym found themselves in the arms of the Harry squid and the recipients of a very nice massage.

“Hey! When did I get to be stingy Nym, Tia, mmmphh?”

Hestia had used the simple expedient of rolling over and kissing Nym quiet. It worked very effectively. The rest of the mates wandered into the bath or shower. It would be an early night tonight as it had been a very physical exercise.

Harry had, as per his normal, given the next day off after the companies closed and secured their sensitive items and weapons.

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Potter Castle
Operations Theater
Monday
24 Feb 97
20:35

“All right, gentlemen, any other comments?” Andrew looked around. The Command Council shook their heads. The exercise had gone very well—some seriously wounded (simulated), but overall very light casualties. The troops were learning how to avoid the affects of the magical weapons and the magically enhanced Mundane weapons.

That those weapons now gave the pain of the actual hit until Finited by the appropriate level of medical personnel or the graves registration unit was a serious motivator. An Incendio was like a constant low-powered Cruciatus, completely debilitating to all but the most pain-tolerant. The ultimate negative reinforcement training, really. How Marcia, Jennifer, Melissa, Emmeline, and their teams had managed that effect without the permanent effects was still a mystery.

“Okay, then. Just to be clear, it’s our intent to advise His Highness the Duke of Magic of the identified resistance and criminal cells and plan an all-out simultaneous attack on them with the goal of taking them all down at one time.”
Sirius flinched. “Andrew, be careful; you know how he reacts to that Your Highness thing.”

Phillip grimaced. “His Highness will just have to get used to it. Elizabeth will have her way by hook or by crook, and Charles sees the value in being his vassal too. He’ll be addressed as what he truly is. I mean, politically you really can’t have Russia and Europe sworn to him and him sworn to her, it has to be the other way round; besides the fact that his is the preeminent line and at this point his House is more powerful than every other wizarding House in the world combined.

“He’s a wizarding superpower by definition and the wizarding superpower in fact. He’s neither Light nor Dark but operates completely along his own beliefs. Thank Merlin those happen to be completely benign at least, and massively positive at best, unless you happen to be evilly inclined, and she intends to groom him to be a good ruler. We may not like her decision, but let’s see you oppose her and the Realm.”

Remus nodded. “Phillip is right, Sirius, and you need to start helping her and thereby him. Style him His Highness.”

Sirius looked around the group at the nodding—Alastor, Andrew, Phillip, and Dan—and gave in. “All right, but if he turns me into a judas goat one of you has to get me turned back.”

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Kunming, China
Xi Shi’s Hold
Ming Na Wen’s Tower, Arrow Embrasure
Tuesday
25 Feb 97
04:43

Ming Na Wen snuggled, rolled in her soft warm threadbare blanket, almost dreaming. Ummm. he was going to be fun tonight. I hope he takes Xiao Jun again. It was almost like being there when he did. She was the same somatotype, just a little older. Now if the crazy lady would just stay asleep. She should, since she’d been up all night scheming. The poor Lis had had to be with her all night., first the most trusted Xuan Li and then the diviner Chang Li. Why would she need so many wizards? And what was a durmstrang? Oh well, no matter now. Oh yes, the Master had rolled over after the round-eye finished and found Jun...mmmmmhhhhhmmmm.

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Potter’s Field
Tuesday
25 Mar 97
18:30

“Ernest, if your black ass doesn’t stop laughing I’m going to get the Weasley boys to turn you white.”

Jim’s outburst did nothing to stem the laughter and might have made it worse. Ernest was still dying laughing over Jim’s platoon of recruits all doing a left face instead of a right face and all at the same time, in perfect unison and good order. It had looked great. Sergeant Major Wallace congratulating them on their precision in close-order drill had been what made it funny.

Ernest finally managed, “Well, they are great at drill and ceremony, Jim; now if you just back up to first grade level and teach them left from right you’ll have the Honor Platoon this cycle.”

Jim put his head in his hands. What was the statistical likelihood of getting an entire platoon of forty who couldn’t tell their left from their right? “God hates me.”

Ernest laughed some more. “That’s what you get for all that taking the Lord’s name in vain you do.”

Jim just stared at him.

Charles and Lesley, who had already been seated, laughed at SFCs Jones and Lyles. Hagrid and Argus sat down. “What’s got you two so tickled?”

“’lo, Hagrid, Argus. It’s SFC Jones’s new platoon. None of them can tell their left from their right,” Lesley answered, smiling.

Argus nodded. “See? I told you, Hagrid, they’ve gone just like those kids. I tell ya it’s them twins, it is.”
Hagrid looked at Argus incredulously. “Ye’ve been talking to that cat again, Argus. You never told me none of that.”

Charles looked around and sure enough saw the shimmer of a Disillusionment charm and gave Lesley a hand signal. As they prepared to move, SFCs Jones and Lyles appeared as if from nowhere out of their shadowy corner and had two somethings pressed to the floor with their Gerber Mark II issue fighting knives pressed against the probable throats of whatever it was they had captured. Charles Finited the Disillusionments and the Duke faded into view just as Fred and George did.

Harry stood tapping his foot as Cindy Wallace and Bill Hendricks rushed over, attracted by the commotion.

Fred swallowed and a bright line of blood appeared where his adam’s apple contacted SFC Lyles’ knife. “Stand the prisoners up, sergeants, and let’s have a look at them.”

The whole room instantly went silent. They’d heard that voice before, generally every Sunday evening.

Fred blinked. “That’s a little harsh, Harry. I mean, prisoners? It’s us, Fred and George.”

“The prisoners will be silent, and when you address your liege you will address him as Your Grace or Your Highness.” Not that they had much choice about the silent part as Ginny had faded in and Silencioed them. They would have shut up at her appearance anyway as her hair was floating around with no breeze moving it. The twins had seen that only one time before and that time Ginny’s magical burst had burned away all their own hair.

“So these two idiots are what we’ve been chasing all day, Harry?”

“Apparently, Ginny.”

Hermione appeared and ran a wand over them. “Yes, Harry, same signature.”

Harry sighed. “You know, this might have been funny if we hadn’t spent 5,408 hours of the bonded’s and no telling how much of the Division and Professors’ time running around fixing the results of these two’s little prankfest.”

“So what do we do with them, Harry?” Ginny asked through clenched teeth.

“If I might be so bold, Your Grace, why don’t you bind them to the House and send them to basic training?”

“Alicia, Angelina! Good evening. Well, Alicia, I would prefer not to risk breaking your bond.”

Alicia grinned. “Oh, come on, Harry, you could fold me and Angelina right in and never notice. Besides, I know you’re at least a little interested.”

She cocked a hip at Harry and George got a matching bright red line from SFC Jones’ knife when he moved. SFC Jones and Lyles had never let go of their prisoners but had simply moved them in front of themselves and taken over the shoulder knife to throat holds with one hand and thumb bars with the other.

“You know, that wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

SFC Jones and Lyles moved the knives away as the twins went a little nuts at Ginny’s comment. Ginny rolled her eyes at the broadly smiling Alicia and Angelina. “Not that, but binding them and sending them to basic training. Unless I miss my guess, they aren’t going to be erm…well....”

“Getting any?”

“Errr, yes, thank you, Angelina—getting any for a long time anyway. Might as well send them somewhere where they can work off all that tension.”

Alicia pouted outrageously. “But Ginny, what about us? We didn’t do anything wrong!”

Ginny took Alicia and Angelina’s arms and headed for a table. “We’ll talk about it.”

Harry stepped forward and the twins found themselves looking into a pair of burning green eyes and then the pain hit as the Potter crest burned itself into their arms. Harry stepped back.

“Sergeants, what are these two recruit privates doing in my public house?”

Sergeants Jones, Lyles, Lombard, and Woodman grinned viciously. SFC Jones answered, “No idea, sir. We’ll return them to barracks.”

“Thank you, sergeants. Carry on.”

Aurors Wallace and Hendricks just smiled and watched, being as it was a military matter and the military had handled it very nicely. They headed back to their table and that very interesting conversation with all the long pauses that looked to be leading upstairs.

Fred and George couldn’t even wrap their minds around what had happened before they found themselves frog-marched out the door and up the path to the barracks. Over the next twenty-four hours they were examined, tested, fitted, poked, prodded, screamed at verbally, and physically abused until their bodies began responding on automatic to any command they were given.

While they were being frog-marched up the path Ginny talked to Alicia and Angelina with Harry there. “You two know there will be no Harry-panky while your dolts are in basic, right?”

Angelina put on a fake shocked face. “Why, Ginevra Potter, how could you even suggest we would cheat on our bonded? What kind of witches do you think we are? Seriously, no. We are, for better or worse, fully bonded to your idiot brothers.”

Ginny nodded. “Just had to make sure.”

Alicia had a thought. “Harry, how would you have gotten them to go if they hadn’t provided you with the opportunity?”

Harry laughed. “Why, Alicia, what makes you think I planned that?”

“Oh, I don’t think you planned it, Harry; I think you took the opportunity. Thank you, by the way. At least this way we get it out of the way when we’re really mad at them. This whole prank attack thing was stupid and we told them not to.”

Harry smiled. “I would have eventually had to order them to go. You two do realize it’s not just basic, right? I mean, they’ll be expected to drill once a week and participate in exercises as well as go to school. I need them to—erm—have a military mindset. I mean, don’t get me wrong—they’ve already helped a lot, but they have too much talent to waste on pranks. They can do that in their spare time.”

Alicia and Angelina nodded. Angelina spoke their minds. “And hopefully it will mature them just a little. Not much, just a little.”

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Godric’s Hollow
Assault Course
Tuesday
23 Apr 97
14:10

“All right there then, Fred?”

“Not dead, George.”

“And the rest of you lot?”

George got seven answers of varying clarity back from the rest of the squad.

“Nobody dead—well, the day’s looking up then. Good thing for this mud, eh, Fred?”

“Yeah, George. So should we continue?”

“Well, it’s that or that big fucking Russian sergeant beating on us some more, so I vote continue.”

“Right, o brother mine. Up we get then.”

George and Fred sat up and then fell right back, prone. The medics arrived a moment later to start treating them after their eighty-foot fall from the top of the confidence climb when their shortest squadmate Alexei had misjudged his leap for the last crossbar and overbalanced them all.

“Well, they all went together.”

“Yep, Jim, you got a good squad there.”

Jim nodded at Ernest’s praise of his 1st Squad. They had come right along over the last month. The twins were shaping to be leaders, good ones.

“All right here, Sergeants?”

“Yes, Colonel Potter. Little accident on the confidence climb. Nothing serious, no broken bones.”

Hestia nodded her head to SFC Jones and faded away.

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Royal Sports Ground
Promenade
WWW Stall
Tuesday
23 Apr 97
14:15

“They’re fine, ladies. Idiots fell off the confidence climb. Cushioning charm and the mud caught them, nothing broken.”

Alicia and Angelina let out a long exhale. They had felt the fall and then pain. Hestia looked around the stall. Hu Jin was doing a booming business while Molly watched over the flocks of feather growing, color changing, prank dodging mostly third to sixth year boys in the large stall. “Need anything?”

The girls laughed. “Fred and George and about two hours in private, but other than that we should be good until Family Day,” Angelina said.

Alicia asked, “And they’re studying for NEWTs?”

Hestia nodded. “Required for Battle Mages. Trust me, they’ll get the best marks the sergeants are capable of driving them to and they’re very capable, former long service Battle Mages from the U.S. and Canada.”

The girls nodded, smiled, and waved goodbye as Hestia faded away.

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Godric’s Hollow
Hundred-Acre Wood Stealth and Tracking
Tuesday
23 Apr 97
15:04

Fred and George weren’t the only Weasleys having a tough day. Ron had made a mistake and he knew he was about to pay for it. He hadn’t cast that disillusionment well enough and he had just realized his right boot was visible, plain as day. Then his world went dark.

He came to looking at a laughing Kathleen Conrad. “Thanks, Kathleen, way to make me look bad.”

“Oh, you don’t need any help with that, Cadet Weasley. Two minutes to reset and then try again.”

“Yes, Master Auror Shacklebolt.”

Kingsley nodded. “Well, off you go then.”

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Potter Castle
Operations Theater
Tuesday
23 Apr 97
15:32

“Yes, Phillip, I know it’s important and I’ve been studying the problem, but I’m a little out of my depth here. I mean, even the Medi Mates are baffled by how the bloody thing protects itself.”

“Actually, Harry, I don’t think the lycanthropy vampirism virus is important right now, that’s why I asked. I mean, I know you want to cure the werewolves and vampires, but they seem content and the Wolfsbane eases the worst of it, so why don’t we let it go—well, not all the way go, but why don’t we put it on the back burner and let the mediwitch and wizard Masters candidates work on it while we concentrate more on the Russians?”

“Thank Sekhmet! Finally somebody gets it. Thank you, Da!” Amelia Fastida leaned in and kissed Phillip on the cheek.

Phillip favored her with his alternating colors routine and everyone chuckled.

“And we’re concentrating on the Russians why exactly, Phillip?”

“Because we want to clear for action against Xi Shi, Harry; she’s building up to something. The attacks from China have almost completely stopped, but we know from our sources as well as your sources that she continues to build some kind of massive magical army.

“You’ll hit your first maturity this July thirty-first and your Primaries and the younger mates are going to start falling pregnant. That will have the effect of taking out your company commanders and primary staff.

“The thoughts are that after the next round of pregnancies, things in the bond will settle; so we want to take down the Russian resistance while we have our most able fighters still with us and then go defensive and let Xi Shi spin her wheels and fight a war she can’t win against an entrenched enemy.

“Hopefully she will, at that point, be more open to discussion. All the least favorable courses of action seem to be shorted out if we can get you and her face to face in a controlled way. That meeting taking place outside of controlled circumstances seems to be the event that triggers the worst of the possible possibilities. Errr—did that actually make sense to anyone other than me?”

Harry chuckled. “I come by it naturally, then. I do that every once in a while too, Phillip—but to answer your question, yes, it made sense—to me at least.”
Phillip nodded. “Then there’s the—erm—‘training’ Her Majesty wishes to undertake with His Highness and the Monarchs of Europe and Russia.”

Tamara and Elonka rolled their eyes along with Anastasia and Nym; the rest of the mates sniggered behind their hands. Phillip shrugged.

Harry shook his head. He knew why he was learning to discuss the forty-seven characteristics of a good red wine and what the theoretically perfect balance between them was, or as he liked to say snobbery 502, Court Life for the Terminally Ambitious; but come on, he did after all have what—a hundred pureblood mates? You couldn’t get much more steeped in tradition than him.

Narcissa looked at him and smiled. “Practice, Harry. You’re very good, but practice never hurts.” Harry rolled his eyes and got a light pinch from Bella, who was, as normal, sitting between his legs with Amelia Fastida on one side and Allison on the other with their laps full of Princesses, babies, and a young Veela.

Harry sighed. “Oh, all right. What are we doing today, then?”

Hestia smiled and Hermione took her place by the screen. “War games, Harry. ‘Do you want to play a game?’ Hehehe.”

Harry laughed. “No more late night telly for you, Hestia.”

“Promises, promises!”

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Royal Academy
Sports Ground
Sunday
25 May 97
08:00

Harry had declared Sunday a training holiday and as a result the whole Hollow was packed with humanity. The overflow seating had filled and the Goblin Regiment were constructing temporary stands as fast as they could. As fast as they built them, they filled.

It was a beautiful spring day and the varsity, uni, and professional leagues were into the last week of play before the double elimination tournaments began and ran for five weeks. The uni/pro bottom seeds vs. top seeds across the league, as it had been decided the Premier cup tournament would be an eight seed double elimination tournament.

Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, now fully integrated into the Realm’s school systems, both fielded two teams apiece, one JV and one varsity, making those two tournaments ten seed double elimination tournaments.

The PeeWees would start their tournaments next Wednesday.

Conventional wisdom had the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang teams at long odds. Margret gave tighter odds on Gwenog and Gwendolyn’s advice and hedged heavily against the other totes by taking large long odds positions with them, backed by Narcissa.

“Margaret, remember to get out of those after this first round and we’ll reevaluate. Don’t take any long odds positions until you talk to us.”

Margaret rolled her eyes at Gwenog. “Yes, mother. Now, don’t you have practice or something?”

Gwendolyn laughed at her mate’s reaction. “Now you know how I feel, Gwenog. You all act like teenagers most of the time.”

Narcissa was grumbling about sharing the gate and Harry laughed. “Narcissa, you agreed to give the league a Knut on the Galleon. I don’t think it’ll break us.”

“Foot in the door, Harry.”

Tracey sighed. “What Narcissa means to say, Harry, is that it sets a precedent and they’ll want a piece of the gate at all the events where professionals play.”

Harry grinned and handed Narcissa a note he had written in his study yesterday on considering Narcissa’s ill humor.

Narcissa read, “As it’s only fair, the teams and organizations of the BAQ (British Association of Quidditch) will reciprocate all agreements in kind. So Mote it Be. His Grace the Duke of Magic.” Narcissa laughed and appeared in Harry’s lap for a snog; her children hardly turned a hair as the crowd oohhed and ahhed. Several Beaus suddenly jerked sharply and several furiously whispered instructions to not pay attention as it only encouraged them were clearly overheard.

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Royal Academy
Sports Ground
Sunday
25 May 97
08:11

“And as always, our Duke provided the example for bonded males everywhere. Not afraid for the world to know who he loves, a real man that. Good morning, gentle beings, and welcome to the inaugural episode of ‘Eye on the Realm’ on WWN 3. I’m your correspondent, Glenda Chittock, and our technician is Donald Des Jardins. This morning we are very privileged to have Duchess Rosmerta, formerly of Hogsmeade, with us.”

Rosmerta leaned forward at Glenda’s signal and said, “Good morning, citizens.”

“And good morning to you, Duchess. Now to get right to it, as they say, how has it been going from publican to co-ruler of the Magical Realm of Briton?”

Rosmerta smiled. “Wonderful, Glenda, really. Not the co-ruler of the Realm thing, but the Duke and my, as well as my sister wives’ children are an absolute joy. The co-ruler part has been a source of both joy and pain. The Duke is absolutely destroyed when he has to incinerate these few criminal citizens, but he’s overjoyed with the people being able to go about their lives in peace.”

“Duchess, there’s been a persistent rumor that the Duke and you all intend to withdraw from public life and leave the real administration to this new expanded Wizengamot, once it’s elected. Can you perhaps shed some light?”

Well they had known this would come. “Glenda, the Duke wishes to move the Realm into rule by government chosen freely by a majority of the people it governs, a democracy. Most of the western world is governed this way and he feels it’s time we moved in that direction. This is part of his overall plan to stop the rise of what is known as Dark Lords and Ladies. Once the rule of that government is established, the Duke does in fact intend to mostly withdraw from public life. Public life was not something he sought and it is something he does not enjoy. He would much rather spend the time with his children and mates.”

Glenda smiled predatorily. “Confirming his intelligence. I mean, look at you and, well, all the bonded. Who wouldn’t rather spend time with beautiful, intelligent women than with a bunch of men in smoke-filled chambers?”

Bruce Titterhorn watched with a smile as Glenda’s show got underway in the new broadcast booth they had created by taking half the Quidditch booth. Glenda could get on with her business and Percy could concentrate on Quidditch and sport. Besides which his eyebrows had just grown all the way back in. Didn’t want Duchess Frieda or Hong or any of the other Dragon ladies paying another visit; now if they had a problem they could go straight to Glenda. Speaking of Sport, what was Percy saying about the Quidditch today….

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Royal Academy
Sports Ground
Sunday
25 May 97
08:40

Ginny leaned forward and whispered to Alicia and Angelina, “All better now?”

She got two furious nods in return and chuckled. Must have been a good night, judging by those deep red faces. Fred and George had gotten a weekend pass, as had all the bonded trainees in their last month of training. It had been about time too, as Alicia and Angelina were getting meaner and meaner as time went on. Of course it was useless trying to talk to Fred and George; all they were capable of was sitting there with those stupid grins.

Melissa, seated beside Ginny, chuckled, leaned forward, and passed the slightly squirming Alicia and Angelina a couple of potion bottles with the Potter mates’ patented “oops, I might have overdone it with that last reverse cowboy but it sure was fun” potions. Both girls looked at the potions and then when Melissa whispered to them they downed the potions immediately, blushing furiously again afterward. The mates in the area chuckled. Alicia and Angelina gave grateful little sighs and settled into their seats.

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Royal Academy
Sports Ground
Sunday
25 May 97
09:00

Daryl Savage Potter, Myridan second form Potter daughter, dragged her father out onto the Promenade and perused the shops with her siblings while the citizenry of the Realm got to watch Harry shake hands and talk with all comers.

“You ask him, Jennifer; after all, you’re the one who heard it on the wireless.”

Jennifer Holland, Duchess of Exeter, looked at Ernst August, Duke of Cumberland. “Coward!”

“Smart, he’s never lit a woman afire yet.”

Jennifer glared at Ernst but approached the Duke. “Your Grace. Good morning.”

Jennifer was a little unprepared for the million-watt Happy Harry smile she got back and was definitely unprepared to have her knuckles kissed and be escorted to a seat in front of Fortescue’s stall. Well, at least unprepared for the results of physical contact in public.

“Daddy, what did Mother Nym tell you? No touching things that talk to you!”

“Errr, I don’t think she meant people, Daryl.”

“They talk, don’t they? No touching!”

The Promenade had drifted to a halt and filled with smiling citizenry watching Duke Firestarter being upbraided by the Potter daughter in charge.

“But they aren’t things, Daryl. Wasn’t there something you wanted to see at Glad Rags, dear?”

The crowd seemed to think this a viable ploy.

Daryl turned away nodding and then stopped. “Hey, no distracting. I have to go, but you stay right here—and remember, we’ll be watching.”

Harry nodded solemnly and Daryl made her way down the Promenade to Glad Rags, looking over her shoulder frequently.

Harry chuckled. “So Exeter, Cumberland, what can the Realm do for you today?”

Jennifer smiled. Obviously we were in a playful mood today. “Tell us more about this system of government and your plans to withdraw from us, Your Highness.”

Harry grimaced. He really disliked that, but Elizabeth would simply not let it go and it was catching on at court—and now with the people, if the letters to the editor were any indicator. The Promenade was frozen, awaiting his answer. “Well, seems like you have it already, from your question. I’ll establish a two-House Parliament and then withdraw, leaving the people of the realm to govern the realm.”

“Oh aye, like we’ve been good at that before—errr, begging Your Highness’s pardon.”

The crowd nodded and grumbled in agreement.

Harry looked at the man who had spoken. “Kenneth McAllister, daughter is June second grader, Hufflepuff.”

“Yes, Yer Honor.”

“Harry, Kenneth, just Harry.”

Kenneth shook his head. “Errr, beggin’ Yer Honor’s pardon, but no. You’ve never been just Harry and you won’t ever be. You’ll always be where we turn when the spanner goes in the works, Yer Honor.”

The crowd nodded and grumbled its agreement. They hadn’t liked these rumors of their Duke leaving them.

Harry sighed. “But I’m just a….”

Kenneth cut in boldly. “You’re just the most powerful wizard since Merlin and maybe ever. Sure, you might’nt a’ started that way, what with Dumbledore’s scheming and those Muggle—errr—Mundane he stuck you with, but the truth will out, as they say, and it has.”

Harry was getting a little angry now. “But you can rule yourselves.”

Kenneth screwed up all his courage in the face of those green eyes that were beginning to glow. “But not well, begging Yer Honor’s pardon, or we would have already had the Royal Academy, and a shot at a good job….”

“As good as our abilities can take us to, not our blood,” Mildred Johnson, Scarlett Johnson’s Grandmother added, to the crowds nodded and grumbled assent.

“And you wouldn’t have your 136 wards, Your Highness,” Ernst August inserted playing to Harry’s status as an orphan and his adoption of the rest of the war orphans he could find or he made.

Harry looked around. “You all know that I’ll maintain control of the military and veto power, right?”

Jennifer smiled at the grumbling going on. “Now you see why we approached you, Your Highness. Our people care for the idea of us being in the upper House and them being in the lower no more than these, your loyal subjects at large. Oh, you can force us, but we’ll require you to lead us, I think.”

This got cheers, to Harry’s chagrin. Elizabeth, with excellent timing and a little help from the Realm, chose that moment to appear on Phillip’s arm. “Exeter, Cumberland, if you and your vassals are through with His Highness?”

Jennifer smiled and dropped a curtsy as Ernst bowed. “Your Majesty, of course.”

“Walk with me, Harry.”

“Ma’am.”

Harry rose and Elizabeth took his arm; he led them round the Promenade slowly, with the Potter children diving into interesting stalls along the way.

“Well, Harry?”

“Errr…well what, ma’am?”

“Have you reconsidered your withdrawal?”

“No, ma’am.”

Phillip laughed. “That’s what is known as a forlorn hope, Harry; remember, we covered this. She wants it. The citizenry want it. And your nobles want it. You can leave that poor rearguard of thought out there to be slaughtered or you can take charge and relieve them.”

Harry pouted and Elizabeth laughed. “You’re theirs, Harry more than your own. Come to terms with it and you can live a good life. Fight it and they’ll force you to it and it will be hard, stripping you of any possible enjoyment and them of a benevolent ruler. Now stop being a big baby.”

Harry’s pout grew spectacular as his eyes gleamed. Elizabeth laughed and rolled her eyes.

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“See? We survived, Jennifer.”

“Yes, thanks to McAllister and Johnson. Ernst, whose are they, I wonder? Whoever it is needs to nominate them for an Order of Merlin. They did more in five minutes than we’ve accomplished since Bellatrix announced this plan.”

Ernst winced. “Oh, I forgot about Bellatrix. Errr, how mad do you think she’ll be?”

Jennifer smiled a little secret smile. “Oh, not very. No, not very mad at all.” Especially since Bellatrix had actively encouraged this amongst the female nobles with the Queens’s advice, consent, and support—not that Cumberland needed to know that.

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Chita Oblast
Training Ground
Friday
20 June 1997
22:40

The moon was just up and the Regiment had shifted to their Wargs when suddenly Luna’s Warg’s eyes went white and they saw the attack on Durmstrang playing out in her mind.

“Hestia....”

“I have it, Harry. Rebecca, get on the radio and issue COM (Change of Mission) instructions. Luna, how much time do we have?”

“Not much, Hestia. Five hours, I think from that clock tower. It felt like today, though, so we have to go now.”

“Evacuate and then defend, Harry?”

“No, Nym—evacuate, reinforce the Fidelius and then capture whatever she sends. Tank Army as outer ring, Division to capture. We’ll use the artillery to fire those proximity fused Draught of Living Death shells on concentrations of enemy troops. Put the plan together! I’m going to change and talk to General Ham and Marshal Plotempkin. Brief in one hour. Liaisons, start talking to your units! I don’t want anybody jumping off on this training mission and costing us time getting them rearmed. Also, everybody get your units to war loads and conduct your Pre-Combat Checks.”

Gerald Naismith watched, amazed, as Harry and the staff brought the Division and Tank Army to a war footing in an hour and the staff concurrently planned a major movement and then non-combat evacuation operation across seven thousand kilometers from Chita Oblast to the Hurtgen Forest and then transition to first defensive and then offensive operations involving chemical warfare agents.

The briefing was not flawless but it was among the best he had ever seen, and the flaws were dealt with on the spot. The Division was prepared for their new Start Point (SP) times as soon as the briefing was over, but Harry allowed an hour for briefings down to company level, fixing the new SP at 01:40 21 June 07 Local. Time at the AOR would be minus five hours.

The Air troops under Cho and Katie would go in first, faded, and conduct reconnaissance, followed by the Regiment, each platoon faded into the AOR by its platoon leader. The platoons would expand and emplace the transport slab half they carried and then provide security for the Goblin Regiment following them.

The Goblins would secure those stones and emplace the larger stones for the Tank Army as the Veela used the original slabs to transport in and begin evacuation of Durmstrang to the Royal Academy via slabs set in the school and the Royal Academy. They would be followed and then supported by the Mage. The Tank army would then use all the slabs to transport in and with Silencioed vehicles move to their encircling positions.

The artillery division and all the Divisional artillery regiments would set and register and then await the “at my command” chemical delivery mission from Harry. They would then shift to HE and the air troops in Bubble-Head charms would have priority of fires as they recconed the target areas. All attackers would be knocked out by the aerosolized Draught of Living Death and transported to cells in Potter Castle to be interrogated and judged.

At least that was the plan.

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Chita Oblast
Training Ground
Saturday
21 June 1997
01:42

Harry squatted on his haunches, waiting and watching the air troops in the bond. They were being slow and deliberate; good.

“Well, there’s Harry, George.”

“How can you tell, Fred?”

“Well, it’s the biggest Warg out here, innit George?”

“Fred, you have got to stop hanging around Johnston. Mum’s going to go spare when you start throwing that Mank around.”

Fred smiled and nodded. “Not to mention Ange, eh?”

George rolled his eyes.

“George, you nervous?”

“Errr, well yeah, but why do you ask, Fred?”

“You’ve taken the pin out of that Stunner grenade you’re juggling.”

George froze, fortunately before he released his finger’s grip on the body of the grenade for his next toss, which would have let the body push away from the spoon and function the fuse, igniting the tiny buster charge after a five-second delay, shattering the charmed glass body and releasing the mate-provided high capacity Stunner inside. They had tested these on a herd of cattle and Stunned every cow in a twenty-five-meter circle. George looked at his left hand and found the pin dangling from his forefinger.

SSG Barlow sighed. They were smart, no question, but there was no telling the stupidity that privates would get up to, left to their own devices. “Well, are you going to put the pin back in, Weasley, or are you going to stand there like an idiot?”

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“Nothing, Harry, no movement, nothing on the Dark detectors.”

“Okay Cho, Katie?”

“Same, Harry.”

“Nym, let’s move the Regiment.”

“Moving now, Harry.”

Harry stood and shook himself; he trotted forward and disappeared. The Regiment followed, troopers following their sergeants who followed their Warg platoon leaders.

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Hurtgenwald
Near Schmidt Germany
Friday
20 June 1997
20:10

The Regiment appeared at the double time and faded away as they Disillusioned themselves. They moved, following their Warg leaders who were not Disillusioned. At the predetermined map, recconed, and aerial scout confirmed, coordinates they emplaced their transport slabs and moved out again into over watch positions.

The Goblins appeared immediately and took over the watch and started placing more slabs. The Veela appeared and began their movement to the Castle housing Durmstrang.

The Goblins finished their work on the slabs and their warding teams moved out to set the overlay Fidelius over Durmstrang Castle and its environs.

The Tank Army’s lead elements began appearing behind the last of the Mages who moved off immediately in support of the Veela. The Artillery immediately moved off to their designated gun positions and the lead guns from each battalion began registration. They were rounds complete five minutes later.

Harry sat in a low spot in the ground looking at the Operations Center maps through Rebecca. Hedwig and the owlets had come through a transport slab and were adding detail to the map as they orbited. Harry was nervous; everything had gone very well.

“Harry, we’re evacuating now. If I can get this idiot to leave the library until we can secure the Castle.”

“All right, Gabrielle. If he gives you too much trouble, just Stun him.”

“Okay, Harry.”

“Contact five Wizards QV 345565.”

“Rebecca?”

“Plotted, Harry, north and west of the Castle.”

“Okay, feed the grids to the artillery division as the reports come in, Rebecca.”

“Got it, Harry!”

“All right, all units—stealth is key. Now get your troops to ground unless they’re already in Durmstrang Castle. Report all sightings.”

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Chita Oblast
Operations Center
Saturday
21 June 1997
02:10

General Gerald Naismith sat in the operations with Marshal Plotempkin. They watched the orders from Harry scrolling along the bottom of the screen and appearing in the orders window after they were transmitted to the units.

“He is very efficient.”

Marshal Plotempkin nodded. “Yes, he is, General Naismith. But now we have contact so we’ll see how they really operate.”

Gerald nodded; the old axiom “No plan survives contact” didn’t get to be an axiom by accident.

As they watched, five more red dots appeared on the map and another set of grids slid across the bottom of the screen.

The screen showed another set of five, and then another, and another. Then they stopped coming.

“Scouts,” Gerald mumbled.

“Da Tovarisch. And airhead security.”

Gerald nodded. “Harry thinks so too; he’s targeted all those locations. Looks like he’s preparing a barrage on the first appearance of troops.”

Sergei smiled. They had practiced this. These wizards were using Portkeys and Harry could tell somehow when they were activated. If he timed it right the barrage would hit right as the wizards landed. By the time those Chinese wizards got their bearings they would be coated in the chemical agent. He smiled and waited; as long as the artillerymen didn’t stuff this up, it would be a textbook chemical agent enhanced defense.

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Hurtgenwald
Near Schmidt Germany
Friday
20 June 1997
22:12

“We need a half hour, Harry.”

“You’ve got what time we can give you, Gabrielle. Their scouts are on the ground and look to be performing security operations. I expect one from each group will Portkey away and then as soon as they report and Xi Shi makes a decision we’ll see the main body. As soon as Carina or I feel major Portkey activations we’ll give the fire command for the on order chemical strike.

“Rebecca, send the strike warn message.

“Cho, Katie, and Hedwig, widen your orbits and clear the gun target line.”

“Everybody keep your troops in their hides until after the splash of the artillery and then get ’em up and moving fast. Companies take the target reference point nearest you as your objective. Nym, coordinate to ensure we get them all. Hestia, the staff and reserve will take TRP 5 as it’s closest to us. Everyone remember the Bubble-Head charms.”

Harry smiled at the chorus of “Yes, Harry” and went back to watching and feeling for the initiation of mass Portkeys while he entered the trance-like state he used when processing the data from the bonded.

Nym, meanwhile, in her role as Assistant Division Commander (ADC), began moving the assault forces, while Sarah in her ADC role saw to the completion of the primary objective of evacuating Durmstrang.

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Hurtgenwald
Near Schmidt Germany
Durmstrang Castle
Friday
20 June 1997
22:26

Helmut Geiger watched Lyudmila Prestikova get separated from her bonded, George Schmidt, and smiled. The little bitch had gotten away from him at Christmas but he had her now. Snub him for that weak Schmidt, would she? Ha! None of those Dog’s Head Bitches from the Royal Academy around to save you now, and Schmidt has finally made a mistake and let your little golden-haired ass out of his sight.
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Hurtgenwald
Near Schmidt Germany
Friday
20 June 1997
22:26

“Harry!”

Harry hadn’t needed Luna’s warning; he had seen it in her head and was already fading.

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Hurtgenwald
Near Schmidt Germany
Durmstrang Castle
Friday
20 June 1997
22:26

Lyudmila screamed and wet herself as the arm that had come from nowhere was suddenly ripped free and she was sprayed with hot blood from the sheared-off stump of forearm. Helmut Geiger’s head thumping to the floor and rolling away didn’t bother the unconscious third form in the least.

Pop!

“Master?”

“Take this girl to the Castle and put her in the children’s wing. Find her bonded and move him to her. Remove this body to a stasis chamber at Potter Castle. Tell Chief Woods that all Durmstrang students and staff are to be interrogated under Veritaserum. Those having committed crimes are to be held in cells for my return.”

“Yes, Master.”

Pop!

“Harry, here they come.”

“It never rains but it pours. Thanks, Carina. Rebecca, fire TRP 1 – 5 Army 6 chemical.”

“Roger, Harry.”

“Shot, Harry.”

Harry nodded. As he faded he heard the massive 2A6s of the artillery regiment beside the Castle bark, sending their 152-millimeter projectiles in a low trajectory toward whichever TRP they had targeted.

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Hurtgenwald
Near Schmidt Germany
Friday
20 June 1997
22:28

As Harry faded back into his hide, the 2S3s of the Tank division near the Command Post barked out their payloads followed by the 120-millimeter mortars of the battalions in range, displaying the precision timing Russian artillery was capable of.

Rebecca sent, “Splash, Harry!” through the bond.

Harry watched through Hedwig’s eyes as the TRP she was watching was enveloped in a white mist from about thirty meters above the ground.

Harry watched as eleven more slightly ragged barks, far then near, deposited six rounds from each of the thousand 152-millimeter guns and four hundred 120-millimeter mortars thirty meters above one or the other of the TRPs, enveloping them in the odd white cloud each time.

The divisional 2S1 122-millimeter self propelled guns were loaded with HE and waiting for targets from their divisional elements.

There were only one or two separate puffs around each TRP from rounds that failed to reach their target through error or mechanically induced dispersion.

Sergei Plotempkin had been very smug about this in exercises and now Harry knew why. The level of precision achieved was awe inspiring. He chuckled to himself; it was like magic, but magic of a totally different kind. Maybe they should just bag this waiting game and go get the bitch.

“Harry! The Chinese have these same weapons and training.”

“@#$%&* @#%^%$! Yes, Amanda, I know, but—”

Nym collected herself first. Harry had blasted incoherent rage into the bond before he clamped back down on his temper. Disconcerting was the least of what it was. “Okay, let’s focus please. I want to get back so we can see to Lyudmila and George. That’s all six rounds, Cho and Katie, your reconnaissance please.”

Harry dropped back into his watching trance and rode along with Katie and Cho. Each TRP looked like a slaughterhouse. If you didn’t know these people were sleeping it would have been horrifying. Wait, what was that? Blood? Damn! How did that happen?

“We’ll figure it out later. Primaries, launch your battalions. Let’s get some first aid to them and start moving them to cells. Keep count.”

“Yes, Nym.”

“Sarah, how are we on the evacuation?”

“Five more minutes, Nym.”

“Grindaknívur, wards?”

“Same as Sarah, Harry, five more minutes.”

“Okay, Gabrielle and Grindaknívur, take the Veela and Goblin regiments to Potter Castle as soon as you’re complete to help guard these prisoners. There are way too many of them to go in cells. Put them in warded pens in the Hollow before you wake them or they awake on their own. Search them, too.

“Mage and Duke’s Own, follow to the Hollow after the Tank Army retrogrades.

“Nothing here is worth anyone dying over, so be deliberate—and if the local authorities arrive, Stun, don’t kill.”

“Yes, Harry,” the mates chorused in unison and then giggled.

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Chita Oblast
Operations Center
Saturday
21 June 1997
03:02

“What the hell was that in the Castle and how did those prisoners get wounded?

Gerald frowned at Sergei. “I have no idea about the school but I think those prisoners were hit with fragmentation from the shells when the burster charges went off. Or some of the fuses didn’t function and they were hit with duds.”

Sergei looked at Rebecca. “Duchess, can you enlighten us on what happened at the school?”

“Go ahead, Rebecca.”

“Okay, Harry.”

“Lyudmila Prestikova and her bonded, George Schmidt, are a potential Dark Lady and Lord. The event that pushes them over the edge is or rather was the rape of Lyudmila by a Durmstrang sixth form named Helmut Geiger. He tried at Christmas time and was thwarted by a group of Wargs from the Royal Academy. He had been stalking her since her first year as he felt she should be his. He saw an opportunity as she became separated from George in the confusion of the evacuation, and Luna saw it. Harry ended the threat permanently and will now take them both as wards.”

Gerald thought a moment. “And their parents?”

Rebecca answered straight from Harry’s head. “Will be allowed to see their children any time but they will be my wards and stay where I can watch them. If necessary, employment will be found for their parents on the estate or at the Royal Academy.”

Sergei nodded his head. Sometimes things like this were necessary; regrettable, but necessary.

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Hurtgenwald
Near Schmidt Germany
Friday
20 June 1997
23:12

“George, watch out!”

George looked down at Fred’s warning and saw the puddle of Draught of Living Death on the ground. He carefully picked his way around it and dropped the white stone on another sleeping wizard. “Give us some more stones, Fred, I’m out.”

Fred tossed his bag to his brother, who was in the farthest of the squad, and turned around. Cletus Johnston threw him another bag. “That’s three hundred, Sarge.”

“Johnston, do I look like a fish to you? That’s three hundred, Sergeant! And don’t make me drop you in a puddle of this crap.”

“Yes, Sergeant.”

Johnston looked behind his sergeant and launched himself at him in a flying tackle. A Chinese wizard was sitting up from the pile waving his wand. He was hit with nine Stunners in fairly rapid order.

“Fred, give ’em the antidote, here.”

George threw Fred his antidote bottle and Fred gave it to SSG Barlow and his own to Johnston after Scourgifying the contaminated mud off of them.

SSG Barlow smiled at them all, then shouted, “Well, get back to work or we’ll be here till next year. And watch for live ones. Johnston, you cover the Weasleys! Cartwright, you cover Hamilton and Bland! The rest of you keep the stones coming!

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Hurtgenwald
Near Schmidt, Germany
Friday
20 June 1997
23:23

Harry trotted past the pile of wizards the reserve and headquarters were working on and made his way to the aid station where a variety of scrapes, bumps, bruises, and minor broken bones (fingers and toes) were being treated.

“Marcia, how are we?”

“Fine, Harry. Normal large exercise casualties really. The Chinese wizards were fragmentation wounds; two KIA from head wounds, fourteen wounded. They’ve been treated and transported to cells. Well, all the ones we found.”

Harry smiled and gave her a snuggle in the bond. Marcia giggled and slapped his arm. “Go on, flirt, get us finished so we can get out of here before somebody else falls and gets a booboo.”

“A booboo?”

“Well, I didn’t want to say a scraped knee.”

Harry laughed and trotted off to find Nym.

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Hurtgenwald
Near Schmidt, Germany
Friday
20 June 1997
23:25

Nym smiled at Harry and Marcia’s antics as she worked with the staff and Rebecca. They were close to finishing; it looked like Xi Shi had sent five groups of five thousand for a total of twenty-five thousand wizards or witches, a staggering number really. Daphne was frowning in thought. “What, Daphne?”

“This many witches and wizards, Nym? Is it a significant portion of her forces? I mean, so far we’ve had werewolves, assassins, Dragons, Giants, and vampires. Why did she suddenly throw humans at us? Is she out of creatures?”

Nym rolled her eyes. “I love you, Daphne. Take a minute, though, and then you and the intelligence section can work over the strategic implications.”

Daphne nodded absently and continued worrying at this latest Gordian knot.

Harry trotted up. “Nym, how are we doing?”

“Like you don’t know! Fine, Harry, just about to start the retrograde operations of the Tank Army.”

Harry nodded. “I’ll go check the other TRPs.”

“Be careful, Harry. Some of these are still awake enough to try to fight.”

Harry nodded and trotted off.

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Chita Oblast
Operations Center
Saturday
21 June 1997
03:51

Marshal Plotempkin watched as the blue dots indicating the artillery division units closed on the locations of the transport slabs and disappeared, only to reappear on the split screen in their motor pools. Those slabs were simply amazing. Have to talk to the technomancers about the ones for the helicopters and jets, though. It was a horrible waste of fuel to have to land them and taxi over a slab. Plus finding a strip of ground for the jets had been such a problem this time, they couldn’t even go.

Just as he had that thought, he watched in amazement as a blue dot tagged as a MI 24 E squadron but flying at what had to be three hundred kilometers per hour fly toward a transport slab and disappear. The sudden shattering, thumping, whining roar of the helicopters emerging from the companion slab at the end of the taxiway could be heard all the way in the underground operations room.

General Naismith turned to look at him. “I think we need to talk to that squadron commander, Sergei.”

Sergei nodded and looked at the G3 air of the Tank Army. That stalwart nodded and took off at double time to find the squadron commander.

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Godric’s Hollow
Temporary Prisoner Holding Area
Friday
20 June 1997
19:04

Harry faded into the Hollow near the first temporary prisoner housing structure. He looked at it and laughed. It was essentially a long rectangle of connected cages, two stories high and two rows deep, with the cells being back to back. The cells were cages with floors and walls and bars across the front, five feet wide, six feet tall, and six feet deep. Twelve hundred and fifty to a floor, twenty-five hundred to a side, five thousand to a block, and five blocks twenty-five feet apart—very functional, but very ugly.

It was covered by a weather charm and the end walls were covered in runes. Harry read the radiation absorbing runestring with a modification that would apparently make it absorb all magic except that elf-fading magic, like the restrictors. Really, the whole thing was a giant magic collector that then transferred that magic to the sentient stones. It would be all brute force dealing with the prisoners in that structure. Good thing the Division’s training included as much physical training as it did magical.

Michelle Woods was already there with Moody, the Aurors, and a group of mediwizards and witches waking, examining, and questioning prisoners under Veritaserum with Flopsy and Mopsy transporting them in and out of cells. Harry gave them a smile and a wave and faded away to the Deep Hold which was being used as a hospital. He visited the troops there, all four of them., and then went to see the prisoners. The Hamlish brothers were already there, looking over the prisoners.

“Ah, Your Highness—“ Lester was cut off by a growl from Harry.

“Grrrrr.”

“Yes, yes, all-powerful ruler of the magical Realm is unhappy about it. Now if we have that bit of childishness out of our system?” Lester raised a brow and shot Harry a questioning look as his brother paled and backed away from him a step.

Harry did his fish impersonation for a moment and then laughed. “You people are really serious about this? You won’t just leave me alone?”

“Yes and no, sir. You’re stuck, as our colonial brothers like to say. Serves you right for taking all the girls.”

“Hey, that wasn’t my fault, Lester!”

“Yes sir, but you get the benefit so you have to pay back. Now quit whinging and rule before the plebs think up something else they want, something worse.”

Harry paled; what could be worse? They already had him making most of their decisions. Lester laughed. “I see that might have gotten through to you.”

Harry nodded and James Hamlish cleared his throat. “While you contemplate turning my brother into a toad permanently, Highness, we’ve examined these and they’re all marked with that Dragon Mark of Xi Shi’s. Reports from the pens indicated those are also marked. Could I ask your intentions?”

Harry chuckled. “The usual: question, judge, and execute sentence. In this case, though, only the pedophiles, rapists, and those who have killed outside of China will be offered single combat. The rest will be bound to the House and found employment, as well as being trained for service in the Regiment. The profit from the labor, past their upkeep, will go to pay reparations.”

Lester nodded. “And their chattel will be bound also, sir?”

Harry nodded. “As usual.”

James smiled. “Well, there went the manpower shortage.”

This got a head shake from Harry. “You’re forgetting about Russia and central Europe. We could absorb millions there and still not be crowded. Well, I’m off to get the troops closed in, gentlemen.”

The Hamlish brothers bowed and Harry faded away.

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Kunming, China
Xi Shi’s Hold
Saturday
21 June 1997
04:14


Xi Shi knew the attack had failed as soon as the groups of wizards and witches had hit the ground. The Lis had told her the wizards and witches had all fallen over when covered by some kind of cloud, most apparently dead, and then the few remaining had been swarmed under by the Duke’s forces. Xuan had been in her sea eagle and had observed from a distance and Chang had been able to give her a series of images that filled in the picture enough to know what had happened.

So that was it. Her Marked servants gone, except for the most powerful inner circle and the wench. She had been right somehow. He used the Mark to find them. But what was this new magic—the white cloud of death?

Bah! No matter, they had served their purpose. Now to get the Black Dragons to work on enslaving all the Chinese wizards. She would wait and then, when he wasn’t expecting it, she would spring her trap on him. He wouldn’t be able to stop hundreds of thousands of unmarked wizards.

Whatever happened to the Anak? No matter; they were too stupid to be more than beasts of burden.

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Potter Castle
Justice Hall
Friday
20 June 1997
20:02

Harry sat watching as the non-werewolf mates conducted the interrogations of the Durmstrang student body.

Some of these needed watching, but there were no criminals other than that Geiger fellow and even he had been a pre-criminal. Was that even a word? Well, he had assaulted Lyudmila and his intent had been to sexually assault her. He had been given a chance, after all; the beating he got from the Warg girls had kept him in St. Mungo’s for two weeks. You’d think he’d have learned. Hmmm...where were his parents?

Geoffrey popped in with a witch and wizard in dressing gowns. The wizard bowed after looking at Harry and the witch dropped a shaky but adequate curtsy.

Harry looked at them a moment and the wizard spoke. “Let me save you the trouble, Highness. You’ve caught my son Helmut attempting to rape Lyudmila Prestikova and executed him.”

Harry, shocked, skimmed Helmut Geiger Senior’s mind. He found the shame of failure there, the failure to turn his oldest son from this course no matter what he tried. Marie Geiger was much the same. Harry saw their love for their oldest boy and the helpless futility they felt at watching him throw his life away in the pursuit of a witch who was not only bonded but had displayed an aversion to him from the first time they met.

Harry dug deeper. Helmut Junior had had a normal upbringing and had been in all respects a normal young wizard, right up until he met Lyudmila. Once Helmut Junior met her he turned first morose and then mean.

Harry came back to himself. “I’m sorry. We will investigate. Geoffrey will see you home.”

Marie Geiger softly asked, “Highness could we take my Helmut home? We would bury him with his family.”

Harry winced. “Of course, ma’am. I’ll see to it.”

Helmut Geiger Senior looked Harry in the eye and nodded. Geoffrey stepped between him and his wife and faded them away.

“Nym?”

“Done, Harry. Harlow and Mott will see to the body and the Duke’s Own will provide a guard.”