《Harry Potter, Sovereign》


 Chapter 1 - Ch01 The begining of changes

    Summer 1995. Usually, youngsters would enjoy themselves during that period. Not for a certain black haired, emerald eyed young man named Harry Potter. It had been a few weeks since he came back from his boarding school of magic, Hogwart. This year had been his 4th year, and ended up being the worst of them all.


    He was forced into a deadly tournament reserved for witches and wizards of age, the majority of people though he was an attention-seeking seeker, and he had to face deadly challenges during the year. At the end of the final challenge, he not only witnessed the murder of a friendly rival, but also the revival of his parent''s murderer, using his own blood as component. Nobody except a selected few believed him when he warned them of his return.


    After coming back from the magical world, he has been stuck at his hated relatives place, isolated from those who could support him, with no informations about what was going on. He was getting sick of how he was treated, by both his relatives and allies.


    He was in the park near his relative''s home. It was too hot to stay in the house, and he really didn''t want to be near his relatives. But with his bad luck struck again. His cousin Dudley and his gang found him and harassed him. Again. Dudley mocked him about his nightmares of Cedric Diggory''s death. Harry''s gaze turned cold, and his whole presence screamed menace, enough to make Dudley and his goons uneasy. Enough for Dudley to send them away, ahead of him.


    Things were still tense between Harry and Dudley. Even though he was worried about Harry using magic, he didn''t want to back down in front of him. That when things went from bad to worse. The sky, who was originally clear, quickly got cloudy, and the temperature dropped. Both Harry and Dudley felt chills running down their spines, and stopped focusing on each other to observe their surroundings.


    "Dudley, get out of here..."


    Harry soon recognised the feeling. He had been attacked by the creatures 3 times during his 3rd year at Hogwart. Without really thinking about it, he had drawn his wand. Unfortunately, Dudley wasn''t used to the dementor''s aura, and started panicking.


    "What are you doing?? Stop it! Make it stop!!"


    Seeing Harry with his wand out, he mistakenly though he was using his magic, and attacked him. Because of the circ.u.mstances, neither could properly move. Dudley triped and crashed into Harry. The later couldn''t react fast enough, and both went down in a tangle of bodies.


    Crack!


    Harry didn''t just hear it. He also felt it. The magical focus used by all witches and wizards, the tool without which he couldn''t perform magic, his ID as a wizard, and his only weapon against the soul s.u.c.k.i.n.g creatures attacking them, had been broken. He numbly lifted his head, and saw the 2 dark creatures drifting toward them.


    As the dementors got closer, Harry snapped.


    Many things happened to Harry during his life, from the night his parents died to the dark ritual he was forced to take part in. His being has been affected by differents magical effects with profound consequences. And it had come to a peak at that moment.


    He wanted something to happen. Anything, to save him from those creatures. His magic reacted to his d.e.s.i.r.es. His d.e.s.i.r.e for help and protection, and his long time d.e.s.i.r.e for acceptance and affection. His magic surged out of his body in a powerfull invisible schockwave that blasted the soul suckers away. A faintly glowing circle with a 6 points star inside appeared on the ground, with Harry at the center. The star was composed of a red triangle and a purple one.


    Their corners glowed brightly, and figures could be discerned within the glows, seemingly materialising by absorbing the light particles from the glow. They formed humanoid females shapes, which turned out to be women of in differents outfits, with differents equipments. They gazed at each others quickly, but their eyes ended up resting on Harry, who had collapsed on his front. They reacted as one, rushing toward him with worried expressions on their faces.


    """Master!!""" """Summoner!!"""


    They all stopped short of reaching him, and looked at each other again. But before they could talk to each other, the aura of dread and despair envelopped them. 3 of the 6 women dropped to a knee, severly affected by the dementor''s aura. All of them gazed at the approaching creatures.


    "What the hell are those?" asked one of the women to noone in particular.


    "Dementors..." Harry replied weakly.


    He didn''t know what happened during his accidental magic discharge, but he knew the women around him were there for him. He also knew that only one spell worked against them, and since they didn''t recognise the creatures, they couldn''t know the spell. He wouldn''t let them lose their souls for trying to help him. Since he somehow used magic earlier without his wand, he would have to do it again, to save them. In his semi-lucid state, he poured all his feelings and as much magic as he could in his wand arm and raised it.


    He didn''t see the result, as his vision grew very dark. He felt extremely weak, and all his other senses were numbed. He didn''t see the near solid stag bowling over the 2 dementors. He barely perceived their screams of pain and terror. He didn''t see one of them being impaled by the antlers, and struggling before freeing itself and fleeing while leaving a thin trail of black fog.

 Chapter 2 - Ch02 Departure

    After hearing their master/summoner scream with his hand raised, the 6 women felt the dreadful aura being lifted, warmth, love and protectiveness replacing it. They felt like the light of the spell embraced them. They saw the glowing white stag barrel into the dark creatures, blasting them away and making them flee while screeching in pain. After checking the area, and seemingly satisfied, the white apparition vanished.


    It was at that moment that their gazes fell over Harry again. They wanted to rush to him, but they couldn''t crowd him. They formed a circle around Harry, and his nearby cousin. One of them, with long purple hairs and red eyes, a purple dress with a long slit exposing her pantyhose clad legs, and holding a long wand, stepped forward.


    "It looks like we have all been called by the same person, so there is no need for hostility among us. I have been summoned as a servant under the caster class. You may call me caster for the time being. While not my area of expertise, I can cast diagnostic and minot healing spells. Let me check on the master."


    The other women looked at each others, and several of them nodded. So the one who voluntured got next to Harry and helped him lie on his back for a bit. His heavy breathing was already returning to normal, but he still felt drained. She raised her wand above his c.h.e.s.t and spoke a few words in a language he though was some kind of ancient celtic, and touched his c.h.e.s.t.


    "I''m fine... It''s just a case of mild magical exhaustion."


    "There is more than just magical exhaustion, master. But yes, you''re mostly alright. Still, I would like to take the time to make a more complete assess.e.m.e.nt once we reach your residence."


    "No, it won''t be good... My relatives hate me and anything to do with... magic... Shit!"


    "What''s wrong?" asked one of the women.


    "I used magic outside of school, in a non-magical neighborhood. The ministry of magic is going to know, and they will probably send some people later."


    "And how is that a bad thing?" asked a black haired woman with a peculiar rifle.


    "The creatures that attacked me, the dementors, they are supposed to be under the control of the ministry. Furthermore, after what happened with me at the end of the school year, and what the minister did the past few years, they aren''t going to listen to me, and are more likely to just throw me in a dark cell. I can''t stay here. I have to go back to my relatives'' house to recover my belongings, and then go somewhere else" he explained that as he got up on his feet.


    He looked at the women, paused for a bit. He got himself surrounded by beauties, and couldn''t help but be impressed and charmed. But one of them caught his attention more than the others and he frowned. To his eyes, she was an artificial being, something between a robot and a magic doll. He knew that they came from a different place than most people, but this appearance was just to improbable and eye-catching. In fact, he realised all of them would attract to much unwanted attention.


    "I can" said the purple haired woman who checked him.


    2 of the other women nodded as well. As they worked, Harry gave a few instructions so that they could blend in better in the mundane side of the world.


    Then, he turned to the ball of fat that had been ignored since the beginning. Dudley had fainted, and was drolling on the ground. Harry kicked him in the leg, and tried to force him to stand.


    "Get up, Dudley. You have to get home... GET UP!! Damned fat pig!"


    "Is this really necessary?" asked a gorgeous asian woman with long black hair. She looked to be in her twenties, like all the others women.


    "He''s my cousin, we live in the same house. And like his parents, he has been harrassing me since I was little. I have no love or sympathy for him... And he broke my wand..."


    As he said the last thing, he left Dudley and kneeled in front of the ruined focci. He carefully gathered the pieces and put them in his pocket. As he did that, the apparent magic users of the group continued to cast glamours on all the girls and their weapons. As he stood up, he looked at the result and nodded.


    "Good. We got to move."


    One of the girls dragged Dudley with them, while Harry was supported by another.


    They quickly reached the house, and Harry motionned the rest of the girl to stay away while he got in with 2 girls and Dudley. The rest of the girls could hear Vernon and Petunia''s voices as they distanced themselves from the house. They looked at each others in worry, but stayed silent. They scattered a little as well, to not appear as one big group. A few minutes later, Harry and his 2 escorts left the house and rejoined the group. Noone of them looked happy, far from it.


    "Come. I''m going to try and call a magical vehicle. It should appear in a loud bang so don''t be surprised. Before that though, can you put a glamour on me? Change both my hairs and eye colors, my face is rather well known in the magical world, and I''m not in a situation where it''s good for people to know where I am."


    The purple haired woman swiftly complied. Then Harry raised his wand arm and concentrated, as if it was his wand. He wasn''t sure it would work, but with a bang, the knight bus appeared, and they all got in. He warned them to hold on tight. For once, the trip in the knight bus was almost pleasant. After all, he was surrounded by beautifull women whose gorgeous bodies were pressed against him with each turn the bus took.

 Chapter 3 - Ch03 Evening at the Leaky Cauldron

    Once they arrived in front of the Leaky Cauldron, Harry hid behind the ladies and put on his invisibility cloack. He gave his money pouch to the purple haired woman and instructed her to take rooms for them. While he did have the glamour on him, he got paranoid. He stayed in the middle of the group as they entered the pub. There were only 2 rooms available, so Harry would have to share his room with 3 women.


    Once they got their rooms, they gathered in Harry''s for the long awaited talk.


    "Okay... First thing, it''s a little late, but my name is Harry Potter. Please call me Harry. I don''t know where you came from, but I''m pretty sure you came to me due to the magic I released while I was in danger. I can tell that, somehow, I called you to me."


    "You are correct master. Sorry, Harry" said Caster. "We are the spirits of heroes from the past, who thanks to their achievements entered the Throne Of Heroes after their death. You summoned us, your Servants, that makes you our Master. Though it definitly wasn''t a normal summoning. You were not supposed to be able to summon more than one Servant, as it require a large amount of magic to not only summon but also sustain one. Yet you got 6. Furthermore, as spirits, our physical bodies are supposed to be shell created by magic and sustained by the master. That is not the case. We were given proper bodies, we are more like incarnated spirits. We still require the magic of the master, but in a much lower amount."


    "... Great, more complicated stuff... Spirit from heroes?"


    "Not just heroes from the past it seem" said the black haired girl with the rifle. "3 of us definitly aren''t even from your world."


    "... Excuse me... What? Why? How?"


    "When we were summoned by you, we received very basic knowledge of this world from you. Just enough to not be completly lost, but not enough to know all the little rules and customs you''re already familiar with. That''s why we can all understand and speak your language. However, that basic knowledge is enough to see the glaring differences between your world and the world we came from."


    "... I see" replied a thoroughly schocked Harry without much confidence.


    "3 of us are already familiar with each others. The others, even though they don''t seem to recognise each others, must come from the same world. When we first saw you, we called you "Summoner", while they called you "Master". When Caster here presented herself as a Servant, my aquitances and I didn''t recognise the term, but the others did. In their world, there is a summoning system of some kind, where the summoned people are called "Servants", and "Caster" is one of the class a heroic spirit is given. Most likely due to what they were in life, in her case, a magic user. Since you seem completly surprised by the summoning magic, and according to them you did something that should be impossible, then they likely aren''t from this world either, but another. One that is more similar to yours than ours."


    Harry looked at her with wide eyes. She was observant and had a sharp mind. The rest looked at her with impressed, surprised or downright schocked expressions. And most of them nodded in agreement. Harry shook his head slowly. Too much had happened within a few hours, he was getting really tired and the new information was giving him a headache.


    "That''s a lot to take in... Why don''t you order dinner for us, please? Tom doesn''t know I''m here, so make sure there is some extra for me."


    "You can take my share" said the artificial woman. "I clearly don''t need it."


    Caster soon came back, and took a seat on the bed next to Harry.


    "The food will be there in around 30 minutes."


    "Thanks... Hey, can you guys introduce yourselves? We are going to get stuck with each others for a while, so..."


    "I understand. The regular servant classes are supposed to be: Saber, the sword specialist, Lancer the spear specialist, Archer the ranged fighter, Rider, the mounted fighter, Caster the magic specialist, Berserker the mad warrior, and Assassin the stealthy killer. Where we" she gestured to 2 of her companions "come from, the true name of the servants is usually kept secret, because when a servant is identified, his or her strenghts and weaknesses are revealed due to his or her legend. However, since we are in a different world and all summoned servants are on the same side, it should be alright... Harry, from what I''ve gathered so far, our original world is very similar to yours. Same name, seemingly same countries... It is quite possible that we had counterparts in the past here, so I ask that you do not reveal our names to anyone."


    "I understand. I won''t reveal your true identity to anyone without your permission. So, to whom have I the honor of speaking to?"


    "I am Scathach."


    "... Sorry, I don''t think I''ve ever heard of you" Harry replied with an embarrassed smile.


    The other servants looked at him in surprise at first, then in amus.e.m.e.nt at the frozen face of Scathach. Harry was akwardly scratching his head with a slight blush on his face.


    "Sorry, I didn''t get to read much about heroes from the past, mythology, legends and the like. You''ve seen my relatives. I grew up with them, and they made sure I didn''t get any interest in anything related to magic. Heck, I didn''t know I was a wizard until I was invited to my magic school at the age of 11. Our history class is terrible, because the teacher is a ghost that focus on goblins wars, and other than that, I have little interest in the subject myself."


    "Your world seems to accept magic users that don''t focus on spellcasting as an integral part of the magical society, as demonstrated by the servant classes. Here, we only focus on spellcasters, so if you had a counterpart here, she''s probably drowned in the number of famous witches we had in the past. And since I know little about both history and mythology..."


    That seemed to molify Scathach and the other servants a bit.


    "I''ll be sure to research your name later, then we could have a talk about what I found. Let''s continue with the introductions."


    "I am also of the Caster class, Xuanzang Sanzang" said the voluptuous asian woman.


    "I am a special case" said a black haired woman with golden eyes. She was the most eye catching person after the artificial woman due to her ears, reminescent of elves from mundane fantasy lore. "I am of the dual class assassin-caster, Semimaris, former queen of Assyria."


    Harry froze. He was shocked to be in the presence of a former queen.

 Chapter 4 - Ch04 Night at the Leaky Cauldron

    It took a few seconds for Harry to regain his bearing. Semimaris looked pleased by the reaction she got from her master.


    "Sorry, you just surprised me. I didn''t think I would one day be in the presence of a queen. And I''m sorry to say, I don''t know about you either" he said while blushing.


    "It is no problem. We will have the time to educate you later."


    "Yeah..."


    While disturbed by her answer at first, he realised that he could receive teaching from great people from the past. For anyone else, it would be like meeting the founders of Hogwart and being taugh by them. With that in mind, he turned to the other women.


    "My name is Caitlyn Steeleglass, from the world of Runeterra. And if it wasn''t apparent enough, I''m a marksman" said the dark haired woman as she skillfully spun her rifle.


    "The name is Vi, fighter" said the one near the door, with her big mechanical gauntlets and a predator grin.


    "Camille Ferros, assassin" said the artificial woman, in the darkest corner of the room. "Since you clearly haven''t anything like me in this world, I''ll give you some basic explanations. I was born human, and modified with hextech parts to help me better fullfill my duties to my family."


    "And what is hextech?"


    "It is the combination of technology and magic. Use of magical crystal to power or enhance technological devices." She gestured toward Caitlyn and Vi. "Their weapons are the product of hextech technology."


    "... You know, in this world, magic and technology don''t mix well. The most advanced technological devices stop functioning in magical areas... This is, incredible..."


    Harry had been having a headache since he cast the wandless patronus, and it had only calmed down a little. With 6 new introductions, and the shocking news which accompanied them, it was coming back in full force. He didn''t have the mind to nitpick about every little details. The women were here for his protection, that was what mattered.


    "Well, since you''re here for my sake, I guess I should explain more about my situation. I''m a wizard, student at the magic school Hogwart. I''m known in the magical world as the Boy-Who-Lived for surviving a 1-hit-instant-kill curse when I was 1 year old, and simultaneously defeating the dark lord that had been terrorising the british magical population at that time. The problem is that said dark lord regained a body at the end of my latest year of school, and nobody except a select few believed me, because nobody but me and his loyal followers witnessed the whole event."


    He had to pause and massage his forehead. Remembering that night in the graveyard was still an ordeal for him. The summoned heroes looked at him in schock, and even a bit of awe at first. But when they heard the second part, their expressions turned grave. Seeing his face when he said the last part, they understood that things were likely more complicated and painfull than he wanted to talk about at this point.


    "Yeah... I need a bath anyway... Ah, Scathach, Xuanzang. Can you put some kind of ward on the room to block tracking spells and the likes? I don''t want to be found anytime soon."


    They looked at each other and nodded. Harry took his trunk and slowly went to the bathroom. The girls followed him with their eyes, worried about him. With him gone, Caitlyn turned her attention to Scathach.


    "What happened when you went to recover his belongings?"


    "His relatives truly are unpleasant people. They called us freaks, and I bet they have been calling Harry with such negative terms since he was little. I wanted nothing more than to end his uncle where he stood. But that would only bring more trouble to the him."


    Scathach tightened her fists as she said that. Near the door, Vi growled and muttered some not nice things under her breath. She had been the one to help carry Dudley.


    "When he explained what happened, messengers owls came one after the other. The first was from their ministry of magic, saying that he had been expelled from his school and his wand would be snapped for using magic in front of a muggle. I guess what they call muggle are non-magical people. Apparently, they only detected the patronus charm he used to repel the creatures, the dementors. The disgusting creatures feed of off the good memories and feelings of their victims and make them relive their worst memories. Their final attack consist of kissing their victims to suck out their souls. It''s called the Dementor Kiss, and it''s even used as a form of execution for criminals."


    The girls shivered at the mention of the dementors. To them, they were truly foul creatures, and it certainly was no coincidences that they were in his neighborhood and attacked him.


    "The Patronus charm is the only spell known to have any significant effects on them. We were lucky that Harry knew that spell, else we probably wouldn''t be here. The dementors are supposed to be under ministry control. Either the ministry, or someone in the ministry is after him, or this Dark Lord already has minions in the ministry doing his biddings. Either way, Harry can''t trust the ministry."


    The rest of the girls nodded in agreement.


    Caitlyn nodded and summed the situation for everyone:


    Their charge was targeted by a powerfull dark wizard that had already tried to kill him when he was a toddler. The ministry of magic was moving against him. He wasn''t on good terms with the people that were supposed to be his allies, seemingly due to incompetence and/or neglect.


    A few of them growled while the others narrowed their eyes. There was alot of work to do ahead for them. The 2 casters collaborated to create a bounded field around the room, following the instructions of their masters. The food was delivered soon after, and Harry would need it to recover from his efforts.

 Chapter 5 - Ch05 Nightmare

    Harry got out of the bath feeling a little better, but still tired.


    When Scathach served him his food, he realised how famished he was and ate almost as fast as a hungry Ron, but with better table manners. Because of that, the ladies didn''t question him, and they all ate in silence. After the meal, they separated for the night. Harry was left with Scathach, Xuanzang and Camille.


    The room had 2 beds, so while Harry used one, the women could share the other bed, one standing guard while the other 2 rested. Scathach and Xuanzang would share the bed, while Camille was fine with standing guard the whole night.


    In the middle of the night, Harry started to get agitated in his sleep, grabing the attention of Camille. When the magic pressure in the room suddenly rose, the other 2 in their beds straightened themselves, startled.


    "What is going on?" asked Scathach.


    "He is having a nightmare" answered Camille.


    Harry became more agitated, muttering incomprehensible things, and Xuanzang stroked his arm and hairs, trying to soothe him without waking him up. Scathach had come near the bed, and regretted it a moment later. The items near the bed started to levitate, and before they could do anything, a magical shockwave originating from Harry''s body knocked them back. Xuanzang suffered the most since she was holding him, thrown against the wall with significant force. The only one unaffected was Camille, who was still standing vigil in her corner.


    "CEDRIC!!!" Harry shouted as he suddenly straightened up, awoken by his nightmare, and breathing roughly.


    It took him a few seconds to regain his bearing. Enough for Scathach and Xuanzang to recover, and for the other summoned girls to exit their room and knock on the door. Xuanzang had gone back to Harry, and was stroking his back gently. Camille opened the door for the others in the hallway. Semimaris was at the door, while VI and Caitlyn were guarding both side of the hallway.


    "What happened?" asked Semimaris in a low voice. "We all felt a spike of magic in here."


    "Harry had a nightmare, and his magic reacted violently to his emotional state" answered Scathach. "I didn''t think something like that was possible. I wonder if it''s normal for magic users of this world, or if summoning all of us has somehow made his magic unstable..."


    Harry noticed that his little outburst had attracted his summons, and felt bad.


    "Sorry about that. I didn''t mean to trouble you in the middle of the night outside of an emergency."


    "There is no need to apologise, Master. We are here for you" answere Xuanzang.


    "Thank you. As for what seems to have happened, it''s called accidental magic. It usually happen to children during stressfull situation, out of either anger or fear. It''s supposed to gradually stop after starting magical education. The last time I did accidental magic, it was because the sister of my uncle was having a nasty p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e insulting my dead parents."


    "I inflated her like a ballon, and she drifted in the air for a while, until the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad came to resolve the problem."


    When he raised his head, he saw the question in some of their gaze.


    "The magical world is hidden from the non-magical one. Around 3 hundred years ago, the magical populations of the world implemented the International Statute Of Secrecy, and went into hidding from the non-magical world. Maintaining the statute is one of the highest priority of the magical governments. However, it''s possible for non-magical parents to give birth to a magical child, and since they live in the non-magical world, they threaten the statute. The AMRS job is to repair the magical damage, and erase or modify the memories of all witnesses, thus maintaining the statute."


    "Well, we''ve gone a bit off topic" said Vi in a slightly bored tone. "The thing is, this accidental magic thing isn''t really a problem, right?"


    "No, it''s not."


    "Who was Cedric?" asked Semimaris.


    Harry looked at her and hesitated.


    "Whatever happened to him clearly bother you a great deal. It''s going to become a hinderance if you don''t deal with it. You should talk to us about it, we are here to help you after all."


    Harry looked at her long, unwilling to concede, yet knowing she was right. It had troubled him every nights since the end of the tournament, and he was getting sick of it.


    And he told the girls about the world cup of the previous summer, then the Tri-Wizard tournament. It took around 40 minutes to tell what happened. It took another 20 minutes of them talking to him, for him to understand it wasn''t his fault. That he wasn''t responsible. It was something he knew, to a certain extend, but couldn''t accept in his heart. At least until that talk with his newly aquired subordinates.


    "You should go back to sleep then" said Scathach. "We will probably be busy tomorrow."


    "Yeah. Goodnight everyone, I''ll see you in the morning."


    For the first time since the end of the last school term, his heart felt lighter. He went back into his bed, and quickly fell asleep. Once they were sure he was asleep, Scathach and Xuanzang did another medical scan on him. He was getting better physically, but his magic was still fluctuating. It prevented them for making a more in depth scan. They were relieved that the bounded field they placed also contained his magical outburst. The only reason Semimaris, Caitlyn and VI noticed it was because of their link to him.


    In the morning, Harry woke up feeling quite refreshed and energetic. When he went to the bathroom, he noticed something he missed the day before because his mind was elsewhere. He was baffled by what he was seeing.


    "What the hell is that?"

 Chapter 6 - Ch06 Bond

    Harry looked at himself, surprised to see 2 new tattoos on his skin.


    They were situated on his front, right at the shoulder joint. As he observed them further, he realised that they were in fact 2 sets of 3 tattoos. The left set was crimson in color, and the right set was purple. Each set looked like claws linked at their base, right at the joint. One claw extended to the shoulder, one toward the collarbone, and the last toward the bottom of the pectoral muscle. Each claw was made of a unique sigil, and as he focused on them, Harry realised that they were magical, and each represented one of the 6 heroic spirits he had summoned. He guessed that they were grouped by world of origin, and decided to show it to the women so they could confirm it.


    "Ladies?" he asked as he rejoined them, his c.h.e.s.t b.a.r.e. "Any ideas of what these are?"


    The runeterrans women looked curious, but the others were not. Scathach is the one who answered.


    "They are your command seals... At least they should be" she said as she got close and traced them with her index.


    "Command seals?" he replied, visibly unsettled by the name, and resisting the urge to squirm because of her ticklish touch.


    "Yes. Maybe. I should explain something first. In our world'' summoning system, heroic spirit are strong. Stronger than any human magic users. Those who summon them must have a way to insure that the servants don''t turn on them, and follow their orders. The master can use the seal to give up to 3 absolute commands to their servant. They will execute the order even against their will."


    Both Harry and the runeterran women, even Camille, looked slightly alarmed by that. However, of all 6 women noticed that Harry was more disturbed about the absolute commands rather than the possibility of betrayal. Yes, it was noticable that he dreaded betrayal, but he hated robbing someone of their free will even more.


    "However, the way you summoned us isn''t the same as what goes on in our world. As for the others..." she added while turning toward the runeterran women.


    "It was quite different in our world" answered Caitlyn.


    "Long story short, to reduce military conflicts, an association of mages created The League. Strong people were asked to represent their regions as champions in the League. The champions were summoned and used by a mage in regulated competitions. These competitions were a way to deal with conflicts without turning into large scale wars. They were non-lethal, and took place in special arenas. When killed in those arenas, the champions didn''t die, they were just transported out."


    Harry perked up hearing that. He liked the idea of dealing with violent conflicts in that way. He put the thoughts aside for when he would have some free time, and refocused on the beautiful marksman.


    "The mage that choose us, the summoner, was mentally linked to us and directed us through that mental link. Any mage who was qualified as summoner, could summon a champion to compete in the League. Outside of the League, champions resumed their own life. As for power, in the League, all champions had their power adjusted to be roughly equal. Victory and defeat was decided by how well a summoner used their champion''s abilities. There was no magical mark binding a champion to a summoner. Our contract was with the League."


    "Then I think these magic tattoos, while not being Command Seals, are the mark of a binding contract between you and us" said Scathach. "I believe that, while you can''t force us to do something, we won''t be able to betray you either. That lead me to adress another matter."


    "Wat is it?"


    "Our power" she replied as she retreated slightly from him. "As I said, in our world, servants are much stronger than their masters, and their strenght was further enhanced by their legend. Despite that, their power is influenced by that of their masters. If the master was magically weak, the summoned servant would be weaker than they should be. And that was considering a magic user could only summon and sustain a single servant. I guess a peak magic used could sustain 2 servants at most."


    "I''m weak."


    Harry''s jaw dropped as his eyes got big. He had found himself surrounded by incredible women with power supposedly above the norm. And now that bomb about their current power dropped on him.


    "I''m nothing like in my prime, and I''m sure the same apply to the rest of my fellow summoned spirits. I cast a quick scan on some of the witches and wizards we crossed in the pub, and got an rough idea of their magical power. If they were average, I would say that right now we are about peak human level. Among those at the top, but not above them. I would need to meet the most powerfull witches and wizards of the country to be sure."


    "I... I''m sorry" Harry started, but was interupted.


    "Don''t be. In our world, the weakest servants are just above human level. You have 6 servants at the peak of human level, which is very impressive. I just wanted you to be aware of our limitations."


    "All right, thank you... While I''d love to learn more about your worlds and their magic, I should focus on telling you more about me. I''ll need your opinion about a few things as well."


    It took nearly 3 hours for Harry to relate his life until then, starting with the previous war, the events of Halloween 1981, his upbringing with the Dursley, his discovery of magic, and his 4 years at Hogwart. The ladies were quite angry with the Dursley, but noone more than VI. Harry sped up past their part because he got worried about what she might do.


    He related his adventures at Hogwart with a little more details. There were things that had bothered him, but he had never taken the time to do something about it. At least, not until he returned from Hogwart at the start of summer. Then, his thinking was hindered by the memories of the graveyard. After his talk with the servants the previous night, he was able to think more clearly. Those elements that bothered him, he was able to grasp them. And the conclusion he and his servants came to didn''t please them at all. They all looked murderous, and if the objects of their ire was in the room, they would have frozen due to the amount of hostility in the air.

 Chapter 7 - Ch07 Faction

    It was noon when the group reached the end of their discussion about Harry''s life. The current situation was clearer to the women, and the queen among them saw the opportunity it presented to both herself and her summoner.


    "Harry" started Semimaris "You have decided to stop following others, and create your own path in life. You are in effect creating your own faction, changing the make-up of the coming conflict."


    "Huh? What do you mean?" he asked.


    "Until now, I would say there were 4 factions in magical Britain. The light side, currently led by Albus Dumbledore. The dark side, formerly led by Lucius Malfoy, and currently led by Voldemort through Malfoy. The ministry, currently led by Corneluis Fudge. Finally, the neutrals, those who didn''t side with either the light, the dark or the ministry, and prefer to keep to themselves. Now, there is a fifth faction, led by you."


    Hearing that last sentence, Harry blinked and looked at her in confusion.


    "There are thousands of witches and wizards in magical Britain. Each of these factions must have at the very least hundreds of people. Right now, I have 6 people. We aren''t a faction, we are just a small group."


    "You were usually associated with Albus Dumbledore" Semimaris calmly replied. "You may not like it, but due to the events of 1981, along with some of what you have accomplished these past 4 years, you must have gained your own share of followers and supporters. People that may like you more than Dumbledore, have more faith in you. You may not think that to be the case because of how you were treated in your 2nd year and when you were entered in the tournament. But can you tell me, with absolute certitude, that everyone aside from your small group of friends was against you?"


    Harry opened his mouth, hesitated for a second, and closed it. Semimaris nodded.


    "Due to your dislike of attention, I doubt you paid close attention to what everybody else did. I hope you understand it is an attitude that you should no longer uphold. These people, they will be necessary subordinates and allies for the coming war, both on the political scene and on the battlefield."


    "Wait. I can agree that they can be helpful in combat, but politically? How would that work?"


    "The ministry didn''t want to acknowledge the return of the dark lord. The dark lord himself didn''t want his return to be known this early, but your survival and escape partly destroyed that plan. For your inquiry, both the ministry and the dark lord''s agents will try to completly discredit you if they can''t get rid of you with an arrest or expulsion. I am pretty certain that headmaster of yours is going to present himself as your advocate, something that would reinforce anyone''s view of you as his protege. Since we will help you prepare your defense, you will be able to handle it without his help. It will send the message that you don''t need Dumbledore to take care of yourself and troubles that come your way. It will reach the ears of your possible political supporters."


    "Ugh! Things are more complicated than I though" he said while rubbing his forehead.


    "Of course they are! However, before we even start building your faction, we have to etablish our base. Right now, you have no place of your own to safely reside, you don''t have anyone else you trust enough to go to, and I doubt you want to explain to anyone how you came to have us around you. Do you even have enough money to sustain yourself until your school start again? What about after that?"


    "Money shouldn''t be a problem. I have a vault full of galleons, easily a few thousands. I''ve heard that my parent''s house in Goldric Hollow has been turned into a historical site or something like that. I''m not sure they had any other properties, I never really got a reason to check. I guess we need to go to Gringots. They should have records of everything my parents owned, or copies. I doubt they entrusted everything to the ministry during the war, with spies and the like. We could check this afternoon. You will also be able to see Diagon Alley, the main commercial area of magical Britain."


    That had the girls slightly perk up. They were quite curious about the magical side of the world, and the Leaky Cauldron wasn''t really representative of how the rest should be. It was decided that Scathach and Caitlyn would accompany him to the bank, and help him make some basic purchases in the alley. After lunch, as the 3 of them were about to leave, Harry took out his invisibility cloack. Scathach and Semimaris were quite interested in it and scanned it.


    "Harry!" Scathach called him while frowning. "You said that this cloak belonged to your father, and that it was returned to you by your headmaster, right?"


    "Yes" he replied slowly. "Is something wrong with it?"


    "... That old bastard! That''s how he was able to see us in 3rd year. I bet he didn''t really borrow it, but took it from my parent''s house after that night" he almost snarled.


    "I think it would be wise to check all your belongings" said Semimaris.


    15 minutes later, all his stuff had been scanned. On top of his cloak, his trunk, glasses, photo album and firebolt were charmed. Aside from the trunk and glasses, they were his most precious possessions, and wherever he could go, he wouldn''t leave them behind. His glasses, he would always keep on himself. If not for the bounded field Scathach and Semimaris erected around the room, his location would have easily been found. The charm on the cloak was destroyed, and the others were placed on an old shirt that VI took with her outside and tossed on top of a moving van. A maintenance van, and it got stuck on the ladder on top of it.

 Chapter 8 - Ch08 Meeting Goldblade

    Harry entered Diagon Alley under his invisibility cloack, following Caitlyn and Scathach. He stayed close to them, touching their hands through the cloak.


    The women looked slightly impressed by the alley for a bit, but refocused. They moved swiftly toward the bank, leaving sight-seeing and exploration for later. Harry didn''t want to have any problem with the goblins, so when the group reached the entrance of the bank, Scathach leaned toward one of the guard and spoke in a low voice so nobody but the guards could hear.


    "We have an invisible friend here who doesn''t want anyone to know he is here. I hope it won''t be a bother."


    The guards stiffened after hearing the first sentence, but then relaxed. It wasn''t rare for people to want to conceal their identity when they entered the bank, but it was still surprising for said people to announce it before entering. One of the guard nodded and signaled one of the other sentinels within the bank. He turned to the 2 women and answered.


    "You may get in."


    "Thank you."


    With that, the group entered, and soon found themselves in front of a teller. Making sure there were nobody nearby to overhear, Scathach leaned toward the goblin and whispered.


    "Mister Potter wishes to inquire about the status of his assets with the bank. Discretly".


    They left the counter and went to the waiting area. A few minutes later another goblin came and told them to follow him. They walked for several minutes, taking several turns before arriving at the door of an office. The goblin knocked sharply twice and waited for an answer. Then he ushered the group inside. Once they got in and the door closed behind them, Harry took of his cloak and walked toward the desk behind which an old goblin was sitting.


    "I am the manager of the Potter accounts, Goldblade. It''s a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to finally meet you, heir Potter. That is, if you really are Harry Potter. Before conducting any kind of business, I will have to verify your identity."


    "Good day to you manager Goldblade" Harry said as he took a seat in front of the goblin, his summons opting to remain standing behind him. "What do you need to check my identity?"


    "Just a few drops of blood" he said as he took a knife and a parchment from one of his desk drawer.


    Harry understood what he needed to do. He prickled his finger and let a few drop of blood fall on the parchmin. At the third drop, Goldblade stopped him and took the parchment. Meanwhile, the wound closed itself, surprising Harry. On the parchment, writting started to appear, starting from the blood spot.


    [Harry James Potter, 15 years old. Son of James Charlus Potter and Lily Rose Potter nee Evans.]


    "Your identity has been confirmed, Lord Presumptive Potter. What business do you wish to conduct?"


    "I wanted to be made aware of everything I own, and anything my parents left behind. But before that, what do you mean by Lord Presumptive Potter?"


    Goldblade looked at him with a piercing gaze for a second before answering. Scathach and Caitlyn turned worried looks to him.


    Harry was stunned. He had become aware that there was a lot he didn''t know about. But discovering that his family wasn''t as ordinary as he was led to believe? It hurt. It hurt because the people around him that knew his parents hid it from him, knowing how much he missed them and wanted to know about them.


    "I wasn''t told anything about it" he said in a monotone voice, trying to keep his calm. "Please explain."


    "In the past, the mundane and magical worlds weren''t separated like nowdays. Just like your mundanes counterparts, it was possible for magical families to be elevated to nobility. These nobles families have earned privileges due to their contributions to magical Britain, either in war, in politics and economy, or in the advancement of magic. At the bottom of the magical nobility are the Noble houses. Above are the Elder and Noble houses, and at the top are the Ancient and Noble houses. The Potters are one of the 5 remaining Ancient and Noble houses of magical Britain."


    "But... If that''s the case, why wasn''t anything done when I needed help?"


    Harry was losing his calm, and magic started to crakle on the surface of his skins. His fists were clenched so hard his nails dug into his skin.


    "Why wasn''t anything done when I was accused of assaults? When I was attacked by dementors? When I was entered in that cursed tournament?"


    "Unfortunately for you mister Potter, the privileges and protections granted by that title apply only when there is a head of house or a regent. Without them, the house is considered suspended. But fortunately for you, you won''t have to wait for your 17th birthday to claim the position of Head of house Potter, the Lord Potter. Your participation in the Tri-wizard tournament, a competition reserved to a.d.u.l.t witches and wizards, started the process of emancipation. To complete your emancipation, you only need to attain 5 OWLs."


    After several seconds, Harry was able to calm down. Barely. He had a lot of things to prepare, and unleashing his wrath on a reasonable target could wait until later.


    "I want to know everything that I own. Money, properties, anything I have the right to."


    "Wait. That''s not possible. I haven''t even used 1000 galleons yet, there should be more than 6000 remaining."


    "260 galleons were transfered to the muggle account of one Petunia Dursley nee Evans every year until you started your magical education at Hogwart. It was then reduced to 50 galleons."


    A magical pressure formed in the office, and Harry''s eyes were glowing noticably. Goldblade was internally surprised and anxious. Considering what his experienced magic senses told him about the young man in front of him, he didn''t want to be on the receiving hand of his anger fueled accidental magic.


    "The Dursley were paid money coming from my vault to take care of me?" he asked in a low, cold voice.


    "... That seem to be the case" Goldblade replied cautiously.


    "And who put these payment in place?" Harry asked in an emotionless tone.


    "The one acting as your magical guardian, Albus Dumbledore."

 Chapter 9 - Ch09 Assets

    "They mistreated me, and spend my money on themselves while calling me a burden? All because of Dumbledore? Again?"


    Scathach and Caitlyn put a hand each on Harry''s shoulder. The visible magical aura that had appeared around him spiked for a split second before fading. Harry''s face was as red as his hated uncle when he unleashed his temper on him. If he new it he would be absolutly disgusted and mortified. Still, the action of the 2 women managed to calm him down.


    "I want all transferts to the Dursley to be stopped... I will ruin those f.u.c.k.i.n.g relatives of mine. And when they reach the bottom, I''ll let them see me, just so they know I did it."


    Goldblade smirked when he heard that. It was a goblin way of attaining revenge. The 2 women didn''t react to the language he used because they were pretty angry themselves.


    "Sorry for the interruption. Please continue."


    "Then There is the family vault, which contain around 750 000 galleons, all items left by your parents that could be recovered, as well as Potter family treasures and heirlooms. There should have been more, but your grandfather and father invested a lot for the war efforts against Grindelwald for your grandfather, and then Voldemort for your father, when they were still alive. Your parents arranged for your Hogwart tution to be paid directly from that vault. On the properties side, your family manor was destroyed during the war, but the land still belong to the Potters. Your parent''s cottage at Goldric''s Hollow was aquired by the ministry."


    "Be assured that they paid more than the house value" he added when he saw Harry''s face twitch.


    "There is the Gaia Garden, a magical farm that raise common magical plants and animals for potion ingredients. You also own a commercial building in Diagon Alley and another in Knockturn Alley. They are currently rented. On the muggle side, you own a warehouse that is also currently rented. The Potter family also hold patents for a few spells and potions. Finally, your family invested in a few businesses when they were created, and became partner with 20% ownership. They are the Wizarding Wireless and Wizz Hard Books. Other properties and businesses were lost during the war."


    "Well, that''s definitly more than I expected when I decided to come here. Dumbledore was able to set transferts with my trust vault. How much control does he have over it?"


    "What about the family vault? And do I have access to it?"


    "Dumbledore can''t do anything about the family vault and the differents businesses owned by your family. He doesn''t even have access to the informations. As for you being able to access the vault, if it was before, the answer would be no. But since you''re partially emancipated, you have gained full access to that vault. You can also take full control of your trust vault. Do you wish to visit it now?"


    "No, I''ll visit on my way out. And yes, I want to be the only one with access to my trust vault... I''ll probably come later to autorise access to a few people. How much would it cost to rebuild my grandparents manor and ward it like hell?"


    "It would cost a minimum of 75000 galleons, and it would take a few months."


    "Heh... I though it would take less time with magic."


    "It depend on the amount of workers hired, and the quality of the materials. Some of them require time to be prepared."


    "I see. 2 other things before I leave. First, did my parents have a will? I doubt they failed to take such precautions."


    "Yes, they filled a will before going into hidding. They left an official copy in the family vault, just in case. But since the Wizengamot had the will sealed, it couldn''t be executed, nor could it be shown to you. Until now. You will be able to read it when you visit your vault. As for the execution, you should leave it for later. There has been some changes since the time they made it, and you have obviously been kept ignorant of a lot of things about the magical world."


    "That''s good to know, and I''ll do just that. Second, I intend to withdraw a large amount of money, both wizarding and muggle. How much money can be carried in the regular money pouch, and should I need to be back in the lobby to change the currency?"


    "Well then, we covered everything I wanted to know today."


    "Good, I''ve called someone to take you to your vaults. They should be here shortly."


    "Thank you for your time, Goldblade. I''ll make a proper appointment the next time I have need of your service, though I have the feeling it will be sooner rather than later."


    Goldblade had taken notes and magically sent orders during the talk. The 3 humans stood up just as another goblin entered the room. When they reached him, Harry put his invisibility cloak back on. While Goldblade wasn''t surprised, the newcomer was. Though he quickly regained his calm. The group left swiftly.


    The trip to the vault was quite entertaining for Harry and to a lesser extend, Caitlyn. Scathach, however, didn''t like it. To her, it was as unpleasant as their trip in the knight bus. The goblin stayed outside of the vault after opening the door, letting the 3 humans in. While Harry had been stunned by the sight of his trust vault back in 1991, what he felt when he entered the family vault was comparable to laying his eyes on Hogwart for the first time on the lake.


    "Whoa..."


    Scathach and Caitlyn nearby absently nooded their heads to his exclamation. The vault was a cavern 10 times larger than his trust vault. It was mostly filled with coins, but there were also furnitures and shelves with items such as weapons, books and paintings.


    "I get the feeling that Semimaris would have enjoyed the view" Harry absent-mindedly said.


    "Right.""Definitly."

 Chapter 10 - Back from the vault

    "Well" started Scathach "While I am sure you want to thoroughly check the vault, Harry, we don''t have the time today. We have to meet up with the others and buy some basic necessities."


    "Yeah, I know... Now, then" Harry said as he turned toward the item he most wanted to see. "Time to see the content of that will."


    To sum it, upon the death of his parents, he was supposed to be left under the care of either Sirius Black or Alice Longbottom, his godparents. If they were not available, it was suggested that he should be left with a noble family that fought against Voldemort, and used the Bones and McKinnon as example. They explicitly forbade his placement with the Dursley.


    They left some money for Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. They asked for whoever was left in charge of Harry to teach him all he needed to know as an heir of a noble house so he could appoint a Regent to house Potter on his 13th birthday. They already had a contract ready for that. Finally, they expressed their regrets for being unable to raise him, and wished for him to grow into a respectable man and live a happy life.


    Harry stayed silent and unmoving for a few minutes, with tears streaming down his face, the last message of his parents repeating in his head. Scathach and Caitlyn had come to his side, the first one holding his arm, and the second one warping her arm around his shoulders. He nodded in thanks for their support.


    "Are you alright?" asked Caitlyn.


    "I''m better now. Thanks. Let''s get whatever we need and go back to the surface."


    Harry opened the premium purse he received from the goblin. There was one side for wizarding currency, with separated pockets for galleons and sickles, and a side for non-magical currency, with separated pockets for bills and coins. He filled it with the same amount of galleons and sickles for the overall amount of 5000 galleons. He expected to spend around 1200 galleons for the womens'' personal items, and up to 3000 galleons in various magical items and services. He would have to define it with the rest of them, but he was at least certain to not need more until after the inquiry.


    Then the 3 of them looked at the list of items, to see if there wasn''t something they could take.


    Harry found the Potter Family book, which summed the entire history of the Potter family, and was updated by each head of the family. It only contained the most pertinent informations. For anything more he would have to check the previous lords personal journals. In the same vein as the Potter Family book, they found a book about the Wizengamot, another about the International Confederation of Wizards, and finally, and 2 books about the laws of magical Britain. Those were found by Caitlyn, and she got a predatory grin on her face when she did.


    They put the items in the trunk and left the vault. Back in the lobby, he withdrew 10 000 pounds. Thanks to the cart runner he didn''t have to expose himself. He guessed that Caitlyn, VI and Camille would be interested in more than a few items from the non-magical world, seeing their equipments, and he though the other 3 women would appreciate some as well. And he really wanted to get himself some of the things he was denied with the Dursley, he wanted to spoil himself for a bit.


    Once out of the bank, he led the ladies to a slightly deserted corner of the alley.


    "Ladies, we can''t have you rely on glamours for your clothes during the shopping. We''re going to a store where you will select some wizarding clothes for you and the others. This way, if a stray spell or security magic hit you, there won''t be any glamour to dissipate."


    Then Harry sounded hesitant.


    "I heard that women like to take their time for shopping" ''Like Hermione with her books'' "But please be quick right now. We will be back soon enough with the others, and there will be more opportunities at a later date."


    "Sure" drawled Scathach.


    "Don''t worry" added Caitlyn with a slight smirk. "We''re not that bad." ''Though I''m not sure about queen Semimaris.''


    Underneath his cloak, Harry released a silent sight of relief, but was still wary. They went to Madam Malkins, where they spent 20min selecting various robes and cloaks, then left for the Leaky Cauldron. The rest of the ladies were waiting in Harry''s room. Vi seemed to have spent most of her time chatting with Xuanzang, while Semimaris and Camille had a discreet discussion of their own. As soon as the door closed behind the returnees, Harry took of his cloak.


    "We''re back!!" he said cheerfully. "And we got good news. Mostly."


    "Mostly. The bad news are minor, not an immediate concern" he said while waving his hand at her and turned toward the queen, Semimaris. "First, I have enough money to build 7 manors, so no worries on that front. Second, I''m the heir of a high rank noble family. After my exams at the end of the school year, I''ll be a full a.d.u.l.t and become lord of my house, with all the perks associated with the title. Third, the land where my family manor used to be still belong to me. Since the manor was destroyed and not rebuilt, nobody would think I went there. We can settle there and slowly build our base while I''m in school."


    The women expressed their p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e at the news in different ways, from calm and dignified, to loud and cheering.


    "We can talk about it in more details later tonight. There is still some daylight to use, so we brough you some local clothes. Go change, then we can go back to the Alley for some shopping."


    Xuanzang loudly cheered, and the women eagerly left his room to get prepared. Harry watched them leave with a hint of fondness and nervous anticipation on his face.

 Chapter 11 - The Sticks

    The ladies didn''t take long to change into wizarding clothes.


    Semimaris and Scathach clothes could have fit in the magical world if not for the amount of bust exposure and how form-fitting they were at that area. Xuanzang outfit exposed even more. Caitlyn''s dress was too short, and like the others, exposed too much cleavage. Vi''s outfit was covered with various armor pieces, which didn''t fit well with witches and wizards. As for Camille, they had to hide all artificial parts, and that included her face.


    Scathach and Semimaris got witches robes similar in style and color to their own. Semimaris got a hooded cape to hide her ears. Xuanzang and Caitlyn got a basic white and blue dresses. Vi got a short robe to put over her outfit, and had to take of all armor pieces from it. Camille got long robes and a deep hooded cloak to hide her legs and face.


    "You are looking good" said Harry with a slight blush. "Let''s go..." he trailed of.


    "What''s the matter" asked an eager Xuanzang.


    "My wand. It was broken. I need to have it repaired or changed. That can take time... We will have to split up. 2 of you will come with me to Ollivanders while the others move around in groups of 2. We can meet up after an hour at Floreant Fortescue ice-cream shop. Everyone knows where it is, and it''s easy enough to spot. From there, we can go and get the things you got your eyes on, and more."


    "I will go with you" started Semimaris. "My fellow casters already have their own focuses. I will need one to better fit in."


    "Then I will come with you as well. I''m curious about wether my condition would allow me to use one or not."


    "Okay. So you 2 are with me. I guess Vi will be with Caitlyn and Scathach with Xuanzang?" They nodded with small smiles, or a grin for Vi. "Then let''s move out. Oh, and don''t go to Knockturn Alley. It''s a dark and forebonding alley used by criminals and suspicious people. You may be strong, but you don''t know enough about wizarding magic to not be taken by surprise."


    "True" replied Scathach. "It would not do to get in trouble due to ignorance and overconfidence."


    On that note, Harry got under his invisibility cloak, and they left the inn.


    "Good afternoon ladies" said Ollivander as he a came from behind his counter. "Welcome to my shop. My name is Garrick Ollivander."


    His eyes widened slightly as he fully observed the 2 people in front of him.


    "My, my. It''s a rarity to meet such interesting customers. Especially you" he added as his gaze focused on Camille, who got unnerved.


    Not wanting anything more about them to be exposed, Harry revealed himself.


    "Hello mr Ollivander. I''m in need of your service."


    "Mr Potter, holly and phoenix feather. It''s a surprise to see you in such circ.u.mstances. Has anything happened to your wand?"


    "Yes" he said as he took out the pieces. "My cousin and I got attacked by dementors, and he broke it in his panic."


    The wand maker gathered the pieces and looked at them with a hint of sorrow in his expression.


    "It''s a shame that it met its end so soon. But not everything about it is bad." His gaze flickered to Harry, and the 2 ladies with him. "You have changed mr Potter. And it has something to do with your companions. Anyway, I can repair your wand, but I won''t. It no longer fits you. The phoenix feather is still usable, but that won''t be enough. Follow me, I will need your input to select the materials of your new focus. This will be interesting. If you could wait here ladies."


    "Your magic has evolved mr Potter, and is still in flux. A regular wand won''t be able to handle channeling your magic past a few years. Please pass your hand over the differents materials sample I have assembled. Those with the best reaction to you would be used to make the body of your new focus."


    ''Similar to how I tried wands the first time I came here...'' Harry though as he tested the samples. The ones that reacted best with him were ebony, english oak and walnut. Ollivander put them aside, and gestured Harry toward another selection of samples.


    "Good. Very good! Now, the core!" he excitedly instructed.


    Harry complied, privatly amused by the wand maker''s optimism. Only one of them got a really strong reaction to him.


    "Merlin! It''s chimera heartstring! That sample has been there since the time of my predecessor, because there has rarely been any witche or wizard with an affinity for it."


    Ollivander was almost dancing in trepidation. After setting the necessary materials aside, he stored the rest back and led Harry out of the workshop. He continued to talk on the way out.


    "This will be the most unique focus I''ll ever make in my life, most likely. Mr Potter, I get the feeling that you are going to change the world. Come back tomorrow and your new focus will be ready."


    He then turned to the 2 women who were patiently waiting in the store.


    "Would any of you care to see if your wand is among my creations?"


    And thus, she went through the process of wand selection, and after 15 minutes, she found her match with an elm and siren scale wand. It was a wand made by Ollivander quite some time ago, and he was happy to see it find a wielder. Camille got a walnut and hyppogriff feather wand. After paying for the wands, Harry turned to the wand maker.


    "I would appreciate if you told noone that I''ve been here."


    "Do not worry mr Potter. I figured as much since you came here under your father''s cloak. I will see you tomorrow. Good day."


    "Thank you, and you mr Ollivander."


    He disappeared under his cloak, and the trio left.

 Chapter 12 - Shopping in the Alley

    After leaving the wand shop, they went directly to the ice cream parlor. Thankfully, there weren''t many people. Caitlyn and Vi were already there, sitting at a large corner table. They didn''t look nearly as excited as they were when they separated. There was an air of seriousness around them.


    "What is wrong?" asked Semimaris as she took a seat at the table.


    "We will tell you once the others get here" Caitlyn replied. "They should have noticed the same thing."


    "You should order something in the mean time" added Vi. "The ice creams are good."


    They did as suggested. A few minutes later, Scathach and Xuanzang joined them. They too seemed to have lost some of their good mood. As they sat at the table, Harry was in the corner, where nobody could accidentaly touch him, with Caitlyn and Semimaris on each side. He was sitting on the floor, leg crossed. Caitlyn straightened herself, then leaned forward, prompting the others to do the same. They spoke in low tones, mindfull of eavsdropping.


    "Now that we are all here, tell us what is troubling you."


    "The local newspaper is running a smear campaign against Harry, and by association, the headmaster of his school."


    "What?" Harry whispered harshly.


    "We heard something along those lines as well from a few people" added Scathach.


    "We got a look at the newspapers" continued Caitlyn. "They depict Harry as a lying, attention-seeking kid, either deranged by the demise of his fellow school mate, or trying to bolster his fame as the Boy-Who-Lived. They started calling him the Boy-Who-Lies. Some even accuse him of having killed Cedric Diggory. The ministry denies all claims that the Dark Lord has returned. Since Albus Dumbledore has declared such, they said he is losing his touch. He has lost his positions as Chief Warlock of their Wizengamot, and as representative of the nation in the International Wizarding Council."


    Harry was once more schocked. The last 24 hours have been nothing but a succession of surprises. He was getting numb to them, and recovered quickly. While irritated by the news, Camille and Semimaris weren''t really surprised.


    "It was well played" started Semimaris. "They deprived Harry of his protector by removing him of his ministry position, then destroyed his credibility so nobody would believe him. Then they sent the dementors. Harry is forced to defend himself and use magic, and they can punish him without looking like the agressors."


    "That''s why the first message he received was about his expulsion and the destruction of his wand" continued Caitlyn. "That plan was derailled when Dumbledore interfered. Thus the inquiry in 9 days. But even with that, they will try to discard your defense because of your destroyed credibility."


    "They will most likely make a show of it as well" added Semimaris, then a cold smile formed on her lips. "Then we will have to turn that plan against them. We will have to make them look like idiots." She slightly turned her head toward Harry. "Do not worry. We have 9 days to get prepared. They think they will be dealing with your headmaster at that time. They will get a surprise."


    After that talk, they left the parlour to resume their shopping. Harry led them to a shop named Wilderness Life. He was impressed when he discovered them at the Quidditch World Cup, and he learned from Charlie Weasley where he could obtain one. As they got in front of the place, Harry whispered to them.


    "Wizarding tents are like most of the buildings in the magical world: bigger on the inside than they look in the outside. It can have all the comforts of a house."


    The women nodded, impressed, and got in.


    Not all magics are easily usable for everyone, and some are near impossible. Many witches and wizards tried to resurect people, but failed. The creation of new life, such as homunculus is incomplete and so complicated that it isn''t used. Even Voldemort, self proclaimed greatest wizard to have existed, couldn''t make a proper homunculus body for himself.


    Space magic is Complicated. A lot of calculations are necessary for the most basic expansions charms, those used to expand a room in a fixed place, or used on basic trunks. The larger the expansion, the more power it requires upon activation, more than what the average witch or wizard can provide. The makers use special magic stones to activate the charms. It take them several days to charge them.


    After browsing for a little while they settled for large good quality tent. It was navy blue, which was the only colors all women could agree to. It had 4 sections: the main one containing the living room and the kitchen, the side ones containing 3 individual bedrooms each, and the back one containing the bathroom and the toilet. It was more for the women''s comfort that Harry selected it, as he was fine with sleeping in the living room. It was equiped with basic furnitures, protection charms against natural hazards, and anti-muggle charms.


    After that, they went to various book stores and got basic books on aritmancy, runes, warding, enchanting and curse-breaking, as well as dark arts. For the other disciplines, Harry still had all his books since first year. They searched for more books about laws and the wizengamot. Some of them weren''t available in book stores, and they would need to get them at the ministry.


    As the afternoon was coming to an end, they realised they wouldn''t have enough time for more shopping aside from potion ingredients, which wouldn''t take too much time. At a time when noone was near them, Semimaris adressed Harry.


    "You know Harry, it is good that you though of buying clothes for us. But you also need proper clothes. It feels like you avoid getting things for yourself, and that is not good. You are heir to a noble family, and you will soon become its head. You need a new wardrobe, and I won''t let you use the excuse of staying hidden to avoid it."


    The other women approved as well, and glanced in his direction with gleaming eyes. They looked forward to the next day. Under his invisibility cloak, Harry had gotten slightly pale.

 Chapter 13 - Mundane shopping 1

    After an afternoon of shopping in the magical district, the girls were in a good mood. It was quite different from what they were used to. They were all in Harry''s room, going over everything they aquired, occasionally asking Harry some questions.


    One of the highlight of the evening was wizarding magic. It was different from Runeterra''s magic and the magecraft from the 3 casters, just like house-elf magic was different from wizard''s magic despite some similarities. Semimaris and Camille being matched with a wand meant that they could possibly use Harry''s brand of magic.


    Under the expectant watch of the others, Semimaris and Camille tried a low level charm that didn''t exist in their worlds: rictusempra, the tickling jinx. After a bit of work, they performed the charm, to the joy of everyone present. Though there was some embarrass.e.m.e.nt for the 2 ladies as they were targeting each other. They were the most composed of the lot, not at all used to squirm and laugh out loud in front of people they weren''t comfortable with yet. Seeing their successes, Scathach and Xuanzang couldn''t help but try as well, with the same results.


    After talking about it for a bit, they concluded that it was probably due to their bonds with Harry. It also meant that Harry may be able to perform their kind of magic as well, which had Harry excited to learn new magic. Unlike Hermione, his d.e.s.i.r.e to learn wasn''t high. Magic was more of an escape from his life with the Dursley. Yes, he found it fascinating, he was happy to learn to use it, but there was never a strong d.e.s.i.r.e to learn more. Until that moment.


    As excited as they were, they had to leave it for another time. Harry''s magic was still in flux and it would be better for him to have his new wand before performing more magic. It was also getting late, and they would be quite busy the following day. It would also be their last night at the Leaky Cauldron. After packing everything safe for the essentials for the next day, they went to sleep.


    Harry didn''t have any nightmare that night. His first full, restfull night since the end of the school term. He woke up in good physical condition, and in a good mood. As they were eating breakfast in the room, Harry told them his plan for the day of shopping.


    To stay hidden from witches and wizards, he decided to do his clothes shopping in the non-magical world. They didn''t get a good look at it previously because the knight bus was quite uncomfortable, and when they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron is was getting dark and they were in a hurry. Besides, he confessed that he never got to do some proper shopping in the mundane world before. There was a lot he wanted to see, a lot of things he couldn''t get before were now accessible to him. Finally, he prefered mundane fashion to wizarding one.


    Thus, after breakfast, Harry and his ladies left for the mundane world. While they had wizarding clothes, they weren''t as distinctive as what regular witches and wizards used. Aside from Semimaris and Camille that needed their hooded cloaks, they wouldn''t attract much attention.


    Their went to the closest shop that sold both men and women''s clothes. The place where Harry had his first taste of the joys and pains of clothes shopping with women. It was a common shop, nothing fancy or special. It was to get the b.a.r.e bones of their new wardrobe. It was also there that the girls discovered what Harry told them was western style modern fashion. He may not have known much about clothing, but he knew the differences between modern and traditional, western, eastern, middle east and so on.


    It was early in the morning, shortly after opening hours, so the shop was mostly deserted. Harry had removed his invisibility cloak on the way. When he entered the place, the male employe and his female colleague were surprised to see a teenage boy with pitiful clothes accompanied 6 beautiful women. Even though 2 of them had part of their faces hidden, it was obvious that they were attractives.


    The 2 coworkers glanced at each other, then continued to observe the odd group. To them, it looked like the youth was a guide to the group of women. Until they moved to the male section of the shop. The guy winced, but there was also amus.e.m.e.nt in his eyes, and the girl smirked.


    Since they were there for basic clothing, Harry wanted to make it quick: 7 tops, 7 bottoms, 3 sets of sleepwear, 10 u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.rs and 5 pairs of socks. It was not to be.


    Vi put her arm around his shoulders and dragged him from place to place, selecting shirts that matched most with her style. Xuanzang and Caitlyn moved around, selected a piece of clothing, went to him a checked to see if it would look good. Whenever Harry showed interest in something, Semimaris would give her opinion. While he tended to avoid slytherin colors, the girls pointed out that it matched his eyes and contrasted well with his black hairs, so he got 2 tops in those colors.


    He was sent to the changing room every 5 minutes, and it took him an hour to finalise his selection. He was slightly tired from constantly changing outfits, and was happy to be done. Vi had tried to get him to try u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r for them, and he had to be quite firm in his rejection. As he saw the girls going to the women''s section, he relaxed.


    His relaxation was cut short when the girls stopped and turned toward him. With a wide grin, Vi went back to him, followed by a smiling Xuanzang. While Harry paled, the male employe sighted and turned his gaze away, jealous of the youngster. Vi and Xuanzang dragged Harry to the others girls as they scattered through the women''s section. They told him that they needed a guy''s opinion.


    While Harry was anxious, he would later realise that it was one of the best part of their shopping trip.

 Chapter 14 - Mundane shopping 2

    Clothes shopping with Xuanzang, Caitlyn and Vi would probably be something Harry would never refuse in the future. The first 2 really didn''t mind exposing some skin to his eyes, and the last one was shamelessly modeling for him just to rile him up.


    Ever since he summoned them, Harry never got the chance to properly look at the girls bellow the neck. He was aware that they were gorgeous, but refrained from admiring them, consciously focusing on their faces and not their bodies. This time, he had no choice but to look. Really look and not just glance.


    Xuanzang favored clothes with a low amount of fabric. When she tried something she would always go right in front of him and ask for his opinion. She was an asian beauty, with long and silky black hairs. Her honest brown eyes, and small pouty lips made it impossible for him to refuse her. She was the shortest of the group. The crop tops exposed her midriff, showing a toned lean body. She didn''t wear a bra, so her D cup cone b.r.e.a.s.ts were easy to make out when she posed with a tank top. The jiggling was hypnotic. The hotpants and denim shorts nicely covered her round apple b.u.t.t. On top of these she would cover herself with a jacket.


    Caitlyn, with her long dark blue hairs and piercing cyan eyes, was more interested in tube top and miniskirts, or minidresses. It showed to Harry that she had a toned hourglass body with well shaped and perky D cup b.r.e.a.s.ts, and a nice apple b.u.t.t. The dresses and skirts were also keeping her legs exposed, which she prefered. Harry discovered that he liked her leg. She wasn''t as innocent as Xuanzang when asking Harry for his opinion, but subtle enough for Harry not to notice her teasing.


    Vi was the worst of them for Harry. Each time she tried an outfit, she would ensure he had a good look at all of it, asking how it made her b.r.e.a.s.ts or b.u.t.t look. She had an athletic pear body, and was the tallest of the group.


    Unlike Caitlyn who liked form fitting tops, she prefered those that gave her some breathing room. Despite that he could tell that she had nice C cup b.r.e.a.s.ts, she made sure he caugh a glimpse when she showed him a button shirt. For the bottoms, she prefered to have her legs well covered, so only trousers were tried. That didn''t stop her from slapping her tightly covered bubble but in front of his eyes, temporary hypnotising him with the movement of her h.i.p.s.


    Dealing with those 3 women alone left him with a constant semi-erection. To him it was torture. Enjoyable but still torture. Semimaris, Scathach and Camille were thankfully more restrained, and settled for some simple but elegant (as elegant as casual clothes can be) knee-lenght dresses and jackets. Camille could tell with a single look wether something could fit her or not, so she didn''t need to try anything.


    She didn''t take much, as casual clothing didn''t appeal to her much. It was the same with Semimaris and Scathach. Those 3 didn''t take more than 3 outfits each. While the girls finished their selections, an hour had passed. The male employe took Harry appart and they had a whispered conversation, soemtimes glancing toward the girls.


    Said girls caught it of course, they always kept an eye on Harry as protecting him was part of their duties. They saw him blushing and denying something, but the older man was firm on the matter. They didn''t have any intention question him about their talk though, and Harry wouldn''t know he avoided an embarrassing moment.


    Harry could only sight and stop arging. Before leaving, Harry and the girls, except Camille, changed into one of the new outfits they had just purchased. They would attract less attention. They stopped at the first deserted alley they found to put their purchase in the multi-compartment trunk.


    After the casual clothes shopping, they went to a shoe store, where they spent 30 minutes. They were all, aside from Camille, delighted by the large choice of footwear, and if not for Harry reminding them that there would be time for more shopping another day, they would have stayed longer.


    Since Caitlyn, Vi and Camille were more physical fighters, he took the girls to a sport store. He got himself 2 sets of sport clothes, with proper shoes, and so did the girls. However, he didn''t see what kind of outfits they chose. But seeing the grin on Vi''s face, he knew that it would make his heart skip a few beats.


    On the way, they topped in front of a lingery store. Harry froze, forced a few hundreds of pound in Camille''s hands, and rushed to the store on the other side of the road that sold cosmetic products. Once he disappeared inside, the girls chuckled, looked at each others and entered the store with eager smiles. They spent an hour in that store, and when they got out, Harry was patiently waiting on the other side of the road. He had taken a large selection of products, except for women''s monthly monster.


    It was early afternoon when they stopped for lunch at a fast food. They appreciated the break, especially Harry. He reminded them that he had to retrieve his new wand at Ollivanders, and that the trip to the Potter ancestral land would take some time.


    When they finished eating, they bough bedsheets and towels, then cooking tools and supplies. It was nearing 7 pm when Harry snuck back in Diagon Alley to retireve his wand.


    "... It''s bigger than any wand I''ve ever seen Mr Ollivander..."


    "That''s because it''s not a wand Mr Potter. It''s a rod. Halfway between a wand and a cane."


    It was about 40% longer than his old wand, and a third thicker, dual colored despite being made with 3 types of wood, with subtles and elegants marking through its whole lenght. The moment he took it in his hands, a mild shockwave spread through the room as numerous sparks flew from the tip of the rod. Harry felt his magic coordinate with the rod, and settle down, though not completly.


    "Do not be so surprised Mr Potter. I told you an ordinary wand wouldn''t be able to handle your magic. You will have to practice using it during the rest of the summer. I suggest you come back here a few days before going to Hogwart to get a proper holster. I wish you a good holiday Mr Potter. Until next time"


    "Thanks a lot Mr Ollivander. Goodbye."


    Once back to the mundane side of London, Harry and the ladies took the knight bus to go to York. Once there they would have to travel again for an hour or 2 before reaching their destination.

 Chapter 15 - Ancestral Potter lands

    Harry and his 6 summons arrived at York after 2 hours of grueling ride in the knight bus. The fact that he was pleasantly stuck between Caitlyn and Xuanzang made the trip much more bearable than usual.


    It was nearly 8pm, and they were still quite somedistance away from their destination. From York, they took 2 taxis to go to the nearby village, Armont. It was a 30 minutes ride. The village was at the foot of a mild mountainous area north of York. They left the village on foot and walked for an hour to reach the Potter lands. There were plenty of isolated farms around the village, and small groups of houses in between, so there was a main road that circled around the village.


    They reached a sparsely wooded area, and had to leave that main road at some point to follow a dirt path wich disapeared in the woods. The 3 casters noticed there was a weak notice-me-not charm and a weak muggle-repelent charm tied to a ward in the area. Said ward was anchored to a large cut stone used as landmark. Muggle would know of the dirt path, but would care about it and have no interest in what lay beyond. They followed the dirt path, illuminated by Harry having used his rod for a lumos.


    "We are at the edge of another boundary field" suddenly said Semimaris, with Scathach and Xuanzang nodding. "It''s has the same function as the one at the crossroad, and it''s damaged, barely holding on. It''s also covering a wider area. We are very close."


    They soon came in view of an old wall covered in plant growth, with a broken gate in the middle. Harry stoped at the sight of the entrance of his family lands. The place where his father and grandparents had lived. He felt a deep sense of loss seeing the neglected state of the place. He passed the gate in a slight daze, with the women following and keeping an eye on him. They could make out a vague structure ahead of them.


    "Lumos maxima!"


    The women g.r.o.a.n.e.d or hissed at the sudden blinding light in front of them, raising their arms and turning their faces away. But Harry didn''t notice, even when Vi growled at him. His entire attention was on the charred remains of his family manor. The walls of the ground floor were still standing, mostly. But anything above was gone. The windows were empty blackened holes, and there was no door at the main entrance.


    He realised it was the place where his grandparents were killed, and tears started to stream down his face. He dropped his trunk, slowly advanced, and entered the ruins.


    The inside walls were even more damaged, and anything left from the furnitures had rotted away. There were small plants and moss everywhere on the ground, and to his slight surprise, some devil snare moved away from him. There were holes in the ground, where the upper floors collapsed all the way down to the bas.e.m.e.nt, spreading the destructive fire over there. The women stayed near him, with the casters muttering spells for detection and analyse.


    "Some of the structural reinforcement enchantements are still active" stated Scathach. "It is what kept the rest of the groundfloor from collapsing."


    "There is another subtle boundary field active" added Semimaris. "An identification ward it seem, limited to the building interior."


    Harry distantly listened, but continued to move. Following his intuition, he jumped in one of the holes leading underground, to the slight panic of the girls. They quickly followed him. Harry moved through the broken remains and stood in front of a large and clear stone tile, gazing at it. The casters, seeing his reaction, analysed it.


    "There is something hidden underneath" said Scathach. "Since you were attracted it this place, it must be a family based protection magic."


    Hearing this, and thinking about the blood wards that were supposed to be at Privet Drive, Harry decided to cut his palm with a weak diffindo and placed it on the center of the tile while channeling some magic. The tile faintly glowed and vibrated, releasing a low and deep humming, then slowy sank in the ground with him. The girls tried to join him, but they couldn''t reach him. Any momentum forward was annuled.


    "Tsk. It is a family protection" Semimaris said with a displeased expression. "Only family can continue further. We have to wait here."


    The tile descended for about 5 meters, and stopped. Harry found himself at the edge of a circular room around 2m in diameter and height with a stone at its center. The ground, walls and ceiling were made of white glowing material, and Harry guessed that the 150cm hexagonal stone with engraving on it was the wardstone of the property.


    He knew that he should be able to take control of the property wards, but didn''t know how that was supposed to work. So he just put his blooded hand on top of the wardstone, thinking it would activate something like the tile. And it did. Some of the inscription on the stone started to glow red, and he felt himself be scanned by the stone, similar to when madam Pomfrey checked on him. When the scan stopped, the inscriptions turned gold.


    Harry suddenly felt something weird in his head, as if his senses had been disturbed, but they clearly weren''t. As the feeling got clearer, he had the impression to have awakened a new sense. He perceived 2 differents things, active and weak, and several others that were inactive. His eyes widened in realisation.


    "I''m connected to the wardstone... I can feel the wards."


    At the moment, the wardstone had been working at low power for years, and suddenly activating all the wards would just damage it as it wasn''t used to such strain. Thankfully, Harry didn''t need the full wards. Nobody knew he was there, except maybe his account manager, and that was all he needed to insure his safety and privacy.


    To keep it, he just needed the to activate the magic containing ward, and the anti-scrying and anti-tracking wards. He also activated the perimeter ward, to know when someone or something entered or exited the property.

 Chapter 16 - The Order

    Through his link with the wardstone, Harry felt the activation of the wards. In an instant, the magic took a complex shape following the directions from the arrays, and spread outward like a bubble being inflated. When they finished taking shape, their power grew over the following few seconds to reach the optimal level of activity.


    Harry was having a mild headache due to the influx of informations. He returned to the tile, and with a mental command, was brough back up.


    "We felt the activation of wards" stated Semimaris. "Was that you?"


    "Yes. I took control of the family wardstone. It was damaged when the manor was destroyed, but it repaired itself. I only activated wards to conceal our presence. There were others, but I''m too tired to check them, and we don''t need them right now."


    With that said, he left the ruins with the girls following behind. Once outside, he raised the wizarding tent. There was a sitting room, separated from the kitchen/dinning room by a curtain. On each side of the sitting room were 2 passages leading to a bathroom and 2 bedrooms on each side. 3 of these rooms had 2 beds, while the last one had one big bed.


    Semimaris and Camille were paired together, both being assassins, Caitlyn and Vi were already good friends so they took a room, which left Scathach with Xuanzang. Though Semimaris was displeased with the arrangements, she kept it to herself and bear with it. She reminded herself that it was temporary and that once the place got rebuild she would have her own room.


    Once everyone got settled and retrieved their possessions, new and old, they showered and went to bed. Harry was so drained mentally that he didn''t even give the ladies the option to use the bathroom first. Luckily for him, they understood his current situation, and wouldn''t hold it against him.


    Later in the night, while Harry and his heroines were peacefully sleeping, another group of people was active. They had arrived at Privet Drive, and intended to retrieve the youth supposed to be living there. They were the advance guard of the Order of the Phoenix.


    "There is noone" said the disfigured man with an artifical eye in a low voice.


    "Good, it''ll be easier to get him then" replied a pink haired girl.


    "You didn''t get it, Tonks?" he angrily retorted. "He isn''t there. The house is empty. Neither Harry nor his relatives are there!"


    "Harry!" whispered a shabby dressed man as he rushed into the house.


    The rest of the group followed after him. When they reached the door of his room, a few of them glanced suspiciously at the locks on the outside and the catflap at the bottom. The 3 people entered the room while the others went to search the rest of the house. Compared to the rest of the house, the room was shabby, with second hand old and tastless furnitures. There were no traces of any of Harry''s belongings. They made sure of it with a few spells.


    "This isn''t what a teen''s room should look like" whispered Tonks.


    The 2 men caught it, but didn''t show any signs of it. Inwardly, they were asking themselves some questions.


    "I don''t think he has been there since the day of the attack" said the shabby man. "His scent is still lingering, but it''s old. Nobody has been there since then, Moody."


    "I think you''re right Lupin" replied the retired auror. "No signs of violence. There is a lose floorboard with a hidden space under. He kept something there, but it''s empty. He left of his own will. Didn''t he do the same thing before his 3rd year?"


    "Yeah. With You-Know-Who back, I guess he panicked after the attack."


    "Or he didn''t trust anybody and decided to stay on his own. He was supposed to be safe here after all."


    It soon became clear that, after Harry''s departure, the Dursley didn''t intend to stay long. They left early in the day on vacation, most likely to get away from anything magical. They swiftly returned to their hidden headquaters in London. When they arrived there, 2 people rushed to meet them, alerted by the mad shouts of a portrait.


    The first to arrive was a black haired man with aristocratic yet weary features. He was the current owner of the building, Grimmauld Place. His expectant face darkened when he saw everyone but his godson.


    "Where is Harry?"


    "The boy didn''t wait for us, Sirius" replied Moody. "He left on his own."


    "What?"


    "Wait until everyone is here, we will give more details once the meeting is in session."


    "Merlin''s balls! I''ve been telling you for days to bring him" Sirius replied as his temper rose. "None of this would have happened if he was here!"


    At that time, the second person arrived, with her ginger hairs, thick figure and motherly vibe.


    "Where is Harry? What happened to him?" she asked, her voice and worry rising.


    "Calm down. I''m sure he''s safe, just laying low" said Remus.


    "You don''t know where he is?" she asked, dumbfounded. "He has been attacked, Remus. By dementors! And now he is Merlin knows where, probably without food!"


    "We''re going to look for him Molly" said the pink haired girl. "From what I''ve been told, he is ressourceful. I''m sure he''s alright."


    "Why didn''t he come to the burrow?" she lamented to herself.


    Those present also asked themselves the same question.


    Upstairs, 5 young people had heard the commotion, and 3 of them expected their friend to be up at any moment. A lanky ginger haired boy named Ronald, but who was called Ron. His little sister, Ginevra, who disliked her name and prefered to be called Ginny. A bushy haired brunette named Hermione. However, the ones who entered the room they were waiting in were the prankster twins of the Weasley family, Fred and George. Their faces were graves.


    "What''s going on?" asked Hermione.


    "Harry wasn''t at his relative house" said the one twin.


    "It looks like he left shortly after the dementor attack" said the other.


    ""They don''t know where he is"" they finished at the same time.


    The 2 girls gasped at the news, while Ron''s reaction was more subdued. Still, all 3 of them got really worried about their friend.


    "They should have listened to Sirius" Ginny stated, pale from both worry and anger.


    "They sent him a message to reassure and stay there. Why didn''t he listen?" Hermione said nearly at the same time as Ginny.


    Ginny turned toward Hermione in surprise, then her eyes narrowed. She wasn''t the only one dissatisfied with Hermione''s statement. Her twin elder brothers felt the same. Ron, on the other hand, wasn''t sure what to think about concerning Harry''s actions, and decided to wait until they met again to ask him his reasons.

 Chapter 17 - The waterfall

    The wizard and his 6 summoned subordinates were sitting at the table. They didn''t wake up early, but not late either. However, since they only had one bathroom, they had to take turn using it. Harry felt the pain of waiting for 6 women to be done with it. He regretted letting them go in first, since he still had to wait a while after finishing making breakfast. They also used most of the hot water.


    "Now that we have a place to call our own, we have to take care of the most pressing matter" started Semimaris. "Your inquiry in 7 days. We have 7 days to not only absorb as much knowledge of local laws and regulations as possible, but also gather reliable intelligence about the government officials we will be most likely to deal with."


    Everyone at the table nodded.


    "But even before that, there is something else we must do" she said as she focused on Harry. "We have to give you a thorought physical examination. You have had a few unusual experiences with magic, especially with our summoning, and even the wand crafter that has only seen you once before noticed the changes. We must make sure that you are perfectly healthy."


    Harry had a complicated look on his face. He didn''t deny that it was a good idea, but he was never comfortable with medical examinations. He was also anxious of what would come out of the examination. Scathach continued where Semimaris stopped.


    "While noone of us are healers, Semimaris and I do have some medical knowledge. We are going to verify some features about this world magical health problems and healing today. We will be performing the examination this evening. Meanwhile, I would like to ask Caitlyn to start the research on local magical law" she said, looking at the sniper.


    "You can count on me" she replied.


    "I will help as well" added Camille.


    The 2 looked at each other and nodded. They were far from being friends in their former lives, but they could work together rather well.


    "What''bout me and sunshine there?" asked Vi while pointing at Xuanzang with her thumb.


    "You finish exploring the area with Harry?" proposed Caitlyn.


    "You can also check his fighting skills, get him used to his new rod" added Camille.


    "Whatever you do, I want him back relatively unharmed for his examination" Semimaris finished, her eyes imperceptibly narrowing at Vi. She had doubt about the gauntlet user''s ability to keep things in moderation. Most likely due to her language and shamelessness.


    Harry explored the rest of the grounds, followed by Vi and Xuanzang, but aside from a few overgrown magical plants, there was nothing noteworthy. Despite that, Harry had the feeling he was overlooking something, and continued to advance in a certain direction. When they were about to reach the boundary of the property, Xuanzang stopped him.


    "Where are you going, Harry?"


    "Eh? I feel like there is something I''m missing somewhere over there."


    "Another compulsion keyed to family members?"


    "I don''t know. Probably?"


    They left the property and headed deeper in the mountain. After about an hour and half, they arrived to a rocky area with a beautifull mountain stream cascade waterfall. It had a enght of 10m, and descending from a height of 3m through 7 steps leading into a small pond. Harry was attracted to the pond, just below the waterfall.


    "There is something hidden there" he said as he pointed to the place.


    Without waiting, he undressed, cast a warming charm on himself, and jumped in the pond. It wasn''t very deep, no more than 3m, but the water was very cold. Harry was glad to have spelled himself. He approached the rock wall just below the waterfall and stopped. He was certain that there was something there despite looking ordinary, then got inspiration from King Cross Station.


    He took a big step forward... and passed through the rock. He stumbled a little, disoriented due to the change of environment. Where before he was underwater with pressure from above, he was now in adimly lit cavern, 1m large and 2m tall, and leading downward with rocky stairs. Looking behind him, he could still see the pond, with the turbulences caused by the waterfall. He could also hear the sound it made, though both sight and sound were slightly distorted by the barrier.


    "I felt a discreet magic pulse. He passed through a barrier. Probably the same kind that forbade us from following him to the wardstone, so no use trying to follow him."


    "Ha ha ah! His ancestors were clever bastards."


    "Vi!!"


    "Oops! Sorry, I didn''t mean it as an insult" she replied, abashed.


    "You should be more careful with your language! If Harry was here he wouldn''t have taken it well."


    "I know, I''ll be careful. I''m glad for him. His ancestors left ways for their descendants to get back on their feets if the worst came to pass. Not only was their wardstone well protected, they didn''t have their secret vault in the manor and didn''t leave everything to the goblins. I''m sure that what''s down there."


    And she was right. Harry followed the rocky corridor underground until he reached a tasteful stone door. Tasteful because of the simple yet elegant engravings on it. Harry slowly walked up to it and admired the craftmanship. It was one of the few constructions left intact from his family, and he got really eager to see what was inside.


    With trepidation, he put his hand on the door, barely noticing a split-second glow, and pushed. The door didn''t move.


    "... I''m an idiot."


    "Aaaargh!! Bloody Hell!! Episkey!!"


    With another spell, the deep gash was turned into a shallow cut. Harry took a deep breath and calmed himself. He told himself he really needed to get control of his magic.


    After a minute, he gathered himself and put his hand on the door. This time, instead of a low glow there was a non-blinding flash, and the door opened.

 Chapter 18 - Warm heart

    As Harry opened the door, he found himself in a small entry hall leading to a small circular room. Unlike the neutral glow present in the rock corridor, the lighting in the room was of a light brown color.


    When he reached the small room, he realised that it was the center of vault, a circular one. What he though was an entry hall was in fact one of the aisles of the vault. The other 6 aisles had various items stored on shelves. These shelves were supported by the outer walls of the vault, and rock pillar at the entrances of the aisles. He walked absentmindedly through the aisles, glancing at the contents of the shelves. C.h.e.s.ts and cases, medieval weaponry and armors, earthenwares, glass vials and jars with various content, books and journals.


    On the pillar facing the door was the Potter crest: a brown shield, 2 crossed white wands at its center, and a red dragon head at the foreground. Looking more carefully at the rest of the place, he noticed that the pillars, ground and ceilling had modest red and gold artistic paterns. That, with the crest and the brown light, hinted strongly to earth and fire. The 2 elements used in pottery.


    "Potter" he whispered in reverence.


    With that, Harry uncovered the humble origins of his family. People who worked the earth with fire. They started with clay in pottery and ores in smithing, adding some enchanting for magical effects. Later they added products from the land (magical plants and beasts parts) in potions.


    He smiled, elation filling his heart. He wasn''t aware of his magic leaking out of his body in gentle waves, producing a soft breeze in the underground chamber. He also didn''t notice the place becoming warmer in response, the glow getting slightly stronger, as if welcoming a kin. To him, this place was the heart of his family.


    He hadn''t felt that happy since he discovered that Sirius wasn''t a traitor. He may have been obsessed with killing the rat, but he never stopped caring about him. When he escaped from Azkaban, instead of going to The Burrow, he went to check on his godson in Surrey first. And now, Harry felt like he had been reunited with his family.


    Thinking of his family reminded him of the other people looking after him. Mainly, the 2 ladies still waiting for him at the shores of the pond.


    "I should get back. It took some time to come here, and it''s probably going to be noon soon. The girls are going to be hungry."


    With one last look around, he left the vault. Once outside, he briefly explained to the girls his discovery. They were happy for him, and Xuanzang even took him in her arms. He certainly enjoyed it since he was still half-n.a.k.e.d and her clothes were light. He quickly finished to dress himself and they went back to their base.


    ''Cho my be pretty, but Xuanzang is in a completly different level... Damn, she''s gorgeous!''


    He didn''t dare turn around to look at Vi, who kept pace behind them. He internally cringed, thinking about the teasing she would unleash on him if she caugh him checking her out. The shopping trip had been bad enough. The memory was enough to make him flush in embarrass.e.m.e.nt and arousal. Once they got back, Harry rushed to the kitchen to prepare lunch, letting Xunazang and Vi relate their little expedition.


    Concerning Harry''s cooking, the summoned girls only experienced his breakfast, which was something simple. Milk, toasts, eggs and bacons. It was done mostly out of habit. However, this time, he was not cooking for hated relatives. With them, the slightest mistakes would result in either pain, starvation, or both. He had to get good at it, and he even studied foreign cooking, mainly french and spanish, in books. When the Dursleys invited guests, the meals had to be perfects or he would suffer.


    This time, he was not cooking for them. He was cooking for beautiful ladies that were also his protectors and sworn allies. Furthermore, after discovering his family hidden vault, he was in a celebrating mood. Thus, he was very caring in the preparation of each ingredient, and each dishes. They came from different areas, so he wanted to make something that would suit all of them. He altered known dishes to make something new.


    If he wasn''t so concentrated in his task, he would have heard 3 stomach growling, the owners of these stomachs entranced by the fragrant smell spreading around. Vi and Xuanzang, who were observing from afar while chatting, looked away in embarrass.e.m.e.nt. Scathach closed her mouth and hastly wiped the bit of droll that had started to leak.


    Harry didn''t need to tell to prepare the table. When he was done and turned around, he found everyone already seated at the table. He blinked twice, seeing Camille seemingly ready to eat as well, but chose to not dwell on it. The girls eyes were fixated on each dishes he placed on the table, and Harry was quite pleased and slightly amused in his mind. They didn''t move until he sat down as well.


    "Go ahead. Enjoy the meal."


    Harry didn''t move and watched them. Once they filled their plates, nearly at the same time, they scooped a and carried it to their mouths.


    ""Mmmhhh!""


    "Delicious" exclaimed Xuanzang, while the other nodded in agreement.


    "Indeed" added Semimaris. "It is excellent."


    "Thanks" he said as he started serving himself. "I''m glad you like it."


    "If that''s what we can expect everyday, then you''re on permanent cooking duty" Vi said in a half-joking tone.


    "Or I can teach you how to cook."


    "No way. Not my thing. I''ll let the expert deal with it."


    "Too bad, because I''ll leave for Hogwart in less than a month, and I won''t be back for 3 and half months. You''ll be on your own."


    Vi froze, and even the others, who were absentmindedly listening to the banter, slowed down. Harry just gave them an innocent smile. They soon resumed eating. It was the best meal he had since the end of the tournament, not just because of the quality of the food, but also the warm and relaxing setting.

 Chapter 19 - Discoveries

    After the delicious meal, the 7 people relaxed. Harry would have loved to give them some wine, especially to Semimaris, but he didn''t think about buying alcoholic drink during shopping. So he settled for tea. Despite being a good cook, he wasn''t that good with drinks and tea. But he could make something decent.


    Harry spent his afternoon practicing all the spells he knew, under the watchfull eyes of Xuanzang and Vi.


    More often than not, he used too much power in his spells. His rod may have been more powerful than his firs wand, but it was also harder to handle. In Ollivander''s words, it would be temperamental, or wild. His lack of control over his magic didn''t help. Xuanzang and Vi observed not only to make sure that he didn''t hurt himself, but also to see what kind of spells were used in the magical world.


    At the end of the day, Harry was exhausted, mostly mentally. He had to concentrate more on his spellcasting, and his failures frustrated him. He estimated that it would take him a few days of practice to recover a decent level of control. When he entered the tent, Semimaris and Scathach were already waiting for him.


    "You should go and take a shower" said Semimaris. "We will start the examination as soon as you''re done."


    Harry looked at them with a perplexed expression.


    "It is best to perform that before you eat" continued Scathach. "The earlier we start, the earlier we finish, the earlier we will be able to eat diner."


    The last part was said in a lower tone than usual, with a hint of anticipation and shame. Harry nodded in agreement, not noticing his 2 other companions nodding as well, but for a different reason. The glint in their eyes would have betrayed their thoughts.


    30 minutes later, Harry was in his room, lying on his bed in u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r, with the 3 casters surrounding him.


    "The healing magic from your world is quite interesting" said Scathach. "I dare say it is superior to what was possible in our world in some regards. But when it comes to scanning the body to detect wounds and ailments, I believe we have an edge. Still,we are going to use both methods to make sure we don''t miss anything."


    With that said, they spent several minutes casting various spells on him. Some he could tell were from the wizarding world, other that were from their world because of the foreign language and the shift in wand movements.


    At some point during the examination, Harry felt his scar tingle in contact with their magic, and it slowly turned into an irritating itch. All 3 casters frowned at that moment, and Scathach and Semimaris focused on it. After investigating it, their frowns turned into glares, and seeing this, Harry started to get really worried. After finishing the examination, they sat down on the nearby chairs and had a whispered discussion. Semimaris sighted and they turned to him.


    "So? How am I doing?"


    "You are both in a better and worse condition than I expected" said Semimaris. "The 10 years of mistreatment inflicted by your relatives left some damage in your body. You''re still slowly recovering from malnourishment despite spending most of your time at your magic school. You didn''t receive specialised treatment for that, thus the slow healing. Since you are in the middle of puberty, it is still possible to completly correct it."


    "You awakened traits you acquired a little over 2 years ago" continued Scathach. "Traits related to some kind of magical beast, something to do with health and vitality. I am guessing it is from the Chamber Of Secret incident, when you were bit by the basilisk and healed by the phoenix. You gained something from a beast with a very long lifespan and another that is reborn after death. Aside from the lingering damage from malnourishment, your body is in a good condition."


    "On the magical side, until 3 days ago, your magic was bound" continued Semimaris.


    "What?"


    "You had a magical block whose function was to limit the amount of magic you could use in a single instance. It is usually used on children who are prone to strong bouts of accidental magic. It limits the damage they can do on their surroundings and prevent magical exhaustion, which is dangerous for young children. It was most likely placed on you by your parents, and left there after their death. It got overloaded when you summoned us."


    "How much of my magic was blocked?"


    "Between 20 and 25%. It''s difficult to say because the source of wizard''s magic is different from our own."


    "Not too much then. Anything else?"


    "There is a faint blood based barrier magic on you."


    "My mother!!"


    "The original protection placed on you by her that saved your life. It was stressed and stretched until today, when it started to stabilise. I think that linking to the manor wardstone affected it."


    Semimaris grimaced before resuming her talk.


    "It also used to protect you from something."


    Harry locked eyes with her, and she could see the fear hidden within his eyes. He understood that whatever it was, was terrible news.


    "There is a soul fragment in your scar, shrouded in dark magic. The barrier had it contained, until 6 weeks ago..."


    With each word she spoke, Harry''s complexion whitened. He wasn''t the only one, as Xuanzang looked at him in horror. He was starting to have trouble breathing.


    "... I have a piece of Voldemort soul in my head?"


    Semimaris and Scathach grimly nodded.


    "He took my blood. He could touch me. And now, this disgusting piece of shit in there can affect!!!"


    The end of that last sentence was shouted as he abruptly stood up. He was starting to panic and furiously wiped his scar."


    "Get it out. GET IT OUT!!" he screamed as he tried to scratch the scar and rip it.


    Thankfully, Xuanzang and Scathach reacted first and took hold of his arms. They may have been casters and weaker than they should be, but still stronger than ordinary humans, and Xuanzang was also a martial artist. They easily subdued him.


    "Calm down Harry!" said Xuanzang.


    "I have some of that bastard in me!! Without protection!!"


    "You faced him, weakened and surrounded by his followers, and still made it out alive. The thing in your scar is just a small piece! Are you telling me that you''re weaker than that?"


    Harry stopped resisting, his gaze got lost as he processed what she said, before wincing and lowering his head in shame.


    "No... Sorry. It''s just. I can''t bear the thought of having a bit of him stcuk in me. It''s making me feel horrible, tainted in the worst way."


    He sat down on his bed, head held in his hands. His magic flaring eratically, mirroring his mental state. He was a step away from having powerful accidental magic.

 Chapter 20 - Harrys magic

    After a few moments, Harry calmed down and his magic settled. His face had become blank, completly devoid of emotions.


    "That piece of soul link us together. My scar had always been hurting whenever he was close. And last year I had a vision about him before school resumed. With my mother''s protection now ineffective against him, and him returned to power, he may very well find that connection and use it against me. He could very well see through my eyes and hear through my ears like I did before. Heck, he could probably mess with my mind as well!"


    "There is a solution for that" stated Scathach.


    Harry sharply turned to her, his expression curious, nearly hopeful.


    "One of the books we took from your family vault was about the mind arts. I briefly checked it, it is separated in 2 disciplines, legilimency and occlumency. The first discipline is used to read or invade someone''s mind. The second is used to protect and strenghten one''s mind. Learning occlumency is going to be your priority. In fact, all of us should learn it."


    "Why not just take the damn thing out?"


    "It''s not that simple" said Semimaris. "We are dealing with souls here. Noone of us dabbled in magics of the soul, and very few in our home world did. If your mothers protection was still effective, it may have been possible to get rid of the soul shard by physically removing the scar. Without that barrier however, the foreign soul piece latched onto your own, making the removal much more complicated and dangerous. You will need the equivalent of a spiritual surgery."


    Harry gaped at her like a fish out of the water, as the ramifications of what she said slowly sank in his head.


    "Bloody wizards and f.u.c.k.i.n.g Dumbledore!!" he shouted as he stood up and started to pace around the room while cursing under his breath.


    It was obvious that the piece of soul stuck to him on Halloween 1981. At that time, Lily''s protection was at its strongest, and the soul shard wasn''t as deeply attached to him. It was still stuck to the scar. Had he been taken to proper medical and curses experts, they would have been able to do something about it.


    Intead, Dumbledore left him under the care of a mere mediwitch for a few hours before abandonning him at the doorstep of his hateful relatives. Furthermore, with wizards general ignorance or disdain of non-magical methods such as surgery, they wouldn''t have thought of excising the scar, with the soul shard stuck in it. .


    Not wanting Harry''s anger to reach a boiling point, as warned by the renewed flaring of his magic, Scathach resumed their report.


    "By the way, while we were performing your medical checkup, we did a consecration."


    "Consecration?"


    "Yes. The magic of our world is different from yours despite the many similarities. There are some things that just can''t be replicated in the same fashion. After your first trip to Ollivanders, we discovered that our magic aquired some of your world''s magic traits, as shown by our ability to cast witches and wizards spells. It is most likely the result of the magical bond between us. If our magic adapted to yours, then the opposite should have happened as well."


    It was something Harry though as well but put aside because it wasn''t a priority.


    "In our world, magic users have an affinity for one or more elements. That doesn''t stop them from using elements they have no affinity for, unless it is something very different from the norm. There is nothing similar mentioned in any of the books we had access to. Were you told anything about it in your school?"


    "No. Never heard of it mentioned anywhere."


    "I see. Well, the consecration is the process of discovering someone''s elemental affinity. I expected the result to be unusual, but certainly not this surprising" she said, lightly shaking her head. "You have an affinity for 8 elements."


    "... What?"


    Harry had already guessed that having more than one elemental affinity was better than average. Since to his limited knowledge, there were 4 main elements, earth, wate, fire and wind, having more than 4 elemental affinities was near impossible. Hearing Scathach words shocked him, and left him near speechless.


    "It is as you heard. You have 8 elemental affinities. Only 2 of them are natural though, and they don''t have the same strenght. In our world, you can''t change your affinities. You are stuck with what you are born with. That isn''t the case here it seem. You have an average affinity for earth and a good affinity for space. Then, you acquired a good affinity for spirit, mind and dark, an average affinity for light and fire, and a weak affinity for water."


    "Wow..."


    That was a lot to take in for Harry.


    "It seem that, in this world, what you do, or your environment, affect your elemental affinity" said Semimaris. "The spirit, mind and dark affinities are likely the result of having the soul shard in your scar since you were a toddler. The light and fire affinity probably came from the phoenix tears, and maybe your former wand core. I cannot guess how you aquired your water affinity."


    "Great. At least, it looks like I can get something usefull for all the shit that happens to me" Harry snarked. "Even if it comes from the dark bastard" he added in a lower, disgusted tone.


    "Your space, mind and spirit affinity are likely what allowed you to summon us" stated Xuanzang, surprising him as she hardly spoke the whole time she had been there. "And your mind affinity will certainly help you in learning occlumency. Finally, with your spirit affinity, you should be able to deal with the soul shard in time"


    She gave him one of those smiles that never failed to charm him.


    "Don''t worry, strenghtening ones mind and spirit is something I learned when I was still a student. I''ll help you and teach you."


    "Thanks" he said while shyly lowering his head for a bit. "I''llbe counting on you."


    "Anyway" continued Scathach. "You clearly had your affinities before our arrival, so they are unrelated to our magics bonding. It is probable that elemental affinities in this world can''t be revealed unless they are awakened, and the awakening happens only in special circ.u.mstances. That would explain why the regular magical population doesn''t know about them. You forcefully awakened them during the dementors attack."


    Scathach smiled at him with a glint of anticipation in her eyes.


    "That does not mean you can''t learn our kind of magic. While Xuanzang will help you with the mind arts, I will be happy to teach you the basics of our magic."


    Harry was both happy and a little regretful. He realised he was going to be very busy this summer. Even though he new it was important and would only benefit him, he was already grieving the loss of leisure time despite being away from the Dursleys. His consolation was that the company would be much more pleasing.

 Chapter 21 - 6 days

    Harry left the room, his mind going through everything he has discovered recently. He absent-mindedly went to the kitchen and started to prepare diner.


    While he was busy, the casters told the other girls the basics of what was discovered during the examination. Then they started to talk about what they were going to do to train him. They talked in low voices, aware of Harry''s distracted mind and wanting to leave him in peace for a while. Vi also didn''t want him more distracted than he already was while cooking, fearing for a big drop in quality. The others girls agreed.


    Diner passed in a calm manner, with little talk, but no akwardness. After the meal, the ladies presented to him the schedule he was to follow for the days preceding the inquiry.


    He would spend the first 2 hours of the morning practicing with his new focus. He had to be able to cast all the spells he learned since first year without discomfort, and then get even better at it than he was with his old wand. The following 2 hours would be spent with Scathach, learning the basics of her world kind of magic.


    His afternoon would be spent with Xuanzang. He would learn meditation with her as well as breathing. Breathing would not only help with learning their kind of magic, but also with meditation. The evenings would be spent learning more about magical Britain. The nobles houses, etiquette, common laws and regulations, and the most influencal members of the Ministry. Caitlyn and Camille would help him with that.


    "Looks like I''ll be busy" Harry muttered with a wry grin.


    "We will all be" Semimaris lightly admonished him, having heard him. "When not assisting you with your studies and training, we will be doing a lot of research."


    Harry nodded with some pink on his cheek.


    The following days were spent following the schedule. But there were some things he forgot to take into consideration, which made these days much harder than he expected.


    Harry was used to work hard, and sometimes too much. It was one of the reasons why he was lazy with school work, he didn''t to inflict on himself more workload than needed, not wanting to feel like he was with the Dursley. Yet these days of training and studying had become harder to bear than if he was with the Dursley.


    The 1st reason being the women''s beauty.


    As he got used to his new rod and new level of magic, he also had to work on DADA spells. Semimaris and Vi though that it would be a good idea to do it through spars. So every mornings, after 1h and half of general spell casting, he would spend the last 30 minutes in mock battles. Usually with Semimaris and Vi as opponents. And they weren''t in casual clothes, but leggings and sport bras for Vi and tennis dress for Semimaris.


    It was very distracting, and he always paid for it dearly. That was the 2nd reason he suffered, they didn''t go easy on him.


    The school robes always hid too much, even the quidditch outfit. He still wasn''t used to see so much beauty. Vi wore g-strings with her leggings so the back view was always arousing. Semimaris didn''t use any bras, she hardly had to move when fighting him, but it was enough to make her b.r.e.a.s.ts shake in hypnotic ways. Gusts of winds would reveal the lacy u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r she wore under the dress.


    Xuanzang always wore light and slightly revealing clothing such as crop tops with no bra, bikini tops, boyshorts and dolphin shorts. Thankfully, most of the time he spent with her, he had his eyes closed for better concentration, or she stayed behind him. They jogged to the waterfall, he would meditate there, and they would jog back to the estate. He was both angry and gratefull that she didn''t run ahead of him. Just thinking about it was enough to make him groan.


    Time with Scathach, Caitlyn and Camille was relatively more tame. He spent his time with them at a table to study. There were no big motions to make their c.h.e.s.t jiggle, and their butts were always out of sight. And in Camille case, it was impossible for him to get excited over an artificial body. It only had the same appeal as a painting or sculpture. They were strict in their teaching, and Harry was a bit happy that he didn''t get distracted during their lessons.


    Like that, Harry spent nearly 10h everyday training and studying. He also had to work on his occlumency for an hour before sleeping every nights.


    It would have been worse for him if he had to prepare every meals as well. Thankfully, Xuanzang and Vi could make decent meals, and Semimaris was surprisngly good as well. Nobody expected the former queen to be able to use a kitchen. What the others made was just good enough to be edible. He only had to cook diner.


    The ladies had also been busy. They had a crash course on wizarding magic and defense against the dark arts, just in case something happened on the day of the inqury. They had to acquire up to date informations about the state of magical Britain, something which wasn''t avilable in the books. That meant leaving the estate and mingling with the magical population. Semimaris and Scathach used long distance magical means, while Camille ghosted around with Harry''s invisibility cloak.


    One of the 1st thing they did though, was going to Gringot and get themselves IDs. Since 3 of them would escort him to the ministry, it would be best if there were traces of their existence for people to find. The goblin could take care of building the proper trails and background. It wasn''t rare for people to use aliases or get themselves new identities through them. The only one who didn''t was Camille. Her existence would remain secret for as long as possible, a hidden ace.


    Caitlyn kept her real name. Vi got the name Vicky Isley, which could easily explain people calling her Vi. Scathach became Ciara Canain, Xuanzang became Xuan Zhenya, and Semimaris became Maris Ria. The 3 servants were still wary of someone discovering their true names.


    On the eve of the inquiry, Harry felt like the previous 6 days passed in a flash. He was nervous, but also confident that everything would be fine. It was different from being in the care of Dumbledore or the Weasley. They didn''t just handle him. They didn''t restrain him. They supported him and pushed him to be better without appearing bossy like Hermione and Mrs Weasley. Not for the 1st time since meeting them, he felt gratefull to have them with him.

 Chapter 22 - To the Headquaters of the ministry

    It was 5:30am on 12 August when Harry woke up. His inquiry was scheduled for 9am, but he was going to be at the ministry from the opening hours, 7:30am.


    He was going there with Caitlyn, Scathach and Xuanzang, the 1st as his defendant for the inquiry, the others as bodyguards to keep either corrupt ministry employees or Dumbledore from taking Harry away. Or worse, having followers of the Dark Lord try to do something where noone would see. If a fight was to breakout, they would at least be able to get away.


    Harry didn''t want to be held back by the women hogging the bathroom, and they were going to put extra efforts to look good for the occasion. He though they didn''t need it, but chose not to complain. He too had to look good. They were sure Fudge was going to make a show of it, and they were going to take advantage of it.


    The ladies got him an elegant black and silver formal outfit with golden paterns, and the Potter crest added above his heart. They wanted him to wear some emerald green at first to go with his eyes, but the color represented slytherin too much for his tastes, and it wouldn''t do at a time where the public opinion was being turned against him. He didn''t use red either, as he felt he would feel too much like Dumbledore''s griffindor protegee. The thought alone made him scowl.


    On top of that, he had also physically gotten better. The bad nights since his return from Hogwart, and the lack of proper nourishment from the Dursleys, had taken their toll on his body and mind. Ever since he left them, he had eaten until he was filled and rested well.


    Adding to that all the exercises, physical, magical and mental he did daily, the disappearance of his magic block, and his improved constitution, and Harry was no longer looking like a scrawny kid. He looked like a solid teenager who could hold his own. He would be taken more seriously.


    When Harry came out of the bathroom 10min later, he was startled to see Caitlyn already waiting for her turn. He managed to keep his external reaction to a split freezing. Her dark hairs and piercing blue eyes made an intimidating picture in the dark. After a quick greeting, he went to start on breakfast. He would finish preparing himself after that, not willing to risk having a single crumb marring his appearance.


    ''... That''s some Lavender-like thinking... If today wasn''t important I''d probably shed a tear of mortification.''


    He took his time in the kitchen, trying to relax. Even though he was confident everything would be fine, he was still anxious. He had never been comfortable in the spotlight, and this time he wouldn''t be dealing with classmates, but a.d.u.l.ts in significant positions. The arrival of the ladies certainly helped getting rid of his unease. They looked gorgeous. After the pleasant breakfast, they finished their preparations and left.


    It was 7am when they exited the property, and they walked until the main road before going to London. During the last 7 days, the casters had looked at the different means of magical travel available, and easily discovered apparition. It only took them a single day to learn to use it. They were, after all, already certified magic users, skilled and experienced beyond the norm.


    Xuanzang took Caitlyn in side-along apparition, while Scathach took Harry, who got under his invisibility cloak. Someone could have tried to prevent him from reaching the ministry, or intercept him at the entrance. They appeared in an alley, near the broken-down red telephone box that served as the visitors'' entrance to the Headquaters of the British Ministry of Magic.


    The 4 of them squeezed themselves into the box, something that Harry internally enjoyed. After dialing the secret number, when they were asked for their purpose, Caitlyn stated that she escorting her client and his 2 bodyguard for an inquiry. With the 4 passes issued, the box descended into the ground and stopped when they reached the Atrium.


    Caitlyn led the way, closely followed by Scathach and Xuanzang walking side by side. Harry was at the back, still hidden. There were very few people around, most employees starting their work at 8am unless they were security or on the night shift. As they passed the statue that stood in the middle of the Atrium, they glanced at it in distaste. Seeing noone looking around suspiciously as if waiting for someone in particular, Harry took of his cloak and stored it in his pouch.


    They reached the security desk and had their wands checked. When it came to Harry''s turn, the security officer stared at Harry, then at his rod, then at him again with a mixture of wonder and unease. It annoyed Harry and he narrowed his eyes.


    "Is there a problem?"


    "N-no. I was just surprised mr Potter" the guard replied, unnerved by Harry''s glare. "You''re free to go."


    They left the security desk and went toward the lifts. They took one to the 2nd level, where the largest department of the Ministry was: the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. They went to the Wizengamot Administration Services, which undertook all administrative and clerical duties for the wizengamot. Court doc.u.ments, hearing dates, legal proceedings and such were recorded there.


    They verified the time of the inquiry, and added Caitlyn in the files as Harry''s advocate. Semimaris had been paranoid when they prepared for the inquiry, and didn''t want Caitlyn to be blocked from helping Harry because she wasn''t registred. Caitlyn asked the clerq to warn them if there was any change concerning the inquiry. There was a small waiting room in the 2nd level, and Harry and his summons went there to pass time.


    Less than 10min later, the clerq informed them that the time and place of the inquiry had changed.


    "8am in courtroom 10" stated Caitlyn to the others. "That''s on level 10, in 10 minutes. What a coincidece" she added dryly.


    "So, he went for full trial. Petty bumbling idiot" Harry said, his eyes hardening. "Let''s go."


    This time, Harry led the way. His anger at the ministry came back in force at the confirmation of the foul play they had prepared for him.


    On the way, they came across several people going the same way. They were certainly surprised to see him present. A few of them greeted him verbally while the others simply nodded. Some glanced in curiosity, and the rest in disaproval or disdain. It was clear they were members of the light, neutral and dark factions of the wizengamot. They entered the courtroom and waited to the side while people kept coming in.


    When minister Fudge entered the room, his previously confident expression melted when he caught sight of Harry, and he got anxious when he met the piercing gaze of the woman at his side. He was accompanied by an unpleasant looking woman with horrid pink clothes, who glared at him with unhidden loathing and hostility.


    Harry looked at them with cold eyes. While he though of Fudge as a self serving moron, he instantly recognised his companion as an enemy. As they locked gazes, the pink haired woman felt a tingle of dread and turned her head away, the seed of worry planted in her heart.

 Chapter 23 - The inquiry-trial

    Once everyone got seated, Harry simply standing next to the accused chair, Fudge ordered the start of the session.


    "Disciplinary hearing of the 12th of August, into offences committed under the Decree of Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy, by Harry James Potter, resident at number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey" stated the minister. "Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Percival Ignatus Weasley.The cha-"


    "Advocate for the defense, Caitlyn Steeleglass" interrupted Caitlyn as she placed herself at the defendant stand. "It is supposed to be in your files."


    A little thrown of, Fudge was about to resume the proceedings when the pink clothed woman intervened. "Mr Potter, be seated on the accused chair" she ordered with poorly hidden condescendance.


    "No" Harry simply replied, with some steel in his tone.


    That made everyone look at him with incredulous or outraged faces.


    "You! How dare a mere boy like you talk back to his better?" Umbridge nearly shouted.


    "My better? You? You must be delusional."


    There were a few muffled snickers from the crowd. Before more could be said, Caitlyn intervened.


    "Mr Fudge, Madam Umbridge, Madam Bones, my client is not required to sit on that chair."


    "First, all notices about a change of time and/or place of a hearing are to be sent at least an hour before the new time. We only had a 10min notice, and that was because we came to the ministry early. Second, all disciplinary hearings for underage witches and wizards are to take place within the DMLE offices. Third, hearing for cases such as underage magic do not require the presence of the wizengamot. The courtrooms are for criminal hearings."


    She paused to give a critical look to the the wizengamot members. There were a few whispers and nods of agreements.


    "It was in this very room that the Death Eaters were tried 14 years ago, and they sat on the very chair you want my client to be seated in. Is the ministry trying to put my client on the same level as murderous terrorists by trying him here in front of the full wizengamot?"


    She gave the 3 interrogators, and mostly the minister a piercing look. Her words also rattled some of the wizengamot members. The members of the dark faction glared at her, their previously confident demeanor gone. She completly broke the opposition''s momentum with her next sentence.


    "What you are doing, minister Fudge, is in violation of the Wizengamot Charter of Rights. We are filing an official complaint against the ministry of magic, for your attempts to deny my clients his rights under the law."


    The noise level rose in the courtroom, and some veiled insults were heard. One thing Harry and his ladies noticed was the approval, and even some relief, in Amelia Bones expression. They had learned that she was a tough and fair woman, who wouldn''t be bribed. They were disappointed at first to see her alongside Fudge and Umbridge, but they quickly realised that she must have been hindered a lot by Fudge and his supporters.


    The minister looked like he had been slapped with a fish, and his undersecretary was reddening, her already unpleasant face becoming hideous as it was scrunched in anger. The look she gave them was poisonous to the extrem.


    The woman wanted him dead, Harry was certain of that fact, and he really didn''t appreciate it. He hadn''t known her long enough to actually be furious at her or hate her. He bypassed those. What he felt at that moment was pure enmity. He wanted her dead.


    "The charges, please" asked the sniper.


    "R-right" replied the minister, trying to keep face.


    Before he could proceed further, the doors of the courtroom slamed open, and Albus Dumbledore, in his flamboyant robes, entered the room. He was about to present himself as Harry''s defense when his gaze landed on the unknown woman at the defendant stand. He also caught sight of 2 other women nearby, and he felt through his refined magical sense that they were quite powerful. Then, there was Harry, standing near the accused chair in pristine robes, with the Potter Family crest on it.


    "Dumbledore!" Fudge nearly growled.


    "Mr Minister, forgive my intrusion. As mr Potter is one of my students, I intended to be here for his defense. I was quite surprised when the time and place of the hearing were changed at the last minute, so I was in a bit of a hurry when I arrived here."


    When Harry disappeared, he though that at worst he could get ahold of him at the ministry for his hearing since there was no hints of him having been captured by Voldemort. He was convinced that Harry wouldn''t give up on magic, and that he could sway him back to his care by defending him. When he heard from his informants that the hearing was going to take place ahead of schedule, he panicked. He rushed, thinking that Harry wouldn''t know about it, be tried in abstencia and expelled. It would be disastrous for his plans.


    "My client is thankful for your care headmaster Dumbledore" Caitlyn said, a sliver of her distaste slipping in her tone at the words ''thankful'' and ''care''. "However, I am already in charge of his defense. You can watch the rest of the proceeding from the visitors gallery."


    Harry''s face twitched at her words. He was NOT pleased to see the headmaster. Dumbledore''s face also twitched. He didn''t like the fact that some unknown person had been in contact with Harry, especially someone that seemed to have told him about his family standing, judging by the clothes he wore. And Harry didn''t seem to be particulary happy to see him. Not good.


    "Harry James Potter" said Fudge, "You are charged with one account of underage magic usage, and one account of use of magic in front of a muggle, thereby breaking the International Statute of Secrecy. How do you plead?"


    "My client plead innocent to both charges."


    "Impossible!" Fudge nearly shouted. "Mr Potter''s usage of the patronus charm was clearly detected by the ministry sensors in his neighborhood, a muggle neighborhood I might add!"


    ""One account of use of magic in front of a muggle", that is what you said. Do you have any witnesses?... Judging by your expression, obviously not. Were you there? No. The ministry sensors detect magic, not the people around it. How would you know there was a muggle nearby if you weren''t there? This is a baseless accusation mr Minister."


    Fudge was barely able to contain any sputtering, and the opinions of all those presents aside from supporters of Voldemort shifted further in favor of Harry.


    "Mr Potter lives with his relatives. If you have forgotten, for all magical children living with non-magical relatives, said relatives are made aware of the existence of magic. Any magic performed in front of them doesn''t breach the Statute. The professors meeting the muggleborns would be in trouble if that wasn''t the case. Then, the Decree of Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery state that an underage witch or wizard can use magic in a life threatening situation. That is what happened to my client. He had to defend himself from the attack of 2 dementors."


    A lot of whispering and muttering was heard through the room, and Fudge and Umbridge vehemently denied the claims, while director Bones wanted more details.


    But then again, Caitlyn reminded the minister and his undersecretary that they didn''t have any witnesses to deny their claims. She informed them that Harry was attacked by dementors twice in front of witnesses during his 3rd year at Hogwart, despite ministry assusrances that there would be no mishaps, so it wasn''t impossible.


    "Tell me, mr Fudge" Harry started with a bit of sarcasm in his tone, "why would creatures supposedly under the control of the ministry suddenly find themselves in my neighborhood? Either you lost control of them, or somebody in your office gave the order. And seeing how you led a smear compaign against me since the end of the school year and broke protocols for this hearing, I can''t help but feel the second option is more likely" he finished coldly.


    Silence descended in the courtrrom for a second, as they digested the fact that Harry mentioned what some of them thought this blattantly. And it wasn''t just any orphan saying that. It was the sole heir of an Ancient and Noble House. Harry didn''t have a proper control of his new magical might, so he unconsciously exerted some magical pressure. It have him a dominating aura that reinforced the weight of his words


    During that second, Harry''s summons didn''t miss the reaction from Umbridge. It was a small facial change, but for an instant they saw the worry. Her complexion, previously red due to fury had paled. Caitlyn saw the flash of fear in her eyes. It was clear to them that she linked to the attaxk in some way.


    The noise level rose again in the courtroom, with angry remarqus made to the interrogators. Too many suspicious points on the ministry part were revealed for Fudge and Umbridge to keep their accusations against Harry without suffering from severe backlash. They had wanted to thoroughly discredit him and render him defenceless, and instead they lost a fair bit of support.


    Around 70% of the wizengamot voted him to be innocent on both charges, and Fudge and Umbridge couldn''t stop Bones from starting an investigation. She gave both Harry and Caitlyn a discreet nod. This scam of a trial unexpectedly gave her some breathing room from the moron in charge.


    Harry thanked the members of the wizengamot with a small bow and started to leave, Caitlyn at his side, and Scathach and Xuanzang close behind.

 Chapter 24 - Order meeting

    While Harry and his group were moving out of the courtroom, Dumbledore tried to catch up to them without being rude to the ones in front of him. They quickly reached the lifts and took one to the Atrium of the ministry. Dumbledore was forced to take another one. He was able to catch up to them in the Atrium near the central statue.


    "Harry!" Dumbledore shouted.


    He stopped and the ladies stopped between him and the rapidly approaching old man.


    "Headmaster" he greeted him in a neutral tone.


    "Harry. I''m happy to see that you are well" he said, looking at the 3 women surrounding him. "I also see that you found charming company. Would you mind introducing us?"


    "Yes, I would mind."


    That stunned Dumbledore for a second. He took a more serious contenance, the grandfather figure taking a backseat.


    "Harry, it was imm.a.t.u.r.e of you to disappear and not contact us or any of your friends. We have all been very worried about you, and our only comfort was that our informant in the dark side didn''t give us any news of you being in their hands. Come with me, I''m going to take you to a safe house where you''ll be able to stay until September 1st. Your friends will be there as well."


    "Excuse me?" Harry asked in a low and dangerous tone. "Contact you? After you''ve taken my owl, my only companion during the summer, hostage with the excuse that it was for my safety? Just like I''m supposed to be safe with the Dursley? Like I''m supposed to be safe at Hogwart? Go to the people who left me completly in the dark about what was happening in the magical world? That''s a load of hyppogriph dung, Headmaster."


    He turned away from the bewildered old man, barrely able to restrain himself from cursing him.


    "You will release my owl today. If she hasn''t reached me this evening, our next contact with each other will be far from pleasant. And my lady friends will be able to tell if she has anything extra on her that shouldn''t be there."


    He didn''t wait for an answer and resumed his way to the floo, accompanied by Caitlyn. Scathach and Xuanzang moved a second later, their attention mostly on Dumbledore. The warning gaze they gave him, and the presence of other people in the atrium, told him that it was best to not insist. The last things he needed was to make a scene in front of the public, especially if said scene is him engaging 2 strong witches in battle. He could only watch the group disappear through the floo.


    "That was Harry? Is he alright?"


    Dumbledore turned around to look at the person talking to him. It was a middle aged red haired man, the father of one of Harry''s friend and ministry worker, Arthur Weasley. He was both happy to see Harry, and worried about what had happened to him during the past few days.


    "Yes, it was him Arthur. He is alright, he won his case. Young Harry seems to be in a rebellious phase though, probably due to the dementor attack and minister Fudge."


    "That''s good to know at least. Who was he with? I don''t think I''ve seen any of these women before."


    "One of them was his advocate. The other 2 seem to be bodyguard. It looks like Harry hired them. I''m calling a meeting this evening to talk about it. I have some business to take care of. I''ll see you later Arthur."


    "Of course headmaster."


    Dumbledore didn''t just leave the ministry after Harry''s departure. He went to talk to his allies in the wizengamot. He had missed the start of the hearing, and wanted the details of what happened before his arrival. After that, he went to look for informations about the 3 ladies that were with Harry. There wasn''t much he could do beside making some discreet inquiries and wait for the results.


    That evening at Grimmauld place, the entire Order of the Phoenix was there, except those few who had duties elsewhere they couldn''t miss. Also present were the Weasley children and Hermione.


    After separating from Dumbledore, Arthur had sent a message back to the headquater to announce that Harry had been seen in good health and won his case. That put Sirius in an excellent mood, though the fact that Harry didn''t come back with Dumbledore worried him. The others were happy as well, and everyone could breath a sigh of relief. Now they were eagerly waiting for the start of the meeting to know the details. Once Dumbledore arrived, the meeting started.


    He first gave a summary of how the whole hearing went, and watched their reactions. They were all happy with how Harry and his companion handled the case. Especially Sirius and Tonks. The former had been badly treated by the ministry, and the later had to deal with the unpleasant undersecretary a few times. The aurors in the Order also liked their boss, Amelia Bones, so they were quite pleased that she would have less shackles on her.


    Among the children, the twins were the most enthusiastics, closely followed by Ginny. While Hermione was happy with the result, she was also disappointed that Harry didn''t come to them or the headmaster for help. Ron was happy that Harry won, but he was getting unhappy with the situation. He didn''t know why, and it confused him.


    With the hearing dealt with, they focused on Harry and the 3 women that were with him.


    "Harry is in a contentious phase at the moment" said Dumbledore. "He refused to come with me, choosing to stay on his own. He also refused to say anything about his companions. I think he has decided to stay on his own, and I think he wants to keep the location of his current residence to himself."


    "No!" shouted Molly. "He should have gone to us! It''s too dangerous for him to be on his own."


    "He isn''t that daft, Molly" retorded Moody gruffely. "He clearly took good precautions if noone of us could find him. And danger? He didn''t show himself to the public alone, he got himself some protectors. He didn''t reveal anything in a place where he could be overheard. The kid is practicing Constant Vigilance."


    "But he is with unknown women!"


    "True" replied Dumbldore. "While things seem fine for now, we can''t be certain that they have his best interest at heart. However, I am sure we will see them soon enough. Harry will want to see his godfather after all. I sent him a message with Hedwig, and he should be receiving it about now. I am sure we will get a response tomorrow."


    They traded ideas about where Harry had been and who the women were, but couldn''t come to an agreement. Of course Dumbledore didn''t tell them about how angry Harry was at him, and them by association. He didn''t tell them he used his family crest, and thus had become aware of things about his family he hid from him. He didn''t tell them that he was practically threatened to release Hedwig. He wanted to use Sirius to calm Harry down and have a chance to speak to him first before he met the others. His control over him was slipping, and a bad relationship with the other wouldn''t help.

 Chapter 25 - After the trial

    The group of 4 emerged from the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron. Harry spared a few seconds to greet Tom, the owner of the place, before leaving through the non-magical entrance. From there, they spent some time moving around and making sure they weren''t followed. They stopped in a deserted alley with no open windows in sight.


    "We"re clear" said Scathach.


    "Good" replied Caitlyn. "I''m going to leave for a while. I need to go to Ottery St Catchpole in Devon."


    "Wait, that where the Weasley live" retorted Harry. "Do you have some business with them" he asked her warily.


    "No" she replied with a kind smile, trying to appease him. "They aren''t the only magical family living there. I''m going to see Xenophilius Lovegood. He is the owner and editor of The Quibbler. It''s a minor newspaper in Magical Britain that publishes weird articles on a monthly basis, and isn''t taken seriously by people. However, the ministry has no control over its publications" she finished with a predatory grin.


    "We are going to use it to spread the news of your victorious trial and the despicable acts performed by the ministry on that day. They used the Daily Prophet against you, we are using The Quibbler against them. Tomorrow, it will release a special edition that will wash away part of the trash that has been said about you."


    Harry looked at her in wonder, closed his eyes and started to chuckle. It quickly turned into a big, joyful laugh. He surprised them by giving Caitlyn a big hug. While she was startled, she appreciated it.


    "You''re great!" he said with a big smile after releasing her.


    "It was Semimaris'' idea" she replied, a little bashful. "Don''t forget to thank her when we get back."


    "I definitly won''t."


    She left the alley and called the knight bus. A moment later, she was gone. Harry was left alone with Scathach and Xuanzang. Before they decided to move, they took out mundane clothes from the moleskin pouch carried by Scathach. They had planed to stay in the non-magical world until Hedwig found them. They also took out a small foldable screen so they could change with some privacy.


    Scathach put on a black halter top and a purple long skirt, with black court shoes. Xuanzang had a white crop top, white skirt and white scandals. Harry took a moment to admire them. After having spent the last few days with them, he could no longer be bothered to hide his appreciation of their beauty. He was past being embarrassed about looking at them.


    Xuanzang linked her arm with his, and with a big smile, started to lead him away. With 2 quick steps, Scathach was on his other side, gently holding his arm. After looking left and right, Harry shook his head with a small smile and let the ladies lead him. The time after the hearing was supposed to be free time for them anyway. And he more than appreciated the company, even if he might attract some looks on the way due to having a beauty on each arm. The girls apparated to Nottingham.


    The girls had noticed that Harry had little experience with the many things available in the non-magical world despite knowing about them. There were plenty of things he should have tried long ago but couldn''t because of his relatives, or being smothered by the Weasley mother hen. They took him to the cinema, and they ended up watching Toy Story. It was an incredible exprience for all 3 of them, and they left with smiles on their faces.


    Though Harry couldn''t help but feel sorry for all of Dudley''s former toys. He shared this with the ladies, and each of them made a small prayer for them in their mind. After the movie, they bough take out and had lunch in a park, their privacy assured by a bit of magic. In the afternoon, they looked at stores specialising in recreational activities. They bough a few things for outdoor activities, board games.


    For the second half of the afternoon, he went to arcade centers and tried the video games. Air Combat, Street Fighters, Marvel Super Heroes, Mortal Kombat, Pinball, Sega Rally Championship, Zombie Raid, and many others. Some they found interesting, some made them laugh, and some made them realise that non-magical could be just as outrageous as magical.


    It was half an hour before dusk that Harry''s mood took a big leap upward. They had left the arcades and went to Peak District National Park. Suddenly, Harry turned his head toward a white speck in the sky. A smile grew on his face as the white spec grew flapping wings and grew bigger as it got closer. Harry lifted his arm horizontally in front of his face, and a gorgeous snowy owl landed gracefully on it. She affectionally bopped her head against his.


    "Hey girl. It''s good to see you again."


    She hooted in response, and made a flight jump from his arm to his shoulder. Noone of the 3 humans missed the letter attached to her leg.


    "I''ll have my friends here make sure you''re alright. And make sure there isn''t anything suspicious on that letter."


    A few seconds later, the casters gave him the all clear.


    "Well Hedwig, let me present you to some of mynew friends, Scathach and Xuanzang. They''ve been taking care of me since I left the Dursley."


    "Hello Hewig" said Xuanzang with enthusiasm.


    "Hello" said Scathach.


    Hedwig gave them a calculating look, and her stare made them feel as if they were being judged carefully. After a moment, she released a soft hoot while nodding.


    "Looks like she approves..."


    "Harry?" asked Xuanzang.


    "Sorry. I just realised that there is another friend whose help I could call upon."


    "Who?"


    "Dobby!"


    POP!


    A small and grey humanoid being with large eyes and ears, a long nose and thin limbs appeared. He was wearing a shabby but clean robes, with 4 different socks, 2 of them on his ears. While the 2 ladies were surprised by his appearance, Harry was surprised by the socks. As for the girls, while they knew of house elves, it was their first time seeing one, so they looked at him curiouslywhile staying silent.


    "The great Harry Potter is calling Dobby?"


    "Yes. Hello Dobby. I hope you''ve been well?"


    "Yes! Dobby has been good! What can Dobby do for Harry Potter?"


    "Dobby, would you like to work for me?"


    "Harry Potter is asking Dobby to be Harry Potter''s elf?"


    "Yes. Would that be a problem with you working at Hogwarts?"


    "NO!! It will be no problem! Dobby will work for Harry Potter! Harry Potter is the greatest master!"


    "Then, I, Harry James Potter, welcome Dobby the house-elf into my service."


    "And Dobby accept to work for Harry James Potter."


    With those last 2 sentences, the master-servant bond was etablished between Harry and Dobby. Dobby hugged his leg in joy, to his embarrass.e.m.e.nt and the amus.e.m.e.nt of his summons. Dobby then turned toward the 2 women and paused.


    "You serve the great Harry Potter."


    It wasn''t a question, but an observation. Harry realised that he sensed the bond between him and the women.


    "Yes. They are Scathach Skadi and Xuanzang Sanzang" they nodded to him. "Their identities are to remain a secret. And so is place where we are staying."


    "Dobby will keep the secret."


    "Good" he turned toward the casters. "Let''s go."


    They went to his sides, and with a soft crack, the 4 people and the owl apparated to their base.

 Chapter 26 - New plans part 1

    The group arrived at the crossroad leading to the Potter estate, and walked all the way to the property. Along the way, they talked with Dobby, explaining most of what had happened since the 3rd task of the tournament. When they reached the tent, Hedwig and Dobby were presented to the rest of the women.


    Dobby and Semimaris stared at each other in silence. Dobby was clearly focusing on her ears.


    "You be an elf?" Dobby asked in fascination.


    Semimaris'' eye twitched. The rest of the group nearly burst out. Even Camille, who usually kept an expressionless face, couldn''t hold back a smile. VI was snickering in silence, turning her back to them. Caitlyn, Scathach and Xuanzang watched with clear amus.e.m.e.nt on their faces. Harry was torn between horror and hysterical laughter. He looked aghast, but his lips were trembling, trying to spread into a smile.


    With the time he spent in her company, Harry learned that Semimaris appreciated beauty and elegance, both in people and material items. She was beautiful and she knew it. And now, she was compared to a creature with a less than acceptable appearance, especially according to her standards. All of that because of the ear she inherited from her mother, someone Harry guessed she didn''t appreciate. For a second, Harry got really worried about Dobby''s future.


    "... No, I am not" she answered blandly. "I am not related to a house-elf in any way."


    "Oh. Dobby be sorry, Dobby was surprised to see you."


    "Now that everyone has been introduced" Harry started, eager to change the subject, "I''d like to take a look at the letter Dumbledore sent with Hedwig."


    That caught everyone''s attention. He opened the enveloppe and started to read.


    First, he expressed his disappointment in Harry to not trust him and not follow the instructions sent to him . He said he knew what was best for him and should believe in his wisdom. He finally said that they had a safe place secured for Sirius in Britain, and that it had always been his intention to have him spend the rest of the summer holidays with him. His departure from the Dursley''s house delayed that. He was urged to send a response so he could send some trusted people to bring him to his godfather, who was anxious to see him again.


    "Bastard" he said, giving the letter to the girls to read.


    "Trying to use your godfather to make you behave, is he?" said Camille, having finished reading first.


    "Not a single apology as well" Xuanzang grumbled.


    "I wonder who would be those people he intend to send as your escort?" Scathach asked.


    "And how many" Caitlyn added. "After all, he knows that Harry has at least 3 people with him. He probably expect Harry to come with them, and he will send enough people to possibly counter us."


    "7 people" said Semimaris. "Any more and it would look like an attempt to intimidate him, which would make them seem threatening. I doubt he would want Harry in an even less favorable disposition toward him, especially if a fight breaks out because they got forceful. That would also attract the attention of the ministry."


    "... We can expect professor Lupin to be among them."


    "The one from your 3rd year? The werewolf?" Vi asked.


    "Yeah. With his link to my parents and Sirius, he is an obvious choice to gain my trust." His expression softened. "And I really want to see Sirius anyway. At least I''ll be able to make sure he truly is safe."


    "Let''s leave that talk for later" Xuanzang nearly shouted. "Let''s celebrate our success with today''s hearing!"


    "Yeah" replied Harry. "You heard the ladies Dobby? Make the best meal you can think of with what''s available" he said, knowing that Dobby would be happy to have a task.


    "Yes, master Harry Potter!" And he disappeared into the kitchen.


    The rest of the evening passed with a happy mood all around. Dobby proved to be an excellent cook, surpassing Harry. The next day, after breakfast, they had a meeting to discuss their next course of action.


    Harry was obviously going to visit his godfather. He decided he would go with Xuanzang and Vi. They were the best at close-range combat, and Vi was really good at closing the gap in the blink of an eye, something he painfully experienced during their sparring sessions. In a building, they could easily force any witches or wizards into a close-range battle they would easily lose. Harry doubted Remus could whistand a serious punch from Vi despite being a werewolf. He liked the brash and friendly woman, but she was scary in battle.


    Scathach would accompany them under Harry''s invisibility cloak, and stay hidden the whole time. She was also the only one with the temperament to stay quiet and careful the whole time. She would have one of Semimaris familiar with her as well. In case of an emergency, those 2 could react fast enough. It was also better because Harry didn''t have regular command seals. He couldn''t use them to summon the others if needed.


    With that decided, Harry wrote a short letter. He just said that he would be at King Cross Station at 11am 2 days later to go where Snuffle resided. The way he worded it, it seemed that it was Dumbledore that had secured the safe place, thus he had no intention to stay there. He told Hedwig not to wait for a response, not wanting them to send back instructions.


    Then, they questionned Dobby about what house-elves could do in civil engineering. In other words for him, building construction.


    It turned out that, with proper plans and directives, house-elves could construct any kind of buildings. Their magic mostly took the form of what non-magicals would call telekinesis (manipulating things at distance such as levitation, summoning, banishement, animation), alongside their teleportation and invisibility. They only had some minor transfiguration and charm skills. They couldn''t cast some of the charms and enchantments used by witches and wizards, so the final touches would have to be handled by one.

 Chapter 27 - New plans part 2

    Winky wasn''t like Dobby. She didn''t want to be free, she wanted to serve a family. However, house-elves that have been dismissed from service rarely find another family to serve, being disgraced. She would be more than happy to work for the Potter family, and would probably be even more dutyful than Dobby to make up for her previous mishap.


    Concerning the manor, Harry didn''t want to rebuild it as it was before.


    This place was going to be his HQ for the war against Voldemort. There was no doubt that at some point, the enemy would discover that he is staying at this place. At that time, they would come under heavy attack, and he sincerly doubted that he and his summoned ladies alone could handle it. There would be their allies as well. This place had to be a stronghold for both them and their allies. It should also be able to handle a few refugees.


    But he was also worried about spies and traitors, and aside from being a stronghold, the place was also going to be his home. Because of that, he didn''t want them in the same building. He wanted a building to house guests, separated from the main house where he would live. To that end, he would have to slightly change the position of the wardstone in the property. That was going to take some work without disabling the wards.


    The group would have to consult proper architects very soon. Non-magical ones, because witches and wizards relied more on wards and enchantments for defense, than clever construction. His family wardstone and his 3 Casters would be more than enough to take care of the magical protections. Furthermore, there was much less risks of enemy wizards finding the plans of the property.


    With the hearing taken care without any complications, they could put any kind of political training aside. Harry''s magical education was still lacking, and he would have to focus on that until September 1st.


    His morning schedule had little changes. He would spend 1 and half hour learning from Scathach, 1 and half hours studying the 5th year program, 30min casting spells from the previous 4 years, and 30min of spar. In the afternoon, he would spend 2 hours on breathing and meditation. Since it was still supposed to be a holiday, he would have the rest of the afternoon free. In the evening, he would spend 1 and half hour working on occlumency. It would start after his visit to Sirius.


    That same morning, while they were talking, a notable part of Magical Britain population received the Special Edition from the Quibbler. And after reading it, they started to spread the word to their friends and aquitances.


    The main article was a faithfull summary of the trial, with a small reminder at the end that the transcripts were available for perusal at the ministry. Following that article, was an interview of Caitlyn, in her role as advocate for Harry. In it, she sharply criticised the minister and his undersecretary, and their attack on Harry through the Daily Prophet. She further critisised said newspaper for being as corrupt and incompetent as the current ministry.


    She presented Fudge as the one being an unbalanced attention seeker more interested in his own fame and comfort than properly taking care of magical Britian. She reminded them that he was the one who, during the earlier half of his term as minister, gave himself an Order of Merlin 1st Class, when he did nothing exceptional to receive it. All the critical problems of the afterwar had already been taken care of at that point.


    Meanwhile, noone of the Potter were given an award for the Defeat of the Dark Lord in October 1981. She also expressed her concern for his association with people whose action in the previous war was suspect, and who was dismissed from Hogwart''s Board of Governors. Namely, Lucius Malfoy. The suspicion of bribery was heavily hinted as well, with a passing comment about the DMLE having their budget cut.


    When Fudge was made aware of the articles at noon, he felt like he had been sucker punched and kicked in the balls. Dolores Umbridge looked like she was going to have a stroke, before shrieking in outrage. Madam Bones got a vindictive smile on her face. The common witches and wizards of magical Britain were forced to rethink their opinion on Harry Potter, and the current minister''s office.


    Harry''s letter and the Qibbler arrived at Grimmauld Place at the same time. Sirius was estatic with the news, followed by Fred and George, then Ginny. They had a little celebration, and Tonks and Remus got swept in by the happy mood.


    In the evening, there was another Order meeting. All the ministry workers in the Order were pleased, especially the aurors. The movements of the dark side in the ministry was restrained, and Dumbldore recovered some support. They didn''t get the upper hand on the opposition, but they were more evenly matched.


    The rest of the discussion was about who would retrieve Harry at Kingcross Station.


    Remus was an obvious choice. Dumbledore wanted an auror or 2 with them, but they would all be more busy during the day for the time being. He was thankful that Moody was retired, and was chosen alongside Mudungus Fletcher. Since they were certain Harry would have his people as well, they didn''t select more. A big group would be to noticable, and they wouldn''t have the cover of the night.

 Chapter 28 - A walk and a talk

    Their planning discussion ended before lunch. After eating, Harry decided to spend the rest of the day in a calm area. As he moved toward the edge of the property, he was joined by Camille.


    "Are you going somewhere Harry?"


    "Yeah. I''m going to the pond. It''s a beautiful and peaceful place, and after the excitement of the last few days I want to relax."


    "Do you mind if I come with you?"


    "Not at all."


    They left together. At first they were silent, then they started to talk.


    "You know" started Harry with a thoughful face, "Ever since you''ve arrived, we''ve been busy taking care of my immediate problems. I''ve never really took the time to ask you... any of you, how you were doing. And out of everyone, I''ve spent the less time with you. So... How are you doing?"


    She gave him a small smile before responding.


    "You have always been kind and courteous, and you relaxed since then, but you still maintain some distance between us. Your lack of familiarity toward us is one of the reason I decided to seek you. Even now, you sought solitude instead of socializing with one of us."


    Harry was surprised by what he was hearing, and slowed his pace. She matched him.


    "Ever since you summoned us, you have been reserved with us. I am not well versed in the magical arts, but from what I understood, your magic answered to your intent and your needs. You felt abandonned by the people you were familiar with, so magic searched for someone beyond your world. It selected us. But it isn''t all that had happened."


    "What do you mean?"


    "The magic did not just take us without a simple by-your-leave. We could have refused. After all, an unwilling person would have been poor help for you. But we did not. We answered the call. We are here by choice, for you. Do not keep us at arm lengh, do not be afraid to get closer to us."


    "I didn''t realise that... I guess somewhere in my heart I was still wary. Sorry about that."


    "Thank you, and I understand you had a lot on your mind as well. To answer your initial question, I am fine for the time being. I do feel a little confined, and want to be more active."


    "I''m not sure about what can be done yet" he said with a hint of nervousness and embarrass.e.m.e.nt in his tone.


    "You have been quite curious about my condition since the beginning, but stayed quiet. Do not hesitate to ask questions, I do not mind enlightening you."


    Harry hesitated for a few seconds, and nodded.


    "What led to you becoming the way you are now? With an artificial body?"


    "To make a long story short, I was too weak. My family was a wealthy one, and our wealth came from our hextech materials business. We had rivals and enemies, and it was my duty to protect the family. I couldn''t do it with just my skill, so I requested hextech body augmentation to exceed my limits. While most of my body was replaced with hextech parts, the rest, like my brain, remain original."


    "... Are all of your physical sensations still the same?"


    "No. My sight and hearing are better. My sense of smell, taste and touch aren''t stronger, but they are more precise. I am much less s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to heat and cold, and except for a few areas, I no longer feel pain."


    "Don''t you regret not being able to eat and drink? That sort of thing?"


    "A little." A hint of melancholy passed in her face. "But my condition doesn''t stop me from appreciating a good cup of tea. It is one of the few thing I enjoy, alongside a walk. That is the second reason I decided to accompany you."


    "I see. Then it''s a good thing we have Dobby now, because I''m pants at making tea" he said while grinning a little. "You, Caitlyn and Vi come from an industrial city in your former world, right? I''m guessing you''re not that comfortable in a purely magical environment?"


    "Indeed" she replied with a small nod. "Your non-magical world fascinate us. We would love to spend more time there."


    "Your world''s hextech fascinate me in return. It''s combining technology and magic, something that is hard to accomplish here, and is considered by the general population as impossible."


    "Do you wish to learn? While it isn''t my speciality, I am very well versed in the subject."


    "I would love to" he instantly replied. "I can barely imagine the potential it has. So many things made by the non-magical people, that could be used and improved with magic" he said with some anticipation and wonder, before deflating a little. "But I don''t think I''ll have the time. I''m alreay going to be busy enough with my wizard and magus training. Besides, my non-magical education is lacking, I have 4 years to catch up to in sciences."


    "I do not like that idea of stopping an educational subject halfway" she said in a slightly stern tone. "But considering everything you said, and what we learned of the subjects, you should completly drop divination and history of magic."


    "Are you serious?" Harry asked, while gapping at her.


    "I certainly am. This is another thing for you to learn about me: it isn''t in my nature to make jokes" she said while looking at him in the eyes. "You are wasting your time with them" she returned her gaze forward. "I would also suggest herbology and care of magical creatures, because while usefull, you do not need them. With those 4 disciplines out of the way, you could use the time to study sciences and learn hextech, and further your magus studies."


    "That''s..."


    "I understand that your care of magical creature is taugh by your friend, the half-giant. Rubeus Hagrid?" Harry nodded. "You do not need to go to his class to be his friend. Don''t you usually visit him outside of class hours? That is enough. You have more important things to do and to worry about."


    "Why didn''t you suggest I drop potions?"


    "Skills in potions are required for important jobs like healer, auror and curse-breaker. A good grade in your potion OWL would be well received. And with the coming war, you may want to be able to make your own potions rather than rely on an external supplier."


    "I see. I''d like to discuss this with the rest of the girls later, but I like your idea."


    "Thank you."


    They continued their walk with lighter topics of discussion, and enjoyed the peace of the pond before returning at dusk.

 Chapter 29 - A free day

    That evening, the group had a small discussion about the subjects Harry should follow or drop for the coming year. They all agreed that charm, transfiguration, defense against the dark arts and potions were the most important disciplines among the core subjects.


    If needed be, he could get qualifications for the others subjects at a later date. Harry and Camille realised that they had completly forgotten about astronomy. Added to history of magic, herbology, care of magical creatures and divination, that made 5 subjects Harry wouldn''t have to worry about. That would mean more time for magus training, hextech studies. And runes.


    Having Harry learn about runes was proposed by Scathach. Not only was it one of her specialities, but runes were also necessary in enchanting and warding in the magical world. The Potter family was also well versed in those disciplines, and it allowed them to make the wardstone and the hidden vault that he had inherited. Plus, it would most likely be very useful in hextech. If he could reach 5th year level in runes, adding it to his list of OWLs would be good for his qualifications.


    Harry still refused to give up on quidditch. It was not only good for his overall fitness, it was also better for him to have a hobby in between all the studying and training he was going to do. The women didn''t really insist, not willing to deprive him of one of the few p.l.e.a.s.u.r.es he had in life. He also realised he never took the time to fly since he got home, and he was going to make up for it.


    The next day, after breakfast, Harry was up in the air, on his firebolt. He happily flew around his family domain, doing aerial acrobatics, racing above tree tops or weaving between them.


    He wasn''t the only one who wanted to fly. Each of the girls got a turn with him in the air, starting with Vi. After seeing everything he could do on the broom, she couldn''t contain herself. She kept shouting praises and encouragments near his ear when he took her for a ride. He was only slightly distracted by her assets at the start. Afterward, he was enjoying himself too much, and Vi''s enthusiasm was too contageous.


    It was a bit different with the others. They had bigger c.h.e.s.ts, molded themselves on his back and held onto him tighter. Scathach and Semimaris sat on their sides, thus they weren''t completly stuck to him, but they still affected him as strongly as the others. Scathach had the biggest c.h.e.s.t of the group, and he found Semimaris quite alluring. Camille was the only one that didn''t affect him much. He flew slower as well, as they weren''t that interested in experiencing the acrobatics themselves.


    He decided to spend part of the afternoon in York with Camille, Caitlyn and Vi. He had appropriate disguise for Camille. They used Dobby to teleport them, since neither of them had learned apparition.


    They were city ladies after all. He did learn that Caitlyn was quite alright at the estate, being surrounded by nature. But that wasn''t the only thing he learned. There was some rivalry between Camille, and Caitlyn and Vi. Some comments were exchanged that he simply couldn''t ignore. It wasn''t visible before because he had never spent much time with just them around.


    In fact, the only time when those 3 were near each others were during meal times and meetings. They had tried to remain civil to each other, but he realised having them spend some time together had fanned the embers of past feelings, reigniting them. Suddenly, he was reminded of arguments between Hermione and Ron, and thinking about them made him frown. At least it had the effect of calming the ladies down.


    "What is troubling you?" asked Camille.


    "Your little bickering reminded me of my friends" he replied. "I''m wondering if I''ll see them of if I''ll get a message from them tomorrow."


    "It does not seem to please you."


    "... I guess I''m angry at them for not trying to warn me about what was going on. It reminds me too much of how people turned their back to me last year."


    "You should wait until you''ve heard their explanation" cautioned Caitlyn. "You don''t want to jump to conclusion about them like people did for you."


    "No. Definitly not."


    They resumed their exploration of the city. The girls had a closer look at the technological marvels avialable in Harry''s world. They went to vehicle stores, electronics stores, household appliances stores. From then, they started to look at household furnitures as well, and the subtle arguments and bickering restarted. Caitlyn and Vi may have been friends, but that didn''t mean they didn''t have conflicting personal tastes.


    Watching them, Harry realised that all 6 women would want to have a say in the decoration of the manor once it reconstruction ended. It was one thing he didn''t look forward to.


    The evening was a little special. To thank Semimaris for her previous idea with the Quibbler, Harry had Dobby prepare a special meal for her. While he was thankful for Caitlyn''s defense, the queen''s idea had a wider and more long-lasting effect. And the slap to the face of his detractors was too satisfying. Thus, Dobby prepared best of Middle East dishes they could make with the ingredients available in Great Britain. With the appropriate drink.


    The smile Semimaris gave him after tasting the dishes made his heart skip a bit and his cheek darken. Her regal and sensual demeanor, and her enchanting golden eyes, were having a devastating effect on him. There was something else that attracted him, but he couldn''t tell what it was. Still, he was very pleased with himself for making her smile, and had a really good night.


    The next day came soon enough, and by 9.30am, everyone, meaning Harry, Xuanzang, Vi and Scathach, was ready to leave for the rendez-vous. At 10am, they had arrived at the station. They had arrived nearby by apparition, and walked the rest of the way. They settled at a calm corner near the entrance and waited for the other party to come and make contact with them.

 Chapter 30 - Grimmauld Place

    Remus, Moody and Fletcher arrived at the station 30 minutes before the meeting time. Moody would have liked to be 1 hour early, but they were slowed down by Mudungus, who mt up with them late. They were in muggle clothing, older than the current fashion but still acceptable. Moody wanted to survey the place, and led the other 2 with him.


    "They are already here" Moody said as he suddenly stopped, his artificial eye focused in a certain direction.


    "Really?" asked Remus.


    "Yes. It''s Potter. He is with 2 women. From the descriptions I was given, I recognise one of them as one of the 2 bodyguards he had at his trial. The asian one. The other is a complete unknown. If I didn''t know Nymphadora and Kingsley were at work right now, I could have believed it was her. Pink hair, and from her demeanor, just as lively."


    "Does Harry look fine?"


    "Yes. Let''s go."


    Soon enough, their group met up with Harry''s in their little corner. When they got close, Vi and Xuanzang moved slightly to Harry''s sides. Moody noticed the moves, having his eyes mostly focused on them. Underneath the cloak, spelled to block scents and sounds, Scathach went behind him.


    "Harry!"


    "Hello Remus" he said in a calm tone. He turned his eyes to the ex-auror and they narrowed. "Mr Moody."


    "How have you been?"


    "Well enough. I didn''t expect to see you, mr Moody, considering the state you were in at the end of the school year." Then his tone got a bit colder. "Are you all who you claim to be? Because the last member of your group doesn''t inspire much trust."


    "Ahh, that is Mudungus Fletcher" Remus replied with some discomfort. "He, he is a, dealer, with useful contacts in the criminal world."


    "And what proof do you have that you are who you claim to be?" asked Moody in a sharp tone.


    Harry looked at him with flat eyes before focusing on the friend of his parents. "Remus? Who is the first girl I kissed?"


    "What? You never told me anything about that!"


    "Because that never happened. Now I know you really are Remus Lupin" he added with a grin.


    Remus, and the girls were surprised by that. He had gotten all of them interested in who that girl might have been, and were disappointed.


    "Clever" replied Moody with a grin. "An impostor wouldn''t have known. They would have asked the captured target about significant secrets, and be completly unaware of little details like that. Their reaction to the question would be all the answer you need."


    "It''s nice and all, but I came here because I wanted to see my dogfather. So let''s move. How are we going there?"


    "Magical travel is being monitored more than usual for the time being" replied Remus. "We will take 2 cabs to go there."


    And that what they did. The 3 men got in one, and Harry and his ladies got in the other. Xuanzang got in first, followed by Harry. Scathach, still under the cloak, slipped in on his l.a.p, and Vi entered last.


    With that gorgeous woman on his l.a.p, Harry couldn''t prevent himself from poking her b.u.t.t. He felt her stiffen when she noticed, and would have been blushing a Weasley red if his blood hadn''t gone south. He was extremely embarrassed, knowing that she could feel him, and dreaded that she would hate him for it. He was suddenly very glad that Semimaris wasn''t the one shadowing them. Her reaction would likely be worse than the one he imagined for Scathach.


    The rest of the ride was really akward for Harry. They stopped at an older part of the city, near a park on a street called Grimmauld Place. It was relief (and a small bit of disappointment) for Harry when Scathach left his l.a.p, but he knew it wasn''t the end. His mood had darkened a little because of that.


    They got into the park, and a muggle notice-me-not charm was cast on all of them. Then they moved to a place where the number of the buildings adresses jumped from 11 to 13. Moody gave the newcomer a note to read and comprehend. The hidden Scathach, and Semimaris through her dove, also read it.


    [The Headquaters of the Order of the Phoenix are located at Number 12, Grimmauld Place]


    In front of them, on the other side of the road, the missing number 12 building appeared from between numbers 11 and 13.


    "Fidelius charm" Harry whispered in awe, but everyone still heard it.


    "Got it in one Harry" said Remus.


    "I did look into the charm that was supposed to have hidden my parents."


    They waited for the street to be a bit more deserted before going into the building. Remus opened the way for them, followed by Vi, Harry and an invisible Scathach holding his arm, Xuanzang behind them, and Moody and Fletcher at the rear. Remus warned them to stay quiet and touch nothing. The entrance was dark and dreary, and Harry and the girls had no doubt the rest of the place would be similar.


    They didn''t advance any further. Harry gave Remus an incredulous look, but Vi and Xuanzang demeanor changed from relaxed but cautious to battle ready. Xuanzang eyes were locked on the last 2 men, and Moody stiffened, the hand holding his wand ready to cast a silent spell in her direction. Then Remus noticed the tension and raised his hands in a placating manner.


    "Wait, calm down" he whispered. "I know the place doesn''t look, or feel, good. This house belongs to the Black family, and Sirius inherited it, being the heir. It hasn''t been taken care of in nearly 10 years either."


    "And Sirius is fine being copped in the dark home he ran away from when he was still a teenager? Where is he anyway?"


    He wasn''t quiet enough, and the curtain behind thempulled itself open, revealing a large wizarding portrait of a woman with a haughty and deranged expression on her face. Said face quickly twisted in disgust and she started screaming insults at the top of her shrill voice, making everyone wince in pain. Hundreds of miles away, Semimaris winced and scowled, already deciding to destroy that portrait the first time she got the chance.


    The noise attracted the other inhabitant of the house, and the first to reach the entrance hall was noone other than the owner of the place. With a quick flick from his wand, the curtain was closed, and the painting, silenced. Then he turned toward his godson and a smile split his face.


    "Harry!"


    "Your house suck" he replied with a blank face.


    The man barked a short laugh as he advanced toward him.


    "Why do you think I left in the first place?"


    It was Harry''s turn to smile, and he rushed to him, giving him a big hug. Seeing this, the ladies relaxed and smiled as well.


    "Sirius! It''s good to see you."


    "I''s good to see you too, pup."


    "You''ve got some fine company Harry. Mind introducing us?"


    "The one with pink hair is Vicky Isley, and the other one is Xuan Zhenya" he said, using the aliases they had created with Gringot.


    "A p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you miladies. I am Sirius Black, innocent man on the run, and godfather of Harry here. You have my thanks for taking care of him when I was unavailable" he finished with a formal bow.


    "It was no trouble" said Vi, shaking his hand.


    "Nice to meet you too! And you''re welcome" Xuanzang bowed.


    Before more could be said, numerous footsteps were heard, getting closer to them.

 Chapter 31 - An akward lunch period

    "Harry!" shouted Hermione as she reached the bottom of the stairs.


    Harry turned his head toward her, not really surprised to see her there. He though that he would get angry the moment he set his eyes on his friends. Instead, he was calm. And he was pleased to see her. She rushed to him to give him one of her usual tight hug, looking both happy and relieved. He could tell that she had been worried about him.


    "Hermione" he calmly replied with a small smile as he took her in his arms.


    Behind her, Ron and Ginny appeared and moved toward him at a slower pace.


    "Hi, Ron. Hello Ginny" he said as he released Hermione.


    Ginny took her place for a lighter and shorter hug.


    "Hi Harry. It''s good to see you!"


    "Hey, mate" Ron replied while lazily waving his hand at him.


    "Harry dear" Molly nearly shouted as she came out of the kitchen.


    "Hello mrs Weasley" he greeted her, preparing himself for one of her smothering hugs.


    The other teenagers stepped aside to let the mother hen pass and give him said hug. After assuring herself that he was in good health, the other girls were presented to the group. Fred and Georges choose that moment to make their appearance. Via apparition. Unfortunatly for them, it wasn''t the best time to surprise people.


    The dual cracking sound made by their arrival made Harry''s ladies react as if they had been ambushed. Xuanzang took a defensive stance in front of Harry, whose rod found itself in his hand in a split second. Vi reacted the same way she always did when something perceived as a threat showed up. She punched it.


    Before anyone beside Moody could react, her fist smashed into the closest twin jaw, sending him head first into his identical brother. Their heads loudly smacked against each other and they fell in a heap a meter away from their arrival point. Moody would have cast a spell if he wasn''t held in check by Xuanzang.


    Molly shrieked as her sons were struck in front of her by one of the guests. The rest were too shocked to do anything but gawk for a second, except for Harry grabbing Vi''s shoulder and lightly yanking her back.


    "Ouch" he said in sympathy. "Gred, Forge. You''re alive?"


    And with those words, time restarted for everyone.


    Fred had been the one to receive the punch and had been knocked out cold. Georges was dazed and asked what had happened. Molly was fussing around them while berating Vi for attacking her sons. Moody was able to interfer before the dispute got serious, pointing out that they had surprised the people Harry recruited for his protection, and that he would have reacted the same way. Vi gave a half-hearted apology, finding the situation mostly amusing.


    A big bruise was growing on Fred''s face, and Molly had to take him away to take care of it. Georges followed them, partly because he got afraid of Vi. Hermione was shocked by what had happened, while Ron and Ginny were glaring at Vi. She just grinned at them. Harry rubbed his jaw, reminded of all the times Vi punched him during their spars. He was brough out of his thoughts by Hermione''s sudden question.


    "What is that in your hand? Where is your wand Harry?"


    Everyone eyes fell onto his hand, holding his rod. Harry blinked, having completly forgotten about that detail. Moody''s wand was pointed to him in an instant, and Xuanzang hand was holding onto his wrist at the same instant, a warning look in her eyes. Once more, tension rose in the room.


    "I was with my cousin when the dementors attacked. The fatass panicked, made us trip and landed on my previous wand. It was desperation that allowed me to cast the patronus despite that. This is its replacement. A custom work by mr Ollivander. The phoenix feather from my previous wand is in there. Among other things." Then he turned to Moody. "I''m sure mr Ollivander''s word would be more than enough proof of who I am. You can accept it, or go confirm it, but I''m not going to bend backward to please you."


    "Ok, that''s enouh" Sirius said, trying to ease the tension. "With everything that has happened, it''s normal to be a bit stressed. Let''s all calm down, and eat lunch. The house is gloomy enough without you all adding to the negative atmosphere" he finished, visibly uncomfortable.


    "Sorry about that, Sirius" Harry replied.


    He felt that Sirius saw this house as Harry saw the Dursley house. Even if he inherited it, he wouldn''t want to live in it. If he had to, he would rather avoid anything that would make the living condition worse. Arguments would only bring back unpleasants memories. Xuanzang released Moody''s wrist, and he grunted, while nodding in grundging respect.


    They moved to the dinning room. On the way, Hermione and Ginny looked at more carefully. First, he was wearing good quality clothes, properly fitting him. He also seemed to stand taller, and remembering the hug they gave him, they were certain he had filled in as well. They realised that he was looking really good.


    Sirius sat at the head of the table, and Harry took a seat next to him. Vi sat on his other side, and Xuanzang next to her. All 3 sat on the side that allowed them to see the entrance of the dining room. Remus sat next to Sirius, followed by Ginny, Hermione, and Ron. When Molly, Fred and Georges came, the twins sat next to Xuanzang while Molly sat next to Ron. Moody was at the other end of the table. Fletcher had been discretly sent to Ollivander by Moody.


    While eating, Sirius asked Harry what had happened since the attack. He informed him that people were sent to the Dursley to retrieve him, but he was already gone, and the Dursley had left for a trip, probably wanting to get away from the magicals.


    Harry said that after the attack, he got suspicious of the ministry and decided to hide. He said he used that time to contact the girls currently with him. He refused to give details on how he accomplished that, simply saying it was magic. He said that he used the time before the trial to secure a place to stay, get a replacement wand, and prepare his legal defense. Even the girls didn''t reveal much about themselves.


    Since it was clear they wouldn''t get details about their activities yet, Sirius took charge of the conversation, telling him what he had been doing since the end of the school year, and talking about his cousin Andromeda, and her daughter Tonks. He happily compared her to Vi, who somehow got eager to meet her as well.

 Chapter 32 - Sirius slip

    They were resting after the meal. Fletcher had returned from Ollivanders and spoke lowly to the a.d.u.l.ts, confirming Harry''s words. Ollivander had even added that he had confidence the women with Harry would not harm him. That certainly helped Molly, Remus and Moody relax. At least until Harry spoke.


    "So, Sirius. Want to get out this afternoon instead of staying in this dreary house?"


    "What?" shouted Hermione.


    "Harry! What are you saying?" said Remus.


    "Harry!" continued Hermione. "Sirius is still a fugitive! It''s not safe for him to be out of the house!"


    "Is that so?" he calmly replied. "Too bad there is nothing like glamours and notice-me-not charm to keep the authorities from noticing or recognising him" he said in fake wonder. "Too bad that there is no such thing as the Statute of Secrecy to prevent witches and wizards, even dark ones, from casting magic in the middle of a muggle crowd... Oh, wait" he finished in a deadpan.


    Remus and Hermione looked at him akwardly. The other witches and wizards weren''t much better, while Sirius'' eyes were almost sparkling. He was nearly vibrating in anticipation.


    "With Fudge''s influence lowered in favor of Madame Bones, it''s not like the dark side is going to show more signs of weird activities" he continued. "Like looking for me in each and every town and cities of the British Isles. So much activity on their parts would only attract the aurors attention." Then his expression darkened. "I refused to stay prisoner in a home I hated. I damn well will not let my godfather be treated like a prisoner in this one. The last thing he needs is a second Azkaban."


    "Damn right" Sirius nearly shouted.


    The others grimaced or twitched at the comparison.


    "We are going out to have some fun. You either come with us or stay here, but don''t try to stop us" he said in a warning tone.


    "Alright, let''s calm down" said Remus with a pacifying gesture. "Ok, maybe we have been too restrictive because of the security. Let''s all just go out. Like he said, no wizard would attack us in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded muggle area. Especially if we are in a group. And let''s be honest, it would be much better than spending the rest of day inside."


    In the background, Sirius was silently celebrating.


    "Yes!" Ginny said. "We''ve been stuck in the house for days doing only chores. It''ll be nice to go out."


    "No! You children are going to stay here!"


    "It''s summer break, mom" Ginny replied with some annoyance. "We should be allowed to have some fun."


    "Let them go Molly" Moody said, surprising everyone. "They won''t be alone, and like Harry said, it will be a lot less dangerous than we thought."


    He didn''t say that it was because it would be best to keep Harry happy for the time being. He also thought having his friends around would calm him down. Anyone with some sense would know that Harry would have a major role in the fight against Voldemort. It wouldn''t be good to push him further away than he already was.


    "Yeah, right" said Sirius. "You would be right to be worried if it was just Dung looking out for them. After all, he did such a marvelous job with my godson" he said with disdain.


    Harry froze, and he slowly turned his eyes to Mudungus. At his sides, and hidden in a corner, his summoned ladies tensed.


    The seedy man was looking very uncomfortable. And guilty. This man, he realised, had been tasked to keep an eye on him while he was with the Dursley. He was worked like a slave, verbally abused, denied any significant contact and informations, and deprived of his owl. They had someone watch him while he suffered, and yet they didn''t help and kept him isolated. Worse, they used an unreliable scoundrel that skipped on his duties, since he wasn''t there when the dementors attacked. He would have known about the summoning otherwise, and he would have told the others.


    Harry''s face turned expressionless. The air around him became heavy, and the nearby furnitures them started vibrating. Sirius released a small yelp of surprise. The teens took a step away from him with wide eyes. Remus and Moody looked worried, while Mudungus and Molly almost panicked. Harry closed his eyes and tightened his fists. His knuckles cracked, making the others flinch in fear. Noone of them tried to speak, in case it would make him lash out. The furnitures stopped vibrating, but the air remained heavy.


    "Go prepare yourself Sirius" Harry said. "We''re leaving in 5min."


    "Ok..." he said slowly, relieved that he had calmed down. "Be back soon" he added as he rushed to his room.


    "Your presence won''t be needed" Harry said to the remaining people, his eyes still closed.


    "Harry" Hermione started, but couldn''t finish as the nearby coffee table shattered.


    "Shut up" he said in a cold voice, eyes open and filled with the promise of pain if she didn''t comply.


    He moved to the entrance hall, followed by Xuanzang, who looked at him worriedly. Vi had remained behind and looked at the distraught group.


    "Y''know, I''m an orphan" she said. "I used to be a thief and gang leader. And we cared more about each other than you do about Harry."


    They, mostly Molly and Hermione, wanted to protest, but she silenced them with a glare and a raised hand.


    "Don''t speak. Your words are worthless. Your actions, or rather lack of actions, showed it all."


    Sirius came down at that time, with brown hairs, green eyes, and slight alterations to his facial structure that made him look both familiar yet different. Enough that people wouldn''t make the connection to him. Vi grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him away.


    "Not bad, dogfather" she said with a grin. "Let''s get out of here!"


    Back in the house, Ginny turned to the a.d.u.l.ts and glared at them fiercly.


    "Wonderfull!" she said with heavy sarcasm. "Now, because of you, he''s going to hate us!" she shouted with tears in the corner of her eyes.


    She turned around and rushed to her room. The twins turned disappointed gazes to them and apparated back to their own room. Hermione was next to leave, with teary eyes as well. She secluded herself in the library. Then Ron left, going to his own room. Mudungus quickly made himself scarce, and Molly went her own way, complaining about how ''Vicky'' was wrong.


    Remus and Moody realised that they had lost Harry''s trust. The only thing tying him to them, meaning Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix, was Sirius. And that probably wouldn''t be enought to ensure his cooperation with them.

 Chapter 33 - Time with Sirius

    When they arrived in Birmingham, Harry revealed Scathach to him, presenting her using her alias, Ciara Canain.


    When Sirius learned that she had been with them since he got picked up at the railway station, he got a laughing fit. He though it was a great prank, especially considering Moody''s paranoia. He was not really bothered by the seemingly security breach, because if she hadn''t been with Harry and hostile, special cloak or not, the ancient wards of the house would have warned him.


    Harry and Sirius had a goot time. Sirius was already familiar with the non-magical world thanks to Lily, and later getting aquitained with muggleborn Ted Tonks, the father of his second cousin Nymphadora Tonks. He did have a motorcycle after all. So, Harry didn''t have to explain anything to him, and they could really enjoy themselves. Sirius proved to be quite adept at fighting games, becoming the uncontested champion of the group, to Vi and Xuanzang annoyance.


    He learned a little more about Sirius time at Hogwart, with his father and Remus. Pettigrew was cut of from any stories involving the marauders. He also learned abit about his time with the Potters, and his grandparents, Charlus Potter and Dorea Black. They were of the same generation as Sirius grandfather, and had conceived James late in their lives. He admitted that James had been spoiled because of that, until Lily set him straight.


    Harry also told Sirius about how he had been, and revealed a bit more of his time with the Dursley. He had always been vague about the subject, but talking to the girls had been cathartic. He avoided details or spending too much time on the subject to not sour his godfather''s mood. But with the way the 3 girls treated Harry, he couldn''t stay down for long.


    Most of the time, the gorgeous woman with purple hairs had been at Harry''s side, holding onto his arm like a lover would. After the incident in the cab, Harry had become wary of what she would do once they got alone. So having her hold onto him, with his arm touching her b.r.e.a.s.ts, was ringing alarm bells in his mind, while also getting aroused and embarrassed.


    Vi didn''t help either, because she liked to tease him. Adding Xuanzang naturally affectionate demeanor, and Sirius watching, often turned Harry''s face red. He had developped some resistance to it, but that was when there wasn''t an audience that liked to make comments. So, Sirius joined Vi in teasing him. It had nothing to do with his flirting not working with them, he was definitly not jealous of his godson. But he was still proud of him


    On the way back to Grimmauld Place, Sirius decided to talk about what they had avoided during the afternoon.


    "You shouldn''t be too hard on your friends, Harry. The twins and little Ginny, they really wanted to send you some news, you know. They had tried to sneak some once, but they got caught. The Order had been too careful with the messages being sent by the kids. If not for that, they wouldn''t have left you in the dark."


    Thinking about it, Harry realised that Fred and Georges had always looked after him in their own way.


    During his first quidditch match when his broom was cursed, they ignored the match and stayed near him, ready to catch him. In second year, when people though he was the heir of Slytherin, they made a joke out of it and made him smile. They gave him the marauder''s map in third year. In fourth year, they silently supported him when the house was against them. He was puzzled for a little while, until he understood they couldn''t do anything more obvious because of their own interest in Angelina and Alicia, not wanting to get on their bad side.


    As for Ginny, he was pleasantly surprised. She used to be too shy with him, and with her crush on him because he was the Boy-Who-Lived, he had always prefered to keep his interactions with her to a minimum. It reminded him too much of his unwanted fame, and what people expected of him. She seemed to have overcome her shyness and got over her crush. When she hugged him, he didn''t see the usual infatuation on her face.


    "As for Hermione and Ron..." Sirius hesitated, less confident than before. "Well, maybe Hermione listen to a.d.u.l.ts too much? She''s a little too uptight? And Ron is an idiot?"


    Harry snorted.


    "You seem to have a problem with Dumbledore, and I''m not happy with him either. But they don''t, so they had no real reason not to listen to him. He is a powerful and respected man-"


    "While I''m a stupid kid who can''t take care of himself and you''re deranged because of your stay in Azkaban?" Harry replied with a dull gaze.


    Sirius looked at him, blinked and shrugged his shoulders.


    "They''ve kinda been looking down on us" Harry said.


    Sirius nodded. "I think that after today, they will be more considerate."


    "Now that I think about it, Ginny''s birthday was a few days ago" Harry said as he suddenly stopped. "Because of the trial, I completly missed it. I didn''t cogratulate her, nor did I get her a gift... A little help?"


    "Well, we are in the muggle world, she must be quite used to wizarding gift, so a muggle gift would be fine" said Sirius.


    "Get her a necklace or something" proposed Vi.


    "Isn''t jewelry the kind of thing you buy to a special someone if they aren''t family? I don''t feel that way about her, and it would give her the wrong impression."


    Sirius barked a laugh. "Not all jewelry. It''s not as if you''re giving her a ring, you know. A necklace would be fine."


    "Or a beautiful hairpin" added Xuanzang.


    "Perfume" Scathach said. She and Semiramis loved scented products.


    In the end, he followed Scathach suggestion. He bough 2 differents kinds so she could have some variety, and had them gift-wrapped.


    It was past 7pm when they returned to Grimmauld Place. Scathach didn''t stay with them, as she and the other girls were assured there wouldn''t be any foul play. When she apparated away, Harry discretly released a sigh of relief.


    "We''re back!" Sirius happily shouted from the entrance hall.


    And he winced when his mother portrait started to scream. Thankfully for everyone, he was able to quickly shut her.


    "Sorry" he whispered.


    They went to the sitting room, where they continued to talk until Molly called everyone for diner. She also informed them that Dumbledore called for a meeting after diner. Harry and his girls had expected something like that. Dumbledore would use the pressure of number to bring more weight to his words. Had the people not been busy during the day, it would have happened right after lunch.

 Chapter 34 - End of the free day

    When the inhabitant of the house gathered at the table for diner, Harry took out a package from his pocket.


    "It''s a little late, but here" he said, tossing it to Ginny, who deftly caught it. "Happy birthday" he finished with a small grin.


    She looked at him in shock, then at the gift in her hands. She wasn''t the only one surprised, the other were as well. A brilliant smile appeared on her face.


    "Thank you."


    She couldn''t wait and opened it on the spot. Her eyes lit up when she saw the perfumes. She checked the scent and grinned broadly. She thanked him again for the gift. At that time, the head of the Weasley family arrived through the floo. Harry was pleased to see the man. While somewhat passive, he felt that he was one of the more understanding a.d.u.l.ts around him. His arrival and Ginny''s gift did a lot to alleviate the mood at the table.


    Shortly after the end of the meal, people started to arrive at the Headquaters. Since it was for an Order meeting, Molly sent Hermione and her children to their room. Usually, they would have tried to protest, give some token resistance, but with Harry''s changes they decided to not push their luck.


    The first to arrive were old associates of Dumbledore: Dedalus Diggle, Elphias Doge and the oldest, Sturgis Podmore. Next were the aurors: the senior auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, and the young ladies, Nymphadora Tonks and Hestia Jones. Thus, Harry had the chance to meet Tonks before the meeting. Both him and his ladies got a positive impression of the bubblegum haired young woman. She also seemed to click with her fellow pink haired female.


    Then, Minerva McGonagal accompanied by another formidable looking witch of her generation, Emmeline Vance. Dumbledore was of course last to come. Along with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Alastor Moody, Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasley and Mundungus Fletcher, they were all the members of the Order of the Phoenix present. The last few others were unavailable.


    It soon became apparent that Dumbledore had 2 main goals with the meeting.


    First, presenting the Order to Harry as allies and protectors he should trust and listen to. He even tried some emotional blackmail by mentionning how his parents were members as well. Second, he tried to extract informations from him. Mainly who were his ladies, how he met them, and where he was staying. That didn''t go well.


    The first part was to soften him for the second part, but it did the opposite.


    Harry rememered Deadalus Diggle. He had recognised him when Hagrid had taken him to the Leaky Cauldron for the first time. Seeing him in the Order, he guessed that the man had been sent to check on him during his childhood, and should have known it wasn''t good, yet no help came. Added with how they had him under close surveillance this summer, it instead killed the chances of him ever trusting the order.


    "Unlike you, who are supposed to care about me, when I was crying for help, they answered and came to me."


    Harry had said it in a calm voice, but they could feel weight of the emotions behind. That silenced them, preventing any further objections they might have. Those were the words that put an end to the discussion.


    Dumbledore also didn''t have the support of Sirius (which wasn''t surprising to them), and surprisingly for the Order, Arthur and Moody. It was very rare for Arthur to downright disagree with his wife (or Dumbledore). More often than not, he would let her have her way (follow his instructions), or seek a small compromise. More so when it concerned children. It was even more surprising for Moody to chose to tolarate unknowns. Unknowns who were with someone who was clearly an important element in the coming war against Voldemort.


    With those 3 siding with Harry, some people left Dumbledore side to be on the fence, the other aurors and Emmeline Vance. While they aknowledged at least to tehmselves that they failed Harry, they still had too much faith and trust in Dumbledore to completly disagree with him.


    Despite being a hothead who would rather hit first and talk later, Vi was neither stupid or unobservant. She had been a thief, then worked for law enforcement. Tonks posture, who until then showed she was willing to follow Dumbledore''s lead despite having some doubts, shifted. She didn''t express it, but Vi could tell she had sided with them. She smiled, because there wouldn''t be a conflict between Tonks and Sirius over Harry''s choices. Harry would have been distressed if his actions had caused Sirius and his niece to be at odds.


    Harry didn''t stay long after that. That little meeting had annoyed him much. If not for his beginner''s mind arts, Xuanzang''s comforting hand on his l.a.p, and having lashed out once earlier in the day, he wouldn''t have been able to stay calm, and would have possibly revealed some things he shouldn''t in his anger. Anger that he had trouble keeping in check in Dumbledore''s presence.


    After a few more words with Sirius, and some thanks to Arthur and Moody, he left. He may not be able to work with the Order as a whole, but he could still work with individuals. Vi also had a quick talk of her own with Tonks.


    Several apparitions later, a few of them to throw of possible trackers, they were back to the Potter lands.


    They met with the rest of the girls to give them a summary of the evening. At that time, Harry got nervous again, nearly scared. The look she gave him when he arrived was more intense than usual. He had no doubt that Scathach would have told them what happened during the day, and was worried about how much details she gave. Thankfully, the others didn''t seem to be acting any differently than they should. Still, he couldn''t help but grow cautious.


    They separated for the night. Harry changed into his night clothes, and started to read a novel. Less than 30 minutes after entering his room, Scathach showed up. She was wearing a mid-t.h.i.g.ht lenght, dark red, lace nightgown. She wasn''t wearing a bra, so the movement of her b.r.e.a.s.ts with each steps she took was hypnotising. The book he had in hands was totally forgotten.


    "H-hey, Scathach" he said, barely keeping his calm, both because of the sight in front of his eyes, and the possible subject of her presence. "What can I do for you?"


    She sat down on the bed next to him, her beautiful red eyes never leaving his.


    "I came to talk to you about what happened in the car today."


    "Ah, that..." he said while losing some color.


    "You seem to be quite troubled about it. I know you didn''t have any intention to cause me discomfort. And I also know that it was a natural reaction for you. I am not angry or displeased with you. I tried to ease your worries about that during our time in the city, but it didn''t work."


    Having heard that, he was both quite embarrassed, but also relieved. He slowly relaxed.


    "I didn''t mind you know" she added, making him freeze. "I was surprised, yes, but I didn''t dislike it. So, the next time that happen, don''t feel bad about it, okay?"


    "Ah... Sure..."


    "Good" she said with a small smile.


    She leaned forward, her c.h.e.s.t pressing against his, and placed a lingering kiss on his cheek.


    "Goodnight" she said as she stood up and left, her swaying h.i.p.s capturing his gaze.

 Chapter 35 - Dreams

    Harry had an unusual experience that night. He already experienced dreams, nightmares, and visions from Voldemort. However, it was his first time viewing the life of someone else.


    It was in ancient times, in northern lands. Humans were living harsh lives, being under the constant threat of giants. Until she came. She lead them, helped them build villages, broker peace with the giants, and ruled them. But not everything was alright. To maintain the peace with the giants, some sacrifices had to be regulary offered. That was something she couldn''t prevent.


    "Aah!"


    Harry woke up suddenly, slightly short of breath, and sweating lightly. The vivids images were still perfectly clear, randomly replaying in his mind. They were both mesmerizing, and horrifying. It took him several minutes to calm himself. He grabbed his rod and cast the tempus charm. He didn''t notice he did it silently.


    It was 4am. He relaxed, then grimaced. His studying and training routine was supposed to resume that day. He had woken up to early, and doubted he would be able to go back to sleep again. He didn''t look forward to starting the day with a lack of sleep, especially since the first period would be with Scathach.


    Thinking about her gave him complicated feelings, not only because of what happened the day before, but also because of what he had seen in his sleep. Those images, they were fragments of her life. He somehow felt guilty about it. He felt like he had violated her privacy by viewing moments of her life without permission, and he g.r.o.a.n.e.d, knowing his time with her would only get more akward.


    He was too awake to go back to sleep, and his thoughs kept returning to Scathach and how their relationship was changing. To avoid anymore of these thoughts, he decided to meditate, and try to work on his occlumency.


    To help, he also practiced a basic skill he had recently learned: slowly circulating his magic throught his body. A basic magic manipulation skill to increase one''s control over their magic. The amount of focus required allowed him to completly forget about anything else.


    Without knowing, he had entered some kind of trance. Anything around him was ignored, even the sensation of the bed and blanket below him. The only thing he was aware of was himself. For the first time, his body, mind and magic completly got in tune with each other. Had Xuanzang been present, she would have been surprised at what he had accomplished.


    "Harry Potter sir" said Dobby.


    "What?"


    Harry was startled out of his trance and fell backward, thankfully on the bed. He flailed for a second before righting himself, and looked at his friend standing on the bed in front of him.


    "Dobby? What''s going on?"


    "It''s morning sir. Breakfast be ready soon."


    "What?" he replied in numb surprise.


    He grabbed his rod and performed the tempus charm again, confirming Dobby''s words.


    "How?"


    "Is something wrong?" he asked curiously, then got worried. "Did something happen to master Harry Potter?"


    "No Dobby, nothing wrong happened... I think? It''s just that, I woke up in the middle of the night, and didn''t manage to go back to sleep. So I tried to meditate, and I didn''t see the time pass. That''s why you surprised me... And I''m not sleepy..." he stated while checking himself. "In fact, I feel refreshed, as if my sleep hadn''t been interrupted" he finished in wonder.


    "If Harry Potter is fine, then Dobby is happy. The bathroom is free, so master should go before breakfast."


    "Yeah, thanks Dobby."


    With that said, the elf popped away, and Harry went to the bathroom. 15 minutes later, he joined the other at the dinning table. He managed to keep his usual demeanor when he greeted Scathach, but concentrated on his food. It was only half an act because he realised he was quite hungry. It made him think that there was probably more to his unusual meditation experience. Before separating for the rest of the day, he asked one of the ladies for some time to talk later that day day.


    His morning lesson with Scathach didn''t go as bad as he expected. He expected her to be a bit flirtarious, but that wasn''t the case. She remained professional from start to finish. It was just him having slight troubles concentrating on the teachings. Still, at the end of the lesson, he could have sworn that the look she gave him when they separated had a hint of longing.


    Leaving the former queen of the cold lands, he went to the room of the former queen of the warm lands.


    "Semiramis?" he called at the entrance.


    "Come in" came the attractive voice.


    Harry entered the room, and looked at the beautiful woman. It was his first time getting into the room of someone from the opposite s.e.x, and he found it exciting and unnerving. It was also the room of someone he had a slight crush on. He couldn''t prevent himself from blushing a little. She was sitting on her bed, with a chair in front of her, and motionned him to take a seat.


    "What can I do for you, Harry?"


    Harry took a calming breath before answering. "In the previous night, I saw something during my sleep. I saw some of Scathach memories. Do you know what could have caused that?"


    "The Dream Cycle" she said with a slight surprise. "In my and my fellow casters previous world, the contract between master and servant would have another effect called Dream Cycle, where the master and the servant would have dreams of each other''s lives. Since our summoning and contract was different from our world, we weren''t sure it would happen. After a week with nothing, we didn''t expect it anymore."


    "Is there something that can be done to block it?" he asked nervously.


    Semiramis raised an eyebrow in response, at both the question and his anxiousness.


    "It feels like I''m intruding into something intimate. I mean, aren''t there some things that you girls would rather keep private?"


    At that question, Semiramis mood changed. There wasn''t much change in her expression and stance, but there was a bit of tension in the air. There was no hostility, but the friendliness was gone.


    "You are right. There are some things everyone wants to keep to themselves" she said, looking at him in the eyes with a stony gaze. "It can be about a subject they hate, a subject they are ashamed about, a subject they found embarrassing, or something that is considered criminal" she finished, then looked away.


    "Semiramis?" he called, uncertain.


    "I do not believe there is anything that can be done about it, aside from mastering occlumency" she answered while lightly shaking her head, and returned her eyes to his. "You should go and resume your morning exercises" she said in a manner indicating that the conversation was over.


    "I see" he replied, recognising she wanted to be left alone. "Thanks for the clarification, Semiramis. I''ll see you later" he said as he stood up and started to leave.


    "If, or rather when you have further visions" she said as he reached the entrance of the room, "do try to be understanding if you see something you don''t like."


    "... That''s right" he told himself with a complicated expression on his face. "Dual class. Caster, and Assassin..."

 Chapter 36 - Enhanced training

    One of his goal was to be able to, by the end of the school year, cast spell without both incantation and wand movement. It was a skill called point cast, that was only taugh to NEWT DADA students, or acquired beyond school.


    He got fairly confident in being able to achieve that goal. He noticed that channeling magic for spell casting had become easier compared to a few days prior. He guessed it was due to his trance. He was also more in control of his body when performing wand movements, seamless and precise. Finally, he used slightly less magic for the same effect, meaning he had become more efficient in magic expenditure.


    These improvements put him in a fairly good mood, and trained with much more vigor. At lunch, the girls could tell that he was more spirited than usual after training. While intrigued, they didn''t ask for details. Another reason they didn''t ask anything was that he had worked an appetite, and was too concentrated on the food.


    His afternoon with Xuanzang started with a jog to the waterfall. The best part of afternoon, as she ran ahead of him to set the pace. She wore yoga pants with a thong, and Harry shamelessly admired her bouncing round apple b.u.t.t.


    Once there, he related his meditation experience to her. As she listened to him, her eyes widened in surprise and wonder.


    "So" Harry said as he finished his tale. "What can you tell me about what happened?"


    "Harry, in the buddhist teachings, our goal is to achieve enlightment, inner peace and wisdom." She paused, putting more weight on her following sentence. "You have made the first step toward that goal, by getting in tune with yourself. Body, mind and magic in harmony" she finished with a hint of awe.


    "It''s also a state martial artists seek to achieve, with spirit instead of magic. It usually take years to reach that level" she added wryly. "Only the most prodigious of people can do that in less than a year. And you did it with less than a month of training" she finished with the most serious and penetrative gaze he had ever seen on her face.


    He blinked and slightly backed away, a little unerved by her intense gaze.


    "While you have some talent, I certainly wouldn''t call you a genius or prodigy. I believe the Dream Cycle, and our link to you, had a part in that" she said, her gaze turning curious and contemplating, then she closed her eyes and slowly shook her head."So, don''t let what I told you give you a big head. You still have a long way to go."


    "Don''t worry, I expected that" he replied with a small smile.


    "But it doesn''t change the fact that it really is good news" she added with a big smile.


    "Good. So, what now?"


    "Now? I can advance your training" she happily answered. "You have reached a stage where you no longer need my oversight to meditate and breath. So we can move to physical training."


    "Do I really need this physical training?"


    "What do trolls, basilisks and dragons have in common?"


    "... They are magic resistant" he replied after a bit of hesitation.


    "Good. There are magic resistant beasts in the world that are strong, agile, and when they get near you, you usually don''t survive. You were lucky with the troll in your 1st year, the basilisk in your 2nd year, and mr Lupin in your 3rd year. You used your skills in the tournament against the dragon, but you were also on the fastest broom in the world."


    Harry nodded grimly at that. He was aware that he had escaped death by little. The dead troll found in the obstacle course was bigger and more muscular than the one encountered in the girls bathroom. The basilisk had been blinded by Fawkes, and Sirius had entercepted Remus.


    "And you have yet to face vampires. Your Dark Lord had giants and werewolves allied with him during the first war. It''s known that he had tried to recruit vampires, and there is no doubts in our mind that he will try again. And this time he may very well succeed. Both vampires and werewolves are strong, fast and tough. The physical training you''re going to receive will allow you to keep up with them if you end up having to deal with one or more of them at close range."


    Harry suppressed a grimace at the mental image. He could see himself be mangled to death by someone like Greyback, who was still at large. He was a sobering example of how deadly it could be to face a werewolf in battle.


    "Scathach has recently taugh you the reinforcement skill, right?" Harry nodded. "Once your basic physical training is done, I will teach you how to use it in battle to be stronger and faster. With how little time is left until September, you will have to improve on your own while you''re at Hogwarts. So, for the next week, I''ll put you through some intensive training" she finished with a bigger smile while Harry paled.


    "Don''t worry, we can easily buy or brew the necessary potions to help you properlly recover from each sessions" she added while patting his head. "I will go easy on you today, but from tomorrow onward..."


    Harry lowered his head with a groan. The training she inflicted on him for the following hour was worse than anything his former quidditch captain had given to the team. And that was her going easy on him. Furthermore, she stated that she had to make up for the limited amount of time they had together. At the end of the session, he just wanted to lie on the ground and forget the world.


    "Dobby" the beautiful asian magus called.


    "Yes miss Zangy? Yikes!! What happened to Harry Potter?"


    "He''s fine, Dobby. Just tired from the training. Can you bring us a bottle of energy tonic and a pot of bazan cream please?"


    "Y-yes! Dobby will be quick!"


    "Don''t worry, Harry. You''ll get better soon enough."


    A grunt was the reply she received, and she stiffled a laugh.


    The tonic and the cream were made for athletes. The first one worked similary to a pepper-up potion, but instead of giving a temporary burst of energy, it helped with recovery. The cream soothed muscle aches, and prevented cramps. When Dobby came back, she had him drink the foul tasting potion, then gave him a full body massage with the cream.


    Soon after she started working on his battered body, he couldn''t help but m.o.a.n in relief as he fully relaxed. A few minutes later, he was napping. Xuanzang continued to gently work on his body with a small content smile on her face. Once done, she had Dobby pop him back to his bed. Just this once, she would spare him the walk back to the estate in a tired state.