FIC: Royal ~ PG-13 ~ Chapter Five

[batsutousai]

Title: Royal
Author: batsutousai
Pairings: N/A

A/N: So, I'm not sorry this took so long. Remember back in the first chapter when I said the speed of updates increases with the number of reviews I get? Yeah, didn't get a lot of reviews last chapter. (And then I had two major assignments to do.)
So, if you want chapter six quick-like, review.

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DoM
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After Harry's second Order meeting the Thursday after break, the three friends were sitting again in the Room of Requirement, working on some homework. Seemingly out of nowhere, Harry suddenly asked, "What are you two planning to tell McGonagall during your career advice?"

"Auror," Ron immediately said, grinning.

Hermione sighed. "Don't know. I can't exactly say, 'I intend to come out to the world as Queen Perdita and make everything better,' now can I?"

Harry's lips twitched. "I know what you mean. It seems almost wrong to go in there, saying I intend to be an auror when I not only don't intend to be one, but I'm also pretending to be the very thing I'd have to work to destroy in that position."

Ron tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well, Hermione could say she's planning to get a job in the Ministry somewhere? Maybe in the Magical Creatures department?" He grinned at her and ducked the half-hearted swat she aimed at his head. "And Harry could say he wants to teach Defence, yeah? I mean, you're really good at it, mate."

Harry blinked at that and cocked his head to one side consideringly. "You think so?"

"Mate, I know so. You're bloody brilliant! I've learned more from you in the past seven weeks than I have my entire career here at Hogwarts."

"Not that it's saying much," Hermione added drily, then smiled at Harry. "But Ron's right, Harry; you're a wonderful teacher, as long as you're teaching something you're passionate about."

Harry frowned thoughtfully. He'd wanted to be an auror since the fake Moody had suggested it to him last year, but after learning about his inheritance and starting to practise the Dark Arts, he'd realised that he didn't really want to go around smiting other Dark wizards. He understood the magic in a way your average Light wizard wouldn't be able to, and as a half Light/half Dark wizard, he had a unique perspective on both worlds, more so because he was the supposed saviour of the Light wizards.

Being a teacher was something he'd never before considered. He had to admit, he was enjoying teaching his friends about Defence, and the feeling he got when someone who'd been struggling with a spell got it was the best thing in the world.

Realising his friends were still watching him curiously, he smiled and said, "Thanks, Ron," and went back to his essay.

Ron and Hermione traded smiles and followed suit.

-0-0-0-

"Alright, Potter," McGonagall said as he sat down in front of her desk, "what are your plans for the future? Auror?"

Harry took a deep breath and shook his head. "No, Professor. I've decided to try applying for the Defence position when I graduate."

McGonagall looked up, surprised. "What brought this on, Mr Potter? I was under the impression you wanted to be an auror."

Harry shrugged uncomfortably. "Well, it was Crouch Junior who first suggested it, and it still sounds like it could be interesting, but after seeing what the Ministry's like on a personal level, I rather think I'd rather not have anything to do with them. But, I've been teaching a sort of study group for OWLs and NEWTs for Defence because Kingsley is so bogged down, and I really, really like it." He offered he a crooked smile. "Teaching's far more rewarding than catching a bunch of Dark wizards, anyway."

McGonagall's lips twitched and she shuffled through some papers on her desk. "Well, then. Hogwarts teachers are usually expected to have a few years of experience under their belts before applying for a position, but I have a feeling that you've already gathered enough experience during your school years." Harry smiled grimly in acknowledgement. "Other than that, Professor Dumbledore usually looks for an Outstanding on your NEWTs in the subject you intend to teach, as well as at least an Acceptable on your NEWTs for any complimentary classes. For Defence, I'd say those would be Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration and Charms."

She shuffled a few more papers, then said. "You're doing much better in all your classes this year, Mr Potter. Potions has always been your weakest class – possibly, I will admit, because of Professor Snape – but even there you should manage an Acceptable for your OWLs. However! Professor Snape only excepts Exceeds Expectations students into his NEWT-level classes, so you might have to work a little harder in that class to make it." She offered him the briefest of smiles and added, "Hagrid, Professor Flitwick and I all accept students with an Acceptable on their OWLs, but I would like to see you make an Exceeds Expectations, because I know you can."

Harry grinned. After all the studying he'd been putting in to prepare for his OWLs, he was pretty sure he could manage that E on all of his classes, even the ones he wouldn't need for becoming a teacher. "I'll do my best, ma'am."

McGonagall nodded. "Very well. I will mark your decision down. It's not required that you tell me if you decide to not become a teacher, but you certainly may."

Harry nodded and stood. "I doubt it'll become an issue, but I'll keep it in mind. Good afternoon, Professor."

"Good afternoon, Potter," McGonagall replied as Harry walked out of her office.

-0-0-0-

By the middle of May, Hermione had mastered Apparition. Harry and Ron weren't surprised that she'd managed it, and Dumbledore had congratulated her heartily before reminding her that, as she was still underage, it was, technically, illegal for her to Apparate. She'd just shrugged and said, "If anyone questions my knowledge, I'll just say I learned it by asking some older students about it." The other three had laughed at that, since it was entirely plausible that she would have done just that.

With Hermione's help both inside and outside of the lessons with Dumbledore, Harry was able to master the spell by the first week of June. Ron ended up studying a bit on his own in between the OWLs and had mastered the spell by the last day of the tests.

Exhausted after a week of testing, the three friends decided to take a nap by the edge of the lake, under one of the trees. Other fifth and seventh years were doing the same thing, and a few of them came over to thank Harry for his help, stating that they were sure they'd passed their OWLs or NEWTs with his help.

Harry eventually dozed off after the torrent of thankful students had died down and woke about an hour before dinner with a moan, feeling as if his head was on fire.

"Harry?" Hermione murmured, glancing up from a fiction book she'd found in the library earlier in the week. She paused, blinking at his forehead, then jerked forward, placing her hand against his scar.

Harry flinched back, hissing at the pain and reached up to touch the scar. The hand that came back was bloody and he groaned. "Bloody brilliant."

"At least he waited until after the OWLs," Ron commented sleepily from Hermione's other side, having woken when Harry hissed in pain.

"I thought Occlumency was supposed to keep this from happening," Harry whispered furiously, taking an offered handkerchief from Hermione and placing it against his head. A thoughtful cooling charm from the girl helped lessen the burning and Harry felt himself relax briefly. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Hermione replied.

Ron hummed thoughtfully. "Harry, weren't you looking for a way to bring him out into the open?"

Harry and Hermione both turned suspicious looks on Ron. "Yeah?" Harry replied.

Ron shrugged and grinned. "Why not see what he wants? You can block him from seeing things you don't want him to know about, right? So find out what he wants, then kick him back out."

Hermione looked worriedly at Harry, who seemed to be considering the suggestion. "Harry..." she whispered.

Harry winced as the pain briefly spiked, then sighed and nodded. "Hermione, if I don't let him in, this is going to keep happening."

Hermione swallowed and chewed on her lip for a long moment before nodding. "We'll be right here," she said.

Ron nodded and moved around the tree until he was on Harry's other side. He squeezed Harry's shoulder. "You'll be fine, yeah?"

Harry nodded and closed his eyes as Hermione's hand slipped into his. Sinking deep into his mind, he cracked his mental barriers open, letting in the image Voldemort had been shoving at him. He cried out briefly in pain at having his mind open to Voldemort's magic before slamming the barriers shut again and piling more defences on them. Once the angry magic had fully dissipated, he turned to the "vision" the man had sent him and fell into it, letting it wash over him.

Harry watched the vision play, then let himself drift back out into the real world, thinking about what all it meant. While Sirius was certainly rash enough to run out of his house, Harry honestly didn't think his godfather would get caught and held prisoner; Sirius was too likely to fight to the death before he let himself get captured by Death Eaters. And if Voldemort had gone to the prophecy room himself, he wouldn't have shown that to Harry, because he would have the prophecy. Which meant that whole thing was fake.

And if it was fake, Voldemort was trying to draw Harry out. Any Gryffindor would have let themselves be drawn out like that, too, but Harry was becoming far too familiar with his Slytherin side to allow Gryffindor brashness to control his actions.

When Harry opened his eyes, he realised he wasn't alone with just Hermione and Ron anymore. Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall had joined them, each looking as worried as the next. When Harry looked questioningly at Hermione, she smiled sadly and said, "You screamed, and a couple of the students nearby woke. When they asked what they could do to help, Ron told them to get the Headmaster."

Harry nodded and glanced around the tree. He recognised the faint shimmer of a privacy barrier, so said, "Voldemort's trying to get into the Department of Mysteries. He sent me an image of them torturing Sirius in the prophecy room." He winced when Hermione dabbed a corner of her bloody handkerchief against his scar. It was still throbbing from the after affects of having his mind open to Voldemort. "He's not happy that I figured out Occlumency," he added, having gotten as much from the feelings of anger coming at him, then glanced at Snape. "Be careful. He'll probably ask you how I learned it. He seemed to be under the assumption that you were keeping me from learning."

Snape sneered at him. "I have already told him we discontinued our lessons when it appeared you weren't able to learn such a dedicated art. Anything you learned, you must have found on your own." He glanced at Hermione and the message was clear: If Harry had learned anything, it came from Hermione.

"You told him about the prophecy?" McGonagall asked Dumbledore.

Dumbledore sighed. "Lord Kaizer made a good point during that first meeting; Harry deserves to know. And, because he knows, he's not going rushing off. Are you?" He eyed Harry sternly.

Harry and Ron traded looks and Ron said, "Actually, sir, we're hoping to use this to draw Voldemort out into the open."

"The Dark Lord would never be so foolish as to go to a place where he knows he could be found," Snape snapped.

"What if he thought going was the only way to give him the prophecy?" Harry asked, a plan forming behind his Killing Curse eyes. "He'll send some of the Death Eaters, yeah?" When Snape grudgingly nodded, Harry said, "What if Hermione, Ron and I went in alone, grabbed the prophecy and drew them out. Could the Order portkey to our position?"

Dumbledore nodded, looking thoughtful. "Should be able to, yes. We might have to give you an amplifier, since you'll be so deep in the Department of Mysteries, but we can probably link that to a signalling device of some sort that you can activate to bring us to you."

"How would this bring You Know Who out into the open?" McGonagall demanded, looking quite displeased with this turn of events.

"If his people can't get the prophecy, he'll have to do it himself," Harry replied with a grim smile. "After all, the only people there that would try to stop him would be the Headmaster or myself, and Voldemort knows I'm no match for him. Professor Dumbledore might cause some concern, but if he can draw me away from the Headmaster with the prophecy, he can just take it."

"And you would find some way to make him think you were going along unknowingly," Ron said, catching on. "What would you do when you saw him?"

"Smash the prophecy?" Harry suggested, shrugging.

"Might I suggest," Snape offered drily, "having some form of back-up with you from the Order? Perhaps Kaizer, if he feels he can stand against the Dark Lord." He curled his lip at the mention of Harry's alternate identity.

"That could work out," Dumbledore agreed. "And I will join you after ten minutes or so, if that's acceptable?"

Harry nodded. He was pretty sure he could hold off Voldemort for ten minutes or so, especially if there were two of him. "It's sound," he decided. "And who's going to warn the Ministry that they have Death Eaters running amok in their building? I'm assuming this will have to be at night."

"They should be warned by a mass portkey," Dumbledore commented thoughtfully. "But if they're not, I'll have Severus and Minerva fire-call Cornelius about ten minutes after we've portkeyed out." He glanced at the two professors and they both nodded their agreement. "It's five o'clock now. I'll call a meeting after dinner, at seven, and I'd like you three to attend so we can finish hashing everything out," Dumbledore decided.

"Mum's going to throw a fit," Ron said with a groan.

Dumbledore smiled at that. "Leave your mother to me, Mr Weasley. I'd like to see this underway by seven-thirty."

"We'll see you at seven," Harry replied, carefully rising. To either side of him, Ron and Hermione also rose. With one last nod at their professors, the three teens started towards the school.

"This should be fun," Ron commented far too cheerfully.

Hermione shook her head, then looked at Harry. "Will Kaizer bring Her Majesty or Rögnvaldr with him, do you think?"

Harry considered the request. "I don't know how well Her Majesty and Rögnvaldr would manage against Voldemort, but I agree that it might be fortuitous for them to be seen fighting with the Order against Voldemort's people."

"I doubt Rögnvaldr or Kaizer would allow Her Majesty to fight against Voldemort, anyway," Ron offered with a grin. Hermione huffed while Harry rolled his eyes in amusement.

-0-0-0-

When Harry, Ron and Hermione got up to Dumbledore's office, their alternate identities were already there, looking rather out of place with the rest of the Order milling around, especially since the Order gave the party a wide berth, nodding their heads politely to Perdita when they noticed her looking their way.

Kaizer noticed the Trio walk into the office and whispered something to his companions before walking over to the three teens. "I've been told to stick close to you during the fight, Potter," he said shortly. "Don't attempt to lose me."

Harry blinked and nodded. "Yes, sir."

"A valid warning," Snape said, coming up behind the students and making them all jump. He sneered at Kaizer, who rose an eyebrow at him. "Be careful, Kaizer; you may lose him without him trying."

Kaizer smiled coldly in reply. "Don't worry, Snape, I'm perfectly capable of keeping track of a teenager."

Mrs Weasley chose that moment to come over and start trying to talk the three teens out of it. While she was busy focusing on her son, Kaizer drew Harry to one side and whispered, "Follow Bellatrix. She'll take the lift up to the atrium, and you'll grab the next lift before I can get there. Just keep going and be careful while you're alone with her. Feel free to botch a Cruciatus Curse, if you want." His lips twitched.

Harry cocked an eyebrow at him. "Why am I botching a Cruciatus Curse?"

Kaizer smirked. "Because of what she does before she flees. But, remember, it's not fatal. Just act like you would if you were a Gryffindor, okay?" The false reddish-brown eyes danced with concern.

Harry gripped Kaizer's arm and nodded. "I'll manage. Was it bad?"

Kaizer grimaced. "You might get upset and act like a Gryffindor without being told to," he replied.

Harry winced. "Right."

Kaizer sighed and drew Harry into a hug, closing his eyes for a long moment. "We'll manage," he whispered, then pulled away, once again having the bearing of a Lord. "Now, go back to your little friends."

Harry cocked an eyebrow at himself in amusement, then turned and walked back to his friends. To their questioning looks, he just shrugged. "He's being irritatingly mysterious, as always," he offered drily. "Where'd your mum go?" he asked Ron.

Ron grinned. "Dad dragged her off. But not until after she told me that if I got a single scratch, I'm grounded for a month, starting after the train home."

Harry chuckled and patted Ron's shoulder. "Best watch your back then, eh, mate?"

Dumbledore threw up sparks at the front of the room and everyone fell silent, turning to face the Headmaster. "It's now seven-thirty," he said. "Harry, Ron and Hermione are going to be taking the floo to the Ministry, where they will be going down into the Department of Mysteries. There, they will grab the prophecy. As soon as the Death Eaters appear, Harry will use this," he held up a device, which Harry hurried forward to grab, "to activate our portkeys. We will fight the Death Eaters until the Ministry comes to help us clean them up.

"While we're dealing with the Death Eaters, Harry will somehow get drawn away from the duel and Lord Kaizer will follow him. Together, they will hold off Voldemort until I arrive to help them shortly after. With any luck, the Ministry will arrive to find Voldemort fighting us in the Ministry and will have to believe he's back.

"Any questions?" When no one said anything, Dumbledore turned to the three teens and said, "Good luck."

"You too, sir," Hermione replied while Ron and Harry just nodded. Together, they walked over to the Floo and went through.

-0-0-0-

As soon as Harry had found and picked up the prophecy, the Death Eaters appeared. "Give it to me, Potter, and no one will get hurt," Lucius Malfoy said from the lead position in the group.

"Like we'd believe that," Ron shot back sarcastically as Harry tapped the device Dumbledore had given him with his wand.

Lucius narrowed his eyes at the little thing in Harry's hand and demanded, "What is that?"

Suddenly, the area got a lot more crowded, as the Order of the Phoenix portkeyed in, wands out and spells on their lips. Four Death Eaters were down before they'd even realised what had happened.

"Kill them!" Lucius shouted, sending curses at Harry and his friends.

Harry had already thrown up a shield, having guessed Lucius' response to the attack. He kept the shield up while Ron and Hermione shot off curses from behind it.

Before Harry even realised she was there, Bellatrix Lestrange had come up behind his shield and shot a Dark curse Harry was unfamiliar with at Hermione and the girl crumpled to the ground, convulsing.

"HERMIONE!" Ron shouted, hurrying to her side.

Seeing Rögnvaldr throw up his own shield to protect Ron and Hermione, Harry turned and dashed off after a cackling Bellatrix, shooting curses at her back. He recalled himself saying it wasn't fatal, but still. It had been his job to protect her, his job to keep her safe, and Bellatrix had just walked up beside him and shot her in the back.

"I'm going to kill you, Bellatrix!" Harry shouted as he burst from the Department of Mysteries.

She cackled as the lift doors closed, hiding her from sight. He bashed the button as soon as he got there and dashed into the first lift that opened. As the doors were closing, he saw Kaizer hurrying out of the Department, a bleeding cut just under his left eye. Their gazes locked for just a moment before the doors blocked him from sight and Harry saw the promise there that Hermione was fine.

When the lift reached the atrium, Harry was much calmer. "Bellatrix!" he called, stepping quickly out of the lift and behind a fat column. "Where are you, Bella?"

Her mad little cackle came from over by the fountain, so Harry blindly shot a few blasting curses in that direction, smirking when he heard her shriek and dashing out to hit her properly.

Moving out from his cover had been a poor choice, as he was immediately hit with the Cruciatus Curse and slammed to his knees, hissing in pain. As soon as the curse ended, he shot off one of his own, albeit weaker than he could actually cast them.

Bellatrix was still laughing off the effects when the bright green light of the Killing Curse hit her in the back.

Harry gasped in pain as Kaizer helped him to his feet. "Didn't I tell you not to lose me?" the Dark wizard asked drily.

Harry grinned tiredly. "Sorry, Heimrich."

A dry laughter came from the fountain and both Potters looked over to see Voldemort. "Well," the monster said, "at least now I know who taught the boy Occlumency. How about you hand me that ball there, Harry, and I promise to make your death quick."

Harry smiled grimly and held out his hand with the prophecy. "This? Sure, catch!" Then he threw it in the air.

Before Voldemort could do more than raise his wand to accio it, Kaizer had blasted it to pieces and was shooting off curses at the Dark Lord, which Voldemort scrambled to block.

Grimly, Harry stepped up next to himself and added a few Light spells to Kaizer's steady stream of Dark curses. Out of the corner of his mouth, Harry asked, "What about the Ministry?"

"I'll go legal before they get here," Kaizer replied with a cold smile. "Split up."

Harry nodded and they split, each walking to opposite sides of the Dark Lord to keep him too busy to retaliate.

When the lift dinged again, Kaizer started using only legal spells, and Dumbledore joined them in sending spells at the Dark Lord. Voldemort kept trying to fight three of them for about two more minutes before some shouts over by the fireplaces announced the arrivals of the Ministry personal.

Knowing he was beaten, Voldemort shot one last angry curse towards Harry and used a portkey to evacuate.

Harry didn't manage to completely dodge the curse and felt to his knees, shuddering, as the Dark spell started shutting down his vital organs.

Dumbledore went to talk to the Minister while Kaizer rushed over to Harry and forced a potion down his throat. As soon as the boy had swallowed, he started feeling better and rested his head against Kaizer's chest. "Thanks."

Kaizer nodded and carefully helped Harry to stand. "Perdita and Rögnvaldr took Ron and Hermione back to Hogwarts not long after you ran off," he murmured while Dumbledore argued with Fudge and sent a team of aurors down to the Department of Mysteries. "I healed her before I followed you; that's what took so long. She'll be fine in a couple hours."

Harry nodded. "You'll have to teach me the spell. And the potion."

Kaizer smirked. "I will. And the potion's from Snape."

Harry nodded again. "Got it."

"Headmaster!" Kaizer shouted, looking over at Dumbledore. When the man looked up at him, he said, "I'm taking my nephew back to Hogwarts."

Dumbledore nodded, the briefest flash of surprise crossing his features.

Kaizer apparated them both to the Shrieking Shack, then helped Harry through the passage. Partway to the school, Harry asked, "Nephew?"

Kaizer grinned. "Isn't it brilliant? We won't have to go back to the Dursleys."

Harry considered the idea. "Does Dumbledore agree?"

"He doesn't have much choice," Kaizer replied with a smirk.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I don't know how well this will work out."

Kaizer shrugged. "Better than nothing, though, right? Because, right now, everyone's expecting you to go back to that muggle hell-hole, but the wards aren't effective anymore, so you won't be safe there. We have to have somewhere to go."

"But, live on my own?" Harry asked, stopping just before the exit under the whopping willow.

"Ask Dumbledore to say at the school," Kaizer replied. "We don't have a lot of choices."

Harry sighed and nodded. "Sometimes, I really hate our ancestor."

Kaizer smiled sadly. "Me too, Harry. Me too."

-0-0-0-

Harry, Ron and Hermione – back in their normal forms and having sent on their younger selves to fight through the battle again – all sat in Dumbledore's office after the members of the Order had gone home. They'd already shared their sides of the events with each other and had fallen into silence.

Since Sirius had been with the Order group that portkeyed in, he'd been seen by the aurors. But, with no Dark Mark on his arm and the assurances of the various members of the Order and Dumbledore himself, the man was let go with the promise of a proper trial later in the month. He'd been so excited, he'd wrapped Harry in a hug and swung him around the room happily, going on and on about how Harry could live with him now.

"What are you going to do about Sirius?" Dumbledore had asked him before his friends had gotten up there.

Harry had shrugged. "Live with him? Live at Hogwarts? I don't know. A lot depends on how fairly the Ministry treats this trial."

"You don't have long to decide, my boy," Dumbledore had said. "Term ends next week."

Harry hadn't had an answer to that and his friends had come in before he could form one.

In the silence, Ron suddenly yawned and Dumbledore smiled. "You've all had a very long night. Why don't you head to bed?"

"That sounds like a brilliant idea," Ron decided, jumping to his feet.

"Good night, Headmaster," Hermione said, climbing carefully to her own feet. After getting cursed during the first time they fought the battle and then having to fight again, she was exhausted and feeling stiff.

"Fawkes, could you take the students back up to their dorms, please?" Dumbledore requested of his phoenix.

Hermione shot him a grateful look as Ron and Harry joined her with Fawkes. Together, the four went up in flames and reappeared in the common room of the Gryffindor Tower.

Something clattered to the ground behind them and the three friends, still tense from the fight, spun with their wands out.

Neville, Ginny and the twins all peeked out at them from where they had taken cover from the fire behind the chairs and couch. "You're back," Neville breathed.

"Where were you?" Ginny demanded.

"The Ministry knows Voldemort's back," Harry said tiredly, putting his wand away. "We're just back from there. Listen," he said quickly as the other three Weasleys opened their mouths to ask questions, "it's been a very long night and we've all suffered some curses tonight, Hermione the worst. Ginny, could you help her to bed?"

Ginny bit her lip and looked at where Hermione was supporting herself on Ron. The older girl looked a mess, so Ginny simply nodded and helped her friend up to their dorm.

"We're going to bed," Ron said sharply before the twins could say anything.

Neville walked over and held out a hand for Harry. "You look like you could use some help up the stairs yourself."

Harry smiled sadly and took the offered shoulder to lean on up the stairs. Just outside the dorm, he quietly said, "Bellatrix Lestrange is dead, by the way."

Neville froze and turned to give him an incredulous look. "How...?"

"Lord Kaizer killed her," Ron said softly from behind them. "Because she used the Cruciatus on Harry."

Neville tightened his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Let's get you to bed."

Harry smiled and let himself be led to his bed. "Thanks," he told Neville just before the boy left him for his own bed.

Neville looked back at him, eyes burning. "No," he whispered, "thank you." Then he hurried into his own bed and drew the curtains shut.

Harry and Ron traded tired looks and climbed into their own beds, asleep before their heads touched their pillows.

-0-0-0-

The next morning, Harry received an owl saturated in Dark magic. He hummed to himself thoughtfully and, after casting a few detection charms for harmful curses, put it in his bag to look at later.

Harry forgot about the letter until he was sitting with Ron and Hermione in the Room of Requirement after classes were over. He pulled out a book to study and the letter fell out of his bag and landed on the floor.

"Didn't you get that this morning?" Hermione asked, having seen the action.

Harry nodded and slipped the letter open. He glanced first at the sender and his lips twitched with a smile. "Interesting," he murmured, glancing back up to the top. The letter was addressed to Lord Kaizer.

"What is?" Ron asked.

"Voldemort's writing to Kaizer," Harry replied, then ignored his friends in favour of reading the letter:

'Lord Kaizer,
'I apologise that I was unable to greet a fellow Lord before this. More, a fellow Dark wizard. My friend, for that's what I hope you will soon be, I would like to request your presence in two weeks' time at the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade – I assume you know of it? We should discuss your views on our world, especially since it can't be comfortable working with those daft Light wizards all the time. Aren't they just too... Light?
'I hope you'll join me,
'Lord Voldemort'

Harry tapped his cheek with the letter and glanced at his friends. Seeing their desperate looks, he smiled and handed the letter to them, chuckling when they leaned their heads together to read it.

Harry wasn't surprised that Voldemort saw a kindred soul in him, but he knew better than to think that Voldemort would ever accept Kaizer as anything more than a simple Death Eater; after all, no one was equal to Voldemort.

"No, Harry," Hermione said as soon as she'd finished reading the brief letter.

Harry blinked at her. "No, what?"

"No, you cannot go meet with Voldemort."

Harry shrugged. "I have no intent to do so. He and I want each other dead, and the goals he's striving for are a mockery." His lips curved with a smile. "I'm more entertained by the fact that he considers himself equal – or better, really – to me, because we're both 'Lords'. If I were the sort who believed in rank, I would have been quite insulted."

Ron chuckled. "I bet." He handed the letter back. "What are you going to do with it?"

Harry tossed it in the conveniently placed fireplace behind him and that was the end of that.

-0-0-0-

The last day of term came and Harry was no closer to deciding what to do with his life that summer. Sirius' trial was set for the last Monday of the month – four days from then – so he didn't quite have to decide what to do about Sirius, yet. On the other hand, whether he moved in with Sirius or not, he'd have to explain about his being emancipated, which meant telling his Dark magic-hating godfather who Lord Kaizer was, and Harry didn't think he was quite ready to face Sirius' disgust.

So it was that Harry was sitting by the lake, throwing rocks into the lake – the squid was playing with some second years on the other side, so he didn't have to worry about hitting it – pondering life and all his choices.

A shadow fell over him and he looked up to see Remus Lupin standing there, looking awkward. "May I sit?" he asked.

Harry blinked, then scooted over slightly. "Please," he replied, then turned back to the lake and his stone throwing.

They were silent for a long while before Remus said, "Remember when I told you, Lord Kaizer, that you smelled familiar?"

Harry tensed. "Sir?"

Remus turned to look at him, eyes tired. "When you were in the same room with me in both forms, it clicked. You know I have an advanced sense of smell, and all I knew was that you, Ron and Hermione were in there twice."

Harry let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. "Figures." He threw another rock into the lake with more force than he'd meant to and it shot up a large plume of water.

Remus sighed. "Why are you pretending–"

"We're not pretending!" Harry snapped, turning Killing Curse green eyes on his parents' friend. "Mum was a Kaizer, but she never went to go look. Snape had us brewing a blood-status potion one day in class and the crest came out of my cauldron, so I looked it up. The goblins verified it. Hermione too." He looked away, seeing Remus' sad look. "The last Lord Kaizer put it in his will that if I wasn't being adequately cared for at home, I was to be emancipated at fourteen, so I'm twice a Lord." He laughed bitterly. "A Lord of Light, and a Lord of Dark."

Remus sighed again. "Harry..."

"You don't believe me," Harry said flatly.

Remus shook his head. "You wouldn't have been able to wear the ring if you weren't. No, I'm confused as to why. Why have you and your friends decided to take on these mantles? You're still students."

Harry shrugged. "Do you know the story of the original royal family?"

Remus nodded. "My father told it to me when I was a boy – most wizarding parents do."

Harry cracked a crooked smile at that. "And you know how corrupt the Ministry's gotten. It has to be stopped. Especially since Voldemort's back. We need a strong government in place to face down Voldemort and his followers. We can't replace the Ministry now – as you pointed out, we're still in school – but coming out of nowhere when we graduate, especially if it's after the war's over, won't get us a lot of support. We agreed that coming out now, when the Ministry is proving exactly how useless they are, was the best choice."

Remus sighed, but he had to admit that Harry had a point. He smiled at Harry and said, "Slytherin?"

Harry grinned. "The Hat tried to put me in there my first year."

Remus chuckled. "Did the same thing to Sirius, but he fought with it."

"Sirius was almost a Slytherin?!"

Remus nodded. "Of course. You've seen where he grew up. Even though he hated it, some of it still rubbed off on him. While we were in school, he'd occasionally cast a Dark spell without thinking about it, because that was how he was raised."

"So, does he hate Dark magic, or his family?" Harry asked.

Remus considered that for a moment before saying, "I think he hates what most Dark witches and wizards stand for in the world, especially these days. Their pureblood beliefs. You'll notice that there aren't any Dark witches or wizards that aren't pureblood."

"There's Voldemort and me," Harry replied, cocking his head to one side.

Remus quirked a grin. "As you pointed out, you're only half Dark." He rubbed at his chin. "Severus is also Dark and a halfblood, now that I think about it."

"Snape is a halfblood?" Harry said disbelievingly.

"He had a horrible time of it for his first few years because of his blood status," Remus agreed. "But his mum was a really powerful Dark witch, and that sort of followed on to him." He eyed Harry for a moment as the boy considered this information. "He and your mother were good friends in school. Until he took the Mark summer before our seventh year."

Harry blinked and looked away. Considering everything he knew about his mother's kindness, he was willing to believe all that. It was hard to believe that Snape had ever had friends, but then again, if Harry had been in Slytherin and eventually taken the Dark Mark because everyone else he knew was doing it, only to lose the only friend he'd ever had at the hands of his own master...

Yeah, Harry could understand why Snape was such an ass. Especially if his own choices destroyed that single friendship, and, possibly, was the reason Lily ended up marrying James.

"Harry?"

Harry smiled at Remus. "I'm.... not sure how to tell Sirius," he said, changing the topic to what had been bothering him for a week. He scratched his cheek. "I mean, I don't, technically, need a guardian, but I'm not sure how to tell him that without telling him about my being Lord Kaizer. And he really doesn't get on with Lord Kaizer." After the first meeting of the Order Harry had attended, Sirius seemed to have decided that Lord Kaizer was along the same lines as Snape, and treated him accordingly. Harry wasn't sure how he'd managed to make his godfather hate him, but he had.

Remus rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. "Sirius doesn't get on with a lot of people in the Order, you may have noticed. It probably has something to do with him having to be cooped up in that house all the time. It makes him prone to shouting." He smiled reassuringly at Harry. "I think – and this is just conjecture – that Sirius doesn't like Kaizer because of how you told them all off for treating Harry as a boy, when you're not. Well, you are, but..."

Harry chuckled. "Yes, I know. I'm still a kid in a lot of ways. Fighting Voldemort in the atrium reminded me of that." He rubbed his shoulder, where the spell Voldemort had hit him with still tingled. "If there hadn't been two of me, I would have died. Probably because of Bellatrix, actually. And..." He paused and looked away, swallowing. "In the end, when I got hit with that last spell..." He bit his lip. "I never had anyone to comfort me before," he finally admitted softly. "I've always had to rely on myself. It was so strange, having someone to help me up, and knowing it was still me. I wanted..."

"You wanted a parent," Remus said, understanding.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Never had one of them, before." He laughed weakly. "Made me feel like such a little kid. And then Kaizer – me, whatever – called me his nephew. And I was both elated and heartbroken all at once, because I knew I'd never have anyone who would actually call me their nephew like it was a good thing. It's like, I was letting myself live a dream, but that's all it was. It was the most wonderful thing, but also the most terrible." He smiled sadly at Remus. "I don't know. How'd we get on this topic?"

Remus chuckled and drew Harry into a half-hug, which the boy relaxed into. "You'll always be my cub, Harry, if it makes you feel any better."

Harry nodded. "Yeah."

"And I have a feeling that Sirius will still accept you as his godson and care for you like he should have, no matter how old you are or who you're pretending to be."

"You think so?" Harry asked hopefully.

"He knows so," a rough voice said from the other side of the tree.

Harry had his wand in his hand and aimed at the other man before he realised it was Sirius, watching him with a haunted expression. Harry put his wand away, shooting Remus a faintly betrayed look.

Remus smiled. "Hermione told Dumbledore you were having trouble deciding what to do about this summer, and I'd already told him my suspicions about you, so he suggested I bring Sirius and talk to you. Well, and make Sirius swear he wouldn't do anything stupid."

Harry huffed. "Queen or no queen, I might just murder Hermione for meddling."

Remus and Sirius both chuckled at that. Then Sirius scooted over and hugged Harry around the shoulders. "So!" he said cheerfully, "what do you say we go on a long holiday to America? Get away from Voldemort for a bit and just enjoy ourselves?"

Harry cocked an eyebrow at his godfather. "Friends in England, remember? Only one who can destroy Voldemort? I don't know how relaxed I get with those sorts of worries."

Sirius sighed. "Just a week, then? Come on! I know you've never left the country, and it would be nice to get away from all this, right? At least for a bit."

"You could see what other Ministries are like," Remus added, "decide if you want to completely abolish the English Ministry or just tear it down and rebuild it."

"That's more Hermione's forte then mine," Harry replied.

"But you're one of her advisors, right?" Remus replied. "And doesn't she usually leave the country for a couple weeks over the holidays with her parents, anyway?"

"Yeah, they usually go to France," Harry agreed.

"Excellent!" Sirius crowed. "Hermione can go decide if those stuck up pigs are any good as a Ministry, and you can go see one that works!"

Harry cocked an eyebrow. "I was under the impression that the government of America was doomed to die young."

"The muggle government, maybe," Sirius agreed. "But the magical government over there is much better than any here in Europe, not that that's saying much, but there you go. They also don't, technically, fall under the royal family's jurisdiction, but considering the bad blood between our Ministry and theirs over the years, I can't see them not liking the idea of the return of the royal family. You might even find some allies."

Harry's eyes lit up at the thought of finding more people who would help back their eventual change of the European Ministries. Not that most witches and wizards wouldn't back them, as the tale of the royal line was apparently quite ingrained into magical legend, but it would be nice to have someone from outside the countries where they needed to change things to help smooth the changeover. Especially people who were working for a Ministry that worked. (And wasn't that a new concept?)

"Hmm... Never knew politics was the way to your heart," Sirius muttered. "The woman marrying you is going to have a hell of a time catching your eye if she's not a politician."

Harry wrinkled his nose. "I don't like politics, thanks. Distinctly not fond of it, in fact. More interested in getting Hermione in a position where she can fix things without occasional uprisings."

"You'll always have uprisings," Remus pointed out drily. "Especially if you're bringing Americans into this."

Harry shrugged. "At least then we'll have an army to fight them down."

"Slytherin, huh?" Sirius said, shaking his head.

Harry and Remus chuckled.

-0-0-0-0-0-

A/N: Didn't remember about Priori Incantatem until after that scene was finished, and didn't feel like fixing it. Let's just say that, when there are THREE wands with brother components, Priori Incantatem can't happen, because there would simply be too many options. (Especially when two of the wands are the same one. XP)

Now, I'm off to play FFXIII. My girlfriend got it for me for my birthday. *happy*

~Bats ^.^x

Chapters:
1 - Descendants ||| 2 - The Truth About Muggleborns ||| 3 - Defence ||| 4 - The Ministry
5 - DoM ||| 6 - America ||| 7 - Playing at Life

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