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Return of an Alpha | ||||||
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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:All Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama Warnings: Death, Mild Language Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 409 Summary: For three years, Harry has been Becoming Alpha of Hogwarts. Now another Alpha is returning, bringing with him darkness, chaos, and battle. Watch as sides line up for war, and people and society change. Hitcount: Story Total: 169712; Chapter Total: 3665 Author's Notes: Thanks to Arnel for the Beta work. :) |
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“I’m glad to see you all decided to show up after the testing we put you through,” Harry commented as the sixth years and Ron stood before him, Ginny, and Tracey. “With the demonstration you put on for us, no one would miss this,” Harry heard Cho mutter quietly, probably not expecting him to hear it, but Harry grinned. “Thank you ever so much for the compliment, Cho,” he told the Asian Ravenclaw, who looked startled. “Now, I’m going to admit to you something that you probably don’t want to hear.” All of the sixth years leaned forward slightly, and Ron just crossed his arms over his chest, watching the trio at the front of the room with a blank face Harry knew came from a summer of spying. “By the end of today, you will resent the three of us,” Harry began, gesturing to the girls who were standing slightly behind him and who he knew without turning would have expressions to match Ron’s. “By the end of the month, you will wish we hadn’t started this training. By the end of the year, you will hate us. “But!” Harry called over the mutterings that had begun, waiting until they were silent to continue. “But, in the end, you will recognize that there is a reason behind everything we make you do, and everything done in this room will have a result. Whether you’re willing to admit that it’s positive or not is up to you, but you’ll see changes in every person who learns from my friends and me. “Now, welcome to your newest nightmare.” Harry grinned a bit evilly as the dummies along the walls of the room came to life, drawing wands as they moved forward. As the sixth years and Ron drew their wands, Harry and the girls drew theirs, aiming at the group. “Expelliarmus,” the three intoned, waving their wands over the group so that everyone was disarmed at the same time. Wands flew into their hands, and the group looked at them in astonishment. “Your first training session today is to spend the entire time dodging the spells cast at you without a wand,” Harry informed the group. Most of them looked at him in disbelief, fear, or anger, but Ron just nodded and moved to an open area to begin. “Good luck.” “They’re going to hate us by the time this month is done,” Tracey commented as the door closed behind the last of the sixth years, all of whom were walking oddly as the Stinging Hexes had hit them in some of the oddest places or just repeatedly. “Until they’re in shape, our job isn’t to make them like us,” Harry sighed, sitting down on the couch the Room had provided. “Once the month is through and the sixth and seventh years can move more, we’ll work on spell work for a couple of weeks, then move onto hand-to-hand combat.” “I still find it hard to believe Ron is so good,” Ginny admitted from her spot next to Harry, looking at her hands. “We might have to move him up to the seventh year group if he keeps this up for long,” Tracey added, and Harry nodded but was looking at Ginny more than paying attention to Tracey’s words. “I’ve been spending so much time with the group that I don’t really know my own brother anymore,” Ginny whispered, and Harry knew that, while she was speaking more to herself than anyone else, he needed to reassure her. “He’ll always be your brother, Gin,” he said softly, looking up at Tracey as she watched Ginny. “There will be times when it will seem you’re separating from him, but in the long run, it will bring you closer to him.” “How, Harry?” she asked quietly, and Harry put an arm around her, kissing her head. “When this is over, when you go home for the summer, you’ll have something in common to talk about when you’re alone with him. Lately, Ron’s been so separate from us because of his emotions against me that it gave you less in common. I think that, when you talk to him, you’ll be surprised by how much he’s changed over the past year or so. Talk with him in the Common Room; maybe you can play some chess with him. You’ll be close with him again.” “Your brothers will always love you, Ginny,” Tracey added as Ginny nodded into Harry’s shoulder, which her head was leaning on. “Family is the one thing you can always count on no matter how hard things get. Remember that.” Ginny took a deep breath and sat up straight, nodding. “You’re both right,” she admitted. “I’ll play chess with him this weekend, or maybe go flying. He’s still my brother, even if he has been playing with how people view him so that he can spy on the Order.” Harry nodded in agreement before sighing and standing up, helping up the two girls. They had homework to do before classes the next day. “Auror Tonks,” Madam Amelia Bones said as she looked at the pink-haired woman in front of her, Privacy Charms on her office. “Yes, Madam Bones?” Tonks replied, standing straight and wondering why the Head of the DMLE had called for her and then proceeded to ward the room. “How is the Order of the Phoenix doing?” Bones asked, and Tonks started a little. She hadn’t known the Director had known about the Order, let alone that she herself was in it! “Madam?” she replied, not sure if she should be speaking of this. “Dumbledore asked me to join at the beginning of the summer,” Bones said, gesturing for Tonks to sit, and she did. “I turned down the offer because someone needs to be here to clean up after Fudge.” Tonks nodded, understanding the position her boss was in. Still, it was shocking that Madam Bones was actually talking about this. There had to be another motive behind it… “I’ve heard things about the Order this summer,” Bones continued, “and I was wondering if you truly wish to be working for the Order.” Tonks blinked, but Bones went on. “I mean, is Dumbledore truly worth working with if he’s kidnapping innocent teenagers and holding them prisoner without cause?” Tonks could only shake her head in amazement, unable to believe that Amelia Bones actually knew all about this. How could she know about it?! No one in the Order had told, unless… Tonks’ eyes widened as she realized something. “You’re in contact with Harry Potter,” she said, shock filling her tone. “Of course,” Bones replied, and Tonks was a bit surprised she was being so truthful about it. “There are people willing to fight against Voldemort; they just aren’t willing to do it under Dumbledore’s control.” “Why are you telling me this?” Tonks asked, but deep down she understood why and just wanted to hear it with her own ears. “Because the third group in this upcoming war recognizes that you don’t agree with Dumbledore as much, but want to help. We’re looking for those willing to help us out and not give us away.” “Who is ‘we’?” Tonks asked, though she had a good guess that she wouldn’t find out just yet. “Not until we know we can trust you,” Bones said, shaking her head, and Tonks nodded, her fingers getting tangled up in her robes as she thought. “You may go and think about this,” Bones said, relaxing in her chair a bit. “This conversation never happened. The next time you’re contacted by us, it will be through a different person, but it will only happen if we believe we can trust that you are willing to help us. We don’t ask much right now, but you’ll learn more when you choose.” “Thank you for the offer,” Tonks said, standing up, and Bones nodded once as a dismissal and acknowledgement of the gratitude before picking up a Muggle pen and going back to the papers on her desk, leaving Tonks to let herself out. Well, that was interesting, Tonks thought. “They all resent what we’re doing to them,” Theo claimed, a proud grin on his face, ignoring the essay in front of him. “They’ll learn in the future,” Susan replied, shaking her head slightly as the group felt the stares from those they were teaching on them in The Den. “We can’t help them until they’re ready to be helped,” Padma agreed, not looking up from the novel she was reading, her homework done. “Just ignore the mutterings and their dislike of what they call torture until we begin the real training,” Harry told his friends, glancing up only for a moment before going back to the Runes translation he was looking up in his book so that he could finish his idea for a silencing ward for class. “Once they realize why we’ve been doing this to them, they’ll be silently thanking us while pretending they still resent it all.” “Easy for you to say,” Astoria muttered. “You’ve got the best of the lot to teach.” “I know we do, Astoria, but that means the three of us are actually pushing them harder,” Harry replied. “Come watch one of our meetings, if you really want to. It should only be one or two more before they’re ready to do some actual spellwork.” Astoria nodded, and Harry knew without looking that the others had recognized that the offer was to all of them. Their next meeting would have some extra people there to watch. “Ron, into the center of the circle,” Harry called, and Ron moved to stand among the dummies, his wand in Ginny’s hand. “Begin!” As everyone watched, the dummies began shooting spells at him in groups, sometimes from behind, sometimes in his peripheral vision, and at times from in front. Most of the time he was attacked from multiple sides, the Room making the dummies work together to work Ron hard. Through all of this, Ron was able to use his senses to realize when the spell was coming from behind. He moved with a grace most had never expected from the tall redhead, ducking under Stinging Hexes and moving from side to side. Twice he was even willing to roll before jumping up, always moving. When he was finally hit, a bell went off that deactivated the dummies and allowed Ron to stand there, breathing heavily, as he tried to regain his breath. “That is what we are looking for from you!” Harry called, grinning as he clapped for Ron, the others with colored Journals who had come to observe clapping as well. “Ron, you lasted seven minutes before you got hit; well done! “When you all are at least moving like him, we can begin on the real training,” he continued, and Harry saw the sixth years perk up at that news. Ron moved out of the circle and collected his wand from Ginny, who gave him a smile and patted him on the arm. The youngest of the Weasley boys grinned in gratitude before he brought back his blank face. “Katie, you’re next,” Harry said, and the Gryffindor Chaser stepped forward. The rest of the meeting went like that, everyone going twice. Ron was by far the best, but there were a few others keeping up with him pretty well, and the others were almost ready for the next step of their training. “We’ll have one more meeting like this, and then we’ll finally move on,” Harry announced after a quick conversation with the girls, and the sixth years cheered. “Just remember that this sort of thing is going to be quite common during the training, so keep on practicing when both you and the Room are free. Go; we’ll see you again on Wednesday.” “So?” Harry asked Astoria once the sixth years and Ron were gone, leaving Harry and his closest friends in the Room. “I’ll admit it, you’re training them harder than the rest of us are running our groups,” Astoria said grudgingly, her arms crossed over her chest. “You’ve still got the best of the lot to teach, though.” “True, but the seventh years need to learn as much as we can teach them before they leave because this is the only year they’ve got,” Tracey reminded the younger Slytherin, and Astoria sighed, her arms falling to her side. “I know,” she admitted. “It’s just hard knowing…” She trailed off, but all three of them knew what she was thinking. “Knowing that you’re one of the best of us, but you’re stuck with the third years,” Ginny finished, and Astoria nodded, not looking at anyone. “If I thought they’d listen to you with actual respect rather than fear or amusement, I’d have had you join us, but they won’t,” Harry said. “Trust me, what you’re doing with the third years will be important eventually, so just keep at it.” Now that Astoria was quiet, the others began talking about what they had seen and how the sixth years could improve. Of course, Ron was mentioned with shock and pride all at the same time, and it was agreed that he’d be moved up if they found his spellwork on the same level as his ability to dodge. “Umbridg e knows that there’s something going on behind her back,” Draco whispered to Harry as they walked out of Defense. “Then it’s a good thing we made it so that the Room won’t let anyone without a Journal into it while we’re training everyone, then,” Harry replied, and Draco nodded in agreement, but Harry recognized the worry on the blonde’s face. “What else is wrong?” “Umbridge has been poking around at random times, as if she’s looking for something we’re not supposed to have,” Draco said, still talking quietly, but he wasn’t whispering as they were out of the toad’s earshot. “You don’t think that she’s looking for the Journals, do you?” Harry asked, pulling on Draco’s arm as he stopped along the side of the corridor, ignoring those passing by them as he looked into his friend’s gray eyes. Worry was showing in the eyes of one of Harry’s closest friends, and Harry didn’t like it. “She’s been making people turn out their pockets,” Draco informed Harry. “When she made the first person do it — a first year — he kept the shrunken Journal in his hand while showing that his pockets were otherwise empty except for his wand and a couple of Galleons. Now, whenever people see the toad going after them, they slip the Journal into their bags or sock and pretend it’s just a diary or notebook if she finds it.” Draco looked at Harry quite seriously, and Harry waited for whatever else his friend wished to say. “Harry, we need a way to hide the Journals so that no one has to worry about Umbridge’s inspections of them.” Sighing, Harry nodded, running his hand through the mop known as his hair. He hated to admit it, but he, Tracey, and Ginny were going to have to spend an evening figuring out some way to hide the Journals so that they weren’t in anyone’s pocket, but were still in easy reach and could be felt if they were heated. “The girls and I will work on it,” Harry promised, and Draco nodded seriously, turning to lead the way to their next class. Now they only needed an idea. “That is so obvious!” Harry exclaimed, hitting himself on the head as Ginny mentioned her idea. “Why didn’t I think of that?” “Because you were aiming for a more difficult option and forgot that the most simple can usually work better?” Ginny suggested with a cheeky grin. Rolling his eyes, Harry gave her a quick kiss to get rid of the annoying smile before turning to Tracey, who had been watching in amusement. “We’ll have to ask the girls to give us what they want us to charm so that it’s not all the same. Some of the guys can provide us with stuff, but mostly we’ll have to use the leather again.” Tracey nodded in understanding, before adding, “We’ll work on it this weekend. Spend the rest of the week getting what we need together. Make sure you label whose is whose.” “We’ve heard about the trouble you’ve all been having with Umbridge, though I believe she’s giving the younger students more trouble than you,” Harry said at the end of the first lesson on spells as he looked at the seventh years in front of him. “The three of us spent most of the weekend charming necklaces, bracelets, leather cords, and even a couple of earrings so that all you have to do is stick a normal-sized or shrunken Journal to them and it’ll stay there. “Because they’ll still be against your skin, you’ll be able to know when to pull it off and read it,” Harry added, gesturing to the Journal hanging from the leather cord around his neck alongside the chain with his parents’ rings on it. He had decided against using the chain again, just in case Umbridge tried to confiscate the Journals because she figured it out. Ginny and Tracey went through the group, giving girls back their jewelry and the guys leather cords they had made for them, some thicker than others and most ranging in different colors so that it didn’t stand out as much that a bunch of guys suddenly all had the same necklace around their necks. Harry knew that, throughout the next few days, all of those with Journals would be receiving the hiding place for the Journals as it would be useful even after Umbridge was finally gone from Hogwarts. Samue l Davis stood watching the Auror trainees practicing hitting targets across the grounds of his home, sometimes calling out advice when one was having trouble with a distance or spell. The past two months had been very busy since the teens had gone to Hogwarts. Over a month of it, Samuel had spent at Davis Manor, teaching his trainees how to duel and fight a war every day. Sirius, Remus, and Fleur were all spending time gaining information on what was going on in Wizarding Britain while Daniel and Samantha were searching for possible hiding places for the final Horcrux. The others helped with the Horcrux hunt when they could, but knowing what both the Order and the Death Eaters were up to was just as important as the hunt, especially while most of the fighting between the groups was going on behind-the-scenes. On another topic, Amelia had told the group that she had spoken to Tonks. It had appeared to the Head of the DMLE that the Auror in question had been truly thinking about it, as if her thoughts truly were somewhat darker when it came to the beloved Headmaster. Maybe, just maybe, they’d gain another adult to the group to help with all that was going on. Of course, the news from Hogwarts had been anything but good. Blood Quills being used on students for detention, Hogwarts professors being inspected and insulted without punishment, and just terrible rules being enforced upon the students. Luckily, Harry had come up with the same idea that had come to mind a couple weeks before he had brought it up. Now they were at least giving the students an excellent Defense course, allowing even the youngest to be able to at least run from Death Eaters if attacked, which was what was important. All there was left was for Harry and the others to realize that they had the makings of an army following them. Well, they would once the resentment for the physical training on how to dodge was gone, Samuel admitted to himself with a silent chuckle, remembering the amused comments made by Harry and Tracey through the mirror about comments and looks from students because of it. One of the few good things Samuel had heard from Hogwarts was about Slytherin’s win over Gryffindor, though Harry had admitted it had been awfully close until he caught the Snitch because Ron Weasley wasn’t as bad a Keeper as they had been expecting from him, catching them a bit off guard. Still, now it was time for Samuel to make sure there was an Auror force prepared to fight the day-to-day battles. “Dumbl edore is meddling, as usual,” Delores Umbridge told Minister Fudge as she sat across from him in his office one Saturday evening that she felt she could be away from the school for an hour or two. “Are you certain he is using the school to create an army to take the Ministry from us?” Fudge asked, leaning forward slightly. “I’m afraid he is, Minister,” Umbridge sighed. “The students are resentful that they are not learning spells, as if they feel it is holding them back! I feel they are upset because they’ve realized we’re on to them and are stopping the army from getting any stronger.” “Yes, yes, of course,” Fudge agreed a bit distractedly, nodding as he looked around the office, his eyes slightly glazed over. “Minister, I’ve also noted some… curious behavior among the students,” Umbridge brought up hesitantly, her brow creasing a little in her inability to put her stubby, thick finger on the problem she felt in her bones was occurring. “Students whisper in passing, and they write at times you wouldn’t expect them to be writing. I’ve also noted groups disappearing at very randomized and staggered times, unable to be found when I’ve searched. It is most of the school, and I must admit it has me concerned about what they may be doing or planning.” “What would you suggest?” Fudge asked, his eyes widening a bit as he thought of terrible possibilities for why those odd occurrences were happening. “A decree that all clubs are to be disbanded unless the Inquisitor approves the club,” Umbridge suggested, a glint appearing in her toad-like eyes that Fudge didn’t notice as he thought about the idea. “A very good idea,” Fudge agreed. “Their activities appear to be that of a meeting taking place. I’ll have it for you shortly, Delores.” “Thank you, Minister,” Umbridge said sweetly, hiding the dark edge behind the sweetness as she thought of the destruction she could do by not permitting certain groups to reform. “Now, what has Potter been up to?” Fudge asked, leaning forward again as he listened carefully. Umbridge frowned at the question, thinking of the boy. “He has been very quiet lately, but it makes me fear what he is planning so as to create more chaos not only at Hogwarts, but for the rest of Wizarding Britain,” Umbridge said, an uncertain edge to her tone. “It is very possible Dumbledore is working through the boy, but I have not yet seen any evidence of the two of them even conversing in any way. In fact, it is as if the boy does all he can to stay away from Dumbledore.” “Perhaps it is just their way of trying to trick us into believing that they are not working together,” Fudge suggested. “Delores, please keep an eye on both of them. There is something fishy going on at Hogwarts with those two, and I want to know what!” “Of course, Minister,” Umbridge replied with a nod, hiding her grin as she bowed her head momentarily, wiping her face clean as she looked back at the Minister again. He had no idea the sort of power he had just given her. AN: My Beta Arnel like the chapter all the way up until the final scene, just because of the content, not the way I wrote it. Who here agrees with her and doesn’t like that scene just because you could have pictured things like that happening behind the scenes in the actual book? Don’t be shy, I completely agree! But, honestly, I’m trying to use different POVs in my series now, so this got added in. Plus, it was a good way to show Umbridge’s view of Harry, because I’m sorry, but I will NEVER write a scene from her POV if Harry is actually there. *Shudders* The thoughts that I would have to write going through her head… No thanks! Anyway, who liked the way I used the idea for the necklaces from the Third Task as a place to hide their Journals? I thought it was reasonable and unique enough to work. Other than that, this chapter showed what’s going on with Tonks for all of you who like her and/or like the Tonks/Remus couple, since that can only happen if Tonks turns into a spy on the Order for Harry’s side of the war, eh? |
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