Harry walked to the table placed at the end of the room and poured himself a glass of water as behind him, the others finished their final stretches. After over half a year of instruction, most of the others could do the first few katas of Torquasm Rao almost perfectly and the results showed.
"Can you pour me a glass too?" Flitwick asked and Harry handed his untasted water to the Dueling Master before pouring another glass for himself.
"Uncle Fil, did I really see Professor Snape watching from the doorway?" Harry asked after taking a sip and Filius chuckled.
"Oh my, yes. Since there are several Gryffindors here, the traditional rivalry between the Lions and Snakes means that you won't get any Slytherins joining now that the Gryffindors have had a head start. However, not a single one of those here are in the lower half of the year and in fact virtually all are in the top quarter, so you can see why Severus was intrigued."
Harry smiled as he watched a quartet of red-heads moving across the room to speak to a fifth. "I wonder how Ginny managed to persuade her brothers to join in…"
"They probably saw how much she was improving at Quidditch and decided that they wanted some." Neville joked as he ambled up to them. Harry promptly poured another glass of water, which Neville accepted gratefully.
"Nev, you up for a display?"
Nev gave him a long look, then slowly smiled. "Competitive? Rules?"
"Pin to win, no gouging or groin strikes, try to avoid breaking bones. Sound alright?"
Neville nodded as he took another sip, then put the glass down. "Professor, would you referee?"
"Oh my, yes!" Flitwick almost bounced ahead of them. "This will be exciting! Everyone move back!"
Harry and Neville took positions a few paces apart as Flitwick waved his wand, muttering under his breath, then he gave a firm nod.
"I've applied a reactive cushioning charm to stop you being hurt if you get thrown too hard, but otherwise it'll be just like a proper floor. Okay?"
Both boys nodded as the room quietened and Flitwick raised his hand.
"And… Go!"
Harry darted forwards and delivered a sharp jab at Neville, only for the slightly taller boy to almost lazily deflect it. The return punch was deceptively slow, but as Harry blocked it, he noted that it would have staggered almost anyone else. The second punch, a backhand strengthened by a spin, barely missed his head as he jolted back, then Nevelle delivered a third deceptive punch which transitioned into a grab. Harry felt himself being hurled into the air as Neville rolled backwards, using his feet to launch Harry upwards. As he descended, Harry managed to turn his dive into a roll that brought him straight back to his feet.
Refusing to let Neville dictate the pacing of the fight, Harry ducked in, unleashing a leg-sweep that Neville dodged, then using his advance to deliver a high kick that Neville managed to block with both of his forearms. As Neville tried to grab his leg, Harry pulled his foot back, then used the momentum to do a spinning leg-sweep that caught Neville by surprise, sending him to the floor. As Harry had done earlier, though, Neville turned it into a roll, flipping back up into a defensive stance, then wading back in.
Harry had to retreat in the face of Neville's stream of punches. Every step Neville took marked a powerful strike, but between those were feints, jabs and the occasional hooked punch. Finally, his patience was rewarded and Neville extended just a fraction of an inch too much, allowing Harry to put him in a wrist lock, dropping him to his knees as he applied pressure.
"You win!" Neville gasped and Harry slowly released his grip, careful not to do it too quickly and risk harming his friend. As Neville stood back up, they looked round at their audience, noting how most of them seemed to be wearing expressions of shock.
"And that," Harry couldn't resist stating, "Is why Torquasm Rao is a useful thing to learn."
Flitwick nodded so hard in approval that Harry was almost surprised that his head didn't fall off.
.
.
The sudden squealing of a cow being killed almost seemed to rip through the mansion and Lucius flinched.
"Lucius, you've heard far worse than a cow being dismantled by giants." Voldemort gently scolded.
"Yes, My Lord, but… normally I'm one of the ones causing the screams…"
Voldemort nodded absently as he made a few notes on a pad of paper.
"How are my rescued followers, Lucius?"
"Training to regain their full strength, My Lord." Lucius replied, eager to show that he was on top of the situation. "Another week of potions and they'll be as good as they were before…"
He trailed off and Voldemort smirked slightly.
"Before my unfortunate, albeit temporary demise. That's good to hear. The Giants are doing well, the werewolves are almost fully assembled and the Dementors are enjoying the occasional Muggle we catch for them to eat. Yes, things are looking quite good, although I am mildly annoyed that the moon will be just a waxing crescent when we begin. Only a few of the Werewolves have the ability to transform without the full moon… but then again, with the giants and Dementors, we should be able to manage. With luck, by the time the full moon comes, they will have retreated to Hogwarts and be placing all their hopes in those Wards of theirs."
"Wards which you'll be able to take down in a single move, yes, My Lord."
Lucius shrank back as Voldemort glared at him.
"Lucius, my slippery friend, do not try to inflate my ego like that. Overconfidence and ignorance combined led to my fall the last time, I will not follow the same path again!"
"Yes, My Lord!" Lucius whimpered and Voldemort turned his attention back to the papers in front of him.
"I am not angered, Lucius, merely cautious." He stated as he turned another page and picked up his quill. "There is still much work to do in order to ensure that there are no nasty surprises… you may go."
Lucius bowed and vacated the study. A moment after he left, Voldemort glanced at the chair in the corner.
"Lucius seems to be considering having second thoughts. He may become a liability."
A rat emerged from underneath the chair and transformed into a wizard who bowed.
"Should I take care of him, My Lord?"
"I think not, My Inquisitor. Once I begin our glorious revolution he will return to being my truly loyal follower… but for that to happen, I will have to slay Potter personally."
Peter tilted his head in confusion and Voldemort finished writing on the page before continuing.
"Potter is a living counter to myself. His existence is a reminder that I can fall and thus, he must be disposed of. However, should I simply hand the task of killing him to someone else, It will lead to some whispering that I was too scared to face him myself and that in turn would lead to some of them rising against me. While I could easily defeat them, it would be… tiresome.
"Of course, no-one ever said I had to face him on equal terms. Have you managed to get the items that I tasked you with locating?"
"Of course, My Lord." Pettigrew bowed deeply. "The magic-suppressing manacles are in a bag in your quarters, just as you asked. I even tested the key and it locks and unlocks the manacles without any hint of wear."
"Further testing of them is in order, though. I would hate to discover that their magic-suppressive properties were over-stated" Voldemort mused. "Pass a message on to Bellatrix for me, my Inquisitor. After the evening meal, she is to report to me."
Peter bowed and shrank back into his rodent-form, vanishing through a carefully-created hole in the skirting board.
.
.
"He's planning something big." Severus fretted as he paced the office in a manner reminiscent of a caged lion (a comparison that would have amused McGonogall and Vector but irritated him immensely if anyone had made it). "He's got the Giants feasting on cattle, the werewolves have almost finished assembling and the Dementors… they're in a shielded area in the basement. He even has a few of the older Vampires at his court."
"Is he commanding them?" Albus asked, his tone lacking its usual semi-distracted nature ad Severus shook his head, looking even more worried.
"No. Oh, he's holding himself above them, but he's treating them like honored guests and not recalcitrant grunts. Even worse, he personally oversaw the modification of their rooms. They've got rooms that have sliding shutters and heavy curtains over the windows, meaning that they can stay awake during the day without risking the sunlight."
"That seems to be quite out of character for him." Albus mused, then he looked at the piece of paper that Severus had dropped onto his desk. "What's this? Oh. Oh my… this does explain some things… where did he get it from?"
"I don't know, but it's really helping him." Severus ground out. "He's keeping to every bargain he makes, even when it proved detrimental to him."
"Making his followers even more loyal to him." Albus winced. "They don't just admire his power, they know that they can trust him… it would seem Tom has become far more dangerous since his return that he was prior to his defeat."
For a long moment, a worried silence descended on the office, then Albus looked at his Potions Teacher.
"Severus, I know that I am asking a lot of you, but I need to know when he is planning to move. I have already reactivated the Order, but without knowing when and where he intends to strike first, there is little that I can do…"
"I'll try to find out, but it'll be hard." Severus sagged. "He's started to compatamentalise the information his followers receive. Need To Know, he calls it, and I do not know how I can persuade him that I do need to know…"
Albus lowered his gaze to the list on his desk. "I understand. If you can find out, it would be very useful, but do not place yourself at risk of your true allegiance being discovered."
"I understand, Albus." Severus nodded. "As always, I shall do my best."
"That is all I could ever ask for, Severus."
.
.
"…This looks good, but we need to add a reinforced room in the lowest-level for when there are guests over and it's full moon." Sirius said, examining the holographic image in front of him. Beside him, Remus stood holding the deeds to the land that he had overseen the purchase of on Sirius' behalf. "No, wait. Cancel that. Deepen that level by another meter and enclose the stairs leading down. Yep, now put a gate at the base, add some bushes and grass around the central pond and… excellent! Just like that!"
"You're putting a garden in your basement… for me?" Remus asked and Sirius nodded.
"Don't want you catching a cold if it rains on the full moon and this way, we'll have plenty of room to run around in. Okay, Jorel, how long will it take you to build this?"
"It can be constructed within a week, sir." Jor-El replied and Sirius nodded.
"Then do it. Much as I'm glad Harry is letting us stay, I really want a place of my own where I can entertain the ladies. Remus, you alright?"
"Just… still in shock." Remus admitted, sending a significant glance out the window to the corner of the garden where James' and Lily's graves were located, as well as the small one for their stillborn child and Sirius winced slightly.
"Yeah… sorry we waited so long before bringing you in but… we weren't sure until recently if your loyalty to Harry outweighed your loyalty to Albus. You heard him discuss the Prophecy at the meeting, how do you think he'd react if we told him that Harry wasn't born to Prongs and Lily?"
"Technically, he was." Remus countered. "Jorel, can you project the text of the Prophecy? Thank you. Now, add an e to the end of the word Born…"
Sirius' jaw dropped in shock as he realized what he was looking at.
"It's still valid! Harry can still take Mouldyshorts down!"
"You like that nickname too much." Remus sighed.