Chapter 10 Some Major Surprises

Thanks to darrelldeam for looking this over. All mistakes are my own, feel free to point them out. Once again, as is my bad habit, I added more to this and didn't send it back to my betas.

Thanks again for the reviews, follows, favorites, suggestions and communities.

Oops, I accidently wrote Zeeb out of a few of the past chapters, I rewrote him back in. it doesn't change the story much, but for those of you wondering where he went, it was my bad. Also I have no idea how to do a Portuguese accent, so he speaks in broken English. Anyone who wants to help with that is more than welcome.

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A week after healing the Longbottoms, Harry had a new job. Now his time was split between the Spell Research Department and St. Starkey's. He was still only allowed to work four hours a day, but he wasn't put out by that. It was summer after all, and he wanted to spend as much time with his friends as he could. That and he was still trying to find a good girlfriend.

The healers only had Harry heal those that can't be cured normally. They cited that sometimes the body needed to heal on its own. So he was mostly learning new spells and having a blast. He was still undecided at what he wanted to do when he got out of school, and this new job was giving him more opportunities. Now he was being trained in research, politics and healing. His grades were good so he could get into the University if he wanted to; it was only a matter of picking a major.

The gang was still exploring, but with more people fleeing to the City of Z there was little left, so they mostly examined the Great Forest. The boys still teased Harry about the Creevey brothers and Neville, but only out of their earshot.

"I can't believe you have people who fawn over you like that," Jake said as they were walking through the trees. Neville had just left to go and get a new wand, since his dad needed his, and Jake was right —he was fawning. "I mean, you're a great guy and all, but damn." He knew most of the gossip behind the Boy Who Lived, but he and his dad had been secluded from Diagon Alley, so he thought they were just kid's stories. Now after seeing the Creevey brothers and Neville, he knew better than that.

"Trust me this is nothing compared to what I had to go through at Hogwarts," Harry said with a pout and a blush. The girls from Hogwarts nodded in agreement, both of them remembering the tough time Harry had in that school.

"But, why?" Zeeb asked. While he had heard of some of the scarred teen's exploits, he still knew very little about his former life.

"Right, you don't know," the boy hero said and then proceeded to tell him all about the legend of the Boy Who Lived with plenty of input from the British teens. He told him what happened to his parents on that fateful Halloween and how he was treated the first time he walked in to the Leaky Cauldron. He sneered at the books he had found about his supposed life story. The girls, Jake and Zack confirmed that those stories were foolish and childish, yet full-grown adults believed them.

Zeeb laughed his arse off. "They think a very small… child could kill a grown wizard? One it is said to be a… Dark Lord." To him this made no sense.

"I didn't say it was true. I, for one, think it was something my mum did and Sirius thinks so too," Harry frowned at his friend a bit hurt that he would take his misery as a big joke.

"You correct, it is not a… laughing matter. You parents were lost," the native teen said, much calmer now. "Sorry, it is … ummm… stupid, is the word?" Harry nodded that was correct and Zeeb beamed at him. His English was getting much better the more he hung out with his friends. "I find it funny the way your country… worships you."

"We, in France, do not believe zuch storiez. We alzo think that et waz Lily Potter, who waz the 'ero zat day," Jean added his two Knuts worth. Which was true, France laughed at the Brits for putting their reverence on an infant and not on the parents, who were fully trained magicals.

"Thanks for that," Harry said, clapping his two friends on the back. "I just wish the British would think the same. Maybe if I write an autobiography they'll change their minds?" he asked, quirking a questioning eyebrow to the girls.

"I don't know, Harry," Susan said doubtfully, a crease on her forehead, "Your story has been told for almost fourteen years. I don't think you're going to change anyone's mind." She gave a sad shake of her head. Now that she knew Harry better, she knew all those rumors about him in Hogwarts were silly and exaggerated. She had apologized to him for thinking he was the Heir of Slytherin, stating she was just scared and it was the only information they were given. Harry had forgiven her, which made her very glad that he was such an understanding person.

"I think Susan is correct," confirmed Luna, "I remember Ginny reading those tales when we were kids. She firmly believes everything written about the Boy Who Lived."

"Can we talk about something besides Harry?" Player asked a disgruntled frown on his face. "We've been searching the forest for weeks and haven't found any of Airhead's creatures. I want to find more treasures, let's go back to town and look at more buildings."

The rest of the group grimaced at the half-goblin; he had been getting moodier as the days went on. He was fighting more and more with his mum and she was ready to have the Council wipe his mind and send him on his own. She was starting to think that he would do better with full-blooded goblins. At least that's what they were getting from what they heard when those two fought. Their voices were heard throughout their neighborhood.

The Aurors had to step in quite a few times to make them quit disturbing the peace, which caused the two to fight again. It almost made Harry feel bad for his friend, until he heard the reasons behind those fights. Player was constantly complaining that there was no future for him here, and he hated everything about the City of Z. If Harry wasn't such a softhearted person, he would have dropped his friendship then and there, but since Player hadn't actually done anything wrong, he couldn't justify it. Everyone was entitled to their opinion.

"I don't believe we will find anymore treasures," Luna predicted in her dreamy voice, ignoring the derogatory nickname. "The adults are done with their construction and are now looking at all the abandoned buildings. There are none left for us to explore." She gave a shrug of her delicate shoulders and then wandered away to look under one of the bushes. Jake watched his girlfriend with a fond smile, before turning and glaring at Player, who backed away from the giant boy.

"Then I'm going home," Player snapped and stomped off.

"I'm not sure he's going to stay in the city much longer," Harry theorized as he looked to where his friend disappeared.

"You're probably right," Zack said. "Let's look for something to do. We're not going to find any of Luna's animals today. It's getting to dark in here." He was right; it was very dimly lit in the forest right now.

So the group set off to the city to see if there was anything left to explore, but Luna was correct the adults were scouring the left over buildings and houses. They were putting the artifacts they found in the museum and stuff that could be sold as antiques were put in stores. So the teens went to the dance club for a while, then spilt up and went home.

"Sirius," Harry said, that night after a dinner of pork and rice, "do you know what happened to the Dursleys?" He was hoping the other man knew. It had been a thought that plagued him for a while now. After all the letters the Headmaster had written he was actually worried about them.

"I really don't know, I never thought about them," Sirius said, scratching his goatee. "Maybe you should have Dobby pop over there and find out. Why do you want to know? I mean, they were right bastards to you." He was confused, if it were his family he'd have been shot of them, but then again, this was Harry.

"Yeah, but they're still family, not family I want to see again, but I don't want them dead," the green-eyed teen explained. Then he called for Dobby.

"Harry Potter is wanting Dobby?" the little elf asked. He now wore mostly elf jeans and T-shirts. Most of those shirts stated 'I is being The Great Harry Potter's Elf'. Which technically he wasn't, but it made the little guy happy, so Harry shrugged it off and let him claim what he wanted. Some of those shirts read 'I is being Leader of the Elves', which Harry did approve of.

"First of all, how are you? You guys aren't working too hard, are you?" Harry asked his friend. The elves were still very busy in the city and popping around the world to get would be citizens. They were over a hundred strong now and growing with each pure-blood that fled their country, since they had to free their elves to get on Black Isle.

"Oh, no, sir, we is living goodly. We has our village builts and is hiring out to good jobs. Soon there will bes baby elves. Dobby is being Leader of the Elves," Dobby said, puffing out his chest with pride. He was responsible for keeping the elves from overworking, taking care of Harry and Sirius (mainly cleaning), being the voice for the elves in the Council and popping off to rescue people. He was very happy with his jobs. Harry paid him for his work here, and he got a wage from the city coffers for his other contracts.

"I know and I'm very proud of you," Harry said, giving his excitable friend a hearty pat on the back. "Do you need a pay raise? I'm not sure five Galleons a week are enough." He quirked his eyebrow at the elf, he made twenty and knew the economy was rising.

Five Galleons a week was the going minimum wage, since everything was still really cheap, a pair of good dragon hide boots cost ten Sickles and a two bedroom house cost around five hundred Galleons. He knew once the population picked up wages would go up and house elves would be paid the going rate, it would be part of the laws, but Harry felt they deserved more because they worked the hardest.

"Dobby is still being the best paid. With what Harry Potter pays Dobby and what I's getting for other jobs I's making twenty Galleons a weeks. We elves is not needing very much monies, we is happy to gets by with whats we has," came the firm answer that brooked no argument.

House elves lived mostly on magic and the City of Z was bursting with unused magic, so they were healthy and a bit over powered. The money they made was mostly used to build their little village and buy clothes. One of the more adventurous elves had even partnered with a squib to open a clothing store, just for kids and elves. The squib designed them and the elf made them, it was a good business.

"Right, fine, I have a job for you. Can you go and check on the Dursleys? Just see if they are still alive," the dark-haired teen requested, not wanting to fight his littlest friend.

"Dobby can do," Dobby said and popped away.

"You don't expect them to be alive do you?" Sirius asked, and then sipped his tea.

"I'm not sure," Harry said with a frown. "It's something Dumbledore mentioned in his letters. He said that I've doomed them by moving out of their house. Something about blood wards." He rubbed the back of his head. He had looked at some of the books, but still didn't know what those wards were for.

That caused Sirius to spit his tea. "Blood wards! He put up blood wards?" he ranted, throwing his cup and started pacing, flinging up his arms and glaring at the wall like the old man would be outside for him to strangle.

"That's what he said. Why are you upset?" the teen asked as he watched his godfather roam angrily around the room.

"Those vile wards will drain the magic of the one they're set to. It would explain why you are so much more powerful now. Well, that and the horcrux being gone." He fixed the teen with a stare as if one of his questions had been answered. They were all impressed with how much magic Harry had now that he was here in the city, compared to how little he had going through the forest. Which considering his Patronus was a lot, but now it was more. The dark-headed teen was easily one of the more powerful teenagers in the city.

"Oh, well, it's good I left then," Harry said, shaking off the irritation he felt at Dumbledore. It was just one more thing to distrust the man about.

Dobby popped back into the room. "They is not being wheres they were before, sir. They is being somewheres in Australia. It is taking Dobby a minutes to find them," he reported.

"Well, at least they are alive." Harry gave a sigh of relief.

"They is being very much alive, Harry Potter, sir," the house elf agreed with a nod of his large head.

"Thanks, Dobby. That was all I wanted to know," Harry said with a beaming smile.

"Yes, sir, Harry Potter, sir." And with that he popped away.

"Well, that's something," Harry said thoughtfully, still watching his godfather, who had flopped back into his chair.

"Yeah, I'm glad for you," the still angry man said, running a hand down his face. "I'm going to send Albus another jinxed Howler." And he left to do just that.

"Right, you do that," the teen said, then got up to do some of his summer homework. It was mostly reading with a few essays, but had been putting it off and now he needed to get it done.

The next morning Harry got a shock. Dobby popped into his room, very excited. "Harry Potter's Grangy is being on Black Isle," the hyper house elf shouted, bouncing on his toes, making he ears flop about his head.

"What? How? What happened?" Harry demanded loudly, jumping out of his bed and running for the door, not even stopping to dress. He felt it was probably something bad that brought Hermione here without warning.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Sirius asked, grabbing the fleeing teen by the arm and twirling him around so he would be facing him. He had run to the room when the shouting started.

"Hermione is on Black Isle. I have to go and get her," the teen said, struggling to get out of his godfathers grip.

"No, Harry, you don't leave the dome. For any reason," Sirius said, firming his hold on Harry's arm. "She'll be questioned just like everyone else and I'm sure she'll be here soon." He dragged the boy to the living area and pushed him in a chair.

"What? No! If she's here something must have happened. I need to get to her," Harry repeated, getting up from the chair, only to be pressed back down, making him glare at his godfather. Didn't the man understand how important this was?

"Harry, listen to me," Sirius commanded, giving the teen a shake of the shoulders. "She's safe there. She'll be here soon. If it makes you feel better, I'll go and make sure she's gets here today." He too was concerned as to what had made the girl and her family flee Britain. From what he had been told Hermione was a very level-headed young lady and would only panic if her life was in danger.

Harry stopped struggling at the offer and thought for a moment. Then he slowly nodded his head and got up and started to pace. He trusted Sirius to see to Hermione, but he was anxious to see his friend again and find out why she was here.

"Dobby will be going back right now, to protect Harry Potter's Grangy," Dobby said and popped away.

Sirius got dressed and had Winky pop him to the island. Harry restlessly walked around the room. Then he got it into his head to get dressed and wait by the entrance. After putting on comfortable jeans, a T-shirt and his boots, he sprinted to the portal and paced there.

A half an hour later, Hermione and her parents were there. She looked terrible, her clothes were rumpled, her hair was bushier, tear tracks lined her face and the bags under her eyes didn't help. She was holding on to a suitcase like it was all she owned in the world. She saw Harry and dropped the luggage and quickly moved inside the dome. Her parents and Sirius followed, talking among themselves.

Harry ran to his friend and gave her a bone-crushing hug. "Oh Merlin, Hermione, what happened?" he asked as he continued to hold the now crying witch.

Hermione sniffed and tried to get herself under control. After five minutes of silence from the teens, she pulled a back and started her tale. "Oh, Harry, it was horrible. We got back from Bulgaria and our house was destroyed, the Dark Mark was floating over it. We went to my parents' practice, but it was gone, completely flattened and the Mark was there as well. I called the Knight Bus and we went to Ginny's, but the Burrow is gone too, again with that cursed sign. I got scared, I did not know what to do, so I had Mum and Dad pull all their money from the muggle bank and we snuck into Diagon Alley and exchanged it at Gringotts. Then I called Winky and she popped us to that island." She wiped the tears from her face and looked at her best friend.

"What about Dumbledore? I mean, I'm happy you're here, but why didn't you go to him?" Harry questioned softly, running his hand through her hair and then pulling her into another hug. He knew Hermione still put her faith in Dumbledore, mostly. She had been drawing away from the man, but her respect for authority figures was still strong.

"I tried, but… Oh, Merlin, Harry, I don't know where Hedwig is" — Horror morphed her face —"or Crookshanks. I left them with Ginny and I have no idea if the Weasleys are okay," she wailed. Tears started again over the possible loss friends and pets. While she wasn't talking to Ron, she and Ginny were still close.

"I'm sure they're fine, right now let's worry about you." Harry said as calmly as he could, though he too was concerned about the Weasleys, his friend was top priority. So he turned to Hermione's parents, who were also looking rough around the edges. They too were holding on to suitcases. Sirius had picked up Hermione's. "I think there's a house near ours, the prior people had a baby and needed something bigger, so they moved out last week," he said to the adults.

"Right," Sirius said as he stopped his conversation with the elder Grangers, who was telling the older man pretty much the same story. "Let's get you guys settled." He started down the path to the city, the Grangers next to him. Hermione and Harry followed behind, arms around each other, offering comfort.

Hermione looked around and started asking questions. "Why is it so tepid here? That rainforest needs humidity, how is it still thriving? Where did you get Unicorns? Is that a hippogriff I see? How many people live here? Do they all get along? Wow, it is so beautiful," she gushed, taking a look at the city for the first time.

Harry couldn't help but chuckle, which made Hermione glare at him. "The dome is the answer to most of those questions. It keeps the air on the grassy planes and the city warm, while making the forest hot and humid. The animals just showed up on their own, and no, I don't know how they got here. It's not like I can ask. The snakes say they just followed the magic. There are about seven different races of people living here, making the population about eleven hundred, and yeah, they mostly get along. The wards make sure of it," he answered her rapid questions.

"Oh, okay, I have so many questions," she said, trying to overcome everything that had happened the last few days. So she continued her rambling until they got to the empty house. Harry did his best to answer.

Sirius and the Grangers were having a conversation about them being able to work. They had enough money, but didn't know how to get equipment or if it would work. Sirius told them it wouldn't, but they had inventors that could make up equivalents. He would help in any way he could.

So the group chatted on as they adults looked over the house. It was a three bedroom wooden house, with a master bath and a guest loo. There was a fully functioning kitchen, a dining room and a living area. There were two studies and a large back garden. Too say the adult Grangers were shocked at the low price of what was equivalent to £50,000 for such a house was an understatement.

Hermione picked one of the rooms and was thinking about how she wanted it decorated. She was still sad that they had had to run, that and possibly having lost her only female friend and her cat, but she was very determined to move on until she knew otherwise. She was safe here, her parents were safe here. Harry promised.

So Harry, Sirius and the Grangers set out to High Street, which had the best shops. First they set up a new bank account at Barkley's and set up the purchase of the house at a realtor's. They would stay at the inn and the paperwork would be ready in a few days, since they were paying cash. The realtor was quite used to fast deals.

Then Harry and Sirius told them the wonders of the City of Z. The Grangers were very impressed with the many cultures and races that mingled in the inner city. Hermione was confused at the segregated neighborhoods and how they worked, but Harry said it made the different breeds more comfortable and they weren't going to force them to live differently.

After being told she would get a full tour, Hermione settled on finding what was needed for the house. She, with the help of her best friend and his godfather, guided her parents in what to buy and how it worked. She would squeal at each new invention and scold Harry for not selling them to the outside world, until he reminded her that the city was in hiding. It took the rest of the day to get the family kitted out, and arrange delivery, but they had lost everything and were starting fresh. They had to drag the bookworm from both the bookstores and the library.

After letting Hermione get settled for a few days, Harry took her to meet his friends. She was very shy, only having one female friend and one boyfriend; she was unused to being surrounded by welcoming people. She made a mental note to write Viktor and Ginny.

"So this Hermione," Zeeb said with a winning smile as the two approached. "I like her," he announced, making Hermione give him a questioning look. He didn't even know her.

"Hermione, this is Zeeb, Jean, Zack, Jake, Player and you know the girls, I think," Harry introduced with a gesture to each person.

"Ah, Lady 'ermione, et iz a pleazure to meet you," Jean said, kissing the back of her hand and making her giggle.

"Thank you, kind sir," she answered, with a blush.

"Any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine," Zack said, shaking her hand. "You're not going to go all doe-eyed on Harry are you?" he asked with a teasing smile.

"Ummm, no, I don't think so," she answered, shaking his hand and cutting a questioning look to Harry. He just waved it off and smiled.

Jake engulfed her hand and gave her a hearty handshake, making her almost dislocate her shoulder. He grimaced and apologized, "Sorry, sometimes I forget. It's good to finally meet the person behind the tales."

"It is alright, I have another friend, well teacher, who does the same. No harm done," Hermione answered with a pat on the very large arm.

"Why haven't you fixed your teeth?" was Player's greeting.

"W…what?" the confused bushy-haired girl said. Harry had told her she wouldn't be bullied here, so now she didn't know whether or not to take that question as such.

"Player," Harry snapped, rounding on his shorter friend, "that was completely uncalled for."

Everyone was glaring at the half-goblin, getting very tired of his sniping.

"She's magical and has big teeth. I just wondered why she hasn't fixed them," Player tried to defend himself.

"Don't mind Player, Hermione, the nargles are messing with his mind," Luna said, coming up to the dazed girl and giving her a hug, which caused the said girl to become more muddled.

"Luna Lovegood, right?" She pulled away from the unwelcome embrace and looked at the little blonde.

"Yes, so glad you remember me," Luna said, a faraway look in her pale blue eyes.

"Susan Bones, correct?" Hermione asked, turning to the last girl, who if she remembered correctly was more level-headed.

"Correct. It is good to see another girl here," Susan beamed, shaking Hermione's hand. "Neville and the Creevey brothers are around somewhere. I have to warn you they are a bit over the top on Harry." She gave a teasing wink to the messy-haired boy, making everyone in the know laugh at that understatement.

"Well, I remember the Creevey brothers' hero worshipping, but why Neville?" Hermione asked Susan, knowing that Harry would just downplay his actions. Last time she had seen the shy boy, he was quiet and didn't take any sides when it came to the gossip on Harry.

"Harry revived the Longbottoms," the sandy-haired girl replied with a huge smile.

"You what?" Hermione exclaimed, whirling towards her best friend.

"It wasn't that big a deal," Harry protested, holding up his hands, making his other friends snort.

"How? St. Mungo's tried to cure them for years. How did a non-healer succeed where they didn't?" she questioned, looking at her best friends as if he were a puzzle she couldn't solve.

"Parselmagic," Jake jumped into the conversation, defending Harry as always.

"Oh," she said and deflated a bit. Harry had told her all about that, so she should have guessed he would use it. Harry was just glad they didn't tell her what happened with the ward stone, she'd start yelling and he didn't want to argue with her right now.

"Come, we show the lady around," Zeeb suggested, always the peacemaker.

"If we aren't exploring then I'm leaving," Player stated as if to make them change their plans.

"I promised Hermione a tour of the neighborhoods," Harry said with a casual shrug, not really caring if the rude boy joined them or not. He was still peeved at that last biting comment the half-goblin made to his best friend.

"Fine," Player spat and turned and walked away.

"He isn't a very pleasant fellow," Hermione observed with a wrinkle of her nose.

"He was alright when we first started hanging out, then he got moody. I think he'll be leaving soon," Harry said, echoing he previous statement and taking her arm and guiding her to the Veela part of the city.

The gang waxed poetic on all the different the districts. They toured the city for two days to make sure she understood where everyone was. Harry had to leave in the afternoons for work, but his friends said they'd take care of her.

Hermione was ecstatic to see the free elves village and gave Harry a rib-crushing hug. He, of course, protested he had nothing to do with it.

The war in Britain was starting to get out of hand. Voldemort finally announced his return by leading an attack on the Ministry. He wanted that prophecy, whether Harry was there or not. If it wasn't about the Boy Who Lived, he felt it would tell him who was supposed to be his downfall.

The Daily Prophet once more changed its tune and was begging Harry to return. This time Harry did write them a letter telling them to piss off. They, of course, retaliated and called him a coward.

With the mass migration to Black Isle, it wasn't hard for the Order of the Phoenix to find out where they were running to. The Headmaster got it into his head to ask the Hogwarts house elves, since it had been reported that it was a house elf that saved the Bones. They had no choice but to answer him. The Order tried to break the wards on the island and was starting to succeed, when the free elves added their own protections, leaving them to start over.

It was a minor setback for the City. Now they might have to find another way to get people here. There was a committee set up to go over plans. It had been a sore point that they missed that loophole in their scheming. They knew the city was safe, but worried for the escapees.

Harry was just thankful that pure-bloods never lowered themselves to asking slaves anything, at least he hoped they wouldn't. He did wonder why the Headmaster didn't free an elf to get inside the wards, maybe he couldn't free the Hogwarts elves, or maybe they popped away if he did. Harry didn't know.

"Sirius," Harry started, it had been a week since Hermione came and now he was thinking about his ex-best mate. "I'm worried about the Weasleys." They had just finished a dinner of steak and potatoes and were settling in their chairs for their nightly talk.

"Your compassion will always amaze me, Harry," Sirius said as he scratched his goatee and sighed. "As far as I know they're okay. Bill was one of the people trying to break the wards on Black Isle. So I know he's alive. I'll send some post out and see about the rest," he offered, getting up and moving to the table.

"Dobby," Harry called, remembering the Dursleys.

"Harry Potter is calling Dobby?" his littlest friend asked.

"Can you find the Weasleys, or Hedwig?" the teen requested.

"Dobby has tried already, sir, but he is not finding them. Harry Potter's Grangy is asking Dobby to do the sames. Dobby thinks they is behind wards, sir" the little elf said sadly. "Dobby is not knowing how to finds animals." His ears sank in disappointment.

"Right, thanks anyway," Harry gave him a kind smile. "You're the best."

Dobby sadly nodded his head and popped away and Harry went back to his summer reading. He had gotten Hermione all the books she needed to catch up on the schoolwork, but she would need tutors to get completely up-to-date.

A week went by with no word on the Weasleys, but at the end of that week they got a very good surprise. Hedwig flew through the portal, carrying a very scraggly looking Crookshanks. She was flying low with her heavy burden, but seemed determined to find her human. If Harry hadn't been looking at the Unicorns, she would have had to fly to his house. He was very thankful that he had to do a paper on them for summer homework and that he had put it off to the last minute.

Harry had no idea how they flew over the ocean, for all he knew they were stowaways on a ship. He shook off that silly thought and ran to his owl. He was just glad they were there. "Hedwig!" he shouted and picked up the tired bird, who had flopped on the ground after dropping the cat. "Oh Merlin, you look awful. Let's get you home." she did look bad, her feathers were rumpled and she was so thin that Harry had no idea how she managed to keep ahold of Crookshanks. He wrote it off as magic and turned his attention back to his feathered friend.

Hedwig opened one yellow eye to glare at her human and tried to nip him, but she was just too tired.

Crookshanks gave a pitiful meow and walked slowly besides Harry, who would have carried him, but his arms were full of owl. The three went to Hermione's house first, to drop off the bedraggled cat. Hermione gave a cry of relief seeing her beloved familiar and picked the poor animal up and cooed over him.

Harry left them to their reunion and went home to tend to his. He conjured up a perch, gently place Hedwig on it and hurriedly got some food and water. Hedwig fell on the water like she hadn't had any in days. It took three days of tender loving care to get the owl to where she would fly around the house.

School started and the gang made sure the Hogwarts students caught up with the rest of the class, not wanting the teens to flounder. Hermione, of course, was the most proficient in her work, Luna being a close second. Neville and the Creevey brothers toned down their hero worship enough that they started hanging out with the rest of the gang without ribbing. Everyone enjoyed the classes and the girls made sure the boys kept up with homework.

Voldemort succeeded in getting the prophecy after his third raid on the Ministry, but without Harry's connection to the Dork Lord, they had no idea what he was planning. They didn't have spies in the Death Eater camp and talked to the free elves and got volunteers to do the dirty work. They didn't care about the war; they only wanted to know if Snake Face was going to come after Harry.

The two elves that did get inside reported that Voldemort was not trying to find the missing teen, since the prophecy told him nothing. He was more concerned about winning battles. The Council of Elders gave a huge sigh of relief, but upped the Rangers patrols, just in case.

Months went by and the British Ministry of Magic fell to the hands of Voldemort. Dumbledore was fighting a losing battle, because he split his troops. One to fight and one to find Harry. So Sirius sent an anonymous, but very informative letter to the Muggle Prime Minister and told him what was happening in his backyard. Then they washed their hands of the Order. It wasn't their fault that they weren't looking for the horcruxes they had been given all the information they needed to win.

The Council of Elders asked the free elves to get the muggle newspapers so they could keep track of the progress of the British Army. It seemed the PM was making far more progress than the Order. Battles in England's street were fought and won. The PM hired the goblins to find the soul containers and continued to fight the Death Eaters with deadly force.

When the muggle-born camps were set up by that bitch Umbridge, the free elves would break in and grab the prisoners. The New Ministry never knew how they got out, but there was a new bounty out for Sirius and Harry, because people like Dolores still believed that Sirius was a wanted criminal, who would sneak in and disturb their new regime.

Sirius and the Council had erected a ward stone, much like the City of Z's, but without the Fidelius. A dozen wizards charged the stone on Black Isle and now it was a human annex village to the major city, much like Hogsmeade. There was now and dome and the Order nor anyone else could penetrate it, the dome was set only to Z's free elves.

That bounty was the downfall of Player. He thought he now had the chance to make it rich and tried to kidnap Harry. The wards reacted violently. They froze the betrayer and completely wiped his mind. He was now the equivalent of a newborn babe. He was rejected from the city and left to wander the Amazon. They learned that Nahand's herd took him to the edge of the forest and left him at the first village that Harry and Sirius came across when they first entered. That village took pity on the confused human looking half-goblin, thinking his odd eyes part of his retardation. They must have been friendlier than Harry thought.

Harry was heartbroken that one more of his friends turned on him. He tried to apologize to Player's mum, but she just hugged him and firmly stated that it was not his fault. She had seen it coming for a long time. Still Harry felt bad for her.

"Sirius," Harry said, "do the wards always wipe the mind completely?" They were sitting at the table eating a breakfast of hot cereal.

"No, usually they just wipe all knowledge of the city."

"Oh, I was just wondering why Player's mind was gutted," he said in a questioning tone.

"I'm just guessing, but I think it's all about the penalty fitting the crime. You have to remember the people who lived here before had different ideas on punishment. They were far stricter than our society, for all we know attempted murder could cause the perpetrator's death. But if we want to keep the city peaceful, we will not mess with the wards." He tapped his finger on the table to emphasize the words and gave his godson a firm look.

"Right, no messing with the wards, got it," Harry said, hands held in the air.

"Time for school and work," Sirius announced, getting up from his chair and grabbing his briefcase.

"Yeah, see you tonight," Harry agreed, looking at his watch and grabbing his bookbag.

Black Ilse was becoming overpopulated and they would need to either get the people in to the city or ship them off elsewhere. It was now the number one priority. Questioning was done faster and more citizens were added to the city. Still more were asked to go elsewhere; the problem was most had nowhere else to go.

The muggle-born that were rescued didn't have a Knut to their name; their vaults had been seized by the New Ministry. So a kind of welfare system was put into place. They were to work for the government, doing things like filing, street cleaning or janitorial services for a wage, and they could pay back the small loan for their houses. Most were more than happy to do this, because they were safe now.

They had to close the city to refugees when the population hit three thousand. They didn't have the room for anymore, and the economy wasn't big enough to handle building larger domains, but they were sending missives to other governments to take the fleeing people. France opened their doors to them, and Russia reluctantly offered them a deal much like the City of Z. Other countries, like the USA let them come and gave them welfare to start them off. Some of the refugees went to muggle Britain to live with relatives.

Soon everyone who could be rescued was and now the war was being fought with just the Death Eaters, the Order and the British Army. The muggles were winning. They had even fought the Order on two occasions, when the vigilante group messed up their missions. The PM was pissed at Dumbledore and told the old man, in no uncertain terms, to stay the hell out of his way. The goblins were slowly but surely finding the horcruxes. They had so far found a ring, a necklace, a cup and were now searching Hogwarts for something on their radar.

Dumbledore conceded defeat in finding Harry and turned his sights back to where they belonged.

The City of Z read with morbid fascination on the slow destruction of magical Britain. With most of the muggle-born and half-bloods gone, the population there was down to under two thousand. Hogwarts had to close their doors for the first time ever. Diagon Alley was in a shambles and Hogsmeade wasn't much better. Voldemort thought he finally got the type of community he wanted, but he soon learned that he was wrong.

School and work were going okay for Harry as the months passed. Hermione was fitting right in with the gang and all the teens were growing and thriving. Hermione had long ago written Krum and told him that she was safe and that he was welcome to join her. He said he would think on it and get back to her. She was still waiting and really hoped he would, but let him make his own choice.

It took months of battle, but the muggles won. The goblin had gotten all the horcruxes and Voldemort died by a bullet to the head, fired by a man who happened to be born as the seventh month died and had lost his parents in the first war. He bared a scar on his arm from that night. Sirius was the one to learn this and Harry laughed his arse off, sending a Howler to Dumbledore to rub it in his face.

The City of Z sighed in relief. They no longer had to worry about Britain, but continued to keep their eyes open for wars. The Rangers still patrolled the forest and every now and then would pick up a straggler.

A few of the British went back. They were told their minds were to be wiped of all knowledge of where they had been these past months. They were more than happy to comply if it meant they could go home and help rebuild England's magical community.

Dumbledore never tried to contact Harry again and the stress of the war had him dying in of a heart attack a few months later. Remus tried to get invited to the city, but Sirius said there was no way in hell he'd let a traitor in his life again.

The Muggle PM, fell on the Wizengamot like a rabid dog, making them reform the entire government, and repelling all of the biased laws. They would never be 100% unbiased, but they were much better. The PM office made sure to keep a close eye on them thereafter.

Sirius found out that the Weasleys all made it through the war, not unscathed, but alive. It was thanks to Albus that they survived, he had hidden them away. It was a small thing that made Harry a bit more thankful to the man, but he still didn't forgive him for all of his other trespasses.

The Lovegoods and Bones stayed, they had made a life here and didn't want to leave. The Longbottoms and Creeveys also remained, not wanting to be away from their hero. The City of Z continued to hide behind the dome, but many merchants flooded the outside countries with the new inventions, bringing more money into the city.

The government ran a proficient municipality and their coffers also grew with new taxes. More public relations departments were created and everyone had a voice in the Council of Elders. Sirius held office for three terms and was replaced by Amelia Bones, who held it for two. Jeuel stepped down and one of the other villagers took his seat. Matta and Melampus stayed for two terms, Gundabald took their place. Dobby was the voice for the elves for five terms. Voting was always fair as the dome wouldn't let anyone cheat. They had settled on a vow that everyone who held office had to take, the non-magicals were given a contract that was spelled with the vow and when they signed it, it became binding.

The dome was amped up every year by Harry, who made sure he had a healer on hand. A few more parselmouths were found in the city and Harry trained them on parselmagic, though it took two or more of the others to charge the stone.

As years went on and the population and economy grew, skyscrapers were built and they now were almost seven thousand strong. Many of the citizens moved away. They didn't have to have their minds wiped, since they had family and friends staying. They simply took a vow never to tell.

Harry and Sirius were still wanted men, so they never stepped outside the dome. They had made a good life here and were more than happy to continue it. He and his family moved into one of the penthouses in the inner city. Embracing the district with open arms.

Years went by and Harry became a healer, his saving people thing guided him to that career choice. He married a girl from France and had two children.

Hermione became President, after graduating with top marks in law, and married Krum, who started a City of Z Quidditch League with three teams, so far they had no kids.

Sirius retired and married a muggle-born lady and had three boys. He added to the little house that he and Harry had shared; he was content in his life and never looked back.

Jake and Luna married and had two kids. Since neither of them was on the run, they often went out to find the Crumpled-Horned Snorkack. To this date they hadn't found it.

Susan married Zeeb and he taught her the ways of the rainforest. They had two children and were very happy in their lives.

Neville settled down with one of the pure-bloods that fled England and they had one child. He studied Herbology and became the teacher for the school.

All of Harry's gang married and had kids, he was thankful that he had such a large group of people who liked him for just being Harry, even his fan club started thinking of him that way.

The Centaur tribe still roamed the Great Forest and they swelled in numbers. Nalla moved to the city with one of the males and they settled into a nice life.

All was right for the City of Z. All of the mixed people got along and procreated. It was now a thriving metropolis. It now housed everything anyone could want. A theme park, theaters, shopping malls, tours through the Amazon Rainforest, museums, and many more forms of entertainment. The different districts were fun to walk through and the restaurants and pubs were exotic. They had public transportation and cars were designed to work in the City. The buildings grew and the people prospered. The wards held strong and crime was never an issue.

Harry and Sirius did what they set out to do; they found a safe place to hide and created a utopia.

Hphphp

I took some artistic license on Hedwig, but I wanted them reunited.

I decided to end it here, since there wasn't much more to tell. Let me know if I missed something and I can add to it. I might come back and rewrite a better epilogue, but this really isn't a popular story and that makes my muse a bit depressed, making it hard to continue. I actually almost left it unfinished a time or two, but felt that would be cruel to the people who actually like the story. So if there are enough requests I'll come back and add another chapter.