18. Begin

Harry and Daphne were facing a dilemma. It was not a pressing matter yet, but they had a couple of discussion about the topic and these discussions haven't been fruitful.

Being of age, Harry was thinking about moving out of his parents' house and Daphne wanted to move in with him too. The main reason they were not decided on that was Astoria.

In a frank discussion, Daphne admitted that she didn't feel comfortable abandoning Astoria at this time. If her parents were alive, she would have moved out by now, but the fact remained that however close they were to James and Lily, they were still not Astoria's parents. They knew that the younger girl was quickly adapting to her new family, but Daphne didn't really want to test how she would react if Daphne was not around.

Harry completely understood her concerns and had some of his own as well. No matter how close the Greengrass girls were to the Potters and Sirius, Harry was still the link between them. He knew Astoria thought of him as an older brother and he didn't want to put her through another separation. Daphne found her crying just the other day, and Astoria had admitted that she was missing their parents. Neither Harry or Daphne had the heart to leave her at this time.

There was also the matter of Harry's parents. They have not indicated in any way that they wanted him to move out, rather the opposite. They turned the large, spare room into a training room and library (with the help of some extensive expansion charms) for Daphne and Harry to share, and separate, but connected labs in the basement for both of them. Harry felt guilty to move out after they spent so much trouble for him. Also, staying here was convenient because Harry didn't have a job to support himself. Daphne had her inheritance, but Harry refused to be a freeloader and use up Daphne and Astoria's money.

Of course, not moving seemed like the best solution for everyone concerned, but they both missed living with each other. They still lived together, technically, but they tried to avoid PDA in front of family, and it was getting difficult for both of them to find some snogging time, let alone anything more.

More important than the physical interaction (not that they were not important by any means) was that they missed the privacy of their dorm. Although Harry's parents respected their privacy and did not intrude much, but they really missed the alone time they used to enjoy in Hogwarts. But since moving out was not feasible right away, they had to make do with the occasional dates and a few snogging sessions in their library.

It was in the middle of one of those snogging sessions in the lab when they were interrupted by Lily knocking the door to their shared library. Straightening their clothes, the pair greeted Lily and she borrowed Harry for a chat.

"What's up mum?" he asked, once they were out of the lab.

"Was I interrupting something?" she asked coyly and Harry blushed.

"No." He muttered, knowing that his blush had given him away. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked, hoping to divert the direction of the conversation.

"Are you using protection?" Lily asked bluntly and Harry turned red as a tomato.

"MUM!" he cried, hoping that the earth would crack and swallow him up. Lily looked uncomfortable but determined.

"Look, as awkward as it is for me, I have to make sure that you are being responsible. While I love the both of you unconditionally and would love nothing more to see some grandchildren in the future, I don't want to be a gran so young, and I definitely don't want you to be surprised because you didn't use contraceptive charms."

Harry wished he could claw his brains to erase the memory of this conversation.

"Why must you torture me like this?" Harry moaned, looking for a quick way to die.

"This is a serious matter, Harry. You know unprotected- Oh God I can't do this anymore!" Lily suddenly broke out in hysterical laughter and Harry gaped at her. She was having him on?

"I want you to know that I had the most awkward and embarrassing minute in my entire life." Harry complained, still red in face. Lily took her time to compose herself once again.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry but you should've seen the look on your face." she tried not to laugh again, and was not very successful. "It was hilarious!"

"Oh har har!" Harry mocked with a glare, which Lily completely ignored in favour of laughing a bit more.

"Oh Merlin, that was fun. Anyway, I wasn't here to talk about that. I had something else in mind."

"And what might they be?" Harry asked, irritated. Lily looked completely serious at this point.

"You wanted to join the Protectors, didn't you?" she asked and he nodded enthusiastically, forgetting about her earlier prank.

"Yes. Are they recruiting?" he asked eagerly. Lily bit her bottom lip and looked guilty as she answered.

"Not exactly. However, I had a bet that might help you…"

She explained the situation to Harry and he looked shocked.

"So let me get this straight. You had a bet with Moody that I can last 5 minutes with him and if I manage that he will let me in the team directly?"

"Yes. Of course, if you can't, you will never be able to join them, but let's not be negative."

"Mum, you are the best! Thank you!" he shouted as he hugged his mother. She laughed as she patted his head.

"Make sure you don't make me lose the bet. Moody's never going to let me hear the end of it."

"Well, what does dad and your schedule look like today?" Harry asked, before adding, "Call Sirius too, while we are at it."

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Voldemort was angry.

No, scrap that. Voldemort was furious.

Being an angry man in general, Voldemort being furious was not really a newsworthy information. However, when the Dark Lord was screaming alone in his room, the Death Eaters standing guard just outside suddenly had a strong desire to flee the country immediately. The screams stopped after a while, and there was a prolonged period of silence that worried the Death Eaters guarding the room. They could hear footsteps, so the Dark Lord was still inside.

As they were wondering, the door flew open. Taking it as an order, two Death Eaters went inside. The room looked like a hurricane blew it over. Nothing except the walls were standing in one piece and the Dark Lord himself was standing in the middle of the debris, deep in thought. The Death Eaters did not dare to interrupt his silence and waited until he noticed them.

"Give me your arm." He commanded and one of them quickly went forward and rolled up his sleeve, showing the Dark Mark. He bit his lips to remain silent as the Mark burned when the Dark Lord pressed his long finger on the tattoo. He quickly went back to his place as soon as the Dark Lord released his arm. He stood still as the Dark Lord waved his wand and the room sent back to its previous state within a few seconds.

One by one, the room started to fill up with Death Eaters. Every Death Eater in the country were summoned to the room and some of the Inner Circle expanded the room magically to accommodate everyone.

After looking around to see that everyone he expected was here, Voldemort sat down in his throne.

"Death Eaters, we assemble today in failure." He started and the whole room went deadly silent. "For the last few months, failure has plagued you. Yes, we are deepening our hold on the ministry and building our army of creatures steadily, but you have failed in the most important aspect in our cause." He paused to look around everyone. The nearest Death Eaters were trying to inch away in fear.

"YOU DO NOT INSPIRE FEAR!" The Dark Lord bellowed and everyone except the most seasoned Death Eaters flinched. "The mudblood and blood traitor scum of the wizarding world do not fear you! Every attack you made in the past few months have been cut short or thwarted completely. PEOPLE DARE TO STAND IN FRONT OF YOU AND FIGHT BACK! THEY DARE TO ATTACK OUR BASES AND CAPTURE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS!"

Everyone could see the pure fury radiating from the Dark Lord and it was all the newest Death Eaters could do to whimper.

"They dare to attack our homes?" he said in a whisper, which was just as dangerous as his screams. "A group of individual pests dare to attack you at your home and what do you do? YOU LET THEM ATTACK YOU! What are you? Muggles?" he asked with a disgusted hiss, which continued for a long time. The experienced Death Eaters knew what was happening but a rookie yelped when a giant cobra slithered between his feet.

Immediately, Voldemort summoned the rookie directly in front of him, looking at him with pure hatred.

"It is weaklings like this that ruin the name of the Death Eaters. Afraid of their own shadows! You expect mudbloods to be afraid of a pathetic excuse for a wizard like you? Crucio!"

The rookie had never had any experience of the Cruciatus Curse and he screamed his lungs out at the curse and after the Dark Lord lifted it, he broke into sobs.

"Weakness disgusts me. Nagini, dinner." He hissed the last part and the nearest Death Eaters tried to look away from the horrific scene as the snake coiled itself around the Death Eater and sunk its fangs in his neck.

Voldemort stared at the scene with satisfaction for a while before pressing on to more important matters.

"Lord Voldemort does not tolerate failure. I will not stand and see the sheep of wizarding world defying my Death Eaters like they were common Aurors. We have to act now.

"Lucius, you will lead a team to Hogsmeade. Take Rabastan with you. Rodolphus, take Avery with you and attack muggle London. Bella, you will be with me as we will pay a visit to Diagon Alley tonight. The rest of the Inner Circle will choose a high profile wizard or witch that oppose us and attack their homes. Is everyone clear?"

The Death Eaters all murmured affirmatively, and the Dark Lord looked at them with an icy glare.

"Do not bother to come back alive if you fail me. Death will be much more pleasant than what I will do to the ones who fail me today."

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The attacks led by Rodolphus Lestrange and other Inner Circle members were swift and destructive. They set up a large area based anti-apparation and anti-portkey wards before attacking, and by the time the Protectors or the few Order members that were still left arrived, Death Eaters had already left a trail of destruction behind them. Lucius Malfoy's attack on Hogsmeade was not as destructive as others, but it was expected, given that Dumbledore himself lived close to it, and anti apparation or portkey wards didn't really stop a wizard like him. Still, the Death Eaters lit up a few shops and homes on fire and Lucius himself set Fiendfyre to Zonko's, and fled before Dumbledore and the other professors arrived.

The Protectors and the Order were stretched thin as they tried to control the damage in the attacked sites. Based on pure instinct, Moody had ordered a few of his men and women to stay behind, in case another attack came on. It was an excellent call as Diagon Alley was attacked after everyone else was busy elsewhere.

Voldemort stood back, ordering his minions to attack instead. Just his presence inspired a fear within the ranks of anyone trying to stand up to the Death Eaters. The first batch of Protectors that arrived on the scene were quickly surrounded by the Death Eaters. They desperately called for help and they were almost losing hope when Moody ordered every Protector to leave the repair work for the Order of the Phoenix and join them in Diagon Alley.

The place was a battlefield within minutes. The Protectors did not fight unorganized like the Order. Most of them being former Aurors, and then trained by Mad-Eye, they fought as a unit, quickly neutralizing the inexperienced members of the Death Eaters. They also wore hooded uniforms to protect their identities, so Death Eaters had no idea who they were fighting against.

Not being one to accept failure, Voldemort quickly summoned the rest of his Inner Circle as well, but made no attempt to fight himself. Both sides suffered heavy losses, though Death Eaters seemed to be fairing a bit worse than the Protectors. It was only after a dark red curse sliced off the head of Augustus Rookwood when Voldemort decided to attack himself.

He quickly engaged five Protector members at once and killed two within a matter of seconds as the tide of the battle quickly began to change. Within a few minutes, four more Protectors fell in the Dark Lord's hand before a new presence in the battlefield could be felt.

Albus Dumbledore arrived with a few Order members and Death Eaters all looked at Voldemort for instructions. The Dark Lord snarled at the old man before he set out three Fiendfyre curses at once and disapparated, just after yelling at his forces to retreat.

The Death Eaters that were still alive fled, some grabbing their fallen comrades, and everyone focused on controlling the Fiendfyres before they spread too widely. Even with Dumbledore helping, it took a while to get the magical fires under control. A number of buildings were burnt to crisp and although it was not apparent yet, it was likely that more than a few people were inside the buildings. In effect, Voldemort's mission was quite successful. The general populace was once again afraid of Death Eaters all around the country, and there was sufficient destruction to make a lasting statement.

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It was well past midnight when James and Lily returned home. Harry and Daphne had taken care of Melanie and put her to bed. Astoria waited with Harry and Daphne for a long time, but she was dozing off after a while so Daphne sent her to bed.

The two teens waited in silence, sometimes pacing around the house and sometimes sitting still, holding each other's hands. They didn't know what was happening out there except for James's parting words "It's big this time. Wish us luck."

Harry dearly wished he could be there with them and make a contribution, but he knew very well that Protectors were very serious about who they were sending off to fight. He would have his chance in front of Moody and he knew he would have to take it. He was well prepared and confident about his abilities, but Mad-Eye Moody was one of the best Aurors the force has seen in a long time and holding him off for five minutes was no easy task.

Harry was going over strategies to fight Moody when his parents arrived. Harry and Daphne immediately jumped to their feet and noticed that James was limping. "Are you alright?" Daphne asked him as Harry quickly went forward to help him.

"I'll be fine. Got hit by a nasty bone breaker from the big fucker himself. Lils patched me up." He said with a grimace as he plopped down on the couch.

"Are you alright mum?" Harry asked, looking at the tired woman who sat down beside her husband.

"I'm alright now. I was knocked out for a while. Kinda lucky that I didn't get hit by anything serious." She gingerly massaged her shoulders, where she landed on when she was knocked out.

"Wait, by the big fucker do you mean... Voldemort?" Daphne asked and Harry smiled despite the situation. Daphne didn't flinch like others when someone said his name around her, but she always had a healthy amount of fear for the Dark Lord and never spoke his name. Until now, that is.

"Yeah. He had big plans for tonight and I gotta admit, it was a big success for him." James said as he accepted the plate of sandwiches Harry handed to both Lily and him.

As they all ate together, James and Lily explained the magnitude of Voldemort's plan and their part in it. James was sent to Hogsmeade where he coordinated with the Order and tried to minimize the damage done by the Death Eaters. Lily was sent to muggle London, where she and her team reached faster than anybody else by simply hailing a cab. They were called to Diagon Alley after a while, and joined the real war there. Dumbledore and the Order took care of cleanup on the other sites as the Death Eaters and Protectors fought it out in the Alley. The fighting only stopped when Dumbledore arrived on the scene and Voldemort fled with his minions. The Protectors tended to their wounded and picked up the bodies of their fallen and the Death Eaters, and went to their base for debrief.

"How many died?" Harry asked gravely.

"Twelve Protectors didn't make it. We got our hands on ten Death Eaters' bodies but there were easily ten more that they took away when they retreated." Lily said, collecting their plates and heading towards the kitchen.

"Let me. You rest." Daphne said as she took the dishes from Lily and put them in the dishwasher.

"Anyone we know?" Harry asked.

"Kingsley is dead. Tonks is injured but I think she'll be alright. Moony got hit with a bludgeoning curse but thanks to his wolfy side, he didn't even need to be treated. Hestia has lost her left arm permanently, and the Death Eaters attacked a few individual houses but most of them survived as far as we know. Among the Death Eaters, we know Avery and Mulciber from the Inner Circle. There were a lot of innocent bystanders that got killed by the Fiendfyres, including Florean Fortescue and Madam Malkin's and most shops in Diagon Alley were partially or totally destroyed. It was horrible." Lily finished sadly.

"Did the Aurors turn up at all?" Daphne asked, back from the kitchen. James shook his head as Lily snorted in disgust.

"Some of them were probably there under Death Eater masks. Not one honest Auror left in the corps by now." James said, trying to fold his injured leg.

"Oh, and Moody said he wants to meet you tomorrow." Lily said, looking at Harry, who was surprised at first but nodded. Losing twelve members from his team would mean he would be looking for new recruits soon. However, it also meant he was mad and might make the duel that much tougher for Harry.

"Can I join?"

Everyone turned to Daphne, who looked a little uncertain.

"Join the Protectors, you mean?" James asked for clarification.

"Yes." Daphne confirmed. "I am not as good as Harry or maybe any of you guys, but I have been training and I think I will be useful out there. Besides, with so many members gone, I think they will need new blood."

"Are you sure, honey?" Lily asked. "We will give our support on whatever you choose to do, but I just want to make sure you don't feel obligated to do it because we all are doing it. You heard what the stakes are."

Daphne nodded in understanding. She knew that they were not being condescending, just making sure she knew what she was doing.

"Yeah I know. The thought of death in battlefield doesn't really appeal to me like you Gryffindors, no offence, but I am more afraid to lose one of you than I'm afraid to die, and the way I think, if there was another wand on your side, it just increases, however slightly, the chances of our victory and hence you all coming out of this war in one piece. Besides, they killed my parents. I'm not gonna let them go without fighting back."

There was a long silence where everyone pondered over what Daphne said. Lily finally nodded.

"I think I would've done the same in your place. Hell, I actually did the same when I was your age. I'll talk to Moody in the morning."

As they all went to bed that night, Daphne went over the instructions and tips Harry gave her in training. If she had a chance tomorrow, she was going to make sure she would not blow it. Trouble was, she kept mixing up the numerous techniques and movement she had mastered in the last few months.

Hoping Harry was not sleeping yet, she got up and knocked his door softly. It opened as Harry looked at her direction.

She explained her dilemma and asked him if she should go and train for a while.

"No, you'll be tired tomorrow and make mistakes. You should get a good night's sleep." He said as he rubbed her back.

"But I'm too nervous to sleep." She complained.

Harry got up from his bed and took her hand. He gently led her to her own bedroom. He gestured for her to get into bed and as she did, he slipped in beside her, wrapping her in his arms.

"This will help us both to sleep." He murmured to her ears and then softly kissed her.

"What if your parents find out?" she whispered back as she snuggled up to him, already feeling calmer.

"I think they would understand. Sleep now. We both have a long day ahead." He said as he kissed her forehead. They both fell asleep within a few minutes.

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The Protectors' headquarters was somewhere in the south. It had a view of the sea and of course it was unplottable on a map. The house itself was simply referred to as 'the base' by the members and Harry and Daphne were impressed with the building itself. It looked like it was a modern muggle office designed by a proficient architect. It was well lit and ventilated but magically obscured so that you could not see anyone from the outside even if they were standing front of a glass window. Lily explained the protective measures of the building as they went in. A sharp looking woman checked their identities with a small crystal that confirmed that they were who they claimed to be. Harry and Daphne's names were added to the guest list for the day and Lily was already a member. James did not accompany them as he required a week of complete bed rest. Sirius wanted to come but he was busy with some Wizengamot business and had to leave after wishing good luck to Harry and Daphne. He didn't know about Daphne but he was fairly confident that Moody would jump on the opportunity to get Harry on his team.

The mood in the base was sombre as the loss of a number of their members hung over them. Many of them had worked together for decades and had formed a strong bond with the deceased members. The greetings were subdued and the few people that talked to Lily did so in a grim voice.

Moody's office looked more like a thrift shop than anything else. It had a bunch of instruments around at least a hundred boxes lying around. One wall had a large map of England with numerous magical markers floating over various areas, thin streams of multi-coloured lights connecting the markers. His desk had a bunch of parchments lying around, but Harry noticed that he couldn't read them. Apparently they had obscuring charms over them.

"Your mum says you can beat me." He said gruffly to Harry as they entered his office. Harry knew very well that Lily didn't say that, but understood that this was a test.

"I just want to get in. Beating you is not my target. Besides, I'm pretty sure she didn't say that." Harry replied. Moody came closer to him.

"Are you contradicting me, lad?" he asked, his magical eye boring into Harry's head. Harry stared right back with a blank expression.

"Yes."

Moody stared at him for a while and then nodded.

"Come on, then. Let's see if your wand is nearly as good as your mouth." He said, as he limped out of the door. Harry followed him to a stair that led downwards. They stood outside a black door where Moody placed his hand over a flat piece of stone. The door opened after exactly two seconds. Moody entered the room and Harry went in behind him and the door locked once he was in. He barely noticed a large magical clock reading 00:01 before he saw Moody throwing a curse at him. He neatly sidestepped it.

"So five minutes is the deal and you start with a cheap shot?" Harry asked, not even bothering to take out his wand. Of course, Moody didn't know about his unique style of magic, but he didn't intend to reveal his trump card so early. He quickly dodged a stream of curses Moody threw at him, trying to look nonchalant, but there was a reason Moody was one of the best Aurors to serve the Ministry in a long time. Harry knew Moody was testing him out before he went serious.

"You talk a lot." Moody commented as he sent a Crucio at Harry. Harry raised an eyebrow as he rolled over to avoid the unforgivable. Seemed like Moody did not like arrogant fighters. Imagine that.

Harry took out his wand and cast a point shield. It worked like a very small but powerful shield. Apart from the Unforgivables, it could block almost all non-area-based curses, but it was extremely risky to use in a battle as it required pinpoint accuracy of the caster. Harry loved to use it.

The clock said 00:40 as Harry cast the first offensive spell- a stunner. Moody didn't seem to notice it as he avoided the curse without even thinking and fired off an organ crusher at Harry which he swatted away with his shield.

"So there are no rules, right?" he asked for confirmation and Moody threw a blood boiling curse in reply. He could see the older wizard was getting irritated. The clock read 01:00 when Harry cast the first effective spell. He summoned Moody's wooden leg and the man showed incredible balance as he managed to stay on his feet as he hopped on one feet and Harry used that crucial moment to put a jelly leg jinx on him, causing the man to fall down. Out of kindness of his heart, he banished the leg back at Moody, who quickly intercepted the artificial limb from smashing his face, and reattached it to his thigh in one fluid motion. It seemed that Harry was not the first person to think of that strategy. It also led to the question about why he didn't make it unsummonable.

The act, however, seemed to have given Moody some idea about Harry and he was soon throwing curses at a rate that Harry couldn't keep swatting away with his shield. The clock said 01:21 when Harry went on the offensive and he threw five bone crushing curse at Moody's skull and quickly sent a cutter to his legs before sending two cutters to his two hands. Moody's hand was a blur as he was forced to defend the rapid fire from Harry.

01:23

Harry sent two bombarding curses at the floor on both sides of Moody, but not at him. The different directions meant he was going to catch at least one shockwave, but the expert Auror recognized his plans just a split second before the curses connected and he quickly moved towards one curse and shielded it, avoiding the other explosion completely. Harry was impressed at the counter to this tactic that always worked.

Moody quickly sent a group of flying knives speeding towards Harry. Instead of shielding, which would give Moody time to attack, he dropped to the ground and shot off an ice spear as the knives went flying over his head. Harry was pleased to see Moody shielding the spear, letting it fall in front of him.

They traded spells back and forth for a while, and Harry noticed that the ice spear had turned to water, which was exactly what Harry was hoping for. He quickly shot of a series of fireballs at Moody's head and the Auror ducked when Harry played his card.

The water suddenly rose up and encased Moody in an ice sculpture, his wand sticking out. Taking no risks, Harry summoned Moody's wand and looked at the clock.

02:45

He released Moody from the ice and threw his wand back at him.

"You have a little more than two minutes left. Are you up for it?" He asked the Auror and the man immediately jabbed his wand at Harry.

With a 'quack' sound, the wand turned to a rubber duck and Moody's shoulders slumped. Harry threw his real wand back at him and Moody pocketed it.

"I underestimated you." He commented as the clock vanished. Harry nodded.

"I know. I was counting on it."

Harry felt a sense of unease as he noticed Moody was staring at his hand. More specifically, his magical eye was staring at it. He knew what Moody was about to ask.

"I'm under an oath." He said shortly and to his surprise, Moody nodded and looked away.

The pair went back to Moody's office and Lily checked her watch and saw that five minutes were not over yet. She was about to ask if Harry failed, but Moody silently handed her give galleons and Lily's mouth opened in shock.

"Harry defeated you?" she exclaimed and Daphne's eyes widened as well. Moody grunted.

"Lad landed a lucky shot on me. I underestimated him." Moody said as Harry smiled tightly. He knew that Moody would make him pay for defeating him, but he was sure he could take it.

"I'm sure he did." Lily said. "Now that's settled, this is Daphne Greengrass. She wants to join us as well. Should I take her to Talia for testing?"

Moody grunted and pressed a button in his desk. "A fresh fish coming in. See if she can handle it."

Lily nodded and Daphne looked at Harry, who smiled at her. She nodded and with a determined look, turned to follow Lily.

"Alright lad, you have skills and you are vigilant, which I admire. But you are too cocky and arrogant in your fighting and if I didn't underestimate you out there, I could have killed you easily."

"With due respect sir, no you couldn't." Harry said politely and Moody raised him eyebrow. "I'm sure you are a man who knows exactly what you are doing and after you have known me for a while, maybe you could defeat me, but let me tell you this. You haven't seen half of what I can do."

"Is that right?" Moody asked, quite curious. Harry nodded.

"Yes, and I don't plan to show that before it is necessary to do so. But you are right about one thing, I was fighting cockily. I did so hoping that you would get frustrated and make the first mistake. I can afford to do that because I'm fairly confident in my one-on-one duels. I can defeat my teacher in a straight up duel, but that is not even close to how I will fight in the field. I know my weaknesses, and I work on them regularly." Harry explained as Moody sat down and grunted at Harry to take a seat as well.

"I won't lie to you, lad. Even if I was not as vigilant as I should have been, you still gave a good performance and if you say you have more surprises in store, I believe you. However, what I don't need is some arrogant prick trying to fight here just so he can show off his skills in front of the baddies. You and the lass over there can easily get into our ranks based on your skill but I need to know that exactly why you are fighting."

"How do you know anything about Daphne's skills?" Harry asked.

"I can see her." Moody answered and Harry nodded. He had forgotten about the magical eye being… so magical.

"To be honest, I have a bone to pick with Death Eaters. I mean, of course there is the moral obligation to fight evil forces and all that, but I am more driven by the personal vendetta than anything else."

Moody nodded, understanding that need. He could understand a man's need for revenge, especially when they are on dark wizards and witches. He pressed another button and after a few seconds, a sharp faced woman came in.

"Get this lad geared up for level three clearance. Show him around after you are done."

"James?" the woman looked at him with a frown.

"Harry. His son." He stood up and offered his hand to the woman who shook it.

"I'll say. You have Lily's eyes. I am Gwen Richards. Follow me."

They walked out of the office and Gwen pointed at the cubicles, most of which were empty. "Those are the office spaces for level three members. I'll show your cubicle later. These rooms on the sides are office rooms for level two members. Your father has the one right over there." She pointed at one of the offices which looked no different from outside than any others.

"Do you have any office hours?" Harry asked, not recalling his parents mentioning anything like that.

"No. Offices are not used that often unless you have an assignment, and you do it in your own time. Level three members usually need the cubicle to keep their stuff and have a place to sit when they are on the base. Most of them don't even visit their cubicles regularly." She said as they climbed a flight of stairs.

"What's with the levels? What do they mean?" Harry asked as they entered a corridor.

"Rank mostly. Members who mostly gather intel and resources are level four. Fighters are level three. Team leaders and trainers are level two. Level one is for Amelia Bones and Mad-Eye Moody. They are the head of the Protectors. This is the equipment room." She pointed at a door and entered it, Harry following her.

The first room had a group of closets covering three walls and a full length mirror on one side and a bench in the middle. Gwen beckoned Harry over towards the largest closet. She took out a set of uniform that looked exactly like a muggle camouflage military uniform. She signalled him to place his hand on a small square piece of stone hanging from the collar and when he did, the uniform shrunk a bit from all sides. Apparently it resized itself to fit him.

"This is your battle uniform. Double tap on the back of this stone." She commanded and he did, and whistled when the uniform folded itself into the stone.

"Most of us wear this as a locket under our clothes. Some wear it as a bracelet, but you'll have to place it in your cuff when it is expanded. When we are needed, the stone will vibrate until you put your palm on it. It will work as a portkey to the base if you are needed here or in battle. The activation phrase is 'Tom sucks', and don't ask me who set it because I don't know. Anyway, if you are wearing the stone as a locket or as a bracelet, double tapping the back of the stone will replace whatever you are wearing with the uniform. Try it."

Harry put on the stone and the thin chain over his neck and tapped the back of the stone and turned towards the mirror. The uniform was a cross between a robe and a shirt. It was buttoned up with a hood that completely covered his face, but he had complete peripheral vision. The top was not long like a robe, but wasn't short like a shirt either. He had a utility belt in his middle and his boots felt like dragon hide.

"We use the hoods so that enemy can't distinguish one member from the other. Some members like Mad-Eye, use a mask to attract enemies towards him without revealing his identity."

"So anyone can wear a mask if they wanted to?" Harry asked.

"Not anyone. Mad-Eye or Amelia has to approve first. We don't want members to get killed because of false cockiness. You want one?" she asked.

"Maybe later. What goes in these pockets?" he asked, pointing at his utility belt.

"Potions and items you want to keep with you in the battlefield. Most use it to keep emergency medical potions." Gwen explained as Harry tapped the back of the stone once more to revert back to his normal clothes. "Don't let outsiders see it. Usually we only change when we are in the base, but since your parents are members as well, I think you are okay to change from home if you are in a hurry."

Harry nodded. He never saw his parents in the uniform at home, so they took the secrecy seriously. Gwen then led him to the next room which was full of shelves that were mostly filled with cardboard boxes.

"This is our potions stock. Once you are declared ready for battle, you can stock up on anything you want from here. We trust that you will not use them for personal matters but only in battle. I'll just show you where you can find everything so you will know where to come once you are cleared for action."

Gwen showed him around and Harry tried to remember the potions that sounded important to him.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Sure."

"All these arrangements… these are not exactly cheap. Where do you get the money from?"

"Donations, mostly. Light families donate regularly and all of the forming Protector members were Aurors, and were quite well off. Why do you ask?"

"I had this idea." Harry shrugged. "Why don't you loot the Death Eaters when you raid their bases or their homes? I mean this is war, the second ground for everything to be fair. Besides, money and possession we take from them is money they can't use."

Gwen gave a laugh at him. Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Is it really that funny?" Harry asked and she shook her head.

"No, it's just Sirius Black was saying the exact same thing just yesterday. We had to run before it could be discussed properly, but it's funny you would say that. He is friends with your father, isn't he?"

"Yeah. He's also my godfather." Harry informed her and she nodded.

"Well, now that you know where everything is, let's go back and show you to your cubicle."

They went downstairs and Gwen gave him an empty cubicle near Moody's office.

"This belonged to one of our members who lost his life in last night's battle." She explained as she tapped her wand on the small brass nameplate that now said "H. Potter". Harry did not really have anything to put in his cubicle, so he just leaned on his desk and looked around and saw a familiar face.

"Harry! You joined?"

Harry was enveloped in a hug by an excited Tonks and she patted her on the back.

"Of course I did. How are you?"

"You know each other?" Gwen asked, surprised.

"Yeah, we are practically family. Were you showing him around? Because I can take over if you want." Tonks said, already hooking up her arm to his. Gwen smiled.

"Sure. See you around, Harry."

"Bye Gwen." Harry waved. "So which one is your cubicle?" he asked Tonks. She pointed somewhere in the middle.

"Over there. So how come you didn't tell me you would get in?" she asked, leading him to her cubicle.

"I wasn't supposed to join until later, but last night changed things, I guess." He said. Her cubicle had a few parchments with squiggly diagrams drawn in them. She had a photo of herself with her parents on a corner. "How are things with Remus?"

Tonks's smile dimmed. She looked out of the large window to one side of the large room. "Not well. He thinks we had betrayed Dumbledore for switching to the Protectors. We had a few rows, I asked him to keep Order/Protector business separate from our personal lives, but he would throw looks and sighs whenever I left on Protector missions. I finally said that he had to choose between me and his obsession with Dumbledore. He just said that he owed his life to Dumbledore and left. I didn't call him back."

"His obsession with Dumbledore is a bit unhealthy if you ask me." Harry commented, slinging an arm around Tonks, who snorted.

"Tell me about it. So what's up with you? Is the former Head girl living up to her title?" she asked with a leer, waggling her eyebrows. Harry punched her arm.

"You are as bad as Sirius. She's here actually, mum took her to someone called Talia I think."

"Oh cool, she's joining as well? I want to say it's fun, but times like last night kinda shows you that it's really not." She finished sadly.

"I heard you were hit? Are you alright now?" he asked as he gestured towards Moody's office.

"Yeah. Ivanna patched me up pretty well. I was completely fine by the morning."

"Who's Ivanna?" Harry asked.

"Yes?" a young woman turned around and Harry smiled embarrassedly.

"Wotcher Ivanna, this is Harry, our new member. Harry, this is Ivanna, our resident mediwitch. She runs the medical bay over there."

Harry shook hands with her and Ivanna looked at him closely. "Are you related to Mr. Potter? You look remarkably similar."

"I'm his son, actually." Ivanna's face coloured a bit.

"Oh. I didn't realize he has a… well, it was nice to meet you, anyway." She said embarrassedly.

"Same. Hope to not see you in your office." Harry joked as she quickly walked away. "Please tell me I'm jumping to a wrong conclusion." He begged Tonks, who looked like she was trying to hold back a laugh.

"That she has a crush on your dad? Yeah you are jumping to the wrong conclusion." Harry sighed in relief, but frowned when he saw Tonks was working even harder to restrain laughter. "She is a lesbian, actually."

"That's good to know." He commented. Lily came up beside them at that moment.

"Hello Dora. What is so funny?" she asked.

"Oh not much." Tonks replied. "Harry just met Ivanna." She said, trying to act nonchalant. To Harry's surprise, Lily blushed red.

"That's… good." Lily commented as she looked anywhere but at them.

"Mum?" Harry called, very suspicious.

"Oh please can I tell him?" Tonks begged and Lily glared at her, but the meta was grinning broadly until Lily's shoulders sagged, her face almost as red as her hair. "Harry, you remember how I said Ivanna is a lesbian?"

Harry nodded.

"And also how I told you that you are drawing the wrong conclusion when you thought she had the hots for your dad?"

Despite herself, Lily snorted and Harry gaped as realization dawned on him.

"She fancies mum?" he whispered, and both women snorted.

"Only if it were that simple." Lily mumbled.

"Well, she actually offered Lily for a three way with her girlfriend and also said, quote, 'wouldn't mind if you brought your husband along' end quote."

Harry had a desperate urge to stick his wand inside his brain and clean it with the strongest soap anyone has ever made.

"You know Nymphadora, there are certain things about their parents a child could do without knowing, and this is one of them." He said, neatly dodging her punch for calling her by the first name.

"I'll have to tell you more of these, then."

"I think I'm reconsidering my desire to join here." Harry informed his mum, who patted his head, still embarrassed herself. "Anyway, where's Daphne?"

"She went to get her uniform. Did you get yours?"

"Yep." Harry showed his stone which he hid behind his clothes. "Hey, how come I never saw this on you or dad?"

"Oh, you can get it to be invisible when you are wearing it with normal clothes. Just press your wand to the front of the stone and say hide." Lily instructed and Harry did so. As promised, it became invisible but he could still feel it.

"I didn't know that." Tonks commented, but made no attempt to do that.

"So what do I do now? More wandering around?" Harry asked.

"Go to Moody's office to see if you can get tested to be cleared for fighting." Lily said.

"What does that mean? Getting cleared? Gwen said the same."

"It's a test designed to see if you are ready to go fight with a team in adverse conditions. Everyone who gets past the recruitment can fight individually in a normal environment. You have to go through a series of tests with others to see how well you adapt to bad situations and when the odds are against you. Usually new recruits are trained for about a week after their testing before they are sent to a fight, so that they can learn to not repeat the mistakes they did in the test, but seeing how unique your magic is, I really have no idea how things will go. You may be ready to fight within a day or it could take a month." Lily explained. Harry nodded. He hadn't expected to be thrown to a battle immediately, but he also wanted to start finishing off Death Eaters as soon as possible.

"Well no point standing around, then." Tonks said, shoving Harry. "Go and see what Moody says."

Harry went towards Moody's room and he asked Harry to come in before he knocked the door. Moody pointed at the chair in front of his desk.

"So I got my uniform. I have to be cleared for action, from what I gathered." Harry said.

"Aye. What did you think of the uniform?" Moody asked. Harry looked a bit surprised.

"Are you asking my opinion, or just want me to act impressed?"

"Your opinion. I am one of the leaders of this organization and let me tell you this, no leader can succeed in the long run if they don't value the opinion of the people they are leading. The uniform was changed from plain grey to this when your mum convinced me that muggle military use this and would be more effective in battle. So what do you think? Any room for improvement?"

Harry thought for a few seconds. "I have one. What you are using is the jungle camouflage. It works excellent when you are hiding in woods. It can work alright in the dark as well, but when you are up in the middle of the street, it will stand out instead of blending in. Modern muggle forces use urban camouflage for fighting in cities. So I would suggest you put different modes on the uniforms, adapting the design to its surroundings. There are a number of types of camouflage in the muggle world, all for different surroundings. And of course you can make it faded black for missions in the dark."

Moody nodded and noted it down on a parchment. "Anything else?"

"Not at the moment." Harry said. "I will get back to you if I think of something."

Moody grunted and pressed another button and Tonks came in. He asked her to take Harry to the testing arena, and Harry followed her.

"Any tips?" he asked as they stood outside a giant metal gate.

"Be instinctive. Don't overthink, don't hesitate." She replied shortly as she beckoned him to go on.

"You won't come in?"

"Nope. Good luck."

She turned and went away, leaving Harry alone.

Taking a deep breath, he went in.

A/N: Shout out to my betas slucas123 and the sous. I am very sorry that I can not reply to the reviews at the moment since I'm working insane hours at work, but I promise I will get to it very soon. Please keep on reviewing.