14 The First Strike in a New War

Harry landed next to Vito in the memory and looked at the older man, who was currently looking around in shock, pistol in hand.

"Easy sir, like I said, this is just a memory, nothing here can hurt us, nor can we interfere with anyone or anything hear. As I said, we are completely safe here, you can holster that pistol, if you want."

If the crime boss was embarrassed or ashamed, Harry would never know, as Vito's well-schooled emotions remained in control. He stared down Harry for a few tense moments before nodding and returning his pistol to the holster.

"I still remember the first time I was in a memory, let's just say I was at a complete loss and had no guide to warn me, mainly do the fact that I was not exactly invited to be there and had jumped in not knowing what I was doing."

Vito once again nodded, and finally spoke, "It is just so unreal, it is like we are here, and it is quite disarming if I may say so." He paused and looked around, "Is that your group approaching over there?"

Harry smiled, he was sharp, he had to admit that, he hadn't expected him to spot his group approaching so soon, "Yes, sir, part of us. As this is my memory, we are viewing it from where I was during the raid, on the western edge. My snipers are there and there," Harry pointed out the small hill top in the distance then the large oak tree, about 250 yards from the compound where Squirrel was, "and team two, is approaching from the south side while team three is already in position over there, on the eastern edge of the property. With the lake on the fourth side, we effectively have them surrounded, and with the slightly offset angles on the west and east side, both pulled in to the south, we also eliminated the chance of the cross fire causing friendly fire."

"Efficient, I am impressed, especially for your first raid of this size, like I said back in London, I am very glad we are allies, as enemies, we would destroy each other until no one was left."

Harry just nodded as they watched his groups approach, three Razor side by sides with mounted M240 medium machine guns firing the popular .30 cal round on top of the roll cage and one four person Razor with a much larger .50 cal Browning M2 on the top. They watched as Memory Harry, Neville and Luca jumped out of the last ATV and walk out to the front to survey the scene. While memory Harry and Nev were carrying their bullpup rifles, Luca was cradling his 40mm grenade launcher. In the other three vehicles, the Drivers all jumped down next the ATV's in prone positions with their rifles while the passengers all swung up into the back to man the guns.

After a quick check in to verify everything was in position, Neville cast a quick human revealing spell to verify that everyone was in the club house as their intelligence had informed them. Nev smiled and nodded to memory Harry and a large grin took over Luca's face as he made a show of wetting his finger and holding it up, then crunching up some leaves and grass and tossing it up in the air, all under the pretense of checking wind strength and direction of the wind. Harry allowed himself to smile and the big man's antics, aware that this was his way of relieving his stress with a form of a pregame ritual for him. Finally, he aimed his launcher up and launched a shot towards the long main building, it landed with a soft thud as it stuck to the center of the roof, but did not explode. Luca smiled as he fired a second shot that stuck about five feet from the first one, and also did not explode.

Vito looked at the real Harry with an arched eyebrow as memory Harry started a countdown in his microphone on his neck.

"They did not malfunction, the first was precaution against magical folk, it basically eliminated all forms of magical travel and transportation, the second is like a modified loud speaker. The sound waves will die out much faster, much further out, and you will not hear it at all, but in their little bunker, it will sound like front row seats at a rock concert."

Suddenly, memory Harry counted out loud, "get ready, 3,2,1…" and the air was filled with a hunting horn bellowing out a short bugle like call followed by the heavy distorted guitars of Rammstein's Waidmanns Heil.

Vito recognized the song and laughed at the irony for blasting a song that was an exaggerated story of a hunter tracking and killing a doe and thought it fit perfectly, Harry's revenge on the bikers that murdered Al and his family was going to be just that, a unaware pray hunted down and getting destroyed by the skilled hunter. Vito knew Harry had done this more for young Alexia than Vito, and was perfectly fine with that.

Suddenly the real Harry brought him out of his thoughts as he pointed out a long haired man burst thru the front door waving a revolver and fire a few rounds into the night sky. Memory Harry ordered someone referred to as Squirrel to take him out with a non-lethal shot. Suddenly a crack from the tree and the biker dropped clutching his ruined knee.

"Get ready Vito, after the slight break, it is going to get real loud."

Sure enough, as the dying notes of the drum solo ended, they watched as the memory of Neville place his rifle on the ATV and start walking forward, unsnapping and dropping his helmet and vest along the way. Suddenly, he whipped out his wand and flung his arms out to the side and head back and let out scream of pure hate and rage. Vito swore the dust was flung up as a cyclone formed around the young man. At the instant the slower section ended, he flung his arms and head forward and a black and read helix of raw power and rage erupted from his wand and smashed into the biker's clubhouse. After the explosion, he watched the young man drop to his knees panting.

Sure enough, a noise like no other engulfed Vito as all the M240's opened up on the building from three sides. The night air lit up with the tracer fire and muzzle flash. Suddenly Vito saw Luca kick open a long case and pull out a RPG launcher and start firing RPG's into the rapidly crumbling building. At some point the noise escalated again as memory Harry swung up and started firing the 50 cal. Never before had he seen such precision and devastating death. Threw out this he noticed that most of the guys there were screaming along one part of the song, with real emphasis on the last word, "Die Kreatur muss sterben! Sterben!". A chill went threw him as he realized the translation was "The creature must die! Die!".

If asked he later, Vito would never be able to tell if how long the assault lasted and if it ended with the song, all he knew was that as sudden as it began, the firing stopped and three men on dirt bikes emerged from the south side and tossed several incendiary grenades each on the ruble before everyone got back into their ATV's and speed off into the night. However, before the last ATV departed, they watched Neville rise and walk up to the wounded biker on the ground and stair him in the eyes.

"This is for those little innocent girls you and your gang murdered in London." The ice in his voice chilled Vito to the bones. Suddenly Neville pulled his Desert Eagle and fire a single shot into the neck of the biker. Vito recognized the shot as one favored by an assassin that terrorized Europe in the 70's. It was considered a shot to end an enemy in the most painful way, ripping thru the windpipe yet missing the main blood vessels and spinal cord. Leaving the victim alive and very aware as the slowly suffocated while drowning on their own blood. What scared him more was the young man standing over the victim staining him in his eyes until life left them.

Suddenly, the real Harry grabbed his elbow, "Let's go, there is nothing left to see here."

With a sudden lunging feeling they were standing back in Vito's office back in Italy. Vito quickly walked over to his bar and pored himself a healthy shot of whiskey and downed it before poring some over the rocks for him and Harry. He handed Harry his drink and sat on one of the couches in the corner. Harry sat in the other and waited for the older man to regain his composure. This was something he would need to show John later, he had actually rattled the man.

"That was your second, correct, Mr. Longbottom?"

Harry didn't need and clarifications, the actions of that night had taken his toll on his best friend. Releasing all that pent up anger had scared Neville to the point he had been withdrawn from everyone in the three days since the raid, letting no one in but Cassie. "Yes, it shook him up. We always joke about him being a teddy bear, but he psyched himself up, reading over the police reports of the murder of Al's family and let his rage build over the deaths of your nieces and released it all then and there. That bit of magic there, it was not a spell, but magic in its most base form created from nothing but pure emotion, in this case, pure hate, it is very draining and only someone with real power can manage even the smallest amount of it. That really took a toll on him."

"Yes, he is like Luca with that, isn't he, a great man that puts the innocent first."

Harry smiled at that, "Yes, much as John was my mentor and guide, Luca took Neville on like a son and they are closer than blood like that, truly father and son there."

"I saw the look there, in his eyes and in the way he moved. I have seen that many times, I have seen it in myself. The look of a man possessed, a man living for hate and revenge. It can destroy a man; I pray that your friend has the anchors to hold him back, to prevent him from losing himself in it. For me, it is my wife, she keeps me grounded, keeps me from turning into that monster hiding beneath the surface. Tell me, does he have this?"

"Yes, in the past, it was always me or Daphne, but now he has Cassie. He tried to push her away when we got back, but she wouldn't let him. She will keep him with us."

"Cassie? Surely that isn't Luca's niece?"

Harry smiled, "Yes, they are great together; they stayed back in London while we are here to run things and recover."

"Good, she is a strong girl, I am glad."

A comfortable silence took over while the men gathered their thoughts and sipped the fine whiskey.

"I must thank you again Harry, it has been barely a month since you took over the London operation, and already you have avenged my family with the death of the gang that murdered Al and his family. Forgive me but are they all dead?"

"There were four that were not there, two of them we tracked down and killed after the raid, one of which just hours before my flight brought me here. A third died by my hands two days before the raid."

"And the fourth and final killer?"

Harry smiled and nodded to the trunk that he had brought in with him before the watched the attack in the pensive.

Vito stood and walked over to the trunk and kicked it open. Inside was the bloody body of a half dead naked man.

"What is this?"

Harry joined him at the trunk, "Vito, this is the VP of the gang; he is the one that we interrogated to get all the information for the raid. He is the one that broke and turned on his brotherhood. He is the one that pulled the trigger ending Alexia's life." Harry spit on the man, "It took all my will not to kill him myself for that, I loved that little girl, she was a little fire cracker, but I restrained myself. He is my gift to you."

"He killed my niece? You know this for sure?"

Harry sighed, "It isn't something anyone can do, but I have a close friend that works with me that can break a person down and get anything out of them, some advanced mind magic. It took a lot out of her, but she was one hundred present sure. It took all I had when she was done to prevent her from killing him herself, but after I mentioned her son she calmed down and agreed that it would be best if we delivered this scum to you."

Vito once again studied Harry a bit before asking, "This wouldn't be the woman that is escorting my wife and your young lady on their little shopping trip would it?"

Harry noted the slight concern in Vito's question; he had questioned Harry on his confidence in her when they first mentioned she would be the only watch over them on their excursion, a fact that was not helped when Dora had tripped on the swallow ledge of the door when she had entered the villa.

"Vito, I hold Daphne's safety above all else, and next to me being there myself, there is no one I would rather be watching over her. Her late husband was one of my own father's closest friends, and he always treated me like his own blood. And he had true faith and trust in Dora, who by the way was in an advanced branch of our police force before she married Remus, and the protégé of their most decorated and respected member of all time. She can handle their safety, trust me with this one."

Vito let out a sigh and relaxed back in the couch, "All you had to say was the first part, Harry, I trust you, and if you trust her that was all you had to say. Now on to other business, you said you may need some more weapons?"

An evil grin slowly formed on Harries face, making him look quite deranged and dangerous, "Yeah, I was wondering, do you think you contacts could get ahold of some light artillery for me, I am thinking some 155mm's, and would prefer the M777 howitzer, but the M198 wouldn't be the end of the world? Let's say three or four."

Harry, just watched as Vito's jaw dropped, this would be the second thing to show John.

Harry was standing on the balcony overlooking the room in Vito's villa he was staying in enjoying the cool breeze and a glass of scotch when he identified a very familiar sent seconds before a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind.

Harry smiled to himself as Daphne leaned into him and laid her head on his back and sighed.

"Well hello to you Daphne, have fun with the ladies shopping today?"

Harry chuckled when he felt, rather than heard, he mumble an affirmative into his back.

"So tell me, do I have anything left, or have you run me into the poor house?"

This time she shifted slightly so she could give him a proper response. "I think you will have a little left, but those two ran me into the ground, I like shopping and all, but that was just crazy, I don't think my feet will ever heal."

Harry took that as his cue, he drained the last bit of scotch and set the glass down on the rail before spinning around in her arms and lifted her up. He laughed as she squeaked in surprise, having been half asleep, and gently carried her bridal style to the lounge on the other side of the balcony. Once he set them down in into it she snuggled into him and let out and large sigh of pure happiness.

"Thanks love, this is much better."

Harry just leaned down and kissed the top of her head and the pair sat in comfortable silence listening to the birds and watching the sun set.

After a while she surprised him by starting up a conversation, "Why can't we just stay here like this forever, leave England, Voldemort and the old goat and just never come back? Just think, with the money you have, combined with my savings from being a healer, we could live comfortable and just travel the world forever."

Harry wanted nothing more at that moment than to just drop everything and agree with her and just go, but knew he couldn't. "I wish nothing more than to be able to do that with you, just look one last time at that damn island and yell 'fuck you! I'm out!' and be done with it all." He sighed then reached out and pointed off to a distant hill, probably only two kilometers off in the distance. "See that hill? On the top of it, you really can't see it from here, is the villa and vineyard that the Don gave me. I haven't seen it yet, but if it is half as nice as this place, I could live there forever with you, this place here, Vito's place, is the closest neighbor, with nothing but vines in-between."

"Why can't we then, call up Nev and Cassie, tell them to get their asses down here and they can stay til they get their own place?"

Harry sighed, he had known this was coming but it didn't make things any easier, but just as he was about to spill, Daphne started up again.

"Why? I know, because your Harry bloody Potter, that's why." Harry was taken aback by this, for a second he though she was pissed and in that single moment he pictured his life without her in it anymore and it scared him more than anything else. But once again, she beat him to it before he could get a word in, "And I wouldn't have you any other way, even if you do drive me crazy with worry. You always seem to place others before yourself, you noble git, but it is charming so I guess I have to live with the excitement and chaos that is life with you, don't I?"

He pulled her even closer and started talking in a monotone, letting her in to his life fully, telling her his deepest fears, his deepest regrets and everything he had been ashamed or afraid to tell her before, because at that moment, he knew she was not going to run or freak out, but that she was going to be there through it all, and nothing was going to change that.

Finally, he readied himself for the worst part, something that had resulted in many hours of lost sleep since he found out a few weeks back.

"Remember that night me and Nev got that death eater and pressed him for information? Well, he was inter circle and knew about the night that I went to the Department of Mystery that got me locked up, remember that prophecy?" She nodded, "He only knew part, but he knew what Voldemort knows, basically, it predicted that only one person would ever be able to kill him, and that he believes it to be me."

Daphne shifted so she could look him in the eyes, she watched him for a while as if trying to find some hint of a lie of deception. Finally, she leaned up and kissed him gently, but full of love.

Once she settled back down into his arms she started, "It really doesn't make any difference does it though? I mean, you two have enough hate and animosity between you to that prophecy or not, you probably would go after him sooner or later anyways, and him, well, he really has never stopped trying to kill you has he? Besides, you are too noble and brave, once again, git, to just pack up and leave when there are so many people you care about still there. Added to the fact, you now have what, about a hundred people that work for you, you wouldn't just abandon them, would you? No, I think I know you now and know what I have gotten into being with you, but I understand, the pro's overshadow the con's, so I am happy. Besides, who wants a boring life?"

Harry couldn't believe the woman in his arms, he had expected tears and yelling and, possibly, her dumping him, but really he should have known better. Deep down he knew she would handle it and accept it, but it still made him proud that he had such a wonderful person in his life. He struggled with what to say and how to word his appreciation for her when it dawned on him that there really was only one way to respond at all.

"I love you Daphne Greengrass."

A/N Once again, sorry for the long delay in getting this out, I would like to say it will get better but that would just be a lie. You see the problem is I have some great ideas for this story, but most of them are just random bits of action that I am attempting to form into a story. I have some great bits of death and destruction and even what I think may be an ending, but I need to figure where they belong and which ones to use. Then, I need to add the 'filler' that is the actual story to tie everything together.

On that note, as I have hinted at before, music is my muse, this started out as some good classical rock as inspiration to start the story off, bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Black Sabbath got me started off and the idea for this, but lately I have struggled finding the right music to keep it going. Lately I have been on some darker shit like the heavy NIN stuff and Slipknot along with some foreign really heavy metal bands. Like my music the story is going to be getting darker and faster (story wise) in the coming chapters.

As for, the red/black helix thing Neville did, think a double helix, like DNA, one strand black, one red. Also, I know I didn't do a great job of describing the execution with Nev at the end of the raid, but if you watch Sons of Anarchy, think when Jax walks up and kills Tara's ex, the ATF agent, that is what I was going for. And the shot itself, once again, I stole that too, that was a Carlos trademark kill from the Bourne Identity Books, not the movies, those are really good, I love them, but the books are so much better, 'Cain is for Charlie, and Delta is for Cain.'

One final thing, if anyone is still actually reading this long ass note, as for the artillery Harry requested, it is technically light artillery. However, please do not make the common error and think that means less destructive than heavy artillery, they really refer to the weight of the gun, not the round. For instance, the M777 is actually considered Ultralight-weight artillery weighing in under 9,800 pounds, where the M109 Paladin, the giant self-propelled heavy artillery weighs in at about 55,000 pounds. Both fire the 155 howitzer round.