Chapter 26

When the portkey landed Harry felt the rage coursing through his veins. His own arrogance had led him to this moment of failure. His confidence in his abilities was absolute. For good reason too. Between him and his master they had taken down over thirty of the ICW's finest, not to mention Albus Dumbledore to boot. If he and Grindelwald had wanted blood that day then the streets of Britain would be swimming in it, but it was not them who sought violence.

The Elder Wand twitched in the hands of the young sorcerer as he felt the rage trying to tempt him to return to Fleur and his family. Just as he had all but made up his mind to go back and burn the village to the ground, the hearty laughter of his master snapped him back to reality. Emerald green eyes shot to the man he had worshipped for the last 7 years, and all he could feel was surprise. Their cover had been blown. Their plans were exposed. They would have nothing going for them at this point. The only thing they had to look forward to at this point was looking over their shoulders, yet his master continued to laugh.

After a minute Harry's agitation began to increase before he spat out, "I am glad you find our situation so amusing. We failed. We were exposed far earlier than we ever imagined."

Grindelwald merely turned his sparkling blue eyes towards his apprentice with nothing but a fond expression on his face, "My boy, if you think anything that just happened was short of destiny then you are mistaken. If you think that the unequivocal defeat we just handed the ICW was a failure then you are mistaken. You were half pissed and magically exhausted from your task this afternoon, yet we still managed to wipe the floor with the world's finest wizards. It may take a few days, but that realisation will grip the Hitwizards by the throat in the coming days. They will realise just how outclassed they are in the upcoming fights, and at the very least they will be discouraged, but I suspect more."

Harry's eyes widened at the insinuation. If sobriety had grabbed him during the battle earlier it now gripped him like a vice, "We just sent a message to the ICW didn't we?"

"Indeed." Grindelwald said with a slight smile, "But not just to the ICW, but to my old friend as well. He willingly gave you the Elder Wand, but undoubtedly he realised he had no hopes of defeating us alone. The Wand was going to be in your hand at the end of the day regardless of anything else. That now leaves you the master of two ancient Hallows, with only one remaining. It may soon be time to visit a certain childhood home of your enemy. Never have you, and by extension of me, been so close to the title of Master of Death. It is a moment in history that I had long since given up on 'til tonight. I always feared my only friend would pass without being defeated leaving the Elder Wand negated, but tonight you took a massive step towards victory. It is unquestionable that Albus was the master of this wand, and now it is your time to go forth and seize our destiny."

Harry fingered the wand in his hands while his eyes stayed on his master who paced the room thoughtfully. It was clear that the man was deep in thought. He could feel the power of his ancestor's wand flowing through him, but he had to ponder the cost of such an achievement. His exposure meant that his family would be taking a political pounding. The pressure to defeat Voldemort had never been as high as it was now. He had to now prove to a world that he had all but given up on years ago that he was worthy of being its champion. If he could topple the Dark Lord then all would be forgiven in Wizarding Britain, and he would be able to return to be with his family, to Hogwarts, and to Fleur.

"What do we do now?" Harry asked, giving the man his full attention.

Grindelwald smiled as he held out his hand. Knowingly Harry nodded as he allowed the Elder Wand to be wrenched from his hands. Thunder boomed as the wand connected with the man for the first time in 50 years. His eyes pulsed with power that Harry had never before felt from the man. The briefest moment of doubt flashed through his mind as he watched Gellert look at the wand reverently. What if the man decided redemption was overrated, and Harry had just handed the former Dark Lord the most powerful weapon in the world.

The thought vanished before the implications could fully form as Grindelwald walked slowly to stand beside Harry. Placing a hand on the shoulder of his apprentice he smiled, "Now your true training begins. Now we will take leaps forward in magic that the world will never have dreamt of. We have much to accomplish in the short time before the third task. Do I have your faith, and your commitment that you will give me the same effort tomorrow, and every day leading up to the third task, that you have for all these years?"

Desperately wanting to understand just what his master's plans were, Harry nodded his head one time, "You know I will."

Grindelwald clapped his hands together, "I have never doubted you, Harry."

Looking back at the wand Gellert grinned, "This has all been for you my boy."

At last Grindelwald held the wand back towards Harry who summoned it back to his hand without hesitation, "This wand must recognize two masters. It must serve us as equals in every situation. I don't say this because I desire the wand, but I feel Voldemort's hand in this play tonight. I believe one of his people discovered our secret, and orchestrated all of these events to draw us away from the tournament. He hopes to expose your brother. To make him feel weak."

"He is stronger than Voldemort anticipates." Harry said gritting his teeth angrily at the thought of Voldemort being behind all his problems.

"True. But he is not enough to stand against the Dark Lord. He will need our help, and we must be there at his side for when the heir of Slytherin makes his move."

"We avoided killing those men tonight, but they will be ready for us at the third task. They know with my name being in the magically binding contract that I will show. They know 30 can't defeat us now, I wouldn't be surprised if they sent 100 next time." Harry said, putting his hand on his face trying to let logic and reason show him the way.

"I would love to see them try." Grindelwald said, and Harry looked up to see an amused smile on his mentor's face, "Our plan will be simple. We must simply avoid the ICW and its lap dogs until the end of the task. After that we will hunt this Dark Lord to extinction. With what I can teach in four straight months of training...it will be enough."

"The magic to step 100 ICW wizards doesn't even exist-"

"Doesn't even exist yet." Grindelwald said with a hand stroking his smooth face, "It does not exist yet. It may be time to put some of your ingenious ideas to the test."

Suddenly feeling like a plan was in motion Harry felt his magic hum in anticipation, "What did you have in mind?"

Scene Break

Justin Potter was having a miserable few weeks. Ever since the night Harry had run away he had been insulted, pranked, and prodded non-stop. The first night after the news broke was the worst. A few Hufflepuff sixth years had attempted to attack him, but he had been swift in his response.

He remembered walking down the halls with Susan. She had been holding his hand not saying a word as she had been feeling the stress of his situation. She knew that the young man that carried her affection had a deep bond with his brother, and that his departure, along with constantly worrying for his safety, was taking a toll on him.

The night had been quiet, and they had practically remained unbothered until Justin had decided to walk her back to her common room before retiring for the evening.

It was there that four sixth year Puffs had been waiting for them. Apparently one of them had a family member killed by Grindelwald in the great war, and demanded to know where they could find Harry. Justin, who was in no mood told the boys to piss off, and the fight that ensued was enough to discourage any others from having a go at him or trying to use Susan to get to the youngest Potter.

Justin had told his parent's that evening that from the time the first curse was thrown towards him and Susan he could practically hear Harry roaring instructions in his ear. These bastards have the nerve to draw a wand on my brother? A member of the Potter family. Show them what I have taught you. Make sure no other dares to try something like this again.

Needless to say the four had all ended up in the hospital wing, and one had even been sent to St Mungo's for treatment. Had it not been such a clear case of self defence Justin was certain he would've been expelled or maybe even worse, but after reviewing the incident from Susan's memory the Headmaster cautioned Justin about following in his brother's footsteps and gave him two weeks detention for not showing restraint.

Perseus Chase had even been by to interrogate him. Claiming that Grindelwald had likely chosen two proteges, and that was why he was doing so well in the tournament, and how he took on four students with such ease with no injuries to report. Needless to say Justin hadn't scored any points with the investigator or his colleagues when he had told them to go fuck themselves.

A late night detention was how Justin found himself heading back to Gryffindor tower late one night. The castle seemed completely deserted at this hour as curfew quickly approached. The young man found himself exhausted as he had been dusting trophies, and various other awards in the atrium for hours. What made it even worse was he had seen Fleur earlier that evening, and she looked even more rattled then he was. It was a sobering realization that he was not the only one that was hurting at the sudden exposure of his brother.

The thought of the beautiful blonde champion crying herself to sleep as he had for many nights made his chest feel heavy as he took a deep sigh. It all felt so hopeless. If his brother didn't return for the third task then his magic would be lost, and he would certainly not survive the fallout with how attuned Harry was with the abilities he was blessed with. The thought worried Justin, and had caused more than a few hours of lost sleep.

Thoughts of the other people who were hurting at his brother's departure brought him to thoughts of his parents. Both had been crucified by the media, and the only thing that was currently keeping them safe from being burned at the stake was that they were protected by Hogwarts, though many in the public were calling for their resignations. Needless to say even the usually upbeat James Potter was looking a little more downcast than usual.

Just as Justin was about to round the corner where the Fat Lady would be waiting for him, a sudden movement caught the corner of his eyes. Weeks of paranoia trained him to be on guard, and his wand was in his hand in a flash as he prepared to defend himself, but at first glance there was nothing there. His eyes darted around searching for what possibly could have caught his attention when a floating glove caught his attention. The glove was pointing a single finger at him, and he blinked several times wondering if exhaustion was finally coming up to him. When the glove waved for him to follow he somehow knew his brother's magic was at play.

He followed the glove down several flights of stairs, and the thought of being caught by a teacher, prefect, or ghost never even occurred to him, nor did he care. Harry was finally calling for him, and he would answer.

The glove led him down a long corridor to the second floor, and when it stopped at the girls restroom he immediately knew what was happening, and had to fight the urge to burst through the doors, and go head first down the tunnels that would lead to the Chamber of Secrets. Instead he glanced around before pushing the doors open, and saw that the sink in the middle of the bathroom was in fact open for him to enter without hassle. This time however he noticed a set of stairs that would lead him up and down if necessary. Without hesitation he continued to follow the glove deep into the depths of the school.

As he descended further and further he realized how much cleaner the corridor leading to the chamber was, and knew his brother must have been hard at work. Finally entering the great antechamber Justin froze when he saw his brother standing there staring at the fallen basilisk. Justin approached quietly not saying a word as he took in the colossal dead creature at their feet.

Harry broke their silence after only a moment, "This is the place where you first gained my respect. You were nothing back then. Despite all the training mom and dad put you through, your skills were barely classed as talented. Your skills were ultimately irrelevant though. It was your ridiculous Gryffindor bravery that got us out of this alive. You slayed this basilisk, and in that moment I knew you were special. I knew you were capable of the same levels of magic I was if you were pushed properly. Now you are taking on students two years your senior, and doing outstandingly in the Triwizard tournament."

There was a long pause after his brother's praise, and Justin didn't know what to say, so Harry continued, "I'm so proud of you, Justin. I'm so sorry you've had to-"

Before Harry could even finish his thoughts Justin launched himself at his older brother unable to hold back any longer. The young man chuckled as he held onto his brother tightly, "You were always such an emotional creature."

When the two separated Justin slugged the boy in the arm, "Shut up, Harry. Merlin, how are you here? Why? What if they catch you? What if-"

"Relax Justin. 30 of them couldn't take me down last time, and I was half drunk and exhausted as well. If any of them followed you then I will obliviate them into the next century. As for why I am here, that should be obvious. I am here to see you. I knew things wouldn't be good, and I wanted to get a run down on what's been going on. Gellert and I have been busy with our plans for the third task, so I've hardly had time to check in on anything."

This made Justin take a deep sigh of relief, "You both have a plan? Merlin, Harry, I have been losing my mind with worry over the whole thing!"

Chuckling, the young man shook his head, "Don't worry. The plan is crazy, but it's going to work. Tell me about mum and dad. Has the ICW been giving you guys trouble?"

Justin wasted no time in telling Harry everything that had been happening. He had undoubtedly been talking for an hour straight while his brother merely took it all in without saying a word. The good news was there was no official word from the ICW as a governing body. It was mostly the lead investigator that Harry should've killed in hindsight was giving them trouble. The only parts of Justin's story that seemed to phase Harry was the news that Fleur had taken it all rather poorly, and that his mother and father were under intense scrutiny.

Taking a deep breath and running a hand through his hair Harry sighed, "I don't want you to worry about mum and dad. If they can make it through the school year everything is going to be okay. Hunting Voldemort down, and putting his head on a spike had become mine and Gellert's top priority. We were content to let things evolve, and allow him to come to us, but we think he is behind all of this. Somehow he is pulling the strings, and his reach must be enormous for this to have all fallen into the place it has. If we bring the Dark Lord to his knees then Magical Britain will fall in line. The rest of the world will take more time, but the British Ministry won't turn over someone that is a hero in their eyes even if the ICW raises hell. Before Hogwarts starts next term I suspect we will have this all wrapped up, so please don't do anything rash."

Justin took a deep breath before nodding his head. The thought of the end of Voldemort being a reality was something he could hardly even comprehend. His family had prepared him for a doomsday match his whole life, and if his brother could take down the man without Justin lifting as much as a finger, then that was something he wouldn't lose a minute of sleep over. "What can I do?"

Harry blinked in surprise, "What do you mean?"

Feeling a little more excited about the fact that his brother was going to take an active role in pursuing Voldemort, "What can I do to make this easier for you? There has to be something? Harry, you are stepping up to take on a task that I was literally supposed to be born for. If there is something I can do for you I want to do it."

Frowning for a moment his older brother shook his head, "Justin, Grindelwald and I told you that Voldemort was never really your responsibility, and that the whole prophecy was bullshit, and possibly misinterpreted."

"That doesn't matter to me." Justin said fiercely, "You are taking something off my mind that has plagued my nightmares for years, and while the visions of what could happen may never fade, the fact that you are going to be in my corner is more than enough to settle my mind. Now, Harry, tell me. There has to be something I can do to help you."

Harry looked pensieve for several long moments before he asked, "Justin, do you have our family cloak somewhere in Gryffindor tower?"

"Of course." Justin said almost impatiently, "Dad trusted me with the cloak, and I never lend the thing out."

Suddenly Harry took a slight smile, "I should talk to Fleur, but it's risky. If what you say is true and she is hurting, then I can give her a means to contact me if only I can see her."

Justin's eyes lit up suddenly, "Then I will go down and get her. We can both fit under the invisibility cloak, and I will bring her here. Give you two some private time, and then I am certain a witch like Fleur knows the disillusionment charm. Even if she were discovered she is a champion, and is hardly going to be questioned."

Taking a long moment to think over his brother's words Harry finally nodded, "If you think you can do it without being caught...but Justin once you finish your task with the cloak...I need it."

Justin blinked several times at his brother's words, "Harry, your disillusionment charm is amazing. What on Earth do you need the cloak for? No thanks, but that isn't a skill you taught me, and sometimes I really value being invisible."

The older brother looked slightly pained at his words, but seemed to steel himself, "It's really important that I have the cloak for a bit. It's not forever, and I swear I will give it back, but there are things you don't know about our family heirloom. One day I swear I will tell you everything, but right now I need you to get Fleur, and I need you to trust me."

Justin ran a hand through his hair, before taking a deep breath closing his eyes, "I did say I would help, and I do trust you, Harry. Just...wait here, and I will be back with Fleur and the cloak."

Harry offered the young man a smile, "Thanks, Justin. This...this really means a lot. I knew I could count on you."

This seemed to pacify Justin as he took off in a jog towards the exit to the chamber. He could hardly believe he had spoken with his brother, or that Harry had snuck into the Chamber of Secrets. He hadn't even thought to ask him how he had accomplished the task. There was still so much more he wanted to know. Like what he and Gellert could possibly be working on that would get him