At The Heart Of The Matter

Authors Note: Thanks again to ALL my wonderful reviewers! You guys are the BEST!!! Harry Potter is still not mine!

Sorry I didn’t post yesterday, but my husband and I took our youngest daughter to a big amusement park located not far from where we live. We’ve created another roller coaster junkie! Thanks for your patience!

Getting Answers

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The meeting with Hermione, Blaise, Cornelius, Amelia and Manuel went better than Harry and Alicia hoped, with the three older adults liking his first strike idea a great deal. Hermione and Blaise said, with constant work, they could probably have the final solution within a month, so, they called Minerva, and with her agreement, Harry and Alicia would substitute teach Hermione’s classes, leaving her free to dedicate all her time researching an end to this war.

Cornelius and Manuel authorized Amelia to ready for attack, by any means necessary, 30 Aurors that would accompany Harry and his ‘Warp Crew’. The two highest government officials allocated the funds needed to hire the best trainers, buying any additional equipment and supplies necessary, to put the Auror’s through a rigorous re-training program, specializing on attack spells, weaponry, speed, accuracy, and shielding. The Auror’s and the ‘Warp Crew’ going on the attack would be taking a much harder line of, ‘shoot first, ask questions later’. This would not be the time for using simple spells like Stupefy or Expelliarmus….they were going to fight fire with fire….and win!

Harry promised to get with Paole the next day, making sure the stone basin that was being used to capture Tom’s spirit, would have the Blood/Runic Magic cast on it and be completed by the time it was needed. Harry also wanted to start on more amulets to protect the Auror’s that would be going. It would take Harry, Paole, Blaise, and Bianca the better part of the next 3-4 weeks to get them all done. Most of the time, Harry allowed each individual person to request what runes the amulet’s were cast with, but Harry learned the hard way, with the loss of Luna, that there were some runes he would not waver on. Luna’s amulet had not specifically warded off offensive and deadly spells, but just had some general protections, and that would not happen again….ever! Harry recast the ‘Warp Crew’s’ amulets the week after Luna‘s funeral, inserting the new rune on those that didn’t already have it, so all he had to do was create the new ones.

As Harry lay in bed, waking around 7:30 the next morning, he silently went over what he needed to do. He felt his wife snuggle in closer, and smiling down at her, looked over her amazing body, it all its naked glory. They had, of course, made love the night before, and in the exhaustion that followed their climaxes, they both passed out almost instantly. Harry’s smile grew even larger as his eyes stopped their perusing when they reached her stomach, and knowing his two children lay within, he tightened his hold on her ever so slightly. When she was again settled, he gently rolled Alicia on her back, and moved down, kneeling between her spread legs. He put his left hand on her hip, letting his thumb rub her still flat stomach, then leaned forward and placed two gentle kisses upon it.

Placing his head lightly upon her hip, he softly said, “Hey little ones….this is your Daddy. You can’t imagine how lucky you are to have this beautiful, incredible woman as your Mommy….you‘re such little miracles….I can’t describe how happy you’ve made me. I‘ve never been a Dad before, so I’m bound to mess up some, but hopefully not to bad…..just know I’ll always protect you as best I can. I love you.”

“Oh, Harry….we love you, too. You’re going to be a great Dad….I just know they’re going to be spoiled rotten!” said a teary eyed Alicia, smiling down at her husband.

“Do you think so?” Harry asked, not moving his head from its spot, but tilting it to look up at his wife.

“I don’t think so, I know so. Without a doubt, you’re the most caring and loving man I’ve ever known. You don’t know how to give less than a 100%, and that’s why I’m so sure.” said Alicia as she carded her fingers through his think hair lovingly.

“Did you two hear that? Mommy thinks I’m going to be a good Daddy….and you’ll learn soon enough, that what Mommy says, goes.” he teased.

Giving Harry a little slap, she chuckled and said, “Hey! Be nice….don’t go corrupting them against me yet!”

Putting on a hurt look she knew to be fake, he said, “I’ll never corrupt them against you…..I’m just stating the facts. It’s easier for them in the long run, if they learn a few critical things early on….like who runs this household, how to keep the woman in our lives happy, and that the Firebolt is the best broom! I’m just removing a few pebbles from their rough road ahead, making it a little smoother.”

“You’re awful, you know that, don’t you?” she said in retort.

“Yeah….but you love me anyway!” he said right back.

“I can’t help myself! You’re just so cute when you get like this!” she teased.

“Alicia! I’m sexy, macho, manly, a god amongst men….pick one, but I AM NOT CUTE!” he pouted.

“OH! Did I hurt your ego, dear? Well then, I’ll just have to correct that, won’t I? Let’s see…..you are sexy and manly, but after last night…..you’re definitely a God!” she said, laughing at her husband.

“You’re just trying to get on my good side! What do you want from me now?” Harry teased back, giving a long, suffering sigh as he finished while letting his hand travel south.

“You’re on the right track….a little lower…..” she said, moaning as he hit her sweet spot.

All teasing was lost from then on, as they began another marathon session of sex; round one was in the bed, with much teasing and mouth work involved; round two was in the bathroom, her using the sink in support to his taking her firmly from behind; and round three was a softer, slower, more loving endeavor in their giant tub. It was nearly noon before they finally left the master suite to eat lunch, then they both took a nap in front of the fire in their living room. Finally, deciding to start their day, they got up around 2pm, giving new meaning to the phrase ‘Lazy Sunday’.

The next few weeks flew by for Harry, a myriad of training, research, teaching, runic casting, Quidditch, and keeping his insatiable wife as sated as possible. He’d taken to using stamina potions to keep up with Alicia and his busy schedule, but Poppy assured him, after much teasing, that Alicia’s need for sex would pass soon enough, and he would miss these days when her body was no longer craving him.

“Poppy….don’t get me wrong, I love making love to my wife, but when a man in his prime needs to take a potion to just keep up….I can’t imagine that’s normal. She’s been after me at least 5 times a day….” Harry said feeling completely exasperated.

“You poor dear. It will get better.” Poppy teased, giving him a pat on the arm.

“You’re enjoying this way too much, you do know that?” he said with a sigh.

“I am!” she chuckled, then, realizing her godson was truly distressed about the whole situation, she said, “Harry, in all seriousness, I do understand. In just a couple of months, you’ll be lucky if she even let’s you touch her….then after the twins are born, good luck finding the time or the energy to have sex, so….try to enjoy it while it lasts.”

“Okay….I was just concerned….” he trailed off, giving his godmother a hug, leaving to go teach his next class.

A week later, on Tuesday, March 19th, Hermione and Blaise came barging into Harry’s last class that day, and said, “Harry! We’ve got it!”

“Class dismissed! No homework today!” Harry said, much to Hermione’s displeasure. He turned to his two friends and said, “Let’s organize a meeting with everyone for after dinner, and you can tell us all then what you’ve found.”

“I’ll have everyone here at 7pm, in the conference room.” said Blaise.

“Good. Make sure the Auror’s going with us are there too.” said Harry, and after receiving a nod from Blaise, the three parted ways.

At 7:30, the conference room was full of what was now known as the ‘First Strike Team’. The team included 30 Auror’s hand picked by Amelia, all the students and instructors, those who were not Aurors, from the time warp, minus a pregnant Alicia, and Charlie Weasley, totaling 67 people. Also present were Cornelius, Amelia, Manuel, Molly, and Minerva.

“Can I have your attention? Thanks. We’re here because Hermione, Blaise, Padma, Justin, Katie and Lisa, along with two Unspeakables, that will remain unknown to the majority of us, have finalized what we need to do to bring down Riddle. Please listen carefully.” said Harry.

Blaise started, “Thanks, Harry. We know this information seems along time in coming, but there were three definite possibilities, in our quest to bind or capture Voldemort’s spirit, that we’ve been researching. Hermione if you’ll pass around the information about the three options, I‘ll go over them with you all.”

After everyone had a copy, Blaise continued, “The first option was to use ‘The Soul Strip Spell’ in conjuncture with ‘The Spirit Containment Spell’. The drawbacks are:

1 - It takes six magically strong people to cast this spell, therefore needing at least 6-10 people protecting them and not hunting down any of Voldemort’s followers, or fighting.

2 - The soul stripping spell only gives about 10 seconds for the other spell to be cast before the soul either re-enters its host, or if dead, finds a new host.

3 - The containment spell requires its incantation to be recited 7 times, which is impossible considering we only have 10 seconds to work within.

The second option we looked into was a spell called ‘The Essence Seizure’. We thought this was going to be the one to use initially, because not only did it strip the soul, or essence from the body, it allowed us to capture it. The problem we later encountered was that after it was contained, no other spells or castings could be used, so banishing the object would be impossible. It took us the better part of a month and a half to find this out, and Harry’s one stipulation was that he must be able to banish or eliminate completely anything that is Voldemort from this plane of existence.

The solution, oddly enough, was found in one of the Blood Magic texts that belongs to Paole. Bianca was looking up the ramifications of some spell in combination with the runes Harry is using on the stone basin, when she came across an obscure ritual that would extract the soul, and bind it to something else. If your wondering why we didn’t notice this when we were studying Blood Magic in the time warp, it’s because this particular ritual is based in the Blood/Sex Magic category, which you, Harry, shied away from.” said Blaise, giving Harry a sympathetic look, knowing how uncomfortable his friend was with this branch of Blood Magic.

Sensing Harry was about to fight their idea, Hermione quickly said, “ Don’t panic, Harry! Please, just hear us out?”

“You all know how uncomfortable I am with using sex magic….especially if it’s Tom! But….I will listen….just keep in mind, if I have to even touch him sexually, in any way, this conversation is over!” Harry said, leaving no question that what he said was true.

Hermione, picking up where Blaise left off, explained, “Fair enough, Harry. What needs to happen first, after you’ve slowed Riddle down using ‘The Breath’, is the extraction of sperm from Voldemort. The down side is, we can’t use any spells to do so, as it will interrupt the progression of the ritual, but we can use very muggle way to do this..….a good old fashion syringe! Actually, it’s quite fitting, don’t you think?”

Giving a little chuckle, and hearing some in return, she continued, “Once the sperm’s been extracted, by either Paole, Harry or Blaise, you would use a Blood Ritual knife and bowl, extract a bit of Voldemort’s blood, mixing it with his sperm, then cast the rune or runes to seize his soul and transfer it to the stone basin. Once the basin has locked it the spirit, Harry will again take a little fresh blood, and activate the runes, banishing Voldemort’s soul for good. It’s a bit more complicated than my explanation, from what Bianca told me, but that about sums up the whole process. So, Harry, what do you think?”

“I think…..well, I think your all geniuses! This is awesome!” said an excited and relieved Harry. “Since I studied a little about the Blood/Sex Magic, I do understand what your simple explanation missed, as it’s the runic side that makes it more complicated….but not undoable. Also, if I do the entire ritual myself, it’ll be very taxing on my magic, but if Blaise is willing to extract the sperm and the blood, while Paole and I do the casting, since I have the runic work completed to the stone basin already, we three should feel no worse for the wear when this is all done.”

Neville spoke up and asked, “Why haven‘t you mentioned using Bianca in the ritual?”

Bianca jumped in and answered, “Neville, I didn’t take to Blood Magic like Blaise and Harry, and with the added complication of the sex runes along with the normal blood runes, let’s just say, I‘m not the best person for the job.”

“Oh, well, that makes sense. I was just curious.” said Neville.

“Harry, why can’t you just do to Voldemort what you did to Dumbledore?” asked Kingsley.

“I could, but that would still leave us with a living, breathing monster, who’s followers would try to set free. Theoretically, he could get his magic back, at a terrible cost to his soul, but we all know that’s not something that would bother him, and by doing so, it’ll recreate the same problems we have now. I want him dead and gone…..permanently!” said a very serious Harry.

“Harry, son, we do understand, especially considering everything Riddle has cost you personally. How long will it take to get ready to launch our attack?” asked Arthur

“Paole and I will need about 2 days to finalize the new ritual, and then it’s a waiting game until Voldemort summons his follower. Is there anyone we’ve caught recently, that he’s more apt to call?” asked Harry.

Amelia nodded and answered, “Two days ago we caught a new recruit, and as far as I know, Riddle doesn’t know anything about it. This recruit is actually suppose to be out finding many of the gems needed for Riddle’s ritual. It will probably be another 3-4 days before he’s summoned back to his master.”

“Then let’s plan on going in 3-4 days, and everyone, make sure you have what you need ready at a moments notice. Paole, Blaise, first thing tomorrow we start working the runic casting and setting the parameters needed for the ritual. Bianca, I’ll need you to finish the last few amulets for the Auror’s. Amelia, Neville, and Hermione, I’m leaving it up to you three to make sure all our people are prepared and know what and where they need to be during the battle. Make sure you leave a few people to watch our backs while we perform the castings. This is it, folks….let’s take this snake-faced monster out for good!”

Over the next two days, Harry, Paole and Blaise figured out what runes were needed, and the order in which they were to be performed. Bianca also finished all the amulets, and asked that Dobby and Winky deliver them to each of the Auror’s going into battle. The morning of Friday, March 22nd, saw them tying up of all the loose ends, and by the time Alicia’s 12 week appointment came around at 3pm, everything and everyone was at a battle ready status.

“Good afternoon, Alicia, Harry. How are my favorite people doing today?” Poppy asked brightly.

Chuckling at Harry’s godmother, Alicia said, “We’re doing really good, Poppy. How are you?”

“I’m good. I just finished up the last of the details for the medical team, so we’re ready for the battle. But enough of that, let’s see how you are, dear.” said Poppy.

After laying down, Alicia exposed her stomach, that now showed a true roundness to it and seemed to be getting bigger daily. Alicia questioned Poppy about this, and in answer, Poppy said, “With twins, you’ll show much sooner and your stomach will grow a lot faster than women who are only carrying one child. In the later months, you’ll really see a huge difference. Now, did you two want to find out the sex of your children?”

“Yes, we would.” said Alicia and Harry in unison.

About ten minutes later, the initial examination was complete. “Everything is coming along beautifully, and the threat of miscarrying was pretty much over, so no need to keep it a secret any longer. Alicia, I want you to stay out of the upcoming battle….and that‘s final.” said the stern nurse.

“Don’t worry, Poppy, I already banned Alicia from going.” said Harry.

Giving him a smile, she then cast the last spell that would identify the twin’s sex. When she look over at her notes, she looked up at Harry then down at Alicia, and with a big smile said, “Nothing you Potter’s do will ever be normal! Fraternal twins are almost never seen in the wizarding world! Harry, Alicia, you’re going to have a boy and a girl.”

“One of each….are you sure?” asked a stunned Harry.

“I’m 100% sure, dear….congratulations! I’m so happy for you both!” Poppy said excitedly.

“This is so exciting…one of each, Harry! Can you believe it!” said Alicia, with tear of joy in her eyes. Without giving a response, Harry leaned over and kissed his wife with such passion, that Poppy turned away, a blush gracing her cheeks. It was a happy couple that left the infirmary, vowing to share their good news once Voldemort was taken care of.

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Well, everyone….the final battle is almost here, so that only leaves a couple of chapters left to this story. It may be a few days till I post again, as the writer’s block is still taxing my brain! You can‘t imagine how hard its been to write the last two chapters, or how long it has taken me. I normally can spit out 3000 words in just a couple of hours, but I’ve spent the better part of 12 hours on this chapter alone! Uugghh! I want to make the battle chapter really good, so just be a little patient!