The Art of Peace

Chapter 21

Tao of Battle

One who takes position first at the battleground

and awaits the enemy is at ease.

One who takes position later at the battleground

and hastens to do battle is at labor.

Thus one skilled at battle summons other and is

not summoned by them.

How can one make the enemy arrive of their own

accord - offer them advantage.

How can one prevent the enemy from arriving -

harm them.

Thus how one can make the enemy labor when at

ease and starve when full - emerge where

they must hasten.

Sun Tzu

The Art of War

Harry sat in the room with Remus and Sirius content. It had been too long, he decided. The last time he had sat down with people from his childhood had been over four years ago, and it was definitely a good feeling. The last time the three of them had seen each other had been in Tibet when Remus and Sirius were trying to take him back to Dumbledore, so that was obviously an uncomfortable recollection, but by unspoken agreement the incident had not been brought up. Instead they settled into conversation about neutral topics; there would be time for recriminations later.

In another part of the castle Ginny was facing an angry brother and sister-in-law. Of course she should have known that Hermione would be quick to figure it all out when her unexplained trip terminated in time with Harry's unexpected return, but noting could ever prepare her for one of Ron's famous tantrums. Not that it was unwarranted, just very uncomfortable.

"How could you?!" he screamed. "I'm your brother; Harry was my best friend! How could you keep something like that from me? Did you honestly think we enjoyed thinking that Harry was dead? It was the worst day of my life when Dad told us! I died every day till now not knowing if we could have done something to save him, and now I find out you knew the truth the entire time! You're lucky that you are family or you would be a bloody mess on the ground, let me tell you!"

Ginny just took the tirade in silence. For one thing it was well nigh impossible to stop her brother when he went off like this, and for another she did deserve it. It was not as if she did not see how hard it had been for everyone when Harry's 'murder' was announced. On the contrary, as an outside observer she had been able to watch her family and Harry's few other close friends shrink to mere parodies of their former selves until the growing war forced them to focus their efforts and time elsewhere. In that sense the war had been a good thing as it moved their attention elsewhere, but the pain remained.

Meanwhile, Ron was finally running out of breath. Not even Hermione was going to stop this tirade. It was obvious she agreed with every word that Ron had said, meaning she had some choice comments of her own for when he was done. And then there was her mother...

"Don't you understand how much pain you two caused us?" That would be Hermione taking over for Ron, of course. Only she could be so biting without raising her voice. "We lost our best friend, didn't that matter to you? Did you think we didn't deserve to know? That we maybe didn't care like you did? Was this just a way to fulfill your adolescent crush because you were the only person to have access to him?"

Now that was a bit too much, so Ginny felt it was finally time to say something. It was time to fight fire with fire the Weasley way.

"You think I was just jealous? That I kept Harry being alive a secret out of spite? Weren't you there for the four years he watched people get hurt and die around him? Quirrell, Sirius, Remus, both of you, me in second year, Cedric and everyone he knew, not to mention his relatives right before he left - we all were hurt, and whether it was his fault or not, he still blamed himself for everything. That's the way he is. He told me to keep it secret because he thought it would keep you safe. It hurt him just as much as it hurt you, because he knew what you would go through. I'm not trying to justify what he did; I think he took the coward's way out and I told him so, but I had to respect his decision. Anyways, I'm the one who brought him back, so you should be thanking me."

With that she turned and flounced off. On the outside she looked angry, but inside she was secretly relieved. It was not every day that one could claim to have gotten the last word in an argument with either Ron or Hermione, but she had, and that was something to be proud of despite the well-deserved dressing down they had just given her.

When Harry finally came down for dinner, he faced a packed Great Hall abuzz with the rumors of what had happened that day. Squads apparating back in from raids and patrols had been forced to pass through the new camp outside the gates, and it had caused some violent confusion until Dumbledore had finally ordered some of his own men to take positions around the camp to explain matters to the incoming troops. The news about the Harry Potter look-alike in the upper areas of the castle inspired even more chatter, especially when the entire command staff disappeared with some of the strange guests. Needless to say, the entrance of Sirius and Remus with an unidentified young man ensconced between them caused quite a stir. Rumblings throughout the Hall met their arrival as its occupants questioned who it could be. Despite his renown few people actually knew The Boy Who Lived to any extent, and even more would not recognize him without the famous scar, something this man lacked. Those who had known the Potters, though, could not help but recognize the obvious family resemblance, and as they noticed it, whispers and gasps flew across the room. With the entire family having died or disappeared into the mists of time, there was only one conclusion that could be drawn. Harry Potter had defied death once more.

What was commonly known at Hogwarts was quickly known by Voldemort and his followers. Of course, Voldemort had felt a peculiar twinge for most of the day, but this confirmed his suspicions and fears. The last Potter had returned, and this was going to end in one of their deaths; there was no other option. Turning in his quasi-throne he addressed his Death Eaters.

"Potter has returned to Hogwarts. He needs to die. Tonight."

Seeing the looks and comments he was receiving, it was an easy decision to move out of the Great Hall to eat with his comrades rather than face the awed and, in some cases, furious faces of the rest of the occupants. It was a relief to settle back in with his squad mates, although the fast flowing Tibetan conversations left Sirius and Remus completely uncomfortable. The evening passed quickly, and before he knew it Harry was getting ready for bed in the tent he shared with Claude, Sifu, and his squad mates. Sifu and Lobsang had returned not long before, but they had immediately closeted themselves with the other commanders for discussions to which Harry was not privy. To be honest, it was an odd feeling to be left out like that and have no desire to know what was going on, but these last few years had helped him accept the fact that is was better for him not to know everything at times. His musings were interrupted as he dropped off to sleep.

The sentries surrounding the area were on edge. They had trained exhaustively for this type of situation, but now they were actually in a war zone, and the mere feel of it was completely different. It was raw, untamed, and for the first time for many of them, they were frightened. Wards had been established surrounding the encampment of course, but anyone patient and calm enough could easily make his way through them. It was almost a relief then, when one of the sentries on duty noticed that the grassy ground in front of him was rustling without wind. A closer look revealed footsteps without a body. He would have laughed at the ignorance of this intruder if it had not occurred to him that the wards had given no alarm. Quickly he muttered the alarm incantation and moved to confront the infiltrator as loud wails woke the camp. Suddenly it was chaos. The assassin in front of him abandoned his invisibility cloak in order to have better freedom of movement for combat, just in time for the sentry to approach him from behind and knock him unconscious with a well placed blow with his staff.

When the alarm rang, Harry's tent sprang into action. Weapons, of course, were kept by the bed for quick access. Robes were thrown on as the squad made their exit with the composure with which they had been trained. As they exited, they saw the rest of the troops doing the same, moving out in a fan like fashion to cover the camp in an impenetrable web. All over collisions were occurring as invisibility cloaked assassins had nowhere to run from the sudden outpouring. Their utter dependence on magic was also apparent in the close quarters of the tents. Harry came up close and personal with one of them as he rolled from the tent right into an invisible assailant. He stumbled back in shock as the still partially cloaked Death Eater swung his wand up with a snarl. Reacting on instinct Harry dropped to the ground as the dreaded curse came from his opponent's mouth.

"Aveda Kedavra!"

The green light burrowed itself into the ground and fizzled out on contact with the life-giving earth. As Harry picked himself up to move onto the offensive, the rest of the squad followed him out of the tent. Having heard the curse they knew an attacker was outside, so they came ready for battle. Claude saw the Death Eater just as Harry started to pick himself up. Stretching out his hand he yelled, "Expelliarmus!" The Death Eater's wand flew into Claude's hand with a definitive 'snap' as his face paled in recognition of the power he faced. Before he could even run Harry rose behind him, snapping off two kicks in quick succession to the back of his knees to send him to the ground in agony. Jangmu, the squad leader, was at the man's side in an instant, a wicked looking bladed appearing from one of her many pockets to press against his throat. Magically conjured ropes held him in place as the squad moved into its pre-assigned positions, leaving two men behind to guard the prisoner.

Orders rang through the compound as assigned squads moved methodically through the camp to ensure not a single enemy remained. When they were finished the guard was doubled and the wards replaced. The rest of the troops retired to their tents to care for the wounded. The battle had been swift, twenty of the infiltrators having been captured and five killed, but there were casualties among the Tibetans as well. The Death Eaters seemed to favor cutting curses and the killing curse - anything to cause the maximum amount of pain. As a result two of the Tibetans had died and twelve wounded, three with what were probably mortal injuries due to the nature of the magic used on them. If anything this merely fueled the fire of the troops' resolve. They were ready now to exact vengeance on their opponents.

With dawn came the last ragged breath of the three mortally wounded men. They had been hit with a time delayed curse at about the same time, and all the healers could do was watch helplessly as their charges faded into the Beyond. The bodies were gathered and their squads moved off into the Forbidden Forest to complete the funeral rites. They had died well; they would be remembered.

A/N: Props to my betas Ters and Kraeg001.

Andrea: I am not a practitioner of aikido, more a student of its philosophies. I am currently studying Tai Chi with the hopes of studying aikido, but that depends on how my bum knee holds up to the strain. I originally spelled O-sensei's name Moerihei because that was how I saw it written, but after your review I went and looked, and sure enough Morihei is the predominant translation, so I will go back and fix that when I get a chance. Thanks.

And for the rest of you who either agreed with my take on Dumbledore or now hate my guts for it, it is a plot device, nothing more. I think we can all agree he is not up to Gandalf standards as far as goodness, so his actual reasons for being what he is are open to debate. Besides, the point of fan fiction is to play. I'm playing. Peace.