Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

The Detour to Reality:

A Harry Potter Story

Authors Notes:

The following story is based on situations and characters owned by J.K. Rowling or her publishers.

I am just playing with 'em I don't own 'em. If I did own 'em I'd be rich. :) I own nothing, the bank does. Damn! :(

Spoilers for all seven books.

With thanks to my proofreaders: "What contented men desire", "Mlui" and "tumshie"

Chapter One

Harry was staring aimlessly out the car window. His uncle had just picked him up at King's Cross station.

Uncle Vernon was very quiet after his little chat with Mad-Eye and Arthur; Harry was contemplating the last month. He wondered how his friends were doing after being injured at the Ministry. He didn't know if Sirius was gone or not. He passed through the veil, but did that mean he was dead or just lost? It was so frustrating. Harry was startled out of his thoughts when he realised that the car had stopped and his uncle was speaking. He looked around in confusion; this was not Privet Drive.

'Come on boy, I haven't got all day,' Uncle Vernon instructed as he headed for the roadside café.

Harry collected his wits and followed his uncle. Once the car door slammed shut, Uncle Vernon activated the car's remote locking without stopping or looking around.

Harry entered the café to find his uncle already sitting in a quiet booth sipping tea. He beckoned Harry to sit down. A waitress approached but Uncle Vernon waved her off.

'Boy, if those friends of yours think they can intimidate me they are mistaken. Remember, I can easily dispose of that damn bird of yours. Here is what's going to happen: you will do the chores and keep your freak friends away or...your bird dies. If you keep your head down I'll see about letting you eat more, okay?'

Harry nodded sullenly, wishing that the wizards had never opened their mouths. They returned to the car once Uncle Vernon finished his tea.

That evening after unpacking in his room, someone politely knocking on his door disturbed Harry. He cautiously opened it to find his cousin Dudley on the threshold, looking nervous for some reason.

'May I come in?'

Harry was confused at Dudley's politeness, but he beckoned him into the untidy bedroom.

Dudley shut the door after himself. 'I've done a lot of thinking while you were away. I was told to get something from the attic, and I found one of your freak books. Those monsters were real?'

Harry processed this ramble and said, 'Yeah. They're called Dementors.'

Dudley continued, 'You saved me, right?'

'Yeah,' responded Harry uneasily, wondering where the conversation was going.

'Well, I wanted to thank you and say sorry…well, sorry.' With that, Dudley turned and left the room and a very confused Harry.

The following morning, Harry was sent out to weed the flowers. The weather was really strange; there was a cold mist in the morning, but it got really windy after dinner. Uncle Vernon never said a word about their conversation in the café, but Harry believed that the threat was real, and he was not looking forward to the rest of his summer.

Over the next couple of days Harry was given a lot of chores to do, it was as if Vernon had purposely made more work for him. Hedwig was also acting strange. Harry had left the window open, but she did not want to leave the room. Also, now that he thought about it, he had seen none of Mrs Figg's cats at all, or any other animal for that matter.

Harry turned over and killed his alarm clock, got up and crossed off another date on the calendar. It was the sixth of June 1996. After getting dressed, Harry trudged downstairs to prepare breakfast. Uncle Vernon came down half an hour later, and started into his large meal. As Harry was tidying up, Uncle Vernon called for him to mow the lawn. Harry replied that he had done it three days ago.

'Well do it again. The grass is growing very fast with all this strange weather.'

After Uncle Vernon left for work, Harry got out the mower, hedge clippers, and a sack for the grass. He started on the front lawn.

It was difficult as the wind was blowing very hard, but he managed all right. When he was finished with the front, he went around to do the back all the while cursing his uncle. Damn! The mowers grass box had to be emptied. Harry shut off the petrol engine, and detached the grass box. He struggled to cover the mouth of the container with the sack, the blowing wind not making it easy for him. He turned around at the sudden silence and gawked at a tornado that was bearing down on him. Harry reached for his wand to cast a shield spell, anything really before realising that he had locked it into his trunk so that he would not be tempted to use it on his uncle. The last thing he saw was the world spinning before he lost consciousness.

Hermione was glad she had taken a potion for the pain; the motion of the train was making her chest very uncomfortable. An unnamed, silent, purple-coloured spell had injured her. She didn't tell anyone about the severity of the injury, as she felt Harry had enough to deal with without worrying about her, and she did not want word to get back to him. Madam Pomfrey was very reluctant to let her go, and advised her to go to St Mungo's for treatment, but she refused and instead asked for the prescription of potions. The pain potion allowed her to at least fake normalcy. She watched Harry leave with his uncle before looking for her parents. Hermione let her father take her trunk and Crookshank's carrier to the car. When her mother, Jane, hugged her, she bit back tears. "The potion must be wearing off."

Hermione tried to settle comfortably in the back seat of her father's Mercedes Benz E500, but nothing she tried worked. Jane kept throwing looks over her shoulder, but kept silent. There was an almost oppressive air in the car, and she was glad to get out of it once they arrived home.

After supper, Hermione retired to her room and locked the door. She gingerly pulled her jumper over her head. She slowly unbuttoned her blouse, grimacing at the sight of blood seepage on the garment. Slowly, she unwrapped the bandages on her chest. A sudden knock on the door startled her.

'Hermione, can I talk to you please?'

Hermione debated with what to do, but reluctantly decided she would have to face the music eventually.

Jane was worried, Hermione was acting strange, and normally she would be telling stories about school or talking about Harry and Ron. She could sense reluctance in the hugged greeting at the train station. Then, Hermione fidgeted all the way home in the car, she was sullen during supper, and now she had locked herself in her room. "What's going on?"

She knocked on her daughter's door again, asking, 'Hermione can I talk to you please?'

Jane heard muffled sobs before the click of the door unlocked. She stood dumbfounded on the threshold of the room staring at her daughter. Hermione stood, arms akimbo, one hand holding her bloody blouse, the other a bandage clasp. Her chest was wrapped in bloody bandages. Tears of pain and shame were streaming down her face.

Maternal instinct drove her forward; she needed to see how bad it was. She guided Hermione back to sit on the edge of the bed with her arms reaching for the sky. She slowly unwrapped the damaged torso.

"Oh my god! What happened to my poor baby? I'll gut the bastard who did this. Oh no, this doesn't look right." Jane raged in her mind as more and more of the damage was revealed.

From below Hermione's neck to just above her bellybutton, the skin was a dull purple colour. The skin was cracked and peeling, puss was oozing from sores on the skin. The breasts resembled shrivelled grapes. Jane gasped at the damage visible on her daughter's body, and she winced when she remembered the train station and Hermione's reaction to the hug.

Hermione sat in shame at having been caught. She was worried at her mother's reaction, and figured she would have some explaining to do. Jane turned and closed the door so it would be just between mother and daughter.

'Explain,' instructed Jane in a soft voice.

'I'm afraid there is a lot I have not told you.' Hermione raised a hand to silence her mother's protest.

'I never really made friends until Hogwarts; it started just the same there too until Halloween. I was depressed, I had no friends, and a boy called me horrible names. There I was: crying in the toilet when a troll, all twelve feet of it, came in.'

Jane listened attentively as her daughter laid out her experiences at school.

'Harry came because he was worried about me. Ron followed and the two saved my life. That night I gained two friends, even though Ron was the one who had said those nasty things, I learned later that's just his way. Second year, I was petrified by a Basilisk. Not pleasant, let me tell you," Hermione chuckled at the lame joke, then winced in pain.

'Harry is famous in the magical world because he survived a killing curse at the age of one. He considers me a friend; his relatives**,** the Dursleys**, **don't treat him well, but he never says anything about it. Two years ago, Harry discovered he had a godfather who was wrongly imprisoned. Harry got to know him well after he escaped, this past year, and Harry was lured into a trap; I went with him to try to help. And was injured.'

Hermione paused to catch her breath, since it was very short. 'Madam Pomfrey tried to heal me, but the potions effects are reduced to one tenth of their potency for some reason. She thinks that ten weeks worth of potions will heal me, but it hurts,' Hermione sobbed.

Jane stood stunned as the fragments of Hermione's life at Hogwarts sank in. Jane's first priority was to help Hermione; she would worry about whether or not to let her return to Hogwarts later, only after her daughter was better. Hermione showed Jane a bag of medical supplies all charmed to self apply. The only problem was that the old ones had to be removed by hand, and the bandages had to be changed three times a day. Jane decided to take sick leave from work to look after Hermione.

The talk with Frank was not pleasant. He wanted to kill Harry Potter for dragging his daughter along on his adventures. The following week was unpleasant for Hermione, as she got no sleep because she was in so much pain; the pain potion was gone and Muggle painkillers didn't work.

Hermione started to write in today's medical diary for Madam Pomfrey, the date was the sixth of July 1996. She was lying in the hammock out on the patio, since it was the only place in the whole house that allowed her to rest comfortably.

Jane sat in the kitchen contemplating what to do about her daughter's fate. Would they allow her to go back after hearing the full story? She was startled out of her thoughts by the glass in the windows and patio door exploding into the kitchen, and the fierce roar of the wind. The patio was empty; Hermione was nowhere to be seen.

The old man sat in his armchair reading the Times. It was dated the sixteenth of February 2008, and he was reading an article about the freak weather over the last few years. For example: the flooding that shut down the motorway, forcing people to spend the night in their cars. Or the freak occurrences of tornadoes last year, which had, torn tiles from roofs. The environmentalists were harping on about recycle this and reuse that—protect the planet. He was pulled from his reading by a roaring noise. He put down his paper and looked out his window in to the farmyard. A tornado picked up his Range Rover and chucked it into the barn, hitting the gas tank for the house's central heating system.

The resulting explosion blew the roof off the barn. The tornado lifted up the debris and spat it at the house, shattering the windows and peppering the walls with steel roof supports. The man risked looking again after ducking for cover from the explosion. He saw his prized Jaguar E-type lying on its roof half way up an oak tree when suddenly the branch broke. The car flattened upon impact. Cursing, the man went to investigate the rest of the damage done to his property. He was shocked to discover two bodies among the debris. He found the boy in a field behind the barn where the trail of destruction had stopped, and he phoned the emergency services. They found the girl lying face down on his gravel driveway in front of the house on their way into the estate. He just hoped his insurance would pay for all of this.

Alan Shearer was a medic, sent out to the Hutton-Bury estate; he was told that there was an injured boy there. They were racing to the scene when they spotted a body on the estate's gravel road. Bernard, his driver, swerved the ambulance to avoid hitting the body. Alan went to investigate, and found an unconscious girl with bushy brown hair. Bernard retrieved the stretcher; once they had loaded the girl, they proceeded to the farmyard.

It looked like a bomb had gone off; the barn was on fire, but the fire brigade were due any minute now. They retrieved the other stretcher and followed old man Hutton-Bury to where the boy lay. After loading him up, Bernard tried the ignition but the engine just would not start. Alan was just getting in when he received a strong static electrical shock from the door.

'It won't start!' Bernard said, shocked.

'But it was only just serviced, and the servicing department gave it a clean bill of health! Try it again.'

Bernard did. The response from the engine was silence. Just as Bernard went to check the engine, it roared to life.

'Strange,' commented Bernard before communicating with the hospital about the two casualties in the back. He passed the Fire Brigade on his way out of the estate.

Doctor James Spencer frowned. He was baffled by his case from ten days ago. After examining his two new patients, he discovered that the girl had a damaged heart, and fluid in her lungs. She was hooked up to a life support machine; the third one they tried. The first two mysteriously broke down. The boy seemed to be just unconscious, and Jim was waiting for him to awaken. However, he did have a strange gash that was not healing.

They changed the bandages twice a day, but nothing seemed to work. He had just tried to stitch it; the boys wound bothered him, and it was in the shape of a lighting bolt on his forehead, a nasty looking cut. The wound reminded him of something, something that bothered him. Nurse Lisa Grint stuck her head into Jim's office and reported another strange occurrence, this time in both the boy's and the girl's rooms. The lab had just reported finding two strange substances in the boy's blood stream. They could extract one of the substances, which turned out to be a very strong poison of unknown origin. The other substance they could do nothing with, but it did seem to be cancelling out the effects of the poison.

After the nurse left, it struck him; he had seen that gash before: but it was in a film he had been forced to go see last summer by his daughter Anne. She was a big fan of a young actor called Daniel Radcliffe. She even dragged him to that play of his, "Equus." She was only a year younger for God's sake. He decided he would read all seven books tonight, because he had a feeling that it would shed some light on his two new patients.

Over the following week, Jim poured through the seven stories. He was sure that the young man was Harry Potter from the novels of the same name, and that the young woman was his friend Hermione Granger. At a guess, he suspected that it was after the fifth book due to Hermione's injuries. He would not know for sure until one of the two woke up. But the weird occurrences added credence to his theory. After reading the books, and re-watching his daughter's DVDs, he came to the conclusion that Harry was from the books as opposed to the films, as he looked similar to the actor Daniel but there were obvious differences. His height, weight, and build were similar to a concentration camp victim after a year or two of "treatment," not a healthy Hollywood actor. He decided to contact his friend Aaron McClain who was a social worker and an avid Sci-Fi fan, so he should hopefully have an open mind.

Aaron approached his old college buddy's office with trepidation. They were in contact through e-mail ever since the two kids cropped up onto the system. He did not believe in hocus pocus, but he knew Jim was a level headed, intelligent surgeon and not prone to making jokes, unlike himself who owed his graduation to Jim after all the pranks he pulled in his college days, which distracted him away from his studies. He would give Jim the benefit of the doubt. The e-mails had hinted that the two kids were characters out of a children's book, one of the more successful granted but still a children's book. If it was the truth, he did not know what to think, but he had joined social services to help children in need and, if Jim was telling the truth, that's exactly what he was going to do: help them in any way he knew how.

Jim looked nervous sitting behind his desk, thinking that Aaron was going to have him committed, but proceeded to explain everything that happened since the two kids arrived in his care. He further explained that the rest of his staff would swear to tell exactly the same thing he had. He had various mutated objects, such as a bedpan with a bright luminous green flower growing off of the dark blue stained bed pain, to back up his fanciful tale. Jim was not a person to tell extraordinary tales or try to fool people, and he did have strange objects that were not easy to replicate, which proved his story. So they moved on to the life of the kids and what information the books provided. Aaron had gone out and bought the series after he started to believe Jim.

During the meeting, he decided to close the file so it wouldn't draw undue attention to the two teenagers. He guessed that the kids would not stay here indefinitely and would be returning to the world described in the book. Aaron was disgusted with some of the developments he had read, and decided before meeting Harry and Hermione that he would make sure they would be thoroughly prepared to face the tasks that would be waiting for them. He would contact his brother John, an ex-Navy Seal now working as a detective in New York, about some training for the pair of them: no questions asked.

Aaron's brother John was twenty years older than himself. He had left England to find a life for himself before Aaron was born. Shortly after arriving in the U.S., he fell in love with Tam, a Vietnamese-American woman. They married after an eighteen-month courtship. Tam received word from Vietnam that her grandmother was expected to die shortly, and she wanted to say goodbye. John agreed, and the young couple moved to her home. John became great friends with Tam's father, Lee. Lee had taught John various forms of martial arts during the six-years that Lee was alive.

Shortly after the start of the war, Lee and John returned from hunting in the jungle for food to the village they were living in, only to find it destroyed. Soldiers had killed all the men and were systematically raping all the women. Lee went in to a rage at seeing his dead wife and daughters. He managed to kill one soldier before he was himself killed. John's reaction to finding his own wife lying dead was slightly different. He knew he could accomplish nothing now; he would escape and return with Marines to get revenge.

After returning to the States, he joined the Marines. His determination was spotted during training, as it was different to the other grunts' reluctance to fight. He was transferred to the Navy SEAL's enrolment exam straight from basic training. His drive to avenge Tam's brutal murder forced him to the very top of the elite unit. He served for fifteen years before being discharged on medical grounds. He sank into drink, trying to find solace in the bottle.

Aaron was in Chicago for a conference on psychology, and was rushing to meet a date when he fell over a bum on the street. He stopped to make sure he was not injured and was shocked to look in to an older, mirror image of himself. He knew he had an older brother he never met living in the US, but he never imagined that he would find him as a bum on the street. Aaron spent the next three year's helping his brother to rebuild his life. He was appalled to discover the fate of his dead wife and his in-laws.

With Aaron's help, John went back to school and later joined the New York police force. When questioned about his reasons for working in law enforcement in New York, the response was: "I met Tam in New York. I want her to be proud of me when we meet again."

John rose through the ranks to become a detective. He got an awful lot of stick after some film called, "Die Hard." The force wanted John to retire, but he was far too stubborn, so they reappointed him to training the new cadets. Aaron was sure that John was the perfect man to help Harry and Hermione, and anyway, John did owe Aaron for saving his sanity.

John took the first flight to London he could get, after ending the call with Aaron about the two kids his brother was trying to help. Anything is easy after helping me was his thought. He hated long flights, but it gave him time to read the books about his two new trainees. Aaron, Jim, and John met at Jim's office to discus the situation.

After exchanging pleasantries, John dropped a bombshell. 'About two weeks ago I had a strange dream. In it, I was training two Caucasians, one male with black hair, and the other female with bushy brown hair. The training was the stuff I used to do with Lee, my deceased father-in-law, which is why it stuck with me, it has been bugging me ever since. The other strange thing was that the two kids moved like Jedi out of "Star Wars." I figure I'm here to help them.'

Jim responded that both teens were unconscious and Hermione was severely injured. John responded that in his dream she was fit and healthy. John went on to suggest trying to train Harry in magic, so that maybe Harry could heal Hermione.

Jim responded, 'How? We know nothing about it or how to train them.'

John further explained his ideas on how to help the two teens. Jim was doubtful, but said he would give it a chance. Harry woke up the next day.

Harry slowly regained consciousness to the noise of a steady beep and the smell of disinfectant. He opened his eyes to look around, but everything was a blur. He searched the locker beside the bed to no avail. He was fully awake and realised he was in a hospital, a Muggle one. A shape appeared at the foot of the bed. It was predominately white with some pink blobs and topped by a black splotch of colour.

'Hello, I'm Doctor Spencer. That's an interesting scar on your forehead.'

Harry regarded the doctor before saying hello and asking where he was.

'Normally when introduced, you give your name.'

Harry blushed in embarrassment and replied he was Harry. The doctor frowned, but Harry missed it without his glasses.

'Harry, can you see?'

Harry responded by asking again where he was and if the doctor had seen where his glasses went.

Harry tried to observe the doctor, but it was hard without his glasses; the doctor sat after finishing his exam. Harry guessed that the Order was on their way to retrieve him, if they knew he was here. The doctor spoke, pulling Harry out of his thoughts.

'Harry, my name is James Spencer; my friends call me Jim. I would like you to call me Jim, okay?'

Harry frowned and wondered why the doctor was trying to be friendly but said, 'okay.'

Jim leaned forward and told Harry how he was found and how long he was in the hospital.

Jim paused and regarded Harry, wondering if now was the time. He knew from reading the books that Harry hated to be kept in the dark, but there was Harry's temper to consider and with the weird phenomenon, obviously now magic. If the conversation with Harry went badly it could cause a lot of trouble.

Jim took a leap of faith. 'Harry, I have something to tell you, and I beg you to keep calm and let me finish. Can you do that?'

Harry's curious response was 'mmm okay.'

'Harry, the date is the ninth of March 2008.'

Harry gasped in shock but remembering their earlier conversation he stayed quiet, fearing it would get worse. It did.

'There is an author called J.K. Rowling, and she wrote a seven book series about a boy who went to a magical school called Hogwarts. The last book was released last year, and the books were so successful that the sixth film is in production right now. I believe that you have just finished your fifth year at school, and are missing Sirius Black, and that Hermione Granger is two floors above us in a critical condition.'

Jim paused to let that sink in. Harry resembled a gold fish lying on a table gasping for water.

'For the past week, after a hunch to your identity, I searched for any trace of magic. The only trace was this ward and the one where Hermione is staying...'

The bedpan beside the bed started to rattle, a light at the far end of the room exploded in sparks, and Harry's bed started to levitate. Jim surged towards Harry and wrapped him into a hug.

'Harry relax, please... That's it, deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.' The room returned to normal, but Jim wasn't taking chances. 'Harry, please clear your mind.' Jim grimaced at the tension in the boy. It was as if Jim could sense the magic in him.

'Can I see Hermione, please?' asked Harry. Jim wondered if it was safe so soon, but Harry was too emotional right now.

'Harry, look at me. I want you to do an exercise for me. Concentrate on my voice and clear your mind.' Jim frowned as he realised Harry was not good at clearing his mind in the books, so he took a different tack. 'I want you to visualise a tap, just a tap and noting more. Do you see it?'

'Yes.'

'Good. Now think about water flowing out of it. Do you see it?'

'Yes,' Harry responded dreamily, almost hypnotised by Jim's voice.

'Good, just concentrate on the water flowing, nothing else, and let you thoughts drift away.' Harry's eyes had a slightly glassy look to them. Jim hoped this next bit worked. He was not sure, but if it failed, he didn't know any other way for Harry to control his magic while staying at the hospital.

'Harry, don't speak, but try to do what I ask please?'

Harry nodded.

'Harry, do you feel the sheets on your body, the mattress under you, the air entering your lungs, the blood flowing through you? Somewhere deep inside you is your magic. Try to find it. Taste it. Feel it. Know it.'

Harry did as the voice asked. He could feel the starched sheets and the uncomfortable mattress. His chest rising and falling pumping air into his lungs; the thump of his heart pumping blood and, just at the edge of his senses, magic. It felt like a part of him, powerful but strange at the same time. He was surprised he never noticed it before.

'Harry, relax please.'

Harry's eyes snapped open to see his bed floating high above Jim. He tried to visualise the flow of water from the tap, and was surprised at it working. His magic relaxed.

'Good, well done.'

Harry gasped, 'I could feel my magic.'

Jim replied, 'Harry, I'm afraid until you control your magic, I can't allow you to see Hermione.'

Harry moved to respond.

'When you came in we lost two heart monitors, to what I now know is your magic. She is currently monitored by a nurse and a machine 24/7. In your current state, you would make things worse. I'm sorry. This evening an optician will test your eyesight for some glasses. I will come by every day to see you, and I think you have enough to think about for today.'

'You mean there's more?'

'Oh yes. The contents of the books among others, but for that I think Hermione deserves to know as well. Don't you?'

Harry made no comment, deep in thought.

'Once I think you're in control I'll bring you up, so try to practice. One of the nurses will be monitoring, so don't tire yourself out.'

Jim bade farewell and left Harry to his surprisingly calm thoughts "I'm not in Kansas any more. Hermione is here in trouble. Jim seems to be trying to help, and it worked!"

Jim returned to his office to relay his meeting with Harry to Aaron and John. Jim said, 'It was scary, all that energy, but he responded to your suggestion Aaron.'

'Good. I still agree that we should train him and Hermione. I believe that when they return, which they will do, things could be very different,' replied Aaron.

'How?' responded Jim.

'The butterfly effect,' responded Aaron.

'Explain,' interjected John.

'The butterfly effect is when, if you go back in time and change one thing, the world you return to could be vastly different.'

'But they didn't time travel, responded Jim.

'Yes they did, in a way. The books are set in the nineties, and this is 2008. If you tell them the contents of the last two books, they will then have knowledge of their future, which could lead to the butterfly effect.'

'Alright, but how do you suggest Harry heals Hermione?'

'I have a suggestion,' interjected Nurse Lisa.

The three men turned to regard the woman, just realising that the office door was open. She explained that she came to the conclusion of the two teens' identities herself. She admitted to being a fan of the books and made a suggestion on how to heal Hermione, with Harry's help. The men agreed with the idea, thinking it was the best thing they could hope to come up with.

That afternoon a male nurse arrived with a wheelchair. Harry frowned at it, and the nurse responded that it was hospital policy for the safe movement of patients. So, Harry got into it and was brought to a room at the other end of the hospital for his eye exam with the optician. The optician introduced himself as Dave Everett. He was a small little man of five foot two, with short-cropped hair and a white moustache. Dave said he would get new glasses either tomorrow or the day after. That evening, before falling asleep, Harry tried what Jim had shown him and enjoyed a peaceful night.

Harry woke up the next morning, confused, until his memory informed him of yesterday's events. The various items in the room started to shake and rattle. Harry tried the exercise he was shown, and was pleased when it worked. He thought about what the doctor said, and decided since he did not see any owls from the Ministry, or any members from the Order, and he was aware of magic, maybe he might be telling the truth.

After having breakfast, he tried more meditation to touch his magic and discovered it was a little bit easier to do. He spotted a plastic jug of water on the bedside locker. He tried to levitate it, but it only wobbled. For the next fortnight, Harry slipped into a routine of pestering Jim to see Hermione, practising his meditation, and trying to levitate the jug of water. He was successful in two of his endeavours, but not in his attempts to see Hermione.

Jim entered Harry's room and pulled up a chair. 'Harry, we have a problem, we can't help your friend Hermione. We've tried everything we can think of.'

Harry sat in stunned silence on his bed.

'However, we believe that you can help her.'

'How?' gasped Harry, as if it was a lifeline.

'I'll explain the how later, but first I'll tell you how bad it is. Normally, the hospital would only tell the next of kin, but I know you are the only person here who she knows.' Jim paused to let this news sink in before proceeding to explain Hermione's injuries. 'We have discovered liquid on her lungs. The walls of her heart are very thin, and we are concerned that she might have a heart attack. And, finally, the skin on her chest is badly damaged, including her breasts, and is getting infected as time wears on.'

Harry lay on the bed stunned at the extent of Hermione's injuries, he guessed that it could be from the Ministry, but wasn't sure. He didn't know how he could help Hermione. Jim proceeded to explain that as the injury was most likely caused by magic, the solution was also going to be magic. Harry argued that he knew of no spell that he could use to help; besides, his wand was not here. Jim retorted that he could now levitate a jug of water without using a wand, so therefore anything was possible. Jim produced a biology book and went through the heart and lungs with Harry, explaining what he wanted Harry to do.

That afternoon, Jim skipped to a section in the book about female breasts and explained how they were used to feed babies and help form a bond between mother and baby. Harry expressed his doubts.

The following day, Harry was brought to a room just two doors down from his own. The blinds were closed on the windows inside. A bed was placed in the middle, and there was a woman lying on it. It was Nurse Lisa. She was lying topless, asleep upon the bed. On the walls were various posters showing medical diagrams of the subjects Harry had covered yesterday. Upon a table was a medical bust made from plastic, with removable sections displaying the various organs and body parts.

First, Jim walked Harry through the various posters before moving on to the medical bust. Then he explained how he hoped Harry would heal Hermione, and that he needed a specimen to show what her repaired body should be like. Harry was instructed to let his magic flow through Lisa, focusing on her heart and lungs. Once he was familiar with the healthy organs, he moved on to the healthy skin and breasts. Jim instructed Harry to meditate and touch his magic.

"Good, now Lisa here is a health young woman. In your meditative state, I want you to feel her heart beat and her respiration. Study her organs. Know what a healthy heart is, what healthy lungs are, and what healthy breasts are," Jim instructed.

Harry's magic flowed around Lisa's form, and through her. She stirred as goose bumps popped up on her skin, caused by Harry's magic studying her healthy organs.

At first Harry was embarrassed to be thrust into a situation where he was shown nude breasts, but it dawned on him what he was expected to do. This sobered him up very quickly; he was doing this so that he could try to heal Hermione. At first, he was doubtful about his chances, but soon remembered his first couple of lessons in Hogwarts and how it was his willpower that made his magic work with his then new wand. He remembered his doubts then, and how he overcame them. He would succeed, he had to, and Jim was implying that Hermione was close to death.

Over the following week, Harry practised his magic, and was shown various women with various problems. However, unlike the first day, these women were fully clothed. Harry knew there was something wrong with the first woman—his magic told him so. When he told Jim, Jim nodded and said the woman had breast cancer. After visiting the second woman, Harry again could tell there was something wrong—this time it was the heart. Jim told him the woman was likely to need a heart transplant soon as the drugs weren't working any more. The last woman had lung cancer.

Harry was getting anxious to see Hermione; after hearing about her condition, he was too busy trying to help to dwell on his feelings. He never realised how much difference there was between men and women—the biology of it and how many things could go wrong with a body. He didn't know how he was going to help Hermione, but trusted Jim to know what he was doing.

A frantic nurse woke Harry up. He observed that the calendar said it was the thirty first of March. The nurse brought Harry to Hermione's room. The room was similar to the one he had met Nurse Lisa in, but there were no diagrams and loads of electronic equipment with wires and tubes connecting them to Hermione. She was lying motionless in the bed. She had a sickly pale complexion, the sheets were only pulled up to her waist—over her upper body was a tent-like structure covered in blue cloth. Two IV lines ran from her upper arms into bags hanging from a hook above the bed. On the opposite wall, there was a black stain, covered with fresh paint. Harry gasped in shock; she looked worse than second year after she'd been petrified. The monitoring equipment started to rattle and shake.

'Harry, calm down please; this isn't helping. Hermione is in an induced coma to protect her and us from her magic. See the black mark on the wall? That happened the day after the two of you arrived. Meditate; focus your magic. Good.'

Harry calmed down, but frowned. "How is it that Jim always knew?"

So, Harry asked. 'When you use magic, it feels like severe pins and needles. When you control it, the feelings go away.'

'Did I hurt Lisa and those other women?' Harry asked.

Jim responded by saying that Lisa found it to be a strange experience, but not painful. Harry relaxed.

'Harry, do same as before. Sense Hermione; feel her heart beating, her lungs breathing.'

Harry gasped as he sensed the damage.

'I wanted you to concentrate on just her heart. Find the damage and repair it by removing all the dead and damaged cells, and creating new ones.'

Harry concentrated on the rhythm of Hermione's heartbeat as he tried to heal it. It was irregular, but Harry was to busy concentrating on trying to heal her to worry. Her heart almost stopped once but Harry used his magic to help it continue beating. He started to sweat, after what felt like hours, as he worked on trying to heal the damage to her heart. Suddenly, he could feel that he did it. It worked! In his newfound confidence, he moved on to the lungs. He found liquid and, sensing that Hermione was struggling to breath, he concluded that it should not be there.

Trusting his instincts and the little training, if you could call it that, he had received, he proceeded to heal the lungs using the same procedure as before. He felt the liquid, which he had felt shouldn't be there, and removed it by thinking about the banishing spell.

He was getting tired now, so Jim stopped him saying, 'That's very good but, you're exhausted. In this state you could do more harm than good, tomorrow you can work on the lungs.'

Hermione's mind was reeling as she remembered being picked up by the tornado and seeing the table, and some of her heavy schoolbooks, hitting the glass patio door before losing consciousness. She remembered the feeling of floating in a haze of pain and worried voices, of time drifting by. She was worried about not hearing Mummy and Daddy's voices. She felt a presence. It awakened her mind from its slumber; it felt like Harry but…no that can't be right, she thought. The presence touched her heart, and she felt immense pain for a short time. After a long passage of time it moved up to her chest and she could feel it getting easier and easier to breath. Then it left. She felt the loss keenly as, even though it inflicted pain, she could now breathe and could feel the steady thump of her heart, where before it had been beating erratically.

The following day, Harry returned to Hermione's room feeling confident. He thought that she looked healthier than yesterday before he tried to heal her. Jim directed him on the medical aspects of what should happen to healthy skin and how he would normally use skin grafts, but, with Harry's newfound magical abilities, he wouldn't need to. Harry decided to concentrate on a clean environment just above the affected area. Once done, he removed all the damaged skin and cell being careful to note where Hermione's breasts were. When he decided to fix those first, his mind went back to the first day meeting with Nurse Lisa and the sense of his magic had of healthy breasts. He was concerned that he might make them look wrong and, with a burst of inspiration, he tried to contact Hermione's magic.

Her magic answered Harry's gently, almost as if it was Hermione herself. He decided not to ask to be shown what Hermione's breasts looked like, but instead showed her magic what he had done and how he was trying to repair her damaged body.

Unfortunately, Hermione's magic was very weak, so Harry offered some of his own power to help. Her magic finished the job Harry had started, and went on to fix the skin and restore the energy to Hermione's vastly depleted stores. Harry slumped in the chair. He was feeling very tired when suddenly his scar exploded in pain, worse than anything he experienced with Voldemort. The room was alive with magic and static electricity, his newly developed sense of magic felt Hermione's magic touch him in thanks for healing her, but it reeled from the stain of dark magic in Harry that he never noticed before.

His mind was still spinning and trying to grasp what was happening to him. At first, he was trying to heal one of his best friends that had gotten injured because of him, then he realised she was right and had known it was a trap but still followed him to the Ministry that night. As he berated himself, he thought he heard her voice telling him to stop beating himself in the far reaches of his mind. He went searching for her voice again. When he found it, his newly developed sense of magic discovered that Hermione's magic was their trying to console him.

Harry had to ask, _Is that you Hermione?_

She responded groggily, as if her mind was just awakening, _Harry what's going on, where am I?_

Harry's mind raced through the last six or seven weeks, replaying everything that happened, wondering how to respond to the question, all the while trying to ignore the severe pain in his scar.

_Thanks Harry._ came the sleepy reply.

_Huh?_ Harry thought in confusion. He was tired and in agony from the pain in his scar.

The pain suddenly vanished and it was as if a great depression was gone from his mind. Straight after Hermione's voice came into his mind, a flood of images assaulted him.

_Oh Harry, I'm so sorry about Sirius. My injuries are not your fault. I should have picked a better spell than "Silencio" to use. I never thought of silent casting before. Thank you, thank you for healing me. I felt it when your magic touched my heart and how tired you were when working on my lungs;_ _it was a strange sensation to feel your magic working and to hear Jim's instructions through your ears._

_Thank you for thinking about my feelings when you…when you worked on my, err. . . breasts and stopped to show my magic how to heal myself, I really appreciate it. I never guessed at how draining it was for you yesterday, healing me, but when my magic followed yours_ _guidance, I felt really weak; sorry I took so much of your power but my mind was not fully awake and coherent. When I went to give it back, I sensed your scar. It felt like the restricted section of the library, with all the old Dark Arts books, so I tried to help you like you helped me. Sorry about the pain, I tried to heal the scar wound, but I think it will still leave a mark. Sorry, I'm rambling, so I'll stop now._'

Harry worked through the babble of Hermione's thoughts before trying to process the flood of images. The shock in her mother's face at her wound. Hermione studying her injury in the bathroom, before trying to bandage it with tears streaming down her face at the realisation that she was scarred for life. Hermione trying to convince Harry that it was a trap, realising that Harry wanted to save Sirius, and deciding to help anyway. The long conversation with her mother in the kitchen about life at Hogwarts, the new friends she made in the magical world, and about Voldemort.

The last few images were of Harry, happy on his Firebolt or in the company of herself and Ron, while her thoughts focused on the task Harry's magic had given her. He followed Hermione's thoughts on the dark magic contained in his scar and how she tried to get rid of it, like how Harry had banished the liquid in her lungs. The scar caused the intense pain. The scar contained dark magic. The dark magic was causing intense pain through an unwillingness to leave Harry's body. But Hermione's stubbornness won out.

Harry felt his body slip into contented slumber, but his mind was still connected to Hermione's. He tried to answer her questions about the hospital and Jim the doctor as best he could. When Hermione's questions drifted to Sirius, Harry did not know how to respond. Instead, he decided to show her the memories of Sirius he had, and how being with him was better than living at Privet Drive; unfortunately, this lead to a trip down memory lane. His life before Hogwarts, living in a cupboard under the stairs, how the spiders never bothered him as they were his friends. His depression at the loss of his friends in the summers, and Dumbledore's decrees of no communication for fear of discovery by Voldemort's thugs. He could feel Hermione's shock and horror at Harry's home life and how she never saw the signs. Unfortunately, Harry's trip down memory lane led to the night he tried to rescue Sirius and the words of the full prophecy came to mind.

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives."_

And Professor Dumbledore's thoughts on the subject of the prophecy. He could feel the gears turning at a high rate of speed in Hermione's mind, processing all the information. She asked if this was like when Snape taught him Occlumency? That triggered all of Harry's thoughts and feelings on all his sessions with Snape. He could feel Hermione's impressive intellect work through Snape's lessons and his memory of reading the book that was supposed to help him block his mind. She guided him in what he should have done, using Jim's meditation techniques, and he was surprised to discover forgotten memories being reintegrated with his memory: spells he had forgotten, parts of Binn's lectures on history that he was awake for. He could tell Hermione was doing the same to her own mind. He found the experience of sharing mind and magic with Hermione oddly safe and comforting.

Hermione was dozing in her mind when she felt the presence again, but this time she felt pins and needles throughout the area of her chest that was scarred. Then, all sensation left that area and she felt the dead and damaged skin and muscles removed, with a surprising lack of pain. She cried in her mind at the loss of her breasts, but stopped when she felt a curious sensation where they once were. The presence touched her mind, and she gasped in shock to discover that it was Harry's magic, and that the first time she had felt it was Harry healing her damaged organs.

She beamed at the thought that Harry had tried to subconsciously limit the amount of pain he caused her yesterday by healing all of her damaged organs at once. Her joy soared at the reason for Harry's magic contacting her mind and magic. Harry wanted the healing to be perfect, and respected her too much to ogle her new breasts, so he was showing her how to do it herself so that he would not have to invade her privacy. Her mind was flooded with Harry's meditation techniques, and his weeklong study of the female form so that he could heal her. Using these new techniques, she re-grew her own breasts and the skin and underlying tissue to the affected part of her chest. Hermione was getting fatigued very early in the process of healing herself, but Harry leant her some of his magic so that she could finish the task at hand. The infusion of Harry's magic felt brilliant; she felt powerful, as though she could do any thing she put her mind to.

At first, she was confused by what Harry's magic was saying. He was berating himself about the fiasco at the Ministry, about getting her hurt, about how it was only after Neville's reassurance that she was alive, that only then could he collect his wits and fight on.

She tried something to console him. _Harry, stop it. It's not your fault you were tricked._ She sent him reassuring thoughts and feelings to try, and calm him. Harry's puzzled response returned.

_Is that you, Hermione?_

A flood of images of Harry also being picked up by a tornado accompanied the confused reply.

_Strange,_ she thought, _Images of all his time from that incident to now._ Hermione thanked him, but Harry continued to be confused.

She could detect something wrong and, using what she learnt from Harry, she traced it back to his scar. It was a new presence, evil and disgusting. Realisation struck: this must be what causes Harry to be an open book to Voldemort. But she instinctively knew that she was stronger than the presence, and pulled on it. She felt the pain she had caused Harry from pulling on it. She winced in sympathy, hoping Harry would forgive her. That didn't work, so she repeated what Harry had done yesterday to the liquid in her lungs: trying to banish it, and was pleasantly surprised when that did the trick.

Hermione could sense relief wash through Harry at the loss of the almost mind-numbing pain, and she felt guilty at having caused it. She proceeded to thank Harry and tried to console him about his loss of Sirius, and her failure in battle. She vowed to be better next time; she would be, she hoped. She thanked him for just being himself, trying to heal her, and teaching to heal herself. She then realised that she had also sent some of her memories; trying to distract Harry she questioned him about the people he met. She discovered that Harry's body had fallen asleep, but was delighted to know that he was still communicating with her mind.

Hermione enquired about the staff in the hospital, and about Sirius. Harry responded by showing her a flood of his memories, as she processed the memories she was aghast to learn that the memories were pretty much all that Harry could remember about his life: from his earliest memories right up to the present. She was horrified to learn of the suffering he endured before coming to Hogwarts; the grief Dumbledore inflicted with his order of no communication. She was shocked and appalled to learn that she had added to Harry's burdens, by cajoling him incessantly to study all the while he was suffering nights of mind numbing pain inflicted by Voldemort. She was secretly pleased that he still studied when she asked him too. However, she was dismayed that she had never seen the signs that Harry's life away from Hogwarts was so horrible.

She processed the prophecy, and was dismayed at Harry's understanding of it and the fact that he thought that he was going to die. Changing thoughts, Hermione sent an enquiry to Harry, _Is this mind-speak the same as what you went through with Professor Snape?_

In response, she received a detailed recollection about all of Harry's private lessons with the Potions Master; she was horrified at Professor Snape's teaching methodology. After assimilating the information, she tried to implement the theory in conjunction with Doctor Spencer's meditation technique. Hermione was pleasantly surprised at how her impressive memory was now almost better than photographic recall. Pleased with this, she guided Harry through what she understood of the technique and was ecstatic that Harry understood, and above all implemented it. Hermione re-sorted her mind, like a librarian does after receiving new books, to include the new information.

Hermione offered to exchange memories of her life before they met, in exchange for what Harry had already shared. They proceeded to reminisce about both of their lives before and during, Hogwarts. Hermione discovered the motivation behind his more reckless decisions, among other things. Harry, meanwhile, learned that Hermione was insecure underneath what she showed the world. They spent what seemed like eternity just sharing thoughts, ideas, feelings, and dreams. After a long while, a stray thought blossomed into Hermione's mind about an old game her father enjoyed.

_Trivial Pursuit?_ she asked Harry. Did he want to try something new and ask each other questions about obscure magical facts?

Harry responded that he would try, but he was concerned that he could cheat by reading her mind. Hermione responded that she trusted him implicitly to play in the spirit of the game, not scan her mind, and stay out of parts she asked him to. Harry agreed to stay out of certain areas of her mind and agreed to the rules. He found that the game helped him to learn new spells, from the vast array of books Hermione read in the Hogwarts library, as Hermione shared her understanding and practice of the spells. She enjoyed the game as it gave her a fresh perspective and could now see Harry's point of view about Quidditch and the sense of freedom he got from flying.

They enjoyed this new form of communication, however, all good things must end, and Hermione was disappointed when Harry was awakened and returned his mind to the waking world. It was a worried Doctor Spencer that had disturbed Harry. She was pleased to discover that Harry offered to let her mind piggyback in his so she could listen into his conversation with the doctor.

Jim was worried—it had been three days since Harry passed out. He was concerned that he had pushed Harry to hard and to fast, but Hermione's vitals were failing so he had needed to rush Harry into the procedure. He was amazed that Harry managed to repair the organs, and Hermione made a noticeable improvement. The following day was amazing and Jim was fascinated, watching the skin heal behind a soft blue mist. Jim was concerned when Harry slumped, exhausted into the chair beside her bed.

He was transferred back to his room to sleep off the effects, but that had been three days ago. It was strange; Harry did not appear to be comatose and, after examining Hermione, it was discovered she was also was simply asleep. On his third visit to Harry, he tapped him on the shoulder to try to awaken him, and was surprised when he responded groggily.

'Hello, Harry, how are you this morning?' inquired Jim.

'I'm fine, thanks. Is there a reason that you woke me up?' Harry responded.

'You realise that you were asleep for three days, right?'

'Oh.'

'Hermione hasn't woken up yet, even though we believe that she has made a complete recovery.'

'Okay, I'll ask her to get up then. She doesn't want anyone to be worried about her.'

'Pardon me? Explain, please,' Jim requested, once he got over the shock of Harry's statement.

'Well, after healing Hermione, I discovered that we could communicate. So we were just talking until you shook me, she is now taking to the nurse, a Ruth Bakersfield, I believe, Harry replied.

Jim slumped in his chair in shock. Harry had just described doing things that he had certainly never done in the books. 'Thank you, Harry. After my examination of Hermione, I will meet with both of you and share the contents of the books with you. Sound good to you?'

'Okay, I can't wait to see Hermione up and about,' Harry responded.

He spent the rest of the day practicing the meditation techniques Jim had shown him. Hermione spent her day going from one medical exam to another, mostly stress tests done on her heart and lungs. Jim decided it was too late for the meeting, and told Hermione she would be seeing Harry tomorrow and the rest of what he had to reveal would happen then. Hermione relayed this to Harry, and both enjoy a pleasant night in their shared dreams.

The following morning after breakfast, Harry was brought to a new room in the hospital, it had been set up like a lounge. There was a television mounted on the wall, two large windows, and large comfortable armchairs. Harry sat in one, wondering what was going on, when the door opened and Hermione flung herself at him in a hug. After a short period of time, Jim cleared his throat, and Harry and Hermione both took their seats.

'From what Harry told me, can I assume you're up to speed Hermione?' started Jim.

'Yes,' responded Hermione.

'I wanted to share the contents of the books with you both, however, I got sidetracked. My daughter, Anne, is a fan of the series and has lent out some of her books, I hope to share them with you by the end of the week. This room is halfway between both your two rooms, use it, there are books on shelves under the windows, and the TV has all the channels if you want to be couch potatoes, I'll leave you to it.'

With that, Jim left.

That afternoon, Jim found an old mansion for sale about fifteen miles from the hospital. It was in okay condition, and was for sale because the revenue commissioners were trying to recoup outstanding tax owed by the previous owners. The price was high; none of the people involved in the project had that kind of money solely or collectively. The mansion stood at four stories of red brick construction. A large courtyard enclosed it, with stables against the north wall. It was listed as having six master suites and contained a further twenty-two bedrooms, excluding the servant's quarters.

There was a large parcel of land included in the sale price; approximately forty hectares. As Jim viewed the property, an agent of the revenue commissioners approached him. The man introduced himself as Jeremy May. Mr May explained that the property had been on the market for about eighteen months and was attracting little to no interest. Jim inquired as to the reasons for this. The response was that the area had a myth that it was a haunted house. Jim thanked the man for his time and left. Two hours later, Jim received a strange phone call from Mr May saying he had been given the deeds to the estate. When Jim inquired why this was so, the response shocked him.

'Doctor Spencer, you were the only one who managed a full tour of the property untouched. Every other prospective buyer fled in terror, the press has begun to call it a "Dangerous House of Horror." We don't want to try to run the place, as the running costs are about 100,000 a year, and no one is willing to work on it. Therefore, we decided to offload it to you. Thank you. Good day.'

Jim thought, "At least no one will bother us about stray magical emissions."

The next morning, Jim and the McClain brothers had a meeting in Jim's office to discuss the new developments. Jim started by saying that Hermione was up and about after making a full recovery, all thanks to John's suggestion. They went on to discuss the situation.

'I've been thinking—Harry is a troubled young man with a heavy burden, and Hermione is at his side for the majority of the seven books. But I fear it will be different when they get back,' Aaron commented.

'You expect them to return, don't you?' responded Jim.

'Yes. I am a fan of science fiction, and this is as close to time travel as it gets for Harry and Hermione; anything they learn about the next two years covered in those books can have disastrous consequences for them. Have you ever seen "Back to the Future?" It is one example of what can go wrong with time travel.'

'But they left their world, it is not the same.'

'I agree, but the eventual repercussions could be just as bad.'

'So, what do you think could happen if we help them?'

'It has already changed. Hermione's injuries were worse than was ever described in the books. They have spent the time since Harry healed Hermione's injuries bonding; in the books, Harry ends up falling for Ginny. Do you see it happening now?'

'No. I don't see it happening after what they went through since they arrived here.'

'Exactly. I suspect that it will be much worse when they go back. They need help because of what they could face once they return.'

'How can we help them? Why should we help them?'

'First we train them. They appear to be able to do magic; we research it and push their magical abilities to the limits. We train them in armed and unarmed combat, swordsmanship, and tactics. But we will also train them in English, maths, science, arts, and crafts. Have John train them the skill sets he used in his old detective job. Secondly, the two of us took an oath, as medical practitioners: "Do no harm". I believe we will be harming them by not helping them.'

John spoke up. 'I am going to help them, on my own if need be. I already told you of my dream; I always seem to get two dreams a year that have helped in someway, and the last one showed me helping them.'

Jim nodded but said, 'I agree, but we should offer to train them and give the reasons why. From the books have shown, he hates been kept in the dark about things. Dumbledore ran his life with no input from Harry. Frankly, I'm surprised he has no resentment issues.'

The meeting wrapped up with John saying he would contact a friend he knew who would be perfect to train them in swordplay. He was a Scotsman named Connor Wallace; he was currently living in the Bahamas after moving out of New York last year. He owed John a couple of favours, no questions asked. After contacting Connor, arrangements were made to contact a lot of Jim and Aaron's old college buddies to help with the planned training. Connor booked the next flight to England; he was looking forward to passing on his skills with a blade. They were pleased to find that he had instructors for each planned course.

They had a close-knit group of friends that they trusted to teach the various subjects he wanted Harry and Hermione to learn. John and Connor would handle the combat side. He was shocked at the good fortune of finding the perfect place. It was close to where his friends lived, so they could commute easily. Jim wanted it to be a complete package before offering the two kids their options. He was concerned about his next meeting with Harry and Hermione, and how they would react to the contents of the final two books. He liked to think he could make his own future and not have it planned by some one else.

Hermione looked up from her novel, "The boy in the striped pyjamas." It was about a German boy, whose father was the commissioner of a concentration camp during World War Two, and the friendship he had with one of the boys incarcerated inside. She looked at Harry sitting across from her reading "Goldfinger." He was completely engrossed in the novel.

She missed home, but Harry's presence helped combat the feeling of homesickness. Doctor Spencer took longer than the couple of days he had said he would, and it was now almost two weeks later. As she returned to read her book, the door opened and Doctor Spencer entered. He pulled up a blue chair and sat down; he looked apprehensive. Harry looked up at the new presence in the room.

Jim sat into the chair aware he had the two teens' full attention. He was pleased with the progress they had made so far. The nurses maintained a vigil in their rooms, due to the concern that if either of them suffered a nightmare the hospital could be damaged by magical emissions like it had before he taught Harry the meditation techniques he passed on to Hermione. However, the reports were that they both slept peacefully each night, which gave Jim hope that his planned talk could go well. Both teens, perhaps aware of the seriousness of the situation, closed their books.

Jim produced a large school bag and put it in front of him. He removed fourteen books and stacked them into two piles of seven. Harry guessed that they were the books Jim mentioned after telling him that he was a character in them. Jim explained that his daughter sourced through her friends the extra copies of the books, and apologised for the lengthy delay. Jim further explained that he was not keeping anything from them, but felt that the rest of the information was too dangerous to reveal before they recovered and had some control of their magic. He told them that they should read the books and that they would speak again afterwards. If they wanted to talk before hand, all they had to do was tell one of the nurses stationed on the nearby ward and he would come quickly.

Harry cautiously reached for the first book, called the "Philosopher's Stone", and started to read. Hermione copied him and started into her copy of the same book. After finishing the first book, they compared notes. Harry found that, though the book was mostly accurate, it omitted certain events he felt were important, such as his various discussions with Hermione about what family life was like. How he had kept his own home life hidden, he didn't know. The book did not cover his various bouts of accidental magic. Hermione found the first book to be a brief summary of their first year at Hogwarts and was struck with the thought that some of the events in hindsight seemed fishy, like moving the Stone to Hogwarts and the fact that Professor Snape had more hidden layers than Hermione had first realised. As Hermione was an avid reader, she spotted some good ideas in the text: namely the significance of Harry's dreams. She held off sharing this with Harry until she finished reading the rest of the books.

After discussing the differences between their experiences and what the book told, they moved onto the second. Hermione was disappointed with the lack of detail when she was petrified, and the fact that Harry would often visit at night to see her and talk to her. She was pleased to see that Harry's recollection of the events in the Chamber were modest compared to the recollection in the book. Harry was generally disgusted with the second book; he felt that there were large parts of his second year missing. On the nights when his terrible nightmares woke him, he would visit Hermione's prone form in the hospital wing and talk for hours, about anything and everything. The book didn't tell about everything that happened in the chamber. He was relieved that the book did not reveal his secret, which he would eventually have to tell Hermione. He could sense her curiosity.

'Hermione, there is something I have to show you.' Harry told her at the beginning of their discussion about the end of the second book.

He showed Hermione his memory of the battle in the chamber. She did not, as of yet, spot any differences between his memory of the event and the description in the book until after the Basilisk chased Harry through the network of tunnels under Hogwarts. Harry was running down a dark tunnel, grasping the sword tightly in one hand. He tripped over a pile of rubble and fell through a small hole in the floor that was slightly bigger than he was. The Basilisk passed overhead without noticing the pit. Harry looked up; he was in a small chamber, light was provided by a small wall of sconces. He started to panic; there was no door, no way out.

Suddenly, he was bathed in a rainbow of light. He felt a strange sensation wash over him. After what seemed to be an eternity, the light faded and Harry found himself at the mouth of a tunnel looking down over the chamber. Harry heard the Basilisk coming; he closed his eyes as the giant snake moved to bite him. He felt the fang pierce his skin, and he shoved the sword up through the roof of the snake's mouth.

Hermione's mind was reeling as she watched the events continue to play out as described in the book. She was puzzled about what happened to Harry in the tunnels under Hogwarts. She asked Harry why he told no one about it.

'Something told me to stay quiet about that room in the pipes, and now it's telling me to share the story with you. I don't know what it did and I felt no different before or after.'

Hermione offered, via their linked minds, to try to discover what happened to him in that room and what the strange light was. She was, unfortunately, unsuccessful in her attempt to discover the cause of the light and its effects on Harry's body or magic.

The next day they moved on to the next book, which was about his third year. Harry was startled to realise that Hermione turned in his Firebolt due to concern for his safety and not out of spite as he had first thought. He was ashamed to not deduce earlier that Hermione's sporadic appearances at classes throughout the year were due to her time-turner. He found it uncomfortable to be looking back over his third year, as it was the year he was introduced to his godfather and many of his father's friends.

Again, the book lacked detail about his time at Hogwarts. It was little more than a quick summary, with some of his more eventful days recorded in limited detail. He was dismayed to discover that none of his pranks were mentioned, or his discussions with the Weasley twins about pranks, as that was the first year he learnt more about his father's exploits at Hogwarts and had decided to learn all he could about practical jokes and maybe follow in his father's footsteps.

Hermione found, after reading the third book, that she had been lucky to pull the wool over everyone's eyes with her blatant use of the time-turner. She found, on reflection, that she enjoyed the ride on the back of Buckbeak. At the time, she had been too scared of falling to truly enjoy the experience.

That night, they took a break from the books and watched a movie instead. It was the first Lord of the Rings that Jim brought in to show them; Harry thought it was nice to see a different type of magic shown on screen and felt he could identify with Frodo and his struggle with a task that seemed beyond him. The following day, they watched the rest of the trilogy. Hermione was amazed at the advances in filmmaking from her time in 1996. The last film she had seen was Jurassic Park, two years previously; it seemed that special effects progressed in leaps and bounds since then.

After enjoying the break, they went back to the next book: the Goblet of Fire. Hermione found that the whole book lacked a great deal of detail; the conflict between the students of the three different schools, each with different rules and regulations, meant that there was an ongoing prank war occurring. She remembered the difficult fortnight when all the ladies' bathrooms were put out of order because of a vicious prank on the doors that would magically strip everything back to your birthday suit and destroy clothes, wands, schoolbooks, and bags. It was next to impossible to counter, and the solution had been to close half the men's bathrooms and open them instead as ladies'. The perpetrators were never caught.

Hermione was lucky to hear through the Hogwarts grapevine that it was discovered thanks to an unfortunate Slytherin first year caught by the jinx as she left the bathroom. Due the curse, all the females in the castle united, and it now meant there were no longer any feuds between the women of the houses at Hogwarts. Hermione also learnt how alone Harry had felt at the beginning of the year, caused by his ostracism due his name coming out of the goblet. The book was also very brief about the Yule Ball. Yes, Harry had gone with someone else, but he did dance with her after her blazing row with Ron. He had come to comfort her, even though he was enamoured with Cho. She could see it in his expression that night—he thought that she was beautiful. Hermione was coming to the conclusion that the books were more like a biography, ghost written, about Harry's life with only half of the story told.

Harry was coming to the conclusion that he was overlooking Hermione's contribution to his life.

Again, the fourth book lacked important details; yet, it did show that Hermione stood with him even when Ron abandoned him over the stupid tournament. Looking back, he saw how poorly he had treated the one person who stood by him, especially with his hopeless pining for Cho. Harry was, at this point, no longer surprised that the book was short on many details he personally felt were important. At this rate, he was not looking forward to the fifth book. The book did not cover his catatonic state after the battle with Voldemort in the graveyard or Cedric's parents' reaction to him returning with the body; the reaction was much worse than of what was told in the book, and had led to the public turning against him.

The following day was very uncomfortable for Harry as he read about last year and he could find many faults that led to the disaster that in turn resulted in the loss of Sirius. Harry was shocked, and appalled, to discover that the injuries Hermione had sustained were played down to an almost insignificant level. He was disgusted to learn, on reflection, that Voldemort played him for a fool.

Hermione was not surprised at the events depicted in the fifth book; it was as she was coming to expect. The book didn't detail any of the D.A.'s reactions to the stupid decrees imposed onto the student population, or how Harry swapped a fake broom for his beloved Firebolt when it was confiscated. The fight at the Ministry as described was very lacking. Hermione, on reflection, came to the realisation that some of the spells she cast led to the death of at least two Death Eaters; however, the book said twelve were caught and did not mention any deaths at all. It just said that Sirius Black fell through a veil and that was it. Harry must have killed at least one—when she woke up in the hospital wing in Hogwarts, she overheard the Aurors talking about six of Voldemort's forces dead and six captured.

Aaron McClain entered the room to a very subdued atmosphere. He saw the cover of the book Harry and Hermione had just finished, and felt it time to discuss their last five years before they read the final books, which described their future. Hermione burst into tears as the realisation that she had killed someone sank in. Harry asked what happened to Hermione and, after she had explained through her sobs, Harry retreated into himself. He realised what he had done, the three lives he had taken, and as they had worn masks, he did not know whom they had been. Aaron, realising what was going on, rang his brother John to come and help him in his counselling session. After John arrived, he discussed his life and how he understood where they were coming from, considering what he had done after losing his wife.

After a week of counselling, Aaron felt they were ready for his brother and Jim to talk the two teens through the last two books. During that time, Harry and Hermione came to grips with the fact that they were in a war to the death with madmen led by a lunatic which meant that people on both sides would die because of their actions or inaction,

Harry was pleased to discover that his father's good friend Remus Lupin found love and could marry Nymphadora Tonks. He was dismayed to learn of their death and the orphaning of their son Teddy. He also was disgusted to discover that he would spend his sixth year watch glorified home movies of his enemy, and that Hermione would not believe him about Draco. He found the story and sections about his seventh year similar to the Lord of the Rings film that he had watched. He thought that after facing Voldemort in the Ministry, he could not be beaten by a simple Expelliarmus; he was appalled that Voldemort would, or even could, split his soul in to several fragments, and he was pleased to see that Hermione stuck with him throughout, even though Ron left.

Again, Aaron had pointed out to Harry the phrase "Chest monster" in relation to his developing romance with Ginny, and Harry had to ask Aaron to explain what he was trying to imply. He went on to explain the various symptoms of love, contrasted with the symptoms of lust. Harry was very disappointed to discover that most of his relationship with Ginny was not covered in the book, and wanted to know what happened between the end of the last chapter of the seventh book and the flimsy epilogue. He was, however, pleased that he could bounce ideas he got from reading books six and seven off of Aaron and John.

Hermione wondered what could have happened that could have caused her to change so much in the sixth book; it show that Harry was right by the end of the book, so what was going on? She was dismayed at the future that the books implied; she was confused, she had always suspected that Ron fancied her but thought that she had tried to treat the two boys equally with her time. It was just that Harry had always needed her more; she knew she was worrying about what to do about her parents' safety, and was shocked that her future self from the seventh book was using illegal methods to send them to Australia and change their memories—she liked the idea behind the beaded bag.

After talking to Lisa about boys, she was quite disappointed with ending up with Ron, as it seemed in the epilogue that he had not grown up and that she had no known career. She mulled over the idea that she could bend or break rules or laws to suit herself. Was she really as vindictive and petty as implied in the last two books? She hadn't meant to make the charm last so long; the word sneak was supposed to last maybe three months at the most, not the length of time that was implied in the books. She was dismayed to find out that Harry was to suffer more for the next two years. She closed the connection to Harry as she puzzled out the books and any hidden information to help Harry be victorious sooner rather than later, and without as much loss and suffering.

She did not like the idea that her life was controlled by a woman; she would have much preferred that her actions in the here and now controlled her life, not some author who changed her life and sent her parents away with their memories changed on a whim. The McClain brothers really helped her through the last two books with their fresh perspective.

When Aaron expressed his theory that the teens would be returning to their world, Harry and Hermione didn't know whether or not to be pleased. At least here, in the 'real' world, no one was controlling their life, or so it would seem. Aaron further explained about his theory that it would be worse for them, and therefore they would be provided with training.

When Harry asked, 'Worse, how could it be worse?' Aaron explained about fan fiction, and how some fans told stories about a world in which Voldemort won and someone from the side of light went back in time to change history, or where Voldemort took over Britain and forced Harry to flee resulting in a world war, or a world where magic was revealed and in the resultant few years all magic was wiped out in retaliation by Muggles.

When Harry expressed his objection to how his love life was set in stone, Aaron answered that yes, in canon he married Ginny, but in fan fiction he was paired with almost everybody described in the books, however briefly. Harry asked about males as well as females, and Aaron replied that it was some times both at once.

Hermione scrunched up her nose in disgust, but he turned the tables on her, 'It's almost the same with you, paired with almost anybody. The most popular are, in no particular order: Draco, Victor, Ginny, Ron, Snape, Harry… well you get the idea.' Hermione was almost sick at the idea of some of the names mentioned.

'If you want to see how bad it is, I can show you some of the sites on the internet if you like?' Aaron suggested. It was an emotional couple of weeks as Harry and Hermione's worldview was ripped asunder.

Jim approached the two teens with an offer to train them in various subjects out in a country estate he had acquired for their use.

'I'm sorry to do that to you but we felt that, well what I mean is Aaron, John, and myself feel that you should know about those books and we want to help you. We believe that you will return home; however, we feel that when you do things may be drastically different than the books describe. Therefore, we believe you have a couple of options. The first one is to do nothing and ignore what we told you in good faith. The second one is do nothing but believe we are telling the truth. The third option is to learn anything and everything that could help you to succeed once you are back. Aaron, your social worker, is a fan of science fiction and believes that the potential future proposed in those last two books cannot happen now because of what happened to you over the summer. There was no mention of tornadoes in the book; instead, it mentioned a mist. He believes that your future is now what you make of it and I for one agree.'

Jim let that sink in before continuing his speech.

'We know that we know nothing about magic, but I taught you how to control your accidental magic and how to heal injuries. We feel that we could help you learn how to do magic through thoughtful suggestions. John is an ex-navy man, and currently a detective, and is willing to teach you everything he knows so you will have some idea on how to go about stopping Voldemort. While you're here, we will endeavour to bring your Muggle education up to scratch, since it is, at the moment, quite poor. At the end of the day, the decision on what to do is yours. We believe that the two of you control the length of time you're here. Please take your time and discuss it between yourselves; we will respect your decision. Thank you for your patience and your time; see you later.'

Jim and the others left the two puzzled teens.

Harry and Hermione sat in stunned silence after that speech. Harry tried to come up with something to start the conversation with Hermione, but nothing came. Instead, he made contact with Hermione's mind and magic; he shared his full memories of reading and understanding the books, as well as his current mindset. She then shared her reactions to the books and their current situation after processing his.

Hermione was surprised when Harry's presence made contact again after she pulled away while reading the seven books; it seemed worried and nervous. After processing his mixed thoughts on the books, she asked the question aloud. 'What do we do now?'

'I don't know, pick one of the options I suppose.'

'I think we should do the last option and train; I read a couple of books and was surprised at the ending of the last book. I agree with them; I don't think we will go back home and expects events to play out exactly like it did in the books.'

'I agree with you, we should train.'

'What? You do?'

'Yes I do. I may not always defend you against Ron, but I do pay attention to what you say. I just don't always act promptly because I'm…well, a bit thick.' Harry smiled.

'Well you are male and it is a problem with the species,' Hermione retorted with a small smile. Harry smiled in response.

'How long do you think we will be here for?' Harry asked with a sigh.

'Don't know, as long as it takes, maybe. It feels like the "Wizard of Oz," especially after the tornadoes and everything.'

'I don't think getting back will be as easy as clicking our heels together three times and wishing to be back though,' Harry responded. He was pleased to have watched the film last week with Hermione.

He thought it was a little too convenient that his latest adventure almost resembled the set up for an old film.

'Doctor Spencer and Doctor McClain seem to want to help, so I suggest that we agree to the third option he supplied,' Harry nodded, and then sent his thoughts and feelings on what they could face in the future; Hermione settled into contented peace now that they had a plan for the future.

Jim returned after Lisa, the nurse on ward duty, contacted him to say that the two teens had made a decision and wanted to see him. They told him that they wanted to start training. He informed Aaron and John, and John replied that the mansion would be ready in a week's time. In the meantime, Jim started the teens on their training by doing mental exercises and trying to get their magic to levitate a simple glass of water without spilling or smashing the glass. By the end of the week, they had mastered this simple magic spell.

A/N Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

For disclaimer see first chapter's notes.

Thanks to my proofreaders: Tumshie and mlui

Chapter Two

Nurse Lisa entered Harry's room with a bundle of clothes and said, 'Get dressed; you're leaving the hospital today.'

Harry looked at the clothes bundle, which contained a pair of jeans, underwear, T-shirt, shirt, and a plain woollen jumper. Harry enquired as to how she knew his size after he changed behind a privacy screen.

'Well when you were unconscious, we had to get rid of your old clothes as they were ruined; your clothes made you look a lot smaller than you are and I knew from the books that they were hand-me-downs, so I made sure that the clothes you are now wearing fit you correctly,' replied Lisa.

'Come on, we have to meet Doctor Spencer down in the car park.'

Harry smiled as he approached a dark blue car that Jim and Hermione were standing beside. Hermione was in a pale blue dress and a pale yellow cardigan. Jim unlocked the car and told everyone to pile in. As he pulled out of the car park, he explained that they were going shopping before going to their new accommodation. Harry was just happy to be out of the bloody hospital and with his friends; he considered Jim and Lisa as his friends after everything they have done for Hermione and himself.

Harry found that the shopping to be an unusual experience since he'd never gone shopping for a completely new wardrobe of clothes before, it was different than shopping for robes. Jim politely told him that the women were in charge and his job was to just carry the bags. They decided to shop for Harry first. Harry did not enjoy the constant changing into new outfits that he had to do, in order to find clothes that the women approved of. But it kept Hermione happy, so on reflection it wasn't so bad. After getting the essentials and many changes of clothes, ranging from training to casual and dress outfits, they moved onto suits which surprised Harry, as he thought that the dress pants and shirts and ties were formal enough, but Jim insisted on at least two suits. When they were finished with Harry's shopping, they had lunch.

Harry discovered that both Lisa and Hermione had enjoyed themselves playing dress up with him. After lunch, the women disappeared to begin Hermione's clothes shopping; meanwhile, Jim took Harry browsing through various sports and electronic stores until they were summoned by Jim's mobile phone. They entered a shop selling exclusively female attire, to find Lisa standing outside the changing rooms. Harry's jaw dropped as Hermione came out of the changing room, in a flowing spring dress that left very little to his imagination, blushing, he turned round. Hermione smiled at Harry's bashful reaction and agreed with Lisa that it suited her. It was a modestly cut dress but moulded to her body like a second skin. After her terrible injury, it was very empowering to feel beautiful and womanly.

Hermione thought that after the curse had hit her, she would be shunned like a leper, always overlooked but that changed after her miraculous recovery with Harry's help. Hermione was snapped out of her melancholy mood when Harry mentally asked her what was wrong and started to apologise for his fish out of water routine; he showed Hermione his thoughts that yes she was beautiful, with that he was shocked speechless and was terrible at dealing with women and he begged for forgiveness.

After processing this, Hermione instructed Harry to turn back around and flung herself at him in an embrace in thanks for just being himself. The shop assistant on the counter for the changing room sighed, 'Ah, young love,' but this was only heard by Jim and Lisa who started to chuckle.

Hermione reluctantly disengaged from Harry and returned to the changing room to get changed out of the new dress.

Once they'd finished all of the shopping, they loaded the car and Jim drove to a restaurant in the nearest village to the estate they were moving into. During dinner, Jim explained the history of the estate—it's size and how the tax man wanted to offload it. The locals believed it was haunted. Legend said that a young woman, who had just turned seventeen, was due to be forced to marry an aristocrat, but was in love with a local stable boy two years her senior. When her father found out, he sacked the stable boy and the rest of his family. On the day of the wedding up at the large Manor House, she threw herself off the roof four stories up. The tax man said that all the people who viewed the place fled in terror and Jim was the only one who managed to view the entire estate in peace. Jim further explained that he had been up at the house for the last couple of weeks preparing it and he had seen no sign of a ghost. Harry responded that he had lived at Hogwarts and was used to ghosts and Hermione agreed.

After the meal, they were driven to the house in the grounds of the estate. After a brief tour, they were guided to the fourth floor. Jim explained that the only modifications done to the house was an upgrade of the electrical systems and the plumbing, and a new computer network was also installed. The ground floor was virtually untouched. The rooms on the second floor were converted into various rooms suitable for class work; a new library was also installed containing reference works for their new coursework. The third floor was designated for their new teachers, so that they could spend time overnight if it were required. The entire fourth floor was Harry and Hermione's domain.

Hermione was given one of the master bedrooms on the fourth floor. The room was large and bright with polished oak floorboards. There was a large wrought iron king-sized bed along one wall with violet and pink curtains tied back. The bedspread was of a deeper shade of pink, almost red in colour. There were two bedside tables on either side of the bed, which were made from polished bog oak. On the tables were polished brass lamps with dark pink lampshades resting on violet tablecloths. The floor had two deep fluffy rugs: one in black while the other showed a scene of a forest glen; it was orientated to be seen from the main bedroom door. Along the east wall was a pair of French doors leading to the balcony. By the side of the west wall were two doors: one led to a large changing room and the other to a large bathroom, all the surfaces were finished in marble. It contained a large walk-in shower in an alcove with multiple showerheads and jet nozzles. The bath was a large affair—it was at least four metres square by one and a half metre deep. It was a decadent bathroom. The walls of Hermione's room were covered in soft pink quilted wallpaper. The ceiling was painted white, a crystal chandelier hung from the centre of the high ceiling. The room also contained an out of place workstation made from pine. Set up at the workstation was a state of the art computer with a large flat screen panel display with a printer/scanner connected.

Harry's suite was similar in décor: the only difference was this room was obviously decorated for a male with a blue and green colour scheme instead of the scheme used in Hermione's suite. Hermione's suite was situated in the southeast corner of the house; Harry's was on the north in the northeast corner. The other two suites were of a more neutral colour scheme— one suite had a cream and yellow colour scheme, while the other scheme was a shade of green. Harry's room contained an identical computer set up to Hermione's.

One of the larger rooms on the second floor was set up as an entertainment room with many large comfortable chairs, a large projector, which showed television channels, DVDs, or feeds from the computer network. It was a warm inviting room perfect for relaxing or watching films. Beside this room was a games room containing a snooker table and poker table. The snooker table was in excellent condition and Jim was delighted to discover it after he took control of the deeds, it was in better nick than the one he played on at his local snooker club.

Jim's friend, George Goodman, ran a prize wining stables nearby; he heard through the grapevine what Jim was trying to do for the teens and offered to train the two teenagers how to ride horses. He donated six of his oldest and calmest horses to the estate and over the first two weeks, the teens were taught the basics of horse riding. George's thought process was to give the teens a hobby to relax with.

After a week staying at the Manor House, Harry bumped into a young man working on one of the very expensive computers. He was thin and gangly; he introduced himself as Lisa's brother Samson, Sam for short. Sam explained that he was doing his doctorate in information technology and that his sister asked him to help out. In between their horse riding lessons, Sam showed Harry and Hermione how to use the new computer network, how to use the Internet, and how to navigate it safely. When Harry questioned safely, Sam explained about all the potential pitfalls and dangers that lurk on the net. When Harry explained his fascination with Dudley's Playstation, Sam laughed and said it was now a very old system, and that he preferred the games on the PC to those that were on the consoles. Harry asked Sam to show him some of these superior games. Sam explained that he has set up a couple of the computers with Steam accounts and had installed some other games as well. Harry asked what Steam was? Sam went on to explain what Steam was used for and the history behind its publisher, Valve. Harry thought that the people behind the company were fascinated by plumbing and water.

Sam explained that the way the network and games licenses were set up, he could play against players from anywhere on the planet but warned him to be very careful with his magical emissions, which would more than likely kill the very expensive network.

Harry got addicted to _Half Life 2: Deathmatch_ and _Team Fortress 2_. He enjoyed the friendly banter on the various servers he came across. Hermione was disgusted in the beginning with Sam for introducing Harry to video games, but after Harry showed her the multiplayer side and the fact that women can play computer games as well, she mellowed and found that she liked the quirky game Portal. Hermione was amazed at the progress of technology from her time and now, even though it was just over ten years. Arthur would be hard pressed to keep up with the progress of technology. Her father had a very large mobile phone the size of a brick, which he had for three or four years, but she had seen kids at the shops with phones that were much smaller, and she did not know how they manage to never misplace them as the phones appeared to be smaller than a man's wallet.

When Hermione enquired when training would start, she received a reply that everything would be ready by about June. However, John McClain started the two teens on their unarmed combat training and fitness exercises to increase their stamina and endurance. John was a tall man of an even six foot. He had an athletic build with a weather beaten face and piercing slate grey eyes. He had a bald spot with the remaining grey hair to the sides and the back of his head shaved. He looked to be a fit fifty-year-old man and not pushing his true age of almost seventy. He exuded an air of menace and Harry knew instinctively not to get him angry.

John started the lesson with an overview of what they had hoped to cover.

"We will begin by getting you fit. Build up your stamina. I will teach you the correct stances that will offer you the most options on how to defend yourselves. I will not lie to you—in the beginning, you will hurt and be in pain and you may even hate me, but it _will_ save your life. You will set the pace, by how fast you learn this. I hope to cover self defence augmented with your magic, but I will only cover that once you are an expert at the basics."

John spent the next hour teaching them the basic forms of martial arts and the correct stances of the various different disciplines.

They got into a routine of getting up at seven every morning to start training at eight, they were allowed to have a shower about half past nine in the morning, and were free to do what ever they wanted till a half hour session at about half past five in the afternoon. John explained that come time for their other courses, they would be held between ten in the morning and half past five in the evening. As the teachers were not free till June, he decided that there was no excuse not to start training now.

After about a week of training, the two teens were introduced to another trainer, Conner Wallace, a Scotsman. Connor wore a kilt with a clashing Hawaiian shirt. He was a tall well built man with long sun bleached brown hair tied up into a ponytail. He had a deeply tanned face and piercing hazel eyes. John explained that Connor would eventually teach them how to fight with both the bastard and samurai swords. Conner interjected that not only that, but he would teach Harry all about women and sex. Harry turned red in embarrassment, while John laughed, saying that Conner was a bit uncouth but was a great friend to watch your back. At this proclamation, Conner apologised to Hermione with a low bow and a peck on Hermione's hand.

Every day, Harry and Hermione would go horseback riding to explore the large estate lands around the Manor House. They had their unarmed combat training out in the courtyard in all sorts of weather; the stables were just off of the courtyard. Hermione found an old rose garden overgrown with weeds and Harry suggested tidying it up. He found that he enjoyed this type of gardening, as there was no one to criticise him about his gardening skills; he was pleasantly surprised when Derek, one of the groundsmen, Jim had hired to clean up the estate helped him out. It took two weeks of gruelling work to tidy the garden, but the reward was worth it as Hermione loved to come out and read books on the bench in the rose garden. In consideration of Hermione's displeasure at Harry's addiction to computer games, he limited his time to a maximum of three hours a night. He was not looking forward to the proposed classes, as he would have no time for his computer games.

Jim taught Harry and Hermione how to play pool and snooker; Hermione was surprised that she was good at it. Jim was not surprised that Harry took to the games like a duck to water, as most professional sportsmen were good at other sports as well as the one they were paid to play. The books implied that he was very talented at Quidditch, so it was no surprise that he was good at other sports; he would like to get him out on the golf course, but right now, his time was too scarce.

Aaron was pleased with Harry and Hermione's counselling sessions. At first, they did not like the idea that they had participated in someone's death. But after explaining to Harry about his first year encounter with Voldemort, which resulted in Professor Quirrell's death, they now understood the trials they would have to face much better. Aaron helped Harry work through his grief for his parents and explained that Rowling stated that she killed Sirius off with the veil because she wanted it to be difficult for Harry to find closure. Aaron explained that the two of them were in a fight for their lives and that meant that sometimes, you will be involved in other people's death. He expressed his surprise that the fifth book did not mention the six deaths of the Death Eaters. Hermione said it was just one more omission from those damn books.

Jim and John discussed Harry and Hermione's magical education with the teenagers. John said that the two teens should pick a spell or charm and try to replicate it wandlessly. Hermione suggested her bluebell flame, the waterproof fire spell. John told her to concentrate on the feeling her magic made as the spell left her wand, in her memories. After Hermione mastered her spell, she guided Harry through the process via their linked minds. After their meeting, Harry found it getting progressively easier to relearn the various spells and charms. Both Harry and Hermione were finding it easier and easier to use their magic especially withoutfrying the electronic equipment in the house. Jim was very happy with all the progress made, but was anxious to start Harry and Hermione on the academic subjects.

Harry woke up and checked the calendar as per habit: it read the ninth of June.

_That means I've been here for about five months. I miss my friends from Hogwarts and I wonder how the Weasleys are doing?_ thought Harry to himself as he went about his morning routine.

Today was the first day of his new training schedule. Classes began at ten in the morning after his daily shower. Their first lesson was languages, covering English, French, German, Spanish, and finally Latin. They had seven hours of instruction per week in languages. An Anne Prendergast taught the French and German courses, and Morgan Smyth covered Spanish and Latin. Both lectures also taught English and included lessons in world history as both had doctorates in their chosen field. Harry and Hermione found the languages course gruelling but rewarding. Harry found that the instruction in Latin helped him remember and understand more spells better as the incantations used were mostly originated from Latin. Jim explained that the education they were receiving was based more around a college-based timetable than a rigid school based one. Harry found that after a month his vocabulary was increasing. Both lecturers issued required reading as well as homework.

In the afternoon after lunch on Mondays and Wednesdays, they had Crafts situated out in the converted stables. This particular stable was redecorated to become a workshop—it contained a furnace, anvil, and vices for working metal. There was also woodworking equipment. A jovial barrel-chested man was waiting for them. He was about five and a half feet tall; he had a face full of a well-groomed beard and a head of thick curly black hair. He was wearing a heavy black leather apron over his clothes. He reminded Harry of a smaller version of Hagrid. He introduced himself as Tom Flynn. He went on to explain that since the instructors did not know what was covered on the syllabus at Hogwarts in any great detail, they thought that for Transfiguration and Conjuring training they would have to know how the objects are really constructed or created. So they thought that they would teach Harry and Hermione how to make various objects out of wood and metal to begin with in this class before moving onto much more complicated ones.

Their maths lecturer was frustrated at their level of knowledge in this subject as it was in her opinion substandard. She fortunately was very patient and Harry found it difficult to master the maths. He did not know why he needed to study this subject and when he mentioned this thought to Miss Moneypenny, she just laughed and replied that it was an important subject required in the normal world. To compliment their maths course and expand on it, they were sent to a new room, which was set up as a science laboratory. The man waiting for them was a tall wiry man with bright blue eyes and wispy blonde hair, who introduced himself as Alexander Giles, and said to refer to him as Alex. Alex went on to say that he would be teaching them the sciences, Physics and Chemistry. He also explained that Jim would be teaching Biology and Medical Training up at the hospital every Wednesday morning.

Harry and Hermione met John McClain on Thursdays for a course he dubbed Tactics, which boiled down to him teaching them everything he had learnt from his time in the army and with the New York Police Department. He covered squad tactics in combat, the skill sets detectives needed to do their jobs, any thing he could think of that they needed to know to give them an advantage when they returned home to their world and face Riddle. John said to always refer to the perpetrator by his or her birth name, it drives them mad and besides in the last book, Voldemort put a taboo on his name that drew his supporters to any one stupid enough to say it. Riddle used this tactic because he knew that Dumbledore and his followers were not afraid to say the name, Voldemort. John also taught the teens how police forces and the military went about intelligence gathering.

Harry was amazed to find that the time flew. He felt a sense of peace due to the fact that right now in the real world, no one was trying to kill him. He could start afresh and found that after the first two weeks of this new routine, he enjoyed it. At night, before he fell asleep were the worst part of the day as he found himself dwelling on all the people he left behind. The only person from home was Hermione and he knew that she felt just as lost as he did. After starting on the rose garden with Hermione before this new course of education, they were now working on a kitchen garden, growing various spices and vegetables. Harry got talking to the chef who prepared the Sunday dinners for everyone in the house. During their conversations, the topic of feeding the Dursleys came up, so the chef challenged Harry to a cook off to see how good Harry really was. The chef was impressed with the results and said that all Harry needed to do was refine his skills and to cook for someone who appreciated good cuisine. Like everybody else at the Manor House, the chef knew the truth about Harry and Hermione's history and offered to also train Hermione in the refined art of preparing food, which she eagerly accepted.

Once John and Conner felt that the two teenagers were competent with unarmed combat, they added classes on armed combat. Conner started the first lesson on armed combat and proceeded to explain that he would teach them how to fight with both the bastard and samurai swords. How to throw knifes and eventually help them learn how to conjure shurikens (small steel discs) and throw them at their enemies with a high degree of accuracy. After mastering the blades, they would move on to pistols and rifles. Connor explained that just because they were fighting other wizards, did not mean that they had to restrict their response to just magic.

'Also if you're in a fight for your life, there are NO Rules. So, ignore some stupid wizard laws that could get you killed. That also means in a fight for your life, it's you against them, so that means there is no such thing as fair fight. I am standing in front of you today because I fight dirty. Never let your opponent get the first shot, but if they manage it, hit back a hell of a lot harder.'

Harry and Hermione quickly fell into their new routine. Harry found his energy levels and stamina increasing. Every weekend, he would go riding with Hermione; they would explore the large estate together. Harry found he enjoyed the crafts class; it was nice to finish the lessons and have something to show for it (when he cooked for the Dursleys, he did not have anything to show for it and never got the chance to enjoy the fruits of his labours). Harry was shocked to learn that he was good with his hands, be it with cooking or crafting objects.

He was pleased to learn that his control and knowledge of his magic was coming on in leaps and bounds. During the lessons dubbed Magic by Jim and the McClain brothers, Harry and Hermione were given some simple exercises at first. Conjuring multiple copies of a stuffed bears until they were exhausted. After an hours break, they would do it again. Harry was surprised that they could make more and more copies of these bears. The bears were put into boxes that were numbered and dated to see how long they lasted—in the beginning, they only lasted for a couple of minutes, but now they almost lasted for a day.

All the while, they went back through five years of the Hogwarts curriculum and any extra spells Hermione discovered in her study sessions. They tried to replicate them in their new environment; so far, they had only managed three spells, the Summoning Charm, _Lumos_ and most shocking of all, the Patronus Charm. They mastered these spells wandlessly by concentrating on what it felt like to cast the spells with a wand and trying the very same now here without the possibility of using one. The first spell was by far the hardest one to relearn. Harry figured that with Hermione's help, he could relearn almost all of the spells in about nine months, at their current pace.

Jim was pleased with Harry and Hermione's progress. He had set them up on a college-based system as he found that he had learnt more in his college days because of all the projects he had to complete for his course work. Harry and Hermione did not do homework, per se; however, they did have a three hour supervised study session with their lecturers in rotation each night. Jim knew that the workload was heavy, but he now considered both teenagers as very close friends. He wanted to provide them with the tools and training—so that when the war was over, they could enjoy the peace after wards and could realistically expect better prospects. The main advantage to the busy schedule was it didn't give the teens a chance to dwell on where they were and the fact that they were very far from home. Jim knew that John was anxious to try out a theory that he had been dwelling upon for incorporating magical argumentation of body parts and the body's systems during unarmed training, but was waiting until they were good enough so that he could minimise the risk of injury.

Hermione found the Internet to be a strange and wonderful thing after Sam had explained the potential pit falls and how to get the most out of it. She found many of the sites about 'Harry Potter' and was disturbed at the various pairings the fans had come up with. She knew in her heart and soul that she had no feelings but revulsion for Riddle.

_I don't understand how anyone could like him?_ she thought to herself.

In her opinion, Draco was a nasty piece of work; she was put off at seeing photos of the actor who played the part in the films. After being introduced to the TV show Buffy, she could see how in some twisted world it might happen. Maybe because girls are attracted to the bad boy, with thoughts of maybe taming them. She did not enjoy surfing the various combative shipping boards on various Internet sites arguing which male or female was good enough for her. Hermione found the fan fiction that the others were talking about; afterwards, she was confused about who she would end up marrying.

In the books, she ended up with Ron. But after reading the books and surfing the net, she now thought that it seemed more like an abusive relationship than true love. According to the books, Harry loved her like a sister, but Hermione was now finding herself falling in love with him. She felt lucky to be able to talk to Lisa about boys. She was glad that Harry was a gentleman, and suggested they both keep a section of their minds private because this was where she kept her developing feelings hidden. She only got a chance to mull over the problem just before falling asleep each night. Harry helped her through the feelings of homesickness as she badly missed her mother and father; it was almost like grief and gave her an insight into how Harry felt once it was explained to Harry that Sirius was really dead. The author wrote it that way, so that Harry would not have the closure that a body to bury would bring.

On the fifteenth of September, Harry and Hermione's instructors had a review to see how they were coping with the workload. On the surface of it, things seemed fine, but Aaron knew there was a problem festering. Harry and Hermione were waiting for the other shoe to drop. Every year at Hogwarts, they were in danger and looking for ways to counteract it, but here in the real world, the only thing overhanging them was the unknown date that they would go back home. Aaron reported that both teenagers missed their friends and relations, and found themselves on the outside here looking in. It was decided to give the teens large projects to focus on that would combine many of the subjects to distract them, as Aaron said the only real solution was for them to return home.

John was delighted with the progress Harry and Hermione had made at picking up the skills he had taught them in the various disciplines of martial arts. He was not concentrating on one particular form such as karate but mixing various similar forms, so that a master of any particular discipline would not know what to expect. This was the same way his father-in-law had taught him; it kept him alive to this day. So, he wanted to pass it on to Harry and Hermione, as he had no children of his own to pass his wife's family legacy onto. A week after the review, he decided he wanted to try to introduce magic in unarmed combat. First, he got the pair to meditate, concentrating their magic to flow through their bodies. He then directed them to focus that magic on their right arm and hand, making that body part faster and stronger. He also got them practising punching a bag harder than they ever could. After Hermione's second attempt, she was able to burst the bag with one punch. John groaned—he would need stronger equipment.

Hermione was frustrated. Connor had been showing them how to fire various pistols for the last two weeks. He had started with the Glock 19, three weeks after the instructors had their review. Hermione thought it was just another name for tests except they did not receive the exam results.

_Damn it! I like getting exam results!_ she thought to herself.

After getting over her fear of the firearm, Hermione discovered she was a good shot. She could hit the bull's eye with the first shot but missed with every shot afterwards. Connor explained that this was due to the recoil raising the barrel of the gun. John suggested using a charm of some sort to reduce or eliminate the recoil.

Hermione baulked at first when she was given the pistol to test her charms on. It was an Israeli made Desert Eagle bored for the .50AE cartridge and John wanted her to triple the magazine's capacity from the original capacity of seven rounds to the target of the weapons bullet magazine holding twenty one bullets. Hermione thought it was far too big for her, but John responded that she could potentially face a feral werewolf, which he assumed would need the large calibre bullet to take the wolf down. He further explained what the size big meant that the Desert Eagle was still smaller and easier to conceal than a gas operated rifle such as the AK47. At this statement, Hermione was confused and asked John to clarify what he had said. John went on to explain that the working principles behind the gun closely matched that of a gas operated rifle. The bullets were fed into the chamber with a gas operated mechanism as opposed to the short recoil system used on other hand gun designs. As the bullet was fired, the gasses produced by the bullet worked a mechanism that loaded the next bullet. Hermione was happier once she learnt that Harry had his own difficult task to master. John had set him up with the difficult task of conjuring a functioning pistol.

Harry had to conjure a Glock 19. He started by attempting to conjure each piece and then to assemble the weapon, bullets included. Harry eventually managed to conjure a fully working and loaded gun in under five seconds, while John and Conner pelted him with beanbags. Connor explained that the beanbags were the closest and safest method available to them so that they could approximately simulate magical combat. By the time Harry had mastered his project, Hermione had successfully charmed the Desert Eagle so that it had no recoil, and had four times the capacity of a non-magical gun. John, then, gave them a joint project of combining both projects (i.e., conjure a pistol with drastically increased capacity with no recoil). By the end Hermione could, with the charmed Desert Eagle, hit the bull's eye with every shot.

Hermione preferred the projects issued in the Craft's class instead of the ones with those damn guns. She did not enjoy using the guns but understood why they were being trained to use them. Even if she never fired a gun after the training, she now understood the devastating effectiveness a skilfully used gun could do, possibly to a wizard too. Connor and John went to great lengths to explain why Harry and she were being trained to fight and possibly to kill. They pointed out that most master martial artists rarely solved their disputes with violence, compared with someone with minimal training. John elaborated that it took many years to become skilled in martial arts, and with those extra years came an understanding of life and its worth—of course, theirs was always exception to these rules.

John expected that their struggle to defeat Riddle could result in armed conflict between wizards. During John's time in the military, he was shown various points in the history of warfare where one side was guaranteed victory on the battle field by introducing new or never seen before weapons or tactics. For example, the first time a machine gun was used was in battle. Therefore, Harry and Hermione were instructed on modern weapons and tactics, as it was felt that the magical world resembled Victorian England in attitudes and perception—the way they perceived the non-magical folks was stuck in the Victorian era. A prime example is Lucius Malfoy's demeanour towards all things Muggle and anyone associated with them.. The biggest culprits of this mistaken opinion of Muggles and Muggle-borns were the bigoted pure-bloods. By believing that they were better than Muggles, they underestimate them and their technology. John believed that in an early battle with Riddle's thugs, a silenced pistol could prove a devastating option for Harry and Hermione to use against their opponents in a fight.

Harry and Hermione had many discussions about their combat training and about the attitudes of John and Connor. Harry did not like the idea that he would probably end up killing more people before he defeated Riddle. Hermione's reassurances that it did not make him a bad person did not help matters. Harry did not like the fact that Aaron agreed with Hermione in his counselling sessions. Harry did not know whether to broach the topic of his recent dreams with either Hermione or Aaron. Harry snorted at the thought that even though he shared his thoughts with Hermione, he could still keep some thoughts private; although on reflection, it was mutually agreed upon to keep those thoughts private. At first, Harry was pleased that his wet dreams were definitely kept from Hermione. Harry's dreams lately felt like the visions he received from Riddle, but instead, they were of the African savannah. They felt so very real—as if he was really there, but then he would wake up in a cold sweat. As he could not get back to sleep, he would take a shower and then go for a run before meeting Hermione for training. Harry knew instinctively that Hermione was disturbed about something too, even if he never broached the mind link with Hermione. However, he felt that if he probed about it, Hermione might ask questions that Harry did not want to answer, especially considering he could never lie to her as it was not in him to do so.

Harry was depressed; it was the week before Halloween and the marketing machine was winding up for the November release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Everybody at the Manor House knew about Harry's foul mood, and Aaron decided to do something about it. After talking with Harry, he suggested to have some sort of memorial for his parents. John suggested a party like an Irish wake.

Harry responded, 'A party? Are you mad?'

'No, I am not mad! A wake is the celebration of the deceased's fruitful life, not the fact that they're dead.'

Harry thought about it and eventually agreed.

'You know, Harry, that you left in the month of July and arrived in the month of February?' asked Aaron.

'What does it matter?'

'It just dawned on me that we missed both of your birthdays and that we missed your parents true anniversary date due to the time difference. Sorry about that.'

'We can still remember them,' insisted Jim. Harry agreed and the event was planned for the thirty-first of October.

For the first time in Harry's life, he found himself able to grieve for all the people that he had lost in his life: his mother and father, the loss of Sirius, and the death of Cedric due to the fact he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hermione comforted him throughout the day. Harry felt he would be utterly lost with out his best friend. The weather perfectly matched Harry's mood that day by raining from sunrise to sunset. All classes that Friday were cancelled to allow them to host the wake. About four o'clock that evening, Jim was called back to the hospital—a detective wished to speak to him. Harry had an uneasy feeling about it. Hermione hugged him by saying that they would face whatever it is together.

Detective Inspector Peter Morse was having a very difficult time on his current case. He had been on the case since March, and the more he uncovered, the bigger the case became. It all started when he was called to a block of flats in Manchester. A woman called the police complaining about her neighbours fighting. She also reported that the fight finished with a loud clap of thunder. When the police responded they discovered that the flat was vacant with no one listed at the address. When they broke down the front door to investigate, they discovered the lower part of a male body. It was as if the body was cut from the left shoulder to the right hip. There were no signs of struggle. In the bedroom on the broken bed, a fourteen-year-old girl was found dead.

After the autopsy was performed on the girl, it was discovered that she was sexually active with the DNA trace of two separate semen samples—one of which matched the half body of the unidentified man, which technically was statuary rape. The cause of death for the girl was unknown, but the pathologist noted that both the heart and brain died at the exact same time, which was very strange. If the girl's heart had stopped, the brain would have stopped working approximately four minutes later. The body showed no signs of struggle or defensive wounds; the rape kit showed minimal damage to the vagina, which was very unusual. The blood work showed no evidence of drink or drugs in the girl's system. The other half of the male body was found in Liverpool; it appeared from the evidence at the scene of which the body arrived at its new location by unknown means and fell forward twenty feet distorting the remains. The only means Peter knew that could possibly do this was a helicopter, and the only one known in the area at the time was the one police had—so that was a dead end.

After that first strange case, Peter was sent word about another dead female body showing the same signs as the fourteen-year-old girl. No signs of struggle; it appeared almost consensual, which was very wrong for rape cases. After the fourth and fifth cases were identified, it be came clear that it was a serial killer, as the semen trace for the victims were identical. But the fourth and fifth cases were unique in that the time of death for both victims were only four hours apart, but at opposite ends of the island of Great Britain—one was found in Inverness in northern Scotland and the other was found in Plymouth in southern England. This was impossible to achieve with the normal transport options available. The two different crime scenes matched the previous three in that there was no evidence of movement to show how the killer was entering and leaving the crime scenes. The dead male body was also very puzzling due to the fact it appeared to be clothed in period clothes from around the time of the Titanic and was rife with a sexual disease last prevalent during the same period.

As more and more cases cropped up with matching DNA evidence, police departments contacted him because of the DNA evidence linking the cases. As he was officer in charge of the first case, he was now in control of a massive case covering the whole of Great Britain. By now the end of October, the police had confirmed over seventy-five deaths and twenty-nine rape cases to this one man. The police were very careful to keep this case quiet; if word got out, the panic would be unprecedented. Unlike previous serial killers and rapists, whom had preferred tastes in how the victims looked or acted, this guy was different in that all the victims were from all walks of life, and all ages. The rape cases were the exact same: the women were all diverse in age and body type. The youngest victim was twelve and the oldest was fifty-two years of age. It made absolutely no sense. In the course of his investigation, he had heard about the strange incidents surrounding two teenagers from Radstock back around March. He found it suspicious that the two kids had disappeared from the medical system and was on his way to interview their doctor, a James Spencer from the local hospital, because his gut told him that their was a connection to his unsolved case that seemed to grow ever bigger as time rolled on.

Peter sat waiting in Doctor Spencer's office; he was informed that the doctor was at a family function and would be here in ten minutes. Peter took the time to study the office. Peter found you could learn a lot about a person by how they kept their workspaces and after studying James office, he felt that the man was a good and fair doctor. After a further wait of five minutes, a harried looking man rushed into the office and was taken aback at finding Peter waiting in the office. Peter introduced himself and explained Doctor Spencer's summons, as the doctor had only left a mobile phone as point of contact at the hospital. The doctor explained away his mobile phone as the only contact by saying he preferred his privacy after a mad women had stalked him fifteen years ago, looking for him to father her children instead of her husband the boxer. She rationalised it at the time by saying she wanted her children to be smart and not stupid fighters.

After the introductions, Peter shared all the details of the case with the doctor especially the many autopsy reports and Peter's belief that Doctor Spencer knew something relevant to the case. Doctor Spencer's reaction of phoning someone named John surprised Peter at first, until Doctor Spencer explained that John was a New York police detective and could help with the case.

After John arrived and was brought up to speed, Peter found two pensive men sitting across from him. Peter knew they were hiding something, but what it was he didn't know. John was the first to speak.

'I should have known something like this could of happened.'

Peter was confused by this statement and asked for an explanation.

'I am going to tell you the truth. I am going to ask for patience and an open mind one police officer to another. Okay?'

Peter nodded, wondering what he had gotten him self into.

'Your instincts are correct. The two kids are related to your case but not the way you think. I want your word of honour as a police officer that you will keep their involvement out of the investigation before I give you information.'

'I could arrest you for with holding evidence you know.'

'Yeah, you could, but I wouldn't talk. I was briefly captured by the Viet Cong, so your questioning wouldn't work as it will be a cake walk compared to their friendly chats with me.'

'Who are you trying to protect?'

'Just two lost and lonely souls that could help you catch this bastard.'

'Okay, talk and I'll see what I can do.'

'That's not good enough. Guarantee their involvement is kept quiet because if the press gets wind of this, they will be turned into lab rats.'

'What do you mean . . . lab rats?'

'After I start telling you their story, you will understand, and I'm telling you they have a lot of friends here who will go against the law if necessary to protect them.'

Peter was only now realising that what he thought was a simple follow up to a hunch was evolving into a potentially dangerous situation. He had dealt with many different types of criminals that honestly scared the shit out of him, but none matched the intimidation factor of this seventy-year-old man. Peter believed that if he did not guarantee the two teenagers' privacy and safety, he would be possibly killed. He could now see why the doctor had called this man: he was much better than a barrister, much more intimating too. He now looked again at the doctor in a new light; these two men were willing to do anything for these two teenagers who could potently help him, how did this happen?

'All right, I'm listening. I'll keep the two kids involvement out of the files,' conceded Peter.

Peter sat stunned as the two men told him the story about Harry and Hermione, from their arrival up to the wake they were hosting. The various jigsaw pieces were slotting into place.

_The dead man at the first crime scene … who he had visited must have been a dead wizard, but there was no wand recovered; therefore, the serial killer must also be a wizard too! That would explain the bodies of the rape victims if he used a mind control spell. Fuck! How are we going to stop him? I don't know where he lives … he could be anywhere. I'm not looking forward to briefing armed police officers to shoot first, ask questions later at any one pointing a damn stick. Fuck! I hope these two minors can help track this bastard before his body count increases. _Peter thought frantically.

Peter demanded to see Harry and Hermione, but the two men refused, saying that now was not the right time to talk to them, as Harry was not in a good state of mind. Peter suggested approaching the author, but John shot the suggestion down by saying that if Harry ever met her, Peter would be arresting Harry for murder as he was not happy at how bad his life has been and how she has plotted out the next twenty-one years for him.

Peter asked, 'Not happy with her is he?'

John's sarcastic response was 'No shit, Sherlock.'

Jim said that both teenagers were making great strides in mastering their magic, and he would introduce magical tracking into their training.

Peter asked, 'How would they achieve this?'

'One of their earlier lessons had them conjuring teddy bears. I will ask for more bears and have John and Connor hide them throughout the estate, let the conjuring wear off, and then have the two of them try to find out where they are hidden. The only problem is that it could take the two of them months to learn these much needed skills, but if they are successful, they would be your best shot at capturing this bastard,' responded Jim.

John followed this statement with a warning to Peter about the potential danger the cast and crew were in of the new Potter film opening in late November. Peter frowned, as he had not considered this new angle; he was not looking forward to the meeting that they would require. John also reminded Peter that Harry and Hermione were still only teenagers and were under pressure to try to return home, and this serial killer was exploiting the situation he found himself in. Peter responded that if they could catch him, they had the twenty-nine rape cases to lock him up on.

John angrily punched the tabletop and said, 'No, there is no catching this guy if by some miracle you do it! He can easily escape using a type of magical transportation called, **Apparation, which you have no counter for! So what are you going to do?'**

Peter sat pensively after this latest spanner in the works. John and Jim silently left Peter to his thoughts. _This case is fucked up._

Harry did not find out what called Jim away from the wake, but he could sense a high degree of tension at the Manor House after Halloween. Their magical training was expanded in scope. Harry felt as if they were being trained for every conceivable situation. Harry and Hermione went to see the next Harry Potter film and to see what the filmmakers thought magic should look like. John taught them how to use disguises. Harry had his hair died blonde and wore brown tinted contact lenses. Hermione died her hair black and wore make up that Lisa taught her how to use. The two of them found the film to be highly confusing, like the earlier films and they pitied anyone who never read the novels before watching the films.

Their attempt at wearing disguises was a complete success. Jim noticed that after going to see the Harry Potter film, the two teenagers were depressed and were not talking about it with anyone. To make matters worse, Peter called to say that 'the Bastard', as Jim was now calling the unnamed wizard whom was raping and killing so many people, had added more bodies to his body count. 'The Bastard' was killing on average three people per week, one of which was a raped woman. Jim could tell that the case was getting to Peter, but he did not know what to do to help out.

Sarah Riding felt like someone was watching her as she returned from doing her grocery shopping. She looked all around her before opening the door to her flat. She turned around and activated the four locks in the door, as it was a very dodgy neighbourhood. Sarah had resorted to this flat after her stupid fucking husband had ran off with all of her life savings and his bloody secretary to Spain. She went into the kitchen to put away the groceries when she heard the click of the front door latch. Strange, when the dead bolt was activated, the lock was disabled from the outside; so that even if someone had the key, they could not get in. She stood in the hall in shock as the front door slowly swung open. A man dressed in dirty black clothes stood at the door threshold, Sarah saw a flash of colour before she lost consciousness.

Sarah slowly woke up to find herself spread out nude on her bed. She heard movement in the flat; she desperately looked around the room for a spot to hide before a person appeared at the bedroom door. She sighed with relief when she realised that it was a female police officer. After the police officer helped her into some of her clothes, she was brought to the hospital for an exam. She was questioned on what she remembered, and was asked to help produce a photo fit of the attacker. She was shocked when she was told by the nurse that she had been raped as she did not remember anything from the flash of colour to waking up on her own bed. She rushed to the bathroom, lucky making it to the toilet bowl before her stomach emptied.

She became aware of a man holding her hair back as she vomited into the toilet. When she cowered away from him, he stepped back away from her and introduced him self as D.I. Peter Morse. He proceed to explain that she was the first person alive to see the man whom had killed just shy of one hundred people. He told her that she was lucky to be alive as all his other victims were dead. Sarah did not feel lucky—her parents were dead, she was all alone, and Christmas was next week.

It took two days for Sarah to produce the photo fit, which was circulated to every police station on the isle of Great Britain. Peter went to interview Miss Riding again at the hotel she was put in, as she did not want to return to her flat. He was dismayed to find the door of her hotel room ajar. He called for back up and carefully entered the room to find the two missing police officers stationed as her protection face up dead on the floor. The one on the left had his truncheon shoved through his chest most likely piercing his heart. The one on the right appeared to have swallowed his canister of pepper spray. Peter cautiously entered the main bedroom of the hotel suite, to find Miss Riding attached by unknown means to the ceiling—like the last time she was found, she was naked. A message was carved on her skin, and was continued in blood on the walls.

'_You will never catch me. I know who you are Peter; she was just a test, which you utterly failed. It was funny to watch you try to help her. My next target is in Wales. Come and get me.'_

Peter was appalled at the message and what it implied; at least he had the photo fit. It was going to be a very hard Christmas.

Harry woke up again from that dream of the African plains; he went about his shower to wash away his sweat. He was shocked to find Hermione sitting in a lotus position on his bed waiting for him.

'Harry, we need to talk about these dreams of yours that have been going on for the last three months.'

Harry grunted and proceeded to ignore Hermione by drying his body with the large fluffy towel. Harry staggered as Hermione's mind and magic made forceful contact with him.

_Harry, look I am experiencing the same types of dreams. _She shared her memories, of her vivid dreams of both the African savannah and of jungles. Harry was shocked to realise that they were sharing so much, even his very vivid dreams.

_But why were you also keeping quiet about it, Hermione?_

_Oh, Harry, even with this connection, you are keeping me out. Why can't you let me in? _With that, she left Harry dumbfounded at their conversation.

Christmas was very depressing for Harry, as Hermione was not talking to him. He missed Sirius, as it was his first Christmas without him. He normally spent Christmas after his Hogwarts letter with friends or with Ron's family. The atmosphere at the manor was steadily getting worse; it could be traced back to Halloween.

Hermione was feeling lost and very lonely. She could not figure Harry out at all. She missed her parents, especially since she was badly injured the last time she had talked with her mother. It was New Year's Eve and she went out riding, Starburst, her favourite horse. She had been out since nine o'clock in the morning and it was now almost midday. She stopped at one of the many streams, so that the horse could drink and rest after her vigorous gallop through the many woods on the estate. Hermione tied Starburst up at one of the small trees along the edge of the stream. She stood and watched the steam rise off of her horse as he drank water from the stream; it was flowing to fast for ice to form.

Harry was very depressed and had no motivation to get out of bed. His uneasy feeling was getting very strong when he suddenly got the strong impression from Hermione's joined magic that she was in very big trouble. Harry tried something he had never done before or so he thought. In the books, it was said that it took determination to Apparate, but this was not what Harry did. As Harry concentrated on what he wanted to do, a large ball of energy materialised around Harry, solidified, and vanished. Jim stood speechless, as the large sphere of magical energy, the diameter of which was slightly bigger than Harry's height, had disappeared, leaving Jim as the only occupant in the room. Jim thought that there was something seriously wrong going on.

Peter was in the situation room that was set up to monitor his bloody case. He was going through this mornings intelligence reports when he spotted a sighting report near Radstock. _'Fuck, how did he find out about Harry and Hermione? There were no notes made at all.' _He tried dialling John's phone number, but it kept going to his answering machine.

Hermione bent down to check the laces on her boots, using this action as cover so that she could check her surroundings. She felt that she was being watched, and trying to appear unbothered, she calmly untied Starburst and mounted him, all the while her heart thumped painfully in her chest. She urged the horse into a canter away from the stream.

She felt the presence of very dark magic; it felt worst than her encounter with Riddle's soul fragment contained in Harry's scar. The spell sailed over her shoulder as she dove into a roll from the horse. The spooked horse bolted; however, it only made ten paces before it fell over dead as a green spell hit the horse in the rump. Hermione felt the impact tremor from Starburst's fall, as she rolled to her feet behind a copse of trees. She could barely make out the wizard, dressed in scruffy black robes.

The man sang out insanely, 'Come out, come out, where ever you are! I promise to not hurt you!' Following it up by whispering, 'Just kill you after ploughing your virgin cunt.'

The man slowly approached the dead horse, with wands held in both hands; the magical emissions from the man were almost overpowering in their intensity.

Hermione crouched, panicking behind her flimsy cover and wondering what to do when her training kicked in. She followed Harry's imitation of Half Life 2 by conjuring a gas bottle and filling it with natural gas under higher than normal pressure. This took a panic filled five seconds, all the while the man slowly stalked toward her hiding place. Just like Harry had done in his game play, she set the bottle alight. The wizard paused at seeing a floating gas bottle on fire, before Hermione mentally flung it at him. The wizard must have been familiar with Muggle technology, for he dived out of the way in the nick of time. The bottle impacted against a large oak tree before exploding and snapping the tree, causing the large canopy to fall.

The wizard slowly got up, his ears ringing from the explosion. He looked around for the strange girl; it was almost as if she was magical just, like him. He had awoken in this strange world before stumbling on that stupid Death Eater, raping the girl. After raping her himself, he felt the power and control; he found that he liked it. Back home, he could not see He Who Must Not Be Named's point of view on his blood supremacy stance that the pure-bloods were superior. But here, he could be a god to control these stupid animals. Where had that girl gone? And how had she known to set up a catapult? Because on reflection, she was not emitting magic like the Death Eater was, so that meant she could not be magical.

Hermione silently moved around the wizard and watched as he slowly got up. The explosion was deafening and Hermione found her ears ringing She hoped that the wizard was deaf, so that she could get close enough to knock him out. She sent a silent Stunning Spell, but was dismayed when he blocked it with a Shield Charm. He returned with his own Stunner using his other wand, while at the same time, he blocked with his first wand. Hermione jumped and lightly landed on a branch twenty-five feet above the ground; she was glad of their magically augmented training, giving her the ability to evade the spell straight up. She could see the man looking around for her, and she was surprised that he did not track her movement to her new perch, as Harry would have learnt from playing games and their training that an attack could come from anywhere—above or below.

The wizard cursed as the Stunner came at him; he barely erected his Shield Charm, and blindly fired at, hopefully, the correct location. He looked around wildly; he was crap at duelling and before arriving here, he had a tendency to avoid confrontation. But that was before. He had found the stupid police officer that thought he could track him down. He had hidden around one of the first crime scenes once he was sure that there was no Ministry of Magic. He was fascinated by what the police officers did with the bodies. He found it extremely entertaining to watch the fools trying to work out how he was successful in evading capture. He swiftly learnt all about Peter Morse, but he did not know where he went back in November. It was by pure luck he had discovered that the copper had come here; he was delighted when he had stumbled on this pretty little thing on her horsey. But it was all going wrong; she was not supposed to be fighting back or a fucking witch! How dare the bitch try and resist? He was pulled from his thoughts when the ground below him started to morph into a swamp. He jumped at a low-lying branch and struggled out of his predicament.

Hermione magically hurled a conjured circular saw blade at the branch the wizard was trying to climb. The blade struck fast, the man looked wildly around at this new attack; the branch creaked and groaned, a second and third blade struck. Hermione was getting frustrated; the damn blades didn't have enough force behind them to cleanly cut the damn branch. The man cancelled the three blades and moved to the tree's trunk. The damaged branch finally snapped and fell to the ground. Hermione was still pleased with her elevated position above her attacker. Unfortunately, the wizard fired off Fiendfyre, blindly setting the frozen wood ablaze.

Hermione dropped out of her tree with a hastily erected Shield Charm. The fire was spreading rapidly; the wizard came screaming out of the fire, ablaze himself. He cast a spell at Hermione, once he spotted her out in the open; luckily, he missed because it was still the same spell that started the inferno in the first place.

Hermione looked around blindly; she could not see due to the thick heavy smoke. She was lucky in that she knew how to cast a Bubble-Head Charm, so that she could breathe. She could hear nothing over the roar of the flames.

A body struck her around her waist, both of them fell, and a rancid breath on her neck carried his declaration, 'I have you now, you bitch.'

Hermione struggled but all of her magical energy was directed into maintaining her Bubble-Head Charm, so she would not choke on the thick smoke. Her eyes watered from the small amount that breached her charm due to the wizards tackle.

The man pinned Hermione below him as he straddled her body about the waist, and he fixed he hands above her body with a charm. While she was struggling, it was making it difficult for him to complete his wish of taking her virginity before the unstoppable fire consumed them both. As he could not muster enough concentration to **Apparate** successfully, he did not want to die like that fool of a Death Eater; he wanted to go out at the peak of an orgasm.

Peter did not like the reports coming out of Radstock: a large inferno was burning through three acres of woodland. The Fire Brigade was puzzled because it was almost impossible to have a large forest fire, forget inferno in the month of December, as the ground was wet and cold—two factors that most would think would prevent fire from starting. The Fire Brigade said that even though it was obviously arson, it did not explain the huge fire. Peter knew in his gut that the 'Bastard' was behind this.

Harry appeared amongst thick smoke, coughing as he created a Bubble-Head Charm. He cast the Aguamenti Charm at the approaching flames, but was dismayed at their failure to extinguish the flame. Harry got a flash of Hermione's predicament and followed her magic to her location. He found a man straddling her, and he knew from her tormented mind that the man wanted to rape her. He cast the first spell he thought of. The spell hurled the man off of Hermione; Harry sighed with relief at discovering that Hermione was still fully clothed, ignoring his surrounding he went to comfort Hermione.

He looked up when Hermione's mind screamed at him, _LOOK OUT!_

The man felt a spell lift him off of his prize. He had dropped both wands beside the prize after tying it up. He enjoyed it better when they were conscious, and fruitlessly tried to fight back. He blindly searched the wooden floor for a weapon, any weapon. He found a branch about the size of a baseball bat; it was on fire and had many little twigs growing off of it. He stumbled towards his prize to find a boy trying to untie her, the fool. He patently waited for him to turn around after the prize opened its eyes wide in shock. He hit the boy across his stupid glasses—that will teach him to interfere. _What's this? He is getting up for more!_ The second blow to the damaged spectacles on the fool's face dropped him for good this time.

Hermione watched on in horror as Harry was struck in the face twice with the branch; it snapped with the second blow. Hermione desperately searched for any trace of Harry's essence, and she sighed with relief when she found him, he was just badly injured. The man ignored their surroundings andslowly advanced on her. Hermione panicked and conjured five circular saw blades and flung them at the man. The bindings holding her in place failed as the man was struck in the groin, the neck, left thigh, right shoulder, and his breast bone. The man fell backwards into the swiftly advancing fire. As Hermione rolled into a stance, she found the wizard's two wands and pocketed them before tending to Harry.

Jim rushed down stairs after Harry had vanished and was shocked to see thick black smoke rising from the forest. Horror dawned on his face as he realised that Hermione had said she was heading in that direction. He went and raised the alarm with all the other people in the house. Five minutes after Harry had vanished, a ball of light appeared near Jim. Once the sphere of energy dissipated, Jim was shocked at Harry and Hermione's appearance. Hermione slumped forward unconscious. Jim examined both of them and discovered that Harry was badly injured; his skull was cracked around his eyes and his nose was broken. He must have debris in his eyes, as there were twigs and glass sticking out of his eye sockets. Hermione appeared to just have some slight cuts and bruises, but the marks of rope burns on her wrists were worrying. Jim phoned for an ambulance to transfer both of them to the hospital.

It took the Fire Brigade a week to extinguish the inferno. The investigation found the corpse of one man and the horse. Examination of the body found evidence of saw cuts on the bones, and after a DNA examination, it showed that this was the man, the serial killer, the police force was looking for. The investigation into his death was killed; the person responsible for this fiend's death deserved to be called a hero, whoever they were. The cause of the inferno was never discovered and the body was too badly destroyed to reveal any other evidence. After Peter had read the report, he drove down to the hospital that contained an injured Harry Potter and a Hermione Granger who was in a coma and showed signs of smoke inhalation. Peter guessed that both of the teenagers were involved somehow. After talking with John, Peter discovered that both teenagers had a fight of some sort and Hermione had gone out riding alone; so that meant that Hermione had faced down the worst lunatic Peter had every known alone (a brave girl indeed). The prognosis for Harry was bad: his brain was swelling and his eyes were badly damaged. With the current medical technology, it was almost certain that he would be blind.

Harry was only aware of pain. He was worried about Hermione facing the attacker all alone; he should have been more aware of his surroundings. _Stupid fool! I am probably going to die in this damned inferno. I hope Hermione survives._

_Oh, Harry, you are a prat, you know that,_ came Hermione's faint response as if she was deadly tired.

Harry slowly sent some of his magical power to Hermione. She replayed all of her memories from storming out of the house right through till she passed out in the lounge at the manor.

_You came for me, even though you were fighting with me?_ came Hermione's response after Harry managed to process the information. Harry gasped in agony, then abruptly cut off the connection with Hermione.

The nurse stationed outside Hermione's private room was startled by Hermione agonised scream of "HARRY!" The nurse went to the door to find it flung open, with a frantic Hermione babbling.

"Where's Harry? What happened to him? Take me to him."

Before the nurse could respond, she suddenly felt severe pins and needles before Hermione barrelled past her. The nurse paged for help while trying to keep up with the frantic girl running down the hospital corridor. It was unnerving to find her going straight to Harry's room. It was as if she was a great tracking dog sniffing out a run away prisoner. The nurse sighed with relief when she spotted Doctor Spencer approaching. After quickly relaying what happened, Doctor Spencer said that he would take over and entered the room. It was only after she had returned to her post that she realised that the corridor was dark from all the blown out lights.

Jim entered Harry's room to find a frantic Hermione babbling at Harry. When she saw Jim, she approached and started to demand information on what was wrong with Harry. Jim explained to her that Harry's brain was swelling and putting tremendous pressure on said organ. Hermione simply asked what she should do to help. Sighing, Jim explained that under normal circumstances, they would drill holes to try to relieve the pressure build up. As Hermione calmed down, Jim got the largest sensation of magical build up he had ever experienced with either Harry or Hermione. All the electronic devices died in the room, and after five minutes, Hermione opened her eyes and smiled, saying that Harry was back.

Jim enquired, 'Back?'

Hermione explained that while talking to Harry, she felt the sudden loss of connection with him—especially after they had made up for their differences and resolved their argument. Jim suddenly realised that the build up of pressure on Harry's brain had caused the loss of the connection and it was only Hermione's swift reaction that saved Harry's life.

Lisa slumped with relief after hearing that Harry's brain had stopped swelling. She had spent New Year's Eve with her family in Bristol and had only heard about Hermione's battle with her unnamed attacker the next day. Lisa remembered her conversation with Hermione about her love life before Halloween.

'_Lisa, can I ask you a question?'_

_Lisa bit back a retort after observing Hermione's expression, knowing that this was going to be a difficult talk for the girl. 'Depends on the question, I suppose.'_

'_Do you have a boyfriend? The reason I ask is, how do you know if you're in love with someone?'_

'_No, I don't have a boyfriend. I broke up just before you arrived and have been slow to get back up on the horse. Why? Where is this going?'_

'_Well, I am confused. At first, I thought I liked Ron, but after reading the books and your perspective on them, I don't think he is the right match for me. And lately, I have been thinking of someone else as a potential boyfriend.'_

'_Well, you can't help who you fall in love with, but do you feel like you should save yourself for Ron, or pursue this other person?'_

'_After what I experienced here, I had my eyes opened to other people's opinions on the people back home. I think that I would feel like I had settled for less if I dated and eventually married Ron.'_

'_So what are you going to do about Harry?'_

_Hermione blushed, 'What makes you think the other person is Harry? It might be you instead.'_

_Lisa laughed, 'Nice try at the attempted distraction, but it is plain as day how you react around that boy.'_

'_Boy,' an indigent Hermione responded. _

'_Yes boy, just like you are a girl—stop trying to throw away your childhood. In matters of the heart you still act like children, sorry, but it is true as you both dance around each other, even with your incredible bond. I am incredibly jealous, it could lead to an amazing love life.'_

_Hermione resembled a ripe tomato at the new turn of their conversation. 'So you think Harry loves me like maybe as a boyfriend?'_

'_Wake up and smell the coffee; of course he does, but, unfortunately, he has not woken up yet, just like he did not wake up in the last damn book.'_

_Hermione's face fell at this._

'_Don't worry, I won't let it happen by giving him a swift kick up the back side,' continued Lisa._

As Lisa returned to the present, she hoped that the two kids hooked up as they needed a break.

Hermione reminisced about the time Harry helped her to heal her damaged chest. She let her magic flow through Harry, slowly regrowing Harry's damaged skull and broken nose. She slowly reset Harry's nose with magic. After an hour, Harry's skull and nose were good as new. The only damage left was Harry's damaged eyes, but she had a solution for that she would have to talk to Jim for that.

Jim sat stunned in his office after Hermione detailed the repairs she had conducted to Harry's face. As she explained what she hoped to accomplish in repairing Harry's eyes, Jim realised that he would have to talk to Doctor Dave Everett, Harry's optician. Jim figured that Hermione's plan would work as it was based on what Harry did for Hermione. After extensive eye exams, it was discovered that Sam, Lisa's brother, had perfect 20/20 vision. Sam readily accepted to be Hermione's sample of eyes of what a fully functioning pair should be like. Just like Harry had done all those months before, Hermione let her magic flow through Sam's skull; however, Sam developed a bad headache, which he did not share with Hermione.

After three weeks of studying the eyes under supervision from both Jim and Doctor Everett, Hermione felt confident in conducting the operation on Harry. Harry was sitting in a dentist's chair. Hermione had put him under a magical anaesthesia. Hermione's presence flooded Harry's body. Doctor Everett directed Hermione to remove any foreign objects from Harry's right eye. Hermione willed the eyes to be free of debris; after a flash of light, Harry's eyes were clear. Dave examined the two eyes. They were free from all the debris.

He, then, directed Hermione to heal his eyes using her training. As Harry did for her with her chest, she did the same for Harry by directing Harry on how to heal his own eyes. Once she finished, Doctor Everett gave Harry an eye exam. Harry passed with perfect vision. Hermione was pleased she could stare in to Harry's soulful green eyes without the barrier of his spectacles. Harry was pleased to be up and about after being bedridden. Jim said they would return to classes tomorrow. Harry hugged Hermione in gratitude for restoring his eyes to perfect vision. Now, he would not need glasses at all. They enjoyed a peaceful day, carefully avoiding the battle that resulted in Harry's injuries. That night before going to bed, Hermione gave him a quick peck on the lips. Harry hardly slept a wink as all the events since his arrival played through his mind with Hermione's kiss at the forefront.

John was getting pissed. Potter's head was not with it this morning. In frustration, John sent Hermione on a twenty-five mile hike with the instruction to use no magic at all. She could cheat and he would never know, but she was known to follow the rules, so John was confident that she would follow the instruction to the letter.

'Potter, what's wrong?'

Harry didn't reply, just hung his head.

'Is this about the operation yesterday?'

'No.'

'Well, what's wrong?' John stared directly into Harry's eyes.

'Hermione kissed me and I don't know what to think.'

John roared with laughter. After a pause to catch his breathe, he asked, 'That's all?'

'It was a quick kiss and she was gone. She is pulling away from me.'

'What do you mean, pulling away?'

'Her mind and magic is pulling away; we share minds, everything, except for a small part we keep private.'

'Oh!' said John in a soft voice. 'I see.'

'What!!' said Harry in exasperation, his earlier embarrassment forgotten.

'Harry, I think I know what's happening; you are unique, you know.'

'Explain.'

'You're the only man I know who knows what women think because you're in a woman's head. I also believe that because of your childhood, you wouldn't know love unless it slapped you in the face. . . Or kissed you.'

'Are you implying that Hermione loves me?'

'Of course she does, we all do, and you should know that.'

'I meant, does she love me like a boyfriend?' asked Harry in exasperation at John's lack of comprehension of Harry's question.

'Duh.'

'What? I am getting sick of this conversation.'

'Good, you're an idiot. You should open your eyes you blind bat.' With that, John left Harry in the training room.

'Well fuck, what do I do now?'

'My brother has no tact, but he is right.' responded Aaron.

Harry spun around in shock. His mind was not in the training room. 'Were you listening in?'

'Do you love her like a girlfriend?'

Aaron ignored Harry's question, figuring that Harry needed to wake up and smell the roses. He was sick of watching the two love struckfools dance around each other, but Harry was dim.

'Maybe.'

'What kind of answer is that? It is a simple yes or no answer.'

'Damn it! I can't live without her; of course, I love her. But what if she doesn't feel the same as I do, anyway? I don't want to lose her as a friend, especially if it doesn't work out between us. I panicked when that wizard attacked her, and in the end, she saved ME. What would I do without her? Be probably dead before the end of first year.'

'I do love you, you silly man.'

Harry looked up before a brown streak barrelled him to the floor in a big embrace. Harry sent all his thoughts and feelings of love for Hermione to her.

'Oh. Oh. Oh. OH.' John laughed quietly as Hermione shook from an apparent orgasm of bliss.

Harry pulled back to look Hermione in the eyes. She had wet cheeks from tears of happiness and a small coy smile.

'I love you, and we will always be friends.' Hermione hugged Harry again.

'MMM, does this mean you're my girlfriend?'

'Yes, you prat! You're my boyfriend; do you want to go out with me next weekend?'

'Hey, I thought I was supposed to ask that?'

'Normally, yes, but you never do anything normal, so I decided to ask you out. So will you?'

'Of course, I will. I would have to be blind or stupid to say no.'

Hermione beamed at Harry. John's muffled laughter could be heard from the corridor. Harry and Hermione blushed when they realised they had an audience.

The following fortnight passed in a blur for the instructors as they went through the revision before Harry and Hermione's exam after six months of lessons. Harry suggested a short memorial for Hermione's dead horse Starburst, which resulted in a fifteen minute snogging session. After the six month review, Jim stated that the two teenagers needed to get away for a holiday, away from the manor. He booked a skiing holiday flying out on Wednesday the eleventh of February 2009. Jim brought them into London to shop for supplies for their holiday in the Swiss Alps. Jim had suggested the trip to London as an excuse so that the two love birds could go on a date.

They completed shopping for supplies before lunch, which Jim took in the car. He told them he would meet up with them at Piccadilly Circus at six in the evening. After a lovely meal, they went exploring; the incident over Christmas was behind them. Hermione had reviewed the battle with John. He was impressed with her actions and said she handled herself very well. Harry was beside himself with joy that someone was in love with him. In all his years, he had met people who cared for him, and he knew that Sirius loved him, but no one was in love with him till now. Their first stop after lunch was the British Museum. At three, Harry persuaded Hermione to go shopping with him, as he wanted to buy her a friendship ring as a symbol of his love. He was introduced to the legend of the Claddagh ring from Ireland and bought Hermione a nice gold one from the bonuses the police chiefs used as incentives for the police officers to work hard at capturing the wizard.

As they came out of the jeweller's store, Hermione was examining her new beautiful ring when a woman approached the couple from the throng of shoppers. The woman walked up to Harry and slapped him in the face very hard, and without Hermione's grip on his arm, he would have fallen flat on the path, as she had put a lot of power into the slap and Harry was not expecting it.

She exclaimed, 'Daniel, how could you do that, to me?'

There were a couple of flashes as the reporters took pictures; Harry did not notice that they were there until the flashes went off. Harry stood stunned in shook at the attack, caressing his sore cheek.

An entourage appeared out of a gap of the startled onlookers, due to the woman screaming at Harry. A man approached from within the group. It was almost like looking into the Mirror of **Erised, as if he wanted to be a model. **

**'I'm sorry, Daniel,' the woman gasped in shock at the apparent twins when she realised her mistake. She, then, threw her arm****s around the man's neck. **

**So, he is 'Daniel' Harry assumed. The woman turned to Harry and said, 'Sorry, it is all a big misunderstanding.' **

** 'Misunderstanding?' Harry retorted, still rubbing his sore cheek. **

**'That's some blow, rather you than me,' interjected Daniel. **

**Harry thought of the glare that Snape could muster and tried to emulate that glare at Daniel. It must have worked as the man's expression began to look sheepish, and quickly took the woman's arm and melted back into his group.**

**Hermione gently tugged on Harry's arm while saying in a loud voice, 'Come along, Mick, we have more shopping to do and I don't like celebrities, especially ones who attack innocent bystanders.'**

_Mick?_ Harry mentally asked.

_Harry, that was Daniel Radcliffe—he plays you in those films. It was the first thing I could think of,_ responded Hermione, _By the way, you handled that perfectly._ She pulled Harry into a heated kiss, ignoring their surroundings.

The photographer watched the couple walk away after they finished kissing. He thought he had a story when the confrontation had started out but nothing had happened. However, the put down at the end that he had overheard made him smile. It was always nice to take down the big hotshot Hollywood stars. Radcliffe and crew vanished into the side streets; Danny's minders must want to get him as far away from the couple as possible. The resemblance was uncanny. He discussed the confrontation with his rivals and they all were unsure what to do. Libel laws were always getting tougher for the press and what they witnessed was a simple case of mistaken identity. It appeared that Danny's current bird was not confident enough she could hold onto him, maybe he was sleeping around. He made a note of the bird's reaction of her thought to Danny cheating on her, and cleared the camera's memory and went to do his next job.

Harry and Hermione met up with Jim and relayed their encounter with the film star and Harry's reaction to being slapped. They went home to pack for their holiday. Harry hoped that their next date would go more smoothly. Everyone at the manor was impressed with the couples' handling of the situation outside of the jewellers. The next day, they went to the Airport. Peter had organised their passports under the names of James Harry Porter and Jean Hermione Ranger. Peter explained that it was the least he could do after they had stopped the wizard whom had killed so many people. After arriving in Switzerland, Harry commented on the fact that he preferred to fly on a broom as he was in control.

Harry was disappointed to discover that he was sharing his holiday with Jim's family. He had hoped it was just himself and Hermione. Hermione loved the fact that Harry trusted her with the handsome ski instructor. Hermione was flattered by his interest, but she knew that she was in the early stages of a relationship, which could lead to be her future husband. She shared her memories and feelings with Harry to reassure him that he was the only man she wanted; she did this because of the trust he had shown.

Harry's response was that he did not want to have a jealous reaction like Ron would have had. He trusted Hermione with his heart, body, and soul, and that she would never intentionally harm him. They both were enjoying their winter break in Switzerland, and both were delighted that their training had proved helpful in mastering skiing. It also helped them to avoid any injuries. Hermione had researched skiing and was pensive before the holiday when she learnt that there was a good chance of injury while skiing. Hermione had enjoyed her first Valentine's date with Harry. It was a candlelit dinner in front of a roaring fire in their suite. After dinner, they enjoyed a passionate embrace before Harry reluctantly went to his room.

Harry was dreaming. He knew because he was lying on a golden beach; the waters lapping the shore were crystal clear, reflecting the bright blue sky. A beautiful goddess approached with a flowing mane of brown hair. Liquid brown eyes sparkled as Hermione gazed into Harry's eyes. Harry drank in the sight of her; she was wearing a grass dress and two seashells over her ample bosom. Her skin was lightly tanned. Harry groaned as she straddled him and he was sure she could feel his reaction to her. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a languid kiss, her hands drifting up into his hair. Harry's hands drifted up Hermione's legs to her perfect arse. Harry gasped as he discovered her bare bottom; he kneaded her cheeks and she moaned in pleasure. He groaned as she lifted his hand from her bum and put them on her shell covered breasts. He gently pulled them off with a pop. He stopped his kiss to view them. Reality dawned in his lust fogged brain—it is only a dream. He should wait for permission from Hermione; he was not some cad.

Hermione was remembering their heated embrace before Harry reluctantly left to his room. Hermione drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a smiling Harry. Her dreams changed to a beach, with Harry lying on a beach towel. Hermione understood that this was a shared dream; she had stumbled into many of Harry's nightmares and had always managed to pull him into her dreams, so that he would not be awakened by his nightly terror. She did not think that Harry realised that he shared dreams with her; he thought that he had tomake the connection and did not realise that it was possible to do it with little to no thought at all. With this knowledge, she set out to seduce her man safe in the knowledge that it was in a dreamscape. She was enjoying Harry's ministrations until Harry stopped after uncovering her breasts. She was touched at Harry's gentlemanly conduct but was a woman with a mission.

Harry was surprised when the dream Hermione made mental contact with him. He gasped when he realised that this was not how he imagined Hermione, but an accurate mental projection of her body, and that she was present for this dream as well. Harry sent all his love and appreciation of her and gasped when Hermione called his name many times while writhing above him. This caused his already hard member to harden much more. Harry slowly stroked Hermione's bare back as she came back down to earth.

_Thank you, that was brilliant._

In response, Harry started to suckle on Hermione's left breast, all the while rubbing her belly. His hands slowly slipped south, between the grass dress and her wonderfully smooth skin. He found her pubic hair and gasped when he realised she wasn't wearing any knickers. Harry did not know what to do; so, Hermione asked to try an experiment. Harry agreed mentally as his mouth was alternating between both breasts. Hermione tentatively took control of Harry's exploring hand. They thought it could be possible to control each other's bodies, and this was the first time they had tried it. Hermione guided Harry's hand in how she brought herself to orgasm Harry swiftly learnt that being a bookworm meant that Hermione had even read books about sex and was fascinated by it, and had explored her body before the incident at the Ministry.

Harry kissed Hermione as he remembered the anguish that came from her injury, and her thoughts at the time that no man would touch her and her joy at how Harry had instinctively known how to go about the best way to help and reassure her. As Hermione relinquished control, Harry was confident in Hermione's instruction, but he also used his mental link to push Hermione to another mind blowing orgasm. Harry sighed; he wished that he could physically show his love for Hermione instead of this dreamscape. Hermione smiled as she took hold of Harry's penis. Harry valiantly tried to continue his ministrations on Hermione, but the wonderful thing she was doing was distracting him. Hermione slowly kissed down Harry's chest before she took Harry into her mouth. As she bobbed and sucked, Harry struggled to maintain control of his release.

_Hermione, I'm coming._

Harry had the need to kiss Hermione and proceeded to stroke her sides as she lay on the beach towel. Harry wanted to return the favour, so he trailed kisses down her body. He paid special attention to her breasts. He kissed all around her nipple before gently suckling on the tit. He repeated this with her other breast. He continued down as far as her belly button and discovered that she was very ticklish when he licked her there. He skipped her groin and started again at her toes. He suckled her toes before slowly kissing up her long lovely legs. Hermione trembled in anticipation as he slowly kissed along her inner thigh.

Hermione was in heaven as Harry eventually found her nether lips and started to kiss them. She loved the fact that he was using their bond to read exactly what her body needed. He kissed, licked, and suckled her, bringing her to the brink many times but always backing off on the cusp of release. She needed release and sensing this, she gasped as he inserted a finger and hit her G-spot on her vaginal wall. She came hard as Harry slowly brought her down again after another wonderful orgasm. She did not care that it was only dreamscape; she needed to feel him inside her. She pushed Harry on to his back and was delighted to find him hard again. She straddled his waist and was amazed at how it was silken and yet as hard as a rock. She lined him up and slid down; she felt a barrier, pulled up slightly before plunging down.

Harry was amazed that Hermione wanted to go all the way. He felt the echo of her pain and it cleared his love fuddled brain. He knew from Jim that virgin women commonly had a hymen, which he had just breached, but this was just dreamscape right? Harry sent all his love along the bond and drew Hermione's pain into himself; it was much easier to bear than the pain inflicted by Riddle through his old scar. Harry was pulled out of his thoughts by Hermione's vaginal muscles massaging his member. He unconsciously thrust and felt Hermione's reaction to the link.

'I, Harry, will love you, Hermione, for all eternity.' All the while, he was gently pumping into Hermione.

'I, Hermione, will love you, Harry, for all eternity.'

Harry lost himself into Hermione's brown orbs.

Jim woke up and looked at the clock: it read 01:30. Jim groaned, wondering what woke him when he felt a massive build up of magic. He rushed to Harry's room and was shocked to find Harry floating a foot above his bed with his body emitting a pink glow. He checked on Hermione and saw that she was in the exact same position. He felt that they were in no danger and none of the electrical equipments were damaged, so he went back to his room with the urge to make love to his wife.

Harry could feel the onset of his orgasm, so he bared his soul to Hermione. She did the same, all the while vowing to protect and care for the other. Harry came hard and passed out in bliss. He awoke to discover his bed soaked in sweat and semen, and the room smelled of his release. He was feeling hot and sticky, so he went and took a shower. Just as he was drying himself, he heard Hermione's panicked cry.

'Harry.'

Hermione slowly woke up and was disappointed to be alone. She was shocked to discover her wet bedclothes. She threw them off herself and was shocked to discover blood mixed in with her cum. She reached for a glass of water and was shocked to discover a new band on her finger beside the Claddagh ring. The new ring appeared to be made of platinum, sliver, and gold woven together; when she examined it, she discovered that the band was smooth and showed no signs of ridges that should be their because of the weave. She carefully removed the ring and gasped at the feeling of loss. Inscribed was: '_Harry and Hermione for all eternity 14/2/2009 R.W._' The significance sank in along with the previously private parts of Harry's mind. Hermione was shocked to discover that she had magically married Harry and now she had shown Harry all of her private and intimate thoughts. _I'm married to Harry. . . HARRY!_

Harry appeared out of a ball of energy in front of Hermione, and blushed when he realised that she was naked and just came out of a refreshing shower.

'Harry, we are married! What are we going to do?'

Harry pulled Hermione into a comforting embrace, hoping to calm her down; the proclamation of marriage had not filtered through yet. Hermione's mind worked out the dates and realised that Harry would turn seventeen in about four weeks and that she was due to turn eighteen in May of '09.

_Harry, what are we going to do? How did this happen?_

Harry knew this was just Hermione's panic; he could tell that she was actually delighted to be married to him, but she was scared of the unknown. She felt like she had let everyone down: her parents, Lisa, and Jim. Harry brought her to the large couch and made up a bed before putting her to bed, and he climbed in beside her. He held her in an embrace before falling asleep, thinking he would worry about it all tomorrow.

A/N: Please review.


	3. Chapter 3

For disclaimer see first chapter's notes

For disclaimer see first chapter's notes.

'' Equals thoughts and mind speak.

"" Equals Speech and quotations.

Thanks to my Proof reader: Tumshie

Chapter Three

Hermione slowly woke up and found herself in a warm and comfortable cocoon, as her body slowly communicated to her she realised that she was naked, and that she felt an uncomfortable sensation in her groin. She realised that she was not in her wonderful cocoon alone, she was lying on a man, and his rock hard member was rubbing on the side of her hip. Last night came back to her in a flood of images and feelings.

'Oh no how could I have been so cold? I panicked and implied to Harry that I don't want to be married to him.' Panicked Hermione. 'But Harry put me to bed and rocked me to sleep.'

Hermione made contact with Harry and discovered that his mind was still slumbering. She gasped when she realised that Harry's hand was slowly massaging her tender groin. 'Even in sleep he is looking after me. I love this new side of Harry.'

Her cocoon was on one of the large deep couches. Hermione smiled when she realised that Harry had used a simple charm to keep the both of them from falling out, of the couch. As she let her magic feel out her surroundings she also realised that with out Harry's magic he would needed to use his leg and arms to support his frame as only half his body was on the couch. He had used one other charm on the quilt to keep it to a comfortable temperature, so that it would be very comfortable for her. Hermione shifted position as Harry's gentle massage was stimulating her to arousal. His gentle rubbing and loving nature were sending waves and waves of pleasure throughout her body. She came hard. She thought it was a brilliant way to wake up.

Harry slowly woke up to find himself spooning Hermione. He was surprised at his boldness to be touching Hermione there, he had decided last night that Hermione needed to sleep on the situation, and he thought she said something about marriage. He did not want to rush things with Hermione by bringing up the topic himself. He had only just become her boyfriend, and though he knew her well he figured it was far to soon to propose. He guessed it must be late as light slipped in around the closed curtains. Hermione turned around in their cocoon hitting his erection. Harry hissed in pain at the assault on his sensitive member.

Hermione kissed him in greeting. Harry's lips opened to Hermione's probing tongue. She apologised for hurting him when they broke for air. Harry gasped when he saw a wedding band on his finger as he went to run his fingers through his hair. It matched Hermione's band perfectly, the only difference was the fact Harry's was larger to fit a man's hand. Harry gasped at the feeling of loss when he removed it to read the inscription. It was the exact same as the one inscribed on Hermione's ring.

Hermione apologised for her reaction last night, and declared that she considered herself to be a Potter now and not a Granger. Hermione's mind was always running many thoughts at once, which was why she was shocked that Harry had reduced her down to one thought process last night when they made love. She thought back to the past year and all that had happened to her. After reading the books written about Harry, she realised that after the incident at the ministry Harry had pulled away and looked for the easy option in the books. She would not have blamed him, as she did not know what was going through her counterpart's mind during the sixth and seventh books. As she looked back over the year she realised that she had fallen in love with her best friend.

Before Hogwarts she had acquaintances not friends. When she got her letter she thought it would be a chance at a fresh start. But in the beginning it was a disaster. Of course she read all she could about this new world she was about to explore. She read about Harry Potter and when she realised she would be attending school with him, she wondered what he was like. In her anticipation to meet Him she thought she had botched it at their first meeting, as she had come over as a know it all. But he had come to save her from a troll and after that she knew she had a friend for life. She could not pin it exactly when her feelings for him began to change but knew she wanted more on the train ride home before coming here. She was worried in the beginning when they shared their thoughts, that Harry might discover her feelings. No, actually, she was terrified that he would not return them. She began to suspect he felt the same. He was different here, calmer, maybe because here he did not have the weight of the world on his shoulders.

She had come to the conclusion that this was a holiday, a break to recharge before facing Tom Riddle, or by the name he preferred Lord Voldemort. These were some of her private thoughts the other thoughts were of him ravishing her. During last night she dropped all her mental shields and bared her soul to him. He of course did the same; she was pleased to discover that he had the same worries and anxiety of unrequited love. She knew he was delighted that she returned his feelings. She started to find it funny that the both of them were worrying about the same thing, and that everyone knew about their love for each other before they did. Maybe everyone back at Hogwarts in fourth year knew it too.

Harry groaned when Hermione started to laugh. She was straddling him and her laughing body was rubbing her wet nether lips along his shaft. He pulled her down in to a searing kiss. He slowly brought his hands up from his grip on her hips to gently caress her breasts. Hermione pouted when she realised that she was still sore from last night. She reluctantly got up off of Harry and stood on shaky legs. 'Damn I want him. But I can't right now.'

Harry was very disappointed when Hermione got up off of him, but he understood her reasoning even though his member protested.

"Tease" Sighed Harry as he drank in the sight of Hermione.

She looked the same as in the dream, the only difference between the beautiful visions was the fact she was more tanned in the dreamscape. Harry crawled out of the quilt and hugged Her**.**

"Morning, come on and I'll help you shower."

"You only want to keep me naked."

Harry nodded enthusiastically as he guided her to the bathroom. He sat her on the toilet seat, and turned to switch on the shower and set it to a comfortable temperature. Once the shower was just right he coaxed Hermione up off the toilet as she was admiring Harry's trim body. She stood under the spray as Harry worked up lather with the shower cream. He used his lathered hands to wash her arms from shoulder to hands. He then gently turned her to wash her back. Hermione moaned as he caressed her bum, he continued down her legs to her feet. She turned back around to him. He went down on one knee, and lifted one of her legs. Resting her foot on his knee, he washed from her foot up her long smooth legs. Hermione groaned in disappointment when he stopped just short of her crotch. He repeated this with her other leg. He then got some shampoo and gently washed her hair, being careful not to pull it or get soap in her eyes. He then found a facecloth and proceeded to wash her front gently, working from her face down.

Hermione was touched by his gentleness as he guided her to the bathroom. She thought she would be embarrassed by being in his presence naked. She did not think she was pretty even though she now knew that Harry firmly believed she was stunning. The thought running through her head was that last night was just a dream even though it felt real and she was sore this morning. She wanted to make love to Harry, but was worried about getting pregnant. She got the strong impression from Harry that he wanted a family. But did not want any of his children to grow up orphans. She knew it was dangerous to try and raise a child with Riddle still at large, besides she did not know when they would return home. She did not want to contemplate never going back. She was touched at the tender way he showed his love by washing her body this morning and they way he had rocked her to sleep last night. Hermione gasped when she came in the shower as Harry gently washed her groin. She slid down the shower wall; Harry wrapped her into a big hug as the tremors flowed through her body.

In thanks Hermione peppered kisses all over Harry's face. When she kissed his lips he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss. After an eternity they reluctantly ended the kiss. Hermione returned the favour and washed Harry as gently as he washed her. Hermione winced as she realised that poor Harry had had an erection since they woke up, and he ignored it to care for her. 'This won't do.' Hermione knelt in front of Harry and started to kiss around his shaft. Before moving on to licking up and down it. She pulled his penis into her mouth and started to bob up and down.

Hermione was enjoying the fact that she had their mental connection because she could feel what she was doing to Harry. She would slow down her ministrations when she realised he was close. After stopping him going over for the fifth time Harry begged.

"Please, Hermione, I need to . . . I can't stand any longer."

Hermione started to gently caress his sack, which pushed him over.

'Hermione, I'm coming.'

Hermione was surprised that it tasted just like in the dream. After getting out of the bathroom, Harry was reluctant to leave Hermione's side so he stayed with her, as she got dressed. When dressed he hugged Hermione, and vanished from the room in a sphere of magical energy.

After Harry had gotten dressed the couple went to get breakfast down in the hotels dining room. Breakfast was a selection from the buffet. Jim found his charges sitting beside each other eating breakfast. Jim was not looking forward to his conversation with the couple, he knew something major happened last night and was worried for their safety. They were so focused on each other that it took until he coughed loudly to get their attention.

After he was awoken last night by the huge magical emissions, he checked on Harry to discover him fast asleep floating about a foot above his bed with a pink glow emanating off of him. After discovering Harry's state he decided to check on Hermione before deciding what to do. He found her in the same condition floating over her bed glowing pink. He felt love in both rooms and felt the urge to go make love to his wife, Mary. He had a wonderful night, however he awoke to the feeling that last night something had happened to his two young friends Harry and Hermione. He had went to breakfast but they were nowhere to be seen so he went to check up on his two youngest, as Anne felt she was to old to go on family holidays and had decided to go with her friends.

They all were growing up to fast for his liking. His youngest two Hugo and Russell had not seen Harry or Hermione so he returned to the hotel where a hotel porter said that they had been lucky in that they had just made it to breakfast as the dining room was about to close. Jim thanked him and asked the porter to give him some privacy. They did not notice him sit down; it gave him a chance to observe young love. He gasped as he noticed the new rings; they appeared to be too expensive for the small jewellers at the ski resort. After he coughed to get their attention he bid them good morning.

"Hello" Said Hermione with a small blush when she realised they were no longer alone,

"Good morning, may I ask what happened last night? As I was awakened by the powerful magic in the air last night. I decided to investigate and was surprised to discover first you, Harry and then you, Hermione floating over your beds glowing pink. Please explain?" Enquired Jim.

Jim watched as the young couple silently communicated before Harry responded. "After dinner last night, I kissed Hermione goodnight and went to bed . . . alone. I started to dream . . . about Hermione. I was shocked at first that she was sharing the dream with me. It woke me up . . . I had a shower . . . Hermione was panicking, so I went to her. I comforted her and when we woke up we discovered we were . . . . . Married!"

Jim waited patently as Harry slowly told him barely enough information about last night.

"May I see the rings please?" Jim was shocked at the grief stricken expression on Harry's face as he reluctantly removed his ring and passed it across the table.

It was exquisitely made of precious metals. Jim could see that it was next to impossible to make by modern jewellers. He gasped as he got an impression of Hermione's love for Harry from the ring. He passed Harry's ring back and watched the relief on Harry's face as he put the ring back on. Jim was not surprised to discover that Hermione's ring was the same, just daintier to fit her feminine hand. He read the matching inscriptions. "_Harry and Hermione for all eternity 14/2/2009 R.W._" He did not understand the significance of the superscripted initials R and W.

"They are beautiful rings, obviously magical?"

"Yes." Replied Hermione in a small voice, as if she was still worried of Jim's reaction to their current predicament.

Jim thought about it and came to the conclusion that he had no right to be angry or disappointed in his young friends. He understood that they way the books had been written that the magic mainly worked by intent. For example Harry's attempted use of the Cruciatus curse on Bellatrix Lastrange and it's failure to do much, because of Harry's lack of intent. Jim came to the realisation that it was Harry's intent to help Hermione that had forged their deep connection, and this was the reason both teenagers survived Christmas sane. He figured that they both wanted to spend the rest of their lives with each other, and had used magic subconsciously to marry each other. He guessed they had not told him everything, probably because it was private and none of his business. But he felt he had to warn them about their powerful magic.

"Harry. Hermione. I am delighted for you both as it is obvious to me that it was inevitable, and achieved magically. I believe that you intend to share your life with each other and that your magic took it to the next level and created the rings. Please be careful, as I am worried that the birth controls available may not be suited to you. I believe that there is a strong chance of Hermione becoming pregnant. It is none of my business, but I know that Harry would do anything to protect mother and child. I believe that you will eventually return home and have to face Riddle. It is not in either of you to run away so I believe that both of you will be in the thick of it. So please discuss your future and about the risks of bring another life into the world. I know that Harry does not want any of his children to go through what he did. But what ever you decide I fully support you." Jim silently got up and left the couple to discuses what he had just said.

Hermione was delighted that Jim was not angry or disappointed, but his concerns about a possible pregnancy were that of a concerned friend and as her doctor while she was here, and he was looking out for her best interests. If he believed that available contraceptives were not effective then what was she going to do? Yes she wanted to bear Harry's children but after she finished her schooling and the problem of Riddle was solved. She was worried that if she had children now, then Riddle could use herself and her children against Harry. She knew that Harry was struggling with himself about the fact that she would be at his side in the coming war. He would much prefer that she was safely locked away from the conflict but knew that Hermione would not want to be locked up.

And if there was one thing Harry wanted to do it was to please her and keep her happy, which he proved with actions last night. He may not be articulate with his feelings, and be silent and moody at times, but she knew that he showed his love for her every day by his actions. Hermione need time to work out this new problem of how to make love to her man with out getting pregnant, it would be tough as Jim had drew her attention to the concept of intent, and how it was their subconscious that had married them. She was concerned because she badly wanted to provide Harry with kids, but knew she would have to wait, as she wanted to be at Harry's side. She would trust no one to protect him in a fight but herself.

After Hermione shared her worries with Harry, they left to go wandering about the resort, as both were too preoccupied to go skiing. That night they retired to Hermione's room to simply sleep together as Hermione's concerns were to the forefront of her mind and Harry simply wanted to hold his wife. The rest of the holiday was wonderful for the couple as they got used to sleeping together. The only blight was the fact that they did not repeat Valentine's night in a dream or otherwise as both of them decided to hold out until they had addressed Hermione's worries.

They returned to find a surprise party for them at the manor as Jim had told everyone at home the good news. Harry found after the first night home that he could not sleep without holding Hermione so shared her bed after that first lonely night back at the manor. Connor found that Harry took his sexual frustration out during magical combat training by conjuring various explosive devices and blowing up life like mannequins of Tom Riddle the bane of his life. The instructors found that both teenagers returned from their holiday with a fierce new determination in their studies in the hopes it would help when they went home. Lisa spent the day after they returned home grilling Hermione about her holiday and mysterious marriage to Harry, as Jim had just said that they were married but did not give the specifics. Lisa thought it was all very romantic and wished Hermione the best of luck.

Peter was feeling very nervous as he drove up to the manor house. It was a month after Harry and Hermione's trip to Switzerland. He was initially happy that the Bastard was stopped during his attack on Hermione. However the upper brass were not happy that he and his team did not solve the case, and the fact that a "little girl" had stopped the lunatic. Besides the fact that the "little girl" was a highly trained young woman, and could probably beat him in a sparring session. Peter thought that his superiors were dismissing Hermione by calling her a "little girl." Peter feared John's wrath once he discovered the reason for this meeting. He parked the car between a blue Ford Mondeo and a pink Honda S2000, after locking his car he approached the house to find Aaron McClain waiting in the door way.

"Hello, Peter, what can I do for you?"

"I would like to speak to Harry and Hermione."

"All right follow me."

Aaron led him around the house to a field hidden from the house by a small wood. Peter saw a range of some sort was set up at the far end of the field. He saw that Harry was fighting a man in a kilt and a loud Hawaiian shirt with a nasty looking bastard sword. Hermione appeared to be working through a martial arts form that used a samurai sword with John. The graceful movements Hermione made with the weapon amazed Peter. John rarely corrected her form only asked her to increase her power and speed. The sword fight between Harry and the man was the most amazing fight Peter had ever seen as Harry appeared to mix in gymnastics into his sword fighting it reminded Peter of the fight between Yoda and Count Dooku in one of the "Star Wars" films as Harry seemed to make a lot of movement compared to the man's small movements. Aaron explained that Connor was teaching Harry and Hermione to sword fight and could not match ether for range of movement so had moved on to these new drills so that they could learn more unusual fighting opportunities.

Connor called a halt and asked for the two teens to go full out against each other. The only limits were to keep it in the field and no mental communication. The resulting fight was awe inspiring and looked more like a dance than a fight for life. After half and hour both combatants bowed to each other, then Connor before they hugged each other. They retired to the manor to shower leavening four pensive men in a field in the rain.

"What do yeah want?" asked John gruffly.

"I have a problem, the brass want to know what happened over Christmas even though me an my team benched the investigation. They want to know how the fire started as the local authorities in northern Italy had a similar fire about the same time. The brass are worried that it maybe related"

"How can we help, we know noting about Italy, and the cause of the fire was that wizard. And because his remains were found it is unlikely he will cause it to happen a again." Stated John as he led Peter back to his unmarked police car.

"Who owns the pink car?" Asked Peter as he admired the seven-year-old Honda.

"Lisa does, it is her pride and joy she just had it resprayed and the roof redone as the old one was badly damaged by her ex."

"Bad break up?"

"Yeah, Think?"

Peter looked around wondering where Aaron and Connor had gone to, he felt that both men had left him with the gruff seventy year old. He drove away from the manor wondering at how skilfully the men had blocked his attempt to again talk to Harry and Hermione.

Tom was delighted with the progress his two students had made in his craft class. At first Hermione showed little interest in making stuff with wood and metal like most girls, however she began to enjoy it as it was different and more fulfilling to make an object than to conjure it. Their first project was simply to fabricate a full bedroom wardrobe suite from scratch, for example the bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers etc. He also made them make the hinges and handles instead of using factory made ones. He found that both of his pupils after the project, now understood and appreciated all the work that went into a hand crafted object.

Tom was fascinated by the magical objects described in the books and directed Harry and Hermione to try and replicate the objects described in them. The first successful magical object was a four compartment trunk, with charms for lightness and the compartments were charmed to be bigger on the inside than the outside. The second successful objects werea pair of finely made mirrors just like the ones that Sirius gave Harry. They were made with a polished oak frame, containing a simple rectangular mirror. They were used to communicate on the estate when they were using large amounts of magic, as the magic interfered with the walkie-talkies. When Tom explained his fascination with the magical objects, especially Harry's cloak and Firebolt, and wanted to see them made by Harry and Hermione. Both teens agreed to try and make one each with Hermione trying to make an invisibility cloak and Harry trying to make a flying broom.

Jim frowned as he went through the paperwork in his office, over the past ten weeks Hermione was like a woman possessed in her drive to learn everything about human reproduction so that she could come up with a safe contraceptive for herself and Harry. He thought she would make a good medical researcher. In the beginning of his course on medical practices, she was squeamish but had got used to all the blood and gore of the cadavers he had shown them. He even had shown her women with problems conceiving so that she would know the risks. One woman was reported to be six weeks along yesterday after talking to that nice girl "Hermione." Jim wondered what she had done so asked her. Hermione had replied this morning that the woman had a small defect in her fallopian tubes that were damaging the eggs on their journey to the womb. She had simply used the techniques Harry was shown when he had healed her own injuries. She did it because she could sense the woman's desire to have children and empathised with her. Jim replied that it was a very nice thing that she had done but she should be careful because if the press got wind of their story it would be like a circus.

Hermione had Lisa's help with her invisibilitycloak as the first step was finding material that was suitable to be charmed. After testing many samples they were surprised to find that Gore-Tek worked the best and was waterproof. Instead of making one cloak she made two cloaks as well as two suits with hoods. The cloak and hoods were lined in a silk charmed to stay silent and absorb smells so that sound and smell would not give away the user's position. Hermione found out that when Lisa was younger, she wanted to be a dress designer but gave it up after her mentor stole a design and sold it to a supermarket. Lisa still got upset when she saw her designs being worn over ten years later. When she brought her case to a barrister, she was told that as the design was registered in her mentor's name that she hadn't a leg to stand on and charged her a thousand pounds for the privilege of the information. Hermione coaxed Lisa to teach her how to design and make clothes. Her project for Tom took the full three months of her current block of lessons.

Meanwhile Harry started by turning pieces of wood on a lathe before comparing them to the two recovered wands. He settled on a piece of ash, and went searching in the woods for suitable twigs. Both Harry and Hermione discovered that they could almost sense very feint traces of magic like energy in the wood growing from the area destroyed by the inferno, they figured that the fire had implanted a faint trace of magic on the land destroyed by the fire. John and Connor planted various species of trees in the area. And Harry used twigs from these trees to create a broom like his Firebolt. Harry produced over fifty examples because the wood was not like wand wood back in his world, and he thought that it would be very difficult to charm these new brooms to fly.

With Hermione's help, he had mastered the charm required to makethe broom hover. John had brought in a friend an ex-air corps man with the Air Force to take him up in an old jet trainer so that he could learn how a plane worked, and how inertia worked on the plane during flight, so that he would have an idea of how planes worked and could use this knowledge in the making of the broom. Afterwards he had an idea on how to help Hermione to overcome her fear of heights. He drew up a list of the charms he would need to cast on the broom, and passed the list to Hermione to see if she could think of any charms he had missed.

After eight weeks he had a working prototype. The broom had a password-based charm that would keep a rider on the broom, an idea he took from seat belts in cars and planes. He also added acceleration and braking charms as well as a cushioning charm for the rider and a bubble charm to deflect the wind after he had studied the basics of how an aircraft worked in his physics course. He tested the broom under an invisibility spell cast on him by Hermione, so that he could test the brooms unobserved. Hermione was worried throughout the testing phase. When they did speed trials, Hermione charmed Harry and the broom to look like a plane, so that he could fly in public. Harry named his new broom the Titan due to how hard it was to make all the charms work together.

A shocked Sam had relayed the results of the broom trials. He had fitted three GPS units to Harry and the broom as well as various sensors. Harry and Hermione had gotten so good at casting around electronics that they could cast magic with no effect on the sensitive electronic sensors.

The statistics Sam found were as follows:

Acceleration in any direction 0 to 100 miles per hour was 2.1 seconds.

Acceleration going forward was much higher due to much less wind resistance was 0 to 300 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds.

The braking charm was equally impressive it could stop from any speed to zero instantly with only exerting 1 gee's on the rider all thanks to the Inertia charm Harry had mastered.

The bubble charm allowed the broom to reach a height of eighteen thousand feet. The bubble charm allowed the rider to breathe normally and it even worked under water. The charm also maintained a pre-set temperature regardless of the outside air temperature. Harry had layered a lot of features that he would like on his Firebolt, but was too afraid to damage his prized broom, as it was a gift from Sirius. He hoped the Firebolt was okay, as he knew it was going to be destroyed at the beginning of his seventh year, but now, once he returned he might lock it into his Gringotts vault for safe keeping as he had his new brooms. The top speed was unknown as the equipment went out of range at one thousand mph. He had successfully made four Titans.

After successfully completing the broom trials Harry taught Hermione how to ride the broom. After a couple of months she had developed a love of flying for the sense of freedom. Hermione realised that this was Harry's escape from his troubles, just like Hermione escaped into her books.

Aaron was pleased that Harry and Hermione were coping, as he was worried that they would be stuck in their depression. He was getting worried, as he did not know when they would return home. They appeared to be coping with their new situation as a married couple, even though it was not official, hell they did not officially exist so what did it matter. He knew there was an underlying problem but, they did not share it with him, even though he was their counsellor. He knew that Jim was aware of the problem but he was no help as he cited patient confidentiality. Aaron noticed that Harry took his frustrations out on his targets. When Aaron tried to broach the problem with Harry he nearly got his head bit off.

Jim was getting fed up with Peter's constant nagging. Peter said that Interpol had a problem similar to his case in Northern Italy. And he went on to say that Interpol wanted to talk to Harry and Hermione, as they had discovered the couple's involvement in the resolution of the case. Jim decided to call a meeting with Connor and John and decide what to do.

"Peter is up to phoning once a week now." Stated Jim.

"What the fuck does he want?" Snorted John

"The same thing since January, an interview between Interpol and our two love birds." Responded Jim.

"Bollox that, he can fuck off, they have their own problems and don't need Interpol adding more." Interjected Connor.

"I'll contact a guy in one of the alphabet agencies in the American Intelligence community he owes me a favour from an old case I helped him on a few years back. I never found out who he worked for, it could have been any one of them. He left me a contact number and said he hated outstanding debts."

"Do you think he can help out?" Asked Jim

"Maybe, but I'll pass on all the information we have and find out what Interpol are really after."

Hermione was having a bad day, she had been married for five months and was in desperate need to shag her husband. She was beginning to regret the decision to abstain from sex because she was likely to get pregnant. To make matters worse it was that time of the month and her hormones were raging wild and her lower back was killing her. Jim or Lisa had nothing that could help her and she had lashed out at Harry. She missed the potion available at Hogwarts that took care of this problem.

"What's wrong, love?" Asked Harry as he came into their room determined to help this time.

"Everything. Nothing. Fuck." Hermione hissed the last word in pain.

'Hermione rarely curses, so it must be bad this time,' thought Harry.

Harry had discovered all about the female body from having access to Hermione's mind and living under the same roof since their arrival here, it was different than living at Hogwarts. He found out about Hermione's monthly visitor. He realised how thick he was to not notice sooner, it explained some of Ron and Hermione's blazing rows as she had a shorter fuse to her temper. Once Harry discovered this he apologised to Hermione for not noticing and asked how he could help in any way. Harry guided Hermione to the bed and laid her upon it. He gently removed her jeans and loosened her sweater. He started to massage the cramps in her abdomen. She stared to purr like a cat in relief as Harry massaged her pain away.

'Thank you I am sorry about snapping at you."

"You're welcome and I have my bad days too, and you never left me so I won't leave just because you are having a bad day." Said Harry aloud.

Harry climbed onto the bed with Hermione and cuddled her from behind and held her as she fell asleep.

Hermione awoke the next morning feeling refreshed now that her monthly visitor was gone, she was surprised to be nude Harry must of put her into bed last night. Hermione and Harry discovered that they preferred to sleep nude as it let them maintain the most skin contact possible while asleep. Hermione discovered that Harry had a terrible childhood growing up and now that he had someone to love him, he did not want to ever let go. So having full body contact with his wife helped him have a good nights sleep. Hermione now thought that she would be lost without her new teddy bear, Harry. She loved the feeling of being safe and secure in Harry's arms. The only blight was the fact it took extreme self-control not to ravish her man. She gasped as she realised that she had slept for over twelve hours. Harry was spooned in behind her sleeping peacefully. 'The stress must be getting to me.' She thought. She found it difficult to lead a celibate life due to their situation and with Riddle hanging over them the outlook was dismal.

'I have a solution.' Said a voice in her mind.

"Who said that?" Asked Hermione as she sat up in shock.

'I am the founders creation. Harry met me in the Chamber of Secrets. I was the strange light that he saw. My purpose is to guide and teach in complement to the teachers of Hogwarts. I used to help out a lot before the Chamber was built under the old castle. The castle was there before the one you see was built. Hogwarts is much older than is written, it was an old establishment before the founders used it for a school. Harry was the second person I have met in one thousand years. The first was an evil boy, Harry was the second person and he is of a pure heart with qualities of each of the founders, I tried to communicate with him but something was blocking me. I probed for Harry regularly and discovered that you have removed a piece of the evil boys soul from Harry, which I now know, was the block. But this place is strange and I have lost my connection to Hogwarts. I fear that I am fading away for I have left it far too long to communicate with Harry. My connection to Hogwarts kept me alive. Harry and your magic is not enough to sustain me. I believe that I will cease to be soon. You, Hermione, are the third person I have met in one thousand years, and are just like Harry in that you have the best traits of each of the founders. Intelligence. Bravery. Courage. Compassion. Cunning. Loyalty. To name but a few. I have observed your training with the people of this place for the task fate has set before you both. I believe that they are doing a better job than I could have ever done. However I know of a solution to your problem with your life mate as both Helga and Rowena had similar problems, for they were very powerful witches, and the spell they used has been lost for a millennia. I will leave behind a spell book when I cease to be use it well.'

Hermione tried to ask the presence a question but an ornate brown leather bound book appeared on the floor. Hermione felt drained as her and Harry's magic was used to create the book, it was the size of a phone directory. Hermione gasped as the knowledge of the contraceptive spell flowed through her. It was brilliant in that it was safe and strong enough to use a witch's power to counteract the subconscious desire for children when consciously cast, it was also perfectly safe with no side effects.

Harry was stunned as he listened in to the conversation between the entity and Hermione. He had awakened at Hermione's shock of hearing a third voice in their heads. He felt sad that he had brought the voice here to die. He would make sure to keep the book safe. Hermione slowly got up to have a shower she mentally told him all about the spell and how it took about six hours to become effective, and left him with a promise of soon. He was looking forward to the fulfilment of that promise. He picked up the book and read the title on the spine as the covers were blank.

"_**The Potter book of Magic**_."

Harry guessed it was named thus due to the fact that his and Hermione's magic was used in its creation. Harry opened it to read the introduction aware that a portion of Hermione's mind was paying attention to his reading:

_Harry and Hermione I have deemed you to be worthy of my gift. This book is all that is left of me, and my vast knowledge gained in communication with the books in the library of Hogwarts, I used your joint magic to make the book. This book is now your family book of spells. It contains the history of many spells, and spells thought to be lost to time. The book works in two ways. First turn to the last twenty pages with an idea of what you want to study and it will show an index of topics all in relation to your subject. Second it functions like an encyclopaedia, tap the coloured words in the text and the book will skip directly through the book to the reference. Thank you for allowing me to use your magical energy in my creation._

Harry gasped as he read the introduction; it seemed to speak directly to them. He offered the book to Hermione who had just returned from the shower wearing a large fluffy towel. Hermione opened the book to a random page and started to read.

_The Cruciatus Curse and its history._

_This curse first started life as a healing spell. "Ruci" to revive a stopped heart. But after many years it was discovered that the spell was losing its efficacy. A bright young healer learnt that if the spell were cast as "Rucio" it would increase its efficacy. However there was an unforeseen side effect, the caster would get pleasure from the small pain it caused the recipient after the heart had started. About 250 years later a mad Healer who loved to torture, not heal, had stumbled on this old and disused spell and discovered that when cast with a "C" sound at the beginning with all his hatred, it would cause the recipient to go almost mad at the pain. So then the dark spell "Curcio" was born._

Hermione tapped the Blue reference word "Shields" on the margin of the page with one of the recovered wands, it was not as good as her own, but it worked. Harry and Hermione discovered that their control and power of magic cast through these non-mated wands was incredibly powerful and wondered how their own wands would do once they returned home.

The new page started thus:

_The Shield spell its variants and the unforgivables._

_The one thing to understand about shield charms and spells is their bond to the caster's magic. The most basic____shield is still connected to the caster's magic. And it this connection that spells like the Crucio and Avada Kedavra exploit rendering the cast shield useless. Shield spells are unique in their symbiotic relationship with the caster's magic. Nearly all other spells have no bond with the caster when cast either with or without a wand. However, because shield spells are symbiotic in nature, this results in the strength of the shield being directly related to the caster's magical power levels. The spell hitting the shield transmits a small portion of the spell through the link into the defender. Due to this link various spells like Crucio bypass the shield and travel through the bond._

Hermione tapped the Blue reference word "Wand"with her wand.

The new page started thus:

_The history of wands and its resultant end of wand less magic:_

_In the beginning wizards were few and far between. But they discovered that you could use magical objects to cast powerful spells. These over time evolved into wands and staffs, which signalled the end of the wandless caster. Those first few witches and wizards discovered a meditation technique that unlocked their magical powers. All witches and wizards subconsciously use magic while young and this is mislabelled as accidental magic. This accidental magic is just manifestations of the young witch or wizard's desire. When wands became prevalent they slowly killed off the practices handed down through the generations, as the young children did not want to learn the discipline needed for successful casting of wandless magic, as they were more interested in play and not work. The practices and theory behind wandless casting was not recorded in books but handed down like family heirlooms via verbal instruction. As wands grew in popularity the difficult art of wandless casting was forgotten. _

Harry and Hermione gasped as the implications sunk in, everyone could do wandless magic but were so used to using a wand that they took it for granted that wandless magic was impossible. Dumbledore was the only known practitioner due to his time, studying world magic and his understanding of the subject. Harry tapped the reference word "Animagus" as he wanted to learn about the skill his father and godfather possessed, it was a banned topic by the Ministry and if you managed to do it you had to register like a sex offender at a Muggle police station.

The new page started thus:

_The Animagus:_

_There are three different classifications of Animagus. Dormant, Active and Natural._

_Every witch and wizard is an Animagus, their talent is just dormant, hence the classification. The discovery of the skill was by accident by a pair of twins, in the family tree of the Weasley's. They wanted to practice turning people into animals and one of the twins managed to turn himself into a rabbit. The methods refined over the years led to the Active classification, as it is not the true way for an Animagus to change form, as it is forced and not natural._

_The last classification is the Natural._

_By far the most powerful, where as with an active Animagus risks his or her life with the initial transformation the natural dose not as it is just another state of mind. It is only possible to become a natural after becoming one with yourself and your magic. This normally results in a degree of control with wandless casting and is the first step. The second indicator on the journey to becoming a natural Animagus is vivid life like dreams of the environment of the main animal form._

Harry and Hermione stopped reading as they looked at each other remembering the vivid dreams over the last year, of African plains and lush jungles. Could this book explain them? And what was this about main form? Hermione continued reading.

_A natural Animagus has more than one form. A natural Animagus can have more forms when bonded to another Animagus as the animal side wishes to mate with its Animagus partner. Another difference between an active and natural Animagus is that the animal form of an active comes from the Animaguses native country where as the Natural Animagus can come from any where in the world. The third step is the realisation of an animal side to the mind and allowing it to come to the fore._

Harry gasped as Hermione put down the book before flowing in to the form of a Lioness.

"Hermione are you in there?" asked Harry in shock as he took in her powerful form.

She was a deep golden brown as opposed to the sandy colouring of a natural lioness. It was as if the lioness had a tan. Hermione's liquid brown eyes stared in to his eyes. She bumped her head upon his chest, as she smelled his scent. Then she started to lick his face with her tongue in greeting. Harry brought his hands up to rub Hermione's head; she started to loudly purr in contentment.

Hermione looked inward for the animal part of her mind and was shocked to discover at least two animal forms, she realised that she was unsure which one was her true form so she let go of conscious thought. The part of her mind containing a lioness surged to the fore. She felt a soft tingling in her body as her form changed to that of the large predator. She felt powerful, strong, and could smell Harry's scent and it made her extremely aroused. She could see her powerful new form through Harry's eyes. She could feel Harry's shocked concern so moved to comfort him by licking and rubbing his face, she was surprised to find the nerves on her face where more sensitive to touch than her human face. Knowledge flowed through her mind of how to act and behave like a lioness she felt like a queen of the African grasslandsand Harry was her King. She could see he had a corresponding form of a lion and told him she was fine as he started to caress her head. She felt peace and contentment flow through her as she felt a purr rise from deep with in her, she understood now why Crookshanks liked to be petted so much.

Harry sighed with relief and started to strip, as he was worried about his clothes when he noticed Hermione's towel across her haunches, he did not want his clothes to be destroyed. Hermione drank in the sight of her man standing nude just before he flowed in to a similarly coloured lion with a jet black mane. Hermione realised that they both had slightly unusual colouring for lions. Harry in his lion form butted heads in greeting before licking her face. Hermione purred in bliss she was glad today was a lazy Saturday after their latest combat review, so that she could spend her time in their room exploring their new form. She sighed that she could not go out for a run to test her new form, as it would cause a panic.

Harry found that like Hermione, he was powerful in this new form and that Hermione's scent was communicating that she was in heat. He struggled with the lion part of his minds desire to mate as he realised that not enough time had past yet for the contraception spell. He did not want to hurt Hermione as he remembered from studying the lions after being fascinated with them that lions had barbs on their penises, and he thought that must hurt. But the her scent and the love and affection rolling off her in waves were not helping at all, he growled in the back of his throat in frustration. Hermione flowed back in to a beautiful goddess, others would disagree with him but she would always be his goddess. He noticed the difference in scent between woman and lioness and was shocked to discover she was wet and smelled heavily of arousal. She came forward and rubbed his forehead and his eyes crossed in bliss at her caresses of his head. He felt her cast a spell then says in a seductive whisper that his enhanced lion's ears barely registered.

"I cast a detection charm my contraceptive spell is fully working, take me please."

Harry pushed Hermione back to the bed with his head on her belly. Hermione laid spreadeagle on the bed as Harry in his animal form drank in her naked form. Hermione felt desire flow through her at his powerful gaze. His head came down to her chest and sniffed, the tongue came out and barely brushed her erect nipple. Hermione's back arched at the sensation of Harry's rough tongue grazing her nipple. As his head travelled south, Hermione's nerves were shooting information to her brain thathis whiskers tickling her belly. Hermione bucked as she felt a human mouth gently nip her over sensitive bundle. Harry started to feast on her vulva.

Hermione was wondering why she had agreed to give this up for those five long months, she never realised that Harry was so talented with his tongue but she was so close and he was prolonging her pleasure.

"Please." She begged, for what, she did not know.

She distantly felt a hand trace up her thigh before reaching it's goal. She started to play with her breasts looking for release. But now Harry was slowly stroking in and out with one then two fingers all the while he was nibbling on her sensitive flesh. He stopped and Hermione groaned in disappointment she was so close. Then she screamed in shock as he grabbed her calves and pulled her down the bed to where he was kneeling. He kissed her in apology for his roughness, and she deepened the kiss. When they broke for air she was surprised to find her legs on his shoulders and could feel his cock at her entrance.

His eyes begged her to let him enter. She nodded and he slid home in one swift thrust. Hermione arched her back in bliss. This was brilliant, far better than the dream realm as this was very real. He stretched her, filled her completely. She loved this new position as Harry lavished love on her breasts. She flexed her inner muscles and gasped when he came, filling her with liquid heat. She came after another couple of thrusts. She knew that she would never want to stop loving Harry, ever, and the sex was better than Lisa said it would be after all their talks about boys and sex.

Jim sighed as he sat at his office, he was trying to organise a summer holiday after the next review of Harry and Hermione's progress. But it was hard as it was already late July and the season was already half over, it proved very difficult to find somewhere private as there were rumours about a Daniel Radcliffe look a like on the internet. He was dismayed to discover that the photos wereof Harry and Hermione going intotown on dates. He had heard that Warner Bros. were interested in meeting the look a like, no doubt so that Harry could be a stunt double in the last film. He was surprised that no one was saying that Hermione resembled Emma Watson, but maybe that was because of the people taking the damn pictures were Daniel's fans.

Jim was pulled from his thoughts by a ringing phone. "Hello."

Jim heard Peter Morse's voice answer his greeting and groaned. 'This man is like a dog with a bone.'

"Hello, Jim. I have a problem. Interpol still want to talk to the kids. They have a similar situation in northern Italy and they think that your young friends can solve their case. Strange things are happening in the area and they don't know what's going on and my superiors have mentioned the Bastards case to say that we have dealt with some thing similar. Personally, I think that it is just a glorified pissing contest between us and them."

Jim groaned and rubbed the oncoming headache as Peter talked. 'I need to get Harry and Hermione out of the country while John goes to Italy to discover what's what.'

Jim begged off the phone saying that he had an emergency that needed his assistance and hung up on Peter.

Jim thought back over the last couple of weeks and the fact that Harry and Hermione now always seemed to be very happy. He discovered the reason after Lisa walked in on the couple making love in the hay in the stables like with some romanticnovel and relayed the gossip to everyone. The atmosphere was tense before, due to the young couples situation. It appeared that the situation was resolved if they were acting like randy rabbits, as a result of the happy couple the house was a lot happier and Jim intended for it to stay that way. He decided he would ring an old friend living in the Caribbean and ask to borrow his yacht for a few weeks so that his young friends could enjoy a late honeymoon.

John was confident that he could smuggle the large weapon to Italy onhis up and coming trip as he had taken one on a test run back to the U.S. after Hermione had placed charms on the weapon. He had discovered that the charms placed on the gun rendered it invisible to metal detectors and no telltale bulge was visible while the charmed gun was carried.

He had just returned from the States, his colleague that he had contacted had obtained the file about the case similar to the Bastard that Hermione had stopped. John was not surprised to discover that there were four suspects wearing the same clothes as the Bastard killed in England. The fire recorded in the file occurred in December up on the snow-covered mountains and was the first clue that it could be related to the case in England. Notes in the file mentioned the many attempts to contact the girl who had stopped the perpetrator in England. The main difference between this case and the one in England was that the death toll was much lower in Italy. The file contained fifteen incidents that were related, it appeared to him that the biggest difference was the fact the perpetrators were afraid compared to the Bastard that operated in Britain, as his death toll was much higher. The file recorded five different individuals using strange devices in their crimes. Four were clothed the same as the Bastard and the fifth appeared to be normal. He decided that when Harry and Hermione went on holiday after their review he would visit Italy himself to see if he could solve the case.

Jim called a meeting between Harry and Hermione and all the instructors to go through the review of the last six months, it was the fourth of August and the young couple were due to fly out on the twelfth. The report about Harry and Hermione's education was good, the assembled instructors felt that after fifty two weeks of intensive education, they only needed another twenty six weeks of continuous training to bring their education in line with the best schools in the country. Tom even thought that they could go on and do third level. Aaron relayed that his brother had another dream and believed that Harry and Hermione would be leaving here for home on or around the sixteenth of October twenty ten as he had seen a tearful departure with the date crossed out in red. Harry asked where was John to relay this himself. Aaron said his brother was having a medical check up and not to worry. Jim said that if John was right then they had a date to work towards that was just over a year away.

Harry smiled as he watched Hermione come out of their cabin dressed in a simple blue skirt and bikini top. He could not believe that Jim managed to get this yacht for a holiday cruise of the Caribbean. They had arrived yesterday and went straight to their cabin to sleep off jetlag after the long flight. He much preferred to fly via broom than in the belly of a metal bird. He was feeling a little seasick but Marco the ships captain promised him he would gain sealegs after a few days.

Hermione sat in a deckchairlooking at the sandy beach. The yacht was anchored about a mile off shore. She was pleased to get away from studies as it meant more time with Harry. She was pleased to know that she would be returning home as she missed her parents. Harry's presence had helped greatly as she felt that if she was stranded alone in this world she would of gone mad. They spent the first week getting used to life on the sea. Marco showed them both how to swim with the tropical fish using respirators to breath underwater. Hermione did not like the bulky equipment and after ten days tried out a spell from the Potter book that allowed a person to breath underwater. Harry loved this spell as it allowed him to have sex underwater in the beautiful clear waters with his beautiful wife. They spent the nights stargazing, and flying one of Harry's Titans under an invisibility charm in the clear moonlit skies.

Marco was great he knew all the best spots to take them for privacy and was very discreet. Hermione liked him and discovered that he had five daughters and loved them to bits. He was a fisherman off-season but worked during the holiday season when Jim's friend was in the area. Marco was told that the couple were on their honeymoon and to give them privacy. Marco missed his wife as she had died two years ago, in a car accident in the harbour, it was tough watching the loving couple as it reminded him of his wife when they were young. But he was happy to tell his story after talking with Hermione as he piloted the vessel between the islands. He felt that Hermione reminded him of his wife and wished the couple the best of luck and maybe, god willing, a bundle of joy come next spring. He was sorry to see them go after their month with him on the sea.

John started to pack his bag for his trip to Italy. His colleague in American Intelligence came through with information on this case Interpol were on that appeared similar to the Bastard that Hermione took down. He removed one of Hermione's charmed Desert Eagles from the gunroom along with twelve charmed magazines of bullets. The charmed magazines held thirty-five rounds alternating between armour piercing and silver bullets. Jim met John after seeing off the young couple at the airport. He was uneasy about keeping them in the dark about this operation. Jim drove him to the airport for his evening flight to Milan. As expected he had no problems getting the weapon through security. Once in Milan he hired a red Alfa Romeo 159 to use as transport while he conducted his investigation. He drove North on the road network to the scene of the December inferno.

Over the next two and a half weeks he visited all the recorded crime scenes. After training Harry and Hermione he had discovered he knew where magic had been cast by the small lingering effects left behind by it. At all of the crime scenes he had visited there were small traces thatfelt like familiar pins and needles.

His next stop was the latest crime scene and he was feeling anxious. He parked the car after driving past the hotel twice, feeling lucky about finding parking so close to it. After locking the vehicle he approached reception and enquired about staying the night. The receptionist gave him a room on the fourth floor. He took the lift up to the sixth floor, and approached the door of room 613, as this was the location of the latest strange murder. He tried the door handle and was surprised to find the electronic lock not working. He pulled his gun and cautiously entered the room. He was surprised to find alone man playing solitaire. As he silently entered the room he came to the realisation that he might get the drop on him. The man realised he was not alone and swung around and fired a green spell from his wand.

John dived to the floor and groaned as his old joints protested at the abuse. He fired his gun twice and cautiously looked up at the table. He found the man half lying upon the table, half hanging off of it. John slowly got to his feet and moved around the table to find the wand lying on the floor. The man's wand arm was limp as the shoulder was shot through with the first shot; the second shot punctured the upper part of the man's lung.

"Who are you?" Wheezed the injured man.

John pressed the gun to the man's injured shoulder and said. "I'm going to be the one asking questions and you are going to answer me."

"I want your name, age and occupation. Or else." Threatened John.

The man sullenly shook his head. Then slowly smiled. John dived from the table as a green light hit the injured man. As John dived he started to fire in the direction the spell had come from, blowing holes in the hotel rooms walls. A second spell set fire to the table. John gagged at the putrid smell of burning flesh. 'Fuck' Thought John as he changed magazine, reloading the large gun. The fire was spreading from the table and John scrambled to the bathroom door. The fire alarm started to roar piercing the silent battle, as the only noise before was the crackling of the fire and the sound of bullets travelling through the air.

John smiled in grim satisfaction as he saw one of his attackers slump as his brains redecorated the corridor wall. His eyes widened in realisation that the fire had cut him off; he frantically searched the bathroom for escape, and found none. Suddenly there was an explosion in the bedroom and it blew a chunk out of the shower wall. Without thinking John divedthrough the opening. He rolled to his feet in the new bedroom and saw that it was occupied with another wand wielder. He was too close. John made a grab for the wand as it discharged a yellow spell into the roaring inferno through the large hole in the wall.

The wizard wrestled with John on the floor, John's gun lay forgotten on the floor. John came to the realisation that the wizard was not used to physical fighting so that even though the wizard was younger, John felt that he could win. After wrestling the wizard into position John jerked the wizards head hard snapping the neck in the process. He checked the body and discovered the dark mark described in the "Harry Potter" books on his left forearm, just like the wizard playing cards with bare arms. John retrieved his gun as the door to the room exploded into shards.

A wizard in death eater garb stood brandishing a wand in the doorway. John raised the gun and fired the weapons full magazine of bullets at the wizard. The man staggered back as the bullets tore through his body.

John staggered into the smoke filled corridor and looked left and right. Right was back to room 613 and the lifts. The corridor was on fire, so John moved left while trying to reload the gun as he was not sure if their were any more wizards. The sprinkler system was having no effect at trying to douse the roaring inferno. He smiled as he came upon an escape stairs leading to safety. He put away his hand cannon and moved swiftly down the stairs. He along with the other hotel patrons spilled out into a courtyard at the side of the hotel. The noise of the emergency services sirens was deafening. John scanned his surroundings as he made his way to the parked Alfa.

As John made his escape he had a nagging detail preying on his mind. The report said five wizards but he worked out only four men died. He calmly unlocked the car and reversed out into the traffic. It was a poor decision as the traffic was mad and the car made only a couple of metres progress. Irate Italians were blaring their car horns in frustration at the traffic jam. Pedestrians cowered as the upper four floors of the ten-storey hotel exploded showering the surrounding street in debris. John startled when the rear window exploded, he looked around wildly and spotted a cyan coloured light hit a truck hauling bottles of natural gas. The spell hit the back of the truck dissolving the rear wall holding in the bottles. Another spell hit and dissolved half of two bottles spilling the colourless gas into the street. At the same time John slammed the cars gears into reverse and floored the accelerator. The red Alfa roared back wards in to a small Fiat 500 crushing the small car. John pulled out his gun and looked around frantically for the last wizard.

Italian police spotted the commotion caused by a red saloon car roaring backwards into the city car. A police inspector went to investigate when a purple flame appeared from the opposite foot path and slammed in to the side of a white Ford Transit van. The welders van exploded in a fireball as the Acetylene bottle was struck through the thin walls of the van. The resulting explosion caused a chain reaction as the truck and its flammable cargo exploded. One relatively safe police officer was amazed that the reversing red Alfa managed to escape the expanding fireball.

John panicked as the fireball reminded him of his time in the military; he spotted the wizard and tried to hit him as he urged the car backwards. The bullets peppered the footpath around the plain-clothes wizard. The airbag exploded knocking out John as the car crashed into a stairwell of a park at the end of the street.

The Wizard slowly circled around the large collection of burning vehicles to investigate the man responsible for killing his four friends. He had found himself in this strange new world almost a year and a half ago. He was pressured to join the Dark Lord by Gabriel his friend who was among his friends to arrive here as well. He had realised that with a bit of moderation in raping and killing he could rule this country. He had discovered that they were stranded in Italy and decided they preferred the women and weather here than those found at home. It was a pretty good set up rape, plunder and get locked on drink before moving on. Gabriel always had a vice for blondes and decided to stay in the hotel, as his belief was that the stupid police would not come back. He did not know who the old man was but he had killed his four friends and would pay dearly. The thick black smoke from the two infernos obscured the sun plunging the street in to a thick heavy darkness. The Wizard slowly approached the damaged car and spotted the old fart. He cast a spell to rip off the car door, causing the old man to fall out of the seat. He was pleased to see a steel pipe protruding from the old man's belly. He decided to cast a spell on the pipe to heat it up. This woke up the old man.

John awoke to the feeling of intense pain as he felt that his stomach was on fire. Through tear filled eyes from the pain he spotted a man holding a wand two metres away from him. His free hand went searching for the Desert Eagle, as the man cancelled the spell causing the protruding pipe to stop burning his battered body. He smiled grimly as he found purchase on the gun. The man appeared to be on the brink of casting a spell when John brought the hand cannon to bear. A green spell left the wand as the gun discharged one solitary bullet. John slumped in the chair dropping the gun as the life left his eyes. John's last shot slammed into the wizard's forehead and blew out the back causing the body to slump to the ground. The creeping inferno consumed the bodies and the red car.

A frantic Lisa wakened Jim in his office chair. He had fallen asleep doing reports after assisting in an eighteen-hour operation, he felt he was getting to old for the long hours at the Hospital. Lisa urged him to follow to the nurse's staff room. He observed that most of the floor's staff were huddled around the television in the corner. A news reporter was reporting on the second day of a raging inferno in Camparada north of Milan. The reporter was stating that over fifty fire units were on the scene and it is believed the fire was started by criminal's infighting. There were sketchy reports of there being two separate fires merging one at street level and the other in a ten-storey hotel. The whole area hadbeen evacuated, as the fire appeared to be unstoppable at present. It was believed that the military would arrive shortly to assist the Fire Brigade on site. Jim sat down in shock as it appeared to be similar to the inferno near the manor last Christmas. 'I hope that John is okay'

Aaron had phoned Jim this morning from the airport and said that John was not on his return flight from Italy. Jim was getting worried as there had been no contact with John over the last ten days. Peter Morse phoned around lunchtime saying that Interpol were investigating the devastation left behind by the inferno. Interpol had estimates of forty-six dead and fifteen injured from the incident. Eyewitness reports produced a photo fit that resembled John, the various surviving eyewitness reported that John was in a gun battle with another man. Interpol deduced that the gunfight resulted in the devastation caused. They wanted DNA from a family member to confirm John's identity. Peter also said that the police at the scene had not found any weapons as all the metal had created pools of molten metal from the intense heat generated. When the news was broken with Aaron, he went to the nearest pub and got thoroughly drunk.

The following day D.I. Morse arrived to take DNA samples from a hung-over Aaron. The atmosphere at the manor was grim as everyone was grieving the gruff old warhorse. Jim did not know how Harry and Hermione would take the news that they believed that John was dead. A week later on the morning that Harry and Hermione were due to fly intoHeathrow, news came through Peter that the DNA matched and confirmed the death of one John McClain. That afternoon Jim and Aaron went to meet the young couple at the Airport.

Harry groaned as he got out of his shared bunk with Hermione to relieve himself. He was not looking forward to the long flight back to England. He found that once he got used to it he quite enjoyed living on a boat with Hermione and Marco. He liked the middle-aged sea captain and felt sorry for him about the loss of his wife. He did not want to even contemplate losing His own wife, Hermione, now that he got used to his new situation. He was disappointed that he did not get the chance to explore in his lion form but it was not worth the risk of been seen as the Caribbean was the last place who would expect to see a lion outside of a zoo. He returned to their shared cabin and reluctantly awoke his slumbering wife.

Hermione greeted Harry with a passionate kiss. "Good Morning" Said Hermione once they broke for air. "We have to pack as we fly home today."

"I consider my home to be where ever you are" RepliedHarry with a quick peck on the lips before he left to prepare breakfast. Hermione smiled as she went to get a wash in the shower.

Marco dropped them off at the airport with a tearful goodbye. Harry marvelled at the fact he had left England with a total of three cases and they were now returning with eight bags full of their new belongings. Harry did not want to think about flying economy after relating his complaints to Marco about flying business class. Marco responded by telling him about the cramped conditions on commercial flights. Harry found himself now looking forward to seeing his friends after his nice long Honeymoon with Hermione. The return flight passed quicker than expected but maybe that was because his minx of a wife wanted to join the mile high club and shag him for a third of the flight. He was pleased that his control over his magic had come such a long way because before this, his lovemaking with his wife probably would have crashed the plane. He found that two of the flight attendants winked at him and glared at his wife as he left the plane after the direct flight into Heathrow.

Harry collected the couple's luggage off of the carousel as Hermione minded the trolley. Harry grimaced as he realised that they had brought so much stuff back with them after casting charms to make the cases bigger on the inside. Harry guessed that they had crammed about twenty cases worth of stuff into the eight pieces of luggage. They moved from the baggage hall into the arrivals hall hoping to be met by their friends from the manor. Harry was surprised to see a somber Jim waiting. Harry knew something was wrong by Jim's demeanour, Jim led the couple out to one of the multi-storey car parks. The couple found a grieving Aaron sitting in Jim's Mondeo.

"What's going on?" Asked a puzzled Harry.

"Not now please leave it till later." Begged Jim.

Harry sighed in annoyance and loaded the car with the luggage. Harry and Hermione got in to the back of the car for the long drive home. The ride home was in complete silence. After unpacking the couple went looking for answers to the grief stricken faces on everybody. Harry came to the realisation that he did not see John yet and went to confront Jim in the Games room.

"What has happened to John?" Asked Harry with out any preamble.

Jim looked up from his scotch and replied. "John's dead, he died in Italy."

"What was he doing in Italy?"

"The Bastard was not the only wizard to crossover, Interpol discovered that another five were in northern Italy and wanted to talk to Hermione. John decided to go and investigate instead."

"Why did you not tell us? This is just like what Dumbledore would do, I thought you were our friends and trusted us, did you send us to the Caribbean so that John could leave?"

Hermione entered the room as she had sensed Harry's anger at being deceived. She expanded on what her husband had asked. "Was it that important not to tell us, you are beginning to sound like a hypocrite after you pointed out Dumbledore's failings, now it appears that you fell in to the same habits."

Jim put down his drink and held his head in his hands as the couple asked their questions. After a period of time he slowly started to speak.

"Peter Morse started to phone us about you, Hermione, saying that Interpol where baffled about a case in northern Italy. The calls started before your trip to Switzerland. After everything the two of you had dealt with we decided that Interpol should be kept far away from you both. But the calls kept coming so John took the opportunity when he knew you were out of Europe to go over and try to find out what was really going on. He took one of Hermione's charmed Desert Eagles with him along with a lot of ammunition. We do not know what happened but it appears he died fighting wizards over there and the Italian police appear to be blaming him for the devastation done to Camparada."

Jim massaged his forehead as he continued talking glad that the couple were allowing him to speak.

"John had contacted an old colleague from the States and obtained the file, the file stated that there were five men involved. The Italian police are not giving out any information so now we know nothing and are unlikely to know the truth of what happened over there. It has hit Aaron badly."

"We felt that you should be kept secret from the world, and I am sorry we kept you in the dark."

"We trusted you, it feels like you broke that trust." Stated a determined Harry.

"What will you do?" Asked Jim.

"We don't know. But I am coming to the conclusion it is not safe for the world for us to be here and it would be better for everybody if we went home." Stated Hermione.

"Before John left he told us about a dream he had of you going home on the sixteenth of October next year, twenty ten."

"That is over a year away, besides how accurate were John's dreams?" Asked an angry Harry.

"His last dream about you training was right and anytime he made a point of sharing his visions they came true." Stated Jim.

"Okay, what happens now?" Asked a diplomatic Hermione, as she felt that they had to get through this situation.

"Well first, I am truly sorry for breaking your trust, it was myself, John, Connor and Aaron at the meetings that knew about the Italian case. Second, we thought we were protecting you both. Third I hope with time you will forgive us."

Hermione nodded and brought her husband up to their room to grieve John's passing and to discuss what happens next.

The following week was tense as Harry came to realise with Hermione's help that the men had made a mistake and that he might do the same to protect those he loved and cared for. He promised Hermione he would keep nothing from her and felt confident in keeping his promise as he shared his mind with his other half. Lisa brought the couple out to the front yard where cars were parked and showed them a bright blue Ford Focus 1.4 five door and explained that this car would be the one they used to learn how to drive. Hermione discovered talking with Lisa that she had been kept in the dark as well about the whole Interpol situation. Lisa explained that learning to drive was a good skill to have. Lisa grilled Hermione all about her Honeymoon in the Caribbean. The Couple slowly settled back into the routine of classes after the incident in Italy was kept from them. The combat was the hardest class to return to as both Harry and Hermione felt betrayed by Connor.

On the first day back in combat Connor apologised before going in to a lesson about military tactics. He explained that military intelligence would often confine knowledge to certain troops in important battles to protect the objectives. Connor said that he considered it not productive to inform the couple about Italy because the likelihood that the couple could help was slim as legally and technically they did not exist. He believed that he had to be harsh in his assessment to make Harry and Hermione realise that some times in war knowledge would be withheld from them. And because Jim and Aaron had little knowledge of warfare had reluctantly agreed with himself and the late John.

Jim relayed his concerns about the presses knowledge of a Daniel Radcliffe look-alike and Warner Bros. interest in hiring him. Jim passed on his belief that the couple should stop going in to town or improve their disguises in future. The couple reluctantly agreed to stay away from town with a counter offer of trips abroad for long weekends every once in a while. On their second Halloween here, Harry and Hermione held a wake to honour the memory of John McClain and Harry's parents. Hermione started to pour through news websites trying to see if there was any evidence of any more crossovers.

Tom challenged Harry and Hermione to invent hybrid objects with magical and mundane functions in their crafts class. He told them to read comics and watch films for inspiration. Morgan and Anne their languages instructors challenged them to start communicating in one language other than their native English. The routine of classes and study helped the household to grieve and move on from John's death. The house never discovered what happened in Italy with any accuracy however Peter relayed after quitting that the attacks had stopped altogether. Peter had asked to take over John's position as he felt that he was somewhat responsible for John's death. Jim and Connor in consultation with Harry and Hermione reluctantly agreed. Peter proceeded to teach advanced driver training alongside assisting in combat training.

December started cold and wet and Harry was not looking forward to the meeting to review the last three months of education and training, he almost missed the excitement provided by Riddle trying to kill him at Hogwarts. He felt that the scope of the training regime was expanding. He was amazed looking back that he had no drive to learn before, it was as if he drifted through the last five years at Hogwarts except for the subjects he loved or those that could keep him alive, for example learning the Patronus Charm in third year. It took a long time to regain his trust in Aaron, Jim and Connor, it was only last week that he had come to terms with their decision to keep himself and Hermione in the dark.

Harry had no cause for concern as they both were making good progress and Alex their Science lecturer lamented the fact that it was not possible to teach all pupils this way with a student teacher ratio as small as this. Hermione brought up the problem of how they could return home, as it was unlikely that a tornado would hit them again. After a week's break to recharge the batteries Harry and Hermione resumed training. The week before Christmas and their break Hermione decided to look up the Potter book of magic on magical means of transportation to see if it could help in returning home.

_The various types of magical transportation:_

_Are as follows: Apparation, Broom, Floo, Flying Carpet, Magical Carriage, Portkey, Portal, Travelling cabinets, Travelling sphere._

_Apparition:_

_Is a wand-based skill, highly dangerous before the user is competent to do it skill fully. It requires supreme concentration and knowledge of the destination and innate power levels of the caster govern distance between Apparation points. See Reference for more information._

_Broom:_

_Is a charmed object that flies. See Reference for more information._

_Floo:_

_Is a fire based transportation and communication system. Powder is used to activate and a destination is called before travel or communication is conducted. A limited system as a network is required to be in situ. See Reference for more information._

_Flying Carpet:_

_Is an object similar to the flying broom and was banned due to political and economic reasons. Very popular circa one hundred and fifty years ago. It is believed that the death of a Ministry____official in a riding accident lead to the beginning of the ban on the sale or use of this form of transportation. See Reference for more information._

_Magical Carriage:_

_Is a charmed object that resembles a mundane object but functions magically for example the Night bus. See Reference for more information._

_Portkey:_

_This is a charm applied to an object that allows instantaneous travel from the current location to the one recorded in the object. Heavily licensed by the Ministry. See Reference for more information._

_Portal:_

_Magical doorway between magical and mundane realms. Example Platform nine and three quarters. See Reference for more information._

_Travelling cabinets:_

_Travel is achieved through linked objects and function is similar to the Floo and Portal systems however as only two objects can only be linked it is an old and limited form of travel. See Reference for more information. _

_Travelling sphere:_

_Is a form of wandless Apparation. It is one of the safest forms of personal travel. Fell out of use around the same time as wand less casting. See Reference for more information. _

Hermione skimmed the introduction and found that the book assumed some familiarity with the subject discussed, she tapped the reference word Travelling sphere as it appeared to be what Harry and Herself were doing around the manor.

_Travelling sphere:_

_In this form of travel the caster decides where they want to go and appear instantly and silently. The procedure is similar to Apparation in requiring the mental discipline to focus internal magic on moving to a new location. The caster's magic creates a bubble of protective magic and this is the sphere of the name. The sphere of magical energy protects the traveller as he or she travels instantly to the new location in to a freshly formed sphere. This occurs as the caster's magic conducts the journey first and then follows appearing the instant a sphere forms. It is completely silent as no air is pushed aside creating the tell tale noise of Apparation. This form of transportation has no known limits on distance, however the last sphere travellers were around the time of the founders. Hogwarts is warded against this and all other forms of transport at the time of the founders however over the years wards failed due to the fact that some forms of transport fell out of use and so the counter ward was not renewed. Other forms of transport were accommodated for example certain floo addresses. _

Hermione spent the following week going through all the knowledge the book contained on magical transportation and was fascinated at the changes over the last twelve hundred years or so. She felt that their innate magic made Travelling spheres a safe form of Apparation, she looked forward to testing the wards and protections around Hogwarts once home.

Hermione awoke on Christmas morning to find her husband's erection rubbing along her vulva and she discovered that she was wet. He must have been doing it for awhile, tenderly she made contact with his mind to discover that he was fast asleep dreaming about lions playing with bubbles she smiled at the strange dream. She reached behind her and guided Harry's penis into her welcoming opening and he started to move.

'Mm Morning, love.' Transmitted Harry sleepily as his mind awoke to the wonderful sensations of him sheathed into his wife.

'Merry Christmas, love. Oh I love wakening up to this' Responded Hermione.

After a while the slow and gentle movements became frantic as both strove for ecstasy. Hermione slowly came back down from her high smiling as she felt that Harry was still inside her. After another bout of lovemaking the couple went to share a shower, which resulted in them having more sex.

They arrived down to the Sitting room, which contained a large tree with brightly wrapped presents. Hermione received a set of matching necklace and earrings that perfectly matched her wedding ring, which Harry had crafted during crafts class. Hermione marvelled at how he managed to make it with out her having a hint that he was working on it. Harry explained that he had started to work on it right after they returned from Switzerland. And he only tried to keep it secret so that it would be a surprise. He showed her how he had managed to keep it a secret and she was amazed that he was successful due to her worrying about contraception charms and then other problems that she just missed the subtle hints.

Harry received a hand made watch. Hermione explained that it was a tradition in her father's family to pass a watch from father to son. However she would not receive the watch as her father lost his family heirloom in a bad fire before she was born. She wanted to restart the tradition and asked Tom to help in the fabrication of the watch. It was an automatic timepiece with chronograph, which meant it would not need to be winded as it charged itself by the kinetic motion of the wearers arm. The clock face was made of polished gun metal with a gold bezel. The strap was made from gold and platinum links. Harry said he would be trilled to restart a family tradition. Engraved on the watch back was: "To Harry, Love Hermione. 1st Christmas as Husband and Wife."

The couple enjoyed a much happier Christmas at the second go in their new world. Harry was pensive at what the New Year would bring and John's belief he would return home next October.

A/N Please review


	4. Chapter 4

Draft 1

For disclaimer see first chapter's notes.

'' Equals thoughts and mind speak.

"" Equals Speech and quotations.

Thanks to my Proof reader: Tumshie.

Chapter Four

Hermione slowly awoke and reluctantly left the bed and went to have a shower. She sighed as Harry slept on in the bed. She was reluctant to leave him even if it was just to freshen herself with a quick shower. While in the shower she thought back over the last ten months since New Year's Day. The Potter book contained many new spells that she and Harry had learned. During Harry and Hermione's studies they discovered a method for going home to their own world, by combining both minds to the task of using a Travelling Sphere to get home.

Over the last ten months the young couple meditated on the problem of returning home and discovered a small trace of magic back to their home reality. Harry followed the link back and found that it was a very tiring experience just to send a ghostly image back during May. Meanwhile they finished their training regime by the end of August. Having knowledge of John's vision had helped to keep spirits up during the long search. Hermione snorted as she realised that it was just like the film "Wizard of Oz" but not quite click their heals three times with magic slippers, it was far more involved than that.

Harry slowly awoke alone in the bed realising that Hermione was no longer asleep. He heard the shower running and proceed to the bathroom, he found a crying Hermione washing herself.

"What's wrong, love?" Asked Harry, as he wrapped her into a comforting embrace.

"We are going back and I'll miss Lisa and the others." Said Hermione through her sobs.

"I know, I'll miss them too." Whispered an upset Harry as he felt the same way at leaving their friends behind.

"But we will never see them again."

At this declaration, Harry decided that it felt like all their friends from this world were dieing, as after they went back home they could never return.

"I know." Said Harry as he gently held a sobbing Hermione.

After the couple finished showering and had breakfast they packed two large backpacks with all their possessions; the four brooms, various weapons both bladed and projectile, and their large wardrobe of clothes, and various hybrid objects made for Tom's craft's class. That afternoon they had a large lunch with all their friends before they attempted to return home. It was an emotional farewell. A crying Lisa hugged a weeping Hermione while Jim gave Harry a photo album of all their new friends so that they would never forget.

The group gathered in the courtyard for the last farewell. A sphere of energy formed and removed the two people from this reality. Jim sighed and hugged his wife; he already missed his two young friends.

The battered old Land Rover made its way slowly up the mountain path. The windscreen wipers were struggling to keep the window clear of sleet and snow. The driver's heart was thumping in his chest at every little slide the old jeep made sideways as it made progress up the path. The path was on a cliff edge with over a thousand metre's drop to the jagged rocks. His passenger was gripping the door handle with her hands discoloured due to the pressure of her grip. The couple were travelling up to a way station half way up the mountain. Base camp was worried at the loss of communication three days ago.

As the old Land Rover rounded the bend the way station came into view. The way station consisted of an old stone hut and a couple of artic grade tents erected in a circle, with a clearing marked out for a helicopter to land. The driver grimly took in the devastation; the hut appeared to be missing its roof. The driver got out leaving the engine running as he went to investigate the camp for any survivors. He stood at the space where the door used to be and surveyed the damage to the old hut; it was missing the back wall and half of the wall on the mountain side. After leaving the gutted shack he proceeded to survey the tents, which were completely destroyed. It appeared that a fire had started and destroyed the camp.

Marian Flood sat in the battered cabin of the Land Rover bleakly looking out the window at Ger whom was searching the camp; she knew in her heart that her husband, Dave, was dead. He wanted to go on this adventure holiday, which she reluctantly agreed too. This was the tenth day of the trip; she had last spoken with her husband seventy hours ago. Marian was pulled from her thoughts at Ger's scream of terror. Ger was running back to the Land Rover frantically waving his arms, before he was engulfed in a fireball. He fell face first into the snowy ground but it was no good as he was dead before his burnt body hit the ground.

A roar pierced through the howling wind as Marian scrambled across into the drivers seat. A large black scaly foot appeared beside Ger's dead body. Marian slammed the car into reverse and slew the vehicle around to make her way back down the narrow mountain path. A fireball appeared above the roof of the Land Rover igniting the emergency pack on the roof rack. The spare tank of petrol exploded putting the Land Rover into a wobble as it hurtled uncontrollably down the path. Marian screamed as the glass shattered from the force of the explosion twisting the metal past the tolerance of the glass.

She slammed her foot on the brake as a hairpin bend loomed ahead. The wheels locked up and caused the battered old Land Rover into a skid on the slippery ice path. Marian screamed as she realised that the Land Rover would not stop before plunging over the edge into the gloom. The out of control Land Rover lurched to halt as it struck a jutting boulder, Marian's head struck the wheel from the sudden impact, knocking her out.

Daniel Watson was not a happy man he was struggling to run the emergency response unit for the south of England and all this strange weather was driving him nuts. Freak weather was occurring all over the place. Flooding in Manchester, hailstones in London, tornadoes in Surrey and it appeared that there was a murky fog everywhere else. He sent crews where he thought they would do the most good, as he hadn't got enough resources to cover every incident reported. And to make matters worse a pair of nutters in dresses were running around outside the operation centre upsetting his staff.

'I need a pay rise.' He thought as another crisis was called in. 'No, a nice long holiday from all of this madness instead.'

Fire Fighter Hans Gruber a German immigrant working for Surrey council frowned as his fire hose lost water pressure. He turned around and gaped as he saw that the Fire Tender was missing a large portion at the rear, it reminded him of one of those "Terminator" films, water was flowing all over the road from the large hole in the Fire Tender. Hans gingerly made his way closer and was surprised to see a young man and woman in the space that used to be the Fire Tender unconscious. He looked up as a red lighting bolt struck the Tender and gawked at the man in a navy dress robe. He looked back at the couple and was startled to discover that they were gone as if into thin air. Hans's expression took on a dazed look as the Obliviator wiped his mind of the last five minutes. The Obliviator frowned as he realised that he did not know how to repair the Fire Tender so he decided to make it look like a fire destroyed it.

Harry groaned as adrenaline flooded his system, 'we made it.' During his long training sessions in combat both he and Hermione had developed acute magical and mundane senses and one was screaming at him that he was in danger. He felt out and started to panic when he realised that Hermione was still out cold. He saw the ministry official cast a spell at the Fire Fighter and just knew that they had to leave. He missed the shocked expression on the man's face as he willed himself and Hermione away from the danger they found themselves in.

Harry wobbled on his feet as he appeared in his room in No. 4 Privet Drive. He gently laid Hermione on his battered old bed after casting a cleaning charm upon it. He swayed from the magical exertion and frowned as he had cast much more magic before their return home to this reality. He slumped on the floor and mulled over their situation. It was only dawning on him that the travelling sphere had destroyed the Fire Tender but not his room, maybe he thought this was due to them travelling between worlds he would have to ask Hermione about it later. He felt drained and bone tired as he sat on the floor listing to the sounds of the house. The silence struck him as he could only hear the wind and rain outside. Normally Dudley would be playing games on his games console on a wet day like this, and Aunt Petunia would be bustling around down stairs, as she did not work, but the house was as quite as a morgue. Harry sighed as he got up stiffly to investigate, Hedwig gave a small hoot breaking the silence so he went over to console and reconnect with his avian friend as he had missed her. Merlin had he missed his feathered friend, it was very good to see her. After he got Hedwig settled again he leaned on the wall as he felt to tired to stand he was running on fumes he felt he had no energy.

Before leaving the room he checked on the sleeping Hermione. In his distracted state he tried the door and frowned when he found it was locked. After rattling it for half a minute he remembered that he was a wizard and with a thought the door unlocked and opened of its own accord. After searching the house and finding no one he noticed through one of the front windows activity of emergency workers and builders tending to the damaged buildings on the street. He spotted a suited man slowly making his way to No. 4, Harry frowned when he didn't recognise the man. Making his mind up that he needed to leave again he went back up stairs to his room.

He again checked the slumbering Hermione on the bed; he was beginning to worry, as he was barely able to maintain the connection with his wife's mind and magic. He was almost overwhelmed by the ambient magic that was everywhere, as the other reality had none. It was like going from a pitch-black room out in to a bright white room and being blinded by the intensity of the light. Maybe that was why Hermione was still out cold. The sound of the front door being opened with a key shook him out of his thoughts. His trunk started to pack itself of all of Harry's possessions, his schoolbooks, clothes and various nick knacks. Hedwig gave a startled hoot at this action, as Harry had not used his wand. After the packing was finished all that was left was his school trunk, Hedwig residing in her cage and his Firebolt as well as the two packs Harry and Hermione had brought with them.

As the insurance assessor surveyed No. 4 he got the impression that the occupiers were very rigid as the house looked too clean and orderly to be lived in. He heard a noise upstairs and went to investigate. He frowned at the door that was ajar with various padlocks and a cat flap installed on the corridor side of the door. The contrast of the door with all the others on this floor sat uneasily with him it was as if the Dursleys were keeping some one locked up like a prisoner. Gingerly he pushed open the door afraid of what was behind the unusual door. He was dismayed to see a sparsely decorated room with a small single bed and a shabby old wardrobe in the corner. The floor was littered with old looking parchment and the cleanly made bed stood out in sharp contrast to the state of the rest of the room. He did not want to dwell on the poor occupant of this room, as they were obviously not well cared for. He got the feeling he was no longer alone and turned in surprise to see a strangely dressed old man standing in bright colours on the room's threshold.

Albus Dumbledore took in the devastation as he slowly approached No. 4 Privet Drive as he skirted the various piles of debris. The debris was everywhere and workmen were slowly cleaning up the mess and attempting to repair the damaged buildings. He took heart in the fact that it appeared from the street that No. 4 looked undamaged. Albus frowned when he saw a taped notice on the door saying that an Insurance Assessor was conducting a survey. A quick glance around the street showed other doors with similar notices. A quick gesture with his wand permitted entry, a survey of the ground floor reviled that kitchen was devastated and a broken lawnmower was lying on top of the mangled cooker.

Dumbledore was not pleased that the guard around Harry had not informed him about this. He proceeded to investigate the upper floor and discovered a man standing in Harry's empty room. Dumbledore learnt from skimming the man's mind that the area was damaged by freak tornadoes two days ago and everyone was moved out of the area while the clean up occurred. Dumbledore was concerned when he learnt that only three persons were removed from No. 4. 'Where is Mr. Potter, I need him to help me recruit Horace Slughorn.' Before Dumbledore left he tried to determine if any magic was used and his scans only showed magic that was cast by the protection detail.

Frank Granger cursed as he raced home after his wife's panicked call. He had learnt that his only daughter was missing. He pulled into the drive forgetting about parking the car in the garage in his haste to get to his concerned wife. His wife, Jane, was stood at the counter in the kitchen still in shock. As Frank absorbed the damage done to the back of the house he sagged in relief that none of the flying debris had hurt his wife, he did not want to contemplate what had happened to his daughter. After phoning the police and then the House insurance, he bundled Jane into the car and headed for the nearest unaffected hotel.

The following evening he slowly broke Jane out of her shock, as the hospitals were out due to all the chaos going on. The Police reported that there was a lot of missing person's cases across the country and the odds of finding Hermione were not good. Needless to say it was a stressful twenty-four hours. The following afternoon the Granger's returned home to survey the damage and to find a recent non-magical photo of Hermione for the Police to use in their search of their missing daughter.

Frank frowned as he heard the shower running in Hermione's room and went to investigate as he thought that it was only he and Jane in the house. He gasped as he saw his daughter alive and well with a towel wrapped around her body obviously just out of the shower. She tearfully wrapped Frank in a hug saying "Daddy." Jane appeared at the bedroom door after hearing the tearful reunion.

"Hermione!" Exclaimed Jane as she realised that the skin of Hermione's breasts peaking out of the towel were unblemished and showed no evidence of her earlier injury.

Her daughter left Frank and barrelled into her smiling broadly.

"Hermione, what happened to you?" Asked a shocked Jane, she was delighted to see Hermione better but was confused, as the last time she had seen her daughter she was badly injured and prospects of a full recovery appeared to be bleak.

Hermione hesitated to answer before a tall well built man appeared from the en-suite. Jane noticed the man had the most expressive soulful green eyes and a messy head of black hair. He wore just a white towel wrapped around his waist. Jane observed as the man noticed Herself and Frank standing in the bedroom and his expression changed from one of adoration of her daughter to one that resembled a "deer caught in the headlights" look. Jane was only just noticing the owl, trunk, brooms and extra bags in the room before Frank started to give out.

"Who are you? Are you shagging my daughter? Hermione, how could you? --" Frank ranted after the joy of finding Hermione wore off.

"That's enough, Frank, let Hermione explain herself." Interrupted Jane, 'this better be good she thought.'

Hermione went and sat down on the bed, the man followed and sat beside her and pulled Hermione up into his lap hugging her. Frank growled in annoyance at this brash move.

"Mum, Dad . . . We got soaked when we arrived and needed to shower okay--"

"Who is he?" Demanded Frank.

"Harry, Harry Potter" Said a blushing Hermione as she realised that she had not introduced them yet.

"Harry, I thought he had glasses?" said Jane in confusion

"Well I don't need them any more." Replied Harry as he smiled at Hermione.

"But I don't understand I thought Harry was your age a kid and not a _Man_." Huffed an annoyed Frank.

"Well, Daddy, I'm actually older than Harry by almost a year." Responded a confident Hermione.

Frank frowned as he just noticed Hermione's mature body she almost could pass for Jane's younger sister and not her daughter. 'What the hell is going on?'

"Hermione dear, please explain what happened, two days ago you were badly injured and disappeared during the bad storms and now look at you in _very_ good health. I thought you were badly depressed but now I don't know, you look happy almost glowing--"

"You still did not answer young man, are you shagging my daughter?" Interrupted a brassed off Frank.

The couple blushed but did not answer and it appeared to Jane that they held a conversation with just their eyes, before Hermione answered. "Please can we get dressed and discuss this over some food because Harry and I are starving."

Jane nodded and dragged her irate husband out of the room as her mother's instinct told her that her daughter was now a mature adult in a loving relationship. She did not understand how it happened but was glad that Hermione appeared to be happy. After worrying over the last two days over Hermione's prospects with her terrible injuries, she was beyond pleased to have found her daughter happy and well, and if this was due to one Harry Potter, well then maybe he might measure up to the man that she hoped her daughter would spend the rest of her life with. And if Frank was right that they were a sexually active couple. Well, it was to late to be worrying about spilt milk, even if she did feel disappointed in Hermione, even if that was the truth of the matter.

Jane found herself and Frank in the trashed kitchen, she left a frustrated Frank to set the table for four as she went about preparing something to eat. The insurance company had done an excellent job of patching the house and making it secure by boarding up the windows before the builders would come to complete repairs next week. As Jane prepared the food she heard Frank grumble about the Man in Hermione's room. After ten minutes Hermione and Harry arrived in the kitchen holding hands. Jane brought over four bowls of soup and a basket of bread rolls. Jane was distracted as she observed her daughter and Harry wolf down the food while Frank sulked over his meal.

Once the meal was finished Hermione started to speak. "The tornado took us away from here and time passed for us, I am no longer a sixteen year old, but actually just over nineteen years old."

Jane sat stunned as she absorbed this, she did not know what to expect, not this but on reflection it was beginning to make sense. Hermione was no longer a developing girl but a young woman, a beautiful one in her opinion. Her wild hair was a little tamer, her figure more womanly and curvy, not like those skinny models passing for beauty these days. Jane took in the man beside her daughter, he was a tall, well built man, a little skinny for her liking and she had noticed earlier he had a toned body like an Olympic swimmer would have, however she had noticed that his body was marred by scars criss-crossing his lightly tanned skin. At a guess she would say he was a little less than six foot, but maybe should have been taller, she guessed he was starved in his youth. He was a good-looking chap and if she read into all that Hermione had shared about him before the tornado took her away was accurate they were smitten with each other. Now it struck her that Harry had been in the en-suite with Hermione _naked_, maybe they were now an item. She felt a pang of loss as she realised that she had missed three important years in her daughter's life as she could see the truth in Hermione's statement. Now that she really looked at her daughter it was obvious to her that she had grown up, also her badly injured body showed no blemishes or scars even in the modest cut top Hermione wore that showed a hint of cleavage. A lot must have happened over that time, obviously with the young man sitting at her table.

Minerva McGonagall cursed as she realised that she had forgot to bring the novel she was reading with her when she left Hogwarts for summer break. It was a very good book written by a young witch from the States. 'That does it I'll just have to go back.' She was just half way through the novel as it was difficult to find free time while working as deputy headmistress at Hogwarts as the job just soaked up all her free time. She had managed to read for about a half hour before bed each night during school term. It was the one way she disconnected from the world to unwind. She sighed at the prospect of having to go back and retrieve her novel. Unfortunately it was the fifth book in a seven book series. The author was a very talented witch from the states and the books were riveting. It was almost too difficult to but them down and concentrate on the job.

Minerva trekked up from the gates of Hogwarts after apparating from her home. The old castle felt lonely with no children around to bring it to life. She arrived at her quarters and frowned when she observed a flashing pink wall sconce. Something was knocking around in her head reminding her of the significance of the flashing sconce. When she assumed the most senior role for a female in Hogwarts she was approached by her predecessor Professor Melinda Munro about a matter that concerned her new position.

After Melinda had congratulated her on her new post and exchanged small talk she got down to the reason for her visit. _"Rowena and Helga realised that times were changing and the old ways were dieing off. But they felt that one form of magic should not be allowed to die off, so the set in place means to help over the years. They had decided that the role would fall to the most senior female member on staff. In the time of the founders, marriage took two forms, the first was arranged marriage with binding oaths controlled by what would become the Ministry. And the second were magical unions of various strengths. As the years passed the common age of marriage increased from about fifteen to the practice of marrying just after school. It was felt that to aid these newly weds they should have co-habiting accommodation separate from their dorm mates to aid the early years of married life. To this end various wards were set up to detect marriages that occurred between students attending Hogwarts. These were recorded in books stored in the restricted section of the library. In my long career at Hogwarts I have helped only five couples where as in the time of the founders almost half the accommodation space was set aside for couples." _After the talk, a curious Minerva checked the records and was astonished to find that Hogwarts records were as complete as the records kept by the Ministry.

Minerva was delighted when she realised that she remembered the significance of the Pink stone, someone attending Hogwarts had married since the start of the summer. It was always nice to hear stories about couples marrying in such trying times. After retrieving the novel she proceeded to the library to check the records, all the while thinking how she was going to help her first case in this important job. Melinda had impressed upon her how important in times past it was for Hogwarts to help young married couples in developing a strong bond. As magical unions were fragile in the first few years of married life. Divorce was rare in the magical world as it was next to impossible to fully sever the magical bond.

_Names: Harry James Potter-Black, and Hermione Jane (Granger) Potter-Black_

_Type of union: Soul bonding, Magical bonding, and Mind union._

_Date of Union:14/2/2009 __R.W_

_Notes: Clerical error on birth cert Jane/Jean to be confirmed. _

_ Bonding occurred in another realm, detected once they returned 8/7/1996_

Minerva's jaw dropped as she read the new entry in to the password locked ledger. She did not understand the meaning of the notes. She went to check the recording of Harry's parent's marriage details and observed that it was just a normal love bond. She felt that she had to go and talk to the young couple as the ledger raised many questions as to how this could have happened. She was under the impression that young Mister Potter had a teenage romance with Miss Chang during the year even if short lived, but the ledger entry could not be dismissed.

Severus Snape sat in contemplation of his next move after Mrs. Malfoy and Mrs. Lestrange had left after Mrs. Malfoy's got a Wizard's Oath from him. It was uncanny how he always seemed to find himself in these sorts of situations. Playing as a spy for both Lord Voldemort and Albus Dumbledore and now as the back up for his godson Draco. He was pulled from his pondering as the dark mark sent a white-hot pain through him as the Dark Lord called.

After Portkeying to the Dark Lord's location as it was heavily warded against apparition. Severus approached the throne room, and bowed at the Dark Lord's feet. Severus eyes widened a touch at the dull eyes of the Dark Lord, as they appeared almost lifeless.

"Tell me Severus how is it that Potter can now block my mind, just last week I had free reign in his head but yesterday that changed report."

"I have heard nothing my Lord." Stated a nervous Severus Snape.

"Did I not instruct you to leave him weak and helpless?"

"Yes" Stated Severus as he bit on the rest of his statement. 'He was helpless but I do not know about that now, it would not be good for ones health to point out the megalomaniac's deficiencies.'

"For your failure." Severus' eyes widened as the Dark Lord cast the Cruciatus curse at him.

After the spell wore off Severus stiffly left the Dark Lord's presence wondering what had changed with the boy. "Don't fail me again. This is your last warning"

Lord Voldemort sat in contemplation, he had sent a six-man team to the ministry to find the boy's location a week ago. After he learnt that the boy had a trial before the start of school last year, he realised that the boy's Muggle address would be recorded in the files of the court case so he had ordered the men to get the information and go and abduct one Harry Potter. He wanted to inflict the killing curse himself. But Wormtail had reported that the team along with a weak willed clerk had vanished. Now he had discovered that his spy Severus had failed in his task in breaking the boy's mind. He was beginning to think that Severus was no longer a true follower as his potions were below par from his normal excellent standards. Finding a competent Potions master was very difficult, which was why Snape was rarely severely punished.

"Dolohov." Commanded the Dark Lord, after a brief time a man approached and bowed.

"Report."

"We have emptied the vaults as instructed in to the Lestrange vault. Our moles are in place M'lord, and Fudge has stepped down to be replaced by Scrimgeour. Also the Ministry is at a loss as to explain the freak weather occurring."

"Excellent, it doesn't matter who's the Minister, as he will die soon. I have new orders just for you."

"Yes M'lord."

"A member of Dumbledore's little band of white hats has been identified and I want you to eliminate him."

"Yes M'lord, but who is it?"

"Crucio." Antonin Dolohov writhed on the floor in agony for questioning the Dark Lord.

"I was not finished, the man I want dead is Arthur Weasley, the task must be done in the Ministry and is to look like infighting, understood."

"Yes M'lord." Stammered Antonin in agony.

"Get out of my sight." Antonin swiftly left hoping to never displease the Dark Lord again.

Captain Robert Pennysworth of the S.A.S. stood in front of a group of two hundred of the best men that the British military had ever produced. "Good afternoon, gentlemen, what I am about to tell you does not leave this room understood."

"Sir, Yes Sir." Came the prompt response from the assembled men.

"What I am about to reveal is going to be hard to believe but it is the truth understood. This video was recorded at No. Ten Downing St. between the Prime Minister and an unknown Wizard."

The men looked baffled, as they knew from the Captain's demeanour that this was serious also there was the fact that someone in authority admitted to spying on the Prime Minister.

The lights were dimmed as a video was shown on a screen in the front of the briefing room. The video began by showing the Prime Minister sitting at his desk working through papers. The video had no sound, a man suddenly appeared in the bottom left corner of the picture. It appeared that the two men had a heated argument before the unknown man produced a thin long object and pointed it to the Prime Minister's head. The Prime Minister then sat back down and went back to work after about ten minutes staring into space. The date recorded on the data stamp was 4/4/1996

"The Prime Minister has no recollection of that meeting ever taking place gentlemen, which happened last week. M.I.6 stumbled upon them during operations in Germany during our little scuffle with the Nazis. They discovered the existence of magic and these so called wizards. These wizards do exist and can kill by uttering just two words; we will be training you in how to stop them. From intelligence reports we understand that these Wizards underestimate us. Intelligence also reports an increase of terrorist activity within their community, which is spilling into ours. We believe that they are responsible for all the freak weather occurring around the British Isles."

The men were given half an hour before they started training in how to cope against what tactics they expected from these apparently overconfident wizards. The thought of how they would deal with magical beasts and creatures never occurred to the instructors.

After Hermione relayed an obvious incomplete account of their time in the other realm, Jane contacted the police to inform them that they had found their daughter. Jane believed her daughter but felt that Hermione was holding back a vital piece of information. It did not help that Frank was very upset at the change in his little princess. They had decided to stay at the house tonight and Frank made sure that Harry had slept alone in the spare room away from Hermione. With all these thoughts swirling around Jane's mind she fell asleep.

Harry struggled with his bonds furtively. He was bound to a chair with heavy twine and electrical cord. It was no use his wrists were being frayed by the tight bindings. He was in a dark, dank, stone walled room. The chair he was tied to was a heavy wooden construct. He had given up using magic, as it seemed it had deserted him. He was unconcerned about his own predicament as he was not alone in this room. Attached to the wall was a chain bound witch. She was wearing tattered bloody clothes that barely covered her modesty. She was wearing heavy black manacles that had rubbed her wrists raw. Her gaunt starved body was peppered with scratches and deep cuts. The marred skin was black and blue and ugly welts were liberally scattered in contrast. Her matted hair lay limp covering her face.

The sound of a deadbolt echoed in the small stone room. The door opened to reveal a wizard in full Death Eater regalia. The wizard whispered a spell, which caused the manacled witch to arch her back in agony. Her screams were interrupted by the sounds of bones breaking as her tormented body destroyed itself. The witch's back was broken and lay quivering her head lolling to the side as screams gurgled from her broken mouth. Harry sucked in a shocked breath as he recognized the witch's face. He would know those eyes anywhere. 'Oh, Merlin it's Hermione.' As recognition snared him Harry struggled to unleash his magic in anger. But it never came, the faceless wizard cackled in glee at Harry's horror.

"Tell me, Potter, do want it to stop." The accent-less voice asked.

Harry's mouth felt like the desert, he willed his magic to take on Hermione's suffering but it did not work.

"Well answer me, do you want me to stop." The wizard goaded.

Hermione's anguished sobbing seemed to pierce Harry's heart, his mouth dried up, he could not speak, the air left his lungs he felt like he was losing the will to live. 'Please make it stop.'

"Fine, it's on your hands."

A green spell left the wand; Hermione's dead eyes seemed to bore right into his mind. Harry suddenly found that he could scream.

"NNOOOOOOOO"

Harry sat bolt upright, the sudden motion threw off his bedclothes. He keenly felt the loss of Hermione. 'No, she can't be gone.' The mantra kept repeating in his head as he contemplated suicide to join her in the afterlife. He dimly felt a pair of feminine arms wrap around him in a hug. His heart was thumping wildly in his chest as his lungs struggled to provide enough oxygen to his distraught body. His tortured mind tried to process that a pair of female arms were hugging him into a soft female chest.

"Hush, Harry, it's okay, I am here, and it was just a nightmare, hush." Consoled a worried Hermione as she gently rocked Harry.

Frank was startled awake by the panicked scream that had come from Hermione's room, Jane turned on the light and they both went to investigate as it was a scream filled with so much pain and anguish. Jane pushed open the door and turned on the main bedroom light and stopped short at the sight in the bed. Frank growled as he spotted a topless silently sobbing Harry, with Hermione hugging him from behind. Jane turned and took hold of Frank's chin, to force him to look her in the eyes and begged him silently to let her handle it with, he reluctantly nodded.

Jane turned and silently approached the bed and sat on the corner of the bed.

"What's wrong?" Inquired Jane as she noticed Hermione's panicked face.

"You remember earlier when we explained about learning to control our magic?" Asked Hermione as she continued to rock a distressed Harry.

Jane nodded wondering where this was going.

"Well when Harry healed me his magic made a connection with mine. That connection helped me through the bad times." Jane noticed the pain in her eyes as she said this and wondered what that could have been.

"Well we discovered that we loved each other just after that first tough Christmas all alone." Frank snorted and Jane turned and glared at him in annoyance.

"The following spring we went on holiday to Switzerland. Valentines night . . ." Trailed off Hermione.

Jane gestured for Hermione to continue encouragingly as she realised that she would finally get some answers.

"Well I had an, mmm, an erotic dream."

"I don't need to hear that." Interrupted Frank he still wanted to see his daughter as a sweet little girl, and did not want his delusion to be ruined.

"Frank, please, stop butting in, please continue, Hermione." Jane also noticed that Harry seemed to have calmed somewhat from his frantic state.

"We learnt that we actually shared our dreams and awoke up as Husband and Wife." Said a blushing Hermione.

"What? How? Oh my" As Jane noticed the wedding bands appear on the couple's fingers. She wondered how she had missed them.

"It was our magic that did it."

"Okay, but why is Harry in this state?" As she decided to focus on why Harry was so distraught.

"Where we were had no magic, and we had to hold ours in so as to keep all the electrical devices working. And here has so much magic that it is overwhelming us. My connection with Harry is almost gone. We managed to avoid bad nightmares because we share dreams but since we arrived back I've had my dreams alone and I have gotten so used to Harry's presence that now it feels so lonely without him."

Jane gasped at all that was implied in her daughter's statement. She wondered how she could cope with sharing so much of herself with Frank.

"I have just managed to reconnect with Harry and have just learnt that his nightmare was of a wizard torturing and killing me. And because our magic makes it real he was considering following me." Said a shaking Hermione as Harry turned and hugged Hermione close to him.

Frank glared as he noticed that Hermione had been sleeping nude with Harry. Jane looked on, as it seemed that the couple in the bed communicated telepathically.

"What do you mean follow you?" Asked Jane.

"Well I thought she was dead, so I wanted to die too." Stated a much calmer Harry.

Frank in the beginning hated one Harry Potter, but that all changed once he realised the depth of the bond shared between his daughter and Harry. He now understood Harry's state was due to the belief that Hermione was tortured and killed in front of him. It was now apparent to him that Harry was head over heels in love with Hermione. He realised that he was upset that he had missed out on Hermione turning into a fine young woman. Frank turned and reluctantly went back to bed grumbling about what time of the morning it was. Jane smiled sadly and turned off the lights as she joined her husband for the rest of the night.

Harry turned and gently pushed Hermione on to her back. Hermione could feel all of Harry's warring emotions through their restored bond, from relief and joy that she was alive to the anguish and horror of her death in his vivid dream. Harry started to kiss her forehead before moving down to her lips for a sensual kiss. Hermione lost herself into the kiss. Harry moved his attention down to the nape of her neck he trailed kisses down to her left breast. He kissed and suckled around the hardened nipple. Hermione traced her hands through his hair urging him on. He gently nipped her aroused nipple, her back arched. He moved to concentrate on her other breast so it would not feel left out. The part of her mind always on came to the realisation that Harry was reaffirming his love for her by worshipping her body after the trauma of his nightmare. She whimpered at the loss of his mouth on her breasts as he started to kiss up her legs. Her nerves tingled at the sensations he evoked as he made a languid journey up her body. She held her breath in anticipation as she felt hot breath against the inside of her thigh.

Hermione was alive to the sensations coursing through her and came hard as Harry kissed her there. As she was slowly brought back down she felt him slide up her body to claim her mouth in a heated kiss. All the while their bond was wide open to his turbulent emotions as he laid his very soul bare to her. She reached down between him and grasped him. He held his body taunt at the bold move as Hermione had allowed him complete control before now. She guided him and he slid home in one gentle thrust. Hermione put her hand on his shoulder and urged him to roll over. As Harry rolled over Hermione sat up and started to grind into him. Harry's hands came up to caress her breasts. As he came, it pushed her over the edge again into another orgasm. She collapsed onto him and fell in to contented slumber. Harry wrapped his arms around her and followed her into her dreams.

Mafalda Hopkirk scowled as she sat at her desk in the Improper Use of Magic Office. The detectors had to be disabled due to the strange magical effects occurring across the country. She had nothing to do for the last month as her department was gutted due to this damn problem with ineffective potions. It seemed that all the potions in the country was on average at ten percent their normal potency and the Ministry didn't know why. Because of this they were burying the knowledge. The atmosphere within the Ministry was tense, as everybody feared that he who must not be named could pop out and kill at any moment. The O.W.L and N.E.W.T. results were also delayed due to the strange magical occurrences.

Arthur Appleton grinned as he rubbed his hands together in glee. His plan was coming together nicely. He was a twenty five year old potion's brewer trying unsuccessfully to find a job. His dismal reference from his old potion's master Professor Severus Snape did not help matters at all. But that all changed around last Christmas he found a large black book in an old large disused house in Little Hangleton. The house had reeked of dark magic and he was terrified, as he had explored the ruined house. The book contained a ritual that would make him the undisputed master of potion making. After completing the ritual it appeared to him that nothing had changed. He found that it was still impossible to obtain employment. However during his search of the house for the book he discovered a small collection of old nasty potions. He guessed that they were over twenty years old and very potent. After researching these strange potions he decided that he was going to use them on the last wizard that failed to employ him. It was now July and he was hearing rumours of potions failing across the country however he did not notice a change in his own pitiful potion making. His friend Keith Bauer suggested wiping out the competition and installing a monopoly to control prices and get very rich. He thought it was a very good idea and he decided he was going to use the potions he found to accomplish it, however he discovered that he needed a magical host to incubate the magical device.

Hermione slowly woke up still lying upon Harry. She was delighted that their bonding had returned to full strength as it took a severe battering after the dangerous trip through realities. She firmly believed that Harry's awful nightmare was due to his upbringing and the loss of connection with her. She was slowly adjusting to the massive influx of ambient magical energy even here in the mundane side of the barrier. She was pulled from her musings as Harry started to make love to her again.

Jane sat at the breakfast table deep in thought over last night's events. Hermione was three years older give or take a few months and married as well. She found that she could not fully understand as she was not present for those absent years. Maybe the marriage was not legal as the ceremony seemed very strange and far-fetched. At least Frank seemed to be coming out of his opinion that Hermione was his little princess and was now a young woman in her own right.

The younger couple appeared for breakfast fully dressed. After an awkward breakfast, Harry said he had to run a few errands, kissed Hermione thoroughly and left in a multicoloured ball of light.

Frank looked startled at the way Harry left but after noticing the time he also left to go deal with the insurance company. Jane decided that what was needed was some mother daughter time. She was puzzled that Harry would leave on errands after his traumatic night. She suggested the two women go shopping and get reacquainted. Hermione nodded and the pair went shopping.

A large magical sphere appeared in front of Mrs. Black's portrait at No. Twelve Grimmauld Place. The painting started to scream at the sudden appearance of an unknown magical person.

"Get out of my house you mudblood scum."

The person pulled an unknown object from a harness under his shoulder and pointed it at the painting. After a brief flash the woman in the painting knew no more, and silence settled over the house once again.

Harry sighed in relief at the silence he felt sorry for shooting the painting but he did it instinctively after John had hammered it into them to always have defence options open to him. He felt loss at the thought of the dead old warhorse, in a way he was a bit like Mad-eye,always looking out for danger. His keenly developed magical senses were bombarded by dark tainted magic when he had appeared in front of the portrait. He had no time to think only react so did the first thing that came to him, he shot the painting and was surprised that shooting the painting had stopped the awful screeching coming from the troublesome painting. After taking a few calming breaths he let his magic flow searching for that particular unwanted dark taint. It had taken the displaced couple almost two years to develop this particular talent of divining the location of an object. In his search he was surprised at how many dark objects there were.

He replayed in his mind from Hermione's perspective the feelings and process that she had used from removing Riddle's taint from his head. He sighed in relief when he found that bitter tasting magical object. He was pleased to have found it. A small sphere materialised and dumped an ugly locket with an ornate S inscribed upon it on the floor. The couple had developed a new way of summoning objects instead of using the "Accio" spell as their instructors did not want anybody to see summoned objects flying around all over the place. They had discovered in their studies of Sphere transport that it could be used like the Accio spell and had mastered this technique in favour of using the wand-based spell. Harry concentrated on what Hermione had done to remove the tainted soul from him all that time ago. After an eternity he felt the fragment leave the object and he banished the black fog. He levitated the locket before willing it back to where it was before he summoned it. Once finished he left, he felt that he would deal with Kreacher later.

Jane found she was enjoying the shopping trip with her daughter. And after Hermione had tried on a few summer dresses it was clear to Jane that Hermione was almost like her dead sister, Juliet. Juliet was born two years after Jane and had been killed in a car crash when Jane was in college studying Dentistry. Frank had helped her through the loss. They had been a couple for three years at that point. Juliet was to be her bridesmaid, but it was never to be.

Hermione came out wearing a simple pale yellow top and baby blue skirt and asked for Jane's opinion. Jane was pulled out of the past and thought that it would of suited her daughter before her trip to another world, but now she didn't know. Hermione could tell her mother was distracted so put back the clothes. She paid for the few items they had already picked and dragged her mother to the nearest place for a coffee and a chat.

Jane found herself sitting in a quiet booth in a local pub with a large cup of Earl Grey and a pensive Hermione sitting across from her.

"Hermione, please explain why Harry's nightmare hit him so hard and then he seemed to get over it quickly?"

Hermione seemed to gather her thoughts before she answered the question.

"Maybe when I explained what happened I wasn't too clear on some points. I was unconscious for about six weeks. Then I felt a comforting presence, which I later learnt, was Harry. In those early months after he healed my injuries, I learnt all about Harry's nightmares. He never had what is considered a normal childhood. He had tried to hide it at first but eventually I learnt all about it. If I ever meet his relatives they'll wish they had never met me."

Jane watched, as Hermione seemed to calm down from talking about Harry's relatives. It seemed that Harry was abused.

"Harry learnt he had access to one of the most twisted and cruel minds which fuelled his terrible nightmares. The one last night was the torture inflicted on a father and daughter during the last war. Both were cruelly tortured and killed for a prophecy that was made about Harry. Riddle, who has been gunning for Harry has modified his memories so that Harry's new nightmares put me in the place of the poor unfortunate girl and Harry assumed the role of the tortured father in the memory. Over the months in the other realm any time Harry or I began to feel we were in the throes of a nightmare, the other would gently enter and console and banish the nightmare. So it became the norm that we would rarely suffer from nightmares. But ever since our return it has been very hard on our magical bond. I was rendered unconscious and I believe that Harry went in to magical shock, it all caught up with us last night resulting in Harry's nightmare. Afterwards we restored the bond fully, so we're good now."

Hermione took a sip of her tea and let Jane absorb the extra information.

"Okay, but what is Harry doing alone?"

"We learnt that Riddle split his soul and put those fragments in to objects. Riddle believes that they render him immortal. As you know, there is a prophecy that pits Harry and Riddle into conflict with the end result saying that only one survives. We came up with a plan that Harry is the one to survive. He is going after one of the soul pieces and I am staying behind in case he needs backup as at the moment we are the only two working together on this."

"Oh. Your life at Hogwarts is not easy is it?"

"No it isn't but it brought me Harry."

The two women finished their tea break and went back to their shopping expedition.

Harry collapsed once he re-materialised in the Granger Kitchen. The women stopped their conversation to tend to the drained youth.

"Damn him he hasn't got used to the magic here yet." Exclaimed an upset Hermione.

"What happened to him?"

"He went to destroy an object we believe to be in Sirius' house and the process almost drained all of his magical energy."

Hermione studied Harry's body and sighed in relief once she made contact with his mind. His body was fatigued from last night and his magic was drained due to his search. He had been gone for almost nine hours and he was starving, so Hermione pushed some magic into his body so that he could stay awake long enough to eat. Harry robotically ate the food and said very little as his body was not under his own control. Once he was fed Hermione put her husband to bed and resumed talking with her mother.

Molly Weasley was disturbed as she prepared a meal for the Order, there was something different but she could not put her finger on it. The front door banged open and she winced expecting the screaming and shouting to start coming from the demented painting but it never came. Auror Tonks was trying to right the umbrella stand she had tripped over before she stopped once she realised she had an audience. Molly gasped as she spotted a hole right through the painting between Mrs. Black's eyes. She wondered what spell could have done such a thing.

She was pulled from her thoughts as Professor Dumbledore called the meeting to order, She and Tonks hurried into the drawing room for the start of the meeting. First order of business was the fact that one Harry Potter was missing. Second, employees of the Ministry were disappearing. Dumbledore grilled Harry's guard detail but turned up no new information on his disappearance.

Severus had nothing to report, and Dumbledore frowned at Minerva's absence. Molly called attention to the damaged portrait at the end of the meeting. After Mad-eye examined the painting he reported that it was not done by magic, and if it was done by Muggle means the resulting bullet was missing. The news sat uneasily with Dumbledore as it hinted that there was a new player in the game possibly a Muggle with extensive knowledge of the Wizard world. He was not sure if they were a wizard or not but it definitely meant that security was compromised. He instructed the Order to remove all of their equipment and supplies. He would have to look for a new headquarters to operate from.

Frank Granger sat in his study, pensive after a long days work. He was still upset about the changes in his daughter brought about by one Harry Potter. He could see the truth in her statement that she had aged about three years even if it did not settle right with him. She looked different, older, and happier even. He felt lost that he had missed it; it felt as if he did not know his daughter anymore. He wanted to hate Harry for his role in all of this but after his arrival just over an hour ago and the way Hermione fussed over him, Frank could see plain as day the way Hermione loved Harry. He did not want to learn about the girl talk that had occurred between mother and daughter all day so he retreated to the study to enjoy a small brandy.

After two hours sulking he went to find his wife. Jane was still in the kitchen drinking coffee with Hermione.

". . I still miss them, mum. It's only been a couple of days, but I know I'll never see them again." Said a crying Hermione.

Jane pulled the crying Hermione into a hug after hearing all about Harry and Hermione's time spent in the other reality.

"How's Harry?" Asked a gruff Frank.

Hermione looked up from her mothers shoulder and responded. "He is almost completely drained from destroying another soul piece, I am maintaining the connection so that he regains his strength and does not repeat last nights nightmare as I have almost adapted to the higher levels of ambient magic."

"Huh?" Frowned a confused Frank.

"I'll explain later, dear." Said Jane as she ushered him out as it was obviously just for female ears only. He sighed collected a glass of water and retired to bed for the night.

The following morning, Frank found a bright and cheerful Harry preparing breakfast. Frank was surprised to find the table set so ornately. The table was set just like you would expect if dining at Buckingham Palace. It appeared that Harry had found the delph and cutlery that was saved for special occasions. Franks eyes widened at the large array of food that Harry was preparing.

"Are you expecting to feed an army?"

Harry paused in adding some ingredients to his omelette on the pan to regard Frank's question.

"MMM just us four why?"

"Are you trying to fatten us?"

"No. It's just that a wizard or witch eats more due to the fact that using magic makes us hungry."

"Hermione mentioned something about that, and said a witch or wizard's metabolism was higher than normal due to the fact that they could do magic, something about food fuelling the magic or something. But that still doesn't explain all the food."

"Well when we spent time in that other reality we had to learn to control our magic. We discovered that once we mastered this it made us have a very large appetite. Jim our doctor realised that we must have been using a lot of magic due to our high food intake. We are on an exercise regime and a controlled diet."

"I'm a health professional and I can tell that my daughter does not look like a person who spends all the time in the gym. How come you both don't look fat?"

"FAT? No one insults my wife lightly, even her own father, and gets away with it."

Frank slowly moved to the door way as he realised that the angry man was liable to do anything to him. Thinking quickly he apologised and explained that he was just trying to get a handle on the massive changes occurring in his daughter's life.

About a minute after Harry calmed down, the ladies of the house joined the men at the table for breakfast. Frank was surprised that Jane said noting about the vast quantities the couple were eating. During breakfast Frank mentioned that the builders could not repair the house for a couple of months at least, due to the large number of houses in the area that need repair. He sat stunned as Hermione waved her hand and a soft glow appeared and wherever was damaged was slowly repaired as good as new and in some spots better than the original work. It was like watching a film slowly playing in reverse righting all the damage inflicted upon the Granger residence.

After the builders hording was magically returned to his yard, the windows looked as good as new. Frank sighed in relief that all his neighbours were not around to see the magical repairs. He was also delighted that the back of the house was the only area affected by the freak storms. He could see in Hermione's flushed face that she appeared to be tired after that little display of magic. He thought that she needed to wave a little stick to do magic but must have been mistaken. He left for work pleased that he did not have to cancel his holiday plans due to the fact he would not have to pay for unexpected repair work. As he left for work he overheard the young couple mention going out for a twenty mile run.

Harry stepped out of the refreshing shower and groaned when he spotted a dark brown post Owl sitting on the headboard of the bed. His first thought was that it was a letter giving out about them using magic outside of Hogwarts. He was unsure of how people would look at him or regard him as his true age or the age he was expected to be, it was getting confusing. Ignoring the bird for now he swiftly got dressed and lamented the fact he had to shower alone, he always loved the shower with Hermione after an exercise, as it was he felt the best part of exercising together. But today she said she couldn't because she had to meet her mother in town, and she would be late if they had shared a shower. Once Harry turned his attention to the post owl he got the impression that the owl was not happy. Harry leaned forward and removed the parchment scroll from the owl. Once that was done the owl hooted and swiftly left.

With a degree of trepidation Harry slowly unrolled the parchment and began to read as he expected a letter from the Ministry over the magic Hermione and he were using.

_Wallace and Platt And Associates,_

_58B Diagon Alley,_

_Magical London,_

_10__th__ July 1996,_

_Lord Harry Potter-Black_

_Hermione's Bedroom,_

_The Granger Residence._

_Dear Harry,_

_Allow me to offer condolences on the loss of your Godfather the late Lord Sirius Black. I am contacting you about the small matter of the paperwork required to settle his estate. Please can you and your spouse the Lady Hermione Potter-Black turn up at our offices tomorrow at 10 o'clock to sort out these unwanted matters at this difficult time?_

_Yours Sincerely_

_Hugh Wallace,_

_Wizarding Solicitor, _

Harry frowned wondering how this man knew about Hermione. He was unsettled that the letter seemed a little thin on information and what was this business of adding Sirius' surname to his own. He decided he would show the letter to Hermione later after she returned from town with her mother. Harry carefully rolled up the parchment and placed it upon the bedside locker on Hermione's side of the bed and cast a spell upon it so that Hermione would look at it the first time she entered the room. Satisfied, he left the house by travelling sphere, the clock on the bedside table read five past midday.

Arthur Appleton was an ambitious Slytherin hoping to make it as a potions master however he had a Muggle father which closed a lot of doors to him. He had little to no friends, however there was one that he considered almost like a brother to him they had met shortly after Arthur had left Hogwarts. His friend was home schooled as his parents were poor purebloods and could not afford the high fees required to attend Hogwarts. After getting to know Keith Bauer he decided that Keith would have been sorted into Ravenclaw, as he was a highly intellectual individual with a decidedly grey outlook on morals as he had suggested putting all the other potion makers out of business.

While Arthur was obsessed with potions Keith's obsession was women as he had led a very sheltered life as he was home schooled. The Bauer's were a very private pureblood family that the wizarding world had almost forgotten about, as they were a very secretive family. The other families knew that the Bauer's worked as Unspeakables and therefore the common wizard was kept in the dark about this most secretive of families. Arthur often tried to find out about Keith's family but his friend remained tight lipped. He had only met Keith by chance while in Hogsmeade and they had instantly become friends.

Keith had bumped into the young witch by accident and had apologised profusely. After that first meeting Keith discovered that his friend Arthur had a keen interest in the lovely young woman but after a while Keith got fed up at his friends lack of courage to ask her out. At their second meeting Keith asked her out for an ice cream. During that first conversation he discovered that she was a student attending Hogwarts named Susan Bones. Keith was stunned at first as the Bauer's were an old family that still arranged marriages. When Keith came of age he was told about the young witch he was to marry when she came of age. When he pestered his mother for her name she relented after two months of constant enquiries and replied the union was with the Bones as that family was heavily involved in law enforcement. So Keith was pleasantly surprised with himself falling in love with his betrothed. After he shared this news with Susan he was pleasantly surprised to find that she wanted to get to know him well. He was surprised at how forward she was as he had led a very sheltered life in regards to the fairer sex. He Floo called his friend Arthur to say he would not be available today and met Susan instead. The day was great as it lead to great love making with his future wife. He found that he was very thirsty and drained the glass of water dry that was sitting upon the bedside locker.

Arthur discovered that Keith had started going out with a young witch that he had his eye on. He felt betrayed that Keith would move in on her after he had confessed to fancying her. He had discovered a potion that would render himself invisible in the book he had found in Little Hangleton and brewed it to spy on Keith and the young witch. After observing the couple having sex he poured a poison into a glass on the bedside table. He was very angry with Keith and was pleased to see him drink the glass of poisoned water dry. He then stunned the young witch and proceeded to rifle through her belongings and was disgusted to realise that she was still a Hogwarts student. He thought she was about twenty, not sixteen and a half, he wondered how young girls could make themselves look older with a little bit of make up and some adult clothes. Her purse identified her as Susan Bones. He sat on the bed in contemplation of what to do next.

In a house in a highly secured location an old lady was reading the Daily Prophet to see what the controlled rag was reporting now, when there was the shriek of an alarm. This house contained a clock similar to the one residing in the Weasley family home, however this clock was a much more elaborate clock. The Hand with Keith Bauer's name swung from Happy (in love and sexual bliss) to Dead (poisoned). The clock face was a highly prized heirloom and showed highly detailed information on the Family and extended family of the Bauer's. About an hour earlier the name Susan Bauer (nee Bones)was added and that hand swung from Happy (in love and sexual bliss) to Mortal Danger (under outside influence). The old lady passed out in shock at the death of her great grandson. The alarm of the family clock blared in the empty house as it's only occupant lay unconscious on the floor oblivious to the racket. The hand with Lady Bauer on it swung to the position of Dead (due to severe emotional shock.).

After fifteen minutes thinking, Arthur removed a potions flask from his robes and slowly approached the stunned young witch. He put the neck of the flask to her mouth and massaged her neck as he poured the potion down her throat. He removed a second potion and dumped it on to the corpse and watched it dissolve into nothingness. Just as the potion started to eat through the bed the witch sat bolt upright with a glassy stare as the liquid Imperius took effect. Arthur silently handed over three large flasks of the first potion to be ingested. After waiting the required hour Arthur handed over three small vials of the second potion, once it was ingested Arthur handed over a Stoppered vial of the third potion with instruction to drink it once at the target.

Susan stood up after ingesting all the potions and robotically got dressed. She felt the compulsion to visit the Apothecary in Diagon Alley. She took hold of the Portkey Keith had provided for her to use and returned home. She frantically searched her room for the Portkey to Diagon Alley and was dismayed when she could not find it. She needed Portkeys for magical transportation, as the residence was not connected to the Floo network, due to security concerns. She was underage so was not trained in Apparation. Her locked consciousness screamed in dismay at the automated actions of her drugged body as it furtively tried to complete it's designated task. She had met Keith in a small bookshop and fallen madly in love. It was love at first sight. She did not know that Keith was over five years older than herself and her arranged Husband to be. As her locked mind grieved for her dead lover, her body stripped and got dressed into Muggle clothes. The distraught witch boarded the 2:20 express to Waterloo in London.

Hermione returned from an enjoyable afternoon with Jane in Jane's small blue Renault Clio. The Mercedes was Frank's for keeping up appearances with his side of the family. Jane wanted a second car so that she could leave the Dental practice to go shopping or meet her friends. She only had the car a couple of months and loved the sense of freedom after only just passing the driving test shortly before Frank bought the car as a reward for passing first time. When she had finished college she had large education loans to clear and could not afford a car then. Shortly after she fell in love with Frank and before she knew it she was married and pregnant. After that she never found the time to learn to drive until Hermione started to attend Hogwarts. She enjoyed driving the small nippy car than Frank's big saloon. Jane loved the clothes shopping as it gave her another opportunity to get to know this new Hermione after her three years in the other reality.

Jane could sense that Hermione was worried about Harry and his current task. Yesterday Hermione explained the couple's plans and the treat of one Tom Riddle known in the Wizarding World as "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named"or Lord Voldemort. Jane found herself agreeing with the couple's decision to call him Riddle instead of the two ridiculous made up names. Hermione explained that they wanted to eradicate Riddle's Horcruxes as soon as possible. It was decided that only one would tackle the problem while the other stayed behind in support in case anything went wrong. Jane understood that Harry was on such a dangerous mission now, which explained Hermione's fretting. Hermione had retreated into her room to hug Harry's pillow for comfort. Jane entered carrying a tray with two cups of tea and a plate of biscuits. Jane noticed the opened letter lying on the bedspread. She reached out to read it but paused to look at Hermione in permission. Hermione nodded and Jane proceeded to read the Solicitors letter to Harry and was surprised it mentioned Hermione and the fact they were married and she wondered at the double-barrelled name. The two women sat silently waiting for there spouses to return, Frank from a golf game and Harry from something much more serious.

Harry smiled as he materialised inside the Department of Ministries, it looked just the same as the battle only a couple of weeks ago. Hermione thought that concentrating on here would be the easiest way to gain access to the Ministry as they had been here before. He was delighted that her idea worked, he scanned his surrounds and was pleased to find that his entrance had gone unobserved. It appeared that the Ministry was unaware of travelling spheres as he had easily sphered into the building by-passing many wards probably. He opened the small backpack he had brought with him and donned one of the invisibility suits Hermione had made for Tom's craft class. Once that was done he stuffed the pack into an expanding pocket of the suit. He retraced the movements the six had made earlier that summer back to the lift shafts.

Once he arrived there he took his bearings and lightly skimmed passing employees minds for anyone working in records. After a painful hour of standing rigidly out of the way he found an old witch heading to where he wanted to go. He started to follow her into the lift when his muscles sized from being held in the one position for so long. He struggled through the pain and made it in time before the doors closed on him. The lift stopped on three floors before the Witch left and made her way down to the records office. Harry found it hard to keep up with out alerting anyone to his presence with the amount of personal in the corridors. He sighed in relief when he made it into the office.

After an hour searching the files he groused the fact that the office had no computers with a search engine to simplify this arduous task. Trying to stay incognito was also tedious. About seventy-five minutes into his search a frantic Percy Weasley entered the office looking for a certain file number. The witch calmly left her filing to collect a large blue leather bound book and scribbled the file number on the first page. Harry approached to observe hoping that this might help him in his search. After ten seconds the writing faded away and the book suddenly opened on a certain page. After consulting the book the witch moved into the stacks and produced a wooden crate. She removed the lid and summoned the file from within. A satisfied Percy left before a bell tolled sounding the end of the working day. The witch simply left the office and locked the door and an invisible Harry remained behind.

Harry immediately removed the suffocating hood and sighed in relief, as it was not comfortable to breath through the breathing charm cast upon the facemask. He approached the book and wrote out his name as a test. After twenty three seconds the pages in the book flipped over before stopping on a certain page listing all the files relevant to Harry Potter. Harry's eyes widened when he realised that there was over two hundred files listed. From a quick glance he discovered that they covered everything from school files, files on his parents, and all the people he was known to be in contact with, legal documents and a record of his trial last year. But the one that got his attention was the most recent addition to his file stating his Magical Union with Hermione Potter-Black. He was disgusted with some of the entries in the file saying that it was a pure bonding between virgins and the blood sacrifice of Hermione's was significant. The file proceeded to state that the marriage was the most powerful ever recorded. Distractedly Harry summoned all the listed files and stuffed them into his small backpack, he was glad that the bag had an expanding charm to make it's interior larger than it's exterior. He was pleased that the bag easily contained all of the files. He hemmed and hawed over the Name Potter-Black so he filled out a new search under the names: Black, Potter, and Potter-Black. The new results added another six hundred and seventy five files to the earlier two hundred give or take a few files.

Harry shook his head to clear his mind he had gotten distracted from his goal and wrote again into the blue book. This time the page showed apparition co-ordinates to the location he wanted. However this was almost useless, as he did not know how to use them. In frustration he copied them down onto a scrape of parchment he had found on the desk. Suddenly feeling paranoid Harry let his magic flow through the book to see if it recorded search entries like an Internet browser did in the other reality. His magic could find none but Harry wanted to be sure that he left no evidence behind. With a thought a small magical sphere appeared above the table an deposited the "_**The Potter book of Magic**_." Harry scanned through the book for wandless spells that could solve his problem. In his search he found an entry about the blue book being a complicated artefact and could only keep record of five searches in its memory before being overwritten.

Harry proceeded to do random searches on various Death Eaters known to him. He stuffed the new files into a freshly conjured bag for review later. Satisfied that he had left no evidence two spheres materialised and left the office empty once again. The Book returned to Hermione along with the files about himself and the Death Eaters along with an explanatory note. Meanwhile Harry appeared in Little Hangleton. Harry had scanned the Books section on Apparation and almost laughed at how easy it was to adapt co-ordinate Apparation to Sphere travelling. It just took his magic about two minutes to process the co-ordinates, and adapt the knowledge so that he could sphere to the desired location. It also helped that Hermione's formidable intellect had also helped him by helping him in his mind after receiving the files by sphere transport and helped him solve this co-ordinate problem. He was delighted that their bond had returned to normal. He was pleased that his body and magic were adapting to this reality now after his terrible nightmare.

Susan looked out at Waterloo station as she checked the time, the train was unusually on time meaning that the train arrived at one minute past four. Susan disembarked and made her way to the London underground to get a tube to the closest Tube station to the Leaky Cauldron pub. The trip to the pub took half an hour to complete all the while her frantic mind tried to stop her uncontrollable body. She produced her wand and tapped out the correct sequence on the doorway to Diagon Alley and passed by Tom the barman whom paid no attention to her passage.

Hugh Wallace, Wizarding Solicitor. received a frantic Fire call from his Mother informing him that his pregnant wife was in St. Mungo's giving birth. He swiftly collected his belongings and gave his small staff the rest of the day off. His sectary rolled her eyes as it was ten to five and the office always shut at five after opening at eight each morning. He was excited to being a father and was delighted that his wife's difficult pregnancy was almost over. He hated going to work knowing that she was suffering but he was the sole breadwinner and the wizarding world had no health insurance so he could not afford to leave work. He had taken over from his late father Hank to run the family business.

Fred and George Weasley were in the back room of their shop trying to figure out why their potions based pranks weren't working. As over half their stock was failing they were forced to shut down the shop side of the business to research the problem. Fred was pulled from his thoughts by a large boom, that shuck the building knocking dust onto their heads. George frantically put in a Floo call to the Burrow as his instincts screamed at him to leave the shop immediately. The Twins hustled through just before the ceiling fell in the workroom.

Susan entered the Apothecary and moved to the back to confirm that the owner was behind the counter. The sales assistant warned Susan that it was close to closing time. Susan removed the potion vial from her coat pocket and swiftly ingested the potion. Susan's mind was the first to die as the potion reacted with the other two potions within her system. The first potion prepared her magical core for the second stage. The second potion converted all of Susan's magical energy into a potentially explosive force. The third was the trigger, which simply set off the explosive force.

Immediately after Susan's mind, which contained her identity and the part that was still fighting, was destroyed, her body levitated a foot off of the floor before a magical force sucked all of the magical objects to her body including the sales assistant and the Apothecary owner. All the extra magical energy was consumed by the magical reaction, there by killing all the magical persons within the building and fuelling the magical reaction occurring in the late Susan's body. A split second before the explosion occurred the people on the street saw a brilliant flash of light before the building simply vanished into the light. The Weasley Twins were of the few lucky few to escape as they were behind the protective wards of their workroom. The wards were there to keep explosive experiments contained however they admirably kept out enough of the blast to buy the Twins precious seconds before the massive fireball consumed the shop.

The fireball roared in all directions killing almost all the witches and wizards in Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. Very few were lucky to escape like The Weasley Twins or Hugh Wallace whom had left a scant few minutes earlier. However the magical community were not the only ones affected by the massive blast. The explosion ripped easily through the anti-Muggle wards and destroyed a large area almost a mile across in diameter in central London. The blast knocked out windows for miles and the explosive force stopped short of wiping out 10 Downing St., as it was only seven tenths of a mile away from the epicentre of the explosion. The release of so much magical energy acted like a nuclear blast and killed all electrical devices and services across the city of London resulting in a black out that hit the whole south of England. The Hospitals were the worst affected as the back up generators never kicked in resulting in many deaths for those on life support. The only systems unaffected were those of the military or security with EMP protected computer systems. Emergency services rushed to the scene of the blast but had to come from outside of London as none of the Vehicles inside the London area worked at all. Due to this delay the fire started to grip London almost recreating the great London fire of old.

Daniel Watson cried into his coffee after the generator kicked in. Reports were coming in that there was a large explosion in London. 'There goes my holiday' he thought grimly. Early indicators were that it was a nuclear bomb blast; he hoped to God that the I.R.A. had not obtained a black market Soviet nuke. Reports were sketchy at best as no one on scene had a working radio, but it was feared that it was a nuclear detonation. He felt that he needed a break as everything was going to hell so very fast. First the freakish weather and now this, what next Martians?

Hugh found pandemonium at St. Mungo's he had dropped home to get the giant teddy bear for his first-born. There were a lot of people milling about clearly shell shocked. It was just after five. He tried to make it to reception to find out where his wife was but it was near imposable due to all the people in the reception area. He overheard people gossiping about an explosion in Diagon Alley and dismissed it as a preposterous rumour. After struggling for fifteen minutes he heard a loud voice magically amplified announce that they were evacuating St. Mungo's due to an approaching magical fire out of control. The voice also was requesting competent Wizards and Witches to assist in putting out the incoming fire. Hugo battled with himself over his options, he realised that finding his wife and newborn in this madhouse was impossible and his best course of action was to help protect the hospital from the approaching fire.

The pilot of the British Airwaves Boeing 747 flying from New York to Heathrow was tired from the flight and being held in this holding pattern awaiting instructions to land as the airport was severely backlogged. He was startled awake when all the instruments went dark. He panicked when he realised that he had no control, he looked out the window to try and get his bearings as the plane was originally in a holding pattern waiting to land. He was shocked to see two large planes suffer a mid air collision. After a few seconds the tearing metal must of sparked resulting in a large fireball above the city. The plane was rapidly losing altitude and the controls were not responding, he frantically tried to restart the flight computer but it refused to start. The doomed airliner smashed into Little Whinging destroying the small town. Aviation fuel sloshed everywhere before igniting on a small fire in the hearth of a four bedroom house among the debris. The resulting fire destroyed the town killing the clean up crew trying to clean up after the freak tornadoes.

Dudley Dursley gawked from the passenger seat of his father's hire car as his own was wreaked during the storm. They pair were returning from a social gathering at the Men's club. Vernon thought that attending the event with Dudley would help his career. They were travelling back to the hotel that the House insurance had provided when they had seen the large plane crash near their house. Vernon decided to go have a look for himself and was shocked to see his neighbourhood was the epicentre of the crash. As Vernon drove back he grumbled about the need to find a new house.

Dudley, on the other hand wondered what had happened to Harry as he had not seen him since the storm and he felt that he owed Harry his life. He may not of been able to see the monster but he would never forget the feeling of despair and helplessness, the monster had caused. He was grateful to have had Harry there to help even if it took almost a year to realise it. The catalyst of this change of heart was the unexpected death of his friend Piers. Piers was struck down by a lorry on his way to the shops to buy cigarettes over the Christmas. The delivery lorry had skidded on ice; the death caused Dudley to review his life, which was an unpleasant experience for him.

Meanwhile oblivious to the happenings in London, Harry was slowly approaching the Gaunt house with a degree of trepidation. He stopped at the front door and knelt down. He tried to reach a meditative state near such a building with its history but found that it was very difficult. He slowly relaxed and let his magical senses flow trying to find the ring or any traps. After being in this state for maybe four hours, his exploring magic suddenly found the ring in a small golden box under some floorboards within the building and summoned it via sphere. His magic flooded the golden box overriding the protection charms. Once the charms protecting the box were destroyed Harry removed the ring and laid it on the ground. He repeated his actions at Grimmauld and destroyed the soul fragment however a strange thing happened the stone in the ring glowed briefly before a ghostly form appeared out of the stone. The ghost had a green-blue colour.

"Hello, young man, you are one of the very few to travel between realms. Magic that high always carries a cost. In this case I'm afraid you have destroyed one of the Deathly Hallows, the ring is now only a worthless gaudy bauble."

The ghost faded away in to nothing leaving a perplexed wizard. Harry returned the ring to the box and returned both to where he found them and found that there was no magical impression from them at all. He slowly forced some magic into it so that it would not stick out from its surroundings and departed via travelling sphere home to Hermione.

Harry Sphered into Hermione's bedroom and glanced at the clock. He frowned when he realised it was almost two in the morning. He went to the bathroom to shower before joining Hermione in bed but found that the light did not work when he went to switch it on. He touched the lion within so that he could see in the dark and started the shower. He frowned; there was no hot water so he cast a spell that he would often use in the manor, as the old house would run out of hot water at the worst times. The spell caused the water coming out of the showerhead to be at a comfortably warm temperature. When finished showering and drying his hair magically he joined Hermione in bed. Spooning in behind her and drifted off to sleep glad that he had managed to destroy two of Riddles Horcruxes. He did not know what to make of the ghostly statement that one of the Deathly Hallows was destroyed he would worry about it later.

A/N Please Review.


	5. Chapter 5

Draft 1

For disclaimer see first chapter's notes.

'' Equals thoughts and mind speak.

"" Equals Speech and quotations.

Warning: Major and minor character deaths from this chapter on.

Thanks to my Proof reader: Tumshie

Chapter Five

Draco Malfoy was getting worried; He was given the task to kill Albus Dumbledore a task he felt was beyond him. He had discovered the broken vanishing cabinet in Hogwarts and decided to carry a piece with him to find its twin, as he thought having a swift way to secretly leave the school would help him in getting out with no one knowing. However, he still needed to finish the repairs, he was pleased to have eventually found it's twin and after bartering with the fool he handed over some forged Galleons. The cabinet was packed up and shrunk to fit in a pocket; he just had to put it in his pocket after paying for it. He had just finished the transaction when he saw a flash of light out side the shop, he reached out for his purchase and made to grab for it. The shockwave upset everything on the counter causing the shrunken cabinet to fall on to the shop floor. His bent over form was blasted into another vanishing cabinet and the slam of the cabinet's doors echoed loudly in the confined space. He heard another bang then nothing, after an hour he tried to open the door but nothing happened. He had been banging for attention for six hours and still nothing, he had also tried Apparation, which he had illegally learnt, his Father had obtained a forged licence for him to use as he said it was a very useful skill to have. He had created this plan and was hopeful it would work, as he did not want to consider the consequences of failure. He drifted off to sleep exhausted at his futile attempts of escape from the cabinet.

Hugh gratefully accepted the mug of coffee from the Healer. The sun was rising, it had been a long night battling the inferno, and it was a very stubborn fire that refused to go out. Normally when wizards tackled fires they went out like a Muggle electrical light, it was the reason that there was no Wizard Fire Brigade in existence. Hugh was relived that the fire had not reached St. Mungo's. He was also relieved to see his staff safe, helping out just like him. He was dismayed to find his present to his first-born tattered and torn on the floor, from all of last night's foot traffic. He thought he would need to get a replacement teddy bear. Another Healer came over and asked him to follow, as the Healer would bring him to his Wife and Daughter. He gladly followed the Healer to his family.

Albus Dumbledore called the meeting to order it was nine o'clock in the morning following the explosion that wiped out the shopping district of magical London. Due to security concerns following the damage to the painting in number twelve, the meeting was now held in an expanded Shrieking Shack. It was a temporary solution and Mad-eye was looking after storage of the Orders equipment until a suitable replacement for Grimmauld Place could be found. Albus frowned, as it was the second meeting in a row that Minerva had missed, however she was not the only one missing from the meeting. He had called all the members of the Order. Shack, Tonks, and Arthur Weasley were busy working at the Ministry. As the Ministry had called in all staff to work on the clean up and to start the massive Obliviation operation to keep the Muggles unaware of the magic world.

Snape was expected to be late, as he had reported that Voldemort had recalled all his followers for a massive meeting earlier this morning. Also missing were the guard detail that was stationed at Privet Drive in case Harry showed up again. Before the meeting, Albus had checked up on one of his devices that showed the state of the wards surrounding number four, they revealed that the wards had gone down. He Apparated to the house to find the whole area destroyed by fire. He had found Fletcher's corpse among the debris and after exploring more of the area he found the body of Mrs. Figg along with her dead cats. From checking the area and noticing bits of a plane everywhere, he decided it must have been a Muggle accident.

Molly reported her sons' miraculous escape from the explosion and their belief that it came from within Diagon Alley, therefore ruling out a Muggle bomb. The wards over the area protected the buildings during the Blitz from dropping bombs so the people around the table were confident that it was not a Muggle attack. The members of the Order had no idea at causality figures for the blast. Reports also came in that St. Mungo's had narrowly escaped being damaged by the resultant fire that followed the explosion. Various members reported that there were no warnings for the explosion.

Just as Albus considered finishing the meeting a haggard Severus Snape entered to report on his earlier meeting with the Death Eaters. From Serverus' report the Order learnt one important fact that Voldemort did not order the attack or sanction any of his followers. Severus had actually stated that Voldemort was very angry at the attack, as he wanted to rule the Wizarding World and not destroy it. He told his followers that his tools were terror and intimidation and the attack on Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley was counter-productive, as it would likely rally the Witches and Wizards after the horrific blast. Severus also reported that many of Voldemort's lesser minions had died while gathering supplies for their up coming missions. Albus found this knowledge unsettling as both the attack and the damaged portrait indicated a new player in the conflict. After ending the meeting, Albus returned to his office to ponder these new developments and how they affected his plans to beat Voldemort.

Albus left the office after hours pondering of these new developments to follow up on a hunch of his about how Tom Marvolo Riddle became immortal as Lord Voldemort. He believed that Tom had created Horcruxes, one of which he believed was left in the Gaunt family home in Little Hangleton. He Apparated just outside the town with a small pop. His finely tuned magical senses from his advancing years helped him to navigate around the house looking for the soul fragment. He had meant to come sooner but unforeseen circumstances such as the weather and potions problems had delayed him by about three weeks. This potions puzzle was most distracting and it was not good to know that Tom was not behind these two new developments. He furtively searched all day for the Horcrux but did not find it only a few useless knick-knacks such as a small tarnished gold box, nothing of significance. In dismay he returned to Hogwarts to see if any of his repaired magical tools could divine Harry's whereabouts.

Hermione slowly awoke to the light streaming in through the window. She glanced at the old fashioned bronze wind up alarm clock to check the time and was shocked to find it was half ten. In a panic at having missed their scheduled appointment with Harry's Solicitor, she struggled to try and get up but found herself pinned to the bed by Harry spooning in behind her. Reluctantly she awoke Harry so that she could get up and relieve her painfully full bladder. Harry was still groggy from yesterday's adventure and rolled over to sleep. Hermione sighed in annoyance at Harry's antics and went to the kitchen to get some coffee so that it would help her wake up. The couple had found that one downside of sharing their mind and magic was that if one of them was very tired, they both were. This was the reason that Hermione had slept in even after going to bed early last night at about half ten.

She was surprised to see her parents still at home and not at work. Jane said that none of the electrical appliances were working for some reason and also the two cars would not start. Frank said the strange thing was that the whole neighbourhood was affected. Frank said that their neighbour Tom Collins from two doors down was called in last night to help out after a large explosion in London yesterday evening. The rumour on the grapevine of the neighbourhood was of a nuclear bomb going off and destroying most of London. Another was that the Americans had attacked in annoyance at the current government's practices, clearly barking. After hearing all the different and clashing rumours Frank was at a loss at what to believe any more.

Hermione swiftly got dressed after a small breakfast of coffee and toast, and left for the Solicitor's office to apologise. She knew that Harry would most likely be out for most of the day from magical exhaustion. Harry had been a lot more careful, hoping to avoid a repeat of his nightmare of Hermione being tortured and killed, however it had delayed him in his search, meaning that his search had taken much longer than anticipated. Hermione decided to Sphere to a short distance away from the Leaky Cauldron and appeared into what felt like hell. The ground was hot under foot and smoke swirled all around in the sunshine casting the surrounding area into areas of bright light and dense darkness.

She gasped in shock as she surveyed the immense damage, she realised she could see right through the demolished pub and the magical street beyond. The only structure still standing was the charred black bank. It stood as a lonely edifice among the rubble. Hermione realised that she was not alone as there were many witches and wizards poring over the rubble like ants, looking for any survivors. Hermione approached a Wizard in shabby robes to ask what had happened. She was surprised to come face to face with a sickly Professor Lupin. Hermione's refined senses could tell that the Professor was in a very bad way. She could tell that his condition was getting worse; his curse of the wolf was slowly killing him. His hair was almost greyish white and thinning out. His eyes were sunk in his gaunt face and he looked haunted with much pain. She could tell that he was not eating and looked like the walking dead.

A young good-looking Witch surprised Remus by tapping him on his shoulder. He thought he recognised her scent and was shocked to discover he recognized her as Hermione Granger, one of Harry's friends, she was asking him what had happened. He almost didn't recognise her at all, for a woman stood before him, not a teenage girl. He explained all that he and the Order knew about the large explosion and how they were looking for Harry. She responded by saying she had received a letter from a Solicitor about Sirius' last Will and Testament, and did not know what to do. Remus said he was aware that one of the Solicitors called Wallace had survived and had helped out last night. Hermione responded that he was the one she was due to meet but did not look likely to happen now. Remus was surprised when Hermione removed a small folding mirror from her pocket, and handed it to him. He took it when she explained it was for him to keep in touch with her.

He had the feeling from her scent that she knew where Harry was. As he could detect faint traces of Harry in her unusual scent. He decided to keep this knowledge to himself for now and returned to his task in helping with the clean up operation as his gut feeling told him that Harry was safe and well. When he turned to ask Hermione another question that was nagging him he found that she was gone as if into thin air. He frowned as he did not hear the telltale pop of Apparation. Shaking his head he went back to work and was surprised to find a small wicker basket of food at his feet. He opened the basket and was pleasantly surprised to find that the food left behind was carefully chosen for his particular diet. He wondered how Hermione knew to leave the food. He was not feeling well after the last dose of Wolfsbane had badly reacted with him. He found that it was hard to keep anything down and Poppy had said that she could do nothing as Potions were failing all over the place. Remus hurried home to eat, as he suddenly felt ravenous. After eating the food in the basket he enjoyed his first peaceful night's sleep since his last transformation on a happy stomach.

Harry awoke feeling refreshed after his time in bed. He had reluctantly let go of Hermione earlier so that she could start her day. After a shower he went downstairs to prepare lunch as he had gathered, from his connection to Hermione, it was almost two in the afternoon. He already knew about Hermione's little adventure as she had relayed it to him when he woke up. He already knew that things were happening differently than in the last two novels. He could tell Hermione was worried about something, she had already sent Hedwig to the Solicitor about the missed appointment, and about how to contact them about rescheduling.

Harry's first task in preparing lunch was to repair the damaged electrical appliances so that he could cook. Hermione already explained that it was her belief that the explosion was magical, as she had felt buffeted by all the excess magical energy from all the destroyed wards around the Magical shopping area. Hermione was stuck in the study after deciding to research some problem she had just come across and said she would share the problem with him later, after a little more research.

Harry found that just like at Hogwarts, he had to coax his studious wife out of the Granger study and to join the rest of the family at the dinner table for a late lunch. Conversation around the table consisted of the attack on London, and what the Solicitor wanted with Harry. After dinner Hermione retreated to the study to continue her research and Harry decided to join her to review the files that the Ministry had on him. Hedwig returned from delivering the letter with a response from the Solicitor.

_Dear Hermione,_

_Thank you for your concern over my well being. I am currently at St. Mungo's with Helen, my wife, and Clare, my newborn daughter. In your husband's case, he was fortunate that I had taken the file with me, as my original intention was to review the file before the meeting scheduled for this morning. Due to the fact I no longer have a business premises to conduct the meeting, could I please conduct the meeting at your current location. I am currently staying in my wife's hospital room awaiting your instruction. Give my regards to Harry. I am afraid it would be best to speak in person about the issue with the name Potter-Black, as it is relevant to Lord Black's wishes._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Hugh Wallace_

_Wizarding Solicitor_

Hermione showed the letter to Harry after reading it. Harry swiftly drafted a letter saying that Hugh could be picked up just outside St. Mungo's tomorrow morning at nine. The couple received a response saying that was fine and that he would be wearing a pink tie and grey robes stood on the steps of St. Mungo's awaiting the pick up.

Hermione spent the rest of the day poring over the files that Harry had retrieved from the Ministry as she had hit a brick wall in her other research. She was startled to discover that the Magical world had Lords as the Heads of families. For example, Lucius Malfoy was Head of his family and a Lord. From her understanding, Harry was one too. However she had learnt that it was the old way for governing the Magical world, and the Ministry was installed to replace the old ways even though the old ways were not struck off the books. She discovered that most, if not all, the Purebloods owed fealty and Vaults rights to the Lord Black, she shuddered at the thought of someone like Draco, the nearest male blood relative taking up as Head of the family.

She sighed, as the magical world was still very much a boys own club when it came to matters such as this. She had originally wanted to research a way to help Professor Lupin with his problem, but got distracted on all the files on known Death Eaters after hitting a brick wall, maybe Harry could raid the Ministry archives for information on Werewolves. She was surprised at how most of the people contained in the files were all interrelated even to families such as the Bones or Longbottoms. It was only after going through the files that she realised that the Pureblood community was so small with less than fifty individual Pureblood families all interrelated. She smirked as she thought that might explain the two mutes following Malfoy around like automatons. Harry had to nag her to come to bed by sending her sexy images of him pleasuring her all night. She gave in as she could not concentrate any long with all these sexy images floating around her head. The clock showed the time as half past two in the morning.

Hugh Wallace stood at the entrance to St. Mungo's waiting to meet his client, hoping that by trying to keep his appointments it would help him overcome the shock at how close he came to losing his life. Hugh was pulled from his thoughts when he felt a magical construct snap around him and then dissolve almost as fast. He was shocked to find that he was no longer on the street but in a beautifully furnished sitting room of an obviously Muggle home. He studied his captor and was surprised to be looking at an athletic Muggle, as he felt no magic coming from the individual in front of him. He had shaggy, unruly, black hair and piercing green eyes. He wore a faded grey T-shirt with a yellow print on it of a silhouetted head, shot through with the bullet just after passing through the head. He was also wearing a shabby pair of navy jeans and appeared to be barefoot. A woman barrelled into the room giving out about how he was not dressed enough to meet his Solicitor. The woman was in complete contrast to the young man, wearing a smart summer trouser suit in a light grey colour with a black blouse. Hugh was taken back at the contrast in dress sense between the couple.

The smartly dressed woman turned to him and said. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you there. I am Hermione, and this is Harry Potter." As she gestured to the youth in the strange T-shirt. It appeared he had only gotten out of the shower, as his hair was shiny and still damp.

The man Harry smiled sheepish and trust out his hand in greeting. Hugh was stunned as the couple could not be magical, as they did not feel magical.

Hugh stated "This must be a mistake I have to meet a wizard named Harry Potter"

Hugh took a pace back and brandished his wand hoping to stun the two Muggles and make his escape.

The man chuckled at Hugh's actions and calmly moved his outstretched hand and pushed up the hair covering his forehead revealing the famous scar. Hugh studied the face and scar. 'The scar is in the right place and the expected shape. His eyes are green but he is not wearing glasses.'

"How do I know you are really Harry Potter?"

"You are the one that asked to talk to us about Sirius." Responded the man and suddenly he was in possession of Hugh's brandished wand, leaving Hugh with an outstretched hand holding nothing. Hugh gasped in shock, as he had never had his wand removed from his grip like that as the man claiming to be Harry never moved.

"Why did you take my wand? More to the point, how?"

"No one threatens my wife and you looked likely to do something with your wand and we don't want to receive a letter from the Ministry about under-age magic."

"Please prove who you are so we can get started." Sighed Hugh, as he was severely unbalanced after all that has happened over the last thirty-six hours.

An older woman came in with a tray of tea and biscuits she looked like an older sister of the woman in the business suit who had introduced herself as Hermione. Hermione produced all the letters from Hugh and stated that Harry had an operation on his eyes and no longer needed glasses. Hugh sat mulling over the evidence in front of him and realised that they had to be who he was looking for and one security check would be a drop of Potter blood on the blood locks on some of the documents he had with him, which he could not open. He removed a file from his satchel and passed it over to Harry to open and explained it needed a drop of blood for the magical imprint. Hugh gasped in shock when Harry seemed to pass his hand over the document and a pinkish white glow passed from his hand to the document. The parchment scroll unrolled and Harry began to read.

_11__th_ _May 1996_

_Dear Harry,_

_If you're reading this it means I kicked the bucket and for that I am terribly sorry. Ever since I escaped from prison I have written these terrible letters updating_ _them monthly. I just hope that I died with a smile on my face and took one of those bastards with me. I hope you'll forgive me as I have adopted you into the family, which means you're a Black now, my Heir for what it's worth. I have learnt that the family fortune is gone all that is left is the old place and all of it's contents._

_I have had a lot of time to think stuck here as I write this letter. Yesterday I found my old Marauders journal. My does it remind me of happier times. I want you to continue the good work of the Marauders while stuck in school. It'll be a good distraction from my death and the war. But most of all, I want you to seize the day, live, and above all smile once in a while. You'll find my old journal behind the painting of the nude woman in the third bedroom on the left on the second floor. Give the map's password to the lovely lass and she will hand over the goods._

_Find love, find a woman and settle down, by the way don't miss what's right under your nose. Look out for red sirens and old coots and squish the toad woman. Our furry friend is trustworthy, ginger mummy bear is overbearing and liable to do anything, so watch out. The carrot-topped twins are rivals in your designated task so make your godfather proud._

_This is not goodbye. But good luck, beat snake lips and have lots of pups._

_Sirius._

Hermione gently took the piece of parchment and pulled the quietly weeping Harry into an embrace. Harry had thought that he had gotten over the death of Sirius, but the letter brought it all back, another person out of his life forever. Hermione frowned at the riddles contained in the letter but decided to puzzle them out later.

Hugh gave the couple a few minutes for Harry to compose himself before he detailed the contents of Sirius' will. Hermione was given access rights to the vast Black library. Harry inherited the empty Black money vault along with another vault containing dark objects and other heirlooms the Blacks had accumulated over the years. Hugh explained that most of the money in the Black vault was used to purchase a Firebolt a few years ago. Hugh also said that there was a property in London that was the Black family home. Two other properties existed, one in the South of France in unknown condition and a small hunting lodge in the Scottish Highlands, in a poor state of repair.

Hugh then produced the second Will. It was the joint Will of Lily and James Potter. The Potters being aware they were going to die, had saved up their money to create the Trust Fund Harry was entitled to. They also left him their house in Godric's Hollow, unfortunately, Hugh explained the house was badly damaged and never repaired and served as a memorial to Harry's parents. Also listed in the Will were the people Harry would stay with when they died. The list was thus:

In the event of our death Harry is to be left with one of the following:

Sirius Black

Remus Lupin

Peter Pettigrew

Longbottom Family

Bones Family

Bauer Family

Minerva McGonagall

O'Neill Family

And under **no** circumstances is Harry to be put in the care of Vernon Dursley.

Harry scanned the list wondering who the O'Neill's and Bauer's were and wondered why the Weasleys were not on the list.

"Who are the O'Neill's and Bauer's, as I have never heard of them?"

"The O'Neill's were friends of your parents and moved to the States about fifteen years ago as far as I know. I don't know about the Bauer's as I have never heard of them."

"Your letter listed three Wills?"

"Yes the third is the Gryffindor Will, which entitles you to a seat on the Board of Governors for Hogwarts, unfortunately the vault of Godric Gryffindor is mostly empty and no one knows where any of his historic possessions are. So the only things left are honorifics such as Lord Gryffindor, unfortunately the position has no power now only as an honorary title."

"What like a Muggle Knighthood?" asked Hermione.

"Yes that's right the Heads of families are called Lords just like a Knight is called Sir. It has no power as such except as head of a family."

"Oh, okay."

"In the old times before the Wizengamot and the Ministry, the Heads of families, the Lords were in charge and ran things."

"So as you have taken the role of my Solicitor in the reading of the Wills, does that mean that you work for me now and keep my secrets?"

"Yes, yes it does."

"Good, how did you know about my marriage to Hermione?"

"I am your family's Solicitor and as such have access to a book that records such matters. It indicated to me that you have come of age and are wed to Hermione."

"Does anyone else know about the marriage, and is it legal?"

"Only my staff who are very discrete and will keep it to themselves, and yes, in magical law it is legal as it is recorded as a full magical ceremony. I can go through why it is legal if you like?"

"Maybe later. If I tell you some thing in confidence, will you keep it secret?"

"Yes I will. I take client confidentiality very seriously."

"Okay, have you time to work through some files with Hermione?"

"Well, at the moment I have only one client due to the fact the files for my other clients were destroyed, so I guess I could help."

"Good, follow Hermione into the study and I'll go and prepare lunch."

Hugh followed Hermione to the study and gasped as he saw all the Ministry files in stacks on the floor of the room.

"Where did they all come from?" He noticed the stamp of the Ministry on the cover of the files and turned to Hermione and asked, "How did you get them?"

"You do _not_ want to know, believe me."

Hugh nodded wondering how the pair had broken into the Ministry of Magic undetected. The two of them got down to work, it was obvious why he was shown the files as the couple had a lot of intelligent questions about the files the Ministry had on it's citizens.

George and Fred Weasley sat in their bedroom in the Burrow contemplating their next move. Their shop in Diagon Alley was totally destroyed. They had very little gold in the bank only one hundred and eight Galleons, not enough to restart the business. They needed a place to research the problem affecting most of their products. Once it was solved, they would need a place to manufacture new stock. There was the added problem of their worried mother not letting them out of her sight.

"Well what do we do eh?"

"Don't know, do you think little Harrykins will fund us again?"

"Maybe, Maybe not. Harry is missing . . . "

" . . . Presumed kidnapped by the Order. They won't let us join . . ."

" . . . We're too young, and Mum is blocking us from joining . . ."

"DINNER!!" Came booming from the kitchen ending the twins brainstorming session. They reluctantly left their old bedroom and went downstairs for dinner.

Ron Weasley sat worried in his room reading the Quidditch '95-'96 review of the season just past. Dumbledore had said that Harry and Hermione would be spending the summer here, but now Harry was missing and the twins had said they overheard that his house at Privet Drive had been destroyed. Hermione had not responded to the letters he had sent. He was at a Healer's appointment at St. Mungo's the day after the explosion and had seen the chaos at the hospital. There were periods he had no memory of at all after he had accidentally summoned that brain. The Healers were worried about something but would not share it with him he did not like that. He wondered where Harry was, what he was up to, was he all right? These questions and more ran through his thoughts about his bespectacled friend. He also wondered about the lack of letters from Hermione, as in previous years she would send loads of letters maybe she was following Dumbledore's orders about keeping communication to a minimum this summer. He was pulled from his brooding by a shout for dinner by his mother, he slowly left his bedroom and went to join the family for dinner.

Hugh was pulled from his review about the file the Ministry had on the Lestrange family stretching back over two hundred years, by a ginger blur that landed on the parchment Hermione was reading. Hermione was sitting across from him diligently reviewing the large number of files stopping once in awhile to ask about a legal detail contained in the complicated jargon laden document.

"Crookshanks!!" Exclaimed a startled Hermione at having her familiar land on the document she was trying to understand.

"Oh, did you miss me? Oh, I'm so sorry I almost forgot about you, where were you?" Babbled an excited Hermione as she got reacquainted with her familiar, with all that was going on she was shamed to admit that she had forgotten about her familiar Crookshanks the cat.

'Yes, I did miss you, it was only seven risings of the sun since I last saw you.' Thought Crookshanks, the cat started to purr as her mistress patted him and scratched behind his ears.

Hugh observed as Hermione greeted the cat and he was not surprised to see that it was a Knezele half-breed. He wondered at why she had stopped petting her familiar and her slack mouth. She appeared to be stunned for some reason. He shook his head and returned to the files and ignored the drama playing out at the other end of the table.

Hermione looked stunned at her familiar, she knew she could read minds after learning the skill with Harry, but being able to talk to her familiar was shocking.

'Why did you stop?' Groused Crookshanks as he pushed his head up into her still hand.

"Did you talk?" Asked Hermione.

"No." Said Hugh looking up from his review about a Ministry file on the Malfoys and how the file was supposedly buried.

Hermione however did not hear him as she was staring at her familiar in puzzlement.

'Pet me, pet me, pet me.' The mantra repeated as Crookshanks tried to get Hermione to continue to massage his head.

Hugh looked up again from his files as he sensed another person enter the room. He was still surprised that Harry Potter did not need glasses. Hugh felt that he was holding on to his sanity by a thread. First the explosion, then his daughter's birth, he hoped working through the day would help but he was swiftly learning that working for the Potter-Blacks was bad for ones health, as they were both barking mad. It appeared that Hermione thought she could understand her damn cat, Kneazele, whatever. He sighed and left the room trying to find a soothing mug of coffee.

Harry looked at Crookshanks and was surprised that he could hear the mantra coming from the cat's mind. He felt that he had a bond with Hedwig but had never been conscious of it till now. Hermione's surprise at this new-found gift had drawn him to the room. He could tell by the way her mind sped up that she was studying all the implications from her new understandings of Crookshanks. While in the other reality, Hermione had spent some free time helping out in an animal shelter for domestic cats and dogs, but the animals never communicated verbally like Crookshanks was doing now. Harry was pulled from his musing from the running commentary coming from the feline.

'Yes, oh that feels good.' Purred the contented cat as Hermione absent-mindedly petted him as she worried through this new quirk in her and Harry's developing skill sets.

'Oh look it's white wings, hello!'

Hedwig hooted a greeting as she swooped over to Harry's shoulder. Harry ruffled her breast feathers in greeting. Harry looked into Hedwig's eyes hoping he could understand her like the couple could understand Crookshanks. Hedwig's head swivelled to stare at the busy Hugh at the study table and turned back to Harry with a questioning gaze. Harry chuckled at Hedwig's antics and softly explained to the intelligent bird all about the solicitor. Hermione smiled at Harry's antics as Crookshanks fell asleep on her lap.

Mark Fouler sat in front of his workstation trying to create a connection with a top secret American spy satellite in orbit over the Baltic region. His superior Mr. X had ordered him to acquire its services in retaliation for the London Explosion. Mark knew why he was given the task as he had entered the research and development arm of MI6 after being arrested for hacking into CIA computers. British Intelligence had staged his death after his arrest and the Americans attempts at deportation. It took him about six months to adapt to his new life working for the government instead of against the establishment. Mark was pulled from his thoughts as his screen flashed up a new window showing he now had control of the American's newest and most powerful spy satellite in existence. As per his instructions from Mr. X he transferred control to Mr. D whom was working in another building.

After completing his job his extension rang, an electronically disguised voice started to speak. "Good work, Fouler, you're now on paid leave, take a month, visit Australia, understood."

"Yes sir." Mark silently left his desk wondering what Mr. D was going to use the spy bird for.

The Ministry clerical officer shook his head in dismay as he reviewed the next O.W.L. results to by posted out to students. After the total annihilation of Diagon Alley the Ministry was in total chaos, the end result being the delay in posting out the results of both the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. What drew the clerk's attention was the fact that every result he readied for posting showed that all the student had failed the Potion's exam. No one had brewed a successful potion in exam conditions. The clerk decided that he had enough to bring it to Griselda Marchbanks attention.

Severus was in foul mood he had to babysit the incompetent Wormtail as Voldemort had ordered the snivelling rat to stay with him. To make matters worse, Narcissa had sent an owl saying that Draco was missing. Seemingly his godson was at Diagon Alley when the shopping district was wiped out by unknown means. It appeared that the Weasleys were not the only family to own a family clock. The annoying windbag used it to smother her children, no wonder the two youngest Weasley spawn had problems. Narcissa had said that the clock showed that Draco had survived the trip to the Alley but was now missing as his hand on the Malfoy clock was spinning aimlessly.

Due to the fact he was sharing space with the little rodent Severus found he needed one reason not to end the cretin's life every time he woke up. Severus felt that he was responsible for Lily's death, beside the fact that he had relayed what he knew of the prophesy to Voldemort all those years ago. What was annoying about Potter's spawn was that he looked like Potter but was more like Lily than he wanted to admit and he shared his mother's eyes.

Severus felt the compulsion from his promise to carry out Draco's designated mission. 'Maybe I should tell the old coot about certain plans in motion.'

To make matters worse all his research on various potions was worthless as in the last six months all of his experiments and regular potions were failing. At first he thought it was due to stress from having to suffer Longbottom's incompetence in class. But he had taught the fool for the last five years and only over the last six months had it became apparent that the potions were failing. He was pulled from his thoughts as his latest attempt to brew blood-replenishing potion ate through the bottom of another cauldron. In frustration he blasted the disaster across the room narrowly missing the sleeping Wormtail. Severus cursed as he hoped he would hit the excuse of a wizard with the flying cauldron. Wormtail awoke at the loud clatter the cauldron made hitting the wall above where he slept. The pitiful rat scowled at Severus before scurrying away from the debris of the ruined cauldron.

Severus sighed and with a slash of his wand the room was magically cleaned and repaired. 'At least the pathetic fool is out of sight for now.' Severus thought.

An owl swooped in through a magical window dropped a scroll on to the workbench and flew off again. Severus frowned at this action and slowly panned his wand down the scroll divining any hidden traps cast upon the innocent looking scroll. After being satisfied there was just a simple confidentiality charm cast on it, indicating that it had come from the Ministry. Curious as to what the Ministry wanted of Severus, he slowly unrolled the scroll and began to read.

In the inky blackness of space the most sophisticated satellite ever launched in to space fired up its thrusters to change its orbit around the world. The States had secretly sent up the satellite in three stages over many months. Once finished the satellite was almost as big as the old sky-lab experiment of the seventies. The orbiting satellite was painted black to blend into the void, and was listed as a simple spy satellite owned by the Air Force. However the satellite was armed with twelve anti-ballistic missiles, six forty mega-tonne nuclear missiles and the worlds most advanced ground penetrating radar and camera system. The operator on terra firma only wanted access to the camera and radar.

Mr. D's hands flew expertly over the computer keys as he ordered full scans of England in his quest to locate the terrorists behind the blast that almost returned England back to the stone age and almost crashed the world economy. The satellite was making its fourth pass as the images were beamed down to his work station. He cursed as he realised that only half of the photos from the first pass were sent down. They only showed the bottom half of the British Isles and parts of Northern France. He tried to re-establish contact with the satellite but found that he could not. Cursing he brought what he had to the other members of the twenty-six person committee.

Sergeant Siller's eyes widened, as he realised he no longer had control of Blue Bird One. Blue Bird One was a two hundred million dollar spy and weapons platform tasked with protecting US skies it was commissioned in the late eighties but the last components were only installed last month. It appeared that someone had hacked control of the satellite. He phoned his superior, General West about the breach in security as the automated systems sounded an alarm in the control room. Sergeant Siller sat in tense silence as he watched the instructions the satellite was being sent by an unknown operator. He contacted General West as he realised the weapons and spy platform was being aimed at the British Isles with the satellite's orbit flying just west of Moscow. After the incident in London the General was taking no chances and relayed orders from the White House to destroy the renegade satellite.

Sergeant Siller sighed in relief when he discovered that he had access to the back up controls for Blue Bird One. He inputted the self-destruct code and pressed enter. Today was not a good day for Sergeant Siller. High above, the satellite's computer received the destruct code and fired up its thrusters. The satellite rotated about its axis and aimed its missiles out into space. When the computer was satisfied that the missiles were pointing away from Earth it fired all of its weapons out into space. After the twelve anti-ballistic missiles had travelled two hundred miles they exploded. The six nukes travelled almost a million miles before self-destructing safely in the void of space. Once the on board computer was satisfied it ignited the onboard demolition pack rendering the most expensive and advanced satellite ever launched worthless space junk.

Mr. D entered the darkened conference room in trepidation after partially completing his task. The room was a large rectangle, with two hanging down lighters lighting the oval conference table shrouding the twenty-five seated around the table in darkness. Between the two down lighters hung a video projector hooked up to the computer network streaming images from the partially downloaded images from Blue Bird One. The room was filled with a low buzz of sound of the various members quietly discussing the latest happenings. Silence fell as Mr. D. approached the table and began to relay his findings. He explained that the Americans had developed spy technology that could see through magical wards. He was appointed this task from Mr. X due to the fact his son was a wizard. From determining the epicentre of the explosion it was decided that the attack was against the magicals.

However, the people in the room felt that a weighted response was required after the very high financial cost and the high death toll incurred in this war between wizards had eventually passed over in to the normal world. Mr. D outlined a large manor house with at least fifty confirmed magical signatures hidden behind a level five ward. Mr. C stated that the SAS under going training from Captain Pennysworth were ready for any upcoming spill over from over eager wizards carrying out attacks on helpless normals. Mr. X put a motion before the board to attack the manor and any persons found on the premises. It narrowly passed, fourteen agreeing to the attack and twelve against. Mr. O was the most vocal opponent saying that they did not have enough intelligence to determine the person or group responsible for the blast in London. After green lighting the mission Mr C. was sent to brief Captain Pennysworth and his men about their upcoming raid, with the orders shoot to kill and with explicit instructions their was to be no survivors as the committee did not want any reprisal attacks.

Percy Weasley sighed in relief as he sunk into his office chair. It was a trying couple of days after the attack on Diagon Alley. He had just returned from helping to restore the various wards surrounding the devastated shopping district of Diagon and Knockturn Alleys and the surrounding lanes. It had taken four days of wizards working shifts in rotation to restore the wards. He pulled his wand and made a cup of tea, which he fortified, with a small dose of Firewhisky from a hip-flask he kept in his pocket. It was late in the evening and he was not looking forward to working his second shift. All surviving staff were on double shift duty due to the fact the over a third of the staff in the Ministry were missing.

He looked up when he heard a knock on his door. He was not surprised to see his Father still at work even though it was pushing eight in the evening. Arthur said hello in greeting and slumped in to a conjured sofa. Percy wordlessly prepared a second cup of tea identical to his own. Arthur gratefully accepted the beverage and the pair began to discus the fact that a lot of high-ranking Ministry workers were missing for over three months and the fact that Fudge and now Scrimgeour were hiding the fact from the general public. Arthur was pulled from his discussion with his son, when a purple ball of fire flashed past and impacted Percy on the shoulder. Percy winced in agony as the spell ate through his clothes and started to affect his right lung, making it very difficult to breathe. Due to the lack of oxygen reaching his brain Percy slumped forward on to his desk.

The assailant cursed that he missed before firing the same curse again into Percy's office. Arthur slashed his wand at the office door, forcing it to slam shut. The spell hit the glass in the upper part of the door spraying glass all over the interior of the small office. Arthur fired a simple Stupefy in retaliation. The assailant cursed at the return fire coming through the damaged door. Arthur turned to check on his injured son all the while keeping an eye on the door. Arthur's eyes widened in shock as he saw a fiery pack of wolves came roaring in through the doorway. He grabbed his son's hand and went to Apparate out of danger, as he knew of no spell to stop Fiendfyre. He was puzzled when he realised that he could not Apparate. Then it slowly dawned on him the building was heavily warded against Apparation. The fire suppression charms went off dousing the office in water but it had no effect on the fire. The fire blocked the doorway he knew he was trapped. Thinking quickly he took off his outer robes and cast all the flame retardant spells and charms he knew on it. The he cast an enlarging charm to make the cloak bigger. He picked up Percy and slung him over his shoulder and slung the cloak over the pair of them. Hoping to Merlin this worked he ran to the door through the inferno. Sweat poured of him in floods but his charms held, he was nearly through the doorway when a piece of the ceiling fell and knocked him out.

Claxons blared throughout the Ministry indicating a fire. As Wizards and Witches rushed to stop the fire no one noticed a dark shadow slink by to freedom. The first Witch on the scene gasped when she realised it was an inferno caused by Fiendfyre. As indicated by the fiery forms of the pack of wolves stuffed into the corridor. The fire suppression charms were failing and it would not be long before the fire spread to other sections of the Ministry. Fortunately over a hundred Witches and Wizards had responded and after about three hours they managed to successfully extinguish the inferno. The Auror's immediately started an investigation to determine the cause of the Fiendfyre fuelled inferno. They traced the fire back to Percy Weasley's office and found a form on the threshold of the office. One of the Auror's gasped as she pulled off the smouldering robe to find two bodies underneath. Auror Tonks panned her wand down the two bodies casting medical detection spells. She sighed with relief when Percy gasped in agony as he came round. Tonks screamed for a Healer knowing that with the problem with potions that it was unlikely that Percy would recover. The Healer arrived after a five-minute delay and began to treat the injured Percy.

The diagnostic spell indicated that Arthur had cast a bubble head charm on Percy, that combined with the charmed robes had saved Percy's life. Unfortunately It seemed that Arthur did not mange the charm on himself and had died from asphyxiation. The Aurors determined that neither Weasley was responsible for the inferno as both wands Priori Incantatum did not show any fire related spell at all, which indicated that the investigation was no longer about the cause of fire, but now a murder investigation. Death Eater involvement was suspected but not confirmed, as it did not follow the expected modus operandi of "He Who Must Not Be Named's" group as their was no floating dark mark.

Albus Dumbledore arrived into a subdued atmosphere in the Burrow. He had been made aware of the news from Mad-eye. He was informed that Tonks had already broken the bad news with Molly even though it was unnecessary as Arthur's hand had fallen off the Family clock and Percy's hand was pointing at Mortal Peril. Albus rubbed his forehead to relieve his swiftly approaching headache from this new complication in his fight against Tom and his followers. Albus sighed as the Aurors had no suspects, and with the Ministry severely depleted it could have been anyone. Albus feared his plans were not going to work as so much had changed in such a short time span.

It had all started with failing potions and it now seemed that unless a miracle happened, it would appear that Percy would die slowly from his damaged lung as the normal treatment involved a course of potions to heal the injury. Albus was pulled from his thoughts by Ginny offering him a cup of tea, it seemed in this time of mourning Ginny had taken over Molly's role of looking after everybody. Albus learnt from Ginny that Charlie was travelling home from Romania and was expected sometime tomorrow. Bill was stuck working in the bank as the goblins were struggling to repair the damaged building in Diagon Alley. Ron, it seemed was spending the night in St. Mungo's for observation, for what the Healers would not say. The normally perpetual cheerful twins were sombrely trying to console their distraught mother. Arthur was laid in a coffin to rest in the sitting room with Molly weeping uncontrollably with the twins helplessly trying to console her. Albus paid his respects and retreated to Hogwarts hoping to rescue his ruined plans.

It was two days after Remus had bumped into Hermione among the debris of Diagon Alley. He had puzzled over the fact that Hermione also smelled like Harry. The Marauder in him decided to keep it to himself for now. He knew that Dumbledore was concerned about Harry's disappearance from Privet Drive but after thinking back over his encounter with Hermione, his gut was telling him that Harry was fine. His gut had told him it was not a good idea to change secret keeper all those years ago, but now he was going to trust his gut, that Harry was fine. The food provided by Hermione was delicious and lasted for almost two days. The respite from pain brought from the food that Hermione had provided had faded; leaving nothing but intense stomach pains. They were much worse than the aches and pains of before. Remus had struggled to eat some thing about half an hour ago, but it would not stay down. Remus was too tired and bone weary to move, he was nauseous from the sensation of the world spinning as he slipped in to fitful slumber.

Hermione looked up from the files at Hugh's entrance in to the Granger study. Hugh relayed his success at finding a house in Hogsmeade, and that he managed to move his family and their meagre possessions as their house was destroyed. Hugh's house had been on a lane off of Diagon Alley and was destroyed in the same explosion that levelled the area. The house Hugh found was only a rental property, but it was still a place to lay their heads. A loud wailing coming from Hermione's room interrupted Hugh's retelling of his day of settling his family in Hogsmeade. It then dawned on her that it was an emergency call from a communication mirror she had created for a project for Tom's crafts class.

"Remus!" She exclaimed before vanishing in to a sphere of light.

Hermione appeared in a small bedroom, with a rickety bed. A very sickly Remus lay upon it looking nearly Dumbledore's age. Hermione let her magic flow as per her medical training from the other reality and tried to determine what was wrong with her former Professor. It was very difficult due to all the ambient magic causing interference that meant that there was little she could do. Just as she finished her scan a second sphere of energy deposited her husband into to the small room.

This caused the room to feel like a sardine tin, as the room was not designed to hold more than one person at a time. After relaying her findings or lack off, she stood pondering their options to help Remus. A stray thought entered her head about the time that Jim had shown the couple a clean room that scientists used to study diseases in clean laboratory conditions. She let her mind wander with that thought while thinking it would be great to have a room with no ambient magic to interfere with Remus' diagnosis. Hermione asked Harry to look after Remus while she sphered the Potter book of magic to study wards hoping to use the knowledge to create a magical clean room.

Hugh slowly approached the restored visage of Gringotts bank in trepidation as he was carrying out his client's wishes. He approached the Goblin teller and requested to see the accounts manager for all the old Pureblood families. Harry had instructed him to do this as he was occupied trying to help Hermione in their attempt to heal Remus. They were attempting to remove Riddle's finances by claiming fealty over the accounts linked to the Black family. Hugh had brought with him a letter of envoy and the Potter vault key. He was directed to the manager's office, where he was introduced to the Goblin behind the large ornate desk with a name plaque that read "Deputy Manager" as Goblins went he was viscous looking and introduced himself as Grack. Hugh handed over the letter and stated his business on behalf of his client Lord Potter-Black.

The original Lord Black who set up the fealty arrangements was a canny wizard all those generations ago. It was at a time when the wizards were in trouble financially and Lord Black was a very wealthy man. He gave out money in grants, not loans with the only stipulation that in the future he may claim fealty on not only the monies owed but also all the money lodged in to the family vault. He was also astute enough to make sure that the Goblins were present for the signing of the document so that any future Black would always be able to clam fealty rights at a later date ensuring that the Black's always stayed rich even if some offspring were to squander the wealth. Over the following generations anyone marrying into the family also had to sign a contract with a hidden clause giving the Lord Black full access to the new person's family vault. No wonder the Blacks were considered a dark family.

Grack perused the supplied documents, which proved that Harry Potter was now Lord Black and had granted power of attorney to his solicitor, Hugh Wallace. Grack sighed in annoyance at this power play between the wizards as he realised that Lord Potter-Black's finances were going from just being able to attend school with some spare Galleons to someone that owned over three quarters of all the gold belonging to wizards stored in Gringotts. He was annoyed that Lord Potter-Black's instructions ordered that all the affected vaults were to be empted immediately into new ones under the name Daniel Radcliff with the keys of the vaults handed over to Hugh. And that meant that to facilitate the movement of so much gold that the bank would be forced to close for a couple of days. It was discovered that the relocated contents of the affected gold meant the creation of over two hundred of the massive class "F" vaults all under the supplied name. Grack was pleased that the goblins were earning a five percent handling charge on such a large amount of gold.

'Stupid wizards and their ways always turned up unexpected ways to earn more gold,' he thought in glee as he saw his personal stash increase a million fold, his share as the goblin in charge of the transfer.

Captain Robert Pennysworth stood in front of the assembled men pleased at their progress in training. He just hoped it was enough as he was given the task to brief them on an assignment against at least fifty wizards in Stevenage. He told his superior that the men would be ready for the assault in forty-eight hours. The men were familiar with wards as a ruined wizard's house was found during the air raids in the late part of 1941. It had been used ever since in the training of spies and soldiers, as those in the know did not trust wizards or their so-called government.

Severus had not responded immediately to the Ministry summons to explain the dramatic failing grades of all his students. Instead he had searched for his godson Draco, which proved to be a futile task as there was no trace of the boy. It was galling to a Master of such skill in potions to find all his latest efforts fail so spectacularly. He decided to ignore the summons for as long as possible as he tried to determine if an outside source was the cause of his failure in brewing working potions. He had told no one of his oath to aid Draco in his quest to kill Albus; he was just relieved that the Dark Lord's orders had such a generous time limit in which to complete the assigned task. It meant he did not have to worry about it just yet. Wormtail was summoned yesterday and had not returned which meant that he was probably off doing the Dark Lord's bidding, at least it got the former Marauder out of his sight for a while.

Frank Granger was startled out of his wits as his daughter materialised in front of him as he did paperwork in his office before seeing another client's teeth. "You scared me half to death."

Hermione apologised profusely but asked him to come with her, as her former Professor was deathly ill. It was explained to him that Hermione believed that the failed potions Remus had taken had poisoned him. She hoped to clean the failed potions out of his system and thought that the best way to feed him was with intravenous drips as he drank lots of water to clean him out. She also explained that Harry was with Remus performing nursing duties while also warding the room for his planned treatment. After listening to Hermione, Frank called his receptionist and cancelled the rest of his afternoon appointments. Frank found the experience of magical transportation unnerving as Hermione sphered them to the local hospital to borrow supplies. The whole process from popping over to the hospital and travelling on to Remus' location just took ten minutes. Frank looked around after arriving in a small kitchen area. It was cramped but clean he also noticed that the air seemed to be different than anywhere he had ever been. Hermione explained her theory about scientific clean rooms and her hopes to use a magical version. Frank asked why they were not moving Remus, to which she replied that their was nowhere else to take him.

Frank left the kitchen area and moved to the bedroom in the small single bedroom flat. As he passed through the doorway he felt static electricity pass through his body. In the room he noticed that there was a noticeable lack of something, what he could not say. The patient, Remus, looked sickly and pale with sunken skin and sallow complexion. His hair was limp and lifeless it appeared that Remus was on deaths door. Frank set up an intravenous drip after conducting his exam. He was shocked to discover the man he tended was supposed to be in his forties and not as his appearance suggested late nineties.

Six hours later, Frank returned to the bedroom to check on Remus' condition. Both Harry and Hermione were tending to the stricken Professor, in addition to the glucose drip they supplied the dozing patient with water in an effort to clean out his system. Harry did not enjoy the task of cleaning the conjured bedpans. At Frank's return it was decided to once again try to determine what was wrong with Remus. Hermione tried her magical scan again and was pleased that it was successful. It appeared that some thing was affecting potions in general because the Potions course Hermione should have been on was ineffective and Remus' dose of Wolfsbane was now apparently slowly killing him. From her scan, Hermione determined that most of the cells in Remus' body were badly damaged. Fortunately it was treatable with the skill sets Hermione and Harry learnt in the other reality, it would just take time and from Harry's reckoning it could take as long as six weeks. The couple informed Frank that they would stay with Remus and tend to him for as long as it took, and that Hugh was going to be dealing with a banking problem that might help in the fight against Riddle.

Arthur Appleton screamed in frustration as he hurled the failed potion at the wall, as he once again botched a step in trying to brew an intelligence potion. The shelves lining the left hand wall contained many successful potions, although of a poor quality, they worked as Arthur was working through his stocks of pepper up potions. A new complication was the fact that the potion bomb was far more powerful than expected. Arthur had expected to be able to rent a space in Diagon Alley and sell his potions, once he put the Apothecary out of business. Arthur had sighed in frustration when he realised that the explosion was much more devastating, he vaguely remembered a lesson from an old instructor warning about handling old potions with care as they became more potent with age. The oldest potion that the old Potions Master knew of was only seven years old, much younger than the age he suspected the potions were that made up the Potion bomb. He thought that the Potions were at least thirty years old at a minimum and probably more likely forty-five, fifty years old. No wonder the explosion was so large, and it also explained why the ritual would not of affected the old potions as the spell only effected potions brewed after the date of the ritual, New Year, about six months ago. He learnt in the aftermath of the explosion that his ritual actually worked and he was now the only person that could make Potions in the whole of the British Isles. He just hoped that the intelligence potion improved his skill in the art of making Potions. Sighing he started again on his fourteenth attempt to make the difficult to brew potion.

The street formerly known as Privet Drive was now a crash investigation site. Firemen and other rescue workers were diligently sifting through the wreckage of the downed airliner looking for the remains of those who went down with the stricken airplane. Equipment and personnel were slow in getting to the various crash sites as noting electrical worked in the greater London area. Among the workers a lone middle-aged woman of strict demeanour stood out in old-fashioned clothes. Strangely no one bothered the Lady, or attempted to interfere in her business.

Minerva McGonagall hoped that Harry was not at his Aunt's house when the Muggle plane had crashed. From what she had gathered the street was evacuated and the only deaths occurred among the workers repairing the street and those poor souls on board the plane. After searching Privet Drive and its environs, McGonagall sighed and proceeded to the hotels where the evacuees were staying for she hoped to talk to the Dursleys about Harry's disappearance and to see if they knew of any of Harry's movements over the summer holiday. She was also surprised that Hermione and Harry married so young and had not decided how to handle it yet she wanted to know how it had happened before making a decision. She wondered how the Grangers would handle the news that their daughter was married at the age of sixteen.

The old World War two era troop transport wound its way along the farm path through the driving rain. The old wipers struggled to keep the windscreen clear enough to see. The SAS operative squinted in the darkness as he slowly approached the drop off point for the snipers and scouts. It was a blustery night, perfect for an operation like this. An airdrop was ruled out, as it would have been noticed as no planes were flying over Britain at all, in fear of a repeat of last week. On that day last week it was literally raining planes resulting in the loss of more than a hundred thousand people from falling planes alone. As a result the island of England, Scotland and Wales was a no fly zone even military aircraft were grounded. The old truck briefly stopped, giving the men in the back a chance to disembark before it moved off on it's journey back to base.

The being known as Lord Voldemort or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named sat on his throne wondering why his plan was failing. His operatives had failed in infiltrating the Ministry due to failing Polyjuice potions. Due to this setback his followers were forced to kill their captives about a quarter of the Ministry had gone missing due to this action. Imperius was out due to the fact that it was standard practice to screen for it after it was discovered by the Aurors that a Death Eater impersonated one of their own and spent a year at Hogwarts. At least Dolohov had managed to complete his task and kill Weasley Senior and might even succeed in killing one of the offspring with the same attack as reports indicated the offspring was in critical care with a good chance of dieing.

As he expected after the attack on the Alley security at the Ministry had vastly improved. Due to this set back his plans were almost two years behind schedule. New problems arose due to the damn Goblins shutting the bank saying that the vaults were unsafe and would open shortly, even though the bank opened its doors briefly Thursday Morning. This exasperated the problem with deficient funds for bribery and the like. Lestrange was supposed to go and withdraw some gold but was unable to visit the family vault in the narrow window the bank was open. It was surprising how much gold it took to fund an operation like this. Voldemort was pulled from his musing as some nameless follower brought more bad news. For his trouble he received a five-minute spell under the Cruciatus Curse, before limping out of the room. Deciding he could do no more today Voldemort decided to retire for the night, as a storm raged outside the stately Manor he was using as his current base of operations.

The advanced scout and sniper units took up position around the manor house. The wards around the house were designed to gently convince Muggles to look away on the basis that Muggles in general behave like sheep, i.e. they generally don't believe in magic so can easily ignore the signs, and the wards boosted this effect. However if a Muggle knows and accepts that magic is real, the wards then prove to be useless. Voldemort and his followers did not add more wards to the manor as the new wards would of being detected by the Ministry. And given the fact that Voldemort had no insiders left in the Ministry it was decided to leave well enough alone. This fact helped the snipers to establish the best positions to provide cover for the attacking party. And due to the fact they accepted that magic was real, they could clearly see the large manor house and were relieved that the infrared and thermal imaging equipment shipped in from Europe was far enough away to not be affected by the magic surrounding the Manor. Using the time from set-up till the time of the attack they located and made note of any and all wizards outside and along the perimeter of the manor. And settled in for the main attack later that night.

The convoy slowly wound its way down B roads to the target. The convoy consisted of lead and tail Land Rovers 110's in military specification and three old world war two era troop transport trucks. As it was a covert operation local police were not informed of the military presence and the decision to use back roads was taken, which meant that the journey from base of operations to the target took about an hour longer than if the main roads were used instead. Luckily for the strike force a freak storm raged through the previous day meaning an unnaturally early dusk for July of half six in the evening. This was caused by the thick heavy thunderclouds. About five miles from the target the convoy broke formation and made five separate approaches to the target, with the aim to surround the target.

Lord Voldemort awoke to a loud boom, as an explosion shattered the magically reinforced glass of his room. Wind whipped the driven rain into the dark bedroom, a long hexagonal tube clattered to the bedroom floor. Voldemort squinted in the darkness to see what it was before the room lit up like day and a loud screech filled the room. Voldemort's eyes were playing the image of the bright room like a still image and his ears rang but he sensed that a man had entered the room, 'Who dares to disturb my sleep, in my quarters?' Voldemort's snake like hearing heard the silent bullets pass by his ear and pepper the wall over his shoulder. He roared and blindly cast the green of the killing curse. He heard the man curse as he struggled with his weapon, Voldemort advanced on the man in a rage of fury as it dawned on him that the attacker was not a Wizard but possibly a Muggle. The first casualty on the attacking side caused the explosion that awoke the slumbering Dark Lord. A wizard had hurled the killing curse at a SAS operative wearing a battle vest containing twelve grenades. The magic caused the explosives to detonate killing those unlucky to be near him.

Robertson hurled the flash-bang in through the shattered window and waited for it to go off. He leapt through the window after the flash of light and loud bang hopefully distracting the room's occupants. He swiftly got to his feet and stopped in shock at the thing standing in the middle of the room, for it could not be a man surely? It was humanoid with snake like slits above its mouth and red slits for eyes. He came out of his stupor and fired, cursing as he narrowly missed. The being returned fire with a green flash, after his training he knew the best course of action was to avoid getting hit so he dived out of the way. He was dismayed that the spell had clipped his primary weapon rendering it useless. He could tell his advantage over _it_ had gone. He pulled his sidearm to fire when he saw a second flash of green. The magic of the curse reacted with the grenade's fuses, starting the explosive reaction on the four explosive devices attached to Robertson's battle vest.

Meanwhile in another part of the house some teams had made it inside to the darkened interior. Blair was cursing the fact that his night vision goggles had failed and he was struggling to navigate in the dark rooms. He had already killed two wizards, but the last wizard got a lucky strike on the experimental E.M.P. proof equipment. He decided to stick close to the windows to make an easy escape if necessary. He was confused when he saw the pale light of a small moon _inside_ the next room.

He slowly crossed the threshold. He heard heavy breathing of a beast or animal it could have been a large dog like an Alsatian. He paned the gun around and saw nothing. Disregarding standing orders he turned on the chemical light attached to the gun. The squad was out fitted with chemical based lights, as they knew that basic electrical devices would not work. The men were supposed to operate in two man teams due to the lack of radio communication; Blair's team-mate Wilkins was dead. A shape leapt at him, he reacted and pulled the trigger. The shape was sprayed with bullets but still it came. The gun clicked empty, Blair tried to reload. The beast was upon him forcing him onto his back on the floor, a forearm swiped down the attached claw ripped through the battle vest and bone of his ribcage, exposing his organs to the air. The beast's jaws locked on to his neck and ripped exposing his windpipe to the rancid hot breath of the beast. Blair reached for his knife attached to his boot. Air whistled through his mauled neck as his body struggled to feed air to his damaged lungs, using the last of his energy Blair raised his weak arm with the knife and plunged it into the beast's belly and pulled up spilling the beast's intestines on to the ground.

The pale light of the moon went out. Blair's shocked eyes saw a bloodied nude man stood before him in the place of the beast with his knife stuck in the man's belly his entrails hanging out of his body. The man punched Blair's exposed heart, which was still struggling to pump life-giving blood to his battered body. The heart exploded under the iron like fist showering the nude man in blood. Blair's mind knew it was all over his heart had stopped he could no longer feel pain; just before his hearing failed he heard and felt a massive explosion from the room beside him. The explosion blew out the wall raining debris on two the two men, one dead the other severely injured.

Voldemort's dark senses screamed at him to do something but it was to late. Hastily he raised a shield and managed to deflect the blast from the explosion, the falling ceiling struck him on his shoulder. In a rage he blasted the debris off of himself and stalked out of the room. Voldemort swore, 'how was this location found?'

"Where are the look outs?" His rant was cut short by the sound of another explosion in the old manor.

The explosion seemed to rip the house in half, exposing the interior to the raging storm outside. Voldemort started barking orders at his terrified minions. A fleeing Death Eater's head exploded showering Voldemort in brain and blood, a beat later a clap of thunder was heard. The sound of fighting was heard throughout the building. Voldemort slowly approached the ensuing main battle and was stunned when he realised that his minions were fighting against Muggles and not the Ministry, he let his rage fester before he indiscriminately fired one spell after another bathing the area in a sickly green glow uncaring if he hit ally or enemy.

The Sniper team watched in dismay at the carnage in the manor house. From their position they could see that the Wizards were gaining the upper hand and tried to warn their comrades but it was no good as the magical interference had fried the radios. The Snipers spotter pointed out another target among the chaos of the battle occurring eight hundred metres away. The target had no nose; red slits for eyes and seemed quite mad. The sniper took aim and wondered why his spotter had stopped talking mid sentence when his electronic scope went dead. He looked up in time to see the flash of green light. High above in the storm the alumni of Hogwarts Slytherin Quidditch team members of old were raining death from above. This new tactic turned the tide in the favour of the wizards; one Death Eater spotted a Muggle truck attempting to flee and gave chase drawing the other broom rider's attention to the fleeing truck. The airborne contingent of wizards slaughtered the soldiers in the sniper nests.

Spotting another truck in the gloom of the night one wizard on a broom stopped and hurled a curse causing the truck to explode into a fireball. The solders on the ground fired wildly into the sky, as they could not see their attacker, as the black robes the Death Eater's wore blended into the dark nights sky. The night was lit up from the explosion of the tail Land Rover and the sickly green of the killing curse. The fleeing soldiers were easy pickings for the airborne wizards. In the chaos of battle one truck managed to escape with wizards in pursuit.

Price cursed as he wrestled with the steering wheel; out of thirty-two men in his squad only eight were left. To make matters worse he was racing along this country lane with wizards on _brooms_ in pursuit. The old trucks tyres squealed as the truck roared around another sharp bend in the road. Price screamed to Samson to get on the mounted fifty cal. and to return fire. The canvas roof covering the back of the truck was aflame from spell fire, the men were struggling to extinguish the burning canvas. One of the few remaining S.A.S. men was firing from behind the tailgate and managing to kill two of the pursuers. The tailgate suddenly dissolved dumping the solider out on to the road giving an easy target for a low flying wizard. In frustration the men cut the burning canvas free sending the burning cloth tumbling down the road snaring the low flying wizard.

The roar of the heavy gun could be heard over the struggling engine as Price tried to outrun the brooms. Samson on the machine gun was wasting a lot of ammunition as he killed five of the broom-based pests. Bringing the number of chasers down to seven. A lucky shot from a broom burst one of the truck's tyres causing the speeding lorry to start to swerve and sway across the road and throw up sparks from the damaged rim scraping along the tarmac. A car burst out of a siding bathing the dark stormy sky in a blue strobe as a traffic car gave chase of the out of control truck as it swerved across the width of the road. One of the chasing wizards hurled Fiendfyre at the cars roof causing the car to explode into a fireball. The wizard pumped his fist in triumph before Samson managed to clip the distracted wizard. The injured Wizard tried to flee via apparition and Splinched himself, the half left behind was riddled with bullets.

Samson's eyes widened as he saw a wizard flying without the aid of a broom swooped down out of the stormy sky and was followed by nine more broom based Wizards all in hot pursuit. He lined up the large mounted gun and opened fire. The flying wizard ripped a tree from the road verge and used it to block the heavy calibre weapon. The wizard then hurled the tree forward at the fleeing truck; the tree clipped the back of the truck causing it to go into a drift as it slew around a bend in the road. Another solider took the opportunity to fire an RPG at a group of broom-based wizards and shouted in glee when the explosion took out four of the pursuers. A stray spell clipped him causing boils and sores to sprout all over his body, in agony he fell over the side and struck a tree trunk snapping his neck. The poor unfortunate solider enjoyed brief relief from the agony before blood loss killed his brain at the side of the road in the rain.

It dawned on Samson that it was just Price and himself left in the truck. He groaned when the machine gun clicked empty after spending all the ammunition. He was lucky it was raining as it had kept the barrel cool enough for continuous firing. He swiftly made his way to the bed to retrieve another weapon with some ammunition, green spells flew over head, he smelled burning rubber and metal as the damaged wheel hub dragged along the road causing sparks to start a fire underneath the ageing truck from all the oily gunk stuck to the ageing chassis. He spotted a box of grenades and made to reach for them. A stray spell struck them before a bump caused them to spill out the back of the fleeing Truck.

The bouncing, rolling, grenades exploded killing all of the chasing wizards bar the one without a broom. Voldemort gestured and murmured a curse at the hillside that ran alongside the road causing a landslide of mud and trees to batter the fleeing vehicle, it was a testament to the driver's skill that the battered truck kept going and made it trough the dire situation with the landslide. The truck was now heading towards a bridge over the river with Voldemort in pursuit. Samson had found an MP5 and was firing from the cabin of the truck as it offered some protection from spell fire. His eyes widened when he realised it was futile, as the bullets did not seem to affect the flying pest at all. Voldemort slashed his wand at the roadway in front of the fleeing truck, Price swerved to avoid the deep hole spilling Samson from the cabin, a flash of green and a clap of thunder and Samson knew no more. More blue strobes brightened the gloomy sky as Police and ambulances raced to protect and tend to the innocent. Voldemort slowed and with a complex motion cast a spell in Parseltongue at the bridge causing it to dissolve into nothing, depositing two police cars and seven Ambulances in to the river. Price managed to jump before the truck became airborne after launching from a slight incline before the bridge started proper. The truck was on fire underneath and the heavy front end hit the water first before flipping over. With a crack Voldemort left believing he had left no survivors.

In the ditch along the road, Price groaned in agony as he slowly checked his surroundings, he had to report to base as the mission had gone down the toilet, and he did not know if anyone else survived. The old truck had performed well in combat as the thick body had protected the ancient electrical system and engine from all the magic flying around. Unknown to Price that the truck had been charmed magic proof by a sympathetic wizard during World War two in thanks to the driver for saving his life, as he knew the Germans had some Wizards fighting on their side and were rendering Allie equipment useless. Price slowly climbed out of the ditch and made his way down the road back the way he came. He collapsed in front of a panda car of the Metropolitan Police about a hundred yards from where he fell into the ditch. The Police driver got out and cautiously approached the unconscious SAS operative, and made note of the grenades still attached to his vest and the gun strapped to his leg and his dark coloured fatigues. His partner got out and proceeded to administer first aid to the injured man while the Police driver tried to contact control but the radios were not working.

Voldemort returned to the ruined Manor and ordered his surviving followers to gather all the remaining supplies and then proceed to Malfoy's Manor, as it was obvious that this one was compromised and no longer safe. Out of all the followers stationed at the manor there was only about eleven followers left with a further six that would need medical attention. Voldemort sighed as he slowly peeled off the Basilisk armour off of his body, for it was ruined from those damn Muggle weapons. Basilisk armour was incredibly rare but he had managed to acquire a complete set when he met Quirrell and tried to acquire the Philosopher's Stone. After the debacle in the Ministry he had decided to don the set of armour. The armour had deflected a lot of the bullets and explosions but the shear amount of punishment had badly damaged the precious armour and he did not want to wear the damaged armour until he had managed to repair or replace it.

In the Emergency Response Unit reports were coming in about a chase between an old truck and men on _brooms_. Daniel Watson sighed it wasn't aliens but it was close enough, he filled out the paperwork for a transfer and went back to finishing his shift. Reports also said that a bridge had fell into the river, and a highly armed individual was found near the area and rushed to hospital with life threatening injuries. Once he comes around hopefully we'll get some answers he thought. Luckily someone else was responsible for overseeing the clean up and rebuilding work. Maybe they wouldn't miss him if he took his wife on holidays; damn there are no flights out of the country he thought in dismay. A padded cell looked good right about now as he drowned his sorrows in a mug of spiked coffee.

The storm broke to reveal a beautiful sunny morning giving no hint at the terrible last few hours before daybreak. In a cramped flat a weary Lycan slumbered peacefully as strong painkillers numbed the pain as two more worked furiously in tandem to repair the damaged cells caused by the non-functioning Wolfsbane potion. It was a slow tiring process to remove the damaged cells in Remus' body. Harry and Hermione had worked all through the night and were nearly finished with the first phase; it would take just a couple more hours. Unfortunately it was impossible to remove the taint of the wolf, but with a little training, it was hoped that Remus might master the wolf like an Animagus and not be tied down by the phases of the moon.

Frank was in the small kitchen pacing back and forth after Hugh had dropped him off. He found that he preferred Harry and Hermione's way to travel than this thing called Apparation. He had stuck his head in to the bedroom to check progress and saw the determined expression on his daughter's face. He could not see Harry's exhausted face as he had his back to Frank. Frank raced to the room when he heard a clatter and saw Harry passed out on the floor, an empty bedpan upended on the floor by Harry's head. Hermione was slumped, lightly snoring in the only chair in the room. Grumbling about the headstrong women in his life, Frank picked up his daughter and brought her out to the travel bed set up in the cramped kitchen. Harry had removed the table and had intended to catch forty winks but his determined wife had collared him into immediately tending to Remus. Once Frank had his daughter on the bed he went back and picked up Harry into a fireman's carry and was surprised at his light frame. Jane had shared a small amount of information on his son in-law and his life with his so called family. He was grudgingly coming to like the boy; he gently deposited Harry beside his daughter hoping to not wake her.

He was confident that they were too tired to engage in activates he would rather not think his daughter was doing. Once happy at putting the pair to bed he went to Remus' room and took up the vigil at his bedside hopping that they had done enough so that Remus could make a full recovery. Frank was concerned that Harry had overextended him self and would suffer a repeat performance with that nightmare due to exhaustion. Through the bedroom curtains the sun shone on a bright morning.

A\N: Please review.


	6. Chapter 6

Draft 1

For disclaimer see first chapter's notes.

'' Equals thoughts and mind speak.

"" Equals speech and quotations.

Thanks to my Proof reader: Tumshie

A/N: Sorry to my readers on chapter alerts for receiving alerts for chapters 2-5. Fan Fiction net is terrible at allowing you to update existing chapters so I had to delete the old chapters and put up the proof read versions. Thanks for your interest and now on with the show:

Chapter Six

Sunlight filtered into the small bedroom through the tatty curtain bathing the room in a soft morning light. A male slept in the small room his belongings lying on the old wooden kitchen chair. His robes were grimy and his moneybag empty, his wand lay in pieces on top of his clothing. The wind howled around the ill-fitting frost encased windowpane. Draco slowly awoke to find that he was lying in a bed with rough sheets irritating his skin, with a start he realised that he was just in his underwear consisting of a pair of briefs and a vest. He looked around the room in shock as he realised that it wasn't his bedroom. The events in Diagon Alley returned to him in a rush, he wondered how he got out of the wardrobe. After examining the room he was relived to find his belongings but was dismayed to find that his wand was broken into three pieces and all his money was gone. He tried the bedroom door and found it opened into another room with a large fire warming a mud-covered floor. A large black pot was warming on the fire, from this distance he did not know what was contained within but he could hear it bubbling and the room was filled with a strange aroma. He noticed a window and looked out on to a white landscape as everything was covered in snow and ice. After getting dressed he left the small stone hut and went exploring. After half an hours trudge through the snow being careful of the cliff edge he tripped on a black metal bar protruding from the snow.

He wiped the snow out of his face and gasped in shock when he saw a frozen woman's face through a cracked pane of glass. He backed up in shock, his movement exposing a flat red metal surface; he heard a metallic groan from under him. He scrambled away towards safety, as the noise got louder. With a squeak and groan of metal and scraping rock the snow began to fall over the cliff exposing a Muggle vehicle. He saw that the black bar was attached to the front of the vehicle, and the frozen woman was behind a wheel. The vehicle lurched and teetered on the edge. Draco heard a loud roar that reverberated down the mountain. It sent chills down his spine. He rushed back the way he came as the vehicle toppled off of the cliff and rolled twice down the mountain before exploding into a fireball. In shock, Draco started to run back the way he came when he heard the roar again and the air above him burnt as another fireball appeared almost above his head. In his haste he did not see the ice before he slipped and banged his head on the compacted snow, as the ground reverberated from the footsteps of something very big.

Frank washed his hands in the hand basin and returned to the bedroom after relieving himself. He noticed that the slumbering couple were spooned together on the small camp bed with Harry lying behind his daughter. Fortunately for his sake they were both still dressed and seemed content in sleep. He left Remus' bedroom door open as he checked up on the sleeping Lycan. It appeared that the werewolf genes were working overtime to heal and repair all the damage done to the poor man. In the process Remus seemed to be getting thinner and was going through the drips at an astonishing rate. He gently roused the slumbering man so that he could eat some food that Hermione had left under a preservation charm from yesterday.

The confused man wildly looked around the room before regarding Frank and asked. "Who are you?"

"Hello, Remus, I'm Frank. Hermione's father."

"Oh," Replied Remus as he inhaled deeply with a thoughtful look on his face. "I understand now, you have a similar scent to Hermione."

"Come on, eat up now, you need to rebuild your strength and you need food to do it."

"What's going on?"

"I'll explain as you eat, okay?"

Remus nodded and started to eat as Frank explained as best he could what was going on, as he understood it. About a quarter to five the two men heard movement from the other room and a sleepy Harry appeared on the doorstep yawning.

"'Ello."

"Sleep well, no nightmares?" Asked a concerned Frank.

While Remus looked on confused, wondering why Harry looked different, as Frank had not relayed the story about the night that Harry had contemplated suicide. Harry did not answer and did not look either man in the eye. After a long pause Harry looked up and grudgingly told Frank that they had fallen asleep after they realised that they had finished the first phase of Remus' healing process.

Remus asked in confusion "What process?"

So Harry explained: "Well the potions you were taking to control the wolf were killing you. So the first step was to repair the damage and heal your body, it wasn't easy and took a while but it looks like it worked. The next step his to help you master the wolf. Hermione has an idea on how that might work, but for all intents your no longer sick from Wolfsbane poisoning. Now if you don't mind I'm going to borrow your bathroom and have a shower, and Mr.. Granger please don't wake Hermione as she is exhausted. She was the one that maintained the connection last night and just needs a few more hours asleep."

With that Harry turned around and stumbled to the bathroom, shortly afterwards the sound of running water was heard. Frank sighed, as he did not want to think about the kind of dreams the couple share while asleep, but he was pleased that they had not suffered a repeat of that awful nightmare. Frank left Remus to his thoughts as he went to look in on his slumbering daughter. After checking on his daughter, he went to the kitchen to prepare some food for tea.

Deep within the bowels of the Ministry, an Unspeakable was tidying up his desk as his two-week shift had ended. He was looking forward to seeing his grandmother and son again and the chance to catch up on the last two weeks. He was aware that Keith was seeing a young witch named Susan. He had been on assignment in Bulgaria and had only returned to the chaos in the Ministry after the attack on the Alley's of Knockturn and Diagon, and the fire in the Ministry above his head. He was only allowed a few hours off instead of his usual two weeks down time due to the massive staff shortages. He made his way up to the Apparation point planning out what he was going to do with his meagre time off. He arrived home to be bombarded by the shriek of an alarm and the stench of death. With a slash of his wand Jack stopped the alarm, followed his nose, and was dismayed to find his dead grandmother. In an effort to determine the cause of death he went to the family clock and was shocked to discover that Keith was dead. He was dismayed to discover that Keith had a fiancé as he never knew that the relationship with Susan had progressed that far. He vowed to find Keith and Susan's murderer as the clock indicated the cause of death for both.

Jack left the hall, went up to his bedroom, opened his battle trunk, and mechanically got changed into his old Auror robes from before he joined the Unspeakables. He stared at his reflection in the surprisingly quite magical mirror. He disregarded his blood shot blue eyes and the four-day stubble on his chin he was more concerned with the old camouflage robes he had donned. It appeared from his glance that they still worked. He removed various Auror devices from the battered old trunk and put them in their various places on his person. He then went to the trunk he was issued with as an Unspeakable and added more equipment to his person. He went to the wardrobe and removed a travel cloak and paused before putting it on over his battle robes, it was a birthday present from Keith. Steeling himself, he left for Keith's apartment. In the now silent house the mirror sighed in relief that the master had not destroyed him in grief.

Jack Apparated into Keith's living room and removed a forensic device that the Unspeakables had developed and used it to scan the room. Ghostly images of his son and a girl appeared sitting down to a meal. He watched in silence as they finished their meal and stood up to dance to a slow song, gently swaying to the music that Jack could not hear as the device only provided pictures and no sound. He recognised the girl as Amelia's niece, Susan Bones. He watched silently as the ghostly images started to kiss and fondle each other. The images sped up as Jack manipulated one of the controls out of the corner of his eye he spotted something not right. He manipulated the device and the two ghostly images froze in an embrace as they moved to the bedroom. Jack moved around the room to the strange sight of a floating shimmering bag. He let the images play out as the shimmering bag floated across the room about waist height. The bag was phasing between solid and transparency giving off a shimmering effect.

As the ghostly couple made love, Jack concentrated on the bag as it settled on the floor at the foot of the bed. After a period of time while the couple was in the throws of passion the bag popped open and a clear potions vial floated up and around the bed on a journey to the bedside locker. Once it reached the locker the vial tipped and emptied its contents in to a glass of water on the bedside locker. The vial then floated back to the open bag. Jack paused the replay and tried to determine the bags contents but was unsuccessful. He continued the replay and watched in dismay as his son downed the glass of spiked water after finishing making love on the bed with Susan.

A red spell flashed from the foot of the bed from a poorly concealed wand. The spell shouldn't have been effective in stunning the young witch but in her current state it worked. She lay on the bed staring at the ceiling while an invisible person tossed the room. That took about five minutes; Jack watched the macabre scene wondering what happened next, as he knew from the clock that Susan was also dead. Another ten minutes passed with nothing happening just a naked Susan shivering on the bed, with his dead son lying beside her. Suddenly another vial floated out of the bag to hover beside Susan.

The vial was put to her lips and unseen fingers massaged her throat forcing her to swallow the unknown liquid. Jack observed another vial was removed from the bag and its contents were dumped onto Keith's body. The body dissolved into nothingness, Jack looked on with tears trickling down his cheeks. He observed that as the bed began to dissolve where Keith's body used to lie, the stunned witch sat bolt upright. After a pause three large potions flasks floated in front of her and she drank them in a daze. Nothing happened for an hour, except the witch seemed to relieve herself on the bed. Jack removed another device as he scanned the remaining bed clothes for the witch's urine and was dismayed to discover traces of two banned potions, the first confirmed his suspicions that she was dosed with liquid imperious and the second potion appeared to be an old obscure potion that was banned over sixty years ago. After what seemed like hours, three more vials appeared and were swiftly ingested, after a pause a fourth vial appeared and Susan reached out and took it before gently laying it on the bedside locker.

After this action she swiftly got dressed. After getting dressed she put the vial into her pocket. Then she took a small locket and vanished into a blur of what Jack recognised as portkey travel. Once Susan left, the bag floated out the door into the living room and then proceeded to leave the residence with Jack following behind. Then with a pop it was gone. Jack massaged his forehead at his oncoming headache as he was unsure of what to do next as it appeared someone had murdered his son and used Susan Bones for something nefarious. A thought nagged him he had recognized the locket as his Mothers, Keith must of gifted the locket to Susan. As Susan was under seventeen it would explain the use of portkey travel. That meant that she most likely went home. He would have to check there as well as getting further analysis on the recovered urine sample. He Apparated back to the Ministry hoping to locate Amelia Bones as he had realised that this quest involved her as well.

In the quiet neighbourhood where the Grangers lived, life was slowly returning to normal after the crazy weather and the mysterious blast in London. Workmen from the electricity company were repairing the power lines and sub stations. Communications companies such as British Telecom and Sky Television were repairing their services. The normally quiet road outside the Granger residence was a hive of activity as the road was crammed with work vans hailing from as far north as Newcastle and Edinburgh as most of the vehicles from south England were destined for the scrap heap. Men from the council were still tidying up after the storms as their work was delayed due to their equipment not working after the blast and strange electromagnetic pulse. Regular services such as post and the milkman were slowly restarting their services. Among it all a stately mature lady made her way through the bustle towards the Granger residence marvelling at how busy it was compared to her last visit five years ago.

She approached the front door and knocked sharply awaiting for someone to answer the door. After a pause she heard noise of someone from within before the door swung in revelling Mrs. Granger stood on the threshold.

"Good morning Mrs. Granger is Hermione home? I am one of her Professors from Hogwarts you may remember me as I was the one whom delivered your daughter's letter."

Minerva began wondering how she was going to broach the reason for her visit. Mrs. Granger stood silently with thin pinched lips on the doorstop and inclined her head for Minerva to enter. As Minerva crossed the threshold she felt a blunt metal object pushed into the small of her back as Mrs. Granger hissed threateningly.

"Slowly draw your wand an put it on the table beside the phone please."

Assuming it was a dire threat Minerva slowly drew her wand and gently placed it on to the table. She was then nudged forward and was startled to come face to face with a Wizard brandishing a wand stood in a doorway.

"Problem, Mrs. Granger?" The male inquired.

"No, just one of Hermione's Professors sticking her nose where it's not wanted after keeping my husband and I in the dark about the events that took place at that school."

"Oh okay, call if you need anything as I have to get back to work on all those ledgers."

The man gave Minerva a look that seemed to imply that she was in a poor position and he was glad to not be on the receiving end of the upcoming tongue-lashing.

Jane was in the kitchen making a cup of coffee for herself and Hugh as they were sifting through the files Harry and Hermione had acquired. She missed work but due to all that was going on she had decided to offer her help to her daughter after Hermione had shared her adventures with her. She had just handed over the cup of coffee when she heard the knock on the front door. She used the spy hole to see who was knocking. She remembered that it was one of Hermione's Professors.

After Hermione had shared the story of her life spent in the other reality, Hermione then proceeded to share some of her training. Specifically the training involving firearms and how they were useful against wizards. Hermione explained that most wizards needed to point a wand to perform magic, and for someone with out magic the best course of action was to retaliate first as there might not be a second chance. At first Jane was appalled at this line of thought but after Hermione had shared her encounter with a twisted wizard preying on people in the other reality, and her life at Hogwarts it was becoming clear that the Wizarding world was not as safe as she was lead to believe. She reluctantly learnt the basics of handling the charmed Glock her daughter had provided for her safety.

Before opening the front door Jane drew the weapon and held it down by her leg as she opened the door. The door and her body shielded the weapon from view as the witch crossed the threshold. Feeling a false sense of confidence she put the gun against the small of the witch's back, instructed the witch to leave her wand on the table, and directed her to the kitchen. She was relieved to see Hugh appear to investigate the newcomer. After a brief chat she directed the witch in to the kitchen where she intended to get to the bottom of this visit.

Minerva was taken aback by the frosty reception she had received and sat at the kitchen table warily all the while conscious that her wand was out in the hall with another wizard in the house. Her eyes widened when Mrs. Granger laid a black pistol on to the table with in easy reach but far enough away that it would be difficult for Minerva to reach it. With trepidation Minerva opened the conversation with a question.

"Where is Hermione, and can I see her please?"

"None of your business and no, you can't see her. First you have to answer a few questions of mine. Hugh, could you come and sit in on this please?"

After a pause the wizard, Hugh, appeared and nodded to Mrs. Granger before sitting on a chair between the two women studiously ignoring the pistol on the kitchen table.

"First, why did you never inform my husband and I about all the dangerous scrapes my daughter was involved in?"

"They were school matters, no big problem, if there was, Hermione would have informed you."

"Hermione explained her reasons for keeping quiet. But what's the school's excuse? Oh maybe because I'm Muggle and wouldn't understand. And another thing, my daughter came home from that damned school severely injured and should have been in hospital due to her injuries. I feared that due to the nature of the injury, that if she had children she would not bond properly with them. Where was the school explaining the reason my daughter almost died? Or the Ministry's assurances that they would catch the perpetrators. Oh I know it doesn't matter because I'm a Muggle and my daughter is only a Mudblood, no one important."

Hugh's eyes widened, as it appeared that Jane had a lot to get off of her chest. Minerva's eyes widened in shock as Hermione's mother asked some difficult questions.

Trying to calm the woman down Minerva entered the conversation. "Hermione would not of been released from the hospital wing if she was still injured."

"Well that explains it all and clearly shows what you know. Hermione explained to me how she had to beg to be let home and how she did not want to cause anyone to worry, especially Harry, my husband or I about her terrible injuries."

"I am terribly sorry about that, how is she now?"

"She is better now, she got treatment outside of the magical world."

"Oh. How?"

"Sorry, can't say."

Hugh looked on in interest staying silent.

"I had come to discuses an issue that arose with her and Mr. Potter."

"What about them?"

"This may be hard to believe but they are married."

Minerva had debated on the best way to break the news with Mrs. Granger but after the verbal attack she decided to cut to the chase and blurt it out. She expected shock and outrage at being told that Hermione was married at the age of sixteen to a fifteen year old but Mrs. Granger simply nodded.

"We know." As Jane gestured to include the wizard Hugh.

"How?"

"Hermione told my husband and I all about it."

"Oh, what was your reaction?"

"None of your business. But how did you know?"

Minerva sat in annoyance but relented. "There is a record kept in Hogwarts that indicated to me that Harry and Hermione have bonded their magic, minds and souls."

"What?" Interjected an astonished Hugh. "That is impossible to achieve between couples. My office recorded the marriage as a class one love bonding."

"Why is it impossible?" Asked a concerned Jane.

"Because of the ritual involved in the bonding does have a lot of very specific requirements." Responded Hugh.

"Such as?" Asked Jane as Minerva looked on silently.

"Well for one, the ritual is between virgins. It requires oaths to be exchanged during mutual orgasm. Devotion to each other and an affinity between the couple. Most well suited couples can manage some, but not all of the requirements. And it is virtually unheard of for virgins to achieve mutual orgasms on their first attempt. And the last requirement is a blood sacrifice usually on the woman's side. So after all that, I don't know how they managed it."

"How do you know about that?" Asked a curious Minerva.

"Oh sorry, Hugh Wallace, Wizarding Solicitor, and I need to know about marriage law in the course of my work, and my thesis was on old marriage customs and how they affected magical law." Hugh said as he offered his hand in greeting to Minerva.

Minerva sat wondering why a Wizarding Solicitor was residing in the Granger home.

Jane nodded and simply said. "That explains it."

"What?" Asked a confused Hugh.

"Well, after catching up with my daughter, she explained from her point of view what had happened to result in their wedding bands."

"Are you implying it was accidental?"

Asked a shocked Hugh as he read the implied statement in what Jane had said. Jane simply nodded. Hugh's eyes widened in shock but said nothing, as he did not want to anger his clients mother and mother-in-law. Minerva asked the question.

"How did they marry accidentally, I understand that some Muggles consume an obscene amount of alcohol and hitch in a place called Las Vegas. Surely your daughter didn't do that, although a bonding that strong would not of developed out of such a shameful way to wed."

"Well, where to start? Hugh, you're familiar with some of the details, yes?"

Hugh nodded and turned to Minerva and said. "The book of records that indicated that Harry and Hermione had wed also indicated that they were also of age. Specifically over eighteen and nineteen respectively. From discussions with my clients: Harry and Hermione, I learnt that they had gone through a form of travel that was similar to time travel. I was led to believe that they had wed during that time and returned here as a married couple. I offered to explain why I understood it to be legal as it has been recorded in the Ministry as a love bond with virginal sacrifice, fairly typical between young couples in days gone by as wizards are a few years behind current Muggle practices."

"They did some sort of time travel?" Asked a shocked Minerva.

"Not quite, I don't know exactly what to call it but where they went they had no wands and no magic. Over time, they developed feelings for each other and acquired new skills. One of which allowed each other to share minds. After one of their dates they got quite far in Hermione's words, but Harry behaved like a gentleman and bid her goodnight."

Hugh rolled his eyes as Minerva thought that Hermione was painting Harry in a good light for her mother.

"Seemingly they picked up where they left off in their minds and awoke to the aftermath of a shared wet dream and wedding bands on both of their hands."

Hugh sat stunned as it made sense. In your dreams nothing is as it seems in real life and it was possible that the couple had unknowingly shared a bonding ritual. Before this conversation he was wary of the immense power of his clients. And he had glimpses at their potent magical shields as they appeared to have no magic at all, but now after getting an indication of their immense power he suddenly believed that they might have a chance against 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'.

Minerva was shocked at what she heard and it indicated that a lot more has happened than she had suspected. At first she was dismayed to think that her two students were so quick to rush into married life. But now she was not so sure after Mrs. Granger's tale.

"Now that we have discussed your reason for your visit, I have some questions for you." Stated a stony faced Jane. Minerva pressed her lips tightly fearing that the tongue-lashing would continue.

"First, why weren't we informed of the many times Hermione visited the hospital wing, for example, this past year which we already went through, but I now understand that she was petrified by a Basilisk in her second year. Third year you let dangerous soul sucking monsters near to school kids. It is a miracle that Hermione returned from her trip healed."

Jane paused for breath and to allow the Professor a chance to response. However it seemed that Minerva was at a loss for words as she was on the defensive since she had called.

"I have also questions concerning my son-in-law, Harry. Why when he was left to stay with his Aunt and Uncle, there was never any follow up? Hermione told me she learnt all about his life on her trip and shared some of it with me. Was there no one looking out for his interests in that damn school of yours? In Hermione's fourth year I understand that there was some sort of competition between people of age, so why was a reluctant minor forced to compete and had to turn to my daughter for assistance? Why during the last year when he turned to you about his problems with another Professor did you basically tell him to suck it up?"

"I understand that Hermione and Harry plan to complete their education at Hogwarts, kindly see to it that they have the faculty's support. When Hermione shared her adventures in school with me. I was aghast, but when I learnt of the suffering that Harry endured, your Headmaster is lucky he is not here and I don't posses magic, because I now consider Harry to be part of my family and I will do anything to make sure he doesn't suffer in his last two years in Hogwarts due to ineffective instructors, or bigoted bullies. I honestly don't see how the staff let the rampant bullying to go on unchecked, in Hermione's old school they had policies to work against it, I know she had no friends in primary school, but she did not have to deal with bullying, because the school swiftly dealt with it. What exactly are you teaching your pupils, how to be fine upstanding people or just drift along in life along allowing bullying to go unchecked, well?"

Minerva sat stunned as Mrs. Ganger proceeded to go over the last five years of Hermione and Harry's education, pointing out when they should have been notified of a change in Hermione's health. Mrs. Granger also pointed out the biased way some subjects were taught, such as Potions. Minerva had hoped to talk to the couple but it was unlikely to happen now. Hugh had kept the mugs of tea coming as Minerva received a dressing down from the irate mother. After providing the fifth round of tea Hugh felt the pocket mirror vibrate and play the "four seasons." He slipped the mirror out and flipped it open revealing the sleepy visage of Hermione. She was just calling to say that Frank was ready to be taken back home. Hugh relayed the day's events and said he thought it was a bad idea to leave the two women all alone.

Hermione nodded as she had a clear idea of her mother's temper with the wizarding world in general right now and almost felt sympathy for her strict Professor. She then said that it seemed that Remus might be well enough to travel and to expect them with in the next half hour, as she and Harry had to check on Remus' condition first. Hugh smiled and nodded at the mirror's image of Hermione and closed the mirror ending the call as it were and slipped it into his pocket. Hugh turned to Jane and relayed the information that Hermione, Frank, Harry and Remus would be popping over in about a half an hour. Jane nodded and checked the time. She took another look when she realised it was almost half six in the evening, she then instructed Hugh to tell Hermione that their would be food ready in thirty five minutes. Jane turned to Minerva and invited her to stay for the meal as Hugh made the call on the Mirror provided to him for swift, secure communication. Minerva sat stunned that the woman was offering food after the gruelling talk she had endured. She accepted, as she knew she would be meeting Harry and Hermione shortly and hopefully some answers as well.

The Dark Lord was pleased, his familiar had survived the battle and he had decided to watch the two underlings tend to his injured but alive familiar. He stood contemplating the battle he had just survived his forces were severely depleted. He was forced to accept more werewolves into his forces than was acceptable to his beliefs. He was forced to move to Malfoy's Manor a whole year earlier than the plan dictated. He did not know how those damned Muggles had divined his location. And once battle was joined how they managed to kill so many of his followers. The Ministry must have been involved how else could those inferior Muggles find and kill so many.

Immediately after the battle once they had moved to Malfoy's residence he had rifled through the minds of his followers trying to determine if there were any traitors who revealed the safe house. He was about to vent his frustration at finding a bunch of loyal Neanderthals and no clue how the attack happened when a follower floated Nagini into the room dripping blood. He barked for animal healers and then ordered the rest to leave and spread mayhem. The throng of followers scattered leaving just two followers and the silent Dark Lord along with the injured Nagini dripping blood onto the mud encrusted floor.

The large snake lay unmoving as the two nervous wizards tended to the bullet damaged skin. The snake's length was pockmarked with bullet holes from the large calibre rounds; the smaller rounds had bounced off the tough skin. Blood oozed out of magically sealed wounds and mixed with the dirt to create muddy red paste underfoot. A third wizard stood silently as the two nervous ones tended to his familiar, his red eyes lighting up the gloom in an eerie red glow.

After a while he barked for one of his followers to attend him. The one near the snake's head stopped his ministrations on the injured reptile and cautiously approached his master. Voldemort jabbed his wand into the dark mark and muttered a spell in Parseltongue. A sickly green wispy form floated above the mark. The form was a head covered by a cloak. Voldemort spoke in to the silence.

"Dolohov, meet me in Malfoy's dining room in five minutes, understood?"

"Yes, M'Lord."

Voldemort released the follower and swiftly left the room. The follower spasmed in agony on the floor, the magic used to fuel the communication spell drained magic painfully, knocking about twenty years off of the follower'slife.

"Dolohov?" Said Voldemort as he entered the room to find his follower waiting.

"M'Lord."

"It would appear that my resident potions master is no longer fulfilling his primary duties. Find me another, you have a month. Understood."

"Yes, M'Lord."

"Good, dismissed."

Dolohov, bowed and hurried to the door.

"Dolohov!"

"M'Lord" Enquired Dolohov as he turned to regard the Dark Lord.

"You pleased me with the attack on the Muggle loving Weasley."

"Thank you, M'Lord."

Dolohov swiftly left; pleased that he did not receive a Crucio for his troubles this time all the while wondering how he was going to acquire a competent potions master with potions failing everywhere.

Neville Longbottom sat in his bathtub pondering the past month after a long day tending to his plants in the garden. His body ached from all the hard manual labour; he found he could agree with Harry that it was more satisfying to complete a job the Muggle way. It has been an exciting month, he was shaking with terror when he realised that Harry had his heart set on breaking into the Ministry. Looking back he was glad he hadn't had a chance to stop and think, otherwise he may never have gone along at all. He came away from the experience with an inkling of what his father and mother must off gone through during their last fight as Aurors againist 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.'

He was with his mother and father when the explosion occurred and the resulting magical fire. He like every able bodied person at the hospital had helped out in the effort to stop the fire. The scenes of burning bodies still haunted his dreams at night. His broken nose was bandaged by Madam Pomfrey after the battle, but after the fire he needed to get it bandaged again this time at an overrun Muggle hospital. He found the experience of getting an X-ray in a muddy green Muggle wagon a strange experience. He was amazed at the black and white image the Healer showed him of his head. He had overheard one of the men manning the device grumble that after it was used on him it had broken down. The Muggle Healer promised him that his nose would heal okay, maybe slightly crooked like a boxer.

He got out of the bath and grabbed a towel. As he was drying himself his grandmother called for him. After he got dressed he found his grandmother weeping in the lounge. His grandmother looked up when he arrived. Neville enquired:

"What's wrong, Gran?"

"I have received terrible news, Jack has sent an owl. His son, Keith, is dead."

"How? What happened?"

"Jack said he was murdered. Poisoned if you could believe that."

Neville digested the information; a friend of the family was dead. Keith was like an older brother; they had met when Neville was nine. Gran said the Bauers were friends of his parents straight out of school. Jack was on assignment in Australia tracking a wizard smuggling illegal lust and control potions to England via Australia during the last reign of Voldemort. Jack had returned home with an Australian wife and a young son. The case was very involved meaning Jack spent almost ten years down under.

Neville had bumped into Keith about ten days ago with a friend of his in Diagon Alley. Neville was with his Grandmother buying supplies for his garden. Neville had gone into a bookshop looking for a horticultural book when he bumped into Keith and a friend. Keith introduced the mate as Arthur Appleton. Neville's first impression of Appleton was poor; his clothes were grubby with potion's stains on his robes. His hair was incredibly worse than Professor Snape's, his limp brown hair hung down his back. He smelt of potions and manure, an almost vomit inducing smell. Later on Neville bumped into a school mate, Susan Bones. She was in the alley buying a present for her aunt. Neville would never forget her facial expression when she met Arthur. She almost vomited on top of the man. She beamed at Keith when he sent his friend Arthur on ahead to the Apothecary to buy some pepper up potions. Neville watched the couple connect with dismay as he had a schoolboy crush on Susan. He wondered now how Susan would take the news of Keith's death.

Frank bustled about the small kitchen trying to prepare something edible for tea. He had started about twenty minutes ago and was so far unsuccessful it would appear that the pantry was bare. He was pulled from his search when his daughters voice called out saying they would all be going home for food. In confusion he wandered in to the small living room to clarify his daughter's statement. The conjured bed lay unmade on the floor, Hermione sat upon it in a lotus position still holding the folding communication mirror.

"I called mum, she is preparing tea, and I think Remus is well enough to come with us, besides there is nothing left in the presses."

Frank huffed in annoyance after his futile attempt at cooking tea. Frank was pleased to see that Remus was up and about, although he seemed to be moving slowly. Hermione's damp hair was wrapped up in a towel on her head. She was dressed in a large comfortable jumper and tracksuit bottoms. Harry was with Remus making sure the first phase in his treatment had been successful.

"As soon as Harry is finished with Remus we will go home, okay?"

Frank nodded; a response was cut off as Harry and Remus appeared at the door. Hermione embraced her husband enthusiastically, the two elder men felt uncomfortable at such a display. The room dissolved to be replaced by the Granger study. Frank marvelled at the magical travel Hermione and Harry used he thought it better than the other methods, hands down.

The civil servant sighed as he glanced at the wall clock indicating it was quitting time. He rolled up the parchment he was working on and stuffed it into his satchel. He rubbed his forehead in frustration, the Ministry, his life used to be nicely ordered. He knew how it worked. Life was easy he did his job, kept his head down. Passed information back or forward for the right fee. But now he wasn't sure it wasn't the same anymore. Ever since December rolled into January it appeared that someone up ended the world and changed the game. First it was failing potions. Then the weather went crazy. Which was followed by the freak explosion that wiped out the financial heart of magical Britain. And now there was the fire in the building that resulted in the death of Arthur Weasley. What next? He didn't know but he had to meet a buyer of knowledge in half an hour. Sighing he left the desk and headed for the Apparation points upstairs.

He joined the orderly queue at the security point. He silently fumed because the new extra security meant that he got out of work a half hour later than normal after even though he had to arrive in to work an hour earlier. The witch in front grumbled as she removed her outer robes and placed them on the table. She handed over her wand for weighing and a _Priori Incantatum_. The security wizard checked the supplied ID and asked the witch to pull up her sleeves on her crisp white blouse. The witch complied with a glare. Once the security wizard was happy she wasn't a Death Eater, he thanked her and bid her good evening. And then called the civil servant forward.

Taking his turn the civil servant stepped forward and supplied his ID, revelling that he was one Peter John Prendergast. Peter pulled back his sleeves revealing one arm bare and his left contained a roaring yellow dragon consuming a white unicorn. Frowning the security wizard checked the tattoo against the list of watched ones and sighed in relief when it was identified as clean. The _Priori Incantatum _revealed that the last few spells cast were those typically used by a paper pusher. The wizard returned his wand and said he was free to go. Nodding Peter swiftly made his way to the apparition point and his meeting away from the Ministry grumbling as he now realised that he was very late.

A pensive Minerva McGonagall sat at the kitchen table staring at the ugly black pistol. She was contemplating Mrs. Granger's opinion of the magical world as Hermione's mother bustled about the kitchen. She did not attempt to reach for the weapon as she noticed that the Wizard Solicitor was sat at the table reading a ledger of some kind. She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard voices from another part of the house. Her eyes widened as a young woman with bushy brown hair entered the kitchen from another room. She wore a Muggle style exercise pants in light grey with pink piping trim and a light blue baggy sweater with a small logo over her left breast. Minerva realised the woman was Hermione and as she got closer Minerva realised the logo was the name Frank in a navy script. The most striking thing about her pupil was her eyes they were positively glowing with happiness something Minerva never noticed in her best pupil.

Hot on Hermione's heels a tall man followed. He was just under six feet, with an athletic figure and slightly malnourished looking. His black hair was of medium length and untidy, a faint scar was noticeable on his forehead and marks on the bridge of his nose indicated he used to wear spectacles. As realisation dawned, Minerva she realised it was the happiest she had ever seen Harry. He wore a long sleeve Muggle style black T-shirt with a yellow smiley print and faded blue jeans. Behind Harry was Mr. Granger, carrying a black leather bag, Mr. Granger went to greet his wife. The fourth person was Remus Lupin looking in the best health Minerva had ever seen him, even though to some one that did not know him he looked like he had just recovered from a long illness. Minerva was pulled from her observations as Hermione spoke to her mother.

"What's with the gun on the table?"

"Sorry I forgot to holster it after my talk with your Professor."

Hermione sighed she had explained the reason she wanted both her parents safe and why she had provided both with magically modified handguns. She did not want to be forced to do what the Hermione in the last book had done by changing her parents' memories and shipping them off to Australia. Logistically it was an almost impossible feat and it just felt wrong to do that to her parents. So she had decided on a lesser evil and provided training in the use of a magically modified Glock 19. It would appear that she would have to go over the training again. She held her tongue as she had observed the wand in the hall and had noticed her Head of house sitting at the kitchen table.

Her mother's face was ashen as she had realised she had left the weapon on the table. Jane was not used to the thought that she was involved in a war fought in the shadows by her daughter and son-in-law.

Harry entered the kitchen and started to dish out the food and diplomatically said: "Lets eat."

There were murmurs of agreement as Hermione, Frank, Hugh, Remus and Jane joined Harry and Minerva at the table for the meal. Talk was light during the meal as if they were ignoring the earlier incident. Minerva marvelled at the food it was almost as good as the food served in Hogwarts. After the meal she decide to broach the reason for her visit and ask Hermione how she had managed to age almost three years and end up married to Harry.

Hermione excused herself from the table and looked at her mother indicating that she wanted to talk to her in private before answering the Professor's question. The two women swiftly left the kitchen. Harry meanwhile answered the question by relaying the story of his fortnight spent on Privet Drive before the freak storms deposited him elsewhere. Just as he got to describe the incident where he looked on in shock at the tornado, Hermione and Jane returned. Jane looked like a chastised schoolgirl; it was as if the roles had reversed between the two women. Harry continued with his descriptions of how he woke up and expected the Order to rescue him from the Muggles and how it never came. Of how a friendly doctor informed him he was not alone and that there was a badly injured girl also staying at the hospital. He went on to say that he learnt that the injured girl was Hermione and that it took them three years to return home. Minerva listened enthralled by the story and was coming to the conclusion that there was more to the story than she was being told. Harry's question at first stumped her before she realised she was at a cross roads with her life that would decide who she would put her support behind.

"Professor, do you know Occlumency? What I mean is, can you protect your mind like Snape claims?"

Minerva ignored the disrespect shown to her colleague and pondered the answer she was going to give. After she learnt of Severus' involvement in the war and come across him in the library studying a book on the finer points of mind magic almost fifteen years ago. She decided it was prudent to study it, she felt that she had rudimentary knowledge and basic shields, nowhere near the skill that Severus possessed. She wondered why the couple wanted to know whether she possessed the skill or not.

"I possess the skills, why?"

Harry nodded and then asked another question.

"Who do you follow in this war, Dumbledore or me?"

"What does it matter who I support?" Replied Minerva as her temper began to simmer.

She noticed that Remus remained silent through the exchange, and the Solicitor was reviewing a ledger while keeping his ear on the conversation. Harry took his time before responding.

"Before I give you a reason why it matters, do you know the contents of the prophecy that the Order was protecting? Am I the only one being kept in the dark about information I should know?"

Minerva knew the prophecy involved Harry and Voldemort and knew that there was more to it than she was informed. She was also aware that Albus had shared the full prophecy wirh Harry as she had witnessed the aftermath of Albus' office after it was trashed. She was concerned with what it might contain after witnessing the result of Harry's reaction to being told its contents.

"Yes, I know about the prophecy but I think I don't have the full prophecy as I saw Professor Dumbledore's office after his meeting with you. I only know it involves you and Voldemort."

"Dumbledore is of the opinion that the prophecy must remain secret but I disagree, Hermione already knows it's content in full. Mr. and Mrs. Granger, I feel you should know why your daughter and I are targets. Remus, you should know what Sirius died to protect. Hugh, you know some of our plans already so what is one more secret, eh?"

Hermione waved a hand and the floor, walls and ceiling glowed blue then green before reverting to their original colour. Minerva almost gasped at the display of a wandless privacy ward, but she had no time to think as Harry gestured and a ghostly three-dimensional image appeared showing Dumbledore's office. It replayed the scene where Dumbledore revealed the full prophecy.

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives."_

Minerva's eyes widened at the implications of the scene as the pieces in the puzzle started to fall into place. It all made sense now, Severus must have overheard the first part of the prophecy and relayed it to his Master resulting in the deaths of Harry's parents. After watching the scene play out she could see the reason why Harry's anger resulted in the trashed office. She looked around the room and observed that Hermione's mother was incredibly angry looking and ready to commit murder. Remus looked incensed. His face paled as hair started to sprout on his skin. He screamed in agony as his nose elongated in to a wolf's snout. Meanwhile the Grangers backed up from the table. Minerva cursed as she realised she was in the room with a transforming werewolf without her wand. She did not know how it was possible that Remus was undergoing a transformation, as the full moon was at least two weeks away. Remus' battered clothes were fraying and ripping, as his frame grew larger.

"He is not fully healed yet, I can't risk stunning him." Said Hermione in dismay at Remus' condition.

"I know." Responded a resigned Harry as a Humanoid Lion leapt the table and tackled Remus to the floor.

'Harry will be pissed, he liked that shirt it was a present from John.' Sighed Hermione as she watched Harry in frayed pants wrestle with a struggling Remus as the ripped shirt hung off him.

"Oh my." Gasped Minerva in shock as she observed the partial transformation of Harry Potter into a Lion-man.

"STOP!" Ordered Hermione when she saw Hugh brandishing his wand.

The startled wizard dropped his wand at the order. He realised that Harry had almost subdued Remus and was being careful to not hurt the Lycan with retracted claws. Remus' wolf form was flaying uselessly on the ground under Harry's control. Hermione cautiously approached, urging Remus to calm down as she felt he was still to weak magically to be stunned. After about five minutes Remus slowly reverted back to his human form exhausted from the change. After seeing Remus revert back Harry swiftly followed suit.

"What happened?" Demanded a shaken Frank after what he witnessed.

"Well we only managed to treat the poisoning caused by the failing Wolfsbane. It must have somehow mutated his cellular structure allowing him to change while angry." Proposed a pondering Hermione.

"What like that old television show 'Hulk' with Bill Bixby?" Asked Jane.

Hermione nodded absentmindedly as she pondered why Remus would get angry over hearing the full prophecy.

"Does that mean I could change at any moment?" Asked a weak Remus as Harry handed him a mug of sweet tea.

"Maybe, but we will help you to master the wolf like Harry mastered the Lion. Okay." Offered Hermione.

"But Harry did not fully transform, I don't see how he has mastered the skills needed to be an Animagus." Butted in a surprised Minerva.

Hermione huffed in annoyance at the fact that Minerva was running down her husband's skills. Harry sighed as he took in his destroyed clothes and the pants that were barely keeping him decent. With a shrug he assumed the form of a Lion with a distinctive black mane and dark honey brown fur. The Lion shook the clothes off his body like a dog shakes water off after getting wet. Hermione gathered up the wrecked t-shirt and pants and magically repaired them. Minerva brought her hand up to her mouth in shock at the complete transformation. Harry went over to Hermione and nudged her with his head. Hermione massaged his head before carefully laying his repaired clothes on his back. Once that was complete Harry trotted out of the room, via a magically opened door. Minerva quirked an eyebrow in question.

"You may have noticed that Harry's clothes did not follow him in his transformation." Stated Hermione.

Minerva nodded wondering where this was going. As an Animagus herself she wondered why Harry had not been able to do the transformation properly.

"Well, we discovered that there is more than one class of Animagus. Three to be exact. You Professor are an Active Animagus, and have mastered the skill using transfiguration. The second class is Dormant, which are most if not all of the population of Witches and Wizards. With me so far?" Asked Hermione as a dressed Harry returned.

He smiled in thanks at Hermione at his repaired clothes.

Minerva nodded to indicate she was following what Hermione was saying.

"The third class is the Natural Animagus, for example, Harry."

"But what is the difference between them?" Interjected a puzzled Hugh.

"The difference is an Active Animagus forcibly takes an animal form usually from the species in their native country. Where as a Natural Animagus embraces their animal side and becomes one with themselves. In Harry's case it could only happen after his time in the other . . . place. It takes a great deal of meditation and familiarity with mind magic, as such I would suspect that Professor Snape might possess the skill. In your case Professor your form is a domestic cat as you are an Active. Where as if you had learnt the skill as a natural you would have been . . ." Hermione trailed off and concentrated, Jane and Frank felt the static electricity in the air. " . . .Either a Tiger or a Falcon."

"But how? How did you determine that?" Asked Minerva.

"Harry did not explain how he healed me, did he?"

Minerva shook her head.

"The place where we were had no magic at all. Harry's magic was affecting the equipment in the hospital we were staying in. A doctor thought that meditation might help Harry control his magic and stop all the equipment failures. Harry managed to master his magic with his wand still here, which meant he had no wand, okay?" Everyone nodded. "The same doctor did not know how to treat my injuries and felt that my only chance of survival was Harry and his control of his magic. Harry managed to heal my damaged internal organs, but being a gentleman was reluctant to heal my chest so instead he showed me how to do it."

Minerva wondered why this was relevant but was enthralled at the information that Hermione was supplying that expanded on what Harry had said.

After a pause Hermione continued speaking. "At the time I was in a coma and the only way for Harry to show me how to heal myself was for him to make contact with my mind. After that we share a connection of minds. We learnt that Riddle split his soul in to fragments and created objects called Horcruxes the worst type of Dark Magic possible. One of these soul fragments resided in Harry's blasted lightning-bolt shaped scar linking their minds. After Harry healed me I returned the favour, removed, and banished the soul fragment. The reason that we asked whether you would support us or Dumbledore is that Dumbledore is aware of the Horcruxes and has kept Harry in the dark and insisted that Snape teach Occlumency. But due to their poor relationship Harry did not learn it until we shared our minds and I helped him to master a form of Occlumency. We have spent almost three years refining our skill and control of our magic with out the aid of a wand. Since we were the only two with magic near us we developed a keen magical sense. When we returned home that sense almost overwhelmed us. I just concentrated my sense of magic on you and determined what your animal forms could have been. I discovered I had a form of a Lioness and so since Harry is my mate he has a form of a lion. The drawback is we have not yet mastered bringing objects such as clothing with us as we transform. I did not realise it was possible to do a partial transformation until Harry did it to restrain Remus."

"It hurt like hell too!" Put in Harry.

Minerva sat back in shock at what Hermione had shared and she believed her story as, Harry's scar was not the angry fresh looking scar he had sported before the holidays but it looked like a scar that was several years old and almost unnoticeable. The story about Harry carrying around a piece of Voldemort made her shiver she did not know how he had managed to bear it. One thought troubled her.

"Did you read my mind?" She asked.

Hermione shook her head and explained in detail how her enhanced senses worked and how her and Harry's version of Occlumency differed from what she knew. Minerva was only appeased when she learnt that the couple took a dim view of mind reading and only used the skill if it was absolutely necessary after Snape introduced him to the skill.

Harry turned and looked at Hugh and said.

"The main reason I have invoked the fealty rights over the vaults is I need access to the Lestrange vault to retrieve another Horcrux stored there and we don't want to attempt the robbery needed to recover it from the Goblin vaults. The second reason to invoke the rights is to remove Riddle's funding, as there is more than one way to fight this war. The reason you are going through those ledgers is that there must be some innocent vaults involved and I don't want to take that away from the innocent."

Hugh nodded and proceeded to show the couple the names involved that had no ties with the Death Eaters or Voldemort.

"Good work. Tomorrow go to the bank and get the Goblins to reinstate all of the vaults on that list. Make sure they understand that I don't want the Vault holders to suffer from our actions and have them calculate the balance that they would have been, had we not interfered. Have them charge the Black account for reinstating the affected vaults and afterwards furnish us with a new account statement."

Hugh nodded but felt that he had to mention the fact that the Goblins would charge five percent and grumble over the whole thing. And afterwards the Black account would roughly be worth half what it was after Harry had invoked the fealty rights. The result would mean the bank could be closed for almost a month as it is all sorted out.

Remus had calmed considerably after his episode and wondered why Harry and Hermione had shared so much information, so asked the question. "If Dumbledore considers the prophecy and the Horcruxes to be top secret why did you tell us?"

Harry looked each of them in turn before speaking. "In hindsight that damn Tornado was the best thing to ever happen to me. It gave me a chance to take a break and think, enjoy life and look at my options. We learnt some difficult truths in that other place. One of them was how Riddle created Horcruxes so that he would be immortal; as a result the first one to go was the one in my scar. I learnt that during second year I had already destroyed Riddle's diary, which contained another Horcrux. Since returning home I have taken care of two more, and know that there is one in the Lestrangevault."

"Hugh gets to know as he is my Solicitor and is covered under the client confidentiality clause, and the fact he already knew I was married. Bedsides for what we have planed we need a legal professional to fight Riddle's funding. Because Jane and Frank are now my in-laws I feel they deserve to know the truth as I have learnt what happens when secrets are kept. Finally we come to you Professor, frankly I have lost trust in Dumbledore and need an ally as my wife wants to finish her education at Hogwarts and there is the fact you searched us out after learning of our marriage which we hopped to keep quite as I don't want a bigger target painted on Hermione's back. Hermione and I feel that we can't win on our own and we need people we can trust to help us."

Jane turned and looked at her Husband, Frank inclined his head, and Jane nodded before turning to Harry and Hermione. "We're in, we will do anything to help out."

"Thanks, mum." Replied Hermione as she hugged Jane.

Harry smiled tentatively at Frank.

Hugh sighed and said. "I'm in as well, but can I ask that you help me find somewhere safe for my family to stay."

The couple nodded.

Remus had sat silently listening to all that was discussed and decided it was time for him to lay his cards on the table. "For the last year I have been travelling on envoys to the werewolves and various other species on behalf of the Order. I briefly talked with Sirius about becoming your Godfather if anything happened to him. I am in as well and would like to be your new Godfather if you will have me."

Harry was silent during Remus' short speech. He shook his head and said. "Thanks for offering your support to our goal of stopping Riddle and his band of thugs. Remus, I'm sorry but Sirius was my Godfather and I don't need another, you can be my Uncle if you like though."

"Sure, Harry, whatever you want." Replied Remus dejectedly as he had hoped to be someone important to Harry as he grew in to adulthood.

On reflection he could see that he had missed almost four years with Harry. The past year he was away on Order business and the almost three years Harry spent in that other place.

Hugh got up and explained to the couple his plan to go visit and spend the rest of the night with his Wife and newborn daughter. He promised to visit Gringotts in the morning and relay the new orders to the Goblins.

He said in passing before leaving: "It is a good job I warned them that you might be making changes."

"Oh, why?" Asked an inquisitive Hermione.

"Because, of the action we are taking now, I expected it. And warned the Goblins that I would need to contact them again when they informed me they were closing the bank. They only agreed to allow me the option of contacting them when the bank is closed because they realised that they would make a huge amount of profit from the handling fees alone in any changes we make."

Everyone nodded to show that they understood and bid him good night as he Apparated with a soft pop. Minerva got up to leave as well, but was asked to stay the night as Hermione wanted to talk to her in the morning, and also the fact that the couple wanted a recognized adult Witch or Wizard in the house in case the Ministry contacted them about underage magic. Before Minerva could protest Hermione guided her out to the hall to retrieve her wand and explained that they wanted her assistance in the endeavour of healing Remus. Jane and Frank retired for the night as Remus stared into space as he brooded over what had happened to him over the last couple of years. Harry pulled him out of his brooding by directing him to one of the guest bedrooms that was being used by Hugh. Harry cast a monitoring charm on the headboard, to monitor Remus' health and mental well being as the household did not want a repeat of earlier. Hermione joined Harry in her bedroom and relayed that Minerva agreed to stay the night, as it was too dangerous to be alone with the new information she had learnt. The house settled in to a quiet slumber.

The office was constructed of pine panelling; a light cream suspended ceiling hung overhead. The floor had a rich navy carpet. A magical window showed a scene from a Hawaiian beach, with topless women sunbathing. Behind the mahogany desk sat a wizard, he was of medium build, with slate black hair, in a military officer cut. His normally vibrant blue eyes were bloodshot. Agent Paul Johnson sat at his desk reviewing the file on Jane Munroe. She had revealed herself as a witch to an unfortunate normal in Jersey. The case was pretty clear-cut; Munroe would be fined five hundred magical dollars for performing a spell even though the act saved the young man's life. Johnson was interrupted by a knock at his door.

"Johnson, the Director wants to see you."

"Thanks, Lee, I'll go see what the Director wants."

"Catch ya later." Johnson nodded.

Johnson closed the manila folder on Munroe and put it in to his filing cabinet. And headed to the directors office. The director's office was larger than Johnson's with oak panelling instead of the cheaper pine. And a large oak desk with a marble inlay. The director was a portly man with wispy yellowing hair, a beak like nose and piercing grey eyes. His teeth were yellowing from the Cuban cigar resting on the ashtray.

"Hello, Boss, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Johnson, pull up a chair and close the door."

Johnson slowly pulled up a chair and regarded the Director. The Director looked worried and in the worst state Johnson had ever seen him in, in all his seventy years working for the Bureau.

"You hear about London?"

"Yeah, Boss, massive magical explosion the, normals think it was a nuke. What's it got to do with us?"

"The United Nations of Magic held a meeting two hours ago. At the meeting it was decided that the British Ministry of Magic were not doing their job."

"What do you mean?"

"The British Secret Service hacked the Air Force computer system and used Blue Bird One to scan the British Isles for warded locations. The Air Force was late in discovering the breach in security. Due to the breech the normals ordered an attack on a warded location. Almost two hundred S.A.S operatives were killed and an unknown number of Wizards. The normals are at present reviewing their options. To make matters worse the Air Force were forced to destroy Blue Bird One and at best it will take six months to get a replacement in orbit."

Johnson looked concerned as the director explained the situation.

"The man that initiated the hack on the Air Force computers turned up dead aboard a flight to Sydney. The explosion almost crashed the world economy; we are lucky that the London stock exchange is backed up at New York, Tokyo, etc. The British government is reeling from the attack and a small group of normals from within the government, in the know are about to brief the Prime Minister on the situation and expose magic and the magical community."

"What!" Exclaimed Johnson in shock as he slowly realised that the US was going to get involved in the domestic situation of another sovereign nation.

"It gets worse, the United Nations of Magic asked our Ministry to assist in the assessment of the situation and make a recommendation in a few weeks time. To that end the Magical President Becket has ordered me to send my best Agent over to England as part of a five man international team from the United Nations of Magic. The team will comprise of Agent's one each from South Africa, Australia, China, Mexico and of course you round out the team."

"What do the International Confederation of Wizards have to say about the situation."

"As usual they're blinkered and don't see any problem as they're stuck about two hundred years behind the rest of us. was set up as the Brits would say, by Muggleborns as a means of promoting equal rights internationally and as a means of modernising the International Confederation of Wizards and making sure the Purists don't start an international incident now that Muggles have access to information technology."

"What do you mean, Boss?"

"Now that normals have computers and electronic storage systems and all databases are moved to computers, simply Obliviating people won't work any more. It needs a more careful approach to protect all of us from the normals discovering our existence"

"Okay, but what about the Munroe case?"

"Agent Goldberg, will take over as this is much more important. You will take an international portkey to Paris. There you will meet the head of Interpol's magical division and get a situation report. Then you will meet the others that make up the team, before making your way into England. "

"What situation, I understood the Brits were supposed to be dealing with there little terrorist problem."

"I know they seem to have the same problem every twenty five years or so."

"So Interpol's magical division will furnish me with the latest sit rep."

"Correct, Good luck Johnson, and remember stay safe. The portkey leaves at five this evening."

The Director then passed over a thick file with the minutes of the meeting at the United Nations of Magic. Johnson left the office and headed home to pack

As dusk gave way to the darkness of night a lone wizard silently observed the house across the street. The house had only one occupant, a Witch whom headed the Auror Department in the Ministry. The observing wizard shivered, but not from the cold as the night was balmy. He was suffering from after effects of his meeting with the Dark Lord. He was summoned from the safe house stationed near Newcastle to Malfoy Manor. The Dark Lord sat in a throne room nursing his familiar back to health. The frightened wizard had appeared with fourteen others before the Dark Lord. One died on behalf of the group for taking ten minutes to respond to the summons. The second died for the group because the Newcastle group did not responded quickly enough to the surprise attack. The third died for urinating in fear in the throne room.

The Dark Lord then ordered the surviving group to attack and kill the head of the Aurors, which led to his task of standing sentry as the others attacked the house. He observed silently as the windows glowed from spell fire. The notice me not charms made sure that no help came from the neighbours. His head turned as he heard leaves rustle in the windless night. His scream died in his throat as the knife pierced his lung before skewering his heart. The body fell to the ground; the victim's only glimpse of his assailant was the slight shimmer as the rain hit the invisibility glamour.

Jack Bauer arrived into the Ministry after visiting his son's apartment; he made his way to Amelia Bone's office and was dismayed to find out that Amelia was at home recovering from Wizarding flue. He left in disgust and went to his office. Once there, he looked up his address book for Amelia's listing, as Amelia's assistant would not reveal it. He Apparated to a quiet park about half a kilometre from the house and cautiously made his way there. He detected the weak notice me not charm cast on the street. It took him less than two minutes to break it. He crept up behind the loitering wizard and plunged the army knife into the wizard's back between two ribs. Slicing through the lung and finally the heart. He cast a charm on the knife causing it to dissolve into nothingness. He then cast a disillusionment charm on himself. He slowly approached the house, warily watching the windows as the rain fell.

The front door was ajar. Jack could see four wizards pinned down in the hall by spell fire coming from the sitting room. In the ten seconds before he acted he noted their poor positioning and Death Eater robes. He drew his second wand. Wielding two wands he hurled four spells, two from each into the hall. The four Death Eaters head's exploded as modified blasting charms connected. Jack then shouted the phrase. "Four over, new batsman." This was code between Aurors. The message signified that four hostiles had been just taken out by a friendly combatant. And that the cavalry had arrived. An answering call came from with in the sitting room.

"Bowler pleased! I am behind by two." This was the correct response with the qualifier that the person in the room got two as well.

Jack cautiously entered the house and closed the front door. He heard footsteps above him through the wooden floor. He slowly entered the sitting room to discover that their was two bodies lying between an overturned couch. A bookshelf was pulled from the wall spilling the books on to the floor in a heap. A dark red spell came whizzing in from the French doors leading to the back of the house. A wand appeared from behind a conjured rock lying in the corner of the sitting room and returned fire with a flash of yellow. Jack retaliated with his own two spells. The flash of yellow destroyed the French doors, exposing a Death Eater, who was struck by both of Jack's spells. The body exploded showering the dining room in gore and blood. The flying blood revealed an invisible wizard who realised it to late as the wand in the sitting room sent another yellow spell. The invisible wizard exploded like the doors. The sound of running feet could be heard as three wizards rushed down the stairs. Jack swivelled his body to point his wands in the direction of the stairs and started to rapidly cast the tunnelling spell. The spells fired in short bursts has a similar effect to a Muggle shotgun. The spells blasted holes in the wall. The friendly wand sent a cutting curse through one of the holes and cut the leg of one of the wizards on the stairs causing him to fall against the other two.

Jack cautiously approached the foot of the stairs and the three incapacitated wizards. He turned around at the sound of movement and sighed in relief when he saw Amelia, alive and well. In his distracted state he missed one of the wizards brandishing a wand behind his back. However Amelia didn't and she slashed her wand down. The wizard was cut diagonally from an invisible force, from his left shoulder to his right thigh. The maimed wizard clipped by the yellow curse crawled away from his attackers. But he died after four feet due to severe blood loss as the major artery in his leg was severed. Jack cast a diagnostic spell on the remaining wizard and discovered he was already dead from a broken newel post jutting through his back.

"Fuck it! They're all dead." Growled Jack in frustration.

"There could be more you know, Jack."

"Unlikely as it seemed to be a twelve man assassination team, similar to what He did in the last War when he wanted some one dead and didn't do it himself."

"I suppose you're right, thanks for the assist . . .by the way how come you were in the neighbourhood?"

Jack looked pained before he responded. "Keith's dead."

Amelia sucked in a breath through her teeth.

"It gets worse. He died with his betrothed, Susan."

Amelia starred at Jack in growing horror.

"Yeah, your niece, Susan." He pulled Amelia into an embrace for which of them he wasn't sure as the stoic woman silently wept at the news.

After a while they moved into the kitchen. Jack made two cups of fortified tea and explained his reasons for visiting. He went through everything from getting up this morning to coming to Amelia's aid this evening. Afterwards Amelia decided that it was prudent to not inform her Aurors as the news of the failed attack might get back quicker than when the Death Eaters failed to report to their master.

As the attack took place at Amelia's residence a meeting took place involving Prendergast. The sun hung low in the sky casting long shadows as Peter slowly approached number twenty-three. The street was flanked by two long rows of terraced houses. The buildings were of brick construction and stood at three storeys atop a basement. The entrance to each was up a half flight of stone steps. Number twenty-three was in a derelict condition the locals ignored it muttering at its state. No one knew who the owners were and were never successful at determining that information. As such the house stood empty and unused for the past forty years.

Peter Prendergast hustled along the car-lined terrace ignoring the Muggles on the street. A large Transit van pulled up opposite number twenty-seven and two deliverymen got out blocking the street. The car behind blared his horn in frustration as the men delivered a baby grand piano. The signage on the van read "Morrison Music, Manchester." Peter sighed in frustration at the noisy street as he made his way up the stone steps of number twenty-three. He was startled to realise that he had got used to the silence in London as most of the Muggle toys did not work after the blast. He sighed in relief when he slammed close the heavy front door, shutting out the noisy street.

He slowly made his way into the front reception room, and observed the darkly clad wizard with greasy hair.

"Hello you overgrown bat. Severus, how's it going." Opened Peter in greeting.

Severus glared at the greeting and replied. "I don't care for such pleasantries, what have you got for me."

"Oh! I'm fine, thanks for asking. I do you a favour and this is the thanks I get."

"Get on with it, Prendergast, I haven't got all evening." Snape growled.

"Fine, you made the right decision in regards to the Ministry, security has gotten very tight. They are screening everyone for the dark mark. The reason you were summoned was because all of your students have failed the practical part of their potions exam at both levels. It looks bad for you, Snape. The Ministry wants answers, all potions across the country are failing. Any natively brewed potions are failing immediately, and the imports are spoiling after about three days. They want to talk to you, as you are a Master in the art. Maybe they need a scapegoat to pin it on. Maybe that sacrificial lamb is you."

Snape stood pensively as he digested this information. "Anything else?" He inquired.

Prendergast replied: "Yeah, there was a quiet break in at the same time as the blast in Diagon Alley. Whoever it was raided archives for files on Potter, Black, various Death Eaters, someone called Riddle and someone called Granger. Another strange thing was the mention of the marriage of The-Boy-Who-Lived. Strange as he isn't of age yet. Their was also an attack on the Ministry resulting in the death of Arthur Weasley, his son Percy is in a critical condition in a high security room at St. Mungo's. The hospital has called for a Healer Greene from the states. I understand he is a charms specialist. The attack also resulted in extensive damage caused by Fi . . . "

Prendergast's speech was cut short as his head rolled off his shoulders and thumped to the floor, blood flowed out of the severed head staining the mouldy carpet crimson. A man dressed in a navy suit stood behind brandishing a claymore. The sword dripped blood onto the filthy floor as two more men entered wielding large ugly black guns that gave off no reflections. The two men brandishing guns stood slightly behind the smartly dressed man.

The man wielding the claymore spoke. "What are you doing using my property for? Look at that, all that rich blood spilled, for what? Nothing."

With a gesture of his hand the man on the left raised his gun and smoothly pulled the trigger. The gun barked once and the bullet ripped into the plasterwork a heartbeat after the wizard left with a loud crack.

"Foolish wand wielder thinks he can escape." The suit one muttered before turning to the man on his left. "Dispose of that." As the pair got to work he muttered. "Such a waste of quality blood."

"Sir?"

"What!"

"His arm, look at the brand."

The man cleaned his claymore and sheathed the sword on his hip before examining the tattoo. He studied the design of the dragon ingesting the unicorn. He had vague recollections of an Order using the brand. He believed that they had died out about two hundred and fifty years ago. But because he did not keep up to date with the magicals he wasn't sure. He dismissed the concern as they had never worried his clan before and they were forgotten to the mists of time.

"Destroy the body, make sure that it is unidentifiable. Understood."

Both men nodded in understanding and set to work cleaning the room.

The man removed a mobile phone and dialled a number from memory.

"Hello." Came from the headset

"The safe house in Manchester is compromised. Used by wand wielders for a meeting point. Clear out the basement."

"Understood. I will send a clean up crew. Thanks for the heads up."

The man hung up and crushed the phone, and threw the plastic device onto the body for disposal. He sighed in annoyance, as another safe house was lost, resulting in four houses lost in less than a month. The man dissolved into dust. The dusty form blew away in an unseen wind.

The pair left behind diligently went about their assigned task. As a large removal van pulled up outside. A crew of eight got out and entered number twenty-three. The leader nodded to the two men and started to give out instructions to his crew. After an hour the house was emptied of its contents from the basement. Two hours later the fire brigade arrived to extinguish a raging inferno. The resulting investigation never determined the cause of the fire confined to number twenty-three. Numbers twenty-one and twenty five survived with no fire damage at all. Over time the residences forgot all about number twenty-three and it's strange legacy.

In another part of the country a grieving family tried to cope with the loss of their father. Ron Weasley was out in his father's shed sorting through his father's collection of Muggle knick knacks. He picked up a three-prong plug and put it in to a wooden box. The Ford Anglia sat in the corner up on axle stands. The car bore the scars from its journey to Hogwarts and it's tussle with the Whomping Willow. The car sat silently its charms removed; it would probably never fly again. Ron moved over to the bench and started to throw the various fuses into the wooden box, all the while fighting back the tears. He grumbled under his breath over the fact that bloody witch Fleur was consoling his brother Bill. Charlie had arrived home with a lady friend called Melissa Murdock. She was a witch from America who was working on the same dragon reserve as Charley. Why had his two brothers got girlfriends to help them grieve and he had no one. Harry was missing and he had no contact with Hermione. He wondered why even though Dumbledore forbade communication over the summer, surly the headmaster informed Hermione about the death of his dad. Or surley she read about the attack in the Daily Prophet.

The setting sun bathed the shed in a golden light as sun streamed in through the dirty window. Ron paused in his cleaning when he saw something glint on the shelf. He put down the wooden box and reached out to grasp the object under a layer of dust. It turned out to be a silver picture frame, almost black from all the gathered dust. Ron grasped an old rag and polished off the dust as best he could. He gasped when he saw a wizard photo of himself and a young woman with luminous pink hair. The woman sort of resembled Nymphadora Tonks, the eyes just looked wrong. Ron studied the photo and was startled to discover that it wasn't him in the photo but his dad at fifteen. He wondered why his mother was not in the photo. The photo showed his dad hugging the woman that resembled Nymphadora Tonks.

He discovered that there was a small leather book on the shelf, which was hidden under the photographs frame. He reached out with a trembling hand and grasped the small book. Hermione would smile about the fact he was going to read a book that didn't cover Quidditch. On the first page Ron learnt that it was a diary of sorts belonging to his dad when he was a fifth year student at Hogwarts. It had notes about various Muggle devices. There were pieces of parchment stuck to the pages with labels. Some read as follows: Car, Electricity, Television, etc. Ron thumbed to the section on the car and saw wizard pictures of the Ford Anglia with notes of various charms his father had wanted to put on the car. As Ron perused the book he realised it contained many things he never knew about his dad. That knowledge brought full force the pain of loss that he would never talk to his dad ever again. He slumped to his knees in anguish as tears trickled down his face.

A strange expression came across his face as the tears stopped. A hand came up and robotically wiped his face dry. He looked around the old shed and took in the various objects wondering about the horseless carriage up on strange stands. He smiled when he felt a wand in his hand. As he left the downtrodden shack he caught a glimpse of his reflection and frowned at his appearance. It appeared that he resided in a ginger haired boy. He surveyed the building of obvious magical construction and decided he was in a descendant of the fearsome Weasley clan. He made to Apparate away and growled in frustration when the wards held him fast. He made his way into the darkening forest and away from the house. He sighed in annoyance as he lost control of the boy's body. Ron's body fell onto the forest floor.

Ron slowly came around and groaned as he removed a twig from his hair. 'Oh no not again.' He thought in dismay. He remembered tiding out his dad's shed and then nothing. He got up, looked around, and recognized where he was and made his way back to the Burrow. As he rushed home the leather bound book slipped out of his pocket and was covered by falling leaves, kicked up by his rushed passing. Arthur in the photo sighed in dismay as he observed the book being buried as the picture frame fell to the forest floor about ten feet nearer to the Burrow. The picture frame was also buried in a similar fashion.

A dark figure Apparated behind a hedge on the quiet street. The sound of blood rushing loud in his ears. His heart was thumping a fast rhythm in his chest threatening to burst through his ribcage. He looked around the dark garden. Rain clouds were gathering overhead obscuring the starlight. He gathered his wits and Apparated again. A dog barked at the pop of apparition. After a while the dog settled for the night.

After his fifth blind Apparation of the night Severus Snape tried to collect his wits and decide on what to do now. His informant was dead, and he had narrowly escaped with his life. Someone had raided the Ministry archives and made off with Granger's file, why? He almost hit his head when he realised he never checked with the insufferable know it all to see if she knew where Potter was. Due to his situation he had memorised pertinent information about the players on both sides of this conflict and locked the information behind formidable mental shields. Deciding on a course of action, Severus recalled all the information he knew about one Hermione Jane Granger. Once he recalled the address of the Muggleborn witch he immediately Apparated to the house.

Snape surveyed the Granger's backyard under pale wand light. The house was dark, the occupants clearly asleep. He silently made his way to the back door. After making short work with the Muggle door lock he entered to find a small lobby with two doors leading further into the house. He tried one and found it lead into some sort of storeroom. He shut the door and tried the other, finding a large well-appointed kitchen. He saw the main hall on the other side of the room. From his position in the kitchen he startled when he realised he could see the front door from the open kitchen door. He observed a female move from the stairs and go to the front door.

He realised it was a middle aged woman wearing a cream coloured oversized t-shirt that barely covered her bare arse. Severus wondered what the foolish woman was up to. The woman resembled the know it all in appearance and opened the front door. Severus' heart almost came out of his chest when he recognized the male standing in the doorway as it was the man in the navy suit with the sword. He saw the man grin and bare elongated canines. It would appear the man was waiting for something. The woman murmured something and the man smiled in glee and stared right at _Him_. Severus backed up in shock. The man yawned theatrically, his eyes shining in glee at Severus' predicament. The sound of skidding tyres could be heard from the street. Followed by the sound of doors slamming.

The man had bared the woman's throat as he gathered her brown mane in his hand. Severus came to his senses and rushed forward to the woman's aid. A heavy ball appeared and slammed into the open mouth of the man. Severus skidded to a halt confused at this new development. A crack was heard as teeth shattered from the impact of the cricket ball. The man growled in frustration and snapped his jaw shut. He then spat out the shattered remains of the ball and his damaged teeth. The woman slumped to the floor as if her strings were cut. The man drew his sword and was blocked by a blade. Severus could not see who was wielding the other blade, so he slowly drew closer to the confrontation. He felt stirrings in his pants when he observed that the unconscious woman's nightshirt had ridden up exposing her nether regions. The pounding of feet could be heard from above him. Severus startled when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned in to the irate visage of Harry Potter as naked as the day he was born, wielding a large Muggle pistol. A caustic remark died on his tongue as the irate man swung, the fist containing the pistol at his head. Stars erupted and then darkness as Severus Snape slumped to the floor unconscious from the blow.

Hermione awoke with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She looked around her room. There were shelves filled with books to the right of the bed, in front of her. Two large bay windows containing love seats behind her on Harry's side of the bed. She noticed that Crookshanks was nowhere to be seen. After the couples return, her familiar groused about sharing her mistresses bed with the "Shaggy one," and ended up sleeping at the foot of the bed. She gently touched the slumbering lioness, gaining enhanced sight and hearing. She heard soft footfalls on the landing. Sighing she removed Harry's hand from cradling her breast, and got out of the bed. Harry grunted in annoyance and snuggled up to the pillow Hermione had left behind; during it all he never woke. Hermione padded silently across the room and absent-mindedly summoned her favourite Periwinkle blue fluffy bathrobe and put it on and tied the belt across her hips. Hermione frowned, as the robe must have shrunk in the wash as it barely reached the tops of her thighs.

She arrived on the top of the landing and wondered why her mother was opening the front door at this hour of the night; it was almost three in the morning. She slowly moved down the stairs when she saw the man clothed in a navy suit speak to her mother. Her senses screaming that it was all horribly wrong. She judged the distance and realised she was to far away to do anything worthwhile. Magic flooded her brain as it sped up to work out the solution to the problem at the front door. The experience was like watching the Matrix and it's bullet time gimmick. As she observed the events in slow motion she remembered the bully from next door and his love of that infernal game Cricket. She remembered he had lost a ball in the backyard a few years ago that Hermione had hidden in the garage under the old weight-training machine her father had bought in a failed attempt to get fit.

She summoned the ball via sphere and hurled it with all her might at the man in the doorway all the while hoping to Merlin that it worked. She almost fainted in relief when her mother slumped away from the man, safe. The man drew a large sword and moved to attack. In the length of time it took for Hermione to reach the bottom of the stairs she had sphered her own bastard sword and moved to block the strike.

Peripherally she heard the rest of the house awake as her fight moved into the sitting room. She found that all she could do was defend, as her opponent was good, very good. Remembering John's advice of not fighting fair and what was at stake, Hermione started to fight dirty as they parried blows in the surprisingly small room. For the room was far to small to fight with two large swords. Hermione's magic hurled the large heavy coal bucket sitting on the hearth at the man's head, he ducked at the last moment. The bucket exploded upon impact showering the room with coal dust. The man then got in a lucky strike; the strike resulted in the robe being cut open exposing Hermione to the man's leers.

Hermione felt revulsion and disgust at this turn in the fight. Her left leg lashed out and connected with the man's groin. It felt like kicking marble, she cursed that she was suffering from a limp from the failed attack. She barely blocked an overhead strike; the deflected blow cut a lamp stand in two. As the fight wore on she grimaced as she observed the room slowly getting ruined. She hastily conjured six circular saw blades and hurled them at the man and gasped in shock as they passed uselessly through the man to thud into the precious books, shelved along the floor to ceiling bookcases. It was as if he morphed into a man consisting of dust or mist. The man grinned at Hermione and her predicament. Hermione's memory of reading the Potter book of magic recalled details about this rare breed of vampire. Hopping it worked as she parried the blows, she summoned the six blades struck fast in the bookcase once the man was moved into position. The man's mouth opened in shock as one blade sliced his head off from behind. Hermione gasped as she realised she was in the firing line and sphered outside into chaos. The headless man swiftly decayed back to a skeleton. The sword clanged to the floor as the bones weathered away to dust. The six saw blades thunked into the wooden panels lining the wall.

Harry startled awake at the sudden surge of magic from his wife. He was puzzled she wasn't in bed. He received a brief snap shot of what was going on from Hermione. He leapt out of bed and hurried to the top of the stairs. He watched Hermione move towards the Man at the front door. He knew he wouldn't be able to directly help Hermione due to the size of the staircase. He heard vehicles pull up outside. He sphered to the kitchen to see if they were flanking the houses occupants. He summoned a charmed Desert Eagle because his magic was heavily depleted from his wrestling match with Remus and his spare energy went to help Hermione.

He stopped when he got a particular odour, one he associated with Potions at Hogwarts. He followed his nose and saw a man in black robes and greasy hair watching the proceedings in the hallway. He became disgusted when he smelled the man's arousal at his mother in-law's predicament and the fact that she was exposed. He walked up and politely tapped the male on the shoulder. He became incensed when her realised the man was none other than Severus Snape, bastard extraordinaire, the man that held a soft spot for his mother after all these years and still made his life hell. With pent up frustration Harry swung and rendered the man unconscious. The sound of Snape's nose being broken was like listening to music.

Harry using a trick he saw on "Buffy" he awoke the rest of the house as he sphered Jane up to her bedroom to a concerned Frank. He sent the worried man a mental image of what had happened. He requested that Minerva pack up the house. Remus became incensed and leapt out the window in full wolf form. Harry slowly moved to the front door ignoring the sounds of fighting coming from the sitting room. He cautiously checked the street; he saw a glint of green light from a Muggle device.

The door above him rocked from the large calibre bullet impacts. Harry fired and heard a muffled grunt of pain. A form moved to check on his downed comrade, Harry fired again. Another muffled grunt of pain. Silence from the sitting room. Harry was startled to see his wife sphere into the middle of the street, in a tattered filthy blue robe that barely covered her shoulders. He watched in dismay as a male approached from behind her. She swung around to face the attacker at the last moment, the head bounced once.

Harry gasped in shock as Hermione collapsed, exhausted. Another man in a black suit slowly approached the unconscious form of Hermione. His canines glinted in the dark as he bent to bite her on the thigh. Harry raced out on to the front lawn, firing as he ran. The bullets passed through the man as if he were a ghost. The dull roar of a wild animal was heard mingled with the anguished screams of a dieing man. Harry dropped the empty gun and summoned Hermione's sword. The vampire in the suit looked up, and licked his lips as he observed Harry's rushed approach. Out of the dark a flying form crashed into the Vampire. The vampire screamed in rage as the rabid wolf ripped his throat open with a clawed blow.

"Remus?" Questioned Harry as he regarded the bloodied Wolf.

The wolf turned to look at Harry as he stood over the mauled vampire. The wolf limped over and dropped at Harry's feet unconscious. Harry approached the downed vampire, and swung the sword, lodging it into the tarmacadam. The body wasted away to a skeleton, then to nothing. Harry looked around at the dead bodies littering the street.

A cautious Minerva slowly approached and said: "The house is packed, Harry."

Harry nodded and bent down and scooped Hermione off the ground, hoping she was okay. He turned to Minerva who was careful to keep her eyes looking at his face.

"Will you levitate Remus into the house? Please."

Minerva nodded and brandished her wand and carefully levitated the unconscious Lycan. The sound of squealing tyres was heard as two large Volkswagen Transporter vans came hurtling around the head of the street.

"Fuck" Hissed Harry as he reached the front door.

Inside the front door Frank stood dressed in a jeans and sweater, supporting a startled looking Jane wearing a pair of sweat pants and a woollen jumper over her nightshirt.

Remus awoke to Harry's shout in his head, about the attack on the house. The wolf in him smelt the scent of the walking corpse. He leapt through the window shattering the windowpane, and landed as a rabid wolf. In three bounds he was upon a man brandishing a gun. He lunged for the man's throat and ripped. The man's scream gurgled out through the mauled opening in his neck as blood flowed freely. His keen hearing picked up the men's murmurs as he tore into another.

"Fuck, no one said there was going be weres'."

"Has anybody got silver shells?"

His nostrils flared as he inhaled Hermione's scent, as he ripped through another man. His head turned and his eyes widened in alarm as he saw the Vampire approach the downed woman as Harry fruitlessly shot at it. The wolf bounded towards the confrontation and leapt at the Vampire. The part of the wolf known as Remus Lupin retreated from the carnage caused by the raging wolf. The wolf looked up as Harry called for Remus cautiously, Remus surged to the fore and limped over, his rear left leg clipped from a riffle round causing the limp. Remus looked up at Harry, the wolf recognized an Alpha, and was content to submit. Remus fought to stay conscious but lost the battle.

Frank Granger was startled awake when he heard Harry's voice in his head. He wondered where Jane was, the bed was empty. He looked around in panic no Jane. A sphere snapped into existence and dissolved depositing his wife on the bed. Harry's frantic call to pack echoed in his head, so Frank hastily got dressed. Jane stirred on the bed and looked around in fear.

"Get dressed, love, please." Urged Frank, as Minerva stuck her head in the door and swished her wand while murmuring.

The wardrobes started to empty and pack themselves into conjured trunks. Minerva offered an apology as she left the room with shrunken trunks with the contents of the room. Frank hugged Jane and the pair hurried to follow.

Minerva startled awake as Harry's urgent instructions filtered through her consciousness. She gasped as she looked out the window after hearing the bedroom next doors window explode outwards depositing a wolf on the lawn. Minerva gasped as she witnessed the bloody battle taking place. After getting dressed she swiftly and systematically packed all the rooms contents into conjured trunks. She went in to the main bedroom and packed the room as Frank dressed an unresponsive Jane. She hurried down stairs, went to the study as per instructions, and gasped at the amount of files contained within.

Once finished she returned to the hall and observed the end of the fight with the Vampire. Cautiously she went out to see if there was any way she could help. In greeting she told Harry that she had packed the house. Her eyes widened as Harry bent down to pick up an unconscious Hermione, as she realised that both were practically nude. What Hermione wore barely covered her shoulders and upper arms. She stole a glance at Harry and wished she were young again and in Hermione's position. She was aghast at her self to be ogling one of her students, and what a fine specimen Harry was too. She was pulled from her thoughts by Harry's request; gladly she complied, as it would give her something to concentrate on.

A/N Please review


	7. Chapter 7

For disclaimer see first chapter's notes.

'' Equals thoughts and mind speak.

"" Equals speech and quotations.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHGHP Equals scene break

Thanks to my Proof reader:Tumshie.

Chapter Seven

Draco slipped on the patch of ice and slammed his head. The sound of large footsteps reverberated on the mountain. The large black dragon stood over Draco, hot gasses hissing out of his nostrils. The dragon bent down and sniffed, pleased that he did not smell urine. It would appear that the boy had a bit of a backbone after all. The large leathery wings folded along his back. He sat back on his haunches he seemed to shrink. As he shrank his features morphed, becoming more human like as the process progressed. Where once stood a large black dragon now stood an elderly man with a gnarled walking stick. The man stood at five feet with a stoop. In his youth he would of stood at almost five feet eight inches. He had long waist length white hair and a full-face beard that reached down to his bell button. He wore yellowy brown robes and wooden sandals. Hidden by his floppy fringe was a pair of piercing eyes one a vibrant emerald the other a dull grey with a green halo.

The old man sighed in annoyance as his guest had gone exploring before his return. It was getting harder to keep outsiders off of his mountain. It was a pity that the boy had bumped into the last trespasser on his mountain. He pointed his walking stick at the boy and gestured. The boy floated in front of the man as he made his way to the small stone hut. The door opened as the two approached. Once they crossed the threshold the door slammed and the fire roared to life. The boy floated over to the bed, as the man went over to check his potion simmering on the cauldron. He sighed in relief that the boy had not even investigated the cauldron or it's contents.

After a half hour tending to the cauldron he siphoned off three vials of potion, and corked them. He then poured the remainder in to a carved wooden chalice. Taking the wooden chalice he went in to the bedroom. Manipulating his walking stick he raised the boys upper body. He stuffed a pillow behind the boys back. He put the chalice to the boy's lips and grabbed his nose. The boy gasped for breath and swallowed the potion. Some trickled down his face as his eyes widened in shock. The boy gasped for breath, then started to cough, great wracking coughs. The man thumped him on the back, after a while the boy settled down. The boy's eyes rolled up in his head as he slipped in to a troubled slumber. Nodding to himself the man got up and went into the kitchen all the while muttering. He waved his walking stick at the black misshapen cauldron. The potion remains were scourged. He filled it with water from the walking stick and put it on to boil. The sun hung low in the sky bathing the kitchen of the hut in oranges and reds as the evening gave way to night.

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Many believe that the London Underground was the first massive tunnel complex under the city, they are wrong. A much older complex was created almost three thousand years ago. About a mile underground lies a cavern. This cavern contains a doorway leading to others seeded across the globe. Vampires discovered the caverns worldwide and developed them into underground cities. One such city lies beneath London and its various tunnels and secret bunkers.

The underground city consisted of caverns hewn from the rock and connected by narrow tunnels. As the infamous London Underground was constructed the vampire population abducted some of the engineers and builders to upgrade the hand made tunnels of the vampire city. Due to this action the tunnels of the vampire city were of a similar standard to the railway tunnels above. The engineers were forced to construct elaborate underground spaces for vampire needs. One such space belonged to the old Craven clan.

The Craven house was a large cavern with barrel-vaulted ceilings. The space was constructed of four vaults interconnected on both axes. The resulting barrelled vaulted ceiling arose on nine large marble columns arising from the flag stone floor. A sweating man rushed past the rows of exquisite red marble coffins towards the throne room. The _room_ was a bay with four of the massive columns at its corners. Large deep velvet heavy drapes enclosed the space. Inside the space was an engraved marble and gem-encrusted coffin on a gold lacquered pedestal. Beside the coffin lay a large King sized wrought iron bed. Six nubile ladies lay draped on the bed ravishing a blonde fashion model. Opposite the bed stood a sterling silver encrusted throne. The throne bore the Craven crest and was adorned with jewels and sapphires. A top the throne sat an elderly gaunt man in a deep crimson suit. The blood red suit was almost black in colour.

The sweating man burst in to the room gasping for breath. One of the ladies on the bed sank her canines into the male models flesh. He grunted in pain as he rode out his orgasm. One of the minx's on the bed pouted before she sank her fangs into his left buttocks. This action started a feeding frenzy among the six women. The elderly man on the throne sighed as his lady's wrecked the bedclothes again with mortal blood. He turned to regard the mortal that dared to interfere before speaking.

"You dare interrupt my wives feast?"

"Nno Sssir." Stammered the man as he saw the last gasps of the dieing man on the bed.

"So why did you come?"

The sweating man cowered as the six women eyed him hungrily.

"Sir. We lost the Manchester safe house this evening."

"And?"

"It appears wand wielders were using it for a meeting place."

"What!" The old man roared.

"Rufus managed to kill one of them at the house. He had a brand Sir."

"What brand."

"A Dragon eating a unicorn. Sir."

"What colour was the Dragon." Asked the old man as he studied the messenger.

"Yellow."

"Fuck."

"Sir?"

"None of your concern. Now continue with your report."

As the sounds of sex came from the bed between the six women. The messenger's eyes drifted to the scene on the bed. The old man got up out of the throne and stalked towards the sweating messenger, like a cat stalking a mouse. The messenger backed up through the drapes. A hand lashed out and pulled the messenger back.

"I said continue with your report." The old man growled.

"One of the wand welders escaped while the one with the brand died. Rufus tracked him to a house. The house is located in one of London's more up market suburbs. The wizard broke into the house. The house's occupants seem to consist of a witch and a wizard with a strange signature, and four mortals."

The messenger smacked his lips trying to wet his parched throat.

"Rufus brought his protégé Louis and an attack team of mortals. Rufus used thrall on the woman of the house. A fine woman in her forties she is too, to gain access, as he crossed the threshold the woman's daughter interfered and fought with Rufus in a sword fight."

The messenger's eyes darted around looking for escape.

"Continue, I know there is more. Your heart beat is like listening to a buffet gong."

"Yes Sir." Stammered the messenger. "Rufus lost, Sir, the woman's daughter killed him."

"What!" Roared the old man. "Rufus was a sword master of over five millennia and he was bested by a mortal just on the cusp of womanhood. Ha, I don't believe it."

"Sir, it gets worse." Stammered the messenger.

"Worse!" Roared the old man.

As one of the women on the bed broke from the orgy and slowly approached the old man. She kissed him on the lips before moving behind him and started to stroke his back, trying to comfort him.

"It appears the one of the residents of the house is a Were' and is also attacking and killing the strike team."

The old man sighed, it would appear that this night was going to go down in the annals of time as a Royal fuck up. "But Were's are tied into the Lunar cycle and the full moon is not till the end of the month."

"I know Sir, that's about a fortnight away."

"What of Louis, did he get revenge on the bitch?"

"No. Sir. The bitch's lover killed him and retreated with the unconscious were' into the house."

The old man sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Fine, what's the situation now?"

"Two more teams responded to the distress call issued by the team leader on site."

"Ladies, playtime." As the old man gestured towards the Messenger.

With a feral grin the five women pounced as the messenger passed out in fear, his urine staining the floor. One of the women growled in disgust before joining in on the group blood-letting. The old man pulled on a cord hanging from the ceiling. A nude female servant approached with still bleeding puncture marks visible on her left breast.

"Dispose of those." As the old man gestured to the two dead men.

"Get me your Diner." Said the old man.

The servant bowed and left. A short while later two men entered wearing just dog collars. Each man took a corpse in a fireman's carry and left. The women on the bed carried on with the orgy as if noting happened. After the two men left another blonde male model entered and approached the bed. The ladies eye's lit up with lust and licked their lips.

A regal woman entered the throne room. She was a tall thin woman with slight pert breasts, barely covered by a crimson evening gown. Blood still trickled from her mouth. Following close behind was the servant with another set of puncture marks on the inside of her right thigh, just below the trim pubic hair.

"Yes, father? You don't mind if I finish my lunch?"

"Not at all, dear."

The nude servant approached the regal woman in the crimson gown. The woman slit the servants wrist and bled the wound into a crystal glass. As the wound bled the woman turned to her father.

"You summoned me."

"I am afraid I have bad news, your mate, Rufus, is dead."

"No." The woman shrieked, as in her grief she tore at the servant's head.

The servant's body collapsed as the head lolled at an angel the human body was never designed for, her sightless eyes locked on the orgy on the bed. The man left the throne and shrugged off the woman massaging his back. She returned to the orgy. The old man embraced his daughter.

"There, there, Lizzy, we'll get the bitch that killed him."

That wroth more sobbing from Elizabeth.

A strike team commander stood silently watching the scene. The old man maintained eye contact and nodded. The commander understood and left. The house in London would be rubble by morning. Reports from the scene were not good one strike team dead; two more under attack, and sunrise only an hour away.

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The sound of urgent whispers reached Harry through the bullet-ridden door. The men outside were cautiously approaching the house after the first group were decimated. Frank was propping up Jane under the stairs. Remus was unconscious on the floor as a wolf his damaged leg wrapped in a bloodied bandage. Minerva stood over the packed contents of the house in six magically modified bags. Hermione lay on the floor asleep from fatigue. Snape slumped to the floor at the Granger's feet.

"Where are the bags from our room?" Asked Harry as he looked at Minerva.

Minerva pointed to one of the bags wondering what Harry was up to. Harry rummaged around in the bag before removing a large rucksack. He pulled a sealed bottle and drank the contents. At Minerva's questioning look Harry explained that the bottle contained an energy drink with a magical seal for preservation. A sphere snapped into existence and then faded away leaving behind Hermione's sword and Harry's gun. Harry swayed from exertion, grabbed another bottle, and downed the contents. Harry pulled out a pair of dark grey combat pants and pulled them on. Next followed a pair of socks and a pair of army boots. He next produced a plain blue T-shirt, then a black hoody with a red crest and the script. _Radstock Chess Club. Centenary 2007_. Minerva frowned at Harry when she saw the writing on the back. "_So Many Positions . . . . . . . . So Little Time!_"

Harry frowned when he heard a noise from outside. He thrust the summoned gun into Frank's hand, along with three magazines and said. "Go cover the kitchen, please."

Frank nodded and moved to the door to the kitchen, and stayed in the hall.

Turning to Minerva, Harry frowned and explained when he saw her reaction to his hoody. "It's from the Chess club Professor." With a grin, "I hope you thought more of me than that!"

"Oh, Sorry Pot . . . Sorry Harry, old habits, I think I am half asleep."

"That's okay, do you know a spell that will clean some of the grime off of Hermione."

Minerva raised an eyebrow.

"My magic is what is keeping me going at this point, we need to leave _now_. Hermione won't appreciate being moved naked. I don't want to dress her while she is dirty. The dirt will irritate her skin under her clothes and she will wake up . . cranky. Once was more than enough for my lifetime."

Minerva nodded and set to work as Harry provided Hermione's clothes. Harry then removed two large rolled up blankets and put them to one side. He then removed a magically modified M4 assault rifle. At Minerva's questioning stare.

"As I said I am too tired to use my magic, hence the gun."

Harry loaded the gun with two magazines; one for the main gun and the other was a magazine for the forty-millimetre munitions launcher. The launcher was a completely magical construction based on a 40mm grenade launcher, the main difference being that the magazine held the capacity for ten rounds of ammunition even though the weapon looked like it could only take two. Harry lined up the sights on one of the black vans and fired. A projectile spat out of the lower barrel at just sub sonic speeds. The van exploded into a large fireball from impact as the explosive incendiary round went off.

As Harry covered the front of the house he directed Minerva to spread out the brown blanket and place the entire luggage in the centre. Harry fired the machine gun at a man that got too close to the house. The man rolled on the grass in agony as his left knee cap exploded from the bullets impact. Once Minerva was finished Harry directed her to gather the four corners together. Minerva backed up in shock as the brown bundle morphed from a blanket into a brown cloth rucksack with two handy carry straps. The contents of the house safely in the centre as the blanket morphed into the bag. It was unlike any magic she had ever seen.

"Time to get out of here." Stated a worried Harry as he sprayed a burst of machine gun fire out the front door.

The advancing men dived for cover. Frank returned from the kitchen and grasped a silent Jane. Harry handed him the brown bag while he grabbed the other rolled up blanket. Harry slung the blanket over his shoulder and gently picked up Hermione. The two men left for the attached garage and sat the women on the spare deckchairs in the large garage. Frank grabbed his car keys and tried to start the Mercedes, it was dead. Harry asked Frank to look after the two ladies while he went back for Remus, Minerva and Snape.

As Harry returned he spotted a man with a gun just outside the front door, so he fired the rifle. The door splintered from all the bullet damage sustained and fell apart. Minerva levitated Remus' wolf form while Harry slung Snape on to his shoulder. Harry dumped Snape onto the concrete floor of the garage and looked around. Jane's Clio was peppered with bullet holes and the thin metal garage door was almost completely destroyed from weapons fire. Harry spotted a group of the attackers and after witnessing a narrow miss that might of killed Minerva he decided enough was enough. He lined up his sights and pulled the trigger. Half a second later the garden under the men exploded hurling the bodies eight feet from the blast. A groan came from behind Harry; it would appear that Snape was coming around.

"Professor, I would rather that Snape stays unconscious for the foreseeable future, I believe those people." As he pointed outside. "Followed him here."

Minerva brandished her wand and a stunner lashed out and Snape stopped groaning.

"Sorry, Mr. Granger." Apologised Harry, as Frank looked up at that statement, Harry turned to Minerva.

"Professor, will you clear the floor and get rid of the two cars, please."

Minerva nodded and with a slash of her wand the two cars slowly shrank and with a pop vanished.

Frank replied with an, Oh, of understanding. Harry opened a flap on his pants pocket and removed two flick knives. He passed one over to Minerva who raised an eyebrow at the gesture but accepted the knife. Harry untied the two leather straps keeping the rolled up blanket secure. He unrolled the blanket, a stitched message read; _Wrong side_. Harry asked Minerva to give him a hand to turn it the other way round. The other side had an arrow stitched on it, which Harry directed towards the garage door. Harry started to rip the stitching along the edge and directed Minerva to do the same. Harry paused half way through to fire at an attacker that got too close to the house.

Once all the stitching was ripped, Harry grabbed the upper blanket and pulled. The blanket revealed a sleek black estate car that seemed to pop into existence. Frank gasped in shock as Harry grabbed the key stitched to the lower blanket, unlocked the car, opened the rear hatch, threw in Snape, and directed Minerva to help him lift in the wolf form of Remus.

"Why don't I just levitate him?"

"Your spell would fry the car's electrics."

"Why don't we Apparate?"

"I don't know how, just Sphereing instead, besides Hermione, Remus and Snape are knocked out. Anyway those people." He gestured outside. "Followed Snape here, so they must be able to track Apparation. Besides all of my magic is being used to keep me awake long enough to get us all to safety."

Once Remus was laid on the boot floor Harry wrapped the upper blanket around the wolf and pressed a bright yellow patch. The bundle around the wolf glowed a faint blue and faded away leaving Remus in a safe secure cocoon. Harry opened the back passenger door and gently placed Hermione into the middle car seat and belted her in. Jane came out of her stupor and climbed in beside her sleeping daughter. Harry asked Minerva to climb in the back as he slammed shut the rear door as he threw the keys at Frank and directed him to drive.

"But it's a Beemer, I prefer Mercs." Returned Frank as he saw the blue and white emblem on the key fob.

Harry sighed and said. "Frank, we need to escape it doesn't matter what the damn car is just drive."

Looking suitable chastised Frank adjusted the seat quickly, stuck the key in the ignition, and started the engine. A loud metallic roar came from the four pipes to the rear; Frank shifted the automatic to forward and floored the accelerator. As the car launched through the tattered twisted metal of the garage door Harry opened the electric window and fired at one of the remaining vans. The explosion lit up the pre-dawn sky. The last remaining black van made to give chase. Harry leaned out the window and fired. The shell struck the vans radiator and exploded, the forward momentum caused the van to flip over length ways in a fireball. Frank glanced into the rear-view mirror and was dismayed to see the house explode.

Frank guided the car south and marvelled at the raw power of the roaring engine as the needle swiftly went past one twenty on the Speedo. Frank glanced across at Harry and noticed his head lolling to the side, fast asleep. Minerva's scream shattered the silence as Frank looked forward in shock. Across the road were parked two vans with men in front brandishing rifles. Franks foot slammed on to the brake pedal. The large car swiftly slowed down, the amber indicators started to flash as the car's brain decided that it was an emergency breaking manoeuvre. Frank was pressed into the seat hard by the seat belt pre-tensioner.

He cowered behind his hands as the men raised their rifles to fire. A man in a navy suit slowly approached, he wielded a small cutlass. Realising that the men had not fired yet Frank put his hands back down on the steering wheel. The man with the cutlass smiled and bared elongated canines. Frank put the gear selector in to reverse and slammed his foot on the accelerator. The car shot backwards at an alarming pace. Frank pawed at the wheel, the car slew right. Harry's window went down. A gout of flame issued forth from the lower barrel of the rifle. The man with the cutlass exploded as the car now faced north. The Vampire had no time to react to the explosive munition so was unable to phase and allow the explosive round to harmlessly pass through him. The selector went from reverse to drive as the car lunged forward. The tyres screamed in protest, the burning corpse receded into the distance. As the red gloom of the rear lights faded into the distance the corpse burnt away to a black skeleton and then crumbled to dust leaving a black mark on the roadway.

Frank glanced across at the now awake Harry. Harry rubbed his shoulder under where the seat belt lay. He then reached across and pressed a button on the dashboard. Frank asked what he had done. Harry responded tiredly that the car was a sports version of the car and the button unlocked all the power of the engine. Frank frowned at this wondering where the BMW came from he preferred his Mercedes E-class thank you very much. For five minutes the pair debated where to go as Frank had meant to head for the tunnel and on into France and maybe stay with some good friends he knew from his old college days. It was decided that they would rush to Holyhead and the ferry to Dublin as they both felt it was safer than staying in England for the foreseeable future.

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Due to the blast in London and electronic equipment not working, the roads were much busier than usual, therefore the Staffordshire Police put on extra road patrols, checkpoints and speed traps. One such speed trap was located just outside Stroke-on-Trent. A pair of officers sat in their Police issue Volvo T5 pursuit car at the side of the road. The passenger was aiming the hand held speed camera; the monotony of the early morning was broken as a black blur blasted past the police car. Higgins's gasped in shock as the speed camera clocked the blur at travelling at over ninety miles per hour. As Rickman gave chase, Higgins's got on the radio and informed control of the incident. It took the pursuing car almost ten minutes to catch up and maintain progress.

Rickman glanced at the cars speedometer and spotted that the Volvo was doing about one hundred and seventeen miles an hour, in a sixty zone. Higgins said when he spotted the rear of the black car.

"I have never seen a car like that before but it appears to have a B.M.W. badge."

"Yeah, the reg. is not standard either, radio Control for back up, they're not stopping, and it's a pity air support is still grounded."

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHGHP

Meanwhile Harry instructed Frank to lose the pursuing police car. Frank asked how. Harry sleepily replied that Peter Morse had sourced the car. It was a five-year-old high performance BMW with a derestricted speed limit of over two hundred miles per hour. Harry also said that the couple had worked on the car under supervision and the car was tested at up to about two ten and every thing was okay. Peter had said that the car could conceivably out run any car from ninety-six.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHGHP

Higgins got on the radio as the black BMW accelerated away from the pursuing Volvo.

"Control in pursuit of a black, unidentified Bravo Mike, Whiskey, failing to stop. Over.

"Zulu Five Eight, understood, nearest units to your location are panda cars. Over. What is current speed over?" Replied the radio.

"Control current speed is one four zero. Over. Having difficulty keeping in touch. Over. Registration is Zulu, Zulu, Five, Seven, Hotel, Hotel, Romeo, over."

"Zulu Five Eight, Registration is not, repeat not in the database."

Rickman watched in dismay as the black menace in front pulled away at high speed. Control told Zulu Five Eight to stop pursuit due to public health concerns. About four hours later radio chatter reported another sighting of the black car outside the port of Holyhead. It was unfortunately too late as the report was made from a traffic control room and the information was ninety minutes late and communications was only short range the long range transmitters were still out of action.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHGHP

Around the same time the Police were getting sightings of the black car the remains of the attack force on the Granger house were reporting back to the Craven Clan. Over four strike teams were deployed in the attack, only the remains of a gutted team survived. The leader of the survivors approached the Master's coffin in trepidation. The marble coffin lid slide noiselessly to the side revealing an irate Master Vampire. The report on the failed attack on the house where Rufus died revealed that the occupants had escaped. The Vampire became incensed and he tore into his own men killing all of the men in the space of twenty long seconds. In his rage he missed his daughter Elizabeth and her manservant disappear into an underground space scant seconds before the air in the cavern seemed to turn to fire. He tried to phase out of danger only to late realising that the Craven Cavern had protections against such an action so that rival factions did not phase into his domain and kill him. His last thought before he knew no more was the hope that his daughter survived to avenge his death.

Elizabeth sat in the corner of the throne room silently observing the last in a long line of fuck ups by her father. First he did not kill an emissary from the being known as Voldemort fifteen years ago. Then he allowed the safe houses to be used by those damn wand wielders without any repercussions at all resulting in the loss of about two hundred safe houses in the past decade. Then she discovered her father ordered her husband to solve his problems for him and died while attempting to complete the task. Now it would appear that the standard of the attack teams had been allowed to slip so much that it would appear that two lowly magic users could take them all out and what was worse, allow them to escape. Well now there would be a reckoning thought Elizabeth as she nodded to her manservant Vincent.

Vincent's eyes widened in understanding and muttered into his walkie-talkie. All through the Craven underground complex men who were loyal to Elizabeth were sealing all the entryways into the underground chamber. Over the last twelve months men loyal to Elizabeth had been seeding various explosive devices throughout the cavern. Elizabeth had made sure that the planned explosion would kill all those within and had directed her men to create an easy escape as she wanted to make sure her father died. The preparations were complete at the end of May. Elizabeth had hoped to protect her husband Rufus and remove him from her father's control but after this mornings events she decided on a better course of action, revenge against her father.

Elizabeth grabbed her manservant into an embrace as the four massive napalm bombs exploded. The explosion ripped through the underground chambers known as the Craven House. The fire destroyed everything in its path, coffins, vampires and humans; no one escaped the inferno except Elizabeth and her manservant, Vincent Vance who was a master Samuri. A delayed charge went off sealing the escape tunnel as the inferno roared overhead. After an hour burning all the oxygen in the chamber was consumed by the fire, leaving behind a ruined cavern. Elizabeth's men started pumping liquid concrete in to the space after all the oxygen was consumed by the inferno, so that the roof of the cavern would not collapse. Elizabeth did not want to draw attention from the other Clans as she went about setting up a new base of operations.

Vincent was the first Englishman ever trained in the discipline of the Samuri. He completed his training over five hundred years ago. He was a lowly peasant when he was turned in twelve seventy-five. He slowly worked his way east before the Emperor's men captured him. He was unnerved when he realised that the Emperor was not afraid of him, instead the Emperor offer of freedom only after he joined his Ninja force. After the Emperor's death Vincent left China and returned to Britain. On his return he bumped into the Lady Elizabeth and she saved his life from wand wielders. The Emperor had drilled into his subjects the ideals of loyalty and Vincent felt that he must do everything in his power to repay the debt that he owed to Lady Elizabeth. He learnt everything possible about Lady Elizabeth and discovered that she was in an arranged union with Rufus. Vincent approached the Lady Elizabeth and pledged servitude for the rest of his existence. Vincent knew Rufus's death had hit his Mistress very hard but was not surprised at this power play. The pair had escaped through an old refuse chute in the floor that was extended by the men under his command. A small shaped charge sealed the passageway after their escape protecting them from the raging inferno above.

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Albus Dumbledore awoke as one of his monitoring devices started to blare. He hurriedly left his bedroom for his office. The paintings were giving out about the racket given off by the device that Harry had wreaked after his childish tantrum. Dumbledore sighed when he realised that the device monitoring the Granger residence was not fully repaired. In it's original state it would alert him if any one attacked the house, or if Hermione invited Harry over with out his permission. Dumbledore thought that Hermione was a poor influence on the weapon, even though she had helped Harry to survive. The device told him that the house wards were destroyed. With a flick of his wand his nightclothes changed to day robes. Another swish and the device was now a two-way portkey. With a fall of colour the office was once again quite, once the paintings were sure they were alone they started to gossip among themselves about the latest development in Dumbledore's plans, and the fact that they all seem to be going down the toilet. Fawkes trilled a lament as his master slipped further from the path laid before him. With a small pop the magnificent phoenix vanished from Hogwarts for the foreseeable future.

Dumbledore popped into a Muggle investigation. The house was just rubble lying on a plot of land. The sun was peaking through a cloud of smoke and dust. A husk of a van lay burning on the front garden. Black tyre marks led away from the destroyed garage. Dumbledore looked around in shock but was slightly relieved at not seeing a floating dark mark. From his developed sense of magic he found that he did not detect much magic at all, just a faint trace that a werewolf had been here not too long ago. He walked unimpeded through the rubble and to the backyard. He was dismayed to find a burnt wand in the hallway; he was surprised to recognize it as Severus's wand. He wondered why Severus would visit Hermione, as He knew that Severus detested Gryffindor's and especially know-it-all Muggleborns such as Hermione Granger. With a sigh, knowing their was nothing he could do he popped back to Hogwarts.

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Hugh Wallace slowly awoke cuddling his wife. The charmed mirror he was given was playing a piece of music he didn't recognize. The mirror was on the bedside table. His daughter was lying in a crib at the foot of the bed. Last night he held his daughter Claire and contemplated his role in the war. He was glad his wife understood that he was doing his part so that they could have a future with Riddle vanquished forever. He was firmly of the opinion that the Potters could complete their goal and was happy to assist in any way possible. Yawning Hugh reached for the communication mirror and flipped it open. Hermione's tired face came into view, Hugh glanced at the clock, the time was quarter past eleven in the morning.

"Morning, Hugh."

"Morning, You look like you need to go back to bed."

"Yeah, plan to, you look like your just up yourself."

Colour flooded Hugh's cheeks "Well I got to know my daughter Claire pretty well last night and anytime she woke up I got up to look after her so that Helen could sleep."

"Ah that's nice, you're a good man, and I hope Harry does that when it's our turn." Replied Hermione with a smile.

"I'm sure he will, what's up."

"There was an attack on the house last night. We believe that Professor Snape led Vampires to our house. We were forced to flee, Minerva packed the house while Harry and I bought some time."

"Is everyone okay?"

Hermione looked haunted "No, Crookshanks and Hedwig got banged up a lot on our escape as Minerva had put them in to the bags from our room. She is claiming that she was not fully awake. And mum is very quiet I think she is shell shocked. Also Remus got injured but he will recover."

At Hugh's questioning glance.

"The attack occurred about four this morning." Hermione then yawned. "Sorry excuse me."

"No problem." Responded Hugh, he did not like to think what they had gone through and why Snape would visit in the dead of night.

"We are in Dublin, Dad drove from our house to Holyhead. He had intended to go to France, but it didn't work out. He says he knows people here. We will be in touch. Will you go to the bank and set the plan we discussed in motion. If nothing goes wrong you won't hear form us until this day week. Okay."

"Okay, Take care."

"Bye, Hugh, tell Helen and Claire we wish them all the best and that we are asking for them."

"I will, bye."

The mirror image of Hermione faded away to be replaced with his own.

Hugh put down the mirror and frowned, he hoped to see his friends again, for he no longer considered them just clients. And he went about getting ready for his upcoming meeting with the Goblins.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHGHP

Amelia Bones slowly awoke and last nights events came flashing through her consciousness. A team of Death Eaters had attacked her house. Her long time friend Jack Bauer had come to her assistance. She had activated the panic charm in the house's wards but no one came from the Ministry to help. When she got back to work, heads would roll. After they had stopped the Death Eaters last night and had a mug of tea the pair diligently processed the scene and placed Portkeys on the bodies so that the bodies would be transported to the Morgue on Azkaban Island for identification by the staff on the island. Once that task was finished, the pair made short work of then repairing the house. Amelia did not want to spend the night alone so invited Jack to spend the night.

Amelia sighed as her body responded to the male body spooned in behind her. Jack was a good friend; they had known each other for over fifty years. He was a shoulder to cry on when her husband died twelve years ago. Jack's wife, Mary, was struck down by a classic red London Routemaster bus as she crossed the street five years ago during Christmas in the pouring rain. Jack poured himself into work; Amelia thought that he never really dealt with the loss of Mary and became distant with his son, Keith. She missed her daughter, Linda, she lost her in childbirth. She was eight months along when she was struck by an unknown silently cast purple spell, she was in her early twenties when she conceived. The perpetrator was never caught although she had her suspicions she knew who may have cast the spell as it appeared the spell was used on a pupil in the same year as Susan during Voldemort's attack on the Ministry. After the Auror's initial investigation revealed that six school kids held off the attack. One of the injuries sustained appeared to of resulted in serious damage to the poor girls chest and had a telling purple signature. Ever since the spell appeared all those years ago and it's devastating effect the Unspeakables were no closer to knowing how to block or treating it's devastating effects.

Amelia absently rubbed the purple bruised skin on her lower belly from so long ago. The Healers had said it was a miracle that she had survived at all. She lost her unborn child and almost died from blood loss. The damage to her womb was so bad she would never conceive again. As she remembered the flash of purple and the intense pain and the knowledge that she lost the child she started to weep. She thought that the poor Granger girl was scarred for life like she had been. Her thoughts drifted to last night and the fact that the Ministry never responded to her distress call. She had noticed that an awful lot of wizards and witches had vanished leaving all the departments of the Ministry severely understaffed.

Then it struck her hard, all she had left was her friend Jack. And she may not have survived the night and the twelve attackers, except for his timely assistance. She decided that she would do everything possible to catch Keith and Susan's murderer. As she got out of bed with a mission the action woke Jack. She raised an eyebrow as he removed a small ornate dagger from under his pillow and scanned the room even though he had put up level nine protection wards last night. Amelia could feel the magic emanating from it.

"Thank you for your help last night." Greeted Amelia.

Jack nodded and rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes.

Yawning he said. "We will trace Susan's movements later today after we get breakfast."

Amelia nodded and proceeded to the bathroom and the welcoming shower within. After breakfast Amelia side-alonged Jack to the house where Susan had lived. They appeared in the kitchen, the smell of stale food was over powering. Amelia spotted a piece of parchment with a note saying that Susan's mother had popped over to Diagon Alley for some ingredients for dinner and hoped to be back before six. Amelia knew that her sister and brother-in-law were dead already as she had been notified by her staff of their deaths. The couple's bodies were found among the rubble of Diagon Alley. She knew her sister met her husband at Diagon Alley as her brother-in-law worked in her department and had told her he was meeting her sister that dreadful afternoon.

Amelia left work at four that dreadful day that shook the Magical world to go on and meet the International Confederation of Wizards in regards to secrecy and security in Britain during the current unrest gripping the country. She was supposed to meet her sister and brother-in-law for a chat. The job was so busy she had very little time for family. A lone tear trickled down her cheek at the though that her whole family was gone. She was the only one left. Before she side-alonged Jack to her sisters house, Jack had showed her the forensic recording of his son's apartment. She took little comfort in the fact that her niece had managed to become a woman with her betrothed before her untimely demise. Steeling herself for what was to come she moved through the house and guided the brooding Unspeakable up stairs to Susan's bedroom.

The bedroom was decorated in shades of pink with vibrant red highlights. The room was like a bombsite with clothes strewn about. It was as if someone had left in a hurry after searching through the wardrobe and every other available surface. Jack removed the same device he used in Keith's apartment. He fiddled with the controls and activated the device. A ghostly image of Susan appeared in a fall of colour as the Portkey dumped Susan onto the bed. She got up off the bed and hurriedly got changed into Muggle clothes. The recording then showed Susan frantically search the room for something. After a while she seemed to give up and went downstairs and straight out the front door. Jack frantically paused the recording.

Jack then turned to Amelia and asked the question; "what was she looking for?"

Amelia angrily responded. "I don't know, but where did that device come from, my Auror's could have used them in their line of work."

"Sorry Amelia, but that's a trade secret of the Unspeakables and I'm not even supposed to use them in front of you. If the others ever found out I would be . . . . dealt with." Responded a crestfallen Jack.

"Oh." Whispered Amelia, she always thought that the Unspeakables were a law on to themselves, she never realised until now that it she might be true.

Jack turned back to the device and manipulated another control as he took hold of Amelia's hand. At Amelia's look Jack explained that he was making it so that only the pair of them could see the recording, as they seemed to be going into populated areas after leaving the house. The disillusioned couple followed the ghostly form of Susan to the train station and proceed to the platform for trains to London. A ghostly image of a train appeared, Susan boarded and after two minutes it pulled away from the station heading to Waterloo Station. Jack hurriedly paused the playback and removed a long narrow parcel from his robes. He unwrapped a slate grey broom with the marking "Firebolt, Black Edition." Stencilled in black against the dark grey handle.

At Amelia's questioning glance Jack stated that all Unspeakables were issued with the best of equipment and the broom was the latest edition of the Firebolt. The research arm of the Department specially adapted it with various safety charms removed and various top-secret charms placed upon it. The reason the investigation branch was furnished with expensive brooms was the fact that they had to be prepared for any eventuality. Jack tapped a red leather patch on the broom and it became invisible. The pair mounted the broom and followed the recording of the train after Jack resumed the playback. Jack guided the broom above the railway line so that they would not crash into passing trains.

Jack sighed as he glided after the ghostly train. He did not want to speed up the playback in case he missed anything. After what seemed like hours the image of the train pulled into Waterloo Station. The pair dismounted from the broom and Jack packed it away again before resuming the playback. As Susan made her way through the London Underground, the pair struggled to follow Susan with out bumping into any passer-bys. The transport system was just returning to normal after power was eventually restored to the city of London. Londoners were swiftly returning to their normal lives after the strange explosion. Amelia gasped as she recognized the streets once they left the Underground behind. They were not too far from the Leaky Cauldron.

The pair passed through newly erected wards. Jack's eyes widened as he looked over the reconstruction going on in the area. Goblins were pouring over the outside of the bank, repairing and cleaning the façade. Jack observed a Wizard holding a black dragon hide case argue with a Goblin guard. Witches and wizards were rebuilding the many shops of the Alley. The area looked bigger than what he remembered. In contrast to the vast rebuilding going on, on the magical side of the barrier the Muggle side was devastated. The streets and buildings were vast piles of rubble. The Alley formerly known as Diagon Alley was cleared of rubble. There were various buildings under construction. Four appeared to be finished with people setting up businesses. Another twenty looked almost finished with paintbrushes flying around painting the walls. Deliverymen were bustling about making deliveries of furnishings. The pair noticed the heavy Auror presence. One of the on duty Auror's approached the couple, only then did Jack realise that his invisibility charm was not working anymore. Jack did not give the Wizard a chance to interview the couple.

He had his identification ready, flashed his high security clearance to the man, and said he was on a very important case. The Auror seemed to sigh in relief and went back to his patrol. The ghostly image of Susan started to flicker as she moved to the remains of the destroyed Apothecary. Jack followed close behind and gasped in shock at the intense build up in magical energy caused by the forensic device. The recording up to now had been eerily silent. But Jack was surprised to hear the anguished scream Susan made as she died in the recording. Amelia's eyes widened in shock as she felt her magic drain out of her body and flow towards the image of Susan's floating body. Jack dropped the magical device, which shattered, on the ground. Jack's eyes widened in shock as he saw a pulsing ball of magical energy floating over the spot Susan had died. The ball of energy seemed to cycle through the colours of the rainbow bathing the rubble in coloured light.

Four on duty Aurors rushed to the scene as they felt the intense build up of magical energy. Jack cast a forensic spell and was dismayed at the readings. According to the spells ghostly numbers there was over one thousand separate magical signatures in the pulsing ball of energy. That meant that over a thousand wizards and witches fuelled the explosion with Susan apparently the unwilling catalyst. Jack was firmly of the opinion that Susan was an unwilling pawn in the attack. He was stunned at the amount of devastation caused. He remembered being briefed on the potion that could cause a similar effect, but it was nowhere near as potent or destructive. The recording he was shown involved one attacker and six unfortunate victims in the blast. The recording was from a Dark Ritual preformed in Russia about ninety years ago. The International Confederation of Wizards decided that all Ministries across the globe should be aware of the Potion and to make sure it never came into the hands of the general populace.

Jack turned and barked orders at the four on duty Aurors. The order was to seal the scene as he called in the forensic investigators. The witches and wizards on the street warily observed the ball of energy floating about five feet over the rubble. Pops were heard as the Investigators Apparated in to the street. Jack went over to meet the team leader and briefed him on what he had discovered. The Investigators started to decipher the magical signatures and begin the laborious process of identifying the dead. Amelia sighed at least they could solve some of the missing person cases. As the magical signatures were identified a small fluffy ball of magical energy gently drifted skywards. Every so often a sickly green blob would drop to the ground. After the third instance it was realised that the green blob of energy was from a dead Death Eater. As the signature was identified as a know Death Eater that escaped recently from Azkaban. Amelia observed the procedure detachedly as she tried to think how Susan was feeling as her body was used to bring such destruction. After an hour the sphere of energy was noticeably smaller. Jack had left the scene, he wanted to process some samples from Keith's apartment personally.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHGHP

Hugh checked the contents of his Dragon skin case one more time before he left the kitchen. He kissed Helen goodbye and looked in at the sleeping baby Claire before leaving for Diagon Alley. He left the house and went to the Floo hub at the end of the street. After the explosion in Diagon Alley the Ministry had dispatched Aurors to all the transport hubs across the country. Just like here in Hogsmeade. The small settlement seemed to be very busy as it took some of the displaced witches and wizards that would usually shop at Diagon Alley. Distances didn't matter to a witch or wizard who had access to means of travel such as the Floo network, portkeys and Apparation. For a wizard like Hugh the distance was too far to jump in one go so he headed for the Floo hub. The Ministry had restricted access to portkeys after the truth had eventually came out about the end of the TriWizard Tournament and how the use of a portkey had resulted in one death and the return of Riddle.

Hugh was surprised that the Ministry had not managed to kill the story but with everything going on at present many witches and wizards did not know whether they could trust the Ministry to keep them safe. Many witches and wizards were seen organising neighbourhood watches after the blast in Diagon Alley and the Ministry's lack of a response or press release. Hugh noticed as he made his way through the streets of Hogsmeade the defiant look on the faces of many witches and wizards. It would seem that the people now would not bow down to the terror that was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Some even questioned whether he was behind the attack on Diagon Alley as there was never any floating Dark Mark over the scene of so many dead.

Hugh thought to himself that already this new war was vastly different than Riddle's last reign of terror. It might have something to do with the presses slow response to the blast in London, as the Daily Prophet had never covered the event at all. The news had spread through word of mouth and many questioned why the Paper had no new information about Diagon Alley. It was as if the Paper was waiting for permission to come from the under attack Ministry. Hugh was just glad his family was safe and that he knew at least a couple of people who were really doing something about Riddle.

Hugh waited his turn to use the Floo point in turn as the witch in front went through the new security measures that the Ministry had put in place. He readily handed over the case and explained that it was just some parchment. The Auror on duty opened the case and gave the documents a cursory glance before scanning his wand. He nodded when the wand showed up clean and no dark spells were detected as having been cast. Hugh took back his wand after baring both forearms and accepted back his wand and case. As he wanted to go to Diagon Alley he had to go through one of the controlled access points as the Ministry wanted to control access to the Alley during the rebuilding process. Hugh sighed as he went through the security procedure for a second time when he exited the Floo network.

After leavening the hastily erected security tent he discovered he was at the junction between Knockturn and Diagon Alleys. He was impressed at the speed at which his fellow witches and wizards had gone about the process of rebuilding the destroyed area. Again the Auror presence was noted he wondered why it took an event like the explosion to force the Ministry into doing what it was supposed to be doing all along, namely provide safety and security through the Aurors. But that raised the point if all the Aurors were on policing and security duties was anybody left to guard the Ministry itself. He shook his head to clear it and made his way to the bank. Two large imposing warrior trolls stood ether side of the doors. The troll on the left wielded a large spiked mace and was clothed in a dragon hide loincloth, his face was marred with a scar through the right eye socket. The troll on the right wore a basilisk skin pants and wielded a large battle hammer. Both wore large black iron collars with chain leashes being controlled by six Goblins all dressed in warrior garb. The six Goblins stood in front of the trolls guarding the door to the bank as worker Goblins worked on the exterior of the bank. Hugh sucked in a breath and slowly approached the security detail and spoke to what appeared to be the leader of the guard detail.

"Hello, I'm here on behalf of my client and wish to speak to Grack."

"Bank closed. Leave now." Came the hostile response from the Leader of the security detail.

"Before I finished my client's transactions I organised special dispensations from your superiors please check, you will find that the Bank is not closed to me or my client."

"Bank closed. Leave NOW." The irate Goblin responded as the two trolls lumbered forward.

"Look, speak to Grack I will wait over there after you make up your minds." Snapped Hugh as his temper and nerves began to fray.

Hugh moved away from the bank into the middle of the street making it obvious that he was doing what he had promised. The Goblin shook it's head and spoke rapid gobbledegook to the rest of his men and after a while one left the detail and went inside the bank. After half an hour the Goblin returned with another and Hugh slowly approached the Goblins stood in front of the bank. The new Goblin was obviously some one important, as he seemed to be dressed in much finer clothes. The Goblin that went into the bank rejoined his guard detail as the new Goblin slowly appraised Hugh.

The Goblin Spoke after finishing his appraisal. "You had dealings with Grack."

Hugh nodded.

"Those dealings resulted in the closing of the bank to facilitate the transfers?" Asked the Goblin in a gravely voice.

Again Hugh nodded.

"Come, this is too important to discuss where the walls have ears."

The security detail parted and allowed Hugh's passage into the bank. The Wizard and Goblin passed the teller hall and into a long corridor that went down into the bowels of the bank. After they had passed doors too many to count, the Goblin stopped and opened a door on the left. The room was large and ornately decorated. Their was a large granite table, the top was highly polished to an almost mirror shine. Paintings hung on the walls depicting scenes of Goblin battles. Behind the table sat on ornate gold throne. The throne back was the spread wings of a Phoenix in flight. The seat of the throne was a deep crimson silk. The Goblin sank into the throne and regarded the Wizard before him. The chair for guests was a simple oak chair with a straight back. At the Goblin's gesture Hugh sat in the surprisingly comfortable oak chair.

"You want to see Grack why?"

"Because he was the Goblin I last saw and was dealing with my client's banking request."

"Is that the only reason?" The Goblin growled.

"Yes, that is the only reason, I thought for simplicity to deal with the same Goblin as my client has more business too conduct that involves some of the vaults involved in the transfers to the new vaults." Replied a slightly confused Hugh.

"Good. Grack has left Gringotts with all the gold from his personal vault. How did he become so rich?"

Hugh thought briefly before replying. "I assume from his fee for handling my clients banking needs."

"Lord Potter-Black?" Asked the Goblin nervously.

"Yes. Why?" inquired a confused Hugh at the change in the Goblin.

"All of the transfers have not been finished." Stated the Goblin as he was worried that the most important account holder could make the Goblins very poor.

"Good, my client, Lord Potter-Black discovered that there has been some errors made in the transfers to the new vaults. It is the reason I am here." Replied Hugh.

"What mistakes, Goblins don't make mistakes." Growled the now insulted Goblin.

"It was not a mistake the Goblins have made and because it was a Wizard error, Lord Potter-Black wishes for his vault to cover the fees incurred."

"What vaults have been involved?"

Hugh opened the Case, removed the parchment documents, and passed them over the table with the instruction that when the new transfers are complete, that none of the affected accounts were to suffer and lose gold due to this error he even ordered that any interest owed would be paid from his account. As the Goblin worked through the affected vaults he came to a startling conclusion that the vaults affected were belong to known opponents of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. That meant that Lord Potter-Black was retaining the vaults of known Death Eaters who escaped from Azkaban. The new transfers meant that Lord Potter-Black lost about a third of his combined fortune and a further sixth in bank charges and fees. The Goblin wondered would he also do the disgraceful thing and leave the Goblin nation with the gold he earned this day. The Goblin decided no he would not follow in Grack's footsteps and would be the Potter-Black liaison with the bank from this day on.

"It will take a bit of time until all the changes are made as there is a lot of paperwork involved in the transfers." Stated the Goblin after he perused the supplied documents.

Hugh nodded in understanding.

"It has been a most profitable day." Said the pleased Goblin.

"For you perhaps, but my client does not want his fight with Riddle to impact unnecessarily on the lives of innocent witches and wizards if he cane help it."

"So he returns some of the money he has stolen."

"It is not stealing but invoking his rights as Lord Black."

"Mere words, I know of the clause it has been used many times in the past by wizards to steal from each other."

"It is perfectly legal." Stated an irate Hugh as the Goblin attacked Harry's character.

"For a wizard perhaps." Retorted the Goblin.

"Perhaps." Allowed Hugh.

"You and your client Lord Potter-Black are unique." Stated the Goblin.

"Oh, how so?" Asked the now thoroughly confused Hugh.

"You are almost Goblin like in how you do business, I approve." Smiled the goblin baring his teeth.

"Thank you I guess." Stated Hugh.

"The Bank will be closed for at two weeks at least while the transfers are completed. Here is a Goblin travel stone, which will deposit you in the bank. Use it from now own when you do business with us. Only trusted members of Lord Potter-Black are to use that stone. Even if it is during the next two weeks, as it has been a most profitable meeting." Stated the Goblin as he passed over a stone disk and a small navy leather bound book.

The disk was four inches in diameter and one inch thick. The stone was a pale blue polished marble. Hugh had never seen a stone like it before. Runes were carved into the circumference in Goblin script in a dialect he did not recognize. Hugh opened the book and discovered it was an instruction manual prepared in English with a note for Lord Potter-Black from Ragnok leader of the Goblin Nation. Hugh was startled to see that, he had never met any high ranking Goblins before in his career the most important Goblin he had met was Grack while dealing with Harry's vaults.

"Good day Solicitor Wallace." Said the Goblin as he ushered him to the door.

"Good Day . . . ?" Inquired Hugh as he tried to get the Goblins name.

"Oh forgive me. Ragnok at your service." Stated a chuckling Ragnok as he saw the stunned expression on the Wizard face. Now what to do about that traitor Grack he thought. 'Leaving with all that gold.' He looked forward to the next few years it would be interesting to see what Lord Harry Potter-Black would do next.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHGHP

Hogwarts stood a lonely place among the landscape during the summer break. Filch was moving through the old castle with an old mop slung on his shoulder with a pale hanging from the mop head. He had just finished mopping the old stone steps at the main entrance. It was the only time of the year he was at peace with out any sufferable children underfoot to befoul his precious castle. The beastly Weasley Twins swamp was only got rid of yesterday evening at least he could console himself with the fact that the two terrors would never set foot in Hogwarts ever again as residents of the venerable institution. He put away the mop and bucket into one of the many broom cupboards spread throughout the building before he sat down to eat his lunch. Lunch was another reason he loved the summer break, as He was among the happy few who enjoyed the fruits of the kitchen. The Hogwarts elves having very little to do prepared the most wonderful feasts during the summer for himself and the Headmaster when he was here. To day it would seem he was to dine alone as he saw the spread on the table. Eagerly he tucked into a Sunday roast, already forgetting about the odd jobs he had to complete that afternoon as he now thought that he would sleep off the vast feast.

Just as he tucked into his second course of the meal the door to his small dining room slammed open to reveal a flustered looking Albus Dumbledore.

"Sorry to interrupt your meal, Argus, but I have a matter that needs your urgent attention."

"What?" Growled Filch as he looked forlornly over his dinner spread.

"The Ministry in it's wisdom has decided that due to so many students failing Potions that Hogwarts well reopen on Thursday the First of August. That leaves you less than a fortnight to prepare the school."

"I'll get on to it after I finish my dinner Albus." Replied a fuming Filch as he realised that his holiday was cut short by a month.

"Sorry, Argus, but this needs urgent attention. Dolores Umbridge will be here at the end of the week to survey the school to make sure it is up to Ministry standards. Good day I have to attend an urgent meeting of the International Confederation of Wizards as it would appear that the infernal United Nations of Magic are sticking their nose into our business and sending a team of assessors."

"Any look finding that brat Potter?"

"I'm afraid not, Argus."

"I told you the only way to control the boy was to allow me to whip him." Offered Filch.

"I let you do that with young Tom Riddle and look how that turned out after he regained his memories." Replied Albus.

"That excuse is getting old, Albus. Anytime I suggest action the excuse about Tommy boy is rolled out. All that boy needs is a good whipping. Potter has you wrapped around his finger he is probably off with Granger, Weasley, or Lovegood rutting like dogs in the Italian Riviera all the while laughing as you fruitlessly search for him."

"Enough, Argus, again you go to far." Replied an angry Albus Dumbledore. "You are stuck in the past when corporal punishment was still allowed"

Filch growled under his breath but did not correct the Headmaster.

It was always the same with the cantankerous caretaker. Albus would never fire the man, as the only magical talent he possessed was an annoying talent for resisting memory charms. And too many questions would be asked if he was to turn up dead. Albus shook his head as the crafty man finished his dinner as they had their discussion. Umbridge coming back was a problem and where was his two heads of House Snape and McGonagall. They should have been back this morning to prepare for the early opening of the school as the Ministry planned for the N.E.W.T. and O.W.L. students to repeat the whole year again all because of Snape's complete failure to teach the subject to the Ministry's high standard. Finding Snape's burnt wand at the destroyed Granger residence was puzzling to say the least. Albus massaged the oncoming headache as he left Argus once he was sure the caretaker was attending to the castle. He just needed a short lament from Fawkes to sooth his aching head.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHGHP

Earlier that day the ferry from Holyhead arrived in to Dun Laoghaire harbour. A sleek black estate car disembarked and made it's way into Dublin city centre. Customs were told far to late to stop the driver of the car with the strange English registration. The Gardai were reluctant to stop the two hundred or so English registered cars that disembarked from the ferry because the British police had reported that one of them was observed speeding. If the driver of the car was a criminal it was highly probable that they had changed cars already. The Gardai were inundated with requests from English nationals forced to land at Dublin or Shannon Airports due to the fact that England was a no fly zone until it was determined what had caused so many planes to crash over London. Therefore they did not have the resources to hunt down one black car with a funny registration plate that may not even be on the car any more.

Frank Granger pulled over and parallel parked on a quiet side street behind Rathmines village, a suburb to the south of the city centre. Frank glanced into the rear view mirror and wished he had his camera because the scene of the three woman asleep on the back seat was worth recording for prosperity. Hermione was asleep in the centre with Jane's head lying on her shoulder and Professor McGonagall was snuggled up to Hermione on the other, her mouth ajar slightly with drool dripping out of the strict woman. Frank glanced across at Harry he was asleep with his head lying on the head rest his back against the door the rifle was lying beside him with both safeties on. Frank wondered how the authorities didn't see the dangerous looking weapon but did not dwell on it.

Frank sat in the car pondering what to do next his mind drifted over what happened last night. He was rudely awakened by Harry's shout in his head. Harry sent an image of what had happened to Jane at the front door, of how the man in the suit seemed to control her and how she was exposed as she slipped into unconsciousness as his daughter saved her life. Frank was startled to realise on reflection that he got some of Harry's thoughts on the scene. How Harry was outraged that the man had used Jane to gain access to the house. He also was startled to realise that Harry was embarrassed at seeing Jane exposed in such away as he now thought of her as his Mother-in-law with great fondness due to her acceptance of his relationship with Hermione. Frank found he was pleased with Harry's handling of his Potion's Professor, Severus Snape, and the man's leering at his unconscious wife. Frank was startled at the rage that was flowing through Harry and the fact that Harry considered Jane to be a mother figure in his life as he missed his own mother Lily Potter and was thoroughly disgusted by Snape's apparent arousal at Jane's unfortunate position.

Frank learnt that from Harry's point of view it did not matter whether it was Jane or Lily, sprawled on the floor to Snape's leers he would try and protect them while they were vulnerable. The only reason that Snape was still alive was that Harry wanted to get his sleeping wife's opinion on the matter and a suitable punishment for the wizard who brought about last nights troubles for Harry was convinced that the wizard was wholly responsible.

Frank smiled at the thought of what punishment his daughter would unleash on the prisoner in the boot. Frank glanced around the street and decided it was not worth opening the rear hatch to inflict damage on the vile man himself as that might attract unwanted attention. Frank was startled to realise that Harry loved Jane as if she was his own mother. He also was startled to learn a little bit about Harry's childhood at number four. Frank was amazed at the amount of information and thoughts that could be transmitted in that brief message before Harry sphered Jane up to the Master bedroom. Last night Frank had no time to think but now as he mulled over the options before him he decided that Hermione could not of found a better life mate. Frank smiled as he realised that he received a gift that no other father ever received a glimpse in to the mind of the husband of their daughter. Frank decided that he would do anything possible to help Harry as from now on he considered him to be a son he never had.

Frank was pulled from his thoughts as Harry stretched beside him. Harry yawned and asked where they were. Frank told him of their current location and asked Harry to mind the others while he went to see if he could phone someone he knew that might be able to help them out. Harry nodded and rubbed his tired eyes he looked like a man with a bad hangover and needed more rest. Frank decided from the brief glimpse of Harry's mind and motivation that he would trust him to stay awake while he headed to the nearest shopping area for Coffee and then a public phone. As he left the car he noticed Harry get out and walk around to the drivers side. Frank thought that maybe the driver side offered the best position to use the cars wing mirrors and also Harry would not need to change seat to make a quick get away if the situation warranted it.

Frank's first port of call was a bank to change some of his Sterling pounds into Punts. After his visit to the bureau de change he left with a quantity of Punts, the Irish pound. Frank then went and found a small café for some coffee. He thought that after last night he needed the caffeine fix. He read the complementary Irish Times to find out what was going on outside of England. He discovered that the British Government was staying silent on the strange blast in London. The world economy was slowly recovering from the almost total collapse of the stock markets worldwide. It would seem that the Americans were deploying one of their fleets to the North Atlantic in response to the apparent attack on London. Many countries offered aid and support to the British. According to the paper Ireland along with France were helping stranded British citizens forced to divert because the isle of England, Scotland and Wales was now a no fly zone. French, German and American Fighter planes were in the air just out side the exclusion zone to prevent any passenger jets from straying into the air over the island, as no one knew what had caused so many modern aircraft to fall out of the sky.

Ten Downing Street had declared a state of emergency. The army was being deployed to help the emergency services with the search through the many plane crashes around the Greater London area. Frank frowned at that, as he had not seen any Police or Army presence as he rushed to the Ferry. It would appear that the Press were under the government's control. Frank folded up the paper and got up to pay. As he paid the cashier he inquired where the nearest pay phone was. He was directed to a phone-box across the street away from where the car was parked. As he read the paper an idea formed in his head of whom he should ring. Hoping his memory was accurate and that his friend hadn't moved he dialled a number from memory. When he heard an answer he fed the phone with a couple of quid.

"Hello." Answered the Phone.

"Hello, Paddy, its Frank."

"Hello, Frank. What's the story?"

"I need help, Paddy."

"Fuck, it must be bad if you're asking for help off of me."

"None of that now, Paddy."

"Sorry, Frank. What sort of help do you need?"

"I can't discuss it over the phone."

"Frank! What sort of shit are you in?"

"Nothing like that, I'm not the one who is wanted by the British Police, Boyle, alright."

"Chill, Frank, I didn't mean to upset you."

"A teacher of Hermione's brought trouble to the house, we had to split, okay?"

"Fuck it must be bad if you skipped the country."

"Patrick Dermot Boyle, last night makes what we did look like tiddlywinks, alright."

"Fuck, does the lovely missus know about the nixers on the side?"

"So, Boyle, can you help put us up for a while?"

"How many? I'll have to organise something."

"Nothing shady, I don't want to have to worry about your associates as well as the shit I'm in."

"Fuck what are you involved with?"

"Boyle, You owe me, I need a place for us to stay no questions asked in a very quiet location, alright."

"Where are you."

"Dublin."

"Dublin is a big place want to narrow that down for me."

"No."

"Alright then ring me when you get to Cashel."

"Fine"

Frank then slammed down the phone and collected his thoughts. When Frank was in school, he fell in with the wrong crowd. His parents were not happy and sent him to an all boys' boarding school; needless to say he hated it. But he did bump into Patrick Paddy Boyle the son of one of the most successful horse breeders in the British Isles. They became friends, but Paddy tested the relationship when he got hooked on hard drugs. Paddy was marginalized in the school due to the fact he was Irish and found solace getting high and drunk. One night while Paddy was very drunk he insulted the local drug dealer, a complete mad man. The drug dealer had issued a death threat that both of them believed to be a promise. Needless to say, Frank had helped him escape from the drug dealer and get out of England. While on the run Frank had got his friend sober and clean. The month he had spent trying to sober Paddy had taken it's toll on the friendship.

After seeing what it had done to his friend Paddy, Frank swore off drugs in any form. He only drank occasionally when stressed. Paddy had given him a phone number in case he ever needed help himself. Frank went to throw away the number but thought better of it and held on to it. He had committed the phone number to memory. Frank went to Dentist school, settled into his studies, and fell in love with Jane. He thought he had put the past behind him but this current situation opened those old wounds. Sighing that his present would meet his past he went back to the car.

Frank frowned when he spotted the car. The rear hatch was up and Crookshanks was sitting on Hermione's lap as she sat on the floor of the boot. Minerva was stood stretching out the kinks in her body. The back door near the footpath was open and a quite withdrawn Jane sat with her feet on the pavement. Frank wondered why no one had passed a glance at the strange sight. As he got closer he felt that he had passed through some sort of field as his body tingled from pins and needles.

Crookshanks leapt from Hermione's lap and lightly landed on the ground. Hermione got up and hugged Frank in greeting. Hermione explained that she had contacted Hugh and told him she would contact him again in about a week. Frank turned to see how Jane was faring but she was staring off into space. Minerva yawned and got back into the car, Jane shuffled into the centre of the car. Harry was asleep in the front passenger seat his head resting on a small conjured pillow. At Franks glance Hermione explained that she had recharged her reserves enough to do small amounts of magic and she was proficient enough to do magic around electronic equipment.

Hermione guided Frank to the back seat, took the driver seat, and explained that of all of them she was the most alert as it was now about midday. Frank told her she was to head for Cashel, County Tipperary. He supplied two map books he had bought. The first was a road atlas of Ireland the second was a street atlas of Dublin. Even though he had drank coffee he found that he was drowsy when he sat beside Jane, who seemed to shuffle closer to Minerva. From the brief glimpse of Harry's mind and thoughts he trusted Hermione to be able to get them safely to Cashel and maybe a sanctuary.

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Paul Johnson pulled the robe tightly around his shoulders as he grabbed his travel bag. He hated using Portkeys of any description instead he preferred Floo travel. But the British Ministry in its infinite wisdom had decided that the Floo network was to be restricted to domestic duties and banned any international connections therefore he was forced to use a Portkey. He met the Bureau's Quartermaster and was issued with two Portkeys the return trip to Paris and an emergency Portkey that would whisk him back to the States and safety. The Quartermaster also furnished him with a full field kit for operating behind enemy lines. At his questioning glance the Quartermaster said that the Director wanted him to be prepared for anything and the fact that the British were liable to do anything at present.

Steeling himself for his trip he activated the Portkey and grimaced. He felt the pull on his navel and felt the pressure on his stomach as he fought vainly to keep his lunch down. His feet went from under him and his contact with French soil was flat on his back. He groaned in agony at the terrible long distance trip all the while complaining that he was jinxed. A person helped him to his feet. The man was tall and well built with a tanned complexion; he wore a pair of sunglasses obscuring his eyes. His head was shaved completely and there was a tribal tattoo on the back of his head in a dull navy colour. He wore about four or five day's worth of stubble on his chin. He spoke with a South Africa accent.

"Hello, you must be Johnson the Yank." Enquired the man.

Johnson did not speak for fear of throwing up but nodded and shook the man's hand.

"I understand you look a little green around the gills, the names Jeffrey Archer, South African Hit Wizard." Said the man, Archer.

Johnson nodded and composed himself.

"Sorry about that, I hate Portkey travel." Apologised Johnson

Archer chuckled at that.

"Agent, Paul Johnson, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Magical Division. Nice to meet you."

"So I guess we are working on this British thing together?"

"Yeah, I guess, just found out this afternoon my time. Bye the way what time is it locally?"

"About eleven twenty p.m. So that would mean London would be about twenty past ten."

"I hate jumping through Time zones its almost as bad as jet lag."

Archer laughed at that and guided him to the safe house the International Inspection Team was using to conduct this investigation. Archer explained that he had found out about this job around the same time Johnson did. The pair silently moved through the Magical quarter of Paris towards the Safe house. The sky was clear and their was a gentle breeze to cool the warm night. Archer led him down a dark side alley and knocked a particular melody on the door. A Small Mexican Woman answered the door. She had short brown hair, haunting black eyes and walked with a cane. She asked Archer a question. She was satisfied with Archers response and stepped aside to allow the two men pass into the house. The woman limped into a room on the left, Johnson realised that it was a small kitchen. The woman set the kettle to boil and offered the men tea or coffee. Johnson decided against coffee at this hour of the night, as he had to adjust to the new time zone.

The woman explained that she was designated as the leader by the United Nations of Magic because she was the Mexican head of the Auror's and was to old for fieldwork. Therefore she would be staying at the safe house and sort through the gathered evidence. Her name was Selma Cuaron and Johnson's eyes widened in surprise that the Mexicans would allow their best ever Auror out of the country because she was viewed as a hero for her service to the Mexican Magical Community. She held the equivalent honour as the British Order of Merlin first class.

After they had got there beverages Selma guided the two men into the comfortable sitting room to meet the rest of the team. An athletic woman sat sprawled in a large fluffy armchair reading a report she waved her hand in greeting and ignored the newcomers. She was tall and well tanned she wore a pair of cream beach shorts and a baggy baby blue T-shirt. Johnson thought she had stumbled in off a beach. Selma said that she was an Australian undercover Auror from the Australian Special Magical Forces. Her sun-bleached hair was pulled into a messy ponytail. Selma introduced her as a Miss Kylie Jane Dundee, and went on to explain that she was made a member to remove her from Australia while a case was closed as she was a star witness and would likely crack under protective custody. Johnson agreed that he would likely crack if he was forced to suffer a protective custody spell. As it was just like being locked up in prison with nothing to do but stare at the four walls.

Johnson was then shown to his room upstairs to unpack. The room was simply decorated with a cream wallpaper a small single bed, pine bedside table and a wardrobe. After unpacking he went back down stairs to enquire about the last team member the representative from China. Selma said that Operative Wu would be joining them in about a week as he still had some bits and pieces he needed to finish before joining the team. The following morning Johnson was briefed on the current situation by Kylie the bubbly Australian. He learnt that their seemed to be a Potion nullifying ward of some sort covering the British Isles and stretching as far south as Normandy in Northern France. It would appear that no one could successfully brew Potions at all. And any imported Potions would spoil after a short spell. Kylie had discovered that the ward seemed to be centred on London. Johnson was disgusted when he learnt that the British Ministry was forcing the pupils of O.W.L. and N.E.W.T.s to repeat a year because of this unusual ward. And were forcing schools such as Hogwarts to open a month early. Johnson thought that a better solution would maybe test the pupils again in a country away from the strange ward, as the British Isles seemed to be the only place affected by the ward.

Selma smiled at that suggestion and said that if they could have a preliminary report complete before the Ministry forced the pupils to needlessly repeat the school year. The United Nations of Magic could step in and assist the ordinary decent British witch or wizard. And stop all these ridiculous steps the British Ministry were taking. Johnson's jaw dropped as he realised that depending on the report the United Nations of Magic would remove the whole British Ministry from power if it were found that they were incompetent or corrupt and at this early stage it was a very strong possibility.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHGHP

The room was a wide circular room; a spiral staircase arose from the centre. A large cherry wood wardrobe stood between a pair of windows. The bed was covered by a painter's sheet; a large black tarp covered the wardrobe. All the rest of the furniture was stacked together underneath another painters sheet. To the left of the stairs stood a small paint splattered wooden scaffold. A girl lay upon the scaffold with dirty blonde waist length hair tied up into a ponytail. Lying beside her was an assortment of paints. She used her wand like a paintbrush. Already she had finished two faces on her ceiling. One was a girl with fiery red hair and bright brown eyes shining with mirth. The second face was a boy wearing a smile with his eyes closed, his blond hair faded into the deep blue of the background. She was working on a third face with the only defining feature complete was the nose. The paint seemed to be alive and gave the two finished faces some vibrancy. However these were not magical portraits for they did not move.

Light was provided from two large floating balls of light. The sunlight streaming in the window was not good enough for the artist upon the scaffold. She paused in her meticulous work to consult a wizard album. She sipped from the half full bottle of Butterbeer as she studied the ceiling. Nodding happily that the two likenesses were accurate she resumed her work. The noise from the room below was kept out by a soundproof ward across the opening for the circular staircase. One of the windows opened of it's own accord and allowed entry for a small owl. The girl petted the small owl and offered it a treat as she removed the piece of rolled up parchment. It was addressed as follows.

Luna Lovegood

Painters Scaffold,

Her bedroom.

Luna opened the parchment and read.

Dear Luna,

This letter is to inform you that Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry will open one month early on the 1st of August 1996 instead of the normal date of September the first. The Ministry is taking this proactive step to improve your education. Headmistress Umbridge will continue to head this fine institute of learning. Your head of house will contact you in the next few days with your required reading lists and any other miscellaneous supplies you will need for your up coming school year.

Yours Sincerely

Griselda Marchbanks.

Wizarding Education Authority.

Luna frowned wondering why the Ministry would change the term times especially when the failing potions were effecting the poor Wrackspurt. The poor things were multiplying and obviously infecting the Ministry. Well at least she would meet up with her friends very soon. Deciding that the letter was unimportant she went back to her painting of her friends. She would have to work quicker at it as she was returning to school early. She would be lucky to finish it in time for the start of the new term.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHGHP

The Ministry of Magic was a hive of activity. Minister Scrimgeour was shuffling staff around to fill the gaps the missing personnel revealed. To that end he felt that with the massive failing grades in N.E.W.T.s and O.W.L.s he felt that a guiding hand was needed and reappointed Delores Umbridge as Headmistress of Hogwarts. Dumbledore was to be demoted to the position of Potions Master in an attempt to rectify the apparent failure of the previous teacher of the subject Severus Snape. It was very telling that Snape had not responded to the Ministry's wish to interview the sacked Potions Master. So far the Ministry failed in finding a Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor as Umbridge's time would be occupied by raising the standards of the School in education and moral fibre of the residents. The Board of Governors had lost over half its panel and was thus disbanded by the Ministry and a new department headed by the respected Griselda Marchbanks assumed control of the school. A volunteer force of common witches and wizards bolstered the Aurors. They had to go through a simple exam; it involved displaying both arms bare of any dark mark and swearing a wizard's oath to the Ministry. The oath was to the effect: protect the Ministry and its subjects.

In the new department a printing press was busily churning out letters similar to Luna Lovegood's one. The letters just needed the pupils name added. Four interns fresh out of school were filling out the letters and using the address charm to post them with Ministry owls. The address charm was an ingenious charm that was invented so that the Ministry could issue letters even if they did not know where the recipient would be. An example of this is the letter Hogwarts sent to Harry Potter addressed to the Cupboard under the stairs. The School did not know Harry lived under the stairs when addressing the letter but the magic of the charm divined Harry's exact location for a speedy delivery. The address charm used the recipient's magic to divine the address so that the delivery owl could deliver the message. For secure communication where secrecy was paramount the delayed address charm was used, in this instance the Address did not appear on the parchment at all and the delivery owl was only informed while in flight usually after five minutes after being sent.

The fifth intern was going through the list of Hogwarts attendees and using the address charm to issue the letters. However the charm would not work on some names. Those names were added to a list of undelivered letters. It was only after the office was informed by Madam Bones that her niece Susan Bauer, nee Bones, was dead, did they realise that some of the names on the list were dead. Madam Bones supplied a list of the dead from Diagon Alley.

The names on the list of the dead that tallied with the list of unsent letters were as follows:

Bauer (Bones), Susan. Brocklehurst, Mandy. Coote, Ritche, Goyle, Gregory. Parkinson, Pansy. Whitby, Kevin.

The names were struck off the list of unsent letters. But that left question marks on some of the other names. The address charm only partially worked for Ronald Weasley. The spell only returned a strange faded grey address in a long dead language. This was most puzzling. The letter to Draco Malfoy stated that the address was too far to divine, this was also very strange as the charm had a range of about five hundred miles. That meant that Draco Malfoy had managed to leave the country undetected. The Charm failed to work for Hermione Granger at all, but she was not listed as deceased. What was most worrying was the fact that the address charm also failed for Harry Potter as well. The intern sat back in shock as it indicated that the Boy-Who-Lived may be dead somewhere and this meant that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named probably killed him. The intern felt a chill run up his spine at this thought.

A/N Please review.


	8. Chapter 8

For disclaimer, see the first chapter's notes.

Short recap: though I don't own the characters I'm just playing with them.

I promise to put them back when I'm finished with them. :)

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG equals scene break.

With thanks to my proofreaders: Tumshie, mlui

Chapter Eight

The wind howled past the small hut on the mountaintop. Sleet lashed against the stone hut, the thin pane of glass rattled in the frame. The storm had been steadily building through the night. It was fuelled by the changes happening to the boy from England that lay on the rickety bed. The mountain was almost on the other side of the world, and the Potion Nullifying Ward. The small room crackled from the magical energy as the boy's body was altered into something not quite human. His magical power core was almost crushed from the onslaught of the potion. His stomach had easily processed the Potion and distributed its essence to every cell in his body. In his fevered sleep, his back arched in agony as his internal organs and the potion's effects changed his bones.

It appeared that his body had matured fully to that of a man in his mid-twenties. His body has developed muscles and the physique of a labourer far different than that of his pampered upbringing would suggest. His bones became denser and harder, his muscles developed immense strength and stamina, his heart enlarged in his chest to pump more blood. His lungs also enlarged to supply his body with greater quantities of the much needed oxygen. A new organ developed just off of his airway; it was about the size of an apple and a thick oily substance was contained within it.

His white pale skin developed a grey tinge to give his skin the appearance of a dirty coal miner, for the skin had a black tint to it. His back was arched in agony as he screamed at the painful transformation, but he never awoke. His toe and fingernails bled black and resembled granite flints. A tattoo appeared on his left shoulder blade as if burnt on. The skin rapidly healed. The tattoo was a large black dragon feasting upon a unicorn foal. A dead yellow dragon lay in the background with blood oozing out of a deep gash just below the neck. The dragon had grey depthless eyes.

Shortly before dawn, the storm died down. The wind stopped howling and the sleet turned to gentle snow, whipped up by the gentle flurries. The English boy was now a fully-grown man in body but not mind. He settled and slipped into a peaceful slumber as his body slowly recovered from the painful changes that took place previously. The rickety door to the small room opened and a pensive figure looked over the sleeping form on the bed. The old man sucked in a breath as he saw the tattoo branded on the boy's back. It looked like his time on the mortal plane was coming at an end. He shuffled across the stone floor and sagged on to the edge of the bed. He muttered under his breath and touched the back of the boy's head with the walking stick and the boy's head briefly glowed orange.

The old man settled his breathing and meditated. After a short while, he was in the boy's head and spent the next hour going through the boy's life experiences. The old man learnt that his apprentice was named Draco Malfoy. He chuckled at the boy's name; his mother must have been a seer. Once he was trained, he would be able to challenge the so-called Dark Lord and take control of his followers. Sensing that Draco would awaken soon, the old man shuffled to prepare breakfast, as he knew that the apprentice would be ravenously hungry.

Draco slowly awoke on his side and stared at the desolate landscape through the frosted glass. Groaning, he rubbed his aching head as yesterday's events came back to him; he remembered being forced to swallow a strange potion. In a panic, he looked around the room and was dismayed to discover that he was back in the same room as yesterday. He tried to get up but found his clothes restrictively tight and ripped. His clothes were ruined and were so tight that they were hurting him. He grasped his torn shirt and pulled. His eyes widened as the material easily parted. It felt like he was tearing tissue paper. As he sat up, his head swam; he put out a hand to steady himself and gasped when he saw his black stone-like fingernails and his dark tinted skin.

Frantically, he tore his clothes off his body to survey the changes that hadhappened to him. He sighed in relief that his manhood had not shrunk. Spotting a brown robe, he donned it while pouting that it wasn't in black. It dawned on him that he didn't feel cold, whereas yesterday he was bitterly cold. He thought, what is going on? Deciding that he could not spend the rest of his life in the room, he cautiously opened the door. He spotted the old man that had drugged him calmly eating at the table.

Draco roared, 'What did you do to me?'

The old man frowned and spoke, but Draco did not understand.

Again, the old man spoke but this time Draco felt knowledge slowly filter through his mind. He asked again and was surprised to find he was speaking something that was not English.

'What did you do to me?'

'I made you strong.'

'What?'

'Eat,' ordered the old man, and he pointed at the wooden bowl on the table. Draco frowned but found that he was ravenously hungry. He reluctantly sat down, picked up the wooden spoon, and slowly began to eat,all the while suspiciously watching the old man eating quietly.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Severus Snape was in agony and had been for the last few hours. He lamented on the fact that he had lost his wand, for if he had it, he might have been able to do something for his broken nose and the horrible sensation of blood and nasal fluid on his lower face. He had a raging headache that broke the concentration needed to successfully Apparate away from danger. His memories slowly returned. He remembered going to the Know-it-all's house and getting an eye full of her mother. She was nowhere near the stunning beauty that Lily Evans was while at Hogwarts. It was an awful shame she had sullied herself with that utter bastard James and had spawned Potter's offspring.

He remembered being shocked seeing the rage in Potter's face as he copped a look at the bookworm's mother. It was only filtering through his head that he realised that Potter had been naked and had struck him with a metal object. He realised he had one more thing to hate the brat for. He would never admit it to anyone under pain of death but the little shite was unfortunately better hung than he was. He remembered wakening after the blow to his nose to a rocking motion,before he passed out again; he never knew why he didn't empty his queasy stomach from the swaying motion of the strange space he was locked into. He was glad when the heavy swaying stopped, and was almost ecstatic when it stopped altogether.

He feigned sleep when the Know-it-all opened up the strange metal and glass door of the chamber he was in. He felt a strange sensation on his face as the Know-it-all explained to someone that she did not want him to drown on his own body fluids. He never saw Minerva's stunner lash out and render him unconscious once more.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Like all intelligent women who can multitask, Hermione Potter-Black was puzzling over the many problems as she navigated the roads to Cashel, County Tipperary. She wondered why her mother was quiet and withdrawn; she had observed her mother pulling away from her father when he had gotten into the back of the car. Also troubling her was the fact that last night she had gotten magically exhausted in the middle of a fight. It was only due to Harry and Remus' intervention last night that she had not gone on to the next adventure, as Dumbledore would say. Harry was asleep beside her in the car, almost dead to the world; their connection was operating at its minimum only vague feelings were being transmitted. Due to sharing this connection, both had been forced to learn how to multitask as otherwise nothing would ever get done as the feelings coming over the bond could be overwhelming at times. The side effect was that Harry could do a feat that was impossible to most males, do many different things at once, and not get confused. The only times Hermione ever fully let go to the bond was during the wonderful lovemaking sessions with Harry.

Hermione's mood turned pensive as she realised she had killed again last night. Was she turning into a killer like Riddle, and would it ever end, all this killing? Really? She had discovered the stunned form of Severus Snape lying on the floor of the boot of the car while she looked for Crookshanks. Harry before falling asleep had shared his memories of last night. Hermione decided to wait for them both to be awake and clear headed before tackling the Snape issue. But she decided to temporarily fix the broken nose and clean off his face because she did not want him to drown on his congealing blood or die from blood loss from the broken nose. Minerva had realised that the Potions Professor was feigning sleep and took some pleasure from stunning him again.

Hermione learnt from rifling through the brown cloth bag that all the house's contents were within the bag, bar the contents of the study where she fought the Vampire. She was dismayed that both Hedwig and Crookshanks were just packed into the bag in the rush last night. She had realised that Minerva was awake and both had decided to get out and stretch. Harry had informed them all that Frank had gone to make a phone call. While he was gone, Hermione let out Crookshanks and Hedwig out of the brown bag. Harry's familiar looked balefully at her from his cage and went back to sleep. Crookshanks was vocal at his handling and it took much petting and cuddling to appease the disgruntled half-Kneazle. During the time her father was away making arrangements, she had contacted Hugh to deal with the situation at the bank. When her father returned, he informed the people in the car about his adventure while away from the car. Hermione, then, decided that he was too tired to drive, so had elected to take over those duties as it would appear that her mother was in a daze from last night.

Hermione was pleased that all the charm work done to the five-year-old BMW M5 Touring was holding up. The petrol tank was charmed to hold about two thousand litres of fuel and to weigh the same as the normal sixty or so litres of the original tank. The couple had worked for about two months on the car so that it would appear from the outside to be a normal high performance vehicle. But underneath, they had magically improved almost all of the components. In a normal car, it was electronically limited to a top speed of one hundred and fifty-five miles per hour because that was what some of the parts were rated to. The normal car with it's limiter turned off could hit two hundred miles per hour but the wear and tear on components meant that they would not last as long, some as little as five thousand miles before needing to be replaced. Jim had shared the fate that many high performance cars suffered depreciation. Although new, a BMW M5 was worth about sixty-six thousand pounds; Jim had managed to source a donor car for about half that as it was just out of warranty and that was at the higher prices of 2008 due to inflation a similar car was now a good bit cheaper. After all the work was done, a friend of Jim's tested the car because he was a weekend racing driver. He gave the car a clean bill of health and said that with all the modifications, it handled better than the M5 saloon. Harry was delighted with that result as he enjoyed driving it around the racetrack. All this meant that since the car was started, the fuel gauge needle hardly moved even though the five-litre engine was very thirsty and drank petrol like Mundungus Fletcher drank Firewhisky.

She sighed with relief when she saw the sign welcoming her into to Cashel, Co. Tipperary and it asking her to visit the famous Rock of Cashel. She slowly drove through town looking out for a phone box. She spotted one and then turned into a car park looking for somewhere to park the car. Once the car had stopped, she turned to the back, woke up her father, and pointed out the phone box so that he could phone his friend Paddy Boyle. Frank nodded and yawned as he stretched, he then got up and walked over to the phone box. Hermione turned and looked at the now awake Harry.

'Hello, gorgeous,' greeted Harry tiredly.

'Where are we?' he asked as he looked around at the sea of parked cars and the buildings on the edge of the car park.

'Cashel, Daddy is making a call with his friend Paddy.'

'Okay. How are you?'

'I'm fine, Harry.'

'You don't look fine. What's the matter?'

'Not now, Harry, maybe later, okay?' said Hermione as she pushed her thoughts and feelings of her love for him through the bond.

Harry leaned in and kissed Hermione as he tried to comfort her. Harry's hand came up and cradled her head as the other reached out to hug her around her middle—his tongue seeking entrance to her mouth. Hermione's mouth parted as she enthusiastically reciprocated the kiss. Hermione cursed the fact they were in the front of the car and the transmission tunnel and centre console was getting in the way, she wanted full access to her husband because she needed to feel the love physically and forget about last night's horrors. After kissing for what seemed like an eternity, but was really only a few minutes, the couple reluctantly broke the kiss and settled on discussing their situation through their shared bond. Hermione discovered that Harry had not realised yet that he had killed again but knew that when he did, he would feel terrible. So, she started to help him come to grips with last night and the fact that they would have to kill again before this fight was over. Minerva smiled at the display of love between the couple as she sat in the back seat and closed her eyes to doze she had decided that they were not at their final destination just yet.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Frank awoke with a start and looked around. He looked up as Hermione explained that they were in a car park in Cashel and that he was to phone his friend Paddy Boyle. She pointed out the grey phone box across the busy street. He yawned and slowly got out of the car, once outside he stretched and rubbed his numb arse from sitting down for almost nine hours. He mulled over what he was going to say to Paddy as he crossed the road to the phone box. It took a few minutes, as the town was quite busy. Once safely across, he had to wait for the woman who was using the phone to finish. After what seemed like a long conversation to her lover, the young woman got off the phone and rushed past, blushing. Maybe she just realised that he had heard the last few minutes of her phone sex with her lover. Frank closed the door to the phone box and picked up the warm handset, and dialled Paddy's number. After it was answered, he again fed money into the phone.

'Hello, Paddy?' asked Frank.

'Who's asking?' replied a brassed-off woman's voice.

'Sorry, this is Frank Granger looking for Paddy Boyle, is he there?'

'Oh, you want to speak to that bastard! Are you one of his bookies?'

'Em'm, no ma'am, I used to go to school with him and he told me to phone this number.'

'How did you go to school with him you lying bastard, you sound English?'

'Look sorry but can I speak to Paddy, if not can you give me a different number to contact him on?' asked an annoyed Frank.

There came the sound of a muffled conversation from the handset.

'Sorry about that, Frank, but that was the wife, she is a bit upset with me,' came Paddy's voice.

'I hesitate to ask, but she sounds angry, what did you do?' asked a curious Frank.

'Oh, nothing much—just lost about twenty gee's in a horse race, no biggy,' replied an amused Paddy.

'What do you do that, the loss of twenty thousand pounds is nothing?' asked Frank.

'After you sorted me out, thanks by the way, I came home and took over the Father's Stud. Me horses are worth about three mill' so what is a couple of grand here or there. Mary is just pissed because she found out about the gambling when I am going through a low patch right now. Sure, I'll bounce back in a while no worries,' replied Paddy.

'I didn't know your father ran a horse stud,' replied Frank as he learnt something new about his old school friend. Well ex-friend after getting him on the straight and narrow.

'Yeah, me Da' was a wealthy bastard and wanted me to follow in his footsteps—that's why he shipped me off to that fucking boarding school in England. He said it was a family tradition; all the Boyle men went to that damn place for at least the last six generations. The only good thing about the fucking place was the fact you helped me out, I never told you how much I appreciated what you did. I would have been dead as a doornail only for your help. Thanks a million. Sorry that our friendship was strained at the end of it,' offered Paddy.

Frank frowned as little things he knew about Patrick Boyle started to settle into place. He knew when going to school with him that Paddy hated his father and was probably acting out by getting high and stoned out of his mind. He remembered reading an article in _The Times_ about a successful horse breeder from Co. Tipperary named Patrick Boyle, but he never related the articles to his old schoolmate as their was no photo of Boyle at all. The photo with the article was one of his winning horse, Champion Jockey that won last years' Grand National at Aintree. It was beginning to make sense; according to the article, Patrick Boyle was a very wealthy man but shied from the papers. Frank wondered what the adult Boyle would look like.

Frank was pulled from his thoughts as Paddy asked him a question on the phone.

'Frank, you still there?'

'Sorry, Paddy, long night.'

'Okay, I'll be in town in about twenty minutes, I know where you are as there is only one working phone box in the whole town. A shower of shites wreaked the others last week and the _Telecom Eireann_ lads won't get off their arse to fix them till some one kicks up a fuss about the broken phone boxes. I'll use one of the work jeeps—it's a red Isuzu Trooper with Boyle Horse Racing on the side. Look out for me and maybe get a coffee to keep yourself awake, eh?' explained Paddy.

'Red Jeep with your name on the side, okay?' confirmed Frank.

'Yeah, see yea shortly.'

'Yeah, bye,' said Frank as he hung up and went back to the strange black car.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

The Boyle Stud was on a large tract of land about forty hectares in size. The main compound consisted of an old eighteenth century manor built by plantation settlers from England. The two stable blocks were built around sixty years later. A modern concrete and steel barn completed the rear courtyard to the main house. The locals called the place, 'Boylemore.' Boylemore had three more feature houses. One was known as the Garden House. It was built to a similar high standard as the main house but at a much smaller scale. The gardens were working gardens producing fruit and vegetables up until the mid-sixties. The second house was smaller than the garden house and was known as the gamekeeper's house. It was believed to be haunted after a hunting accident killed the young couple that lived there. It was believed that gunpowder was kept beside the chimney breast to keep the powder dry in the damp old house. The explosion killed the couple and their young two-year-old daughter. The house was rebuilt and the workmen swore the heard the cries of a baby during construction. Over the next fifty years, the longest anyone lived there was six months before they left the house scared witless. The third house was known as the gatekeeper's house and was converted to be the Stud's reception. Behind the gatekeeper's house was another courtyard surrounded by stables for the horse riding school.

As well as breeding the best racing horses in the world, the Boyle Stud was known for its show jumping school. Mary Boyle was a champion show jumper when she met the recovering addict Patrick Boyle. He had just taken over the family business after returning from obscurity in England. As Patrick learnt the ropes of running his late father's business, the pair developed an easy relationship. Their son Brendan resulted and six months later they married in Italy. It was only after the marriage that Mary learnt of her husband's gambling habits. Mary groused about it but was relieved to see that Patrick was staying off drugs and drink very seriously. She had learnt after a health scare with Brendan that Patrick in the past was a serious drug user and was only clean because of an English man named Frank Granger. Patrick, in tears, promised to faithfully deliver clean urine samples every week without fail. He had managed to turn the Stud from a joke to a world-beater in fifteen short years. When Frank had rung earlier, Mary had received news that they were forced to put down one of her girls. She was an old horse called Beauty. On top of that, Patrick had admitted that he had lost twenty thousand pounds on a horse on top of the sixteen from last month. Needless to say, poor Frank had gotten the brunt of her ire.

The couple discussed the situation and Mary decided to put up the Granger family into the Gamekeeper House, as Mary understood it was only for a few weeks. Patrick went and grabbed the keys of the filthy red Izusu Trooper. The jeep had black bull bars with a pair of powerful headlights bolted on. The spare wheel was missing from the tailgate. Patrick turned the key in the ignition and after five attempted starts the diesel engine roared into life. Patrick mulled over the situation as he drove into Cashel, the famous Rock of Cashel visible in the windshield.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Paddy pulled into the car park across from the working phone box and looked out for Frank Granger. He was not surprised that Frank looked older than the last time he had saw the man twenty years ago. He looked shattered, as if a light breeze would blow him over. Frank was sitting on the bonnet of a sleek looking black estate car. Paddy wondered where Frank got such a flashy looking car from, as he had never seen that type of motor before. Frank slowly approached the red jeep. Paddy was a tall lanky man with short, greying hair and a high receding hairline. His eyes were a dull blue; he wore a neatly trimmed goatee and rectangular designer spectacles. He wore builder's boots, a stained pair of denim jeans, and a brown leather jacket with a cloth patch with the Stud's Crest in the centre.

'Hello, Frank, you don't look the best, bad night?' greeted Paddy from inside the jeep.

Frank raised an eyebrow but said hello.

'That your car?' Paddy asked as he pointed to the black car Frank was leaning against.

'No, it belongs to my daughter,' responded Frank.

'Oh, okay,' replied Paddy.

'Do you mind staying in a haunted house?' enquired Paddy.

Frank smiled and then said, 'No, why?'

'We have a place and everyone who has ever stayed there has said it is haunted. Sorry, but is all I've got at such short notice,' responded Paddy.

'Oh, okay, Thanks for giving us a roof over our heads.'

'No problem, follow me and I will guide you to the house.' With that, Paddy turned the jeep and waited for Frank to follow in the black car.

Frank got into the back of the car beside a quiet Jane and told Hermione what was going on. Hermione started the car and pulled out after the red jeep. Getting out of town behind the jeep was difficult as cars and trucks kept getting between them as they filtered into the flow of traffic. Hermione, with Harry's help kept track of the dirty jeep as they made their way out of Cashel. They drove past the tourist spot known as the Rock of Cashel. After a twenty minutes drive, they arrived at the house. Paddy gave Frank a tour of the house. On the ground floor, there was a kitchen, downstairs shower and toilet, sitting room and dinning room. Upstairs were four bedrooms and one bathroom. The design of the house was before en-suite bathrooms were popular. And it was rebuilt almost the exact same as the original. After showing Frank around, Paddy told him he could stay as long as he liked because if it weren't for Frank's help all those years ago, Paddy would most likely be dead. Frank thanked Paddy and watched him drive off as Harry dealt with poor Remus, still in his wolf form.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Harry made sure that the red Isuzu Trooper had disappeared down the road from view. The red jeep threw up a cloud dust in its wake from the gravel road of the estate. Happy that Paddy was gone and that there were no unwanted eyes on the house, Harry opened the rear door of the black car. With a gesture, the blue cocoon that contained Remus in his wolf from floated out of the rear of the car and gently settled on the gravel driveway. Harry petted the wolf's head gently in attempt to waken the sleeping Lycan. The head moved and the wolf snorted as it looked around at the strange surroundings and the new scents. The wolf inhaled deeply and sighed in relief at the familiar scents of Harry and Hermione. With a growl, the wolf sat up and moved like a predator towards the rear of the car, as he smelled the unmistakeable scent of the Potion's Master. With a sigh, Harry barked 'Stop' at Remus in his wolf form. The wolf stopped and turned to regard Harry.

'Please change back so that we can talk,' asked Harry in a much gentler tone of voice.

The wolf looked confused and whined at Harry. Sighing, Harry knelt down at Remus' head and whispered into the ear of the surprisingly docile werewolf. Harry explained how he mastered the change and his belief that Remus could master the wolf the same way. The wolf nodded its head and Harry stepped away. The wolf slowly morphed from a wolf to the form of a man. A tired looking Remus used one hand to cover his blushes and struck out the other silently asking for something to cover his modesty. Harry silently offered the blue blanket that made up his cocoon. Remus looked down at his ankle in shock, it was almost fully healed from last night's action. The area affected had a slight discolouration from a fading bruise. A faint scar was visible from where the bullet had cut the skin. Minerva appeared at the rear of the car and offered a heavy dark grey bathrobe to Remus. Remus took it gratefully and donned it. Remus stood up on shaky feet and stumbled towards the house. Minerva stepped in and offered an arm; Harry watched the pair enter the house and turned to the unconscious Potions Master.

The stunned form of Severus Snape was all that was left in the boot of the black estate car. His freshly healed nose was bent at an awkward angle; it was as if his hook nosed was flattened up to his face. It gave his face a slightly comical appearance. Harry spotted movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to look. Hermione was escorting a quiet Jane into the house, as a worried Frank hovered behind. Harry sent a mental message asking Hermione to prepare a magical room so that they could question Snape. Hermione nodded and entered the house. Harry stretched and yawned; it had been a hectic couple of hours. He did not know what was happening to his magic since his return from the other reality.

Ever since his return, he found that he tired easily from using magic. When he shared his findings with Hermione, she agreed that she noticed the same thing but she found that it was getting better. She thought that after a few training sessions to increase stamina, they would be back to their levels from before the draining jump back home. She figured that if they could find the time to resume their training schedule they would be back to their normal fitness levels within a few weeks. As Harry mulled over his thoughts, he absent-mindedly picked up Snape in a firefighter's carry over his shoulder and walked to the turf shed beside the house.

The house used a solid fuel cooker with a back boiler for the central heating system. The solid fuel used was a combination of wooden blocks from chopped down trees on the land and sods of turf stored in the turf shed at the side of the house. As it was the middle of July, the turf shed was almost empty. Harry found Hermione waving her original wand in a complex pattern with the _**Potter Book of Magic**_ open floatingbeside her as if it were on an invisible pedestal. A dull grey magical construct stood before her in a corner of the shed. The construct was about seven feet deep seven feet high and seven feet wide; it was an unremarkable grey cube. Harry passed through the wall of the cube with Snape still on his shoulder.

Inside the cube, all the surfaces were the same dull grey. In one corner stood a combined toilet and wash hand basin—the kind you would find in a prison. A simple grey slab a foot tall by two foot wide by the width of the room was used for the sleeping surface. A simple one-inch thick mat served as the mattress. There was no doors or windows; a charm recycled the stale air with fresh air and another charm provided a featureless grey light that seemed to come from all the surfaces of the room. All in all, it was a very good secure cell.

Harry laid Snape on the mattress and began the strip search of the Potions Master. Harry found a spare wand strapped to his right calf and a potions knife in his outer robes. Harry found a bag of money and a small notebook in Snape's trouser pockets. The heel of the left boot contained a Portkey rendered useless by the magical construct. When Harry was finished, Snape was left in only his slightly grey Y-fronts. Harry deposited his effects into the bag Hermione had left inside the cell. Harry draped the conjured grey robe on Snape's unconscious body. Harry passed through the wall and told Hermione he was finished for now and handed over the bag containing Snape's belongings. Hermione stowed the bag of belongings into a black case that was affixed to the wall of the cube about hip height.

Hermione informed Harry that she wanted to get clean, as she felt dirty after Minerva used a charm last night before dressing her. Harry responded that he needed to get his bearings before questioning Snape and agreed that getting washed sounded like a good idea.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Hermione had helped her mother in to the kitchen and made her a cup of tea before going out and preparing the cube cell for Snape's stay. Frank had tried to kiss his wife after the troubling night but she moved away from him. Dejectedly, Frank sat down beside the tired Lycan. Remus sat in the kitchen chair marvelling over the fact that he had mastered the wolf and could change forms at will just like an Animagus. He decided to do just that after his revelation. Frank almost jumped at the sound of the wolf's bark of glee and turned to look at the wolf sitting on the kitchen chair. Remus leapt up off of the chair in joy at having mastered the transformation after changing back from the wolf in the kitchen. He ran around the table in jubilation, and thrust his arms above his head and waved. In his distracted state, he forgot the fact that he was completely nude. He bumped into the shocked Minerva who had just come from unpacking due to the unexpected noise from the kitchen. Harry and Hermione arrived and burst out laughing at the red faced Remus who stood in the centre of the kitchen his arms spread out wide. Minerva just whispered 'impressive' and returned to her unpacking. Frank sat stunned at Remus' antics, the problem with Jane momentarily forgotten. Jane sat staring into her mug of tea oblivious to the antics occurring around her.

Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and ran upstairs with an eager Harry following her to the bathroom. The bathroom was decorated in a blue colour scheme. The floor was a chessboard pattern of blue and white. The walls were tiled; the lower portion was in blue with the upper portion in white. An old fashioned bathtub stood on clawed feet. A large showerhead stood over the drain of the bath. Hermione waved her wand and the room was suddenly clean, as it seemed to be a couple of months before someone had used it last.

'Ah, that's better,' said Hermione.

She cast a charm at the showerhead and water started to pour from it. Hermione pulled off her large jumper as Harry sat on the toilet seat and watched Hermione slowly strip. Hermione swayed to the music that was in her head as she performed a striptease for Harry. Next, she slowly pealed off her unfaltering tracksuit bottoms that Minerva had dressed her in. Harry reached for her, but she smiled and backed away. She smiled at him from behind her shoulder as she turned her back and bent over to slowly remove her knickers. As her delectable arse was revealed, Harry felt a stirring in his loins. She did a trick that all women seemed to manage to know, opened the clasp across her back, and removed her bra. She swayed her hips as she slowly turned around and sauntered over to Harry sitting on the toilet seat.

The room was steaming up from the hot water cascading out of the showerhead. Hermione sat down facing Harry on his lap and leaned in a nibbled on his lower lip. Meanwhile, Harry's hands caressed her back and massaged her lovely bum. Harry's mouth opened as Hermione deepened the kiss. Hermione's left hand was cradling his head while her right hand worked the fly of Harry's pants. Harry moaned as his raging cock sprang free from confinement. Hermione's delicate hand slowly massaged his penis. His legs opened on their own accord. Hermione shuffled forward and rubbed her nether lips along the head of his shaft. One of Harry's hands drifted to Hermione's breast and caressed the heaving mound. The kiss broke and Harry's eyes widened as he realised what Hermione was going to do next.

Harry hissed in bliss as she slowly sank on to his aching cock. He leaned forward and captured her neglected nipple into his mouth as he suckled on her magnificent body. His other hand drifted south as Hermione held on to Harry's shoulders. His hand reached the junction between their bodies and reached her sensitive bundle of nerves. With a few caresses, she reached her peak and moaned through her orgasm. With a sigh of frustration, Harry magicked his clothes into a pile beside Hermione's clothes. With a grunt, Harry stood up and waddled towards the bath and the running shower.

Hermione produced a small toiletry bag from her clothes pile as they passed the pile of clothes. She hung the shower gel on the wall-mounted tap. She handed over the shower gel as she wrapped her arms around Harry in a bone-crushing hug. With a grunt, he came and slipped out. Harry liberally applied the liquid gel to his hands and worked up a lather. Meanwhile, Hermione stood under the spray that automatically adjusted to a temperature she was comfortable with. Harry started washing her hair and made sure to keep the soapy suds out of her eyes.

Hermione enjoyed Harry's tender care as he washed all over her body. It had been a long night and a tiring drive through the Irish countryside. Hermione moaned as Harry caressed her right breast. Her mouth parted to his probing tongue. The kiss seemed to last for ever, she pouted when he reluctantly broke away for she wanted more. His hands grasped her left foot and stood it on the wall of the bath. His soapy hands caressed her shin then slowly moved up to her inner thigh. Hermione tensed in anticipation. Her body tingled as she felt his magic slowly lift her body clear of the ground. His hands washed up her other leg, but stopped short of where Hermione wanted him to end up.

A hot mouth descended on to her swollen breast. A hot tongue teased her hardened teat, before his teeth grazed the sensitive nipple. All the while, his hands caressed her lower back and bum. Hermione moaned low in her throat. The mouth kissed across the valley of her breasts. He kissed slowly around the outer breast trailing a path that got ever closer to her swollen nipple. A sudden pinch on her swollen clit sparked a sudden orgasm. As she rode it out, the hungry mouth travelled down her body to kiss away the sudden shock. Hermione marvelled at her husband's magical skill that was keeping her aloft as he lapped at her core. Harry kissed and suckled all around the sensitive bundle in apology for the unexpected pinch that sent her over the edge. After she seemed to have come down, Harry thrust an engorged tongue and Hermione's eyes widened, it was different than his fingers or penis.

After another mind-blowing orgasm, Hermione grasped Harry's head and urged him up for another searing kiss. As she plundered his mouth, she grabbed his penis and guided him home. She sighed into the kiss as he slid home. The showerhead shut off on it's own accord. The couple slowly sank into the filled hot tub. Harry maintained a slow leisurely pace lying on top. A charmed piece of parchment floated up from under the door. Hermione grasped it out of the air. After another orgasm passed and she regained her faculties as she read the note. It was from Minerva asking to use the bathroom and informing the couple of which was their room. Groaning, Harry slid out of Hermione and started to dry himself. Hermione giggled at the disgruntled expression on his face and the fact that they were interrupted.

After ten minutes, the door to the steam filled bathroom opened to reveal a bemused Minerva McGonagall. The couple breezed passed the smiling older woman towards their bedroom. Hermione waved her wand and their new room was sparklingly clean. Hermione then dropped her wand, turned to Harry, and opened the cloth belt of his bathrobe. As they kissed, Hermione grasped his still hard erection and gently stroked. Hermione guided Harry back to the bed. Harry sat the robe pooling around his hips. Hermione slowly kissed down his chest. Harry reached out to stop her. At her questioning glance, he grasped the front of her bathrobe and separated the front to reveal her heaving chest. Hermione stepped back and dropped the robe to the floor. As Hermione lavished attention on his member, Harry decided he would worry about Snape tomorrow. It was the last coherent thought he had that evening.

After he came and Hermione swallowed, Harry asked if they should get food or sleep. Hermione's answer was to direct him to lie down on the bed. Hermione lay down beside him and he spooned in behind her. She guided him into her and sighed in peace as he slipped in to her welcoming heat. He kissed her neck as he settled into contended slumber. Hermione's eyes drifted closed a smile gracing her face as she followed him into shared dreams.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

The heavy summers rain pounded down on the umbrella. The woman hunched her shoulders under the flimsy protection from the elements offered by the nylon canopy. It was a sudden thunderous downpour in July, in London. Selma Cuaron smiled as she watched the woman in front of her struggle with her umbrella against the unseasonable rainfall. She came from a desert tribe. Originally, she enjoyed being out in the rain, as it was a sign of nature providing the earth with life. She made her way through the thinning crowds towards the phone booth that lead to the British Ministry. The footpaths were awash with different sized umbrellas, which made speedy navigation difficult. Once she reached the phone booth, she keyed in the number her Ministry had given her. The handset asked her to state her business at the Ministry and was given a badge.

She was not impressed as the phone booth made its journey deep underground. She stepped off the magical lift when it reached the atrium. She noticed that security was much improved from her last visit five years ago as an undercover witch on an international manhunt for a wizard that was offering his services to Muggles as a famed hit man, the Jackal. She thought then that with such a lack of security, it would be a haven for someone like the Jackal, but a colleague from the States had managed to capture the menace.

A security wizard dressed in dark brown robes met her. She showed her Mexican Auror identification card and her wand. Even with this security pass the wizard put her through a rigorous screening where she had to reveal her bare forearms. He still wasn't happy and asked a female colleague to conduct a strip search. She eventually made it through security into the Ministry proper. The atmosphere was sombre and quiet. Witches and wizards were looking everywhere and where very vigilant. Selma noted that the British Ministry went from almost no security to a nation with almost draconian security measures. She went over to the magical lifts and asked a wizard guard to direct her to the Minister for Magic's office. He looked at her suspiciously, so she had to show him her credentials. After a debate about why a Mexican Auror wanted to talk to the Minister for Magic, he eventually led her to his secretary's office.

Rufus Scrimgeour was leaving his office for the day. He was about to ask Ruth Redfoot, his secretary, if there was any parchments he needed to sign before leaving for a get together for retired Aurors. When he came to his secretary desk, his secretary was Ruth arguing with a small woman with a cane. The woman appeared to have Hispanic features and short brown hair.

'Ah, just the man I wanted to see. Chief Auror Selma Cuaron, _Medalla de Magica, primera clase. _I represent a small group of overseers on behalf of the United Nations of Magic, which your government is a member. Can we talk in private?'

'What does the U.N.M. want? I thought the I.C.W. handled all international affairs, especially with our colonies?' asked Scrimgeour in confusion because he didn't know why the U.N.M. would stick their noses into Britain's affairs.

'The I.C.W. is about two hundred years behind the times and are no longer relevant. It is one of the reasons that the U.N.M. was set up, which your Ministry is a member. I am here with my team because your government is failing at keeping the existence of magic a secret from the Muggles in your country,' came the scathing reply as they moved into the Minister's office. The secretary, Ruth, wondered what was going on.

'But that doesn't give you the right to come here and tell me what to do,' the Minister said in anger.

'Yes, it does. Did you know that the Muggles in the British regular government launched an attack against a wizard's house? The Americans brought it before the U.N.M. Security Council. They discovered that an element of the British Muggle government hacked into the United States Air Force computer network, stole a brand new top secret spy satellite, and used it's very advanced radar and camera capabilities to scan the whole of the British Isles. The Air Force pulled the plug before the download was complete. From the information they had gathered, they then launched an attack against wizards. From information gathered so far, it looks like the victims may be the terrorists your government is fighting now. My team and I have been deployed here to assess the damage and to make sure that the Muggles are kept in the dark of our world. The American Magical government have better procedures in place to keep hidden. They foresee that in the near future there will be nowhere to hide from the Muggles.'

'What, you're saying that Muggles found and attacked wizards on their own without wizards helping them? I don't believe it!' said an incredulous Minister of Magic.

'The Muggles, as you have called them are very clever and have already sent men to the moon. They have photographed the world from space. It is only because the American Ministry of Magic is so integrated into the American government and could classify the knowledge as Top Secret otherwise it could be a lot worse. The Second World War was fought over a vast theatre of war. Dumbledore's lovers spat with Grindelwald only covered a small part of the European conflict. The European fight was ended before the war proper was over. The Americans ended the war in the Pacific by using two of the most devastating bombs ever used. They called them Hydrogen Bombs, also known colloquially as Nuclear Bombs. The Japanese magical community was almost wiped out. They only survived because a small remote enclave was well hidden. Their magical school the equivalent of Hogwarts was erased from existence completely by the blast,' retorted the Mexican Auror.

'What, how did they manage to do that?'

'As I understand it through science and engineering. Tell your people we are to have full access to files and personnel. By the way, is it true that you are going ahead with the stupid idea of opening Hogwarts a full month early?'

'What do you mean it's stupid?'

'The British Isles is under a Potion Nullifying Ward. What good is opening a place of learning when you haven't solved the problem of failing grades in just the one subject? What I would do is get your students to somewhere that is known there is no interference and test them again before opening Hogwarts at all.'

'What do you mean there is a Potion Nullifying Ward over Britain?' asked the shocked Minister.

'How else do you explain all your potions failing and the need to hire wizards and witches to do work that would normally be done by potions?'

'How do know it only affects Britain?'

'The French and the Dutch Ministries approached the U.N.M. about the effects of failing potions in Northern France and coastal areas of Holland nearest to England. Experts were deployed and it was determined that the British Isles are affected. It is just one of many reasons my team and I are here to assess the situation.'

'Since you seem to believe you know what to do, tell me what to do about Hogwarts and our failing students.'

'Negotiate with an ally so that your students can re-sit their exams and rule out the wards effects. I would suggest the States or Spain being the furthest ally away from the ward and still within commuting distance via Portkey.'

'Oh, I'll give it some consideration. Does this mean your going to stick your nose into everything?'

'Yes, good day Minister, I have to get back to my team and inform them that the British Ministry will offer full cooperation.'

'Good day.'

The irritating woman then left. As she left, she deposited the warrant from the U.N.M., which gave the team the power to audit the British magical government. Rufus cradled his head in his hands and cursed his luck that he would inherit the post of Minister of Magic when the damn internationals would stick their noses in while he tried to manage the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named crisis. Sighing, he drafted a note to Umbridge to the effect that there was to be a delay in opening Hogwarts and to cooperate fully with the International team from the U.N.M. At this moment in time, he envied Fudge getting out before it all came crashing down around him.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Healer John Green sighed as he completed his rounds at St. Mungo's. He was asked to come over and treat patients that would normally be healed with a simple potion. It did not look good for his current case. His patient Percy Weasley was being kept alive by a wizard life support machine—one of the ten he had brought with him from the States. The patent had been struck by a nasty purple curse. It would appear to be the work of a serial killer. He knew of one witch who had survived an encounter with the curse. She did not get away lightly for she was rendered barren.

She had made an appointment to see him about another case of a young schoolgirl that was struck on her chest from the same vile purple curse. The woman was now high up in Law Enforcement and was trying to track down the schoolgirl, so that he could treat her injuries, as Madam Bones was worried about the girl suffering a similar fate to hers. Treatment for Percy Weasley was very slow going and he would miss his father's funeral tomorrow, and he highly doubted that Percy Weasley would ever wake again because he had slipped into a magical coma. Resources in the hospital were tight and management were pressuring him to take Percy off life support so that some noble rich Pureblood could survive, as the Weasleys were apparently very poor.

Healer Green was coming to the conclusion that it was a mistake coming over to try help out, as the red tape he had to cut through was absurd. Life and death decisions were being made based on the fact that people were pureblood, half-blood, or Muggle-born. He was shocked to learn that if it became known that his parents were Muggles, then he would be shunned as a 'Mudblood'. He made an adjustment to the life support machine and checked the readings for Percy's magical core. He nodded when he observed a small improvement. He laid his hand in comfort on Percy's brother's shoulder as he left the room; Charlie he believed he was called.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Harry slowly awoke to an empty bed. He looked around for his wife but found that the room was empty. He sent out a mental probe. Hermione responded that she was in the bathroom and informed him that it was eleven in the morning. He smiled as their lovemaking session around four that morning came back to him. He sphered right into the bathroom, Hermione smiled up at him as she lay in the bath. Harry joined her. After ten minutes, there was a knock on the door. Frank informed them that breakfast was ready.

After getting dressed, the couple went down to breakfast. Jane sat sullenly at the table cradling a cold mug of coffee. At Hermione's questioning glance, Frank shook his head and explained in a whisper that Jane had not slept at all last night. He had only managed a few hours himself. He had gotten up early and went shopping for groceries in Cashel. Harry asked Minerva what her plans were for the rest of the summer.

'Well, I don't have to be back at Hogwarts until August the nineteenth. The professors usually return to the school about two weeks before the start of term. I have thought about what you have said and I think you both need some one on the faculty in your corner. So far, Albus has not contacted me yet. He would usually send Fawkes if it was relevant to the Order. Meetings during the summer about school are rare.'

'So are you with us?'

'Yes, Harry, Hermione, I am.' She nodded to each in turn.

'Thank you,' said Hermione as she hugged the surprised Scots-woman.

'Minerva?'

'Yes, Hermione?'

'Here is the _**Potter Book of Magic**_. While we were in the other place, we discovered that a part of Hogwarts herself attached to Harry in the Chamber of Secrets. That fragment or whatever it is called created this book. Could you look through it please to see if there is a cure for Vampire Thrall.'

'Okay, but why?'

'Look at mum; I think she is suffering from more than just shock. That was a Vampire leading the attack. I think she gave him an invitation. The only way I know that could happen is if he put her under some sort of thrall and I killed him before I should have. I should have forced him to release her from his influence. I didn't notice it yesterday. It only hit me today after what dad had said.'

'I don't mean to ask but what will you be doing while I look through the book.'

'Helping Harry question Snape.'

'You seem confident that the book will have the answers.'

'No, not confident, but the book is tied into Hogwarts and her library for the last thousand years. We have learnt an awful lot from it.'

'Okay, good luck with Snape, I think you will find that getting information is like trying to get blood from a stone, where that man is concerned.'

Minerva watched the couple leave the kitchen before she sat down with the marvellous book.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Severus Snape slowly awoke to a dull ache in his nose. He blinked and looked around the room. It was a featureless grey box. He sat up with a start when he realised his was only wearing his underpants. He started to panic when he realised the room had no door or window. He thought he would run out of fresh air. It was only after a couple of minutes that he realised that there was some sort of charm recycling the air. He shivered, as the room seemed cold. The walls seemed to give off a faint grey light. He spotted a dark grey garment. He pulled it on and grimaced at the itchy material. The garment was a simple winter robe. He spotted a glass of water and a simple meal on the floor by where his head lay on the platform. The meal consisted of rubbery scrambled eggs and cold rashers; the glass of water was tepid and slightly salty in taste. Snape tried to Apparate out of the cell and was dismayed that he couldn't manage that simple task. The last thing he remembered was an angry Harry Potter.

Snape had checked the four walls for any sign of a hidden door or window and had determined that there was no way out. He had a difficult time searching the surfaces of the cell because they seemed to be very solid and unnaturally mirror smooth. Snape sat trying to meditate to calm his nerves. His stomach was queasy; he thought that maybe the eggs were off. He was scared out of his wits by the low growl of a dark, honey brown lioness. The front of the big cat appeared to come through the wall opposite him. Snape wondered where he was and hoped that the large cat was docile, as he had no way to defend himself. The big feline stalked forward and laid her paws on his trembling knees. Dark brown eyes stared into his own. Snape found he could not look away. Snape found his thoughts drifting back to his last two years at Hogwarts and how he came to join the Death Eaters.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

_**Friday, October 14, 1976**_

Severus was finished his classes for the day. The meal in the great hall was finished and Severus was on his way down to the Slytherin common room. Avery and Mulciber appeared out of a disused classroom and flanked him.

'Get over the Mudblood, Snape, it is for your own good. All she is worth is a good shag,' greeted Avery.

'Yeah, you got that right, she does have a fine arse. I don't know how Potter managed to thaw the ice queen of Gryffindor,' agreed Mulciber.

'Enough,' hissed Severus.

'Come on, meeting tonight,' said Avery as he guided Severus towards a side door out of the castle towards the direction of the Forbidden Forest.

'Big night, tonight, Snape. We meet the Dark Lord.'

'Quiet, the walls have ears! You don't want Dumbledore to find out,' hissed Severus.

The three of them silently stole out of the castle into the dark cloudy night. They bumped into another group of Slytherins at the edge of the forest. The larger group followed a tall man who wore a black robe that seemed to suck the light out of their surroundings and a bone white mask, deep into the forest.

The clearing was lit by candlelight from magically suspended candles hanging over the clearing. A ward was laid down on the perimeter. From the outside, it appeared like the rest of the forest, unremarkable. But inside it was much different. One area was laid out like a wizard pub with a long black bar. Two bar taps stood at one end that dispensed Butterbeer and mead. Behind the bar stood a display of different kinds of drink that was not readily available in the castle even with the Carrows smuggling in the odd bottle of Firewhisky. Severus' eyes widened when he saw twelve of the most beautiful women he ever had seen standing up on a platform in the centre of the clearing. They appeared to be dressed in just their underwear. The underwear was almost sheer as Severus could see the women's nipples and groins through the flimsy material.

A hush fell among the crowd of young men as a lone figure got up on the stage. He wore fine black robes and stood tall. The hood of the robe covered his head. An eerie red glow emanated from the hood. As the man spoke it came out in a slick oily voice. The voice spoke of all the wonderful and powerful things he could deliver if the men joined him. Snape found himself captivated by the promise of power.

Snape remembered that night very well as he watched the massive party in the dark forest from the periphery for he was stopped from participating as he hadn't received the Dark Mark yet. He looked on in envy at the mass orgy with the beautiful witches of the purest blood. Snape would later learn the terrible price of joining the Death Eaters. Every man at the gathering swore an oath to serve the Dark Lord Voldemort. It would not be for another fortnight that Snape would pay with blood for the Death Eater mark on his arm.

_**Saturday night at 11:45 on October 31**__**st**__** 1976**_

Snape, along with the other junior Death Eaters, stood behind the Hogshead waiting for the Portkey to the initiation ceremony. The Portkey would activate on the stroke of midnight. Severus was alive with anticipation of the initiation ceremony. He felt the pull on his navel of the Portkey and found himself alone in a dark bedroom. The walls were clad in dark wood panelling. A large wrought iron king sized bed stood in the centre of the room. Dark satin drapes were tied to the posts by silk sashes. Severus could see a young woman's bare back, her red hair falling to almost her bare bum. Severus felt stirrings in his groin as he realised the woman was nude. He wondered why he was not at the initiation ceremony.

'Hello, Sevie, lets have some fun,' said the woman.

In Severus' lust addled brain he never noticed that the woman's accent was just plain wrong. He decided that it didn't matter that the Portkey never brought him to the initiation into the Dark Lord's followers, for before him lay the woman of his dreams. He closed the distance in an instance and lunged for a kiss. The woman moaned in pleasure. Delicate hands made quick work of his robes. He gasped as slender hands stroked his stiffening member. His eyes closed in bliss. The woman murmured words of encouragement. The next hour was the best of young Severus' life.

He lay cuddled beside his best friend after having made up from their disagreement over Potter. The couple were propped up on some pillows half sitting half lying down, the satin sheets lying across their hips. He wanted more and gently pushed her over on to her back so that he could make love to her again. He cradled her breast in his hand and marvelled that he could feel her heart beat. She screamed in shock. Severus could feel her heart constrict and stop beating. In a panic, he felt around Lily's body wondering what had killed her. He groaned in dismay as he found his potions knife protruding from her back. He had remembered putting it under his pillow. It must have moved as they had tried many different positions. He starred into her blue eyes with green flecks as she looked at him in shock. His arm flared in agony as a tattoo of a black snake seemed to be burnt on his arm. He recoiled in shock as Lily Evans' body slowly morphed into one of the stunning beauties at the party just over two weeks ago; she had dirty blond hair. Severus' stomach heaved as he realised that he had abused Lily's image and killed a girl his age, and he didn't even know her name, even though she appeared to know him. He vaguely remembered a drunken conversation with the girl about his failure to snare Lily's heart. He was broken from his thoughts when two men entered and applauded Severus for a job well done.

Severus looked around in shock and realised that along with the two men clapping, there were four more who all had watched him over the last hour. In a rage, he flew at his wand on the bedside table and hurled the killing curse. A flash of green struck one man who fell dead. As the body struck the polished stone floor the jovial atmosphere among the observers dissolved. Snape threw the bloody knife that was still grasped in his hand. It stuck another wizard; the hilt of the knife was protruding from the wizard's left eye socket. One of the observers managed to get a spell off that caused the corpse on the bed to explode showering the room in blood and gore. The wizard to his left vomited at the smell of charred flesh. Severus took his chance and cast a spell he had developed and severed the wizard's head as he emptied his stomach.

There were now three wizards left. One of the wizards dodged a spell but slipped on the liquid mixture of gore and vomit. He fell against the ornate four-poster bed, which was decorated with ornamental snakeheads made of polished silver. The snake's head was very sharp and protruded out from the bed. The fallen wizard impaled himself on the snakehead just below his ribcage. As the wizard fell over, the snakehead held firm resulting in his chest to be ripped open; the sound of broken bone was heard as his ribcage exploded outwards. He dropped his wand and frantically tried to hold in his organs as they oozed out of his body, and then the organs flopped onto the floor. He could only watch as Snape killed the other two men as his life giving blood slipped through his fingers.

One of the two wizards left standing turned to flee out the door. Severus' exploding entrails spell connected with his back. The wizard doubled over in agony as his back broke from the force of his organs exploding through his back. The last wizard froze in shock and looked around him wildly. Severus walked over unnervingly calm and knocked the wand out of his limp grip. The wand clattered to the floor. Severus moved behind the catatonic wizard and kicked him in the back of his knee. The wizard fell to his knees, and he would have ended up flat on his face except that Severus had a grip of his head. With a sharp motion, he twisted the wizard's head, and the loud crack of his neck breaking was heard in the room as if they were in a tomb.

Severus stood and tried to comprehend what had happened. He thought that Lily had seen the light and confessed her love for him, and it had been wonderful—the best night of his miserable life. Then, he discovered that those sick fucks had orchestrated the whole thing for their amusement. Making fun of the half-blood's love life. His legs gave out as the most intense pain he ever felt seemed to emanate from his arm. His mind operated on automatic and with a crack he left behind his dream with Lily as he realised that he had made love to a stranger, and that Lily Evans would most likely fall for James fucking Potter, the utter BASTARD.

A shaking Severus Snape appeared before the Dark Lord Voldemort utterly naked and blood stained as he shivered in the cold room.

'Well done, Severus. Welcome to my cause. Serve me well and you will be given power beyond your imagination. And next time I summon you, put some clothes on. See Malfoy about the robes you will be expected to wear in my presence. I hope you enjoyed one of my concubines that I laid on for you.'

Snape swayed on the spot as he processed what the Dark Lord had said. An unspeakable anger welled up in him at the ruse that was used to snare him. With a gesture and a murmur from the Dark Lord, Severus was laid on the floor writhing in agony.

'Your thoughts are easily read, my young servant. You just needed a little push. Yes, the Mudblood slut is pretty and intelligent, but we don't sully ourselves with such filth. I will teach you how to be the best. I need the services of some one with your excellent skill in the art of Potion brewing. Let this be a lesson of what to expect when you displease me. Malfoy.'

A figure appeared in full Death Eater regalia and looked disdainfully at the writhing form of Severus Snape. The figure brandished his wand and Severus slowly levitated to hang about four feet off the ground.

'Help our newest member. He is to be looked after, as he is now our Potions Master. Understood?'

'Yes. My Lord.' With a bow, Malfoy left and floated Snape in front of him.

_**Saturday evening at 9:45 on October 1**__**st**__** 1981**_

Snape's mind was whirling; he had found an obscure book on Occlumency in Malfoy's library the week after he had joined the Dark Lord's service. He never forgot the humiliation inflicted by Voldemort five years ago. He had resigned himself to loving Lily Evans from afar. Even though she had married James fucking Potter, she would always be an Evans to him. He had puzzled out the prophecy he had over heard, it meant that there was a good chance Lily would die as she had survived an encounter with Voldemort three times as indicated in the prophecy. He thought that Voldemort would attack Lily soon, maybe by the end of the month. He would have to go to Albus Dumbledore and beg for leniency; his main mission in life was to see that she survived and if that meant Potter and his spawn died so much the better.

He had already asked for her to be spared in the attack on the Potter residence. He was now of the opinion that Voldemort would not keep his word to him, that she would be spared in the new regime he would install after he defeated this prophecy. He now regretted ever accepting the assignment of spying at Hogwarts for Voldemort. He now found himself standing before the stairs to the Headmaster's office contemplating his fate and the fate of Lily Evans, for she was not a Potter in his eyes. How he wished her surname were Snape instead of Potter.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

The sound of the roar of a lioness broke Snape's drift down memory lane. Snape frantically tried to crawl back from the enraged lioness on hands and feet, but it was useless—the large paws on his knees pinned him in place. Hot breath blasted his face as the lioness' roar reverberated in the small room. Snape came out of his stupor and tried to hold back the lioness' head with his hands. One large forearm raised and came down in a swift strike against Snape's forehead. Snape saw stars as he released the animal's head. The last thing he saw was the paw coming in from the side before it connected with the side of his head.

The lioness flowed into the form of a disgusted female that promptly vomited, barely missing the unconscious wizard. A fluffy bathrobe came through the wall with an arm attached. Harry followed and gently wrapped Hermione in the robe as she dry heaved. Harry looked decidedly green after he had witnessed Snape defiling the memory of his late mother. He guided Hermione back out of the room, so that she could recover. In their state, they forgot all about the pool of vomit on the floor of Snape's cell.

After a passage of time, Snape groaned and slowly rose. His damaged nose still worked and he promptly vomited after the smell of vomit evoked a reaction from his body. He looked around wildly at the small cell and sighed in relief that the large feral cat was gone. He thought that he must have gotten sick after the cat had left and blacked out because he had no memory of getting sick in the first place. Just as he got his stomach settled, a tray appeared to come through the wall near the floor. The smell of the dinner turned his unsettled stomach and with a groan, he lay down on the backbreaking mat and tried to ignore the food.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

The former Knockturn Alley layout was ignored in the reconstruction efforts as the architects of the reconstruction project ignored the old street layouts of Diagon and Knockturn Alleys. The new designs were based on American Magical Plazas of shops and restaurants. The black economy just relocated to a select number of old haunted and derelict buildings in the GreaterLondon area. Arthur Appleton knew of one such building as he acquired potions supplies there. He had eventually mastered the Intelligence Potion, which had the happy side effect of improving his skills in the art of potion making. He made his way to the black market hoping to sell some of his potions to fund his research. The black market was in the vaulted basement of an old block of terraced houses. The space was magically enlarged. It was a hive of activity far under the radar of the Auror's operating in the former Diagon Alley.

Arthur set up his stall of the various potions he had brewed. It would appear that no one was interested as everyone thought that potions no longer worked at all. A fight erupted in a tent that doubled as the local boozer. One wizard had a gash from a cutting spell and had lost a lot of blood. Sensing a business opportunity, Arthur rushed forward and grabbed a Blood-Replenishing Potion. He cast a spell to stop the bleeding. The other combatant was long gone after making off with a sack of gold Galleons. Arthur uncorked a bottle of the Blood-Replenishing Potion and forced it down the wizard's throat.

'Merlin, fuck me, that's vile,' hissed the injured wizard.

Arthur didn't give the man a chance and forced a vile of pepper up potion down his throat. The man's eyes widened and watered.

'Fuck, that is the worst pepper up potion I've ever tasted, you bastard,' he choked.

'You're only alive because I helped and that will be five Galleons, seven Sickles, and two Knuts,' demanded Appleton

'Why you little shite, who the fuck do you think you are charging me after doping me up on your foul concoctions?' the man argued.

'You're alive, you ungrateful bastard, aren't you?' responded Appleton.

The man got up in a huff and stalked away muttering under his breath as a man with a snake tattoo watched the heated exchange with interest. Maybe his search for a potions master for the Dark Lord was over.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

'That utter bastard! How could he defile my mother's memory for all those years? Tell me why Hermione? He thinks he loves her and yet he treated me like shit simply because I look like my father, and he's supposed to be an adult. Ha, what a crock of shit. The BASTARD has the gall to leer at your mother in her own home. What does Dumbledore see in the bastard that he allows the stupid fucking bully teach children? Well . . . oh, I don't know what to do with the stupid fucker… Sorry, Hermione, I know you hate cursing but I don't know anymore. How could anybody be so cruel?'

'I don't know, Harry, I just don't know,' consoled Hermione as she pulled Harry towards her as he ranted against all that Snape had done to him or his family including his new family members; Hermione, Jane, and Frank.

After a while, Harry settled and the couple started to discuss what questions they were going to ask the Potions Master. They thought he could be double agent for whom they were not sure, Riddle or Dumbledore. Minerva arrived late in the evening and ignored the fact that it would appear that Hermione was dressed in just a bathrobe. She wondered what had happened as it would appear that the couple looked disturbed.

'Hermione, I have gone through the book and found a solution to the thrall problem. However, I think you won't like it. A man has to go in and treat the affected areas in Jane's damaged mind.'

'Why a man?' asked Hermione as she cradled Harry into an embrace.

'Because the original attacker was male. The person that fixes it also has to be male because of the way a male mind thinks.'

'What's the catch? There is always a catch,' stated Harry quietly.

'The person who fixes the damage will then know the victims mind intimately.'

'Oh. I cant do that, I love Hermione too much to invade Jane's mind,' said Harry with dismay.

'Well, we'll think of something,' offered Minerva.

'Thanks, Minerva,' said Hermione quietly.

'What's wrong?' probed Minerva.

Hermione turned to look at Harry. At Harry's nod, Hermione turned to look at Minerva. Remus arrived at the door sensing that his friend's son was felling depressed.

'I don't know whether I should show you or not.'

'Show us what?' questioned Remus as he moved into the room.

'Earlier today, I convinced Harry to let me question Snape. We learnt that it is possible to do magic in our animal forms. I thought that it would be easier to skim Snape's mind if he was distracted or scared.'

'What!' exclaimed Minerva.

'We have Snape in a magical cell I'd created from a description in the book I'd loaned you. John had taught us the best way of questioning suspects. We,' Hermione pointing to Harry and herself as she spoke. 'Harry and I, decided to adapt that training in relation to Snape as Harry felt that he would never tell us the truth. I decided that Harry would be clouded by his tutelage under Snape this past year, and would more than likely take out his frustration on him. I asked him to promise me to stay out while I read his mind.'

Remus snorted and whispered, 'Whipped'.

Hermione ignored the jibe and waved her hand. A three dimensional image appeared of the inside of a grey box. Minerva and Remus silently watched as a lioness appeared to pass through the wall of the box directly across from Snape. Remus smiled at the terror filled face of Snape as he appeared to be mesmerised by the lionesses stare. The image flickered and started to play back moments of Snape's life.

Remus gasped as he watched Snape make love to a woman that looked like Lily. He was disgusted with himself as he watched that dead woman was revealed to be actually an impostor. He felt bile rise in his throat as he watched Snape decimate the perverting bastards that watched Snape and the woman that resembled Lily. He turned to look at Minerva and saw that she looked a little green and had her lips pressed into a thin line.

'I had enough of his memories at that stage and left his mind,' said a decidedly green Hermione.

'I don't blame you,' a grim faced Remus replied. 'I'll be right back.'

'No, don't, Remus! You will kill him! Besides, the only persons who can get through the walls are Hermione and me. I want more information before deciding what to do with the fucker.'

Minerva ignored the curse word as it mirrored her own thoughts on the man; however, Harry apologised to herself and Hermione.

'Let him stew in the cell for now, I am more interested in helping Jane,' ordered Harry.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

A wreath adorned with black ribbons hung on the front door of the Burrow. A sombre atmosphere prevailed even with the normally boisterous Weasley clan paying their respects. An open casket with Arthur Weasley laying in repose was in the sitting room. The coffin lay on a table with a black tablecloth that reached for the floor concealing the legs in the magically enlarged room. Molly sat at a chair directly across from Arthur's head, a black handkerchief in her hand. All the children were there apart from Percy, who was in hospital, and Charlie who was sitting with him. Molly's sobs were heard over the low din of the people's whispered conversations.

Luna Lovegood breezed in from the kitchen dressed in a simple black summer dress with a black silk scarf across her shoulders. A sombre Xenophilius Lovegood followed his daughter. He moved to Arthur's coffin and whispered in a hushed tone towards the corpse. He consoled Arthur's children one at a time, except for the absent Percy and Charlie, and left quietly. Molly didn't notice that he never came near her at all, but one of her sons did. Ron scowled as he watched Xenophilius Lovegood leave the kitchen without consoling his distraught mother. He decided to give him a piece of his mind and stalked after him. Luna turned from watching proceedings and decided to follow her father and Ron. Ginny was making sure that there was food and drink available for all the mourners. Albus Dumbledore was conspicuous by his absence among the members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Ron's mind was pulling in a lot of directions. Why did the old man Lovegood ignore his mother, the bollocks? Why did his dad have to die? Why did Hermione and Harry ignore his letters that he couldn't send as he didn't know the address. He spotted Lovegood heading in the direction of his house and went to follow. He missed the gnome under foot and tripped, he hit his head hard. Groaning, he stood up and that lingering presence from the battle at the Ministry sighed; he had control again.

A malicious smiled graced Ron's face. He frowned when he couldn't Apparate away from the ramshackle house. He headed into the forest never noticing that a girl was following him. After walking to almost the edge of the wards, the presence felt his grip on the boy slipping. With a hiss of frustration, he felt the boy reclaim control.

Ron stopped suddenly and looked around at his surroundings. He noticed that he was in the woods behind the Burrow. He was beginning to get worried that this thing with gaps in his memory was happening more often. His stomach grumbled as he rushed back to the Burrow. In his haste, he never noticed the girl with blonde hair hiding behind an old oak tree.

Luna Lovegood stood in the Weasley's sitting room wondering why daddy did not commiserate with Mrs Weasley. She caught from the corner of her eye an angry looking Ron follow her father as he went home. She was worried that poor Ron was infested by a colony of Aquavirius Maggots. He seemed to behaving oddly due to the infestation. She decided against approaching him at this time, she was content to just watch. She decided to hide behind a wonderful old oak tree while Ron went back to the house once more seeming to be himself.

Luna slowly followed the path back to the Burrow and the mourning party. She noticed a silver glint on the forest floor. She bent over to get a closer look. It appeared to be the corner of a silver box. She knocked some of the dirt and dead leaves off of the object and revealed a photograph in a silver frame. She dropped it in shock as she saw a photograph of her mother when she attended Hogwarts. Her mother had pink hair, it must have been dyed, she decided. A lone tear trickled down her cheek as she looked at the now sad face of her mother. It was only now that she realised that there was a young man in the picture with her mum. She gasped in surprise when she realised it was a young Arthur Weasley. She picked up the picture and went to put it into her pocket.

'Please, there is a book over in that direction by the beech tree,' squeaked her mum from the photo in her hand.

Luna almost dropped the frame in shock but didn't. Luna looked around, spotted the beech tree, and headed in that direction scanning the ground for this book.

'It's my notebook of ideas and other . . . stuff,' said Arthur.

As Luna searched, she came across a rectangular object with a leathery feel to it. As she picked it up, she noticed it to be a small book.

'That's it!' came the man's voice in the picture frame.

Luna put the book in to her pocket and headed for home.

When she reached her home, she headed up the circular stairs to place the small photograph on her bedside locker. There was a flash of light and she whirled in the direction of the flash with her wand pointing at where the flash originated. Her wand was glowing from a spell ready to be cast. A rolled up scroll sat innocently on her study table. She slowly approached the table and cast a detection charm on the scroll of parchment. After being teased and pranked in the Ravenclaw dorms, she had become cautious and so took no chances. Tentatively, she reached out and picked up the scroll. She wondered when she saw the Lovegood Crest on the blue wax seal. Stealing herself she broke the seal and began to read:

_My dearest Luna,_

_As I write this letter, you are nine years old playing out in the garden. If you are reading this letter, it means I died trying to regain a skill I lost to an evil woman who stole my first love. Your wonderful father was unfortunately not the man who stole my heart. In my youth, it was a man named Arthur Weasley. We were very much in love. He helped me to come to terms with my special gift. It is a very rare gift that allowed me to take on any form, which I later learned was called, Metamorphmagus. The vile evil woman spiked the drinks at a party during our fifth year in Hogwarts. The spiked drink that Arthur consumed contained a love potion that was keyed to the vile woman. Arthur began to see less and less of me and we drifted apart. I learnt that the potion I drank had killed any romantic love I had for Arthur and had the side effect of destroying my special talent. I knew from an early age that I was different. As I grew up, I started to look different than your grandparents. I learnt that this was because of my developing talent. _

_I cried for months when I learnt a part of me was destroyed from that vile drink. When I finished school, I travelled for a while searching for what I had lost. On my travels, I met your father; he was looking for a Crumple-Horned Snorkack and in due time we fell in love. I rarely saw Arthur during those years but knew that he had married that vile woman and had children. I felt compelled to tell your father about my past. Merlin, bless that man; he used his contacts to find any information on Metamorphmagus and if there was a slim chance to regain what I had lost. _

_One day, I was shopping in Diagon Alley when I bumped into a girl that had the same gift I had lost. I learnt that her name was Nymphadora Tonks. I was puzzled at the fact that she resembled me in my youth. I learnt that all Metamorphmagi have similar traits in our base form. Just as you inherited your hair colouring from your father and your eyes from me. Metamorphmagi inherent a common appearance in our base forms. I traced my roots back several generations and learnt that I am related to the Blacks. I found a book with a ritual that may restore my long lost talent._

_I will try the ritual tonight. Know this, my wonderful daughter, I love you and your father dearly. Without him, I would have never gotten over the loss of my first love. Arthur Weasley is a very good man. I met him two weeks ago and learnt that even when he discovered the deception he stayed because he loved his children deeply. Be careful around Arthur's house for I fear what that woman could do to you, my daughter. I fear that due to the potions effects I have not passed on my talent and for that I am sorry. I am hopeful that the ritual will work, if not, know that I will look in on you from time to time. I will always be with you._

_Love,_

_Evanna Lovegood_

'Mummy,' whispered Luna as she gently lowered the letter from her mother.

She now knew why her mother died that day. It also explained why her daddy ignored Mrs Weasley. She let go of the letter, climbed into bed, curled up into a ball, and cried herself to sleep.

Xenophilius quietly climbed the stairs when he felt the faint caress of his wife's magic. He wondered why he felt the magic after all these years later. He saw that his daughter was crying in bed. He went and sat on the edge of the bed. He didn't know what to do so sat quietly and watched her slip into sleep.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

A/N Please review.


	9. Chapter 9

Authors notes: Also see notes at the end.

For disclaimer see first chapter's notes.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG Equals scene break

With thanks to my proofreaders: Muggledad and Tumshie.

Inspiration for one plot strand in this chapter goes to Chem prof.

He gave his permission for its inclusion to my little story. Thanks!

Chapter Nine

After the old man finished eating he vanished everything on the table including Draco's unfinished meal. Draco grumbled under his breath but did not complain, as he was very wary of the old man. The old man bustled about the small room while Draco stared at the space where his meal had been forlornly while his stomach rumbled.

'What did you do to me?' enquired Draco.

The old man ignored him and went about tidying the small ramshackle room. Again Draco pressed him on what he did. Just as Draco gave up questioning the mad old man he replied with a nasally voice.

'I gave you a gift.' retorted the old man, his face a picture of resentment.

'I asked you what did you do to me? Do you know who I am?' demanded a very proud faced Draco.

With a smirk the old man quickly responded, 'You are Draco Malfoy, you are a spoilt Pureblood and live in an antiquated bigoted society that believes everything will come to you on a silver platter.'

Draco smiled when the old man revealed that he knew the name but his smile fell from his face as the old man spoke.

'You are a vain pretty boy, but behind it all you are petty coward that hasn't got the power to match your ambitions, however, not anymore and when I am finished with you everybody will fear you.'

At Draco's questioning glance the old man explained.

'Your mind is a very easy tapestry to read my young foolish apprentice.'

'Apprentice, what the fuck is going on...' angrily interrupted Draco.

'Your answers will come in good time' interrupted the old man.

'What happened to me?' persisted Draco

'I said your answers will come in good time' barked the old man in annoyance.

'What happen...ahhhhhhhhhh'

The old man lifted his walking stick and gestured. Draco's question was cut off mid sentence. A powerful force that felt like an invisible giant hand excreted a crushing force on Draco's muscles and limbs. The old man made a slight gesture with the walking stick. Draco felt his body slowly levitate up off of the stone floor. The old man swung the stick as if it was a fishing rod and he was fly-fishing. Draco was blasted through the wall and crashed into a snow-covered boulder that was about two hundred yards from the old hut and the stone cracked from the force of the impact. The old man slowly hobbled towards Draco's prone form. Draco looked up in shock, it never occurred to him that he was uninjured.

In an icy whisper the old man explained, 'Now I said you will get your answers in good time. That means when I decide you are ready and deserving I will explain everything to you in simple terms.'

Draco tried to glare but the wind was knocked out of him and he just looked like a petulant child. 'Now are we clear, or are more lessons required?'

'Ok' mumbled Draco as he sulked about his situation.

'Ok WHAT?' barked the old man.

Draco looked up at him in confusion.

'Are you not my apprentice?' demanded the old man.

As Draco did not want to be sent flying into another bolder he nodded in agreement.

'As you are my apprentice, therefore it stands to reason that I am the Master, understood?'

Draco mumbled, 'Yes Master.'

The old man barked 'UNDERSTOOD!'

Draco angrily roared 'YES MASTER'

'Good. Are you ready for your training now or do you want to mourn your pitiful life?'

'Training' asked a puzzled Draco.

The old man glared down at Draco. A chill went down Draco's spine at the icy stare.

'Yes master.' responded Draco quietly.

'Good' said the old man as he turned to the hut. The hut had a large hole in the side.

'The first task my Apprentice, is for you to repair the damage you caused to my home.'

Draco glared. The old man had caused the damage by blasting him through the wall. He had no control of the situation. Sighing he contemplated his options; he did not have his wand for it was broken. The old man seemed to be very powerful.

'Yes Master.' Draco almost choked on the word. It was beneath him he felt.

'Good.' Replied the old man ignoring the disrespectful thoughts for now.

Draco slowly started to collect the rubble from the hole in the wall all the while wondering how he was going to repair it without magic.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Deep underground workers were loading mining carts with gold Galleons. Security Guards stood silently observing the worker Goblins as they went about moving the gold around. The air in the tunnels and caverns was hot and smoky from the trapped security Dragons breath. A lone well-dressed Goblin approached an open vault door. In his hand a clipboard was clasped with gobbledygook on the page. He skidded to a halt as he observed vault number eleven being empted of its gold bullion.

'What's going on? Who authorised the empting of this vault?' demanded the irate Goblin in gobbledygook.

The workers ignored him and went about loading the mining carts. A supervisor heard the complaints and slowly approached the irate Goblin. The irate Goblin was puzzled why the vault was being emptied he did not know as it was an old vault belonging to the Malfoy Clan. The Clan hired the Goblin many years ago and the Goblin had earned a lot of gold from the deal. But one of the clauses was that any vault transactions had to go through him.

'Vaults being confiscated.' explained the Work supervisor.

'What? Why?' demanded the Goblin.

'Under orders from Ragnok.' explained the Work supervisor as if that was reason enough.

The irate Goblin cursed and turned to hurry out of the bank. He had heard that Ragnok had taken on a very lucrative client the mysterious Lord Black. He sighed he would have to go inform the head of the Malfoy Clan that his vault was being emptied into one of the vaults owned by Lord Black. He screamed in frustration when it dawned on him that he had just lost all of his gold. He had left his gold in vault eleven and he had seen the work order. The work order had said that the entire contents were to be placed into the Black vaults being built especially. He had left his gold in the vault, as Goblins were not allowed vaults of their own so that they had to use clients' vaults. These worked to Goblin thinking as they could charge their clients for larger than required vaults and use the excess space for their own ends.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Minerva sat at the kitchen table; a Muggle A4 foolscap1 pad was in placed in front of her on the table. Lying on the writing pad lay a red and blue biro.2 Pages of notes lay in neat bundles in her precise handwriting. The _**Potter Book of Magic**_ was propped up open on a section about the nature of magic. The book was propped up with a tin of beans for easy consultation. Minerva massaged her forehead in frustration. It had taken her over five hours to discover what was wrong with Jane but the solution she had found was not very good. It would appear that the solution was for a male mind to enter Jane's subconscious and heal the affected area of the mind. The two eligible wizards were Harry and Remus. Remus would not be able to help, as Werewolf magic was not compatible with Vampire mind magic. Harry ruled himself out due to his bond to Hermione and the fact that sharing a mind was a very intimate affair. It was one of the contributing factors that resulted in the marriage of Hermione and Harry. Forgetting the fact that Snape's failed lessons in Occlumency with Harry could be considered a form of mental rape. He was supposed to be teaching Harry to shield his mind against Tom Riddle but instead he was working against any natural talent Harry may have had. Minerva thought that the _**Potter Book of Magic**_ was an invaluable asset as with out it she felt that she would be still looking for what was wrong with Jane.

Jane's mind was essentially operating on a basic level. The Vampire thrall left behind a kind of parasitical infestation that has to be healed before Jane has a chance of coming to terms with what has happened. Minerva knew that as a male mind caused the problem and messed with a female mind a male mind was required to fix the problem. She decided to reread the section on magic again as she felt there was something off. She felt that she was missing something or not understanding long forgotten principles of magic. She felt that some clue was just out of reach.

Minerva looked up when she heard a person pour water into a kettle from the tap. She noticed Hermione's pale complexion, she still looked a little green after vomiting earlier. Hermione took down two mugs from the press and added tea bags as she waited for the kettle to boil after having put it on the turf fired solid-fuel cooker. Hermione got a carton of milk and poured some into a small jug and placed it on the kitchen table away from Minerva's notes.

'What seems to have you stuck Minerva?' enquired Hermione as she noticed the word magic underlined in red ink with a question mark beside it.

'I have gone back over my research and I know that the solution involves a man performing mind magic on your mother. Remus is ruled out due to the fact that the magic between Vampires and Werewolves is very different and incompatible and that if he attempted to help her it would very likely kill her. You yourself know why Harry can't really help as the Male mind has to go deep into your Mother's mind and would likely learn her intimately.' Minerva sighed as she finished outlining the problem.

'So you think magic could be a solution?' clarified Hermione.

'Yes, in an ideal world your father would do it but he is not a wizard and does not know Occlumency furthermore he has no magic.' explained Minerva.

'Actually that is not true both Mum and Dad have magic it's just that it is at a very low level. When Harry and I were in the other place we developed a great sense of magic. When we returned home we learnt that there is magic all around us even here in this house. Both my parents have magic it is just very faint not enough to power a wand.' explained Hermione.

Remus had gotten over his embarrassment for his earlier antics of running around in glee at having mastered the wolf after all these years. He had gotten a shower and gotten dressed. He checked on Harry who was taking stock of the contents of the Granger household that Minerva had hastily packed in their rush to get away. He heard the whistling kettle and come into the kitchen for a cuppa. He had entered unobserved and sat down to listen as the two brilliant intellects discussed the situation with Jane.

'So you're saying that your Mum is a witch?' questioned Minerva.

'No, by the Wizarding world's definition she is Muggle. It is just that she really has some magic and without it I would have never gone to Hogwarts and met Harry.' replied Hermione

'What do you mean?' clarified Minerva

'Well, do you know anything about a Muggle science called genetics?' asked Hermione as she studied her Professor.

'Umm no.' admitted Minerva.

'Well genetics is a discipline of biology specifically the hereditary and variation in living organisms. Jim taught myself and Harry a bit about it. Scientists have learnt that traits can be passed on from parents to children. For example Draco's pale blonde hair and grey eyes, he more than likely got them from his father, Harry inherited his green eyes from his mother and his unruly hair from his father. Jim thought that it was highly likely that in my family tree there must have been a few witches and wizards on both sides of the family and this inherited magic was passed down until the two strands met when I was born a witch. So therefore my parents must have some degree of magical genes to give me my magical ability. Harry believes that the magic my parents have is slightly above that of the background ambient magical energy.' explained Hermione

'Makes sense, but how does this help?' said Minerva as she nodded her head in understanding.

'Is there some way to turn my dad into a wizard only temporarily?' asked Hermione.

'Yes but it is the darkest of Dark Arts. Your book covers some rituals that may turn a Muggle into a Wizard. One such ritual involves raping and then killing twelve virgin girls under the age of fifteen on a full moon.' said a pained Minerva as she was sickened by recounting the ghastly details of one dark ritual.

'Okay that is not a solution.' stated Hermione as she looked stricken at Minerva's answer

'Why was it in the book?' asked Minerva as she pondered confiscating the book.

'The book is tied into Hogwarts, so why is their a restricted section in the library there?' replied Hermione defensively.

'What's that got to do with this discussion?' asked Minerva primly.

'Well everything in the library is in the book regardless if it is in the restricted section or not. Show me where you found that vile ritual.' ordered Hermione.

Minerva frowned but flicked through to the section of the book where the dark ritual was contained. Hermione took one glance at the script down the side and said.

'That section is tied into the Chamber of Secrets; Riddle hid some of his vile books there. The magic of Hogwarts that created the book included them into the directory in the book. That is why you found the ritual. It is one of the downsides in the way that the book is indexed. The only plus is that any of the compulsion charms on the originals in the Chamber does not transfer while you read from this book.' explained Hermione

'How is that safer?' asked Minerva

'The reason most Dark Arts books are considered _Dark_ is due to the compulsion and addictive charms cast upon them. Any sane person reading them would have to be sick in the head. I have only read the section from the Chamber of Secrets on Horcruxes so that we can destroy them.'

'I would still be very careful about consulting those sections in the book.' cautioned Minerva.

'Yes, I know but being aware of them can't be wrong. I know all about Horcruxes now but would never dream of creating one like Riddle has. Unfortunately I have been forced to kill and I hated it. I fear that Harry and I will be forced to take more lives before this thing is finished. Sorry can we get back to helping my mother please?' said Hermione in exasperation

'Okay, is their any other way that Frank could get magic that did not involve the Dark Arts?' pondered Minerva.

'Maybe you are looking at it all wrong.' interjected Remus.

Remus had thought that they were too close to the situation to come up with a simple solution to the problem. He felt that they were over analysing the problem. The way he saw it if Frank was turned into a Wizard for a few days it would take time to train him in how to read minds and help his wife, Hermione's mother. So it was not an ideal solution. Then it hit him he maybe able to offer a solution. The two women were startled by the intrusion, as they had not noticed him nursing his mug of tea as he listened in on the conversation. Hermione and Minerva waited expectantly for Remus to continue even though it was rude to eavesdrop.

'Lily was a very clever witch and an unofficial fifth member of the Marauders. Before she started dating James she was working on a personal project with Snape.' Remus almost spat out the name Snape. 'That was before they had a falling out. It is only after viewing his memories that I realised that he brought it on himself calling Lily that vile tag "Mudblood"'

Remus looked distantly as he recounted the past.

'Lily cared for Petunia, her sister and wanted to find a way to share a small part of her gift.'

'Gift?' quizzed Hermione.

'Magic, Lily considered it a gift to be cherished and not to be abused.'

Hermione's eyes widened as she glanced at the floor. 'Oh! That's one way to look at it.'

'Yes well she was researching a way to allow Petunia to practice magic. Lily figured that Petunia being her sister must have magic in her even if it was a minuscule amount. Snape helped Lily brew a special potion while they were in the third year. Snape stopped helping her out after their falling out over James and the fact that Snape called her "Mudblood." She had a falling out with Petunia when she married Vernon but decided to continue her research when she realised how ground breaking it was. She was almost finished her research when she discovered she was carrying Harry. The day after she visited the Healer's she went to Gringotts to safeguard the project should anything happen to her. I don't know where the key for the research vault went.' explained Remus as he sipped his mug of tea at intervals.

'How could this help Jane?' asked Minerva.

Remus continued explaining: 'Lily crafted a special ring or necklace that allowed the wearer to perform magic. I saw an early prototype, it was fairly crude but it allowed the wearer to cast some simple spells such as _Lumos_ and _Wingardium_ _Leviosa_ simple spells really. I do know it was tested on a Squib and that it worked in that test. It may work for what you need to do. The research notes and charmed jewellery would be at Gringotts.'

'So Lily programmed that piece of jewellery to cast some simple spells?' asked Hermione.

'Ahem yes, you could adopt her notes to help Jane. I don't know maybe Harry could imprint on the piece of jewellery the necessary spells so that Frank could go in and fix the damage.' suggested Remus.

'Yes that might work.' replied Minerva.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Rodolphus Lestrange groaned in annoyance when one of the Dark Lord's lowly followers approached and told him a Goblin was looking for him. He was in charge of one of the Dark Lord's cell of Death Eaters. The cell had stolen this Wizard's house and killed the owners. After setting up some low level wards that the Ministry would not detect and posted sentries, Rodolphus contemplated the ongoing struggle against Mudbloods, He frowned when he realised that the Goblin had been specifically looking for him. The only Goblin he could think of that would have been informed of this location was supposed to be at the bank overseeing his Vault's security. Puzzled at this turn of events he bade the Dark Lord's follower to let the Goblin in. His eyes widened in shock as he recognized the Goblin as the one that oversaw all the Death Eater holdings at Gringotts. If the Goblin had broken orders and come looking for him this was very worrisome.

The Goblin was acting very odd and refused to look up.

'What is it? Why has the bank shut it's doors?' demanded Rodolphus impatiently.

The Goblin mumbled incoherently.

'What? Speak up. Clearly or you will be punished.'

The Goblin paused and slowly looked up. As their eyes met Rodolphus realised that the Goblin was extremely worried he wondered why.

'Lord Black has enacted Fealty Rights over all the Vaults that I handle. The reason I came was for you to inform the others.' Explained the nervous Goblin.

'WHAT' roared Rodolphus in shocked anger as he realised that all the gold that funded the Death Eaters was now gone.

'Lord Black has invoked his Fealty Rights on your account meaning that you can no longer access your gold and possessions'. repeated the Goblin as his eyes looked at the floor.

'I know that you foolish Goblin but who is Lord Black? I understood that he was blasted through the veil by my Wife.' retorted Rodolphus.

'The current Lord Black inherited the position only recently. His identity has been guarded as per the terms of the will of the previous Lord Black. Grack the last Goblin in charge of the account disappeared with his considerable earnings from the transaction and let the Goblin nation believe that the current Lord Black would pull his vast resources from the bank. Ragnok stepped in and has enacted a very strict security policy I did not learn any more. The current Lord Black has been far more proactive and Goblin-like than the previous Lord by claiming all your vaults through deception and funny wizards laws. The amount of vaults involved and the vast quantities of gold and heirlooms forced Goblin security to close the bank to make sure the Lord Black's assets were secure, now that Ragnok has taken over the Black accounts the bank is in complete lock down with the only exception to the current Lord Black.' responded the nervous Goblin.

Rodolphus sagged into his chair as he realised the implications. His wand snapped into his hand and a flash of red issued forth and the Goblin was rendered unconscious. _The Dark Lord would have to be informed._ Thought Rodolphus. He slowly approached the Goblin and searched the vile creature. He found two knives of exquisite design and workmanship along with a large leather bound book. He opened the book and discovered that it was an accounting ledger in gobbledygook that detailed all the moneys belonging to Death Eater's that was stored in the bank and that was claimed by the bloody current Lord Black. His eyes widened in shock as he slowly read the ledger. His father had not trusted the Goblins so had learnt the foul language and kept private accounts of the amounts kept at the bank. As a result, Rodolphus had no trouble reading the ledger and shared his father's mindset '_The Goblins were not to be trusted even though they had the best security_'. He decided that the Dark Lord would have to be informed after coming to the conclusion that the new Lord Black was far more troublesome than Sirius ever was. All Sirius had done was locked the vault so that the vast Black fortune was unavailable, but the new Lord Black had used an old obscure law and some old contracts to clean all the Death Eaters out. Another spell issued from his wand and the stunned Goblin was bound in steel cord. He reached out and grabbed the Goblin by the collar of his coat and activated the emergency Portkey to Malfoy Manor.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Remus went back to the sink to fill the kettle with water for another round of tea. When Lily and James moved into Godric's Hollow, Remus noticed that Lily would make tea the Muggle way and asked why she did not just magic up a cup of tea. In response Lily smiled and made tea the Muggle way and when it was ready she made a cup the magical way and offered both for comparison. After sampling both Remus agreed with Lily that tea made the Muggle way tasted better. Lily further explained after researching house elves that although magic was used in food preparation the ingredients were not. Ever since when the opportunity arose he made tea the Muggle way besides he did not want to damage the kitchens appliances, as he did not have Harry or Hermione's control around electricity. Hermione appeared to be much happier as they now had a potential solution to the Thrall problem. As Remus turned on the tap to fill the kettle with water he racked his mind trying to remember where Lily might of hidden the key to her Vault. Time was of the essence, as Jane was getting progressively worse. Remus was pulled out of his thoughts as water started to spill down the sides of the now full kettle.

'Remus? Would you know where Lily might have hidden the key to her vault? Or would she have kept it in the Potter main vault? As far as we know Harry has only got the key to his thrust vault.' enquired Hermione.

Remus tipped some water out of the kettle and put it on to boil before he turned to the women sat at the table to respond.

'I have no idea, I think Hugh might know as he is now your family Solicitor as well as the Potter Solicitor during the first war with Riddle. I think he would have any records of any secrets Lily or James would have had. If there was another key, I never saw it.'

'That's a good idea I'll contact him now.' said Hermione, as she routed around in her handbag that was lying on the floor beside the table. Hermione withdrew the communication mirror and said Hugh's name clearly. The mirror emitted a pale white glow while Hermione waited for an answer. The glow vanished once the call was answered.

'Hello.' Greeted Hugh as he answered the mirror.

'Hello, Hugh, How did it go yesterday at the Bank?' asked Hermione

'At first I had difficulty getting into the bank past a pair of security Trolls but I got in. Grack, the Goblin in charge of your holdings, did a runner and the rest of the Goblins were not happy at all. I did manage to see another Goblin who turned out to be Ragnok the Goblin leader. In the end the Goblins did a bit of grumbling but they are carrying out Harry and your wishes. Just before I left the bank, Ragnok gave me a Goblin transport stone along with a book for Harry.' relayed Hugh.

'Oh okay, it is good that you managed to implement our plans. I wonder why Ragnok would oversee Harry's account personally? And what is the story behind the book and the transport stone?' asked Hermione.

'Ragnok wanted Harry to have the transport stone, part of new security measures I think. The book I don't know it is for Harry and has heavy Goblin warding over it so I have not been able to read it. It has no script on the cover at all so I don't know what it may contain.' explained Hugh.

'Okay I guess I'll have to wait until Harry sees the book before learning what it contains. The reason I am calling is my mother is sick and we believe that research Lily conducted may be of great benefit. We believe that Lily set up a vault to safeguard her research after she had Harry. We need to get access to that research as soon as possible. Are you aware of any such vault in either the name of Potter or Evans?' asked Hermione as the worry for her mother showed on her face.

'I am sorry to hear that Jane is sick. The only keys that I am aware of are the one for the main Potter vault and the key to Harry's thrust fund as well as the key to the Black vaults. I believe that Harry already holds the key to his thrust vault and I have not received the Black vault key yet to pass on to Harry and after meeting Ragnok I believe he will wait until he meets Harry in person. The key to the Potter vault went missing shortly after Lily and James were found dead. The first thing I did was to cancel the old key and instruct the Goblin Nation to do a full audit on the main Potter vaults. Unfortunately I only discovered the key missing earlier this year and had planned on meeting Harry during the summer as Dumbledore did not permit me to communicate with Harry.' replied Hugh.

'So you have no idea if Lily may have had a vault in Gringotts?' asked Hermione.

Hugh responded 'No, I don't. My father was the Potter Solicitor at the time, he was killed in an attack during Riddle's first reign of terror so any secrets he may have had died with him. Anything of relevance at the office was destroyed in the Diagon Alley explosion. As you and Harry are now very important clients of Gringotts, the Goblins maybe willing to help. I suspect they will charge heavily for the favour though.'

'Oh, do you think the Goblins will help us, today hopefully? The sooner we find Lily's notes the closer we will be in helping Mum?' quizzed Hermione.

'Why not bring her to St. Mungo's?' asked Hugh.

'That is not really an option. We are in Ireland and St. Mungo's is in London. Besides I don't think St. Mungo's can help with her problem. Minerva has used the _**Potter Book of Magic**_ in her diagnoses of my Mother. There was a Vampire involved in the attack last night and St. Mungo's won't have the speciality required to treat her. After Harry helped me I believe my Mother's best chance is Lily's research.' replied Hermione.

'Okay, I understand you want to keep it to your selves, as I have already said, I was given a Goblin transport stone and an important looking tome.' replied Hugh. 'I think you maybe able to use the transport stone to gain access to the bank. But I think you should at least read some of the book before going to the bank. But that leaves the problem of how to get both the book and stone to your current location?'

'Oh that won't be a problem I'll just pop across.' replied Hermione with a smile.

'What Apparate to Hogsmead from Cashel? That's too far for one jump.' exclaimed Hugh.

'It is a much easier feat than leaping between realities. I'll see you in a minute.' retorted Hermione.

Hermione placed the mirror onto the table and picked up her handbag. Remus and Minerva silently observed as a magical construct in the shape of a sphere snapped into existence around Hermione's body. After it formed it seemed to swiftly dissolve into nothing revealing that Hermione was gone. The whole process happened in the blink of an eye and seemed to be utterly silent. Minerva's mouth went slightly slack at the feat for it was almost instant and totally silent she wondered if they could breach the wards at Hogwarts. She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard Hermione's voice come from the still active mirror left on the kitchen table.

'Hello? Remus? Minerva? I'll be back in twenty minutes I want to meet little Claire before returning with the Goblin travel stone and book.'

Remus slowly reached out and grasped the communication mirror and told Hermione that was fine and they would see her shortly. Minerva pulled herself together and told Remus that she would check in on Jane.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

A figured sat hunched over a bubbling cauldron studying the colour emitted from the potion under examination. The figure leaned back as he made another notation about the recovered potion sample. Over by the door stood a pensive Spanish Unspeakable pondering why the Englishman would call in a favour for such a trivial matter as a forensic examination of a couple of potion and urine samples. He had heard through the grapevine that their seemed to be a problem with potions in England. This explained why Jack Bauer would leave the country to get some forensic work done. At first the Spaniard was reluctant to help, that changed when Jack explained that the evidence would lead him to his son's killer. After learning of this, the Spanish Unspeakable eagerly let Jack use the facilities where he worked. He stood guard for any of his colleagues. He would be in a lot of trouble for letting a foreign agent into the Department of Mysteries of the Spanish Magical Council.

Jack leaned back and the bones of his spine popped and cracked.

'Learn anything?' asked the Spaniard in accented English.

'Yeah, there were a couple of Potions used. The first one was a very mature and potent mind control potion a nasty version of liquid Imperius. It was staggering in its potency. My son's fiancée was given a dose before she was fed a quantity of two potions.'

'What was she made do?' asked the ashen faced Spanish Unspeakable as he thought of his daughter forced to ingest the potion described.

'It looks like she was forced to deliver an explosive device to Diagon Alley in London.' replied Jack.

'Yes I have heard about that, it is the talk of the security community, an international delegation has been sent to investigate.' agreed the Spanish Unspeakable.

'I have identified one half of the lethal cocktail she was forced to ingest.' said Jack.

'Oh no.' whispered the Spaniard as he came to the correct conclusion.

'The potion was identified as Potion _X_.' said Jack.

'I thought all stocks had been destroyed' exclaimed the Spaniard.

'So did we. From my analysis the Potion is at least seventy seven years old, which means it was brewed about ten years before the enforced ban.' explained Jack.

'I could never figure out why it was called _X_, I guess it was before my time.' stated the Spanish Unspeakable.

'It was common practice to rename banned potions back then. There are seven banned Potions and _X_ is the worst.' said Jack.

'What does it do?' asked the Spanish Unspeakable.

'I am not sure but during training it was made explicitly clear that _X_ was the worst and how to identify it. And when it is mixed with another Potion it would appear that the result is a massive explosion.' explained Jack.

'What next?' asked the Spaniard.

'I need to get access to the list of banned Potions and see what information I can get on this blasted potion. I reckon that the attacker found Potion _X_ in an old cellar or something. Maybe I can track him down through the other Potion.' replied Jack.

'I don't think you can just look up that information.' frowned the Spanish Unspeakable as he realised that Jack would more than likely have to use underhand tactics to get the required information.

Jack said nothing and began to pack away his things. The Unspeakable nodded and allowed Jack to pack in peace. When he was finished Jack slipped past quietly with a discrete nod. The Spaniard approached his workstation to find it as he had offered it to Jack. The meaning was clear from one Unspeakable to another, thanks.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

The emergency Portkey deposited Rodolphus and the stunned Goblin into one of the dungeons under Malfoy manor. Rodolphus made for the door as he dragged the stunned Goblin across the stone cobbles of the dungeon floor. He spotted two lowly minions and barked at the pair to flank the Goblin as he brought the creature to the Dark Lord. It was a short trip from the Portkey room to the throne room that the Dark Lord resided in. Rodolphus bowed low when he entered with the Goblin brought in behind him with the two lowly Death Eaters trailing in behind. Rodolphus spoke when he had the Dark Lords attention. He appeared to be reading a large tome written in an odd language.

'Forgive me My Lord, I bring bad news.' said Rodolphus as he stammered the word _news_.

'Go on.' said the Dark Lord Voldemort.

'This Goblin oversees all your Vault's My Lord. He has very bad news and brought it to me as he did not know your whereabouts.'

The Dark Lord closed the book he was reading and stalked towards the bound and unconscious Goblin. A slash of his wand and a curse uttered in Parseltongue had the Goblin startled awake in excruciating agony. The Goblin thrashed about in agony as the steel cords that bound him got tighter, thick blood oozed from the cuts caused by the bindings.

'You have news? Goblin, Speak' commanded the Dark Lord.

'All, all the accounts have been confiscated by Lord Black. Reason the bank is closed is to facilitate the movement of all the gold.' stammered the goblin.

'WHAT!' roared the Dark Lord as he cast the killing curse in anger in Parseltongue. A dark green beam shot out of the wand causing the wand to buck up from the force of the magic leaving the wand. Smoke hissed from the tip of the wand as the intense beam of energy impacted the Death Eater to the left of the Goblin. The Death Eater's face paled as intense pain erupted around his body. He screamed soundlessly as his body exploded, forcing every one in the throne room to the floor bar the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord stared at his wand in shock for he had been reading a book in Parseltongue about casting spells in the powerful language. In his anger he did not realise that he had cast the killing curse through Parseltongue . Rodolphus backed up at the malicious grin that spread across the Dark Lord's face as he realised the power he got from casting magic in Parseltongue. The still smoking wand raised, Rodolphus braced his body as the Dark Lord hissed a curse. A beam of energy pulsating between blue and purple lanced out and hit the other minion beside the now silent Goblin. The poor man glowed briefly before spontaneously exploding showering the room in a fine mist of gore. The gory mist ignited into a giant fireball that raced in all directions. A slash and hiss from the Dark Lord and a pulsating sphere of energy snapped into existence. The fireball splashed harmlessly against the magical sphere. Rodolpdus sighed in relief that he was inside the sphere's protection.

'Excellent.' grinned the Dark Lord Voldemort.

'My Lord?' asked Rodolphus in trepidation.

The Dark Lord stooped down to look the Goblin in the eye.

'Are you informing me that all the vaults that contain my gold have been confiscated by Black?'

The Goblin nodded fearfully after witnessing the Dark Lord's anger.

'I will let you live if you help me to reclaim my stolen property.' offered Voldemort.

The Goblin's eyes widened as he realised what the Dark Lord planed to do.

'Rodolphus, your arm.' ordered the Dark Lord.

Rodolphus pulled back the sleeve of his robe and offered it to the Dark Lord. Voldemort jammed his still smouldering wand into the Dark Mark on Rodolpus' arm; he winced as the flesh started to burn. The Dark Lord uttered a phrase under his breath. The pain was unbearable as it felt like all the Dark Lords followers were been called. Rodolphus' mind disconnected from his body to escape the mind numbing agony. Shortly after his organs started to shut down one by one beginning with his intestines. Voldemort hissed in disgust as Rodolphus' corpse landed in a pool of excrement after he finished the summoning spell. The summoning took five minutes, the last minute the spell was active it was only the magic coursing through the body that kept it upright. The room magically expanded to accommodate the large number of Death Eater's that answered the Dark Lord's summons, all looked fearfully at the scene in front of the Dark Lord's throne. They were fearful of the pulsating ball of energy that obscured the Dark Lord and the poor Death Eater that was fuelling the summons. The Goblin cringed as he realised that the Dark Lord had declared war on the Goblin Nation.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Harry worked through the belongings that were unpacked from the Granger house in London. He felt responsible that the house was destroyed in the escape. After finding one of the large rucksacks he had brought from the other reality he slung the backpack and went out to the turf shed that contained the grey cube that imprisoned Snape. The turf shed that contained Snape's prison was a large single room building, constructed of concrete blocks, with steel galvanised sheeting for the roof. At one end stood double doors, across from the door opening stood a small workshop area containing garden tools hung on racks with a small workbench and vice for minor repairs. Harry opened the bag and took out three smaller cloth bags coloured blue, black and green that were tied closed with a drawstring. Harry set aside the blue and black bags carefully on the small workbench. He opened the green bag and carefully removed the twelve rolled up blankets. They were in shades of brown with coloured patches in all the colours of the rainbow stitched on them.

Harry removed the roll with the black stitching. He carefully put back the other rolled up blankets and put them back into the green cloth bag. He then unrolled the blanket on the dust floor, removed a knife and started to rip the stitched seams. When that task was finished he grasped a corner of the upper layer and pulled sharply. A large black metal cabinet six feet wide by two foot deep by five feet high seemed to pop into existence. Harry rolled up the upper blanket and placed it on the workbench. With a thought the steel cabinet levitated and floated over to the wall between the workbench and Snape's grey prison cube. With a thump it sank back down on to the floor. Harry gathered up the lower blanked and rolled it up and placed it beside the upper blanket.

Harry reached for a metal flap half way up the left hand door of the steel cabinet. The flap noiselessly slid up to reveal a stainless steel numerical keypad. Harry punched in a series of numbers from memory, the door swung open to reveal that the interior contained a gun cabinet. Harry opened the lower drawer on the right hand side and put away the two rolled up blankets. At the top of the metal cabinet was a shelf that held cardboard boxes with codes printed on them. Below was a rifle rack with spaces for eight rifles, seven modified rifles stood locked to the case. On the shelf below lay spaces for twenty pistols. Two of the Glocks were missing from the shelf along with one Desert Eagle. Frank and Jane were issued with the two Glocks and Harry had used the Desert Eagle so all the pistols were accounted for. Harry removed cleaning equipment from the shelf under the gun shelf and went to the workbench. With a thought, a sphere snapped into existence on the worktop leaving behind the rifle Harry had used in the escape. Harry went through the process of stripping the weapon down and cleaning while his mind wandered. Once he was finished he locked away the rifle ready for use again. Sighing in annoyance he slowly approached the grey cube prison and passed through the wall.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Snape groaned as he slowly got up, he did not know where he was or what time of the day it was. He remembered the last time he was awake a large lioness appeared in his grey prison cell and his mind seemed to want to drag up past memories. He shuddered as he remembered the early days in the Dark Lord's ranks. He again started his futile search of the grey cell. He had found that the walls, floor and ceiling were perfectly smooth. They appeared to be made from a material similar to metal. The surfaces seemed to be slightly warm to the touch but offered no means of escape. All Death Eaters were trained in the art of escape once captured and naturally Severus had excelled in the test after training. He sighed, as the room seemed to be a perfect cell that had an Apparition ward around it. He had tried to Apparate with out his wand but could not maintain the concentration required for his magic to complete the task. Snape knew that he was one of the few Wizards capable of wandless Apparation as well as minor skills in wandless magic.

Snape got up again to examine the wall where the lioness had come through the last time he was conscious. At first he thought that he had hallucinated the whole encounter with the large feline but after examining the cell again he had found paw prints left behind in a rank pool of vomit. Another annoyance was his Dark Mark; it was causing the underlying skin to become irritated and terribly itchy. Snape was pulled from glaring at the cursed mark by a shadow. He looked up and fought with his body's desire to move back as the person casting the shadow had invaded his personal space.

The man that cast the shadow stood in the same spot the lioness had appeared earlier. The man appeared to be dressed like a Muggle. He was wearing black steel toed work boots, navy pants with large pockets on the legs, a strange black jumper with a hood and a crest on the left breast that Snape did not recognize. The man had unruly black hair and appeared to have marks on his nose signifying that he used to wear spectacles. Snape knew that the man looked familiar, he almost resembled James Fucking Potter but with out the glasses. He looked to old and well fed to be Harry Bleeding Potter.

'Hello, Severus, How are you today?' quizzed the man.

Snape's eyes narrowed when the man said his name. He almost recognized the voice it reminded him of James Potter.

'Not going to answer? Fine I have a couple of questions.' stated the man.

'You locked me up in this damn box with that pool of vomit and you have the gall to ask _how are you_?' retorted Snape.

The man smiled at that but asked another question. 'What were you doing at the Granger's residence?'

Severus mind screeched to a halt at that question. This guy was too well informed so he refused to answer. Again the question was asked as the man leaned in to stare into his eyes. Severus was mesmerised by the brilliant green eyes that radiated power and determination. Snape found his mind drift back to the night he ran into the Vampire and the death of one of his informers. He thought that he had lost the Vampire and had decided to check in on the insufferable Know It All to she if she knew the location of Potter. The plan was in jeopardy, they needed to find Potter and modify his feelings again because it would seem that he was developing a form of resistance to the conditioning program. He was startled that the Vampire had tracked him to the Granger residence. The last thing he remembered was stood in the Granger hallway looking at the scene on the doorstep in shock when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around startled and saw an older looking Harry Potter naked as the day he was born, before pain exploded in his face. The fog cleared from his mind and he roared _Potter!_ as he lunged for Harry.

Harry smiled and said 'Took you long enough.' As he side stepped the attack and struck Snape on the shoulder with a two handed punch like William Shatner was famous for in his films and television programs. Snape fell hard and implanted his face in the bowl of what could be considered food.

'Fuck you Potter, you call that drivel food?' as he gestured to the bowl of cold soup on the floor as he lifted his face out of the slowly expanding pool of cold soup and glared at Harry.

Harry smiled and decided to inform his Potions Professor the lie of the land.

'I have had an interesting summer Snape. I have learned how to get blood from a stone, so getting the information I require from you will not be difficult. I want you to swear on your magic that you will tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth or you will lose your life and magic . . .'

'Fuck you Potter, I am not swearing any Wizard's oath, besides you need a wand to cast such an oath.' interrupted Snape.

Harry ignored Snape's protest and with a grin asked: 'You consider yourself to be a master and an artist in the field of potion making, yes?'

This question threw Snape as it did not seem relevant so he stared up at Harry waiting for him to elaborate. Snape braced his hands on the floor and slowly got up.

'Well Snape you need your hands for potion brewing and I have been educated in the gentle art of persuasion involving your hands and a Muggle sledgehammer.' elaborated Harry.

Snape's eyes narrowed as he said 'you wouldn't dare.'

Snape had only managed to get up into a kneeling position, his eyes widened as an invisible force grasped his right hand and pulled it out in front of him and held it immobile. Harry raised his two hands above his head and brought them together into a two handed grip as if he was grasping a long bar. A large sledgehammer materialised in his grip. Harry's biceps flexed as his arms accommodated the heavy hammer. The two arms holding the sledgehammer started to arc through the air in the now magically enlarged room. As the hammer swung down with increasing speed Snape realised what Potter was going to do. And unlike Harry's unfortunate incident with Lockhart vanishing his bones Snape did not think that Potter was competent enough to heal the damage he was likely to inflict. Plus by the time he managed to get to a certified Healer, the repair was never going to be perfect and he would have to then deal with the prospect of trying to brew potions with a severely damaged hand from the hammer blow. Snape struggled to pull his hand away as he blurted out. 'I'll take your damn oath but I'll need a wand.'

Snape's closed his eyes as he expected pain when all he felt was a two handed punch on his immobile hand. He opened his eyes to see that the large hammer was gone and a bruise was forming on his right hand. He glared hatefully at Potter as the ensnared hand was released.

'Do you think that I'm stupid, Snape, that I would be foolish enough to give you a wand?' asked Harry.

Snape just raised an eyebrow.

'I have learnt one thing about magic, it all boils down to intent, if you want to do a feat of magic all you need is the desire and will for it to happen.' replied Harry.

Snape's eyes widened as he considered this angle. He smiled as Harry seemed to stiffen and his hands snapped to his side. Snape grinned now, as he appeared to have stunned the fool. He gingerly got to his feet and approached Harry to search him for a wand when suddenly a fist lashed out and struck him in the stomach. Air hissed out of his lungs as he slumped to the ground clutching his bruised abdomen, he glared up at the smirking Potter.

'Severus, Severus, Severus. Why would I tell you how to do wandless magic if I wasn't already competent in the practice? As I have said I had an interesting summer and a brilliant teacher in the practice. That stunner was pathetically weak and besides I expected It.' said Harry with a sigh.

Snape glared and tried again to stun the foolish boy. His body locked up as it seemed to be reflected by an invisible force, Harry started to chuckle as Snape stunned himself.

'That oath if you don't mind? We can do this all day I don't mind.' sighed Harry.

The weak stunner wore off and Snape nodded his head reluctantly. Harry then instructed Snape in the exact wording of the oath he wanted. Snape's eyes widened at the doubled barrelled surname.

'I, Severus Snape, do swear on my mind, magic, soul and life that I will tell Harry Potter-Black the whole truth leaving nothing out so mote it be.' Snape glowed briefly as the oath took effect.

After Snape gave the oath Harry smiled and got down to the business of getting answers to some questions that plagued him the first of which was:

'What was your relation to my mother?' asked Harry.

'She was my best friend, I knew her since before Hogwarts. I loved her; she was the only witch worth knowing, besides the fact that she was a filthy Mudblood. Unfortunately she discovered my views on her kind during fifth year and ended our friendship.' answered Severus as images played through his head of all the good times with Lily Evans.

'Why did you become friends with my mother given the fact that you despise all Muggleborns?' asked Harry.

'She was kind and caring, beautiful and intelligent, almost perfect besides the fact that she was a Mudblood. Her intelligence, must of left her when she lowered herself to be ensnared by Potter's pitiful charms.' said Snape.

'Why did you hate my father?' quizzed Harry.

'Because he charmed Lily into his bed and I didn't.' growled Snape.

'Why did you reveal the Prophecy to Voldemort?' demanded Harry.

Snape's eyes narrowed at the question but he answered. 'I was a good little Death Eater and relayed any relevant information I over heard. It was only afterwards that I had learnt that he planned to attack Lily and kill her even though he promised her to me.'

'So why go to Professor Dumbledore?' questioned Harry.

'He was Voldemort's opposite number and my best chance of getting Lily.' responded Snape.

'How were you to get my mother?' demanded Harry as he grabbed Snape by his collar.

'I thought that working with Dumbledore would result in her staying alive while you and your foolish father died, I was wrong.' answered Snape.

'What do you mean you were wrong?' quizzed Harry.

'After working with Dumbledore I have learnt that he is a master manipulator and that you are his favourite puppet.' said Snape.

'What do you mean? Puppet?' asked Harry as his temper began to boil.

Snape started to speak. 'To began with, he placed you with your vile relatives. That line he spouts about blood wards protecting you there are all bullshit. For them to have worked in the first place your aunt was to love you as one of her own, Dumbledore saw to it that Petunia resented you as Lily's son. He visited her shortly before he dumped you on her doorstep to fiddle with her mind. Vernon was my job and it was far to easy he was a very easy mark . . .'

'But I thought that it was decided to leave me with my Aunt and Uncle after they had died.' interrupted Harry.

Snape smiled as he laid out some of the details of what really happened.

'Pettigrew was a scared insecure little boy at Hogwarts always afraid that he would be excluded from the Marauders. Dumbledore prayed on that fear, he manipulated Peter into joining the Death Eaters. He learnt that the Potter's changed secret keepers to Peter. A simple matter of mind control had Peter toddle off to Voldemort with the information firmly believing it was Peter's own idea, in the mean time he had your accommodation with the Dursley's all set up. I realised after I pieced it all together how far Dumbledore went with his plans. I was locked into servitude with a man worse than Voldemort. Dumbledore was happy to control things from behind the Grandfatherly Headmaster image. He had ruined many lives to set in motion his grand plan.

After depositing you with your vile relatives he ghost wrote all the Harry Potter children's stories that were very popular in our world. He stoked your public image and used it to amass a small fortune from donations sent to your charity fund. At the same time he had me mould Slytherin in to a recruitment camp for Death Eaters. The bastard had me ruin my house; Slytherin's were a shadow of what they should be all because of Dumbledore's orders.

Your first year was simply a test to see what kind of child you were and whether the conditioning was working. In second year Dumbledore was manoeuvring one of his pawns into to place to be your future wife. He never counted on Hermione or the fact that you would always visit her in the hospital wing. It was dismissed as concern for a friend and Dumbledore wanted to see how Miss Granger would develop her potential, plus there was the added benefit that he would be able to take a hands off approach to your training.

Third year was a surprise he did not expect Sirius to re-enter the picture. He did not help the Ministry capture him because if Sirius was caught some of Dumbledore's plans may have come to light and he managed to convince Sirius to hide in his parents' house even though he knew that Sirius would of rather be anywhere but that house of awful memories. In fourth year he could of easily stopped the Death Eaters plans to resurrect Voldemort but it aided his plans so he allowed it to happen.'

'What! He could have stopped Voldemort but didn't?' said Harry in shock.

'Yes, He knows that he can't fight Voldemort directly and win because of the prophecy besides he prefers for others to do the hard work for him. Last year he realised how close you came to Hermione and decided to put a stop to it. After you were informed about the Ball you asked Hermione, as you didn't have the confidence to ask Cho. I stunned the pair of you and wiped the incident from your mind and reinforced your infatuation with Miss Chang. It was a good day for Me.' said Snape with a smile.

Harry slumped at hearing that, he struggled to find the incident mentioned but discovered that he had no memory of bumping into Snape after finding out about the Ball.

'You must have been very good because I don't remember it all.' said Harry almost to himself.

'Well it didn't work by the end of the year she kissed you at the station. It may have only been a kiss to the cheek but due to your conditioning it was all you could think about that summer. Dumbledore couldn't have that so he visited you in Privet Drive at night and modified you feelings. During one of his visits you had an attack by Voldemort and Dumbledore witnessed the whole thing. He decided then that you needed some protection or your mind could shut down after an attack and render you completely useless.'

'So did you teach me to protect my mind or open it further to attacks from Riddle?' asked Harry as he was using his meditation exercises to try and calm his temper.

'Neither, after the summer you showed signs of caring for the insufferable Know It All, Granger. It was decided that it would not be wise to allow you to be side tracked by a love life or develop attachments until her mother could mould Ginny to be the perfect widow. If you were to become attached too soon, it would be a disaster and it was preferred to be someone like Ginny that could be controlled. Granger was just about tolerated as a friend as she was far too knowledgeable and a liability. During your sessions I was to do just enough that Voldemort was kept in the dark while I modified your feelings from that of a lover to that of a sibling like relationship.' explained Snape.

'WHAT, all of last year while you inflicted that so called training on me you were controlling the feelings I had for her?' asked an incredulous Harry as his meditation failed to stem his anger.

Severus looked smug while he answered 'Yes I had great fun messing with your memory's and feelings for Hermione all during the past year and I had the full support of the Headmaster to do it.'

'Was this just because of orders from Dumbledore to assist in my conditioning or was their another reason?' asked Harry as he reviewed his fifth year in Hogwarts trying to find the times that Snape modified his feelings for Hermione.

'A bit of both, but mainly because I enjoyed the assignment.' said a grinning Snape.

Harry growled low in his throat in anger. It was as if his lion aspect was to the fore. Snape found himself flying backwards to impact on the wall. The wall seemed to come alive and morph around his wrists and ankles before coming solid once again.

'What else happened this past year?' demanded Harry.

'While I opened you up enough to lure Voldemort out into the open and controlled your feelings for Hermione, Dumbledore searched for fragments of Voldemort's soul. Dumbledore learnt that Voldemort broke his conditioning of being Dumbledore's big stick to beat the Wizarding world with. The soul pieces were inserted into objects to make artefacts called Horcruxes. He has created Horcruxes six plus the piece in you. Dumbledore's plan calls for your willing death, if you fell in love with Granger you would have a reason to live, we couldn't have that at all so it was decided to take your love for her out of the picture. According to Dumbledore's plans he aims to have you defeat Voldemort before you graduate Hogwarts. That means you will never finish your education at all.' answered a smiling Snape. The smile distorted the cruel man's face.

'Why would Molly do something like that?' asked Harry.

Snape raised an eyebrow at the question.

'Why would Molly allow Ginny to be used as one of your pawns and was anybody else used?' quizzed Harry as he elaborated on the question.

'Well Molly is in charge of her household. She is a control freak and has a vision of a happy family. You and Hermione fall into her plan. Dumbledore approached her after fourth year to combine plans. He instructed her to back off with her plans as the Ministry were sending an investigator to Hogwarts. Hogwarts didn't need the scandal of a Love potions plot. In your fourth year I had to dose you with the antidote, as we needed you to be good enough to finish the Tournament. The plan called for you to win the Tournament and if you were to busy shagging Ginny you would of come last in the Tournament.' answered Snape.

'Is Ginny in on it?' asked Harry.

'No, she is far too much like her mother. She is too impulsive and brash to be involved. Molly has moulded her to be the fan girl since she was born she really does love you but is far to shy to approach the Chosen One.' answered Snape.

'Who else is involved in your plot along with Dumbledore?' demanded Harry.

'Dumbledore, Molly and myself. Pettigrew was an unwilling pawn. You and Ron sometimes play into our hands. If there is anyone else I don't know.' answered Snape.

Harry seemed to be miles away as if his mind was elsewhere. He suddenly looked sheepish and turned and walked through the wall leaving Snape stuck on the opposite wall. Snape was disgusted with himself for revealing the plan and his participation in it. It would appear that Potter forgot to let him down.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

Helen Wallace sat on the bed breast-feeding her daughter Claire, she watched Hugh deal with a client through a charmed mirror. The mirror played a piece of classical music to signify someone was calling. Claire gurgled happily at the music and scrunched her nose up in disgust when the music stopped when Hugh answered the call. Her expression changed when her mother bared a breast and she started to fill her empty tummy. Helen smiled her daughter was a quiet baby.

Her eyes widened in fright when a large sphere of magical energy snapped in front of her. It stood a little over six feet high and radiated little to no light. As fast as it appeared it vanished leaving behind a beautiful young woman with wild brown hair in a simple peach coloured Muggle summer dress. Helen's eyes widened as she saw the exquisite wedding band on the woman's ring finger. She wondered who the lucky man was that had married the woman. Claire was finished her meal so Helen carefully put the baby in her lap and readjusted her clothes before she lifted the baby, Claire up to her shoulder to get her wind up so that she could sleep after her meal.

Hugh grabbed a cloth shopping bag and handed it to the woman. Helen watched as she settled her baby's stomach after feeding. She saw the strange book and Goblin engraved transport stone when Hugh rolled down the sides of the bag to reveal the contents. Hugh rolled the sides back up and handed the bag over to the woman saying.

'I managed to open the book while at Gringotts. There is a short letter or note between the pages. I tried to open it when I got home but some sort of ward or spell stopped me.'

The woman looked at Hugh in curiosity at invading their privacy but placed the bag into her handbag.

Her husband looked sheepish as he apologised: 'How very rude of me, I have not introduced you at all have I?'

'No, dear you haven't' replied Helen with a smile, Claire gurgled on her shoulder at hearing her daddy's voice.

'Sorry, Helen I'd like you to meet Hermione Potter-Black, Harry Potter-Black's wife.' Said Hugh as he gestured at the woman, Hermione.

'Hermione, my wife Helen and daughter Claire.' said Hugh as he gestured to his wife and daughter.

Hermione smiled as she gazed at the now sleeping baby in Helen's arms momentarily forgetting the reason for her visit or the time restraints she was under. Helen struck out her free arm and shook Hermione's hand with a smile.

A cautious Hugh quietly said, 'Sorry Hermione, you are the only clients I have now and in the current situation I don't keep secrets from Helen.'

'That's okay Hugh but please don't spread it around.' Replied Hermione before she turned to Helen and cautiously asked, 'Can I hold her?' as she gestured to the quiet baby, Claire.

Claire studied Hermione's face and saw the longing for a baby of her own, and thought that she would enjoy holding her daughter. She replied 'Sure.'

Hermione sat beside Helen as Claire was passed into her arms. Hermione gently cuddled the baby to her breast. 'She is beautiful.' cooed Hermione as she looked down at the sleeping baby that snuggled up to Hermione's soft bosom.

Helen smiled at Hermione's loving nature and said, 'She is a quiet baby.'

'I hope to do this one day with my own little one.' whispered Hermione almost longingly.

Hugh watched the two women quietly talk about babies and childbirth for the next half hour wishing he were with the lads in Cashel. He knew his wife suffered pain in childbirth and didn't need to hear about it again or any other female problems for that matter.

With great reluctance Hermione kissed the baby on the forehead and said 'Be good for your mother and do well in school.' Turning to the couple she said. 'I've got to go, time is of the essence.'

'Bye, Hermione, your time will come.' Consoled Helen.

Hermione smiled at her new friend and said. 'Thanks for the chat, and stay safe. I want to hear that you survived this damn war.'

Helen held her baby close as it hit her; they were in a war with a mad man.

Hermione stepped into the next room and vanished into a sphere of energy.

Hugh raised an eyebrow at his wife.

'She wants a child of her own,' explained Helen. 'She has been married for a while now and is feeling very maternal war or not.'

'Oh, Harry told me they reluctantly decided not to have children just yet because they didn't want to leave their children orphans like Harry was.' replied Hugh

'When did he tell you that? I thought blokes talked about Quidditch and brooms?' asked Helen.

'We do, but when the occasion calls for it we talk about this sort of stuff as well. It came up when I told them about you and little Claire.' replied Hugh.

'What are we going to do?' asked Helen as she thought about the terror of the mad man, He Who Must Not Be Named.

'We will get through, I believe that Harry and Hermione have a chance' consoled Hugh as he hugged his wife and child close.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Remus looked up as Hermione popped back into the kitchen, as the sphere dissipated. He frowned at the melancholy look that graced Hermione's face.

'Hello Remus' greeted Hermione as she shook her head to clear something. 'Do you know where Harry is?' she asked.

'Hello Hermione, everything all right? The last time I saw Harry he was in the room where Minerva left all the stuff we brought from your parents house.' Responded Remus.

Minerva looked up as Hermione thanked Remus and left the room in search of Harry. Hermione went to the room that was been used as a store and found no Harry. She noticed a backpack missing, after realising it was the one that contained weapons she headed out to the shed hoping that Harry was there. She found one of the gun cabinets beside Snape's cell. She huffed in anger, Harry promised that he would stay away from Snape until her mother was better and they could both concentrate on the problem of Snape.

Her mind searched out her Husband's mind. She was disgusted when her suspicions were confirmed, Harry was alone with Snape in his cell. Harry apologised profusely saying that the temptation for answers from Snape was too much. Hermione asked him to leave Snape alone and he readily complied.

Harry looked sheepish as he left the grey cell. He was worried when he saw Hermione's expression.

'Didn't you tell me we would question him together' demanded an angry Hermione.

Harry hung his head and nodded.

'Why did you do it?' asked Hermione.

'I was tidying up after escaping from London and working on the rifle and looked over at Snape's cell. I guess that the temptation was too great.' offered Harry.

Hermione huffed at that she knew that he wanted answers but still he left her out. 'Fine, Harry, do what you want.' She said with a tremble to her voice.

'I am sorry.' Said Harry as he gazed into her eyes.

'I thought that my mother was more important than HIM.' Said Hermione in annoyance as she gestured to the large grey box.

Harry looked pained as he realised why Hermione was upset with him. 'Sorry, she is very important to me. I thought that Minerva and Remus were helping you and I felt like I was a fifth wheel and decided to unpack some of our stuff so we would be prepared in the event of an attack. It started to grate that he was in there and I could question him. I did send out a thought to you letting you know what I was doing but I got no response.' Explained Harry.

'I was collecting your mail' spat Hermione as she removed the bag Hugh had given her and thrust it into Harry's hands.

'Sorry I know it is not an excuse. She will get better, Hermione. She has the smartest Witch I know working on the problem along with one Marauder and the best teacher of Transfiguration Hogwarts has ever seen. I should have waited for you I know and I am sorry. I hope you know that.' consoled Harry

Hermione nodded and asked Harry to share his memories of his questioning of the vile ex-Potions Master. Harry frowned his temper had barely held in there and Hermione's current mood he didn't know what would happen. At Hermione's glare he opened the connection fully and showed her all of what he had done since he last saw her and showed how sincerely sorry he was. She silently watched his memories wondering how he had managed to keep his temper in check and not give in and kill the vile despicable man. She was pleasantly surprised by his answer to not killing Snape.

'I wasn't finished questioning Snape. I figured that it would be a good idea to wait and bleed all the information I could out of him before deciding what to do with him. I really tested my meditation exercises to stay calm as I learnt some very disturbing information.'

Having forgiven Harry for questioning Snape and controlling his temper Hermione leaned in and very thoroughly kissed her chastised husband for his self control while in the presence of Snape.

Hermione stepped back feeling better and glanced at the Goblin book lying on the workbench. Harry turned to look at what had caught Hermione's eye, he pouted that they had stopped kissing. Hermione asked Harry to open the book as it was charmed to only open for him.

Harry reluctantly let go of Hermione to go over and look at the book the Goblin's wanted him to have. He put his hands on the cover and went to open the book but it would not open, he frowned. Hermione said with a frown, 'It wouldn't open for me as well.'

'According to Hugh, Ragnok wanted me to have the book, so there has to be a way to open It.' said Harry as he studied the strange book.

'Of course!' exclaimed Hermione after studying the book for a few minutes. Harry looked at Hermione expectantly. 'Goblin security is keyed to blood. So maybe you need to place a drop of your blood onto the cover.' said Hermione.

'But I didn't have to give a drop of blood to gain the key to my trust vault.' said Harry in confusion.

Hermione frowned at that but said, 'Try it, it may just work.'

Harry removed his combat knife and nicked his fingertip. The wound oozed blood slowly; one solitary drop hit the cover of the book. Harry felt a strange magical sensation flow through him as the book faintly glowed. Harry sucked on the wound before applying pressure to stop the bleeding.

Harry tentatively grasped the cover and went to open the book and beamed at Hermione when the book easily opened. Lying between the first page and the cover was a sheet of headed paper. The header was in gobbledygook but the letter printed on the paper was typed in English.

Lord Potter-Black.

As you have now become our largest depositor through Goblin like means. Your previous Goblin liaison Grack has dishonoured himself and made off with our gold. Due to this treason I was made aware of your massive holdings and, as the Director of Gringotts, assumed control of your interests within our walls.

As your previous instructions have allowed you to become our largest depositor I enclose a book on Goblin rules and regulations translated into English. I also enclose a Transport Stone it is similar to your Portkey but much more refined. Use it in your future business dealings with our fine institution. The Stone will deposit you in our finest banquet hall. As you have deciphered the security charm on the book, it shows me that you are intelligent this is a pleasant anomaly from our usual dealing with Wizard kind. The Transport Stone is keyed by the same means. It requires the blood of those you trust that are to be transported by the stone.

May you always have profit in your vault.

Ragnok.

Director of Gringotts.

Harry frowned as he read the letter, if this was the way they dealt with important clients he didn't want to think of the standard of service offered to minor clients of the bank. Hermione directed Harry to nick his finger again and pointed out the relevant Goblin rune. Harry raised an eyebrow in question but followed his wife's direction. Hermione explained that she was familiar with all the various types of runes from studying the subject and having access to the _**Potter Book of Magic**_. Since the book was tied into the Hogwarts Library and the Library contained obscure books on Goblins she had access to the information. Harry nodded at that as he vaguely remembered a hybrid maths, runes class in the other realm. He studied the runes on the stone and marvelled when he realised that he had a rudimentary understanding of what they where for. Hermione then pricked her finger and placed the drop of blood on the rune that signified wife or consort. When the stone received both drops of blood it glowed blue briefly. Hermione took out her mirror and called Minerva and told her Professor that Harry and herself are going to the bank and would she kindly relay that information to both her father and Remus. Minerva replied she would and wished them the best of luck in finding Lily's notes. Harry and Hermione touched the relevant runes on the stone and Harry said clearly 'activate.' The stone glowed blue and shimmered before vanishing with a soft pop. Harry and Hermione glowed blue and shimmered before following the stone a fraction of a second later.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

The Security Wizard stood silently to one side of the checkpoints that permitted access to the construction site that used to be called Diagon Alley. A bunch of forensic Aurors and Unspeakables were pouring through the rubble that used to be that Apothecary. The Security Wizard sighed for he could not see what they were doing as the wizards had erected hoarding that stood ten feet tall around the site. His partner was grumbling under his breath that he was distracted by what was going on behind the post and the fact that he was not doing his job. They were supposed to be keeping watch for any Dark Witches or Wizards that wanted to come and disrupt the rebuilding process. He was so busy gawking at the witches and wizards assisting in the rebuilding of the Alley that he did not witness his partner silently die from an eerily silent killing curse uttered by the Dark Lord Voldemort.

The body hit the table as it fell alerting the slovenly Security Wizard that something was wrong. The wizard spun around and dropped his wand in shock at the large number of Death Eaters stood before him with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named stood at the front with a malicious grin on his face. The wizard trembled as he noticed the glee in those red eyes. He absently was aware of the throng of Death Eaters flow past himself and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

'I have need of your services' hissed the Dark Lord.

The wand came up and one of the Unforgivables was cast in a hiss. The Security Wizard had a glassy stare as the Imperius took effect. The effects of the spell were twisted from the norm due to the fact that the spell was hissed in Parseltongue. The Wizard bent over and mechanically levitated the bound Goblin and slowly followed the Dark Lord his mind forever broken. The Dark Lord revealed in the fact that he had a totally loyal minion from his newly modified spell.

A lone Death Eater broke from the throng pouring in to the Alley and slowly approached the Dark Lord and bowed.

'Yes Dolohov.' hissed the Dark Lord.

'Forgive me, my Lord but I think I may be able to finish my previous mission.' stated Dolohov from behind his mask.

'Excellent, you are dismissed have the Potions Master at the Manor before I return.' threatened the Dark Lord.

Dolohov bowed and promptly left to get the Dark Lord's new potions master.

The rest of the Death Eaters had filled the blackened cobbled street in front of the bank and appraised the security detail stood before the doors. The Auror's panicked at the sight of so many dark wizards and hid with the construction wizards behind the magical hoardings that were erected to protect the public from building works spread across the street on the various sites. The brave souls who stole peeks at the spectacle were curious to know the reason that the Death Eaters had not attacked yet. They seemed to be concentrating on the Goblin bank. One of the Unspeakables over seeing the forensic analysis of the Apothecary looked on in dawning horror as he realised that the Death Eaters were about to attack the bank. He trembled in fear for he was not a field operative as he observed the three beings that trailed behind the large group that assembled in front of the bank. One was an Auror who must be under the dreaded mind control spell. The Auror was levitating a bound Goblin dressed in fine clothes. The last of the three suddenly levitated above the crowd and two beams of energy pulsating between blue and purple lanced out and hit the two security Trolls in rapid succession. The two Trolls roared in agony before simultaneously exploding into a fine mist of gore showering the six security Goblins. The silently observing Death Eaters erected multiple shields and ducked their heads. The Goblins slowly advanced wondering at why anyone would be foolish to attack the bank. The thick gory mist suddenly exploded and was reflected back against the multiple shields towards the bank. As the front doors were simply vaporised the floating wizard cast multiple spells with the same pulsating colour cast through the gaping hole where the front doors used to be. The Unspeakable turned in the other direction and fled.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Albus Dumbledore was at the ministry at the behest of the I.C.W. trying to limit the access of the damn internationals when he heard the rumour that Voldemort was attacking the Goblin bank, Gringotts. He had been introduced to the small five-man team. There were two witches and three wizards from countries outside the I.C.W. bar Australia which should be under his jurisdiction. He never understood why the other magical nations set up their own international body, why couldn't they just join the I.C.W. that he headed. He hurriedly left the Ministry and bumped into a fleeing Unspeakable he recognised as a coward. The man was better using his massive intelligence behind a desk than out in the field. Dumbledore stopped him and questioned him on the particulars. It would appear that Voldemort was solely concentrating on the bank for an unknown reason but there was the side effect that the Goblins would now go to war. Damn. He noticed the Chinese wizard from the international delegation make his way to the scene of the ongoing attack. Cursing Dumbledore followed him to the chaos in front of the bank.

The Chinese Wizard started immediately to curse the Death Eaters standing guard at the front of the bank with smoke oozing from the gaping hole in the wall. Albus cursed under his breath at the fool's efforts, the counter attack might have worked if he had consulted him before going off half cocked. Seven green spells impacted the Chinese Wizards shield charm. The sickly green spells passed through the shield charm as if it wasn't there and impacted his body. Only one of the curses was required to kill him so seven of them were complete overkill. Dumbledore sighed in annoyance before he stood out from the builders hoarding he had sheltered behind before sending seven red flashes of light into the throng of Death Eaters trying to get into the bank. Dumbledore summoned the hoarding to him as the Death Eater's returned fire with flashes of green. The hoarding demolished under the onslaught of spell fire. With a crack Dumbledore Apparated away before the green of the killing curse could hit him. One of the cowering Auror's groaned as the Headmaster broke through the Ministry's security enhancements erected over the area. Some irate builders followed the Headmaster and Chinese Wizards initiative and started to hurl building spells with horrifying effect. A spell that created brick walls caused flying bricks to impact against Death Eater shields. Some failed under the onslaught their owners died under the weight of a tonne of bricks. Another magical builder favoured a carpentry spell that cut out tenons in wood to create joints. When used against the Death Eaters the effects were bloody and lethal. Under the unexpected onslaught from the witches and wizards trying to rebuild the area the Death Eaters erected stone barriers and retreated into the bank.

Dumbledore appeared behind rubble in the area that used to be Knockturn Alley. His eyes widened as he observed the magical builders attack the Death Eaters and more to the point that they were successful. He never noticed the small beetle stuck to the hoarding over his shoulder soaking in the sights and sounds of the battle.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

Inside the bank klaxons were roaring as the doors were destroyed. Two large portholes opened just above the front door threshold. Two Goblins peered down on the marauding Death Eaters swarming in to the bank. Two large cauldrons tipped over spilling boiling oil down the holes onto the heads of the Death Eaters below. Goblins watched impassively from behind the tellers' desks as the front row of Death Eaters boiled alive from the special Goblin oils. The Goblins behind the tellers' desks had drawn bows ready to fire. A wizard floated above the Death Eater and sent a pink spell at the ceiling. The ceiling glowed briefly and the two portholes sealed instantly. A Goblin roared an order and the bowmen let loose with a volley of arrows. The Death Eaters bathed the area in spell fire but none had the energy to cast the killer curse green bar the one that floated above the Death Eaters. A lone bowman took aim at the floating wizard and let loose. The arrow seemed to simply dissolve before it struck the wizard. The floating wizard returned fire with a beam of energy pulsating between blue and purple. The bowman dropped his bow and screamed before exploding showering his fellow bowmen. The resultant fireball consumed the Goblins first line of defence.

The Death Eaters were in the bank with only ten percent casualties. They held the public spaces of the bank, the entrance hall and the main bank hall. Three wizards slowly approached the door leading to where the carts would take you to the vaults. Three blasting charms impacted the locked door. The door vibrated but held. The three wizards repeated blasting the door a further three times before Voldemort became impatient and cursed them with the modified Cruciatus Curse. The resultant explosion imploded the door. In the room beyond stood four Trolls in full battle armour from head to toe. Not an inch of skin was exposed, two wielded large maces and the other two large battle hammers. The four trolls waded into the Death Eaters. The spell fire just bounced off the thick knight like armour. The Dark Lord cursed and tried the killing curse spoken both normally and through Parseltongue to no avail. One enterprising Death Eater managed to do a Ron Weasley and jam his wand up a narrow crack on one troll's helmet and into the it's nasal cavity and use a Reductor. The victory was short lived however as he was crushed by the now dead troll. The second troll was brought down by five Death Eaters working together to super heat the armour and cook the troll's brain. Some of the Death Eater's with a weak disposition lost their lunch from the smell of burnt troll.

There were now two trolls left and a small handful of Goblin's. The armour on one of the remaining troll's started to crack under the force of the spells impacting the armour. The Troll roared in agony as the armour cracked and fragmented. The fragments were driven into his skin from the force of the spell fire. The troll went into a berserker rage and started to swing his hammer around wildly killing both Goblins and Death Eaters alike. A blasting hex connected and the armour was blasted from the troll's body like a nail bomb. The Death Eaters hurriedly cast shield charms. Voldemort cast his new favourite spell and the troll vaporised. The resulting explosion knocked down the last troll. The nearest Death Eater ran forward and jammed his wand into the crack between the troll's helmet and body armour and uttered _Sectumsempra_. The head separated from the body. The troll's head was then blasted towards the remaining Goblins like a large cannon ball.

The Death Eaters now had access to the tunnel network below the bank. The Goblins had plunged the tunnel network into a pitch-black darkness. The Death Eaters _Lumos_ spells barely brightened the tunnels two feet beyond them. The ground below them reverberated as a pack of six faded grey dragons moved into view. Their wings were clipped and there were saddles across their backs. A Goblin warrior sat astride the saddle holding on to the chain reins. With a roar the Dragons converged on the Death Eaters. The first Dragon went down from the sheer number of spells cast at it. Its rider was dismounted and trod under foot of the Dragon behind. The Dragon behind reared up and unseated it's passenger before issuing forth a great gout of flame. The flame attack burnt a clump of Death Eaters unfortunate enough to be consumed be the fire. The only protection the dragons had was their thick magic resilient skin. In the Triwizard Tournament it took between five and six wizards working together to stun one dragon. The Death Eaters had many times that number blasting at the Dragons. The second Dragon fell over dead as it's heart failed due to magical shock, it was the oldest dragon the Goblin's had. Three of the Goblin riders took stock of the situation and turned to escape into the tunnels. That course of action brought the downfall of the third dragon, as all the Death Eaters now concentrated their fire on it.

The Death Eater's now had access to the low security level vaults that were unaffected by the recent gold transfers occurring. Among the depositors were the Weasley Twins and other innocent Witches and Wizards. The Dark Lord, Voldemort stood in the middle of his pack of surviving Death Eaters. His numbers had diminished by seventeen percent since the beginning of the assault on the bank. He beckoned to his Auror puppet to bring the bound Goblin to him. He studied his smouldering wand; it seemed to be holding up to the harsh punishment he was inflicting by pouring so much magical power into it. The Goblin looked at the devastation caused to the bank and shuddered.

'Goblin, I want all the security enhancements destroyed on all these vaults. Understood' hissed Voldemort as he gestured to the vault doors lining the cavern walls.

The Goblin stared into the Dark Lord's red eyes and gulped before nodding.

With a gesture the steel bindings loosened, and the Goblin struggled out of them. The Dark Lord turned to his followers and ordered three quarters of his Death Eaters to claim the mid security vaults while the Goblin worked on these ones.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG

The Goblin banquet hall was deep under the bank. The Transport stone set off a warning chime just before it arrived giving the Goblins a chance to prepare for their guests arrival. Ragnok left his office and made his way to the Goblin banquet hall wondering at why Lord Potter-Black would visit the bank so soon as he was currently the only wizard issued with a stone. He arrived in time to see the stone transport two people one male and the other female. The male looked older than Ragnok expected. He was expecting a fifteen-year-old boy easily managed and not a man that appeared to be in his late teens or early twenties. The woman had wild brown hair and wore a simple Muggle dress. So that meant she was not a bigoted pure-blood, so there was hope yet, he decided.

Ragnok studied the couple as they took in their bearings. He observed that the made a quick survey of the room and made note of the exits and the number of Goblins in the hall. He noticed that the pair did not emit magic like so many Witches and Wizards did. He knew instinctively that the male was Harry Potter-Black as the stone was keyed to him alone. He guessed the woman was Hermione Granger as she was the only female that had similar features to one of Potter's friends that were in the intelligence reports. It was good business practice to keep tabs on your biggest clients. It would appear that the woman was a close friend of Potter's for he had given her access to the stone. Maybe the information that they had married was correct. He wondered how they had managed to do that without the Headmaster finding out.

He sat at the banquet table and came out of his thoughts as the couple looked at him expectantly. He observed that the couple had taken easy stances so they could flow into action at any perceived treat. He directed them to the pair of chairs and they sat.

'Hello, Mr. Potter-Black. My name is Ragnok and I am director of this fine institution.' said Ragnok by way of introduction.

'Hello, Ragnok. I am sorry but I am in a hurry and was hoping that you could help me. This by the way is my wife Hermione and I hope that you will keep our confidence in our dealings with each other.' said Harry as he released a small portion of his magic in a pulse. The magic pulse acted as a sort of sonar, pinging any and all magical devices in the room.

Ragnok's eyes widened at the display but he held his tongue as he wondered what was so urgent. He answered, 'How may Gringotts serve our largest depositor?'

'About fifteen years ago or so my mother Lily Potter tasked Gringotts with the secure storage of some research she was conducting. I am in need of those notes. So I need immediate access to the vault the information was stored in.' said Harry as his green eyes bored into Ragnok's eyes.

Ragnok frowned and asked, 'don't you have the key?'

'No the only key I have was given to my by Hagrid, when I turned eleven for my trust vault' answered Harry.

'What! Was the key not keyed to your blood?' asked Ragnok as he wondered why standard banking procedures were not adhered to.

'No. The only time I shed blood was to activate your transport stone.' answered Harry.

With dawning realisation Ragnok reluctantly asked his next question. 'How many keys do you have?'

'Just one. The one that activates my trust fund. Hugh my solicitor said that the bank would issue a new key for the Black vaults after all the transfers were complete' answered Harry.

'Oh I see. I'll instruct my staff to cancel the old keys and order them to do an audit of your vaults. Is that to your satisfaction?' asked Ragnok.

'Yes.' replied Harry. 'But we need access to my mother's vault.'

Ragnok reached for the bell by his left elbow and rang for assistance. A Goblin appeared in a servants uniform. The pair conversed in gobbledegook before the servant left again. Ragnok turned to Harry and said. 'Grot my personal assistance will check the records for what you seek.'

'Thank you.' said Harry.

The doors suddenly banged open at the end of the room. A large security detail of Goblins rushed in as Ragnok roared at them in gobbledegook. They took positions around the table. Two blade tipped lances were pressed into Hermione's throat. Three Warrior Goblins brandished swords around Harry's head.

In anger Harry demanded. 'What is Going on.' as he glared at Ragnok.

The leader of the security detail rapidly conversed in gobbledegook with Ragnok. Ragnok looked shocked and then turned to Harry and with accusation in his face said. 'Wizards have assaulted the bank, they hold one of the vault levels. Why have you attacked?'

Blood oozed from the nicks in Hermione's neck where the two lances touched her skin. Grot returned holding a large black book in his hand and stopped short at the strange standoff in the room.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

Authors notes:

A/N1 Foolscap pad. Is a bound note pad. Size 297mm by 210mm with either 2 or 4 holes punched down the left margin. The pad is usually stored in a Ring binder.

A/N2 Biro. Cheap blue, black or red ink ball point pen.

Both are commonly used by students on this side of the pond.

Sorry for the long delay.

Delay due to a combination of factors, RL, time of the year and the muse deserting me.

Chapter will be revised for spelling and grammar.

Chapter 10 is 2/3 done so story is not abandoned.

Please review.


	10. Chapter 10

For disclaimer see first chapter's notes.

HPHGHPHGHPHGHPHG Equals scene break

Thanks to my Proof reader:Tumshie and Dave.

Chapter Ten

After half an hour sorting through the stones that used to make the wall, Draco sank on to his haunches in disgust. He never played with Muggle toys like building blocks so he had no idea how to rebuild the wall. If only he had his wand, but no, the damn thing was broken. He looked around wondering where the old man had vanished to. He noticed the ice on the ground and the snow falling around him. It began to dawn on him that he was not cold. He began to panic as he realised that he had been changed somehow. He was wearing rags that offered little protection against the elements and yet the biting cold was not affecting him at all. He wondered what was in that potion he had been given.

Forgetting his task for now, he got up and entered his destroyed bedroom through the hole in the wall and searched for the remains of his wand. He found the remains of the wand on the floor beside the head of the bed. He carefully gathered the fragments together and went to the main room of the shack. He felt a calling towards a corner of the room by the door and went over to explore the area with the wand fragments still in his hands.

He found a pile of sticks lined up against the wall. They all appeared to be sturdy and about three feet in length. The strange thing was that the sticks were all different woods ranging from what he was familiar with such as Ash or Oak to woods he had never seen before. He wondered where they had come from as he had seen only hardy bushes up on the mountain. He figured that the old man used them as walking sticks as they looked quite sturdy.

He noticed that one of the sticks was calling to him it was a gnarled black stick of an unknown wood about three and a half feet long. He felt magic tingle in his arms when he picked it up. He turned and walked over to the table and placed the stick and his wand fragments on the tabletop. Knowledge, that was not his own, flowed through him. In a daze he grasped the stick and elongated a fingernail. He rotated the stick studying it, when he found what his newly found knowledge was looking for he stuck his elongated black nail into the stick and split it in to two halves.

He then scraped out the centre of both halves with his elongated fingernail and then carefully placed his wand fragments inside one half. He accidentally nicked his finger on a sharp point on one of the wand fragments. The blood flowed freely from the wound as he placed the two halves back together. He left the stick on the table with the broken wand fragments now inside the stick which was liberally marred by his blood. He found what he was looking for beside the fire. He took down the three lengths of leather cord and went back to the table. He carefully wrapped the two short lengths around both ends of the stick in a binding. The third longer length he wrapped around the middle. When finished he came out of his trance and noticed that he was bleeding and promptly passed out at the sight of his own blood.

After a period of time he came to and groggily got to his feet. The bleeding finger had stopped. He absent-mindedly put out his right hand and the black stick leapt into his hand with a smack. Draco looked at his hand in shock but smiled as the stick felt like a wand in his hand. He went back into his bedroom and a memory of his first week in Hogwarts came back to him about how magic was driven by intent.

At the time he thought that it was a stupid belief but he wanted this damn job done. He watched with a massive grin as the stones leapt at the hole in the wall and resolved into a solid wall. Once done Draco looked around his room with contempt. With a thought the stick started vibrating in his hand. The room began to change, the old rickety bed was replaced by a wrought iron four poster bed with snakes wrapped around the four posts in decoration. A magical _Sleep Right_ model, one of the best replaced the rickety old mattress.

Acromantula silk replaced the shoddy itchy bedding. He then waved his wand and large fabric tapestries appeared on the wall, depicting magical stories of Draco's pre Hogwart's days. A deep green shag pile carpet appeared underfoot totally covering the stone floor. The rickety door made of planks of wood morphed into a heavy Oak door of Georgian architectural design. The doorframe and jamb morphed to accommodate this new door set.

With a flick of his stick the rest of the furniture in the room were now copies of the suite of furniture in his bedroom back in Malfoy Manor. After surveying the room he smiled at the acceptable accommodations that he now felt were adequate to his status in life. Suddenly feeling exhausted he lay down on the silk covered mattress and promptly fell asleep his new magical stick pulsating magical energy beside him.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

Gornuk looked on in dismay as the Death Eaters flooded into the tunnel network. The normal security measures such as _The Thief's Downfall_ did not work as they were meant to highlight someone trying to sneak into the bank. But the Death Eaters were not trying to sneak in they were attacking as a vast army. All ready the security Wizards assigned by the Ministry of Magic to the bank had all been killed in action.

The Ministry did not trust the Goblins with the Ministry's coffers so had ordered that part of the security contingent consisted of Wizards. The mining carts were all off the rails lying around the tunnel like discarded toy cars. The Death Eaters were firing the killing green of their damn curses ahead of them as they moved deeper into the bank in alternating waves. The three retreating dragons trod a team of Goblins that were trying to set up a barricade at the first track junction underfoot.

The Dragons blasted through the junction as if it wasn't even there. The riders were unseated very early in the fight and trod underfoot. The Dragons which had beenraised in captivity from when they were hatchlings and were retreating to the place of their birth.

Goblins were being ordered to the front line to stop the Death Eaters in their tracks. The Goblins had not installed any booby traps on to the tracks, as they never guessed that anyone would walk the miles of tunnels to get to the higher security vaults below. From their understanding of wizards they thought that the patrons of the bank were very lazy and thus they installed the mine carts. The decision was made that the carts would travel very fast for security and monetary reasons.

The Death Eaters had stopped their advance when the tunnels branched out in to six tunnels. The Goblins were not naïve enough to think that their barricade in the junction had stopped the Death Eaters in their tracks. It was obvious to Gornuk that the Death Eaters had stopped advancing for a reason. That reason became clear when a bald-headed wizard with red eyes came to the front of the throng of Death Eaters. Two unfortunate Goblins were summoned off of the barricade and put under the wizards mind control. The Goblins did not retaliate by firing at the wizards as they had learnt that the Death Eaters could easily blow through the barricade, and the brief respite gave them a chance to bring up greater numbers of reinforcements to hopefully overwhelm the Death Eaters.

Gornuk looked on in dismay as the two Goblins were set to work opening vaults and deactivating the security measures upon them. He was furious but knew that they could not fight the compulsion of the wizard's mind control spell. He turned to one of his subordinates and demanded that the dragons be rounded up from below and sent to the front line, because the deeper the Death Eaters got in to the bank the more vaults they would empty. He did not like fighting a retreating battle.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

While studying for his N.E.W.T. exams Bill Weasley saw an advertisement in the paper for a job that offered grand adventure and high rewards. The job was as a curse breaker for Gringotts, Goblin Bank. When he contacted the Goblins to indicate his interest they told him that the job was based in Egypt.

After thinking about his situation and after realising some hard home truths he decided that it was a very good move to get out of England. He was shocked when he realised how domineering his mother was and was glad to be out from under her thumb. The following few years were very exciting and rewarding.

He was delighted to see that his brother Charlie followed in his footsteps and got a job he enjoyed in Romania looking after Dragons. The pay was very good, the job was very exciting and trying to beat charms cast thousands of years ago in the Egyptian tombs was very challenging and rewarding work.

Even though the muggles thought that they had found all the tombs in the country there was still many magically hidden tombs still to be discovered. One summer when he was home at the Burrow for holidays he bumped into Professor Dumbledore. While he was there Dumbledore convinced him to take a transfer back to the London branch of Gringotts and join the Order of the Phoenix due to the rise of the Dark Lord, Voldemort.

He followed Professor Dumbledore's advice; the fact that he was seeing _Fleur Delacour_ helped his decision along as well. He had bumped into the delightful young witch when he was called back to London for some additional training in Goblin ward detection after finding a very old Goblin tomb in Egypt.

The Goblins felt that he needed the extra training and it was a sign of his worth to the Goblin nation that he was the first Wizard to be trained in the Goblin arts of Warding. He had met Fleur in the tunnels under the bank, he was heading to lunch after a gruelling training session and hadn't showered yet as he had to return to his quarters as Goblins had different needs to Wizards.

Fleur was rushing to an important meeting and was going too fast to see in the dim lighting of the tunnel, they collided at a narrow junction of the tunnel network. Fleur turned her nose up at the stench of sweat as she looked up at the idiot that had caused her to end up on her backside. Bill apologised and helped her up.

Fleur muttered under her breath about savage Englishmen as she rushed to her meeting. Bill sighed as he tracked her journey before heading to his lunch. The next time they met was under much more pleasant circumstance, Ragnok's son was getting bonded to his life-mate so a large banquet was held.

Bill was dressed in black Tuxedo trousers and a fine black robe cut like a Muggle Tuxedo, a white dress shirt complete Bill's expensive wardrobe for the night. He attended because he was Gringotts premier curse breaker and his large salary paid for his clothes even though he preferred much more comfortable and simpler clothes.

For most of the night it was very bland and boring for Bill until he saw _her_. Very few Witches and Wizards were invited to attend and Bill was the youngest by far until he laid his eyes on a vision of beauty in a strapless silver cocktail dress. He groaned when he realised it was the witch he had crashed into earlier that week.

That night she was pleased to be able to dance with a young wizard as the rest of the witches and wizards were all over ninety. It was only near the end of the night that she realised that she had danced the night away with the _idiotic smelly Englishman_. As they had a very poor first impression of each other Fleur actively dimmed her Veela charms so Bill was shunned like a leper at first but he slowly won her over.

After a few months the banter turned flirtatious. From there it evolved into a heated romance, so when Professor Dumbledore suggested he join the Order and work in London he saw it as an opportunity to be with Fleur.

Bill had learnt a lot about his girlfriend Fleur; she was a very strong willed young woman and loved the fact that Bill was among the few men that were not affected by her Veela charms, especially when she tried to use it to get her way, such as getting the last cup of coffee from the coffee pot at breakfast.

When questioned on it she had responded that when she realised that she was smitten, it was more than just her Veela charms that he was responding to, so she felt safe and in love so she decided to explore these feelings with him. The only other two men not to be affected by her Veela charms according to Fleur were Victor Krum and Harry Potter. Fleur explained that Veela were not affected by the mind arts so any _Obliviate_ cast in her direction could never work.

Victor Krum had become one of the premier seekers in the world through his single-minded focus on his training and refining his skill sets on a broom. To aid him in his endeavours his trainer suggested he learn Occlumency. By the time of the Tournament he was quite proficient in the art. The only lapse in his impeccable shields occurred during the last task of the Triwizard Tournament, before the task he had consumed some butterbeer, the drink made him feel quite queasy, but he decided to compete any way as he thought it was down to nerves just before the final task.

His shields were so badly affected that he was an easy puppet in the maze. After the dust had settled he had sought out the French Champion to apologise for his actions, even though he was not in control of his faculties. He was deeply ashamed of what his body had done while his mind was locked up.

It was only by Merlin's will that the puppet master had only ordered him to knock Fleur out of the competition and not something more sinister. Fleur had discovered that Victor had an almost similar problem to her with the opposite sex; he had too many fan girls simply because he was world famous in Quidditch circles.

The two Champions were surprised that they had something in common and became good friends out of the ordeal. Victor was gracious when he learnt that the French witch had only platonic feelings for him. He lamented the fact that he had met two fine Witches that had already had their hearts snared by others. Hermione by one Harry Potter and Fleur had not yet met her other half but Victor realised that he was not Fleur's other half.

When Bill quizzed his girl friend on the enigma that was Harry Potter the answer he received was startling.

'_I remember meeting the famous Boy-Who-Lived; while all the other boys were lusting after me he was not, for he had only eyes for one of his classmates. Then the Headmaster had noticed and suddenly Harry was like the rest, lost in lust after my Veela charms and ignoring his heart's desire. I found this very puzzling but set it aside to win the Tournament. _

_That year I noticed a very strange series of events involving another member of the Golden Trio the girl, Hermione Granger. It would appear that Harry and Hermione became a couple and broke it off at least five times that year, a most puzzling situation because after each break up it seemed that they were not affected at all by the break up, but I knew deep down that they were madly in love with each other by their subtle caring for each other. I know how deep the affection between them was because I caught them cuddling out by the lake at Hogwarts many times during the year. _

_When outside influence is held at bay, Harry's very strong moral code allows him to see me as the woman I am and not the Veela seductress everyone else sees. This is all too rare in a man, just like you are my love.' _

After sharing her thoughts, Bill was consoled as Fleur leaned in to kiss him thoroughly.

The Goblins were quick to notice the love blossoming between Bill and Fleur and as long as it did not affect the smooth running or security of the bank, they allowed it. Gornuk was called into Ragnok's office and was informed that the couple was being assigned to his department and that they, were to be fully trained to Goblin warrior status.

No explanation was given but Gornuk was no fool he half expected Bill to be put through the training after Bill had completed Goblin warding training but, Fleur being trained as well, Gornuk had a clear idea of what Ragnok was up to. Ragnok did not trust Dumbledore and wanted to break his hold on one of the best curse breakers Gringotts had ever seen.

Gornuk had wondered why Bill Weasley would ask for a transfer that resulted in such a massive drop in wages. It went against standard Goblin thinking. Gornuk called for the lead trainer and handed the stunned Goblin his orders from Ragnok. He gave a small private smile after witnessing the shocked expression on the trainer's face.

The training was gruelling and the Goblin trainer assigned to Bill and Fleur was stunned that the couple had managed to get through the gruelling physical and magical combat training. All the other security wizards had dropped out after a week due to being highly unfit.

It was unheard of to put a Witch and Wizard through Goblin warrior training, let alone for them to make it through it to qualify. Ragnok was pleased, he knew that Dumbledore was frustrated that the mole he had planted was not working as planned and was now slowly beginning to see the truth and think for himself.

When the alarm went off Fleur and Bill were in the training rooms beside the banquet hall. The couple raced towards the tunnel network to meet up with their squad. Even though the couple had finished training over six months ago they spent an hour every day sparring, just for fun.

The situation report painted a very bleak picture; Death Eaters were in the tunnel network and systematically emptying any vaults they came across. Reports came in that they had stopped them at junction seven, but Bill knew that the Death Eaters could punch through at a moment's notice because they had already punched through a fair few barricades already.

The large numbers of Death Eaters and the fact that from reports it would appear that Voldemort was also at the bank, meant that before long they may overwhelm the Goblin security forces. Bill agreed with Harry's views on the Dark Lord and that it was stupid to fear a name so took up the practice of uttering the name and so far no ill will had befallen him yet.

Bill bumped into his Squad leader Gornuk as he reached the barricade. The first thing Bill did after getting the situation report was to start laying down some nasty curses and vile wards he had come across in his tomb raiding days in Egypt. Fleur covered Bill as he worked diligently on his matrix of curses and wards across the floor of the tunnel junction. He noticed that the Death Eaters were getting restless and had parted to allow a cloaked figure to pass to the front.

The cloaked figure panned his wand over the floor all the while hissing sibilantly. Bill's eyes widened at the speed that the other wizard had defeated his curses. Bill fired off a _reductor_ at the cloaked figure's head hoping to buy some time. Bill's eyes widened in shocked surprise, as the _reductor_ seemed to freeze about a foot from the figure's head.

The frozen curse then reversed course and Bill dived out of the way. The curse impacted the tunnel roof showering Bill with stone chips. The cloaked figure's hood fell to reveal Voldemort's pale head. Fleur realised that a direct attack would fail so sent a curse at the roof of the tunnel above Voldemort, no one cursed her boyfriend and survived if she had anything to say about it. The roof exploded and showered the Dark Lord with shards of stone.

The raining rubble bounced off of an invisible spherical shield. The Dark Lord smiled as a sickly pale green curse left his wand heading for Fleur. Bill was only five feet from the French love of his life and without thinking tackled Fleur to the floor while rotating his body to take the impact of the incoming spell.

Fleur looked shocked as she stared into Bill's pain filled eyes as it felt like liquid fire was coursing through every nerve ending in his body. 'I love you.' whispered Bill in a pained whisper as he slumped onto Fleur. The left half of Bill's body felt like it was on fire, his face looked to be burning from an invisible fire, his mind gave out and he slipped away to blissful relief of unconsciousness. Bill slid off of Fleur to the side and in a daze Fleur slowly stood up adrenaline flooding her system. She gently pushed Bill the rest of the way off of her body and got up in a daze. In dawning horror she realised how badly Bill was injured.

'NO!!' shrieked Fleur.

The Goblins on the barricade backed away in shock. The irate woman partially transformed into a bird. Her mouth and nose morphed together and elongated into a beak. Small downy feathers sprouted from her skin. Her irises bled black as her eyes narrowed in rage. Suddenly spell fire erupted from both her wand and her other hand. The spell fire punched through the Dark Lords shield and blasted him backwards into his followers.

The first line of Death Eaters exploded from the spell fire coming from the insanely irate quarter Veela witch. Blood and gore rained down painting the walls of the tunnel dark red. Fleur stalked forward as she felled the Death Eater's ranks. Voldemort was nowhere to be seen, his body was lost at the back of his followers.

Gornuk tentatively reached out and put his hand on Bill's back and nodded to himself when he felt the back move as Bill's lungs tried to inhale life-giving air. Two Goblin medics appeared through the chaos and frowned when they saw the red hair of their favourite Wizard. In the short time Bill had worked for Gringotts he had recovered an awesome amount of treasure and filled Gringotts vaults with recovered loot. Due to this the Goblins tolerated his presence among their number.

Gornuk barked in gobbledegook to the two medics as he watched in awe as Bill's irate mate decimated the Death Eaters, 'Attack, Attack, Attack.' He roared at his security team.

The Warrior Goblins roared forward and past Fleur as she slumped exhausted and weepingto the floor of the tunnel. The downy feathers fell from her body as she reverted back to normal. Gornuk barked for more medics and instructed them to ferry the Witch and Wizard to the medical section deep in the bowels of the bank. He also ordered that they would be given the best of Goblin medical care and if there was a problem he would pay for the cost out of his personal fortune.

The Goblin Medics had already carefully placed Bill onto a stretcher and had carefully strapped him into it. Two more medics arrived and carefully guided the weeping witch away from the battle. Fleur was so tired that she let herself be led away from the battle as the Goblin Warriors fought with the Death Eaters. Gornuk felt that he would have to inform Ragnok of the bravery of the couple for they now had the advantage and were slowly driving back the Death Eaters. He felt that they had turned the tide of battle and that the Goblin Nation would be victorious.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

'ATTACKED! I have not attacked! I used the Stone you gave me and ended up here.' retorted Harry angrily as his angry green eyes bored into Ragnok's black orbs.

Ragnok did not look convinced and said. 'Perhaps you are right but we, the Goblin Nation, are being attacked all the same.'

'Well who is attacking? It certainly is not Hermione or I. They hammer it down our bloody throats if we manage to stay awake for Binn's history lessons what a bad idea it is to get into a war with the Goblins. I know not to piss your lot off so I would never dream of attacking the Goblin Nation. So I ask you again, who is attacking you?' demanded Harry as he ignored Hermione's mental grousing about Harry's opinion of Professor Binn's class and the fact that he used to fall asleep in his class.

'Death Eaters are attacking along with their Dark Lord.' responded Ragnok.

Harry snorted in disgust and with disbelief etched on his face replied, 'And that gave you the fucking right to attack us?'

'You must be a plant to work from the inside, it is the only thing that makes sense.' accused Ragnok in mounting paranoia.

'A fucking plant, you say? Working for that stupid bastard? I would rather kill the tosser than work for him.' spat Harry in disgust.

'How else do you explain your arrival at the same time as the Dark Lord?' retorted Ragnok. Paranoia etched on his face.

The two lances pressed further into the two the wounds on Hermione's neck. The blood was now a free flowing stream trickling down her neck to stain Hermione's clothes. Harry growled low in his throat as he let his magic begin to build.

'It is a fucking coincidence, okay. I didn't think I needed to explain why I would never work for Riddle.' spat Harry in disgust.

At the Goblin's blank face. 'Riddle is Voldemort's surname.' explained Harry.

The Goblins hissed in anger.

'Get over it; it is only a fucking name. For fuck sake' hissed Harry in anger.

One of the other Goblins in the room spoke, 'Why would you never work for the Dark Lord?'

Harry looked incredulously at the Goblin who spoke, he thought that the story of that damned Halloween night was known to all in the magical world.

Ragnok frowned at Harry's facial expression until his mind calmed down a bit so that he could think. He knew that Harry was an orphan, and that the Dark Lord killed his parents. He suddenly realised that he had jumped to the wrong conclusion in his anger and may have made a mistake. He decided to challenge Potter on why the Dark Lord was attacking the bank.

'Then why is the Dark Lord attacking the bank?' demanded Ragnok.

'At a guess I think he got wind of our efforts to confiscate all of his financing.' explained Harry thoughtfully.

'So you are admitting to being responsible for this current situation?' asked Ragnok with a shark like grin.

'No, you must have a leak. Only my family and solicitor know of my plan to confiscate Riddle's money. The information must have gotten out. The bank is still closed to the public, isn't it.' insisted Harry vehemently.

Meanwhile inside Harry and Hermione's heads a different conversation was occurring in the blink of an eye.

'_Hermione? Are you hurt?'_ asked Harry via their mental connection as he watched the blood flow out of the two wounds in her neck.

'_No, it is not a deep cut' _responded Hermione as she sensed his concern. Her magic was already trying to heal the wound but was hampered because the blades of the lances were still in the wounds in her throat.

'_How will we get out of this?'_ asked Harry as he surveyed the room and the placement of the Goblin's within it.

'_We might have to threaten them and make them see reason'_ replied a thoughtful Hermione as she weighed up their options ignoring the itchy sensation of the two blades in her neck.

'_Okay, it will have to be all of them at once, but how?' _responded Harry as he pondered the problem. He suggested, _'Conjure some Glocks, maybe?'_

'_I think it might work, but the Goblins might not recognize the guns as a threat as they are not magical weapons.'_ replied Hermione thoughtfully.

Harry spotted one of the weapons mounted on the wall and smiled. _'That's it!'_ he exclaimed in triumph to Hermione in his head.

One of the other computer games that Harry became addicted to in the other reality, was a war game set in Roman times called _Rome: Total War_. After playing the game he became fascinated with the whole period in history. He was given the task of replicating the Roman repeating Ballista, a siege weapon, for his crafts class by Tom.

The Roman Ballista was a type of large crossbow that could fire bolts in rapid succession. All this meant that Harry had managed to fabricate a working Ballista and knew it intimately, so he felt confident at conjuring a couple of small scale ones for this situation. He shared his knowledge with Hermione and they concentrated on conjuring a small repeating Ballista for each Goblin in the room. A large Roman example was mounted on the wall behind Ragnok.

Ragnok frowned when the couple went silent and then Harry suddenly smiled. He was very wary and about to order for more Security Goblins when suddenly a Ballista of an almost Goblin design appeared in front of him. The weapon was aimed at his head and what was more worrying it was ready to fire.

His eyes automatically focused on to the bolt aimed at his nose. The Ballista looked deadly even though it looked to be quite small, about the size of a shoe box. His eyes refocused past the Ballista and he was shocked to discover that every Goblin in the room had a loaded Ballista ready to fire aimed at their heads. Then Potter spoke.

'I come here to do urgent business and because you have a leak and are attacked by Riddle you blame me. Fair enough, I am used to it, it is my lot in life to be blamed for stuff I didn't do. In this case I may share some of the blame, but that does _not_ give you the right to mar my wife's skin. I will kill the two Goblins wielding the spears that have pierced her skin. It is up to you whether more Goblins die.' threatened Harry.

Ragnok looked around and realised that Potter now had the upper hand. He wondered how he had managed to turn the tide to his advantage. Sighing that he had lost this confrontation he barked an order in gobbledegook and the Goblins all stood down. The two Goblins that held the spears on Hermione looked fearful.

All bar two of the Ballistas changed aim to be pointing up and away from the Goblins in the room. Sighing Ragnok barked another order hoping to appease his wealthiest client. The two Security Goblins that had attacked Hermione were slain by four other Goblins on Ragnok's orders.

'I hope that is satisfactory and I offer my deepest apologise for this grievous error' grovelled Ragnok as he realised that Harry was probably the most powerful Wizard he had ever met.

Harry ignored the leader of the Bank and turned to check Hermione's neck. He gently pushed some magic into the wound to help hurry it's closing. After a few seconds the two wounds glowed pink then they slowly stitched together and left behind unblemished skin. Hermione leaned forward and pecked Harry on the cheek in thanks._ 'Thanks, Harry, I am fine' _Harry smiled in thanks and then turned to face down Ragnok.

'It didn't have to go down like this. You could have given us the chance to explain, instead you jumped to the wrong fucking conclusion and attacked us and now two of your number are dead needlessly. I only have influence here because I hold the largest vault.

I don't want the gold, but it is better that I use my assets to slow Voldemort down than for him to use it to persecute the country along with the Goblin nation. I don't know how he found out about the transfers of gold, but the damage is done now. It is up to you where we go from here. We are going to find my mother's vault and then we will decide whether we will pull out of Gringotts all together, understood?' stated Harry.

Ragnok paused in though before responding to Harry's position. Goblins could do low-level magic without a wand but it was very difficult. This was one of the reasons they wanted access to wands. Ragnok realised that the young couple did not want to reveal any of their talents. The Transport Stone also removed any magical object such as Wizard's Portkeys and Wands so Ragnok knew, now that he thought of it that the couple were magically defenceless.

In his anger at the attack he had forgotten this minor fact, and now two Goblins were dead on his orders. The fact that the couple magically conjured siege weapons from the past was worrying. Yes they were at a small scale but his engineering side recognized the design of the Roman weapon. The Goblins modelled some of their equipment on the venerable muggles of the past so he easily identified the weapon.

Given the fact that the couple had conjured a Ballista for each Goblin, it spoke volumes of their skill and power. All this led Ragnok to the conclusion that Harry Potter would carry out his threat and remove his holdings from the bank. When he was made aware of Potter's plan he had hoped to hoodwink the young wizard out of his fortune, but after the failed attack he now understood that Potter held the high ground in the current situation. He only hoped that he could change Potter's mind, or receive a piece of good fortune and turn the tables.

Turning to Grot he asked 'What did you find?'

'I have found the vault you seek.' answered Grot as he offered the black book to Ragnok.

Harry and Hermione looked expectantly to Ragnok wondering whether the Goblins would help after everything that had happened in such a short span of time. Ragnok looked at the entry Grot had highlighted and turned to the couple and said.

'Due to your mother's standing in the community at the time and the fact that she was the then current Lady Potter she was given a high security vault, vault seven forty two. According to the ledger entry the key was entrusted to Sirius Black. As a sign of apology we will relax security measures and allow you to access the vault in question.' offered Ragnok.

'Thank you. Your assistance is appreciated.' quipped Harry sarcastically.

Ragnok's eyes narrowed at Harry's tone, but he directed Grot to show the couple to the vault. As the couple followed Grot, Ragnok sank into the chair at the head of the table. The two dead Goblins were removed from the banquet hall. Ragnok sighed in disgust, he hated damned wizards.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

Grot led the silent couple out of the banquet hall and turned towards the tunnel network leading to the high security vaults. Unlike the main tunnels which had tracks for the mine carts, the tunnel that the couple and Goblin were in was much smaller and narrower. Grot passed through with spare headroom where as Harry and Hermione were forced to stop and move in single-file.

Every twenty feet or so there were small alcoves to allow Goblins to pass each other. When they passed the first tunnel with tracks Harry and Hermione realised that these access tunnels had some sort of glamour to disguise them as they were left stranded when Grot entered the access tunnel on the other side. After five minutes Grot realised what had happened and went back to retrieve his two charges.

After that Hermione conjured a length of rope and used it to connect the three of them so that Harry and Hermione could follow Grot and indicate any trouble by give to sharp tugs on the rope. Hermione began to grouse after being stooped over following behind the Goblin with Harry behind her. Grot was oblivious as Hermione groused mentally at Harry. After an hour trudging through the interconnecting tunnels they came across the door to vault number seven four two.

The vault door was just located off of a bend in the tunnel. Grot had to make his way through a thick spider's web in from of the door. Harry and Hermione stood unsteadily on the cart track silently watching Grot. Grot moved to the left hand side of the large vault door and wiped away the webbing in front of a polished stone surface.

Once the surface was clean Grot wiped his hands on his trousers and pressed his right hand on to the stone surface. The door glowed briefly before swinging outward of its own accord. Grot turned and beckoned for the couple to enter the vault. Wall sconces inside lit suddenly as the couple entered the vault. Grot waited at the vault's threshold while the couple perused it's contents. Like all vaults on this level it was a cavernous room, with chiselled walls buffed smooth.

The floor was polished slate flagstones and it had a barrel vaulted roof. At Harry's questioning look, Grot explained that this was originally an old banquet hall for a Goblin clan that were long dead. Lily needed a vault in a hurry so she was given this vault due to her standing and the number was swapped with the original vault no. 742.

The Lady Potter was a respected position among Wizards and Goblins going back over a thousand years so when Lily requested a high security vault at short notice and with unusual requirements, the Goblins duly provided said vault along with astronomically high fees.

Hermione started to explore a curtained wall to the left of the vault door; she felt a pull on her senses, like a moth to a flame she gravitated towards that section of the vault. Her eyes lit up as she drew back the cloth curtain to reveal rows and rows of books and parchment scrolls protected by the magical cloth curtains.

Harry smiled at his wife's antics before he turned and surveyed the right hand wall. The remains of three large potions cabinets stood their doors ajar and blackened from a fire. Broken and blacked glass vials and bottles lay discarded on the bottom of the damaged cabinets. From the blackened debris Harry decided that all the potions were destroyed. A thick sludge littered with glass and ceramic fragments indicated the remains of vials and bottles.

Harry guessed one of the fragile vials must have shattered causing the volatile potions to mix with disastrous consequences. Hermione was depressed when she realised that there was no viable potions left to help her mother. In disgust, Harry left the heavily damaged cabinets when he saw what had caused the disaster. The top shelf of the middle cabinet had caved in, spilling its contents on the shelf below that must have caused the potions fire.

Harry turned to Grot who stood at the vault door and asked why the fire did not destroy the rest of the vault contents. Grot replied that the high security vaults such as this one had localised fire suppression wards that had isolated the fire from the rest of the vault. Harry sighed in disgust that the wards had not prevented the fire.

Hermione by now had found a large brown leather bound book and had taken it over to a workbench that stood in the middle of the floor near the vault entrance. She placed the open book onto the table directly under a large gem lit chandelier that gave off light just like a Muggle florescent light.

The light source was the best Hermione had encountered in the wizard world since starting Hogwarts. Hermione settled into the wingback armchair to read while Harry explored the rest of the vault. Harry smiled as Hermione settled into his mother's notes. The main vault floor contained three workbenches; the one Hermione sat at was closest to the door.

The middle bench contained on its surface various muggle devices from the late seventies such as Betamax video recorders and old fashioned television sets. Harry picked up a clipboard beside a very old circuit board and read his mother's neat handwriting. From what Harry could gather his mother was trying to get modern Muggle technology to work in highly magical environments with little success.

The devices on the worktop appeared to be what she was working on when she safeguarded her research. The third workbench located at the back of the vault contained three small trunks.

Harry tried to open the first one and found it locked. He let his magic out and sensed that it was familiar. He let his magic sense out the locking charm when suddenly the lock clicked and the trunk opened to reveal gaudy jewellery.

Mainly the jewellery was bracelets and necklaces. Each piece had a faded parchment label attached noting the spells it was charged with and an experiment number that related to the parchment scrolls on the shelves that Hermione had first looked at. Harry carefully closed the trunk and moved to the middle trunk. It opened the same way as the first.

Harry sank onto the stool that was beside the bench when he realised that the trunk's contents were some of his toys from when he was a baby. He vaguely remembered dreams of the stuffed hippogriff keeping away his nightmares. He felt arms surround him in a comforting hug as he wept for a childhood lost due to an old man's meddling. After a few minutes the couple turned to the last trunk.

Harry was startled to discover some ornate jewellery that had belonged to his mother. It appeared to be his mother's jewellery box from when she was a girl. Hermione carefully looked through the tasteful pieces of jewellery, conspicuous by their absence were his mother's engagement ring and wedding ring. The back wall was bare except for a cloth covered painting.

Harry moved to the painting and carefully removed the dust cloth protecting the painting and gasped in shock when the subject of the painting was revealed. The painting was of a young woman with vibrant red hair and brilliant green eyes. Harry whispered 'Mum' at seeing the painting of Lily from before he was born.

Hermione turned to look at Harry; she moved to him and gently hugged him as he looked at the best picture he had of his mother. The woman in the painting was still, unlike most paintings in the magical world. Hermione reached out with her senses and realised that the painting was not activated yet. Lily had her hair tied up into a messy ponytail with strands of loose hair framing her face.

She wore a simple muggle dress and a slight bump was visible. Hermione guessed that Lily was about half way through her pregnancy with Harry. The background was a late winter's morning at the seaside. Hermione drifted to the first trunk and her eyes widened as she saw the large quantity of fairly gaudy jewellery.

She removed an ugly luminous yellow bracelet and put it on. She felt the magic in the bracelet and felt faint traces similar to Harry's magical trace. Smiling she put the bracelet back into the trunk. Hermione looked at Harry questioningly wondering what he wanted to do. Mentally Hermione said it would be better to go through the vaults contents back in Ireland with Remus' and Minerva's assistance.

Harry agreed and the couple joined their magic together so that they could sphere the shelves of parchment scrolls and books to the house they were staying in. Next they sphered the three small trunks followed lastly by the painting of Lily Potter.

Grot stood slack jawed as he watched the couple clear out the vault right through the Goblin wards. It was unheard of, but he had witnessed the couple get the better of a Goblin security team, whom vastly outnumbered the wandless couple. When the couple had left the bank he would inform Ragnok of this new development.

Grot was pulled from his thoughts when Harry approached and informed him that the couple were now finished in the vault. Grot nodded and sealed the vault after the pair had passed through the door to wait for him in the tunnel.

The small party of three were slowly making their way back to the banquet hall when suddenly a tide of happy Goblins surged around a bend in the tunnel. The boisterous Goblins swept the small party with them as they went deeper into the tunnel network.

Grot looked around in shock as the Goblins around him sang war songs. The sound was deafening for the two humans. It would appear that the Goblin's had successfully defended the bank.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

The large crowd of happy Goblins gradually thinned out once they reached the aid stations. Hermione sighed in relief to be out of the boisterous crowd. She was feeling slightly claustrophobic in the melee of Goblins.

Harry made his way across the cavern they found themselves in towards Hermione. Grot stood beside them as a chaperone while they were in this section of the bank. The cavern was set up as a large ward, with rows and rows of beds partitioned off with leather screens.

Injured and dying Goblins lay on the beds while Goblin healers attended to them. A woman's loud wail reverberated around the cavern before sudden silence descended. Hermione decided to head in the direction the noise came from with Harry following close behind.

The couple found an unconscious woman with whitish blonde hair slumped on the stone floor beside a badly burnt body lying on a metal framed bed. Her face was turned in towards the bed. Two Goblins stood over the male body muttering in gobbledegook with a pale purple glow emanating over the body.

The man's face was obscured with bloody bandages. Hermione recognized the tufts of blackened hair as being very similar to Ron's colouring, one of his brothers perhaps. The most likely candidate was Bill. The clothes were almost fused with the man's skin. Hermione's nature drove her to do something. She had to help those more unfortunate than herself.

'Harry we have to help him' said Hermione as she moved to try and help.

The two Goblin healers ignored her as a Security Goblin moved to intercept her. The Security Goblin was stationed at the foot of the bed silently watching over the badly injured Wizard. Grot barked something in gobbledegook and the Security Goblin took a step back from the bed while the two Goblin healers turned to look at her in shock.

Hermione turned to Grot and gave him a questioning look. Grot indicated the burnt male with an outstretched arm indicating that she should help. Hermione nodded in thanks and steeled herself before approaching the injured man.

Hermione relaxed her mind before she allowed her magic to flow over the injured body to see how bad the damage was. Her magic gently played over the surface burns and grimaced at the third degree burns from the never ending invisible magical fire still burning the poor wizards body.

Her magic suddenly recoiled when it sensed the very dark and familiar magic infused in the vile fire caused by the spell that was burning the body. A battle was raging between the magic from the cursed fire and the host's magic.

'_Oh no Harry, this is Riddle's handy work'_ said Hermione via their link to Harry.

'Can you help him?' responded Harry aloud.

Hermione nodded as she mentally answered, '_Yes it is very similar to the feeling from your scar before I got rid of it. After I deal with the curse I should be able to fix him up.'_

Harry groaned in dismay as he suddenly remembered. _'We forgot about the damn cup, Hermione'_ he exclaimed mentally.

'_You go look after it__, Harry, and I'll stay here and help out, Okay?'_ she responded mentally as she started to battle the cursed fire and the dark magic infecting the damaged body of the familiar looking man.

Harry turned to Grot and demanded to be brought to the belongings of the Lestrange Vault as he wasn't sure if the Goblin's had reached that vault yet with the transfers. Hermione turned and gave Harry a quick kiss before returning to the task before her. Grot turned to the three Goblins and barked some more orders before he left with Harry in tow.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

Harry followed Grot through the tunnel network once more all the while cursing the fact that they had forgotten all about Riddle's damn soul fragments. Grot called for a mine cart once he sensed the urgency in the demand to see Lestrange's former possessions. Harry remained silent when the pair boarded the mine cart to go to a section of the bank unaffected by the attack.

Harry was lost in thoughts as he had learnt a lot since he returned from the other reality. Healing Jane was weighing heavily on his mind as well as what he had learnt from Snape, the bastard. He cursed the fact that he had forgotten all about Riddle's blasted Horcruxes.

The time sat in the mine cart also gave him an opportunity to decide what to do with the Goblins. He was not happy that they had jumped to conclusions and marred Hermione's throat. The fact that he healed the wound with nary a scratch left behind was neither here nor there. He was pulled from his musing by the cart's sudden stop.

The cart had stopped before a very large security detail assigned to protect the contents of the Lestrange Vault as it was sorted. The Goblins quickly decided that as the vast majority of the vaults affected by Lord Potter-Black's order were known or suspected Death Eaters to do the sorting outside the vault in question so that if there was any trap or jinx it could be swiftly dealt with.

Two Goblins had died while sorting out the first Vault when they accidently set off a trap inside the Vault. The key holder had placed a vacuum trap without the Bank's knowledge and the two unfortunate Goblins suffocated to death inside the vault while the other Goblins tried to override the security charms on the Vault door.

Grot and Harry were stopped by the Goblin in charge of the security detail. Harry turned and stared hard at Grot, they were wasting time. Grot felt a shiver down his spine before starting to converse with the Goblin security leader.

Grot spent a long time debating with the assigned security detail until he explained that the human with him was Lord Potter-Black the instigator of all the vault transfers. Harry stood impatiently glaring at the Goblin security detail. Reluctantly the security detail allowed the pair to pass.

Harry turned to Grot and demanded to be allowed to review the inventory alone. Grot reluctantly agreed, to the dismay of the security detail. Grot felt that they would have agreed with his decision if they had seen what he had seen in the banquet hall earlier that day. He left Harry with the security detail and returned to the cavern where all the injured Goblins were brought .

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

Hermione furrowed her brow in concentration as she fought the magic in the cursed fire burning the body on the mattress. Ever since Minerva and Remus had woken up in Cashel they had discussed magical theory. Hermione had discovered that each person's magic felt different. She knew that Harry's magic felt different from her own.

But it was only after returning home and meeting other Witches and Wizards that she was able to detect the caster of a spell or charm based on the spell residue imprinted by the caster. She would like to explore the discovery further but helping her mother came first. After casting Riddle's soul fragment out of Harry, Hermione knew that the poor person she was trying to help was cursed by the bastard, Riddle.

Just like in the situation where she banished the soul fragment, Hermione knew she was stronger than the curse. The invisible fire was suffocated by Hermione's will and magical power. Once that was done Hermione could now concentrate on the damage caused by the curse itself. The man's entire backwas badly burnt from his neck down to his toes.

Hermione decided to next concentrate on the excising the dark magic from the wizard's magical core. The dark magic from Riddle's invisible flame spell was wrapped around the wizards core like a great python, slowly killing him. After what happened to herself and Harry she knew that she had to be mindful of bonding her magic to the injured wizard.

Hermione had learnt a lot about her own magic in the three years since, so she carefully went about removing the cursed magic from the injured wizard's core. It was fortunate that the wizard was unconscious as a few times she had to inflict pain as she rebuffed the injured core's attempts at bonding to a stronger core in an attempt at surviving.

The wizard's core was reacting like an injured wild animal and weakly attacked Hermione's magic. All the while the dark magic squeezed harder. Hermione's magic fought with the dark magic for over ten minutes before she was able to separate the cursed magic from the wizard's core. Hermione swayed from exhaustion and watched the cursed magic warily as it was like a snake ready to pounce on another victim.

With a thought she banished the curse that was now floating over the body on the bed. After that was done she started to survey the damage to both the body and the core. She knew that she could heal the body but not the badly damaged core. The man's lungs were in a bad way so she completed the steps Harry had taken all those years ago and healed them.

The man's whole back was badly burnt with third degree burns, with remembered pain, Hermione removed all the damaged and burnt skin and muscle tissue. Hermione had a sterilization charm ready to flood the area so that she could take a breather before working on restoring the damaged skin and muscle.

All the while the wizard's core tried to connect with her magic which she rebuffed it again. Hermione sighed as she set to work on healing the body, she would worry about the magical core later. Calling on stores of energy she did not think she had, she completed the healing of the man's skin before slumping exhausted on to the now physically healed wizard. Hermione's last thought was now she had to work on fixing the core while also worrying about the needy magical core of the injured wizard.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

Fleur groaned as she slowly woke, her face was wet from her tears. Her bum was numb from sitting on a cold hard floor. Her Veela heritage surged to the fore as she felt immense magical energy around her and Bill. Her eyes locked on to the Goblin stood in front of her, and widened as she recognized him as the personal assistant of Ragnok.

She forgot his name, Rot or something. She turned to look for Bill and gasped in shock as she saw his damaged body lying on the bed beside her. A witch in a simple dress, with wild brown hair billowing around her head from the static energy was standing before the bed with magical energy flowing from her into Bill's body.

Fleur's first instinct was to stop this hussy's attempt at ensnaring her boyfriend before her Veela senses informed her of what was actually happening. Her jaw went slack with realisation of what the witch was doing. She was battling the curse that Voldemort had cast at her and Bill. The spell he had sacrificed himself for her by blocking the curse with his body.

Fleur watched in awe as she witnessed the witch battle the dark magic while also rebuffing Bill's magical attempt at survival. At one point Fleur thought to help but she was not sure what was exactly happening except for Bill's breathing changed from laboured wheezing to a more normal breathing pattern.

The witch seemed to gain a second wind and Fleur gasped in outrage as she saw the witch banish all the burnt skin, just like that. _What would poor Bill do without skin on his back?_ she thought in dismay before her eyes widened in understanding. Fleur thought that she was hallucinating when she saw Bill's skin and muscle re-grow right in front of her eyes.

The poor exhausted Witch slumped onto Bill from sheer exhaustion when the skin re-growing was finished. Fleur noticed that her magic retreated into her body once again and Fleur gasped in dismay at the very poor state Bill's magic was in from trying to bond to his healer. Fleur knew now what she must do to save Bill's life.

Even though his body was now completely healed and the kind Witch had beaten the dark magic. Bill's core was dying and needed an infusion of magic from another witch or wizard. Fleur loved Bill with her heart and soul and knew what would happen if she allowed her magic to fuse to Bill. They would be bonded for life, could their relationship take it as they were only a couple for just over six months.

Throwing caution to the winds Fleur barked at the two gobsmacked Goblin Healers to look after the kind witch and put her into a bed of her own. The two Goblins carefully picked her up and placed her in to a bed that was three beds over from Bill's bed.

Fleur thought that she recognized Bill's healer but banished it out of her mind as she had to finish the job the Witch had started, so Fleur stripped down to her underwear and got into bed beside Bill. Bill's magic feebly reached out to her magic, he was almost gone. Fleur panicked and allowed her magic free to connect with Bill's magic.

Her mother had sat her down when she realised that her body was going through some changes and told her all about her body and sex. Her mother then told the blushing Fleur all about Veela magic and lust and how best to control it. However, her mother issued a warning of to never allow her magic to bond with another lightly as the resulting situation could never be undone and she would be forever joined to the other person regardless of whether they were man or woman.

Fleur remembered her mother's warning from all those years ago as she connected her magic to Bill's magic. Bill's magic greedily attached itself and Fleur found herself receive snapshots of Bill and his life before she passed out from magical information overload.

Unseen, Grot left the cavern after witnessing the Veela bond to the Curse Breaker to report to Ragnok. Maybe there is a way to reclaim some lost property thought Grot.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

Voldemort slid to a stop upon the train tracks in the tunnel. His back felt like it had been rubbed raw. The heavy robes he wore were frayed, blood seeped from the construct that he currently resided in. He watched in awe as the irate Veela tore through his Death Eaters. A red mist obscured the tunnel and his poor followers being slaughtered by the irate bitch.

As he slumped on the rough sleepers of the railway used by the Goblins, his mind drifted back to one of the books he read on his travels. The passage in the book warned of upsetting Veelas, at the time he dismissed the warning as stupid folklore. But after witnessing the wild magic pouring from the Veela he suddenly was afraid.

The last time he felt fear was when he faced Dumbledore in their first duel. He cleared his mind and turned to one of his followers and demanded a report. The Death Eater reported on the amount of Gold recovered from the vaults controlled by the Death Eaters.

Voldemort smiled and got up. He turned to the Death Eater and ordered a withdrawal from the bank. He ignored the massacre of his followers between him and the Veela. He would kill her but, not today. She would be an easy kill once her rage was spent. Maybe a job for Fenrir, the werewolf would enjoy the exotic taste of her blood.

Within ten minutes of his order, his followers had flooded onto the Alley. Ministry response was pitiful and weak. Voldemort's remaining followers from the assault outnumbered them ten to one. Voldemort ordered his Auror puppet to bring one of the Goblins to his lair and kill the rest.

The Goblins were slain and their heads were mounted on pikes in front of the bank. All the while the Aurors mounted a feeble defence. The Death Eaters left the way they came via the Apparition check point.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

The contents of the Lestrange Vault was dumped into a couple of large piles. The largest pile was Gold Galleons with a diameter of at least five metres and a height of about three metres. Harry did not want to guess at the monetary value of the pile of gold. His attention was focused on finding the damn cup.

The security detail quietly pulled back from the pile of Death Eater treasures. They did not want to suffer any more losses if the foolish wizard tripped another booby trap. The team had already lost three Goblins to the damned booby traps. Bringing the death toll involved in moving the contents of the vaults to facilitate, Potter's command to the bank to five diligent Goblins.

Harry groaned after half an hour's search and decided to repeat his feat from Grimmauld Place. He released his magic to pour over the large pile of treasure, searching for the Horcrux. It took his magic ten minutes to find the damned cup.

He sphered it to him and removed the soul fragment. He swayed from exhaustion and frowned when the security detail of Goblins swarmed him and snapped magic nullifying manacles on his ankle. One Goblin backhanded him and he passed out.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

Ragnok was pulled from his dark thoughts when Grot his assistant entered the banquet hall. Ragnok wondered why Harry and Hermione Potter-Black was not with Grot.

'Sir,' ventured Grot, as he approached the Goblin leader.

'Yes,' Ragnok said after lifting his head from his hands.

'The bank is secure, the Dark Lord and his forces left with the contents of a third of the vaults in the facility. Mostly he took all of the low level vaults and about a quarter of the medium level vaults. The accounting department are auditing to find out what the monetary cost is. After the Veela defended her mate, Weasley the Curse Breaker. The Dark Lord decided to withdraw with his loot. Goblin warriors found all the mind controlled goblins at the front doors headless bar one.' reported Grot.

'Are you telling me that the Dark Lord retreated because of an irate Veela?' asked Ragnok in shocked disbelief

'Yes,' confirmed Grot.

'Continue with your report.' ordered Ragnok as he drank heavily from the tankard on the table in front of him. All the while pondering the good fortune of having a Veela on staff to defend the bank. The fact that she was defending her lover was neither here nor there. The end result was the bank had been successfully defended.

'Mrs. Potter-Black healed Curse Breaker Weasley before she passed out from over exertion. My security team transferred her to our Goblin holding facility she is wearing a Goblin anti magic ankle bracelet.

Mr Potter-Black, passed out after being attacked by a booby trap that was among the Lestrange Vault contents and is similarly restrained inside one of the empty dragon pens. Unfortunately the pens contain no adult dragons only younglings.

The Veela is unconscious and lying beside Curse Breaker Weasley, he is recovering and the Healers predict he will be able to go back to work in a few days.

The Healers don't know what is wrong with the Veela. Except to say she is currently attached to Weasley the Curse Breaker in an embrace that the Healers cannot break.' reported Grot.

'What have you done, did you not see what the Potter-Blacks managed to do in this very room?' demanded Ragnok in shocked disbelief.

'Yes Sir, but Mrs. Potter-Black is in no condition to retaliate as according to the Healers she is magically exhausted and they predict it will be a few days till she is recovered and a threat. Mr. Potter-Black is in a similar condition, however he recovered at a faster rate and was verbally abusing the security detail so they sent him to the dragon pens, where he will be held.' reported Grot with a grin.

'Besides both of them are wearing magical damping bracelets, so they have been taken care of.' elaborated Grot at seeing his bosses slack jawed reaction.

'Why did you order this?' demanded Ragnok.

'Potter has a vast amount of gold and we can kill him and claim his wealth for the Goblin Nation and report that he died fighting the Dark Lord.' offered Grot.

Ragnok nodded as he replied, 'It will cost gold to fix the bank and improve security, the Black Vaults could pay for that. Start upgrades to security and take the money from the Black Vaults. Use the rest of the money to reimburse our customers of the vaults that were robbed.'

Grot turned to leave.

'Grot, make sure that no one knows what we are about to do, I want all of those involved dead. The two of us will be the only ones aware of the plan. Understood.' demanded Ragnok as his eyes lit up at the thought of all the gold that would be placed in his vault deep in the bowels of the bank.

Grot nodded but demanded, 'What about my cut?'

'As you have done the legwork, say seventy percent for me as leader, and thirty percent to you.' offered Ragnok.

'I have done all the work, I deserve a higher percentage than that!' exclaimed Grot.

'I could have you killed you know, alright sixty, forty split.' offered Ragnok.

'Fifty, fifty or I release the Potter's' countered Grot.

'Done!' exclaimed Ragnok quickly.

The pair shock on the deal and Grot left to implement the new plans.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

Over the next two days Grot implemented his plans of killing his fellow Goblins that had subdued the Potter-Blacks. The first to be slain were the security detail that witnessed the feats that the Potter-Blacks were capable of.

The next group to be killed were the group that captured Lord Potter-Black while his was incapacitated by a booby trap in the belongings of the Lestrange Vault. The last group to be killed were those of the Healers that watched what Lady Potter-Black had done for Curse Breaker Weasley.

After he had killed the Goblin Healers he would kill Hermione Jane Potter-Black. He was going to do that this evening. Grot rubbed his hands together at the thought of all the gold he was going to earn out of this deal. The thoughts of his slain Goblin brothers never entered his head.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

Albus Dumbledore sat in the sitting room of his house in Godrics Hollow wondering where his plans stood in the current political climate. The Ministry were valiantly trying to bolster support in the banking sector after the blatant robbery of Gringotts two days ago.

Dumbledore watched in awe at the large numbers of wizards that Voldemort had used in his assault of the bank. He was shocked to learn that Tom had generated such a large army of followers. He worried at what led Tom to directly assault the bank and make off with sacks of gold like a common thief. The bank still had its doors sealed shut and representatives from the Ministry were turned away.

Dumbledore frowned as he tried to puzzle out why the Goblins had not declared war yet on Tom or the Wizards in general. Albus was pleased to see that the measures that the Ministry were using flounder in the latest calamity that befell the populace. With the bank closed the wizarding economy was going into a deep depression like the muggles suffered in the nineteen twenties.

If the Ministry measures had been successful his own influence would have waned. He was relieved that the Ministry now had to switch its focus to the Goblin Nation and not the problem that was Tom Riddle also known as the dreaded Dark Lord Voldemort.

Another worry was the failure of the order to find Harry or Severus. Dumbledore thought that come September, Harry would show up for the start of term. He probably would show a bit of a backbone but after a course of loyalty potions he would come around to the side of the light, of that Albus was sure.

No, much more worrying was the fact that Severus was missing presumed dead. He feared that Severus' role as a spy was discovered, and that Tom had him killed. Minerva had not shown up for any of the Order's meetings and had not responded to Owl post.

Unfortunately Fawkes his familiar had broken his bonding and had vanished probably forever. Now that he thought about it Remus was also missing. An unpleasant picture was beginning to form, he did not like it at all.

Dumbledore sighed as he reached out for a lemon drop from the brown paper bag on the coffee table. He sucked the sweet as he let plans form in his mind.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

The Auror Department in the Ministry had calmed down slightly after the attack on Gringotts two days ago. The rumour mill was saying that the Goblins were considering war. If true the Aurors would be on the front line in the first skirmishes with the Goblins.

It was all hearsay however as the bank was still under lock down. Mike Wordsworth entered the Department from the emergency escape stairs and made his way to his desk. He was part of the Auror investigative branch. He had just returned from the muggle Police station and had a very interesting conversation with his counterpart in the Metropolitan Police Force.

Wordsworth was a tall thin man with boyish features, he rarely needed to shave even though he was nearly forty. He kept his brown hair shortly cropped, and his blue eyes were hidden by his bushy eyebrows.

His boss Madam Bones had directed him to find a Hermione Granger, a pupil at Hogwarts, as she was worried about the girl for personal reasons. Unfortunately Mike arrived at Miss Granger's residence to find out that it was now a major crime scene.

Muggle forensic officers were sifting through the rubble of Miss Granger's house for clues. Mike was concerned when he detected traces of a fight involving a werewolf and a vampire on the front lawn. Also worrying was the belief of the investigating Detective Constable that mercenaries were also involved, many bullets were recovered from the scene. The calibre of the recovered bullets were uncommon for a private individual to own and likely originated from military weapons.

Mike was pulled from his thoughts when Heath Buckley called over to his desk. Buckley was a heavy set Auror, five years older than himself with greying short hair and brown eyes hidden by wire frame rose coloured spectacles. They were often paired together on cases but in the current climate and with reduced numbers Mike was forced to investigate cases alone. Buckley was given his own case to solve.

'Any luck finding the girl that the boss wants to speak to?' quizzed Buckley.

Mike shook his head, 'No, Granger and her parents were not in the house. The house was destroyed and it looks like there was a fight involving a Vamp, a Were, a Witch or Wizard and muggle mercenaries. They left the scene in a right mess'

'What! When did this happen?' asked Buckley in shock.

'The Police reckon about four or five days ago.' replied Mike.

'Oh!' said Buckley in thought.

'What?' asked Mike.

'It might be nothing but around the same time a Vampire clan was wiped out according to my sources. The clan was the Cravens a very old clan, none of the other clans are claiming responsibility. Also the same clan had three of its protection detail wiped out before the clan was hit.' said Buckley.

'Vampire protection details are like the muggle army right?' asked Mike.

'Yeah, so?' responded Buckley.

'The police at the Granger residence found dead bodies armed to the teeth with muggle weapons with this emblem on them.' said Mike as he showed a muggle photo of a vampire rune to Buckley.

Buckley studied the photo and swore.

'What is it?' asked Mike.

'That is the marking of the Craven clan, I wonder who wiped them out as the consensus is that they were the elite, of protection details.' answered Buckley.

'These protection details were like a private army? right' asked Mike.

'Yeah, even though vamps. don't need them, it is all for show. But the Cravens built up their detail so that they were feared by the other clans. Whoever killed them were better and I would hope to never meet.' responded Buckley.

'Wordsworth report to my office.' interrupted Madam Bones as she passed Mike's desk.

'Thanks Heath that adds another piece of the puzzle, excuse me.' said Mike as he gathered up his notes and left for Director Bones office. Buckley frowned as he watched Wordsworth head off towards Bones office. _What was happening with this Granger girl, her house was attacked by the Craven clan, the clan was wiped out._ thought Heath. He was glad he was assigned a different case.

Mike found Madam Bone' office door ajar and Madam Bones hanging her travel robe on the coat stand beside the door.

'Enter,' bade Madam Bones when she saw him silently standing at the office threshold.

Mike entered and stood to attention in front of Madam Bones' desk. Amelia conjured a mug of tea and offered Mike a cup. He politely declined. As Amelia sat behind her desk she asked Mike for his report. Mike consulted his pocket notebook and began his report.

'I had no luck with obtaining Miss Granger's address from Hogwarts as they are dealing with a problem with the currently very high failure rate in the subject of Potions. I was forced to consult the wand register which fortunately listed Miss Granger's parents address in muggle London. I would suggest updating the Ministry database as it is fifty years out of date.

As the Granger residence was fifteen miles from the nearest magical community I Apparated there and obtained transport from a muggle taxi. On arrival at the residence's address I discovered a police cordon on the street. I made contact with the Police Detective Constable in charge and discovered that early in the morning of Monday the fifteenth of July there was the sound of explosions.

An eye witness called the police but by the time the police arrived the altercation was over. The eyewitness is a muggle mother of an eighteen month old baby that was sick on the morning in question. The mother was sitting downstairs in her sitting room with the baby so that her husband could sleep.

The husband is a labourer working on the cleanup operation in central London. The eyewitness, a Mrs. June Charles, said that about one fifteen in the morning a man in a suit walked down the road approached the Granger residence and moved towards the door. Shortly afterwards Mrs. Granger, in her sleepwear, opened the door.

The man entered the house. A few minutes later two large black vans arrived. Men in black clothes and strange harnesses got out. Shortly after that a young woman in her late teens or early twenties appeared out of thin air on the footpath in front of the house. She was wearing rags on her shoulder and was welding a sword, otherwise she was naked.

One of the men from the van approached the woman and was rendered headless. Another man in a suit appeared and approached the young woman. Mrs. Charles is adamant that the woman was naked and armed with a sword. Evidence found at the scene confirms some of Mrs. Charles story, the Police found fragments of a blue bathrobe and one of the recovered bodies was headless.

She thought that the young woman was Hermione Granger's older sister or cousin as the young woman had long bushy brown hair and from a distance had similar features. Mrs. Charles is unsure what happened next as she went to get the telephone. But a lot of the men from the vans were lying on the ground bleeding to death she thought from gunshots.

There was a large shaggy dog or wolf defending the young woman from the man in the suit, the large animal had the man by the neck when suddenly a naked man welding a large pistol came out of the Granger house. Mrs. Charles had never seen the man before. She reported that the man was a similar age to the woman possibly Hermione Granger or her sister.

The man was about six foot and built like a swimmer, Mrs. Charles liked what she saw of the man, he had black hair. The man shot at the injured man in the suit. The man dropped the gun and the woman's sword leapt into his hand. The animal limped over to the nude man.

The nude man decapitated the man in the suit and the headless body turned to ash and wasted away. I tested the ash remains on site and can confirm that the remains were of a vampire. An old woman in her sixties left the Granger's and approached the man, she was holding a stick, she was wearing a dressing gown and glasses. She had white hair, the description is too generic for me to obtain an identity of a possible witch. The witch levitated the animal back to the house.

More vans arrived, the nude man picked up the naked woman and went back to the Granger's. A fire fight between the house and the new arrivals ensued. Mrs. Charles is adamant that so far there was very little sound. The sound was mostly of whistling air and the odd howl or growl from the animal. She related the animals noises to a Werewolf as depicted in muggle films.

She also reported that they saw a strange black estate car leave the scene at very high speed. It literally exploded out of the garage. Someone from the car shot at two of the black vans, both exploded. The sudden loud noise shocked Mrs Charles.

There was ten dead bodies identified at the scene with military fire arms. The Constable reported that the weapons were fitted with silencers indicating that it was highly likely that it was a covert operation. The Detective Constable did not identify the team but I noticed a symbol on each of the identifiable bodies.

I guess that there was more than ten at the scene but the house exploding destroyed some of the remains. Auror Buckley identified the symbol as a vampire identification rune. This leads me to think that the attack was ordered by a Clan. Buckley has informed me that shortly after the attack on the Grangers the Clan was wiped out. So far there has been no reprisals from the other clans, the clan was the Cravens'

Madam Bones held her tongue, she would ask her questions when Wordsworth finished his report.

'Evidence and Mrs. Charles eyewitness report also indicates that some of the deaths were caused by a werewolf. This is very unusual as the full moon is not due until the end of the month. I looked up the lunar calendar, the last full moon was on the second and the next on is due on the thirtieth which is just under a fortnight away.

The small hair sample hopefully will lead to an I.D. of the werewolf. The Grangers had help escaping as there is evidence that someone returned fire on to their attackers with both muggle fire arms and spell fire. I guess that the unidentified man with black hair used the fire arms and the old witch with spell fire. Mrs. Charles's report of multicoloured light emanating from the house adds credence to the fact that there was one witch in residence.

The house was destroyed in a massive explosion just as the black car left but some shell casings were found among the rubble. Mrs. Charles was knocked from her chair from the force of the explosion that destroyed the Granger house. Evidence also suggests that more than one vampire was slain as I found traces of vampire ash among the rubble of the house at least fifty feet from the vampire slain on the street.

In closing Madam Bones, I have not been able to contact Hermione Granger or her parents, her house is just a hole in the ground. There is no trace of the Grangers at all.' reported Mike.

'You are telling me that Vampires have attacked the Grangers and two vampires were slain?' asked Madam Bones.

Mike consulted his notes, 'Yes Ma'am, I believe that one was slain in the house and one on the street.'

Madam Bones nodded and asked her next question, 'Could the werewolf have been an Animagus?'

'Doubtful, even though there was no residue of a lunar spell the recovered hair sample was examined and we believe that the werewolf is a male wizard of about thirty five to fifty years old and has been a werewolf for about thirty years. The werewolf is not on any of our watch records.  
If this werewolf has the ability of an Animagus it would be the first recorded case.' responded Mike.

'You say at least one witch also defended the residence, could Miss Granger have also been one of the defenders with her wand?' asked Amelia.

'No, according to the Department of Underage Magic records, an adult witch and wizard were recorded at the premises. They show the last time Miss Granger cast a spell was on the Hogwarts Express before the start of summer. They believe that the control shown by the witch that she could be in her seventies, a very experienced witch. Spell residue indicates this also as does Mrs. Charles account.' replied Mike.

'Oh, do we know any adult acquaintances of Miss Granger that could be the mysterious defender?' pondered Amelia.

'No, except one of the professors at Hogwarts.' offered Wordsworth.

'Any idea on Miss Granger's current status?' asked Amelia in concern.

'Sorry Ma'am, no, it is my belief that Miss Granger was the woman who appeared naked on the road and was saved by the naked man. I also believe that both left in the unidentified muggle vehicle. It is my firm belief that Miss Granger managed to escape the attack by the vampire Clan. The reason for the attack at present is a mystery, and I fear that it will always remain a mystery.' replied Wordsworth.

'Why do you think that Miss Granger was the woman that appeared on the road by unknown but obviously magical means, considering that it was not flagged by the underage monitoring equipment.' countered Madam Bones.

'First, Mrs. Charles description of the woman shares similar features to Hermione Granger. The eyewitness is adamant that the woman is not Hermione's mother. The woman described almost fits except the age difference. Brown or dark brown hair, wild and untamed. Second the woman's rescuers came from the Granger residence.

Third the eyewitness claimed to have seen Mrs. Granger in her nightie by the front door before vanishing in to thin air before the fight started. Fourth Hermione Granger is an only child and the Police have contacted her two cousins that could of matched the description of the naked woman. One is in America and has been for two months and the other has been in hospital since the middle of last week, she was injured in the Diagon Alley explosion.' responded Wordsworth.

'Okay, so the woman on the road was in all likelyhood Hermione. Did Mrs. Charles note that Hermione had injures to her chest, specifically purple bruising?' asked Madam Bones.

'No.' replied Mike.

'How do we relate this woman who could be Hermione as a twenty year old to the sixteen year old that left Hogwarts?' asked Amelia.

'Maybe Hermione is very mature looking for her age or maybe the spell aged her prematurely, until we contact her we may never know.' replied Mike

'That's unlikely as I spoke with Madam Pomfrey, Hermione was hit with a purple coloured spell during that fiasco at the Department of Mysteries. I believe that Antonio Dolohov is responsible for the spell. Madam Pomfrey believes that under the current conditions it would take ten weeks for Hermione to heal fully. The spell does not cause premature ageing.' said Amelia with conviction.

'Why would Pomfrey break patient, healer confidentiality?' asked Mike in disbelief.

'This stays between the two of us, I want your oath as an honourable Wizard that this stays private.' demanded Madam Bones.

Mike frowned in thought but gave an oath to keep Madam Bones secrets.

'In the last rising of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, I was cursed with the same spell and I was rendered barren. I lost a girl I was carrying. I want to help Hermione to find justice and the best healers so that she would not suffer as I have.' replied Amelia in an almost whisper.

'Sorry to hear that, Ma'am.' consoled Mike.

'It happened years ago, Dolohov cursed Hermione and I suspect that the same bastard hit me all those years ago. With Susan gone, I don't want another poor girl to grow up without the joy of motherhood.' stated Madam Bones.

'Well, Ma'am, one minor lead is that the car that escaped was spotted about four hours later in Holyhead near the ferry port. The Police believe that the car may have gone to Dublin, The Guards in Ireland have not seen the car since. Maybe the Grangers stayed in Ireland. The investigating office is following that lead but is doubtful.' offered Mike.

'Look into it, Mike, And find out if Ms. Granger has aged four years in the last two weeks. Find out who the black haired man was.' said Amelia.

'The only person that could be the man in question is Harry Potter but doesn't he stay with his own relatives over the summer? In any case I will look in on Mr. Potter and rule him in or out of this case. If that is all, Ma'am.' said Mike.

Amelia nodded and Mike left the office with two goals, find Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. He decided to look in on Harry first, he would get the address from the underage office as he remembered the court case last year.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

Lily Potter was very worried. She had met her friend Remus and her old Professor Minerva McGonagall. She had a self portrait done when she was seven months pregnant with Harry. She was awakened in her frame in a small bedroom and not the Gringotts vault as she expected. Minerva had explored the bedroom after detecting a surge of magic and found most of the contents of the vault deposited in the empty room. She had inadvertently activated the magical portrait and thus Lily found herself awake. Minerva gasped in shock at the magical portrait.

Lily learnt after Minerva got over the shock that it was a Tuesday and the date was the sixteenth of July, nineteen ninety six. About sixteen years after her portrait was finished. She was dismayed to learn that Lily Potter was slain by Voldemort on Halloween night, eighty one. Dumbledore had gone against her husband and her own wishes and placed Harry with her sister Petunia. Harry had suffered a horrible childhood with her sister and Petunia's vile husband.

Lily was shocked to discover that Harry and a school friend had gone through a strange dimensional journey and aged a few years and was now a young man. She was delighted to learn that she now had a daughter-in-law named Hermione Potter nee Granger. She was dismayed to learn that Hermione's house was attacked and Hermione's mother Jane was suffering because she had been put under a Vampire's thrall, and the vampire had died. It got worse as she realised how dire the situation was when she learnt that Jane was still under and Minerva was forced to put the poor woman in to a magical coma.

She learnt that Harry and Hermione had gone to the bank as they believed that Lily's research might help cure Jane. That was two days ago and the couple had not returned. Minerva and Remus were working through the notes and papers trying to come up with a method of healing. Lily was frustrated that the painting only held Lily's personality and general memories. She would of liked to help but the memories of the research was unfortunately not very detailed. She could only point Remus and Minerva where to look in her research papers without understanding why.

Lily was depressed when she learnt what had happened to all her friends. Sirius spending twelve years in prison for a crime he did not commit, and then died at the start of summer. The Longbottoms spending the last sixteen years in St. Mungo's their mind gone. She was aghast to learn that shy Peter had betrayed them to Voldemort, and he was instrumental for his return to a body to resume his reign of terror. Her poor baby was Britain's only hope, it was not fair.

Lily could see that Remus and Minerva were very worried about Harry and Hermione. Lily had learnt that the couple had means of communication, the fact that they had not was very worrying. Lily spent her time taking to Frank Granger about Harry and Hermione, parent to parent. She was trying to keep Frank's mind off of worrying about his wife and daughter. Lily was sorry that she had not waited until Harry was born to have the portrait done as he kicked her in the womb. She was also sorry she had decided to have the portrait done alone, she need James strong arms to hold her in this desperate situation.

Lily was pulled from her funk when Remus gasped, 'I have found the answer, the only problem is we need to brew a potion.'

Lily gasped they had found something to help poor Jane, she enquired 'Why is that a problem?'

Minerva gasped. 'We didn't tell you did we?'

'Tell me what?' Lily demanded.

'The British Isles is under a potions nullifying ward that effects us here in Ireland. Yesterday I tried to brew a simple pepper-up potion but failed. Until we can brew that potion Remus' solution won't work. We could try a country on the continent, but in the current situation we need to remain hidden.'

'Oh.' said Lily as she held her hands to her mouth.

The silence was only interrupted by the second hand on the clock beating out time.

HPHGHPHGHPHGH

Harry groaned as he slowly awoke. He was lying on rubble, a large stone was stuck into his back. the Goblins had thrown him into an empty Dragon pen. There was nowhere to lie down. Harry was magically weak after banishing the soul fragment from the cup. The Goblins surprised him and he awoke in the pen lying on the floor of the cavern.

He was too weak to move. His magic was very weak but he had enough to maintain a very weak connection with Hermione. He had learnt that the Goblins were keeping Hermione in a drugged sleep. Obviously Goblin potions were unaffected by whatever was ruining wizard made potions.

Harry had no sense of time, he did not know what day it was or how long he lay on the uncomfortable floor of the cavern. He was lying on a rock, he was fairly sure it had not cut his skin. His eyes had adjusted to the low light level in the cavern. He spotted the crude Goblin bracelet affixed to his ankle.

He felt the bracelets affects on his magic. He needed to get the damn thing off it was draining his magic. He needed to escape, digging deep he sat up and looked around the pen. He saw that one wall of the cavern was covered in steel bars with a large door in the middle. The door was easily twelve metres wide and six metres high. Harry hoped he would not meet the pen's normal resident.

It took great effort and two skinned knees to make it to the bars. Harry was surprised at the bars spacing of one foot centre to centre, he might squeeze through. He reached out to pass his hand through when he felt liquid pain course through his arm into his body. The pain was ten times worse than a Crucio cast by Tom. Harry passed out and struck his head on the bars.

Harry slowly awoke and stretched. His foot connected with the steel bars and once again the pain coursed through him. This time he managed to pull his leg away from the bars before he passed out. He swore in anger, he was sore all over and he wanted to see Hermione.

A glint on the ground caught his interest. It was lying on the floor about two metres away from him. He crawled towards it across the uneven floor. Harry discovered a burnt sword blade on the ground. There was a chip near the tip of the blade and this is what drew Harry's attention.

The sword had no handle, the bottom of the blade ended in a blob of metal. Harry guessed that the handle was melted. Harry got an idea and studied his ankle bracelet. Goblins were expert craftsmen when it came to weapons but who ever made the bracelet had fashioned a crude lock. Harry managed to force it with the blade.

He cut his hand though. He felt his magical reserves begin to build immediately once the bracelet was gone. He sat down to catch his breath. One of the fail safes that Harry, Hermione and John had worked on before John died took effect. Once Harry regained a small portion of energy a small rucksack appeared in the cavern in a sphere of magical energy.

Harry removed the bladder of water and slowly sipped the water easing his parched tongue. He then drained an energy drink before he started to remove the rifle and pistol from the bag. It was time to rescue Hermione, he would have to use his weapons training as he was still very weak. Summoning the emergency pack had almost drained his meagre reserves of energy dry.

Harry loaded the grenade launcher slung under the rifle's barrel and took aim at the door and fired. The door swung outwards. Harry slung on the rucksack and went searching for Hermione. The traitorous Goblins would pay.

A/N Please Review


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