Harry Potter 1. Look In Love

_**Welcome to my new story. I don't seem to be getting anywhere with 'The Bubble Bursts' (sorry about that) and I've had this little plot bunny bouncing through my head for ages so I thought that it was about time that it got written down. I'm going to write this story differently to my others, but I hope that you like it. Now on with the show.**_

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**Love Has No Boundaries**

Chapter One: Look in Love.

Grey clouds slowly crept closer and closer towards the little idyllic village of Godric's Hollow as the day began to end. In a small house just on the outskirts of the village a young couple were putting their eighteen month old son to bed, having spent the night entertaining him with shows of sparks and pumpkin carving. Just as the young mother was gently placing their slumbering son into his bed as the proud father watched from the doorway, a smile on his face, they were alerted to someone entering their garden by the bang of the gate against its post. Frowning in confusion as to whom would be visiting them at such a late hour, the young man made his way slowly and cautiously down the stairs, after ensuring that his wife and son were safe upstairs, and towards the door, pulling his wand out from its hiding place within his pocket.

Before he could even begin to form the words of a simple protection or detection spell, he was blown back as the door exploded in front of him, ripping it from its hinges, showering the hall and it's inhabitant with splinters of wood and shards of glass. Throwing his arm in front of his face to protect his vision, his jaw dropped as the devil himself walked into his home and stared blankly at the young man before and smirk crossed his pale, skeletal face, his red eyes flashing in excitement at the prospect of duel and defeating one of his most annoyingly persistent enemies.

Without a word being spoken the two men began to duel for their lives, for that is exactly what it was. Upstairs, having heard the door explode and the duel between her husband and their attacker begin, the young mother quickly but gently grabbed her son from his crib before moving to the far side of the room, cradling her son from the noise and lights coming from below. Murmuring sweat reassurances to her son that they were going to okay and the 'daddy will be back soon' all the while starting work on defending herself and her son if the worst should happen and her husband fell to the mad man that was once again attacking them.

But it was already too late and her attempts to blockade the room were for naught as the door and all the furniture in front of it were thrown back across the room as the door was forced open. Cradling her son closer to her chest she shook her head and began to beg, aloud and silently for her son to be saved from a similar fate to her husband. Shaking her head and standing defiantly she declared that he would not harm her son and that if he wanted him then he would have to go through her first. Laughing a cold hard laugh at the woman's foolish attempt to protect the child, a simple flick of his wand disposed him of the pathetic obstacle that was the young child's mother.

Looking down into the infants' eyes, wide with shock and fear, concern floating through at the sudden disappearance of his mother and being dropped suddenly onto the slightly cushioned floor, the last bit of protection his mother had given him before unconsciousness claimed her. Staring back into the soulless eyes of the man that had attacked his mummy, the young boy looked not afraid, but brave, emulating the way he remembered his parents and uncles had looked when faced with danger.

Slightly unnerved by the look within the eyes of his young, unarmed opponent, it took him a second to regain his momentum and stared deeply, subconsciously stepping into the mind of the boy, seeing stickily sweet images of his now defeated parents and absent uncles. Stepping back, both from the boy and his mind the assailant smirked before raising his wand and pointing it between the eyes of the innocent child staring back at him.

"Goodbye. Harry Potter" were the last words spoken before oblivion took over, leaving only the now crying infant and his unconscious parents amongst the rumble of the once beautiful house.

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Downstairs, having been thrown against the far wall James was being pulled up and out of the rubble that was his home by Sirius Black his best friend and son's Godfather. Having declared that he was fine and just slightly bruised the two men began to pick their way through the rubble towards the stairs where they could hear young Harry crying. Curious as to why his wife had yet to comfort their son James quickened his pace in the direction of his son's anguished cries. Stepping into the destroyed nursery James immediately made his way over to his distraught son, swiftly picking him up to comfort him. Out the corner of his eye he saw his best friend uncover his wife, announcing that she was alive but merely unconscious. Turning so that he was gazing at them fully he noticed that Sirius' hand was lingering a little longer than necessary as he checked that his wife was okay.

James had always noticed that Sirius and Lily had always been civil towards each other while at Hogwarts before they got together, and when Lily finally accepted his offer of a relationship, the friendship between his best friend and new girlfriend was only strengthened and they seemed to become closer than ever before. When James and Lily eventually married, whenever they disagreed or argued he found out that Lily would always go and visit Sirius, often spending the night but always returning before James woke the next morning. With all this in mind he wasn't surprised by the care and attention Sirius was currently bestowing on the now conscious Lily as she regained her senses after having been thrown against the wall. Looking down to check that Harry was now okay and no longer crying James slowly made his way toward Sirius and Lily causing both of them to look up at him, reluctantly dropping each other's hands and shuffling further away from each other the nearer he came.

Dropping to his knees he gently handed over the now fussing Harry to his mother where she proceeded to coo and comfort him in a way that only a mother could. Watching the way that Lily looked over their son James was reminded of why he loved his wife so much, not at all startled at the fact that the love he felt towards his wife now, was completely different to the love he felt for her when they first got together two years ago. Unknowingly Lily looked and smiled at Sirius, love visibly shining in her bright emerald green eyes which was reflected in the grey depths of Sirius' eyes. As though realising that her husband was still kneeling in front of them, Lily pulled her gaze away from Sirius and looked James, the love that had just shined so brightly not a moment ago was visibly dimmed as she looked and checked that James was okay.

It was at that moment, when Dumbledore; Remus; Minerva; and Hagrid entered the crumbling house that James realised that his marriage and family was no more. He knew that he could no longer let Lily stay married unhappily to him when she could live and love with Sirius in a way that could never be matched by him. With that in mind James swore that once the three of them were healthy enough, he would start the procedures to ensure that the love in Lily's eyes as she gazed at Sirius never left her eyes again.

Even if it meant losing her to his best friend. But at least he would still have his son, he thought as he once again took Harry into his arms, rocking him to sleep as he murmured words of love and comfort into his ears.

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_**Well that was chapter one. I know that there's no actual speech, this is just setting it up, kind of. But I hope that you liked it and let me know what you think and any suggestions for improvement in a review. **_

_**Until **__**next time. **_


	2. A New Life

_**Well here for your reading pleasure is chapter two, already! Enjoy and on with the show. **_

**Love Has No Boundaries.**

Chapter Two: A New Life. 

"Harry hurry up or you'll be late" James shouted up the stairs to his now eleven year old son, "and then you're mother will moan" he said to himself in a much quieter voice so that Harry wouldn't hear him grumble. It had now been ten years since the fateful night of Voldemorts attack and the subsequent Potter family break-up and although the divorce between James and Lily was amicable and he held no ill feelings towards his ex-wife and childhood friend, the relationship dynamic between the three had noticeably changed over the years and although they got on terrifically whenever issues concerning their son arose, they now had a plainly civil relationship that all three of them knew couldn't be changed now the damage had been done. One of the good things to come out of the Potter's divorce was the new friendship between James and Severus Snape. Having apologized long ago and buried the hatchet between them the two former enemies, along with Remus Lupin, were now the greatest friends.

"I know I'm coming, was just talking to Hermione on the phone. She says she can't wait for September to arrive" Harry told his father as he bound down the stairs, phone in hand and smile on his face having just spent the last hour talking to his best friend. Replacing the phone in its holder he turned to his father telling him that she had already read all of their school text books in preparation for the upcoming school year.

Since his marriage fell apart James decided that in order for his son to grow up in a balanced environment where he wouldn't be overtly influenced by all the 'Boy-Who-Lived' press the Potters had received when Voldemorts downfall was announced, it was unanimously decided between James and Lily that James should raise Harry in a somewhat Muggle environment. With this in mind once all the paperwork had been sorted and filed James moved his young son to Oxfordshire, close enough to London for work and close enough to Lily and Sirius and their new house in Somerset so Harry could go and see his mother and sibling whenever he wanted to.

When James first moved to the small street he was concerned that it wouldn't have any young children for his son to meet and make friends with, something James knew coming from a big, solitary house knew was important for his young son's development. He was thrilled when the first people to welcome them to the street were and young couple with a two year old daughter who immediately hit it off with his own son and the two were now the best of friends often spending the entire day together or on the phone talking. When Harry had voiced concerns that he would have to leave Hermione when he went to Hogwarts, he was delighted when James told him that Hermione showed signs of magic and that, if his hunch was correct then he wouldn't have to have to leave his best friend alone for nine months out of the year.

"Well you've not got long to wait now" James told his son as they made their way to the fireplace to floo to Harry's mothers. With only a couple more weeks until Harry left for his first year at Hogwarts he was going to spend some quality time with his mother, Sirius and little sister Cassie. "Just think, soon you won't have me on your back pushing you to get up and do something" James told his son while throwing an arm around his small shoulders, "You'll just have Hermione to do that" he joked knowing that Hermione wouldn't go easy on his son while at school.

"Oh very funny dad" Harry told his father as he grabbed a handful of floo powder and picking up his rucksack moved towards the fireplace, ready to start his two week visit with his 'second family', knowing full well that at some point during that time he would come down one morning and seeing the way that his mother interacted with her new husband and youngest child, he would feel awkward and like he wasn't fully part of this new family, which he technically wasn't. Not that he held it against Sirius or his mother or Cassie. It was just the way that it was. Turning back to his father he hugged him before stepping into the fire and shouting out his destination he disappeared in a flash of green flames leaving James staring into the now orange flames where his son just stood.

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Lily, Sirius and Cassie playing and laughing in the living room was the sight that greeted Harry as he cautiously stepped out of the fireplace, careful not to get any soot from the fire onto the light carpet. Standing where he was and feeling lightly awkward Harry watched his mother interact with her second family, how Cassie was spinning and laughing as Snuffles, their Labrador puppy ran around her wagging its tail. How Sirius had his arm wrapped around Lily's shoulders, absentmindedly running his fingers through her flaming red hair as she rested her head gently on his shoulder, her eyes closed in the bliss that was her family, her hand laid gently on his thigh. Their other hands were woven together and resting on Lily's stomach, '_must be pregnant' _Harry thought seeing that Sirius' thumb was slightly rubbing small circles on her belly, something he was known to do when Lily was pregnant with Cassie.

"Harry, Harry you're here, you're here. Look mummy, daddy. Harry's here" Cassie shouted before running towards her older brother, Snuffles hot on her heels. Wrapping her arms around Harry's waist she began to squeeze him with all she had in happiness at seeing her big brother. "How long are you here Harry? Have you got me anything? Do you have any stories to tell me? Can you read to me at bedtime? Can you play with me?" Cassie asked all in one breathe, bouncing up and down in excitement.

Chuckling Sirius and Lily untangled themselves from each other and made their way towards Harry and Cassie. "Give him a chance to actually get into the house Cass. Otherwise you'll frighten him off" Sirius told his daughter as he shooed the dog away from Lily and Harry and she embraced him fondly, knowing how she missed him so much and how worried she was beginning to get at the thought of her first child going off to Hogwarts soon.

"Oh, sweetie I've missed you my little dove. How are you? How's your father?" Lily asked her oldest son, running her fingers through his wayward hair in the vain attempt to flatten it into submission. Once again wrapping her arms around him she felt tears come to her eyes as she thought about how grown-up her little baby was now, just about to go off for his first year at Hogwarts.

"I'm good mum, so is dad. He says 'hello'" Harry told his mother, feeling slightly awkward at his mother's mention of his father, even though he knew that she still cared for him, just not in the same way she once had. "Hi Sirius" he said quietly. The relationship between Harry and Sirius had changed over the years; resentment towards the elder man had developed once Harry knew and understood why his parents' marriage ended. The logical part of Harry knew that it wasn't Sirius fault that his parents were no longer together, but there would probably always remain a small part of him that blamed his Godfather. "So what's the plan then?" he asked his mother, curious as to what she'd have planned for the small, albeit slightly awkward family. But even so, Harry was looking forward to spending some quality time with his mother, sister and Sirius.

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The next two weeks were spent entertaining Cassie while Sirius and Lily tried to organise some surprises for him, such as trips to the seaside and London Zoo where Harry accidently let a Boa Constrictor loose causing quite a lot of bother and hassle around London over the following days as they attempted to recapture the snake. Lily had also revealed between days out that she and Sirius were indeed expecting another child in seven months' time and although he was happy that he was going to have another little brother or sister, he couldn't help but think that the little one's arrival would undoubtedly change their already slightly tense relationship, not that he let his mother know his negative thoughts not wanting to blemish the happy occasion with his negativity.

When the two weeks were over he bid a tearful farewell to his mother and sister before returning to his father's house and normality, where he knew there would be no awkwardness to deal with, plus there was the added bonus that his best friend was just a couple of doors away and that she'd be there to listen to him when he aired his thoughts on his relationship with his mother.

"I'm sure that when the new baby arrives that it won't get any worse" Hermione told him two days after his return, the two of them lounging around library, books open but unread in front of them. "It might not get any better, but it shouldn't get any worse. It's obvious that your mother and sister love you. Sirius even loves you there's just some bad blood between him and your dad. You've picked up on it is all" she told him confidently and with a smile in order to soften her opinion even though both of them knew that she didn't have to, that they were so close they could say anything to each other without hurting each other's feelings.

"Yeah I guess so. Who knows maybe when I'm older and more independent my opinion and feelings on Sirius will change. Maybe after we've been at Hogwarts for a while, just getting out of it all, and not having to play messenger between dad and mum" Harry told Hermione as he absentmindedly twirling his wand between his fingers cautious not to drop it or cause sparks to fly out the tip by accident. "Can we talk about more cheerful subjects now please" Harry asked her, the topic of their conversation starting to get him slightly down. And with that the two friends began to plan what they were going to do with their spare time once they got to Hogwarts.

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The rest of the summer passed in a blur for Harry and Hermione and they soon found themselves on platform 9¾ saying goodbye to Harry's dad and tearful mother boarding the scarlet steam train, excited and slightly nervous about what and who they would encounter on the journey to Hogwarts. It didn't take long for them to find their own compartment and they were soon joined by other first years, such as Hannah Abbott, Terry Boot and Daphne Greengrass. They made a rather eclectic group, all of them coming from different ancestries, families that had been members of certain houses for generations were getting along as though none of it matter, which of course to the group of little first years, and it didn't.

Of course they all knew that because of each other's ancestries that they were unlikely to be in the same house as each other but they all silently swore that no matter what house they were going to be sorted into they were going to remain friends. And when they were all eventually sorted into their houses and they were sat at their own tables the five friends looked at one another, having a silent conversation with each other before nodding their heads to show that they weren't going to let their houses influence their friendships with each other. They all seemed to know that this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, one that would last a lifetime and persevere through the most difficult of odds they were undoubtedly going to encounter in their journey through Hogwarts.

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_**Well there you that's chapter two all for you. It's longer than the first one and I think it's going to be the longest one for a while as the school years will follow the plot of the books so nothing much is going to change, there just be a little twist or two for the sake of the story. But I hope that you like it and don't forget to review, it does make me happy. **_

_**Until next time. **_


	3. Year One

_**Well here it is folks, chapter three and year one! All nine pages of it (seriously, its nine pages!) I hope you enjoy and don't forget to review. **_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing, not the characters (other than my own), the settings or the spells. This chapter also contains extracts from the book.**_

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**Love Has No Boundaries. **

Chapter Three: Year One

The first couple of days for the first years passed by rather, uneventfully for the five friends. Having become accustomed to their classes, teacher and work loads' they soon settled into a routine of spending their spare time either relaxing in the court yard outside or by doing their homework with each other in the library, having commandeered their own table near the back of the vast book filled room that everyone, in every year knew now belonged to the group of strange friends.

While the five friends hadn't actually done anything to attract the attention of their fellow classmates, everyone in the school was curious about the budding friendship between the five of them, not knowing how they could overcome the prejudices of each house that seemed to be ingrained within them, never seeming to falter or change no matter how many generations passed through the halls of Hogwarts.

"There's no bad blood between us because we've only just met and were blank canvases to each other" Harry told Severus one night when visiting his father's best friend, an honorary uncle to Harry. "While some old families were telling their children about all the old clichés of the houses their families were in for generations, we didn't have that" he told him and seeing that Severus still didn't fully understand he tried to explain the best he could. "Dad, and to a certain extent mum, Sirius and yourself told me and Mione about the importance of not just following history and carrying on the same path our ancestors set out, but to be ourselves, carving out our own future whether it's good or bad it didn't matter as long as we were happy. Of course it kind of obvious you want us to be good" Harry told him with a smile that Severus reciprocated fondly. "Terry and Hannah have told us that they had a similar upbringing so they have similar beliefs and thoughts on the school houses" Harry finished with an indulgent smile at the thought of his new best friends, inseparable already even after only a short time.

"Yes and while that does indeed explain your friendship with Misses Granger, Abbott and Mr Boot but not your friendship with Miss Greengrass. Care to explain that one?" Severus asked from where he lounged in a chair inside his private quarters, Harry sat across from him on the sofa, relaxed and happy to be in the company of someone he'd grown up with.

"She said that she and her sister and her parents aren't that close to each other. She does mention a distant relative though, she not even sure if they're actually related or not but that's what she calls her. Lives in Greece in some kind of society but she used to visit all the time. From the sound of it this relative thinks and believes in a similar way to you old folks do and Daphne's been influenced by her in such a way that she believes the same way" Harry told him with a cheeky grin, a slight laugh at the scowl Severus bestowed him at being called 'old'.

"Yes well I can't say that it's totally surprising that Miss Greengrass would befriend others outside her house. Her parents were neutral during the war but to befriend you Harry. It's as though she's rebelling in some way" he told him with a frown at the possible future troubles the young girl was going to suffer due to the choices she was making at this time. Shaking his head in order to dispel those thoughts he looked up at the clock above the mantle and saw that it was nearing curfew and informed Harry that he needed to be heading back to his dorm rooms to get some rest, knowing that the being under constant scrutiny for who he was, was beginning to take its toll on the young boy. He just hoped that his friends continued to help and support him, no matter what.

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The morning of October 31st dawned bright and Harry was sat on his own in the window of the common room watching the sun rise over the mountains of Scotland, causing the Black Lake to shine, the dew on the grass to sparkle. Halloween was always a difficult time for the Potter family, the significance of this one day was felt by every member of the family and they always made sure to meet up with each other, and this was the first Halloween Harry had ever spent away from his family. He was just thankful that he had his new friends and Severus with him if he needed them. But he was determined that this Halloween was going to be different. And it was with that thought that Harry went back up to his dorm to get ready for the day ahead of him.

The only incident of the day occurred after Charms, having helped a fellow classmate during the practical that the day took a turn for the worse. Walking with his roommates back to the Entrance Hall that Harry listened appalled as Ron Weasley insulted his best friend. _"It's no wonder no one can stand her. She's a nightmare, honestly" _he told anyone who would listen, embarrassed and angry that he had been shown up by a girl in front of everyone in class, when in reality it was only those few that were next to them that saw Hermione show Ron what he was doing wrong.

Before Harry could say anything to defend his best friend from their idiotic house mate, someone knocked them to the side before rushing off ahead of them, their head bowed and Harry could see the tears streaming down her face. "You're an absolute moron" Harry told him before rushing off to find his friend. Unfortunately he was to slow and by the time he got to the Entrance Hall, Hermione was nowhere in sight. It wasn't until later that day at diner did Harry begin to worry more than he already was when Hermione failed to turn up. Turning to her dorm mates he asked if they'd seen her recently but they hadn't. Now beginning to panic Harry pushed his plate away and began to think of any place that Hermione might be hiding.

Having overheard both Ron's rude remark and Harry's question, Neville leaned over and told Harry that he'd overheard some girls from another house say that they had head a girl crying in one of the girls' lavatories, now realising that they were talking about Hermione. Thanking Neville Harry was just about to stand up to get his best friend when the doors to the Great Hall were thrown open. Turning with everyone else Harry watched as Professor Quirrell stumbled in and up the centre aisle. _"Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know" _he shouted before sinking to floor in a dead faint. It was at that point that all hell broke loose resulting in Dumbledore ordering all the students back to their dorm room while the teachers went to deal with the troll.

On their way to the common room, knowing that Hermione had no idea of the danger that lurked in the corridors, Harry broke off from the rest of his house after telling Neville where he was going and swearing him to silence, he went off in the direction of the girls lavatories that he knew Hermione was hiding in. Entering the bathroom he was appalled to see that he was too late as Hermione had been trapped at the far end of the room by the troll. Thinking quickly Harry tried to distract the troll from its attack on his best friend and seeing the debris from the stalls surrounding him he swiftly grabbed a hand full of rubbish to throw at the troll. Realising that his distraction technique wasn't working he decided that he had to do something crazy, and with that in mind he ran towards the troll and jumped onto it's back. Hanging on for dear life as the troll began to thrash in an attempt to throw him off Harry's wand ended up being jammed up the trolls nose which did cause the troll to stop momentarily, giving Hermione the opportunity to get past the troll to the other side of the room. Repeating Harry she too began to throw bits of debris at the troll hoping to give Harry the opportunity to get off and away from the troll. Unfortunately the troll had by that time realised that there was someone on his back and grabbing its leg dragged Harry off its back and was holding him in front of him. Swinging its club Harry had to pull himself up in order to avoid being bludgeoned to death. Really beginning to panic at the thought of her best friend being killed Hermione looked around for anything that could help her when inspiration hit her. Grabbing her wand from amongst the debris where she dropped it when she was first attacked she pointed it at the trolls club.

Breathing deeply she concentrated and began to speak clearly, waving her wand in the correct pattern she cast her spell. "_Wingardium leviosa"_ and as the troll took its next swing at Harry its club hovered where it was in the air. Seeing that Harry was now okay Hermione began to think of a way in which she could get him down but still maintain control of the club. It was at moment that Professor Snape arrived, limping slightly but appearing to be fine. Seeing the position his best friends' son was in he began to pull his wand from his pocket to attack the troll when he noticed that Miss Granger had control of the trolls club. Thinking quickly he instructed Hermione to move the club until it hovered over the trolls head. Then taking his own wand he pointed it towards Harry he told her to release her spell on the count of three where he then simultaneously cast his own levitation and cushioning spells on Harry ensuring that when the troll fell after being knocked on the head by its own club, that Harry wouldn't be injured. What he hadn't counted on however was that once the troll became confused and concussed that he would stagger and stumble towards where he and Hermione we stood and seeing the giant troll coming towards both them and unconsciousness quickly he moved the two of them out of danger, unfortunately tripping on the pieces of the cubicles that had been scattered across the room.

Seeing her Professor stumble and fall Hermione quickly grabbed his arm and helped to move him backwards out of harms' way just as the troll fell forwards onto the hard floor where it thankfully stayed. Helping him to his feet Hermione checked that he was okay before dusting herself off. Harry meanwhile had retrieved his wand from the trolls' nose, having checked that it wasn't going to rear up and attack, was cleaning off the bogies. Stepping towards his best friend and uncle he gave them both a quick hug, Hermione's lasting longer than Severus' knowing that their Professor wouldn't have appreciated the show of affection. It was just after he released Hermione did the other Professors arrive shocked to see the two first years with the now unconscious troll.

Demanding an explanation McGonagall was shocked to hear that Hermione claimed to have gone looking for the troll on purpose having read about them, thinking that she would be able to handle it. Telling them that it was Harry that saved her from death their head of house then looked towards Severus to confirm their tall tale. Seeing his slight nod she then proceeded to reprimand Hermione for her rash and dangerous behaviour before rewarding Harry slightly for his bravery and sheer dumb luck. But it wasn't Hermione's lie or his head of houses' reward that shocked Harry, it was the look in Severus' eyes as he looked at Hermione, respect at her selfless lie in order to protect him when he could have easily handed them over for not only disobeying rules but also putting themselves in danger. It was as they were leaving they heard him softly award Hermione ten house points for quick thinking and her charm work, causing Hermione to smile at the ground and blush at the praise. Even if it was barely heard.

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Unfortunately for Harry the troll incident was just the beginning of the broom crash that was the first year at Hogwarts. After the troll attack Terry and Hannah accidentally stumbled upon a monstrous three-headed dog when they lost their way and ended up on the third floor corridor. When they told the others, it wasn't the fact that the dog had three heads (although they did find it slightly disturbing) it was the fact that the dog seemed to be standing on a trap door, apparently guarding something. It wasn't long after that, Daphne overhead one of her house mates boasting about how the giant game-keeper Hagrid had recently gotten rid of a baby dragon. When she asked why the game-keeper had a baby dragon in the first place the older students told her that Hagrid was known for his odd obsession with strange animals. Remembering what her friends told her about the three-headed dog she endeavoured to get as much information about Hagrid as she could, taking care to remember all she could so she could then tell her friends. And once she did Hermione and Terry went down to ask the game-keeper about the dog, who told them, under no uncertain circumstances, to leave Fluffy and whatever he was guarding alone, that it was "between Headmas'er Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel", which only served to pique the interest of the five friends.

This of course meant that the friends had to find out what was being protected, sparking a memory from Harry. "Remember, there was an article in the _Daily Prophet _about a break-in at Gringotts" Harry told his friends as they lounged in the library, their homework spread out around them. "But the vault was emptied earlier in the day. Maybe whatever was taken from the vaults what Fluffy is guarding?" he suggested looking out the window at the birds flying in the spring afternoon.

"Maybe, but what was taken?" Hannah asked as she looked up from her homework to look at her friends, all of them stopping their work to think of what might be hiding in the halls of Hogwarts.

After a few minutes of silent contemplation Terry suddenly sat up and exclaimed "Flamel" before rushing off to the depths of the library, his friends looking after him, confused at his sudden outburst. Arriving back at the table carrying a large tome he gave them a broad smile as he dropped the book onto the table and began to flick through the pages. "Don't you remember Hermione, Hagrid said that whatever Fluffy was guarding was between Dumbledore and Flamel. Maybe that's the key" he told them.

"So who is this 'Flamel'" Hannah asked as they all gathered around the book that Terry was now frantically flipping through.

"He's an alchemist, or at least I think he is from what I remember from the lessons I had growing up" Daphne told them as she watched her friend scan the page in front of him.

"Ha" Terry exclaimed jamming his finger at the page, "It's the Philosopher's Stone. Flamel is the only known maker of it" he told them looking at them with a triumphant smile.

"Okay that explains what could be hidden down there but not why?" Daphne pointed out to them as they all sat down once again. "I mean, if Flamel placed the stone in Gringotts to protect it, why would he then have it removed and placed in Hogwarts? It makes no sense" she said putting her head in her hand, the other absentmindedly twirling her quill.

"Maybe he needed the protection on it to be even stronger" Hermione suggested as she read up on Flamel and the stone. "I mean Gringotts can't be that secure, someone broke in" she pointed out to them.

"So who would want to steal the stone then?" Hannah asked her friends, a frown marring her face, "What does it do anyway?" she asked, still a little uncertain as to what was so important.

"'_The stone will transform any base metal into gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal'" _Hermione read out to them, "So who wants or needs eternal life? Cause I'm guessing that's what they want. If they wanted gold they could have easily taken it from another vault" she theorized, quickly thinking of who could want eternal life.

"There's only one person I can think of that would want that. I remember something dad told me ages ago. He said Voldemort was known to be searching for a way he could rule the world forever" he told them, ignoring there flinch at the name. "Maybe it's him?" he suggested.

"There's just one flaw in your theory and that's the fact that he's gone" Terry reminded him as though they hadn't thought of it.

"But here's the thing" Harry told them leaning forward, "dad doesn't think that he's gone, not permanently at least. He thinks that one day he'll come back" he finished, seeing the fear in his friends eyes, "maybe, just maybe, the Philosophers stone would bring him back" he concluded.

"So what you're saying is he might be trying to return, right now?" Daphne said, a look of fear on her face as she thought of the repercussions his return would intone.

"I don't know but it's likely" Harry told them before suggesting that they move on and finish their homework, before they began to think too much of the consequences of what they were theorizing.

Unfortunately for them however they were soon once again dwelling on the subject as Harry, Hermione and Draco Malfoy found themselves serving detention with Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest, where after Malfoy ran screaming, Harry had his first encounter with a possible suspect trying to steal the stone. Seeing the ghostly, ethereal form of the creature, drinking the blood of a dead unicorn, Harry began to contemplate what else the stone might grant it's holder before he doubled over, the pain in his lightening scar becoming too much.

"Maybe it could grant him another body" Hermione suggested as they made their way back to the common room after their detention. "But if that, thing, is You-Know-Who, why hasn't he taken it yet?" she wondered as they entered the empty common room. After agreeing that they'd discuss it with their friends the two bid each other goodnight and went up to their dorms, eager to get some rest after all the drama of the day.

"Are you okay Harry?" Hermione asked a couple of days later as she, Harry and Daphne relaxed by the Black lake.

"It's my scar, it's hurting" he told her shrugging it off as nothing, "Don't worry it'll be fine" he reassured them when Daphne pointed out that his scar had been hurting a lot recently. "Actually it's been hurting since that encounter in the forest" he told them frowning when suddenly he say bolt upright and stared out across the lake, "it's Him" he told them and when he noticed the confused looks on their faces he quickly explained. "That night in the Forbidden Forest, that was the first time my scar started to hurt and as the creature came closer the more painful it became. What if my scar links me to the creature, and when I'm in pain it means that it's close by or doing something that will endanger me, like a warning system" he suggested frowning as he contemplated the meaning of his words.

"But if that's true and your scar is some connection to the creature in the Forest, and your scar is the only mark left on you from You-Know-Who's attack on your family then that would make the creature, He Who Must Not Be Named" Daphne told them, scared at the thought that she was correct.

"So it's You-Know-Who that's trying to steal the stone?" Hermione asked as she tried to keep all the facts straight in her head. "But how would he know that it's in the castle?" she told them.

"Well from what I've been told, You-Know-Who has only ever feared one person and that's Dumbledore" Harry began;

"So if the most evil wizard ever is after something which is precious, who else do you ask to protect it then the one person that he fears most" Daphne finished quickly, shocked at what they were concluding.

"It'd be the perfect way to prevent it being stolen" Hermione concluded. "But wouldn't it be obvious though, that Dumbledore would have it?" she asked them. "I mean if it's not in Gringotts it's in the one place people would think you'd be too scared to go near."

"But you're forgetting that no-one knows what's been taken from the vault" Daphne pointed out to them. "Also the fact that moving it here is so obvious that it could be considered a double bluff. It keeps them guessing" she told them before breaking into a smile. "I wouldn't worry about it anyway. The whole reason that it's here anyway and not at Gringotts is because of Dumbledore, as long he's here, it won't be touched" she told them, causing her two friends to relax slightly, knowing that they and the stone were still safe.

Unfortunately the next morning they were no longer as safe as they thought, as the Deputy Headmistress stood up and told the school that Dumbledore had been summoned away from the school and would be gone for the next day or two. Sensing that this was the opportunity that You-Know-Who was waiting for Harry looked over at his friends, nodding ever so slightly, indicating that whatever was going to happen they were going to stop, and stop that night.

* * *

That night, after disabling Neville (who attempted to stop Hermione and Harry from leaving the Gryffindor common room) avoiding Mrs Norris the caretakers cat, and sneaking passed a slumbering Fluffy who had already been distracted the group of friends found themselves trying to remain calm and collected as they were tangled up within the Devil's Snare that waited for them below the trap door. After calmly casting some blue-bell fire the five friends fell through the thick roots of the plant as it let them go in an attempt to save itself.

Walking down a small corridor, towards the sound of dozens of wings the five friends looked at each other in confusion before arriving into a room which appeared to be filled with little fairies but upon closer inspection looked to be keys, with wings. After inspecting the lock on the door they had to pass through to get to the next room they all looked through the hundreds of keys to see which one fit the lock. Finally spotting the key flying with a broken wing they looked around them to see how they could catch it and spotting a nearby broom against the wall Harry grabbed it. Immediately all the keys began to swarm around him, distracting him and blocking his view. But being cheered on my his friends he eventually caught the key they needed and throwing to his friends and telling them to get through the door, Harry flew one more lap around the room before zooming into the other room, the door slamming shut behind him causing the remaining keys to fly into the hard wood.

After a disastrous and dangerous game of giant wizards chess, in which an injured Hannah who had led the game and surrendered her position to the opposing Queen, enabling the others to achieve checkmate, remained behind with Terry who volunteered to look after her and try and get back up to the castle in order to warn the Professors what was happening. Meanwhile, Harry Hermione and Daphne passed through to the next door where they came across a table with seven bottles, different shapes and colours, filled with liquid. Reading the riddle that was left beside the bottles Harry couldn't help but smile as he pictured Severus writing and brewing everything that was in front of them. Successfully solving the riddle, Hermione and Daphne told Harry that it was he who was supposed to go on and stop Voldemort, not them. After watching the two girls pass back through the door they'd entered Harry took the potion that would allow him to pass through the flames into the next room, which caused his scar to immediately flare in pain.

Walking down the stairs Harry came across his Defence teacher Professor Quirrell stood in front of an ornate mirror, staring at his reflection. Ignoring the pain coming from his scar Harry stepped forward and asked politely why the Professor was here. Turning around so that his back was facing the mirror, the Professor turban appearing to move slightly, unnerving Harry.

"This mirror is a very interesting artefact. It shows you what you desire most. It's really quite fascinating. It is also the key. With this mirror I will be able to possess the Philosophers Stone." He told the young boy calmly before shouting, "BUT HOW?" before an eerie whisper carried across the room, the bodiless voice hoarse and scratchy. "Use the boy" and before Harry knew it, Quirrell had flung himself forward and grabbed Harry's arm, pulling him in front of the mirror.

Staring at his reflection all Harry was able to see was himself and the room behind him. But something his reflection was doing surprised him, although he took care not to let it show on his face. Because right in front of him, the Stone revealed itself as the Harry in the mirror reached into his pocket and pulled out the blazing red stone, a slight cheeky smile on its face. Reaching towards his pocket, unnoticed Harry could feel a slight bulge and realising that the stone was now in his own pocket his shocked eyes returned to his reflection.

"What do you see?" Quirrell demanded and knowing that he couldn't reveal the truth Harry fabricated a tale of winning the House Cup and becoming Quidditch captain. "He lies" came the ghostly voice before Quirrell grabbed his arm in an iron grip. "Tell the truth boy!" he yelled before the ghostly voice told him that he would deal with him and although Quirrell tried to dissuade whatever was talking he soon gave in and began to unravel his purple turban, his back to the mirror, so that when he eventually dropped it, Harry had a clear view of the man that tried to kill him and his parents, Voldemort's face appearing to be growing out the back of his Professors head.

"I am merely a shadow of my former self and power, but be under no illusions that I have enough power and control over this whimpering fool to stop you and force the truth from you" Voldemort told the terrified eleven year old. "Now tell me, what do you really see when you stand in front of the mirror, because Dumbledore has made it so that the mirror holds the stone. And I need that stone Harry" he told him, attempting to be soothing but the rasp of his voice made it an impossible task. "Once I have the stone I will be able to create a new body, leave this coward and once again rule the world" Voldemort told him, as though telling a child its bedtime story. "Once I have power I could reward you Harry. I could make you and your family Kings among thieves. I could reunite your parents, dispose of the animal that broke your family up. Make it as though that night ten years ago never happened" he suggested to Harry, and suddenly the mirror behind Harry changed and he saw his dad and mother together again, happy together like the pictures of them he'd seen growing up, "wouldn't you like that Harry? To have you family back?" he asked before the image faded away into nothingness as he demanded that Harry hand over the stone. Shouting that he would never hand over the stone Harry turned and attempted to break free from the room, Voldemort shouting at the body he possessed to seize him.

* * *

The next thing that Harry knew he was waking up to the bright white of the Hospital wing. Grabbing his glasses so that he could see Harry looked around him and saw cards and presents surrounding his bed. "Gifts," the voice of his Headmaster came from the door, "from your admirers. The story of your fight in the depths of the school is legend. It was of course a secret so naturally everyone knows" he explained to the young boy. "Now, the stone is back in Nicholas Flamels hands and he has decided that it is time for the stone to be destroyed. He has just enough elixir to sort out his affairs and say goodbye to those closest to him, but then he and his wife will pass onto the next great adventure. He does however thank you for saving it from Voldemort. No one knows what might have happened had he got his hands on it, and I suppose now we never will" Dumbledore told his young student and seeing his eyes were once again heavy told him that he should get some rest and that he could check up on his friends later. And with that the Headmaster left Harry to sleep.

Two days later and completely healed and replenished, Harry sat with his four friends by the Black lake and told them all the truth of what happened down in the depths of Hogwarts. How when Professor Quirrell tried to stop him from leaving his flesh had burned as he touched Harry. It was this that Harry used to escape, grabbing hold of whatever part of the Professor as he could, burning him away into nothingness before finally giving into the pain of his scar and collapsing on the steps leading to the mirror.

Shocked at what their friend had gone through and knowing that this was only the beginning of the trouble they were undoubtedly face being friends with the 'Boy-Who-Lived' the five friends decided then and there that they would take an oath, to always be there for one another, to never let anything or anyone come between them and to always support each other, no matter who or what was after them. It was comforting to Harry to know that he could always rely on his friends.

The last week of Hogwarts went by blissfully uneventfully, and before they knew it the end of year feast had come and gone, and because of their actions in the depths of the castle Gryffindor snatched victory from the hands of the Slytherins and ended up winning the house cup, all five friends earing fifty points for their respective houses. The next morning they were all sad to be leaving for the summer, but knowing that they were going to meet up when they could made saying goodbye to each other easier, if only slightly.

"So Harry," James asked his son as he drove them away from the station and towards their home, "how was your first year at Hogwarts?"

Smiling and looking over at his dad Harry couldn't help but shake his head slightly, "Dad, you wouldn't believe the year I've had" he told him with a laugh before he regaled his adventures, praying that the next year would be less eventful. If only slightly.

* * *

**Well there you go chapter three and Harry's first year. This has to be the longest thing I've ever written. And I include coursework in that statement. Since this was soo long, I think it's going to take me a while to year two as well so please bear with me. Should also warn that I've just been handed two months of overtime at work which will make it an even longer wait (possibly) so apologies in advance. **

**Also, I'm not entirely sure how to write the third year as it was so centred on Sirius and his escape that it will have to be pretty much totally original. So if anyone has any ideas as to what can happen in their third year please let me know, would really help me out. Thank you. **


	4. Summer

_**Well here's the next chapter. Surprised how quickly I go this out actually. Enjoy.**_

* * *

**Love Has No Boundaries. **

Chapter Four: Summer.

"Who are you?" Harry asked the elf bouncing up and down on his bed. Upon hearing the question, the elf immediately jumped off the bed and looked down at the ground, its long spindly fingers playing with its bat like ears.

"I is Dobby the house-elf" he told Harry, "I is here to warn Mr Harry Potter sir, there is a plot sir. A most terrible plot" he told him, his voice becoming squeakier the more he talked.

"What plot? What are you talking about?" Harry asked the small the creature, "and why are you telling me, why not tell your masters, they could stop whatever it is?"

"It is masters that is being bad and plotting Mr Harry Potter sir. Dobby shouldn't have come here, but Dobby wants to protect Mr Harry Potter sir" Dobby told him before his large eyes became even wider and he began to look around frantically. "Dobby is bad elf to go behind masters. Bad, bad elf" he said before he ran over to the wardrobe and began to bang his head against the door, creating a large amount of noise that his dad was bound to hear and come and investigate.

"Stop please just stop" Harry asked the distressed House-Elf, hoping that his dad hadn't heard. Unfortunately he did in the next second Harry's door burst open, revealing a frowning James his wand drawn, his eyes quickly scanning the room for any danger. "I don't know how to stop him, he just keeps saying he's a bad elf."

"He must be disobeying his masters orders by being here" James explained to his son as he put his wand away again. "Why's he here anyway? What do you want?" he asked the elf, grabbing it's tiny body and hauling him away from the wardrobe.

"Dobby is here to warn Mr Harry Potter. Warn of evil plot. Terrible things are going to happen" told them, repeating his warning over and over again before disappearing with a snap of his fingers, leaving James holding nothing but thin air.

Looking over at his son with confusion, father and son shook their heads at the elf's odd behaviour. "Right well, warning noted" James said before urging his son to hurry up and get his stuff together for his stay with his mother, Sirius, Cassie and new baby brother.

"Yay, two weeks of awkward conversations and babysitting" Harry said with a grimace as he packed his rucksack with the things he wanted to take with him as well as the last of his homework, even though he knew he wasn't likely to be able to finish it. "What fun" he finished sarcastically before making his was over to where his dad stood waiting for him, an amused look on his face.

"You'll enjoy yourself. You always do" James told his sulking son, wrapping his arm around his shoulders as they walked down the corridor to the stairs. "Beside you love little Cassie. And you get to meet Delphinus. You haven't seen him yet" James pointed out to his son as they arrived in the living room. Sharing a quick hug Harry stepping into the fire and in a flash of green flames he was gone for two weeks. Shaking his head knowing how much his son disliked going to his mother's house James made his way to the kitchen needing a strong drink. "You could have knocked you know" James told his friend when he saw Severus sat at the kitchen table, the firewhiskey and two glasses already laid out in front of him.

"I never knock" Severus told him taking another sip of the amber liquid, "you should know that by now surely" he pointed out with a smirk that had once drove James wild with anger, but now didn't bother him at all. It was just Severus.

"You're right I should" James said as he sat down opposite his friend, pouring two fingers into the glass and knocking it back in one go, the liquid burning a trail down his throat to his stomach where it settled into a warm, somewhat comforting feeling. "God what am I going to do for the next two weeks?" he asked aloud although he didn't expect an answer.

"What did you do last year when Harry was at his mother's?" Severus asked as he poured them both another glass, clinking them together before they once again downed the entire contents in one.

"I did paperwork mainly. Answered any questions that the Grangers had about where they were sending their only child off to at the end of the summer" he told his friend, "but now there's no paperwork to do and the Grangers know what goes on in our world and Hermione can answer any questions they have now she knows enough" he said before looking at his friend closely. "Why are you here anyway? Shouldn't you be getting ready for the next set of … what did you call them?" he asked him, another frown creasing his brows.

"Dunderheads" Severus answered with a shake of his head at the thought of the next bunch of idiots he would have the pleasure of teaching for the next five years. "That's all done. Nothing changes, still the same potions, still the same explosion and mess ups to look forward" he told his friend before shaking his head and once again downing his drink in one go, the thought of returning to those student in a months' time depressing him slightly.

"Still don't see why you stay there if you hate it so much" James told him before standing and making his way over to the fridge, grabbing two muggle beers, the firewhiskey having done its job of soothing the pain of not having his son with him, for the time being at least, and now he wanted something cold and smooth. Handing one to Severus they made their way into the living room where they both got comfortable. "You could work for the Ministry. Become an Unspeakable. Be with likeminded people who won't blow up your lab by just thinking about potions" he told his friend, knowing that he would knock the idea back just as he always did.

"You know full why I'm still at Hogwarts James" he told his friend with a sigh for what felt like the hundredth time. "Besides" he said, a smirk stretching across his face as he looked at his friend, "someone has to keep an eye on that son of yours. Before he really hurts himself" he said, his voice softening as he thought of the injuries that Harry had sustained during his battle with Quirrell at the end of the school year.

Before they could continue to discuss Harry further however there was a knock at that door. Getting up to answer it James was surprised to see Hermione on the other side of the door, smiling at her best friend's father, feeling totally comfortable with him. "Hay Mr Potter, hope I'm not interrupting you?" the young girl greeted her friend's father.

"No not at all Hermione, how are you?" he asked as he stepped aside to let the young girl through. "You're parents okay?" he enquired knowing how the Grangers sometime struggled with their only daughter being a witch.

"There okay. Enjoyed the south of France. Didn't want to leave really" she told him before bringing her hands from behind her back and presenting him with a gift. "This is for you. It's not much, but my mum and dad thought that they should thank you in some way and they saw this and thought you'd like it" she explained quickly, suddenly nervous being alone with her friends' father.

"Your parents didn't have to get me anything Hermione, but thank you" he told her leading her into the living room, the young girl stopping in her tracks when she spotted her potions professor sat on the sofa, ankle resting on his knee, sipping from the bottle of beer he held loosely in his hand. "You know Severus" James said indicating that she should take a seat on the sofa while he went to get her a drink.

"Good evening Professor Snape" Hermione said politely, noticing how comfortable and relaxed her usually surely professor was. "Enjoying your summer?" she asked politely, not knowing if she was overstepping her boundaries.

"Good evening Hermione" Severus replied with a slight smile and nod of his head, "I am actually. After the drama of last year it was nice to relax" he told her taking another sip of his drink. "And yourself?" he asked.

"It's been good thank you. Spent the majority of my time was spent reassuring my parents that I'm safe at Hogwarts" she told him with a sad smile and slight shake of her head, "after I made the mistake of telling them what happened last year, they were a bit apprehensive of me going back come September" she told him, revealing the troubles her parents were facing.

"Well, if you want, I can visit them and reassure them that you're perfectly safe at Hogwarts" Severus offered, "if you want me to that is?" he asked her. Having dealt with his father not understanding magic, Severus was more sympathetic towards muggle-born students and their parents.

"Thank you, sir. Their probably more likely to listen to you than me or Mr Potter" Hermione told her teacher, thankful that he was being understanding and offering his support. "Thank you Mr Potter" she said to James when he handed her a bottle of Butterbeer.

"I've told you enough times to call me James, Hermione" he told her with a smile as he grabbed his present from the coffee table. Opening it up he pulled out a bottle of eighteenth-century cognac and a smaller box. Once he opened it he saw a miniature portrait of himself and Harry. The tiny painted canvas had such detail that it could almost be mistaken for a photo. "Hermione this is magnificent" he told her, passing the picture over to Severus to look, having already examined the cognac.

"It's just small, but like I said they felt they had to say 'thank you'" she told him with a small smile before quickly finishing her drink. "I'll leave you and Professor Snape alone. Bye" she bid them before rushing out the door before he suggested that she stay.

"Well that was sweet, but strange" Severus said as he examined the miniature of James and Harry, admitting that it was a magnificent piece of artwork.

"Maybe, but it's not the strangest thing that's happened tonight" James agreed before tell Severus all about the elf that had come to warn them that Harry shouldn't go back to school this year. "Just wish I knew what this threat was. Or who Dobby belonged to even. Then I could get a warrant to search their house" he told him, frustrated that he couldn't use his position within the Auror office to protect his son.

"Wait did you say 'Dobby'?" Severus asked, "That's the Malfoy's family elf. He belongs to Lucius" he told him when James confirmed the name. "You won't be able to search his manor James, he's deep in Fudges pocket, you'd never get away with it, he'll have you fired like that" he told him clicking his fingers, knowing that Lucius would do everything to stop the Aurors searching his house.

"Well what am I meant to do then? This is my son were on about! He's already been attacked one psychopath, I will not let another get anywhere near him!" James exclaimed before collapsing back into the sofa, angry that he wouldn't be able to do anything without losing his job.

"Just bide your time. Lucius will give you a reason to search his house" Severus told him as he stood up to leave. "After all, he's not that intelligent. And who knows what his guests will bring into his house when they visit him. I mean they could conceal something dark within something harmless. Like a gift for his son" he told him before breaking into what could only be considered an evil smirk, "or should that be godson?" he told him innocently before leaving to go back to his own house, leaving an equally smirking James behind to plan how to get the warrant to search the Malfoy manor.

* * *

"He's called what?" Terry asked his friend as they all lounged around the pool in the Potter's back garden, the warm summer sun beating down on all of them as they relaxed in the last days of their summer holiday.

"Delphinus" Harry told him again with a slight grimace at the name of his new little brother. "It means dolphin. I looked it up. He's a black dolphin. Thank god they named me Harry. Remind me to thank my dad for that later" he told them causing them all to laugh at the look on the young boys face at the thought of being named something ridiculous.

"Why name him 'Delphinus' though?" Daphne asked her friend, "I mean, surely there are nicer names out there. They didn't name Cassie something ridiculous" she pointed out.

"Actually Cassie is just her nickname. Her full name is Cassiopeia Flos Black. And no I'm not joking" he told his friends, shaking his head the naming skills of his mother.

"Isn't Flos Latin for flower? Why name her that?" she asked when Harry nodded, not understanding the meaning behind the name.

"All the women born on my mother's side seem to have flowers for names. Mum's is Lily. My aunt's is Petunia. My grans was Marigold although everyone called her Mary. And my great gran was called Iris, apparently because, and I quote, 'her eyes are the same colour of the flower in question in the garden'" he told them shaking his head.

"My God, I daren't aske but, what's Delphinus' full name then?" Daphne asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Delphinus Canes Black" Harry told his friends, "but they said that they'll call him Fin. Which makes him a dolphin sea dog with a nickname that's the limb of a fish" he told them.

"Well they really screwed him over didn't they?" Terry said attempting to be serious but he couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face.

"Poor kids going to have a complete complex by the time he gets to Hogwarts" Hermione said, also attempting to stop the grin from spreading across her face, also failing.

"We'll have to keep him away from the Black Lake" Daphne said before all five friends burst into laughter, the ridiculous of the Black children's names becoming too much of them, unable to stop for the rest of the visit.

* * *

"Now are going to promise me that you'll stay out of trouble this year? Don't really want to have to visit you in the Hospital wing again" James told his son as they walked through Kings Cross station.

"Do many bad memories there for you dad?" Harry asked his father with a cheeky grin, "how long did you spend in there altogether? Two or three years?" he asked laughing at the face his dad was pulling.

"More like four" he grumbled, wincing as though he was reliving some of the most painful reasons he ended up in the hospital wing, under the severe guard of Poppy Pomfrey. Laughing father and son bid each other goodbye and Harry rushed off to meet his friends, James having to return to work at the Ministry.

"Excited for a new year Harry?" Terry asked as Harry sat down opposite him, between Hermione and Daphne.

"Can't wait Terry" he told his friend, throwing his arms around the two girls he was sat between. "Who wouldn't be excited having these two lovely girls in their class" he told him with a cheeky grin, wincing as the two girls in question simultaneously elbowed him in the stomach. Grinning as he rubbed his stomach he winked at the two girls causing both of them to blush slightly and avert their eyes. "I think it's going to be good year" he told them, "I mean, after all the drama of last year, this one's bound to be quieter" he said with a confident grin as the train shuttered forward, sending them on their way to their second year at Hogwarts.

* * *

_**Well there you go. I figured that it'll probably be easier to little summer chapters between school years. Hope you liked it and don't forget to leave a review, and thank you for those that have reviewed already. I'm glad you like it so far. Until next time. Ciao. **_


	5. Year Two

_**I am so sorry for the delay, but here it is chapter, chapter five. Enjoy!**_

**Love Has No Boundaries.**

Chapter Five: Year Two.

"Surely there are better people who can teach Defence?" Hannah said as she and Hermione sat under the shade of a tree in the courtyard. "He's terrible! Releasing all those Pixies was so irresponsible. And then to run out and just leave us with them. He's a complete joke."

"After what happened to Quirrell, I reckon he was the only one stupid enough to go for it. Either that or he was too busy looking at himself in the mirror to hear what happened" Hermione said with a smile, the two friends giggling at the thought.

"What are you girls laughing about?" Terry asked as he sat down next to them, leaning back against the tree.

"Lockhart" they told him together, smiling at how in sync they were at times.

"Ah, so you're not in the majority that have fallen for the blonde buffoon?" he asked with a smile, "Good, I'd have to stop hanging around with you if you were" he told them with a wink, showing that he was joking.

"Where are Harry and Daphne?" Hermione asked, stretching out in an attempt to get comfortable.

"Harry is talking to Professor Snape, don't know about Daphne" Terry told her, picking up two daisy's and handing them to his friends causing them to smile sweetly at him in thanks making him blush slightly.

"Aww" a voice drawled nearby. Looking up the three friends saw Draco Malfoy stood nearby, Crabbe and Goyle stood slightly behind him, there arms folded across their chests as they glared down at anyone who came near them. "Did Abbott get a flower? You should cherish it. Face like yours you're never going to get another one, are you?" he said with a laugh, Crabbe and Goyle joining in after a couple of seconds after they had caught up.

"Oh, grow up Malfoy" Hermione told him, putting her arm around Hannah's shoulders, her head down to hide the tears that were gathering in her eyes.

"You dare talk to me? You filthy little Mudblood" Draco spat at her, his eyes narrowing in hatred as he looked down at her.

Upon hearing the insult Terry jumped to his feet and drew his wand, pointing straight at Draco, who quickly moved to stand slightly behind Crabbe and Goyle, their bodies protecting him from any curse that might be fired. "Say it again, I dare you?" Terry shouted at him, his wand shaking ever so slightly as he tried to contain his rage at hearing the horrible word.

"Oh yeah, what you gonna go Boot?" Draco taunted, feeling safe behind his bodyguard friends, knowing that while they weren't any good at magic, there muscle and size made them too intimidating to attack.

"What is this?" a voice yelled from nearby, the second years all turning to see Madame Hooch stood at one of the doors leading to the courtyard. Moving quickly towards the small group, her eyes took note of everyone's position. Hermione and Hannah sat on the ground, both trying to hide their tears; Terry stood in front of them, his wand pointing at Draco who was still hiding behind Crabbe and Goyle, smirk still on his face. "Explain?" she demanded, but seeing that no one was going to be forthcoming she shook her head and issued Terry with a detention, despite the fact that it was obvious that he was provoked and was merely defending his two upset friends. Shooing Malfoy and his goons away Hooch looked down at Hermione and Hannah, giving them a small, sympathetic nod left the courtyard and the friends alone.

"God he's horrible. Are you two okay? Well, obviously you're not okay, I'm really sorry girls" Terry told them, kneeling down in front of them. Shaking their heads the two girls looked up and him with small sad smiles, silently telling him that they were both going to be okay. Looking around Terry decided that it would be best if the three of them moved away from such an open area where anyone could see the girls upset. "Come on, let's go find Harry and Daphne" he told them, holding out his hands so that he could pull them up, keeping his arms around them as they moved back towards the main part of the school.

* * *

"I'm sorry that I wasn't there Hermione" Harry told her later that night as they walked back towards the Common Room from the library, rushing slightly the nearer they got to curfew. "I should have been there, I should have done something" he told her, feeling guilty that he wasn't with her when it all happened.

"I had Hannah and Terry with me, I was okay. Stop saying sorry Harry" she told him with a smile, linking her arm through his and smiling over at him, "there's nothing that you could have done, before or after" she pointed out to him.

"I still feel bad" he told her shaking his head, "to be called that and to not have been there to comfort you, I should-" he stopped suddenly, looking around him as he slowly came to a halt in the middle of the corridor causing Hermione to stop and look at him, curious as to why he had stopped. "What is that?" he asked softly, still looking all around him for the source of the noise.

"What's what?" Hermione asked frowning, looking around as though she expected to see someone come at them at any moment.

"Listen. Can't you hear it? Someone's talking" he told her before his head snapped around to look straight ahead of them, "it's moving. Come on" he told her, grabbing her hand in his own, pulling her along as they raced down the corridor, the voice Harry could hear becoming fainter and fainter until they rounded a corner, skidding to a halt, there jaws dropping at what they saw in front of them.

'_**THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAD BEEN OPENED.**_

_**ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.'**_

"Look," Hermione said pointing towards the base of the wall, "there's something there. What is that?" she asked, frowning in the darkness as she tried to see what it was without getting any closer.

Before they could get any closer to see, the sound of feet reached their ears as dozens of students walked down the hall, converging upon the very spot that Harry and Hermione stood. "'Enemies of the heir, beware'" they heard Malfoy say and looking over they caught his eye as he looked at them, standing apart from everyone else. "You'll be next Mudblood" he told them with a smirk before being pushed aside by the Headmaster as the teachers arrived. Seeing the writing on the walls, Mrs Norris petrified on the floor surrounded by water the Professors quickly shooed the students away back to their dorms and started to clean everything up, removing all traces of what the students had seen. As Harry and Hermione herded away with the other students Harry looked back over his shoulder at Snape just in time to see him look up and after them, shaking his head ever so slightly at Harry, silently conveying a message. 'Don't ask. Don't get involved'.

* * *

"Do you think what Terry and Hannah said is true then? That Malfoy is the heir to the Chamber of Secrets? I mean, you can't just base it on the fact that he's Slytherin, and his entire family have been in the same house for as long as there have been houses. With that theory alone it could be anyone from Slytherin" Daphne asked Harry as they strolled around the lake one afternoon, the autumn weather creating a beautiful backdrop to their walk.

"I don't know what to think, but he's the only one we know most about" Harry told her shrugging his shoulders. "We know his family has been in Slytherin for countless generations. His father was a supporter of You-Know-Who, very close to him from what my dad has told me over the years. It's well known that they believe in blood-superiority, just look at how he talks to Hermione and Hannah. He seems the obvious choice" he said coming to a halt next where the wall keeping people out of the forest stopped.

"Well how are we going to find out if it's him or not then? It's not as we can ask him is it?" Daphne said sarcastically, picking up a pebble to throw into the lake, hitting the water with a resounding splash causing small droplets to hit their chests.

"Hermione suggested that we use a potion to get into the common room with Malfoy, try and talk to him. Polyjuice Potion I think it's called. She and Terry are working on it in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. No one would disturb them there" he told her, looking over at her as she continued to throw pebbles into the water. Looking down he found the flattest rock he could and moving to stand behind her, he turned them so they were side on and grabbing he hand he pulled their arms back, "Watch" he told her in a soft whisper before flinging their arms forward, realising the pebble so that it skipped across the lake, one, two, three times before sinking below the surface. Looking down Harry saw Daphne look up at him with a happy smile before they realised how close they were to each other and broke apart. Avoiding each other's gaze they unanimously decided that it was time they went back up to the school.

Just as they reached the Great Hall they were caught up in the sudden tidal wave of students as everyone made their way into the Great Hall. Quickly, they grabbed each other's hands so as to not lose one another as they were bashed from side to side. Spotting Hermione, Terry and Hannah huddled together at the far side of the Hall they quickly made their way over towards them. "What's going on?" they asked, their voices raised slightly so they could be heard over the dozens of other conversations going on around them.

"We've no idea," Hannah told them as they all moved closer to one another, Harry and Terry subconsciously moving the three girls between them so it was them getting knocked instead. "We all got told to come into the Great Hall, they announced through the halls" she told them, tightening her hand around Terry's as they all got pushed forward as more people arrived in the Great Hall, the room feeling smaller somehow when everyone was stood up instead of sat down at their House tables.

"Attention, please. ATTENTION!" Dumbledore's voice ran out over the hall, everyone else's conversation stopping suddenly as they all looked up at their Headmaster. "Thank you. As you are all aware there have been some rumours and accusations that the legendary Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Now some of you may already know the legend behind the Chamber, but for those of you that don't I shall quickly explain. The Chamber was supposedly created by one of the founders, Salazar Slytherin. Many myths surround the Chamber, one of which states that because of Slytherins dislike for letting Muggle-born students into the hallowed halls of Hogwarts; he created the Chamber to hold a beast that would purge the school of those unworthy of attending Hogwarts. Now there has only been one incident involving the Chamber and that happened some fifty years ago, resulting in the death of a student" Dumbledore paused in his story, lowering his head slightly in silent respect for his lost student. "Because there is now speculation that the Chamber has once again been opened the staff and I have decided that were are going to introduce a secondary Defence class, a Duelling Club where you will be able to defend yourselves from any possible threats that you might occur whilst here, although obviously we hope that you never have to use anything you learn. Classes will start tonight, each year having separate class. You can find when your years class in on the notice board in your common room. Now, off you go, first years remain behind. Thank you" he told them, everyone moving out the doors till only the first years remained, the great doors closing with a thud behind the last student.

"Well, this'll be interesting" Terry said before the friends all parted ways, each heading off to their common rooms, each of them processing what the Headmaster had just told them.

* * *

"How is it possible?" Lily asked as she, James, Sirius and Severus sat around the Headmaster's office. They had all been called in to discuss the recent revelation that Harry was able to talk to snakes, something he discovered whilst duelling Draco Malfoy at the second years first duelling club meeting.

"It appears that when Lord Voldemort attacked you on Halloween, he somehow transferred some of his own abilities onto Harry" Dumbledore told the upset woman in front of him. "Now it's not certain what if any other of Voldemorts abilities have been transferred, we will just have to wait and see what else is revealed" he told them with a sad smile, knowing have much each of the people in front of him cared for the young boy. "I will contact you if anything else occurs, you have my word" he promised them, shaking hands with them all before they left. When it was just himself and Severus in the room he sighed tiredly before looking into his potion masters eyes. "Now Severus, what's this about missing ingredients?"

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Daphne asked, holding out four small vials, each containing some hairs that she managed to collect secretly from her fellow Slytherins. "I would be much safer if I just asked Malfoy about everything" she told them, frowning in concern at what her friends were about to do.

"And how are you going to explain your sudden interest, huh?" Terry asked with a knowing smile.

"I'm Slytherin, I don't need to explain. And if he were to ask for one I'd appeal to his ego and say that I fancied him or something" she told them shrugging, not noticing how Harry frowned in slight jealousy. "Well come on then, if you're really going to do this" she said shaking the vials at them to take, "if we dawdle any longer then there going to wake up" she told them, referring to the owners of the hair she had collected.

"Keep your hair on Daph" Terry joked, grabbing one of the vials and making his way into one of the stalls for more privacy, the others quickly following suit, three of them reappearing moments later looking like Crabbe, Goyle and Tracey Davies. "How do I look?" Terry/Crabbe asked, holding his arms out wide.

"Repulsive" Hannah/Tracey answered before Daphne could open her mouth, frowning as she looked the once cute boy up and down. "Come on lets go" she told them all, leading the way out the toilets and down the corridor, Terry/Crabbe following behind her, partly shocked partly amused at her description of him.

"Hermione? Are you coming?" Daphne asked softly, knocking the door of the stall her friend was in.

"Go without me. I'm not coming" she told them from behind the door.

Motioning for Harry/Goyle to go on without her Daphne looked back at the stall door when it was just the two girls left. Leaning against the side of the door she spoke softly. "Hermione, it's only me now, Harry and the others have all gone. What's wrong? I know Millicent isn't the greatest person to turn into but you don't have to hide from me" she told her, gently pushing the door, surprised when it opened. Looking up she couldn't stop her eyes from widening as she looked in at her friend, her hand covering her open mouth in shock. "Oh, Mione. I'm so sorry. I thought it was Millicent's hair" she told her friend sadly as she looked at her friends brown furry face and whiskers.

"I've got a tail Daphne" Hermione pointed out sadly, her tail flicking side to side as she spoke. "What am I going to do? Polyjuice Potion isn't meant to change people into animals, I've no idea if it's going to reverse itself on its own or not. And I'm not going into the corridors looking like this" she told her, moving out the stall, her tail flicking Daphne in the face as she passed causing the other girl to sneeze.

"Right, well. Should I go and get a Professor and see if they can do anything?" Daphne suggested as she leant against the basins next to Hermione.

Shaking her head Hermione looked over at her friend, "If we tell a Professor then we'll have to tell them why we brewed Polyjuice Potion in the first place. Not to mention the fact that we stole some expensive and dangerous ingredients form Professor Snape's private store room" she pointed out to her.

"Well we have to tell someone, Merlin knows how long this is going to last if we don't get help from someone" she pointed out to her new furry friend. "Look, Snape's a Slytherin he won't ask any questions, we'll just tell him we were experimenting with some spells and it went wrong" Daphne told her with a smile before standing up. "Wait here and I'll go and get him. You get rid of all the evidence of the potion so he won't suspect. I'll be back soon" she told her rushing out the room and down the corridor towards the dungeons, desperately trying not to laugh at Hermione's bad fortune.

* * *

Luckily for Hermione, Snape was able to return Hermione to her rightful state, although she did suffer from the odd hairball or two for the following week which was cause for much amusements for her friends, although she knew they meant no harm. Unfortunately her good luck didn't last and with two weeks she could be found petrified in the hospital wing of Hogwarts having been caught unawares in the library one day.

I wasn't long after Hermione's petrification that things began to get much worse, much quicker. Dumbledore was forced out of the school by Lucius Malfoy and the other governors of the school and Harry found himself sucked into the memories of a past student who showed him the history of the Chamber as well as the darker side of the jolly game-keeper Hagrid when it was revealed that he was associated with the death of a student fifty years ago.

"So some mysterious diary shows you Hagrid with a giant spider some fifty years ago and you want to go looking for it. For a chat?" Daphne said one afternoon as the friends visited Hermione in the hospital wing, all of them missing their friend. "You're mental. It's suicide to go looking for a giant spider" Daphne told him in an angry whisper as Madam Pomfrey walked the wing checking on the petrified students.

"Quite being such a Slytherin Daph. Don't you think you're overreacting a little?" Terry asked from his position at the foot of Hermione's bed.

"It's not Slytherin to avoid situations that could cause death you moron, its common sense and human nature" she told him angrily, "I thought Ravenclaws were meant to be intelligent?" she said with a sneer to rival Malfoy's as she looked over at the other boy, making him glare at her in return at the insult.

"Stop it you two" Hannah told them both standing up and moving around the bed to put herself between them. "We can't have you two fighting with each other. We're already without Hermione, we need to stick together now" she told them putting her hands on their shoulders, the two friends looking up at her before looking over at each other and mumbling an apology which seemed to appease Hannah.

Harry meanwhile was looking down at his hand as he held Hermione's stiff one. Pulling his hand away slowly he saw a piece of crumpled paper in his hand and unfurling it slowly he saw that it was a page from one of the library book. Reading he quickly he jumped up quickly and rushed out the hospital wing he friends calling and rushing after him as he sped down the corridor, sliding to a stop once he was in a deserted and unused corridor.

"What the hell Harry?" Hannah asked as she tried to catch her breath after running after her friend. "What's with the paper?" she asked noticing the crumpled bit of paper in her friend's hand.

"It's everything we've been trying to find out" he told them turning so they could all read what was written on the page. "A Basilisk, that's what's in the Chamber. Spiders flee before it, that's why there are so many spiders around the corridors and windows, they're escaping. It's why Hagrid's chickens have all been dying. It's why all the students are petrified, that's what it does. Hermione figured it all out, even how it's been getting around the school" he told them pointing to the handwritten word 'pipes' in the bottom corner of the page.

"But a Basilisk kill's people Harry with its gaze, not petrifies them" Hannah pointed out; pointing to the section of the text she had just read from.

"Reflection" Daphne and Terry said at the same time, looking at each other in shock. Motioning for her to continue, Terry listened as Daphne explained to Harry and Hannah. "It didn't gaze at anyone, at least not directly, that's why no one is dead. Mrs Norris saw in in the reflection of the floor. Colin through his camera. Justin saw it through Nearly Headless Nick; Nick took the full brunt of it but he can't die a second time. And Hermione saw it through the mirror that McGonagall asked us about when she took us to her. That's why no one's dead" she told them quickly, smiling slightly at Terry in thanks at letting her explain it to their friends.

"Wait a minute" Harry said to them all, stopping any questions before they could be asked. "We know that the Basilisk has killed once before, some fifty years ago. And we know it travels through the school through the pipe work. Where does all the pipe work open up and become accessible?" he asked them, looking at each of his friends in turn, looks of understanding coming to each of their faces in turn.

"The bathrooms" they all said simultaneously before once again rushing off in the direction to Moaning Myrtle's toilet. Before they could reach the correct floor however the sound of voices stopped them in their tracks. Itching closer they peered around the corner of the corridor to see all of the Professors standing in the next corridor blocking there path.

"We'll have to close the school, there's nothing else to be done. Parents will not want their children here when they hear of this" McGonagall told the other teachers as they looked up at the wall in front of them.

"Who has been taken Minerva?" Madam Pomfrey asked, drawing the four friends' attention to the wall where they could make out some of the words written there.

"Ginny Weasley" she told them, shaking her head sadly and leading the other teachers away, towards the Headmaster's office.

"What are we going to do?" Daphne asked as they came out from around the corner to look up at words written on the wall, the sound of Lockhart still babbling on about how he knew the location coming from further down the corridor.

"We go down into the chamber" Harry told them, taking his eyes off the blood red words to look at his friends shocked but determined faces. "Tonight."

* * *

"Are you okay?" Harry yelled from one side of the rock slide that separated him from Daphne and Hannah. "Try and clean the rocks and see if you can get through. I'll go ahead and see if I can find Weasley. Be careful" he told them before making his way over to the rocks towards the large metal door, hissing in Parslemouth so that he could move further into the chamber. Carefully looking into the next room her climbed slowly down, his feet touching the wet, slippery ground causing the torches to flare into light all around him, shedding light onto the crumpled young girl at the far end of the chamber. Running as fast as he could Harry fell down next to the young red head and checked her pulse, silently praying that she was still alive.

"She's still alive. For now" a voice told him from the darkness of the cave. Looking up Harry saw a boy emerge from the darkness, frowning as he recognised the boy from the vision he saw whilst he was inside the old diary. "Such a powerful thing the mind. Its power is possibly limitless. It can even give life, as you can see" he told the younger boy, holding his arms out. "Who knew my old diary could cause such chaos" he said with a small laugh.

"Riddle? You're Tom Marvolo Riddle?" Harry asked, looking between the boy and the diary clutched in Ginny's cold pale hands.

"Oh you know me as someone else Harry. Someone far greater" he told him, picking up Harry's forgotten wand from the ground and beginning to write his name out in the air. Waving the wand once he had finished the letters of his name rearranged themselves to spell out 'I am Lord Voldemort'.

Shaking his head in disbelief Harry did nothing as Riddle moved forward and began to speak in Parsletongue at the stone statue of Salazar Slytherin causing the stone mouth to open, a giant snake tongue to flick out, tasting the air. It was this that snapped Harry out of his stupor, making him stand up and begin to run towards the exit of the chamber. "Parsletongue can't help you now Potter. It only answers to me" Riddle shouted out as he watched the snake slither quickly towards Harry, looking up in shock when she saw Dumbledore's Phoenix fly into the chamber, distracting the snake from its pray allowing Harry to get further away before tripping over bringing him to a sudden halt. "A hat, how pathetic" Harry heard Riddle mumble before the terrible cries of the Basilisk drew his attention to the snakes shadow on the wall of the chambers where he watched the bird attack the snakes eyes, making him blind, giving Harry a fighting chance of survival. "It may be blind, but it can still hear you Harry" Riddle told him, his words ringing true when Harry took a step backwards, his shoes making a small splashing noise on the wet ground making the snakes once moving head snap to attention, it's unseeing eyes staring down at the exact spot Harry was stood in before he turned and ran into one of the tunnels just as they great beast lunged at him, it's jaws closing over nothing with a sharp snap.

Rushing down the other channels of the chamber Harry turned a sharp corner hoping that he could pause there for a second in order to think up a plan to get back to Ginny. Unfortunately the turn Harry took led to a gated off section of the tunnel, blocking his way forward and the advancing snake stopping him from going backwards, trapping him with little time to think before the snake slowly crept closer, it's giant forked tongue flicking the air around it, trying to pick up Harry's adrenaline laced scent. Trying to control his breathing so to not alert the snake to his presence he looked down and around his immediate area and spotting a rock he slowly lowered himself to the ground he reached for the rock and when the snake turned it head towards Harry and was right in his face he threw the rock away from him, the noise echoing down the next channel making the snake pause momentarily before it turned and slithered away, allowing Harry to escape the tunnels and get back to young Ginny's side, taking her now frozen hand.

"She'll be gone soon" Riddle told him, looking down at his hand as though he was bored with the conversation, "and I shall be back, at full power" he said with a smirk, looking down at the two students as though it was nothing but a game to him. Before he could say anything else the Basilisk burst out from the ground, surprising Harry so much he stumbled backwards so he was sat on the floor next to the sorting hat that Fawkes had dropped earlier. Looking down he saw something glitter in the torchlight. Pushing his hand into the opening of the hat his fingers wrapped around cool metal and when he pulled his hand back he pulled out the famous Sword of Gryffindor.

Looking down at the reflect surface of the sword he saw the head of Slytherin look back at him, giving him an idea. Staring back up at the snake he deliberately scraped the point of the sword on the ground attracting the snakes' attention, preparing himself for when the snake eventually attacked. Running around him and towards the statue he quickly clambered up the rough surface of the monument, dodging left and right as the snake smashed its nose into the wall in a vain attempt to attack and kill Harry.

Once he reached the top he slowly and steadily stepped closer and closer to the edge of the statues head he swung the sword once and twice, slashing the sharp blade lightly across the skin of the snake, barely making an impression in its tough skin. Before Harry could take a third swing at the giant however it truck the ground at Harry's feet making him stumble, dropping the sword in the process. Looking up he saw the sword slowly slide along the edge of the statue and leaping forward he quickly grabbed the handle and as the snake once again moved towards him, it's mouth wide open, Harry leap up and thrust the sword up and into the roof of the snakes mouth, appearing on the other side, causing the snake to let out an almighty scream that drowned out Harry's own cries as one of its teeth sunk into his arm.

Pulling the sword out he ripped the tooth from the now dead snake as it fell gracefully to the floor, landing with a thud in the collected water at the bottom of the chamber, the walls vibrating from the force of its landing, Riddle able to do nothing but stare as it's beast law there slain. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Harry slowly stumble towards the dying girl and collapse next to her, his hand clutching the tooth stuck out of his arm. "It's quick isn't it? I'd say you have little more than a couple of minutes left to live and poor Ginevra even less. You'll be with your pathetic Mudblood mother soon enough" he told him with a nasty smirk as he watched the young boy slowly die.

"My mother's not dead" Harry told him looking up at him with hatred in his eyes, using Riddle shock at his revelation to pull the old diary from Ginny's limp grasp and flipping it open to a random page. "But you are" he told him, retching the tooth from his arms and stabbing the diary with it, causing the hidden ink to spurt out of it, as though it were bleeding. Looking up he saw shafts of light burst forth from Riddle as he attempted to move forward to stop him. Without pausing Harry once again stabbed the diary again and again causing more shafts of light to explode form Riddle's body, ripping it to pieces as the connection between himself and Ginny was broken and before long he screamed out in rage as he exploded and Ginny woke up gasping, he life returned to her as the diary bled it's last vestiges of ink. "It's alright Ginny" Harry told her in a strangled whisper, the effects of the Basilisk venom taking its toll on his young body.

"You're hurt" she whispered to him stating the obvious as though he didn't already know. Before either of them could say another word the beautiful sounds of Fawkes singing filled the chamber as it flew towards them, circling their heads once before landing next to Harry. Leaning forward he looked up into Harry's eyes before lowering his head slightly and letting three of its tears land in Harry's injured arm, smoke rising up from his skin as he was healed. "But, how?" Ginny stuttered in shock at what she'd just witnessed.

"Phoenix tears have healing powers" Harry muttered to himself, recalling a conversation he had with Hermione one late night in the common room. Looking into the birds eyes he smiled, quickly coming up with a plan to get him and his friends out of the dark, damp chambers and back into the hallowed halls of Hogwarts where they could be safe. "Fawkes, could you help us please?"

* * *

"It's good to have you back Hermione" Hannah said as she leant over to give the other girl a hug as she woke from her petrification, still slightly groggy and stiff from having been in the same position for the last couple of weeks.

"Thanks Hannah, can't believe you guys did it" she told them as they all sat down around her, quickly telling her everything she had missed while she'd not been with them, reassuring her that they wouldn't have been able to solve it without her help making her blush at their compliments. "You would have figured it out eventually. I'm just glad no one died this time" she told them, shivering at thought of losing a classmate.

"Welcome back Miss Granger" a smooth voice said from the end of her bed causing the friends to look up in shock at hearing Snape address Hermione, "Now you're back with us you can keep an eye on your friends. I myself got rather tired of it while you were unable. Don't know how you do it" he told her, his lips twitching slightly in amusement before he bowed slightly and swept out the hospital wing and back to the dungeons, closing his eyes in thanks that Hermione was safe and awake once again.

"Well that was odd" Terry remarked with a slight frown before shrugging it off as stress on their professor's part and turning back to his friends. "What ever happened to that house-elf that tried to warn you during the summer?" he asked Harry, curious as to why he had warned his master's enemy.

"Oh, well. Since the diary belonged to Lucius Malfoy I asked the Headmaster if I could keep it. So when they left I rushed after them and handed it back to him but he obviously wouldn't take it so he just thrust it into Dobby's hand and walked away" Harry told them, leaning back against the headboard of the bed, his arm wrapped around Hermione's shoulder, keeping her close to his side in reassurance that she was with them once again. "When he wasn't looking I told Dobby to open it and I'd slipped one of my socks between the pages, so Malfoy would inadvertently present Dobby with clothes. He wasn't happy let me tell you" he finished with a small laugh as he looked over at his Pure-blooded friends, their jaws dropped in shock at what he'd done.

"I can't believe you freed his house-elf" Terry said in shock, shaking his head at his actions.

"I'm surprised he didn't kill you for it" Daphne told him, upset that he would deliberately put himself in harms was, especially after having only just gotten out of another dangerous situation.

"He nearly did, but Dobby flung him down the corridor with a snap of his fingers. It was hilarious, you should have seen his face" he told them with a cheeky smile, showing that he secretly loved the situation he put himself in. Seeing the looks of concern on his friends faces however he quickly leaned forward to reassure them. "Hay, I don't mean to go looking for all this but I owed it to Dobby to do something and this was the best thing I could think of. He did try to save my life after all. His freedom was only fair. But I promise, next year, I won't go looking for trouble and I won't go around freeing house elves" he told them with a wink to show that the last part was merely a jest to make them smile and before they knew it they were all collapsed on the small uncomftable hospital bed giggling to themselves at the image of Harry wondering around with a basket full of socks, trying to trick house-elves into freedom.

"Well, if you can't start the school year off with a joke you might as well end it with one" Hannah told them all slightly breathlessly, making them giggle again as they all silently prayed that the next year would be quieter.

* * *

**Well there it is chapter 5! Cannot apologize enough for having left it so long, all I can say is that I could not find a way to write this year and do it justice but I don't think I did that bad, but I'll let you be the judge of that. Think it's safe to say though that year three will not follow the plot of PoA, so that should be fun to write. **

**Until next time my faithful (and long suffering, sorry again) readers. **

**Lady Mimi Alice. **


	6. Little Summer Time

**Well here is chapter 6 and its summer time! Hope you enjoy it **

**Love Has No Boundaries. **

Chapter 6: Summer.

After all the drama of last year, it didn't surprise Harry one bit that his mother went all 'mother-hen' on him and didn't want to let him out of her sight, calling up James several times a day to check up on her first born, as though she was expecting Voldemort to appear out of thin air and attack.

"Lily, Harry is perfectly safe" James told her when she rang for the fifth time in three hours, "nothing is going to happen while I'm home, he's not on his own so stop worrying" he told her, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, Severus and Remus watching in amusement from the kitchen table as James tried once again to calm his ex-wife down. '_What do you mean he's not alone?!' _they heard her shout, James moving the phone away from his ear and grimacing as her voice took on a shrill note as she shouted. Sighing in frustration he tried to remain calm, "Hermione and Daphne are here with him. There all outside enjoying the good weather. Now Lily, calm down and relax, I know you're worried but nothing is going to happen and even if something does they have Severus, Remus and myself to look after them" he told her, rolling his eyes, practically hearing her biting her nails in anxiety.

"Okay, I trust you. But tell me if something happens okay" she told him, her concern for her eldest child still obvious in the tone of her voice. "Tell him I love him for me and I'll see him soon" she said before hanging up, missing James' sigh in relief at having finally gotten her off the phone.

"I swear to Merlin" James said to his smirking friends, "it's not just me is it? She is overreacting" he asked his friends as he sat down at the table, taking a sip of his now cool coffee, grimacing at the cold dark taste.

"I wouldn't worry about it" Remus told him shaking his head in amusement at James lack of patience when dealing with Lily, "Sirius will distract her and she'll forget all about it. Either that or she'll get caught up in the kids and Harry will take a back seat again. Just be patient" he told him, rising to refill there cups.

"What did they call their little brats anyway?" Severus asked, looking over the papers that they had scattered across the table, looking back up when he heard Remus snort in amusement. "It must be good if you're laughing at them" he pointed out with a smirk.

"Cassiopeia and Delphinus" Harry answered him as the three thirteen year olds walked into the kitchen.

"Delphinus? What on earth were they thinking?" Severus asked shaking his head, not wanting to think about the logic behind the Black children's name selection.

"Don't know, didn't ask, don't really care" Harry told him, looking over his dads shoulder at the papers on the table, "I'll be long gone from Hogwarts when they attend, no one need know we're related. What is all this?" he asked the three men, noticing the Hogwarts crest at the top of some of the sheets.

"Remus is the new Defence teacher" James told his son and his friends, noticing the happy grins they had on their face at the news of who would now be teaching the once dreaded class. "We're helping him pick the materials for his classes" he explained, picking up his refilled cup and taking a welcoming sip.

"Congratulations Remus" the three teens told him together before they went back outside after having grabbed some food and drink, eager to discuss their new professor. "What do you think he'll be like?" Daphne asked her two friends, knowing that the two of them knew Remus better than herself having grown up around him.

"He's brilliant" Harry told her with a happy smile, glad that his 'uncle' was going to be teaching, "When he looked after me when dad was working he'd teach me loads, and make it fun. It's going to be a brilliant year girls, I can feel it" he told them, laying back down on the grass, his arms coming up above his head, his newly formed muscles flexing slightly. Feeling the two girls staring at him he opened one eye, raising an eyebrow, watching the two girls stare at him. "What are you two looking at?" he asked them, beginning to get self-conscious.

"When did you get muscles Harry? Last time I saw you, you were a weedy little thing?" Hermione asked her friend, knowing that Daphne would be too embarrassed to ask.

"Oh, well. I figured that I should start taking care of myself better, so I've gotten dad to set up a little work out for me" he told them, sitting up and resting his arms on his bent leg. "I guess I'm just being realistic, we've had two death defining adventures in two years, I'm not optimistic that the rest of my Hogwarts career is going to get any better so I figured I'd get a head start" he admitted to them shrugging his shoulders as though his logic was nothing.

"Oh, Harry" the two girls sighed, leaning their heads against his shoulders, the three of them engaging in an awkward three way hug making the three of them lose balance and tumble backwards, bursting into laughter as they became entangled with one another, the observing adults smiling and shaking their heads at the interaction between the friends, the phone ringing eventually bringing them back to reality. Moving over James answered with a pleasant and happy 'hello' only to sigh in exasperation a second later telling Remus and Severus exactly who was ringing without having to say so.

"Hello Lily" they all said simultaneously, Remus and Severus snickering at the glare James sent them before he once again tried to calm down and reassured his ex-wife.

* * *

"So, what's going to happen this year?" Terry asked as he collapsed on the bench on the train, "escaped mad men from Azkaban? Giant dragons? Maybe secret societies that want to overthrow the system" he suggested, pulling out a book from his bag and getting comfortable as he leaned against the wall of the compartment, locking the door next to him now that all of them were together.

"You're not funny Terry" Hannah told him with a frown, her long auburn hair pulled back from her slightly freckled face as Daphne twirled and twisted it into an elaborate design on the top of her head, tendrils framing her face prettily, drawing attention to her bright dark chocolate eyes. "We want this year to be quiet and now you've said all that you've probably jinxed it" she told him slightly angrily, thinking that he wasn't taking the threats to Harry's life seriously.

"Come on Hannah, you know I'm only joking" Terry quickly told her, wanting to reassure her that he'd didn't really want anything to happen that year, desperately wanting a quiet year at Hogwarts so that he could get to know her and their friends better then he already did. "I don't want anything to happen this year either and I don't think it will. But if the last two years are any indication then we are going to have to make light of it otherwise it's going to drive us mad" he told her, leaning over to take her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, happy when she shyly smiled at him in forgiveness, the five two boys turning to the topic of their studies while the girls quietly discussed their male friends while doing each other's hair, no one noticing the convert glances Harry and Terry shot Daphne and Hannah, each boy wondering how the following year would affect their feelings for the two girls and more importantly, how the year would affect the girls feelings for them.

* * *

**Well that was chapter 6 and I hope that enjoyed it. I know it's short but it's only the summer, the school year is when it all happens. But let me know what you think and you'll be pleased to know that the next chapter is all written out (it was actually going to be one chapter altogether, but I had to cut it into two) so it won't be long before that one is out. **

**Anyway, until next time **

**Lady Mimi Alice xx**


	7. Year Three

**Well here is chapter 7 for your casual perusal. Hope you enjoy. There have been some reviews about the pairings so I'd just like to take the opportunity to say that the ship Harry/Hemione is based on friendship and there are no student/teacher relationships. To tell the truth the ship this story is under might change later on so just bear with it. **

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately own none of the character (except one*spoiler*), it is all JK's.**

**Love Has No Boundaries.**

Chapter 7: Year Three. 

"So how do you like teaching Remus?" Harry asked one night while he visited his 'uncle' in his rooms, knowing the troubles Remus faced trying to get jobs within the wizarding world.

"It's different from Severus described" he told his 'nephew' with a laugh making Harry smile as he imagined just what his 'uncle' Severus said when asked about teaching at the school. "He'll be teaching your next lesson by the way, and you're doing werewolves rather ironically" he informed the younger boy, handing over a steaming mug of hot chocolate.

"Isn't that a bit risky? I know he thinks that the students are thick but some of them are clever enough to put the pieces together" he pointed out, frowning in concern at the thought of Remus having to leave school because his secret was revealed.

"Relax Harry" Remus told him, standing when there was a knock at the door, "he's thought it all through and I agree with him. Besides, I'd be slightly biased on the topic don't you think?" he pointed out, opening the door and allowing the man in question to enter his chambers, a smoking goblet held in his hand. "Sev, your ears must have been burning" he told him, grimacing when he was handed the goblet, quickly downing the potion within one go he followed it with a sip of the cocoa in his hand, trying to wash away the horrible taste of the potion, nodding in thanks to Severus as he led them to the sofa that Harry was occupying, the three of them falling into smooth conversation before Harry had to leave, curfew having arrived much sooner than he would have liked.

"Daphne wants you to help her with the defence spell we learnt today" Hermione told him in greeting as he sat down next to her at one of the tables in the common room, pulling one of the books that surrounded her closer as she smoothly wrote out her charms essay.

"How come you didn't help her?" he asked, pulling out his own work, missing the knowing smile that crossed Hermione's face. "You master everything we learn straight away, sometimes before we even learn them" he pointed out, laughing as she hit him gently on the arm at the tease. "Okay, okay. I'll see her tomorrow and we'll go over it. Oh by the way, Severus is going to be teaching Defence next lesson" he told her, quickly letting her in on Remus' secret knowing that she could be trusted not to tell anyone else.

"Isn't that a little risky?" she asked when she was told of the topic of their next lesson, sighing in acceptance when Harry explained Remus' logic in the lesson topic, "Well I guess if Remus is okay with it then who are we to argue?" she said, packing up her books and papers and swinging her bag onto her shoulder. "Night Harry" she bade him, kissing him on the cheek before retreating to the dorm room, secretly excited at having Severus teach defence the next day, although she wasn't ready to admit it to herself aloud, she knew that she had developed a slight crush on her dark and mysterious potions professor.

* * *

"Have you told him yet?" Hannah asked Daphne as they exited charms class one afternoon, curious to know if Harry had finally woken up and recognised Daphne's feelings for him.

"No, remember when I asked Hermione to help set him up in the library?" she asked, continuing when the other girl nodded, "Well all he did was show me how to do the spell again, and then after he pecked me on the cheek, like I was his sodding sister" she told her, her frustration beginning to show as she recalled the event.

"Come on, let's grab Hermione and go outside and see if we can come up with a plan to get you together with Harry" she told her with a smile, linking their arms as they moved down the corridor, "After all, three heads have to be better than two" she said, the two girls giggling as they wove their way through the other students in the corridor, grabbing Hermione's arm when they spotted her, startling her slightly as they directed her towards the entrance hall, wrapping there scarves around them as they moved and explained what they were doing.

"What if he doesn't actually like me like that though?" Daphne asked as the three girls wandered around the grounds, their arms linked as they tried to keep warm. "We could be plotting all these elaborate ways to get us together and he might not even like me like that" she told them, frowning at the very thought of Harry not returning her feelings. "He has been hanging out with the little Weasley girl hasn't he? Maybe he like her" she said, sighing in sadness at the thought of having lost out on Harry's affection.

"He does not fancy Ginny Weasley" Hermione quickly reassured her with a slight scoff, "she's become obsessed with him even since he 'totally saved her life'" she told her, making her voice go soft and high in an imitation of the girl in question. "He's can't stand her, he just too polite to tell her to leave him alone. Either that or he's waiting for one of her many brothers to tell her to get a grip. You defiantly don't have competition from her" Hermione reassured her friend, smiling at the shy happy grin that spread across Daphne's face.

"Maybe the simplest answer is the best answer in this case" Hannah suggested as they came to rest on the bridge leading down to the game-keepers hut, the three girls leaning against the rail, watching as owls flew back and forth delivering messages from and to their owners. "Harry's life is complicated enough as it is, maybe just asking him to Hogsmeade will do" she suggested looking over at her friends.

"That does make sense" Hermione agreed, frowning as she thought of how complicated Harry's life was, "makes no sense to make his life more complicated for a small time only to want him to have a simpler life afterwards. After everything he's been through in his life, I think he just wants stability. Something I know that you'll give him" Hermione told the two girls, giving Daphne's hand a slight squeeze, knowing how happy she would make Harry.

Before either of the two girls could answer however they heard someone clear their throat behind them and spinning around they saw Professor Snape standing at the entrance to the bridge, his eyebrow raised as he observed the three young girls. "It's time to return to the castle girls," he told them, his smooth baritone voice having a mysterious affect upon Hermione that she couldn't quite place, "wouldn't want to be locked-" he started to say before the heavy thud of the great doors closing interrupted him, startling the three girls. "-out." He finished lamely, shaking his head, knowing it was the old caretaker that had closed the doors prematurely. "Come along girls, can't stay out here, not tonight" he told them, glancing up at the pale full moon, barely visible in the sky as the sun was just beginning to set.

Walking towards the heavy doors, Severus drew his wand and began waving it in intricate patterns, mumbling occasionally under his breath as he attempted to disable the many wards protecting the school. After approximately five minutes it became obvious that he was unable to lower the wards, the three students shivering as the bitter autumn wind howled around them, there school robes not providing enough protection against the harsh Scottish weather. Realising that the three girls were shivering and moving closer and closer to each other the waved his wand over them, silently casting a warming charm over them as they waited for him to once again attempt to lower the wards, but he soon realised that they weren't going to fall any time soon and that he needed to find another way to enter the school.

"Sir" he heard Hermione whisper softly, the three girls slowly edging ever closer to him until they practically knocked into him. Just as he turned, ready to snap at the girls to give his some space he saw exactly why the three girls had moved closer to him, obviously seeking his protection.

Slowly coming into view was the large, threatening form of the werewolf forming known as Remus Lupin.

* * *

"Professor? Professor? Professor it's an emergency!" Harry yelled as he knocked on McGonagall's door, ignoring the sound of Filtch shuffling after him, shouting as load as his wheezy voice would allow telling him that it was after curfew and that he shouldn't be out in the corridors.

"Potter?" McGonagall said as she opened the door, waving Filtch away when he finally turned the corner leading to the professors' quarters. "Potter, what is the meaning of this? Do you know what time it is, you should be in your dorm room asleep, not wandering the corridors" she told him, tightening her robe around her body, the cold beginning to see into her bones making her shiver slightly, though she tried to hide it from her student.

"It's ten-thirty professor" Harry told her, answering her rhetorical question, quickly continuing before she could tell him off for being cheeky, "It's Hermione, professor. She's not in the common room and the girls in the dorm say that she's not in there either" he told her, frowning in concern at the whereabouts of his best friend.

Frowning in concern for one of her students McGonagall quickly ushered the boy into her room, closing the door behind him and leading him over to the desk she had in the corner of the room, sitting down and motioning to the chair on the other side, indicating that he should sit down. "Tell me everything you know Potter. Leave nothing out. Has she fallen out with anyone?" she asked, folding her hands atop the papers that covered her desk.

"After we finished History of magic Daphne and Hannah grabbed Hermione, telling me that they needed her. They didn't tell me where they were going, but they started walking in the direction of the entrance hall, so I think they might have gone outside, but I can't be sure. That was five hours ago professor and no one in Gryffindor has seen Hermione since" Harry explained to her not pausing for breath.

Shaking her head at the young boy McGonagall looked over at him with a soft smile, "Mr Potter. Miss Granger is most likely asleep hidden away in the library somewhere. It's not unusual for students to fall asleep having gotten carried away with their studies, and it's more likely to happen with Miss Granger than any other student" she told him, rising from her chair ready to escort the young boy back to his dorm.

"I already checked the library before curfew and she wasn't there" Harry told her standing up and blocking her from leaving without hearing him out, "I walked through the whole school and didn't see a single hair of Hermione's, Filch closed the great doors before I could check outside" he explained to her. "Professor, if she's outside then we have to go and get her, NOW!" he practically yelled at her, McGonagall taking a step back in shock at Harry raised voice.

"Mr Potter, you will not speak,-" she began only to be interrupted once again by the panicked thirteen year old.

"It's the full moon tonight Professor. If she's stuck outside then that means she trapped out there with Remus" he told her, his voice beginning to shake in fear for his best friend, "she's trapped with a werewolf with nowhere to go. Now are you going to help me find her?" he asked sarcastically, throwing his arms up in exasperation.

With wide eyes McGonagall quickly strode across her room, throwing open the door and practically ran up to the headmasters room, Harry jogging to catch up with her, happy that she was finally taking him and the situation seriously. Shouting at Filtch to 'do some dusting' when he tried to intervene and make Harry go back to the common room, the two of them soon arrived at the eagle statue, impatiently waiting for it to rise to the top of the tower so they could inform the headmaster of the situation at hand.

Storming into the circular room without knocking McGonagall walked over to the desk, drawing Dumbledore's attention from the muggle knitting magazine he held, surprised at the unannounced visitors at such a late hour. "Minerva, Mr Potter. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked, putting his magazine down, folding his hands atop of it as he leant forward slightly, getting ready for whatever trouble the young Potter had gotten himself into to warrant such a late visit to his office.

"Headmaster, Mr Potter has brought it to my attention that Miss Granger is missing from her dorm room." She told him, "we believe that she may be locked outside with Professor Lupin loose about the grounds" she explained, calming slightly now that she knew something could be done.

"Summon the teachers Minerva, every single one of them" Dumbledore told her, jumping up from his chair and moving over to the fireplace, "I'll send Hagrid a patronus informing him of the situation and we'll contact the Auror office and ask them to send some officers over to aid in the search" he told her quickly, looking over the various spinning silver instruments that littered his office while McGonagall quickly swept out the office to gather her remaining professors. Hearing a throat being cleared Dumbledore turned to see Harry was still in his office, hands on hips and a frown on his face, slightly disgruntled at being ignored when it was he who alerted them to the situation. "Ah, Mr Potter, it would be best if you returned to your dorm room and await Miss Grangers return. We are already missing one student, wouldn't want to make it two, now would we" he told him, the young boy scoffing as he left the office, deliberately slamming the door on his way out. Shaking his head at the dramatics of the young Potter, Albus turned back to his instruments, trying to locate the missing student, only to be interrupted moments later by McGonagall's voice coming through the fire, informing him that it wasn't only Miss Granger that was missing. "Who else do you suspect is out there Minerva?" he asked, worry seeping into his bones, making him feel his age.

"Pomona has told me that one of her badgers is missing, Hannah Abbott. And Professor Snape is not in his rooms either, but none of his Slytherins have seen him, and Astoria Greengrass has informed me that her elder sister Daphne is not in her dorm room" she told him, quickly disconnecting the floo call to begin her search of the grounds, leaving Albus to contact the Aurors, a feeling of desperation beginning to sink in at the thought of the three young defenceless girls outside, nothing between them and a mindless werewolf, other than – he hoped- Severus to protect them.

* * *

"Where are we going Harry?" Terry asked sleepily as he was dragged down endless corridors by an anxious Harry, curious as to what the other boy was thinking at such a late hour.

"Hermione is trapped outside with a werewolf" Harry told him, not stopping even when the other boy stumbled in shock at his revelation. "She didn't come back to the dorm after Daphne and Hannah grabbed after history, so they might be with her too. We've got to find them before something happens" he explained, happy the Terry was taking him seriously and had sped up to match his hurried stride, the two of them breaking into a jog the nearer they came to the secret exit to the grounds that Harry recalled his father telling him about during one of the tales of his past adventures.

"Where should we start?" Terry asked as they reached they stumbled onto the grounds, the bright full moon bathing the grounds in silvery light, throwing slightly eerie shadows across the ground, tricking the mind into seeing things that weren't there. "Think we should try a locating spell?" he asked, not knowing what else they should do.

"Do you know one?" Harry asked, his eyes scanning the immediate area around them, desperately hoping to catch a glimpse of his friends and 'uncles'.

"Yeah I think so, I just hope it works" he told him, pulling his wand from his pocket waving it in a swirling motion as he said the incantation, his voice clear in the quiet night, "_Colcare Fimbram. _Anytime you want to try Harry, two wands are better than one" he told his friends, drawing his attention away from the grounds and quickly showing him the spell, the two of them shouting the incantation clearly, their wands emitting smoke after the third attempt, the light wisps forming an arrow, pointing them in the direction of their friends. "Come on" Terry said, immediately taking off in a run in the direction of the arrow, while Harry quickly marked the entrance to the secret passageway so they could guide their friends back to it and into the safety of the castle. "Over there" Terry panted, pointing ahead of them at the three girls kneeling behind Snape as he held his wand in front of him, the four of them out of breath, obviously having been running in an attempt to escape the werewolf they could hear was somewhere on the grounds. "Hannah!" Terry shouted drawing their attention to himself and Harry, quickly motioning for them to come closer when they had their attention.

"What the hell are you two doing out here?" Severus demanded once they were closer, angry that the two had foolishly left the grounds, especially considering Harry knew exactly what was out that night. "You better have a bloody good reason for coming out here Potter, Boot" he told them, turning his back on them, once again scanning the area for any signs of the werewolf Remus.

"We've got a way of getting back into the castle, this way," Harry explained quickly, grabbing Daphne's hand and Severus arm, pulling them in the direction of the passageway, Terry doing the same with Hannah and Hermione, the two boys leading them quickly in the right direction, pausing every couple of meters to check that Remus wasn't following them.

Once they reached the entrance to the passageway Severus stood guard as the five friends clambered inside the passageway, sending his patronus to the Aurors that they were safely inside the walls of the school before following them inside, his hand resting gently on the small of Hermione's back as she struggled through the narrow passage, knowing that while they were trying to avoid Remus she had badly twisted her ankle having tripped over one of the many roots that made up the floor of the forbidden forest. "Nearly there Hermione" he reassured he softly, urging her on when the others began to pull away from them, adrenaline making them quicker than the injured, slightly scared young girl.

When the group finally reached the other end of the passageway they all collapsed against the cold welcoming inner walls of the school, each other them sagging in relief at finally reaching safety, some after only twenty minutes, others after four hours, the adrenaline that was once forcing them on now leaving them as relief flooded their systems. Looking up at the sounds of running footsteps Severus waved off his concerned colleagues, telling them that he was fine and that they should look after the three girls that had been trapped outside in the biting cold for the last four hours. Watching as the five friends were led away towards the hospital wing he finally allowed himself a smile, knowing that they were going to be okay, ducking his head before Hermione looked back at him as she was being led away, relief and thanks on her face as she looked at her professor, her feelings for the sometime surly teacher growing slightly without her realising it, thankful that he was there for them and protected them.

* * *

After the unfortunate incident, Remus felt that he could no longer be trusted at the school and attempted to resign from his position but the headmaster wouldn't hear a word of it and continued to insist that Remus remain at the school. Finally admitting defeat Remus called the three girls into his office one afternoon after their class and apologized profusely for having caused them such stress and possible harm, smiling slightly when the three of them immediately reassured them that he wasn't to be blamed in any way for the incident, even going as far as to joke with him that it had been a good and different form of exercise. Although they were even quicker to reassure him that it wasn't one they planned on repeating.

One of the positives of the whole situation however was that it finally made Harry sit up and act on his growing feelings for Daphne, asking the pretty Slytherin on a date for the next Hogsmeade visit, which she quickly accepted, happy that her feelings were recuperated and they could somewhat act on them.

Remus also found himself on the receiving end of some female advance when one of the Aurors that came to aid the search of the three missing girls returned one day to ask him if he would join her for a drink during the next Hogsmeade weekend, informing him that his condition meant nothing to her and that she wouldn't take it as a good enough excuse for rejecting her proposal, knowing from the way he looked at her that he obviously found her attractive.

"You make such a cute couple" Hermione told Harry one night as they relaxed by the fire in the empty common room, the two of them wrapped in blankets, winter having well and truly fallen, making the cold corridors even colder.

"Thanks," Harry told her shyly, moving closer to the fire as he felt his toes go slightly numb inside his thick woollen socks. "We're not going to leave you out though, I hope you know that" he told, worried that she might feel alone now that he was spending more and more time away from the group with Daphne.

"Don't be silly Harry, you've got a girlfriend now, I expect you to spend time with her instead of me" she told him with a chuckle, secretly touched that he still worried about her so much. "Besides, I've still got Terry and Hannah. And they're not going to act on their feelings for each other for quite some time. To be honest, I think Terry annoys Hannah too much at the moment for them to go off together" she told him with a smile, the two bursting into laughter at the behaviour of their two friends, stopping only when Percy Weasley came downstairs and told them off, sending them to bed as he extinguished the fire, muttering at the immaturity of some of the students at Hogwarts.

* * *

"Are you sure that you'll be okay? You're welcome to join us" Daphne asked Hermione as the two girls walked down the lane towards the village, Daphne planning on meeting up with Harry when they arrived.

"Honestly I'll be fine," Hermione reassured her for the third time, "you've both gone off together before and I survived didn't I? I'll get my presents for mum and dad and see you back at the castle" Hermione told her with a smile, hugging her friend briefly before going off in the direction of the bookstore.

Wandering aimlessly between the shelves, Hermione spent a good hour looking through all the rare books that she knew she could never afford while studying at Hogwarts, locking the titles and authors away in the back of her memory, determined to purchase them when she had the luxury of extra funds. Smiling at the owner as she picked up the couple of books she could afford, she took a moment to absorb the hustle and bustle of the small village during school visits. Breathing in the fresh, cold air she moved down one of the quieter streets towards the apothecary, the lack of students making it a little silent retreat, the fresh snow crunching under her feet. Pushing open the door she took a couple of seconds to allow her eyes to adjust to the darker light of the small store before she moved further in, looking around her at the many different coloured bottles that lined the shelves. Not looking where she was going she was surprised when she bumped into one of the other customers also browsing. "I'm sorry sir" she hurriedly apologized, avoiding the taller mans' eyes in embarrassment.

"You will be little girl if you don't bugger off" the large man practically bellowed at her making her jump in shock and fear, quickly taking a couple of steps back, once again bumping into another customer. Feeling two hands gently clasp her upper arms, Hermione looked back over her shoulder, beginning to regret coming inside the small apothecary, she saw that she had walked backwards into Severus Snape's coat covered chest and she became to feel relieved that she was no longer on her own being confronted by a much larger, angrier man.

"Now, now Winston" Severus spoke to the other man, his voice cold as he looked down his nose at the other man, "we don't talk to young girls like that, the height of bad manners, especially from a pureblood such as yourself" he finished, moving Hermione to his side so she was no longer between the two men who proceeded to glare at each other until Winston admitted defeat and left the store, his lank grey haired head hung in shame as he reflected on his behaviour. Just as he was about to close the door behind him he looked back over to Hermione, nodding once at her before closing the door between them without a second glance in her direction. "You do insist on getting into trouble Miss Granger" Severus remarked as he looked down at the still slightly scared third year, her purchases clutched protectively to her chest, a make shift barrier between herself and any attacker.

"I don't go looking it for Professor, I only bumped into him" Hermione told her teacher, looking down at the ground as she tried to relax. "Thank you though sir. For defending me, I know you didn't have to" she told him, looking up at him through her lashes, offering him a small smile, frowning when she heard him scoff slightly, thinking he had rejected her thanks.

"I didn't go out of my way to protect you from a werewolf Hermione only to have some idiotic dunderhead insult and threaten you. Wouldn't be much of a teacher if I allowed that now would I?" he told her, a small smile crossing his face as he gazed upon his friends-sons-best friend. "What are you doing in a store like this anyway? Shouldn't you be in Zonko's or inside Honeydukes stocking up for winter like a little squirrel?" he said as he began to lead the two of them around the shop, picking up certain bottles every now and then.

"I was looking for something that I could send home to my parents for Christmas" she told him, continuing her search through the shelves as they slowly walked around the store, "Something harmless obviously, but they're determined not to be left behind so they asked me to send them one magical present as well as one muggle one. I thought something physical would make a change from some sweets and drinks."

"A very good idea Miss Granger" he told her, picking up two bottles and handing them over to her, "Perhaps these will suffice, they are harmless and will cause them no injury but they are most a certainly magical."

Looking down at the blue and purple bottle's she held in her hands, no labels adorning them telling her what they were, the only difference between the bottle –beside the colour of the liquid- was the small engraving depicting the gender the bottle was intended for. "What are they sir?" she asked, unwilling to send her parents something she didn't know, no matter how much she trusted her potions teachers judgement.

"The blue bottle is aftershave brewed to reflect the wearer's favourite scents. The Purple bottle is hair product brewed to tune into the persons mind and style the hair in whichever way that person wishes. Perfect presents for parents wishing to stay in touch with their magical daughter" he told her as he moved over to pay for his purchases, leaving shortly after with a short bow to Hermione, leaving the young girl slightly stunned, not only at his sudden departure, but also his helpfulness in her search for a present. Looking down at the bottles while waiting to pay she tried to find some small sign that would tell her anything about what she held, but all she could find was the small _STS_ engraved into the base, it's meaning lost on her.

* * *

After a blissfully uneventful Christmas holiday in which Harry was introduced to his father new co-worker Clara (although he suspected there may be more to it than friendship) the second half of the year passed by far too quickly for the friends and before they knew it exams were upon them. Unfortunately for them, it was the end of the year that it all went wrong.

"Now that you know the incantation and practiced it," Remus said from the front of his classroom, leaning casually against his desk, looking down at his students, "I would like for you to write a three foot essay on-."

"How you managed to hide the fact you're a werewolf, _sir?_" Malfoy shouted out from the back of the classroom, his address dripping in sarcasm as he sat there, his smirk proudly plastered on his face as he looked up into his shocked professors' face.

"Excuse me Mr Malfoy?" Remus asked, trying desperately to remain calm and collected as the students between himself and Malfoy, frowning as they mulled Malfoy's accusations.

"You are a werewolf. A filthy, disgusting half-breed of a human. If we can even call you that" he told him, leaning back as though he was king of the classroom.

"Mr Malfoy they are very serious accusations to make. Do you have any proof to back up your theory?" he asked, trying to buy some time, while subtly nodding to Harry to sneak out of the classroom and go and get the Headmaster.

"Well let's see. This is the first job you've ever had in the wizarding world despite the fact that you are, what, 33? 34? Then there is the fact that you are never here when the moons full. Oh, and your 'worst fear' when faced with a boggart is the full moon itself" he explained, looking down at his nails as though the topic was a bore to him. "Not to mention the little potions that Snape gives to you. It's pretty easy to figure ou-"

"That will do Mr Malfoy" Dumbledore yelled from the doorway of the classroom, every head turning in surprise at hearing his raised voice. "Class is dismissed, I hope you don't mind me taking the liberty Professor Lupin" the students quickly gathering their belongings and exiting one by one out the room, Harry pausing before the door closed to smile sadly at one of the men he considered an uncle. "Remus, we have to talk."

* * *

"I can't believe he fired Remus! That's totally uncalled for" Hannah shouted as the five friends walked across the court yard towards the bridge. "He's not even dangerous so there's no reason for him to leave."

"You did get locked outside with him a couple of months ago remember" Terry pointed out to her, causing the four others to stop in their tracks. When he realised they had stopped walking he too stopped and looked back at his friends, frowning in confusion. "What? I was only pointing it out that there is potential for him to cause harm to students. The only reason you weren't harmed was because Professor Snape was there to protect you" he told them, digging himself into a grave with Hannah the more and more he spoke.

Frowning over at the other boy she walked up to him slowly until they stood toe to toe and she quickly reared her hand back and slapped him across the face, his head swinging to the right as her hand came into contact with his cheek. Turning on her heel Hannah walked back into the castle leaving behind her three friend's gobsmacked at her actions and Terry gently rubbing his stinging cheek which was slowly becoming red, who quickly followed after her once the shock of both her actions and his cheek settled so he could once again think.

"Well that was interesting" Daphne stated her mouth still slightly slack at the quiet shy girls' actions. Looking over she saw Harry's own mouth was wide open in shock she reached up and slowly pushed his jaw up so his mouth was no longer open, standing up on her toes to kiss his now closed mouth, pulling him out of his shock as he smiled down at his girlfriend. The three friends carried on walking until they reached the halfway point of the bridge, leaning against rails to look down into the valley below. "That two of us that have hit people" she said, referring to Hermione punching Malfoy in the face because he revealed Remus' secrets to the class, "all we need now is for the two of us to hit someone and we've got a full house" she told Harry with a small smile, leaning into his side, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Just as long as you don't slap me" Harry told her, kissing the top of her head as he tightened his arm around her waist, Daphne leaning up to whisper 'never' in his ear, the two going off into their own little world, Hermione rolling her eyes slightly, knowing they were only a couple of seconds away from remembering they were with her, break apart and apologise profusely. And just as she stopped thinking it, they did just that. "Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry" she said looking over at her friend, going over and grabbing her hand as Harry watched them with an apologetic smile.

"Oh honestly you two stop. It is fine, I don't mind. Stop apologising. In fact," she said with an amused smile as she looked at her friends, "when or if I ever get someone from the other sex interested in me, then you can support me" she bargained, the three bursting into laughter. "Now come on, leaving feast is about to start. And us Gryffindors have a victory celebration to attend. You know, stealing the house cup from you for a third year and all" Hermione told Daphne with an amused smile, Daphne gasping in fake shock, chasing Hermione across the yard towards the doors, Harry shaking his head in amusement following slowly behind them into the Great Hall.

* * *

"Has Hannah talked to Terry yet?" Harry asked Hermione as they stepped off the Knight Bus having caught it from King's Cross.

"No. She said that she's not going to talk to him again until he apologises for being a complete moron and not thinking or when he pulls his head out of his butt" she told him, looking at him with a straight face, "whichever comes first I assume" she added shrugging her shoulders with a smile, already resigned to the fact that there little five person group would be sans fifth person for a while.

Shaking his head Harry held the gate open for her to walk through, "That's great. Shouldn't take more than one year, maybe two and we'll all be together again. Who knew Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were so stubborn, I thought it was meant to be us not them."

"Oh come on. Ravenclaws are meant to be intelligent and Terry clearly wasn't thinking when he made that comment. And Hufflepuffs are meant to be loyal but Hannah quickly dropped him without an explanation. I think it's safe to say were breaking all of Hogwarts houses conventions" Hermione told them as they dumped their stuff by the door and walked towards the kitchen where they could clearly hear voices.

"Yeah, Daph's breaking convention just being friends with us. Never know, maybe by the time we finish school we would have had a nice normal year that doesn't involve any drama or fallings out" Harry told her.

"Maybe. But it definitely won't be next year" Hermione told him softly looking into the kitchen.

Frowning at her statement Harry looked over to see that her attention was firmly in the kitchen where the voices had all died. Walking around her, he stood in the doorway and looked over to see Severus stood toe to toe with his father, his right hand firmly gripped in the sleeve of his shirt as he thrust his left forearm towards his friend. "What's that?" Harry asked softly, motioning to slightly faded black tattoo on Severus' arm, the skull and snake visible from his position, the outline moving slightly on his skin. Looking up, he saw the two men looking over at Harry and Hermione, as though they couldn't quite believe they were there with them, witnessing there little argument. Ushering Hermione into the room Harry closed the door to the kitchen, and whispered softly, "What are you?"

* * *

**Chapter 7. This is by far the longest thing I have ever written, its 12 pages! Hope you enjoyed it **** thought I'd leave you a small cliff-hanger, mean I know, but I've always wanted to write one. If I was really mean I'd say I'd want a certain number - say 20 - of reviews before I posted the next chapter … it is tempting. **

**Until next time people. **

**Don't forget to let me know what you think ;)**

**Lady Mimi Alice xx**


	8. And So It Begins

**Read and Review, it makes me happy **

**Love Has No Boundaries. **

Chapter Eight: And So It Begins.

"Harry, there are things you need to know about" Remus told the two young teens, "shame Lily doesn't want you to know" he muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, well Lily isn't here is she?" James told him, crossing his arms and leaning against the kitchen counter, frown on his face as he thought of his ex-wife.

"James?" Clara said cautiously, moving over to stand beside him, resting her hand gently on his arm, only to have it shrugged off as James moved forward and began to pace the length of the kitchen.

"She doesn't know half of what goes in Harry's life because she's too busy with her 'second chance' family so no, I'm not going to keep things from my son just because she said so. Tell him" James told them, hiding a smile when he saw Harry grin from the corner of his eye, obviously pleased that his dad was on his side and ignoring his mothers' words.

"Well, if you're sure that you want to know" Severus asked, the two teens nodding in confirmation causing him to take a deep breath as he prepared to tell his story. "When I was at Hogwarts as a student I became friends with people like Lucius Malfoy, the LeStrange brothers, Bellatrix Black just to name a few, and one thing they all had in common was that they were followers of Lord Voldemort, or potential followers at least, they called themselves Death Eaters. After my falling out with Lily I didn't have anyone and they took me in so to speak and prayed on my weaknesses, offering me everything that I wanted. Everything I thought I wanted. So when I graduated I took his mark, this mark, branding me forever more as one of his followers. One of the worse things I did was pass information to him, concerning you Harry" he told them looking Harry directly in the eyes, the regret clear for all to see in the black depths.

"About me? What do you mean?" Harry asked confused, as to what his 'uncle' was referring to.

"There was a prophecy regarding a child and the downfall of the Dark Lord Voldemort. I overhead it being told and quickly informed the Dark Lord, who discovered it could relate to one of two children and he decided that it was you that posed a threat. So he attacked you on Halloween twelve years ago in an attempt to get rid of you, but all it did in the end was destroy him, although it's believed amongst some that he is merely absent and not dead. When he perished the mark began to fade, not completely but it was significantly lighter and now as you saw the darkness of the mark has returned, which leads us to speculate that something is going to happen, the only problem is that we don't know what is going to happen, but whatever it is it won't be good" he revealed, his head dropping into his hands as he relived the horrors of his past.

"So you're a Death Eater?" Harry asked with a frown as he thought over everything Severus had just told them.

"Correct. But there isn't a day that goes by that I don't regret what I did to the countless families that were ripped apart and damaged by his, my actions" he told them, his voice cracking slightly.

"Then we'll say no more about it" Hermione spoke for the first time. Looking up into her eyes Severus saw that she had tears glistening in her eyes, obviously affected by what he'd revealed something which touched a part of his heart he didn't know he had. "It's obvious you regret what happened and I'm sure that if you could go back and change it you would so there really isn't any point on dwelling on, we just need to move forward" she told them, speaking with a wisdom beyond her years, impressing the three adults with her words.

"Well said Hermione" Clara told her with a smile, "Lord knows we've all made mistakes and done things we regret, I know I have."

"Exactly" James added before clapping his hands, his face breaking into a grin as he looked at Harry and Hermione, "So why don't we talk about something more cheerful. Like The Quidditch World Cup."

* * *

"How much further is it?" Daphne asked as she followed Harry and Hermione, falling behind slightly, unused to carrying anything heavier than a book back.

"Oh come on Daph, you're bag's not even heavy, James put a featherweight charm on it" Hermione told her friend with a laugh, grabbing her hand and pulling her along so they caught up with a waiting Harry and James.

"Come on girls, otherwise the Weasley's and Diggory's will leave without us" James said as he looked up towards the peak and waved to the people there waiting for them. "Here give me your bag Daphne" James said taking the bag off the girl and beginning to walk back up the hill, Harry following after him, shaking his head at his girlfriend, something which didn't go unnoticed by Daphne.

"Amos, how are you?" James asked, shaking his hand and introducing his son and his friends to Cedric before everyone put a finger on the battered old boot they had all gathered around and after a couple of seconds they all felt the tell tail tug as the portkey activated, flinging them to another place, where the teens all collapsed onto the ground as they landed, James, Amos and Cedric walking through the air for a soft landing.

"See you at the office James" Amos said, bidding them goodbye before leading his son away, Cedric pausing to help Hermione up from the ground, keeping her hand in his own a fraction too longer than polite, the two girls giggling when they eventually looked over at each other.

"Oh Mr Potter, I'll take my bag back. Thank you for carrying it for me" Daphne said once they began to make their way towards the sea of tents that was their home of the next couple of days. Looking down at her he handed it back over with a curious smile on his face before leading them through the maze of tents to a small one that was theirs, Clara already waiting inside for them, having arrived earlier to set everything up for them, including dinner which was laid out welcomingly for them.

"Bout time you guys got here. I thought some of the fans were going to storm me to try and get our spot" Clara remarked as they all dumped their bags and gathered around the table, all of the eager to tuck into the mini Chinese feast before them.

"Never let that happen" James promised her leaning down to kiss her head before taking the seat next to her and piling a generous portion of food onto his plate.

"Are you two together now then?" Harry asked with a smile as he looked at his father and his friend, wondering if inviting her to the game was a way for him to get to know her before everything was revealed.

"Would you mind if said yes?" James asked his son, leaning back in his chair as his hand sought Clara's beneath the table.

"Why would I mind? Clara's great, she's fun to be around, can really cook and I bet she knows how to keep you in line" he joked making them all chuckle slightly, Clara and James looking at each other fondly, each with a soft warm smile. "But more importantly, I haven't seen this happy in ages' dad so no, I don't have any problems with you two together. I'm happy for you" he told him with a smile as he looked over at his dad and girlfriend as she snuggled closer to him now that she could.

* * *

"That was the best game ever!" Harry exclaimed as the three friends walked back to their tent later that night, "The way Krum did that Wronski Feint! Just unbelievable, I can't wait to try that bad boy out when I get home."

"I bet you can't, but I'll also bet that your mum won't approve. You are going to her house when you get back remember?" Hermione pointed out to him, bursting his bubble reluctantly.

"Yeah I know it's nice to dream though" Harry said with a sad sigh as he wrapped his arm around Daphne's shoulders, "soon as I get back I become the glorified babysitter with the occasional mother-son conversation. So thrilling."

"Maybe this year will be better" Daphne said with a hopeful smile as she looked up into his sparkling green eyes as he leaned down to kiss her gently, only to be knocked apart by other spectators rushing past them. "Hey, where's the fire?" he asked only to be flipped around by wide-eyed Hermione who pointed over to the far end of the field where they could see the flickering oranges and red of the flames that were beginning to consume the tents, black and silver figures walking between the debris, their wands lit and firing more and more curses at whoever was in their way. "Right, there's the fire. Come on let's get back to the tent and see if dad or Clara are there" he told them, grabbing each of the girls hands and pulling them in the direction of the tent, dodging left and right to avoid others.

"Thank God, where were you?" Clara asked in a rush as she grabbed Harry's shoulders, all the while keeping an eye on the approaching figures. "Never mind, your dad's gone to head them off; I need the three of you to get out of the open and into the forest. Stay there! Don't come out until you see me or your dad and no one else. Go, NOW!" she told them, pushing them towards the forest before heading towards the cloaked men, drawing her wand and firing spells along the way.

"Come on, hurry" Harry said, pulling the two girls around the broken and smouldering remains of tents, edging ever closer to the line of trees that would give them brief sanctuary, although all three of them doubted that it would offer much protection. Once they reached the trees the carried on running until they were someway in before they paused for breath behind the trunks of the widest trees they could see. "We'll wait here, but be ready to run if we need to" Harry told them, peeking around the trunk to see if anyone was coming, "try to stick together, but if we get split up then we'll meet up at the stadium. Okay?" he asked, the two girls nodding in agreement, all of them scanning the area around them for any signs of danger.

"What was that?" Hermione whispered, looking over to the right of their hiding place, having heard whispers and murmurs.

"What was what?" Harry asked.

"I heard it too. Wait here" Daphne said before quickly rushing off, ignoring the calls of Harry who quickly followed her, leaving Hermione to look out for them.

Moving so she could peek around the side of the tree, she mentally berated them both for their stupidity, and failed to notice someone come up behind her, reach around a put a hand over her mouth, silencing her screams and cries for help. Being pulled around and pushed further into the tree Hermione looked up into the eyes of the person who was attacking her, only to see the black eyes and long Romanesque nose of Severus. Putting a figure to his lips, telling her to be silent he pulled his hand away, "What are you doing here?" she asked in a harsh whisper, her heart still beating erratically from her scare.

"It's a Death Eater attack why do you think that I'm here? Why are you on your own?" he asked with a frown as he looked around them.

"I wasn't on my own, at least not until Harry and Daphne decided to run off because they heard a whisper, over there" she told him, pointing in the direction her two friends ran off to.

Looking over to where she was pointing he frowned slightly, "It wouldn't be wise to go over there right now. Come on, we'll head back to the field, James and the others will be there by now" he told her walking off slowly in case she was injured, something she proved otherwise when she ran to catch up with, having stood still in shock a moment too longer than necessary.

"Why shouldn't we go over there? What's happened to Harry and Daphne?" she asked in a hurry, worry beginning to overtake the fear that was coursing through her veins.

"That is what happened" he told her pointing to the sky where she saw the Dark Mark the Severus told them about in the sky, shining up above them as though it were made of emerald stars, surrounded by black, grey and green smoke, making her gasp in shock as she looked between the monstrous mark and her potions professor. "No come on, we don't want the others to worry" he told her, continuing on his way, raising his hand in a wave when he finally spotted, Hermione running off ahead being pulled into a tight hug by Harry and Daphne as soon as she reached them, the two teens apologising repeatedly for leaving her.

"Right, come on you lot. We've got a portkey so we're headed home, grab on" he told them, holding out the ripped and burnt remains of a Bulgarian flag, each of them grabbing a small section, but just as James was about to activate it Hermione let go and walked over to her professor and quickly wrapped her arms around his torso in a tight very brief hug, whispering her thanks before once again grabbing the flag to be pulled away back home, leaving a confused smiling Severus behind.

* * *

The events of the Quidditch World Cup were all anyone could talk about when school started again in September, becoming such a problem in some classes that the new Defence teach – Alastor Moody - had to issue mass detention to stop them talking about it. But he needn't have worried because soon there would be something else that would capture the attention of the students for the rest of the year.

"I would like to announce that beginning from next week and lasting the duration of the school year, Hogwarts will be playing host to a very special event. The Triwizard Tournament" Dumbledore announced one evening after diner to the ring of loud and excited applause as the students began to talk amongst themselves making Dumbledore smile at their excitement before eventually calling them back to order. "No for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, the Triwizard Tournament is a meeting of three magical European schools – Beauxbatons, Durmstrang and Hogwarts. From each of these schools there is one person selected to be their champion and it's this person that will complete the three tasks of the Tournament" he told them, allowing the students to once again break out in excited whispers as they speculated who would be picked to be their champion.

"Now I'd hate to burst anyone's bubble but, because of the death toll associated with the tournament the Ministry has decided that only students over the age of 17 will be allowed to compete" he told them, flinching slightly at the onslaught of angry voices of the students that wanted to enter but were now being told that they couldn't. "Now, this," Dumbledore said, indicating the intricate gold box that had just been placed at the front of the hall, capturing the attention of all students, making them forget the new rules they had just been told. "This is the Goblet of Fire and it is this that will select the three Champions. For those of you who are of age and wish to enter merely write your name on a piece of parchment and place it into the Goblet. Now, allow me to introduce the lovely ladies of Beauxbatons and the gentlemen of Durmstrang" he introduced and after two magical displays the students retired to bed, each and every one of them excited for the year to come.

* * *

"Have Terry and Hannah started talking to each other yet?" Daphne asked later in the week as she and Hermione walked into the Great Hall for the presenting of the Champions.

"Don't think so," Hermione said as they picked their way through the excited students that were sitting down on the floor, all of them talking - and in some cases betting on who would be selected as Hogwarts Champion. "Whenever Terry tries to join us to talk to her she makes up an excuse and leaves. I feel quite sorry for him really" Hermione revealed as the two girls settled on the benches.

"Me too, I hope they make up soon, it's not the same when they're at each other's throats. We're all meant to be best friends, all five of us" Daphne said shaking her head sadly, as Harry attempted to pick his way to them. "Hay" she greeted with a smile, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

"Hey, what are we talking about?" he asked, relaxing back into the bench behind them, eager and excited to see who had been chosen, happy that this year he would be out of the limelight.

Before either girl could answer however Dumbledore called everyone to attention, announcing that it was time for the selection of the Champions, waving his hand along the walls, dimming the lanterns so the blue flames of the Goblet were even more pronounced.

"The Champion for Beauxbatons is, Miss Fleur Delacour" he shouted to cheers from the French students as the silvery haired beauty stood and glided towards the antechamber, a beautiful smile on her flawless face.

"The Champion for Durmstrang is, Mr Victor Krum" he announced to large cheers and roars coming from the Durmstrang students as burly Bulgarian stood up and quickly made his way towards the antechamber to join is competitor.

"And finally, the Champion for Hogwarts is, Mr Cedric Diggory" he finished to the sound of yells, cheers and exclamations as Hogwarts celebrated their champion, who with a happy smile stood up and after shaking hands with Dumbledore, headed to the antechamber, Dumbledore turning to follow, only to be distracted as the Goblet began to spit and flick flames up.

Stepping closer to the Goblet Dumbledore quickly threw his arm up to shield his face as once again the Goblet threw a scrap of parchment into the air. Raising his hand he grabbed the charred, smoking piece of parchment and upon reading the name written his head shot up as he looked around the students gathered, all of them confused as to what was happening.

"Harry Potter" he said in a slight whisper, the silence that enveloped the room meaning that it carried across the sea of students.

Looking to the side of them Hermione and Daphne both looked at their friend with shock and fear in their eyes as Harry sat there, wide eyed in surprise that his name was being called out as a champion. Jumping slightly at hearing the Headmaster shout his name Harry had to be pushed forward by his friends, both of them realising that he had to move. Standing up he shakily made his way towards Dumbledore, who said nothing as he handed over the parchment, silently dismissing the young boy who quickly walked towards the antechamber, avoiding eye contact with everyone he passed as outraged whispers began to break out throughout the hall.

"Who are you? Vat are you doing 'ere?" Fleur asked with a heavy French accent as she looked down at Harry with her bewitching silver eyes.

Before Harry could answer however the door behind them burst open, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Madam Maxine, Igor Karkaroff, Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch Sr stormed in, each of them making a beeline for Harry who quickly backed up from them in fear at the looks on their faces. Grabbing Harry by the shoulders and giving him a slight shake Dumbledore looked into his eyes, "Did you put your name into the Goblet Harry?" he asked, Harry shaking his head, too scared to talk. "Get one of the older students to put it in for you?" he asked get yet another shake of the head.

"Vell, obviously 'e is lying" Maxine shouted out, moving to stand beside her champion. "'h should be disqualified" he insisted.

"Can't be done I'm afraid the Goblet is a magically binding contract, whoever it chooses must compete" Crouch told her with a shake of his head.

"Then I demand a second champion" Karkaroff told them angrily, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at Harry with distain.

"Impossible" Crouch told him, "The Goblet is now extinguished and will not relight itself until the next Tournament. No matter what you all say or think there is nothing to be done. Mr Potter is now a champion and will be taking part in the first task a week from now" he told them all turning and walking back out, Bagman following behind after bidding everyone a good night, obviously excited by the developments.

"Well, that's it then. Welcome to the Triwizard Tournament Harry" Dumbledore said before leading everyone out of the chamber, leaving only Harry behind, looking down at the blacken parchment that marked the beginning of what he was sure to be a very dangerous and lonely year.

* * *

**Well, that's it for this chapter. I hope that you like it, and I'll see you again later. **

**Lady Mimi Alice **


	9. Year Four

**Love Has No Boundaries.**

Chapter Nine: Year Four.

"So do you know who's coming to visit you?" Hermione asked Harry one lazy autumn afternoon while the two relaxed in the courtyard, taking a well-earned break from trying to decipher the golden egg Harry had captured during the first task.

"Dad is coming obviously. And apparently, mother wants to come as well. Should be a barrel of laughs. Don't think the three of us have been together since before Cassie was born" Harry told her, leaning back against the wall.

"Maybe it won't be so bad, Clara might join your dad and you can see her again" Hermione pointed out hopefully.

"Yeah, maybe. It'll be good to see her again. But then, if my dad brings his girlfriend, then my mother will bring Sirius and that's perfect. The former best friends and the woman that got between them. The perfect family" Harry told her with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, okay. Could be a disaster" said Hermione, her face completely serious as she looked at some first years pass them by, each of them throwing Harry a treacherous look.

"Thanks for the support their Mione" Harry deadpanned, ignoring the disparaging looks that were being shot him by his fellow students.

"Hey, you're not being positive, why should I try and make it better for you."

"You're my best friend, it's kind of in the job description," Harry told her, the two collapsing in laughter.

"Come on champion. I'm hungry" Hermione said pulling him to his feet, the two making their way back into the castle with their arms linked, once again talking about the golden egg and how to decipher it's screaming message.

* * *

"So where's his mum then?" Daphne asked as she and Hermione stood off to the side and watched Harry, James and Clara talk to Professor McGonagall. "I thought it was supposed to be James and Harry's mum."

"She was supposed to be here. Something must have come up, nothing really changes" Hermione told her friend before moving off to greet James' with a smile, the older man pulling her into a hug. "How are you Mr Potter?" she asked as they pulled apart.

"I'm very well Hermione, yourself? Not working too hard" James said with an affectionate smile.

"Could never work too hard with Harry around" she joked before turning to Clara, the older woman pulling her into another hug. "It's great to see you again Clara."

"You too Hermione. I've missed the intelligent conversation" she joked, affectionately patting James chest when he pretended to look offended. "How's Harry doing? Really?" she whispered to the young girl when Dumbledore attracted James' attention.

"He hates it here at the minute. Things have gotten slightly better since the first task, but people are still glaring at him as though he's, a betrayer. I think most of them still believe that he cheated his way into the tournament to get glory and fame" Hermione whispered, secretly touched that Clara was so concerned about Harry.

"God, it must be horrible" she sighed, looking over at the boy in question as he conversed with the Diggory's the only family in attendance that wasn't actively glaring at him. "At least he's got you, Daphne, Terry and Hannah with him to help him" she said, giving Hermione a warm affectionate smile, frowning when she saw Hermione slight grimace at the mention of her friends. "What? What is it?"

"Hannah and Terry aren't really talking to each other at the moment. They've been spending a lot of time with their own houses. Can't blame them really. I don't think they interacted with their own house much the first three years" Hermione explained, defending her friends, although she did secretly think they should make their support for Harry more known. "How are things back home?" she asked, hoping to change the conversation.

"Things are good, James is worried about Harry naturally, so I've spent most of my time reassuring him he's brought up a brilliant young boy. I think after hearing about Harry's success with the dragon and how you guys decrypted the egg he's starting to believe me" she said with a smile.

Smiling Hermione looked over at Harry and James while they talked with the Diggory's. "Good I'm glad. You guys are staying for the second task, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world" Clara promised, linking arms with Hermione and directing them over to their friends, spending the rest of the afternoon catching up with everything they'd missed with each other and re-exploring Hogwarts.

* * *

"Where is he?" James muttered as he, Clara and Daphne waited for Harry to return with Hermione, "Where the hell is he, everyone is back apart from him" he muttered, his anger doing little to cover his worry.

"It'll be fine, he won't be long now, look" Daphne said pointing to the clock Dumbledore had set up for the spectators. "His time's nearly up. If he's not back in five minutes then the tournament magic will bring him to the surface" she reassured her boyfriends' father, putting on a brave face despite the fact that she was terrified something had happened to Harry in the cold waters.

Just as James was about to reply Clara grabbed his, directing his attention to where bubbles had started to collect, revealing the drenched figures of Hermione and a blonde little girl as they broke through the cold surface. "Look there's Hermione, come on" she told them, leading them down onto the deck where Hermione and the other girl were being dried off and looked over. "Hermione, are you okay?" Clara asked, collapsing next to her and wrapping another blanket around the shivering girls' shoulders.

"I'm fine. Are Harry and Gabrielle okay?" she asked, her teeth chattering slightly from the cold water.

"Gabrielle is the girl that came up with you?" Daphne asked her friend, putting her arm around her in an attempt to warm her up. "She's okay, Fleur is looking after her" she answered when Hermione nodded. "Was Harry with you when you came up?" she asked, wondering where he was.

"I don't know. The last thing I remember was going to McGonagall's office last night" she told her, looking out over the lake when she realised why Daphne had asked such a question.

Before anyone could ask any more questions however the clock behind them struck just as Harry shot out of the water, landing with a thumb on the deck, his body shivering as the cold seeped into his bones.

"Harry!" the all shouted, making their way over to the shivering boy, wrapping him in blankets and robes until his shivering slowed slightly. "Are you okay?" James asked his son, his arm wrapped tightly around his shoulders, Harry burrowing closer into his father in an attempt to warm up.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm okay" he told them all, wrapping the blanket around his body tighter, looking up when he felt a small hand on his own he saw the Gabriella stood next to him, a small shy smile on her face.

"Thank you" she said, leaning over and placing a soft kiss to his cold cheek, her older sister following suit, breaking between English and French as she thanked him for saving her little sister, something he didn't know quite how to react to.

"No problem Fleur. Glad she's safe" Harry told her with a shy smile, aware of the amused glances that were being shot between his family and friends.

"Ladies and gentleman, your attention please" Dumbledore's voice boomed out, the champions and their supports gathering around to hear the final results of the second task. "In first place is Mr Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts. Second place Mr Victor Krum of Durmstrang. Third, Mr Harry Potter of Hogwarts and fourth place Miss Fleur Delacour," Dumbledore announced, his voice drowned out after every name.

"However, because Miss Delacour failed to return with her with her hostage she is unfortunately disqualified. Now, we have conversed with the Mer and they have informed us that Mr Potter was in fact the first person to reach the hostages, but because of his noble act in rescuing the other hostages the judges have decided to award Mr Potter second place" he announced turning away from the outraged shouts from the Durmstrang students, smiling slightly at Harry's gobsmacked expression.

Smiling, Daphne and Hermione threw their arms around Harry, enveloping him in a big hug, each of them kissing his cheek in congratulations while James and Clara stood by and laughed at the best friends' behaviour. "Come on guys, let's get back to the school and get Harry and Hermione in warm, dry clothes" James said, directing them back over to the boats and the warmth of the school.

* * *

_**Barty Crouch Found Dead **_

_**At Hogwarts.**_

Since the discovery of Crouch's body after the second task the mood of the castle became rather sombre as everyone seemed to realise just how dangerous the tournament was, even if Crouch hadn't been competing in it, he was associated with it.

"You'd think that they would cancel the tournament now that Crouch is dead," Hermione said as she and Daphne waited outside Professor Moody's classroom for Harry to finish his private defence lessons.

"The Triwizard Tournament makes a lot of money, both for the ministry and shop owners around Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. They'd never cancel the tournament just because Crouch was killed. He was never the most popular official at the Ministry" Daphne told her friend, shaking her head at the heartlessness of the ministry.

"Money makes the world go round" Hermione muttered to herself in disgust, "Well on the plus side, at least Harry's getting some extra help now. I suppose that's something."

"Hey, I didn't think that you'd wait for me" Harry commented as he left Moody's classroom, kissing Daphne hello before taking her hand and leading them down the steps of the tower. "How come you decided to wait around?" he asked them as they reached the ground floor.

"We want to know how you're lesson was?" Hermione told him as they moved through the castle towards the kitchens, all of them hungry having not eaten much at diner. "So, what did Moody teach you?" she asked as they all settled around a small table in the busy kitchen, house-elves bustling to and fro around them.

"He quizzed me on my logic, revised some basic spells. Showed me a couple more complex spells, one of which I don't even think my dad uses, or knows" he told them, elaborating when the two girls looked at him with raised eyebrows, "Basically it's elemental manipulation, making the earth rise up and entrap someone within the roots of the earth. From the sounds of its pretty nifty" he told them shrugging, taking a bite from his slice of pizza.

"I wonder why he showed you that, you must be only able to use in certain environments. I mean, you couldn't exactly use it if you were flying or underwater" Hermione pointed out frowning.

"Well then the third task must take place on land, somewhere on the grounds, like the Quidditch pitch" Daphne pointed out, smiling when she saw the confused looks on her boyfriends and friends faces. "Think about it. The first task was meant to be fought in the air; why else would they use a dangerous creature with wings when they could have used any dangerous creature that laid eggs. The second task was fought in the Black Lake with the Mer. So logic states that the third task would take place on land. And that's why Moody taught you that spell" Daphne explained, feeling rather proud of herself for her logic, something she knew witches and wizards weren't famed for.

"That's brilliant!" Hermione told her once she picked her jaw off the floor, "So the third task takes place somewhere on the grounds. Up in the mountains perhaps, or the forest?" she suggested, biting her lip in concentration.

"The Quidditch pitch" Harry exclaimed suddenly sitting up straight, "think about it, it has to take place there. Why else would they cancel the Quidditch matches and ban students from even going down to the pitch. No one's been allowed there all year" he told them, his eyes widening as scenario after scenario ran through his head at what the final task could involve if it were to take up the entire Quidditch pitch.

Looking over at each other Daphne and Hermione exchanged sympathetic looks, both of them knowing that Harry was in the process of freaking out. Standing up and walking over to their friend they wrapped him in a three-way hug, offering the only comfort they could to the panic teen. "Just think Harry. One more week and this silly tournament will be all over and you Daphne can go off into the sunset" Hermione told him, giggling when Harry's panicked look turned into one of bliss as he thought of the end of the tournament and all he could do with his spare time.

* * *

"How long do you reckon he'll be?" Daphne asked Hermione as the two girls sat in the stands watching the final task with the rest of the students, dozens of other conversations going on around them as they waited for the champions to return. Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour had already been returned from the giant maze before them, both looking scratched and scared but otherwise well. Now it was down to Harry and Cedric and everyone was beginning to get impatient at how long it was taking, most people having been sat in the stands for better part of two and a half hours.

"I've got no idea, but I hope they finish soon" Hermione told her friend, offering her no comfort as she was too worried for her best friend. Looking over at the two expelled champions she saw fear on their faces when they both looked back towards the maze, making her wonder what happened in the maze that scared them so much. Shaking her head she looked around the stands at all the other spectators, her eyes finally falling on a figure slightly hunched over in the shadows. Frowning she quickly excused herself and made her way towards the shadows and the hidden figure.

As she got closer to the hidden figure she realised it was Professor Snape, his right hand gripping his left forearm, his body slightly doubled, his face creased in pain, a light sheen of sweat on his brow. Stepping into the shadows Hermione moved slowly closer to her professor, tentatively placing a gentle hand on his arm, the soft touch startling him, making him look up with panic in his eyes at being caught in such a vulnerable position. "Professor? What's wrong?" she asked softly, stepping closer to the obviously distressed man.

"Miss Granger, you need to leave" he grunted, cursing slightly under his breath, his hand gripping his arm even tighter, the pain from his arm obviously increasing, "GO! NOW!" he harshly whispered, stumbling further away from the young girl.

Ignoring her professor's harsh tone Hermione moved closer to the professor and spotting another small group of students heading towards them and realising that the professor wouldn't want to be seen so vulnerable she quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him beneath the seats, out of view of everyone. "Professor, look at me" she told him keeping her voice low even though the sound of the spectators above them drowned out any words she spoke. "Professor, tell me what's wrong. Please?" she asked, concern and worry shining from her eyes.

Looking up into Hermione's eyes, Severus thought over what he should say to reassure her, but quickly realised that she wouldn't be reassured with anything he told her, so he gritted his teeth and quickly pulled back the sleeve of his left arm, revealing the dark mark he had shown her not ten months ago. This time however, instead of a faded skull and snake the mark was pitch black and seemed to move of the surface of his arm. Quickly realising that the mark was the cause of her professors pain Hermione tentatively placed her fingers on his arms, Severus gasping slightly at the contact, breathing out a small sigh as Hermione's hand encircled his forearm, as though her touch soothed the pain somewhat, even though he knew that the pain was a strong as ever, it was merely his imagination.

"Professor, you are stronger than the pain. I know you are. And whatever this means, whatever's going to happen, I know you can handle it. You're strong professor. The strongest man I know," she told him softly, honestly, never breaking eye-contact, the two of them appearing in their own world, until the screams from the spectators above them snapping them back to reality. Looking over to the exit they saw Moody quickly hobble past them, his arms wrapped around Harry's shaking shoulders. Looking over at each other they quickly stood up and made their way back to the other students and professors, both of them wondering what exactly had happened to make Severus' Dark Mark darker and the students to cry out in such a way.

* * *

Looking over at where Harry stood looking down at the courtyard below them, Hermione sighed and made her way over to the where he stood leaning against the battlements. The stood there in silence for a moment, Hermione not knowing what to say, Harry not needing to say anything, the expression on his face indicating just how unhappy he was at the moment.

"The train will be boarding soon" Hermione commented, unable to think of anything else to say to the upset boy. "Another year over."

"Fan-bloody-tastic! Look at them. It's as though Cedric never died and Voldemort was never reborn" he muttered as he looked down at all the loud, smiling students mulling around the courtyard, all of them excited to be going home.

"Don't let the smiling faces fool you Harry," Hermione told him, staring out across the highlands that surround the school. "They just want to go home and have some semblance of normalcy. After all," she told him looking over at her best friend with a sad smile, "now, everything changes."

* * *

**Well, there you go, year four. Sorry it took so long to write, been all over the place lately, life seems to throw up one problem after another. So with that in mind, it's unlikely I'll be posting anything for a while, just while I get my head (and life) together. I am NOT giving up this story or any other story, just taking a small break, I will be back, I promise. I hope you understand. **

**But until then, I hope you liked this chapter and hopefully it won't be long before I'm back writing at full power. **

**Lady Mimi Alice de Yorke **

**xx**


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