October 31, 1981- 10:39 p.m.

With a slight whoosh of rushing wind a cloaked figure appeared on the edge of some of the most powerful wards erected in recent times. Glowing silver eyes surveyed the ruins of the once pristine street, taking in the details of the house now visible in front of him. He stalked through the destruction with all of the grace of a jungle predator, dispatching what remained of the Death Eaters that still survived the somewhat one sided battle that had been pitched in this house.

He carefully made his way up the stairs, frowning slightly as he felt the depleted runes that would have once already started repairing the house's over all damage. As he stepped into the room designed as a nursery he paused, his skin tingling with the almighty strength of magic still residing in the air. He took a breath as if to brace himself and stepped further into the room, his eyes filled with sorrow as he took in the form of the redheaded woman laying almost defensively in front of the crib.

He carefully and gently picked up the sleeping baby, swaddling him in the blankets, and searching for anything that remained to pack the baby's few clothes and necessities to survive for the short term. Looking over the room again he nodded in satisfaction and made his way out of the practically condemned building, keeping a watchful eye on his young charge, hoping against hope that the babe would remain asleep a while longer.

The stranger settled himself against the mostly intact iron fence as he awaited a very important person. He did not have to wait long as the roar of a motorcycle filled the air. Out of the skies came the reckless ride of the one and only Sirius Black, dogfather of Harry James Potter, and the last Scion of the House of Black. The stranger stood straight as the bike touched not even a dozen paces away, and the black haired man leapt from the idling machine, making his way to the figure standing in the headlight's diffused beam.

"Who are you?" Was the gruff question directed at the cloaked man. The man shot a warning glare to Sirius as he gestured to the sleeping babe in his arms.

"I am a friend Sirius Orion Black, and I have an offer for you and your charge. You can either hunt down the true traitor or you may come with me and raise your godson, train him for what is coming." The stranger spoke with cool tones, his voice like liquid silk. Never raising nor lowering from its natural baritone.

"Why should I trust you, and you still haven't bloody answered me." Sirius glared at the unknown man, his face a hostile sneer.

"I am known as the Grayson, and I was meant to be young Harry's guardian before Albus Dumbledore decided to muscle his way in. My family has always guarded the Potters, even as the original Greengrass family has guarded and served the Black line. Now will you trust an old warrior and raise your godson or do something foolish and reckless that will most likely end up in failure?" The man's silver eyes seemed to pierce Sirius as he spoke. The young Scion of the House Black regarded the stranger for a long moment before allowing his gaze to fall to the baby in his arms.

When Padfoot next spoke, his voice was almost unnaturally silent, "Does anyone else know yet?"

The newly identified Grayson hesitated for only a moment, "I believe that Dumbledore knows but then again he may not know just yet. He will shortly when the protections surrounding my home block the wards and left over spells on young Harry. We will have to bring in a healer to see to him to make sure that his health is in order. You must make your decision quickly Sirius Black, for we do not have much time to waste speaking here."

The last Heir to House black turned and muttered a few incantations under his breath, his motorcycle systematically shutting down, shrinking and flying into his waiting, outstretched hand as he slid his slightly gnarled wand back into its holster. "Let's get out of here then."

The Grayson nodded and turned, his magic instinctively reaching out and opening a rift in the air in front of the two men and one baby, the swirling colors and magic creating a stable door sized hole looking over rolling fields and a distant Manor house. "You'll need to go first so that the Portal remains open." Sirius tensed for a moment, watching the cloaked figure before silently moving past him, through the portal and onto the other side.

The cloaked man reached into a hidden pocket and withdrew a rolled up piece of parchment and stuck it to the iron fence, before stepping through the portal, his magic condensing and collapsing the temporary gateway. It would be almost another hour before the note was found and the call went out that the Boy-Who-Lived was missing and presumed dead. This startling revelation would cause one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore to change his plans from the Potter Heir to the Longbottom boy.


Date/time Unknown: Estimated sixteen years later

The clang of steel slamming against steel permeated the air as a man dressed in dark grey and black leather trousers and jerkin blocked a slender katana with a plain looking claymore. The man smirked at the black haired teen who tried to press down the larger man unsuccessfully. 'He's gotten faster and is almost strong enough to press me back, perhaps it is time for the Trial.' The older man spun to the left, using a simple push to make the teen stumble over his outstretched leg. "Not bad young Master, but you are still thinking in terms of dueling and not fighting. That is a flaw which will cost you your life."

The teenager ground his teeth together in anger even as his body automatically rolled into the fall, keeping him from being injured. As he regained his footing he leapt backwards, arching his back, gracefully flipping over the older man, upon the light landing the boy leapt forward, his blade humming through the air before it was once again parried by the hulking man. The teen's face contorted into a mask of almost shock before he jumped back to create a few feet of breathing room.

The leather garbed man watched his young charge with something akin to fondness in his silver eyes as the teen stood in a crouched position, his chest heaving slightly in an effort to draw more air into his burning lungs. The man waited patiently, and simply smiled to himself as the teenager once again leapt forward, swinging his sword diagonally. Easily parrying the blade, the elder man used his young charge's momentum to throw him flat onto his face.

The teen grumbled as a large, wolf-like dog started wheezing and yapping at the teen's misfortune. Before the dog could fully recover, a bright flash of magenta light slid over the dog, turning its black fur purple with pink and red polka dots. The teen and older man started laughing at the dog as it tried in vain to figure out why it was being laughed at, until it saw it paws. Growling menacingly the dog leapt at the younger of the men, shifting from massive dog to well toned man in an instant, tackling the raven haired youth to the mats, mercilessly tickling him.

The teen laughed and tried to push the older man off of him to no avail. All the while the leather garbed man moved to the wall, to place his blade back onto its rack hanging from the wall. "Harry, Siri, if the two of you are quite done, I believe its time to talk of the future."

Both ebony haired men looked up from their tickle fight, noting the blank, if not serious expression of their friend. As one boy and man stood and followed the elder man as he walked through an open door.


September 1, 1996 Unknown Time

Hermione Granger stood tall, her scarlet and gold badge with the stylized "H" of Hogwarts proudly displayed on the left breast of her black school robes. Her impossibly curly hair tied back into a semi-tamed bun, a few curls falling in front of her lightly tanned face, with that one errant strand that wouldn't stay out of her eyes.

She watched with a small smile as the new First Years took in the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the first time. She nodded to the prefects of each house as her Head of House, Professor Minerva McGonagall brought in the little rickety stool with the frayed Sorting Hat sitting on top of it.

She could remember how six years ago she stood at the front of this hall, listening to that Weasley boy rant on about Quidditch and where he thought he would go. She remembered rolling her eyes and tuning him out as the Sorting Hat began its song, trying to use her logic driven mind to try and figure out where she would end up herself.

She sighed quietly as she watched Ron and Neville snicker and laugh at the young students. She shook her head as she turned her gaze to the blond haired, Slytherin Headboy Draco Malfoy, who stood next to the doors leading into the hall. He returned her look with raised eyebrow and cocky smirk, making the auburn haired witch huff under her breath and refocus on the Sorting Hat.

Her brow furrowed in confusion as the Hat seemed to straighten itself out, an odd occurrence as the last of the new First Years had just been sorted into Hufflepuff. She, and the rest of the school blinked in shock as the hat erupted into a plume of magical silver fire, a black haired teen seeming to appear from under the hat.

She couldn't help her blush as she took in the sight of the man's sleeveless chain-mail shirt belted to his obviously custom made leather pants, interwoven with what appeared to be dragon scale and more chain-mail. His pants ended in a pair of dragon hide boots, cut similar to those her father wore when he had been in the military. She noticed the band with what appeared to be an inverted gold "V" on his left bicep and the katana strapped to his lower back.

Just as the Headmaster was about to question the younger man, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor let out a series of bark like laughs, making the teen grumble and grin sheepishly at the Head Table. When he spoke, his voice was like liquid honey, "Uh, sorry bout the flashy entrance Headmaster, but Hogwarts wouldn't let me in without being sorted and then the wards like swallowed me up and then here I am."

There was silence in the Hall for a total time of almost ten minutes before the Defense Professor started laughing again, banging his left fist on the table. The teen scowled and with a flick of his hand up ended a pitcher of pumpkin juice over the head of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. "Jeez Siri, could you be any more of a vagrant," was the only thing heard before Albus Dumbledore swooped from his gilded chair to the young man standing next to the stool.

"You couldn't be he could you?" the wizened old man said, the tell tale twinkle in his bright blue eyes as he surveyed the teen, almost adult in front of him.

Harry blinked his piercing green eyes for a moment as he regarded the supposed Leader of Light. "Ummm, I don't know who you think I am sir but my name is Harry and I'm here cause I got this letter that said I was needed." As the young man was about to say more his mouth shut itself forcibly due to an unknown but powerful secrecy charm.

Dumbledore regarded the young man for a few moments more before sighing softly, " I'm afraid my boy that we'll have to test you thoroughly before you can join your classmates so that you may be properly placed in the school curriculum."

Harry bowed his head before nodding reluctantly. "Alright I'll take these tests but before I do, will there be charms or wards to restrict damage? I don't want to hurt anyone if my magic escapes my total control."

The Headmaster of Hogwarts chuckled a tad arrogantly as he responded to the boy's question. "My boy I doubt you'll be able to harm any of my Professors, they're the best qualified in their chosen fields."

Harry looked up and his eyes seemed darker, as if all light were being sucked from them, "With all due respect sir, I have spent my whole life preparing to fight Voldemort and I have learned several powerful spells and combat forms that most wizards and witches have allowed to disappear from their way of life. In fact my instructor is of the opinion that if there were any left in society then I would be a Battle Mage with distinctive honors."

The purebloods and older students in the Hall gasped not only at Harry's utterance of Voldemort's name but also the fact that he dared to claim he could be a Battle Mage. Draco's left eyebrow arched as his jaw fell slightly open in shock, his family having extensive documentation on the Battle Mages of old in the library in his ancestral home. For his part Dumbledore looked even more skeptical that a singular child, no matter how gifted at birth could already be at the level of control required to be a Battle Mage.

"My dear boy, I don't know who your instructor could possibly be, but I can assure you that you are several decades from being eligible to become a Battle Mage. I'm afraid he is mistaken, that or he simply wished to build your confidence up."

The air surrounding the men in the center of the hall suddenly dropped as Harry responded in a firmly controlled voice that belied the slight sparks of eldritch fire starting to race across his flesh, "Sir, you may be one of the most powerful wizards in five centuries, but you will never disrespect my instructor again or I will show you exactly what I'm capable of." Here Harry spun around on his heel and stalked out of the doors to the Great Hall, heading towards the still partially opened entrance doors, stepping into the fresh air.

A slightly gravelly voice spoke up from right behind the old Headmaster, "I've watched that boy grow up Albus, he's more capable than most of the Aurors I trained with. If I were you, I'd listen to the pup." And with those parting words Sirius Black, the Head of House Black and Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher followed his godson from the hall but instead of heading outside he turned and headed deeper into the castle, presumably towards his own rooms.

Hermione Granger stood there looking like a lost school girl before her highly organized mind remembered that there were new students to be shown to their Houses and without a second thought ( more like a third or fourth) she called the prefects together and handed out the slips of parchments detailing the passwords for each Houses common rooms and the prefect bathrooms for the males and females.

And so the new year started at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but what would come in the pressing months?