Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter.

Harry Potter suppressed the urge to gag as tendrils of scent coiled around him. Bravely battling on he continued further into Trelawney's office hopefully in the direction of her desk. Not much had changed it seemed to him as plush armchairs and tables of crystal balls loomed from the mist. He had almost insisted that Grimjaw put stone air vents in the newly rebuilt Divination tower but Ginny had told him to not be 'Such a tyrant'. Fine for some they didn't have to explain to worried parents why their child had fainted during Divination. Finally he reached a softly snoring slightly mad looking old women slumped in a comfortable old chair next to a fire heaped with smouldering herbs. For a second he was worried she had drugged herself into a stupor. "Sybil, you requested a meeting."

The figure in the chair started and magnified eyes blinked owlishly at him as the old professor awoke. "Ah, Harry, my dear boy you came. Take a seat, take a seat! We can't have our dear new Headmaster wearying his legs."

Harry snorted, and summoned a chair from a nearby table. Once they had sat down and Sybil had poured them both a cup of tea. Harry leaned back into his chair, "So, Sybil, what did you want to discuss? If this is about Firenze then you must understand that since his injury Hogwarts is the best place for him and he is an excellent teacher despite your misgivings."

Sybil sniffed loudly at the mention of Firenze, "No, no, must I have such a banal reason to have a cup of tea with my favourite student?" At this Sybil seemed to get lost in her own world and stared beyond Harry's eyes as she sipped from her teacup. Harry waited patiently. Perhaps before he would have nudged her along but since seeing Sybil throwing crystal balls faster than sound from the castle walls in the Battle for Hogwarts he reckoned she had earned his patience. She was not as gone as many assumed. "I can't seem to remember why I called you; it may have been a dream. Anyway now you're here, tell me how you and dear Ginny are?"

"Fine Sybil, Ginny seems happy in her work. She just submitted her improvements of Wolfsbane to the Potion Brewers Guild. As for me things have quieted down a bit I think I have everything sorted for my first year. It's a pity Minerva wasn't around for it would have been easier with her council. But I think she really wanted to write that book and get around to sorting out Albus' belongings."

"And the children? I do miss having James in my class, such a talented third eye." Sybil looked very pleased with herself. Harry suppressed a smile. James, his eldest, had chosen Divination for much the same reason Harry had, for the promise of an easy 'O'. James had turned out to be a much more accomplished actor/liar than Harry or Ron ever were and was inordinately proud of his OWL in Divination.

"Yeah James seems well he's taking the core syllabus for entry into the Auror program and did very well in this summer's Young Duellists Competition." Harry allowed a note of pride to enter his voice at his son's progress," He'll make an excellent Auror I hope."

"No doubt, no doubt. And Albus? Luna tells me he spent much of the summer with her and Neville in the Americas."

Harry grinned at that, "Indeed he and Luna's young Alice seem to be growing close. I believe they were all in the Amazon searching for new species." Harry had great hopes for the two. Alice was a good counterpoint to Albus' seriousness and cynicism though not as esoteric as her Mother. Neville claimed she was the embodiment of her grandmother and namesake. Speaking of Neville, Harry glanced at his watch, a gift from George he still hadn't read the huge manual that came with it and viewed it with deepest suspicion, maybe he should give it to Teddy. "I'm sorry Sybil. Heads of House meeting and I told Neville we would chat just before it. I'll have to leave you."

"Of course, dear boy, I'm sorry I kept you. Still it's nice to catch up with the mundane when one spends as much time as I on higher planes."

Harry nodded sagely and chose not to comment. Offering a small bow he turned to leave. His hand was on the doorknob when she spoke again. His blood froze as he spun on one foot drawing his wand. Perhaps If he hadn't been more relaxed, maybe if the smoke hadn't weighed so heavily on his mind it wouldn't have happened but for whatever reason his magic surged out of his control. Harry seemed to watch detached from his body as his magic sped across the room burning away the smoke and slamming into the aura of power around the seer, her eyes were rolled back and her body was rigid. The scent of Trelawney's magic reached him the smell of ozone and lavender. His magic threw itself against her aura trying to stop that terrible voice. A shriek left Harry as he battled with a force beyond any wizards understanding, the glass in the crystals and windows shattered and the shards flung themselves at the target of his raging magic. Harry's detached mind thrashed in horror. He lost all sense.

Slowly he opened his eyes to the sound of the door to the tower being forced open and some feet he didn't recognise. He was gently rolled over and stared into the worried face of Pansy Parkinson, He grinned weakly. "Going to finish me of, eh, Parkinson." He rasped hoarsely.

"Don't talk you moron. Unfortunately I took and oath and you aren't far gone enough for me to make a convincing 'accident'" She glared daggers at him as her wand flicked rapidly above his body. He tried to respond but found himself slipping back into darkness. As he drifted of the last words he heard were in that nightmarish voice. "The Black Wand drives the Storm, to shape or destroy, to remake the world in his eyes, to break the ties and cast us adrift in the void for eternity"

Harry Potter wasn't angry, he was furious. An undirected rage at the universe, Fate in particular and probably Destiny as well. Paintings flashed by at an alarmingly slow rate as he limped from the infirmary ignoring the threats Pansy threw after him. This was insane. He didn't need this. As if taking up the mantle of Dumbledore's prodigy and continuing in his footsteps as headmaster didn't come with its own pile of baggage. He came to the stone gargoyle guarding his office and hissed quietly "Forged by choice". The gargoyle leapt aside and he ascended to his door here another anguitic phrase "Tempered by time" and a quick tap of his magic deactivated their wards. Occasionally he wondered if the measures were a bit paranoid but then Mad-eye would have wanted at least three times as many conditions for entry and the entire office to be randomly relocated every day. At least this way one would have to spent at least a day dissembling the wards maybe half that if they were themselves a parselmouth of equal power and had spent an equivalent amount of time to him in researching Anguitic magic. Perhaps ten people worldwide he guessed five of whom he knew personally as they had taught him, the other five where rumoured hermits. Safe enough. Also this way he got to veto peoples entry, much less awkward for them to get angry at the gargoyle then outside his door. He was looking forward to the ministers face when he came to visit. Harry shoved those carefree thoughts away and focused on the upcoming meeting. Originally it was going to be a quick review of this terms schedule a chance for him to sound out any concerns from the staff.

There hadn't been too much turmoil over the exchange in leadership. Professor McGonagall, it was impossible for Harry to think her in any other terms, had piloted the school well through the reformations of the past decade. If anything the standard of education and support in Hogwarts had rocketed under her guidance. Harry disliked thinking ill of his old Headmaster but he had to admit that juggling all of his external roles with his duties to the school had lead to a period of stagnation under Dumbledore's reign. The largest change 'Harry's new order', as his wife called it, implemented was the founding of a new house, The House of Merlin Emyrs. It had taken Harry and Hermione five years from the war's end to recognise the massive influx from post-war babies as well as the increase of immigration due to the increased economic success of British Wizardry. This combined with the post -war collapse of many of the alternative schools across the British isle either from lack of funding or destruction.

Once they had convinced the board of governors and the headmistress of the problem it had taken another five years for Hermione to understand and reorganise the magic that imbued Hogwarts to allow a fifth house. On top of that she had managed to pull the essence of Merlin Emyrs from Merlin's staff, obtained via Harry's help and returned to the ICW in good shape, if a bit less magical. This essence was integrated into the sorting hat despite its protests. Harry found the whole process fascinating unfortunately the entire process was interrupted by his periodic global trots investigating new magics. Secretly Harry was certain that it would have been less difficult to just extend the current houses capabilities. Hermione had considered the project hers though and it had certainly launched her political career. She really was one of the brightest and most powerful witches of her time, some had already drawn strong parallels between her and Dumbledore, completely merited in Harry's opinion.

His musings were interrupted by wards brushing his mind relaying the image of his visitors from the gargoyles eyes. Harry reached out and nudged the gargoyle aside then sank back in his chair. Presently the door opened and his heads of houses filed in, seating themselves quickly and throwing Harry concerned glances. Harry sighed "I'm fine you know and Sybil will recover quickly according to Pansy. So stop with those looks and let's get down to business."

Luna was the first to stir, "Here Harry, this the crest for Emyrs, Mallory and I just finished enchanting it". She levitated a large wooden shield showing a white Thestral rampant on a Navy blue field. After that the meeting flowed well. Luna was clearly nervous about her new role as Head of Emyrs but Harry was sure it would be fine and Professor Spr...Pomana had vowed to help her with anything unexpected. The others had all been in the job for a few years Mallory Rook being the most senior having graduated two years before Harry's first year and working for Gringotts as a curse breaker before returning to Hogwarts after the war to teach Ancient Runes and 'Enchanting and Warding' becoming Head of House under McGonagall. The others had all ascended before Harry's appointment as well apart from Luna. It was good to have staff that knew what to expect as well as staff that were willing to set him to rights. Cuttingly in fact in the case of his sister-in-law and head of Slytherin, Astoria, "No Harry we will not be applying for a second pitch, there is enough quidditch as is without encouraging more. Not to mention the centaurs are already annoyed by the practice pitch near the lake."

The meeting took a darker term as Harry confided in them the words of the prophecy. The opinions were varied. Luna and Penelope, Head of Ravenclaw, were strongly against taking action and advocated a passive approach, " Remember Harry it was Riddle's haste that fulfilled your prophecy in the first place." Mallory and Astoria where in accordance that Harry should talk to McGonagall and leave the prophecy alone, though perhaps they should subtly keep watch for black wands in the Hogwarts populace. Pomona had the stunningly simple suggestion that Harry contact Ollivander and have him report whomever bought Black wands in the following days seeing as Hogwarts letters went out tonight.

This reminder startled Harry into panic as he realised the time and more importantly the Date. Shooting a glare at Astoria who looked smug. He wrapped up the meeting and dove through the fireplace.

Please Leave a review. Just anything so I have some idea of what people think. I'll be using this story to test out some ideas in another one that I'm still plotting out.