A/N
Hey everyone so the beginning of my second story has arrived!! Please do let me know what you think.
Merry Christmas to everybody and a Happy New Year!!
Chapter One
A grand, looming mansion stood at the edge of a forest in Cornwall, it belonged to a man with cruel and dark intentions for the year ahead at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was not a man to play by the rules but he had accumulated a lot of wealth and influence after the war had passed from bypassing through convention and red-tape.
The property stood with no light or sign of life bar one window, a small desk lamp filtered just enough light through a gap in the curtains to allow people to know at least one person was awake and alert at such a late hour.
Not that many people could even see the house...the man in question was a wizard and had placed so many protective charms on his house to deter 'Muggles' from ever seeing it or even knowing it was there.
Muggles is what they called people who had no magical heritage and quite a few people from the Wizarding world did not like these people...they found them strange and abnormal even though the population of Muggles was larger that that of the Magical Community in Britain.
The man who owned the house was no exception to the small minority, he dispised Muggles. Especially those whom were born with Magic and he believed along with a small population of the Wizarding community that the Muggles born with Magic were polluting the pure magical blood of the Wizarding world.
The man stood in his study with a glass of whiskey in one hand and his other hand braced on the back of his study chair. He had a large conundrum and it was lying in front of him flat on his desk. As he gazed at the unsuspecting item in front of him you could notice some characteristics about him all of which were not all that flattering.
The man was a very short and stout individual, he was dressed in a dark suit with trousers that strained against his protruding stomach and a shirt that was showing equal struggle. He had an aristocratic air surrounding him and yet he was as corrupted and bigoted at they come, he might have money but that did not make him a good person, in actual reality that turned him into a complete scoundrel.
Many years ago a dark wizard by the name of Lord Voldemort had terrorised both muggles and wizards alike in his rise to power, the man in question had the same beliefs and ideals as the dark wizard and so stood beside him throughout his tyrannical reign.
Of course when his Dark Lord was thought to be killed he tucked tail and ran claiming he was following the monster against his will. Quite a lot of his followers who were not insane or idiotic had used this defence and as such had avoided jail time, this man was no different to one Lucius Malfoy and everyone knew what happened to him, his own wife turned him in.
As the man stood in his study he had a seemingly harmless small black book sitting in front of him, having been sent to him by a friend whom back in the dark days of Voldemort were both his followers he was unsure what to do with it.
He knew what it was and what it contained and he will be damned if he was going to have it in his house around his wife and children, he might be cruel but he wasn't an idiot.
It may have been true once upon a time that he had penchant for the Dark Arts and still did but he had worked hard over the years to provide for his family and he wasn't going to let some silly little book get in the way of that.
His plans for the book would need to wait for a few days but once the opportunity presented itself he would pass it on so it could get where it needed to go.
Harry Potter and his little gang...that was its destination, there was something strange about them all especially the Weasley and Lovegood Girls. Nothing about their situation made any sense, they were two pureblood girls but the ideals of their families made them traitors to their blood along with Draco Black and Neville Longbottom.
Those two girls though, there was something fishy about their arrival at Hogwarts. He had a seat on the board of governors and when Albus Dumbledore had told them last Christmas that two ten year old girls were going to be transferring into Hogwarts all hell broke loose amongst the board. People were questioning thousands of years of traditions and were outraged that Albus Dumbledore was allowing such a travesty to happen.
It was bad enough he has a half giant as Gamekeeper and apparently according to his daughter running detentions...but they actually had a goblin teaching Charms class. I mean no doubt about it Filius Flitwick was lethal with a wand but he should not have even had a wand in the first place.
Lesser creatures teaching at Hogwarts and now children under the age of Legality were being permitted to join Hogwarts. It was absolutely insane, Albus Dumbledore had lost his bloody marbles.
However the man in question did not ask any more questions after that initial meeting and he found that a little strange. Not overly so to make him confront Dumbledore about it but enough for him to have his suspicions.
Only an idiot would question Albus Dumbledores power, sure the man was flamboyant, childish and overall had his fingers in a lot of pies but every time he thought about those two ten year old girls he heard a kind of voice in his head not to question it any further.
The infuriating "Leader of the Light" must have created a charm to stop people from thinking about it too much and the thought of Albus Dumbledore poking around with his head irritated the man to no end.
That was partially the reason why he had chosen to make sure the book would enter the Hallowed halls of Hogwarts this year. Albus will not know what hit him, and by the time he does figure it out it will be too late.
Completely unbeknownst to the man a small creature with bat like ears stood around the corner watching, he had to warn Harry Potter soon, his master had a nefarious plan that included the Boy-Who-Lived. Lorena was friends with Dobby the Cissy Blacks elf and lived with Harry Potter.
Dobby would help Lorena in warning The Great Harry Potter about his master...Dobby will let Lorena come to Black Manor House and help Harry Potter. There is too much on the line for Harry Potter and his friends, he would need to act fast.
The summer holidays had been a pleasant affair and Harry and his friends found it hard to believe it was half way gone. Everything had gone swimmingly, after they had met the founders at the end of the year and were given their weapons they had added training with them into their training schedule that Hermione had colour coded and laminated for each of them.
Harry and Ginny fought against each other everyday with and without their swords and could beat even Sirius who was a master fencer as a child. They were happy and found that they became naturally proficient in the time they had.
The power wielded in their swords were keyed to them and only them. It was evident when Fred and George tried to liberate their swords without the two owners knowledge and they were subsequently thrown across the room by a force field just as they went to grab the hilt.
Ron and Hermione following their archery lessons could shoot up to twenty feet now with moving objects and they had also taken up sword fighting with Harry and Ginny. At the beginning of Summer they found swords in their Soul bonds vaults. They were not as strong as the Goblin made swords Harry and Ginny had but they did the job. There was a healthy competition each day between the two who could out manoeuvre the other one.
Luna and Neville had became experts with their axes, hitting their mark with every throw, with Luna being so small it was rather surprising and amusing at times watching her throw a huge projectile from her tiny blonde frame. Their training was becoming easier and easier and they found themselves improvising with their weapons and their techniques in fighting with one another and their stamina was at an all time high.
Draco and Daphne had also taken to their weapon of choice with ease, it seemed as if their weapons were made for them and them for it. Day by day they were hitting their targets and so now all four Soul bonds were fighting against each other with ease and both were easily matched in strength and finesse. Neville had been the most positive result...he had dropped most of his baby fat and had sprouted up three inches.
All of the children kept busy throughout their summer so far and they only had a four weeks of holidays left before they got to go back home to Hogwarts. The only thing they were dreading were exam results, they knew they had done ok in Potions considering Professor Snapes revelation before they left Hogwarts but considering what had happened at the end of the school year with Voldemort and Quirrell they all felt slightly worried.
Hermione was practically bouncing on the spot and over the summer they worked on their mental communications and the control over it and most of them had tuned Hermione out at this point because of all the exam stress they kept hearing in her head. Freaking out on the outside was bad enough but no one wanted to hear her freaking out on the outside also.
"Hermione will you stop! You're driving me crazy...I'm worried enough as it is without all your doomsday propaganda..." Draco was beyond frustrated, the young muggleborn witch had been a bundle of nerves and excitement for the past week and both Draco and Neville at this point were getting more and more anxious as time was going on.
"I'm sorry guys it's just so much happened last year and we were very distracted with training and things I just think we might have missed something that's it..." All of them rolled their eyes at her even Harry considering he was just as obsessed with school as she was but freaking everyone out was not a good idea.
"Look it will be fine ok...but Hermione you need to stop, worrying at this stage will not change your results so let's just keep up with our reading that we have been doing and let the chips fall as they may." She nodded at them and they proceeded to make their way to the clearing in the Burrow for their meditation.
As they all sat in a circle they joined hands and continued their breathing and before they knew it Mrs Weasley was calling them in for lunch. Harry always believed Mrs Weasley made the nicest food, even though it was something as simple as sandwiches they tasted incredible.
Conversation flowed between them all and the Weasley Family the twins were being their usual joking selves and Percy as sullen as he always was. Apparently his girlfriend Penelope Clearwater had broken up with him but according to Fred they would get back together again before the school year started, this had happened twice before.
Reading the Next Founders journals over the summer had been enlightening for all of the children, they all had been trying to master this strange and unpredictable power that they didn't quite understand...according to their ancestors journals as their magic grows so will their combined abilities.
Throughout their extensive research they discovered that each founder of Hogwarts could control certain aspects of the elements, Harry and Ginny had found out their combined magic could control fire. As they went over Godric Gryffindors journal with a fine tooth comb, Harry had found out all he had to do was click his fingers and focus as much magic as he could into it...the fire then started at his fingertips at first that's all he had to do but now he had to move his hand from a closed fist to an open one to allow his whole hand to flame up as everyone had started calling it, Harry's flame was red and vibrant and Ginnys was yellow and as brightly coloured as the sun.
Hermione had discovered her elemental control over the earth by accident she was only practicing the motion she needed after reading it in Helga Hufflepuffs journal but created a small but powerful avalanche of the mound of soil it had since grew and Mrs Weasley has had several trees uprooted as she had practiced, Rons was slightly different he could move her avalance from one place to another using his hands or pushing it across the fields at the back of the Burrow if need be.
Luna and Neville had discovered they could create and control wind by producing a full on tornado by swirling their hands, it sat in perfect motion and miniature in the beginning and now it had been made actual size, Mr Weasleys barn had been caught in the crossfire during their discovery on that particular day.
Draco and Daphne had of course figured out how to work their water gift by waving and manipulating the small lake as they sat in the orchard beside it, they were all unsure how it came so natural but they were not questioning it, all of their powers were growing and it was both exhilarating and exhausting.
Their combined fitness level had also gained momentum as well, Hermione had been doing yoga with her mother and Tae-Kwon-Do with her father. All of them physically were at the same level as Harry and Ginny who had been able to endure the longest during their runs.
Harry and Ginny had joined an Aikido class with Draco and Daphne which did wonders for their meditation, posture and agility, not to mention it had balanced out their magic to a safe and secure level. Neville and Luna had started kickboxing and found Luna to be a quick and merciless opponent even to her soul bond when they sparred.
Needless to say they had kept busy but it seemed that Mrs Weasley was counting down the days to send them back to school, they had caused quite a lot of destruction as they controlled their new powers and she was unsure how much more the Burrow could take.
Tomorrow was Harry and Nevilles Birthday, as their birthdays fell within two days of each other they had decided to celebrate together with friends and family all in the one day, they were also working on a Potion that could help Remus, well in theory anyway. A potential partial cure Potion for werewolves was found etched onto the back of Salazar Slytherins journal, it was a long shot but they had found out that all of the founders were working on one but never finished it. If they combined them together they hoped to be able to create a successful Potion to Cure a person of Lycanthropy.
It was a very difficult Potion and more than likely would come down to trial and error. As they slowly started researching it more they all came to the conclusion to ask Professor Snape if he could help them when they got back to school, but for now they would enjoy the party and prepare for another year at Hogwarts. Hopefully it was going to be a quieter year for the eight children than the previous although they didn't hold their breath.
The rest of their day after exercising etcetera was spend having dinner with Sirius, Amy, Susan and Hermiones parents at the Burrow. They had a wonderful meal with Mr Weasley asking the Grangers all sorts of questions as usual. Everything felt so blissfully normal but Harry had felt like something was coming, he couldn't shake off that feeling of dread that affixed itself in his gut.
"Knight to E5..." Harry and Hermione were sitting having a game of Wizards chess with everyone spectating, her parents had been fascinated by the animated set as they had both played when they were at University. Harry made his move and he could see his friends mother sitting on her hands resisting the urge to help her daughter but he knew to keep an eye on Hermione to make sure he was always a step in front of her.
"Queen to E5..." Mrs Granger all but shouted out at her daughter, that wasn't the most surprising thing...what was surprising was the piece in question responded to her voice and moved into position. Everyone on the room looked at her with a gobsmacked expression to which she didn't know why.
"I'm sorry Hermione I just couldn't help it...it sort of slipped out...that was bad chess etiquette I'm sorry..." She smiled all innocently and she had no idea what had just happened...now they knew where Hermione had gotten her magic from.
"Mum I'm not mad but you should know that it shouldn't have moved for you...it won't respond to a voice unless you have magic and because it did we know that you're a witch..." She was completely shocked at that as was her husband. It didn't make sense why she had not been given her Hogwarts letter when she was eleven.
"How? I mean I knew you had to get it from somewhere but I never in a million years thought it would be me..." They all rallied around her in congratulations and tried to come up with some sort of way they could teach Emma her magic.
"Looks like we need to get you a wand Emma..." They all smiled at her and her husband was very happy especially. Ever since their daughter had been accepted into Hogwarts she had tried to come up with some sort of way to relate to her daughter, apparently she had found that now. Sirius and Remus agreed to tutor her after they got special permission from Amelia.
"I tell you what...come over and myself and Remus will train you...we should be able to make you into a great witch and be nearly finished the first year curriculum by the time Hermione gets back from Christmas break." she smiled at Harry godfather for his generous offer and her daughter was grinning from ear to ear.
"We could take a Sabbatical...Aaron and Lucinda could take over the practice while we are gone?" Emma and Dan had came to an agreement before the night was out and with one last meditation session everyone was ready to part ways.
After all of the excitement they all headed home to prepare for the following day. Luna and Neville went back to Longbottom Manor with Frank and Alice. Daphne, Draco, Harry and Ginny went back to Black Manor with Narcissa, Sirius, Amy and Susan. Ron was going to go to the Grangers with Hermione and all of the Weasley children were out at friends allowing Mr and Mrs Weasley to have a date night in the Burrow.
All of the children settled well and got washed up for the night before heading to bed they all said goodnight to everyone using their telepathy. As the summer progressed they had tested it out and found they could reach each other from their own houses, and so every night before bed they all said goodnight before drifting off to sleep.
Severus Snape had spent half of the summer already thinking his life was a dream. After Lily died he never thought he would find anybody who could make him feel as happy or complete. Truth be told he never even thought he would be happy but Aurora did that for him.
She completed him and he completed her, every day that he spent with her he fell further and further in love with her. He knew he would marry her, maybe not soon but he would and never again would he doubt his ability to be human.
"What are you thinking about?" He lifted his head and looked into those beautiful eyes he had became so accustomed too.
"How lucky I am?" She smiled at him before pressing her lips to his. "Also what do you buy a twelve year old for his birthday?" Her grin got impossibly wider.
"Well that I am not sure but it will be practical..." He nodded his head at her in thanks. "He is a good boy and has came so far...you know no matter what you get him he will be happy." She always had a way of making him feel better.
"Are you coming with me tomorrow? I know Harry wants you there the invite was for both of us." She nodded her head at him and he smiled before kissing her again.
"Our first public outing with your friends as a couple..." He groaned into her neck and remembered something that would require his attention.
"Yeah but just wait if you think the twins are bad the Marauders are worse..." She was confused by this and at her questioning glance he explained about Sirius and Remus and their penchant for trouble.
"Maybe since Albus will be there they will be on their best behaviour..." They both laughed at that because if they knew anything about Albus Dumbledore it's that he would probably join in on the pranks. They settled down again and went to sleep curled in each other's arms waiting on the day to come.