Disclaimer: Still don't own it. Would love to though.

AN: This is turning into a monster beast of a story. My outline I just finished was a small novel on its own. So arguably this is still part of the prologue. Setting up characters. And amazingly not even done yet. I'm going back and forth on Dumbledore. Not sure if I want to expand him much more than the books cuz let's be honest. Pig for slaughter pretty gives ya all you could need. Remus still needs proper introducing. I kinda feel I might need the golden trio too. Buuuuuuuut ahhhh I need them in the front half and then I don't know what to do with them in the back half. Bah choices choices.

Before anyone loses their minds over OCs...don't. I needed them. For reasons actually explain here in this chapter I couldn't use an existing character for this character. That said besides the 3 I mentioned by name this isn't going to be a long list of folks you're going to remember. I'm probably gonna kill them off at some point.

If you're looking for a visual of female harry think Morgana Pendragon from Merlin. Complete with those outfits pretty much. That's kinda perfect for what's in my head. Ravenna mentioned below think Lagertha from Vikings. Maybe add some grey hair but pretty much that. Wizards/Witches live 130-150 years. 70s just about middle aged. The actress who plays Lagertha is only 39 so you can age up a bit but don't go crazy.

I promise as we move along AN will get significantly shorter and less. Right now we're still setting the stage as it were.

Onwards and forwards.

2.

The sky cracked. Once, twice, half dozen times, a dozen times, two dozen times. It was the strangest storm the county of Gloucestershire had ever seen. Despite that, the few people that were in the area felt no need to get any closer. As if some invisible force was tutting in their minds discouraging them. The 45 witches and wizards standing in the clearing neither knew nor cared. They were here for a purpose.

For the first time in decades there was a chance. Death's own bringer of destruction was for the first time vulnerable. The walking plague upon the earth. No one knew why'd she'd chosen to open the maelstrom. The worst case scenario floated around what was left of what would have once been called the Auror Corp was she was coming back to join Voldemort.

She was virtually indestructible on her own. No one had forgotten that it was she that had destroyed Voldemort in the first place. Even if she never joined him, it was unlikely he'd be defeated in the next decade without her. With her at his side... it didn't bear contemplating.

Still Ravenna was one of those that found that scenario unlikely. For all the creatures' destruction and chaos, there was never any indication it was him she regretted. Him she longed for. It wasn't his name that brought terror to all that heard it. A foreshadowing of her presence. There were names. Names everyone living wanted to forget but never dared to for fear they'd miss the warning hearing one of those names would mean. His, either born or crafted name, was not one of those names.

Ravenna looked around the forest clearing. She didn't need to know where'd she'd been to recognize this place. She hadn't been there that night. She'd been on the outskirts of this forest other nights, but not that night. She wouldn't be standing here now had she'd been there that night. No one had survived that night save the darkness that had caused it.

She shivered. Despite being a rough woman nearing her 70s now, she couldn't shake the cold seeping in her bones at remembered destruction in this place. A place of darkness. A place until now after more than 50 years no one dare tread.

There really was no comparing the fields of corpses. The smell of pain and despair that she'd witnessed in other fields to this place. Visions that she knew that would haunt her even beyond her own death. Things that could never be unseen. Somehow though this place was still the worst.

They had a chance though. Using the creatures' own maelstrom they were here and could strike at it before it even had a chance to level the world of magic and mundane as effectively as it had.

"Should we set up camp ma'am?"

"No. Not here. Not in this place. We need to find shelter before we begin searching for the creature."

They had no way of knowing when exactly they were going when they stepped through the maelstrom. The could narrow it to within a few years but for now their exact time was a mystery.

"Should we wait for the current ministry. Surly they've detected this," said Fey a would have been unspeakable had anything resembling a ministry still been standing where they'd come from.

Ravenna had more history with the creature of death than most. Her instincts told her that's what it'd be expecting. Nothing good ever came from doing with the creature expected. "No. For now we move in shadow. Smith, where's the safe house you located?"

Alexander Smith was Ravenna's second in command. The son of a former school mate of the creature. One of the few who actually knew what it had been called before the reckoning.

The reckoning that would bring the death of this forest. The end of the international statute of secrecy and the end of life much as it had been known. The dawn of the creatures rein of terror. Ravenna shivered again.

"North ma'am. Give me 5 minutes and I'll have the port keys set."

Ravenna nodded and signaled for the others to spread out. Be on the look out for incoming. It wasn't necessary to look for the creature. If she'd still been here they'd know it. Ravenna was more concerned about the current Ministry of Magic, Death Eaters, or members of the Order if they were still standing. She didn't need to communicate any of that. Her people knew what to do.

While assistance would be good in truth no one from this time could really be much help. They simply weren't prepared. Further if there was any chance of killing the creature then they couldn't afford to grant her the slightest advantage by playing into her hand.

Even as powerful as the creature was, opening the maelstrom would have weakened it. And where none of her team had breathed in this time... the creature did. For all her power she was subject to the same laws of magic they all were. While she could bend and twist them not even she could break them entirely. 2 of the same soul could not live in the same time indefinitely. Her magic already existed here. Drawn for the ether, from the earth, maybe in her case from hell itself. She and her past self would inevitably drain each other. Since this time belonged to her younger self his claim was the greater. The longer she stayed the weaker she'd become.

No one believed she was ignorant of this. No one in this clearing believed she didn't have a plan. A work around or at least a terrible purpose before she possibly opened another maelstrom and returned home. The plan or purpose though was anyone's guess. Despite all the nightmare scenarios Ravenna and her team had brainstormed in truth each one was as likely or unlikely as the next.

There had been no sign. No gathering of power or forces. No great preparation for this. One day had been as horrific as the last. The next the maelstrom stood for all to see.

Those not living in this time were gathered and they'd followed. This was an opportunity that couldn't be missed. Whatever the creatures' plan, she'd weaken herself in the execution of it. This was their one chance. Maybe their only chance. If she could be destroyed, it would be here and now.

"The port keys are done ma'am."

"Let's go. Groups of 11 to 12. Quickly"

Gathering around the 4 large stone that'd been converted to port keys the teams vanished. Had they remained even a minute longer, they'd have been caught in the anti-apparition and anti-port key wards erected by Albus Dumbledore.

HPHPHPHPHP

"There's no one here Albus but we didn't miss them by much," said Remus glancing around. It wasn't obvious to anyone who didn't know him but to those that did could detect his subtle tells of sniffing the air. "Whoever was here was a large group. 30 at least."

Standing in the clearing that had seen more activity in the last 2 hours than it had seen in the last decade was Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Alastor Moody, Bill Weasley, and Severus Snape.

Despite seeing a great many things in his life, Dumbledore had never seen a phenomenon like what had been recorded just hours ago. More than half of the devices in his office had either begun spinning wildly, smoking uncontrollably, or emitting unintelligible sparks. A few had out and out exploded. All of them were in some way or another connected to Harry Potter. That in and of itself though didn't mean Harry was involved or even affected by this strange occurrence. The devices were meant to monitor his home, his power, his physical location, and a few of the more unreliable ones his emotional well-being. Unreliable, mostly because as a teenager the devices couldn't differentiate between teenage moodiness and genuine instability. And certainly if instability was present it couldn't determine a cause.

While all of these devices were focused on Harry they weren't designed specific for him. Simply placed on a "Harry Potter" setting. The intensity of this storm, whatever it was, may simply have been so powerful that it interfered with the readings.

Aware of the probability of Harry's involvement didn't diminish Dumbledore's concerns. With Tom's return things were accelerating quickly. There simply wasn't time for another unrelated crisis at the moment.

Albus had already questioned Severus and knew at least as far has his spy knew this was not Tom's doing. Kingsley was at the Ministry now to see what they'd detected and more importantly what they were making of it. A magical storm like this wouldn't have gone unnoticed.

The devices in his office gave him a quicker chance to find the epicenter but the storm itself was detectable with even the crudest lightning rod. Those wizards sensitive to magic had felt some stirring in the air hundreds of miles away without any additional intervention.

"Anything Alastor?"

Moody's eye was spinning so rapidly it looked like a demented child's toy. "There's too much residual magic in the air to get any kind of accurate clue," he grunted. "This is like nothing I've ever heard described let alone seen Albus."

"There were wards here. Crude and quickly put both up and down. I'd guess just a detection network more than anything," commented Bill thoughtfully as he wandered towards the outer most edges of the clearing and began circling. With his wand in hand he began trying to sense exactly what wards specifically had been used. Different wizards depending on what parts of the world they hailed from tended to use different types. They all essentially did the same thing but subtle variations in warning cues, detection methods, and sensitivity could give them an idea about who'd been there. All magic left traces. At least for a time.

"There's...something here," Severus drawled slowly. Some darkness that was fading already but was still palpable in the air. He wasn't sure how to describe it. It was older than the other magical signatures he too could also sense. It wasn't the Dark Lord. Of that he was certain.

The darkness was... difficult to describe. Darkness typically felt suffocating. Drowning. This could be terrifying or comforting depending on your own magical orientation. This was that but something more. There was a presence that didn't usually accompany such things. Not a person but some additional something that felt almost sentient. Or perhaps it was the absence of what was usually absent. Some excess that wasn't usually there. It felt, not familiar, but not unknown. Like the vaguest memory of a dream.

He shook his head. He wasn't even making sense in his own mind. "I can't describe it. Darkness somehow that's not."

"What rubish does that mean?" Moody growled through his teeth. More frustrated at his own ability to sense the not darkness but unable to describe it but never willing to give Snape an inch.

"There's dark magic here I'm unfamiliar with," Snape sneered decisively. He wasn't going to make a fool of himself gibbering further on something he simply didn't have adequate language to describe. Not a problem he normally suffered but there it was.

"Could this be Tom's doing without informing anyone?" Albus asked. He didn't really think so but Severus would perhaps be better able to recognize Tom's signature than he. If for no other reason than sheer familiarity.

"No. This isn't the Dark Lord."

"Mighty sure for a boy who just said he didn't have a clue," Moody snarled angrily

"Not knowing what it is doesn't preclude me from knowing what it isn't," Snape said in a tone that indicated this was a concept he'd expected his first years to grasp on their first lesson.

Moody opened his mouth to retort but Remus beat him to it. "There's a scent here I recognize. It's too faded to place it but I've smelt it before."

"Very well," said Albus. "There seems to be little else to gather here. Severus, you and I must return to the school before Dolores detects our absence. Remus, Alastor, Mr. Weasely please do not linger here. No doubt the Ministry will be coming to make their own inquiries soon. Best not to be caught dawdling"

Nods from everyone and Albus and Severus turned on the spot.

HPHPHPHPHP

The walk back to his quarters in the dungeons was uneventful. Unsurprising given it was nearly 2am. He was grateful nonetheless. A full day of classes, occlumency with Potter, then the call from Albus to come help investigate the source of some magical disturbance.

Severus would've like nothing more than to be sliding between his bedsheets but he wasn't a fool. A magic storm like that couldn't fail to catch the Dark Lord's notice. He'd be calling soon. He'd expect Dumbledore to investigate. As the only one in the Order with any true experience with the Dark Arts of course Dumbledore would take him. The Dark Lord would wait until the Ministry was on site, sure his spy was no longer in the headmaster's presence, then summon him.

Severus settled himself in his armchair to wait. He'd have liked to have a tumbler of fire whiskey but appearing before the Dark Lord with anything less than complete control of his faculties was just asking to be tortured. He settled for preparing himself a cup of tea from the service that was already sitting on the coffee table.

While he waited for the inevitable summons he began to meditate. Not full meditation, just the partial sinking into his own mind enough to sort through his memories of the day.

Potter. How had he allowed Dumbledore to convince him to participate in that farce? Oh the boy had some talent in occlumency that was for sure. Or rather was desperate enough either to hide certain memories from Snape or simply not relive them at all. Severus frowned. Perhaps both.

The boy had two marked strategies to pushing him out of his mind. Calling them strategies was being charitable, more like reactions. Thoughtless. Severus snorted.

The first was instinctive and was triggered by embarrassment. He went for his wand. Low level jinks or hexes. Considering he'd battled the Dark Lord using an expelliarmus that seemed in line with his character.

He frowned. The other though was something else entirely. Any time Severus had gotten a glimpse of what he could only assume was the night of the Dark Lord's resurrection. Chaos. Panic. Horror. Terror. The tidal wave of emotions alone might have been enough to force a lesser legilimens from Potter's mind. The force of Potter's mind ejecting him though was quite impressive outside the emotions. Like a sledgehammer to the skull. Desperate even.

Most of those emotions Severus could quantify with everything he knew about the Gryffindor boy. It wasn't what the world would want to see in their perfect savior but understandable in a 15 year old. The terror, the fear, that wasn't something Severus would expect though. To some degree perhaps. Severus admitted in his own mind at least that the boy wasn't a total fool even if he vocally said quite the opposite loudly and publicly. To that degree though. That was unexpected. That indicated Potter was either intimately more aware of just what and who the Dark Lord was than just about anyone but himself or was quite the accomplished actor. Playing the part of the Gryffindor golden boy while inwardly quacking with fear.

Severus was more inclined to believe the former than the latter but it begged the question how. Potter was hiding something that was for sure. As Severus sipped his cooling tea he let his mind wander through the entire encounter with Potter that night. Allowed his conscious mind to quite and simply observe and catalogue while the memories played from start to finish.

This would be more efficient with a pensive but waiting as he was there wasn't time to set that up.

Chaos. That was easy enough. As soon as Potter realized what memories he was in, his mind would descend into chaos. It wasn't so much an emotion present in the memory itself as it was a general awareness of the state of Potter's mind in the present.

Panic. There was panic related to his viewing the memories but the bulk of that emotion seemed to actually be a part of the memory itself. There was a moment in the graveyard where Potter had panicked. Perhaps longer than a moment. Panicked so deeply he'd lost a sense of himself or even awareness of his surroundings.

Hmmmm maybe not so in line with Potter then, Severus thought swirling his tea.

Surely the boy had panicked in such situations before. The mental image of a 60 foot basilisk vs a 12 year old came to mind. Still he rose above his panic. Centered himself and reacted. Thoughtlessly and foolishly perhaps but not blindly.

Horror. Severus thought on that one. Being an occlumens required complete awareness of your emotions and your mind. Horror was different than terror in this case.

Noun: an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust, he thought

In this case Severus was leaning towards shock or disgust since Potter seemed to be feeling an intense version of fear quite separate from this emotion. Diggory's death then? Hmmm. Shock disgust. Severus sipping the last of his tea and made another cup.

Terror. This was the crippling one. To a degree they all were but this emotion had stopped Potter. Full stop. More so than even the panic. The panic was numbing. It erased all awareness. This one heightened everything. Turned the volume up to ear bleeding. Lights up to blinding. Potter couldn't function in this state. No one could.

Severus sighed. Potter was never going to be able to master occlumency. Not in this state. His nerves were exposed. That memory was like inflicting the cruciatus curse. There was no working around it. It would be like asking someone to breathe without lungs. Couldn't be done. This is why he'd refused Albus when he'd first come to him. Mastering occlumency required mastering yourself. Your mind. Your emotions. Your past. Your traumas. You had to work through them. It was difficult on your own as Severus had done it but possible. Easier with a teacher but you HAD to trust that teacher. There was no trust between Potter and him.

It didn't matter he'd sworn his life to protect the boy. Potter didn't believe that and even if he did that wasn't enough. Potter needed to feel safe with him to learn occlumency and physical safety was only one aspect of that.

He'd have to talk to the Headmaster again. He couldn't teach the boy. Almost anyone would be better. While part of his mind planned his conversation with Dumbledore the other part planned for how he would handle Dumbledore's expected answer. Perhaps he could force the boy to wear a ski mask so nothing but his eyes were visible. The glasses would have to go of course.

The mark burned. No solutions were forthcoming anyway.