The Master's Gambit Chapter 4 What is Real?, a harry potter fanfic

THE MASTER'S GAMBIT

BY THE_SCRIBBLER

Chapter Four – "What is Real?"

THE_SCRIBBLER (at) SHADOWGARD (dot) COM

Pursuant to the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, this work is copyrighted 2007 with all rights expressly reserved by its author unless explicitly granted. No portion may be reproduced in any fashion without the express written and notarized permission of the author.

Note one – I've borrowed a name from: Ravenwood240's story – "The Shades of Grey". I want to thank him for its use. It can be found at: fanfiction(dot) net/s/3110044/1/Harry_Potter_and_The_Shades_of_Grey - ravenwood240(at)msn(dot)com

Note two – I've adopted the 'fact' that Pansy Parkinson's parents are named Gruoch and Malcom Parkinson. These names come from "White Knight, Grey Queen", by the author Jeconais. He can be found at jeconais(dot)fanficauthors(dot)net

Email - jeconais(at)fanficauthors(dot)net. Tim is an exceptional author – far better than I will ever be, and I am grateful to him for his tolerance of my use of his creative genius here.

Note three – I make reference in this story to a ship called the Wanderer. It was a real ship and did, in fact, sail out of the harbor in New Bedford, MA. (USA) for the last time in March, 1924. More information about the ship and it's history can be found at:

mattapoisetthistoricalsociety(dot)org/whalingships_

Note four – this chapter is 41 pages long and 17,055 words in length.

From Chapter three – "Tangled Webs":

……Normally a conservative person and a spend-thrift, Lucius decided that if he couldn't turn to his own resources, he'd have to buy some new ones. It would take a long while, but it was worth it. The first thing he had to do was to figure out a way to keep the new books from being stolen, too.

His head was pounding from the frustration and anger…so he staggered out of the office library and back to his desk, where there was at least one vial of pain medicine. It wasn't magical….but it would have to do.

Soon, with the Muggle medicine coursing in his veins (he never did understand what the Muggle doctor had meant by 'morphine' and 'controlled substance'), Lucius Malfoy felt like a new person. It took away all the pain and all of his cares for several long, blissful hours. It was better than Firewhiskey any day!

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Married quarters, West tower, Hogwarts – 7:30 Am – Sunday, Sept. 1st

Hermione Potter was warm; snuggled as she was next to the person she loved most in the whole world. On the far side of the enormous bed, Amrita lay curled up, while Harry – the 'boy-who-lived' – lay curled around his beloved, young wife. A little boy in so many respects, Harry Potter was anything but usual. He had gone from being frightened and alone; abused and neglected, to loved, protected, and safe in a matter of one month. More, with Hermione's encouragement and her innate sense of caring and compassion, Harry had changed from timid and hesitant to a boy filled with curiosity and a willingness to prove himself worthy to the teachers who had stepped in to act in loco parentis. Gone was the scrawny, injury-plagued boy and in his place was a growing, married young wizard.

Despite their remarkable achievements during the short time they had been students, the true magic was in their bond. All the teachers had commented on it. Hand in hand, Hermione and Harry would walk into the Great Hall in order to share a meal with the teachers who had gathered to teach them and the pair would literally glow. It was something indescribably beautiful. All who saw and felt the aura were made better for the experience and none could feel anything negative while in its presence. However, Harry and Hermione were not alone in that magic. Draco and Daphne Greengrass found their own glow and their own magic and had surprised all of them the morning that they, too, walk in hand-in-hand, softly glowing with their love for each other.

It was about them and the first time that Harry and Hermione had seen Draco and Daphne's glow that Hermione lay dreaming; safe and secure in her young husbands' arms.

Elsewhere in the millennia-old castle, Myrddin Aurelianus, the only son of the amorous union between the Roman general Ambrosius Aurelianus and a Draco-succubus whom he had captured, sat smoking his pipe and thinking about all that he was facing. Not two, but now three bonded couples were either coming to or had already arrived at Hogwarts and not one of them was a couple he could have predicted. More, it put pairings he had hoped for out of his reach.

It was one thing, he knew, to play match-maker and try to get couples together. It was a wholly different thing all together to break up a bonded couple. Myrddin was, after all, a planner. He had to be. But he was not, nor would ever be, a murderer of children. Breaking up a bonded couple was nothing short of deliberate murder and while he had taken many adult lives during his life, he had never, ever killed an innocent.

'Albus', Myrddin, thought about the floo-call he had received from Molly Weasley. In truth, his ears were still ringing because of it. They did not call her 'Hurricane Molly' for nothing, he thought. Ginevra Weasley, and her bond-mate, Luna Marie Lovegood, had to have some considerable spunk to be willing to go up against Molly.

Albus didn't need a pensieve to recall the conversation.

"Albus, you there?"

Walking over to the fireplace, 'Albus' looked down to see Molly Weasley's face. Even with the distortion caused by the magical flames, it was easy to tell that she was very, very upset. "What is it, Molly?"

"My daughter", which she said as if the word was extremely distasteful, "has gone and bonded herself to another girl. I want this broken! I will not sit by and have my daughter playing house with other girls!"

"She's not quite eleven, right?" he asked her, politely.

"Yes, and her lover is just eleven now" From her words and the strain in her voice, 'Albus' could tell that the entire subject was extremely upsetting and painful to the woman. It was too bad, he thought, that women put so much stock in trying to marry off their daughters. There were some amazing women whom he had known over the centuries who had been single or had found love in the arms of another woman. It made no difference to him at all whom his students or his friends loved.

"Well, there's nothing much I can do for you. Did they do a full bonding ceremony?"

"Yes, god-damn it. Rings and everything."

"Marital oaths?"

"Yes, stupid fucking girl. Even the rings are enchanted and can't be removed. I know, I've tried."

"Did she do anything in response?"

"She kicked me in shins. That was after her magic pushed me away."

"Stupid woman", 'Albus' thought.

"Molly, I think it's probably best if you just leave it alone." He paused for a moment. "Actually, I think your daughter and her partner ought, probably, to floo right here. How soon could they be ready?"

"What do you mean, Albus?"

"I mean Molly, with no disrespect to you or Arthur, that it's probably for the best if your daughter and her bond-mate were out from under foot for the next year or so. There are two other bonded couples here already and I know Ginny and her bond-mate would be welcome among them."

"You'll take them? Even after what they've done?"

"Actually Molly, it's BECAUSE of what they've done that I would welcome them. You remember that we talked about this earlier in the summer and about the fact that I and my staff, will be performing the Iunctus Animus charm this fall on all of the first- and second-year students in hopes that they will find bond-mates."

"YES, you son-of-a-bitch, I remember. I remember all too well. You all but promised that my Ginny would find a BOY to mate with!" Molly's temper had turned poisonous and nasty and the Headmaster thought that perhaps, the 'real' Molly was finally showing through.

"Actually, Molly, I promised no such thing and I don't appreciate your imprecation. Also, you will keep a civil tone with me or it could go badly for you." His tone was direct and colored with a certain amount of raw power in his voice – power that was both intimidating and full of threat.

"Fuck you, Albus. You can't intimidate me that easily. You forget whom I'm married to. Threaten me and I assure you, YOU will regret it."

The conversation had taken a decidedly bad turn and 'Albus' knew he wasn't going to win it in the short term. Molly was, he knew too, at least partially right. Arthur had been an unspeakable in his early days after leaving Hogwarts and had been very, very effective in his assignments, given how quickly he had risen through their ranks. He fiercely protected her and would not take his threats to her kindly. The Unspeakables were known for sticking together as well and it would not help his cause to have them angry with him en masse. They tended to know a great deal of magic and have access to curses that could be difficult to counter, if not impossible. He was going to have to 'walk the cow backwards' and quickly, if he wanted to keep the encounter from escalating further.

"Molly, I will forgive you your disrespect for right now, with the understanding that you are angry over your daughters' actions. I will however, not forget it. You will find a cold reception indeed if you ever come looking for favors from this office."

She glared at him. "Piss off, Albus. You're not God and I care not a rat's ass if I have your support or not. My family is over eight hundred years old and will be here long after you've gone to dust and are forgotten."

"Perhaps, Molly, perhaps" and with that, the conversation ended.

Ten minutes later, a very pretty, young blonde girl floo'ed his office and announced that she was Luna Lovegood and asked if she and her bond-mate could please come through.

When the two young girls emerged from the fire-place, they presented themselves to him formally and asked for admittance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was a necessary, albeit somewhat redundant ceremony, given that they had both received letters announcing their candidacy for matriculation to the school earlier in the summer.

He looked at them both and tried to assess both their magical and personal potentials. Luna Lovegood – the only granddaughter of a famous seer – was high in both personal and magical potential. In particular, she seemed very gifted in her ability to see multiple spectra and had at least some of her grandmother's precognitive ability. Her eyes were an unusual gray, as opposed to pale blue, and the Headmaster thought that the eyes were the telltale indicator for those talents. The ability to see multiple spectra would allow someone to see things that would otherwise be invisible. That included animals of every sort which most other wizards thought were figments of imagination. The crumple-horned snorkack was the least of them.

Ginevra "Ginny" Weasley, on the other hand, was all about power. Power the likes of which he had seen in only one other (mortal) witch in all his long existence – Hermione Potter. The fact that two witches were now present in his school, and he did think of Hogwarts as his, despite what the four founders might have thought, was extraordinary.

She was not quite as powerful as her compatriot, though, and 'Albus' thought that it was probably because of Hermione's bond-mate. It was her intimate connection to Harry James Potter that allowed Hermione to do the things that she had done so far, he thought. Why that was, though, was still a mystery. Certainly, he had never shared his powers with anyone – even his wife.

So the question was: What to do with Ginny Weasley and her bond-mate. He couldn't use Ginny, as he might have thought to do, as a potential bond-mate for Harry. That was off-limits for good. He couldn't very well use her as a foil against Slytherin students, because the student who had been the most likely leader of the Slytherin faction was now a bonded student who was demonstrating very Hufflepuff-like tendencies and unlikely to be leading the 'pureblood' faction in the coming school-year.

Nor, he thought, could Ginny be tempted into a bond with another of the light-side or slightly gray 'pureblood' families – which might have helped him coalesce a group that could, eventually, be led by Harry in his effort to destroy Tom Riddle once and for all.

Wait and see. God, how he hated those words. He'd been 'waiting and seeing' for the last eleven years and no matter how often he told himself that he'd done it in the past and that patience was a virtue, he still hated it. Knowing that there was a certain irony in the fact that someone who was destined to live five thousand years hated to wait less than a score of years for a plan to come to fruition, the Headmaster laughed to himself.

Looking at the two girls in front of him, he said, "Well Ginny, Luna, I suppose that now that you're both here, you want to know what we have in store for you. First, you know, both of you, that you're very, very young to be here – and that, in and of itself – may cause some problems. Older students don't generally like being 'shown up' by younger students.

Also, you're both aware that there is some tension between this office and the House of Weasley over my invitation to you."

Ginny looked up at the old man – whom she had seen only once before in her life – and said, "Don't underestimate her, sir. She's a fireball when she gets going. I know. I've seen what she's done to my brothers Fred and George when they crossed her."

Thinking of "Hurricane Molly" going after Fred and George Weasley – the best and most creative pranksters since the Marauders – finally got to the Headmaster and he gave out a great, mirthful laugh. "Yes, Ms. Weasley, I can only imagine. Your brothers do have a penchant for causing mischief and inviting the wrath of some teachers."

Ginny smiled. She couldn't help it. No one loved the twins more than she. It had been the two of them who had helped her, on more than one occasion; prank her mother and / or her mother and elder brother, Percy.

"Well, Ms. Weasley, Ms. Lovegood, I want you both to know that I am very proud of you. You've obviously made a commitment to each other that runs deeper than any 'mere' friendship and you've both demonstrated exceptional discipline and the magical control necessary to perform a bonding ceremony. I would not have believed it possible for two so young, but I see the proof before me and have to acknowledge that I don't, in fact, know everything. Of course, you'll not mention that to anyone you know, will you?"

"No, Headmaster", the two girls said together.

"Good. I'm glad to hear it! Now, there are two other couples here. The first couple consists of two Muggle-raised children. Mr. Harry Potter and his bonded wife, Mrs. Hermione Potter."

Ginny's eyes grew about four sizes at the mention of Harry's name and her excitement in hearing that she'd be attending school with the 'boy-who-lived' was nearly uncontainable. Luna, on the other hand, smiled knowingly and simply held her lover's hand as she jumped up and down.

"Yes, yes. It is exciting, I'm sure, to be in school with someone you've heard about your whole life. Let me tell you though, Ms. Weasley, that Mr. Potter is not at all the person you expect. He is very, very quiet and shy and does not understand, not even a little bit, about why he is famous. Nor does he care about being famous. For him, it is a burden and nothing more. He doesn't remember the act for which he is famous and I think, if you ask him about it, he will not react well. Do you understand?"

She didn't understand, at least not completely, but she was willing to respect the Headmaster's request...for now. "I think so, Headmaster. I'll do my best not to say anything."

"Good. He will take to you both much better if you treat him no differently than any young man you might meet."

Taking out his favorite scrimshaw-style pipe, the Headmaster took a moment to collect his thoughts while packing the pipe's bowl with some particularly aromatic 'Christmas' tobacco. It was his favorite pipe – because it had been gifted to him by the last captain of The Wanderer, which last sailed out of New Bedford harbor in March, 1924, only to be lost on the shoals near Martha's Vineyard. The animal which had given up its life for him had been a very lost, but highly magical Narwhal. The pipe had been lovingly carved by an artist on Martha's Vineyard and depicted a scene of titanic struggle between man and beast.

Cupping the pipe in one hand, he lit it with a bit of magical flame before turning his attention back to the two girls standing in front of him. They were still holding hands and he see by their body-language that they were both seeking more physical contact, without being too overt about it.

Deciding that it was better to just come out and ask the question, he said to them, "Are you both feeling compelled still to have constant contact with each other?"

Luna looked at him and some of the smile fell away, as she thought about how she should answer the question. "We are", she said hesitantly.

"Then you're both in good company, Ms. Lovegood. Mr. and Mrs. Potter are never out of contact with each other and I daresay that the same holds true for Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass. There is nothing to be ashamed of and you will not find anyone here at the school more supportive of the two of you than me. We have decided that this fall, that the married students' tower will be available to all bonded students and that the normal restrictions on students sharing living quarters will be lifted completely. It's the only way to accommodate the needs that bonded students have."

Ginny realized that her mother had lied to her outright and it was an uncomfortable feeling. "So….You're not going to punish us for needing to be together at night?"

"That is correct, Ms. Weasley. You and your bond-mate will be treated no differently than any of the other bonded couples. Same-sex partnerships are, admittedly, unusual in the wizarding world, but they are not completely unheard of, either. The fact that you're both so young does complicate things a bit, but not unreasonably so. I am sure we can work through any problems that might arise."

The fiery redhead looked at him and then a small smirk made its way onto her face. "I hope that you will be more ready, sir, than you were for my mother."

For whatever reason, her statement, made with a small, impish smile, caused a great deal of laughter on the Headmaster's part and he decided that his confrontation with "Hurricane Molly" had been worth it, if the exchange was for ten months with Ginny Weasley. Whatever else she might or might not be…she was certainly funny.

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Platform 9 & ¾ - London, England – Sunday, September 1, 1991 - 10:47 Am.

The security at Platform 9 & ¾ was exceptionally tight and Kingsley Shacklebolt liked it that way. An immensely powerful black man; who often dressed in the traditional Tutsi garb of his homeland when he was in the office, Kingsley watched as the thirty Aurors under his command checked and re-checked the platform and screened each of the students before they were allowed onto the Hogwarts Express. They were wearing a combination of standard (British) Muggle battle-gear – black fatigues with hardened black, multi-pocketed vests – and the corresponding black, armored, Muggle-military helmets and combat boots. Each had a well-known and feared patch on his/her left shoulder: Crossed black wands over a red pentagram. Because of a particularly bold press campaign, everyone in wizarding Britain knew the patch. It designated each officer as being part of the DMLE's newest hit-wizard group – the S.W.A.T. Team. What made them not Muggle law enforcement was the obvious lack of any firearms; the teams' use of wandless magic, and the presence of English long-swords, worn fighting-style, across their backs. They were a force to be reckoned with – even for the most ambitious dark wizard. Kingsley liked the fact that they were feared. It made for fewer confrontations with bad guys…and that meant that they had to use force much less often.

One of the benefits of having a Headmaster who was also the Supreme Mugwump of the Wizengamot was that he could ensure the security of his students simply by placing a call to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for the United Kingdom. While it was true that the Welsh had their own security, as did the Republic of Ireland, the DMLE always oversaw Hogwarts security for expediency's sake. Kingsley knew that it was also the fact that the DMLE had access to certain Muggle technologies that were better left undisclosed.

The nominal reason for the high security was that 'the boy-who-lived' had come to Hogwarts. His presence prompted a security blanket which had been thrown over all operations that could expose him to any outside threats. The Prime Minister of England, on advice of the Minister for Magic, had personally ordered a military cordon around Hogwarts Castle which extended for one hundred miles in every direction. That meant that no planes, boats, cars, or any other vehicle could be brought within the area. It also meant that there would be, for the next seven years, regular and heavily-armed military patrols, of five hundred men or more, in the area. Kingsley thought it very sly of the Headmaster. He knew, too, that the fact that all of the military patrols had been issued fifty-caliber assault weapons and armor-piercing, silver-tipped, reduced-uranium ammunition that was capable of killing things like…giants, house-sized spiders, werewolves, vampires….was more than coincidental. Harry Potter would be as secure as their efforts could make him, whether he knew it or not.

Turning his attention back to the press of students getting onto the train, he saw Senior Auror Nymphadora Tonks ('Nym' or 'Tonks' to her friends) looking at one student with more than a casual eye. Walking over, he stopped and looked at the student as well. He was a tall-ish boy, with dark brown hair and brown eyes, and a small, silver serpent dangling from a necklace just inside the boy's shirt. It wasn't the necklace that had caught the younger Auror's attention, but rather his trunk. Her wand was vibrating and pointing, seemingly on its own, at the trunk – much like a drug-dog did for Muggle law enforcement.

"Open the trunk", she told the boy.

"No. And you can't make me."

Shacklebolt smiled. "And how do you come to that conclusion, young man?" he asked gently.

"My father is Bayle Zabini and he sits on the Council of the Wizengamot. I'm immune."

"Oh? Did he tell you that?" Kingsley asked, with a touch of humor in his voice. The fact that Bayle Zabini thought himself above the law was funny, given that no one, not even the Supreme Mugwump, was above the law. There was no concept of 'executive immunity' in the magical world, like there was in the Muggle world.

"No, but everyone knows it."

"Well, you just keep thinking that, son. Petrificus Totalus". The Auror's wand was out and the charm thrown before the boy even knew what was coming. Once the young Zabini was safely secured, the young Auror lay his trunk down and proceeded to analyze the intricate locks which secured it.

"It's a professional case, Sir. We'll have to take it back to Headquarters and have one of the curse-breakers deal with it. It's too dangerous to do here."

"Do what you have to do. Take young Mr. Zabini here into protective custody. If there's anything in that case that shouldn't be, make sure he's read his rights FIRST before you question him. Let me know if there's anything that has to be confiscated or turned over to our brethren." By 'brethren', Nymphadora Tonks knew he meant the Unspeakables; who's job it was to deal with curse-threats that went beyond the normal scope or things that were products of family magics which had not been seen before.

Auror Tonks placed anti-disapparation cuffs on the young man and shackled his ankles with anti-portkey manacles. She didn't want to 'lose' her catch, after all. Placing one hand on the boy and the other on the trunk, Nymphadora activated her private portkey and disappeared.

Once the train was fully loaded and underway, the twelve Aurors, including Shacklebolt, set up patrols in the trains' central corridor and made sure that no wands were in evidence anywhere. It would not do to have students hurting each other before they got to school.

Without the necessary cover and given that there were very serious adults with bad attitudes wandering the train, the Weasley twins decided that discretion was the better part of valor and kept to themselves. Likewise, any Slytherin student bent on trying to intimidate the younger students or students in the other houses quickly found out that their nonsense would not be tolerated and that the adults on board didn't take kindly to their way of 'socializing'.

Without Ginny, the twins were forced to suffer the presence of their youngest brother, Ron, and their elder brother, Percy. He was a fifth-year student who had just received his Prefects' badge and, to the twins' way of thinking, a five-hundred percent increase in the size of his head and ego. The internecine conflict had only just begun, they figured. Whether Ginny would help out on their side of the conflict was yet to be determined; given what she had done over the summer, but their hopes were high that she could be persuaded to help them in their 'righteous cause'.

Ron, on the other hand, was a huge question-mark. His obsession with the Chudley Cannons, and in particular, its star seeker, William Wingbat, was decidedly odd they thought – perhaps even to the point of unhealthy. Neither Fred nor George had been able to puzzle out what Ron was all about. Girls were not something he thought about; that much was obvious. He was, as far as they could tell, all about food, Quidditch, and the Cannons. One strange thing about Ron was how fastidious he was about his room. It was neat and tidy to the point of weird – even if the entire room was done in shades of Orange (with the exception of his pillows, which were always a vaguely-familiar shade of brown).

The other thing about Ron which was very much outside of the norm was his talent with art and spatial geometry. Everything was a 3D puzzle to him; especially Quidditch. Ron could do vector mathematics (speed, distance, acceleration and angular momentum) in his head the way their mother did the monthly household budget to the Knut. The same talent translated to his dominance on the chess-board. He had never lost…to anyone, ever. No adult stood a chance against him and the kids in the magical village; the few who liked the game at least, had given up trying to beat him a long time ago. His teachers all knew better than to try their hand against him in the game, because they knew it would only end badly for them. If he was feeling generous, a game might go as long as twenty moves. If he was feeling vindictive, as he did sometimes, it ended in the minimum 6 moves required by the rules.

The eldest Weasleys – Bill and Charlie – had already been graduated from Hogwarts. Charlie had gone into Dragon-keeping in Romania while Bill had become one of Gringotts youngest-ever curse-breakers and was on assignment in Egypt.

It was going to be an interesting year, the twins thought, as they huddled in their train-car. None of their products had even been detected by the Aurors at the platform and their treasured raw ingredients – which they were carrying in specially-designed compartments in their trunks – had gone unnoticed as well. All in all, the year was starting out just fine. All they had to do was pass the house sorting and they'd be on their way back to Gryffindor Tower and the über-secret, third-floor storage closet which waited for them.

As the sun finally fell behind the western mountains, the giant, garish-red Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade Station and children began clamoring off the train.

Fred and George smiled as they looked down the length of the station-platform and saw their friend Rubeus Hagrid gathering the first-year students about him and ushering them towards the magical boats which would take them across the lake and to the bowels of the Castle. They knew about the magical Thestrals which pulled the carriages – even if you couldn't see them, but they had not been able to figure out what made the boats go. They were pretty sure that the boats, too, had some sort of magical creature pulling them, but they had never been able to figure out what that creature might be. For that failure, they blamed their lack of access to the restricted section of the schools' library.

Unnoticed by the twins, or by anyone else, were the Aurors who guarded the station and its transient occupants. The full compliment from the train was present, along with more than thirty Welsh Aurors who had volunteered for the four-hour shift. That brought the number to forty-three Aurors; which made the area as secure as anyone could hope for.

A massive anti-apparition field had come into existence the moment that the train stopped. Everyone one of the Aurors could feel it. Kingsley Shacklebolt smiled to himself. The field was strong enough that only two people could have cast it and neither one was anything but a friend to Harry Potter.

Looking about, he spotted the source. Minerva McGonagall was standing with her magical staff in both hands. One end was glowing a deep ruby-red. No one would dare cross her while she held that staff, because it amplified the caster's power by a factor of one hundred. Such amplification was enough to turn a mild stunning spell deadly.

What no one knew was that Harry Potter was already safe and within the walls at Hogwarts; waiting for all of the students to return, so he could get to know all of them and begin to truly find his place in the wizarding world.

The Great Hall – Hogwarts – 6 Pm., Sunday, September 1, 1991.

Almost seven hundred young people filled the Great Hall of the school. A seventh of them waited, anxiously, to be sorted and discover where the magical hat thought that they belonged.

The woman who called herself Minerva McGonagall moved to the center of the dais and looked out over the assembled throng. Extending her hands, she signaled for quiet and eventually, the din of anxious, excited voices diminished. "Thank you. My name is Minerva McGonagall. I am the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts and a teacher of Transfiguration and conjuration. Welcome to all the new students among us! I hope that your next seven years will be happy and productive. For the returning students, I want to let you know that there are significant changes ahead for all of this year and that this week will be critical. Some of you have brothers or sisters here and we want you to know that it brings us, the teachers here, a great deal of joy to be able to teach all of you. I know that each of you will bring a great deal of pride to your families."

She paused and looked around; trying to collect her thoughts. Harry and Hermione were looking up at her, expectantly, as were Draco and Daphne. Luna and Ginny were sitting together at one end of the traditionally Hufflepuff table and they, too, were paying close attention. "Perhaps many of you saw the Aurors on the train today, and at Platform 9 & ¾. I wanted to address that before wild, unfounded rumors started flying amongst you. The reason that security was tight today was that there are some special and therefore important students among us now and they have to be protected. The Aurors were close at hand to make sure that the few remaining Death Eaters who followed Tom Riddle in his last, insane rise to power were unable to present any kind of threat."

Draco thought to Daphne, "figures that my father would cause such a ruckus. I wonder if anyone will figure out that Harry was the reason that all of the Aurors were around. Probably no one, but it would be interesting to see who can put the pieces together."

Daphne smirked and then replied to him silently, "most of them are sheep, love. Not just sheep, but pretty stupid sheep. I think that Severus calls them 'sheople'. Not bad. I wonder if Daddy could put it on a shirt and make some money with it, like Muggles do."

"Only you would be trying to make some money off it, love. Can't say it's a bad idea, though. Maybe you should owl home and tell them." Draco squeezed her hand and pulled her close, so that he could feel her body warm against his.

The Headmistress looked like she was ready to continue speaking, after the initial reaction to her words had died down. "I know that some of you will spend the next several days trying to figure out whom I referring to when I say 'special' and 'important'. I, and the Headmaster, both ask you not to do so. Successful guessing could seriously undermine our efforts to protect the individuals and unsuccessful guessing will do nothing but feed the rumor mill and otherwise misdirect attention and energies away from your studies.

Now, on to other matters. We've had a number of staff changes over the summer and I want to announce those now. First, Professor Binns has retired. When I say retired, I want to tell you that we performed, at his request, an exorcism and he has successfully departed this realm for the next great adventure. None of you will see him again until your time has come to complete that same journey and we hope and pray that for all of you, that time will not come for hundreds of years.

Secondly, Professor Kettleburn has retired and left Hogwarts for good. Her position will now be filled by our own, Professor Rubeus Hagrid."

There was wild and tumultuous applause at that and it caused the half-giant to wipe a tear from one eye as he stood to acknowledge the applause. It was obvious that he appreciated the outpouring of love and affection that came from the vast majority of students.

"Yes, yes. We are extremely pleased to announce that by personal request, an invitation to teach was extended to Professor Hagrid by the Minister for Magic at the beginning of the summer and that he has, under the private tutelage of Professor Sprout and Headmaster Dumbledore, passed his Mastery in both magical botany and Care of Magical Creatures. Please understand that Professor Hagrid, by earning his Masteries, has become a full-time, permanent member of the staff and can give detentions as well as give and take house-points."

It was a lie, of course, and more than a few teachers knew it. Hagrid had been privately pardoned by the Minister himself for events that had happened more than fifty years ago and that his wand had been snapped not as a result of a trial, but by order of a corrupt Minister and an even more corrupt Wizengamot. It was an open secret that the Headmaster had taken Hagrid under his 'wing' and personally taught the half-giant every conceivable type of magic as a personal penance to Hagrid for having allowed the original events to happen. By the time that the giant had taken his Mastery exams, he was able do things that only a truly magical creature could do. His 24" Oak and Giantess Hair wand made him exceptionally powerful and his training made him more than formidable. No creature was beyond his ability to control, nor was there a plant that he could not grow or didn't understand.

She continued, "There are two others who have come among us for the year. We have a new Muggle-studies teacher, Dr. Lawrence Kettle. Dr. Kettle lives full-time in down-town London; is married to the deputy-head of the Department of external affairs for the Ministry; was graduated Suma cum Laude from the Salem Academy; and then graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison with a degree in psychology. He was awarded a Master's degree in Psychology from the University of Chicago for his work in social dynamics inside of closed societies, and has a Doctorate in Theoretical Physics from Cambridge University, London. He is also a licensed social-worker in both the Muggle and magical worlds. You will ignore or dismiss his teachings at your peril." The students didn't know what to make of the slim, bearded man who sat to Hagrid's right, but many applauded politely anyway. "The other addition to our staff is Remus Lupin, who has agreed at the very last minute to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. We are grateful to him for his enthusiasm and his willingness to step in at the last moment. Professor Lupin will be joining us tomorrow night as he is still in transit from his new home in Poland. Professor Lupin is the EU's foremost forensic pathologist and is the lead crime-scene investigator for the European DMLE in The Hague. We are very grateful that they were willing to give him a years' sabbatical so that he could be with us. As a side note, we hope that Professor Quirrell will eventually show up anyway, if only to let us know that he is all right."

She looked down at her notes and realized that she had nothing further to say, so she walked over and picked up the sorting hat. "Ok, so, without further delay, let the sorting begin. Abbot, Hannah." Hannah got up excited and a little nervous, and fairly ran to the dais, so that she could be sorted. Once the old hat was on her head, it pondered a moment before calling out "Hufflepuff!"

The list was long, but eventually it reached "Granger, Hermione! Potter, Harry!" and the bonded couple got up and walked, hand-in-hand to the where the Headmistress stood. She looked at them and smiled, ignoring the almost overpowering din of conversation that had sprung up the moment that Harry's name had been called along with the pretty, bushy-haired girl. Ignoring all of it, the young couple sat side by side on the stool and felt the hat expand to cover their heads together.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. I was wondering how long it would be until I sorted you, Mr. Potter. Your bond is unexpected, but not unwelcome, is it? You both have fine minds. Lots of talent in both of you and you both have a powerful desire to learn more. A good bit of ambition too. Hmmm. Hard to say. Ravenclaw for both of you? You'd be challenged there and wouldn't have to hide those impressive intellects or talents. Or perhaps Gryffindor? Your father, Harry, was a brave young man. Never afraid to protect his friends or take a chance when it could do good."

"Where do you want to go, love?" Harry asked Hermione. "I'll go wherever you want."

"I don't know, Harry. Ravenclaw has a great reputation, but so does Gryffindor. I'd rather not have to be constantly defending what we're learning or doing though. Ravenclaw, then?"

"Let's."

"If you're both alright with it, then Ravenclaw it is."

The moment that they decided, the hat loudly announced to the assembled students that its choice for the Potters was "Ravenclaw!" There was a stunned silence as the young couple made their way over to the Ravenclaw table. No one could believe that Harry Potter had gone to Ravenclaw.

There was some considerable shock at the choice among the school's professors – most all of whom had taught James Potter and his closest friends, Lily Evans, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Each had his or her own reason for believing that James' son could go nowhere but Gryffindor, but none of them knew Harry well enough yet to understand the young man's private motivations.

Once the initial shock had passed, "Greengrass, Daphne; Greengrass, Draco" were called and they, too, walked hand-in-hand up to where the Headmistress stood with hat in hand. Sitting down, Draco and Daphne made themselves comfortable and waited for the hat to assess them. "Hmmmm. Fine, fine minds, both of you. Also a thirst to prove yourselves and to not repeat patterns of the past. I see that you are as loyal as any can be and are willing to take chances to protect each other. A very difficult choice. Slytherin is out. Gryffindor would have you both."

"No. I can't bring myself to want to be in with them, even if I want to get away from my family. It would be like trading one problem for another."

Daphne was less hesitant about Gryffindor and she told Draco so. "I'll go where you want, Draco. All I want is to be with you and to be left alone."

"If that's what you both want then, I think the best choice for you both is….HUFFLEPUFF!"

Satisfied with the choice, Draco and Daphne walked over to the Hufflepuff table and joined Hannah and her other new friends. There was a quiet celebration as the loyal Hufflepuffs thought and talked together about what the new make-up of their house was going to mean for the coming year.

The shock of Draco's defection to Hufflepuff created an angry, emotional storm within certain quarters - mostly the already marginalized factions of Slytherin house, while others were quietly grateful that he was going into another house. The biggest news, and therefore the greatest talking point among the other Slytherins, was Draco's apparent relationship with Daphne Greengrass and the fact that he had taken her last name.

Pansy Parkinson, the only daughter of Gruoch and Malcom Parkinson, thought about what she had seen so far meant for her and for her family. She recognized that for everyone else, the biggest bombshell of the night so far had been the sorting of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger into Ravenclaw. Her personal take on it was that the far more important news was that Harry and Hermione had bonded and become a couple. How they had bonded was less important than the fact that the most desirable 'catch' to ever come to Hogwarts was already off the market.

Pansy itched to see the sorting over with so that she could get to her owl and send her parents the coded letter that she was already composing in her head. She hoped that they'd be able to write back within a day or so and give her their take on the evenings' events. While her father was a brilliant businessman and a compassionate and loving father, it was her mother who was the politician in the family. If anyone could give her an accurate read on the import of the days' events, it was her mother.

Eventually, the Headmaster rose and dismissed everyone to his or her respective dorm. Harry and Hermione made their apologies to their fellow Ravenclaws and made their way back to the tower which would be their home for the next seven years. As they walked along, Daphne and Draco, as well as Luna and Ginny caught up with them and soon, the six of them were immersed in conversation about what had happened and what it all meant.

The group had almost made it to the hidden portal on the seventh floor which served as the entrance to their dorm when they were cut off and surrounded by six older students; each dressed in robes of Slytherin Silver and Green.

"You're done, Draco. You should have left the country when you had the chance."

Wands had come out and it was clear that the six Slytherins had not shown up to throw Draco a tea-party. "Why's that, Nott?"

The black-haired, slightly buck-toothed boy sneered. "Your father put a bounty on your head. He's offered ten thousand galleons to whomever kills you and now I'm going to collect it." Abraham Edward Nott was a braggart as well as a bully, just like his father, Draco thought. Well, we're just going to have to play this out and hope we get lucky.

Out of view of the tall, menacing, but slightly gangly boy, Harry and Hermione both drew their wands and prepared for the inevitable. Draco taunted the boy, hoping to buy some time. "And you think you're the one to do it? You're pathetic, Abby. You couldn't collect the bounty on a worm, much less one of us. Your aim is so bad that I'm surprised your parents even let you out of the house."

Draco had hoped to keep the boy talking; thereby buying them all some time, but it wasn't to be. Nott's wand came up and he said "Avada…" and never finished the terrible curse because he didn't see Harry's incoming hex. Suddenly, there was a terrible, ghastly squelching sound and a violent spray of blood in all directions as Nott's head abruptly collapsed to the size of a plum; effectively stopping the curse…and killing the boy where he stood. The encounter had sent Draco's heart racing and he couldn't believe what had just happened. Once Nott had begun the killing curse, Draco thought that his time was up. For all of his previous experience, he wasn't prepared to try to fend off an unforgiveable.

When the other Slytherins saw what had happened, they panicked and fled. Harry and Hermione, on the other hand, both turned and raced to a nearby classroom, where they immediately became violently ill; vomiting into an available trashcan.

The sound of pounding footsteps alerted Ginny, Luna, Draco, and Daphne that adult help had finally arrived. Draco looked first at Harry and Hermione; who were both kneeling and retching over the trashcan which they had expropriated for the purpose, and then to Johan Severus Snape – who was leading a procession up the last set of stairs which included the Headmaster, Headmistress, and the school's medi-witch.

Moving in a way that belied his age, Snape took the last flight of stairs two at a time and went running to Harry and Hermione. Draco couldn't hear their conversation, but understood intuitively what they must have said to the potions-master. Anticipating the man's request, Draco touched his wand to his temple and drew out the complete memory of everything that had just happened. He offered it to the potions-master silently and the Snape took the proffered memory willingly and touched it to his own forehead; allowing it to absorb into his thoughts.

Johan Snape 'saw' the entire, forty-five second confrontation and knew immediately that Harry had done the right thing, even if it made him grossly ill to re-live. Snape repeated the memory process with the Headmaster and Headmistress, letting them see what Harry had done to protect both Draco and Daphne.

Finally, after several long minutes, the Headmaster put his hand on Hermione's and Harry's shoulders and asked them if they were well enough to stand. Though his stomach (and Hermione's, he noted sadly) was still reeling from the emotional trauma of having just killed someone, Harry felt that he could stand and answer simple questions.

The good thing was that no one blamed him for what had just happened. It was obvious that Harry had acted in complete self-defense and had used a simple shrinking hex as his tool. Dumbledore thought it possible, and even probable, that Harry's move would be incorporated into the next Auror personal defense handbook. It wasn't at all fancy, but it was unbelievably effective and unlikely to be stopped by a bad guy in a fire-fight on the grounds that it wouldn't be seen as a threat until it was too late.

It didn't take long for the Headmaster's questions to be asked and the six young people breathed a huge sigh of relief that all six of them would walk away from the confrontation unscathed. Hermione and Harry, though, were still trembling with the shock of it.

Once inside their common room, Draco, Daphne, Luna, Ginny, Harry, and Hermione fell into what could only be described as a 'cuddle-puddle'. Each of the girls took turns hugging Harry and privately reassuring him that he would never be alone and that the all appreciated what he had done.

Hermione soon took a much-relieved Harry off to bed and the 'cuddle-puddle' dissolved.

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Late Sunday Night, September 1st, Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts

The floo connection in the Headmasters' office had gotten a work-out throughout the evening, as Ministry officials and Aurors had come and gone. None of the visitors that the floo disgorged, however, had quite tried his patience the way that Theodore Nott, Sr. had done. It was clear that the head of House Nott was used to getting his way and it was therefore not surprising, to 'Albus' that the senior Nott had make the classical mistake that all bullies do: pre-judging what your enemies can do to before one has adequately tested them on the field of battle.

The man's bluster had started almost immediately. First it was demands for an explanation; then moved to a rant about 'half-bloods' having too much power and privilege, and finally got to the crux of the matter. "I want the punk who killed my son brought down here RIGHT NOW, DUMBLEDORE."

"Or what?", Albus said almost serenely.

"I WILL FIND HIM MYSELF AND KILL HIM."

Myrddin smiled. The only real drawback to being 'Albus Dumbledore' was that he could not do away with people like Nott immediately. He was forced to be patient, kind, sympathetic, understanding, and a whole host of other good and worthwhile things, even in the face of unmitigated arrogance and stupidity. Myrddin watched as the elder Nott started to get red in the face with his misplaced anger. "Hmmm. Since he's already on my 'shite' list, I wonder if it might be worthwhile to teach the Potters some of the 'gray' magics. Never know when they might get to take a free shot at the bastard."

"Now, now, Theodore, I'm sure that you'd not try to kill the last remaining scion of House Potter. Your son was killed as he prepared to use the killing curse against another student and Potter defended the boy. The DMLE has already cleared Harry. Any action you might be thinking of taking in retribution might not sit well with some of the families. Wizarding pride and all, being what it is…." 'Albus' was all to happy to insinuate to the elder Nott that since the Potters were the third-oldest wizarding family in all of the United Kingdom, that things might go badly for him, if he were to declare a blood-feud with them. "Blood purity" cut both ways. Either you were for it and did anything you could to 'protect the families' or you didn't. Traditionalists – especially the hard-core ones on the fringes of wizarding society – were impossible to please on the subject. Of course, if word ever got out, and he knew it would sooner than later, about Harry being bonded to a 'first-born' girl, there would be hell to pay.

"I don't care, Albus. If HARRY FUCKING POTTER killed my son, then I will extract a death for a death."

"Well, that's all very interesting, Theodore, but if you're going to make threats towards a student who's in my care, I will tell you that if I ever find you anywhere on the school grounds, in Hogsmeade, or anywhere near Lord Potter, I will kill you myself."

Theodore Nott, Sr. looked at the Headmaster and realized, given the powerful magical aura that had just sprung up around him, that he meant every word of it. Worse, he knew that the Headmaster could do it with ease; as if he were no more than a fly Dumbledore was brushing off his shoulder. Grindlewald had been thousands of times more powerful than he was and Dumbledore had still decimated him.

Suddenly, the slightly younger man could not scramble fast enough towards the floo. He didn't say anything more and in his haste to get away, forgot his travelling cloak and bag.

After the green flames had died away, Myrddin smiled to himself. "What a stupid son of a bitch. No wonder his son got himself killed. Gene-pool in that family is getting too shallow there. As the Muggles say…probably time for some bleach."

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The Great Hall – Hogwarts – Monday, September 2nd, 7:25 Am.

The Hall was as loud as it had ever been. Everyone, it seemed, knew about Theodore Nott's demise at the hands of Harry Potter. How that had come to pass was uncertain, but all anyone wanted to talk about was how a first-year student had managed to kill a seventh-year. No one, save those who were present, knew that it had been as simple as a shrinking hex. It seemed completely impossible…and yet the elder of the Nott brothers lay stone-cold dead in his family's mausoleum.

Pansy Parkinson had been forced, for the sake of clarity and completeness, to make a middle-of-the-night, covert run up to owlry, with an additional, specially coded note to her parents, saying that Potter was everything that they had hoped – but that he was already bonded and therefore not available for a marriage contract. She watched her owl clear the school's wards by flying towards the forbidden forest and out of the hands of those who were watching the Castle.

She wasn't alone, though. A half-dozen other 'secret' missives about the previous nights' happenings left Hogwarts during the early morning hours before dawn. All but one was expected by the law enforcement and other forces assembled in and around Hogwarts Castle. Five out of the six were dealt with as soon as the birds cleared the school's magical southern boundary on their way towards Greater London. The final letter – the only other one besides Pansy's that got through undetected – rode on the leg of a non-descript, European starling that had been enchanted for just such a purpose. A tiny, winged beetle had scuttled up the leg of the bird which had perched on the top of the northern-most wall of the western tower in the blackness of night and hurriedly attached the small cartridge and its incendiary contents before sending the bird off to its master in London.

Well satisfied, the tiny beetle animagus crawled back down the inner wall of the tower and found a warm, dry hole that would offer shelter and warmth against the cold night air.

7:35 Am. – Hogwarts' Great Hall – Morning owl-mail delivery

Harry Potter sat near one of the Halls' large fireplaces with his wife at his side and his familiar in his lap. At the moment, he was completely disregarding the fact that the table he was sitting at was not the traditional Ravenclaw table, but rather, the Hufflepuff table. For some inexplicable reason, Harry thought that it was important that he and Hermione be seen in the company of Draco and Daphne, Luna and Ginny, at the Hufflepuff table. Hermione understood his gut feeling, even if she couldn't put words to it either.

The Mail owls had more or less entered through the upper-most, open windows of the Hall as one large flight. The owls circled the Hall once; twice, and then made more or less controlled landings near or on the tables where their masters sat. This particular morning, a gorgeous, snowy-white owl landed at the table in front of Harry and looked at him curiously. She lifted one leg and Harry saw that she had a small note clutched in one claw. Hermione reached out with one hand and took the note, while Harry reached for a piece of bacon to feed the owl.

Hermione unrolled the note and read it silently, and 'spoke' it silently to Harry, via their bond.

September 2nd, 1991

Dear Harry,

This beautiful owl is yours. I bought her for you as a birthday gift. I was sorry that I didn't get you something over the summer and I realized that you and Hermione might like to have your own. Let me know what you name her.

Also, I need to see you, Harry, before the day is out, regarding your other familiar. Having a Wyvern is a huge responsibility and you've got to be ready for it. If you come see me, I can give you a book that Charlie Weasley gave me several years ago about them. You need to make sure all of the fees for it are paid to the Ministry by the 15th of September or you could get into a lot of trouble.

Can't wait to talk to you! I have loads of pictures of your folks that I want to show you.

Regards,

Rubeus Hagrid,

Harry was so excited about the owl that he didn't see the stares that were starting to come at him and Hermione as various students held up copies of the Daily Prophet.

It was a good thing that the students weren't the only ones who had active subscriptions to the rag which passed itself off as the paper of record in the British wizarding world. The woman styling herself as 'Minerva McGonagall' picked up her copy and read the article that was the 'top of the fold'.

"THE BOY WHO KILLS"

By Rita Skeeter

Monday, September 2nd, 1991

From where I sit hiding at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I am surrounded by intrigue and scandal – and it's not even the first day of classes! Last night, after the students had been dismissed from the Great Hall of the school – which functions as both its communal dinning hall as well as the site of many of the schools 'all-school' functions – a group of six students: Ms. Ginevra Weasley, Ms. Luna Lovegood, Mr. Draco Greengrass née Malfoy, Mrs. Daphne Greengrass, Mr. Harry Potter and Mrs. Hermione Potter made their way out of the Hall and up seven long flights of stairs.

Where were they going? They were going to a separate residential tower; one reserved, as I am now led to understand, for married couples. You read that right. At first, I was confused about why those six – four girls and two boys – were headed off to a tower, separate and apart from the Houses into which they had been sorted. Ever the intrepid reporter, I made my presence known, discreetly, to a well-placed source inside the school. My contact informed me that there were three separate couples. The first is a very rare, and highly controversial, same-sex couple. Ms. Luna Lovegood, the only daughter of Xenophilous and Marie Lovegood has formed a martial bond with Ms. Ginevra "Ginny" Weasley – the only daughter of Molly and Arthur Weasley. My contact was unable to give me much detail about them, other than to say that they are both very young. Ms. Weasley is not even 11 yet! That the Headmaster would allow such a couple to attend the preeminent school of magic in Great Britain is outrageous; given the pressing need for more children in our overall population. More, it is a direct insult to every witch and wizard who believes in traditional values.

Whether a same-sex couple is allowed to attend Hogwarts is a secondary issue compared to the much more dramatic news that Mr. Harry Potter - 'The Boy who Lived' is indeed married. He has apparently formed a very rare and quite powerful soul-bond with a young muggle-born girl named Hermione Granger. The extraordinary circumstances that led to that bonding and the nature of their previous relationship, if any, have escaped my attempts to ascertain, but rest assured that I will not give up until all the facts are out in the open. Surely, every eligible young woman in the United Kingdom, save one, today mourns the departure of Mr. Potter from the rolls of the most desirable, eligible young men in the country.

As for the erstwhile Mr. Malfoy, I have it on good authority that he has abandoned his family name and has left the family's good graces by bonding with the extraordinarily pretty and charming Ms. Greengrass, in contravention of his fathers' explicit wishes.

It was in Mr. Greengrasses' defense that Mr. Potter killed Lord-designate Abraham Nott last night. All I have been able to discover is that young Mr. Nott was indeed trying to kill Mr. Greengrass – using the killing curse - and that Mr. Potter struck him down using nothing more than a minimizing hex. Unfortunately, it was a minimizing hex aimed at his head and Mr. Nott was unable to deflect it.

What caused Mr. Nott to try to use an unforgiveable and why he felt that it was the only possible course of action remains a mystery – and probably always will. The Headmaster spent several hours, after the killing, speaking with Aurors and others from the DMLE and, as of this writing, I can report that the school is still swarming with law enforcement officers. Apparently, the Headmaster thought that if there was sufficient security, he could keep the incident under wraps.

One wonders what other events may yet occur in a school filled with sometimes hostile, hormone-poisoned children, married or otherwise.

I will continue to report for as long as I am able.

'Albus Dumbledore' finished reading the revealing article and rather than discuss his thoughts one at a time with the staff, he stood and looked out over the assembled students. His deep purple robes billowed a bit as he waved his hands; signaling for quiet.

"Ladies and Gentlemen – colleagues – It is apparent from the article this morning that I'm sure you've all read by now that we have a spy in our midst. I am asking for your cooperation as we sweep the castle this morning. Not one of us is safe while we have an unwelcome visitor among us. I am going to lock down the Castle this morning and we will begin searching.

Now, in order to make this a learning experience, I am going to teach you all a charm. I don't, of course, expect the new students to be able to do this. If you are newly sorted, just watch those who have been here for a while. You'll see magic done well, I hope! And don't worry that you're new among us. Just know that you'll be the ones doing the teaching in a couple of years! Ok, now, some of you seventh-years would have run across this charm later on this year in your studies. Think of this as small gift from your Headmaster in appreciation of your hard work up to this point.

Now, if you would all take out your wands." He waited for all of the students to do so. Some had to go scrambling to their book-bags to get them, but eventually, all had their wands out and pointing outwards, as if towards some unknown threat. "Very good. Now, the charm itself is 'Animus Reveleo'. Please, repeat after me: "Animus Reveleo!"

Everyone did so, some with more gusto than others. After a few tries, the Headmaster decided that everyone could, at least, pronounce the charm properly. "Ok. You've all mastered that. Good. Now, here's the hard part. It is a charm that is powered entirely by the will of the caster. There is no specific wand movement. Just point and repeat the charm. However – you have to be thinking very clearly about revealing a hidden form. If you have to, think about it as if you're trying to reveal a friends' secret or looking for something hidden in a friend. That's the only way I can describe the necessary mind-set for this charm.

Here is what we are going to do. First, the mornings' first two class-periods are cancelled. I want this search to be done with as quickly as possible. We will break into teams. The teachers will divvie themselves into equal groups and each group will take a house. I would like this to be done without the usual inter-house bickering…so please, consider that you're all working for your school this morning and not for your individual house. A new broom of your choice will be the prize to the person or persons who are successful! "

There was an enormous roar in response to the Headmaster's declaration and suddenly, everyone was up for the hunt.

9:45 Am. – Hogwarts' Great Hall

The two hours, for most all of the students, had been singularly unsuccessful – and there was a good amount of bickering among some groups as they made their way back to the Great Hall. However, one small group had stumbled onto something very interesting indeed during its return to the Hall.

Professor Andromeda Vector, a beautiful and talented witch who was relatively new on the staff, was accompanying Colin Creevey, Pansy Parkinson, Tracy Davis, Justin Finch-Fletchly, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood. Because of the size of the school and the unpredictable nature of its staircases, the group happened to take a wrong turn and find themselves inside the stairway of the schools' western tower. Thinking that it might not have been explored yet, the group took out their wands and slowly made their way up the slightly rickety wooden stairs. At various points, the kids pointed their wands at the spiders and other insects and hit them with the charm that they had all been taught. It was fun, if a bit slow-going. There were a lot of spiders and other insects!

Eventually, the group got to a landing that was at a turning-out point, just below the last set of stairs up to the roof of the tower. There was a great deal of dust and it was pretty obvious that no one had been up the stairs recently. As they were all about to turn around and go back down, Colin Creevey saw something that didn't look right. A small black beetle was hiding in a larger-than-normal crack between two large rocks in the wall. He put his hand on Tracy Davis' arm; catching her attention. She turned and saw what Colin was pointing at. A big smile came across her face and she got everyone else's attention. Andromeda Vector looked over Ginny Weasley's shoulder and looked at the beetle. It looked unnatural to her, too.

"Well, what are you all waiting for? Wands up, please and remember the charm. On three. One, two, "Animus Reveleo!"

A moment later, the beetle started to grow and it fell out, unceremoniously; hitting the floor of the platform with a 'thump!".

The change was complete a moment later and a woman lay stunned and then bound. It was Rita Skeeter…and she looked very surprised indeed.

So the small, victorious band made its way back to the Great Hall with an ugly, ungainly woman, bound tight in hemp rope, floating in front of them. When the doors opened and let them in, the rest of the school gasped, as if the students shared one body.

'Albus' rose and moved to the end of the head-table; where he waited for the small group to make it down the long aisle. Once they were half-way, he was able to make out that it was indeed Rita Skeeter who had been found. He was glad that he Johan had taken the time to slip out during the search and retrieve his personal store of Veritiserum. It would make questioning Rita that much easier.

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Potions Lab – Dungeon – Hogwarts; - Monday, September 2nd, 11:45 Am.

Second-year potions promised to be a difficult, but exciting class. After Abraham Nott's death, the Slytherins in the class, all of whom were second-years, decided that Harry was not worth harassing. One student did make a snide and nasty comment about Hermione and her parentage when Snape's attention was elsewhere, but neither Harry nor Hermione could be made to rise to the bait during class. They did, however, make a note of the person who had made the comment and silently vowed to ensure that the particular student had a change of heart – whether she wanted it or not.

Third-year Defense against the Dark Arts was the most exciting class of the day. Not only did Harry and Hermione get a chance to stretch their abilities, but Harry made a discovery that would forever alter how he felt about the Headmaster.

A tall-ish, 35 year-old man, with a prominent scar from just in front of his left ear to down below his shirt-collar, Remus Lupin looked older than his years. His hair was already salt-and-pepper and slightly receding. His eyes were dark blue and his nose looked like it had a small chunk missing from it at the end.

Hermione entered the classroom first, just ahead of Harry, five minutes before the 'official' start of class. Her wavy, cinnamon-brown hair swept around her shoulders and obscured the professors' vision until Harry had cleared the door and stepped to his wife's side.

Rising from where he sat behind the temporary desk in the DADA, Remus Lupin stared at the two young people. He had been notified ahead of time that there were three bonded couples in the school and that he might be particularly interested in one of them, but he had not been told who they were. Since he had missed the sorting and the after-dinner announcements, he was less informed than he should have been.

Green eyes. Brilliant green eyes and black hair. It took all of about two seconds for Remus Lupin to puzzle out who the new students were. Throwing himself across the room, he almost knocked the young man off his feet as he embraced him. "Harry!"

It was all Remus could say for several long minutes as the eleven years of tears that he had held back came loose in a torrent. It was the guilt that he felt for all the time that he had been away from the young man for whom he had been named co-godfather.

Harry didn't know who the man was, but it was clear that he was no threat and so he let the hug happen. Finally, Hermione stepped in and touched the man on the arm. "Professor?"

Hermione's gentle voice caused the man to break off the hug and fall backwards against a desk. "You look so much like Lily" he said. "She had those same eyes."

"You knew my mum?"

"God yes, Harry. She, James, Sirius Black, Johan, and I were inseparable for all of our last four years together. Actually, your mother didn't really join us until sixth year, but she had always hung around us before then. We were the "Marauders" of Hogwarts. I watched as Johan and your mother circled around each other more and more their last two years. Everyone thought that they were going to get together…."

"But his mother forbade the marriage and threatened to curse him and my mother if they went ahead anyway….I know"

"Well, yes. That's exactly. Johan was devastated by it. I had never seen him cry before, but he did, the night that he received the owl from the bitch. It was just before Halloween." That was news to Harry, but it didn't surprise him. "Anyway, your mother and father finally got together during the early spring of our seventh year and they were married just over a year after they were graduated. You were born at the end of July, 1980. Well, they had been married for about three years by then. Their anniversary was July 17th."

Harry looked at him, goggle-eyed.

Remus Lupin paused for a moment. "Now, I've been told that there are three bonded couples here at Hogwarts and that all three of them are among first-year students. I saw you two come in and you were holding hands and standing awfully close together. Is there something that I should know?"

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Well, this is my wife, Hermione Jane Potter, so I guess that's a yes."

Lupin's jaw practically hit the ground at the word 'wife'. When he had recovered himself somewhat, he looked at the pair. "Alright Harry, we have a few more minutes before class starts, so spill. What do you mean by 'wife'?"

Hermione looked at the man; trying to decide whether she could trust him enough to tell him everything. She probed him a bit with her growing legilimency skills and found no animus or hostile intent. Harry did the same and found memories swirling in the man's head that dealt with a beautiful woman and warm feelings. He couldn't get more than that at first pass and decided not to try for more.

"Professor, Hermione and I have a soul-bond. The moment we touched, when we first met at Flourish and Blotts, we were able to hear each other's thoughts and see each other's memories. We've gotten stronger in that since then, but we've made marital vows to each other since then and exchanged rings."

She held up the ring that adorned her left ring finger and to the man's shock, he saw Lily Potter's wedding ring. It was something he'd never forget: a pear-cut 2.75 ct. perfect white diamond, with baguette-cut red sapphires on either side. On the girls' hand, it looked absolutely huge. Harry sported James' ring: a bi-metallic ring of platinum and mythral, with small diamonds in a chain down the middle. He felt the familiar twinge of jealousy that he had always felt looking at the ring. It was just one of those things.

"So, you're telling me that you two were both in Flourish and Blotts at the same time…and just happened to touch…and by simply touching, you bonded?"

"No, not really. You see, Hermione and I had been dreaming about each other for as long as either of us can remember. We had always been in each other's thoughts…like we were trying to find each other or something. I just know that the moment I saw her, I had to go to her. Now we can't be physically apart for more than a half-hour or so or we start to get physically sick."

Remus Lupin shook his head. "Just like James, Harry. You're very definitely his son. He never did anything the usual way, either."

"Professor? May I ask you a question?"

"Harry, you're going to have to get used to the fact that you can ask me anything. I may not always answer completely – depending on who else is involved in the answer – but you can always ask. I owe you that and so much more."

"Well, when Johan took me to my vaults at Gringotts after I became emancipated. I found my parents' portraits there and I talked to them. They told me that I'm to use whatever galleons I have to get Sirius free from Azkaban. If you knew Sirius….can you help me do what my parents asked?"

Seeing students gathering at the doorway from the corner of his eye, Lupin cut Harry off. "Later, Harry. Maybe tonight. I will tell you everything I know…and yes, I want to help."

Realizing that he had been cut off for a reason, Harry told Hermione silently that they probably ought to find seats next to each other and that they shouldn't say anything more about his connection to the professor until they knew whom they could trust in the class.

The class itself turned out to be a great deal more work, but also more fun, than either Harry or Hermione had anticipated. They did not mention to Professor Lupin that Harry had bonded with a Wyvern, as the proto-dragons were not classified as 'dark', and because Harry did not want the added attention that the revelation would bring. Hermione sympathized with his desire to deflect attention and hoped that she could figure out a way to help Harry get the kinds of answers he needed without getting into trouble.

At the end of the class, when the other students were gathering up their belongings, Lupin stopped by Hermione's desk, as she was closer to the temporary teachers' desk which had been placed up front by the elves. Handing her a sheet of paper, he said simply, "Tonight."

Both Hermione and Harry nodded their understanding and, picking up their bags, quietly made their way out of the room.

After lunch, and as they made their way down the hallway and towards third-year transfiguration, the pair held an intense, rapid-fire conversation about the contents of the parchment which the Professor had handed Hermione. On one side, it said: "My office. 7:30. Don't be late." One the back side, though, was a list of dates in 1980, all exactly 28 days apart. The heading of the parchment was the scribbled statement: "Bad days to try to reach me."

Below the dates were a series of Runes and warding-glyphs. Beside them was the short notation: "The reason that I couldn't contact you." It was cryptic, but it set Hermione's 'Need to Read' on fire and caused her to start running lists of places where she wanted to go in order to research the symbols. The first stop was her private, elf-supplied library. She and Harry had the only keys to it and she was the librarian.

By the time that they reached Minerva McGonagall's office, Harry knew the list just as well as Hermione. Since two heads were better than one, they decided to split the duty. It would require that they spend several hours past bedtime getting the work done, but it was worth it, if they could find what they were looking for. Hermione rationalized the extra study time as 'together'-time that was good for them as a couple. "Besides", she thought to him, "we don't have to wear nearly as many clothes while inside the magical trunk."

Harry liked that idea very much.

Hermione giggled in his mind. "Boys are so easy." Harry faked a growl at 'boys' and told her, across their bond, that there had better be only one boy in her life, and that he better be the one or there would be trouble. Hermione softened at that and told him, in no uncertain terms, that yes, he was the only boy for her and that he needn't ever worry about that.

"GOOD" was Harry's only reply.

Third-year Transfiguration turned out to be a great deal easier than Hermione had expected, and therefore not quite as challenging as she had hoped. The visualization exercises that she and Harry had been doing during their summer school-work had indeed put them both in a good position. Perhaps too good, in some respects. Third-year transfiguration students had to be able to change an inanimate object into another one of roughly the same size and get the details of the target object correct as well as make inanimate objects animate, as well as do the process in reverse. Both Harry and Hermione found that they could do all of those things fairly easily already. It was largely a matter of concentration and practice. After conjuring a perfect teddy-bear out of thin air, Hermione was not feeling 'pushed' the way she liked, while Harry had so much raw power that while he missed a few minor details from time to time, he could do the transfiguration first in almost all cases.

Professor McGonagall stood at the head of the class and after reading attendance list, she passed out a copy of the class syllabus to each of the students. When it was done, she gathered the remaining copies, placed them on her desk, and then turned to address the class. "Welcome to third-year transfiguration. This class is not to be taken lightly. What we do here can have serious consequences if you make a mistake. Magical transfiguration can easily go awry and therefore, you must all pay close and strict attention. If I catch any of you doing transfiguration on your fellow students, you will most likely be expelled from the school. There are no second-chances. It is a beautiful and wonderful art and many gifted wizards and witches have made names for themselves within wizarding society by mastering its nuances and subtleties. Now, are there any questions before we begin?"

A student stood up who looked suspiciously like a Wesley – but not one that Harry knew. Hermione guessed, over their bond, that it was either Fred or George, and she warned Harry that they were known pranksters.

The deputy Headmistress pointed to the boy and said, "Yes, Mr. Weasley? What can I do for you?"

"Ma'am, can you tell us what a pair of first-year students are doing in the class?" he said, pointing at Hermione and Harry.

McGonagall looked sympathetically at Harry and Hermione before turning her attention to the tall teen. "Yes, Mr. Weasley. They are here to demonstrate what hard work and a devotion to ones' studies can do for a student. Mr. and Mrs. Potter tested out of first and second-year transfiguration after just less than four weeks of study. I daresay that you and your brothers have never, in all of your years here at Hogwarts, ever done as well as the Potters. And if you think that I am being overly generous in my praise for them, consider this. Minutes after being told that she is a witch, and never before having even touched a wand, Hermione Potter née Granger used my wand to conjure a perfectly formed, complete accurate teddy bear. On Harry's third day of study, Harry turned Mrs. Norris into a 'cat balloon' and then restored her, as if it was nothing." She didn't mention the fact that he had done it wandlessly, because there was no point in scaring everyone. "The Potters are an exceptional couple and I would advise you and your brother that you antagonize them at your peril." She wanted to say "It's probably best that you all remember what Mr. Potter did just last night", but she didn't. There was no point in creating enmity where there was none.

No one, including Harry, could forget what Harry had done the previous night, of course. Fred and George most certainly could not. Abraham Nott had been a permanent thorn in their sides for the three years that they had been at the school and they were privately delighted to know that he was no longer a student – even if the means of his departure had been gruesome in the extreme. The twins vowed to each other then and there that they would never, ever get either Harry or Hermione mad at them. Some students just did not have the same kind of sense of humor as they did and it was just not worth it to get the Potters mad at them over a simple prank.

Transfiguration ended at 4:45 – in time for flying practice before dinner. Hermione was very unsure about the whole idea of riding on a broom, and she told a number of people, including Ginny Weasley, that she was scared of heights, in order to get out of it.

Ginny was having none of it, though, and neither was Harry. As they walked out to the Quidditch pitch, the boisterous not-quite-eleven-year-old told Hermione all about breaking into her brothers' broom shed and taking their best brooms out for joy-rides in the evening. Hermione, however, was unconvinced. She thought that the whole idea of riding on something as thin as a broom-stick several hundred feet above the ground was unnatural. "If God had meant for me to fly, he would have given me wings, Harry!" she thought to him.

"You never know, love. If we can become animagi, like Professor McGonagall said, then maybe we WILL be able to fly on our own. I'd love to do that with you!" Hermione could feel Harry's excitement and knew that in the end, she'd not be able to resist his enthusiasm.

When they reached the pitch, there was a row of brooms laid out on the ground and a stern, but not quite severe-looking, diminutive woman with gray-blue eyes and slightly curly, graying blonde hair; standing near them. She was wearing a black robe with crossed silver broomsticks etched on the front, over her heart. Beneath the robe, she wore tight-fitting silver trousers and a matching mock-turtleneck blouse. Madame Hooch was the school's flight instructor, as well as the resident official Quidditch referee. The former keeper for the Hollyhead Harpies, she had made the Pan-European Women's Quidditch all-star team five times.

Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Draco, Daphne, Luna, and three other students whom Harry didn't recognize all lined up near the brooms. Harry could feel his wife's nervousness and reached out over their bond to reassure her that everything was going to be all right.

"All right, boys and girls. Today we introduce you to flying – real flying. Not the horsing around you've been doing at home. Now, a couple of words about safety: One – falling off a broom at speed will most likely kill you. Two – banging into another flyer at speed will most likely kill you. Three – if I catch any of you fooling around on your broom or trying out maneuvers that you've not been properly trained how to do, you will never, ever fly again while at this school. That means you will have to find a private flying teacher and pay that person a great deal of money to teach you what I will teach you for free today and in the days to come. What I teach you here will keep you alive. Remember that.

Ok, first question: How many of you have flown your own broom at home?"

Draco, Daphne, Luna, Ron, and Ginny all raised their hands. "Very good. That's about what I expected. I assume the rest of you have never even seen a broom before? What about you Mr. Longbottom. Surely, you've been around a broom?"

Neville couldn't look her in the eyes. "No, Ma'am. My Gran wouldn't let me fly. Said that she didn't dare risk….." His voice trailed off and the end of his answer was lost. Madame Hooch seemed to understand and patted the young boy on the shoulder in what appeared to be a gesture of sympathy.

"Ok, that means the two of you have never been around a broom before."

Harry looked at her and without missing a beat, said "my wife and I are both muggle-raised. She's muggle-born and I lived with Muggles until I was rescued this summer."

The powerful witch had stopped hearing anything when Harry had reached the word 'wife' and stared at them both, blankly. She was at a complete loss for words for almost thirty seconds. It was a very long and uncomfortable thirty seconds. Hermione was starting to fidget when the flying instructor came back to her senses. "Young man, I assume that you and the young lady here are one of the special couples that the Headmaster spoke about?"

Hermione nodded.

Rubbing her eyes for a moment, as if to clear away the stress created by the revelation, she then sighed. "Alright, I've never taught a couple before. Is there anything special that I need to know about the two of you before we start?"

"Actually, Ma'am, we're not the only special couple. Draco and Daphne – over there" He pointed at them in a friendly way. "They're bonded too. Anything they can do, we probably can do, and the other way around as well. Luna and Ms. Weasley are also bonded, but I don't know them well at all."

Draco heard Harry's comment and snorted in quiet disbelief. He said to Daphne "Not bloody likely. He's got more magic in one toe that I have in my whole body."

Daphne was not about to take Draco's self-criticism lying down. "Really? And who did the 'Boy-who-lived' turn to when he needed to know about traps and magical evasion for his DADA class a week ago? Draco, one of these days you're going to realize how special you are. I love you...and I know I wouldn't have fallen for just any wizard. Now, stop telling yourself that you're no good. It's not true."

The older witch looked at Harry and Hermione and then over at Draco and Daphne and past them, at Ginny and Luna. "Great, so I have the three 'wonder-couples' right here in one class and no one bothered to tell me anything. Ok. I heard from Minerva that you all can talk to each other silently. Is that true?"

Both Harry and Hermione nodded. "As far as we know, yes, that's true."

Rolanda Hooch smiled a brief smile. "Well, that might be the best news so far. It will make teaching the six of you that much easier. All I have to do is tell one of you and the other will hear it. Good, then I won't have to repeat myself."

She backed off about ten feet, so that she was standing in front of all of them, and they in turn, were each beside his or her own broom. "What I am going to do is have you hold your hand out in mid-air, open-palm facing down, and concentrate on your broom. Look at it and think about it rising to meet your hand. When you can do that, say 'Up!' and the broom should rise to meet your hand. Grasp it firmly and then swing one leg over it, so you're straddling the broom."

They all did so and then waited. Ginny looked the most comfortable, followed by Draco, and then Daphne. Luna looked a little nervous, but hid it well. "I hope I don't make a fool of myself" Harry thought to his love.

"Just do your best, Harry. I'm sure you'll do fine."

Harry hoped so too. He didn't want to look bad in Hermione's eyes.

An hour into the lesson, it was clear who the real flyers were. Draco was good – he couldn't not be…but he was severely outclassed by both Ginny and Harry. Between those two, though, Harry was dominant. Ginny didn't have the courage to do the things that Harry had begun doing naturally. Madame Hooch had lost control of the class and she knew it. She was no longer the one who was giving the commands. Ginny and Draco had learned enough that they were teaching their partners…but by so doing, taught Harry and Hermione by example. Luna was the most hesitant of the group, for reasons that were unknown to any save Ginny.

Ginny was sympathetic to her partner and did her best to encourage her and build her confidence with each new success.

At the end of the hour and a half class, Madame Hooch made the six children gather around her. She looked impressed, if a bit irritated. "All right, good job. Each of you will get your permits to fly and to have a broom stored at the broom-shed. Open practices are on Saturday, from sunrise to sunset, and on Sunday, from 10 Am until sunset. I expect each of you to improve your skills and to continue to work on the things you've been taught here today.

Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Weasley? Would the three of you stay behind for a moment?"

Harry shook his head. "Madame Hooch, whatever you have to say, you can say in front of my wife. She's only going to hear it anyway, so just please tell me?"

Shaking her head, she looked at him "You know, that's going to take some getting used to. All right, I want to propose that you, Mr. Mal…I'm sorry…Mr. Greengrass, and Ms. Weasley all try out for the House Quidditch teams. I know that you're all first-year students, but you all certainly don't fly like first-year students and it would be a waste to make the three of you wait longer than necessary to play."

Ginny pumped her fist. She was clearly excited by the idea. Even Luna looked like she was pretty pleased. Daphne sidled up to her bond-mate and their eyes immediately glazed over in the way that told Harry that they were both engrossed in a private conversation. The only problem with the silent conversations that they were all able to have was that walking and talking over one's bond-link were almost entirely mutually exclusive. The mind could only do so many things at one time, it turned out.

Harry and Hermione had a solution of sorts for it. If they needed to talk that way, they'd find a place to stop and hide – like an empty corridor, or a cupboard – and they'd face each other, with foreheads touching, and immerse themselves in the magic of their bond. If they were apart and needed to share a thought, either would find someone or somewhere to lean on; close their eyes, and then let themselves go into the bond.

She knew that it was going to take the rest of the schools' population a while to get used to the idea that certain couples had to be left alone, even if they were acting very strangely indeed. Harry wondered if the other first and second-year students had any idea that soon, most all of them would be able to do the same thing as well.

Taking his hand, Hermione led Harry up and away from the Quidditch pitch in silence. It was time for dinner and both were getting irritable with hunger.

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Hogwarts - Monday, September 2nd, 7:25 Pm. – outside the DADA classroom

Harry and Hermione Potter, who together represented the future of House Potter, stood in the shadows near the DADA classroom. They were completely invisible, thanks to Draco's helpful teachings and their quick mastery of the disillusionment and silencing charms. With the sound of their breath masked, the two thought that they were as well camouflaged as they could be.

They were surprised, therefore, when Remus Lupin walked along the wall, near where they were hiding, and smiled as he turned to look at the spot where they were standing. "Good evening Harry, Hermione. Waiting long?" Swearing under his breath, Harry cancelled the two charms. He and Hermione pushed off the wall and followed the Professor into the classroom and towards the Professor's office.

He waived them towards two seats, which Harry and Hermione gratefully fell into. It had been a long day and the two were justifiably tired. Looking across the desk at them, Remus Lupin wondered, and not for the first, third or even tenth time, just how he could have been surprised that Harry had made it to Hogwarts. Seeing Harry – the way he moved, spoke, and looked like James – was going to take some getting used to for the old Marauder.

"Harry, seeing you this morning was a shock. I won't lie to you. I can't imagine how the time could go by so fast!"

Yawning, Harry looked at him. "Sir, I'm tired. I know that you and my father were friends, along with Professor Snape, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and my mother, Lily Evans. I also know that Peter betrayed my parents and that Sirius Black is innocent."

Remus Lupin was suddenly sitting up very straight and was paying strict attention. "What do you mean, Peter betrayed them?"

"My parents were convinced at the last moment to switch secret keepers. At least, that's what Professor Snape and my parents' portraits all say. Sirius never betrayed or killed anyone. My parents' portraits also told me to use whatever I have to out of my vault to get Sirius free. Right now, that's a lot of galleons."

"More than a million? Because that's what it might take."

Hermione giggled. "Try a hundred and forty nine million, sir"

Lupin's jaw fell open so fast; Harry thought it might hit the desk. He knew, in a round-about way, that James was well off. He never, ever thought – not in a million years – that James had that much money. It was more than enough to do what they had to do. "That will do, Harry. We have to start by contacting some help in the solicitor community. There's one particular lawyer who's really, really good - Nicholas Sharpstar. He's in Diagon Alley. He's a real shark and he has no tolerance at all for the 'purebloods' and their agenda. I think he'd help you, even if you didn't pay him. Paying him up front and without question will make him work just that much harder. It won't buy his loyalty – that will have to come from the two of you – but it will buy his time."

Harry took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes for a moment. Hermione could feel how tired Harry was and knew that the sooner she got him to bed, the better the two of them would be.

"Sir, I am so tired that I'm having difficulty focusing. Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Harry. What is that you want to know?"

"How did you find us this evening? We should have been all but undetectable."

Lupin smiled and then ran a hand though his own, wiry hair; trying somewhat in vain to get it to sweep back and down. When he was finished, he looked at the two. "How do you think I did it?"

Hermione started to bounce up and down in her seat and Harry smiled inwardly. "You were able to smell us, because you're a werewolf."

"Ten points to Ravenclaw then, Hermione. Right in one. What gave it away?"

Hermione didn't answer immediately. Instead, she reached into her bag and pulled out her day-planner. Holding it up, she turned the book around so one particular page was facing the professor: The yearly lunar calendar.

"Huzzah, Hermione. Very good use of your Muggle background. Did you understand what a full moon means immediately?

Hermione nodded. "We covered that in one of the three-hour DADA sessions early on with the Headmaster. He was most insistent that we know every one of the major 'dark' animals that we are likely to encounter in England and Werewolves were one of them. The other hint was just overkill."

"Again, very well done. The second part I included partially to see how far along you both are. Did you recognize the symbols?"

"They were glyphs of protection. One of them though was a weird two-part one that I couldn't quite puzzle out. Something about the moon…." Harry said…then a dawning look of realization struck his face. "It was a glyph of protection against Werewolves, right?"

"Excellent Harry! Very well reasoned. Now you know why I couldn't visit you. The damn glyphs kept me away. They are might just as well have been covered in silver. I couldn't go within a two-block radius of your relatives' home. It was Dumbledore's way of keeping you safe against Fenrir Grayback and his pack. He was the one who attacked me when I was a young boy and he's always been one of Voldemort's favorite soldiers. Now, I must ask you both to swear a wizard's oath that you will not repeat that. If it became common knowledge, I'd no longer be able to teach here and the Headmaster needs me. Besides, having me here allows me to help you both and to protect you."

Harry and Hermione were both more than willing to give him their oaths and did so immediately. Once it was out of the way, he looked at them. "Seeing you both in my third year course was a bit of a shock today, I won't mind admitting. The Headmaster told me not to react to anything that might happen in this first week, but he didn't elaborate. Now I know what he was talking about."

It was like the Headmaster, Harry had found. Albus Dumbledore was cryptic at the best of times and there were other times when the things he said bordered on the down right ridiculous, if they were taken at face-value. "Are there any other things that I should know about you, Harry? Any surprises that you've not told me about?"

"Harry bonded with a wyvern, Professor, over the summer."

Remus Lupin had to swallow hard several times to suppress his desire to leap across the desk and beat some sense into the boy. "Say that again, so that I'm sure that I have a reason to beat you senseless, Harry."

Their eyes met and Harry summoned some of the power that Dumbledore was slowly showing him how to use. "I bonded with a wyvern this summer, sir. She's beautiful and her name is Amrita."

"Harry, I can't tell you how impossibly stupid that was to do. Not only are wyverns a type of Dragon, but they're notoriously difficult to manage."

"Would it help if I told you that I can talk to them and that Amrita became a part of my bonding with Hermione?"

Several realities which included killing himself swam before his eyes before he was able to gather himself sufficiently to keep his inner wolf from reaching out and throttling Harry. "You can do what?"

"Johan said that I'm a parselmouth and that was the reason that I was able to talk to Amrita. When I told him about talking to snakes at the zoo, he told me what it meant and said that I should keep quiet about being able to do it because some people associate it with dark wizards. Hermione can do it now, too, because of our bond."

Figuring that he was getting too old to deal with the kinds of shocks that he had just been handed, Remus Lupin said, "Before you give me any more reasons to doubt the health of my heart, Harry, tell me this. When you said that your wyvern was part of your bonding, what did you mean?"

Harry told him about first meeting Hermione and about the fact that Amrita had been on his shoulders at the time and the fact that the beautiful creature could talk to both of them anytime. Lupin shook his head and thought about what Lily and James might have said about it all. Then he remembered that Harry had mentioned talking to their portraits. "Harry? Have you told your parents' portraits about what's happened? Do they know about your abilities? Did they say anything about Amrita?"

By the time Harry, Hermione, and Professor Lupin had finished talking, another hour had gone by and only fifteen minutes remained before curfew. They gathered their things and practically ran out of the office and up the four flights of stairs which separated the DADA office from the upper, residential floors. They made it to their tower with just a few minutes to spare and made their way, as quickly as possible, to their own suite and the hot tub which waited therein. They were exhausted and were grateful beyond words to finally crawl into bed a few minutes before 10 Pm.

Hermione's last thought, before sleep claimed her, was that if every day was as tiring, she wouldn't last the week.

In the next chapter, we'll see how the bonding ceremony goes….stay tuned. Please read and review! Thanks 