Chapter Three – A New Year

Disclaimer – Akamatsu and Rowling own these characters… in this universe.

Albus Dumbledore was feeling very troubled as he paced back and forth in his office. Glancing from time to time at the dull instrument which should have been whirring happily, he wondered where in the world Harry Potter was. He had decided to give the boy a chance to spend his birthday at the Weasleys' after his godfather's untimely death, but when he arrived at Number Four Privet Drive the boy was nowhere to be found – and apparently had been gone for several weeks, according to his relatives.

Almost immediately after learning of his disappearance, he apparated back to Hogwarts, afraid to confirm his worst fears. Luckily, there was still some hope left: the silver gadget attuned to Harry's health was still functional, which meant he was at least alive, even though the wards were gone. Thinking for a moment – and cursing his decision to not apply a wide-scale tracking charm to the boy – he decided to apparate to the Burrow in hopes of finding information from Harry's friends.

All he managed to learn initially was that apparently Harry had "betrayed" Ronald and Ginerva, which Dumbledore found a tad suspicious, considering Harry's fiercely loyal nature. He decided to send a small Legilimency probe into the young Weasleys, in case he was able to find anything further – and what a shock that was! The mysterious green-haired assassin that had killed multiple Death Eaters before kidnapping the Boy-Who-Lived was right before his eyes, chatting casually with her supposed captive!

The Headmaster was almost sent reeling again with what that meant for his prized pupil, who had apparently been deceiving him. Dumbledore was afraid of this: Harry Potter was falling to the side of darkness – he only hoped there was time left to redeem him. After sending out an owl asking for his whereabouts, he sunk slowly into his chair, fearing for his student's future, and the fate of Magical Britain.

A young wizard sat gasping on the ground, wondering for the hundredth time why he had agreed to this. He had to admit, Negi and Chachamaru's training routine was intense – almost ridiculously so. How did Negi even achieve this level of endurance at the age of eleven? Resolving to ask him about it later, Harry set himself on finishing their morning run. One mile down, one to go.

Soon after, as he sat concentrating on drawing magic from the world around him, he thought back four weeks ago, in what would begin the most intense month of his life.

It began after they had went to the muggle bank and received a credit card in Chachamaru's name. Still amazed at her ability to seemingly generate endless amounts of money, he zoned out for much of the ride to their hotel, considering the possibilities of where they would be staying.

At least, he thought they were staying at a hotel.

When the cab finally stopped outside of a small stone-walled house bordering a forest and a field, Harry realized they weren't exactly staying at the nearest Holiday Inn. Chachamaru explained, "I rented this cottage for the month, as most hotels would be incompatible with our normal training routine. As it's only a fifteen minute flight away from central London, it shouldn't be a problem for us."

If Harry had known then what exactly they considered "training" to be, he wouldn't have dared ask to join them.

Once he looked past the burning muscles and seemingly-eternal exhaustion, however, he realized he was making noticeable progress both magically and physically. Last month he had been skinnier than some third years, and had been rather embarrassed to look himself in the mirror. Now, while he wasn't going to be bodybuilding anytime soon, his thin frame had some muscle, and he considered himself "wiry" now, rather than "lanky." His training instructors didn't have him slacking on his spellwork, either.

One of the first things they did after they settled into their small home was take a trip to Diagon Alley and purchase a wand for Negi, he under the effect of age disguise pills and Harry with both prescription and disguise glasses. Harry almost shivered, thinking back to their visit to Ollivander's. He honestly hadn't realized the first time around just how ungodly creepy that man was, from the moment they walked into his store.

Negi felt something wash over him as he entered the small wand shop. He instantly went on guard for any attacks, but felt no hostile intent nearby. Realizing he felt a similar sensation upon leaving Hogwarts grounds, he realized they had likely passed over some kind of ward. That realization didn't do anything to lessen the tingling going down his spine in the eerie silence.

He looked around, trying to get a glimpse of the shopkeeper, but only saw rows of crates and boxes leading far into a back room.

"Is he even here?" he whispered.

Before Harry could reply, they heard a thin, aged voice from almost directly behind them, "Well, Mr. Potter, a pleasure to see you again. And I see that you've brought some guests?"

Jumping around, Harry stammered, "Yes, well… ah… my friend here," gesturing towards Negi, "Needs a new wand, and I thought I should bring him here."

Negi, meanwhile, had almost gone into full-blown panic mode. He had seen through the disguise glasses like nothing! Before he could think further, he was snapped out of his daze as Ollivander focused on him.

"And who is the fine wizard that needs a wand?" He asked, contemplatively.

He briefly considered using his regular pseudonym for his older body, before realizing that neither Negi nor Nagi would be famous in this world, "I'm Negi Springfield, sir."

"Mr. Springfield, eh?" he said, beginning to smirk, "You seem to look rather… mature, for someone no older than twelve."

Shocked, Negi almost instantly slipped into a fighting stance, seeing Chachamaru beside him do the same. Voicing his thoughts, he asked, "Just who exactly are you? How did you see through my disguise?"

Chuckling, the old wizard replied, "I'm just a very, very old wandmaker. You've read the sign, yes? As for your other question: there is very little my eyes can't see. I must compliment you on your disguise. A work of art, really. Had it been anyone else, I doubt they could see through it."

An advanced form of mage sight then, Negi thought. He saw Chachamaru relaxing her stance, and felt that he could do the same.

"It's not an illusion of my design, but I'll send your compliments to its creator. Now, will my age be any problem in getting a wand? Preferably one without the Trace on it?"

Now the old man frowned slightly, more wrinkles becoming apparent on his face. "Well, seeing as you're probably not a resident of Magical Britain considering I've never seen you here before, and that I've never liked the Ministry mucking around in my business…."

He broke into a small grin. "I don't see why not."

"Yes!" Negi cheered, his childlike and antique collector's persona both becoming apparent at the joy of getting a different kind of magic wand.

"Now then, all we need to do is find yourself a wand." Ollivander said, ducking into the backroom and motioning for Negi to follow.

Negi, more relaxed now that he figured the old man wasn't going to be a threat to him, eagerly followed. After several minutes of small explosions, broken furniture, and fires, Negi reemerged triumphantly holding his new wand.

Ollivander noted, "Ten inches, ebony, with dragon heartstring from a rather vicious Hebridean Black. A wand most suited for combat… and darkness." He glanced at Negi, "Take care that you don't lose yourself on your path, young wizard."

Negi nodded solemnly, "I won't."

"Now then," Ollivander said, considerably brightening, "let's see about getting that bothersome Trace off your wand, shall we?"

Accepting the slender instrument from Negi, he began to run his fingers over its dark surface. After several seconds, a red mist seeped out of the wand, and collected into an orb-like shape in his hands, which he then dispersed with a flick of his wrist.

After returning the wand to Negi, he began swinging it happily, causing a multitude of sparks to shower from its tip like a sparkler.

"Just make sure you don't take someone's eye out with that thing." Ollivander off-handedly, as Negi smiled sheepishly. "Now where were we? Ah, yes, about to take the Trace off of Mr. Potter's wand, that's right."

"Umm… sir?" Harry asked confusedly.

"Mr. Potter," Ollivander reasoned, "if the self-proclaimed Dark Lord can wave around his wand all he likes without getting called to a court hearing," Harry winced, "then surely it isn't too unreasonable to expect his nemesis to do the same. Besides, a reign of darkness and terror wouldn't be very good for business."

"Well, if you put it that way," Harry said, "then I suppose it's for the best!"

"Precisely," the wandmaker said, repeating the process on the holly wand. "Now remember, the Trace may be off your wands, but there are still area-wide detection spells in place over major muggle cities and such, so you'll want to be careful where you use your magic regardless."

Both wizards nodded, happy they had far less restrictions with which to practice their magic.

"See you later, Mr. Ollivander." Harry said, exiting the store.

"And you as well, Mr. Potter, Springfield."

Finally exiting the store, Negi breathed a sigh of relief, "Wow, that was a rather intense conversation. Chachamaru, what do you think of him?"

"Scans show a significant magical core, but no signs of tainting from dark magic. He is likely quite powerful, to be able to see through Master's illusion like nothing." She paused for a moment, then turned to Harry. "Speaking of dark magic, I noticed in the shop you have a significant concentration of dark magic centered on the scar on your forehead. From what I recall of Master's training, it is similar to soul magic I have seen her use. Were you aware of this?"

Negi piped in, "You know, when I was planting that false memory in your mind, I thought I felt something rather ominous in your head. It's more than likely whatever's in there is messing with your mind."

Harry frowned. "I guess I've been aware of it for a while now. Dumbledore told me that when Voldemort cast the killing curse on me, it somehow opened a mental connection between us. I can feel strong emotions of his through the link, and also have had a lot of visions through his eyes when I sleep."

"That sounds rather dangerous." Negi commented, "So did Dumbledore tell you how he's going to get rid of it?"

"Actually, he just told me to try and use Occlumency to shield my mind from it. Of course, as you know, Snape's lessons didn't go very well."

Chachamaru's eyes widened, "He really didn't try to destroy, or at least quarantine it? From what I know of our soul magic, such a presence in your mind would degrade the integrity of your soul, and could very well lead to possession and death. We are going to need to research this world's soul magic to try and remove it."

"There is one place that would probably have books on soul magic, but it's in kind of a seedy place. It's called Borgin and Burke's, in Knockturn Alley."

Chachamaru just said, "Let's go."

Several hours and bags of books later, the three quickly flew back, by staff, broom, and jet. Seeing the small house, bordered on one side by forest and the other by a field, they began to glide to the ground.

"Man, I have never been more thankful for Featherlight charms than now."

"That's a right useful spell, you know?" Negi said, stretching after the ride, and popping a disguise pill to return to his regular self. "I need to manipulate wind and air pressure to get the same effect, which is way more tiring."

"Negi," Chachamaru said, setting down some packages,"seeing as dinner won't be for several hours, perhaps we can give Harry a taste of our training. Shall we begin?"

Negi shivered involuntarily at the familiar words, before telling himself repeatedly that Master wasn't there, and he probably wouldn't end up frozen in ice at the end of the spar. "All right, Chachamaru, the Ministry most likely won't be tracing magic this far past the city. I'm ready."

Almost immediately, the two sprang into action, using shundo to get an advantageous position while also preparing their attacks.

Negi was having the time of his life, just barely able to keep up with Chachamaru. Whatever improvements that Hakase made before summer started, they allowed Chachamaru to nearly surpass himself in sheer speed. Dodging several magical bullets aimed at him, he began his signature spell activation, "Rastel Maskil Magister!"

Choosing to finish the spell silently, he concentrated on finishing the delayed spell while retreating from more of Chachamaru's projectiles. He barely noticed Chachamaru had stopped her ranged attacks when a laser passed right through the spot he was standing. He brought up a magical barrier which was overloaded in moments, exploding from energy buildup.

He almost didn't jump away from his barrier in time, and was still singed from the radius of the energy blast. He knew the dust kicked up from the storm would only stop Chachamaru until she switched to magical or infrared vision, and jumped to a new position as another laser cut through the ground.

While rolling out of the way from the bursts of light and repeatedly using shundo to dodge each beam, he frantically of a counter to her new attack. Soon, he muttered a quick incantation to change the magical composition of his barriers, then erected his modified barrier just before the next laser discharged. Instead of absorbing its energy, the barrier began to glow and warm as the concentrated light beam was diffused in all directions.

Grinning at his success, Negi sent several unincanted magic arrows at Chachamaru as a distraction as he closed in. Opting to rely on his martial arts, he latched onto her arm with his own and tried to throw her into the ground. She simply rolled with the impact, and, keeping her grip on him with a super-extended arm, threw him across the field and away from her.

Negi sent a frantic burst of wind magic to cushion his impact with the ground, then began another incantation, this one for his Sagitta Magica lightning arrows.

Taking a moment to gather his power, he shielded his eyes and activated an improvised spell he thought of after hearing Yue's accomplishments during her battle with several of her classmates for her badge.

"Lumen Excaecatio!"

The spell, aptly named "blinding light," created a small flare comparable to the sun's radiance, temporarily overwhelming Chachamaru's vision. Negi took the opportunity to shundo behind her and quickly fling her in the air, leaving her open for his Sagitta Magica enhanced punch.

Just before it connected, however, she used her directional jets to twist in mid-air, only suffering a glancing blow – albeit one that sent her skidding twenty feet away.

She had just enough time to glance at Harry's stupefied face, several dozen feet away, before she felt the telltale sign of crackling lightning in the air around her. Almost immediately afterward, she heard the final verse of Negi's delayed spell.

"Axe of Zeus!"

She saw the bolt of lightning fly from Negi's hand and strike several feet short of her position, leaving the earth beneath it scorched black. Recognizing the intentional miss, she said, "I yield."

Flying up to her on his staff, Negi extended a hand. "Wow, Chachamaru, you've gotten a hell of a lot faster than from a few weeks ago! And where did that laser attack come from? Another one of Hakase's improvements?"

Accepting the hand, she replied, "Yes, this new body is more combat-functional than my previous, able to use shundo and several other abilities she installed. Impressive job on countering the laser so quickly, I must add."

Negi laughed, "Well, I figured it wasn't a magical attack, and realized that it would probably behave like a regular laser under the circumstances. I wasn't too sure I'd be able to reflect it, so I opted to diffuse it instead."

Nodding, she said, "Yes, that particular laser is the finished product of what was unveiled during the school festival. As you can see, the power output capabilities have significantly increased. Now," glancing to a rapidly approaching Harry, "I think we'll have to answer some questions."

Harry had absolutely no idea what was going on. He thought he'd be seeing spells being flung back and forth, much like in the Dueling Club several years back. Even when he was intently focusing on what Negi would first cast, he didn't even realize he was looking at an afterimage until he heard a dull boom from up in the air.

Swiveling his head up, he caught the barest glimpse of a white robe and green hair before both vanished, and another clashing sound reverberated to his left. That time, he managed to see both combatants exchange several blows before Negi seemed to vanish again, now hearing his activation key further left of his field of vision.

Still shocked at the level of speed being displayed, far beyond anything he had seen from anything in his life, he tried to track the blur of figures across the field. Ironically, the easiest things for him to follow were the magic arrows that Negi occasionally let loose to distract his opponent.

After several of minutes of nearly snapping his neck trying to follow the high-speed combat, there was an enormous bolt of lightning which struck the ground, and seemed to end the fight.

He was already on his broom, ready to ask them what the hell they just did and how he could do it too.

Reaching them in seconds, he began yelling, "Negi! What was that? How did you get so fast was that some kind of spell, what was that lightning bolt you just used and was that you shooting the lasers or Chachamaru, and where can I learn this!"

After nearly a minute more of excitedly asking every detail of the fight, he eventually became calm enough that they could respond to his questions.

"So," he asked excitedly, "are you two something like the strongest mages in your world or something? I've never seen power like that, from Dumbledore or Voldemort!"

Negi and Chachamaru shared a glance. "Negi, using the magical world mage rankings, is roughly a… class A mage. While he is in the upper classes of power, there are still known beings of class AA, AAA , and S rank. In addition, the scale of classes is determined on a logarithmic scale, rather than a linear one, making an even greater difference in the power of higher ranks."

Harry stared at them a bit confusedly, not having taken a math class since primary school (that is, discounting Hermione's occasional rants about Arithmancy). "So, what does that all mean then?"

Chachamaru sighed, "Basically, while several E-ranked mages could beat a D-class mage, it would take several dozen A-class mages to beat a single AA-rank."

Harry sat, stunned, "Wait, so you mean there are wizards dozens of times more powerful than you?"

She nodded, "Master, from the few times I have seen her exert herself, is easily rank S. In a serious fight, she would annihilate us in seconds."

Negi nodded fearfully, remembering the grisly fate of Ryomen Sukuna no Kami.

"Wow… that's just… wow." Harry said, simply unable to imagine the kind of monster their oft-mentioned "Master" was.

"Onto less mortally terrifying matters, how were you two moving so quickly? I've never heard of any spell that could do that."

"That's because it's not." Negi said cheerfully, "It's a technique called "shundo," and is almost entirely martial arts. Basically, I send magical energy into my feet, and kind of compress the distance I'm travelling, in a way? Ku Fei explained this much better to me.

"Either way, though, that technique is honestly way beyond you." Negi shrugged. "It took me nearly three months of practice, entirely focusing on martial arts to get that technique to an adequate level. While it would be possible for you to learn basic martial arts, you'd spend that time much more wisely spellcasting."

Harry sighed, "I guess you're right It just seems so cool though; what you two were able to do the entire fight."

Chachamaru spoke up, "Regardless of martial arts, it would be advantageous for you to have some physical training during our time here, considering the nature of most battles. It would likewise be wise to master apparition, as a counterpart to our shundo. In fact," gesturing to one bag of books, "there are several volumes I purchased for the purpose of mastering that art."

"Yeah." Negi added, his arms behind his head, "While I don't think apparition is a viable technique for myself since I've already got shundo, an entirely magical form of high-speed movement, or teleportation in your instance, would be invaluable."

"All right!" Harry said, brightening. Maybe after some training he'd be able to do some of those awesome flashy moves he was just awed by. His mind was already spinning with all the possible action shots of using apparition in combat.

"Well, now that that's settled, we can finish making the cottage livable and cook dinner." Chachamaru said, walking towards the front door.

"Sure." Negi said, walking towards the house. "Hey Harry, mind if you use some of that newly unrestricted magic to help clean the place up?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, sure!" He called, catching up to the pair. Waving his wand, he said, "Now, I think the incantation was… Scourgify!"

Soap suds burst onto Negi's cloak, before sliding off, leaving his wizard-wear sparkling clean.

"Very nice." Negi commented, admiring the sheen, "You wizards have a spell for everything, don't you?"

"Pretty much." He agreed, "There's probably one to fix up your cloak too."

"Forgot about that." Negi muttered, fingering the hole left by the stone spear, "I guess we'll have to repair that sometime."

"Good thing there'll be plenty of time to do it."

"That there will. Hey Chachamaru, what are we making for dinner?"

"Master often preferred European cuisine, so I thought a simple soup with ham would suffice. Luckily, there aren't many exotic ingredients in Diagon Alley's market."

"Great!" he said, heading to the kitchen as Harry began to cast Scouring charms at everything in sight, happy he could practice magic. Soon enough, dinner would be ready.

Hard to believe it had been two weeks since then. Even though Negi complained they didn't have a diorama sphere to slow the time, he thought they were making great progress.

He'd picked up apparition fairly easily, after all, and aside from the first time, where he splinched one of his fingers and needed to quickly learn a specific healing charm, it was going well. He figured by then end of summer vacation, he'd be able to apparate nearly as rapidly as Negi could shundo.

His regular spellwork, though not expanded to include more powerful magic, had increased in terms of casting efficiency, incantation speed, power and accuracy. He figured that his simple Reducto had around the same power and more speed than many of the more powerful blasting curses he saw used in the Department of Mysteries.

And of course, under the careful instruction of Negi, he was now able to control magic as well as any normal non-combatant mage could. Deciding he could make an activation key when he was more powerful and had the inspiration, "Practe Bigi Nar" worked well enough for the basic elemental spells, which were currently all he could muster.

Oddly, even a simple "Venti" or "Ignis" winded him like he had been casting for half an hour. It felt almost like he was flexing muscles he never knew he had, and even small exercises tired him out quickly. Asking Negi, he found that he was experiencing a similar sensation.

Speaking of which, the boy genius was really living up to his name. He literally worked with Harry's first year spell books until Harry was worried his developing core was exhausted. Despite Harry's alarm at the extremes Negi was going to in order to learn his magic, the results were clearly showing. Already, Negi was nearly through the first year curriculum in practical casting, and had learned several more practical advanced charms, such as summoning and banishing.

When Harry asked why he was going to such lengths to learn Harry's magic, he solemnly replied, "Harry, I initially thought that Chachamaru's and my own origin from a different world was the most important secret we had to keep from your world. With the description of your world's greatest wizards and their magic compared to my own, it would appear that there is an infinitely more important secret that must never escape, even if our dimension-travelling is leaked.

"From what you tell me, my combat magic, as a more-or-less self-taught mage is greater than that of some of your most powerful wizards, which is really kind of horrifying. I can't even imagine what your world would look like if your Death Eaters and Voldemort got a hold of even one high ancient spell, and there are several that I know.

"To that end, I need to learn your brand of magic as quickly as possible, and use my proficiency at martial arts to explain why I'm still sub-par at magic. Ideally, I'll only have to use my magic once we can be assured of a way back to my world – something Chachamaru and I are still working on."

Harry had expected that kind of answer; Negi was only just getting over the depression he had been in for several days. Everything had been fine for almost three days of repetitive, but satisfying training – it was just as they were going to break for lunch that Negi cried out, falling to the ground while clutching his chest. Both he and Chachamaru panicked, initially thinking that he had been pushing too hard and his magical core was reacting badly.

Later, they could only wish that was the case.

After a second on the ground, still with a pained look on his face, Negi tore to the cottage, both of his sparring partners following with confused shouts. By the time they reached him, he saw Negi with some kind of cards splayed out around him, clutching one desperately in his hand. As he slowly walked towards the trembling mage, almost hesitant to approach, he couldn't help but notice that each of the cards had a picture of a pretty girl on them in some sort of costume, and some Latin written in different areas.

Chachamaru was the first to see the card Negi was holding, and failed to stifle a small gasp, before tightly hugging the child teacher. He could see Negi still trembling, his eyes wide with panic and disbelief at the card before him. Harry honestly couldn't see the problem – this card had a picture of a girl, like all the others. The only difference he could see was that the auburn-haired girl's card didn't have as much detail when compared to the others: much of the Latin was missing, as were the small symbols in the corners. It was actually very plain compared to the others.

He was almost about to ask Negi what was wrong when a look from Chachamaru told him to do otherwise.

"It's okay, Negi," she whispered, "there are other ways a contract can be cancelled; she's probably still fine. Negi…."

The little mage just silently turned around and wrapped his arms around her, and he could almost hear faint sobs coming from his form that seemed much smaller than it usually was.

Realizing he was about to intrude on a moment he didn't belong in, he silenced and disillusioned himself, slipping outside to meditate on his magic and what had just happened.

It wasn't until later that night when Chachamaru, after making sure her teacher fell asleep, told Harry about just what a pactio was and what it meant for their card, the symbol of the contract between a Magister and a Ministra, to fade. To someone who only knew until then that they granted borderline superpowers and artifacts and were sealed with a kiss, the revelation was sobering.

After that, Harry focused much more of his time on helping Negi: telling him fundamental theories of magic and casting that were not mentioned in beginner's textbooks, and various wand movements. He tried to explain more complex magical theories he vaguely knew and detailed descriptions of magical beasts, even the ground rules and tactics for Quidditch – anything to help distract him from his self-torment. Later, he also asked Chachamaru if she would need any help understanding magic, but she just said she would be focusing on subjects without the necessity of magical power, such as ancient runes, herbology, and potions. If she needed assistance with any of the magical theory she would ask, she assured.

After several days of Negi's lethargy, he seemed to snap out of it, and devoted even more of his time to learning Harry's magic. Soon after, he rejoined Chachamaru and him in sparring, though he was still much more solemn than he had been before. At the rate they both were progressing, Negi and Chachamaru would be qualified to start as a third year by the end of the month.

The only reason why Harry even thought this day was noteworthy was because of the owl that flew in several minutes ago, distracting him from his sixth-year charms textbook. Recognizing the Hogwarts seal on the letter it carried, he wondered if Dumbledore had contacted him. Reluctantly opening the letter and giving a crust of bread to the hooting owl. Upon reading the first sentence, he sighed slowly, and called for Negi and Chachamaru to join him.

Upon seeing the letter, Negi paled and simply asked, "How bad is it?"

"Not too terrible, actually." Harry replied, "He wants to know why and how I lied to him, which inadvertently lets us know he was using legilimency on me. Aside from that, he seems to be worried I'm falling into darkness without his guidance and such, and is actually almost pleading for me to return to the Weasleys' where it's 'safe.' Oh, and he said I wasn't over Sirius' death yet, which would be pretty insensitive if I wasn't."

"Not to be rude or anything," Negi said, "but are you really over his death? It's only been a couple of weeks, at most."

Harry frowned, "I wouldn't say I'm really over it, but a war is about to start, and I honestly can't spend time grieving until the man who was responsible for all of this is dead."

"I don't like saying it, but that probably is for the best. Especially in the times you're in, the time to mourn the dead is after you win. Now, how should we respond to his letter? It's obvious he doesn't approve of us, and will undoubtedly try to remove our 'dark' and 'evil' influences on you."

Harry smiled at his friend's weak attempt at humor. For being so young, Negi sometimes seemed stronger than he himself was. "Yes, that really isn't an option. By Dumbledore's definition of Light and Dark, it would be literally impossible to combat Voldemort, much less defeat him without going dark."

Negi nodded, "I've had to make difficult decisions before to defeat enemies, including ones I thought straddled the line between good and evil. In the end, you have to be your own judge of morality."

"In that light, I say we respond to the letter – negatively, of course – and keep further owls from reaching and possibly tracking us?"

"But as far as we have learned, we have neither the skill nor power to erect wards that would keep post from reaching us." Chachamaru said.

"Don't worry," Harry said, grinning. "I know just the person who to call. Dobby!"

Several loud pops later, Dobby assured them that he would intercept any owls mailed to Harry, along with a promise of secrecy. Happy with his new mission, Dobby popped away, and the young mages and robot continued their training regimen.

Negi was feeling nervous, probably more so than when he and his students were planning to go to the magical world. It seemed, ironically, that he was being forced to work against both sides of this war: Dumbledore and Voldemort. The Headmaster, he hoped he would be able to deceive, if everything went according to plan. The Dark Lord, on the other hand, would not be so easy.

For the last two weeks, Harry had told both him that he was sensing strong feelings of happiness, as well as what he described as anticipation emanating from his connection. He could only assume that the Dark Lord was planning an attack. Moreover, he and Chachamaru realized that the most likely time for Voldemort to strike was during the train ride to the school. He asked Harry if he knew any other ways to Hogwarts, but unfortunately Harry wasn't even sure where Hogwarts was in relation to London, much less other ways to arrive. Other than the fiasco in his third year with the magical car, Harry always took the Express.

Even though they at least had foreknowledge there would likely be an attack, Negi was worried about the curse scar, as he called it, that allowed Harry a connection to Voldemort. Even with the questionable tomes from Knockturn Alley they couldn't find references to anything resembling Harry's scar – apparently soul magic was an incredibly dark and taboo topic in this world.

"Harry, you ready?" he called out.

"Yeah," said the muffled voice upstairs, "I'm almost done, just need to get Hedwig's cage ready."

"Great. And Chachamaru? Should I guess you've been packed for days now?"

"Almost. I have been ready for eighteen hours now, if you must be precise."

"Wonderful." Negi said dryly.

Glancing at the gynoid standing next to a trunk they had purchased several weeks ago, Negi couldn't be prouder of his student. To have come so far, after such a catastrophic disaster… He hoped that the rest of 3-A were as lucky as they were. Especially Chisame…

Deciding not to continue that train of thought, he waited as he heard the loud clanks as Harry's trunk battered the stairs on the way down. A small pause later, and much lighter thumps were heard until he finally emerged from the staircase.

"I always forget to charm it before I go down the stairs," he said lightly.

Moments after making judicious use of the Featherlight charm, this time supplied by both Harry and Negi, the three were flying back to London and King's Cross station. Newly-learned concealment charms prevented any disturbances along the way, and it was rather quiet by the time they stepped through the gateway separating the muggle station from the magical station.

Wizards seem to be exceptionally talented at spatial magic, Negi thought. He wasn't sure whether Platform Nine and Three Quarters was an alternate plane inscribed on the muggle station or a highly compressed space packed somewhere within the station's architecture, but either way it was an impressive piece of work.

Glancing at his trunk, which had an internal storage capacity nearly five times its original volume, and was apparently a perfectly standard, if high-end trunk, he decided the bizarrely asymmetrical abilities of wizards was one thing he would never understand. How could a society somehow make such an amazing feat of magic like this and be unable to create even a tenth of the power of his Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens? Perhaps he was better off not questioning it.

Once again utilizing disguise glasses to make a quiet entrance, and using better-fitting robes from Madam Malkin's, the trio entered the Hogwarts Express once more. They opened the door to their usual compartment, startling one Hermione Granger.

"Um, excuse me?" she asked, surprised. "Can I help you?"

"Oh, sorry," Harry said, remembering the effects of the glasses. "One sec."

A moment later, Hermione's face lit up recognition, "Harry!" she cried, latching onto Harry's middle yet again. Luckily, Harry's newly-improved reflexes and strength kicked in, and instead of nearly being bowled over, he easily picked her back up and hugged her back.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "Are you using magic, Harry? I don't remember you being quite this strong last year."

"Heh, well I did have quite a lot of training over the summer, Mione. Probably learned more than I did during my first five years at Hogwarts combined, too."

"Really?" She said excitedly, "Did Dumbledore finally decide to give you some advanced training to beat You-Know-Who? I was wondering why you didn't answer any owls, you know."

"Actually," Harry said, "I kind of didn't get the training from Dumbledore. I got it from these two."

"What?" She asked, her brow furrowed, "but surely Dumbledore would realize after the Department of Ministries that you'd need to get stronger!"

Harry shrugged. "If he felt that way, he certainly didn't express it. All he wanted was for me to spend my last two weeks of summer at the Weasleys', where it was supposedly 'safe.' Oh, and he mentioned that my training instructors," he said, pointing a finger at the quietly chatting pair, "were turning me evil."

"Oh, well, that's… nice?" She half-said, half-asked.

"Well, either way I've been learning some rather amazing magic over the summer, hopefully enough to kick some pale Voldemort arse when he shows his face."

"Harry, language!" She chided, "I never hear you swear!" Turning to Negi and Chachamaru, "If you're the ones behind this, I'm afraid I'd have to agree with Dumbledore that you're turning Harry evil."

"Oh?" Chachamaru asked levelly, "And if we were responsible for the other changes in your Harry?"

Hermione blushed slightly, glancing slightly at Harry's chest, and remembering how warm he felt. "I guess you wouldn't be too evil, then." Remembering her original purpose, she quickly added, "But don't encourage him swearing!"

"Anyway, Hermione, I did learn a fair amount of magic. Let's see…." He said, counting off with his fingers, "Apparition, Occlumency, a smidgen of Legilimency, and a couple of new charms and curses. Not bad for four weeks, right?"

"Harry!" She exclaimed, scandalized, "You know that you have to have a license for apparition!"

"In my eyes, the license for apparition is more insurance on the Ministry's part to make sure you don't splinch yourself doing something stupid. I figure that if I could learn it straight out of a book, that's got to be as good as having a license. Besides, I needed a move that was as cool as Negi's shundo. I swear, that guy gets all the cool stuff."

"Shundo?" Hermione asked quizzically, "I've never heard of a spell called that."

"That would be because shundo isn't a spell, it's a martial arts technique," Negi said. Seeing Hermione about to follow up with more, potentially dangerous questions, he added, "Before you ask, I'll just get this much out of the way: I don't really have much in the way of magical power here – for much of my life I was no more than a squib – so I studied the Chinese martial arts instead. While I might not be able to do a lot of the fancier magic you guys can, I've got more physical power and speed than you lot combined, plus I had studied a decent amount of magical theory.

"So when I felt my magic growing stronger, I started playing catch-up, with Harry here giving me tips on practical spellcasting. I figure I'll stay at Hogwarts for a bit and see what I can pick up there. Oh, I'll be staying with my disguised form, though, since people would hardly take an eleven year old self-proclaimed martial artist seriously."

Technically, he wasn't entirely lying through his teeth, since he really didn't have a developed magical core until recently, as opposed to his nearly endless magical capacity. He still felt somewhat bad about it, though, and hoped they would be able to bring Hermione further into the fold, at the very least.

After that, the snack cart came by, and the three wizards bought a small selection of treats. Chachamaru politely declined, as she later explained that her body was currently unable to process organic food, though she believed that could be upgraded by the time Mahora was back in session.

Soon enough, the time came to change into Hogwarts robes, all of them with Gryffindor-styled trim, since the two dimension-travellers didn't want to be too separated from their confidante in this world.

Neville and Luna also made an appearance, if only to confirm that Harry would continue the Defense Association, or Dumbledore's Army, as it was more commonly called. Dumbledore would hopefully find a good teacher this year so they wouldn't be stuck with The Toad again. From what Negi heard of her last year, punching a pureblood in the face was not the way to win points in her book.

Surprisingly enough, Malfoy and his goons missed their yearly appearance, although this was due more to Harry surreptitiously evoking a wind barrier at the outside of the compartment, followed by one of the more taxing spells he could cast, a Silencing charm. The whispered incantation was missed by Hermione, but both of his training partners glanced aside towards him, a faint smirk on Chachamaru's lips, and a far wider grin on Harry's face.

Seeing Malfoy completely unable to grasp the door handle, or even put his hand on the door because of the thin barrier almost became too hilarious for Negi to keep a straight face. Especially as his face was simultaneously growing in confusion and anger. Eventually, he just had his lackeys shove some other students' trunks between their door and the opposite wall.

Negi shook his head at the simplicity, but had to give the blonde credit that he was at least learning.

After several minutes of more idle chatter, and both Negi and Chachamaru finally relaxing, thinking the Dark Lord may not have planned an attack after all, the four Hogwarts-bound teens trudged to the front of their car and got off when it happened. Negi felt just a shudder in his being. It was slight, almost unnoticeable, but he would be able to recognize the sensation anywhere.

He felt the exact same way moments before Fate attacked the Megalo Gateport.

"Morsmordre!" The piercing voice, snakelike and inhuman in quality, rang through the air. They all watched, transfixed, as an enormous skull formed in the air, a snake winding its way through the eye sockets and jaw.

Immediately, Negi saw they were the some of the first people to exit the Express. He recognized Neville and Luna coming out of a different car, and yelled, "Get everyone back to the Express!"

As the several dozen or so students all scrambled and shoved to get back through the door, the raspy voice declared, "Avada Kedavra!"

A green bolt raced through the air – only slightly faster than most of the combat spells he had trained with, a distant part of his mind thought – and seemingly in slow motion, one of the panicking students fell almost gracefully to the platform floor.

The thump seemed to ring out painfully loud in the open air of the Hogwarts Station.

Mechanically swiveling his head, he turned to see dozens of figures silhouetted against the night sky. Forefront among the robed wizards was one with skin so pale Negi almost mistook him for another masked Death Eater.

He wore no mask.

Pale as Death itself, Voldemort stood motionless for a moment, his white form blending with the moon; his robes, the night. And before anyone could react, another bolt of magic flew from his wand, this time striking the train itself. For a moment, it appeared to do nothing. Then the entire train sank nearly a foot as the wheels and floor fused to the tracks below, and the door burst open, seemingly of their own accord.

The Black King made his move, and held a school full of pawns in the crossfire.

A/N: It was actually surprisingly difficult trying to sync the Negima and HP-verses, until the recent chapter that provided a wonderfully coherent timeline. Consider that this story will take relatively the same time that Negima's MW arc took.

Also I just have to say that I am very happy with the direction Akamatsu has taken the shipping these last few chapters.

I have Negi say he is relatively self-taught because Evangeline mainly trained him in increasing his abilities and potential, rather than magic. Up till the MW, I'm pretty sure he never learned any new spells from her. Plus there's a nice classic horror book reference in the end. Points if you can recognize it!

On an unrelated note, I'm both amazed and alarmed at how chapter length has been steadily growing. Probably because I base chapter endings on events rather than length (i.e. I had in my mind that I wanted to end this chapter somewhere around the attack on the Express, but without an idea of how long it would take to write that far). It'll probably top off at around this length, hopefully, or it'll be rather difficult/impossible to update weekly.

Speaking of which, I would have updated earlier, but the power outage in the southwest took my schedule behind a few days. Seriously, 1.4 million people without electricity? I'm just glad they got it running within a few days. Hopefully not-a-poorly-written-fight-scene next chapter!