Wit Beyond Measure

by AntonXIV

Born two years before the prophecy, Tom Riddle does not mark Harry as his equal. Still, life has never been easy for Potters. How will an intelligent, and independent Harry, fit into the two dimensional wizarding world? Will he conform to the prescribed paths or will he find his own way through life despite the machinations of the powers that be? More inside.

11. Intertwined paths and plots

A big thank you to everyone that supported the last chapter. I got some really good reviews and It was nice to see so many people willing to come back after my absence. Here's another chapter, hope you like it.

(Wit Beyond Measure)

Chapter 11: Intertwined paths and plots

"Lucius, we must do something about this!" Dolores Umbridge shrieked, "Black is ruining everything that we've done over the past ten years! All those FILTHY HALFBREEDS will rally behind him if we let him continue!" She spat. "Of course, Fudge has let him run rampant, the spineless coward. No punishment for breaking out of Azkaban, for being an illegal animagus, Nothing! This is unbelievable." The Minister had forced Black to register his ability after revealing it to be means of escape. The Minister even went as far as praising Sirius for discovering the gap in the prison's security.

When Umbridge finally stopped her tirade, Lucius Malfoy rubbed his ears in an attempt to stop the ringing. Once again, he was thankful that his office at the ministry came with silencing wards. Despite having no official position or job, Lucius had garnered enough influence, through his various dealings, to persuade several high ranking members of the government that it would be everyone's best interest for him to have his own office. Money and blackmail were such wonderful things, but for the first time in years, Lucius was facing a threat to his power that could not be swept away with either of those things. "Dolores, calm down. Your shrieking will only succeed in making me deaf." Lucius sneered, earning himself a venomous glare from the toad like woman. "We must be patient. Black's position will weaken in a few months. People will forget his incarceration and he will lose this immunity he's been flaunting." Umbridge moved to interrupt him. "Let me finish." He spat, cutting her off. Umbridge was useful, but he had grown tired of dealing with her temper. "Black cannot be touched for now. We will have to wait for our chance to strike back at him directly, but for now his godson could provide the leverage we need to stall him." Lucius explained. "Remus Lupin," Umbridge's face soured, "Obtained custody of the boy in the wake of the Potters' accident. While I have no doubts that the wolf was part of the Potters' will, his guardianship most likely came about through some trickery of Dumbledore's." Umbridge's face soured further at the mention of the esteemed leader of the light. "You're resourceful Dolores. Do some research on the the inheritance laws of 1470, or even the lordship laws from 1240. I would imagine that Mr. Lupin's position is in violation of at least one of these laws. After all even if he has spent all of his money keeping his mudblood mother alive, young Mr. Potter is still a heir to an important family. Find a violation that is not under contention because of Black's little crusade." In the last three sessions of the magical court, Sirius Black had brought forth evidence against the more restrictive laws regarding halfbreeds, as Dolores liked to refer to them. He was systematically destroying her life's work, and while this did not directly affect Lucius, Dolores often supported him free of charge. It would be wise to support her in this matter for multiple reasons. Most significantly, if Black gained enough ground with this movement, then he could move on to directly interfere with Lucius' plans. Best to make Sirius fight endless waves of pointless laws, than to have him attack much more crucial developments Lucius had put into place. Lucius had not succeeded in life because he was wealthy. It helped, but he had a knack for finding loopholes and abusing them. After he was done abusing the system, he would get changes put in place so that no loop hole could be used twice. If it were not for his questionable past he probably could have taken Fudge's job years ago.

"Your son attends Hogwarts with the Potter boy does he not?" Umbridge asked in a hinting tone, having finally understood what lucius was getting at with the Potter boy. In fact, if she was thinking what he thought she was, he would have to give her more credit than he originally had thought she deserved.

"Yes he does." Lucius answered. "Perhaps it is time Draco grew up a bit, and learned the family business." He added with a wicked smile.

(Wit Beyond Measure)

"So what do you think Moony?" Sirius asked. "I think I'll hold a grand opening party on New Year's Eve. We can bring in the new year in style, like the mangy mutts we are." Sirius chuckled as Remus shook his head in exasperation and mirth.

"Have you told Harry about this?" Remus asked, looking at the building that Sirius was so proud of.

Sirius shook his head. "I've hinted about it, but no." Remus did not know what it looked like before his friend bought it, as the building had been one of the many abandoned structures in Knockturn Alley. Most likely, it had not been a very pretty sight. More than a few businesses withered away in the questionable neighborhood. Some were abandoned because of destitution, others were left to rot after their owners were carted off to Azkaban, and some just seemed to escape ownership. The abundance of derelict buildings was the actual reason for alley's reputation for less than legal practices. With fewer prying eyes, and plenty of places to hide, it was the perfect place to conduct questionable business. It was a shame things had fallen so far, but the constant wars of the 20th century had left a profound impact on the wizarding world. However, despite the unkempt neighborhood, Sirius' building, while still a little lopsided, stood with a fresh coat of dark paint, new windows, and a new door. While no prettier than the Leaky Cauldron, the four story pub looked well maintained and relatively inviting. A large bronze knocker had been mounted to the center of the door. Shaped like a hellhound, it was the only uninviting part of the whole thing, but knowing his friend, it was probably just there to stoke his ego as a canine animagus. "A hellhound?" Remus asked skeptically.

"It was shiney and grim like. Besides the goblins came up with some fun little surprises for it." Sirius answered with a shrug. "Come on. Let me show you the inside." Sirius stepped towards the door. He drew his wand and tapped the knocker with it. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He whispered, and with a click the door unlocked. Sirius pushed the door open and gestured for Remus to enter. The inside was warm, and welcoming. New wood floors, a rebuilt bar, stocked and ready for customers, and tables and booths filled the pub's common area. All of the furniture had burgundy leather and gold trim, Sirius never was one to let go of his Gryffindor pride, and on the wall opposite the bar hung the massive television with the emblem for Wolf Industries on it.

"Sirius, I know how much that thing costs" Remus sputtered angrily pointing at the TV. "I make the damn things. Why didn't you tell me you wanted one?" He demanded. After figuring out just the right amount of spellwork to use on the electronic appliances, Remus and Alucard had opened Wolf Industries in the United States. They had yet to bring them back to Europe, but that clearly had not stopped Sirius from getting one through customs. But Remus could not deny that he enjoyed seeing the fruits of his and Alucard's labor. It had taken a lot of work to find the right balance of spellwork and runes to get the things working. Too much of either and the things blew up or grew strange personalities like Arthur Weasley's Ford Anglia. Too little enchanting and the residual magic from witches and wizards would cause a short out in the appliance.

"Simple, I wanted to support a friend's growing business." Sirius answered. "And no I won't let you give me the money back. Besides It's all my father's money anyway, and we both know it's about time the Black family fortune got spent on something worthwhile." Sirius Explained. "Why do you think I set the goblins loose on this place. Told them price didn't matter just to do it right." Sirius added gesturing to the pub. "James and I both agreed we would do something like this once everything settled down. Originally we planned to use his money, but most of that has gone to keeping Lils alive and you and Harry housed. Since Reg got himself killed, I've found myself reinstated as Head of the Black household, so I can spend as much money as I want and still have plenty left over."

Remus sighed "But…"

"I don't want to hear it Mooney." Sirius said. "It's what friends are for."

"Fine" Remus muttered in defeat. "What are you going to call this place?"

"Well a bar built by and run by a Marauder deserves to be named after one" Sirius said with an ear splitting grin. Remus was almost afraid of what his friend had come up with. "Huey, Dewey, Louie, are you three done with the sign yet?!" Sirius shouted towards the bar. Remus heard a trio of thumps and the soft patter of footsteps before three house elves appeared from the kitchen. Each elf dressed in a different color, one red, one blue and one green. The three of them struggled under the weight of a large blanketed object.

"Mister Sirius, you's is back! We's been working very hard on the sign." The elf in red cried happily, letting go of his potion of the object as he did so. Unevenly supported, the object drug the other two elves with it as flopped to the floor with a loud thud. The blue and green clothed elves scurried out of the way just in time to avoid being squashed, and then proceeded to panic over dropping the item. Remus had to admit it was a rather amusing sight.

"Well, they're better than Kreature." Sirius said with a chuckle. "I picked these guys up from the liaison office at the ministry a couple weeks back, but I forgot how hard they can be to train. My dear old Mum used to handle that, but I don't think her way was legal, ethical, let alone reliable." He explained before he turned to look at the elves. "Boys, I told you. You can use magic. Not everything has to be done by hand. Now lets see what you've come up with." The blue elf snapped his fingers and the sheet covering the sign disappeared. Sirius shook his head and sighed. "I guess I need to be more specific… Oh well, not like I can't afford a sheet."

"Don't worry Padfoot, I'm sure it's just karma for the hell you raised as a child." Said Remus, patting his friend on the back. Sirius did not look comforted by the action.

"Merlin save me if that's true." Sirius cried dramatically, when he did not get any more sympathy from his lycanthropic friend he pouted. "Fine…" Pointing towards the large sign, which depicted three silhouettes against the red moon of an eclipse. "Welcome to the Moony Nights." The bottom of the sign looked eerily like a clearing of the Forbidden forest they used to frequent during long moonlit lights while at Hogwarts. A grim and a wolf, with the distinct markings of a werewolf, sat on the ground howling up towards the moon, and a stag stood guard above them on a rock outcropping. "A pub for anyone and everyone, and a safe haven for any werewolf that needs it." Sirius explained. "I've been fighting hard to get anti werewolf legislation overturned in the Wizengamot, and hopefully this will help prove my point. It's the first official safehouse for werewolves in Britain. In the basement, I've built, for lack of a better term, cells, to contain werewolves during their transformation and prevent them from harming themselves or others. Free of charge any werewolf can come and stay for their furry night. If I can show that helping them decreases attacks then it will only strengthen my position in the Wizengamot, and If Alucard and his evil wife can get some friends to come join the party, then maybe we can prove all these creature laws are only making things worse."

Remus hugged Sirius, on the verge of tears. He had done nothing in his life to deserve friends like this. "I think you need a few more TVs Padfoot, and a lifetime subscription to the quidditch coverage Wolf Industries will be providing soon. We almost have a deal worked out with the European Leagues for our debut over here."

"Moony, you're going to have more money than you know what to do with once that lands." Sirius shot back with a chuckle. "Now, lets get yours and Harry's stuff from that house of yours. The fourth floor is all ours."

(Wit Beyond Measure)

"Potions, as I have said countless times, does not involve mindless babbling and stick waving." Snape explained from the front of his classroom. "For those of you who have progressed beyond melting your cauldrons," The greasy professor spared Artemis half a glance, much to the boy's delight. "It is time for you to think about being proactive in your studies. Purchase higher quality instruments, observe proper care when storing your ingredients, and of course begin amassing your own collection of rare ingredients." Snape lectured. "A potion can only be as good as its ingredients."

"Sir, what would qualify as a rare ingredient, and where would you find one?" Artemis asked. He was the only student in the class that could interrupt the professor and not lose house points. He may have been the only student in the school able to do it. None the less, Snape scowled at the interruption. He stared at Artemis for a moment, as if judging the boy's worth and Harry was forced to admit his friend had stones. Artemis met the professor's stare and locked eyes with Snape. Snape held the gaze for just a moment before turning to glare at another helpless soul. "As you all should know. The Ministry of Magic has created five different classifications for magical creatures. Any ingredient that must be harvested from a class 4 or class 5 creature would be considered rare. Several plants also fall into this category, specifically ones that only grow in certain environments or during specific lunar phases. Some of the native fauna of the Forbidden Forest or the aquatic plants of the Black Lake are great examples. Their dangerous environment makes them more difficult to collect." Snape explained. Harry had to resist the urge to groan. While most students would probably ignore the specific locations on account of the danger, Artemis was not most students, when it came to potions. The boy was currently performing his wiggle, as Harry liked to call it, and the action never meant anything good. Snape flicked his wand at the blackboard. The instructions for brewing the essence of newt appeared on the board. "Enough pointless drivel. You have your instructions." Snape sneered as he retreated to his desk. The class silently went about the process of brewing their assigned concoction, having long since learned that the potions professor expected diligent silence. Complete silence was impossible due to the group nature of the class, so the greasy haired potions master begrudgingly accepted the quietest of whispers between partners.

"Am I the only one worried about the effects of today's lesson on our dear roommate?" Cedric muttered under his breath, while he set about skinning several newts. "What is this potion for anyway?" He asked, clearly having forgone the reading for the class.

"No, you're not the only one. It's a miracle that he has not gone off exploring thus far." Harry whispered back. "No doubt dear Arty will stick his nose where it doesn't belong after that little speech, and it will fall to us to make sure he doesn't end up six feet under. As for the potion, it's a reagent in a lot of complex brews. It helps strengthen certain brews that we will start working on next year. It can also be used to turn muggles into newts." Harry explained

"Newts?" Cedric questioned quietly.

"They get better." Harry said with a shrug. Snape turned to glare at them, prompting the end of their discussion. Considering the fact that he did not immediately take points from Harry, the potions professor must have been in an exceptional mood. Not wanting to test the man's temper, Harry focused on the potion. They could finish their discussion after class. Diligently following step after step on the board, Harry and Cedric brewed the potion. They took a quick look around after bottling it, and found theirs to be one of the better results. Though, Snape would probably find something wrong with it. The collected a few samples and Harry vanished the rest. Unless explicitly told to do so, they were never to save their brews.

With no desire to stay in the dingy classroom, Harry and Cedric packed their bags and headed out into the hall. With only two days of the term left, the entire castle, even the dungeons, was decked with yuletide traditions. Holly, mistletoe, bells, and enchanted icicles could be found dangling from the walls. A few groups of students had also taken to singing carols in the halls. Christmas time always made Harry a bit bitter, it reminded him of the things taken away from him as a child. Remus and the Tonkses had always given him gifts and made sure he felt the warmth of the winter holiday, but it could not replace what was missing. So, Harry simply remained neutral in all things christmas. He did not actively participate, nor did he shun the holiday. He would be the first to admit, that he had enjoyed the Weasley twins' attempt at enchanting a frankenstein like snowman. In a spectacular failure truly befitting themselves, the twins managed to find the spells to bring the thing to life, but failed the obedience portion of the casting. Instead of listening to their commands, the beast ran rampant around the grounds and the castle until it finally melted in the library to the horror of Madam Pince. The Twins would probably be spending more than a few nights with the stern librarian next term.

(Wit Beyond Measure)

A light sleeper, Harry woke to an unusual silence in his dorm. While not prone to heavy snoring, Artemis did serenade the room with a cacophony of noises while asleep. Whether is was mumbling, or light snores merely depended on the night. The lack of these noises meant something was off. Harry rolled over to look at Artemis' bed, and saw the lumpy outline of a person, but the proportions were off. Harry glanced around the room to make sure no one else was there and that nothing else was out of place. Cedric dozed in his bed, Hedwig's perch was empty, the light of a full moon drifted in from the window, and Simon still sat atop his desk nearby. Looking at the hat, Harry said "He snuck out didn't he?"

"You think I actually pay attention to everything that goes on here?" Simon spat back, which earned him a glare from Harry. Simon tried to ignore it, but after a few seconds under the teen's piercing gaze he submitted. "Fine, he left about fifteen minutes ago."

Harry sat up from bed. "You coming with me?" He asked the hat. Ignoring the mumbling Cedric, Harry pulled on a pair of pants he had left of the floor, grabbed a shirt from his dresser, and grabbed his wand while he waited for Simon's answer.

"Why not. It's been awhile since you did any rule breaking." Simon said. Harry swept up the hat as soon as he finished tying his shoes, and placed the ratty object atop his skull. Without another word they left Ravenclaw Tower and made their way down through the castle. As late as it was, no one, not even Filch, was out roaming the corridors. Harry, and a few others had discovered that the caretaker usually called it quits around 12:30 or 1:00am. Anyone willing to wait until after that, pretty much had free reign over the castle until dawn. Harry wound his way down the Grand Staircase, hopping over the false steps, and slinked through the Great Hall. Once they were outside, it was easy to pick up and follow Artemis' tracks. The brown haired teen had forgotten to, or was incapable of vanishing his path left so evidently in the snow. Despite all of his roommates' intelligence with all things potion, Artemis often lacked common sense in other areas of life. His snowy footprints led Harry around the greenhouses and down the winding path towards Hagrid's hut. The trail skirted around the gamekeeper's hut and into the forbidden forest directly behind it.

"Snape had to give his little lecture on the night of the full moon." Harry sighed, not surprised that Artemis had ventured into the forest. "Artemis should have asked me for help, if he was that obsessed with collecting his own ingredients out here."

"And deal with your facetious remarks about learning to walk on his own." Simon commented, as Harry stepped into the forest. Dark, gnarled trees blotted out most of the moonlight, and small black flowers poked up through the snow. What little moonlight that did manage to bypass the trees reflected off the snow, but the pervasive darkness of the woods prevented it from illuminating anything outside of the stray shafts of light.

"So I'm not the most encouraging friend in the world." Harry said with a shrug. "But I would have helped him eventually. Maybe after the snow melted and the world warmed up a tad" The distant howl of wolves broke the silence of the night. Harry knew of the rumors of werewolves living in the woods that traveled through the halls every year, but he also knew they were false. A pack of wolves did live in the forest, but other than abnormal intelligence, and some distinct colorations, they shared no traits with werewolves. Besides, werewolves only transformed once a month, it would be illogical for a wizard to live in the forest full time, when only one night out of thirty was actually spent as a wolf. A small part of him felt the urge to join the wolves in their expedition deep within the forest. Being an animagus, he was susceptible to a few more primal behaviors. Very rarely did it affect him, but he could not deny the occasional temptation to transform and bay at the moon, the temptation to transform and run for miles, or his habit of ordering red meat on the rare side of things. The benefits of being an animagus definitely outweighed small behavioral impulses. Harry shook the urges from his head, and delved deeper into the haunted woods. Artemis would not benefit from him romping around with a wild wolf pack.

(Wit Beyond Measure)

Of all the stupid things he had done in his life, this was probably the dumbest, and it was probably going to cost him his life. Artemis' journey into the forest had gone mostly unopposed. No horrific monsters, or man eating plants that were supposed to call the forest home, and aside from the haunting darkness provided by the dense trees, nothing felt off about the woods. That false sense of security came crashing down not five minutes ago, and now Artemis sat high in a tree staring down at the scarred, writhing, black, and red spotted form, of a Maeataen Salamander. The bane of the ancient Roman Empire, the salamander was one of the most poisonous creatures endemic to the Scottish Highlands. The Scottish tribes had used them against the Romans during their attempted conquest of Scotland, forcing the invaders back behind the Antonine wall. Extremely aggressive, territorial, and known to be rather intelligent, the crocodile sized salamanders were known to kill and eat witches, wizards, or the unlucky muggle, who wandered into their territory. Their skin secreted a highly toxic mucus, and inside their blunt, wide, skulls, the amphibians had a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. Ministry policies enacted over the course of the last two centuries had culled the population of the magical creatures, making them significantly less common, but a certain number were left to roam the countryside. Dangerous or not, they could not completely eliminate a population of native animals. Only the crunching of snow under the heavy beasts' feet had alerted Artemis to its approach. Unable to outrun the creature, he tried cursing the creature, but the severing charm flitwick taught them the year before, barely drew blood from the beast's slimy skin. The salamander's large bulbous eyes had narrowed in anger afterwards, and it had charged him. Artemis just barely rolled out of the way in time, letting the amphibian ram headlong into one of the many trees of the forest. Taking advantage of its dazed state, Artemis had climbed one of the nearby trees and taken refuge in its tall branches. The Salamander was too heavy to climb up after him but Artemis could not escape either. All of the nearby trees were too far away, or too small for him to jump to. So Artemis simply sat, and watched as the salamander bit and swiped at the tree trying to knock him down. Despite its lack of claws, every swipe the thing took left steaming furrows in the bark of the tree. Its acidic mucus eating away at the wood.

"Well so much for my life goals." Artemis sighed. "And I won't even get a cool headline out of my death. The papers are just going to read Death Eater's son missing, presumed dead." He added dejectedly. If he had to croak early, he had always hoped it would be in some ridiculous fashion. Maybe a record setting potions accident that took out half the castle, or even an awesome honor duel in the Great Hall, but no, Artemis was going to be salamander chow and no one would ever know.

"Expulso!" Artemis barely managed to hold onto the tree as the blue steak of an exploding curse crashed into the ground directly in front of the Salamander. The earth shattered, the trees shook, and the beast went tumbling into the darkness with a howl of pain. Artemis squinted through the haze of destruction, searching for his savior in the fallout left behind by the curse. He could see the outline of a figure, but Artemis could not quite make out who it was. As the figure stepped forward, the voice of Harry Potter cut through the silence. "You know, I really don't feel like going through the effort of finding and training a new best friend, so next time just ask for my help." Harry emerged from the haze with Simon atop his head and wearing his usual polo shirt and trousers. No cloak, just a shirt and pants. Artemis briefly wondered how his friend was not hypothermic, it was winter in Scotland after all, but more pressing issues pushed the thought to the back of his mind as Harry stepped towards the tree. His friend's head panned from left to right in search of the Salamander as he approached. "Now hurry up and get down here so we can leave before that thing comes back."

"Too late." Simon spat. "Time for round two." The lumbering crunch of snow under the salamander's feet, and the challenging growl emanating from its throat forced Artemis and Harry to look at the recovered and unhappy Amphibian as it drug itself back into the clearing. Several large splinters stuck out of its hide. Blood oozed from the wounds, but they got smaller with every second as its toxic secretions ate away at the offending objects and the holes sealed up.

"Artemis, stay in the tree." Harry commanded, bringing his wand to bear on the creature. It hissed. Its large eyes narrowing dangerously at the sight of the wand. Harry jabbed his wand at the creature, shouting, "Expulso!" Trying once again to send the thing reeling, end over end, back into the woods. However, this time, the giant salamander launched itself to the side, and avoided most of the blast. The beast twitched its tail in agitation, and charged for Harry. Fear gripped Artemis, as he watched Harry dive out of the wave of salamanders charge. Before his friend was back to his feet, Harry cast another spell. "Waksá!" He shouted. Artemis had no clue what the spell was, but judging by the newly severed newt tail, and the roar of pain that came with it, the spell was some sort of cutting curse. Harry rolled back to his feet, and dove out of the way again, barely dodging the bite of razor sharp teeth sent his way. "Damn, I missed." Harry spat, once again in a bit of a standoff with the creature.

"What do you mean you missed!" Artemis shrieked, unable to stay calm in the present situation. "You lobbed the thing's bloody tail off."

"Artemis. Now is not the time." Harry hissed out between grit teeth as he dodged another charge. Artemis wanted to comment, but what he saw next shut him up. The Salamander's tail had regrown itself in a handful of seconds, reminding him why the creatures were as feared as they were. The average salamander could regrow its tail over the course of a few weeks, but the Maeataen could regrow any of its limbs in a matter of seconds. You had to behead them, cause fatal internal damage, or simply exhuast them to the point that they could not regenerate their lost limbs.

"Well…. Shit." Artemis muttered, trying to find a way he could help. He really needed to work on his curse repertoire. The severing charm just was not enough when it came to real world applications. The salamander did not have skin like a troll, but all magical creatures had some resilience to the arcane arts.

"Incendio!" Harry grunted, forcing Artemis to return his attention to the fight. A torrent of flames erupted from the boy's wand, scorching everything in its path. The dark haired youth held the spell for a moment, but had to drop it when the salamander stepped through the flames unharmed. Its mucus pouring off of it in waves generating a foul acrid smoke as it evaporated. "Just die already!" Harry shouted, conjuring a dozen arrows and pelting the beast with them. The broadheads sunk into its wet slimy skin with hollow thunks, but they did little to slow it. Harry stabbed his wand at one of the nearby trees, and with little more than a grunt, ripped it from the earth and banished it towards the creature with a frustrated growl. Much to Artemis' dismay, it wasn't enough. Despite apparent inability to climb trees, the salamander was proving to be quite adept at staying alive. It crashed through some of the thinner branches of the makeshift projectile, and with a twist slammed its tail into Harry. He tried to dodge, but the end of the appendage caught his side, sending Harry tumbling.

"Harry!" Artemis shouted, nearly launching himself from the tree to help his friend.

Harry scrambled to his feet from where he landed in the snow, and quickly banished his shirt. The toxins from the salamander already starting to eat through it. "Stay back!" Harry hissed through grit teeth. "This thing's hard enough as it is." A nasty red bruise marked his side where he had been struck. Artemis watched as Harry turned his wand on himself and performed a few fancy flicks. A vibrant green flash impacted the bruise, and the mark quickly receded. Now shirtless, Harry would have to be extremely cautious. If any of the toxic mucus from the salamander touched his skin it would paralyze him, and slowly eat away at his flesh. Artemis watched as his friend once again rolled away from the beast. With several intricate waves of his wand, Harry transmuted three large rocks into three large stags. The deer charged the salamander on his behalf. The first was swatted away by a powerful swipe of the creature's arm, the second had its neck broken by a vicious bite, but the third managed to ram its antlers into the amphibians neck and head. It did not survive long past that, crumpling under a crushing blow from the beast's tail, but the deer's antler had managed to gouge one of the salamander's eyes out. Something which the amphibian would not be able to regrow. It was the first move to actually tilt things in Harry's favor. With a roar of anger and pain, it charged, thundering across the clearing. Harry conjured a stone wall from the earth right before it reached him, and the salamander slammed into the wall in its angry rage, stunning itself. Harry swiftly stepped around the wall and bellowed "Conjunctus!" firing off the pink conjunctivitis curse. It struck the salamander's remaining eye, forcing the organ to swell shut. "Bombarda!" Harry shouted, blasting it onto its back and rendering it immobile. The creature struggled to right itself, flailing about wildly, but it would not be enough. As Harry moved for the kill, Artemis noticed something glowing on the back of his shoulders, it seemed to flare with light as he went to cast his next spell. "Sectumsempra!" Harry grunted. A white light erupted from his wand, and struck the base of the salamander's skull. With a sickening wet squelch, the head came free of the body and blood poured out of the stump of a neck that remained, staining the snow crimson.

"I feel so alive!" Simon cheered. "I haven't been a part of a battle like that in centuries. You might make something of yourself yet, Potter." Harry didn't offer a response, instead he just sagged to the ground with a groan.

"Harry!" Artemis shouted, leaping from his perch and running to his friend's side. "What's wrong?" He asked, his eyes once again drawn to the glow coming from Harry's back. A series of runes ran across the back of his shoulders, and the three central most runes were currently glowing with power. Artemis threw one of the boys arms over his shoulder, and attempted to stand up. "Come on, let's get you back up to the castle."

"I'm fine." Harry panted, "Just give me a minute."

"But…" Artemis went to protest, but Harry cut him off.

"I'll be fine. Just give me a minute to recover." Harry snapped irritably. "And since I lost mine could I have your shirt or your cloak? It's just a wee bit nippy out here." Artemis shrugged out of his cloak and gave it to the boy, noticing a small trail of blood leaking from his friend's nose in the process. He wasn't so sure that Harry was fine, but outside of stunning him and dragging him back to the hospital wing, he doubted there was much he could do.

"Harry what's going on?" Artemis asked. "You're bleeding."

"Oh he's had worse." Simon spat from atop Harry's head. "It's merely a scratch, not even a flesh wound. Now onwards to the next Battle!" Artemis rolled his eyes at Simon, staring at Harry expectantly. If Harry wasn't going to let Artemis take him up to the hospital wing, then he had better start explaining.

Harry wiped the blood from his nose. "Let's just say I didn't get away from that night ten years ago as scot-free as I once thought." He explained. "There's no prescribed limit, but if I overexert myself magically it doesn't end well. My body adapted that night. It kept me alive, but whatever changed requires a constant flow of magic. If I use too much, well this is what happens." Harry stood up with a groan. "I should have controlled my spellwork better. This should not have happened so easily, but like I said, there's no real line in the sand. Sometimes it happens faster than others."

"And the runes on your back?" Artemis asked. "Three of them were glowing towards the end there."

"A warning, and they help reduce the symptoms." Harry explained. He held his hand out and Artemis could see it shaking slightly. "The more of them light up, the worse it is. If exceed all seven of them, I'm in for a whole world of pain."

"Sounds fun." said Artemis.

"Maybe for you." Harry shot back. "Now what was so important that you had to come wandering out here in the middle of the night, during winter I might add, and nearly get your butt chomped off?"

"I was looking for a Moonthistle." Artemis explained. "It only blooms during the full moon, and…."

"I know what it is." Harry interrupted, rather grumpily. "Did you find one?" Artemis shook his head sadly. "Well they're not exactly common. Now come on before a centaur shows up and subjects us to Dumbledore's disappointment." said Harry.

"And leave this thing out here to rot!" Artemis said with shock. "It's a gold mine." He may not have found what he was looking for, but he wasn't going to leave such a valuable prize to rot.

"Fine, but I'm in a bit of a magical time out so you're on your own getting it all packed up." Harry said, a hint of an edge to his voice. With a grunt, he sagged back down to the ground while Artemis silently went about preparing the corpse. Pulling several large jars from a bag on his hip, and enlarged them, Artemis used a pair of dragonhide gloves to collect the severed tail and then coiled it into the enlarged jar. Once it was sealed, he shrunk the jar back down and deposited it in his bag.

"So whats next? Battling the Acromantulas? Simon asked from atop Harry's head, "There's a cluster out here somewhere." He added, clearly still enjoying his battle high. Surprisingly the hat had stayed rather quiet during the actual battle. Artemis thought it might have been due to the actual danger involved, but he never was one to comprehend the object. Sealing away the head of the salamander, he deposited the second shrunken jar in his bag, and withdrew an ornate knife. Careful not to let anything but the knife or his gloves touch the toxic skin, he skinned the beast and collected the usable organs.

"Simon I'm tired. Can we not do this right now." Harry asked wearily. He simply did not have the energy to deal with the hat's eccentricities. Turning to face his friend he added, "Hurry up Artemis. I need a calming draught,a dreamless sleep potion, and sleep. Lot's of sleep." Artemis grunted in acknowledgement, and finished up his work. Harry struggled back to his feet, and started to walk towards the castle once the boy was done. Not even bothering to ask if Harry needed help or not, Artemis ducked under his friend's arm and helped support him. They made their way out of the forest, and back up into the castle. It was well past four in the morning by the time they finally made it to the bronze knocker that acted as the entrance to Ravenclaw tower.

"If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me. What am I?" the Knocker asked.

"A secret. Now let me in." Harry spat. Once the door swung open, the two wizards and their magical companion drug themselves up to their dorm room. Harry slid off of Artemis and shuffled over to his trunk. Paying no mind to the noise he was making, Harry threw open the lid, pushed a few things aside, and stuck his entire arm into the trunk. Artemis could hear the loud clanking of glass on glass, and then Harry withdrew his arm, grasping a vial filled with the light blue liquid of a calming draught and a second vial full of the opaque dreamless sleep potion.

"Oi do you have to be so loud?" Cedric groaned, sitting up in his bead. The boy rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at Artemis and Harry. "You both look like shit." He said, turning to Harry he added, "He went out into the forest didn't he." Harry nodded before plucking the stoppers from the vials. "What'd I miss?"

Harry downed the contents of the two vials in back to back swigs, slammed his trunk closed, locked it, and crawled into his bed. "Walk in the woods, little scavenger hunting, and of course battling a class 4 magical creature to the death. You know the usual." Harry offered before turning over and shutting his eyes.

"Right…" Cedric yawned. "Sounds like I didn't miss much. Glad you're ok Arty." He said, laying back down. "Wait what!" Cedric shouted, bolting back upright, but Harry was already asleep.

"It's been a long night." Artemis answered, the night's excitement finally catching up with him. "Ask Simon if you must, but otherwise it can wait till morning." He said, flopping into his own bed.

Cedric looked at Simon. The hat was muttering to itself, and Cedric caught the words, battle, Godric, Salazar, glory, and varmint hunting. Thinking better of asking the hat for his take on things, Cedric just rolled over and went back to sleep.

(Wit Beyond Measure)

When Harry woke the next day, Artemis and Cedric were both gone. His eyes hurt, a result of leaving his contacts in overnight, and his body ached. Shooting spasms of pain traveled from his skull all the way down to his toes. Drawing his wand from its holster, yet another thing he had not removed the night before, Harry whispered, "Episkey." pointing his wand towards his eyes. He ignored the jolt of pain that accompanied the spell. Apparently his body's temper tantrum had yet to end, but the spell did wonders on his eyes. Ignoring the spike of pain that came with it, Harry flicked his wand one more time, casting the tempus charm. Emerald numbers leapt from his wand letting him know that it was 12:30. Lunch had just ended. He considered going down to the kitchens to get some food, but he really wasn't hungry enough to warrant the effort to do so. He had missed charms and transfiguration that morning, and he knew this afternoon he was supposed to be at a double care of magical creatures lesson. But, considering his adventures the night before, Harry really didn't feel the need to hobble down to the pens and play with whatever cute and fluffy creature they were studying next.

Spellwork was out of the question for a little while longer, but Harry would never waste valuable time by just laying in bed. Figuring he would be free of distractions until dinner time, Harry drug himself over to his desk and trunk. Opening the heavy chest, he dug out his cauldron and a few other utensils. Moving a few things to the side he reached further down into the magically expanded trunk. Harry nearly had to climb into the thing to reach the small package he had hidden near the bottom, but he just barely managed to get his fingers around the wrapped up philosopher's stone. He had wrapped it in some unassuming paper, and left it at the bottom of his trunk, after removing it from the chamber with the Mirror of Erised.

"What do you think, should we find out how it works?" Harry asked looking at Simon and Hedwig, the only other occupants in the room. Hedwig bobbed her head and hooted approvingly, while Simon offered one of his usual snide remarks, "Does a dementor eat souls?"

Harry just shook his head. Simon had been on his case about his lack of activity regarding the stone, but he had wanted to wait and see if anyone, specifically the professors, had noticed the stone's absence. It had been a little over a month since he stole the stone, and no massive search had been implemented yet. So Harry felt it was safe to experiment a bit. He unwrapped the stone and stared at it. Considering it was a one of a kind object, he really had no idea where to start. There were no instructions for this sort of thing. Since the so called Elixir of Life was an elixir, he had assumed it required a cauldron, but beyond that he really had no clue. Pouring some water from an ever filing vial into the cauldron, Harry set forth on what was likely to be a long and frustrating afternoon. Harry had discovered long ago that, while easily frustrated and irritable when struggling with something he did not quite understand, the mental challenge would continue to draw him in until he solved the puzzle at hand. He also thoroughly enjoyed basking in the rapture of success afterwards.

Drawing out a piece of parchment, Harry scribbled down some notes. Test one: Stone in room temperature water. He was careful not to mention the exact stone in question in case someone, most likely Artemis or Cedric came across his notes. He was not ready to share the knowledge of the stone with them just yet. Carefully unwrapping it, Harry placed the stone inside the cauldron. He observed it for a moment before marking down that nothing had changed. Removing the stone, he tapped the heating rune he had inscribed on the outside of the cauldron and brought the water to a rolling boil. Test two: Stone in boiling water. Again nothing happened. This was going to be difficult.

(Wit Beyond Measure)

Across the English Channel, up high in the Pyrenees Mountains, a strange instrument, not unlike the many that littered Albus Dumbledore's office, spun to life letting out a soft whistle. Despite being hidden in the back of a messy study, the device did not go unattended for very long. Within a minute, a tall, handsome man, with short white hair, and ageless blue eyes entered the room. He stepped over to the device and drew a curved ivory wand. He gave it a few playful flicks, and the device quieted.

"Well?" The man turned to face a slender, white haired, and grey eyed woman who had stepped into the doorway behind him. Compared to the man's relatively plain, if not ruffled state of dress, she had an essence of style, and wore an elegant royal blue dress.

"It seems young Albus is not as omniscient as he thinks he is in that castle of his." The man offered, scratching at his goatee in thought. "I've heard nothing from him since he hid the stone in that cursed mirror of his. Rather ingenious bit of magic really. It took me three weeks to break it down and understand exactly how he did it."

"We all know he's gifted, but what about the Stone?" The woman asked, hands on her hips and a stern expression marring her otherwise friendly face.

"I honestly do not know." He said with a shrug. "As far as I can tell it is still in the castle, but since whoever took it has not tripped any of my safety measures, I really can't be sure."

"What do you mean you can't be sure? You told me you had protections on the stone in case Albus' little plan went awry. The stone in the wrong hands could cause untold havoc! Which is the whole reason for this shenanigan" The woman said, frustratedly.

"Well you see that is the interesting part. Whoever has the stone has clearly tried to use the stone, but not in a way that violates the safeguards I placed on it." The man said quizzically. "Maybe keying the protections to intent was the wrong way to do it. But then, that was what Albus needed for his little trap. I can only guess it's a student. One that I dare say would really like to meet. I wonder if it is a boy or a girl, I wonder how old they are, and I wonder what their shoe size is? Yes, the shoe size, gender, and age, those are the key factors. Perhaps..."

"Nicolas, stop. Now is not the time for your endless ponderings." The woman said with a groan. "For once please take this seriously. You are an incredibly brilliant man, and I love you dearly, but please take the outside world into account for once. We are the only ones who live in this little bubble of ours."

"Very well. You are right Perenelle. Sometimes I forget how much things have changed in the last few centuries. All these silly laws." Nicolas sighed. "I will go rein in Albus' little plan."

"Good," Said Perenelle, "And you'll be sleeping on the couch for the next month." Nicolas visibly deflated as she left the room. A month was not a very long stretch of time for him, but he very much liked his bed. Maybe he could sleep in his study. It had been a while since he locked himself in there and discovered some new facet of magic. As if reading his mind, Perenelle called back to him from the next room. "And I will be locking your study. You've lost your researching privileges."

For a man over six and a half centuries old, Nicolas Flamel let out the most childish whine he could produce. "But Nelly!" he cried chasing after his wife. "That's not fair!"

"It is completely fair. You will have time to think about your oversights and how your creations require responsibility." Perenelle explained. "Now I expect a plan by the time I get back, and you have to be properly dressed. We are going to see my niece and her family for the holidays, and I won't have you dressed like a vagabond."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing!" Nicolas cried in frustration.

"You've been wearing the same clothes for the last four days. Go take a shower and get cleaned up." Said Perenelle. "I'll be back in a few hours. Try me, and you'll sleep on the couch for two months, and I'll burn your research." With a nearly mortified look on his face, Nicolas ceased all protests, and slumped in defeat. With heavy feet, he shuffled through the manor towards their bedroom.

(Wit Beyond Measure)

"I've been told to invite both of you, and your families to Sirius' New Years Eve party." Harry said, looking up from the letter Sirius' owl, had just dropped off. It was the last day of the semester, and everyone was preparing to leave for the winter holidays. "Sirius says you won't want to miss it."

"Sounds fun. It shouldn't be too hard to convince my parents to come." Cedric answered

Artemis nodded in agreement. "Rebecca has wanted to meet you for some time. I imagine she will be happy to accept the invite. And Tracey will hopefully want to come." Their Slytherin friend had been spending more time with her housemates lately, and Harry knew it was weighing on Artemis. While not very vocal in his affections for the girl, something he had apparently given up before coming to Hogwarts, they all knew the depth of his feelings for the girl.

Breakfast finished, and they made their way down to Hogsmeade station to catch the train back to London. Harry, Artemis, Cedric, and Simon, whom Harry had been given permission to take care of for the holidays, found their own compartment near the rear of the train. Still sporting the emerald and silver of Slytherin, the train was a sight to be seen.

"Simon, fancy a game of chess?" Harry asked once they were settled in. Ever since the hat had played the spectacular game under the third floor corridor, Harry had been curious as to how he would stack up against the ancient object.

"If I win, will you take me to a location of my choosing?" Simon asked. Harry thought about it for a moment. As harmless as it sounded, it was never a good idea to hastily agree to anything Simon said or wanted, but maybe there was something to be gained from this.

"And if I win?" Harry asked. "Would you be willing to answer three questions to the full extent of your knowledge." Simon was notoriously difficult to get answers from. While it was nearly impossible to shut him up, over ninety percent of what the hat spewed was useless outside of insulting someone.

"Let the war begin!" Simon Spat. "My minions will destroy your armies, and once victorious, I'll drown you in your own blood!" In the few days that had passed since the salamander incident, Harry had noticed an increase in Simon's bloodthirst. He could only imagine how bad the hat had been during his time atop Godric's head.

Harry smirked. "We shall see Simon, we shall see."

"Not that I don't want to see this," Artemis interrupted, he and Cedric had stopped their conversation to watch. "But we don't have a chessboard." He said.

"Ye have little faith." Harry said with a smirk. Drawing his wand he pointed it towards a bit of rubbish on the floor. Silently incanting while he weaved his wand through intricate patterns, the balled up piece of paper and foil, slowly transformed into an intricate board of dark gloomy marble. White veins crisscrossed the board in wobbly lines, denoting the various spaces. Next came the pieces. Pale skinned, in tattered clothes, and wearing the blackest of armor, the Greek Titans appeared on one side of the board. Opposite them, with tanned skin, the whitest of togas, and beautiful bronze armor, stood the Greek Olympians. Harry heaved out a breath of effort once he was done creating the set. But he was happy with the result. The Greek Gods battling it out with the Titans, on the Fields of Punishment in the underworld, seemed a fitting theme for the magical chess set. Artemis stared at Harry's creation with a gobsmacked expression, sputtering incoherently. Cedric managed to control himself better than their roommate, but even so, his eyes bounced from the board to Harry and back over and over in disbelief. Tossing Simon onto the seat opposite himself and casting a hove charm on the board, Harry looked to his friends and shrugged. "I wanted to learn how to do it." He turned back to Simon. "I assume you want to play as the Titans? Doom and destruction and all that."

"You first twerp." Simon spat. Harry looked at the pieces he had created. Zeus, his king, stood near the center, a small lightning bolt crackling in his hand. Hera, acting as queen, stood at his side, a wicked looking dagger in her grasp. Hades, and Poseidon represented the traditional bishops. Poseidon wielded his trident, and Hades held the black flames of the underworld in each hand. The twins, Artemis and Apollo, took up the position of his knights, each wielding a bow. Ares, with a spartan shield and spear, acted as one rook and the deformed Hephaestus, massive war hammer held high, acted as the other. Several of the famous greek heroes stood in front of the miniature guards. Achilles, Odysseus, Hercules, and Jason, were among the figures taking the place of the usual pawns. Opposite his pieces stood the mighty titans. Cronos and Rhea Represented Simon's king and queen. Cronus wielded his small, but wicked, scythe, while Rhea stood beside him weaponless. Oceanus, wielding a emerald broadsword, and Iapetus, wielding a sickly looking spear, stood beside their siblings as Simon's bishops. Helios, and Hyperion, glowing red underneath their black armour, represented Simon's knights. The muscular Atlas, free of his worldly burden, stood in the corner as one rook, while Krios, bathed in frost, stood in the other corner, frozen sword in hand. A row of miniature greek giants stood in front of their titan commanders.

"Hercules, step forward." Harry commanded. The war had begun.

The game started slow, a pawn dieing here or there, but Artemis and Cedric, who had been idly chatting about their Christmas plans, were drawn in as spectators when Atlas brutally ripped Apollo limb from limb with his bare hands. It was the first real victory of the game. "Whoa, that was awesome!" Artemis cheered, only to be met by a shushing gesture from Harry.

Artemis had never been one for strategy, and honestly could not comprehend the complexity of the moves both Harry and Simon were making, but he could appreciate it. It took another ten minutes of jostling pieces, before Harry got his revenge. He had carefully worked to position Poseidon to have a clear shot at Helios. Drowned under a geyser of water and mauled by several vicious jabs of Poseidon's trident, the sun god met his demise. The game picked up after those two kills, Harry and Simon battling for control over the board.

By the time the Weasley Twins showed up, barging through the door as usual, there were only four pieces left on the board. Harry initially payed them no mind, focusing solely on the game, and the twins took a moment to silently observe. But when Hades burnt Atlas to a crisp at Harry's command, they could not contain themselves. "Wicked!" They exclaimed in unison. George stooped over the board, and inspected it closely, paying no mind to the increasingly irritated look on Harry's face. The redhead turned to face his brother. "Yup, we'll need to negotiate for these as well." He said.

"Most indubitably my dear brother." Fred shot back, while Simon backed Cronus away from Harry's pieces.

"Hercules, promote yourself." Harry commanded. His last move had earned him the space needed to get his one remaining pawn across the board. The demigod piece glowed gold, and grew about an inch in representation of its newfound ranking. The twins opened their mouths to speak again, but before they could, Harry had whipped his wand out and hexed both of them. Transforming their mouths into zippers. Never taking his eyes from the board, he flicked his wand a second time and locks appeared on the zippers. "Check." Harry said, looking at Simon. "You're going to lose hat."

"I'm afraid not twerp." Simon replied evilly. "Cronus, retreat for now. We will fight another day." He said with a slightly morbid tone, and Cronus despondently moved in line with Zeus. "Cats game." Simon announced. Harry stared at the board. Despite having recently promoted Hercules to queen status, he could not achieve checkmate, and Simon had no possible moves he could make either. It was a draw.

Turning to face the Twins, who were now silently laughing, while pointing at each other, Harry canceled his spells. "What did you two want?" He asked with a sigh.

"Well dear Harrikens," George started. Harry twitched slightly at the name, they had taken to calling him that halfway through the semester. Harry had done all he could to stop them. At one point, Harry had even hit them with one of Remus' favorite jinxes, but the endless tap dancing jinx, had only encouraged the behavior.

"We wished to offer you a deal." Fred continued. "While we will never give up our claim to Hogwarts' best and most dedicated funny men, and have no intention of stopping our little war should you not recognize that claim."

"We have a future to think about, and it's high time that we start doing something about that." George explained. "We would like to offer you a silent, or, if you prefer, an active position in Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. For now it's just be some under the table business at Hogwarts, but in a few years we plan to give old Zonko's a run for his money. Even if you don't want to be a part of it, we are willing to pay you to teach us how you made these." George produced a small black cube from his pocket. Harry instantly recognized it as one of the insta boggarts he had hidden in Quirrell's office or classroom. It worked like a muggle jack in the box. It would play a little tune to get your attention, then explode into your greatest fear, and hold that form for no more than twenty seconds. "We found a few of these in Quirrell's classroom after one of them went off during our class." George explained. "But we can't seem to duplicate it."

Harry thought about the offer for a moment. A silent partner had very few negatives. "What does that do?" Artemis asked curiously.

"Well it seems Harrikens has come up with a little scare box." George answered. The redhead whipped out his wand and tapped the box. When the box started to play an eery little tune, he tossed it into Artemis' lap.

"What, no, I don't want it!" Artemis cried, but it was too late. The box exploded into a black cloud, and engulfed the boy. They all heard a sigh of relief. "That wasn't so bad. its just a black cloud." Artemis said from within the dissipating murk, only to shriek when it completely cleared to reveal a cobra staring eye to eye with him. Artemis tried to banish it, but instead of disappearing it just duplicated. Now with two snakes in his lap, the boy was nearly catatonic.

"What was Quirrell's fear? Harry asked, still mulling over his decision.

"Well, it didn't really work on him." Fred answered. "It started as this black whispy spirit, and then it flashed to Dumbledore, and then it went back and forth until it exploded."

Harry raised an eyebrow. He had wondered why he had not heard the anything about his little payback. Quirrell was a puzzle that he had not spent much time trying to solve, but there were more than a few things that just did not fit where the stuttering professor was concerned. Maybe it was time to be a little more investigative. "Two forms you say." Fred and George both nodded. "Give me some time to think about your offer." Harry requested. "I should have an answer after the holiday." The Twins nodded in acceptance, and left them to their devices.

(Wit Beyond Measure)

When the Hogwart's Express pulled up to King's Cross, Harry was still deep in thought. He had not said much since the Weasley Twins had left, and what they had said about Quirrell was really bothering him. Once the train came to a complete stop, Harry unconsciously went through the motions of disembarking and joined the masses on Platform Nine and Three Quarter. "Harry, you alright?" Cedric asked clapping him on the shoulder.

"Yeah… I'm fine." Harry said distractedly. Cedric, and Artemis, who was standing next to him, just smiled.

"Right, well I'll send an owl once I know about Sirius' party. Until then have a great holiday." Cedric offered with a bit of a chuckle. Both he and Artemis knew how distracted Harry could get when their roommate had something stuck in his head.

"See you soon Harry!" Artemis added, as they walked away to find their respective families.

"Huh… oh yeah, See you guys soon." Harry answered a little too late. Realizing exactly how distracted he had been, Harry felt a smidge of guilt for ignoring his friends. It wasn't exactly the first time, nor would it be the last time he ignored them. But still, he felt bad. "Simon can you see Remus and or Sirius?" Harry asked. It was time to go home.

"Sorry twerp, only crotch stains and the dirty underwear that spawned them as far as the eye can see." The hat answered from atop his head.

"Simon, what would cause a boggart to drastically shift forms?" Harry inquired, as he wandered the platform looking for his guardians. As he moved further away from the train, it became easier to search the platform.

"Boggarts are a bit too tame to be apart of my many experiences, or at least any memorable part." Simon offered Haughtily. Harry just shook his head in exasperation. Far too often was Simon the grand adventurer, who could only belittle the more mundane problems that were a common occurrence at Hogwarts. He was not allowed to dwell on it for long, finally spotting Sirius amongst the departing crowd.

"Hey pup, ready to see the new place?" Sirius asked, "I think you're going to like your new room." Harry smiled at that. Over half of Sirius' correspondence had included hints about, or mentions of, his new pet project. While Harry was happy to see his Godfather in a good mood, in all honesty he was ready for a new subject of attention.

"If I have to spend hours searching out and removing yours and Remus' spellwork for it to be safe for me to sleep, there will be hell to pay." Harry offered. "But otherwise yes, I am very ready to see the place that has had your knickers in such a twist." Harry added with a smirk.

"Cheeky brat." Sirius said and he reached out a grasped Harry by the shoulder. With a crack, they disappeared, and Harry felt the tell tale squeeze of apparition. The reappeared, seconds later, in the center of a large common area. Harry looked around and took note of the gryffindor colors spread out across the various pieces of furniture that filled what he assumed was a pub. Everything looked brand new, and the bar looked perfectly stocked. "Boys, come meet Harry." Sirius shouted, and Harry heard the sound of scrambling footsteps. "Harry I'd like you to meet Huey, Duey, and Louie." Sirius said, pointing, in turn, to each of the three house elves that appeared from what Harry guessed was the Kitchen. "They're going to help me run the Moony Nights. I'll explain it all at dinner. For now lets get you settled." Sirius said, leading the way towards the stairs. "Duey, help Harry with his school stuff, would you?" The blue clothed elf grabbed Harry's trunk from his hands before he could protest, and shot up the stairs in a blur. With a shrug of compliance, Harry followed Sirius up past two landings to the topmost floor of the building. "The other two floors are for guests, but this level is just for us." Sirius explained, stepping over to the first door on the left. "This one's yours." He said as he opened the door.

Harry's eyes were assaulted by a myriad of deep blues and gold. The spacious room was decked in Ravenclaw colors. Harry would hazard a guess that his godfather would take house pride with him to the grave. Harry had nothing against the house of eagles, rather liked it, but if he had been in charge of his own decoration, Harry was not sure if he would use his house's colors. Looking around, he saw a sizable bed in one corner with a nearby window that had the curtains drawn. Opposite the bed and window was a door to what Harry assumed was his bathroom. Next to that, stood a tall and elegant wooden armoire. A small desk sat directly under a second window, that had a good view of distant muggle London. Harry noticed a small bronze stand on the desk, on which Hedwig was already perched. "Hey girl, what do you think?" Harry asked, stepping over to the snowy owl. He gently ruffled the feathers atop her head. Hedwig hooted approving at the attention, but once Harry's ministrations ceased, she glared at the desk and hooted indignantly. Harry turned to look at Sirius. "She thinks the desk is too small."

Sirius laughed. "Well, then I guess I should show you this." With a look of pure giddiness, Sirius pulled on the wall sconce next to the bookshelf that dominated the wall next to the door. The light fixture gave way, and with the barest hint of a rumble, part of the bookshelf swung inward. Harry had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Sirius had a soft spot for secret passageways. One of the many movies they had watched while product testing for Wolf Industries, had had a revolving bookcase in it. Ever since Sirius had seen that, none of them had been able to get him to shut up about it. It seemed the man had finally gone through and built one. Harry did feel a little honored that he was the one to receive the gift, but he hoped Sirius' rants on the subject would stop now. "I tried to get an inferi to put in here and some of those tesla coil lightning things, but the ministry wasn't having it with the inferi, and Remus' voodoo didn't quite work on the tesla coils." Sirius said with a bit of a shudder. Considering how explosive televisions had been, Harry could only guess the havoc caused by exploding tesla coils. "However I did manage to get the entire Black Family library in here."

Harry's eyes widened as he took in the room. "Thank you Sirius." Tall bookshelves lined the walls, a large desk sat underneath the window on the far side of the hidden room, and a table, with a complete potions lab, sat nestled away in one corner.

"No problem Pup." Sirius said with a smile. "I was never one for books, and they were just collecting dust at my parents' house." Sirius explained. "Besides, as much as I would love to deny it, you're about as close to a walking book as a person can get. Might as well feed ya what you want. Just do me a favor and don't kill yourself. I didn't sort through any of this stuff, and my family is not known for happy benefit the earth sort of things." Harry nodded, too enthralled by the books to answer verbally. Sirius seemed to recognize this, and took a step towards the door. "Well, have fun, kiddo. I'll send Duey up when dinner is ready." He said, before stepping completely out of the room.

Sirius giggled happily as he closed the bookshelf behind himself and Harry sighed, knowing he would have to come up with some way to lock the room. Otherwise, Sirius would never leave him alone to work. Looking around, Harry could only smile. The room was everything he needed and more. It was entirely too neat and orderly, but a few hours of research and experimentation would solve that issue. Harry scoured the bookshelves waiting for something to grab his attention. A few books seemed to absorb the light around them, and Harry contemplated opening one or two, but something told him they were not what he was looking for. His eyes flitted from book to book until they finally came to a stop on a small, plain, leather bound book tucked away in the corner of one of the book shelves. Something about its nondescript appearance called out to him. Curious, Harry reached up and pulled the book from the shelves. A small strand of leather wrapped around the book sealing it shut. Setting it down on his new desk, Harry tried to unravel the stand and open the book, but when he grabbed the leather strap, a small shock traveled through his hand and up his arm. Nothing too painful, but a jolt of energy none the less. Feeling a little drained afterwards, Harry stared at the book. A look of surprise blossomed on his face as loopy, but neat, calligraphy appeared on the leather cover. "Regulus Arcturus Black." Harry thought to himself. Sirius had mentioned the name Regulus in passing once, and Harry was fairly certain it was his brother. But like the other times his family had come up, Sirius omitted any details beyond name and relation. A strange desire compelled Harry to try and open the book again. This time there was no shock, and he was able to untie the leather strand. Harry opened the book and stared at the first page. In the same calligraphy that had appeared on the cover the first page said. "Harold James Potter, my fourth cousin, I welcome you to my last will and testament."

(Wit Beyond Measure)

(Wit Beyond Measure)

Well, this was a long one, almost double what I normally write in a chapter, but the words just kept coming. I took my first shot at creating a magical creature, so let me know what you thought of that and I've set up some things for whats to come. I also took the time to explore some words outside of latin based languages for a few new spells. In this chapter the only new spell was Waksá, which is Lakota for cut. I find it hard to believe all magic is done in latin so I'm going to try and incorporate spells/languages from other cultures. Hopefully I'm shaking things up in the right kind of way. I'm continuing my efforts to break free of some of the more common takes on a story of this type, but it's hard and a bit intimidating to travel into new territory so bear with me. Anyway please give me some feedback, good or bad, it's all appreciated. I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for reading.