Last Time: Dumbledore has informed Nicolas Flamel of his stone being missing. Flamel travels to Hogwarts with an excellent offer for the student that has his stone, except Harry did not hear it. He performs surgery on himself to put the stone inside of his body, a surgery that almost kills him. Harry has learned the hard way that Hindsight is twenty-twenty. He is also gifted with Godric Gryffindor's sword from the school.

Book One: Death

Chapter 14

After his monumental failure at safe guarding the Philosopher's Stone, Harry buckled back down on his studies into the various forms of magic. And truth be told, it was all he could consider the operation to put the Stone inside of his body as. Yes, it was inside of his body and safe, however he had almost died accomplishing the feat. Worse, hindsight told him had he waited another few hours, he would have been able to give the Stone to its rightful owner.

Hindsight was truly a vicious thing.

Harry was glad for the scar that was going to be on the left side of his body. It would forever cement what had happened to him in his mind. It was a constant reminder that he was not invincible, even if he was the Horsemen of Death. There were still plenty of things that could kill him, and until he found his Cowl, he had already used his one free pass.

Harry sighed as he continued to work on the books in the peacefulness of the Come and Go Room, or the Room of Requirements as Amadeus had called it. Ice Magic was definitely prominent in his stack of books, as were the various journals of the Founders. He whole heartedly expected them to be quite different than what they were portrayed as nowadays. He expected it to be a bit of gritty reading.

With how early he had gotten accustomed to waking up, along with his current injury, he spent his mornings within the Room of Requirements until it was time to head down to breakfast. In those few hours, he learned more and more, constantly taking notes in a journal of his own. He started with Ice Magic mostly because of his Aura. He needed to be able to do a lot more with Ice.

He took the books on Death Magic and stuffed them into the bag that the room had given. It definitely wasn't sorted in the slightest, but the truth was he couldn't experiment and perform Death Magic in Hogwarts. Well, he kind of could. There were no spells or wards stopping him after all so long as his experiments weren't endangering the students or staff. But the fact of the matter was he had no sacrifice that he could offer up for the Death Magic. He planned to get some chickens at the start of summer, maybe a Goat or two.

Though, he did start reading on the various rituals and warding that could be done with Death Magic and he came across one phrase often. The 'White Goat' was a euphemism for a human sacrifice, so most of those he didn't plan on doing. He'd try to substitute out the human sacrifice for something less… extreme such as the aforementioned chickens.

He had found a few rituals that also intrigued him. He could Raise the Dead apparently. And not the Inferi like Voldemort had risen during his reign of terror. Though, he did find a journal of a Hogwarts Student that had detailed the process of making Inferi. It was a bit of a creepy read. No, Harry could summon a corpse from its grave and it would be able to talk. It would have the personality of the person that had died.

There were a few things he would need in order to do such a ritual, such as a chicken for the sacrifice and as a meal for the raised dead, but he was certain he could perform it.

Harry stretched himself out a bit as he closed up his works and returned the books to their bookshelves. He then moved to his throne like chair once more and leaned back. Only the other Riders, or those that knew they were the Riders, would be allowed into this room Harry had decided. He opened his eyes to look at the three barren portions of the rooms. He could have filled them in, but the fact of the matter was he didn't know the other Riders… not yet at least.

Harry closed his eyes once more and began to push his Deathly Aura out once more. He could feel the chill running along him and he embraced it. His magic had been getting stronger and stronger the more he used it, and his Aura more noticeable. Before, when the frost started to creep in, he was generally on the verge of turning more skeletal.

Now he looked completely serene. He glanced around. In the small room the slight fog at his feet was dense. He just had to keep practicing it, it would get easier and easier the more he worked on it and he intended to work on it as much as possible. It would make his Ice Magic a lot easier.

Finally, he turned it back down. Just enough that the other students wouldn't stare and he rose to his feet and headed out of the Room of Requirements. Harry briefly glanced around to the other students that began to make their way out of the various Dorms and down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

It seemed they were talking about the upcoming Christmas Holidays. The Hogwarts Express would return the students to London on the twentieth of December and return the students back to the castle on the fourth of January. Of course, it was still two weeks away so that the students could all sign up to leave the castle if they wished to.

Harry's name had already been jotted down onto the parchment. He had a busy Holiday and he was needed outside of the castle so that he could get through everything in a timely manner. He had a scant two weeks to view the various Potter and Black properties as well as one possible Hogsmeade location that he intended to buy up when he could.

He had to tour each of them to determine if they needed brought out of stasis, if they needed House Elves, if they needed renovations, everything that he possibly could need. He didn't even particularly care that he was planning to spend Christmas alone.

The Dursleys were no family of his. At the moment, he had no one and that suited him just fine. He might actually be working on his Magic on Christmas anyways. He also didn't really expect any packages.

He entered the Great Hall and made his way towards his usual spot and sat down. He got Dust his toast before he started to get some food of his own. He had just picked up his goblet of orange juice when it happened.

The screeching of owls signaled the arrival of mail. But Harry never really received anything outside of Gringotts and most of that was confidential and thus was moved between the secure deposit boxes he always carried with him when he was working on his finances, like he did in the mornings.

Harry had not expected the 'whump' of a scroll landing on his plate of food. He glanced up from what he was working on and looked to the scroll, only for a second one to land with it.

Harry glanced up and watched as several hours dove down, dropping scrolls and letters onto his spot at the table and he just barely moved his books out of the way before they began to over fill onto his book. "What is all this?" Harry asked rhetorically.

He had to stand up as they began to spill onto his lap. Dust cawed angrily and even Harry felt his aura flare up at the sheer mass of scrolls and letters. Worse, most of them were formally sealed and stamped, meaning he would have to go through each and every one of them individually.

There were some chuckles moving throughout the Great Hall at Harry's reaction to all of the mail. Though when his only letter received by an owl had been a Gringotts letter, it was understandable that all of the mail he was currently piled with was a completely new concept to him. Worse, his food was somewhere in there and had he not had his goblet in hand, it would have spilled over the letters.

Professor Flitwick thankfully had come over, though amusement was indeed on his face. He looked at the steadily growing pile that spilled onto the floor as one last invite landed among them and the Owls had finally stopped. "Would you like some assistance Mr. Potter?" Flitwick asked chuckling a little bit.

His secure deposit box from Gringotts also dinged, signaling one last letter.

Harry sighed heavily as he looked to the mountain of scrolls and letters. His wand came up and the Incendio spell was on the tip of his tongue. However, he slowly lowered his arm and put his wand away. "I would love some help Professor." He said.

He then started to get some organization to the mess. Scrolls were stacked neatly and letters were also done just as neatly. Literally dozens of pieces of mail in one day and Harry took the time to neatly pile them back up so they weren't interfering with anyone eating anymore.

Thankfully Flitwick helped get the stuff that had fallen off the floor. He then took a moment to wave his wand over them all. He did it several times before he tucked it away. 'All of your mail is safe Mr. Potter; I'm not reading anything potentially harmful from my scans." He then headed back towards the Staff Table.

Harry slowly sat back down once more and ran his hands over his face. He got some more food once more and ate it quickly this time. He pinched the bridge of his nose slightly wanting to groan. But he started on the mail anyways.

The first piece he picked up was an invite to Professor Slughorn's Slug Club's Christmas dance. He set that to the side, starting a simple 'No' pile. He wasn't going to be in the castle. He briefly wondered if the Professor knew that.

And that began the general tone for the situation Harry found himself in. They were formal invitations to various Balls being held. Apparently, several of the students had heard that the Potter Heir wasn't going to be in the castle during the Winter Holidays and had their families send him an invite to their family's ball or as their family's guest to another family's ball.

Most of these went with Slughorn's invitation in a very firm 'No' pile. Simply put, he had prior engagements that required his attention. He wasn't going to cancel a meeting with the Goblins simply to go dancing and mingling.

However, a few were brought to his attention that he wasn't sure if he was doing anything at that time so he had to take out his planner. He generally was going to be working on two properties per day. The Potter Manor was going to take a day in and of itself, so maybe he could shuffle that around so he could do an event that evening. The Black Ancestral home was also going to be taking up most of a day, so he might be able to pull off another event. Even still, he had over two dozen properties to look at.

Harry set his planner down and removed his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment. Finally, he put his glasses back on and decided to redo things. People who had children he was on a first name basis, he moved into a tentative 'maybe' pile.

He was about halfway through the letters when he got another form of invite. It made him want to absolutely hex someone until they couldn't even see straight anymore. He could feel his Deathly Aura being affected by his irritation. He had families offering their home to stay in for the duration of the Holidays.

Harry sighed a bit and glanced up to the Staff Table. Though it was another Tuesday where he only had Defense Against the Dark Arts and Astronomy, he knew he had to be in class again. Missing Astronomy had… well… he wasn't against black marks on his record, but it still felt unnecessary now and that was what he loathed. He despised that it had been unnecessary.

Harry let his lips quirk into a smile a bit at the new DADA. Dumbledore had pulled a stroke of genius; even Harry was willing to admit that much despite his qualms against the man. Dumbledore managed to snag Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt for the position of DADA.

He had been quite the success so far, even going so far as to pull some practice OWL and NEWT tests for the upper years to make sure that they would be ready for them at the end of the year. But he was also there as a link to the Auror office, in case anything else went wrong.

Harry frowned and turned back to his various letters. He began to go through them again, knowing he would have to personally decline each and every one of them that he could. Several offered for him to stay with them during the Holidays. He got a few invites for Christmas and Boxing Day.

Harry stared at the latest invite he had received. He wasn't entirely sure why he was getting it. An invite to stay with the Holyhead Harpies over the Holidays may be a dream for some, but Harry had no love of the sport and had no idea who any of the women were personally. He put that in the very definitive 'No' pile.

Harry really wanted to know who had let it slip he wasn't staying with his family but he wasn't staying at the castle. While the invites were indeed flattering, they were from some people he didn't know or relatives of people he barely spoke to.

Harry came across an invite to the Ministry New Year's Ball and he put that in the 'Maybe' pile. It would be good to see what the current political climate was like. He had a bit of an idea given the pompous strutting of Draco Malfoy like he was untouchable, but it still wouldn't hurt.

Harry took the 'Maybe' pile and began to better look through the dates, tucking them into the 'No' pile when they clashed with his schedule with the Goblins. He had the schedule since October, he wasn't going to be able to re-arrange too much to it without causing someone a tizzy.

Invites for him to stay with the family in question during the Holidays were also placed into the 'No' pile. He had entirely too much work to be done to be coming and going and answering to someone's worried parents.

With his pile cut down once more, Harry placed the Ministry Ball invite into a new 'Yes' pile and penned it into his schedule. He also made a note to request a change in schedule with Ironskull of the Black Ancestral Home from Boxing Day to New Year's Eve and the Houses that were meant to be checked on New Year's Eve placed to Boxing Day.

That shouldn't cause too much of a problem. He then jotted the note down and placed it into the Black Account Security Box. It dinged after a moment, indicating that it had been sent.

Harry then began to go through the various other letters. Invites to stay on Christmas were placed in the 'No' pile. He was examining Potter Manor on that day, something he wasn't going to change in the slightest. He wanted to be in the home that the Potters had been using for centuries.

With a few more invites, he glanced through them slowly. Finally though, he settled on one more invite to accept. Amelia Bones had invited him to spend some time on Boxing Day with her, Susan, and the Abbots. He did sort of owe Amelia a bit more than the others. The rest he tucked into the 'No' pile and jotted in his planner for Lunch with the Bones on Boxing Day.

He could have also, possibly, arranged lunch with a few more groups. But the fact of the matter was that he had no idea when he would finish inspecting each of the properties. He could be having an early Lunch or a late Lunch. It was just better to do it that way than worry another family regarding when he would arrive. That would hardly be fair to them after all.

Harry took the moment to organize his 'No' pile into a few groups. He tucked those that he would have to mail a decline to into his bag. He would do that later, after his nap before Astronomy class. He then alphabetized the names of those he would be Declining in person, or at least to the students there at Hogwarts. He also sorted it into Houses and then years so he could hopefully get it done a little bit faster.

He saved one particular letter to the side for the time being. He had to check something from Rotgut.

He opened the box and read through the parchment, his eyes widening slightly before a frown crossed his face. His frown only deepened as he regarded what it meant and he folded it up. He was quite tempted to destroy it then and there. He didn't, he tucked it carefully into his bag that was within the expanding bag. That should keep it safe for at least a little while.

Finally, Harry stood up and grabbed the letter he had set aside. It would be best to get this particular one out of the way immediately before class. He strode up towards the Staff Table and paused before Professor Slughorn. Harry gently placed the letter on the table.

"Thank you for the gracious invitation Professor Horace Slughorn, however I must regrettably and humbly decline." Harry said. "I have pressing business that has been scheduled for quite some time now that sees me out of the castle for the Holidays. You have my deepest and most sincere apologies." Harry then turned and walked away, heading out of the Great Hall.

He'd get the students outside of breakfast.

-Scene Break-

It was Saturday and Harry reveled in the pain filling his chest and his legs as he rushed about. His 'detentions' with Flitwick had finally graduated up to Dueling. Most of the time he lost, but every now and then he would win. Then Flitwick would take it up a notch and he'd be back on his losing streak.

They were doing about four or five duels every Saturday now.

Harry vaulted over one of the rocks that the Charms Master had provided for cover. There wasn't a whole lot of cover, but there was plenty for Harry to move around with and attempt to get closer to Flitwick.

Harry ducked under a spell and flicked his hand up. The mist around his feet condensed and formed a thick slab of ice that took the brunt of Flitwick's Leg-locker Hex. He had been getting a lot better at using Ice Magic, especially with as high as his Deathly Aura was.

He moved out of the way from the Blasting Hex that completely shattered his slab of ice. He told himself to keep moving, that he couldn't stop at all costs. He should be using Stinging and Gouging Hexes to try and take down Flitwick, but the fact of the matter was he had to also keep his magical energy up as best as he could. He needed his magic to shield from Flitwick's spells.

Harry ducked and rolled under another Volley of chained together spells. Flitwick loved using his chained spells, one motion leading into another and giving Harry hardly any breathing room in the slightest. But he still came up just before Flitwick who had a spell on his lips when Harry dropped his wand and pushed Flitwick's wand away. Harry's knife flicked out of its sheath and pressed against the Charms Professor's throat.

"Yield." Harry breathed heavily. He was starting to wonder if he should maybe give up working out on Saturdays given how effectively Flitwick had him moving around just to dodge the Professor's spell work.

"I yield Harry. Excellent Job today." Flitwick said, backing up slightly.

Harry nodded and tucked his knife away before he retrieved his wand. That also went into his holster. While Harry fully expected Flitwick to eventually pull some dirty tricks, he seriously doubted it would be that year. Flitwick was still getting a read on him apparently.

The two then moved into Flitwick's office, the classroom changing back to normal as they walked. It was quite the impressive piece of magic, though according to Flitwick he often did it the night before so that he would have plenty of magic in order to duel with Harry.

Flitwick sat at his desk and flicked his wand to pour the tea. He took a healthy drink of it before he regarded Harry. "I have come to figure out what sort of duelist you are Harry."

Harry was most interested in that. It would mean they could take the training up a level so he sat up a bit straighter and drank some of the tea to feel a bit more invigorated.

"At first, I thought you to be a well-rounded sort of Duelist. A Duelist duelist to those in the trade. Stupid name really, but it stuck for the most rounded of Duelist. Someone that is not too skilled in any particular area. But then I started to notice your natural reactions. You tend not to use strong offensive spells in favor of using stronger Shield magic." Flitwick said.

Harry shrugged slightly. "I generally have a knife with me." He said like it made the most sense. "Plus, I don't know much offensive magic."

"Yet all it would take would be a lance of ice through one of my spell chains to defeat me like you've already done." Flitwick pointed out.

Harry frowned a moment. "Those lances take a lot of energy." They took entirely too much energy and he usually had a nosebleed afterwards. He knew he need to practice them, but he couldn't really do it more than once or twice a day so far.

"This is precisely my point Harry." Flitwick said bouncing in his seat a little bit. "You're style is all about conserving energy for your shields. Strong shields of magic and ice nonetheless. You are a Fortress Duelist." He said happily.

"Pros and Cons?" Harry asked as he drank some more tea.

"The Cons are that a Fortress tends to rely too heavily on shields. But you already have an advantage over most of the Fortresses that I've faced off against Harry; you never stand still during a duel. You're constantly moving, even if you're letting a spell miss you by the fraction of a hair. You shield instead of attacking until you're absolutely sure your spell will connect and do the most damage. This is a sign of a Fortress. The Pros to being a Fortress Duelist are that most Duelists don't have the fire power to break down your shields in a single spell. So while you cast one shield, they've casted anywhere from two to ten shields to break through." Flitwick paused, letting everything sink in as he took a drink of tea to quench his parched mouth.

"I plan to train you, even past these detentions Harry. I myself happen to be a Spell Weaver Duelist, the natural enemy of the Fortress. Spell Weavers tend to link spells together far and spread, making it difficult to shield or to dodge and once we've started we're difficult to stop. The problem is it takes us a while to get to where we can make it look effortless, and after five or six chains it will start to drag on us. Fortress Duelists are Duelists who work with attrition. A Spell Weaver works on pure aggression Harry."

Harry chuckled a little bit. Flitwick's enthusiasm was something to behold really, especially when it came to Dueling. The eighty something year old Professor looked to be ten years younger when speaking about the things he was passionate about. "You know I have no interest in becoming a Professional Duelist, right Professor?" Harry asked. "I plan to enter into Business and possibly Politics, try to make a new Glory for the Potter name."

"True, but tell me something Harry. What would the fame of being a skilled Duelist at a young age hurt either of your ambitions?" Flitwick asked.

Harry raised his cup of tea, acknowledging Flitwick's point. There was nothing that would hurt his ambitions if he managed to make a name of himself in the Dueling Circuit. Maybe he could look to it another year, when his schedule wasn't so full.

As it stood, he had to get to France sometime in the summer to return Flamel his Stone.

-Scene Break-

It was finally time to leave Hogwarts. Harry had his trunk in hand, ready to board the train. He was all bundled up nice and snugly to keep away the chill of the Scottish Highlands Winter. He noticed that there were a fair few people leaving the castle for the Holidays. Not many, but certainly enough.

He boarded the train and made his way to an empty compartment. His sign of 'Knock First' and a sticking charm later found himself hopefully quite alone for the next several hours while they made their way towards London.

He hefted his trunk up to the overhead compartment and sat down with a book on Conjuration. He was hoping that by the time that he returned to the castle he'd be ready to start practicing it.

The train hadn't left yet when a knock sounded on the door. Harry sighed softly. Maybe he should have thrown up his Deathly Aura. He was an anti-social individual. Still, Flitwick's words of trying to make some friends did still remain in his head.

He still didn't understand them, but he took them to heart at least.

So he stood up and crossed over to the door and slid it open. He blinked to see Hermione there. "May I?" she asked, inclining her head towards the mostly empty compartment.

Harry sighed and held the door open, shifting out of the way. "Sure." He said. He hoped she didn't badger him with questions about his book. He was hopeful, yes, but it was the only thing to keep him from groaning.

She entered, dragging her trunk behind her. She set her book down in a seat and was about to lift her trunk up when Harry grabbed it from her. "I got it." He told her, lifting it up and putting it in the overhead compartment effortlessly.

"Thank you." Hermione said, sounding relieved as she sat down and was about to pick up her book.

Harry sat down and opened his book when he heard a gasp and glanced up to see Hermione staring at the title of his book.

"That's a book on Conjuration!" she said sounding like a mix between excitement and awe. "Wherever did you find it?" Hermione asked. "Isn't it really advanced magic?"

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose slightly. "Hermione, I found it. That's all I'm going to tell you. I've found a lot of books at Hogwarts, a fair few of them in my trunk." He closed his book as he stared to her brown eyes. "Second, it is advanced magic. However, it is also beginning Conjuration. I'm not trying to conjure intricate things just yet. At best, I might manage a wooden spoon right now, if I'm lucky."

Harry then pointedly opened his book once more and glanced down. "And I would like to read this book and finish it before I get back to London. If you let me, I might be inclined to find a matching book for you when we get back to Hogwarts." He said.

It was only the Conjuration textbook from when Conjuration was a given elective, so he seriously doubted he wouldn't find another book.

They started to move and Harry continued to read. It was maybe ten minutes after they left Hogsmeade station when a second knock sounded on the door. Harry closed his book and stood up, making his way over to the door.

Opening it, he saw Millicent Bullstrode with her own luggage. "Harry, would you mind if I sat with you?" she asked.

Harry opened the door wider and stepped aside. He already had one tag along, a second wouldn't likely hurt.

Millicent stepped in, pausing just slightly to see Hermione before she dug a book out of her trunk and was about to lift her trunk. Harry waved her off. 'I have it Millie." He said. He then lifted it up and slid it into the overhead compartment.

He then sat back down and picked up his book, noticing that Millicent and Hermione sat with one seat between them while Harry sat across from them in the middle seat.

"Thank you for this Harry." Millicent said as she found her place in her book.

"Don't thank me yet." Harry said looking up. "You two both know that I do not play favorites between Houses or between Blood status. I hear any form of bigotry and I'll have to ask you to leave the compartment. If you're unwilling, I'll look for a Hufflepuff Prefect to help you leave." He said bluntly.

Millicent held up both hands. "Won't hear it from me." She said. "It's sort of why I tried to find a different place to sit. Pansy was trying to drag me to sit with Draco and while Vincent and Greg can be conversational, they tend not to be when Draco is around. The whole blood purity spiel that Draco tries to shovel around is frankly disgusting." Millicent offered a slight smirk. "Doesn't mean Slytherin won't win the House Cup." She said competitively.

Hermione snorted a bit. "Not with the likes of Crabbe and Goyle. No offense, but having had several classes with them leaves me feeling underwhelmed at their academic abilities." Hermione countered. "So the House Cup will go the House of the Brave and Courageous."

"Well, Greg isn't too bad. He has trouble reading the work, especially with everything being pretty much hand written. He can work it through and he's fairly intelligent, he just has difficulty reading." Millicent said. "Vincent on the other hand… unfortunately about as bright as a box of rocks."

"Sounds to me like Mr. Goyle has a learning disability such as dyslexia." Harry said, not even looking up from his book. He had no interest in being pulled into a competition on who would win the House Cup. The Ravenclaw first year simply had no interest one way or the other.

"Dyslexia?" Millicent asked, sounding confused.

"Dyslexia is a reading disorder where the brain can't quite figure out what certain letters and numbers are. You and I could read the word 'teapot' as 't-e-a-p-o-t'; a Dyslexic would instead possibly read the word as 't-a-e-g-o-t'. A Dyslexic person isn't stupid per say, but they would have difficulty reading." Harry offered as an explanation. "Non-magical people just love coming up with ideas about everything possibly wrong."

Millicent seemed fascinated by the prospect. "Do you think it's possible that Greg could be cured?" she asked sounding hopeful.

"Cured? No, I don't believe a cure exists. All you can do is be patient and supportive." Harry said.

Hermione shook her head. "It is scary sometimes how much you know."

Harry glanced up to Hermione. "To be fair, my cousin is Dyslexic. Of course, his mother and father spoil him rotten and believe nothing can possibly be wrong with him." Harry shook his head and put his nose back into his book. He didn't want to talk about his relatives any more than absolutely necessary.

And even then that was too much for him.

Hermione seemed to notice that Harry didn't want to talk about it so she changed the subject. "Millicent, what are you reading?" she asked.

"Oh, just a book on Illusions. My family has always had a bit of a knack for them." The Slytherin girl said.

"Illusions?" Hermione despaired. "But that's rather advanced magic as well. Where did you get that book?" She craved the knowledge and anyone around her knew that.

"Probably the same place Harry got the book on Conjuration." Harry glanced up, briefly wondering if Millicent knew about the Room of Requirements. "The House Library. Slytherin House has all sorts of books on all sorts of magic. I wouldn't be surprised if Ravenclaw had an even more extensive library."

Harry snorted a bit and glanced back down to his book. 'Hate to burst your bubble Millie, but I didn't get my book from the House Library. Professor Flitwick tends to keep the more advanced magic under lock and key. Some of the older years are able to borrow it, but never for long periods of time. I found this book somewhere else in Hogwarts. Though, I can get you a book on Enchanting if you'd like."

"Yes please." Both girls said at the same time, making Harry chuckle slightly.

"But the Houses have a Library?" Hermione asked sounding excited about the idea of having a library within Gryffindor tower.

"I would honestly doubt it for Gryffindor." Harry said, bursting Hermione's bubble. "Hogwarts is first and foremost a Castle. Castles used to be used as military installations. I wouldn't be surprised if Gryffindor, when helping renovate or building the castle chose to include an armory and a training area for those of his House. He wanted the Brave and the Courageous, those that would charge into the front lines beside him in case someone attacked Hogwarts. At least, that's what I think." He hadn't gotten to Godric's journals just yet.

Hermione pouted a bit. "Then what about the rest of the Houses?"

"I would suspect Hufflepuff having an armory and training area as well." Harry said after a moment. "The hard workers and loyal find that place home, so they would of course defend the school as well. Slytherins and the Ravenclaws would be support, so they would have more spell books for long range work. Hard to stop a Giant with a sword, but a bit of Battle Magic from afar would definitely turn that tide."

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment before she nodded slightly. She supposed she could understand that.

The ride back to London passed mostly in silence for the three First years. Harry once more bought a pot of tea from the trolley lady when she came by and he even shared it. He was thankful neither of the two girls asked about Harry's plans for the Holidays.

He was going to be busy most of the time anyways.

When he got to London, he helped the girls get their trunks down. He waited until the commotion died down a bit before he headed outside, carrying his luggage with him.

It was time for some busy holidays.

-End Chapter-

A/N: Nothing. I got nothing.

Adios.