2038, 3 September: Ministry of Magic, London

With a Sigh, I walked down the crowded pathway, Hundreds of wizards starting yet another day of work passed me by.

No matter how hard I tried to change the topic, my thoughts always returned to that night in Bristol. There had been no sign of him since then, which gave me a sense of constant unease. At any moment, another attack on a muggle family could happen. It was only a matter of time.

Problem was, not even the tiniest lead had been unearthed, other than the fact that this person was well-versed in dark magic. I saw little point in giving Wizengamot trials to the Azkaban Prisoners to find out info. Yet maybe there was something they'd not mentioned.

The Lift was now right in front me, and thankfully few people stood inside.

I joined them, and our descent started downwards.

Floor by Floor, the lift emptied out, until only me and a familiar face stood in there.

"Harry." He nodded.

"Draco." I replied, "How's it going?"

"Not much. Grandson just started at Hogwarts." He smiled.

"That's sweet. Mine too."

He chuckled, "Here I am, Fifty-Eight years old, and already a grandparent. Our children started young, didn't they?"

I laughed good-naturedly.

"What about your kids Harry? What do they do now?"

"Albus, he followed in my footsteps and became an Auror. James moved to America to teach in Ilvermorny but left his wife and kid here. I guess they wanted to stay in England. Lily followed her mother and joined a Quidditch Team. I think they're pretty good. And Teddy, he married Victoire and moved to Romania to study and safe-keep dragons with Charlie Weasley. What about you?"

"Well Scorpius, he's pretty secretive. Always working and not really telling me what it is he's doing. I'm starting to get suspicious." He chuckled, but I could hear in his voice that he wasn't fully joking. "Then again, I can't exactly talk about my job either. We all have our secrets. As for Dad, he's doing well in his older years. Doesn't move out too much and mainly tries learning the intricacies of magic."

The thought that maybe Lucius was the man I was searching for went through my head. I shook it away. Though many of my colleagues would say otherwise, he was a changed man, who wanted nothing to do with Voldemort and Dark magic.

"That's very good to hear." I smiled, "You stopping at Level Nine too?"

"Of Course. Why are you going down there anyway?"

"Wizengamot Trials," I muttered.

Draco nodded.

The door opened, and we walked a short distance together, till we reached a place where the corridor split off.

"It was nice talking to you, Harry. Have a nice day." He told me, shaking my hand.

"You too Draco." I smiled before we both walked our separate ways.

Entering the Chamber, all of the bad memories I had experienced came to the surface. How many Deatheaters I had seen, thrashing and screaming bloody murder in that chair? Too many. I recalled the time, one of them had managed to escape the chains with the aid of a wand smuggled to them.

I would never forget the face of the young Stewart Graham that day, only slightly younger than me.

A Killing curse had struck his father before anybody had had a chance to react. A Fantastic Auror Wulfric Graham had been, yet his life-ended all too fast. That was the worst part of this job. You never knew which day you'd breath your last. When you'd meet someone that was your superior in battle.

I remembered that restraining Stewart had been much harder than stunning the Death Eater. He had been out for his blood and hadn't cared about his own leg wound and the fact that it was leaking blood fast. It was so badly damaged by Dark Magic that it was amputated. That was why his leg was made of metal. If I'd have ever put Stewart on Azkaban Guard duty after that, I was a hundred percent sure Augustus Rookwood would be dead the next day.

"Welcome, Mr Potter." Hermione said, "Please take a seat."

"Good day," I replied, looking around the room at the Wizengamot members. Many of their faces were familiar from the first trial I had ever attended here. My own.

I sighed and sat down, looking at the spot where one by one, the Deatheaters would pop up from. I had a clear vision of what each of them would say, and that everything they'd tell us had already been written down beforehand.

Leaning back, I closed my eyes for a moment, rubbing my temple.

2038, 4 September: 148 Kenmure Avenue, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow

"How long do you plan on staying?" Cathy asked.

"As long as it takes tae catch that bastard. Ye havenae used magic ever since Oxford. If that Dark Wizard comes, ye wouldnae stand a chance."

"I can hold myself in a fight!" She exclaimed.

"The man killed ten Aurors. Ye think ye can take him?"

No reply came.

"You're right..." She sighed, after a few moments, "But what about Arthur and Anita?"

"Anita'll be arrivin soon enough, that is if the Minister doesn't require her help more then ever tae resolve this. She works in the Ministry. She's safe. Arthur's probably the most well-protected of us all, so I woulnae worry 'bout him either."

"Is there even any need for such a high state of panic? I mean this was just one incident."

"Better tae be careful, then tae have the worst happen."

Cathy Closed her eyes.

"Thank you, Stewart. For being an amazing Brother."

I laughed, "I'm no yer whole brother."

"Then Step-Brother." She smirked, "Doesn't matter. We're family."

"Aye, and I promise tae protect ye."

She stared out of the window.

"I wonder what's going on over at Hogwarts. No letter from Arthur yet."

I stood up and walked over to her side.

"The lad's probably overwhelmed by everythin. Give him time. He'll be sendin letters back soon enough."

"I hope you're right Stew."

I smiled and hugged her.

2038, 4 September: 23 Craven Road, Croydon

"And this is absolutely safe?"

"Yes, I'm certain Phineas." The man muttered.

For too long had I lived under bridges and on the muggle streets. Yet it wasn't the fact that I was in a house that was strange, but the fact that the Voice was now not just something in my head, but actually coming from a Physical Body.

A Ghastly sight it was, constantly oozing blood from its body and the entire thing deformed and rotting. The Body of a Muggle Man, used as a vessel by the dead with the help of Dark Magic. Now many weeks old, and only kept together by magic. The smell had been so awful, I had charmed the body.

Oh, what I did for the greater good.

"Now that we're finally here, please explain to me why you stopped me from killing Harry Potter? You've been telling me to reach this place first, but we're finally here, and I'm starting to get pissed."

"He is the enemy. Yet you may still kill him another time without the risk of losing your own life."

"Since when are you the person who doesn't take risks?"

"Silence, Child. Risks are for those that are inept at planning. I have learnt not to take them when possible. I took enough of them when I was alive, and yet it got me here. They are not worth it in the long run."

"Child? CHILD?! I brought you back from the dead! I have allowed myself to be guided by your ideas and thoughts for so many years, and yet you still call me child?!"

My anger quickly boiled down, and before long I was back to staring at the body of the decomposing corpse.

"Forgive me, Dark Lord." It muttered.

"Call me whatever you wish, I can't care less. What's the next step, Tom?"

"This body, it is good for a start, but it will be useless after a while. Even now, I can feel it weakening. For my entire strength to return, I need a body that still lives."

"I'm guessing you already know someone who would allow us to do that. Who do you have in mind?"

"A Wizard. One that betrayed my trust, and sent so many of his fellow Death Eaters to rot for the rest of their lives in Azkaban. Lucius Malfoy. He will do."

"I highly doubt he'll just let us do that."

"He will need... Persuasion."

"That's what I was worried about. It'll be interesting getting into the Malfoy Manor, but I can think of something. Meanwhile, who does this house belong to?"

"One of my followers. Dead or Imprisoned now."

"Ah. That explains the feeling of dark magic."

I opened my backpack and spread out everything on the kitchen table. I still had half a flask of Polyjuice potion, enough to last for maybe a day. Next to it was a box of shrunken Acromantula's. It was an interesting card game, winning that. I still had no use for them, but they were definitely useful.

Bottle of Basilisk Venom, Demiguise Invisibility Cloak. Other objects I had managed to steal or win in games of cards.

There was an entire suitcase of potions ingredients still ready to be unpacked.

"There might be some ingredients in this house too unless the Ministry of Magic Confiscated them."

"I'll look around when I've got nothing better to do," I muttered.

Getting into the Malfoy Manor would be a challenge. As far as I knew, Lucius no longer had a job, and he was home all day. One wrong move and I'd be in a fight with him. Something that would not be good. We'd need him alive, without leaving behind witnesses or evidence of him being possessed.

"What was the name of his son?"

"Draco. Curse that boy. Just like his father. Traitorous scum."

"I wonder if he has children of his own."

"Why do you wonder that?" The Corpse hissed.

"Shush, I'm thinking."

If I could lure out Lucius from the Manor, it would be much easier to take his place. Of course, if he suddenly started acting weird, Draco and his children would figure it out soon enough. They'd need a bit of a memory rearrangement or something like that.

But how...

"A trip to the Ministry of Magic. That could help with whatever I need. I am almost certain he works in the Ministry."

"Phineas-"

"Nobody knows who I am. Stop worrying. Now, where's the Floo powder?"

I noticed a clay pot hanging beside the fireplace. It seemed the Ministry hadn't taken that, for whatever reason.

"I'll have the information in half an hour."

Grabbing a fistful of dust, I stood in the fireplace.

"Ministry of Magic!" I exclaimed, and green flames enveloped me.

A Moment later I was standing on the tiles of the Ministry.

Right in the middle of enemy territory. It was enough to get the adrenaline pumping.

I spotted the security desk and walked over there.

Surprisingly there was no queue, which meant I could immediately ask for support.

"What can I help you with Sir?" The woman asked behind the desk.

"Hi. I'm looking for a Mr Malfoy."

"For what exactly, may I ask?"

"I have something to discuss with him."

"Of Course, I'll send a message to him, and he should be here in a few minutes. Can you please weigh your wand for me?"

I nodded and pulled out one of the Auror's wands that I had stolen during the fight in Bristol.

Placing it on the scales, a small slip of paper was printed out, and the woman read it.

"Alright, thank you, Sir. I'll tell him. What name should I say?"

"Just say an Old Family Friend. I want it to kind of be a surprise." I smiled.

"I understand." She giggled, "Please take a seat, and he'll be here shortly."

I sat down smiling, but inside thinking about how I would've killed this woman if another question popped up.

Fifteen minutes passed whilst I read a newspaper.

A Blonde man slowly walked up to me.

"What's it you wish to discuss with me?"

I looked into his eyes and saw everything. His deepest fears, his best memories. I concentrated on finding anything I could about his family.

This man's powers in occulmency were practically non-existent, making it one of the easiest legilimencies that I had ever done.

He had a... Son... Scorpius Malfoy. He also had a Grandson... he was a first-year in Hogwarts. Claudius.

That was all I needed.

"You don't remember me?"

Before he could even react, I had already silently cast a memory-altering spell onto him. I caught him in a bear hug to play off his near-imminent collapse.

"Thank you." I smiled.

"Your welcome." He replied, smiling like we were friends for the longest of times.

Letting go of him, I waved him goodbye.

"We'll talk later, I know you're a busy man," I said, before turning around and leaving. I glimpsed the Security Guard smiling, a tear rolling down her face.

Without even paying attention, I bumped into a man as I walked away slowly.

"Sorry there," I muttered, looking into his eyes. My glance danced upwards towards the man's forehead.

The Boy-who-lived, all grown up. Harry Potter.

I tried keeping my anger in check, hoping he didn't see the hatred I had in my eyes. Him being suspicious of my face was not what I wanted.

"No worries." He muttered, walking away without even a second glance.

I shook all of those thoughts out of my head, and walked back into the nearest fireplace, saying the address of the safehouse as I did so.

Appearing back in the kitchen, I looked at the corpse.

"You have what you need?"

"That, and much more."

A Bloody smile cracked up on the Corpse.

"Very good."

"Don't do that please," I told him.

Yet it took a few minutes for the expression to disappear. Muscles from such an old corpse were probably hard to control.

"He's got a grandkid. Claudius. I feel like it's time to visit Hogwarts."

I smiled.

2038, 1 September: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

The Feast was coming to an end, and by God was I stuffed.

I saw the Headmistress stand up from her chair, and walk over to a podium. There she tapped her wand on the wood, and I heard each tap.

"The Feast is coming to an end, my dear students. After I finish speaking, I'll leave a few minutes for everyone to eat what they still have, and then I request the Prefect's of each house to guide their house to the common rooms. I'm certain you've all gotten notice of the new Passwords. Goodnight to everyone, and a good start to this new term."

As she sat back down, everyone clapped. Soon enough we stood up, and with the Prefects leading us, we walked through corridors and up stairs. The wall was filled with paintings which... moved. That feature was definitely on my list of weird stuff I've encountered.

We finally reached a chamber that blew my mind. It was multiple stories high, and stairways were moving between levels, all on their own accord. Hundreds of paintings decorated the walls, to the point where I couldn't decide if there was a wall behind them or they were actually the wall. If a muggle would've see this, they'd probably get a heart attack, before flagging it as a safety hazard.

"Isn't this dangerous?" A girl asked.

"It's perfectly safe," Tom replied, "It's also the fastest way up to the Common room, so hurry up now."

A stairwell spun over to where we stood, and we started walking up it. This happened multiple times and slowly we got to the very top, where a corridor allowed us to continue forward.

How I was going to remember the way, I didn't know.

Finally, we turned a corner, and I saw a lone painting at the very end of the brightly lit corridor. It was a Fat woman, who held a wine glass in one hand, with the other waving in the air. As we got closer, I heard that she was trying to sing. The key here was trying to.

"Gryffin Talon." The Girl Prefect said, who I had come to know as Rebecca. Tom had told me her name.

"Wait, Wait. First, listen to how I can break this glass with my voice! I think I finally have it!" And her voice started rising slowly in Vibrato. I had never wanted to hear a singing painting, and this hadn't changed my mind. It was incredibly irritating, and my ears started to hurt as the pitch rose. Yet the glass didn't break.

"Gryffin Talon!" Tom said.

The woman's voice remained as high as it was, but she still replied.

"Stop being impatient! I can do it." She sang.

Half the house sighed. I heard someone mention she did this every year.

The glass broke after a few seconds, but not because of her voice. Rather she subtly smashed it on a rock, before smiling at us like she had just done a good job.

Both of the Prefects looked at her, annoyed.

"What?" She asked.

"Gryffin Talon!" They both said at the same time.

"Alright, alright." She muttered before the painting swung open and a secret corridor revealed itself.

We walked in, and a red and gold coloured room opened up to us. There was a small table that had a chess set on it, as well as a lounge area with two couches and three armchairs, crowded around a lit fireplace. This place felt cosy.

Two stairways led up to a second storey.

"Alright People, Gather round here!" Tom told us.

We did as told, and he started talking.

"Everyone who isn't a first-year probably knows everything already, so you guys can go upstairs to unpack if you don't want to listen to my monologue."

Most kids had already done that, and the few that stayed also left.

"Alright so, some simple rules. This is the Common Room for the Gryffindor House. The key here is Gryffindor. Nobody from the other houses can know about where this is, neither the password. The Password Changes every week, and it'll be pinned on that message board-" He pointed at a wall, "on Sunday. It's a good idea to remember it well, cause if you say it wrong once, you're locked out till someone else comes along. If you want to make friends with anyone from another house, you can do it during the day. At night, there's a curfew and going against is means our house is docked points. That's a big no-no and should be avoided if you can. You'll screw us all if you go down that route of being the bad boy."

I looked at Charlie, who was more focused on Frank. The Toad was no longer a goblet.

Rebecca noticed Frank, and she continued talking.

"Now, I know that many of you have pets. As long as they don't cause too many problems, and are friendly, they can be free around the rooms and Common room, though if someone asks you to control your pet, you should listen to them. You can use this place to hang out with your fellow house members, study or play. Your lessons are going to be posted on the message board, once you get them tomorrow, and I suggest asking for help from an older student, so you don't get lost."

"Yeah, that is a good idea." Tom said, and Rebecca blushed, I rolled my eyes, "Books on the bookshelf are free to read if you want and the Wizard Chess Board can also be used by anyone. The fireplace can be used for getting warmth, or if you ask our permission you can toast stuff on it. The Stairway to the right is for Boys, while the left one is for Girls. Boys can't enter Girls Dormitories and vice-versa. Your stuff is already in your rooms. As First years your dorms will be the first door you find up the stairs. Umm... anything I left out?" Tom asked Rebecca.

"Our Head of House." She muttered.

"Oh yes. Thank you." He smiled, "Each house has a Teacher that is the head of said house. Our Head is Professor Ó Brádaigh, and he's the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, so you'll meet him soon enough. He'll also be there to help whenever we can't for some reason. If any of you for some reason breaks a rule, it will be the Professor who looks into the case, unless it is so severe that the Headmaster is needed. I hope it won't come to that, but who knows. Over the Six Years I've been here, I've seen quite a lot of situations, but each year there is someone that can surprise me. I think I've said everything you need to know right now. Questions?"

A few hands went up.

"Sir-"

"Tom is good."

The Girl that started talking cleared her throat.

"Tom, Sorry. How much can we use magic in here?"

"Huh, pretty good question. Most of the time kids figure that out through trial and error. You can use all spells in here that don't hurt other students or don't break rules. If you damage something in here, you gotta fix it, so I suggest getting accustomed to the repair spell, but that's for later. In first year, there's not much you can learn that can do serious damage. Just be careful. Okay, next question?"

"Tom! By pets, do you mean I can have my bird in here, cause-"

"Very good. If you have any Owl or anything else you wish to use for your daily post and letters from family, that's something you should keep in the Owlery. I'm fairly certain all the owls you brought with you have been taken to the Owlery already, so there's no problem with that."

"But I have a parakeet." The same boy said.

"Wierd animal, but it doesn't really matter. The same thing goes for yours as for everyone else. Keep it here, teach it to not crap everywhere and to play nice with everyone else, and there'll be no problem with it. Anyone have any other weird creatures they want to ask about?"

I put my hand up tentatively.

"Arthur! What animal do you have?"

"A Niffler."

"A Niffler?" He asked, surprised.

"Yeah. It's still pretty young, but I'm teaching it to behave."

"Good. If it takes apart the couch, you'll be fixing it too. A Bit of extra learning never hurts anyone." Tom smiled.

If Goldy did in fact take apart the couch, I'd not be a happy Pet owner.

Oh damn...

Goldy.

In my excitement to get here, I had totally forgotten about my pet, who was stowed away in my luggage in a cage.

"Any more questions?"

No hands went up.

"Perfect. Now you may go. Good night, and let your first night here at Hogwarts be filled with joy and wonder." Tom laughed. Rebecca elbowed him in the side.

I speed-walked up the stairs and opened the first door I found, darting in and opening my suitcase, which I found instantly. I pulled out Goldy's Cage and looked at him. He seemed angry that I had left him without food.

"Yes, Yes. I know. Sorry about that bud." I handed him a chunk of cheese, and he nibbled it hungrily.

"Arthur my guy, I didn't know you were so keen to go to bed," Charles muttered while walking into the room. He was followed by George, and then by Robin. I could see Charlie's eyes never leave the Toad.

"Sorry. The sudden excitement of coming here made me forget to feed Goldy."

"You named your Niffler Goldy?" George asked.

"Uhh, yeah."

"Cool name," Robin said. I didn't exactly believe him, seeing as how his Toad was called Frank.

All in all, there were seven of us in the room. Exactly the same amount, as there were beds. Weirdly specific. These beds weren't something small and easy to take apart either, rather massive things with curtains and bedposts. It looked like something the Queen would sleep in. How they knew exactly how many of us there'd be, that was a mystery.

Upon the bed was a variety of red and gold coloured clothes. Scarves, Hats, ties and a pin-up crest.

Me, George, Charles and Robin already knew each other. The other three boys introduced themselves as Hector Verdis, Brian Liresen and Derek Tried. All three of them seemed cool. It was Derek that had the Parakeet, and it seemed interested in all of us. Honestly, it was pretty cute.

The boys wanted me to let out Goldy for a bit, but I knew my pet better than they did. I sure as hell wouldn't screw anything up on my first day.

Changing into my Pyjamas under my cover, I watched the candlelight a bit on my bedside.

"Is it just me, or will I not be able to sleep? This day was so exciting!" Robin muttered.

"Same." Four others chorused. I too felt like that, but still, I could feel my eyes become heavy.

We talked a bit about where we came from, and what we thought about this place.

Robin and the three others were surprised that I was Stewart Graham's Nephew, and it was hard trying to direct the conversation to some topic other than my Uncle.

Finally, we realized just how tired we really were. Charles and Robin had fallen asleep while the rest of us talked, and Hector fell asleep mid-sentence, which was an amazing feat.

I blew out my candles, and snuggled up in my covers. They were comfy!

My eyes stayed open a bit longer, looking outside at the moon, which was the only source of light in the pitch-black room. Then they finally closed.

Slowly, I dozed off. A new day awaited tomorrow.

A/N Alrighty, so new chapter. I hope everyone likes the story so far. I've updated the previous chapters, hopefully making it more likeable for everyone. Stay safe out there :).

-Have a good day

-ServantofRagnos