Chapter 27: The Heist, the Deception

The 10th of June was filled with Double Defense against the Dark Arts or 'Double DADA'. Unlike the usual classes, today was the End of Year exam for the subject – and also the last exam of the term. After today, for the rest of the Hogwarts students, the big highlight was the final Quidditch match of the term. Hufflepuff was playing Gryffindor and it was already being called the "The Weasley Showdown" as Ronald would play against his brothers.

For Daphne Greengrass, it was also an important day. Professor Septima Vector was absolutely proud of her star student Daphne Greengrass, who was writing a fairly difficult subject at the OWL level. She looked odd in the examination hall, as she was the youngest person sitting in the room. And worse yet, the other students did not know her - she had opted to study and submit the assignments individually. However, Daphne had something in her back pocket that the others did not have. She knew basic linear algebra and was fairly good at simultaneous equations. Hermione and Harry had walked her through enough mathematics and the projects that she had assisted Hermione in, had helped her to gain practical insight into the issues. She understood why Harry and Hermione were so far ahead of people – they had learnt everything by taking on projects and that made far more sense than the random paper scratching. Also, Hermione could test her Arithmantic equations, by seeing if their projects functioned as intended. Daphne began to suspect many axioms that had been taken for granted in Arithmancy, were false. Nothing like an explosion behind a shielded wall, to prove that the equation was wrong. It was on this basis, that Daphne decided to build a unique solution for a problem that had been given in her paper. The problem was unsolvable and it often repeated itself regularly, because the Ministry Arithmancers wanted to see how far students would push the problem. She considered the issue and decided to 'go brave' after she remembered the solution that she had seen a couple of months ago.

She would use a cubic equation to solve the problem.

While she was not fluent, she had done this equation as a piece of self-study for a computer programming problem. She decided that it would not hurt to try. She scratched her head and thought about the issue, she asked for ten sheets of parchment as she wrote the solution. When she was pleased with her answers, she left the examination hall, after handing in her script. As soon as she left the examination hall, she bumped into Draco and his group of goons. Blaise out of politeness and also because he was genuinely impressed, made small talk with Daphne.

"Ah, it is our front-line genius. How did the Arithmancy exam go?"

"It was…easy? And please don't take that to mean that I am being arrogant. I have been pushing hard on some personal research and it happens to be NEWT level work. So, I managed fine. Now to see if my unconventional method, is worth something."

"I congratulate you for your ambition. We Slytherins are supposed to rule the roost. Tomorrow is the Runes OWL?"

"Yes it is, Blaise. How was your Astronomy Exam?"

"It was okay. Good luck tomorrow. If your results are worth celebrating, please do tell me over the holidays, won't you?"

"That I can do," Daphne replied, as Blaise observed the sour look on the faces of Draco and the rest of his gang.

Draco could not make up his mind if he respected Daphne or if he disliked her for her competence. Pansy Parkinson seemed quiet. The rumour was that Madam Pomfrey had spent ten hours fixing the group of bullies, and she had to use the Medi-Bracelet to diagnose the issues. She had even commented to the other students that 'if Neville and Ronald had wanted to, they could have killed easily'. For Blaise, Draco's injuries were proof that the Storm-Lord and the Storm-Priestess had trained the trio to fight and they were deadly. Perhaps they also knew which pathways to take to avoid people in the castletoo - they were literal ghosts. He even considered that it was not a good idea to try any legilimency on them, because if he was discovered, Neville might put a sword to his neck. Blaise knew that he was not a fighter, and was more aligned with being an intelligence operative. Naturally, Draco's group had lost a lot of their bravado, recently. And the rumours were out now – Neville Longbottom had embarrassed his father and Lord Parkinson. Draco had always taken comfort in the idea that numbers guaranteed superiority but ten of them had been beaten within an inch of their life. Draco hoped that whatever item his father had hinted that, would solve the issue in year two. After the small chit-chat, the entire group went to the Slytherin common room.

Meanwhile, Professor Vector looked over Daphne's solution to the challenge problem, and slowly read every piece of it – her explanation included the substitution of the arithmantic expressions with algebra, her reasoning for her method, her suspicion that the axiom was incorrect, and even the name of the Muggle mathematical textbook and the page number where the method could be found. She then handed the paper to the other examiners from the Ministry and suddenly there was hushed chatter, as the senior examiner began to test her claims. For him, this was the wildest thing he had ever seen, and yet every line of it was logical. He took out a red quill and a red pot of ink, as he marked the paper on the spot and then went directly to Professor Dumbledore's office.

"Hello, Mr Appletree. It has been a while. Good to see you."

"Same here, headmaster. Can I speak to Daphne Greengrass?"

"Let me send a summons for her. Is she in trouble?"

"Oh no headmaster! Take a look at this please?"

As Albus examined the paper not only was the paper outstanding. She had scored an easy one hundred per cent. He was aware this was the first time that a full score had been received.

"I was not aware that Ms Greengrass was writing the Arithmancy owl. Special accommodation?"

"Correct. Professor Vector had arranged it. Look at the last page. She used muggle mathematics to crack a problem that is over forty years old! I don't understand it, but she certainly does. What I do understand is that she moved the problem to another mental workspace. One that she knows well."

Albus began to look at the solution and while he was not muggle educated, he knew what complex mathematics looked like when he saw it. So she studied muggle subjects in her spare time as a pureblood? That was surprisingly tolerant. But then the Greengrass family were not pureblood extremists.

"This is fantastic. But she is an open-minded girl, to the dismay of her Slytherin housemates. She is good friends with a Hufflepuff, a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor. She also saved a student's life late last year! Jumped on a broom with no hesitation, after the broom malfunction incident." Albus explained.

"A phenomenal girl then! I know Cyrus in passing. He will be proud. I will take a copy of the paper to my superiors. I will allow the girl to carry home her exam paper. No, this should be framed and made into a memento. We need people like her. I am honestly considering a full scholarship."

There was a knock on the door, about thirty minutes later.

"Ms Greengrass? Please come in?" Albus asked.

As soon as Daphne saw the excitable man, she knew that her solution had to be rock solid – he seemed too excited. She sat down, after being offered a seat and began to answer the man's questions. Of course, she had dialled Hermione and now she was listening to the fiasco in the office. Daphne smiled as she realised that the severe lack of logic in Wizarding England had denied them many solutions to complex problems. When Daphne left the office and was close to the Slytherin common room, she whispered to Hermione:

"Hey, they are excited about old news. Ha!"

"Not to worry my padawan. I will teach you to do shit they have seen. Maybe we can leak some of the unimportant innovations. All of this helps to build our branding. It could use useful too. As for your performance, today is totally on you – you figured the solution in an exam under pressure. I had taken half a day. Congratulations."

"Thanks. I had a great teacher!" Daphne laughed.


Professor Quirrell had not made an appearance. Nor had he gone to Madam Pomfrey. Harry had utilised the hidden camera as he looked on at the corpse, that was masquerading as a person. During the morning while the exams were in progress, Quirrell had unwrapped a small piece of cloth and used the material to patch the holes in his legs. Only upon closer inspection, did Harry realise something very dreadful. Perverse, even.

It was rotting human flesh. And the flesh had come from a small child. So that was what he had done to the small children in Albania. He had stripped them down to necrotic flesh.

This was an admission he only shared with Hermione. As Voldemort repaired himself, he whispered frantically to himself. He was now sure that the Storm Lord was a threat, and he assured himself that his soul anchors were safe. He whispered to himself, "Tomorrow they will be busy with their pathetic lives. Dumbledore will be at the Ministry. Tomorrow evening, immortality will be mine! I am impressed Storm Lord, but you are not here to stop me!"

"Poor fella. Hermione, tomorrow we are lopping his head off. He has no idea that we have power armour. He will try summoning his usual spells, FiendFyre, Crucio and the Imperius when he runs out of options." Harry explained.

"I thought about that, and I forgot to mention the new HUD module. The new runic array that I completed, allows the helmet to look at the projected path of a spell by mapping a straight line from the tip of the wand. As long as we can sidestep the line of sight for the spell, we will be fine?"

"Damn woman, you are a madwoman with geometry. That was tricky, wasn't it?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry. Got some inspiration from robotic Inverse Kinematics. By the way, Daphne topped the Arithmancy exam."

"How did she get results already?" Harry asked.

"She attempted an unusual challenge question and used one of my methods to crack the answer. Mind you, I had not thought her that particular trick, but she figured it out because of her mathematics practice and computer programming. She was pretty okay with the Quadratics, but she managed the cubic equation within exam conditions. Vector took a look and from there, the examiner had to correct the paper on the spot."

"Brilliant. We will visit her this evening. Her favourites are grandma's butter chicken and the garlic naan, and a Monster, Original Flavour. The green one."

"That should be easy to arrange. Let me guess, she asked what were some of the other things you ate, and she liked it?"

Hermione carefully probed to ascertain if Daphne was nursing a crush on her brother. She had suspected but had said nothing.

"I think so? Come on, let us hop into the kitchen. I didn't see Grandma and Grandpa for a while?" Harry replied, and Hermione smiled when he turned his back. Hermione thought to herself that she 'shipped Harry and Daffy' as a couple.


Daphne was now walking into the Slytherin common room with a rather proud look on her face. The man had offered her a mastery level scholarship for Arithmancy. She had explained that when she completed the other aspects of her education, she would be interested in doing research. Blaise was talking to Draco's usual group of goons, and Theodore looked like he had been drinking. His eyes were a bit wet and he even smelled of alcohol.

"Oi Blaise!" Daphne yelled.

"Hullo you! You look like a happy Hippogriff! Far happier than earlier this afternoon. What happened?"

"Remember what you asked earlier? The paper was too good. Confirmed O. But look at the last page, and be discreet please?"

Daphne handed the stack of papers to Blaise and he looked at the examiner's comments which were full of compliments. Blaise was surprised that a piece of muggle mathematics had solved a forty year old challenge problem in Arithmancy. This was big! And yet she was not excited – which implied that bigger things were happening behind the scenes.

"Damn Greengrass. You got ambition to spare!" Blaise replied.

"Got offered a free mastery level scholarship for Arithmancy. As I say, I have been working like a badger some of the days gone by. Going to get ready for my Runes examination, as that has a practical and theory component."

"I owe you a drink?" Blaise replied.

"Long Island Iced tea. And I like when my Triple Sec hits hard," Daphne Greengrass replied before she collected her paper and walked off.

"What was that about?" Draco asked.

"Daphne probably made the highest marks on the Arithmancy paper in history. Perfect one hundred per cent, which included a complete solution for the forty year old challenge question, that nobody ever figured out. The examiner marked the paper on the spot have her an O and offered her a Ministry scholarship to do research?"

"What the Hecate! She solved that problem?" somebody yelled.

"Are you damned serious?" another girl yelled.

"I wanna see that shit!" an indistinct voice from one of the couches yelled.

"Maybe you can ask to see the paper? She won't mind." Blaise responded.

"No wonder some days she looks like a racoon! She has been hitting those books like it is nobody's business. Even the claws don't wanna mess with her!" Phoebe Snyde replied.

"She had made great contributions to keeping Slytherin in the race. She has always worked towards our interests. But then, that is a general problem with we neutrals - The effort is never acknowledged. The Purebloods don't seem to be getting into research these days. Everything is politics, politics and politics. For the people who yell about pureblood purity, they are hardly undertaking actual magical research. What a shame!" Lucian Graham replied as he eyed Darius, Marcella and Cato, who were the ruling council of three, in Slytherin house.


Daphne returned to the flat to find her entire friend group waiting for her. Harry and Hermione were grinning.

"Ah Private Greengrass, our Arithmancer. Come over here, let us hug you!" Harry exclaimed. As Daphne hugged Harry, Tracey and Ronald who were behind Harry and Hermione's back, began making lovey-dovey faces at Daphne, before she stuck out her tongue. Hermione hugged her afterwards and she said, "We know your exams aren't done yet, but we brought your favourite!"

"Aww, thanks!" Daphne replied, as realistically they had brought enough for everyone to have an entire meal. As the food was shared out on the plates, Harry buzzed Fred and George. They skipped across the inter-apartment tunnel and sat down at the table, as they all congratulated her on her success. Percy had a look at the solution, and he was impressed.

"Alright. So, the stink bomb. You guys are ready?" Harry asked.

"Definitely. And we must thank Brutus over here. That thing caused us to vomit. We are not ever selling this. It counts as biological warfare, in terms of how bad it stinks."

"Well good. We want Albus to conclude that Quirrell deployed it. You have the K.B.R ready?"

"We do?" Fred replied.

"As for the three of you, change out your shielding arrays, and make sure you have the laminate armour under your clothes. You will attack the course, and when you get past the obstacles up to the potions test, we will apparate you to the empty Ravenclaw wing. We will fix the memories with the piggyback, and then we will stun you and leave you for Minnie Mouse or Fumbleduck to find.

"What exactly with Dumbledore see, after it is all finished?" asked Neville.

"That we knocked you out. We want the Philosopher's stone to investigate how it creates long life. We also want to see how the gold is produced. Something has to be wrong – if you had access to free money, why did Albus need to ask for funding for the Order? I don't see why Flamel would not help him."

"Maybe it can't produce large amounts of gold?" Ronald guessed.

"We think so. But a little gold ever so often could compound to large amounts over a century or two. And that would leave you with all the time to experiment. We might be interested in producing large amounts of titanium and other materials if we could adapt the arithmantic equations." Harry explained.

"The other issue is that we believe that the magic of the stone must have a drawback. We think that the substance can affect a person's telomeres. Those control ageing. But if the magic repairs that, what else does it take in return? No, we are going to take a rune readout. It might help with your parents?" Hermione continued.

"Well, anything that can help? Although my parents are getting around fine for now." Neville replied.

"Thank the Lord for that. As for you private Greengrass, your job is to slay that Runes exam. Come to think about it, it might be a good idea for all of you to finish NEWT level exams by the end of year five. There are exactly nine NEWTS that are relevant. Muggle Studies, Divination and Care of the Magical Creatures are not priorities. Among the remaining nine, Runes and Arithmancy are electives. So it could be reduced to seven. Six, if you skip the Astronomy?" Harry wondered.

"Hogwarts is no different to standard public education. It sucks ass, is inefficient, and does not offer you practical insights. Maybe the experience is nice, but even that is debatable. No sense wasting time with that - we can teach you whatever you need to know. We will find out if a person can skip the OWLs because generally the highest level of education is considered for job applications. Not that you need jobs in any case" Hermione explained, as the group agreed that maybe it was not such a bad idea. Harry then buzzed Lorna over the communicator.

"Lorna?" he asked.

"Hmm?" she replied.

"Find out if a person can skip Owls and write NEWTS. And if employers are concerned with if OWLS are missing."

"Sure! Will get back to you later. I have some ministry business to do, I have to meet some contacts. I will speak to them in person."

Lorna hanged up and Harry confirmed the plan:

"Alright folks. When Moldy leaves his room and walks towards the third floor, I will call you and you will get the armour on. Gred and Forge will deploy the Mother of all stink bombs and we will see how you lot perform eh?" Harry joked.


Quirrellmort spent most of his night, whispering in his sleep. It seemed that while the biological body needed to recover, the possessed presence did not need rest. Harry laughed as he realised that Voldemort, like classic cartoon villains, were overly arrogant and sure of themselves. Voldemort whispered to himself feverishly, as Harry listened to him via the surveillance:

"No Neville Longbottom, I have not forgotten you. Perhaps Bellatrix will have to deal with the third and final Longbottom. No, the Storm Lord is of no threat to me! I have conquered death!"

"Keep telling yourself that sparky. Hermione do we have the signature scanner, the illusion emitter and the Cryo grenades ready?" Harry asked as he listened to the surveillance.

"Just putting some final touches on all of the items. After we can test it, and we can get our armour ready."

Two hours later after some vigorous testing of the grenades and some of the new illusionary emitters, Lorna called.

"Any magical exam can be taken as stand-alone and no entry requirements are necessary. Also works that way for the I.C.W exams too. The examination fee is included in the Hogwarts tuition."

"Excellent. We are not bothering to do any owls. We also decided on accelerated education for our…er…students?" Harry explained.

"Aww look at that. Already Professor Potter and Professor Granger! You guys ready to dupe the dark git?"

"Yes. He won't be as powerful, but we assume nothing. We managed some minor upgrades with the power efficiency. We have some new shiny stuff too. A whole new sensor suite" Harry replied.

"Good luck then!" Lorna replied as she continued to negotiate with the various Quidditch leagues for coverage.


It was late into the afternoon of the next day, when Quirrellmort decided to make his move. This had caused the entire group to be somewhat on edge all morning, as Quirrell waited for Dumbledore to leave the castle. Voldemort laughed at the fact that Dumbledore had not detected his presence. In reality, the bearded menace had probably known all along.

Daphne had finished her Runes Owl and the exam had been fairly easy. The exam was nowhere close to the complexity that Hermione usually indulged in on a casual day. A great deal of the questions tested merely the translation of symbols. The application level question was to develop an array to allow a stone to blink different colours. While Hermione's personal runes were not used to answer the question, she had developed some new methods of using existing runes to get far more repeatable behaviour. Hermione had insisted that Daphne could use these openly. These runes had been used in a lot of domestic products, and they had involved boxing the runes and creating modules at different distances that had different levels of priority. It was a jury-rigged control loop that was very janky, but it worked.

Daphne was the first to complete the exam and walk out of the hall. Babbling out of curiosity had looked over Daphne's answer, upon hearing about her competence with Arithmancy. The professor could fondly remember when the first year student had barged into her office at the end of February and offered to attempt any of the year five OWL Questions. The professor had been surprised – the girl had managed easily and she claimed that she had only been studying for a month. The Arithmancy elective had been a similar story – a sudden last minute request to take the exam. Babbling looked at the layout methodology and realised that the logic was directly traceable. It was very conditional, and she had merely repurposed existing runes. As the other examiners looked at the unusual solution, they began to etch the solution to verify the claims. There were many hushed discussions and the other year five Slytherin students immediately understood that Daphne Greengrass had to be a magical genius. One of the examiners took the paper and ran off the examination hall.

"Genius Schmenius, you ain't see anything yet!" Daphne giggled, as she realised that her work with Hermione was light years beyond the local academics. As she walked out of the examination hall, she fondly remembered something her father had shared with her – a saying that Sirius Black had adopted, concerning Harry and Hermione's expertise in both mundane and magical education.

"Knowledge is knowledge, and let none convince you otherwise."

She had apparated into the apartment and rewarded herself with some snacks. After sitting for a bit, she went off to Luna's room with Tracey, when she heard the alert. While she was happy with the exam results, her friends were going to confront the Dark Lord. She hoped that Lady Hecate would protect them, as she and Tracey assisted Luna with the strapping of the lightweight titanium doped polymer armour. This was a slimmed down armour that did not have a lot of the fancy features of the full armour kit, but it was very concealable. It far surpassed the survivability of the Dragon Skin armour. It could take at least thirty killing curses or much higher numbers of other known offensive spells, and was made up of several different pieces. The shields would do the rest.

"Right, you seem good. Just the robes over this…and there!" Daphne replied. Tracey handed the girl the shield emitter.

"Thank you Trace and Daffy. Let us go and see the boys." Luna replied.

Luna walked into the ground floor of the building to see Neville and Ronald who looked very prepared. Neville, Ronald and Luna had looked at the camera feeds and had established a plan of attack for the various rooms, based on Harry's captured surveillance. From the potions test onwards, Harry and Hermione would get involved, as they wanted to test some new type of grenade.

At Peverell Manor, Harry was equipped with his usual armour. However, the newest addition was his halberd. Harry had found the reach of the weapon to be far better than a sword, and it allowed him to put far more strength into his blows. The rock golems did not have a good time during the last test, as the blade had been improved. He had managed to reduce the Fiendfyre plasma to a much thinner layer and a temperature regulator had been installed. When the Protego containment blade became hot enough, the plasma was switched off. The plasma only switched on afterwards, only if the blade fell under a specific temperature. It had been a very simple improvement but it allowed the weapon to run at least a couple of hours before needing to completely cool off, because of heat saturation.

Hermione had been inspired by the Indian Katar, which was a push dagger. She preferred to make quick lightning fast strokes, and she had decided to mix the design of the knife with a traditional Alaskan styled 'ulu'. The result was a small handle that projected a blade that covered all of her knuckles, when her hands were clenched. Her weapon was also carrying Harry's new temperature regulating improvements and she would be able to tear anything into bloody ribbons.

Finally, on both of them, were two other important items. The first were cryo grenades – they would stop conjured Fiendfyre dead in its tracks, by draining magical energy in the area. Harry had tested the item extensively and the grenade was also capable of flash freezing non-magical and magical fires in the environment. The second item was an illusion emitter kit that projected a traditional 15th century plate armour. This was in line with the various statues and animated suits of armour that were present at Hogwarts. It was the examination of these items that had caused Harry to consider a polearm weapon. Voldemort would see armour that he was familiar with – it was a calculated deception. Only at the cusp of the war that the entire power armour would be on open display. Until then, there was enough time to create additional improvements.

The pair then apparated into the flat after Sirius and Remus sat in the command centre. Hermione's dragon was also sitting on a small stool, as she knew enough to understand that her mother was going into battle, and she was not old enough to fight yet. She looked forward to the day when she could burn the enemies of her adoptive parents. She would drown her talons in the blood of her enemies. For now, she was content to receive cuddles and watch movies, as her mother had instructed her to find a name that she liked.


It was one thing to see pictures or memories of Harry and Hermione being fully decked out in armour, but it was another thing to see the sight with your own eyes. For the onlookers at the flat, this time the titanium pieces had been coloured and they proudly showed off their house crests. Hermione had chosen a Ravenclaw blue camo pattern, and Harry had chosen an all back look with greys and whites that were stretched into digital stripes. When Harry and Hermione appeared, the group began to stare.

"Oh right, you guys never saw us in the full kit? Yeah, the halberd is new. Allows me to poke the enemy!" Harry laughed as he took off the helmet.

"Damn. I want to look that good. Are we getting armour like that eventually?" Neville asked.

"Yes. CLose to the war, we will make them?" Harry replied.

"Hey Daphne, hold this and press the trigger?" Hermione instructed as she tossed the handle. The blade flared into existence, and Daphne immediately understood it was a dagger for slashing.

"Christmas is in a couple of months? I want one please?" Daphne laughed.

"Oh, we can do that for you!" Hermione laughed.

"Children, Quirrellmort is walking his way to the staircase. Now getting on the first floor. He seems to be limping. Apparate at the hidey spot and pretend you are discussing school. We will follow on the video feed…" Invictus reminded the group.


Neville and the group apparated at the designated spot and began to discuss if they should skip the OWL Exams. As Quirrell made his way toward the students, he slowly climbed the stairs. The group began to play along to fool the authorities.

"Ron something is off?" Neville commented.

"Nevile, remember what we saw in the forbidden forest? Why does he look like that thing?" Ronald asked.

"Are you saying that he was the guy, who was drinking unicorn blood?" Neville whispered.

"We should have told McGonagall, what we saw. He is going to be here soon and he cannot be up to any good. To drink a unicorn's blood would eternally curse a person." Luna explained.

"Do you think he is a Dark Wizard?" Ronald asked.

"Ah crap we are going to regret this, aren't we…?" Neville exclaimed as he grinned. He was pulling off a convincing job of pretending to be uninformed. As Quirrell passed the group, Neville feigned ignorance as he spoke to the man.

"Hello sir. We didn't see you yesterday. The exam was alright. Are you ill?"

"Longbottom, mind your own business!" Quirrell hissed at the boy, almost as if the snake had come forth.

"Okay?" Neville answered as the man continued to the third floor.

"He could be a polyjuiced imposter?" Luna suggested.

"No matter. Disillusion and follow him. That behaviour is overly suspicious." Neville commented.

Harry laughed as he realised that this type of coincidence would work in their favour. And the snappy reply had sounded inhuman – almost as if Voldemort had answered. The voice had been cold and it was in great pain. This would help add authenticity to the situation. As the group followed, suddenly the man's body lifted into the air and he floated down the corridor.

"Neville, privacy ward?" Ronald asked.

"Yes?" he answered.

"That is not fucking normal Ronald. He looks like he has been cursed?"

"Can wizards fly without a broom?"

"Not to my knowledge?"

Why is he going to the off-limits room?

"Maybe he is looking for something? Let us find out." Luna suggested.

"He left the door open. He has to be in a hurry to get something?" Neville wondered, fully aware of everything already. The trio opened the room to find themselves looking at a large three headed dog.

"Well….that is new? Luna?" Neville asked.

"It is a bloody Cerberus! Where did they get that from?" she exclaimed.

"Probably Hagrid. He probably has a monster factory, under his bed. Look there is a door on the floor." Ronald observed as he pointed his wand.

"Alright let us think. We are lucky he is sleeping. Dogs can smell people. We can evanesco our scent. We stay invisible, and we silence our footsteps. Then to get the door open?" Neville suggested.

"Nev, what will we find down there?" Luna asked.

"Does it matter? Whatever it is, it has to be very important. Ronald, something on your mind?"

"My father loves muggle hinges. I have an idea that McGonagall would be proud of. We can open the door or transfigure the nails in the hinges, into needles. The door will fall apart."

"What about the paw?" Luna asked.

"We can move that with a very gentle Wingardium Leviosa. I will do that one. Are we clear on the plan? Disguise. Paw. Hinges. Alright, here we go." Neville confirmed. He and the group cast spells to silence their feet, and remove their scents. Then Neville shifted the paw of the animal before Ronald began to transfigure every nail into needles. The door disconnected itself and fell into a dark pit.

"Lumos!" Neville whispered. "Ah shit, it's Devil's Snare. I know that smell, anywhere!" he continued.

"Cutting charm?" asked Luna.

"Yes. Ronald keep a wand on the doggo. If he wakes up, sleeping charm. And if he gets violent, Bombarda all the heads!"

Ronald nodded, as Luna and Ronald began to cut away at the Devil's snare until there was a big gaping hole in the middle of the floor. It seemed like the room underneath had been modified with a singular passage below.

"Nev, now to get down?" Ronald asked.

"Ascendio and Descendio. Just be gentle. Flow the magic very gently. Send me down I am light. I can help float someone down?" Luna suggested. Neville then floated Luna down carefully. Then Luna assisted with keeping Ronald afloat, after he jumped down. He touched the ground gently,a nd the group prepared to receive Neville.

"I am going to jump. Arresto momentum, and float me down!" Neville instructed. He jumped, and Luna and Ronald caught him mid-air, as they gently lowered him down.

"Nice and easy. Anybody scuffed up?" Neville asked.

"No?" Luna replied as Ronald nodded.

"Good, let us stay close. With the privacy ward up, he won't be able to hear us. Alright, let us see what is behind this door."

Neville already knew, but he continued to play the part. As the trio opened the room they were met with a room filled with flying keys.

"What now?" Ronald asked.

"Ronald, do the door in. We can't afford to box ourselves in. Take the nails off the door."

As Ronald transfigured the nails into needles, Luna floated the door far away from the frame.

"Neville, are those keys flapping their wings?" Ronald asked.

"Yes?"

"If we freeze them, they won't be able to push any air. Like an aeroplane with no engines. Dad likes them, don't ask?" Ronald explained.

"Oh right. Immobulus!" Neville barked. "Finite!" he cast again, as he undid all the charms. Now all the keys fell and a particularly large key made itself visible, because of its size.

"Maybe we should open the door with the key and after we disconnect the door. We could trigger traps if we don't do what we are supposed to do?" Luna asked.

"Right let us see…..yes this one. Neville, open the door and I will take it apart. Luna, you can levitate this door off to the side, afterwards?" Ronald suggested as the group got to work. Soon enough the door was opened, and it was put aside, on the far end of the wall. Now they were looking at a giant Chess set and there were three missing spots.

"Neville we do not have time to play chess. These challenges are now being triggered. Professor Quirell or whoever he is, did not pass this way. We do not have time!" Ronald insisted.

"Should we go loud then?" Neville asked.

"Yes. Time for that special spell you developed?" Ronald suggested before he continued, "Ah crap. They might attack us if they behave like Wizarding chess pieces?"

"What about a sticking charm?" asked Luna.

"We can't cast on all of them?"

"The floor is a common surface. We could cast on the floor. We would get all of them. Then we make could make them all explode with your favourite spell?" Luna grinned. She approached the floor and pointed her wand.

"Cranking steel in 3..2..1..Connectrere!" Luna yelled.

Now the chess pieces were making movements but they were stuck to the floor. Ronald and Neville began to cast their favourite spell, as various shouts of "Bombarda Vehemens!" were heard, as Neville and Ronald targeted all the pieces with Auror accuracy. Within less than ten seconds the entire room was filled with broken baseplates from the human-sized chess pieces. Luna used the Wingardium Leviosa to clear a path. Neville was pretty pleased, as he was beginning to understand how his team took apart situations.


Harry and Hermione appeared in the room, after nabbing the location from their bracelets. Now all the communications occurred over the earbuds and privacy wards.

"Hey! What is he doing?" Neville asked.

"Staring at some funny mirror. There is a room that is down a long flight of stairs. We have the modification ready, and we tested it many times. Just keep this around your necks and as you draw out the memories, and Morgana's charms will doctor what goes into the pensive. We worked on a piggyback. Just consider the oath you swore to me as what you want to exclude, and it will be fine." Herry explained.

"Alright. How did we do?" Ronald asked.

"Seven out of ten for me, but twelve out of ten by normal Wizarding standards. Go to the Ravenclaw Wing, Sirius will check you over for anything odd. Then go to the apartment, and get changed out of the armour, but put back on your uniforms. We will mow through the logic puzzle and take it from there." Hermione explained.

As the trio put the devices around their necks, it became invisible and it began to feed off the magic from the wristband. The trio transported to their favourite wing, and Sirius used a new artefact to check them over for anything suspicious. The artefact compared their existing magical signatures to their current signatures, and any enchantments would appear as Arithmantic expressions. Daphne had gotten this idea after reading about file checksums and wondered if they could "compare magical checksums to detect bugs or enchantments". The development had been so important, that Hermione had even updated the Medi-Bracelet subroutines to accommodate the feature. It was one of the many genius ideas that Daphne had contributed recently.

"Clean, all of you. Excellent job. Back to the apartment!" Sirius replied under his glamour, as the four individuals apparated into their apartment. Helena Ravenclaw, who had observed the infamous prankster, began to wonder if this was the new unknown wizard who was collaborating with the trio. She would continue to observe the students. She liked Luna very much, and considered her one of her own.


"Alright Mione, get the illusions activated…and…there!"

Now Harry and Hermione looked like they were five hundred years from the past. Even the halberd looked old and rusty. As they glided down the long staircase that descended into the earth, they stopped short and deployed the drone, before cloaking. Harry and Hermione primed one of the cryo grenades before tossing it into the next room. The puzzle seemed to reply on logic – picking the correct potion guaranteed the ability to pass through the flames. However, their armour was already fireproof, and combustion only occurred when there was sufficient oxygen. As soon as the grenade passed the threshold, the fire flared at both doorways. However, the Bose-Einstein condensate stuffed out the purple and black flames immediately, and they casually walked through the room. Invictus guided the done into the last room where Quirellmort seemed to be intently looking at a mirror. Then, the portrait started the magical radar suite.

As the magical waves reflected into the antenna dish, Invictus began to record the different signatures that were being received. As Quirellmort turned around to identify where the magic was coming from, the clinking and the footsteps of the metal armour could be heard as Harry walked into the doorway. Hermione had cloaked and taken up residence behind the furthest pillar on the left. Quirrellmort had not detected Hermione, as he was fixated on Harry.

"Thomas Marvolo Riddle or more correctly…Quirrelmort, howya doing ma man?" Harry greeted the man, as he engaged his mage sight and the dragon lung augment.

"You!" Voldemort hissed.

"You too!" Harry replied as he made a heart shape with his two hands. Everyone except the kitchen staff was looking on, and they found themselves amused that Harry would dare to sass the Dark Lord.

"So you have revealed yourself! I see you came with armour!" Voldemort replied as he took out his wand. The pair sharpened their reflexes and enabled the line of sight module. Now the tip of Quirrell's wand was painted in a thick green beam, as it pointed to the floor.

"I didn't want your nasty breath to get on my face. Man, you don't brush your teeth and you are already rotting. And that is after you drank some janky unicorn blood, and you already missing a nose too!" Harry replied. Daphne and Tracey understood that this was serious, but they had to smile – Harry could be very childish when he wanted to be a troll.

"Join me and we can rule them? Why must we fight? I sense you are powerful! There are few who don't fear me?" Voldemort replied, in a tone of voice that seemed to be suggestive. Harry wondered perhaps if he had an ability that was similar to his? Or perhaps was he just manipulative? Harry decided to hit it where it hurt.

"You have daddy and mummy issues. Fix yourself before you deal with anyone else, go see a therapist Tommy boy! And no unicorn blood does not cure impotence. Not that Bella would know what to do with you in a bedroom?"

Voldemort began to cast dark magic as the rage was now plastered on his face. While Harry was not aware of the spells or their function, he moved out of the pathway of the conjured magic. Harry was dancing around at the room entrance as Hermione sneaked around the pillars and planted a small explosive device on the back of the mirror. Now Quirrell was openly casting Avada Kedvras, Crucios and Imperiuses. However, as long as the spell was not in a direct line of the target, they just missed.

Voldemort could not believe that he was being merely sidestepped.

Harry continued to use stale comedy to annoy Lord Voldemort. Harry was sure that Voldemort wasn't casting at his full capability. Rather it was a test to evaluate his skills. So far Harry had not cast a single spell. It seemed like the body Voldemort inhabited had been damaged and worn down so badly, that he was barely managing. After all, spectral Voldemort could not hold a wand. He needed Quirrell's body and it was already decomposing and anything far from healthy. This was an indication to Harry that for all of Voldemort's feared capability he was a creature born from flesh and he still sported those limitations. Harry continued to troll Voldemort while he jumped around and began his signature dance moves.

"Ah don' wanna talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal food-trough wiper! Ah fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!" Harry taunted Voldemort.

"Let us taunt it! It may become so cross that it will make a mistake. No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time-a!" Harry continued, as he dished out the Monthy Python lines.

For the people who were watching the spectacle through Hermione's helmet feed, it was indeed comical. Harry was very agile and the helmet did a good job of pointing the spell direction. For the audience, it seemed that Harry Potter was dancing the Dark Lord into defeat. Hermione decided that she was sending this memory to the Goblins to get a laugh. Even the people in the apartment were laughing. Tonks and the twins were crying and Charlie was scratching his head.

These comments seemed to incense the man more, and Harry wondered if perhaps his parents were not stellar individuals. That would mean that he had backtracked and found out the identity of his parents. Now Voldemort's face became stony as he realised he was running out of options. All the while, the drone continued to take magical records of the spells as Quirrellmort fired them off. It was necessary to take multiple readings as there was no magical signature for Lord Voldemort. Rather they would have to reconstruct his signature, from the current readings. And that was accurately two beings who were amalgamated into each other.

So, while the dancing was apparently nonsensical, it ideally served a higher purpose, as the analysis suite was being utilised.

"You! You won't stay still? Then I will make you stay still! Fiend…."

Hermione primed another grenade and momentarily paused before she tossed the item.

"fyre!" Voldemort bellowed as a snake began to materialize. The grenade arrived directly in front of the man, and it had exploded.

Pssht - SWOOSH!

The environment was approaching critical zero cold and Quirell had been flash frozen. His eyes then took on an expression of panic as Harry took his wand and yelled, "Accio Turban!" before Hermione detonated the grenade that was stuck to the mirror. Voldemort's head was visible in the reflection of the mirror for a split second before the odd looking piece of furniture exploded violently. While Quirrell's body was in the air and travelling toward his aggressor, the halberd blade decapitated his head.

For Voldemort, he was somewhat disappointed, but he was assured of his continued existence. Perhaps he had lost today, but he could always make his way back into the living. What he had not counted on, was when the Protego shield that contained the Fiendfyre collapsed. The hot plasma began to eat away at his immaterial form and he immediately detached a piece of himself and left some of his essence behind. Now Voldemort was scared. Whatever the blade was made up of, it could cut his immaterial form! As he rushed out of Hogwarts, he climbed the stairs to fly out of the Hogwarts wards. He was going to hide in Albania. Strangely, he found the school empty as he rushed out of the castle, only to see Albus Dumbledore and the entire student population on the front lawn.

Fred and George had executed the trigger, on Harry's signal, much earlier. The hospital wing, staff room and the common rooms had been spared, but elsewhere had been forced to empty into the lawn. Fred and George had made a Stink Bomb and it was exceptionally potent. Now, they were thinking that it wasn't a good idea to ask for help with their projects. The twins had asked Lorna to purchase hazmat suits and a little known chemical called Putrescine – it was a chemical that gave off the scent of dead rotting corpses, and at least half of the school had thrown up on themselves. As McGonagall and Flitwick had attempted to dispel the smell by adding large gusts of air, it had only spread the foul molecule all over Hogwarts. The bubblehead charm did not help either - the molecule was quite small and feely crossed the magical barrier of the spell.

The number of instant messages that had been sent to Albus, forced him to return to the school grounds.

As Albus used an intent-modified Evanesco (which was something he had picked up from Neville) to clear the scent, an unearthly scream was heard. The spectre of Lord Voldemort exited an upper window of the school. Even more hilarious was that the famed Killer Bunny Rabbit was in pursuit of the spectre, as it pitched twenty foot flames and laser beams. The presence of the prank item was a confirmation that the Storm-Bringers were involved. Albus had now confirmed that Quirrell had gone after the bait.

In any case, it did not matter.

The original Philosopher's stone had been destroyed. The item that had been placed in the mirror was a piece of coloured rock. When Albus discovered that Voldemort had made Horcruxes, he had taken the original stone that same night back to Nicholas Flamel. His colleague had destroyed the item immediately. The purpose of the fabricated bait was to see if Neville would attempt a rescue of the item, but he had not figured out the issue. That was not a total loss for the headmaster. Now he had confirmation with his eyes – The Dark Lord was indeed alive. As the spectre passed the ward line, it weaved itself throughout the Forbidden Forrest to stay hidden. Minerva then confronted Albus, who knew of the bait.

"Albus was that him?" Minerva asked.

"Yes, Minerva. As I said, my world is one where I balance titanic things. This is why I need Severus, despite his crimes and your reservations."

"Don't think I have forgiven you. But I will work with you to protect our students. All of them…"

"That is all ask, Minerva. Where is Mr Longbottom?"

"We thought he was at the Quidditch pitch. I am worried, he and the trio have not been seen. We have been looking for him for the last five minutes. He and the other two are missing?" Minerva replied.

"I suspect he got wind of the plot and decided to confront the Dark Lord?" Albus wondered.

"How could he be so stupid! Albus help me find all of them!" Minerva panicked.

"Let us floo to my office entrance?" Albus suggested, with a smile. Neville was playing his role, and he had support.


After the spectre of Lord Voldemort had rushed up the stairs, the drone had continued to take magical recordings of his signature, as the Killer Bunny Rabbit illusion was conjured. From here Fred and George had taken control of the situation. The flames and the other spells were just for show – the students has seen the animal, and now the rabbit was part of Wizarding England. Now, he could appear like a superhero and right the great wrongs, as the real agenda was executed behind the scenes. Harry had taken one look at the Philosopher's stone and could immediately tell that it was a dud. Harry was pleased by this outcome – it meant that the real item had been destroyed. The pair left and returned to the flat, where they stunned Neville, Luna and Ronald. Then, they dropped off the bodies at the Headmaster's office entrance and they left a letter for Albus Dumbledore. Invictus hovered a surveillance drone as Hermione went to Peverell Manor to take off her armour. Harry went off to the forbidden forest, to a place where he believed that the centaur could find him.

As Albus Dumbledore appeared he saw his favourite three students stunned. There was a single letter on the boy's chest. Albus ennervated the trio and allowed them to catch their breath.

"I think we will have much to talk about Mr Longbottom. Come in and tell us what happened." Albus asked kindly.

As soon as Albus seated himself in his chair, he read the letter that had been addressed to him. Minerva looked on curiously, as it seemed that Albus did not wish to share the contents. Albus was surprised – it seemed that the Storm-Lord know his long term plans, and he would interfere as he saw fit. He certainly had interfered today – the boy of prophecy did not face the Dark Lord late this evening.


Goatmaster Fumleduck,

Are you out of your god damned Hecate mind?

Placing three children to battle the Dark Lord? And you knew all this time. I must congratulate you on replacing the item. You wanted to bait the Dark Lord and bait him you did. Or more accurately, you baited Tom.

I on the other hand, have been monitoring Hogwarts. After Quirellmort (as I like to call him) cast that rotting spell to flush the school out, I already knew what was the deal. I apparated in, to find Neville and his gang taking on his challenge course. A challenge course that was never designed to test the Dark Lord. But to test Neville and his group?

And here I was thinking you would at least put something difficult enough, that would tickle Grindy a little bit, to make it difficult for Tommy boy!

Anyway, Neville and his group surprised me. They were effective and resourceful - he even admitted that he was taking a page from my book. He operated tactically and thought ahead. Used reason and logic. Good. That is how you fight – not that you know anything about tactics. But you are a legendary duelist, that is for sure.

As for me, well, what I did will have to remain a secret. All I will say is that I neutralised his pathetic fiendfyre and removed his head with my halberd. And oh, we destroyed your fancy mirror. Once again, you think it is acceptable for children to be broken and left discarded after they participate in your games because you don't have the stomach to kill.

You better pray you don't run into me. Although, I have no interest in moving against you – I think your schemes will do you in. Ever heard about Karma? It is a word from the eastern cultures that haven't reached Magical England yet. Maybe you can investigate it?

In deceit and lies we trust (yours).

T.S.L & T.S.P


"Mr Longbottom, can you explain what you were thinking? And don't think I am done with both of you either?" Minerva said sternly.

"Perhaps I can provide my memories. Too much to explain. And that way you may review them as you please?" Neville suggested.

"You can consciously conjure your memories into a Pensieve?" Minerva asked.

"Headmaster, a container? Got a crystal vial?" Neville asked.

Albus floated the object over to Neville and he extracted all the memories while thinking about how best to protect all of Harry Potter's secrets, along with anyone he considered to be family or related to keeping Albus in the dark. He also filtered out any memories that utilised any of the artefacts that they had been provided. Ten minutes later he was done and Albus emptied the memories into the school Pensieve, and they all dived in to see what had occurred.

The first memory began with their detention. Neville and Ronald after wandering deeply enough into the forest saw a man hunched over and drinking blood from a dead unicorn. They had observed the man from far away with a magnification charm, and Neville and Ronald ran for their lives, silently. They did not stop at Hagrid's hut – they ran straight to their common rooms.

The second memory was of the three of them discussing if it might be beneficial to skip OWLS and write NEWTS directly. Albus and Minerva were shocked at such a claim, but they began to reason as to why that was a more beneficial pathway. Luna made good coin with her art as Clementine's apprentice. Ronald wanted to join his mother's business, and Neville already had international requests for his hot sauce. Then the sickly looking Quirrell came into view, and the inhuman voice from the man tipped the group off, as they debated why he looked like the man from the forest. There was also a mention of failing to tell McGonagall what they had seen, as she was not likely to believe them. Luna's logic along with the unearthly floating of the man down the corridor made them spring into action, as they were fully aware that this was not a good idea.

Now Albus and Minerva observed as they bypassed the Cerberus, and went through the trap door by transfiguring the nails into needles. Then the cutting charm was used and now they were on the floor and unscuffed. Minerva was beaming at her humble transfiguration spell being used to bypass doors, and it was funny that his father loved muggle door hinges. For Albus, Neville seemed to possess a combative mind, as he did things that only senior Aurors would consider. The immobilisation of the keys and then the cancelling of the charm along with the sabotage of the door impressed both professors. Now it was the chest set, and Minerva was anxious to see how they had beaten her pieces. She was dismayed when Luna used a simple sticking charm on the floor to lock her entire chest set to the ground. Then a mention of a new spell that Neville had created, shocked both Albus and Minerva.

"Bombarda Vehemens!" echoed as Ronald and Neville fired off with Auror accuracy on all thirty one pieces of the chess set. They all became complete smithereens. Whatever was this new spell, it made the Bombarda Maxima look like a mild cup of tea. Minerva was impressed, as to bypass her trap you had to be formidable. Neville was indeed a roaring lion, Luna was clever and Ronald was reliable as support.

And now the moment had arrived. The Storm Lord and the Storm-Priestess had arrived.

Now their armour sported their House crests, and they looked very modern. The armour was now coloured – the Priestess had chosen Blue, but the Artificer had chosen Black. The Priestess had a fearsome looking dagger in her hand, and the Storm Lord had an ornately decorated halberd where the blade seemed to be conjured from magic and it floated freely in the air.

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! was heard as Neville and the trio held their wands at the group. Albus had only seen a glimpse of the amour the last time. Now it seemed even sleeker and the plates freely floated about - he was probably better protected as the distorted voice spoke.

"Eight out of ten, for a firstie. Some tactics, a clear exit point, and thinking with your brain. Taking apart the situation, and compromising the mechanical components? I almost want to think I am the inspiration?" the Storm-Lord asked.

"I don't agree with your methods. You should support Professor Dumbledore. But I admire the competence. I have studied you, somewhat," Neville replied.

"Why thank you! You are talented and you will go far. I cannot allow you to proceed any further."

"Why is that?" Ronald asked.

"Professor Quirrell died a long time. Tommyboy or the Dark Lord is literally behind his head. You are talented but you should not face him. You are a child. That being said I heard the rumours from the Slytherins. A sword on Malfoy's neck? I almost want to write you a check!" the Storm-Priestess replied.

"I can take money to the Longbottom account!" Neville replied, cheekily.

"Maybe we should send it. The Dark Lord will be back. He likes to flirt with Necromancy. We are going to dig up his secrets and kill him. And his followers? They are dead men walking." The Storm-Priestess continued.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Night night!" the Storm-Lord answered. Suddenly three stunners had been cast by the Priestess and the speed had been so blinding that even Minerva was convinced that she would not be able to react that quickly.


After the group exited the Pensieve, Albus spent the next twenty minutes discussing what had occurred while they had been unconscious. He had not detected that the memories had been doctored, and he assumed that the trio were becoming exactly who he needed. The continued existence of the Storm-Lord and Storm-Priestess continued to displease Albus. The students had left after receiving fifty points and now it seemed that Hufflepuff would easily earn the House Cup. This would be the first time in many years that Slytherin's run had been broken.

"Only fifty points Albus?" Minerva asked.

"Honestly Minerva, if I had to score the magical aptitude shown this afternoon by those three, I would have to award them two hundred points, each. That would put Slytherin at a severe disadvantage, and completely demoralize them."

There was now a knock on the door, and Albus Dumbledore allowed the person to enter.

"Headmaster good to see you again."

"Ah, Mr Ravens! How are you?"

"Excellent. I came across a solution for a runes problem, that was forwarded by Professor Babbling. She has turned the entire magical world upside down. We honestly do not care if Daphne Greengrass passes anything else, she already has a job waiting for her at the London branch of the Euro-glyph School of Extraordinary Languages."

"Oh dear! She already got an offer for an Arithmancy scholarship?" Albus replied.

"We might have to share in her expertise. Could you summon her?" the man asked. Hermione had already alerted the girl, and now she had teleported into her dormitory. As she exited the room with the solution to her Arithmancy problem as she announced in the Slytherin Common Room:

"Oi! Who wants to see my Arithmancy solution?"

Many people flocked over as she continued to sip on her Starbucks coffee. When they saw the muggle mathematics being used to solve a magical problem, a lot of them lost their minds. And it did not help that the calculations seemed tedious, impressive and often scary.

"Ms Greengrass , Professor Dumbledore would like to see you?" Horace announced.

"Oh look, they corrected my Runes paper," she replied as the entire House Slytherin looked on at the girl.


Harry had apparated to the Forbidden forest some time ago, close to where he had seen 'the centaur' and he sat on a log with Grace. The cheeky bird had bought a box of food somewhat later, and Harry was having a quick snack as he waited for the centaur to approach him. He could see at least half of the Forbidden forest with the upgraded sensor package, and he realised that the centaur herd were attempting to flank him on all sides. Harry continued to eat his meal as he observed the movements. When he was finished, he stuffed the plastic box into a small trash compartment (that contained an extendible charm), and he placed his helmet on his head. His halberd was collapsed and seemed to only look like a short stick. Now the centaurs had formed a small group and they were intently watching him. Their weapons were drawn and they slowly surrounded him, with their bows. Harry continued to relax as the centaurs began to examine Grace who was watching on, rather observantly. The leader of the centaur herd approached Harry, and accosted him:

"Human, you dare to thread in our forests?"

"That implies that the reason for my actions was to upset you, Master Centaur. Maybe I was tracking my prey…..and I wandered into your lands."

"And what prey could a youngling like you be tracking?" he asked condescendingly, although he was quite surprised by being addressed as Master Centaur.

"Tom Marlovo Riddle. Or as he is known, The Dark Lord. A human who had the stomach to split his soul into pieces, with necromancy and then decided it was a good idea to possess the body of a teacher. Why he was slurping on unicorn blood two days ago. What do you think I did with him?" Harry answered casually.

Now the group of Centaurs seemed rather cautious. The boy didn't seem to have one inch of fear in him. And his armour and weapons looked like it was made with the finest materials. Even the leader Magorian, was silent.

"I shot him in the legs. Made him crawl back to the castle. And then about one hour ago, I beheaded him. Of course, poor Quirinus Quirrell had been consumed already. Lord Voldemort's spectre made a straight run for the Hogwarts ward line. Mind you he isn't dead. He will be back. But I should get some breathing room?"

"You lie!" another centaur barked from the group.

"You must think I am with the Ministry of Magic or Krumplefuck the Headmaster. They are both looking for me. Tell me, Master Centaur, if I told you have already killed three hundred, would that be a lie too? I do happen to be heavily armed?"

"The boy speaks the truth. Or perhaps, Harry Potter speaks the truth…" a singular voice replied as a new centaur joined the gathering.

"Ah the centaur of the moment! Good afternoon to you, sir. I saw you two days ago. It seemed that you were curious about our little engagement when I shot the Dark Wanker?" Harry asked.

"I certainly was – I have seen your weapons. They are impressive. And I saw you a long time ago, when you destroyed the locket. I had been taking an evening stroll?"

"Well look at that. An evening walk can be very beneficial then?" Harry replied.

"Firenze, you know this human?" Magorian asked.

"Not personally. But I have seen him fighting for all of magical England. Was it you who killed thirty of the Dark Lord's followers recently?"

"Not by myself. I had a team of three others on the battlefield, and two more providing me with communications from elsewhere. And then, I had Grace my phoenix. How does one greet a centaur politely? And how does one demonstrate that he means no harm?" Harry asked as he took off his helmet.

"He means to trick us!" another centaur roared.

"I really can't handle all this damned drama."

Harry then raised his hand and summoned his wand. Now the centaurs were shooting arrows at him, but he did not move an inch. Rather he merely sharpened his reflexes and began to grab them out of the air, before dropping them on the floor. After thirty seconds, they merely stopped. That alone had somewhat earned their respect, and they began to consider that the boy was capable.

"I Harry Potter, also known as Palatine Artificer Lord Peverell, or the Storm Lord give you my magical oath that I came to the Forbidden Forest to meet Firenze. I mean you no harm, and I thought it would be wise to have friendly relationships with the Centaurs. Somebody has to make an effort to patch up the issues. While Goblins still don't like Humans, I can say that I know King Ragnok and I consider him a friend. I also know Bloodaxe and his daughter Timilf, and I consider them family…."

Now the centaurs were silent.

"I give you my oath that I will protect your secrets – I do not believe that you are any less than anyone else. I believe your culture is to be celebrated, and I came to offer an olive branch. There is much we can learn from each other. I don't expect other wizards to understand any better but I don't live in magical England because I think they are a bunch of fucking monkeys

Lumos!"

Harry then raised his other hand and collected the arrows wandlessly, before walking up to the centaurs and offering the arrows with the tip pointed to himself. The leader scratched his chin, and said…

"Come, Artificer, walk with us. To greet us you merely bow from the waist and place your hand over the heart."

Harry complied and the other centaurs returned the gesture in kind.

"Come. Tell us your story. Tell us what made you a killer. Tell us about the Dark Lord…" Magorian asked.


Harry spent the rest of the evening perched on a log as he explained to the centaur herd, in an abbreviated manner possible issues about the coming war, Albus Dumbledore's inability to kill the morons, and Voldemort's Horcruxes. Many of them were curious about his martial prowess, and the centaurs found themselves surprised by his capability with a blade. He had even dulled the blade of his Halberd and had a polite scuffle with one of the older centaurs, with the promise only to bruise. And Harry had offered to heal him when the altercation was finished.

"You are unusual Lord Peverell. Humans are not welcome in our forests, but if your friends or your family are here they will be given safe passage."

"Perhaps we can come to an arrangement where I can request passage via communication – but the depends on if it is culturally appropriate to do so? I have many implements that allow for voices to be heard over great distances. I could even get you a chat with Lord Ragnok if he decided to reciprocate."

"We will think on the matter," Magorian answered.

"Do the centaurs enjoy running at high speeds?" Harry asked.

"We do. What is your interest?" another centaur in the herd asked, curiously.

"How about a friendly race with my sister. She can run as fast as you. Or possibly faster. Oh, she complains we can't keep up. But you could make her sweat…..that is something I want to see. Even if she lost, I could get a laugh out of it. But she will offer you serious competition…"

"That is a challenge I would welcome. A worthy opponent? Many centuries ago humans would send two of their best to compete against us. One in a debate of the mind, and one to run.."

"Debate of the mind, tell me more? I could volunteer for that?" Harry grinned.

Harry got a crash course on the Olympics, and he was happy to show them that the event continued in the mundane world. It was open to all of the world's nations as it covered every type of sporting event. They were shocked, as Harry explained that the mundane world had left castles and medieval life behind.


Harry came back in the dead of the night into Peverell Manor, and his communicator had remained off.

"Where were you? You didn't answer your com and your helmet feed was off. But the life signs were fine. You were excited. Sirius suggested that you were having fun with a secret bird?" Hermione teased.

"No, I was in the Forbidden Forest debating Magorian the centaur, if Plato's idea of the Guardian king was a good idea. And then we spoke about Glaucon's views on politicians. I mean the Greek philosopher, not my ancient Gramps. But that could probably end up being the same thing. And then I talked about some of the other philosophy I came across, in the Eastern traditions."

"You had a chat with the centaurs?" Hermione asked, excitedly.

"Sure. Had a smoke from a magic pipe. I got high and they laughed. They even had a go at my rifle and I told them I would make bows for them if they were interested."

"You got high?" Hermione asked, even more perplexed.

"Sure. The love philosophy. Oh, you have been volunteered to race Magorian to determine who is the fastest in magical England. No help, no extras!" Harry laughed.

"What?" Hermione asked, although her face lit up.