Ascending Destiny 2/?

Chapter II

INTERESTING TIMES

Author Name- Jalkin

Email- Uncaescobar@aol.com

Catagorey- Action/Adventure, Romance

Key Words- Slash, Special Powers, Prophecies, Angst, Violence, Triads.

Disclaimer- This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Spoilers- All Books!

Summary- When a bloody Severus Snape knocks on Harry's door, a tale unfolds as Voldemort finds competition for world-take-over, the gang develops unusual powers, and the prophecies are fulfilled. All this with a love triangle, the Triwizard tournament, the Founder Artifacts, a devious Hermione Granger and the redefining of the magical world…

A/N- Well I didn't change this chapter much, just tidied up some places. Here we see a council of Dumbledore and his allies and find out that Ms. Figg is some one's great-aunt.

Harry stared blankly at Ms. Figg and then at Snape. Snape smiled, his grin for the first time ever having some sense of humor in it. He looked at Ms. Figg who was glaring at Snape and then her glare smoothed into a smirk. With a slight detachment Harry noticed Ms. Figg was wearing green wizard robes and practical dragon hide boots. Suddenly he found himself inside the house, in an easy chair with a cat sitting on his foot and a cup of tea in his hand. Strange, it doesn't smell like cats so strongly anymore was all he could think.

"So Severus, are you going to encroach on my hospitality and stay for dinner?" Ms. Figg asked, daring him to answer. She rearranged her spectacles and grinned nastily.

"As sure as I am that your cooking will give me an ulcer, why not?" Ms. Figg smiled and suggested Snape's mother had done something unlikely with two white mice, some salt and a large fish. Snape remained unfazed and rejoined with an explicit commentary on why she had no love life. Harry stared and then grew a little red faced as the insults got worse and worse. Finally they stopped and Ms. Figg cackled nastily.

"Ooooh Severus you still got it, you always were my favorite student; you understood my humor." Snape smiled, a true smile, and Harry grew even more confused. Ms. Figg laughed again, her hair bouncing as her head shook. "And isn't it ironic that I taught potions?" Snape nodded, this time a sardonic expression on his face. Suddenly there was a boom in the fireplace.

"Well hello Harry, how have the holidays been?" Professor Dumbledore wore deep blue robes with little twinkles on them like stars. Harry felt happiness bubbling up inside of him, Dumbledore had never really been a teacher to him, Dumbledore was a more like a friend, confidante or protector, someone Harry always knew he could trust. "Ah, Severus, that you are here means something important has happened." Dumbledore looked saddened for a moment and then turned to Ms. Figg, the twinkle in his eye matching his robe's flickering stars.

"Ah Arabella, you look lovely as always-."

"Can it Albus, you're an old fool, you're getting a little too skinny and pale, you look like something the cat dragged in and crapped on." Dumbledore looked strained suddenly.

"Arabella, please not in front of other people…"

"Oh fine Dumbledore, you great hunk of dumb Gryffindor. I'll play your games." Snape snickered while Harry found himself smiling. Ms. Figg stopped and glared at a cat. She kept it up for a couple seconds when finally the cat shook itself and became Professor McGonagall. Harry started while Snap snorted and Dumbledore smiled.

"Well since almost everyone is here, let's eat." Harry rose and went to the table in the next room; the table was set with light blue china. This room, unlike the others, didn't smell like cats, more like lilacs.

"Well Harry I must admit your relatives don't give much thought to others in their attempts to flee your presence. The bastards dropped your stuff off just assuming I'd take you in." Ms. Figg was busily talking in between sips of soup. Harry tasted it and found it to be pretty good. A corn chowder he decided.

Snape idly twirled his spoon through the soup. Ms. McGonagall silently ate while Ms. Figg talked on and on about muggles and how selfish they were. Finally Dumbledore sent her a quelling look that she smiled at but stopped talking. Finally Harry burst out something he'd been meaning to say the entire time.

"Ms. Figg, what- I mean why-?" He floundered around for a couple seconds trying to find the words to express what he was saying. Ms. Figg smiled.

"Oh Harry, you didn't think Dumbbell would leave anything to chance do you?" Dumbledore gave her a look and she smirked at him.

"You two act like children." Ms. McGonagall observed sharply. Dumbledore flushed and smiled. Ms. Figg lifted an eyebrow.

"When you're my age, Minerva, you can comment on my behavior." With that said Ms. Figg seemed to calm and became absorbed in her soup. The silence stretched for a moment.

"Well Severus, what did you find?" Ms. Figg shot Dumbledore a look while McGonagall and Snape shot looks at Harry.

"Whatever Severus will say not only can be, but should be, said in front of Harry, he will have a greater part in this than any of this, as well as a greater stake." Dumbledore swung those piercing blue eyes over to Harry, his white mane of hair framing his face seemed to glow with an unearthly inner light. Harry felt that peculiar sensation that Dumbledore was looking past his face and into his heart. It was a familiar if uncomfortable feeling.

"Alright Dumbbell you've made your point now eat, you're wasting away you moron." Ms. Figg sharply pointed out. Snape sighed and ran a hand through his hair, which right now didn't have its greasy look but a more lustrous one.

"Apparently Albus, someone has discovered that the faery dragons are real, and is binding them to her cause. She is a powerful witch and seems to be fairly intelligent at that, she hasn't awoken them yet." Snape paused for a second. "She has no allies I believe, for the moment, there are those that will be dissatisfied with Voldemort and wish to join another faction. But allies or no, with even one dragon she has enough magic to do whatever she wants." Dumbledore nodded, his gaze anxious.

"As soon as I got near to her she blasted me with raw force, not a spell but raw force." At that Dumbledore's hands tightened and McGonagall and Ms. Figg gasped. Harry looked confused. "I sacrificed my wand in an attempt to make it look as though I had died, she accepted it." Snape paused and took another breath. His face had become strained during the telling as he relived unpleasant memories. Ms. Figg put a hand on his shoulder; the first kind thing Harry had ever seen her do.

"What could she possibly want with faery dragons?" Professor McGonagall wondered aloud.

"Indeed, however remember Minerva, emotions are power and blood is as well. The stronger an act or quality is," Dumbledore was speaking at Harry, "The more powerful that magic, the magic of blood is so powerful that I can leave you with your relatives and Voldemort cannot touch you," McGonagall winced while Snape paled and Ms. Figg clenched her fist at the name. "Emotions are powerful as well, that is why you were able to survive Avada Kedavra, your mother combined her love and blood to make you a protection nearly unsurpassable."

"But now Voldemort controls it." Harry finished glumly. Dumbledore smiled.

"Do you really think that a protection made with love can help Voldemort?" Harry thought about it for a second. "As a matter of fact," Dumbledore continued, "That protection may someday be his downfall." Harry processed that.

"But back to what I was saying, magical creatures themselves have magical properties, case in point, unicorn blood. Faery dragons practically are magic, and intelligent at that. They think but in very slow terms and not akin to human terms at all. It is true that many things can be done with faery dragon parts, powerful magic indeed, the question is, what?" Dumbledore mused for a minute pulling his long beard. "I wish I had my Pensieve…" He sighed and then a loud bang startled all of them except for Ms. Figg.

"Well I thought they'd never get here." She snapped and strode out of the room. Harry looked in confusion to Dumbledore who smiled. Then he realized that there were several spots still set out for people.

"Well Albus I must be going-" Snape rose out of his chair but Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, making Snape grimace and sit down again. A peculiar but familiar clunking noise was coming from the other room, and suddenly Harry knew who was there.

When Alastor Moody peered around the corner Harry smiled, he liked the man even though he didn't know him that well. And besides, anyone who was a friend of Dumbledore could be counted on, even Snape I suppose. Behind Moody was a young woman with an ugly scar on her face and black hair. Her blue eye's sparkled prettily and clashed with the somber expression on her face. Behind those two was a man with glasses and slightly gawky look. He stood like someone who was accustomed to holding books. Following the trio was another; a young woman with a sallow complexion, similar to Snape's but even darker. Her hair was bright red, a contrast to her expression.

"Albus." Moody nodded and glanced furtively around the room, his one fake eye swirling over everything and then rolling back into his head. The pretty black haired girl cleared her throat.

"What? Oh yes, everyone meet Claire," he indicated the pretty young lady, and then nodded to the bookworm, "that's Roger and lastly, Adriana." He ended by gesturing at the somber young woman. Dumbledore smiled at each of them, Snape gave them all a cursory glance while McGonagall appraised them individually. "They're all under my tutelage." Moody's eye continued to circle around, his body was tense and his wand hand trembled as if he wanted to draw his wand then and there.

"Well, hello professors, and you are?" Claire looked at Harry for a minute and then whistled softly.

"That's Harry Potter moron." Adriana drawled. Harry looked between the two of them, the rolling of Roger's eyes and Claire's tolerant smile. Adriana smirked and gave Harry a cold appraising look. For a moment the silence continued.

"Well isn't this just peachy, I got them here Dumbbell, now what do you want?" Ms. Figg asked. Moody's mouth twitched and Harry started, the man was smiling. "Oh wait, the old coot isn't here yet is he, although at this point we're all old coots." Ms. Figg tapped her foot impatiently while Harry looked around in bewilderment. Suddenly he got a headache, to start the day off with a bleeding Snape in his room, the rush to Diagon Alley, Draco Malfoy's summer and strange behavior, Ms. Figg being a witch, having dinner with Dumbledore and Snape and McGonagall and Ms. Figg and now-

His head hurt.

Harry smiled and sank back into the chair, the cup of cocoa in his hands felt very good and drinking it was even better. Cozy, it was such a good word, cozy was how he felt, he'd be so much cozier though if there was someone to share it with… Harry wondered who, Cho was warm and pretty, but somehow it didn't feel right. Cho was everything unattainable, a different house, older, gorgeous… This was something Harry had never given thought to before.

"So Severus," Roger began. Snape looked a little bleary eyed and his vision seemed to waver, never holding on one object. Roger adjusted his glasses, "Is teaching hard? I've never done it before, it doesn't seem overly difficult." Harry perked up at this bit of conversation, Roger was teaching? What?

"Oh they're not so bad, you just have to take a firm hand with them, some, like Potter, think that they're better than the rest of us, but if you're sufficiently firm they back down." Harry frowned at that.

"You never give it up do you Snape?" That clunk, Moody was there. Harry looked up at his craggy face and the peculiar eye it held. "You're jealousy blinds you even as your kindness you deny yourself." Snape froze, his eyes growing wide and his face tight with rage. Roger wisely stayed silent. Harry's drowsiness left him as he watched the confrontation.

"I really don't see how that's any of your business." Snape had gone stiff with rage, and his eye had begun to twitch slightly. Moody smirked, although on his face it was hard to tell exactly whether it was a smirk, a grin, a sneer or what. Harry assumed it was a smirk since his eye showed amusement.

"Oh Snape, everything is my business because I make it my business, why do you think I've survived for so long? But seriously, how jealous are you, what are you capable of? I must question-" Moody was cut off by Harry, who was almost as surprised at his speaking up as Snape and Moody.

"Snape isn't evil Professor, he's saved my life before, he might be a nasty git but he isn't evil." Snape bristled at that words but Harry knew he was safe. Moody grinned then, and the amused look on his face had the air that say an old book that was rarely read had.

A sudden bang announced another arrival. Out of the fireplace came an old man with a young reckless look in his eyes.

"Hello Alastor, a little cold in here isn't it?" Without wait for an answer the man waved his wand at the fireplace. "Adustum." The fireplace suddenly filled itself with a cheery little fire. Except there was no wood.

"You sure took your sweet time Dung." The old man looked slightly offended and then grinned.

"So charmed you remembered Mad-Eye. And now- oh my Harry Potter, we meet again!" The old man grabbed Harry's hand and the cocoa cup and shook them, gently. "Mundungus Fletcher's the name."

"Yes, you bowed to me on the street and I talked to you in that pub." Harry trailed off. Mundungus Fletcher looked very pleased with himself.

"Well, so sorry to hear about last years tragedy, it really wasn't your fault I hope you realized." His face was kindly and Harry felt a shudder pass through him, sometimes he still saw Cedric's dead face… The worst was when he saw his parents. He felt his eyes burning. He took a deep breath and said a quiet thank you. Sometime later he fell asleep.

Minerva McGonagall looked around the parlor, surrounding her was an interesting group gathered from all corners of the wizarding world. Arabella Figg, cranky old Slytherin with a good heart. Severus Snape, her colleague and almost friend, a former death eater that had a conscience. Alastor Moody, one of the best Aurors ever, now a paranoid old man and developing a warped sense of humor. His three students, Claire Reis, a Ravenclaw with wit and a pretty gaze, Adriana Medina, a sour girl with a quick wand and Roger Glassier, a bookworm with an attitude. Mundungus Fletcher, a Hufflepuff with a decisive trend towards flashy powerful magic. Herself, Minerva McGonagall, an animagus with a specialty in transfiguration. Maggie Ainsley, a Gryffindor with a submissive attitude that belied a devious mind. Trenton Ainsley, a Slytherin with incredible ambition and morals that held him back.

And the man that held them all together, the man who held most of the Voldemort resistance together, Albus Dumbledore.

"Good, this will be the first in a series of meetings, some people were unable to attend but now we can be onto business." Dumbledore gently cracked his fingers. "Voldemort has returned, it is that simple. And now there is a new complication, Severus has discovered that a witch has uncovered the faery dragons. And she can use raw magic." Everyone gasped except those that had already heard this.

"She is- I mean she's a Sorceress?" Roger stammered. Moody growled.

"Maybe, I find it unlikely, what's more likely is she found someway to use a faery dragon to power herself. If she was a Sorceress she would have killed us all by now." At that Claire cleared her throat, the scar on her cheek stood out like a beacon, but it was almost covered by her dimples.

"I doubt that Alastor, Sorcerers can't really be all that powerful otherwise we never could have persecuted them could we?" Everyone considered that fact.

"Good thinking." Moody growled, his gnarled fingers began to tap the arm of his chair while his eyes swirled crazily around his head. "Well what do we do about this eh? It be nice if they could just kill each other, but Voldie would have to know about the threat." Moody looked speculatively and pointedly at Snape's arm, a certain spot with a certain mark on it…

"Alastor." Dumbledore's voice was full of warning. Moody leaned back into his seat.

"Well then really what can we do, we don't know what this woman wants, to kill Voldemort or to conquer the world. Just how did you stumble onto her Severus?" McGonagall really didn't prefer to say Voldemort's name but Albus would insist if she didn't.

"I would rather not say." Snape glared defiantly at the group, he wasn't even supposed to be here. Dumbledore nodded and led the group onto other topics. Clair, Adriana and Roger were supposed to be the first of what Dumbledore hoped would become a fine group of aurors. Roger would be taking the Defense Against the Dark Arts class this year at Hogwarts. Dumbledore had high hopes for them.

"Alastor, we can set up a training ground in the forest, I'll tell the school that there is an extreme penalty for sneaking out at night and speak with a few of the more difficult students." Snape bared his teeth, if he caught Potter out at night this time…

"So I'll be talking to the other guys at the Ministry and sounding them out." Trenton asked, his soft deep voice made McGonagall shiver when she heard it, she'd always thought Trenton was, well, sexy, a word that didn't come easily to her. But she never begrudged Maggie, who could? The woman had such a sweet disposition. "My influence can only be stretched so far though, Fudge might take notice." He left that comment hanging, all the people in the room knew how Cornelius Fudge felt and what he thought.

"Say, whatever happened to that Rita Skeeter woman? She could be become quite problematic again." Maggie asked quietly, she did everything quietly, and was quite dangerous because of it. The rest of the room grew still and then Dumbledore laughed.

"I'm afraid that Ms. Skeeter will no longer be a problem seeing as how she is being held captive in a jar." Dumbledore proceeded to reveal the story behind Rita Skeeter and her animagus ability. And of course her capture at the hands of Hermione Granger. Everyone was amused except for McGonagall who maintained they should give up the woman to the ministry. She was promptly ignored.

They talked late into the night, discussing everything from sleeping arrangements for Durmstang students that needed to attend Hogwarts and the arrangements for the second annual Triwizard tournament, and why should they go on calling it that anyways since the Americans were sending one of their schools over…

When Harry awoke sometime later he shifted uncomfortably, his neck felt like one giant knot and his back ached. Sleeping in a chair wasn't the most comfortable way to spend the night.

"Well finally, I thought you would sleep for forever." Harry's eyes widened at that voice.

"SIRIUS!" He shouted gleefully and ran to catch his godfather up in a powerful embrace. Behind him Remus Lupin smiled good-naturedly, waiting his turn. Sirius returned the embrace with full force. Then the two let go of each other and smiled. Then Harry clasped Remus to him warmly, these two men meant a great deal to him.

"Ah, I see Harry has woken up." Dumbledore ambled into the room; his robes were now a light red with some pouches tied onto his belt. His half moon spectacles were slid low on his nose as he gazed down at Harry. Harry noticed that either Dumbledore was a little shorter, or he was growing. It was a nice surprise.

"Well I have to leave now Harry, I just stayed to see you wake up, but I better leave right now." Sirius looked pained and regretful, Harry felt something inside him choke up. Damn it, why can't Sirius ever stay! Harry knew why though. If Sirius didn't keep moving he was a dead man, even in an ally's house.

After a strained goodbye Harry went into the dining room where he got his second surprise.

"Well Harry you sure took your sweet time getting up." Seamus Finnigan said from the breakfast table. "Aunt Arabella says to have a seat and tell 'That Dumbbell and his friends to come eat and wake up that blasted Severus you know he never was good about waking up on time so everyone can come to breakfast.'" Seamus smiled cheekily at Harry who sighed, life was very confusing sometimes. Then he slowly started to laugh. Seamus smiled and began to laugh with him. When Snape came in a couple seconds later he became very confused, only making Seamus and Harry laugh harder.

"Oh shut up Potter and you too Finnigan, I'm hungry." With that said the grumpy Slytherin Head wandered into the kitchen, only to be yelled at by an angry Ms. Figg. When he came out his face was flushed and he appeared a bit unsteady.

"That woman has the most vile tongue I've ever heard." He muttered to himself and wandered off into another part of the house. That crowned it, Harry and Seamus were now laughing so hard they couldn't breathe now.

A/N- Shout outs!!

From FF.net

ShayzonBlack- My first review! Thanks for the "Awesome."

Myr- Thanks for the advice and the review, I'll try and smooth it out on the POV switches.

FlutePrincess- More CC, I'm so proud of myself! Thanks for the advice, but if you're uncomfortable of unusual things happening you might want to stop here, I plan to take this thing places… But thank you!

Bren- Well I can't wait to see what I do next either!

Nag- Well this is part 2, so now you can wait for part 3.

Just Silver- Oh yes there is more, my only hope is that this doesn't get out of hand… ~_~;

From FictinAlley-

Sjbranford- You left no words, but since you did leave a review a thank you.

Wolf Angel 83- Thanks, and here's more!

Heero Yuyz- My plan is to upload the entire story over the course of the next week or so, I want to make sure that everything that goes up here is quality and well checked over. This place I feel needs that extra effort, it's what makes everything so good. FF.net I just spell check and post. But anyway thank you!

Slytherin Godess- Sorry! Sorry! Sorr- well ok I'm not really ^_^;. I do hate cliffhangers when I read them, but they're fun to right aren't they? There's not going to be any Sev/Harry in this fic. But I'm working on something else that may peek out the beginning of next year… This has, an odd sort of relationship, well you'll see.

Next Chapter- Interlude of Discovery!

Where we discover a few interesting things…

The Chapter/Fic has now ended