A/N: In response to the last chapter, Machiavellian Orange gave me a list of questions which a few of you have touched on and, since they don't interfere with the plot and I'm not sure I would answer them otherwise, here are the answers.

Besides Merlin house, what other houses are there at the Uni? There are three other houses: it runs on a similar basis to Hogwarts with similar characteristics for each house. I've already mentioned Agrippa, which is the Ravenclaw equivalent. Then there are two others which I haven't got on hand at the moment. A person isn't always in the same house as they were at Hogwarts because a lot of people change considerably between the ages of 11 and 18 or older.

What are the requirements (attributes, characteristics) needed to belong to Merlin house? Think similar to Slytherin and you have your answer. Typically, a Merlin graduate is mature and focussed on their work. They are quite subtle and can read between the lines. Any people with a hard history (abuse, neglect, trauma etc) are likely to be here since this is where they are understood. They also have the classic faults of being arrogant, mistrustful of anyone they don't know well and secretive, which makes being their Head of House a little difficult.

How where the Uni students sorted, if sorted at all? They are sorted. A student will only attend Griffin University on an invitation basis. They come on the first day of term to the Great Hall, drink a potion and their hand is immersed in a cauldron of another potion. This analyses their past and their personality. Stored within the cauldron are the names of past graduates who are suitable mentors. Typically, you are first matched with a mentor and put into their house, unless you are completely incompatible. So James, who could really have gone into any house, was matched with Aberforth, the Merlin Head of House, so was put into Merlin House.

Draco said, "You never even knew him," when refering to Harry Potter. When did Draco meet him and why did he recieve a positive impression about him? Draco met James at the University. They were both in the same house, but Draco was two years above him because James spent four years taking Muggle courses and getting his A-levels. His first real meeting with James was at the duelling tournament. Draco was the reigning champion but was beaten by James. He was a little surprised when his opponent didn't gloat and later Aberforth had them training together. James also joined the Quidditch team when Draco was captain, but as a beater because Draco was playing Seeker. After spending so much time together, they gradually became friends. It wasn't a spur of the moment thing for either of them - I can't see that happening to them because of their past experiences.

Why is Draco's baby named Harry, after the former Harry Potter? Traditionally, the Malfoy heir is named after his grandfather. Draco is, quite understandably, reluctant to abide by this tradition and had to look for an alternative name. At the beginning of his 6th year, Harry came back more open to making alllies within all of the houses and he and Draco came to an understanding, if not a friendship. They did respect each other and Draco thought this was a fitting way of remembering Harry, kicking his father in the face and reminding the world that he was on the light side. Beside, Blaise likes the name.

I hope that answers them properly. If anyone else has background questions, ask them and I'll answer them if I know the answer and if it won't interfere with the story. Now, enjoy the chapter.

When no reply had come to him from either man two days later, James was getting just a little worried. Both were, unlike him, usually reliable correspondents and would return a letter to him within twenty-four hours. Draco in particular was relatively nearby and certainly had some of the best owls in Britain at his disposal. He was also foolish enough to refuse to leave his home even when danger threatened - 'an Englishman's home is his castle' could be taken too far, even if it was almost literal in this case. Since Lucius Malfoy, or whoever else the new Dark Lord could be, had now revealed himself, he would almost certainly go after the Malfoy family first. They could afford to waste no time.

Puzzled, he knocked on the wall by Severus' portrait. His guardian, Glover Hipworth, appeared to be at an important stage in a brewing process and looked almost as forbidding as Severus used to be, and of course it would have been terribly impolite to knock on the portrait itself. The only people who could get away with that were muggle-raised first years and even then, not for long.

A moment later, the portrait swung open, Hipworth not even seeming to notice.

"May I come in?" James asked, looking at his colleague and, he hoped, his friend. Severus was dressed casually in the privacy of his chambers, and had obviously not anticipated on being disturbed. Instead of his customary teaching robes, he was wearing a dark green shirt and smart black trousers under the open style robes that James thought must be the fashion for men of between about thirty and eighty. These were, obviously, black.

"Certainly, what are you here for?" he continued, leading James inside and gesturing towards an armchair while he went to fetch glasses. "Butterbeer alright with you, or would you prefer something stronger?"

"Butterbeer would be great thanks. Its just that its been about two days since I sent that letter off to Draco, more actually, since I sent it in the morning. I'm starting to get a bit worried that someone's intercepting the mail."

"Have you sent anything else?"

"A letter to Abe Dumbledore but he's at the University, so I won't worry about that for at least another day."

"Interesting. You are aware that Draco has . . . has an impulsive streak in him, he may just be staying because we told him he should not."

"I know that, the question is what do we do about it?"

Severus stopped and thought for a moment.

"They eat at seven, it's seven thirty now. If they only received the letter today, they might have been packing since this morning and augmenting all of the wards and defences already in place. I believe we should give them until eight to come. If they do not, one or both of us must go after them. They are in no immediate danger now, we have the time to give them."

"How do you know?"

Severus gestured towards a large clock standing in the corner. As was normal for a wizarding clock, it had hands such as 'safe', 'home', 'common room', 'upset', 'looking for trouble', 'in danger' and 'in mortal peril'.

"I use it to keep track of the worst trouble makers and some of the staff," he said. James was fairly sure that those of the staff he kept track of were the Order members, though he had stepped quite nicely around that issue. "It is always useful to know which students aren't in bed at night. I put Draco on when he was eleven."

"All Slytherins?"

"No, Potter has been on there since the moment he entered the school - I believe that with his parents it would be better to be safe than sorry. I certainly needed it to catch him as many times as I did. I believe that he has the record for the most points deducted for being caught out after curfew."

"He was a trouble maker then?"

"Once I thought so, yes. Now though, after I thought about it and received more information about his actual situation within the war, I'm not so sure that it was in a deliberate way. He was more a trouble magnet and he had some Gryffindor idea that the safety of the castle and everyone in it rested in his hands. Not that it didn't, of course, but it was a bit too much for a twelve year old to think that he could protect 50 year old veterans of two wars."

James fell silent, thinking for a minute. If that had been an honest answer, and it certainly made sense if it was, then maybe Abe had been right about the man's reaction when he found out. Severus certainly wasn't the intractable monster the students had once imagined him. If, as he suspected, it was Ron's somewhat indiscreet speech that had finalised this revelation, he would have to thank him once his identity was known.

He almost missed it when Severus continued.

"Of course, he tended to show all of Gryffindor's weaknesses and none of their strengths. He'd have made an admirable Hufflepuff but you could never imagine him being entirely happy with his studying, let alone appreciating being at Hogwarts. Besides, he never looked beneath outward appearances. Within twenty-four hours of his arrival, he was convinced that Slytherin were the embodiment of Voldemort's legions and hated the lot of us. He wouldn't have lasted a week in Slytherin."

"He does sound a bit like the stereotypical hero," James admitted. Put it that way, and even he had to agree. He had been quite an innocent aged eleven, though regrettably not in many ways. James decided he might as well fish for as much information as he could get to help his future campaign. "Draco seems to have liked him though."

"Has Draco told you about his first five years at Hogwarts? You couldn't walk into a class with them without having to worry about whether their next fight would be in your classroom. Thankfully, Draco respected me too much to try anything too serious in front of me and I don't think Potter would have dared. They only started to make peace later; it must have been the beginning of their sixth year, the year Potter was killed. Draco was still a little naïve at that point."

There was a long pause. James glanced at his watch.

"That's eight o'clock."

"Indeed. I will open my Floo and see if the Headmaster can't open a direct link to the Malfoys' place."

Severus moved over the fireplace and threw in a handful of Floo powder, kneeling down to put his head through the network to the Headmaster's office. James didn't know what would happen if Draco tried to come through then but he was sure it wouldn't be pleasant. After what seemed to be an agonisingly long time, he stood up and the fire continued to blaze green.

"There," Severus said. "That will set off an alert and give them a reminder if nothing else."

Five minutes passed.

The flames suddenly burst upwards and the silhouette of a figure appeared in the flames. She stepped gracefully out with the ease of one who has done it from an early age but her expression was agitated.

"Thank Merlin," Severus said with relief. "Please tell me Draco's following."

"He's not," Blaise said, anxiously trying to soothe the baby in her arms. "He's trying to pack up a few of the rarer dark objects so his father can't get hold of them."

"Damn!" James exclaimed. "I'll go after him Sev, if you get them settled."

Reluctantly, the other teacher nodded and gestured for Blaise to take a seat before preceding James back to his quarters. Inside, he looked to him for instructions.

"My duelling robes are in the wardrobe," James said briefly. "Black with silver trim. Then I'll need the green trousers and T-shirt hanging next to them."

When the Severus had gone, James went over to his desk and pulled out the lowest drawer, the one he'd hoped never to need.

He pulled off his robes and shirt, taking out a wand holster, which he strapped securely to his right arm. Next was a sheathed dagger that he fastened to his left arm. He selected a dirk, dipped it in poison and re-sheathed it, leaving it out on the desk while he went to find his boots.

James had always been taught that if you were to go into battle, you should make sure you had the best possible clothing and equipment, partly for intimidation purposes, partly so that it didn't let you down. All of his duelling clothes had been tailor made and this particular set had a number of defensive charms woven into the fabric. His knives had been made with his abilities and grip in mind and the wand holster was the perfect length for his admittedly short arms.

As soon as Severus returned carrying said clothes, James stripped down to his underwear. This was no time for modesty. As he pulled his boots on and did up each of the buckles, he slid his dirk down the side of his right calf. Then he turned to grab a hair tie. Pulling his hair severely back and spelling the tie into place, he turned to look at Severus.

"I'm ready," he said.

"Get Draco out if you can," Severus said, equally blunt. "If you can't, save yourself. You won't believe how difficult it is to get competent Defence teachers."

He grasped Severus' hand in a firm grip then stepped into his own fire and left, senses alert for any possible danger.

After emerging from the Floo with his usual lack of grace, James paused for a moment, listening. It was all quiet, the house was mostly in darkness. There were no signs of a raging conflict and he doubted Death Eaters would have had the time to kill Draco between the time Blaise had left in his arrival. Draco was one tough bastard and he was on his home territory. There were undoubtedly a number of nasty surprises lurking for the unwanted visitor.

A house elf popped into the room. James spoke to it gently but urgently, without any of the usual pleasantries.

"I need to see Draco, will you take me to him directly?"

It was a little known fact that a house elf could carry a human around in much the way that a wizard could apparate. James knew for a fact that Albus used it at Hogwarts, though not many others did. For a house elf to confide this fact in a person was a sign of trust and liking. Certainly, no Death Eater like Lucius Malfoy would ever have discovered it.

A moment, then the little creature nodded and took James' hand. A crack and disorientating pull around his knees and he appeared in the room he had never been in before. It seemed to be in the dungeons - there were certainly no windows - and cases on the walls were full of dubious looking items. Draco was hurriedly packing these into boxes. If James made a sound, he would turn and hex him. Was it worth the risk, or should he use Draco's Order codename and claim he'd been given it by another member. He decided on the latter.

"Ferret boy?" he said quietly, trying very hard not to startle his friend.

Draco spun around, wand extended. Seeing who it was, he relaxed, pushing his wand back up his sleeve.

"James. What are you doing here?"

"Trying to make sure you don't get yourself killed."

"I can look after myself," Draco said, his voice icy.

"Against ten, fifteen Death Eaters in a dungeon room? I think not. Severus suggested that I knock you out and bring you back to Hogwarts but I'm willing to negotiate. We take ten minutes to pack up as much as we can and then we leave, no exceptions. This will be one of the first rooms Lucius comes to and it only has one exit. If we're caught here, we're as good as dead."

Draco paused, considering this.

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly. "Pack as much of this up and I'll make the changes to the wards that I need to. By the time I'm done, I don't want a living human to make it through."

"Won't that take longer?"

Draco laughed grimly.

"We're a nasty lot, Malfoys. These wards are already in place, just disactivated at the moment. I will key both of us in and add Severus, Blaise and Harry later."

James nodded curtly and began shrinking and packing as many cases as he could then shrinking them and putting them into deep pockets in his robe.

He stopped exactly ten minutes later and Draco came out of the trance he'd been in.

"Done? I've got everything packed and in my robes. We need to take the fastest way out," James said, knowing that that wouldn't be the Floo network. He knew, as did Draco, that the Floo network was unsafe at the best of times and would be the first place targeted. It could be disconnected, leaving you trapped in a small room or it could be diverted, sending you uncontrollably into enemy territory.

Draco started to jog up the stairs. Following, James found himself in the library. Following his friend's sure route, they navigated the maze of corridors and found themselves in the entrance hall. Draco pulled them into a small room off to the side and pressed their palms against a panel on the wall. It glowed slightly, then subsided.

"That's us keyed into the wards. I should have been safe already but you weren't. From here, we can Apparate to the Hogwarts Apparition point. Do you have the co-ordinates."

As soon as James nodded, Draco vanished with the tell tale crack. Hastily, James swiped downwards and followed.

They appeared in a small clearing on the edge of the Forbidden Forest and, wands in hands, began to sprint for the safety of the wards. They were taking this very seriously, knowing that Draco was in danger every moment he was outside of a public place or warded building. Perhaps their attitude would seem paranoid to the students, but both men had lived through the darkest dark lord in a millennium. They knew what the risks were.

Passing the flat stone that marked the boundary of Hogwarts School, both men touched their wands to the quartz on top. This would set off a signal in Dumbledore's office that both men were in the warded area and safe. This accomplished they relaxed noticeably.

They strode through the grounds to the castle, then down to the dungeon, James earning a number of strange looks as they did so. He looked very different from his usual self, downright dangerous in fact. When they reached Severus' chambers, the portrait swung open at their approach. While Blaise and Draco talked in the corner, Severus handed James a mug of Ogden's Best Firewhisky.

"You look like you need it," was all he said, with the experience of one who has seen it many times before. Their slightly emotional (for them) farewell was not mentioned, nor was the time James had abbreviated the other's name. They were both safe, and that was, for now, all that mattered.

It was one o'clock the next morning when James was woken by a sharp peck on his finger. He rolled over, luckily the other way and fell out of bed. Abruptly, he opened his eyes and cast 'lumos'. He stopped, glaring at the offending owl that was just beginning to mutilate his bedclothes. There was no doubt who this owl had come from. Moving slowly towards the bird, James suddenly shot forwards and grabbed it. After letting out an indignant squawk and trying to peck him again, or at the very least scratch him with its talons, the owl retreated to the far corner of the room to sulk in peace.

"Don't worry Archimedes," James said with the forced tolerance that had come with long practice. "I'll find you something to eat after I've read the letter from Abe. You know, its not generally polite to wake someone up at this time."

"Squawk!"

"And acting like a moody starling isn't going to help you any. I should pluck you and barbecue you like some common chicken."

A rustle of feathers and Archimedes was no longer there. James suspected he'd gone to ground under the bed.

Abe had named him after the highly intelligent owl in 'The Once and Future King', perhaps in the hope that his new pet would be able to talk. Alas - or rather luckily - this was not the case. James had commented on occasion . . . . whenever Archimedes was being particularly irritating . . . that they looked the part of batty old wizard and irritable, moth eaten owl. Both had taken exception to the wording.

James unfolded the scroll Archimedes had brought and held it under his wand. This was the long-awaited epistle from Abe and it had better be good or James would be in serious trouble.

My dear boy,

That's a very impressive list of problems you have sent me; I will do my best to address them. First however, I will tell you that I passed on your best wishes to the families of the victims. There were three, two were cousins of the dead family, both in Agrippa and one a nephew of the father, he is in Merlin. All seem a little shaken but are recovering quite well and are throwing themselves into their study. I feel sure that if Albus is indeed going to reform the Order, all three would be candidates upon their graduations. They are all very capable and now are horribly aware of the stakes we are playing for.

About the Order, there is not much I can do to help. Yes, Albus is, especially with my recommendation, going to try to recruit you. There are two things you can do. The first is volunteer to take over at Hogwarts and free up several of the rest of the staff to go about Order business, you could claim that you are inexperienced and would feel better about taking such a position. The other, and I advise that you do this whether or not you use my previous thought, is that you have a talk with Fawkes. Claim you are fascinated by the defensive magic of phoenixes and ask if Albus will give you some time to study him, with Fawkes' permission, of course. Then you could attempt to explain the situation to him. There may be ways of faking the induction ritual that he could put in place should it become necessary. You can trust him with your secret, especially since he would find it very difficult to communicate it to anyone.

I have also written to Draco, though I hope it will not be necessary. Please write back to me to confirm if you do have him with you, and I can relax about his safety. Of all of my former students, you and he are two of those I am most concerned about. Keep him at Hogwarts for as long as you can, or at a safe house. Do not let him return home until this fight is finished.

Good luck, Jamie

Abe