As always, I own none of this but the plot, and my original characters. JK Rowling owns the rest.

ahem my...apologies for the delay. Got a new computer, and was so excited about it...I basically just completely forgot about writing. My excuse is: Stuck with a shitty computer for the past 4 years, and finally get a new one, so weeeeeeeeeee. I also started MUDing again…if anybody that reads this MUDs, you'll know how addictive it is, and hopefully further understand the delays in my writing. :P

Heh. I have a lot of reviews, and it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Especially now that it's getting cold. Stupid winter. Aside from potential snowboarding. A slight warning: This chapter is very dialogue heavy, with no action, and hardly anything else. I'm sure you can imagine why. If you can't, then you might have a problem imagining things.

"Hello, Harry. It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Neville said, smiling warmly.

"Neville...it was you?" Harry asked, still feeling shocked from the discovery.

"Yes it was." Neville clapped Harry on the shoulder, "How about to go somewhere a bit more secure to talk. As I'm sure you know by now, my life would be in jeopardy if spotted with you, and...to put it simply, your life has always been in jeopardy. So no need for anything dumb to happen right now."

Harry nodded. "Where should we go then?"

"My flat is being watched, otherwise we could go there. Where have you been hiding since the break-out?"

Harry, suddenly cautious of a trap, cut himself off from immediately answering. "Just...a little shack out in the middle of nowhere."

Neville gave Harry an odd look, "I'm not your enemy. Nor am I being coerced into working against you. If you're willing, I'm your ally."

"How do I know that?" Harry asked.

"Because you do. Listen to your mind. It's a powerful thing, if you open yourself up to it." Neville replied.

Harry studied Neville closely, and concentrated on opening his mind, without lowering his defenses to a legilimency attack. He was surprised to feel complete trust and loyalty radiating from Neville. Neville, as if sensing what Harry felt, nodded.

"Everybody has a...sixth sense, I guess you can call it. It's normally only used by magical folk, but even they have trouble finding it, let alone honing it. Some would call it empathy, the...less versed, and by that, I mean idiots, call it mind reading." Neville cut off Harry's pending question, before he could open his mouth. "Yes, it's a form of occlumency and legilimency. The more skilled you are at them, the easier you will pick up empathy. Since you've mastered the two, empathy comes natural to you. You just have to open your mind to it."

"How do you know that I've mastered occlumency and legilimency?" Harry asked, still feeling slightly suspicious, regardless of the feelings that he picked up with his newly discovered empathic skills.

"Just because I'm not in the Order of the Lion, doesn't mean I don't know what's going on there," Neville responded. "Even in the inner circle. Though I will admit, I've been blind to them since you presumably moved them into your hide out. You do indeed have one hell of a warding system around this so called 'shack.'"

Harry smiled evasively.

"Well, shall we get going?" Neville asked.

Harry nodded, and took a small booklet from his robes. He turned it into a portkey, and held it out to Neville. Neville took hold out of it, and they were transported into a small, empty room of Lion Castle.

Harry conjured a table and a set of chairs, and waved Neville to sit down. He then took most of his body armor off, and sat down as well. "Start from the beginning, Neville."

Neville nodded, and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Gryffindor house had sunk into the doldrums after you were arrested. Slytherine took every advantage they could to make us feel worse, and I'm sad to admit, it worked. The Defense Association was disbanded, because most of the members thought that you had been secretly training them to become your henchmen when you rose to power and assumed the title of Dark Lord. It was a whole big mess; Nearly everyone there thought you were an insane criminal, taking after your godfather. The only ones that would argue your case were Hermione and Dean. Ginny had Dean shut up by the end of the year, basically telling him that if he thought her brother was a liar, then it was over between them. I was with Hermione and Dean, but I couldn't work up the nerve to be public about it. I'm ashamed about it now, but at the same time…it shapes our current situation, so I have reason to believe that it was twisted and shaped by forces beyond our control, and ultimately, our comprehension."

Neville paused, and reached into his pocket, pulling out several rolls of parchment. He spread them across the table, and placed sticking charms on them so they would stay in place.

"How much did Dumbledore tell you, about why Voldemort was attacking your mind back in fifth year? Sending you images of a hallway lined with doors."

"Nothing. I hardly spoke with Dumbledore at all, and nothing was brought up about that."

Neville sighed. "He has no idea the pain that you could've gone through, due to his inaction."

"But you do?" Harry asked.

"I have a far better idea than he does. Now, continuing on. After the drama started settling down at Hogwarts, the NEWTs arrived. I placed very well in them, so well in fact, that I exceeded everyone's expectations, and shocked them all. I could feel something in me while I was being tested, something beyond my control, directing my answers and responses. My brain was filled with the required knowledge and experience to ace the NEWTs, and place at the top of the class. Ahead of even Hermione, much to her displeasure, which she did remarkably well to hide, I believe. I was recruited into the Ministry of Magic, and after year or so, rose quickly through the ranks. My second year in, I was accepted into the Unspeakable training program, which I got through with flying colors. I was placed on a research team in the Department of Mysteries. Our work was so top secret, that even the Minister of Magic had no knowledge of it, and was denied access to any information regarding it. Most people in the Ministry don't even know we exist, and everybody that knew us before we went in, thinks we've gone missing. That's how top secret it is. The research going on, was conducted with the aid of the brightest wizards and witches that the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa had to offer."

"What were you working on?" Harry asked.

Neville rubbed his forehead wearily, and Harry noticed that it was creased far too much for his age. "We worked on a lot of things, all leading to where we are now. We put research into necromancy and sorcery, elemental magic and summoning. Our African friends brought with them, knowledge and independent research done into their cultures' ceremonial and ritual magic, and our American friends brought in several experts on the voodoo magic of the Caribbean, as well as the elemental and shape shifting magic of the Native Americans. We studied and researched all of the known magic in the world, trying to find a common denominator; One thing that brought them all together. We couldn't find anything linking them. The styles were different, the powers were different, the ways the powers were used was different. The magic itself had no relation to one another. After looking into them, using test subjects, inventing new tools and methods to diagnose the magic, we finally discovered that we were wrong all along in our assumption that we drew power from nature, from life, from earth. Because we don't, we discovered that magic does not exist on its own, on this earth, or any other planets in this dimension. We draw magic from the ethereal realms. Each of our bodies are portals for that magic to get through. The stronger the witch or wizard, the larger portals he or she has for magical energy to be pumped through."

Neville trailed off, figuring that he reached a good stopping point. "Can we get some tea or coffee, before continuing?"

Harry nodded and rose from his chair. He motioned for Neville to stay, as he made to stand up as well. Harry left the room, and magically sealed the door behind him, and made his way to the kitchens. He was surprised to see Tonks sitting at a table, flipping through a magazine. With the revelation of Neville, he had completely forgotten about her being there.

"Harry, you're back!" She exclaimed, standing from her chair. She crossed the room to him, looking him over as she walked. "Did everything go okay? Who was it?"

Harry, having recovered from his surprise, gawked at her. She had evidently become bored while he was gone, and took the time to create a whole new radical look for herself. Currently, her hair was cut into short spikes, and was lime green on one side, hot pink on the other, and neon purple on top. She wore a shredded, tight pair of khaki pants, grungy boots, and gray hoodie covered in patches. Her lipstick was purple, as was her eye shadow. "Tonks…what the hell?"

Tonks looked confused, but quickly realized what Harry meant. "Oh, I got bored after you left. I don't have to be into work until tonight, so I decided to just hang around here. I bought this magazine yesterday, and started reading it. It has a fun article on the underground punk scene of urban America and Europe. I decided to play with the looks, see if they worked for me. What do you think?"

Harry smiled half heartedly and scratched his head. "Well…it's the hair. Just use a single color."

"Gotcha." Tonks quickly fixed it, returning to her quasi-normal pink hair. "So, you didn't answer me before."

"It went well. Is still going, actually. The mystery person was Neville Longbottom."

Tonks' mouth dropped open in surprise, "Neville? He went missing four years ago! We thought he was grabbed by Voldemort, due to his parents."

"He was recruited into a secret research team in the Ministry, with top wizards and witches from around the world. I'll say more when I know more." Harry replied. He resumed his walk to the kitchens, with Tonks following behind him.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Getting tea."

"You really should look into getting a house elf. This place is far too big to be doing everything yourself." Tonks chirped.

"After seeing Sirius' house elf from Grimmauld Place, I never want to see one again." Harry grumbled.

"Kreacher wasn't right in the head," Tonks agreed. "But don't let it affect your feelings towards house elves in general. You liked Dobby well enough, didn't you?"

Harry glanced at Tonks, "Well, yes. Dobby was fine."

"Excellent. I believe he will still have hold his loyalty to you, and as such, I will see about bringing him here." Tonks beamed at the idea and practically skipped back away to her portkey, which was left at the table.

Harry smiled and shook his head, and resumed his quest for tea.

Several minutes later, Harry returned to the room, to see that Neville hadn't moved. He set the tray down on the table, on it was a tea pot, and two tea cups. Harry poured the tea, and handed a cup to Neville. He declined pouring himself any at the moment, and returned to his seat.

Neville sipped at the tea, nodding slightly in approval. "Thank you, Harry. Now, I believe I can continue." Neville unstuck one of the rolls of parchments from the table, and pushed it to Harry. Harry looked at it, and saw a good deal of diagrams and formulae. Loads of arithmancy garbage that he couldn't begin to understand, and a lot of technical speech that might as well have been ancient Greek. "As you can see," Neville continued, "We spent a good deal of effort researching the ethereal realms, trying to figure where in our world, they factor in. There has to be something aside from magic connecting us to them. To make a very long story short…I did some controversial summoning spells, enlightened my mind, and did a bit of astral projection. Not all at once, mind you, but over a length of time. I met some interesting characters, spirits if you will, and had some interesting conversations. Their leads put me on the path of something far greater than I had privately imagined possible. I branched off from the main group's work, and started doing my own research. Sadly, in the case of my pride, but fortunately for you, they decided to follow me and assist in my research. I tested some theories, and discovered a book. I believe you know the book I'm speaking of." Neville trailed off, looking at Harry.

Harry nodded in understanding, and tried to piece together on his own, where Neville was going.

"I made contact with some of the knowledge and wisdom gods on my own, and learned a good deal about the universe and its workings. After that, I decided to send the book on to you, so you could finally get out of that rat hole, and back where you belong."

"And where is that?" Harry asked.

Neville's reply was simple. "Leading the light."

"I don't get it, Neville. Why is that where I belong?" Harry asked.

"Because, Harry. We have no control over our destinies, they're shaped before we're even born, and we're powerless to escape them. Some people have simple destinies; To live peaceful lives, bear and a raise a child who will eventually become important…so on and so forth. Others have far more important destinies. You're one of them. Your future was shaped and decided upon before you were born, just like everyone else. But you were stuck with an important destiny, one that you still carry with you. I can't reveal what it is yet, as it's not for me to tell you. The important thing to note is that we're just simple creatures, with no importance to the universe. Everyone here is terrified of Voldemort, as well they should be. He can be the death to every living creature on this planet, but he would be of no consequence in the overall scheme of things. On the radars of the ethereal realms, he'd barely be a tiny, insignificant smudge on a large table cloth. A very minor inconvenience, and easily fixable. The only role we have in existence, is that of pawns. We're pawns in a war that we can't even fathom."

"What are you saying, Neville?" Harry asked, a cold feeling settling into the pit of his stomach.

"For eternity, the gods have been at war with another. The so called light faction against the so called dark faction. They battle one another in the ethereal realms. But the war stopped millennia ago. An uneasy peace was achieved, after several gods from each side were vanquished and caused haywire in the realms. For all their wisdom and knowledge, they didn't seem to understand the effects of a god being destroyed. The realms shifted and tore, dimensions blended together and reality was obscured by a dark fog. The surviving gods felt their comrades' deaths as well. A surge of mystical power, not unlike a lightning storm, swept through the realms, and engulfed the survivors. Some powers were drained, some were set loose in other, unrecognizable dimensions, lost from their home, and a variety of other unforeseen problems arose. After all of this had calmed down, the gods met in the great hall of the One, and decided upon a peace. Nobody wanted to become victors in a war that, with the destruction of their enemies, would more than likely destroy the fabric of the universe, and all realities within, itself. So now they let out their frustrations of not being able to battle each other, by using us to battle ourselves. A prod in this direction, a provoked thought over there, and you have a world war on your hands. Good versus evil, light versus dark. It's all controlled by Them. It's in our nature to destroy ourselves, true, but it takes a good nudge in the back to move in that direction." Neville took a long drink from his tea, and pulled a metallic case from the inside of his cloak. He opened the case, and removed a cigarette from it. Harry declined an offer for one as well, and Neville took his time lighting it. "They're from Indonesia. Clove cigarettes, very nice taste. One of the Asian members on the research team brought them with her, had me hooked within a month." He returned the case to his cloak, and took a long drag.

Harry watched Neville smoke, and patiently waited for the story to continue. He'd decided that he needed to have another chat with Naylajaratim, and quickly.

"Right then," Neville conjured an ash tray and flicked ashes into it. "I feel that I should probably clear up a question that will soon be popping into your head, if it hasn't already. Yes, you have free will, up to the point that your destiny starts to run its course." Neville took another long drag, and looked hard at Harry. "A great war among magical kind is coming, Harry. I know it, you know it. Believe it when I say that Dumbledore and Voldemort know it. We can feel it in our bones. There's no avoiding it, the path has already been laid out. The question that's going to secure the victory or defeat for you and your forces, is how prepared are you?"

"I'm prepared." Harry stated.

"Are you indeed?" Neville asked, with a humorless smile. "You've been off the island for four days, and you're already prepared for war? You have the weaponry, the armor, the provisions, the materials, the industrial support, the intelligence and reconnaissance base, the soldiers themselves?"

Harry remained silent for a few moments, contemplating with himself, before slowly answering. "I have the materials; I found in the Potter and Black vaults, several tons of metal and bronze bars, as well as a large forge. Also in those vaults, were many racks of weapons and armor. Provisions are easily attainable, and I have reliable intelligence sources on all sides of the line. It's true that I'm lacking in soldiers, but I'm working with Hermione on a campaign to solve those needs."

Neville nodded, "You're better off than I expected, even though I knew that you had the resources of your family vaults. But we both know that it's not enough. You may get the soldiers, but you need help with materials. You can have all the necessary supplies to arm and gear an army, but you can't do that without competent people producing them. Wizard kind is running short on blacksmiths, and muggles lack the obviously needed magic to imbue their work. You need the Dwarves of the Mountain Kingdom. They are master craftsmen, and hold their entire life meaning in their ceremonial hammer."

"How can I get in touch with them?" Harry immediately asked.

"I can assist you in that area, if you give me a couple days." Neville responded. "Their kingdom is in the heart of Ural Mountains of Russia, and very hard to get to. They've been separated from human contact since the dark ages. It is a little known fact, that they equipped the armies of Atlantis during their quest to bring the world into civility. They also had a large part in the general metalwork of the Roman Empire. It was their final trip into human civilization, and they vowed never to return when the Empire fell, and their works of beauty were destroyed or corrupted."

"You have as much time as you need." Harry couldn't help but look pleased, at the potential allies he could gain.

"Excellent. Now, I fear that I must be going. The research group is having a meeting soon, that I must partake in." Neville put out his cigarette, and gathered the rolls of parchment from the table, placing them back in his cloak.

Harry nodded and crafted a one time portkey for Neville's use. They shook hands, and Neville took the portkey.

"Oh, one thing, Neville." Harry began.

"Yes?" Neville asked, stopping the incantation on his lips to activate the portkey.

"Why are you on my side?" Harry asked.

"It's my destiny." Neville stated.

"And if it wasn't your destiny, would you still be on my side?" Harry looked closely at Neville.

Neville paused, then met Harry's gaze. "Yes. I would."

Harry smiled, and shook Neville's hand again. "Thanks, Neville. It means a lot. I will give you a way to get in touch with me, by tomorrow. It is my wish to induct you into the Order immediately, but I will need to speak to the Inner Council first, and make sure all bases are covered."

Neville seemed unsure, and looked at the table. "I'd rather not be inducted into your Order. I would like to, if circumstances were different, but as they are…I feel that I can contribute more to you, if there are no possible ties between us, no matter how hard it would be to discern them."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Well, if you ever change your mind, there's a spot open for you."

Neville nodded, and portkeyed away.

Harry walked out of the room, hands clasped behind his back, pondering Neville's words. A good deal of them disturbed Harry to no end, and had him asking himself a lot of questions. He made his way down to the vaults, and charmed all weaponry and armor to float back up to the dining hall, and stack neatly in organized rows for him to categorize later on. He then shrunk down the large forge, and floated it up to an empty room in the upper dungeon level. The room was very large: about twenty meters wide, twenty meters long, and four meters between floor and ceiling. Harry next floated up a stack each of metal and bronze, arranging them carefully next to the forge. He walked up to the dining hall, and stood in the middle of the stacks of weapons and armor. Several advanced charms later, they were all separated and sorted onto racks again. He took made a rough estimate of having a hundred some swords of various types, two dozen axes of various types, and a hand full of spears and axes left over from the Vikings. He counted six full sets of plate mail armor, plus another dozen studded leather vests. Several pairs of gauntlets and boots were aligned under the armor, and above them, no less than twenty helms of various types and sizes sat. Overall, the equipment situation was pretty good, but needed a great deal of additions, which would hopefully be provided by the Dwarves.

Harry lay in bed that night, thinking. He didn't try to sleep, just laid there, staring at the ceiling with his hands linked behind his head. He thought of a good many things; The war; Azkaban; His family and friends; Neville; Destinies; And Tonks. Harry thought of Tonks more than the other topics, and with good reason. Tonks was far better looking than Neville, far more entertaining than Azkaban, far closer to him than a destiny or a war, and was quickly growing to be one of his favorite people in the list of family and friends. Emphasis on the friends part, as Harry was quite sure that he didn't want to be romantically attached to anyone at the moment. He was sure that it would become news, and she would be an even greater target than before, and he didn't want that to happen. Things would be risky enough for her as they were, without the added burden as being known as Harry Potter's girlfriend.

As if she had heard him thinking about her, Tonks knocked on Harry's door. Harry called, "Come in," And Tonks walked in. She had raven black hair, and tanned skin, along with black eyes. She was short again, but not too much. Just perfect, in Harry's mind.

"Hey, Harry. Did I wake you?" She asked quietly.

"No, I was just thinking. Have a seat." Harry sat up on his bed, and drew on a shirt. Tonks sat at the edge of his bed, and watched him. "I'm actually glad you're here, I was just thinking of you."

Tonks smiled, and laid back, across Harry's legs, and rolled onto her side to keep watching him. "What about?"

"Well. About earlier, when we kissed. I don't think a relationship would be the greatest idea right now, for either of us. I would love to have one with you at a later time, but right now…it's not the best time." Harry looked at her carefully, watching for any sign of hurt feelings or anger. What he saw, surprised him. It was actually slight happiness.

"I agree. I would like one as well, but I agree that it's not the right time. You need time to readjust to your life, and, at the risk of sounding incredibly selfish, I frankly do not wish to become an even bigger target to all of your enemies, because news will get out that we're dating." Tonks said quietly, voicing Harry's same concerns. "However…"

Harry cut her off with a raised hand, "However," He smirked, "That doesn't mean we can't have a secret life."

Tonks grinned knowingly, and pulled herself up to sit next to him. "Exactly. And as much as I'd love to experiment with the secret life, I'm rather tired, and would like to sleep. So…if you don't mind, you have a very large and comfortable bed." She left the hint hanging in the air, and Harry seized it.

"Sleep well. But don't grope me. I might become unstable and do something rash." He winked and laid his head back down on the pillow.

Tonks mock glared at him, before stealing one of his pillows for her own use, and sliding under the covers next to him. "Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight, Tonks."

And there you have it. Chapter 10. I must say, I greatly enjoy the way things are moving so far. The further I progress with this fic, the more fun I have writing it. Now…I'm going to go out on a limb here, and post my aim screen name. You know, in case anyone would like to instant message me with their love, similar to this example: "Oh my god, you are the greatest ever and I want to hump your leg!"

That is, of course, just an example. :P

But still, feel free to contact me. It'll make me feel good about myself, and boost my ego. Plus, if you're nice, you might be able to see where the plot is going in the future….oooooh….what a deal! :P

Ministryisadeity.

P.S. I'm still looking for a beta reader...so if anybody out that that has a good grasp on the English language, and grammar, feel free to shriek, "I want to be your beta reader!!!"