LOOK! I'm not dead after all. Thanks for being so patient guys; I know it's been forever. But I did manage an A in fiction workshop, which is incredible from this professor. I have been writing like two pages in every symbolic logic class, a joke if I've ever heard one, so I should post a lot more often then never. :) Thanks to everyone who's sticking with me. Happy reading.

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Harry dragged his feet down the hall. How am I supposed to make this work? I have to find an explanation for this picture. Harry smacked his hand against his forehead. I'm just going to make a fool out of myself to a greater degree. He charged into the Academy common room. "I need to look like an American muggle."

Kevin pushed himself out of the chair. "I need some more direction than that."

Harry tossed his bag by the bookcase. "So I'll look different than an English muggle, but not enough to freak them out by itself."

Kevin nodded. "All right. Let's go."

Walking into the room behind Kevin he opened the closet and pushed through the hangers. "Do you have the shirts we were hiding from Mom?"

Kevin pushed the clothes to the left. "I should have three or four that Mom hasn't found yet." He pulled out a green one. "Try this one. It's pretty tame."

Harry pulled off his shirt and pulled it on. He twisted to see the back in the mirror. At least you aren't looking at my butt this time. Harry snorted. "That'll work. Do you have some jean that might fit?"

Kevin looked him up and down. "I don't know stick-boy, but we can shrink them if need be. I think I've got some that will match the shirt." He pushed clothes around his drawer. "Here, try these."

Harry changed into them and shrunk them a few sizes. "Are they okay? Do they make my butt look big?"

Kevin smacked him. "I ask one time and now I'll never live it down."

Harry threw his arm around him. "I'm ever so sorry for insulting he who loans me clothes."

Kevin shoved him off. "Now what exactly is the plan?"

Harry messed up his hair. "It's already a bet, so I'm going to act casual, stand up during dinner, ask how many people think I'm sleeping with Jason, and start collecting money. Acting like it's ridiculous that they managed to come to that conclusion. Since it's true at least I don't have to lie. I suck at lying when I don't have anything big to hide."

Kevin laughed. "I think I can bump up the believability. We have study hall in the Great Hall right before dinner starting about now. Go join them and do your work. And if you're done, get some off one of us. You still need to figure out the whole singing magic before you can ditch your class and join us and we're getting bored. Now go. I have work to do."

Harry left the dorm and took the back ways to the Great Hall. He plopped next to Jason. "Do you have the charms workbook?"

Jason pulled the yellow book out of his bag and tossed it over.

Harry's name appeared on the top and the pages cleared of the answers. "I love these books." He flipped to the first page and started reading.

Kevin wandered the length of the table whispering in ears before he dropped onto the bench across from Harry. "We're set."

Harry shook his head and filled in the next answer. "Hey, what do they mean by unity of consciousness? Is it thinking the same thing, being in the same frame of mind, or something I just completely missed?" The group seemed split into two camps on the issue and started debating. Harry smiled and started arguing the weak point of both sides.

Someone cleared their throat. Harry glanced up at Dumbledore standing at the head table. The Great Hall was filled. He smiled and shrugged.

They cleared their stuff off the table. Harry took a deep breath and stood. "All right." The room quieted. "How many people think that I'm sleeping with Jason? Hands up."

Hands shot up at the Slytherin table.

"Come on people. Have a backbone and tell the truth. Cough Gryffindor cough."

Hands slowly rose all over the room.

Jason choked on his gum.

Ron and Hermione's arms were up; Ron's straight; Hermione's bent and her lip caught between her teeth. Draco glanced around, his mouth hanging open.

Harry's breath caught in his throat. He'd expected a lot, yes, but this was ridiculous. Maybe three or four dozen people didn't have their hands up.

Kevin swore, yanked out his wallet, and tossed twenty dollars on the table. Everyone started pulling money out of bags and pockets.

Harry shook his head and pulled it into a pile, then walked up to the head table in front of McGonagall.

She pulled out a bag and dropped the coins into the bag he held out.

"Thank you." He walked to Professor Snape.

Professor Snape rolled his eyes and dropped a bag to the table. The coins clinked together in the silence of the room. "My expectations of their intelligence still seem to be too high."

Harry slid the bag off the table and walked back to Jason. "Pay up."

Jason slapped a wad of bills on his palm. "I can't believe-they'll really believe anything, won't they?"

Harry thumbed through the bills. "I did warn you. Remember that." He swept all the money into his bag. "I think I see shopping in my future."

Dumbledore stood and clapped his hands. "Well, now that Mr. Potter has apparently secured his financial future, let us eat." Food appeared.

Harry dropped the bag on the ground and smacked Jason on the back. "Maybe next time."

Diana smushed corn in her mashed potatoes. "We're having class tonight. Want to join us?"

Harry shook his head. "Ron and I are playing-um yeah. Sure. Class sounds good." He pushed the food around his plate.

Kevin took Harry's fork and shoved it in his mouth. "Eat." He dropped back into his seat. "I saw the picture too, so eat stick-boy."

Harry crossed his legs on the bench and started eating. "Will you guys go shopping for me?"

Diana flipped through her notebook. "Why?"

He swallowed and laughed. "They're more likely to let you leave then me, if permission were even an issue, and I don't see me getting out anytime soon, and I'd like to have some clothes of my own that I don't have to shrink."

Kyle waved his fork toward him. "Then you should eat more. Lots more. Bags of Oreos more."

Harry snorted. "I wouldn't fit into Dudley's clothes if I did nothing but eat for the rest of my life. This way I'll be sure to get my clothes and they won't ask why I need them."

Diana dropped her chin to her palm. "Large amounts of money and no one to shoot down my choices? I'm definitely down for it."

Harry winced. "Perhaps this wasn't the best idea." He leaned in. "I'll give you guys back your money when we get back to the dorm."

Kevin laughed. "Nope, it's all yours. I just took a few last minute bets." He smiled and twirled the fork. "Remember this in a few years when you're short on cash."

-

"You know you have to go back sometime." Jason brushed off his pants as Harry landed next to him.

Harry shrugged. "I see them in class."

"It's been two days of watching the potion simmer and eating in the lounge. Have you let them try to apologize?" Jason climbed into the main chamber. "You can't just hide out forever."

Harry sighed. "Dean apologized, not that he had to, since he tried to stand up for me in the tower." He sat next to Remara a few feet from the potion. "I expected them to believe it, and maybe even to not like it, but not even Hermione asked me before believing it. Though I don't know what's up with Draco. I don't think he's even looked at me since-I know I'm being petty, and maybe even mean, but I just don't want to go back yet."

Jason squeezed his shoulder. "You can't make things like this summer. It's not possible."

"I know." He pulled his knees to his chest. "Did Kevin and Kyle find the place where we have to cast the spell?"

Kevin ran into the room. "We found it. It's off grounds, but not far. We started sending the people we didn't need for transport there. We cast protection spells around it so we're not interrupted. Who else are we waiting for here?"

"Just Professor Snape." Harry stood.

Professor Snape stepped into the room. "Where are the others?"

Harry shuddered. "It's creepy when you do that." He brushed dirt off his butt. "They're waiting at the junction point. How do we get the potion out of here?"

He leaned over to check the potion and slid a cover over it. "It needs to be lifted out without agitating it too much. Does anyone have a stable levitation charm?"

Kevin and Jason lifted the cauldron. "We can do that. Can you two get to the top and grab it? We can go straight up, but probably not to the side without shaking it."

Professor Snape nodded and climbed the ladder he conjured to the bathroom and Harry followed him up.

Their voices echoed off the stone as the cauldron rose through the pipe.

Harry and Snape each took hold of a side and set it on the floor.

Jason climbed out of the hold last and Harry closed the opening. "Hopefully everyone should still be sleeping. If we're quick about it we probably won't run into anyone."

Professor Snape levitated it and walked at his usual quick pace while they ran to scout ahead. They reached the entrance hall when the door opened.

Biara shoved Diana in front of her. "In. All of you. You do not leave the grounds under any circumstances. I thought that was clear. Did you need more Chinese food?"

Professor Snape shifted the weight of the cauldron to them and moved forward. "Biara, we have to cast within an hour if we're going to get her out of there."

Kyle slid down the wall. "The nexus is gone. I don't know what happened; one minute we're standing there and everything's fine and the next the power is being leeched out of it."

Harry forced his clenched teeth apart. "Someone take this now."

Remara grasped the edge next to his hands.

He let go and his legs collapsed. His head throbbed and he pressed his hands to his forehead.

Professor Snape yanked his arms down and shook him. "Force him out. Do it!"

Harry took a deep breath and focused on the fingers digging into his wrists. The pain receded to the back of his head. "Voldemort leeched the energy out. He knows what we're dong. We have to move now or he'll kill her."

Kevin slammed his fist into the wall. "We don't have enough power to draw on. That was the whole point of the nexus."

Dumbledore helped Harry to his feet. "Then you'll need to raise the power, won't you?"

Harry stared into his eyes, barely twinkling now, laughed, and threw his arms around the purple, sparkly robes. He spun away and waved his hands to stop the arguing. "Guys, in this school we can pull off a power raising. We were missing sufficient ambient magic, remember?"

Diana hefted the bag on her shoulders and rifled through it. "I think I have everything we need. We need to cast somewhere with regular spell usage, which shouldn't be hard here, but we'll get the most power from long lasting spells."

"The Great Hall then." Dumbledore clasped his fingers. "No one should be at breakfast for an hour or so, but perhaps Professor Snape should refrain from joining in. I trust you can complete the spell without him?"

Jason nudged Remara and carried the cauldron steadily to the doors. "Yes, we can't use his energy in case it can be traced or recognized from the other side." Diana pulled the doors open for them and they stepped through. "We need an anchor."

Harry followed them in. "I'll do it; you guys are more used to working together. " He climbed onto the Academy table and sat in front of the cauldron as they settled it in the center and pulled the cover off.

Diana pulled out her sharpie. "Off with the shirt."

Harry pulled his shirt over his glasses and dropped it to the bench.

Diana hopped onto the table and started drawing on his back. "How many do we need?"

Jason took the chalk out of the bag and drew symbols along the floor. "As many as we can fit with symmetry." He drew the pentagram along the floor, onto the bench, and tossed it to Remara on the other side to keep going. He pulled another marker out of his pocket and started drawing on Harry's chest. "You need to remember the most important parts. Don't break the circle; the magic will lash out and start destroying things. Don't try and direct our magic unless absolutely necessary; there's too much for one person to direct unless they have exemplary control. Our job is to send the magic where it needs to be; you job is to keep us from losing our minds and magic to the abyss. No heroics, all right?"

Harry nodded and held his arms up so he wouldn't smear the marker. "I don't want to kill anyone today. No worries."

Jason nodded and pulled Diana away. They moved to the side, going through the bag, and whispering.

Professor Snape lifted his robes and stepped over the chalk line. "Are you sure you can do this Mr. Potter?"

Harry took a deep breath. The markers swirls were identical on each side keeping everything in balance. "I have to, and when I have to do something it usually turns out that I can. So let's just rest our faith in my unfailing luck." He winced. "Or maybe the fact that no one in this room has much of a social life so they all know way too much. Don't worry. We'll get her back somehow."

Professor Snape nodded and walked across the room to stand next to Dumbledore. The doors were closed, muffled thumping coming from the other side suggesting that Biara hadn't been allowed in.

The girls took off their shirts and drew around their tank tops; one rune on each shoulder blade. The pile of clothes kept growing until everyone was marked.

Harry took a deep a breath as they stepped onto the circle, one person on each side of the points of the star.

Diana climbed onto the table and knelt on the other side of the cauldron. She took his hands and everyone else formed the circle, leaning in to form a secondary circle around the two of them. "Are you ready?"

The potion bubbled slowly, every few seconds a bubble popping. "I'm ready."

She nodded. "Close your eyes." She started chanting, the others joining in one by one.

Static shock hit the center of his back and he jumped.

Diana squeezed his hands tighter.

The voices got louder. At each increase his hair shifted across his forehead. Goosebumps rose over his arms. The wind picked up and circled him. The goosebumps traveled down to his legs. Open your eyes. He forced his eyes open. Every other person had lifted their linked hands, casting the spell to summon her while the other half continued increasing the power. All the hair on his arms stood straight. Blue light flickered along the chalk lines. The potion slowly oozed over the edges of the cauldron and flowed along the chalk. The ground flickered as the portal struggled open. His arms shook as the energy pulsed through him. He breathed deeply and his limbs slowly settled, the magic flowing calmly through the circle, increasing each time around. A form flickered in from of him. Cali. The energy from the right side of the circle fluctuated. Jessica clutched those next to her, and forced her knees to lock, her head falling to her chest. We're going to fail. The form that had been coalescing started fading. The portal was being fought from the other side. Jessica collapsed to her knees taking the circle with her, but they stayed on the lines and connected. No. We can't fail now. He forced the energy out of himself faster, through the circle, and pulled it back into him increased by the energy each member was still pulling from the circle. Down. The energy shot down his legs and into the pentagram. The potion flared red and the floor washed black.

Diana slid her hands up his arms and grasped his shoulder, her fingernails breaking the skin.

He reached in, took Cali's shoulders, and pulled. Her weight fell on him and he slammed the portal closed as his scar felt like it was being ripped open.

Diana fell back, catching herself on her hands.

Dumbledore cast scourgify and everything but the scorched pentagram disappeared.

The circle had collapsed and no one was moving.

Professor Snape pulled the doors open and pulled Biara and Chris inside. McGonagall peered through before turning back and forcing the crowd of people from the doors. The doors swung shut on her ordering everyone back to their common rooms.

Chris hesitated next to him before pulling Cali out of his arms. Professor Snape helped him carry her to the next table and lay her down.

Biara pulled a shirt out of the pile and pressed it to Harry's forehead. Her lips kept moving.

He narrowed his eyes and tried to push the pain away. It faded from his head only to reappear over the rest of his body. Why was everyone shaking him? Everything just needs to be still for a little while. Wait, I thought it was the morning. Why is it getting dark?

"Burns covering his legs…don't know how much…Morganna-"

Harry sat up. "Cali!"

Madam Pomfrey burst through the curtains. "Mr. Potter lay down this instant." She pulled out her wand and started casting diagnostic charms.

Harry fell back as jabbing pains shot through his legs. "Where's Cali? Is she okay? Is everyone else all right?"

Chris pushed past the curtain and brushed the hair off Harry's forehead. "Hey, calm down. Everyone will be fine. It will take a while for a few of them to get their energy back, but they'll get back to their old selves. Diana's the most drained from being in the center of the cirlce, but she's always recovered quickly from power drain. Cali is-recovering. She isn't conscious yet, but most of her injuries are healing well. Don't worry about anything. Just concentrate on healing yourself. You've given everyone quite the scare."

Harry rubbed his scar. "What do you mean?"

Chris glanced at Madam Pomfrey who nodded and slipped away. "You've been unconscious for three days Harry. Whatever you did burned your legs, which aren't healing quickly despite all the burn creams your nurse has been trying, and no one could find any injuries that would be keeping you unconscious. They were afraid it had something to do with your scar. It started bleeding while you were opening the portal, which I'm supposed to yell at you about by the way. Jason is not happy with you while at the same time panicking over your well-being."

Harry pulled up the cover. He was only wearing boxers and a pajama top. His legs looked sunburned. "How long do I have to stay in here?"

Chris snorted. "You woke up five minutes ago. I doubt you'll be leaving for quite awhile." He stood and paced the length of the bed. "I don't want you to push yourself, but do you remember what happened? None of the circle remembers and all Diana can remember is that the circle was failing."

Harry dropped the cover and shifted, and stilled when his leg started to throb. "There was too much power coming in to ground, so it was rebounding on the circle. Jessica collapsed and took the circle with her, but they managed to stay connected so the power was still coming in. Voldemort was trying to block us from the other side, I have no idea how, and I just took the power, forced it open, took Cali, and shut it. You're sure Cali's going to be okay?"

Chris sat next to his hip and squeezed his arm. "Think about yourself for once. Your friends have been waiting to see you during all their free time and I'm sure they'll find a way to sneak in once they hear you're awake. I'll bring the circle down when they have the energy to make the trip. They aren't doing much beyond watching movies and sleeping. And before you ask again Cali will be fine. I forbid you to worry."

Harry closed his mouth and shrugged. "Fine, but don't expect it to work." He picked at the blanket. "Is there any way you can keep my 'friends' out?"

Chris tilted his chin up. "You think I don't know you were avoiding them, but I'm not as oblivious as you all like to think that I am my little friend of a centaur." He smiled as Harry jumped. "You will listen to what they say at the least, understand? It's not like they're going to attack you when you're in the clutches of Madam Pomfrey. Hitler would have been scared of that woman. And I'm watching for the mood of the school so we can fix everything and if I need to I will obliviate every person here. So don't worry about anything. So pretend you have to obey me for once and get some rest before I'm chased out of here too."

Harry punched the pillow a few times and curled his arm around it. "Okay, but remind me to whine about it later." He yawned and laid down, wincing as his leg scraped against the sheet.

-

Thanks to all my reviewers. I look at the number of reviews and almost faint. HUGS. You are the best people in the world and I'm eternally grateful for your encouragement that doesn't ever let me get to discouraged if a plot line isn't working-I rewrote the beginning of this chapter three times because it just wasn't working well.