'Oy! You can't sit here!' Ron Weasley protested loudly as Hermione slipped into the seat opposite Harry at breakfast the next morning.

'Bugger off, Ron.' His sister snapped back without hesitation.

'Yeah.' Neville agreed, an uncharacteristically dark scowl marring his features.

For a moment, Hermione looked between the two obviously disparate groups, wondering what had happened in the dormitories the night before. Then she pushed it aside to be addressed later, and turned to Harry.

'So, I've already written some letters. I think it's best if you carry on with Transfiguration, Charms, Runes and Potions.'

'Potions?' Harry groaned in dismay. 'How's potions going to help?'

'Because you still have to sit OWLs next year and I doubt you'll want to spend your summer helping Slughorn brew in Avalon.' She rolled her eyes. 'I've asked Sirius and Berg to do some tutoring but...'

Hermione hesitated, glancing around the table.

'Come on. Let's go visit the thestrals. I've got an idea. We'll catch up with you in the Transfiguration classroom later, Ginny? Neville?'

The two other Gryffindors looked curious, but agreed to be left behind. Harry grabbed another slice of toast and got up, wandering out of the hall beside her.

It was a pleasant day for late autumn; fluffy clouds skudded across the forget-me-not sky, tugged by a brisk wind that pulled at their casual weekend robes and swirled leaves into mounds, before dispersing them in a puff of feathery husks. The Beauxbatons students were late risers - trudging up the lawn to breakfast with their light robes pulled tight around them and hunched against the cold. The Durmstrang students, in direct contrast, were playing keep away with the giant squid on their broomsticks, whooping whenever it plucked someone out of the air or someone fell off their broom and into the frigid water.

The two Hogwarts students turned away from the visitors, skirting around the edge of the lake until they reached the enchanted rock seat that they'd made in early on in their Hogwarts careers. It had become a little overgrown over the summer, but it was nothing that a little bit of wandless magic couldn't fix. To her pride, Harry performed the task almost effortlessly.

'So?' Harry asked, as soon as they were seated. She took a moment to gather herself before she begun.

'I have an idea, but I wan't you to think very carefully before you agree.' She started. Harry nodded, his expression quickly becoming serious. 'You know that our magic builds as we get older?'

'Yeah, between fifteen and seventeen, for boys.' Harry confirmed.

'Right. Well, mostly, it won't stop when you're of age, but it will slow down considerably... either way, you're at a disadvantage.'

'And the tasks have been designed for of age wizards.' Harry agreed, biting his lip.

'But there is a way we can get you access to more magic - you need to think carefully about this, it's permanent, and a big decision - you're already a part of the family magic, as my ward, but you could join the Sect, if you choose.'

'Really?' Harry's eyes lit up immediately, and Hermione held up a hand to stop him talking.

'It's a big decision, Harry. Yes, you'd be able to use the Sect magic, but it's under my complete control. You'd be giving the High Priestess complete control over your magic.'

'You, right?' Harry confirmed.

'Me, currently. But potentially my children in the future. And I mean absolute control. I want you to look at Mordred's magic first, and talk to him about it. I've got some scrolls from Avalon - how's your Ogham going? Good?'

She pulled the thick leather scroll tube from her magically extended bag, passing it to Harry who eyed up the runes on the side, brows furrowed.

'I want to.' He announced. Hermione huffed irritably. She'd clearly failed to impress just how serious a Sect bond was. She had the power to force them to cast, or force them to channel what she cast. It was an intrusive, deep bond that could only be closed from her end.

'I trust you.' Harry pressed on, 'and whether I like it of not, this tournament is just the beginning. Voldemort is targeting me, and if he really is coming back to power, I'm going to have to face him. He's had decades to get stronger, and if being a part of the sect helps me survive...'

For a long minute, Hermione regarded him. She didn't perform legilimency - she wasn't that rude - but she gleaned everything she could from his body language. He was being serious, and he did honestly believe that the sect was a good idea. He'd made a good point about Voldemort too, and it would give them all peace of mind to know that he had the awesome power of the sect at his disposal to combat the much older dark wizard.

'I still want you to talk to Mordred. There are other options - rituals that can let you stockpile some magical power, potions to increase casting potency...' She trailed off, shrugging. 'There are options. I don't want you to feel pressured into this.'

Eventually, Harry agreed, but he seemed far more at ease now that the suggestion had been made.

'What else?' He eventually asked, after several silent minutes watching a bird digging under rocks for food. 'You're still thinking. I can tell, there's a line between your eyes.'

'Harry!' She leaned over and swatted him, then kneaded her fingers into her forehead in an effort for force the muscles to relax.

'You are thinking... plotting... whatever it is you Slytherins do in your free time.'

'Of course.' She rolled her eyes. 'I'm always plotting.'

There was another brief pause. A thestral had appeared, ghosting out of the dark treeline and picking it's way over to them. Harry couldn't see them, but his attention must have been drawn by the shifting brambles.

'Do you think we should teach the others defence?' Harry eventually asked. 'I mean, you've been teaching us for ages and if Voldemort really is coming back, isn't it our duty to make sure everyone can defend themselves?'

Hermione glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, surprised. Harry had heard her talk about duty and protecting the people, but had never verbalised any particular agreement with her beliefs. That didn't mean that she doubted that he would do his best to protect people when the time came, but that was more from personal loyalty rather than any duty. Besides that, she hadn't expected him to be the one to suggest training the others; he tended to react to danger as it arose, rather than planning and preparing for when it came.

'I've been thinking along the same lines. Montague asked if I could tutor him in defence at the feast.'

'Montague?' Harry asked dubiously. 'Isn't he a bit of a thug?'

'He's not the brightest.' She acknowledged with a snicker.

'He's purist too, though? Wouldn't we be just training up future followers of Voldemort to be better?'

'He's not as vocal about it as some of the others.' She shrugged. 'I think a lot of purebloods join up because they're forced to. They want to protect our traditions and freedoms to practice magic, but currently Voldemort is the only one offering that option. I think, if we make it clear that that is what we stand for, we might find many pureblood families falling in with us instead.'

'But it might not work like that...'

'A risk we'll have to take. Besides, it's not like we'd be teaching him anything awful. Patronus charms, shield charms... the kind of stuff that would really keep them safe. Maybe some minor jinxes to slow down an opponent.'

For several long minutes, Harry seemed to consider it. She considered teasing him for the crease that appeared between his eyebrows, then decided against it when he spoke again.

'Okay. Do you have anyone in particular that you want to invite?'

'The Weasley twins.' She replied instantly. Hermione had been paying closer attention to them after Ginny's explanation of their ambitions on the train, and what she had seen had impressed her. Hermione's prodigious talent with runes and almost innate understanding of rituals meant that she could create massively powerful pieces of magic, and imbue items with powerful enchantments. What the twins did, however, was a complex combining of already extant charms and potions to create fascinating products; easily used and recreated. She wouldn't know where to start with something like that, but it was a talent she wanted at her disposal.

'Fred and George?' Harry checked dubiously. The two were notorious for pranking the Slytherins and liked Hermione about as much as Ron Weasley. She shrugged, confirming the choice. She was certain that getting the duo on side was just a matter of the right leverage. If they were part of the same defence club, one offered by a fellow Gryffindor - Sirius, she would have the opportunity to approach them.

'I'll never understand you Slytherins.' Harry eventually lamented, but there was a smile on his face. 'You've always got so many plans going on at once.'

'And that, brother dearest, is why you're a Gryffindor.' She sprung to her feet, robes falling around her ankles. 'Come on, escort me back to the castle. I want to see if Ragana is back with any letters.'

Harry stood as well, cleaning both their robes with a wave of his wand. Hermione petted the thestral goodbye and they headed back up to the castle.