Ah, my lovelies I have come baring gifts…well, a gift. A new chapter just for your enjoyment. As normal I have slaved over my computer to make this appealing creature we all call a story so please read, read to your heart's content. That does interest you all does it? Fine, the real gift is that Tom makes an appearance in this chapter. Enjoy.

I do not own Harry Potter...(cry).

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"Talk"

'Think'

"Parseltongue"

Chapter 31 – World Cup

"Aunty is that Severus I hear in the background?" Harry teased. He sat in a café with Sirius and Remus waiting for Hermione. As per their agreement at the beginning of summer Harry dialed Petunia's number for their daily talk but when she answered he could hear Severus.

Petunia huffed. "Yes, and not one word out of you about it either."

Harry grinned at Remus' raised eyebrow. He could hear every word thanks to his wolf hearing. "But Aunty your son and I have been waiting for this since my 12th birthday. We even made a bet on how long it would take you two to get together."

"Harrison Evans!" Harry snickered as his aunt's yell.

"Well, I'll let you get back to your date. Love you, talk to you tomorrow." Harry laughed as he ended the call. "Severus is going to kill me when he sees me."

Remus laughed. "I think this is great. Did you know that they were childhood friends? Your father caught Severus writing her a letter once when we were in school and when he made fun of him your mother laid into James like you wouldn't believe. Your father never said a word about it again."

"Really? When did they stop talking?" Harry asked. His Aunt never mentioned him when she spoke of her childhood.

Sirius was the one to answer. "I was with Lily when she noticed that the letters had stopped. She confronted him. He had taken the dark mark and didn't want to draw attention to the only Muggle he cared about. I though your mother was going to kill her best friend that day."

Harry didn't ask another question. The waitress stopped by the table for the third time to flirt with Sirius, who for all his charm and joking was very loyal to his mate. Harry could tell that both his godfathers were getting agitated by the girl. "Ma'am, can we have two strawberry milkshakes and two orders of chips please?"

The girl turned from Sirius to him with a bright smile. "Can do honey. I'll have it out ASAP." She turned back to his godfathers. "Do you want something too?"

Remus gave her a thin smile. "My husband and I will have chocolate milkshakes."

The girl went red from embarrassment realizing what she had done. "O-oh, yes. I'll have those right out?" Remus just nodded. She scampered away as quickly as she could to fill their order.

When the poor girl was out of earshot Harry laughed. Harry did feel bad because no one really noticed that his godfathers were an item. "I think you two need to get rings. That poor girl."

Remus only smiled. Sirius drew his mate in for a kiss.

"Harry!" Hermione's voice pulled his attention to the door where she stood with her father and a woman that could only be her mother. Harry stood from the booth and opened his arms in an invitation. She took it without hesitation. "Oh, Harry I have missed you. Talking on a phone or mirror just isn't the same."

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"Harry, Hermione we need to get going. We still have a hike to do after we get to the Weasley's house." Sirius called down the hall to the guest room where Harry and Hermione were.

"Coming Sirius." Harry pulled on his new shifting gray trench coat and getting Amara situated around his shoulders. Hermione followed him pulling on her own matching coat.

Remus and Sirius stood waiting beside the fireplace. Remus held the floo powder jar out to them. "Come on, we'll be late and they'll leave without us."

Harry rolled his eyes but grabbed a hand full of the powder. "See you on the other side." He flashed them a cheeky grin before stepping into the fireplace. "The Burrow." He threw the powder at his feet. The green flames rose up to encase his form. He stepped out into the cluttered but homey living room of the Burrow. Fred, George, Luna, and Ginny stood waiting to great him.

"Alpha!" Harry grinned, catching Luna as she jumped into his arms for a hug. Amara had moved just in time so she wouldn't be crushed by the girl.

"Luna, darling, did you miss me?" He joked, wrapping his arms around her waist in a tight hug. He glimpsed the rest of the Weasley family move into the room. He nodded to Molly and Arthur when they walked in, both with smiles.

Luna tightened her grip before releasing him to allow Ginny to hug him. "Of course I missed you Alpha. Are the nargles in your head? I was sure they stayed away from you."

Luna will always be Luna. Harry released Ginny just as the fire flared. It was only his lightning reflexes that made it so Hermione didn't have a painful meeting with the floor. "Hello, Hermione love. How was the floo?"

"I feel sick." And she looked a little green. Harry gently sent a pulse of his magic to her. The green disappeared and she gave a grateful sigh. 'Thank you.'

'Of course.' He helped her to her feet. George took her left arm, leading her to an open spot on the couch. "When was Neville coming?"

"He should be here any minute. We leave in 10." Arthur answered. "Have you eaten?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, Sirius said that we shouldn't because Molly would most likely want to feed us."

Molly laughed, standing from the arm chair. "Sirius does learn it seems. Come on I have hot food waiting for you all in the kitchen."

Sirius and Remus took that moment to fall out of the floo together. Remus looks mad while Sirius was laughing. Harry decided he didn't want to know what happened. He promptly followed Molly to the kitchen with the girls and twins behind him. They all left the mated pair still on the floor to sort out what had happened.

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"Come on everyone, we need to be at the top in 5 minutes or the port-key will leave without us," Arthur yelled back to the string of people that followed him up the large hill. For the past hour, they have been hiking along the country. Harry and the Pack were loving it. They were joking around and jumping on each other as time passed. Halfway up the hill Luna had jumped on Harry's back and was now being carried up the rest of the way, not that Harry was complaining.

"Arthur!" An older man yelled happily as the group reached the top of the hill. "Sirius, Remus, good to see you both again."

Remus smiled and shook hands with the man. "Amos, it has been too long."

The man, Amos, laughed in agreement. "Yes, how have you been? Are you going to be teaching at Hogwarts again this year?"

Harry ignored the rest of the conversation. "Hey, Cedric. How the summer been?"

The Hufflepuff boy smile at the Pack. "I've been good. How about you all? Good summer?"

"Yeah. Spent it with my godfathers learning everything I could get my hands on." Harry kept the polite conversation up in the company of outsiders. "Who you betting on winning?"

"Ireland, no doubt. Bulgaria may have Viktor Krum but the Irish have the best offense." Cedric looked giddy. Fred and George jumped into the conversation allowing Harry to leave it.

He moved over to where Neville, Ginny, and Hermione were talking. He set Luna down and waited for the time for the port-key activation. Amara, with a little complaining, let him put her in his inner pocket with Amara. He then put a wandless/nonverbal spell to make it so nothing could hurt or disturb them. It was only a minute before Amos called everyone to stand around the old torn up boot on the ground. He directed them to lay on their stomachs and grab hold of the ragged thing. Harry grabbed one of the laces, glade Amara and Nightshade were protected in his pocket. Hermione and Neville took their places on either side of him. Hermione looked so fearful and was shooting the Pack question after question through their bond. Harry wrapped his free arm around her in comfort.

"Deep breath," Harry whispered, and a moment later the key activated. The world spun, colors and shapes twisted into unrecognizable shapes as the spinning motion just got faster. The ride felt like it was an hour before it ended but at the same time just seconds. Harry landed on his side with Hermione curled around him. He rolled onto his back pulling her with him. She shook in his arms with dry sobs. "It's okay Hermione. It's over."

Fred groaned from the left on him. "That didn't go well. What the hell happened?"

"Oh Merlin, are you all right?" A woman called. Harry glanced around. Their whole group was on the ground in the middle of the Quidditch field and the boot was a smothering pile of leather. Something had gone wrong alright.

"Pup, everyone alright?" Sirius called from his spot on the ground. Remus was next to him holding his head.

Harry ignored them, more worried about Neville who was heaving next to him. With one arm around Hermione, he reached out for the sick boy. 'Neville breathe.' His hand landed on Neville's shoulder. 'Breathe'

'Harry is everything alright? What happened?' Draco's called through the bond.

'Crash landing. Something was wrong with the key. Landed in the stadium.' Harry replied.

'On my way.' Draco said hurriedly.

"Here let me get her up." The woman from before reached out for Hermione, intent to pull her up off of Harry.

Harry growled at her, his instincts telling him to protect his downed Packmates, and George pulled the woman from them. "Leave her alone. She's fine where she is. If you want to help, go help Ron." He pointed to the red head who was losing his breakfast all over the ground. The woman looked mad at being dismissed but neither Harry or George cared.

"Thanks," Harry muttered. George nodded and gently pulled Hermione from Harry's arms and into his own. Harry rolled over and pulled himself up on his knees. "Come on Neville." He helped Neville stand from his hunched position. With Neville leaning on him and Hermione with George he took the moment to look at the others. The adults looked fine with only the looks of headaches. Cedric looked dizzy and was covering his eyes like the light hurt. Ginny was sitting with her head between her legs with Remus next to her with his wand to help. Fred had a gash on his arm from a rock he landed on. Luna, bless her, was giggling next to Fred unharmed.

"What the bloody hell happened to our port-key?" Fred yelled, understandably mad.

By this time others were rushing around them. Most of them were Aurors. Three of them were analyzing the remains of the boot. "It looks like magic overload."

Sirius turned to them with a sneer. "In other words too many people for one port-key. They knew how many of us were coming they should have sent two then. That damned port-key could have killed us!"

"Uncle I'm going to take the other to set up the camp site and get the Pack fixed up," Harry called over the yelling match that was starting up. Sirius gave a nod before laying into the officials before him.

Harry set off to the field entrance where he could see Draco being forced to wait beside a pair of Aurors. Cedric stayed with his father but nodded a good-bye to his Lord. Ginny wrapped Fred's arm in the bandages she took from the woman who first tried helping them. Luna followed last in the group. They stayed silent as Draco joined the group. Their camp site was in the closest clutter of tents by the stadium so the walk wasn't too long. Harry ignored the enlarged space in favor of taking care of his Pack now that they were away from prying eyes. His eyes glowed as his magic was released to wash over them, healing and soothing before he drew it back in.

Ginny was the first to do something in the silence was hung heavy around them. She flopped back onto one of the couches with a snort. "Well, that's a hell of a way to start a day."

That caused the other to start laughing. Harry got himself under control first. "Let's make it the only hic-up of today shall we?"

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The game was about to start, yet Harry wasn't up in the stands with the rest of the Pack. He had been snagged by Oliver Wood, a Venator who just graduated, to be introduced to Oliver's parents and told that Oliver had accepted a position on the Puddlemere United quidditch team. Harry barely got to his place as the Irish team flew out onto the Pitch. Their Green uniforms with silver writing reminded Harry of the Slytherin team a bit. The team's mascot, leprechauns, were dancing around on the pitch side lines. The twins, Ginny, and Remus were cheering loudly for their chosen team.

Bulgaria's team come out next, flying around the pitch together before separating. Krum was the biggest cheered for player. The team's mascots were Veelas. Veelas that were causing many of the men in the crowd to go brain dead and drool all over themselves. Krum did a second lap around the stadium, causing massive amounts of cheering, before going to his place above his team's chasers waiting for the referee to start the game.

Hermione was cheering next to Harry when it happened. Her scarf, a new silvery-white one Luna had given to her before they came to the game, flew from around her shoulders with a gust of wind. She lunged forward, only to miss it by an inch. Harry was about to pull it back with his magic when he saw Krum take notice of it. He decided to leave the scarf alone. The Bulgarian seeker moved from his game start position, making the referee pause in starting the game, to catch it. Krum glanced back at the direction the scarf came from to see Hermione with her hand still out from when she went to catch it. She pulled back as her eyes met his. Fans were screaming as Krum flew up to where they were standing. Hermione looked speechless and flustered when Krum stopped only a foot from her.

"You should be more careful with this. I would hate for such a pretty girl like you to lose her scarf." Krum held the scarf out to her. Hermione reached to take it. Krum caught her hand in his before she could retract it. "May I know your name?"

Harry chuckled at Hermione's blush. She ignored him, eyes only on Krum. "I'm Hermione Granger. Thank you for retrieving my scarf." Even with a blush, she smiled so beautifully.

"Hermy-own," His accent made it hard for him to say her name but it was cute to see Hermione's blush darken. "Viktor Krum at your service." He bent over to place a kiss on the back of her hand. "I hope to see you again."

Hermione nodded as he slowly released her hand and scarf. She drew the hand and scarf back to her chest. "Only the future will tell."

Krum chuckled at her answer. With one last look at Hermione, he turned to join the other player in the middle of the field. Harry laughed as Hermione finally realized that the whole stadium of people had seen had happened thanks to the spell that zoomed in on players in the games. During the whole altercation, the spell had zoomed in on Krum and Hermione, showing everything that happened in detail. The only saving grace of the ordeal is that the spell didn't transmit sound too.

'That was cute. If he's always sweet we might even let him have a chance with you.' George teased in the bond for all of them to hear. Hermione only ducked her head into her scarf, that was once again around her neck where it was meant to be.

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"I can't believe that Bulgaria lost so spectacularly. It was like they wanted to lose." Ginny complained in the tent after the game ended.

"Oh, but did you see Krum? I don't care how bad the team was I have to give that guy credit, he did some fantastic moves. That Wronski Feint he did was impressive." Draco gushed like a school girl in Harry's mind, and he let the whole Pack know via their bond. "Alpha! I do not gush like a school girl!"

"Yes, you do Drakie-poo." Fred joked, making puckered lips to make the act better.

Draco jumped at him, ignoring his father who stepped into the tent with Harry's godfathers. "Don't call me that you-"

"Draco try not to kill him. He and George are needed in this group." Hermione grinned in amusement.

Harry noted that Lucius sat in a lone chair closer to the fireplace, watching them all but mostly his son. Draco didn't care, he was trying to wrap his hands around Fred's neck while Fred kept repeating Drakie-poo. "We can replace him with Neville," Draco growled.

Neville looked startled. "No. The twins test all their things on themselves first and I want no part of it, thank you very much."

"Enough. Draco let go of him, he's turning purple from laughing so hard." Harry sighed. "George control you brother."

Draco let go of Fred's shirt with a huff. "I will get you back when we are at school." He turned to his father. "Father, may I stay here with my friends tonight?"

Surprisingly Lucius nodded. "I was going to tell you that a problem at the Ministry has come up. I was going to take you home but if you would like to stay you may. I want you to floo home in the morning."

Draco calmly nodded, Malfoy mask firmly in place. "Of course. Thank you father."

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The night was calm. Sirius and Remus had called it a night after a Veela tried to use her charms to get Sirius into her bed. Let's just say that you should never try to take a werewolf's mate. Sirius had laughed in the woman's face for her efforts and Remus dragged him back to the tent and set up a silencing charm so he could claim his mate without scaring the Pack.

Harry pulled out Blood Magic, feeling it was time to read on. He hadn't touched the book since his ritual, wanting to experiment with his magic and what he already learned from the book before he moved on. It was a small book and he was about half way through it.

History – Ritual Magic

'In the beginning of this book, I told you that Blood magic doesn't need fancy ritual to work. That's true. You don't need it for simple everyday things as I'm sure you found out in explorations. Ritual work is needed for the more advanced levels though. History will have us believe that ritual magic came from the need to feel closer to the divine. That is wrong. Ritual magic came from the need to unlock trapped magic. The more advanced and complex things you wish to do with blood magic the harder it will be to achieve without a ritual.'

'Wizards and Witches found that they had magic deep within themselves. To access that magic they need to go through steps. Sometimes that magic could only be brought out during those steps and so set rituals came. Soon some didn't want to keep going through the rituals to get the results so they found a way to modify the rituals to make the change they brought permanent. These rituals were longer, more personal, and more painful than the one before them. In these rituals, if something went wrong it could cost them their lives.'

'Blood magic rituals are slightly different from any other branch because unlike all other branches, all rituals done with blood magic are permanent. In the coming section, you learn the basic rune system, basic ritual set up, and most importantly proper safety measures.'

A fleeting tremor of magic caught Harry's attention. He set the book down. He waited a minute, searching for the origin of the magic. He heard the first of many screams penetrate the air. Hermione looked up from her own book in fear. "What's going on?"

"Alpha what do we do?" Luna looked at Harry with clear and determined eyes.

Harry threw open the flap to glance around outside. There was fire in the distance and the screams were many. All the action was on the outskirts of the grounds. "Stay here. Protect the Pack. I'm going to go see what is happening and if it's a threat to us. If it is I am coming back and we leave." They wanted to argue, he could feel it in the bond and see it on their faces but they obeyed. "You are my Elite Venatores, my Pack, this might be the beginning of the battles we will fight in the future."

That did it. They lost the open look about them and in its place came the cool masks they showed to outsides. They were Venatores. Harry nodded once. Outside was dark and cool. He ran on silent feet towards the fighting he could feel. Spells and screams mixed in the air like a sinister symphony. He ducked passed stampeding, fear driven people. He jumped over the dead who were scattered on the ground and gaged at the putrid smells that some of the corpses emitted. He took one last turn to come upon a sickening sight. There were Death Eaters all around. They were tormenting, torturing, and killing any who were unfortunate enough to have caught their eye. Tents were aflame and spreading fast.

He came to a decision about the situation very quickly. He was about to run back to his tent when a Death Eater pointed his wand to the sky. He didn't hear the words but the product was instantaneous. The Dark Mark was a gloomy gray-green against the pitch black sky, blocking out the stars. He felt his gut twist. The war was renewing itself.

'Alpha?' Ginny tentatively asked.

'I'll be back soon enough.' Harry replied. Harry turned away and froze. He was face to face with one of the Death Eaters. He hadn't felt the man approach and even this close to the man he couldn't feel much magic from him. Harry did feel the magic gathering around the tip of the man's wand. Harry dipped down and kicked out the man's knee cap. The man fell with a yell that was muffled by his white mask. Harry relied on his instincts to guide him. The man raised his wand from his place on the ground and Harry found one of his knifes in hand. With a flick of his wrist, it was in the man's heart. The Death Eater dropped flat on the like a stone, his measly magic disappearing. Harry heard yelling behind him but didn't wait to hear what was being said. Harry grabbed his knife and ran to the woods that were close by. He got far enough in before falling against a tree.

"Master, why didn't you bring the others? You have all been training to fight." Amara peeked out from inside his shirt. "This could have gone much worse."

Harry felt the seductive magic appear behind him before he heard the voice. It swirled around him, smoothing his skin in a teasing playful manner. "Indeed it could have." The voice was like melted chocolate even among the screams that still penetrated the air.

"Hello, Tom. Been a time since I've seen you." Harry slowly turned around to face the man. The screams slowly drifted off as the Death Eaters left the area.

Tom stood before him with a calm smile but he could see the smirk in his eyes. Tom looked much like his youth. His dark hair was combed perfectly to the side, his eyes were hidden behind a glamor showing the stormy blue of his birth, his skin was pale showcasing his eyes and cheekbones. Tom looked to only be in his twenties. "Yes. I was recovering from illness. It is good to see you again my little Alpha."

Harry let some of his magic out to intertwine with Tom's. He wanted to know if this was his body or one he stole. It was his real body. "You look better from when I last saw you."

Tom hummed distracted at the feel of Harry's magic mixing with his. He stepped forward, closer to Harry. Harry stood his ground unafraid. "You didn't reply to my last letter."

Harry chuckled, remembering that he got Tom's letter at the same times he got the information about titles. He had just thrown it in his bag and never thought of it again. "Yeah. Can't blame me though, not after what I learned." Tom hummed again, slowly circling him. He stopped directly behind Harry. "And truth," Harry muttered closing his eyes, feeling Tom step forward so they were only a hair's breath apart. "I didn't even read it. I had forgotten all about it. It's most likely still in my bag." Harry turned around, lifting his head to meet Tom's now red eyes. "Tonight just proved that our plans don't coincide. You're just a petty killer bend on world domination."

Tom chuckled, a deep sound that vibrated through the air between them. "Tonight has nothing to do with me little Alpha. My Death Eaters don't even know I'm back yet. You're the first to see me." Harry saw his arm move and felt Tom's hand settle in his hair at the nape of his neck. "My plans have changed and they will learn that. You will learn that."

Harry pulled his magic back within himself, fighting it for the first time in his life. His magic wanted to stay with Tom's. Tom tightened his grip on the back of his head but Harry brushed it off as unimportant. "Prove it because all the facts are against you."

"Are they?" Tom muttered, softly stroking Harry's neck with his thumb. Harry reached up and grabbed Tom's arm, making sure that he had a clear view of the golden Peverell ring on his right ring finger. Tom froze looking at it.

"They are." Harry concentrated his magic into his Pack band, letting it take him to his Pack. The last thing he saw was Tom's eyes darken.

He landed standing in the tent. The Pack, including Sirius and Remus, were gathered in the living area. Harry didn't have to say a word, they all knew. The war was about to start anew and they were going to be fighting in the middle of it.

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There you go. I hoped you liked it. This is so far my favorite chapter of the whole story so far. Please leave a review, tell me what you think of it and can't wait to have you all back here again.

SHBTM