Normality

"Since we have two griffins so close to our living areas, I thought that it would be an excellent chance to study the creatures and start up the year on a high note." Piper spoke to the groggy teens. "Although not part of demonology or Defense Against the Dark Arts, I chose to include some magical creatures in your studies. Which is perfect, since Headmaster Dumbledore had to cut out Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid off on a mission for the Order."

Harry yawned, not really listening to Piper. Piper had told them the night before to be prepared for an early class, but none of them suspected a wake up call at five thirty. They had congregated just inside of the Southern Exit without any complaining, simply too tired to care. Harry heard his name and tried to remember the context.

Piper shook her head. "Harry, please unlock the door!"

Harry nodded and waved his hand where the doorknob should have been. The door screeched open. Freezing wind rushed through the open door waking everyone up rather abruptly.

"Griffins have been around almost as long as magic has existed. The first two griffins were bred by Elves who lived in what is now present-day Greece. The Elves there had a habit of distorting the nature around them. There are some scholars who argue that the Grecian Elves bred all magical creatures. After all, most magical beings seem to have spread out from that part of the world. Those that do not come from areas where Grecian Elves set up colonies." Piper stopped at the center rock.

Hermione raised her hand. Piper nodded for her to continue. "But if that's true, doesn't that dispute the current theory that magic evolved the animals that already existed?"

Piper nodded her head. "It expounds on it, actually. These scholars agree that all magical creatures evolved from mundane creatures, but they go on to say that magic did not do so by itself. The Elves are the ones who bred magic into the creatures, which in turn mutated them."

They continued down the path and came to rest twenty meters away from the oak tree. The two adult griffins were content with growling at the humans. Harry spotted two eggs and understood why they were reluctant to attack.

"Can you tell me which one is the male and which one is the female?"

Chris raised his hand. "Male griffins are the ones depicted on the Gryffindor banner. They look like a male lion with large wings; just like the one on the right." Chris pointed at the male, who was glaring at the intruders. "Females are the ones that look like the classical griffins with the head of a large gold eagle and the hindquarters of a lion. Females wings are like those of a bird, while the male's more closely resemble a bat's, except coated with fur."

Piper smiled with approval. "Griffins lay one to two eggs every four years. They mate for life and if one partner dies, the other will lose the will to live like many other magical creatures with similar mating habits. Griffin young are very much defenseless for the first few months. They mature at a rapid rate and will move away from their parents in about two years; the males have been known to leave as soon as one year."

Harry raised his hand. "So what's the difference between a golden griffin and these?"

"There are three types of griffins: the golden, the lesser, and the griffin. The lesser griffins are the ones talked about in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The ones here are griffins. The golden griffins live nowadays solely in the Elven kingdoms. They are similar to the male griffin, except their fur is golden rather than the tawny color of these two. The golden griffins also exhibit control over fire and earth while the other two types of griffin show no sign of being able to do magic."

"Griffins are fiercely territorial like most other predators. The female does the hunting; they eat fish, birds, and small mammals. The male will raise the young and teach them the skills necessary for their survival." Piper looked at the two griffins. "Griffin are excellent guardians and have been used by Elves and humans to protect treasure and children."

Hermione cringed at the thought and Ginny's eyes flicked nervously between the griffins and Piper. "Who'd trust their child to a wild beast?"

Uur answered the question. "Elven royalty and many other important heirs are protected by griffins during their early childhood. Especially when their parents are busy with important affairs."

"Were you protected by griffins?" Harry asked.

Uur shook his head. "I was placed under the care of the royal guard. My sister and younger brother were, however. Since I am the heir to the High Lord, they wished for me to remain as close to the court as possible."

Without warning, the griffins released booming roars and the female griffin leaped down from the tree. Her wings lifted her gracefully out of her fall and she flew further up. She hit a large shadow and both came tumbling down to the ground ripping and tearing at the other. Wyatt threw up his shield and the two beasts slid down the shield in the shadow of the oak tree.

Harry tried to make out what the other creature was, but they were simply moving too fast for him to see anything more than a blur. The fight abruptly came to a halt when the male griffin landed on the ground. The female limped to her mate's side. The other creature hissed but remained laying in a submissive pose. Harry saw the ruby red eyes and pulled out his wand.

"Move back into the house; it's a wyvern."

Ginny protested. "We can handle one wyvern and the two griffins shouldn't interfere when they realize that we're fighting the same thing."

Harry shook his head. "This one is possessed."

Uur frowned. "How can you tell? I sense no telepathy indicating a possession."

Harry turned around and glared at the group. "Don't think, just move back! This is Voldemort!"

That got everyone to start moving back; everyone, except Wyatt.

"Go and protect them, Wyatt. I can handle this." Harry snapped.

Wyatt backed off but remained close enough to step in should the occasion call for it. Harry raised his wand and brought it down in the slashing way Remus had shown them. The curse pushed the wyvern down to its knees but did not do the damage Harry had expected it to. The wyvern roared but when the griffins answered the roar with their own, it backed up.

"I know you're able to hear me, Voldemort." Harry smiled when the wyvern cocked its head. "Get out of here before I vanquish you."

"I doubt you have the will power, Potter." The wyvern hissed. "Wyverns are more powerful than snakes."

Harry pocketed his wand. He walked up to the wyvern and smiled. "Take this." Harry placed his hand on the wyvern. He felt his body become entangled in the familiar coils of Voldemort.

He concentrated on Ron and Hermione … Sirius … Remus … Dumbledore … Wyatt … Caleb. He heard the creature scream out in pain. He released his grip on the wyvern.

Harry saw the serpentine relative of the griffin take off, its eyes lacking the penetrating red they had when Harry first looked into them. The two griffins had backed up growling hesitantly in Harry's direction. Harry realized that he was lying in the grass. Carefully he lifted himself up to his knees, feeling lightheaded. He pushed himself to his feet, but a wave of nausea kept him steadily on his knees.

"You alright, Potter?" McGonagall's sharp voice cut through the still chilly air.

Harry kept his mouth shut and shook his head. Wyatt and Ron were by his side in a second helping him to his feet.

"I'll tell Leo you are on your way, Potter." McGonagall said. She turned around and strode quickly down the path back into the house.

Piper placed her hand on Harry's head. "You're all clammy. Perhaps Wyatt should just orb you there."

Ron let go. Harry felt the still bizarre feeling of having your body rearranged in one place while it fell apart where he was standing. Wyatt caught him when they reached the med ward seconds before McGonagall burst through the doors. Her face was red and she was panting heavily.

"You could've informed me that you're going to orb, Mr. Halliwell." She knocked on Leo's office door.

Wyatt shook his head. He helped Harry onto one of the beds.

"Harry, what you doing here so early in the term?" Leo asked.

Harry swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth. "Wyvern attack."

Leo frowned. "That should have been an easy battle for you."

"It was possessed, Dad." Wyatt informed quickly. "Harry, according to Uur, had an intense mental battle with Voldemort."

Leo nodded and orbed a couple of brightly colored potions to his side. "These should settle your stomach and return your blood sugar back to normal. You should eat breakfast as soon as you take these."

Harry stared at the plate of bacon and eggs Cho had placed in front of him. The potions had settled his stomach, but the last thing he felt like doing was putting anything into his stomach. Harry pushed the plate away and forced himself to take a sip of water. He gagged down the water. He was well aware of everyone watching him intently.

"Have you read your newspaper?" Harry questioned Hermione.

Hermione shook her head vaguely and pushed the Prophet into Harry's open hand. Harry looked at the front page and sighed. He flipped through the paper and stopped on the last page. A tiny article had caught his eye.

"MUGGLES START MARS MISSION. Yesterday, Lord Voldemort met with the Muggle government he set up to deal with the mundane issues of the nonmagical world he rules. During the meeting, it has been proven that Lord Voldemort pushed the Muggles into starting a thirty-year project to establish a colony on Mars. The Muggle politicians jumped at the chance of proving that magic was not everything. Lord Voldemort gave them free reign to do anything necessary to complete the project safely and on time."

"Voldemort really has gone bonkers." Harry muttered to himself. "Why would he what them to colonize Mars?"

Hermione snapped out of the trance of watching Harry warily. "What did you say?"

"Voldemort asked the Muggles to establish a colony on Mars. He gave them free reign to do whatever they deemed requiredto get the job done."

"What!" Hermione grabbed the newspaper.

Harry looked at the adult table but none of them seemed that concerned or, in fact, surprised by the news. "What do you know that we don't?"

McGonagall shook her head sadly. "Order business, Potter."

Harry turned back to his friends; most of whom were now more interested in the article than if Harry was going to collapse. The newspaper passed from one person to the next at a rapid speed. Harry studied each of their expressions; most seemed shocked by the news.

"What does it mean?" Brendin asked.

Harry shrugged. "It must be something he can't do without. Why else would he ask for Muggle help? He thinks they're scum."

"He may just want to keep them out of his hair." Uur said sagaciously. "Give them something to do while he finishes with us. It is easier to fight one fight than two; it is a simple tactic. You throw one of your enemies a bone, while you battle the other."

Harry laughed. "Voldemort doesn't have that kind of tact."

Wyatt nodded in agreement. "But Ash Goth does."

"Voldemort would never give up his throne easily." Harry argued.

Wyatt agreed. "But Ash Goth seems to be able to manipulate anyone. I'd not put it past him to be pulling the strings while making Voldemort think that he is in charge."

"How do you think the adults found out about this before us?" Hermione whispered as to not be overheard. "I mean, I'm the only one who gets the newspaper delivered. In fact, I'm surprised that Dumbledore hasn't put a stop to it yet."

Harry, Wyatt, Osric, and Uur shrugged. Osric and Uur had been brought up to not question the decisions of an adult. Harry and Wyatt had decided a long time ago that being worried about what the Order hid from them was of little importance. Most of the information could be found through other means and the bits and parts that could not be explained by those outside the Order were moot points.

"Today, we will be brewing Felix Felicis. A highly powerful potion that when brewed properly, will give the drinker luck. Now, whether that luck is good or bad no one can predict, so it is a rarely used potion except when the witch or wizard is in dire straights." Snape paused to look at the student seated before him. His smile did not make any of them comfortable, not even Draco. "The potion is very difficult to brew correctly and the slightest mistake could make the potion a deadly poison that few have survived without the aid of the antidote. This potion—in its truest form, has only ever been brewed by Salazar Slytherin. If brewed like that, it will give the drinker good luck for twelve hours per drop."

Harry gulped.

"I expect most of you to fail this potion and I doubt any of you will be able to make the potion turn the golden color; that is the tell tale sign of the potion having been brewed to its most powerful form." Snape stared at Chris who was well ahead of any of his friends in potions. Even Wyatt admitted that Chris was a genius when it came to alchemy and potion brewing. "A dull yellow is all I want for full credit on this assignment. It is due in a week; the ingredients and instructions are written on the blackboard. Copy them down as I will remove them later this evening." Snape strode out of the classroom. Harry sensed he knew why; Voldemort was calling all of his followers. Snape was usually exempt from the calls, but this must be important.

Harry watched his most hated and feared teacher leave them alone in the well-lit potions classroom. The blackboard Snape installed with a wave of his wand covered a picture of some of Harry's relatives. Harry had the urge to blast the Slytherin into tiny bits when he saw the board but a gentle nudge from Uur and Wyatt caused him to miss and hit an innocent fly instead.

"Okay…can any of you even read his handwriting?" Ginny asked. She had gotten up and was now peering at the scribbles on the blackboard. "I don't think Snape was thinking clearly when he wrote these down."

Ron responded with his usual roll of the eyes. "When does that slimy git ever think straight?"

"Good point, Ronald." Ginny took her seat again.

"How are we going the brew this potion without instructions?" Hermione was beginning to hyperventilate.

"Simple," Wyatt pulled out his laptop. "We use this."

"Use what?" Ron asked.

Wyatt shook his head. "Never mind. Just copy down what I say."

Harry came over and stared at the computer screen. He blocked out what Wyatt was saying since he could just use his own computer if he needed any help. For once in his life, Harry thought Snape might have complimented this group of students or any students for that matter. The potion was very intricate and so delicate, that a half a stir too much or a gram too little of any ingredient spoiled it. Harry whistled softly when he read that the potion took a week to mature sufficiently for it to be removed from the heat and placed in a vacuum-sealed container for another whole month.

"Does Snape actually want us to finish brewing this thing in a half an hour?" Chris asked incredulously. "That's ludicrous."

"That's Snape, Chris." Harry stated.

"My old potions master would give us a week to simply just study the material before even attempting to brew this level of potion." He turned to Wyatt. "Wy, not even Mom could brew this thing correctly under pressure. And those last two items are explosive if not prepared properly."

Harry busied himself with grinding the felix horn into a superfine powder. A felix is a sphinx of sorts. It is extremely elusive but has been described as tiny tigers with a human face. Where ears would usually be for a feline, there were sharp horns. The horns were used by the natives of Brazil as good luck charms, similar to how a rabbit foot would be used in Western cultures. The horn was discovered to actually have magical properties by Merlin's wife when she accidentally knocked one into the pot of stew she made for dinner. The soup reacted violently when the horn heated up and it exploded out of the pot; only to all land up in the pot again, minus the felix horn.

"Harry, you may want to stop grinding." Hermione brought Harry out of his musings. "Your potion is the dark blue it needs to be for you to add the horn."

Harry nodded and carefully scooped up the two tablespoons of horn powder that he had ground. He carefully placed the spoon into his potion and stirred the required three times. He changed directions and stirred counter-clockwise ten times around the cauldron. The potion's color slowly changed molten red before settling down to a brilliant yellow.

"Well, that's it for now." Harry said as he turned the flame down to a bare simmer.

Wyatt nodded. "The two dangerous ingredients have to be added over the course of the next week, very slowly."

For all their griping and complaining, they had all managed to correctly brew the potion so far. Fourteen cauldrons sat filled half way with the startings of Felix Felicis. One was filled with a sludge mixture that would become Polyjuice Potion; Paige gave Caleb—being a mere second year—an easier assignment. Of course, Harry had to remind himself that the difficult part was still coming up. Betelgeuse and Mandrake leaves were explosive when added together. The potion required the explosion to break apart some of the other ingredients that would not simply break down via the simple heat of the fire. So they had to add the two ingredients in such a way that they reacted together but did not send the whole potion into the air and onto the brewer. The notebook and the little they deciphered of Snape's instructions did not say anything about how to do this except that it should be taken slowly. The notebook suggested doing it over the course of a week the potion had to brew over the flame.

Chris, after reading the ingredients in the order they were being added, agreed with the computer. "There's no other reason for the potion to have to brew for a week before it gets bottled up."

"Come on, Harry." Cho pulled Harry back onto his feet. "You can do better."

Harry coughed still trying to catch his breath. "I think you're confusing me with you other fiancé." He gasped out.

Cho smiled. "One more joust?"

Harry picked up his forgotten sword. "Fine, one more."

Harry brought his sword into a defensive position. He waited for Cho to strike the blade before turning it slightly, which forced Cho's blade further away from his head. Harry pulled his blade down and then brought it up to attack at Cho's head. Cho simply allowed her over reach to pull her forward and Harry's blade missed her completely.

"See?" Cho cheekily commented.

Harry nodded and brought the sword to block Cho's chop at his ribcage. This time, he had no choice but to use brute strength to stop the attack in time. With a swiftkick, he sent Cho flying away from him and he charged using the sword's momentum to turn him around after the kick. Cho raised her wand and fired off a Stunning Spell. Harry used his sword to bat the attack straight back at Cho. Cho dove out of the way, but straight into the reach of Harry's sword.

"Surrender?" Harry had his sword pointed at Cho's neck.

"Not in your lifetime, Potter." Cho joked. She knocked Harry's legs out from under him and rolled out of his sword's way. She pinned Harry to the ground grinning. "Do you surrender?"

Harry struggled a bit, but ultimatelygave up. "I guess so."

"Good." Cho leaned down and gave Harry a kiss. "Because it's time for dinner."

The Transfiguration classroom had been transfigured to be an exact replica of McGonagall's classroom back at Hogwarts; with the exception of the griffin head protruding out of the far wall, and the stuffed yeti that was covered by a black sheet. It was charmed so that it could not be removed from the room and no one was able to transfigure it into something useful. Wyatt, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Hermione all succeeded in transforming the statute into a very ugly and mean polar bear. McGonagall had chosen to keep the yeti stuffed in the corner rather than suffer a bit from the bear.

"Last year and over the summer, I am pleased to say that you have all performed adequately enough for me to spend a great deal of time on useful transfiguration rather than the Ministry's standards." McGonagall allowed a rare smile to pull on the edges of her cheeks. "Today, we will study in depth Animagi, even though none of you are Animagi. Although Caleb has yet to take the test, he is too young to even try." McGonagall paused to catch her breath. "Animagi is an area that most of you do not know enough about in order to pass that section of the NEWTs."

Harry grimaced at the painful memory. They had all elected to be tested by McGonagall the previous school year to see if they had any Animagus forms. Only three in the entire group that elected to be tested had forms: Crabbe, Hannah Abbot, and some Hufflepuff seventh year that had been sick the previous year during the testing. McGonagall and the entire school were shocked to hear that Harry Potter did not have a form. The fact that he was normal at least in a tiny aspect was the only thing that comforted Harry as he recovered the next day from the test.

The test was, Harry thought, unnecessarily painful and gut wrenching. The night before the test all the students to be tested had been given a slimy, bitter potion that refused to slide down the drinker's throat until the drinker gagged uncontrollably due to the horrible taste. The potion had made half of the sixth years back out from being tested. Only three Hufflepuff students and one Ravenclaw remained along with all of the Gryffindors minus Neville and most of the Slytherins. All of Harry's friends had been asked to take to test even though they were fifth years. Harry went to bed that night with the taste still sitting in his mouth, despite the fact that he had eaten twenty Altoids to try and remove it. Ron complained that he tasted it every time he burped which he seemed to do very often after taking the potion.

Harry awoke the next morning and was unable to move because of the pain that was shooting across his back and shoulders. He tilted his head up despite the pain to see the rest of his dorm mates also lying dead still with their eyes shut, faces frozen in a grimace. Neville was the only one who got to breakfast on time that morning. Around ten o'clock the boys pushed themselves past the pain and down the stairs. The girls were sitting in front of the fire wincing every now and again.

In the afternoon, McGonagall came to call them all down to her office. The entire sixth year class along with the seventh years and the six fifth years sat outside McGonagall's office as she called them in one by one to test them. The tests did not last long and after about an hour the only ones left were Harry, Wyatt, and Kyle. They had watched their friends walk past them twitching and with somber faces.

Harry was the first to go in of the three. He sat down in the chair in front of McGonagall's desk. McGonagall was staring serenely at Harry. She asked him if he was sore and he told her the truth. She pulled out her wand and cast a spell; Harry felt like he was under the Cruciatus Curse and being possessed by Voldemort at the same time. He could not even scream the pain was so overwhelming. Then as quickly as it began, it stopped. McGonagall asked if he had seen anything. He told her no; she gasped and dismissed him. Hermione informed him later that night that the spell was supposed to show you the animal form if you had one and that if he had not seen one, it meant he was not an Animagus.

"The Animagus transformation is among the most difficult transfigurations a wizard or witch can perform. Whitelighters and a few other magical species are capable of glimmering, which is similar to Animagus transformations, except they turn into another humanoid rather than an animal…" McGonagall's voice rambled on and Harry caught bits and pieces, but he was having a hard time concentrating ever since the battle with the wyvern. Hermione had explained that Harry's mind might have been overloaded by magic and still needed time to repair itself, but after a week Harry was beginning to wonder if the damage was not permanent.

"Harry, you should go see Leo if it is still affecting you," Wyatt said during lunchtime. "If this progresses, it could mean you won't even be able to concentrate to perform a simple Levitation Spell. I have seen how much you have to fight just to summon a vine when we practiced yesterday."

Harry nodded. "I'll go see him as soon as I'm finished eating." Harry paused. "We don't have any classes, right?"

Wyatt shook his head. "No, but we do need to add the last part of the Mandrake leaves into the potion."

"You alright, Harry?" Kyle asked from behind Harry.

Harry nodded his head. "I'm just having some bad headaches."

Harry noticed Kyle give Wyatt a questioning stare. Harry glared at Wyatt who nodded his head slowly.

"Alright, then." Kyle sat down next to Harry. Kyle placed his hand in his pocket and pulled it out again. He checked the other pocket and frowned. "Where did I leave it?"

"Leave what?" Wyatt asked. "I could just orb it here for you."

Kyle looked down at his watch and sighed. "Okay, my medication."

"For wh—"

Harry stepped in. "Don't ask, just do!"

Wyatt muttered, but placed his hand out in front of him and a whole collection of medicines fell into his hand. Wyatt jumped in shock and the few he had caught were now on the ground. "Why do you need all these pills?" Wyatt picked up a bottle and his eyebrows flew into his hairline. "Thisssssss…"

Harry elbowed Wyatt painfully in the stomach. "Not now, Wyatt." He hissed.

Kyle scooped the medicine bottles up and left the dining hall quickly. Casey followed Kyle and Harry moved to also go check on his cousin.

Wyatt tripped Harry. "You're going to explain this!"

"Not here," Harry looked around at the rest of the confused audience. "Not now!"

"What are you all looking at?" Wyatt snapped. "Keep your nose in your own business!" Wyatt led Harry out of the dining hall and down the passage that went to Kyle's room. "Why does Kyle take AIDS medication? Is he addicted or something?"

Harry rose up and glared daggers at Wyatt. "Don't you talk ill about my cousin!" Wyatt backed up a bit but returned Harry's glare. "It's not my place to talk about it. He swore me to secrecy."

"Fine!" Wyatt placed his hand on the doorknob to open the door. He pulled his hand back is anger and surprise. "That thing bit me."

Harry nodded. "Only Kyle can open that door when it is locked."

"Could've warned me."

Harry smiled. "Oh, but that defeats the whole purpose of locking the door." Harry leaned closer to the door. "Kyle could we please come in?"

Casey answered for Kyle. "I don't think that's a great idea." Casey's voice quieted down. "Harry, Kyle is in a right state. You know that he has kept this a secret."

Harry nodded despite the fact that Kyle and Casey could not see him. "Only Wyatt saw the type of medication, Kyle. You can trust him to keep a secret."

The door unlocked. Harry touched the door handle and turned it. He pushed the door open slowly and stepped in. "Can Wyatt come in?" Harry grabbed Wyatt's hand and pulled him in. Harry shut the door behind him.

Wyatt stood awkwardly, exactly where Harry left him. Harry placed a few added security spells on the door before guiding Wyatt into the remaining chair. Harry sat down next to a distraught Kyle and placed a hand on his cousin's back.

"I'm sorry you had to find out like this, Wyatt." Kyle muffled voice could barely be heard. "I was just so scared that I'd lose you as a friend if I told you."

Wyatt frowned. "Whatever gave you that thought?"

Kyle looked up. "I see the way you look at homosexuals. I knew that if I told you that you'd think that I was gay and hate me because of it."

Wyatt's eyes grew huge. "I don't hate gays. I just don't understand their preference in a partner, but I don't hate them. I certainly don't think that the only way to contract HIV is by having sex with a man."

Kyle choked back tears. "That's how I got the disease."

Wyatt had to catch his breath. "But you're not gay!"

"Of course not!" Kyle shot back defiantly. "I was raped a few years ago. The guy was killed by the police, but even now that he's dead he is still slowly killing me." Kyle closed his eyes. "Don't tell anyone, Wyatt. Harry and Casey are the only other people who know besides my dad."

Wyatt nodded. "Not a word. But—"

Kyle cut him off. "No buts. I'll tell them when I'm good and ready to."

Harry sat in the hospital wing. In the chair opposite his sat Leo. Harry looked at the picture Leo had in his hand trying to call for it without a wand or voice commands. He felt the sweat drops beginning to form on his forehead and he looked away. Leo made a worried sound before picking up one of the medical instruments on the desk beside him.

"Let's take a look at your eyes." Leo shone the light into Harry's right eye and then his left. Leo marked something down on the paper. "Look up into your head." Leo shone the light into the right and then left eye.

"Well? Is it bad, Leo?"

Leo hesitated. "Well, there is definite brain damage. It seems you overloaded the optic centers in you brain when you fended off Voldemort. I'll have to ask Paige to whip up a contact potion to help correct your vision and then slowly remove all the spells and charms Madame Pomfrey did to your head to help stabilize you last year."

Harry nodded. "I'll have to wear contacts."

Leo nodded. "You'll probably have massive headaches and be super sensitive to your connection to Voldemort. I'll hurry the process along but it'll take some time. Your brain needs to be weaned of magic before I can repair the damage."

"Surgery?" Harry's eyes grew wide and his hands gripped the edge of the seat so tightly, his knuckles turned white.

"No," Leo stated. "Not at this point, but if this doesn't work, it maybe our only option."

Harry took deep breaths. "Ok."

Leo smiled and patted Harry on the back. "Good. You are to take any potion or perform any spell that affects your brain. I'll need to get the list of spells from Madam Pomfrey before I can start removing them, but I'll call you back when I'm ready."

"Thank you." Harry stood up.

Leo walked Harry to the door. "I'm guessing that you want me to keep this a secret."

"That'd be most welcome." Harry turned to face the Elder. "I don't need everyone bugging me about this."

"I'm going to inform Dumbledore. He is the headmaster and has a right to know." Leo smiled when Harry groaned. "I'll keep the details to a minimum."

Harry smiled and left the hospital wing. This is going to be a problem!

Snape billowed into the room. He had added some modifications to the potions lab, much to Harry's dislike. The walls were cold stone and the windows shaded so very little light got into the room. A few cobwebs were added for affect and also the dingy smell of any dungeon. Snape stopped in front of his giant pedestal and glared at the students in front of him.

"I'm pleasantly surprised that all of you seemed to have brewed this potion to almost perfection. Chris Halliwell made the potion to the point that ninety-eight percent of the time the luck is good. Even young Will brewed the Polyjuice Potion so that he earned a pass." Snape stepped out from behind the podium. "All of you will receive detention."

"What!" Harry burst out.

"Silence, Potter!" Snape hissed dangerously. "I fail to comprehend the fact that you or Weasel or Golden Boy were able to brew this potion without help. That means Granger, Halliwell, and Weasley helped you cheat. These five get detention for not reporting you and young Will did not complete the assignment I gave him."

Brendin stood up. "You leave my brother out of this, Snape."

Snape walked up to the Gryffindor and looked down his hooked nose. "Professor Snape, boy. And your brother is one of my students so unless he drops out of this class I'll deal with him however I see fit."

Brendin flexed his fingers ready to fight Snape, but Snape was one step ahead of him. "Mr. Will, don't even think about attacking me. I'll have your hands severed from your arms before you even twitch a finger."

Wyatt shoved air at Snape with all the strength he could muster. Snape brought his hand up and caught the attack without even looking up from Brendin. "Halliwell, Headmaster…NOW!"

Wyatt flung his bag on his back. "Leave your stuff here…I think we need to chat after the Headmaster finishes explaining the rules about attacking the staff."

Snape waited until Wyatt shut the door. "Six feet on the production and uses of Felix Felicis due tomorrow. And you will all serve your detention tonight cleaning this classroom with no magic." Snape pointed his wand at a bottled potion that he had brought from Hogwarts. The bottle shuddered and the room instantly became covered in soot. "I'll provide the toothbrushes. You must bring the water and soap."

"That slimy, idiotic, son of a…" Wyatt's voice trailed off when he noticed his mother's glare.

Harry sat down next to Wyatt. "I take it you and Snape didn't hit it off."

"I wanted to blow him into a tiny pieces joint by joint." Wyatt whispered. "He gave me a detention everyday from nine until whatever time I finish the job for the next month. MONTH!"

"Well," Hermione chimed in, "you do deserve it. You attacked a teacher."

Harry shook his head and grabbed Wyatt by the shoulder, forcing him back into his seat. "Relax, Wyatt!" Wyatt stopped struggling. He finished his food and left without another word.

Harry glared at Hermione when Wyatt left. "Why did you say that?"

"Because it's true!"

"Snape deserved to be attacked." Harry snapped. "Or have you forgotten that he gave us detention for getting something right!"

Hermione opened her mouth to say something clever and defend Snape but Ron and Ginny both nudged her in the ribs. She dropped the subject looking just a bit put off by Ron's actions.

"I'm sorry," Ron tried to explain. "But you're wrong on this point."

Brendin brought the argument to an end. "We better hurry up. We need to still write that essay and get to detention on time."

"Draco, who gave you this book?" Uur asked. He was looking through Draco's personal library for a Charms essay.

Draco looked up from his own essay on antidotes and smiled. "I forgot I had that."

"Who gave it to you?" Uur repeated with more urgency.

"Your father." Draco answered. "Said it'd come in handy this year. It's all written in Elfish, so I've never used it."

Uur flipped through the book. "It is a great honor for a mortal to have this book. It is similar to what you would consider the Book of Shadows. It is a complete guide to all the demons and evil beings the Elven and dwarven races have ever battled or met."

Harry peered over Uur's shoulder. "That'd definitely come in handy." Harry ran his hand over the first page of the book. "May the Ancients be with us all."

Uur frowned. "You read Elfish?"

"No," Harry looked at the page and the words were written in Elfish. "That was in English when I read it."

"Is it still?" Uur looked down at the page.

Harry shook his head.

"Place your hand on it again."

Harry touched the page and the words were in plain handwritten English. "Okay, that is just weird…even for magic."

Uur laughed. "I guess you have more Elven power in you than I realized. It is called Tengwe, cambimots in the mortal tongue." Harry frowned at his friend. "You can translate written texts into your native language. With some practice, you'll be able to do so without touching the book."

Harry flipped trough the book. Looking at the illustrations more than the text. Reading the text gave him a headache with the words swirling from Elfish to English and back again. He stopped when he came across a picture of a tiny bird hovering over a tarn of water with the silhouette of a fish just below the surface. Harry focused his attention on the words.

HALCYON: A halcyon is a tiny bird found throughout magically enriched areas. They are usually spotted around water and are often mistaken for their Muggle kin, the kingfisher. During the winter, they nest and lay their eggs. Their eggs are used in powerful calming and relaxing potions. Their eggs are also one of the ingredients in the potion used to vanquish a mini-Malarauko, also known as a Balrog…

Harry stopped reading. He was now squinting, trying to read the swirling words.

"What's the point of this power if it makes you sick when you use it?"

Uur looked up from his paper. "It becomes better with practice."

"Of course!" Harry complained. "Nothing can just work."

"Harry Potter, a word please."

They had just finished a difficult lesson on nonverbal transfiguration. Harry waved his friends onward. He doubled back and came to a standstill in front of McGonagall's makeshift desk. Harry took the offered gingersnap and waited in silence for his teacher to explain holding him back.

"You are doing fairly well in Transfiguration, Mr. Potter."

"Thank you, Professor."

"How are you faring in your other classes?" McGonagall took a bite out of her own gingersnap.

Harry frowned. "I'm doing fine. Potions is a problem, but that is because of the teacher…err…"

"I'll ignore the fact you just insulted one of my colleagues." McGonagall sat up straighter. "Professor Dumbledore asked me to inform you that he wishes to begin your private lessons tonight."

Harry nodded. "That suits me just fine."

"May I inquire what Professor Dumbledore has told you about these lessons?"

Harry smiled. He understood why McGonagall had been acting so bizarre. "I don't really know. It has something to do with preparing me for my battle with Voldemort."

McGonagall looked disappointed. "So, it has nothing to do with where Dumbledore disappears all the time?"

Harry shook his head. "My guess is he wants to teach me more powerful spells and perfect my dueling techniques."

McGonagall sighed. "Very well, you may go."

Dumbledore had asked Harry if he could change the study around so that he felt more at home. So Harry was not surprised when he walked into the office to see a number of Dumbledore's unique contraptions sitting on added shelves and tables. Dumbledore's chair was the one thing Harry recognized to tell him he was in the main study. Dumbledore was sitting down on the chair with his eyes closed. The Elven broach was pinned to the front of his midnight blue robes. His spectacles were slipping off the tip of his nose, which instantly woke Dumbledore up.

"Harry, Minerva did not give you too much hassle then?" Dumbledore spoke jollily but Harry could hear that Dumbledore was sick.

Harry nodded. "Sir, if you're sick…I could always come back another time."

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, Harry. Thank you for the generousoffer, but no. I have put this off for far too long." Dumbledore stood up but motioned for Harry to sit down in the chair in front of the desk. "This first lesson should be very interesting for you. I may even venture to say that it may be a bit unnerving."

"Sir?"

Dumbledore placed the stone Pensieve on the desk and sat down in his chair. "You may very well see yourself in young Voldemort's place. You and Tom Riddle had very similar childhoods."

Harry shuddered at the thought. "Are we going to use the Pensieve?"

Dumbledore looked at the Pensieve. "We will watch some of my conversations with people who knew Tom Riddle or at least thought they knew him. On later occasions we may enter the Pensieve, but not tonight." Dumbledore stirred the silvery liquid around. "Do you have any other questions before we begin?"

"Can I tell people about this?"

Dumbledore sighed. "I understand that keeping secrets from your friends is difficult…I will understand if you tell Ron and Hermione." Dumbledore looked Harry in the eyes. "But this information will put them in grave danger. Voldemort does not like his enemies knowing about his past."

"Thank you, sir." Harry made a mental note of not telling a soul about what he learned.

"All right," Dumbledore pushed the Pensieve to the side. "Before we talk about Tom Riddle Junior we must discuss his family. Unfortunately all of those who are willing to talk about Tom Riddle, Senior and Siusan Nathair are now dead. I can only tell you about them rather than those who remembered them." Dumbledore's voice died.

"Siusan Nathair was the only child to the magical line of Salazar Slytherin as we know today and another line, the Jacobs, are direct descendents of Slytherin. She was a disgrace to the once wealthy family of Nathair and Slytherin; she was a Muggle-lover. She had fallen in love with the son of a wealthy Muggle family in a village in the valley next to her father's village. Her father, rather than deal with her, kicked her out and disowned her. She was only fourteen at the time and had to drop out of Hogwarts because of the tuition. The headmaster at the time was good friends with the Nathairs and the Malfoys and did not want to anger either patriarch in anyway.

"It was dark times for the magical world; Grindelwald had just begun his slow rise to power. It is not a good time for a young fourteen-year-old witch to be on her own. Siusan knew that if she were to survive she would have to find a job. Knowing that she could never show her face in the magical community again, she destroyed her wand and got a job as a pub maiden in Tom Riddle's village. She worked hard for two whole years before saving up enough money to rent out a rotten old shack just outside the village but the shack was torn down a month later. She had by now given up all hope of ever becoming Tom Riddle's suitor.

"Another year passed, but the pub owner had pity on Siusan and allowed her to make a home for herself in the unused apartment above the pub on the condition that she open up for him every morning. On one of those mornings, Tom Riddle came down to the pub for a drink before he went off hunting with his fiancé's father. Tom took one look at Siusan and called the wedding off. Tom's father was so furious that he shut down the pub. Tom brought Siusan up to the Manor and gave her a guest bedroom. Over the course of six months, their relationship grew and Tom proposed to Siusan. Everything went well for the two lovers until Siusan's father died. A wizard from the Ministry popped in for breakfast one morning. Siusan had never informed anyone of her identity and seeing magic was a shock for the Riddles.

"Tom's father figured out that Siusan was his rival's daughter and forbade Tom to marry her. Tom agreed with his father but for different reasons. He was hurt that Siusan had not trusted him with her secret. Siusan left the village heartbroken, penniless, and pregnant with Tom Riddle's son.

"Siusan found her way to London and arrived at an orphanage a few days after giving birth to Tom Marvolo Riddle, Tom for his father and Marvolo for her father. She gave up her baby claiming that she was unable to provide for the child. She took her own life a day later." Dumbledore looked up from his hands. "So our Dark Lord started out life with heartache and death. Not that he would know that until he was a few years down the road of his education at Hogwarts."

Harry nodded. "Why did Tom Riddle Senior never pick up Voldemort?"

"It is possible that he never knew that Siusan was pregnant." Dumbledore seemed to weigh something in his head. "However, it is my belief that he did not want the child. Tom Marvolo Riddle would have been a constant reminder of his lost love. Tom Riddle Senior never took a wife nor did he have a relationship with another human besides his parents for the rest of his life."

Dumbledore stood up and prodded the silver liquid inside the Pensieve. "Tom Riddle, according to magical law, inherited the vast fortunes of his dead grandfather. A small amount of the money was placed in a separate vault by order of Headmaster Dippet for Tom's use while he was underage. Hogwarts respected the request of Lord Nathair and enrolled his heir…"

"How did he know about Voldemort?"

"Nathair visited an Oracle shortly before his death." Dumbledore prodded the Pensieve and a picture of an ugly old woman floated to the top. She spoke with a strong lisp about seeing the birth of the one who would bring great glory to the Slytherin name. "She lied of course. Oracles can not see into the future, just events that are in the present."

Dumbledore forced the memory back with the rest of the memories. "Tom Riddle arrived at school with the fame and glory of his family name preceding him. He allowed the attention to get to his head, which, at the time I did not blame him for. He was an orphan and did not get much attention anywhere except in school. I kept an eye on him, though. He fell into a crowd of the younger siblings and children of the followers of Grindelwald.

"He won over the staff with his charm and intellect. He could have given our Miss Granger a run for her money. He spent most of his free time either in the potions lab brewing ridiculously complex potions or studying in the library. In his fourth year, he took the mantle of leader among his close group of friends and it was during this time I strongly suspect he decided to change his name to Lord Voldemort. He, of course by this time, had learned about the reason so many gave him respect, and that he was actually a stain on that name. He began research on figuring out the secrets Salazar Slytherin had left for only his heirs to find. As you know, the one that caught his attention was the Chamber of Secrets. He also at that time befriended one of the most controversial teachers at Hogwarts. This teacher knew more about the Dark Arts than I ever will and the fact that he took Tom on as a private student worried me.

"Nothing happened. Tom continued to beg Headmaster Dippet to allow him to remain at the school over the summer. I advised Dippet to keep Tom Riddle as far away from the school when the staff was not there as possible. That was when Tom first tried to kill me. He was never tried for it, because he made it look like an accident. He was busy working on a complex Transfiguration ritual when he slipped and almost pushed me into the ritual circle. Doing so would have destroyed my soul, but luckily I was younger back than and was able to not topple over as I'm sure he wanted me to."

Harry gasped at this revelation. Harry knew that Voldemort never tricked Dumbledore, but the idea of trying to kill Dumbledore in Hogwarts…Harry never even imagined. Voldemort was only a fourth year.

"Don't look so surprised, Harry. You yourself became a Triwizard Champion in your fourth year." Dumbledore bit his lip. "After that incident, the Ministry and Headmaster agreed that rituals were simply too dangerous to be taught at a school. Tom continued on in his studying of the Dark Arts under the tutelage of his Head of House. You know what occurred with the Chamber, so I shall skip that information. Tom had gathered enough information on his Muggle father to go and find him. Tom got Headmaster Dippet to allow him to go home with a friend for the summer. He and his friend, Rulebrod, took a trip to Little Hangleton. Tom stole Rulebrod's wand and murdered his father, grandmother, and grandfather. He then framed Rulebrod by leaving the wand behind. Rulebrod was given the Kiss. Tom did not even pretend to care about his friend.

"Tom wrote his diary during his seventh and final year at Hogwarts. He was very interested in the events of his fifth year. He even came by to ask me my opinion on the myth of the Chamber of Secrets and what really happened. When Tom graduated he had the Ministry begging him to take up a position in any of their departments. Headmaster Dippet even offered him a job as Potions Master, but I was able to block that decision by taking the position myself. Transfiguration and Potions classes never occurred at the same time so I decided to teach both. It was the lesser of two evils. I had made up my mind that Tom Riddle was never to be placed in a position of power, especially over children."

Harry interrupted. "Did Voldemort retaliate again?"

"Not directly. You see, Harry: I had been a big thorn in Grindelwald's side ever since he set his sights on Britain just after World War II started. Tom, through his connections, gave Grindelwald the information necessary to kill me over the summer. I was able to defeat Grindelwald before his trap sprang. Tom Riddle disappeared from the public view never to be seen again. He delved into the Dark Arts, searching for a way to make himself immortal," Dumbledore checked his watch, sighing wearily,"But that will have to wait until our next lesson."