Hi, i know that's it's been a while since i updates last, i was working through some writer's block but, i think i have anew sub plot that should help keep the story interesting.

For anyone wondering about Seamus and Lavender, i figured that Glory would need her own 'Golden Trio' but i still haven't decided if they will act more like crabbe and goyle, or more like ron and hermione.

The Fullmetal Alchemist part is a good idea, but i probably won't go too much into that just yet, it's probably something i would save for the sequel. I want this part to be mainly about developing Harry, and his friends charchters and powers. The Fullmetal Alchemist was a master, and that took a while for him to achieve. It might be something i start on, but won't get deeper into until later.

For anyone wondering about names, places, etc. spelled wrong, it is something i'm going to correct, but it's probably not going to be until i get close to the end of the story.

Also for anyone wanting Snape to be nicer to Harry, it porbably won't happen at least for a while. Everybody can't like Harry from the very beginning, it reduces the amount of conflict in the story, making it less interesting.

Anyway, on with the next chaper...

The Chronicles of Merlin: The Return

Chapter Nine

October 20th, Hogwarts, the great hall…

It had been two months since Harry, and Ginny's discovery of the three headed dog, and things had gotten pretty quiet after that. They hadn't really made any discoveries yet about what Snape and Quirrel were after either.

The information they were looking for about Altia was progressing slowly. They were fortunate to have the Hogwarts library at their disposal, but most of the books that they needed were in the restricted section. Added to that they still weren't really sure what they were looking for specifically.

Glory still remained a problem. It was actually becoming very obvious that she also knew at least some of what was going on. She rather than being discreet was asking anyone and everyone, a very dangerous way to approach the situation.

As well as the fact that she had started to target Harry for some of her rights as heir. She had begun to dock points from his every time she saw him. Thankfully she was not able to assign detentions, but the chances of Huffelpuff winning the house cup had dwindled to almost nothing.

There were times that Snape had wanted to take points from Huffelpuff but found that Glory had already taken all of them. It infuriated him to no end that there was absolutely nothing that he could do. He couldn't even assign detention because that would be considered unfair for such small infractions.

Harry sat down for breakfast with Ginny, Hermione, and Draco. He was excited, today was the day that he would find out about Julia, his former nanny.

Draco, Ginny, and Hermione could see how excited Harry was. They all knew that this was the day that Harry would hear from Julia. From the way that Harry was reacting they could all tell that this was the mother that he never had.

Harry watched expectantly as the owls flew in and started dropping letters at everyone's tables. He couldn't wait to hear from Julia again. Finally he saw the owl with the letter for him. It swooped down, dropped the letter in front of Harry then took off again.

Just as Harry reached out to grab the letter, he felt something, something that he hadn't felt in a long time. He gasped in shock. He couldn't remember what it was, only that it was very familiar.

"What is it Harry?" Hermione asked. She had seen Harry pale and heard him gasp.

"I felt something, someone's magic." Harry said as he tried to make sense of what he was feeling.

"I thought you couldn't feel anyone's magic at Hogwarts?" Ron asked. He had never seen Harry like this. He never looked this worried before.

"The magic, it's like a fog light. It's overpowering all of Hogwarts ambient magic" Harry tried to explain.

"Is it dangerous?" Draco asked. 'Could it be Voldemort?' He thought to himself.

"I don't know." Harry said. "It's familiar though, I remember it, but I just can't remember from where."

Suddenly the feeling disappeared, as if it was almost never there to begin with. "It's gone now." Harry said as he wondered what it could have been.

"Are you sure you're okay Harry?" Ginny asked. She had never seen Harry act like that before.

"Yeah," Harry paused for a moment. "It just surprised me for a second."

"Why don't you read your letter from Julia?" Ginny asked. She was looking forward to hearing about the woman that had raised Harry.

Harry nodded as he pulled the letter out of the envelope and began to read.

Hello Harry,

My name is Andrew Renolds. I knew Julia very well. She stayed with my family for many years as our nanny.

It is my sad duty to inform you that she passed away in February of last year.

Harry, I want you to know that she was a wonderful woman, with such a big heart. I don't think I need to tell you that she touched all of us and we were all better for having known her.

Her last thoughts were of you, I almost feel like I know you from all the times that she talked about you.

I also want you to know that she didn't feel any pain, she passed away peacefully in her sleep.

She loved you Harry, more than words could ever say. You were like the son she never had.

Live a good life Harry, Julia would have wanted that.

Andrew.

Harry put the letter down on the table softly. He couldn't believe it. How could Julia be gone? He never even had a chance to say goodbye. There was so much that he didn't get to say, or to ask her.

"Oh Harry," Hermione said as she hugged him, soon followed by Ginny. She new how much she meant to Harry. "Are you going to be okay?"

"She was the first person that ever cared about me," Harry said, his voice thick with emotion. "I should have been there, I should have tried to find her," Harry said as he kept his eyes fixed on the letter.

"Now's she's gone, I couldn't even say goodbye, that I loved her. She was like a mother to me, and I never got to thank her for that." He said as a tear trailed down his cheek.

"She knew Harry," Ron said as he put his hand on Harry's shoulder to comfort him. "You didn't have to say the words for her to know how much you cared about her." He said with complete conviction.

The rest of the great hall could tell that something had happened as soon as Harry read the letter. He was being comforted by his friends, and he seemed to be very upset about something.

Before anyone else could ask him what happened he disappeared in a flash of light, which was becoming his trade mark fashion.

Harry's friends expected something like this to happen. Harry tended to keep his emotions fairly guarded. It didn't come as a surprise that he didn't want anyone to see him like that.

"What was that baby crying about?" Glory asked as she sauntered over with a smirk on his face, with Seamus and Lavender flanking her.

She looked down at the still open letter on the desk, skimming it quickly before a smile spread across her face. "That fat cow is dead! Well I say good riddance. She was the worst nanny I ever had!"

Hermione looked at Glory in shock. She just couldn't believe that someone could say something so callous.

The other looked like they were a cross between being disgusted, and cursing her on the spot.

Hermione was the first one to react however. "Harry once said there was a good person buried deep inside of you somewhere." Hermione said as she stared Glory down. "I know now that he was wrong, how you could have ever been Harry's sister I will never know.

He tries to see the good in everyone, but there isn't anything good inside of you is there?" Hermione asked as she pointed at Glory's heart. "You are twisted, cruel, and petty."

"That's why you're jealous of Harry aren't you? You know that Harry is a good and decent person, and no matter how hard you try you can't take that away from him, no matter what, he will always have his dignity, his honor, and most of all his kindness.

I pity you for what you've become, what you've turned yourself into, and most of all destroying the sweet little sister that Harry loved so much when he first laid eyes on you." Hermione said as she turned away from Glory and left the great hall, followed shortly by Draco, Ron, and Ginny.

Glory could only stare at them in shock as they walked away. No one had ever talked to her like that before in her entire life. How dare that stupid girl pity her? She pitied them, following Harry around by the nose! It was disgusting! What had he ever done to have so much loyalty from them?

Glory felt like saying something, anything but the moment had already passed. She had hesitated and now it was too late to say anything that wouldn't make her look more foolish than she did now.

"How do you want to get them back for that?" Seamus asked after they left. How could they talk to Glory like that? Didn't they know what she did? She survived the killing curse and defeated he-who-must-not-be-named! She was a hero!

"I'll think of something," Glory said as she stormed back to her table.

Albus had been watching the entire argument, and couldn't help but let out a sigh of frustration at Glory's behavior. He had believed that after everything that Hermione had said it would have some kind of affect on Glory, but it didn't.

The girl would be a problem. He knew that for certain now. She was not even close to figuring out his little test, she was still trying to figure out what he was hiding in the school, and the little information she did get was directly from spying on Harry and his friends.

She was definitely not shaping up to be the weapon that he had envisioned.

October 20th, the forest behind Potter Mansion…

Harry appeared in a flash, he didn't know where else to go, or even what to do now. How could Julia be gone? It just wasn't fair, he was supposed to have all of these amazing powers, but what good were they really? He still lost one of most important people in his life, and there wasn't a thing he could have done to save her.

Harry didn't even notice as the lake started to bubble, slowly as a figure started to rise out of the lake.

"Harry are you alright?" Altia asked as she emerged from the lake. She had felt Harry's pain and came up to investigate.

"I didn't know where else to go." Harry said honestly. "She's gone, I wasn't even there when it happened. Even with all these powers I can't even save the people I care about."

"Who are you talking about Harry?" Altia asked. She had spent so much time in the lake that she didn't know much about the outside world.

"Julia, she was my nanny when I was growing up. I just found out that she died last year." Harry explained.

"I'm sorry Harry, I know how much you must have cared about her." Altia said as she waded out of the lake and hugged Harry.

"Altia, you're not in the lake," Harry observed. "I thought you couldn't leave because of the spell."

"Every hundred years I can spend one day away from the lake, before the magic pulls me back." Altia explained.

"You didn't have to do that." Harry said. "You shouldn't have to waste your one day of freedom on me."

"Harry I could never waste time on you." Altia said firmly. "Before you came here last year I had no reason to even leave the lake."

"There must have been someone you wanted to see, things you wanted to do." Harry said.

"Harry, the only person I wanted to see was you, and until last year I thought you were dead and gone from me forever." Altia explained. "Now tell me about this Julia, she sounds like a wonderful person."

Harry smiled as he remembered Julia. She was the kindest and most generous person that he had ever known. He didn't know what kind of person that he would have been without her.

"Julia was… wonderful." Harry said, remembering her fondly. "She read me stories, taught me about the world. She showed me there was a world outside the magical one. I learned so much from her, and she never looked down on me like the Potter's did. I will never forget her."

"Good," Altia smiled. "As long as you still remember her, as long as long as you still carry your love for her she can't ever die, because a piece of her will always live on inside you."

"Thank you Altia," Harry said with a sad smile.

"Why don't you show me where she is now?" Altia asked with a smile as they disappeared in a flash of light, traveling to Julia's final resting place.

October 20th, Restview cemetery…

Harry and Altia appeared in front of Julia's grave. It was a simple headstone, among many others. The tombstone read 'Julia Thompson, beloved friend, rest in peace.'

As Harry looked at the tombstone he realized that it wasn't enough, reaching out with his magic he transfigured the tombstone. He watched as it grew larger, a flower motif etched itself into the stone, and a small statue of a woman holding a child formed on the top.

"Rest well Julia, I promise that I will make you proud of me." Harry promised as he finished transfiguring the tombstone.

"Harry?" Altia asked after a moment. "I need to show you something."

"What is it?" Harry asked curiously.

"Your powers, they're still incomplete. No one else knows this but before Merlin died he separated parts of himself, his knowledge, his power, and his memories. You must unite all of the pieces to be complete." Altia said.

"He separated his powers?" Harry asked in confusion. "Why would he do something like that?"

"The power would have been too much for you or anyone else to handle from birth, the shear magical power would have caused your body to explode." Altia explained.

"What about the stone I found in the lake?" Harry asked. "I thought that was everything."

"No Harry, Did you ever wonder why the memories came in bursts, and not all at once? Your body was not magically fortified enough to accept it. That is why it hurt so much in the beginning." Altia continued.

"How do we find them?" Harry asked. "And how many pieces are there?"

"The stone was the first piece," Altia revealed. "Merlin entrusted me with the hiding places off all the other ones."

"Isn't it still dangerous for me to use all of them at once?" Harry asked.

"Not nearly as much as it used to be," Altia promised. "The stone was designed to give you some basic knowledge and expand your magical pathways for your body to regulate the magical changes that will happen to you."

"What kind of magical changes?" Harry asked curiously.

"Outwardly there will be a few changes. I believe that you will grow a little taller. It should bring you to something closer to the average height and weigh for someone your age. You're hair won't be streaked grey anymore either, and neither will your eyes."

"Why will the magic do that?" Harry asked. "Why did my hair and eyes change in the first place?"

"I think it was because of your birth parents," Altia said as she thought about it for a moment. "When you were younger they didn't feed you well enough so it stunted your growth slightly. It is also the main reason your hair and eyes changed color in the first place. The magic of the stone put more of a strain on you physically than it should have, and it caused your hair to change, it was a byproduct of the change."

"How many pieces are there?" Harry asked.

"There are six more pieces that Merlin has hidden." Altia said.

"What was the point in hiding them?" Harry asked.

"Merlin had to be sure that his new reincarnation was worthy of the power, that his soul had not been corrupted. So he created seven tests for you, you have already passed the first."

"What was the first test?" Harry asked curiously.

"The first test was the respect of magic itself, not to use it to do harm, but to help those in need. The stone saw your memories and judged you worthy."

"What will happen if I'm not worthy? What if I don't pass the tests?" Harry asked.

"I will not lie to you Harry," Altia said gravely. "If you do not succeed the darkness you fear is coming, the one that we both can feel will win. Darkness will spread across the planet destroying everything good and decent in this world."

"So no pressure, right?" Harry asked nervously. Could he really do this? Could he really save the whole world?"

"You can do this Harry, I believe in you." Altia said with complete conviction.

"So where do we go from here?" Harry asked, making his decision.

"The next test will be in Alexandria." Altia said.

"Alexandria?" Harry asked. "Do you know what the test will be?"

"The second test will be loyalty, but that is all Merlin told me. I don't think he wanted you to know much more than that. What you have to do can not be rehearsed. It just has to be done." Altia explained.

"Where in Alexandria is the test going to be?" Harry asked. Alexandria was a big city, how will we know where to go?"

"The pyramid in Alexandria is where the second test will be." Altia explained.

"In Alexandria? I thought that all of the pyramids were in Cairo?" Harry asked. He was almost completely certain that there weren't any pyramids in Alexandria.

"Only the pyramids the rest of the world was supposed to find." Altia said mysteriously. "Come on, I'll show you!" Altia said as she took Harry's hand and they disappeared in a flash of light.

October 20th, Transfiguration classroom, Hogwarts…

"Where is Harry?" McGonagall asked as she reached his name on the list but didn't see him there.

"Harry received some bad news this morning." Draco spoke up. "He'll come back when he's ready."

"Come back when he's ready?" McGonagall asked. "He has left the school? I must insist that you tell me where he is immediately," she insisted.

"Harry is mourning the death of someone he cares a lot about." Ron spoke up firmly, picking up where his friend Draco had left off. "And you aren't going to find him until he wants to be found."

McGonagall was slightly surprised by Ron. He had just stood up to her to defend a Slytherin. It was not entirely unheard of, she supposed. Ever since last year she had seen what a tightly knit group of friends the two boys were part of, and after all loyalty, at especially a young age was something to be encouraged.

"Very well," McGonagall said, her face not betraying any of her emotions. "But I trust that he will not miss too many more of his classes."

McGonagall knew first hand that Harry would not have any trouble caching up with the work that he had missed. His knowledge of magic reached well beyond ever her own. She had realized that the only reason that he still remained at Hogwarts was for the simple fact that Harry's knowledge of modern magic and spell work was limited.

McGonagall quickly scribbled down a note and sent it off to the headmaster. This was something she felt he should know about.

October 20th, Hogwarts, the headmaster's office…

"Something has to be done about Glory Potter," Snape said as he sat in Albus's office. "The spoiled brat will not even let me teach a class, always interrupting to give points to Gryffindor for no reason whatsoever. I witnessed her give Lavender Brown twenty points just for having her shoes tied. It's madness! To her the house points mean nothing at all. It won't be long before the other houses simply give up the idea of winning the house cup all together. Hufflepuff, doesn't even have anymore house points! There is no way to discipline them anymore. They already know they have could never hope to get enough house points now to catch up that they don't even care!" Snape finished his rant to Dumbledore.

"Surely it isn't as bad as all that," Albus said to placate Serverus, but privately he had to agree with him. Glory had gotten out of control. If it was possible he would have been sure that Glory would have made sure that Hufflepuff was in negative points.

As it stood now Gryffindor, was well over one hundred points ahead of the rest of the houses. The entire reason there was house points was to give the students something to shoot for, to make them want to take the extra steps to make sure all their work was done properly. If house points didn't mean anything to them they would have less of a reason to try.

"Open your eyes Albus!" Things couldn't be any worse. "Thanks to Harry I can't issue detentions without facing the board of governors, and thanks to the other Potter brat, most if not all of the students don't even care about house points anymore." Serverus tried to explain.

"Glory is now the heir of Gryffindor, Serverus you know that there is very little I can do about the situation." Albus had searched through almost all of the school rules, so far there was still very little any of them could do about the way that Glory was handing out points.

A moment later a note arrived, carried by one of the school owls. Albus removed it from the owl's leg and began to read it. "Well it seems that Harry has decided to take an impromptu vacation." He said as he finished reading the note.

"What do you mean?" Snape asked. "How could the boy leave without anyone stopping him?" It was just like the brat to disregard the rules like that.

"Until we understand just how Harry is able to travel the way he does, there is little if anything that we can do to stop him." Albus said as he again wondered how Harry was able to do some of the things that he could.

"Why bother, he broke the school rules, I believe that's grounds for expulsion." Snape said triumphantly. Finally he found something to use against 'perfect Harry.'

"I believe that's a little harsh," Albus said. "According to the note he is grieving for someone he cares a great deal about."

"A rule is a rule Albus," Snape pointed out.

"Where does the intolerable hatred for Harry come from?" Albus asked. "So far the boy has done nothing to warrant your anger, and he is a model student."

"I know his type Albus, he is nothing more than an attention seeking glory hound that will more than likely get another student killed with his wild adventures." Snape said with contempt. "It would be much less worrisome to snap his wound and be done with it."

"Even if that were to happen," Albus said making sure Snape know that that was a very big if. "Do you really think that would stop him? How many times have you even seen the boy use his wand?"

"What does it matter?" Snape asked, not knowing where this was heading.

"The boy rarely if ever uses his wand. The only time anyone sees him ever use it is when he learns a new spell, and a few weeks later he does it without his wand. The boy will one day become a powerfully magical individual, be careful that you do not make too powerful an enemy." Albus warned.

"We shall see," Snape conceded. He could tell that this was not an argument that he could win just yet.

"How goes your test with Glory Potter?" Snape asked, changing the subject.

"I fear that I have over estimated the child." Albus admitted with a sigh. "She is not nearly as far along as I had hoped. "I would have thought by now that she would have at least realized what is hidden on the third floor, but she has figured out nothing of importance. I fear that she will not even figure it out until long past the point where she can do anything."

To Be Continued…