I finished the editing early, was a bit smaller then normal but this is part one to the conclusion of Harry's internal struggle. Have fun.

xXxXx

Book I :: Chapter 12 :: Peaceful Turbulence

For the first time in his life Harry was actually looking forward to the Holidays. Both because it was the first Christmas, he wouldn't be tormented by the Dursleys or an aerial bombing and also since it was a most welcome break.

Since his first quidditch match a number of amazing things happened. The first was his reply from Gringotts. Ragnuk surprisingly was quick to recognize the magic placed on his written name and was swift in his response using similar blood magic in his response. While unconventional he agreed to assist Harry so long as a manuscript was presented before him. If it was considered a profitable venture, he would help.

Harry wasn't sure if his writings and studies could be considered that profitable but wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth at this stage in his life. Harry needed all the allies he could get and so far, he had gained the respect of one goblin at least which was something considering the distrust they had of wizards in general.

Say whatever one wanted about Professor Binns, the ghost for as boring and morbid as he certainly knew his subject; that being Goblin Rebellions.

The more Harry learned about it the more he came to wonder if the Goblin Rebellions were actually rebellions. The definition of a rebellion as he understood it was; an act of violent or open resistance to an established government or ruler.

And yet, the more Harry learned about Goblins himself the more things came into question. Even since the time of Hogwarts creation they possessed a King, a culture, a language, a currency, beliefs, legends, and stories all their own. The more he searched the less and less he found regarding their culture and ways.

The question that came to Harry after learning about the rebellions and the Goblin nation was, could a nation have a rebellion against another nation?

The answer Harry was coming to was no. According to the interpretation of rebellion, one could argue yes it was possible but the more harry thought about it the less sure he was it could be. This wasn't like the British colonies rebelling against the rule of their own monarch, nor was it like France forming rebellions during World War II.

The goblin rebellion was quickly becoming in Harry's mind, was not a rebellion, but a war. A war between two sovereign nations, each with their own ways and cultures. Neither one justified, neither one innocent of doing wrong to the other. In a lot of ways, it reminded Harry of England's interactions with other nations, china in particular.

And while Harry was curious to learn more about the specifics of the conflicts and distrust formed during years of tension Harry also found himself swamped by his own workload.

Two months into his school life and he was already recruited by Madam Pomfrey to make potions for her for an assortment of rewards. Points for Slytherin, a pass out of detentions – which usually involved detention with her making more potions and magic lessons, and room access to experiment in potion making; something Snape was resistant to give without seeing the results.

Similarly, worthy of mention was Harry's homework load. After his meeting with Professor McGonagall and Septima Vector several things happened.

The first was Harry's surprise was that Professor Vector wasn't a Professor. At least not a Hogwarts Professor. She was a correspondent for third party groups involved in advance magic complications and involvements. Otherwise a witch who specialized in Arithmancy and Runes who went around providing advice and knowledge wherever was requested.

Apparently, she was a student of Professor McGonagall who asked for her assistance in identifying Harry's understanding of the materials presented. In that regard it really was an IQ test he'd been given except it was testing Harry's comprehension of magic.

Up until then Harry had displayed to all his Professors two contradicting feats. Lackluster papers and a solid understanding of the material.

All of Harry's homework up to this point wasn't standard. Its wasn't genius, or perfect, it was as some would call half-assed. If taken at face value, it would portray Harry as an under-moderate student with a lackluster understanding of the subject.

This however was contradicted by Harry's vocal and displayed magic. Magic, he knew well was performed perfectly and magic he'd never seen before he'd have completed before an hour was up.

McGonagall portrayed him as the opposite of Hermione. Where she excelled at the written she struggled with the practical. Where Harry was lackluster in the written he excelled at its application.

The problem was his written work didn't match his application at all. The problem was that they didn't know, was Harry already had a certain understanding of the subject that they lacked and some of his knowledge contradicted what modern magic understood to be fact.

McGonagall realized that Harry's understanding of magic was different from the norm and so called her friend to shed some light on this enigma.

Like a beacon it lit up the anomaly brilliantly. Harry wasn't a genius. Harry was identified as a Magic Savant. Like everyone else he was a learned individual. Like everyone else he learned as they did but only through a different perspective.

After the test, Harry's grades spontaneously improved over the two months that followed.

Were before his grades fell around Poor and Acceptable, kept afloat only by his practicals, they now soared into the upper range of Exceeds Expectations and Outstanding. This became big news amongst the students who didn't know that on top of his practical and paper work Harry was being graded on the displays of helping his fellow classmates.

With the exception of Professor Binns and Snape, all his teachers who McGonagall most likely informed, began to grade his understanding of the material based on his ability to help the other students.

With this, the rest of the students took notice and started to ask the same question Harry had been asking himself for nearly four months, who was Harry Potter.

The rumors had begun to form around after his display of skill on the Quidditch Pitch. Rumors of his display of power during his levitation charm incident regained momentum. Some began to accurately speculate that Harry who had disappeared during Halloween was responsible for taking down the Troll.

Some thought Harry was a ghost and wasn't real because he kept disappearing around corners and stairwells that were apparently had no viable escape routes.

Others wondered if Harry was secretly being taught by Albus himself. Others speculated that Harry was taught by a dark master before arriving to Hogwarts.

This Rumors were numerous and ranged from rational to completely absurd. What was understood was that Harry was a different breed of Slytherin, one never before seen at Hogwarts. His words during his row with Malfoy in the great hall left two things as unquestionable facts. Harry Potter viewed himself as the only true Slytherin, and secondly, he was very aware of the other students around him.

This left him both very unpopular among the status-quo types, and an enigma that attracted everyone's attention. The more they tried to piece together who he was, the more mysterious he appeared.

The only relief from the mess was from the Twins, Hermione, Nymphy, Neville, the rest if the Quidditch team, and Ginny.

Nymphadora Tonks, in particular helped quell some of the misconceptions of him being a potions master. While knowledgeable, Harry wasn't all knowing. Sure, he knew potions no one else had made – yet – but his understanding was top notch. As a result of her efforts a few students had come to ask him questions about potion making which Harry was completely okay with providing.

It was however becoming a bit overwhelming as some started to crowd him at the same time. The twins helped out in those particular cases. The fact he was the seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team also made him the only approachable Slytherin in the school which considering how 'mysterious' he currently was, said a lot of something.

While Gryffindor's were the only one's brave enough to approach him as a whole, very few students mustered the desire to talk with him. A fact which was completely understandable.

Overall, over the course of two months Harry had quickly become the center of attention and speculation around Hogwarts, much to his annoyance. Sure, he had no trouble avoiding them when he choose too, he knew every inch of Hogwarts like the back of his hand, it still was a bit aggravating when they muttered from afar even when it was pretty clear he would talk with anyone who approached with respect.

The stress it created was enormous, however Harry had one thing that would occasionally fly in and relieve his frustrations, Ginny.

To Harry's great delight, Ginny agreed to write to him, something that left him walking on air for most of the term.

Over two months the two quickly became friends through paper and shared secrets that no one else knew. It was usually small things like how she found her brothers annoying at times or how Harry would slip through a secret passage to make it to classes on time.

What they talked mostly about however revolved around magic and Hogwarts. They talked about the Professors, what classes they thought would be interesting, Minor events, the most active rumor going around, the going-ons regarding the school and her student, and occasionally how Quidditch practices went, which in most cases was brutal.

Harry was pleased when Ginny got a laugh at his retelling of Hogwart's first snow day of the year. Harry had told her how the twins had charmed a huge collection of snowballs to pummel the back of Quirrell's head. Something that according to her left her in stitches.

Her letter's told Harry a lot about Ginny. She was smart, intelligent, was quick witted, and surprisingly mature if her writing was to be interpreted as such. With each sent, Harry felt more and more conflicted as it became increasingly hard to differentiate Ginny from his Ginny. With Hermione it was easy, she was still young and nowhere near as confident or mature as the one he remembered. Based just on their letters however, Harry kept finding himself imagining his Ginny, slouched over a desk writing with a gentle smile, from wherever she was to him.

Eventually the holidays were right around the corner and Harry was at an impasse as for the first time since his return he was introduced with a concept he had nearly forgotten about. Something so important to the holidays it left him banging his head against the hard stone of the school. Gift giving.

What gift would he give Ginny? It hadn't even crossed his minds until the Twin had lazily asked him if he was excited for presents during the coming holidays. As soon as they mentioned that Harry was left quickly puzzling what to give to everyone he respected and considered as friends. The twins, Hermione, and Nymphadora were easy. The playful and pranking Twins and Tonks were easy to plan for. Harry had several potions the twins would love, each being not worthy to their pranking shenanigans.

Similarly, Tonks was becoming more and more active in teasing him with her body. Deciding payback was in order Harry had secretly ordered her a silver bullet he charmed to increase her sensitivity fivefold. Harry thought it would be a good tease in itself and a good reminder that making potions wasn't a good time to try and brush up and embarrass your partner.

Hermione likewise was easy. At first, he was going to give her a book but then he found something even better. Instead of a predictable book Harry got her magic puzzle box he found in the room of requirement. The box magically rearranged itself after each solution was found so it resolved a nearly infinite number of times. As for books, he planned to give her on of his own titles once he finished writing them.

The problem was Ginny, Harry wasn't sure exactly what to give her.

If he had a choice, he'd get her a broomstick, but he couldn't get to Diagon Ally until next summer at the earliest and there was no way he was gonna give her any of the crappy brooms within the room of requirement. Most were broken or busted up anyway.

He wished he had Hedwig so he could simply ask Ginny what she would like but his loyal girl was still tired from making back and forth deliveries to Ginny constantly. She might have been a determined girl but even she needs her beauty sleep.

"What's the matter Harry?"

Looking up from his thoughts Harry smiled as Hermione sat down next to him. "Nothing really, just trying to figure out what kinda gift a friend of mine would like for Christmas."

"Why don't you just ask them?"

Harry smiled as he shacked his head. "Can't. Hedwig is tired from round trips and she doesn't have an owl that we can use."

"Why don't you just send her a letter by some other means. Can't you use another owl."

"And suffer the wrath of Hedwig's jealousy. No way I could do that." Harry jokingly grumbled.

Hermione laughed slightly at that. Hedwig's jealousy was quickly becoming famous in the school after Harry used another owl to contact his mysterious penpal. She found it a little annoying that Harry still wouldn't tell her who it was. He simply teased her about being jealous which peeved her to no end.

Harry paused as he thought about that particular problem for a minute. Looking at the Quidditch field Harry was struck with inspiration. What if it wasn't an owl he sent.

Turning Harry kissed her cheek. "Mione you're a genius." he said as quickly as he dashed off towards the Quidditch pitch. Blinking out of her daze Hermione ran after him. "Harry, wait. What do you mean?"

Making his way into the storage hut, where the extra and busted Quidditch supplies where kept, Harry opened up a small draw and found exactly what he was looking for. Golden Snitches, all broken and unused. Several were just broken while others were missing parts.

"Harry what did I say? And what are you gonna do with those?" Hermione asked sternly.

Grinning madly Harry turned to her and replied, "Make a substitute Owl."

"A what?" Hermione repeated.

"A substitute. I'm gonna make a snitch that can deliver letters." Harry said.

Hermione eyes shot open before she glared at him with ample doubt. "And how exactly are you gonna do that?" she asked.

"If I fix up one of these snitch's I can place runes on it that would make it unnoticeable to muggles and make it possible to fly over long distances." Harry explained as an idea popped into his brain. He smiled as he showed her the inner empty shell that made up the snitch. "We can even place an enlargement charm or array within the interior so it can carry large parcels and letters."

Hermione listened with rapt attention. As he went more in depth into explaining that it was possible, it became more and more likely that he could make it happen. She was even eager to try some of the magic he was suggesting.

"You said 'we', what makes you think I'd help you?" Hermione asked slightly stubbornly.

"You don't want to?" Harry asked. Hermione bit her lower lip. She wanted to but at the same time she wasn't quite sure they should risk using runes they hadn't been taught yet. She paused and looked at Harry, he was watching her, not with eyes of expectation but earnest and waiting eyes. Eyes that wanted her to make the choice and would respect her choice. They were mature eyes...

She sighed in exasperation. She couldn't say no to Harry and if she was being honest with herself. She was genuinely interested and wanted to do it.

"Okay I'll help. But I want you to ask Professor Mcgonagall first before you take these." she said gesturing to the box of snitches. At the end of the day she still didn't want to break any rules.

Harry didn't have a problem with that. After all, one man's trash was another's treasure.

Permission was easily granted and over the course of a week Hermione and Harry charmed, bewitched, and fabricated a new snitched from the remains of the trash. Unbeknownst to Hermione Harry had slyly asked permission to use the broken snitches. While her request probably included the expectation of asking permission to perform rune magic on it, Harry wasn't about to reveal that secret quest yet.

At least not until he had a finished product. Between her brilliance and his knowledge, it wasn't a surprise that they finished their pet project just in time for the Holidays which loomed only days away.

The snitch was about the size of a tennis ball when they were almost done. Due to its size it had four silver wings attached to it instead of two all about twice the size of the originals. On top of being far faster than any snitch in existence, it was also an incredible marvel of wizardry.

Harry found he loved watching Hermione work. She was dedicated in her research and he found her wand work was far more delicate then he expected it to be.

The task of charming the metal was incredibly hard, and every time Hermione struggled with it, she would become even more stubborn in fixing the problem. Harry had laughed and found it adorable several times to which she slapped him playfully in irritation.

Interestingly enough Professor Flitwick joined in on their work twice and seemed greatly pleased and proud of their work each time he saw it. Between Harry's rune work and Hermione's charms the stout professor could be nothing but impressed. Upon its completion Hermione suggested they test it first to make sure it worked. First, they had it send messages to each other and then slowly increasing the distance after each test.

Their final test was to send a message to the stout Professor. From the pitch the snitch practically blinked out of existence and reached the Professor in record time. It was complete and a resounding success in Harry's eyes. Harry would have expected it to take longer to make but he'd already seen and dismantled a similar completed product before.

Harry knew it would work but wasn't sure the charms work was going to be successful. He wasn't quite sure how to go about it properly but leave it to Hermione to figure it out.

During the final dinner before the winter holidays Professor Flitwick awarded them fifty points each for remarkable craftsmanship and creativity on top of standing above inter-house relationships. Harry was gratefully that he didn't add points due to the fact they used multiple charms and spells far above their skill level. Not to mention the ancient runes that Harry used for most of its special features.

As a bonus the points given got Hermione a lot more positive attention within her house. Those fifty points raised their house's standing, managing to push past Ravenclaw and place Gryffindor into third place and just a few points shy of Hufflepuff who sat precariously in second place.

The evening afterwards was spent showing off the large snitch as it zoomed passively around. Fred and George asked for details on how they made it. Harry could see the gears turning in their head at its potential as a substitute 'owl'. Several Ravenclaws glared enviously at the two creators. Ron simply glared. Neville was the only person to ask why they made it to which Harry mischievously said, that the Weasley's would be the first to find out why over the Holidays.

Much to their confusion Harry was grateful when the Twins made a bet with Cedric Diggory that he couldn't catch Potter's custom-made snitch. A bet he was willing to take since Hufflepuff was now on edge with Gryffindor right behind them in the house cup.

Sitting up in the bleachers Harry watched as several members of the Quidditch teams chased after the ridiculously fast ball. The cold wind stung his face occasionally as a flier zoomed past them occasionally as they chasing after their snitch It was an hour into the promoted match that almost a quarter of the school descended onto the pitch. A quarter of the school watching and making bets on who would or would not catch it first or at all.

Sitting alone Harry let his thoughts drift and flow as images of Ginny chasing after a snitch overlapped with one of the students flying. He could see it so vividly, her fiery red hair flowing behind her, a broad smile plastered on his face as she embraced the rush that only flying could bring.

"Something on your mind?"

Harry turned to see Hermione. Her cheeks stung red by the cold wind as she made to sit next to him. Her chestnut hair bellowing in the wind was held at bay as her hand raised to hold it in place. The image of Hermione standing over the alps overshadowed the present girl before him.

Her hand keeping her hair at bay back then too. Her irritation showed of her face at how unruly her hair was when battered by the wind.

"Stop it." Harry shouted at himself mentally, "She's not her! They're different. We're different. You have to be you. If you think like that, you'll be just like him. That manipulative bastard."

Pulling out his wand Harry slowly and gently cast a sticking charm at her hair. When finished he reached for her hand and slowly pulled it away from her hair. She was surprised that her hair was still held in place. Seeing the questioning look on her face Harry chuckled. "Sticking charm."

She flushed with realization and turned back to watch the make shift game. Cedric had come close to catching the custom snitch but failed when it stopped hovering and zoomed past his ear. Harry wondered if they realized that he had set the snitch to its slowest setting so they could have a chance at even catching it let alone see it.

"So?" Hermione asked awkwardly.

"So what?" Harry asked not looking at her.

"So~" Hermione exaggerated, "What's troubling you?"

"Nothing's troubling me."

Hermione scoffed. "You're a great wizard Harry, but a terrible liar." she said knowingly. "Somethings on your mind, it has been for a while now and the closer the holidays seem to get the more distant you seem to get."

She shuffled a bit close to him, both for his warmth and in concern. "I also know you don't lie unless you're worried about something. You go out of your way to not lie Harry so its easy to notice."

Harry sighed in surrender. Leave it to Hermione to know him best and when something was troubling him. She was right, the closer the holidays where approaching the more he realized something was wrong and the more he questioned himself. Questioning who was sitting right there where he sat.

Here he was, creating a gift for someone he had never even met and yet he knew so well. And that had gotten him thinking. Who was he really? Who was Harry Potter? Was he the boy who lived or the old man who wished to die? What was he really? Was he forcing his knowledge on others or simply Harry Potter living his life or living the continuation of his life after the ritual?

He also asked who they were as well. This question was made infinitely different by the girl who sat next to him. Yes, there were differences but as time went on Harry realized that the only difference was experience. At her core, Hermione was Hermione. She was she. The girl beside him was the same as the women he loved. The differences were there yes, her age, maturity, knowledge, and faults, but beyond all of those she was Hermione.

So, was he the same? Was it really his future self or his past self that sat where he was? Did he even actually gain them or simply remember them? Was he doomed to suffer that fate again or were those memories a gift to a self that would make his own fate? At first Harry believed the ritual that he recalled simply added his past memories to his past's own. But now Harry was having doubts. Questions that no one could answer. And no way to know how to answer them. The most predominant being that the ritual wasn't designed to be a post man it was designed to erase, to destroy.

It didn't make sense to him. How exactly did he recall everything, and more importantly why did he recall anything at all? He had one idea as to how, but then that question of his own identified scared him away from confirming it. Even if he did investigate that possibility, there was nothing in his possession that could help prove who he was.

In the end it really all boiled down to one question, "Did Harry Potter himself want to be with Hermione and Ginny of his own will? Or was it because he was influenced by the knowledge his past future presented him. Was it just a temptation given to a lonely boy who wanted to know love or was it a love her sought out by his own will? If he could answer that then Harry knew he'd know the answers to everything else about him. After all, a desire for love made up the core of who Harry was regardless of who it was.

Harry sagged visibly as the burden of this question haunted him. Hermione looked on with concern. "I'm sorry Hermione, I don't know how to tell you what's bothering me and honestly it's one of those things I have to figure out myself. Honestly I don't think I want to tell you in any case."

Hermione looked angry at first but then saw how vulnerable Harry looked. Even Harry for all his academic success, skill, and ability, struggled just like she did. He felt more human and closer to her at that moment then he ever did before.

"Tell me anyway?" Hermione said. Harry glanced at the stubborn look she had in her eyes. No way she was going to back off. Harry felt put off but then again that's just how Hermione was. At least how he knew her to be.

"I'm worried that what I want is not what I want. I mean, I'm not sure if want I chose to do is something I chose or if someone else made me chose."

Hermione looked Harry straight into his eyes. Her eyes were radiant and clear. Harry felt his doubts vanish as she spoke to him.

"Harry. I don't know why you're unsure of yourself and I can't give you the answer to your question. But if there's something you can believe in, it's that I chose to be your friend. Even if someone forced you to be my friend, I chose to accept it and I want to be your friend. You're an amazing person Harry and the first person to show patience with who I am. You saved me from that troll when everyone else either forgot or ignored me. Even when I ignored and distanced myself from you, you thought of me and came to help me. I never thanked you for that, so I'll say it now. Thank you for not giving up on me." she said. As she finished Harry couldn't help but feel warm as he watched her blush faintly from embarrassment. Similarly, he could feel himself letting go a little at her honesty.

Harry let his frown slip into a small grin. "Anytime." he whispered. The two sat quietly as Cedric once again missed the snitch for a third time. Harry sat contently as he wondered how much like bandits the twins would make out as once the game was called.

The next evening Harry watched everyone leave via the Hogwarts Express to enjoy the holidays with their loved ones. Hermione gave him one final hug and as he waved goodbye to her Harry realized that Christmas that year was going to feel emptier then it had ever felt before.

Very few stayed behind that year and thankfully at least for Harry many of them were from other houses. Slytherin on the other hand was almost completely empty with the exception of three Slytherins. With so few present, the halls left ample room for Harry's thoughts to wander. Similarly, it let up enough room for his legs to wander too.

It left him plenty of time to work on his writings, perform research, catch up on his papers, and most importantly fill up his potions stockpile. With so much free time Harry had plenty of time to prep and make plenty of usefully potions. Blood-replenishing, Skele-grow, veritaserum, to name a few. Several other potions included on that made a vapor that glowed in the presence of magic, a salve that closed most basic cuts, stamina replenisher, and a few others. It was however boring work and tedious.

Even as he concocted a few experimental potions, that were likely to explode, Harry still found himself missing Hermione's company.

In order to curb the feeling of loneliness that grew inside him, Harry spent most of his days leading up to Christmas exploring or gathering lost books from the room of lost things when he wasn't making or watching his collection of brewing cauldrons.

Harry, feeling emboldened one night even went so far as to levitate his trunk into the room and filled it with numerous items. The biggest of the haul included a very large Sneakoscope, a complete set of Standard Book of Spells grades two through seven, a Gryffindor Bed, and a Foe-Glass three feet in diameter. The biggest reward however was the discovery of a Runeforge.

Harry was stunned stiff in disbelief when he first saw the dining table sized Anvil just sitting their gathering dust like it was someone's lost shoe. At first, he was ready to shout out and rage at how criminal it was.

At first its intricate gold engravings and black-silver sheen made it look too new to be a legitimate Runeforge even with the layer of dust. However, after inspecting it closely Harry felt like he had been dunked in firewhisky.

A Runeforge was priceless. If used properly magics such as enchantments became significantly more feasible and powerful. Runes that could only be carved via stone could be applied onto delicate substances like cloth.

The reason why such things became possible was because any magic's placed on the forge were held in place and could be altered so long as they remain resting on the forge. The runes once carved into stone could literally have the magic peeled off and then placed onto another object once said object was applied. The forge could even expand and reveal existing enchantments in the shape of floating magic symbols in the air within its field of operations. As a magical device it was as priceless and invaluable as a Pensive if infinitely more useful.

Harry couldn't help but hug the damn thing once he cleaned it off. He missed having one of these when his old one was destroyed during a raid on the castle. The castle repelled them, but a stray tomahawk still managed to luckily for them destroy the one he had. After losing it Harry thought he'd never find another one again. It was like finding Merlin's staff and then having it blow up, what was the odds of getting another one.

"I wonder if it still works?"

Looking around Harry retrieved a stone tablet and a small glass bead. Sitting down he began to think aloud.

"Let's see... first carve a rune into the tablet, something large or complex..."

He held the glass bead before his eyes, the tablet sitting firmly in his lap. Deciding on simple and large he began to carve into the tablet a runic array for glowing rainbow. It was simple to carve and allowed a generous amount of leeway for mistakes.

The array was a simple rotation of runes. First an illumination rune fallowed by a color shifting rune. What would follow was an anchor rune to lock the new color as the default and then a refresh rune to start the process again. Last but not least was a magic gathering rune to recycle the magic used for greater efficiency.

Once carved it was about four inches in diameter in size. Far too big to fit on a small glass bead.

Placing it on the Anvil like device Harry tapped it with his hand and watched as the anvil pulsed with a subtle warmth under his fingertips. Harry smiled, it was still alive. "That's good..."

Tracing his hand over the stone tablet Harry slowly felt the glow of the carved rune and pulled his finger away. Like a peeled sticker Harry grinned madly as the simple array's form was separated from the stone. The magic floated listfully in the air under Harry's finger.

Dragging his finger over harry flicked his finger quickly separating it from the array. Ducking down, half expecting something to go wrong Harry paused before looking up. He smiled happily as the array simply floated were he left it, still completely active and functional.

Raising his hands Harry placed his palms on either side, envisioning an invisible bubble around it. Slowly he closed his hands together and watch as the array shrank along with the space between his palms. Harry could barely control his excitement. It was working, it was working perfectly. Reducing it to the size a tenth of a centimeter-long Harry drew it down and carefully placed the array onto the bead.

With a delicate precision Harry slowly applied it much as one would with anything of similar scale.

As soon as it was applied Harry removed the bead from the anvil. Holding it up to get a better look he could see the array, once carved from a large stone tablet the size of a sheet of paper, was now no larger than a centimeter on a glass bead. With a small tap of his wand the bead began to glow.

First red, then orange to yellow and so one. The whole visual spectrum.

It worked. A true functional Runeforge. Harry's mind raced with an assortment of ideas. There were so many things he could make now that he wouldn't be able to before.

"Now the question is how do I lift it into my Trunk?"

Sure, he could levitate the thing, but he sure as hell couldn't shrink it, at least not yet. Not that he would want too. Shrinking artifacts like this, or anything magical was risky and dangerous. At best you could destroy whatever it was you were shrinking, at worst, you could tamper and detonated the enchantments on the artifact.

Thankfully Harry didn't have to do either. Much like forcing a coach through a doorway Harry barely managed to squeeze the giant lump of stone into his trunk, a task that took an hour to manage but felt like an entire day's worth of effort on his part.

Collapsing down Harry slammed his head back in exhaustion. Resting his back against his trunk Harry let out a heavy sigh. "I think I need a break..." He sputtered out as he gasped for air.

The light of the twilight glinted through the glass windows the littered the distant walls, Harry slowly felt his eyes rest as he sat against his trunk.

Once fully rejuvenated Harry continued to pack forgotten objects into his trunk. Potions equipment, Cauldrons, Books, quills, paper, everything Harry could find that would be of use. He even managed to snag a few larger items like chairs and tables from the mountains of goods.

Looking around and realizing it was still mid-morning at the latest Harry made his way out of the room of requirement.

He decided to leave his trunk in the room for safe keeping and set off to the library to do some less physical work. While Harry himself wasn't keen about working in the library seeing as it was a public venue, it was the one place where Harry could fade into the background and not be noticed when he wanted to read or write.

Normally his trunk was his go-to private place for work but that was now a problem. With his trunk completely full it was the next best place. And while he could just as easily work within the room of requirement had he stayed he'd be too distracted to do anything productive, academic or relaxing.

Once he found a nice secluded place Harry sat down and began reading Slytherin's Journal. It didn't take long for him to fade into the background and for his focus to fall into the forgotten man's tale.

I met again with my close friend, Godric. Once again, the young fool was charging after Persurers in a rage. However, this meeting was not a happy event.

I saw that sight again, a sight that has become far too common for us. Another one, we lost another one.

Helga was clutching a young girl in her arms tears flooding down her cheeks. Raven stood over her morbid, cursing her own powerlessness. I was no better. I stood there feeling powerless. While they took no joy in their own powerlessness at least they were there, where as I was late again. My throat felt scorched. I'm not sure if it was hatred or the fact I ran as fast as I could.

If not for Maria who held my hand and leaned against me, I know not what madness I would have performed as a result.

The girl looked so quiet. Neither happy sad or afraid, she was just there. It almost looked like she was just resting her eyes.

I found myself wondering, how? How many would die before the non-wizard communities would leave us alone. How much blood, would it take to sate their hunger, their hatred.

These children, our children, were dying faster than we could produce them. We were many but even Godric the fool that he was could see that as things stood, we wouldn't last. We were doomed regardless of what we did. If we practiced magic, like this child, they would be killed without remorse. If we didn't, our children would be consumed by the black plagues within us.

These where our children, our people's legacies.

I felt my blood boil in rage, not only at the tragedy but my own ineptitude. We live in a world of magic and I can't save a single child before me. I found myself crying even as others watch nearby, but I couldn't care. Likely they wouldn't either.

My saving grace was Maria who stood next to me. Through all these years she has stood by my side, a constant reminder that there were good in humans without magic.

This war in England, the pursers from France, the barbarians from the north, none of them mattered. Magic didn't matter. The problem was I couldn't stop them. However, I swore I would protect the next one, and the ones after them.

Yes, I would give them a chance.

Looking up the hill at the ruined bastion overlooking the cold lake upon the hill I was reminded of an impossible idea. A though that had crossed my mind many a times. Impossible was no longer an excuse, I would see it done.

When Godric returned from his hunt, I steeled myself and told them my plan. I told them my idea, my wish.

To my and Maria's delight, they agreed. Together the four of us would achieve it. That fort would be our castle. Our bastion where we would defend magic from the war, from the bland, from the hatred of our kind.

"I'm telling you the truth, that bastard Snape is after it."

Harry was pulled away from Slytherin's journal as he looked up. To his surprise the voice belonged to Ron Weasley. To his right and left where Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas respectively. Thankfully they didn't notice him and left him alone, too engrossed in their conversation.

"Why should we care?" Dean said uninterested.

"Dude it's the stone. Here in the castle. We can make a fortune with it." Seamus declared clearly tempted by what the stone could do.

"But that's stealing. Besides you already said its defended against thieves." Dean argued.

"None of that matters. Look I overhead Snape myself. The git is a Slytherin like all the rest, if not more so. He's planning on stealing it. We got to stop him." Ron said with his bravado on high.

"Stop him, how? He's a teacher. What do you want us to do, wave our wands at him?" Dean groaned out.

"Why not?" Seamus asked.

"You're missing the point," Ron continued. "Think about it. If Snape gets the stone, he can become immortal or worse."

"That's the last thing we need. An immortal potions professor to haunt us for the rest of our lives." Dean groaned out.

"Look, we don't even know if it is the stone. What makes you think that's what is being guarded?" Seamus asked.

Harry focused his hearing on them. He too was interested in finding out how they figured out what was being guarded. Ron move closer into a whisper just barely high enough for Harry to eavesdrop on, "Hermione figured it out. She said she found a book that talked about Nicholas Flamel."

Harry quickly shuffled through his bag before breathing a sigh of relief. At least he still had his book on the subject. Harry didn't think he could face Mcgonagall if he had lost it or worse Hermione took it. But that left the question of which book talked about it.

"So, what do we do?" Seamus asked.

"Nothing for now. Just be ready." Ron said. "This could be big for us. Stopping a Dark Lord in the making, we'd be famous." He spoke with a massive and dreamy grin. The other two fell in line though Harry could tell Dean had reservations but didn't voice them.

"That or get a bunch of house points." Seamus muttered. Harry could only look at him with a gaze that asked "seriously?".

"I'm going to have to have a talk with Hermione in regards to sticking to close to Ronald Weasely." Harry thought. "That kid's dreams of grandeur are gonna get her into trouble or worse hurt."

Picking up the diary, Harry left not wanting to be spotted by his least liked Weasely. Heading to his dorm Harry waltzed in and spotted the two other remaining Slytherins, excluding himself, studying in the corner.

"So, we add, Valerian. Right?... Tracy?" the blonde asked calling for her partners attention.

Harry turned and quickly recognized the Forgetfulness Potion they were attempting, he also noticed that they weren't prepared for making it either.

"Hold up Daph, ummm... I think, yes, two sprigs of Valerian." the black-haired witch concluded.

Seeing a disaster in the making Harry corrected the mistake happening underneath their nose.

"I wouldn't add that if I were you. You left it gently heating for over 20 seconds." Harry said in passing as he climbed the stairs. As Harry laid down on his unused bed, a loud pop was heard and the shriek of two girls came from beyond his room's door. Harry getting up looked outside his room with concern but shrugged his worries away deciding to sleep first and worry later.

Even if they ignored him, the forgetfulness potion wasn't that volatile. At worse they'd suffer something like pronounced acne or slight staining on their robes. Slowly he went back to his bed to sleep.

It was almost eight when Harry awoke. His body was shivering from the winter cold. The dormitory's stone chilled walls doing little to alleviate the struggles that winter brought to Hogwarts.

Harry hadn't really thought about the problem since he usually slept within his trunk or in the room or requirement, which reminded him he left the former in the latter.

Looking around his dorm room as he got up Harry had to admit that for any student who entered it, it would appear as if there was no resident. It pretty much looked like no one had even slept or lived here since term began, which wasn't technically wrong. The shelves where bare, the desk unused, and the bed was surprisingly dust free despite its lack of use. Harry really needed to consider spicing up the place.

Getting out of bed Harry walked down to the common room and making sure no one was around exited the snake pit. Using the secret passage that was around the corner Harry made it to the fifth floor and then proceeded to the seventh.

Once there Harry gathered his Trunk from the room of lost things and began to levitate it back to his dorm. Curfew be damned he wasn't going to freeze in his own room because of laziness.

And that wasn't even mentioning the valuables and commodities that he kept secretly inside.

The journey went well for the most part. On his way up Harry spotted and avoided Peeves who was using a grease can to pain the stairs dangerously slick. Taking a slight detour Harry avoided him and reached the room without a problem. It wasn't until Harry reached the fifth floor on his return that he stumbled into a legitimate problem. The ominous footsteps of Filch echoed down the hall and he was stuck in the one section that didn't have a readily available hiding place.

"Shite." Harry cursed.

Looking around Harry spotted an unused classroom and made his way inside. Placing his trunk down and jumping inside Harry threw the lid down and went to his newly acquired Foe-glass. The ghastly shape of Filch hissed within its mirror like surface. Silently Harry waited, Filch's form becoming clearer and clearer. After a few minutes the shape of Filch vanished and when the ghostly outline faded from view Harry breathed a breath of relief.

"Two cheers for magic." Harry muttered.

Climbing back out of his trunk Harry wondered if he should try to place a concealment charm on him and his trunk. Lifting his Trunk once again Harry turned around to make his way to the Dungeons again but stopped before he even began.

His charm ended and his trunk clashed loudly on the floor. Harry however ignored the loud noise and the potential damage to his trunk.

Harry didn't care nor notice, his eyes glued on the large wall size mirror that loomed quietly in the corner. Its golden frame and the elegant cursive words etched into the frame created a gentle shadow which called Harry towards its lonely corner.

"The Mirror of Erised" Harry whispered.

"Wait, why did I... is that what the mirror is called?" Harry asked himself.

Harry didn't know how he knew it was, but somewhere in some far-off memory Harry knew this was said Mirror. He held no memories of the mirror but somehow had knowledge of what it was. A familiarity at the bare minimum.

A mirror that shows what your deepest and most heartfelt desire was. As Harry approached the mirror, he felt incredibly nostalgic. A feeling that was quickly replaced by thoughts of looming doom and the warmth of flames. Harry shook off the feeling just as a voice that creepily demanded, 'the stone' echoed in his head.

"Why am I thinking of the Philosopher's Stone and who's voice is in my head?" Harry panicked aloud as he looked around the room. He didn't like this. Something was very wrong. Looking into the mirror Harry felt something was off, wrong.

He froze.

Harry froze in shock and disbelief.

Harry stared at himself within the mirror, but it wasn't reflecting him.

His reflection was grinning happily back at him and in its hand, a bright ruby red stone was held. When the reflection began to move Harry jumped as a loud harrumph called his attention.

Standing behind him in emerald green robes was Professor McGonagall. A hard glare was firmly leveled on Harry.

"And what are you doing out of bed Mister Potter?" she said with a stern voice. "It is well past Midnight and curfew."

"Sorry Professor. My trunk was missing, and I went to look for it. Most everything I have is in it and I was hoping to get some reading in before I went back to bed. I found it but hid in here when I heard Filch down the hall." Harry fibbed.

"Then please tell me why I see no trunk and you hiding in a classroom." she asked.

Harry pointed at his trunk which sat contently in her blind spot. "My trunk is there, and I heard Filch so I hid here since I knew I shouldn't be out at this hour. I was on my way back to my dorms but got distracted by this mirror. I um... well... I felt drawn to it, Professor."

"Be that as it may Harry, as you said you shouldn't be up this late. It is the holidays, so I'll be lenient. 10 points from Slytherin. No off to bed with you. I want you to go straight there, am I understood." She said much softer then Harry expect.

"Yes Professor." Harry said levitating his trunk and making his way down to his dormitory.

"Mr. Potter." Professor McGonagall called out. Harry turned to look at her sad eyes.

"I can understand the temptation the mirror can present but don't fall prey to its temptations. Do you understand?" she asked.

Harry shook his head. "I don't Professor, but I promise that I won't go looking for it without reason. Or past hours."

McGonagall hesitated but nodded with a gesture for him to go. She herself proceed back to her patrol as Harry left.

For his part wondered why she looked so sad as she stared momentarily at the door that housed the mirror beyond it. At the same time, he was happy she trusted him to return to his dorm all on his own and not to give him detention. He wondered if the current divide had anything to do with it.

Maybe she thought his house mates were bulling him by hiding his trunk, if so, Harry counted himself lucky.

Making his way into the Slytherin Dormitory Harry quietly levitated his Trunk back to his room. He really needed a better trunk to hold his stuff. Definitely a pet project for the summer. Harry wondered how long it would take to learn how to make something closer in size to Newt's suitcase.

Plopping his trunk down at the foot of his bed Harry crawled inside and descended to the new bed he acquired that morning. Flat on his face Harry slumped himself comfortable into the bed, breathed in the soothing scent of clean sheets as he relaxed, letting the bed suck him in gently. Comforting crimson wrapping around his body and Harry's body warmed the sheets and himself.

Harry's comfort was short lived as when he rolled over onto his back. A large lump of what felt like iron was jetting out from underneath him right around where his pants pocket was.

Harry shot out of bed to wrestle the unknown object from under him. He had suspected some random article had snuck its way into the sheets from the Room of Requirement. Sitting up Harry looked down to see what it was, but nothing was there. He realized it wasn't under his pants but... inside his pocket?

Patting his cloths, he felt something was in his pocket that shouldn't have been there.

He didn't place anything into his pocket so where did… Harry's eyes lit up.

"The mirror?" he wondered aloud to himself in a bare whisper.

Putting his Hand into his pocket Harry pulled out a fist sized ruby rose colored stone. Harry's eyes shot out as he stared at the rough edged and rugged ruby in his hand. His eyes widened in realization. In his pocket was the Philosopher's Stone.

"What in Merlin's name is going on?" Harry asked himself.

xXxXx

A reminder to all, the last chapter was re-edited to hopefully better convey the story so if you haven't read it, tell me what you think. If not, I shall take a breather and then begin working on chapter thirteen, my favorite number. Update will hopefully be done within the week unless I add a few stuffs.

I'd also like to say thank you to all who review, It really helps motivate me to keep going, several of you even gave me a fare amount of inspiration for the next year to look forward too. Until then I hope you continue to look forward to these quick releases, they won't last after Book I is done. Till next update or reply.