Wow this took forever to get done, but here it is. Hope you all enjoy and have a Happy Thanksgiving (or have should you read this after the fact =P).

Chapter 35 :: A Helping Hand

Beta'd: Scottken

Amelia Bones stepped aside as members of Saint Mungo's levitated one of her junior Aurors past her, towards the lift. A quick glance showed substantial but non-life-threatening wounds. The Healers in question wore the usual white nurse attire for Saint Mungo's but also a solid black armband with three red slashes through it. The Red Line healers, Ministry Healers censored and governed by the ministry itself.

While she herself didn't like it, she could understand the desire to keep the day's events secret and even approved, slightly, as such secrecy gave her the chance to assess the events that transpired in the Department of Mystery.

Pushing past the Aurors guarding the black door, she strode into the revolving room. As an experienced Auror herself, the sight was both impressive and shocking. Several wizards were casting and controlling multiple fire spells to free the Department's Unspeakables and a few Aurors, while most of her Aurors deployed to the intrusion, lay against the wall or on makeshift gurneys. Most lay motionless having sustained multiple wounds and bruises throughout the ordeal that transpired.

Amelia looked at the devastation and could only imagine the force and power the intruders must have possessed. From the condition of her subordinates and the fractures in the opposing wall, the intruders clearly had quite a bit of power behind them. Looking at the makeshift ice sculptures, they also had some interesting magics at their disposal.

The most shocking thing to cross her gaze, however, was the unconscious form of one of her best, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Amelia clenched her fists tightly at the sight of the man who sported burns on nearly half his body.

"Who's in charge here!?" She demanded with a loud shout. Kingsley was out and someone clearly led the charge to stop whoever invaded the department of mysteries.

"I-I'm in charge, at the moment, ma'am."

Amelia turned to see a young wizard barely out of his diapers, as far as she was concerned, step up.

"Name?"

"Cadet Anthony… Ma'am."

"Cadet? How are you in charge here?" She practically drilled into him.

"I-I…um… was the only one left able to move. No one else…" he sputtered out.

"Who's your mentor!" Amelia demanded and the young cadet pointed at one of her Aurors frozen in a pillar of ice.

Amelia felt the need to rip into this boy but knew he was far out of his league. They must have really be scraping the bottom of the barrel if this timid brat was a cadet. She felt a headache threaten to torment her, just thinking of trying to get any facts out of this trembling mess of a lad.

Hope, however, of evading this headache roared into earshot as the voice of another headache reached her ears.

"Get off me you dumb girl!" the grating voice of Alastor sounded from beyond the door.

Rushing past and ignoring the cadet, Amelia stormed towards Alastor who was surveying the devastated room of time. In the center of the room, limping as quickly as he could, Alastor shoved the healer trying to heal him out of the way as they pursued him.

Despite his left arm being frozen and wincing through his bruises, the grizzled elder pushed forward, his magic eye whizzing about sporadically.

"Alastor!"

Moody's eye spun towards Amelia along with his blue prosthetic which snapped onto her instantly.

"You're late, girl. What took you?" Alastor grumbled as he came to a stop. The sudden pause gave the healer time to catch him and attempt to bandage the large welt forming on the side of his face. Much to his irritation.

"Damn women get off me!" he complained, swatting at the poor healer.

Amelia couldn't help but smile, both at the comfort of at least one competent Auror walking about and the suffering the old coot was experiencing. Bout time, someone, annoyed him as much as he made her job harder. Paranoia was good, at a point in their line of work, but it sure as hell made her job harder, covering his wrinkly arse.

"Get over yourself Alastor." Amelia orders firmly. "What happened here?"

Her question to her surprise made even Alastor frown more than she thought was possible.

"A cluster fuck is what we got girl." Alastor snapped out. "Possible two intruders. No magical traces that we can follow, fourteen injured unspeakables, one dead, and eighteen injured Aurors. No magical residue, spell signature, identifying traits, objectives… nothing."

"What do you mean by possible, Alastor? Were there two intruders or just one?"

"One visible, but there was a possible second. The first suspect was shrugging off our spells without a care, they had another fire a decisive shot at us with our pants down."

"You didn't see them?" Amelia asked, surprised that Alastor's eye didn't give them more to work with.

"Hard to say Bones. The first target could make a convincing distraction. The fresh meat were distracted by two cloaked figures that were harmless-"

"So four suspects?" Amelia interrupted.

"No. One suspect confirmed. 'They' levitated string to make it look like there were more suspects than just him. Distracted us and caused a slight panic in the cadets. Almost convinced me if I didn't see through them."

Amelia raised an eye at this. From a tactical standpoint it was a brilliant use of simple magic to confuse and distract her aurors. While skilled in combating multiple targets, the string puppets would both distract her forces, redirect magic away from the real threat, and even disorient most of the rookies under her with the illusion of immortal targets charging them. All with a simple low cost spell.

While it would take an unimaginable amount of skill and practice in the spell, levitating magic was as basic and common as galleons in Gringotts.

"So, they used a levitation charm… do we know anything else?"

"We've confirmed that all the spells were standard and low level spells. Not even graduate level spells were used. Stunners, Lumos, Wingardium Leviosa, basic Warding Stones, and Exploding Charms that we know of but the real problem is that ice over there." Moody monologue out with a groan.

"We don't know what caused it?" Amelia asked.

"No, and that's the problem. Even the Unspeakable's don't seem to know what it is."

"You spoke to them?" Amelia asked in astonishment. The unspeakables, well… never spoke. Ever. They were magically bound to secrecy.

Moody gave her a shit eating grin. "This eye isn't there for show. Read their lips through the wall."

Amelia rolled her eyes at this but looked over the mess in the room of time. "Do we have any clues to their objective?"

"Could be anything." Moody grumbled out. "During the firefight several of the cases were blown up, several artifacts destroyed but everything blown up or broken has several copies throughout the room. If this was a theft we don't know what was stolen and even if we cross a few off based on the remnants left behind, it will still be pretty hard to come up with an answer."

"Make the list." Amelia insisted.

Moody nodded with a grumble but it wasn't like he wasn't going to do that anyway. "This might have also been a warning."

"A warning?" Amelia asked.

This drew out a chuckle from Moody. "You mean you haven't seen it?"

Amelia wasn't in a mood for games, giving him a harsh glare but had to wonder in the back of her mind what could get him so excited. Moody limped back out of the golden room and back toward the dead corpse covered up in a blue shroud.

Pulling it back Amelia was stunned at the sight of the dark mark, shimmering black and ominously on the skin of the dead unspeakable.

Amelia was stunned, stumbling back as the ramifications of this hit her with the impact of the knight-bus.

"Merlin's beard…" Amelia groaned out. This was complicated enough as it was, a break in at the ministry, any number of possible reasons and motives, and to top it all off they had no lead on who it was. To make matters worse, one of the victims carried you-know-who's mark. The only victim…

"Think this was their objective?" Amelia asked aloud, speaking her mind.

"Possible. Equally as possible as someone stealing something from the department. We shouldn't jump to conclusions yet. That too could be their objective."

"Their, Alastor?"

"I might not have seen them, but I know a second wand when I see it." Alastor said defiantly.

A loud crash pulled their attention away from the body as Tonks stumped and fell into the room, tripping on the ice.

"Morganna's tits that hurt." She winced as she rubbed her bruised face.

"Tonks! You dumb girl. What have I told you about being-!"

"Constant Vigilance. I know, I know. Shut up. I didn't trip cause I wanted to." Tonks said angrily, interrupting Alastor's belittlement.

"Watcher Boss." Tonks said cheerfully upon seeing Amelia Bones, standing next to her mentor.

Amelia gave a slight smirk of amusement at the apprentice Auror under Moody's tutelage. On top of being a young woman, full of potential as an Auror, she also was keeping Alastor under her thumb for a few more years. She was short on veterans as it was, and Alastor back peddling his retirement to raise her was a welcome boon.

"So why are you here, Cadet Tonks?" Amelia asked with a tone of zero amusement.

"Oh, uh, Mad-eye wanted me here for some in field training…" she said abruptly and with uncertainty; standing at attention as she said so.

"Enough talk girl, tell me what you think." Moody demanded, leaving no mistake that this was a test.

"Oh um… The intruders snuck in via the lift undetected, there's no evidence of anyone entering or leaving the ninth floor, nor any witnesses to anyone entering the lift that was mildly suspicious. From the remnants of the battle, the objective is undetermined but it's possible this was premeditated and planned. There's no signs of magical residue, none that can be traced or measured accurately. And the only magical spell we can trace has no recipient at least on record, leading to a possible foreign element or agent. There's also a disparity in the level of magic used. Most spells reported from survivors were basic undergrad magics anyone from forth year and above at Hogwarts can use and learn. The exception being the paper notes that seemed to cast magic instantly, and the unknown potions used to spectacular effect. From witness reports it's highly likely we're dealing with a spiritus user."

Until that last bit, Moody and Amelia were impressed by her assessment and the skill she displayed in gathering her information, most of which matched what they already knew and had been told. The last bit however, caught them both off guard.

"What do you mean spiritus user?" Amelia jumped in with an inquisitive glare. Even in her experience she had never heard of the term nor what it meant.

"I-isn't it obvious?" Tonks bumbled out hesitantly, worried she said something wrong to her bosses. She definitely didn't want to lose her job, especially after getting the Mad-Eye Moody to mentor her.

"Stop stumbling on your worries lass and spit it out. I've been at this job longer than even her," Moody said jabbing a gnarled finger at Amelia. "-and even I've never heard of this. Spit it out, what's a spiritus user and where did you learn of it?"

Tonks still slightly fluster nodded, "I learned about it at Hogwarts, when I was trying to raise my potions grade up."

"That means we need to talk with Professor Snape," Amelia assumed, much to the disdain and hesitant agreement of a growling Moody.

"Actually-" Tonks interjected, "I didn't learn it from him."

Both of her bosses looked at her in shock.

"I learned about it from Harry Potter."

If Amelia was surprised before, it was nothing compared to now.

"Harry Potter? As in that Harry Potter?" she asked for confirmation. Tonks nodded.

"And exactly how does Mr. Potter know about magics we've never heard of?"

"You'd have to ask him ma'am." Tonks admitted, "but don't doubt him cause he's young. He's a bloody genius though he'd never admit it." She added proudly.

Moody smirked, "We should pay Mr. Potter a visit."

Amelia nodded.

"Ma'am!"

Amelia turned around to the call of another Auror. "We have a problem." The stout man said out of breath. "You've been called by the Minister, an ambassador from the Japanese Ministry is here."

Amelia felt her headache coming back. "Understood."

"One more thing." The Auror said, interrupting her leave. "The Department of Magical Transportation is asking for your help. Illegal Portkeys leaving the country have been detected but they're too many for the department to handle.

"Send three squads to help them." Amelia ordered.

"No ma'am, they're asking for all the Aurors."

Amelia felt her jaw drop. "Are they out of their mind!? All of them. We have our hands full here. How many portkeys are they even talking about?"

oOoOo

Harry's smile grew so wide that his cheeks were starting to hurt. Standing over the large stone anvil, Harry was waving his hand back and forth as he slowly dismantled the magic that made up the time-turner.

As magical equations and symbols floated over the anvil in a large blue transient bubble. The formulas and markings rotated and spun in large arrays, and geometric formations. Yet even overlapping with each other, the tangled mess was slowly making sense to him. But what really made him smile, was that fact he was completely correct.

The time-turner wasn't a time-anything. It was spatial. 100% Einstein approved spatial manipulation magic altering artifact. The pinnacle of acceleration magic as far as Harry knew. For a world that knew nothing of Einstein, this device was a perfect confirmation to his theory of relativity and the moment Harry identified that core spell; oh boy, Harry had ideas.

Moving his hand, a formula caught his eye and with a bit of deciphering, Harry's grin turned upward into a smile that even Mark Hamill would approve of.

He pulled the formula out and set it to the side, stretching it out onto a piece of parchment he had prepared.

This parchment would serve as a backup, a copy and record for the future. The floating sigil that comprised the entire magical formula for the workings of the time-turner however would serve Harry for something greater.

But that was for later. Right now, he would leave the core formula on his shelf. As much as he wanted to tinker with it, he and Ginny both had a more important task at hand as he looked at the schedule they made together. For now he had Transfiguration and while boring he wasn't going to miss out on learning about a magic whose mastery was lost to the ages.

Ontop of being damn useful, Harry was still curious as to the relationship and differences between Alchemy and Transfiguration.

Traversing through the halls Harry paused in step as something caught his eye. Dangling from one of the arches that supported the stone ceiling.

"A shoe?"

Harry raised his wand and levitated the small shoe down from its dangling perch and brought it into his waiting hand. It was definitely small; a first year's without a doubt. Style, shape, and lack of smell all but confirmed it was female. Muggle in style, but way too old school to be muggle made. Wizard crafted, hand me down in all likelihood.

Looking around Harry pondered what to do. Pocketing the shoe in his robe for the time being, he returned his set task of reaching his classroom on time.

After class he would see if he could find the shoe's owner.

Upon reaching the class, Harry settled into his seat and lazily pulled out his transfiguration book. By this point the rest of the class wasn't shocked to see Harry pull the large tomb from his robes like it was thin air. What did draw a few eyes was that the book was for fourth year students.

When McGonegall came in the class began immediately. For once they weren't transfiguring beetles into buttons, a feat that took Harry six tries to master and created two weeks worth of boredom. The only available entertainment was the occasional word and gossip of one Ronald Weasley who apparently wasn't enjoying the perks of a broken wand.

Still, Spungify wasn't much of an improvement. True enough, being a charm granted a greater margin of error, McGongell was clearly set on forcing the class to understand the complexity of the spell.

The difficulty lay in envisioning and understanding the complexity of the objects they were working with. A Rock, a book, and a pin cushion.

Harry watched as Draco lazily struggled to charm the pin cushion. With a wave he grinned proudly only for McGonagall to crush his pride with a few words.

"Again Mr. Malfoy." she said curtly. Waving her wand and waving it without a word spoken she poked the cushion and forced him to watch as the soft plushy form swallowed the wand tip completely before rebounding and bouncing on his desk. "That is what you should be seeing upon success. Again." she stated, and walked away, leaving an irritated blonde behind her.

Harry by that point was playing around with his three objects, working out how varying intent and power directed could affect the softness of the objects in question. Aimlessly getting a feel of the magic.

Understanding the structure of the objects was easy enough to imagine and then envisioning the elasticity needed for the spell was childsplay. Literally, everyone in the class could do that after ten minutes once they cast the spell.

"Mr. Potter."

Harry looked up at McGonagall as she stared at him sternly, Malfoy and a few of his classmates looking on with eager grins.

Once the room was empty, she sat behind her desk and gestured for Harry to sit. From her drawer she pulled out a small stack of parchment, the previous assignment handed in the previous week.

"Do you recognize this paper Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked with not an air of amusement.

"I believe that is the assignment handed in last week ma'am."

"It is. I finished grading it two days ago and haven't had the chance to talk with you about it." she continued adding a bit of bite behind her words. His lip seemed concrete in their position as to prevent a need to bite down on her own thoughts.

"Was it not acceptable ma'am?" Harry asked curiously. The paper itself was simple enough to finish and in that simplicity an annoyance. Especially since he was more interested in the project he had been working on. A four inch paper, in preparation for the more advanced transfiguration coming the following week – one that changed birds into goblets – paled in comparison to the successfully transmigration and replication of the runic arrays that resided in the sword he had drawn from the sorting hat.

"I would only say it was Acceptable." she stated flatly, letting only a simmer of heat out in her tone. "If I was grading this based on what I know you are capable of I would have graded it with Troll yet even that would be seen as an insult to the trolls if I did."

Harry said nothing as he sat there watching as McGonagall fumed slightly before pulling herself back down from the high she was building too. "I am well aware of your intellect Mr. Potter. In case you have forgotten, I have seen the notes within your school books. Had I not seen your handwriting beforehand, I would have thought someone of far greater magical experience wrote those notes inside your books and not you. This," she lifted up his paper, "is a mockery of what I know you are capable of." she finished lapping it back down on the table.

"But it was acceptable." Harry countered.

Rubbing her forehead, the professor held her tongue visibly as she let that statement sink in. "Why do you think 'this' –" she said with a vitriol tongue "is acceptable?"

"Two reasons." Harry answered honestly, "First, it was the bare necessity to complete the assignment so I could focus on other projects and secondly, it is average and doesn't stand out."

"And why would you want your work to be average?"

"Professor, I'm in Slytherin and a Potter. I am not welcome among the majority of my peers. I also don't want more attention then I already have with the fame I have due to my parents deaths." He stated flatly.

"If you have trouble with your peers Mr. Potter then you should-"

"Take it up with my head of House." Harry interrupted with a sarcastic mockery. "Remind me, Professor, exactly who my head of house is."

McGonagall sighed and shook his head, well aware of what he was getting at. "Your argument is duly noted." Letting out a sigh she stared back at him firmly. "This level of work, Mr. Potter is not what your parents would have wanted." she stated, attacking the problem before him from a different angle.

Seeing what she was doing Harry smirked internally. So she wanted to play that angle. Very well. "I'm sorry ma'am. I unfortunately can't say one way or another what my parents would have wanted from me, seeing as they aren't around."

The comment was a low blow and Harry knew it. He also knew it worked as McGonagall stalled and looked ashamed. "I am aware of that fact, Harry." she said, slipping from her professional stature. "But as I have told you before, your parents would have wanted the best from you. To make them proud. This-" she gestured to the paper, "-doesn't do them, me, or yourself justice. I know you could do better, Harry. What I want to know is why you don't. You say you don't wish to stand out, but your frequent disappearing acts and standard behavior belay any such assumption from being made."

Harry felt the hurt in her voice and in a slip he felt the frustration she was experiencing. She knew he could do better, knew he could succeed and surpass almost anyone. She wanted him to make his parents proud and internally Harry knew his parents wouldn't be proud of what he submitted. In contrast his non-school related projects which could arguably be world changing. The creation of new potions, a cheap and public elixir of youth, the replication of lost magics... anyone one of these Harry knew he could live on with pride over. Unexpectedly, McGonagall touched upon a part of him that wanted to succeed. The part that loved magic above all.

"I don't want my grades to change." Harry said flatly, staring deeply into her eyes. McGonagall looking at those emeralds saw the underlying statement. "If my overage score remains the same, I am willing to put in more presentable effort into my work."

"Mr. Potter. You do understand that averaging a grade score of Acceptable will limit your own career potential. Your father for example was an Auror, which requires several NEWTs of which an acceptable would not allow you to achieve." McGonagall explained.

"I'm not planning to be an Auror Professor. In fact I'm planning to continue managing my own business ventures."

McGonagall blinked at this dumbly, "I'm sorry, continue? As in, currently employed?"

"Currently and actively. I'm still in school only because the Ministry requires I achieve my OWLs before I can go independent. Even so I have several jobs I am currently invested in and making a solid profit from. Not taking into account my own stocks and the stock trade itself, one of my ventures currently nets me a steady five hundred galleons a month."

McGonagall was impressed if what he said was true. Here she was teaching and her student was already earning more than she did.

"May I inquire what you wish to do when you leave Hogwarts Harry?" she asked.

"I was planning to travel, actually. Go around the world, learn about magic from all walks of life and record and archive it all. One of my goals is to create a vault of sorts. Well, not a vault actually, more like a vault or sanctum for magical knowledge. Something along the lines of The British Library in London or the Library of Congress in the States."

McGonagall was a little surprised by his explanation. She knew Harry was incredibly talented and expected great things to come from him, but this was not what she expected him to desire for a career. A Potions Master, a famous Auror like his father, an Enchanter like his mother perhaps, but a librarian was not what she was expecting. Even as grand a library as he listed off wasn't what she would have predicted.

"I see... and from the sounds of it you already are working towards such goals?" she asked in an attempt to regain her footing.

"Yes. Well one of my goals. To make such a goal a reality I need both money and manpower as well as a large number of items to fill such a vault with." Harry confirmed.

McGonagall thought quietly for a moment and nodded. "What other goals do you have planned? Where do you see yourself in five years after graduating?"

Harry sat back for a moment in deep thought. Not of what he had planned but of what he should tell and how much. Harry believed in McGonagall and that she truly desired the best for him. At the same time, he didn't trust her associates. "Well there are several things I want to do. I want to study as many fields of magic as I can. After that I plan on exploring and researching multiple muggle fields and their possible contributions to the magical arts."

"So after school you plan to continue your education on your own from the sounds of it."

Harry nodded in response to McGonagall's assessment. "For the most part I guess."

"And you believe an average score in school will aid you in this endeavor?"

Harry shook his head. "No. However, I don't want good grades right now."

The two sat in silence for a moment. Harry waited for McGonagall to respond and McGonagall contemplated the statement before her. Everything that had been happening rattled through her head.

As the deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, she was second only to the headmaster. This naturally meant she was busy but also well informed. Harry's reputation was quite impressive within the school. Large enough that even within Slytherin she was well informed which usually wasn't the case as that house tended to be tight lipped in their secrets. She knew Harry rubbed much of his house the wrong way, but she also saw a positive change in the younger students within the house too. Those in his year and below were more outgoing and proactive in asking questions and seeking help than she had ever seen in her career. At the same time those older in years seemed to be brewing with a great disdain for Harry.

Harry was changing things in Slytherin house. What she couldn't say nor did she have the authority to investigate without evidence to support. She'd been sitting on a rather distasteful theory for years now but without anyone coming forth to argue that it wasn't just a theory she had to bite her tongue in speculative distaste. Then there was the headmaster himself. Albus both this year and last was behaving oddly aggressively in comparison to past years. She had questioned his bringing the philosopher's stone to the school and argued against the protections implemented by him and her peers. Still he wouldn't budge on the matter and this year, he was actively pushing for reforms that on their own seemed fair but harmed one student in particular.

"The Headmaster and Slytherin House is it?" she asked whistly. Harry neither moved nor gave any show of confirmation but it didn't go amiss the hardening of his gaze at the question.

"I see." she said just as quietly. Picking up the paper she handed it to Harry. "I will give you a chance to re-due this paper. You can hand it in as is and I will grade with Troll, Mr. Potter."

Harry's eyes grew wide and he felt frustration grow in his gut. It was bad enough he was wasting time on the paper but now his favorite professor was making even more work for him.

"I know you can do better and you have your reasons not to, so I will make a compromise." she continued on ignoring his look of betrayal. "These papers are meant to help me see how well you understand the dangers and practice of transfiguration. With this I can't properly assess your knowledge. You also seem to feel your time is better suited for your own independent studies. Therefore I will grade you based on what I feel you can do. Work like this will be troll quality from now on which will impact your 'average' grade. This will encourage you to perform better and produce work I can properly use to evaluate your grade."

Seeing Harry silently fume, she decided to throw in one more bit. "If you perform work closer to what you are capable of doing, I will in tern promise to not give you anything higher than Acceptable." she stated with a stout confirmation.

Harry's anger simmered to a calm instantly in surprise, yet McGonagall wasn't done yet. "Likewise I will ensure that no one else but myself sees your work until the end of the year. And if this arrangement works out between us, I will see to expressing this arrangement to your other teachers. This way come your fifth year, you may have the option to partake in your NEWTS under the exception clause that us teachers can employ.

"Exception clause?" Harry asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"In short, each teacher can set their own requirements for what grade Students must have to take their NEWTs, I myself require outstanding to continue Transfiguration into NEWT level. The exception clause exists for those with circumstances that make them ineligible but possibly eligible. Say for example a student who's grade is known to not match their actual skill." McGonagall explained.

Harry sat there weighing the options before him. This was a good opportunity but several things made him hesitate. The first was that it didn't guarantee the headmaster wouldn't see his work. The deal also meant he'd have less free time to do his own thing. True, that wasn't going to remain a problem for much longer as his current project was nearing completion. Well, a bare-bones completion prototype in any case.

In the long run, this would work out well for him. His average grades would be kept, he would maintain his good relationship with McGonagall and keep as many doors open to the future as he could. The only downside was the Headmaster. Harry just couldn't figure out what plans the headmaster had for him nor could he ignore the possibility that the Headmaster would inevitably become the Bright Lord again in the future.

Sighing with the weight of uncertainty Harry nodded his compliance. In the long term this would be the better option that kept opportunities open. Plus if it worked out, he could go all out in his research and show his results further cementing his capabilities without standing out too much.

"Good." McGonagall stated, with a subtle approval. "Now then, I'll accept your paper come next week. Should the work meet my expectations, I will seek to discuss this arrangement with my fellow professors. Now then. Off with you." she said curtly with a wave of her hand.

Leaving with a silent annoyance, Harry departed and left the Professor of Transfiguration with many things to think about. Most notable is the relationship between Harry and the Headmaster. Her mind drifted back to the argument heard a year ago between the two. It made her wonder if there was more that she wasn't aware of. She knew Poppy was particularly antagonistic against the Headmaster in regard to her fervent pursuit to reestablish muk practices. The Headmasters' reluctance was understandable given the nature of the topic, and its historical and social complications. Yet it did leave many wondering, herself included, why such an ingrained practice meant to help growing witches and wizards develop was abandoned at all.

His hesitance relented with the compromise of keeping it confidential and private, a move that made everyone's workload greater, but McGonagall was now wondering if that confidentiality was in some way what he wanted in the end. Perhaps it was the next best thing.

"So Harry wishes to distance himself from Albus..." she muttered aloud. A small grin feather her features. That was fine. She could keep his work private as was her purview. If anything, she was excited to see what the son of James and Lily could really do if motivated properly.

On the other side of the castle Ginny was making her way through the halls after leaving her class. She had an hour to kill before she met up with Harry for their big mission. She still was excited and wanted to know what they were going to get but Harry had remained steadfast and lip tight on what he had planned. To anyone else it would seem like Harry was keeping secrets, but she knew better. He knew she wanted to know and was purposefully teasing her by not telling her.

"Ginny." a frosty voice shouted at her from behind.

Whipping around, Ginny had her wand drawn and was surprised to see an equally shocked Hermione at wand point.

"Hermione! Sorry, I thought you were one of the Slytherin girls." Ginny apologized.

"Why would you pull your wand out like that even if I was. Its against the rules to use magic on other students." Hermione stated loudly with fluster.

"First off Hermione, we both know between you and Harry that rule doesn't really hold ground. Secondly you should know exactly how many people don't like Harry and their reputations too."

The mention of Harry caused Hermione to visibly sulk uncomfortably. Enough that Ginny could see the results.

"I know that look." Ginny said abruptly with a knowing eye at Hermione. "You are troubled by something and want to talk to Harry about it."

Hermione looked up in surprise. "How did you-"

"Trust me." Ginny said, cutting her off sharply. "I know that I look well enough to know. So? What's wrong?"

Biting her lower lip she shuffled in place debating on whether to say anything or not. "I'd rather not say. Do you know where Harry is? I want to talk to him." she said, gaining a bit of heat back in her voice. Ginny also noticed it too.

"So Harry did or said something that upset you and you want to talk with him." Ginny guessed aloud. Correctly too based on the expression Hermione had on her face.

"How, I mean..." she took a breath and reaffirmed her poker face as she spoke, "I just need to talk with Harry. Do you know where he is?"

Ginny sighed and shook her head. "We parted in the common room so I don't know where he is. If you asked earlier I could tell you he was with McGonagall but by now he could be anywhere."

Hermione bit her thumb in frustration and she started looking this way and that, her mind a-jumble with what to do now. Before she could rush off Ginny grabbed Hermione's hand causing her to jerk.

"Talk to me Hermione. You're not acting normally." Ginny asked in concern.

"What do you know about me." Hermione bit out, a bit of her inner emotions biting into the red head unintentionally. Ginny was unconcerned with the hostility, if anything she was beginning to suspect Hermione was jealous of her subconscious and that made her happy.

"Well for starters, Harry won't shut up about you." Ginny said with a mischievous grin, covering the truth she'd known Hermione ever since her first year and even after she married into the family. Hell, the only person who knew her for longer was Harry, who reconnected with her after her own passing.

Hermione was stuttering and blushing madly now at what Ginny said. "H-he talks about me?"

Ginny nodded. "Tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can help." Suddenly it clicked. It felt like ages since they invaded the Ministry not long after but Ginny now realized what was likely wrong. "Does this have something to do with Harry's outburst on the pitch?"

Hermione went visibly still upon hearing that.

"Guess that's a yes." Ginny said with a knowing grin.

Hermione relented as she hesitantly admitted. "I've never seen Harry like that before. So... aggressive."

Ginny nodded and guided Hermione into a small alcove around the corner; she sat her down in the hall where they were likely not to be heard. "I don't know what I should do. I'm upset at what he said and did but I don't want to betray him again. I just don't know what to do."

"By betrayal... are you referring to his faith and trust in you?" Ginny asked.

Hermione looked at the younger girl and silently nodded when Ginny realized that her shock was her confirmation. "Harry told me about last year. How you befriended him and abandoned that friendship because of what everyone else told you about our house."

Hermione looked away in shame, "I didn't want to upset my house. Professor McGonagall said our house were like our family. I didn't want to upset them."

"And instead you shunned the one person who wanted and was your friend for a bunch of guys who were biased against him and didn't want anything to do with you. Some even openly mocked you as I recall." Ginny added on which only made Hermione more ashamed.

"If it helps, Harry understands why you did it. He didn't like it, but he respected your choice and let it be."

"But he called me his! Like I was a possession!" Hermione shouted a bit louder than she had intended.

Ginny chuckled a little at this as Hermione apologized for shouting and regressed inward in embarrassment. Now it makes sense, Ginny thought to herself.

"Harry has an Obscurus." Ginny started. Hermione was pulled back from her embarrassment with the abruptness of a Shepard hook. "Even if you aren't an expert, it doesn't take a genius like you to know what that likely means his life until now was like."

Hermione nodded as she had contemplated that before. She even brought it up with Professor McGonagall who said she was already looking into it but was being stalled by the administration. Hermione didn't know if that meant the government, or Harry's Magical Guardian but she didn't know Harry was still suffering.

"Harry didn't grow up completely whole. He..." Ginny struggled to find the right words. "was empty, I guess. Don't quote me or anything, this is speculation on my part, but Harry really cares about us. Me and You. You are probably his closest friend and I'm a close second." Ginny stated. "Sure you can take what he said as him claiming you, but here's how I see it."

Ginny shrank further into the wall, looking wistfully at the ceiling, lost in memories. "We have given Harry a part of ourselves that we either gave to him knowingly or unknowingly. Faith, trust, friendship, affection, whatever you call it, it was something he has never received before. Malfoy threatened us and in turn the part of us we gave to Harry. That something, is a treasure more valuable to Harry than likely his own life."

She looked at Hermione and spoke vehemently from her heart, "Yes, it was scary. We saw Harry attack for the first time. We saw a small part of him that made us afraid. But I don't think you were scared of being hurt. I think like me, you were afraid of Harry changing."

Hermione sat there and found her words were true. Everything about that scene seemed to prove what everyone in her house had said about Harry being evil was true. But as she thought about it she realized she wasn't afraid of him, she was scared that he was changing. She knew only the confidently reclusive and studious Harry from the train, someone who was more liable to flee from a fight unless given no other options. Clever, crafty and fervently interested in magic almost as much as she was. He was an academic slacker, but only so far as he was more interested in his own studies. He was a worrier, always thinking and planning, preparing himself for the worst as if he had grown up to suspect it. In truth, that fact he possessed an obscurial probably meant that was his reality.

However, the way Ginny described his actions, it made more sense. He responded violently in her defense, he saw her in trouble and he was willing to fight to protect her. Hermione felt her body flush a little both in joy and shame at the realization that her 'fear' now held a very different meaning. He wasn't changing, this was still Harry. The same Harry who ran like a madman through the castle and charged down that trapdoor in order to save her from her own carelessness.

Seeing the internal change within her visible on her features, Ginny called to Hermione as she spoke again. "You don't have to worry about losing Harry to 'the dark side'," she said with a mocking glee, "he's still Harry. You just saw a new part of him and if your honest with yourself, not that you think of it, your probably happier now that you know that he has that side, right?"

Hermione nodded as she eagerly accepted that rationale. In contrast to the guilt and worry her initial thoughts burdened her with, the way Ginny described it was a nice change. It also caused an uncomfortable weight to form in her stomach. After listening to Ginny, she was now questioning how much of a friend she was in comparison if the first thoughts in her mind shifted immediately towards the bad when concerning him. It wasn't even the first time either.

"Thanks Ginny. That actually helps a lot." Hermione said, hiding her unease while thanking her.

Ginny smiled back. "No problem."

As the two walked together, the trouble from the pitch behind them, Hermione quickly realized two things. First, Ginny was amazingly mature and smart for her age. A rich fact coming from herself. And secondly, she liked the girl. Lavander and Pavarti were okay as roommates, but she couldn't say she got along with them. Lavander was far too emotional for reasons Hermione couldn't begin to understand. Simply talking about a pet going missing for a day in the past tense would result in the girl either jumping worriedly or crying in sadness. She was way too sensitive and sentimental for her to really click with.

Pavarti was like her in a number of ways, smart and inquisitive. However, unlike her book-smarts which reflected her interest in learning new things, Pavarti was an extrovert type of inquisitive, caring more for what was the latest trending fad or juiciest gossip going around the school. Likewise with Lavander, Hermione could kinda get along but they really didn't mesh.

Ginny by contrast she was quickly learning was amazing. A brash, bold, spitfire who was interested in bettering herself and achieving her own goals. If truth be told, Hermione thought she was more of a Gryffindor than herself which made her wonder why she was sorted into Slytherin.

In a similar light, Ginny too was eager and excited. Not in the realization that they could get along – she already knew they could – but in the fact she was getting along.

When the minutes ticked passed and they finally parted ways, they parted as good friends. And Ginny ran off leaving a very prickly subject rattling in Hermione's head.

"Oh yeah. You're muggleborn and raised right. You should research polygamy in the wizarding world. Better yet, when you get the chance ask Harry for his research on it when you see him. Bye Hermione."

Her last words left her in a torrent of thought. Her mind rampaging and shuffling through countless hours of reading she had done in the name of research.

Hermione up until now was slowly coming to grips with what Madam Pomfrey had talked with her about. She was slowly beginning to accept it on a social level while still struggling to adapt on a personal one.

The latter being more difficult as whenever she thought about it she kept having flashbacks of Harry combing her hair which only left her confused and perturbed.

Now she had to ask herself why in the world Ginny had told her to do that. Did she know how she was feeling the entire time?

The moment that thought crossed her mind, she froze.

She bit her lip, whipping around to try and ask but by then Ginny was long gone. For almost ten minutes. Stuck in her own world she stood in the hallway for ten minutes trying to grasp her final words.

Seeing a new problem before her, Hermione did as she always did when found a problem and didn't know how to begin tackling it. With all haste she ran to the Library.

oOoOo

Bursting into the room of requirement Ginny gasped for air as she closed the door and gathered herself. Her chat with Hermione was longer than she thought it would be. It was almost time and she had to run just to make it her to meet Harry.

Harry, who was holding his hand at her with a shocked glare and slowly calming expression.

"You're really gonna get cursed by me one of these days Gin." Harry said with an agitated bite.

"Sorry, I got held up. Hermione wanted to talk with you and instead we ended up chatting ourselves." Ginny said.

"Well, she has been keeping her distance from me for a while..." Harry mumbled out.

He was pulled from his task as Ginny rounded on him and pulled him into her line of sight, her eyes glaring into his own confused ones. "Only because you keep hiding out mister. She doesn't have access to your trunk, this room, or the countless secret passages you seem to know. Hell, you haven't even started sharing some of them with me yet and I have more time and access to you."

Harry stared at her and a small 'oh' of realization slipped from his lips.

"Yeah, kinda hard to spend time with your friends when you hunkered in here."

Harry nodded in defeat at that. "I should probably tell her of this place… bring her here or at least give her access." he said distantly as another thought crept into his mind.

"That reminds me... Gin, do you think Hermione would be interested in helping me with our project?"

"What? You mean our project to undermine Lucius Malfoy, break out of school, violate several laws I'm sure in order to take the first step in breaking down a systematically flawed society? No, not really." Ginny answered sarcastically.

"No. I mean the diorama. Our little project to give us more time." Harry responded with mild mirth seeing the humor behind Ginny's assumption.

"Oh." Ginny said before giving it some thought. "Well... if I remember correctly your almost done with it right? Is there a need to have her help? I mean if she notices how similar the magic is to a time-turner-"

"She won't," Harry interrupted.

"Harry, I don't need to tell you how smart or intelligent Hermione is." Ginny stated seriously.

"So am I. It's not about need either. You said she wanted to hang out more but because I've been avoiding public places she can't, right? Is it wrong that I want to spend time with her also? Besides, there isn't any time magic involved with the device, its spatial in nature and I've edited the formula so much there's practically no resemblance to the Time Turner. Plus if we explain why we want to keep it secret I know she would keep quiet about it." Harry explained. It wasn't like a dangerous person was after him and he just received a mysterious but desirable package or anything. "I also kinda want to help her with Occlumency."

"Didn't you help her last year." Ginny asked before realizing something was amiss. "Wait, did you hear something?"

Harry paused but nodded, pulling his wand away from the box of marbles he was kneeling over. "I had a meeting with Professor McGonagall." Harry stated. "Aside from the quality of work she wished to discuss she also mentioned that Albus has been behaving strangely."

Harry turned to focus on Ginny. "Its bad enough I know he has an unhealthy interest in myself, but for his behavior to be noticeable to his peers means either he has something planned-"

"-or he doesn't care that others are suspicious of him." Ginny finished. Harry nodded, there were other possibilities but assuming the worst meant that he was so certain of victory that he didn't care if others noticed or acted. Not a pleasant thought seeing as Harry still couldn't see what Albus's big endgame was."

A heavy silence loomed over the small empty room of requirement. Finishing his task Harry let out a breath of exasperation. "No point mulling over it now." He said, holding out his hand. "we got a job to complete."

In his palm was a small marble, a portkey he already made before Ginny arrived. "Is that a Portkey? Wait, are all of these portkeys?" she asked, looking over all of the marbles in the box Harry had been leaning over.

"Yeah. All time triggered. Hogwarts barrier will conceal our departure point and the shear numbers will conceal our destination." Harry explained.

"There's got to be a hundred of them." Ginny exclaimed in awe.

Holding out his hand as if to offer it to her, Harry held the single marble as he spoke. "Its almost time. One more minute and these will all activate. If your still coming, touch the marble and have your wand ready and get under the cloak with me the moment we land."

Ginny smiled as she placed her hand over Harry's open one, the marble laying between their palms. "I already told you Harry, you're not getting rid of me that easily."

Harry relaxed and smiled warmly at her as the two braced themselves as the final seconds ticked away. The next moment over a hundred portkeys activated simultaneously and he and Ginny felt the familiar tug behind their navel pull them into a spiraling storm of movement. As quickly as it began, the two landed with a solid thud on the grassy dirt in the middle of the words.

Rushing to her feat Ginny rushed towards Harry as he swung his cloak around them. With a shimmer they vanished. With his hand over Ginny's shoulder, Harry guided her away from their landing sight. A few seconds later a distant sound of popping could be heard which caused Ginny to tighten her hold on her breathing.

She remained silent focusing on not giving away their location, which she quickly remembered she didn't know where they landed. Harry was playing coy and didn't tell her. She noted that it was slightly windy and warmer than she expected. Far too warm for October and way too stuffy for England.

"Okay... We should be good now." Harry muttered as he pulled the cloak back and pocketed it into his robes.

"Where are we exactly?" Ginny asked.

"Turkey, specifically in the Eskişehir Province. Approximately three to four miles to the north west is the Yazılıkaya village."

"So what are we doing here? And should I be concerned about any local Auror's?

"Technically, Tomb raiding and yes, so don't use magic if you can avoid it unless you're under the cloak." Harry answered.

"Tomb raiding? Like digging up someone's grave from ancient times?" Ginny asked.

"Kinda. I recall someone mentioning one of your brothers does something similar to that."

"Yeah, my brother Bill. He's a curse breaker for Gringotts." Ginny confirmed. "But that's really dangerous stuff. I'm not really experienced in breaking curses Harry."

"I know, neither am I seeing as I could never break my own." Harry chuckled back at her, ignoring her concern. "Relax. There won't be any curses here. This was a tomb made by naturals not wizards. The whole point was to hide it from Naturals and Magicals so there isn't any magic to detect nor are there traps to prevent entry."

"Why?" Ginny asked. Normally a tomb would have some form of protection to prevent people from stealing the wealth usually placed inside it. That was the case in Egypt and most of the cases her brother told her about.

"That's because those buried were wealthy and or important Ginny. They were buried with respect. This tomb wasn't made to bury someone, it was made to hide and seal them away."

"Who?"

Harry silently nodded over to the mountain side. Ginny looked at the mountain cliff and realized that the mountain side was cleared away. A landslide from the looks of it had resulted in a large section of the mountain side to slide away revealing the harder rock beneath it. Placing a hand on it Harry began to whistle. A sound similar to a glass harm reverberated around Ginny and she noticed from Harry's lips a thin strand of light form and weaving outward in a blooming fashion. Soon it took the floral shape atop the rock face and a hole, black as pitch appeared. Harry smiled.

"What was that?"

"Music." Harry explained. "One of the oldest forms of magic and hardest to perform. Useful for incredibly complex spells like this one."

"That spell being?" Ginny asked eagerly.

"A spell that allows material matter to become immaterial. I made this spell trying to rip my soul from my body and magic in order to figure out how my immortality worked. Anyway, it's difficult to perform but since it uses ambient magic, we shouldn't be detected. Lady's first." Harry bowed, gesturing for Ginny to enter the whole before them.

With little hesitation Ginny entered the whole and found herself in a hazy world of rock and stone. Her whole body was whispy and shimmered like a heat haze and she could see through herself. She felt the earth flowing through her as even without moving the rock face seemed to be rushing past her like it was screezing her to their destination. With a sound pop she pushed into the cold hard stone as an air pocket appeared before her. Suddenly tangible again, Ginny felt the cold of marble stone and the choke of stagnant air. Getting up off the ground Ginny could barely see as she fumbled for a light.

"Lumos" The darkness was beaten away as Harry stumbled out of the wall behind her. Offering her a hand, Harry pulled her off the stone ground. "Welcome Ginny, to the final grounds of the Alchemist King."

Blinking out the light from her eyes, Ginny looked up and gazed in awe at the vast open cylindrical room she found herself in. Twice the size of the Great Hall at Hogwarts, Sixteen stone pillars as large as redwood trees stood in a double circle formation holding the massive domed ceiling. The hall was completely barren, only consisting of a solid reflective granite floor. The only object existing aside from the pillars was the centerpiece, a black mirror like sarcophagus with an elaborate decorative golden trim of Greek-ish design.

Stepping forward in toe with Harry, the two approached the sarcophagus. Harry reached out his arms to open it but Ginny grabbed his wrist.

"Wait! Can I at least check it first? Bill taught me a few spells after we married, I never used them but I'd like to be careful." Ginny asked.

Harry nodded. They were deep in the mountain and even if the magic was detected, apperating only worked if you had a solid image of where you wanted to go. Stepping back Harry let Ginny wave her wand in elaborate strokes around the granite coffin. Taking a look around his eyes caught sight of color in the dreary tomb. Glancing back at Ginny, seeing she was going to take a while, Harry stepped away and walked towards the far off walls of the tomb.

As he approached, the light from his wand illuminated the shimmering wall and the extravagant mural painted upon it. Harry's eyes grew wide with wonder, a smile creeping upward as his jaw dropped. By the time Ginny had finished his smile was a teary one.

"Harry!" Ginny called out seeing him crying. She reached out and cupped his cheeks. "Are you okay? Why are you crying."

Harry raised his wand higher, illuminating the wall for Ginny to see. Her eyes widened to a similar awe that Harry's had. Gold, silver, blues and purples painted the wall in a vivid pictorial tale. Why Ginny didn't understand what tale it was trying to tell, one segment was easy to understand, its vibrant oranges and reds clearly identifiable.

"This wasn't here when I came last." Harry said drawing her attention back towards him. Harry was no longer crying but his smile remained. "I never saw this. Its his tale."

"Who's?" Ginny asked.

"The Alchemist King, Midas of House Phrygia. The natural's tale tells of how the gods gave him the power to turn everything he touched to gold. A cautionary tale."

"I've never heard of that story." Ginny admitted.

"But its not the true story." Harry said, raising a hand and hovering it over the mural, the dust coating the depiction following his hand as he waved it away. "According to this, Midas was a skilled Alchemist who created a kingdom of magic. A wizarding kingdom, the first if I'm interpreting this correctly." Harry's fingers traced over the gold emblems representing buildings of a great city. A city of gold, probably not literally, " Harry muttered. "A prosperous city, one of great wealth, and was under siege by its neighbors. He found a means of crafting gold from contact. Transmutation... this might be the first successful case of wizard transmutation of a precious metal..." Harry stated in awe.

Walking along the wall Harry's wand illuminated a more grim painting, one of fire and death. The first depicted many warriors with blades in hand facing the city, none reaching it. A depiction of a king with a glowing arm holding them off.

"Many coveted this power. It appears the transmutation was a tattoo of some sort. Midas carved the spell into his flesh..." Looking towards the next scene was depressing sight. "Midas was betrayed. Betrayed by his own, by wizards. Desiring his power, they killed the kind and severed his arms, legs and head from his corpse." Harry's face grew solemn with a heavy heart. "Even magic can't change the fact we're human... They took his body and tried to procure his power, make it their own. But only his left hand could turn metals into gold. So they fought each other." Harry explained as the next mural showed the killers, six in total slaying each other with a small figure with long hair running off with a right hand.

"Someone took the right hand away." Ginny stated, noticing this on the mural as well.

"I think... I think that's his daughter. Midas's daughter took back her fathers hand and hid it away." Harry said, observing the large dome-like tomb under a mountain in the mural. "Hid it here..." Harry said softly observing more murals around the tomb.

"This... this is amazing. The true story of Midas. I can't believe it was lost..." Harry whispered in both pain and astonishment.

"We'll have to come back and recover it." Ginny said understanding his innermost desire, his desire to preserve this lost knowledge. Harry nodded at her, giving her a grateful nod. Regaining his focus on the objective they came to acquire, Harry took a step towards the tomb. Each step weighing heavier then the last. Under his breath, he spoke a prayer, a wish for an ease of suffering, or peaceful passing. A song in his mind for those he eventually escorted in death.

With two hands placed firmly on the lid of the tomb, Harry shoved and hefted the lid off. With a reverberating echo, the granite lit fell heavily on the ground and inside lay a painful sight. The mummified body of a little girl, half eclipsed in gold flakes held tightly onto a severed withered hand, etched with shimmering markings.

Waving his wand, Harry levitated the hand up from the corpse and noticed the flesh wasn't entirely human. It was more metal than flesh. "A prosthetic?" Harry's mind wondered before refocusing on the hand and girl. Giving a silent wish, Harry nodded for Ginny to levitate the lid and place it back which she did with ease.

Looking at the restored tomb, Harry bowed silently. "I may be no better than those who betrayed your father. But know this, I don't seek this for my own prosperity, I seek this power for the prosperity of our kind. My motives might not entirely be for that goal and grudges may taint my actions, but know this, I will protect those I love and the magic I hold dear," Harry loudly claimed, placing a soft hand on the stone, "much like you did. So, please rest, knowing that I won't let your tale - his tale - be forgotten.

Stepping back Harry pulled out a golden orb from his pocket. "Just a finger Ginny." Nodding she tapped a finger on the orb and with his wand Harry had the floating limb touch it too with just a finger. Much like he expected the golden orb didn't react. With the pull behind his navel, Harry fell back to earth within his London penthouse suite, one cabinet away from Hogwarts and his former selves. His task, complete.

"We made it?" Ginny asked, looking around.

"Yes." Harry replied curtly, carefully setting the hand down on the golden orb which he was transfiguring into a flat sheet upon the table.

"So with this... we have gold as well. Unlimited gold." Ginny stated only knowing exactly what they had taken. If what Harry said was true, they could make anything into gold. Unlimited wealth at their fingertips.

"Gold is useless to us Gin." Harry said knowingly. "Gold doesn't equal galleons and Goblins won't take kindly to us inflating the market with gold. We'd only be making a new war." Harry stated.

"Then why did we get it?"

Harry looked at the hand silently for a second before speaking, recalling something he read a long time ago. He recalled the time he traveled with some naturals seeking to learn about magic. An odd fell for a time where naturals and magic were at war, but his job back then was to guard them. "I was told a long time ago that Goblins fell to ruin, not because of humans, but to themselves. Their lust and need for gold beget their demise. A fellow colleague once referred to them as the real live dwarves of Tolkien."

"Tolkien?"

Harry ignored Ginny's question. He'd give her the books later. "If he was right, the goblins seek gold for a reason, one of power. Midas's hand may not give us unlimited wealth, but the goblins can."

"Goblin society, if I'm correct, is dependent on having vast sums of gold in their possession. Without it they will fall. Depending on how this plays out, we'll either have made a lifelong ally in the goblins or burned what few bridges exist. Either way it plays out, this was going to happen soon or later if we're to avoid the worst case scenario." Harry stated.

"Slowly Ginny had come to understand what he meant. Harry was planning to bargain with the Goblins, to supply him with any money he would need. Goblins managed the wizarding world's wealth, having their backing would grant them unlimited access to that wealth. In exchange for this he would give them a literally fount of gold. An endless reservoir of gold to secure their place in goblin society.

But this plan had several ways it could go poorly, horribly so. Not only would it increase the schism between their two cultures should they take his attempts the wrong way, but they also knew who he was, knew the connection between the mysterious Return Returner and Harry Potter.

"If this goes poorly... we could be looking at an irreversible disaster."

"But if we win, then everything I have planned can be put on the fast track. Instead of waiting a few years for my funds to grow, we could start now." Harry argued.

Ginny could see his point. Sure she had spurred this on because he was hesitant to do something about Malfoy, but only now did she see the scope that Harry was envisioning. This wasn't just about sticking it to malfoy, that was an extra bonus. Harry was planning to change the world. And that thought excited her.

"Alright." she agreed. "The bigger the risk-"

"The greater the reward" Harry finished with a grin.

Popping back a pill, and transforming into his alter ego, Harry stepped out of his apartment in a very decked out suit. A tux worthy of confronting a king, and a pose worthy of greeting one. Together with Ginny, it took them two hours to work Harry's magic. With the anvil at Hogwarts in his chest, they had easily transferred the not so 'curse of Midas' from his limb onto a copied prosthetic, and a small device; a multiple golden gears each hovering and floating level with each other making the shape of a disjointed plate. Each spun slowly around an open void at the center of said 'plate' and was secured tightly in a box under Harry's arm.

Just as he was about to leave, Hedwig flew to his arm, and with her a letter from Ollivanders. Harry had wondered why he hadn't seen Hedwig for most of the week, but now he understood as his mind touched hers. She didn't return to Hogwarts to ensure he received this letter. A sign that told Harry that something was amiss with his mail, not that he didn't already suspect it.

Opening it, he realized his week was about to get a whole lot busier. But first, he had a battle at Gringotts to win and he could only hope the trust he built up till now would give him a chance to speak his piece. By his side, an equally stunning and aged Ginny stepped beside him.

At least he wouldn't be tackling this alone.