ANNOUNCEMENT: I am currently looking for a Beta Reader, both to help me proof-reading my story, and to have someone to bounce ideas off of for the future progression of this story and any sequels I may eventually write. If you're interested, please PM me.

Review Answers:

et-reader: Also I was wondering if you will have Harry and Venom "stumble" on Riot and have them consume him[?] Rest assured, I do have plans for Riot, oh I have plans. MWAHAHAHAHAHA! But, if I were you I wouldn't be holding my breath for those to play out. It's going to be a while.

Author's Note: Hello my, hopefully, rabid readers. I'm here with another chapter of Lethal Injection. Hopefully you haven't tired of it yet. Although, actually, it seems the story is getting more popular with every chapter, so that's nice. Despite that, haven't been seeing a big increase in reviews, *hint, hint*, sure would be nice if I got more of those *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*. Special shoutouts to SkylerHollow, cain221, Nocte Furorem, 7, Reader of Harry Potter, Ranmaleopard, Souen11, and Sakura Lisel for not only reviewing, but reviewing multiple times. Thank you so much guys, you're the best.

On an unrelated note: Season 2 of One Punch Man was FUCKING AMAZING, goddamn, that was a lot of fun. Took long enough though, here's hoping it's not another three years before the next season.

Disclaimer: I do not own Venom or Harry Potter, honestly, I wouldn't trust myself with them.

Harry was almost worried Venom might be in danger, because his cheeks were flaming hotter than the Egyptian sun. Not only had he just been in very close proximity to an extremely attractive girl, one who had squeezed his bum at that, but he had been seen with said girl by his new guardian: Remus Lupin. The expression on Lupin's face left little doubt that he would be capitalising on this opportunity to the fullest, and the fact that he could hear Venom sniggering at his host's embarrassment did nothing to help matters. Lupin was struggling to contain his glee, he had caught Harry with a very attractive girl, one who looked to be several years older than him to boot, and from the looks of things he had been very successfully flirting with her.

He's going to be worse than Sirius soon. Remus thought wryly, although the thought of his former friend brought an unavoidable tide of conflicting happiness, anger, and sadness. His smile flickered for a moment, before he shook himself free of the past and said, "Well, aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend?" He put a not-so-subtle emphasis on the word 'friend,' causing the girl to grin and give Harry a wink.

"Name's Tonks." The girl answered, as Harry was seemingly incapable of forming a coherent sentence. "And we were just getting to know each other, weren't we, Harry?" As she spoke, she bumped the boy with her hip before turning to whisper something into his ear, causing him to blush even harder than he already was. Then, she gave him a brief peck on the cheek before disappearing around a bookshelf and deeper into the shop.

On second thought, he's already worse than Sirius. Lupin corrected his earlier assessment as he walked over to his young charge, too wrapped up in his admiration for Harry's apparent skill with the ladies to notice the boy was paralysed by shock. "So, did you actually spend any time looking for books? Or were you too busy chatting up pretty older-witches?"

His question succeeded in snapping Harry out of his embarrassment, "I did, actually, I found a book I want." The words were said with as much dignity as Harry could manage, which did nothing to shrink Lupin's grin.

"Oh really? Where is this book then?" Lupin gestured at Harry's empty hands to emphasise his question.

"I put it down on the table while I was talking with Tonks." Harry took the opportunity to get away from Lupin's knowing smirk by crossing to the Defence Against the Dark Arts display and collecting Magical Combat and You. Unfortunately, he couldn't escape the teasing of his symbiotic partner so easily.

Are you still going to try and argue she wasn't flirting with you? Venom asked, keen to leverage recent events in his unceasing banter with his host.

No, I admit she was probably flirting with me. Even Harry's thoughts showed begrudging acceptance.

'Probably?' She kissed you on the cheek, spent the entire conversation feeling you up, and she grabbed your arse! Not to mention the last thing she said to you was 'I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of each other at Hogwarts.'

That could have been perfectly innocent! Harry objected, albeit weakly, as he picked up the book. Maybe she just meant that, since we're friends, she's excited to hang out? He instantly regretted his choice of words.

Oh, I'm sure there are several things she'd like to have hanging out… Venom trailed off suggestively, only to ruin the effect by feeding Harry the memories of her eyes inspecting his body, and the sight of her shirt straining against her chest.

Harry was saved by Lupin's hoarse voice "So what book is this that you've picked, Harry?" In response, Harry turned and held the book out for Lupin's inspection. The older man's eyes widened slightly as he read the title and author, "Reading about advanced combat magic? You don't think that might be a little beyond you at this point?"

Harry shrugged slightly, "Not really, I already managed to do that apparate thing by accident the other day, and if I've learned anything over the past few days it's that there are things way stronger than me out there."

He immediately knew the latter part of his statement had been a mistake when Lupin's eyes narrowed slightly, "What do you mean 'over the past few days?' What brought this realisation on?"

Fuck, now what are We going to say? Why would you even say that? Venom sounded almost panicked.

Because it's true! Those god things nearly killed us! We need to get stronger; the Cobra God wasn't even trying, and she pounded us into the dust!

But, Harry, what're the chances We're ever going to face anything like that again? Venom's voice sounded almost gentle as he tried to reassure his host.

Well now that you've said that, almost certain! Harry thought sarcastically, But seriously, I don't care if it's unlikely, just bonding with you has made me strong, but it's also given me the closest thing I've ever had to a family, not to mention Remus. I lost my parents when I was young because some arsehole was too powerful for anyone to stop him when he decided to kill them. I never want that to happen again, together, We can be strong enough to stop people like him, We can protect the people no one else can! Harry was so invested in his impassioned thoughts he had to struggle to prevent himself from talking aloud or gesturing to emphasise his words.

And in doing so We can eat the bad people? Venom asked hopefully.

Seriously, Venom? That was me stating my mission in life, and you ruin it for the sake of your favourite food?

I couldn't resist, someone has to stop you from getting too serious, Harry. Venom's words were teasing, but Harry could feel the concern underlying them. Regardless, if that is what you want, then We will make it happen, Harry. In the meantime, though, you should probably answer Remus.

Oh shit, I forgot about that! Aloud, Harry blurted out the first excuse that came to his mind "Well, uh… Hearing about my parents made me realise that the world can be dangerous, I want to be able to help keep people safe. I was thinking about becoming an Auror or a Hit-Wizard."

Lupin's face immediately softened, "That's an admirable goal, Harry, and I have to admit that managing to apparate at your age is nothing short of astonishing, how did you manage it?"

This was a much safer question, so Harry had no problem with answering it honestly, "Well I didn't know what it was until a few days ago, I accidentally apparated to a forest somewhere after the Dursleys caught me stealing some food from the fridge." Well, mostly honestly, Lupin didn't need to know about the incident with the human traffickers, or his remodeling of the kitchen using Uncle Vernon's face. "But the first time I did it I was running from Dudley's gang and I accidentally apparated onto the school roof when I was trying to jump behind some bins."

Lupin's face darkened at the words of 'Dudley's gang,' but he quickly shook off his anger in favour of guiding Harry toward the till where he could purchase his book. "That's very impressive, Harry, how much is that book of yours?"

Looking down at the book Harry made a quick search to try and find a price tag, eventually finding it printed on the dustjacket, "5 Galleons."

Abruptly he found the book pulled from his grasp, turning in outrage, he was met with a warm smile from Lupin, "In that case, I'll buy it for you. Consider it my first attempt to make-up for 9 years of missed-birthdays."

Harry nodded in gratitude, before noticing something, "Hang on Moony, I'm 10! That's 10 birthdays!" He was surprised when Lupin only chuckled instead of apologising for his mistake.

"Ah, but I didn't miss your first birthday, Harry. I gave you a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard." Harry was stunned, he had known, of course, that he had been placed with the Dursleys on the first of November 1981, but he had never considered that that meant he had spent his first birthday with his parents, and apparently with his parents' friends. Fortunately, he was saved from having to speak by their arrival at the till distracting Remus, Harry used the time while Lupin paid for their books to discreetly wipe his eyes.

He wasn't sure if Lupin noticed or not, but if he had it may have gone some way to explaining his announcement of their next destination, "And now, to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour! Home to the best ice cream in the magical world!" Harry grinned in spite of himself, with the Dursleys he was never allowed any ice cream, let alone magical ice cream. He could only imagine the look on Dudley's face if he ever found out.

Do you think they have chocolate flavoured ice cream? Venom asked excitedly, prompting Harry to roll his eyes indulgently.

I guess We'll find out.

After a short walk through the Alley, the pair was delighted to discover that Florean Fortescue did, in fact, have chocolate flavoured ice cream, and Harry spent a very enjoyable hour chatting with Lupin about his career as a bounty hunter, Harry's parents, and magic in general while they slowly ate their ice cream. Throughout the exchange, Harry kept an interested eye on the Alley as a whole, enjoying watching the strangely clothed inhabitants going about their daily business, he even saw a few people who looked as if they weren't human at all.

Eventually, the last of the ice cream cones was gone and Lupin rose to his feet before looking at Harry questioningly, "Do you still want to have that spar, Harry? I'll understand if you decide not to?" Lupin's face held concern and gentle understanding, as if to tell Harry that it was alright for him to back out of the spar.

"Of course I still want to!" Harry said immediately, ignoring Lupin's expression of surprise.

"If you're sure, Harry." Lupin's voice held a healthy dose of resigned skepticism as he began walking toward the archway that lead back to the Leaky Cauldron.

Harry and Lupin appeared in a surprisingly clean alleyway with the distinctive pop of apparition. Looking around, Harry saw that the building to their left was another of the seemingly endless number of steel and glass skyscrapers that dotted the London cityscape. The building on the right, however, was a large squat brick building that looked to have been converted from some sort of factory. Following Lupin out onto the street, he saw a sign saying "Maelstrom Dojo" hanging over the entrance to the building before the older man pushed open the door and they walked inside.

The interior was composed of a large open space, the walls lined with various wooden training weapons; and, by the far wall, several roped off rings, presumably intended for sparring. This presumption was confirmed when Lupin made straight for the closest of the rings, stopping only to take off his shoes and nod politely to the few other inhabitants of the dojo. Harry noticed that several of said inhabitants gave him odd looks as he quickly kicked off his own shoes, and after a moment's thought his hoodie, before following Lupin to the ring.

It would make sense they're confused, if Lupin comes here a lot, they're probably wondering who you are and why they've never seen you before. Venom explained sagely as his host ducked under the ropes to enter the ring.

Lupin was already waiting in the centre of the ring, his face blank of emotion as he said, "Now, Harry, you said you wanted to prove to me that you can handle yourself if I take you on a mission, so, I'm not going to be taking it easy on you in this spar. I won't cause you any serious harm, but nor will I hold back if I see an opportunity to take you down, do you understand?"

"Yes, Moony, I understand." Harry answered seriously as he settled into a slight crouch, ready to spring into action the moment the fight began.

"Very well then, begin!" As soon as he said the final word, Lupin was darting toward Harry, leg snapping up in a blindingly fast straight kick aimed at the boy's torso. The man's eyes widened when, not only did the kick fail to connect, but Harry actually lashed out at his extended foot with a clumsy, but incredibly fast, swipe of his hand. The impact knocked Lupin off-balance, but he used the force of Harry's strike to spin around into a punishing roundhouse kick that came close enough to ruffle Harry's hair as he ducked. Before Lupin's foot even had time to return to the ground, Harry rushed in, hoping to land a blow on the older man before he could regain his balance.

Lupin was easily able to anticipate the move, however, as Harry drew back his right shoulder before throwing a powerful, but sloppy, uppercut at his opponent's chin. Reaching out with one hand, Lupin parried the blow away from him, causing it to pass in front of his face harmlessly, before grabbing Harry's extended wrist and using it to pull the boy into his shoulder, flipping him over it with a carefully timed shove and slamming him down onto his back, hard, on Lupin's other side. Thinking the match was over, Lupin released Harry's wrist, only to have to jump back as Harry lashed out in a wide sweep, attempting to take out his legs and send him crashing to the floor. By the time Lupin landed from his evasive leap, Harry had already got to his feet and resumed his fighting crouch.

Refusing to give the boy any more time to recover, Remus rushed in with a blisteringly fast series of punches and kicks, all of which Harry managed to block with his own arms and legs. What interested Remus, however, was that Harry didn't seem to be anticipating any of the strikes, his body only started moving after Lupin's foot or fist was already in motion toward him. The raw speed and reflexes required to defend in this way was frankly inconceivable for a boy of Harry's age, even Lupin would've been hard-pressed to recreate the feat.

Deciding to test his theory, Lupin feinted a kick at the left side of Harry's body, only to twist his leg in the opposite direction, using the momentum generated to send a punishing left-hook spinning toward his right side instead. Harry raised his arm to block the kick, only to widen his eyes upon realising his mistake, he attempted to raise his other arm to deflect the punch but was too slow. The blow crashed into Harry's upper arm, knocking him down hard onto his side with a low grunt as the air was forced from his lungs by the impact.

That's amazing! Lupin thought, He really was reacting to my attacks rather than anticipating them, how in Merlin's name can he move that quickly? He was broken from his thoughts by a fist impacting with his sternum hard enough to knock him off his feet and back into the ropes bordering the ring. Looking up, he saw Harry with his arm still extended from the punch; his right arm. The arm that should have been numb for at least an hour given where and how hard Lupin had just hit it. "Very good, Harry, taking advantage of your opponent's distraction. I have to admit, I thought my last punch would've finished you."

Harry merely grinned in response, "What can I say? I'm pretty tough." Then he lunged at Remus again, only to find the man already twisting out of the way, leaving him to slam into the ropes. He bounced off directly into a kick from Lupin that sent him crashing back into the ropes where he rebounded back onto the floor, it reminded him unpleasantly of his encounter with the Cobra God.

"That you are, Harry." Lupin said pleasantly, even as Harry rolled away from an axe kick that would've knocked the wind from his lungs. "But your attacks are clumsy, your body gives away exactly where and how you plan to strike, allowing your opponent to anticipate and counter your attacks."

Pushing himself to his feet, Harry refused to let Lupin's words stop him, "Then I guess I'll just have to be fast enough for it not to matter!" He punctuated his statement by sending his fist flying toward Lupin as fast as he possibly could, he could hear the air hissing as his arm scythed through it. It was still too slow to hit Lupin, however. The older man simply twisted to the side, allowing the punch to fly past him before grabbing Harry's extended elbow and using it to hold him in place as he fired a devastating kick into the side of his chest. To Harry it felt like getting hit by a small bus, for a man of his slender build, Lupin hit incredibly hard. Lupin released Harry's trapped limb as his kick connected, the impact sending Harry down onto his side once more, he was about to scramble back to his feet when Lupin's hoarse voice stopped him.

"That's enough for today, Harry." Harry was furious with the apparently arbitrary end to the fight.

"What? But I can still fight! I promise, I'm ok to keep going!" Lupin laughed slightly at Harry's vehemence, and reached out a hand to help the boy back to his feet.

"I know you can, Harry, but I've seen enough of you fighting to make my decision." The words caused Harry to hang his head, he hadn't beaten Lupin, and now he would never get the chance to accompany the man on one of his missions. "Which is why we'll be coming back here every week until you've learned enough to stop wasting that impressive speed and strength of yours with poor form, and you're ready to join me on a mission." Harry's head jerked up so fast he almost got whiplash.

"You mean it? You'll train me until I can go on a mission with you?" He couldn't keep the excitement from his voice at the prospect. This is awesome, Venom! Now We're going to be trained to fight better physically as well as magically!

I don't think We really need any training physically. Venom grumbled, as if the offer of assistance was an insult to their fighting prowess.

Come on, Venom, you saw how he just kicked our arse. We can't always rely on being faster or stronger than our opponents, We need to learn how to fight so We aren't just blindly flailing away and hoping We're fast enough to hit something.

I suppose. Venom conceded, albeit grudgingly.

"Now," Lupin said, bringing Harry's attention back to the outside world, "we should head back to the flat. We still need to put away all your new things, and you need to pack for your stay with the Greengrasses tonight." Then, with a smile, he pulled at the sweat-soaked fabric of his shirt saying, "And we are both in desperate need of a shower." Harry hadn't noticed how much the brief fight had caused him to sweat, but now that Lupin had drawn his attention to it he could feel the perspiration covering his body. He could also smell it.

"Definitely." He agreed with a slightly sheepish smile to Lupin. Together, the pair started to walk toward the exit from the dojo, only for Lupin to stop, staring quizzically at Harry, prompting him to stop too. "What is it?" He asked, shifting a little uncomfortably under Lupin's gaze.

"How is it that you're walking so normally?" The older man queried, surprising Harry.

"What do you mean?" The question seemed to make Lupin realise that his charge had no idea what had prompted the question, so the man endeavoured to explain.

"That last kick I landed should have bruised your ribs at the very least, not to mention knocking the wind out of you, you shouldn't be able to stand up straight or walk as effortlessly as you are now."

Shit, Harry thought to his bonded, how do We explain this?

At first Venom just sighed, This would be a lot easier if We just told him the truth and didn't have to keep making up excuses for our abilities.

I know that, but We have no idea how he'd react if I told him I was bonded to a symbiotic alien that eats brains. Harry could sympathise with the sentiment, but the risk was simply too high without a better idea of Lupin's likely response.

We wouldn't have to mention the brain-eating thing. Venom argued, accurately as it happened.

True, but the 'bonded to a symbiotic alien' thing would probably still be a problem. Harry conceded the point but refused to budge on the larger argument.

Very well, We will wait until We have a better idea of his likely reaction. In the meantime, why don't you try fishing for some information on how he'd respond?

Harry scoffed internally, Of course! Cause that's such an easy thing to slip into conversation 'By the way, Moony, how do you feel about aliens? Specifically, ones that are symbiotically bonded to people? Are you cool with them, or what?' I'm sure that wouldn't make him suspicious at all.

You wouldn't have to ask like that, smart-arse. Venom snarked back at his host. I was more thinking along the lines of asking about him trusting your judgement or something like that. For the moment, how about you just tell him you've learned how to tense your body in order to stop blows with your muscles? That is part of what I do in order to help protect you from attacks, I just also use my own substance in order to cushion the impact and stop the full force from hitting you.

"Dudley used to spend a lot of his free time hitting me when I was younger, so I learned how to tense my body in order to stop hits with my muscles." Harry informed Lupin, speaking as if he hadn't just been given the excuse by an alien. Given that having an excuse thought up by an alien was not something most people would expect, Lupin was happy to accept Harry's explanation and merely nodded in understanding as the pair exited the dojo. Although Harry noticed his fists were clenched tight enough for his knuckles to turn white, belaying the equanimity with which he had seemed to take the news of Dudley's bullying. To Harry's surprise, however, they did not turn back toward the alley they had originally appeared from, Lupin instead leading them away down the street. "Mr. Lupin," Harry began, forgetting for a moment to call the man by his first name, "why aren't we going back toward the alley?"

"Remus, Harry, please." Lupin's hoarse voice was gentle in correcting his ward's mistake, but his lips had twitched downward slightly at hearing Harry's use of the formal title. "In answer to your question, we are not returning to the Alley because muggles become suspicious if people continue to appear or disappear from a specific place without any indication of how."

"So, we're going somewhere else, so people don't realise we're apparating?"

"Exactly, Harry." The pair continued to walk in silence for a few moments, Harry's earlier mistake having put Lupin into something of a pensive mood. Hoping to make up for accidentally upsetting Remus, Harry cast around for a new topic to help the man forget the incident.

Try asking about something he's told you about, people like that. It shows you've been listening, and you care about what he says. Venom advised, surprising Harry.

How do you know that? Venom didn't seem the type to be an expert on interpersonal relations, particularly given the obvious pleasure he took in needling his host.

I know exactly how you react to things, emotionally and physiologically, both from our time together and from your memories, it's a simple matter to interpret that information and extrapolate for others. For a moment, Harry was reminded that, however immature he may act, Venom was over three-hundred years-old, and had interacted with more individuals and species than Harry likely ever would.

"Moony," he was careful to use Lupin's nickname, "how did you meet the Greengrasses? I meant to ask last night."

Lupin's face immediately brightened, suggesting Venom's advice was in fact accurate, "Well, I first met Tiberius and Violet while I was at Hogwarts. They were in the year below your father and I, and Violet was famous for being one of the most beautiful girls in the entire school. Sirius even attempted to ask her out once, in our seventh year, but she was already with Tiberius at that point."

"So, you've been friends since school?" Harry was confused, Lupin had said he didn't have any friends after the war, but now he was saying he'd known the Greengrasses from school?

"No, Harry. Tiberius and Violet were both in a different house, Slytherin, and there is something of a rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor, which was the house your father, Sirius, Peter, and I were in. I knew them, but we were hardly more than acquaintances, and after I graduated from Hogwarts, we did not remain in contact with each other. It wasn't until about five years ago that I reconnected with them, actually."

"How? You said that you don't interact with the wizarding-world much?" Harry was intrigued.

Lupin laughed, "Through my work, actually, as surprising as that sounds." Seeing Harry's perplexed expression, he continued, "I received an anonymous message informing me that a private individual wished to hire me to track down a dangerous fugitive from the United States who was believed to be taking refuge in London. I have to admit, I was curious, private bounties are very rare, particularly bounties on fugitives. What few private bounties you see are usually placed on young people who have run away with a disreputable paramour, and even those are almost never given to a specific bounty hunter. I agreed to meet the client in a public place to discuss the details of the bounty, and imagine my surprise when Tiberius arrived to meet me outside the Leaky Cauldron!"

"What? But why did Tiberius want you to go after this person? And why contact you anonymously if you knew each other?" Harry couldn't understand the reasoning for Tiberius' odd behaviour.

"That was precisely what I was wondering, Harry." Lupin informed him, playing up the suspense, "Apparently, Tiberius had recognised my name, but wasn't sure if I was the same Remus Lupin he had gone to school with, after all, I was working as a muggle bounty hunter. Once he realised that it was, in fact, me, he was happy to explain the situation. The bounty was not, in reality, from Tiberius, it was instead being offered by the Magical Congress of the United States, or the MACUSA, as it is commonly known."

"There's a Magical Congress of the United States?" Harry couldn't help but interrupt Lupin's story at the momentous revelation.

"Yes, Harry, just as there is a Ministry of Magic here in Britain." When Lupin put it like that, it did make sense, but Harry had never considered that there must be witches and wizards all over the world, not just in Britain.

"But if the fugitive was a wizard, why would they give the bounty to a muggle bounty hunter?"

"Because the fugitive was not a wizard, it was a muggle called Adam Haselrig." Lupin held up a hand to forestall Harry's next question, "Haselrig was a very special kind of muggle known in America as a 'Scourer,' meaning he was a descendent of criminal wizards who went into hiding among muggles. Over the generations they very carefully weaned the magic out of their families to help prevent the MACUSA from finding them, but they kept the knowledge that magic exists and their hatred of MACUSA alive and well. Over the years Scourers have done everything they can to try and expose the magical world, and Haselrig was no different. His attempt to reveal the MACUSA to the muggle authorities failed, but he was able to escape before he could be caught, and his memory modified."

"You can modify people's memories? And why change his memories instead of just locking him up?"

"Yes, Harry, although the spell is extremely difficult, and its use is carefully regulated. As to why the MACUSA didn't simply imprison Haselrig, our laws are very strict: no muggle can be held under wizard law, it's a rule designed to protect muggles from wizarding prejudice. In the case of the Scourers, however, it makes matters very complicated. Due to Haselrig's status as a muggle, the magical governments were extremely limited in what they could do, that, combined with his knowledge of the muggle world, convinced them that they would need a muggle in order to apprehend him. Or at least, someone with intimate knowledge of the muggle world."

"Why have Tiberius offer the bounty though?" Harry still didn't understand how the Greengrasses factored into this equation.

"Tiberius had been elected a member of the Wizengamot at the time and, due to his family's business, he has extensive connections in both the wizarding and muggle worlds, so he was entrusted with the task of finding someone to act on the MACUSA's behalf." By this point they had walked quite a distance from the dojo, and Lupin guided them down a narrow and deserted street out of sight of the main thoroughfare. Once they were completely hidden from prying eyes, Lupin reached out and grasped Harry's hand, before the pair vanished.

As soon as they reappeared in the sitting room of Lupin's flat, Harry continued the conversation, "So, did you end up catching Haselrig, then?"

"Eventually, yes." Lupin affirmed, "Although I ended up having to chase him all the way to Egypt before I finally caught him."

"Cool, that's quite the coincidence." Lupin merely nodded, but Harry noticed he had the faintest traces of a smug grin on his face. "Why do you have that expression on?" Harry asked as Lupin began to empty the shopping bags from his coat pocket.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Harry." Lupin answered placidly, although his lip twitched slightly.

"Yes you do, there's something you're not telling me." Lupin tapped the bags to return them to their usual size, before crossing the room to hang his coat on the back of the front door.

"I'm afraid you must be imagining things, Harry, are you sure I didn't hit you too hard?" Now Lupin's voice was starting to sound smug, although that might have just been him teasing Harry about his defeat in their spar.

"I don't know, are you sure you didn't hit yours too hard when I smacked you into the side of the ring?" Two could play that game.

Lupin laughed as he placed Harry's book on the table next to his bags of shopping, "Touche, Harry. Now, you and I both need to shower, and then we can begin putting away all of these clothes."

Harry was halfway through nodding in agreement when he had a thought, "Moony, do you know Occlumency?"

Lupin stopped on his way to his bedroom, turning back to face Harry with a surprised expression, "No, Harry, I do not. How is it that you learned of Occlumency?"

"Dumbledore told me about it." Harry answered with a shrug, walking over to Lupin and 'accidentally' brushing his sleeve over Lupin's hand as he reached for one of the shopping bags. Venom, do your thing.

Way ahead of you, Harry. Harry felt the slightest tickle along his wrist as Venom extended a sliver of himself to brush against Lupin's skin, then he was past Lupin and the tickle retreated back up his arm.

So, what did you get? He asked Venom eagerly.

Everything I expected, his memories from today, his muscle memory for all the martial arts he knows, and the fact that he was marvelling at how you're so curious about magic when I connected with him. Venom answered in a self-satisfied manner.

What? That's it? No magic? Nothing about his 'condition?' Harry was amazed Venom had seemingly missed so much vital information.

No, none of that. I can't pick up anything that isn't a recent memory, muscle memory, or that the person isn't thinking about while I'm connected to them. Recent memories and muscle memory are both very close to the 'surface,' so to speak, meaning I can access them without having to physically merge with the brain. The same goes for thoughts a person is currently having, anything else requires that I be physically bonded to the brain in order to access the necessary mental pathways. I have the muscle memory for a shitload of spells if you want it, I just can't tell you what spells they're for or anything else about the spell beyond the wand movements. Venom's response was heated with a touch of indignation that Harry would doubt him so.

Okay, okay, I get the point. Harry attempted to mollify Venom, What you got is still amazing, sorry I wasn't more appreciative.

Thank you. Venom accepted the apology gracefully; Now let's go shower. Grabbing the random bag he had pretended to be interested in -fortunately, it happened to be the one with his new toiletries- Harry set off toward his bedroom and, more importantly, the ensuite bathroom. As soon as he had shut his bedroom door behind him, Harry pulled off the hoodie he had been wearing and Venom simply flowed back within Harry, leaving him naked. Allowing Venom to grab the shampoo from the bag with a tendril, Harry simply walked through the door into his bathroom as the bottle deposited itself in his hand. Looking around, he found it as agreeable as his bedroom, there was a sink, toilet, and a combined bath and shower that took up the entirety of the far wall. His journey toward the shower was arrested when he glanced at his reflection in the mirror and noticed something that brought him to a sudden halt.

Venom? He asked, bewildered.

What?

Why am I so fucking hench?1It was true, the Harry Potter reflected in the mirror was not one he had ever expected to see. His arms, while still lean, were corded with easily visible muscle, his pectorals were both perfectly defined, and his abdominal muscles were visible in a perfect six-pack. Looking down, he found his legs to be in the same condition as the rest of his body, despite his being skinny and poorly muscled only days earlier when he had last looked at himself properly.

Oh, that! Venom said, as if only just remembering. I manipulate your muscles to perform micro-contractions constantly, it's the same way I'm going to teach you the martial arts moves We just nicked off Lupin, although I'll be doing that while you sleep. Combined with my ability to heal your muscles, you've basically done the equivalent of several years' worth of high-intensity workouts since I bonded with you. Meaning you're pretty much at the peak fitness possible for a human being.

That's fucking awesome! Harry couldn't contain his enthusiasm at the news. So, I never have to bother doing any actual exercise?

Well, yes and no. Venom's response brought Harry crashing down from his laziness-induced high.

What do you mean, 'yes and no?' He asked warily.

You can not bother doing any actual exercise and you will still be at the peak of human fitness, but, if you exercise on top of what I do with your muscles, then you'll be able to push your body a little beyond what's possible for most humans.

Does that mean I'll end up like one of those bodybuilders? While being fitter than any normal human could be was appealing, Harry wasn't sure he'd be willing to transform his body into the somewhat grotesque mass of muscles he had seen Dudley obsessing over on the telly.

No, Venom quickly assuaged that fear, you will be a bit bigger than you are now, so you'll have visible muscles rather than just the wiry look you have at the moment, but you won't turn into muscles upon muscles.

I guess We're going to have to start exercising then. Harry thought, resigning himself to the necessity as he climbed into the shower.

After their shower, Venom clothed them in a dark-blue t-shirt and jeans, and, their ablutions completed, the pair made their way to the sitting room in order to begin collecting the rest of the day's shopping. Grabbing as many of the bags as he could, Harry turned to take them back to his room, only to pause when the door to Lupin's bedroom opened and the man himself appeared.

"Ah, Harry, I see you've already managed to grab quite a few of the bags." Lupin seemed pleased at Harry's initiative. "Together, I believe we should be able to manage all of them in a single journey." Proving this assertion, Lupin picked up the dozen or so bags Harry had not managed to collect before gesturing for the boy to lead the way to his room. Although carrying the bags proved no obstacle, the task of actually sorting, removing the tags, folding, and putting away all of Harry's new clothes more than made up for it. Fortunately, more than a few of the clothes were simply placed into one of Lupin's spare suitcases in preparation for Harry's stay with the Greengrasses, saving them the trouble of organising them. With that finished, Lupin took the opportunity to cook them a late lunch, after which it was finally time for Harry to meet the Greengrasses.

"So, how am I getting to the Greengrasses'? Are we going to apparate there?" Harry was surprised when Lupin shook his head in answer to the question.

"No, Harry, we will be using the Floo."

"Flu? We're travelling via a disease?" Harry knew magic could do some amazing things, but he hadn't realised it could allow you to travel with a disease.

"F-l-o-o, Harry, it is a form of wizarding transportation between fireplaces by use of the Floo network. It is easier and safer than Apparition, so most people prefer it when possible." Lupin took a pinch of powder from a small box on top of the mantelpiece and gestured for Harry to do the same before continuing. "You simply throw the powder into the fire and, once the flames turn green, step in and say where you wish to go. You must be careful to enunciate clearly, or else you may end up going to the wrong place, and you should be careful to take a breath before stepping into the fire, otherwise you are likely to inhale a great deal of ash." Lupin said all this very gently, for some reason, Harry's face had gone pale and he looked extremely concerned.

"Uh, Moony? Do we not have to worry about getting burned? Stepping into a fire sounds dangerous." Harry did his best to keep his voice level, it wasn't easy given Venom's protestations.

Fuck NO! We are not going to walk into a fucking FIRE! I don't want to die just so Lupin doesn't have to bother apparating us!

Harry was saved from answering by Lupin, "No, Harry, the Floo powder nullifies the heat from the fire, it will be like stepping into a warm breeze."

"Oh, good." Harry tried not to look too relieved. "Do I just say 'the Greengrasses' house'?"

"Not quite, say 'The Greenhouse,' I will be right behind you in case anything goes wrong." Harry didn't like that Lupin felt the need to add 'in case anything goes wrong,' but decided that it would be best to get the ordeal over with as quickly as possible.

Taking a deep breath, and praying to whatever deity governed Floo powder, Harry threw the powder into the fire, turning it emerald green, before stepping in and shouting, "The Greenhouse!" Almost immediately, Harry found himself in a situation he had never expected: glad to be bonded to Venom while interacting with fire. Travelling by Floo apparently involved being spun around while flying past fireplaces connected to the Floo-Network, had Harry not been bonded to Venom, it would've been a blistering series of nauseating flashes.

Thanks to the benefits afforded by his symbiotic partner, however, Harry's brain was able to process the images fast enough to not only prevent nausea, but witness snapshots of life in dozens of wizarding homes. Most were simply empty sitting rooms, but others were much more interesting: through one he saw a man running from a pair of floating shoes that seemed intent on kicking him between the legs. Another featured a young couple dancing to music coming from a small radio, although he was gone too quickly to catch any of the music itself.

The one that captured his attention the most was the view of an extremely attractive, and very naked, dark-skinned girl with her long dark hair in tight braids who looked to be only a few years older than him. At the moment he passed through the fireplace, the girl had one hand clutching one of her decently sized breasts, the dark nub of her nipple just visible between her fingers, while the other had two fingers buried between her legs. Harry just had time to burn the image into his mind, and notice the Playwitch magazine levitating above the girl, before he was swept away to another fireplace.

Floo is officially the best way to travel.

Definitely. Before anymore could be said, the pair found themselves ejected from the fireplace they had just materialised in, only Venom's incredible reflexes prevented Harry from falling flat onto his face. Harry was immediately grateful for this because apparently the Greengrasses had known when to expect him, and all four of them were currently standing in front of him. The man -Tiberius, Lupin had called him- was tall with blonde hair and chilling blue eyes, his black robes looked expensive and only added to the man's intimidating presence. Thankfully, he currently wore a warm-smile that went a long-way toward lessening the effect, not to mention that Harry was bonded to an alien that looked like the stuff-of-nightmares and had recently fought three ancient Egyptian gods.

The woman standing next to Tiberius -presumably his wife, Violet- had the same ice-blue eyes as her husband, but her wavy hair was as dark as a starless night. Her hair contrasted perfectly with her porcelain skin, and only emphasised her enticingly red lips; like her husband, she wore black robes, although they did little to hide her generous curves. Whatever had happened with Sirius during the war with Voldemort, Harry certainly couldn't fault his taste in women, Violet was stunning. The two girls, one who looked to be about his age -Harry assumed this was the 'Daphne' Lupin had mentioned- and another a year or two younger, were both mixes of their parents. Daphne had inherited her mother's wavy black-hair, red-lips, and fair-skin, but had her father's slightly-more-oval eyes and strong-cheekbones.

The younger daughter -who's name Harry did not know- had inherited her mother's more delicate bone-structure and eyes, but her hair was the same blonde as her father's. Both girls were extremely pretty, and neither were doing anything to help Harry calm down after the impromptu show he had received whilst traversing the Floo-Network, not to mention their mother; who, despite being old enough to be his mother and married, was still one of the most attractive women he had ever seen. Fortunately, Lupin chose that moment to appear behind Harry in a flash of green flame, effectively drawing the attention of the room long enough for Venom to pull Harry into a memory of their fight with the Scorpion God, which served to instantly quash his excitement.

Violet quickly swept across the room and enfolded Lupin in a warm hug saying, "So good to see you again, Remus." Before turning to Harry and wrapping him up in a similar embrace, "And you must be Harry, it's so good to finally meet you. My name is Violet, but you can call me Vi." Despite her beauty and the feel of her body pressing against him, Harry felt nothing but a warm acceptance during the hug. Stepping back, Violet waved a hand toward the rest of her family, "This is my husband, Tiberius, and my daughters, Daphne-" she pointed at the older girl, confirming Harry's earlier guess, "-and Astoria." This time she indicated the younger girl, who smiled and gave Harry a small wave, both of which he happily returned; oddly, both girls blushed, although Daphne seemed to have it under much better control than Astoria.

"Nice to meet all of you, I'm Harry." Harry introduced himself, despite Violet having more-or-less done so already.

And I'm Venom. The symbiote added, thankfully silently. Although the Greengrasses seemed nice, Harry highly doubted they would have reacted well had Venom manifested his head in order to make the introduction aloud.

Tiberius stepped forward and smiled down at Harry, "How would you like a tour of the house, Harry? I'm sure Daphne and Astoria would be happy to show you around." Harry glanced at the girls in question; Astoria indeed looked happy at the prospect, but Daphne was looking at him with a measured appraisal that seemed out of place on the face of a ten-year-old girl.

Do you get the feeling she doesn't like us? He asked Venom, a little concerned that the first magical person his own age he had met seemed somewhat cold toward him.

Venom, for his part, had noticed the way Daphne's eyes had flitted across his host's frame when they first appeared, and, unlike Harry, had not missed the significance of her blush. Should I tell him? Venom wondered, for once not projecting his thoughts to his host. Nah, I think this will be more fun to watch play out on its own. To Harry, he thought, I don't know, but Lupin did say she can be a little cold to people she doesn't know very well.

"That sounds great, Mr. Greengrass." Harry answered Tiberius as politely as he could, getting a smile from the man.

"Please, call me Tiberius."

"Ok, Tiberius." Before the interaction could continue, Harry found his hand seized by Astoria, who proceeded to more-or-less drag him from the room with Daphne following along in their wake.

As soon as they had left the room Astoria began to bombard him with questions, "So, where have you been all this time? I know Uncle Remus has been looking for you for years, so you must have been somewhere really secret, right?"

Harry was somewhat bemused by the younger girl's interest, "Uh, not really, I was in Surry."

"Surry?" It was Daphne who asked this time, her voice slightly cooler than her sister's.

"Yes," Harry turned and gave her his best attempt at a winning smile as he spoke, although Astoria tugged him back to face forward before he could see the affect. "I was living with my Aunt and Uncle."

"What was that like, Harry? Are they muggles? This is the dining room by the way." Astoria fired off another short barrage of questions as she guided him into a large room with an ornate crystal chandelier and a long oak table draped in a green tablecloth.

"It's very impressive." Harry said politely, and honestly, it was an impressive room, particularly given the large portrait of a steely-eyed blonde witch on the wall. "It wasn't very nice, truth be told. My relatives weren't very fond of magic, I didn't even know I was a wizard until Dumbledore told me a few days ago."

Astoria stopped her seemingly relentless march through the house to look at Harry in amazement, "You didn't know you were a wizard?" The idea seemed incomprehensible to her.

At almost the same moment Daphne asked, "Dumbledore told you?"

"Yes." Harry said, by way of answering both questions. "I had accidentally apparated into a forest somewhere-" here he was interrupted by twin exclamations of 'you apparated!?' "-yes, I apparated. Anyway, then Dumbledore turned up and created a chair out of thin air before telling me to sit down. He explained all about what happened to my parents and magic, and told me about Hogwarts. Then he took me back to Privet Drive and told my Aunt and Uncle they had to take better care of me, or he'd take me away and tell the wizard press why he did it." Harry couldn't help but grin at the memory, Dumbledore scaring the shit out of the Dursleys was probably going to remain in his top-ten best moments for a very long time.

"And then what happened?" It was Daphne who asked this time, surprisingly. Meanwhile Astoria had resumed her tugging on Harry's hand, now leading him up one side of an imposing set of twin staircases.

"Well my Uncle woke me up the next day and told me we were going to Egypt, he was acting really crazy, I thought he'd lost his marbles to be honest. Once we got there though, they pushed me out of the car once we'd driven a ways out into the desert and told me they were running away so Dumbledore couldn't get them."

"They stranded you in the desert!?" Both girls shrieked in outraged disbelief.

"Yeah," Harry shrugged, he had gotten his revenge, and besides- "I get to live with Remus now, though, and it's way nicer than living with Aunt Petunia ever was."

"That's still awful!" Astoria exclaimed, refusing to be mollified.

"What happened after they stranded you in the desert? How did you end up living with Uncle Remus?" Daphne was equally outraged but remained focused on Harry's story.

Briefly, a vision of his increasingly disastrous fights with the monsters under the Karnak Temple flashed through Harry's mind, but Venom pushed them away even as his host began to speak, "Dumbledore came to get me, he told me I wouldn't be living with the Dursleys anymore and then took me back to Moony's flat to wait for him."

"Moony?" Astoria seemed thrown by his use of the nickname, even Daphne gave him a quizzical look.

"Remus, he said it's a nickname my dad gave him in school." Harry shrugged, surprised the girls hadn't already known. While he had been telling the, highly edited, story of his split with the Dursleys, the group had halted at the top of the stairs, which opened out into a large sitting room with a hallway leading out from each end.

"This is the sitting room." Astoria explained unnecessarily. Pointing down the hallway to the left she said, "Down there are the bedrooms, mine is the first door on the left, Daphne's is the second on the left, Mum and Dad's is the one at the end, the first door on the right is where you'll be staying, and the second door on the right is where Uncle Remus sleeps when he stays over." Turning to point down the other hallway, she continued, "Down there is the library, the potions room, and practice room. The doors on the left open into the library, same as the ones downstairs, the first door on the right is the potions room, and the second one is the practice room."

"Practice room? What do you practice?" Harry asked, even as Astoria began to lead him back down the stairs and toward a door that seemed to lead into the back-garden.

"We haven't got to practice anything," Astoria's voice was surprisingly petulant, "Mum and Dad use it when they want to practice magic other than household charms: Mummy used to be a duelist until she got pregnant with Daphne, then she had to stop because it was too dangerous. She never went back to it, but she still trains a lot, she says it helps her stay focused." Harry was surprised to learn that Violet had ever been a duelist, she seemed too kind to have ever considered a career in fighting.

Seeing his surprised expression, and misinterpreting its cause, Daphne said, "We don't use the practice room because we're not allowed wands until we get our Hogwarts letters, so we can't do any magic." Harry would have answered, but at that moment Astoria stopped and indicated their surroundings with a grandiose sweep of her arms.

"And this is the pool and grounds!" Although Astoria's gesture was perhaps less impressive than it otherwise could've been, due in large part to her diminutive size, the object of it more than made up for it. The pool was enormous, easily the size of an Olympic-swimming pool, and in the centre sat a small rock-feature with a waterfall cascading down one side and benches set just beneath the surface of the water. Next to the pool was a round hot-tub, big enough for a dozen people to sit comfortably, and a large table set with chairs sat on the patio between the pool and the house. Beyond the pool lay the most exquisite garden Harry had ever seen; trees with delicate pink blossoms dotted the landscape surrounded by perfectly maintained beds of flowers in every conceivable colour. The grass seemed almost to shine with a luster he knew the Dursleys would've given anything to see in their own garden, and an enormous Oak tree dominated the top of a small hill at the far end of the garden.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Harry breathed, the hours spent working in the Dursleys' garden had taught him more than he ever wanted to know about gardening, but he still couldn't imagine how much time and effort must have been required to create the Greengrasses'.

Astoria preened at his praise, "Thanks! The Greengrasses have always been known for our Herbology, it's part of why we have a potions-supply company, Daddy even said one of his relatives had gone to work in the Muggle World, Capable Blue, or something." A spark of mischief came into Astoria's eyes, "Want to see some more of the grounds?" She asked innocently.

"I'd love to." Harry said.

"Ok. Tag! You're it!" Astoria tapped Harry's arm before taking off at a sprint deeper into the garden, giggling all the way. Harry grinned and turned to Daphne, only to see that she too had set off into the garden leaving him alone by the pool.

Oh, We are so going to get them! Venom enthused, seemingly as excited as his host at the chance to play a little.

Damn right We are! Harry agreed before charging off after Astoria who still hadn't stopped giggling.

The next few hours were spent playing in both the garden and the house itself, after Harry had quickly caught up to Astoria and then easily evaded both her, and later Daphne's, attempts to catch him, the game changed to Hide-and-Seek, where he proved equally adept. Venom said that using their abilities to become invisible and hide at the top of the Oak tree was cheating, but Harry didn't care. Eventually, the games were ended by Tiberius' call for them to come in for dinner. After a short diversion to wash up, the three children were seated at the table next to the two adults, both of whom seemed greatly pleased that Harry had settled in so quickly.

The dinner itself was incredible, the food cooked to perfection, although Harry did jump when the food suddenly materialised on the table. That didn't stop him from piling a very large helping of everything onto his plate, something which caused all four Greengrasses to raise an eyebrow.

"Wow, Harry, you must've worked up quite the appetite out there." Tiberius commented approvingly as Harry set to demolishing his extra-large serving of food.

Harry nodded in agreement as he swallowed his latest mouthful of food before replying, "Yeah, although I'm always hungry these days." Violet looked ready to comment on his assertion, but before she could open her mouth there came a tapping on one of the windows.

Turning to look, she said instead, "Dear, were you expecting an owl?" The mention of an owl caused Harry to look, and sure enough there was a tawny owl sitting on the windowsill, a letter tied to its leg.

Tiberius frowned slightly, "I don't think so, and that's not an owl I recognise." Despite this, he crossed to the window and opened it, allowing the owl to hop inside. As he reached for the letter, however, the owl quickly fluttered past him to land on the table in front of Harry and held out its leg.

"Harry?" Violet seemed bewildered by this turn of events, "Were you expecting an owl from someone?"

"I don't think so." Harry answered, unsure. "I don't know anyone but Remus who uses an ow-" then he cut himself off, remembering, "-actually, yes! I was expecting an owl! This must be from Luna!" Excitedly, he reached out and untied the letter from the owl's leg and quickly ripped open the envelope.

"Who is Luna?" Daphne asked, her voice was tinged with something Harry hadn't heard from her before, but he was too distracted to take much notice.

"Oh, she's a friend! I met her in the forest before Dumbledore came to pick me up, she told me she'd be sending an owl but at the time I didn't realise that meant she was a witch."

More like, 'at the time We were trying to wheedle information out of Dumbledore and didn't want to undermine it by saying We'd already talked to a witch,' but whatever. Venom silently corrected Harry as his host unfolded Luna's letter and began to read.

"Dear Harry and Venom,

I'm still not completely sure if I should write to you as 'Venom' or 'Harry and Venom' but for this letter I settled on the second one. I hope you haven't been getting into too much trouble since we saw each other, I know Venom is quite the troublemaker. -"

Hey! It's not me! It's your terrible luck that keeps getting us into trouble! Venom defended.

"-It's nice knowing that I have friends now, even if I don't get to see them, but it would be nice to see you again. I hope Moony will let you come visit now that you're not living with the Dursleys anymore. I would like to hear how that happened, by the way. -"

Wait, how does she know We're living with Moony and not the Dursleys? Harry was perplexed.

Remember when she knew Dumbledore was coming? Venom reminded his host, Maybe she's some kind of prophet or something?

But then how come she didn't know about all the stuff in Egypt? Harry pointed out the obvious flaw in Venom's suggestion.

I don't know, maybe she only sees random stuff? Venom countered.

We really need to ask her how that works sometime. On that, they could both agree.

"-Daddy was planning on taking me on a trip to Sweden to look for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, but I asked him to wait until September so we could go once you'd left for Hogwarts. In the meantime, he said that I could help out writing the Quibbler! That's Daddy's newspaper, he writes about all of the news the Daily Prophet won't publish, stories about the Ministry's secret plots and the magical creatures not accepted by Magizoologists and things like that. Daddy told me that even if he doesn't believe that most of it is true, 'It's important that even the least-believable news is given a voice, otherwise people will never hear about anything extraordinary.' I wanted to write about you two, but I thought you might want to keep it a secret so I'm doing a story about wrackspurts instead. I have to go now because Daddy is calling me for our evening hike but write back to me soon!

Lots of love,

Luna"

Harry was grinning by the time he finished the letter, it made him exceedingly happy in a way he couldn't quite explain to read 'lots of love' in Luna's neat handwriting. He was extremely grateful she had thought better of writing a story about him and Venom, neither of them were quite ready for that to be common knowledge. They hadn't even told Moony yet.

Yet? When did it become yet? Venom's question jolted Harry from his internal musings.

I don't know. Harry answered honestly, almost as surprised as the symbiote at the direction his thoughts had taken. But are you seriously saying you still think We can't trust him? You even said it would make things easier if We did.

I know I said that, but that was when I was complaining, doesn't mean I actually think We should do it. Harry couldn't suppress a sigh at his Other's contrarianism.

"Good letter, Harry?" Violet's voice broke the pair from their silent discussion.

Harry quickly shored up the grin that had been beginning to slip from his features, "Yeah, it's really nice to hear from her."

"That's great, Harry, are you excited to see her at Hogwarts?" Tiberius waggled his eyebrows as he asked the question, comfortably ignoring the death-glare his eldest daughter gave him in response.

"I don't think I'm going to see her at Hogwarts actually." Harry said with a frown as he quickly re-read part of the letter. "She said she's going on a trip with her dad in September once I've left for Hogwarts, that makes it sound like she isn't going."

"She's probably still too young to go then," Violet offered in a comforting tone of voice, "I'm sure you'll get to see her there next year."

"So, what are you excited for when you get to Hogwarts, Harry? I know Daphne is looking forward to Charms, it's always been her favourite subject." Tiberius broke in again, looking at his eldest daughter fondly, which did manage to soften her glare a little.

"Uh, I don't really know too much about the classes at Hogwarts," Harry began uncertainly, "but I am interested in Defence Against the Dark Arts." Violet's eyes lit up almost before he had finished speaking.

"Really, Harry? What is it about Defence Against the Dark Arts that interests you?" Harry was surprised at her sudden intensity, until he remembered what Astoria had told him about Violet's former career.

"To be honest, I want to learn how to fight with magic." Harry saw Violet about to speak but hurried to explain further before she could interrupt. "It's not that I want to hurt people, or anything like that, it's just, when I lived with the Dursleys I had to fight a lot. My cousin, Dudley, was a bully and he had a whole gang that used to help him pick on people, I didn't particularly like that, so I ended up stepping in a lot of the time. It was five-on-one, so I didn't win very often, but apart from the bits where I was getting my arse handed to me, I kind of enjoyed it."

Violet had already been smiling, but as Harry's explanation continued the smile grew wider and wider, "Firstly, language." She gave him a mock-severe frown, although an amused twinkle remained in her piercingly blue eyes.

I blame you for this, Venom, I didn't used to swear. Harry mentally muttered to his bonded.

You didn't use to be fucking awesome either, and We both know who's responsible for that changing. Venom shot back smugly.

"Secondly," Violet continued as if she hadn't heard them, which, since she hadn't, made sense. "You enjoyed the thrill of being able to exercise your abilities? Using them to overcome the odds in a primal display of your power, cunning, and ruthlessness?" As she spoke her voice became almost a purr, and her eyes flickered to Tiberius with something approaching hunger in them.

Ooh, now this is my kind of girl! Venom's voice held the same hunger as Violet's eyes, I just love a girl who's dangerous! Abruptly his voice flattened, Shame she's married.

And she's my friends' Mum, Venom. Harry reminded the symbiote, although secretly he couldn't help agreeing there was something attractive about the danger that lurked behind Violet's words.

Details. Venom dismissed the point airily.

"Yeah, I suppose that is a pretty good way to describe it." Harry answered Violet, the delay caused by his conversation with Venom almost undetectable.

It gets easier with practice, although most of my hosts have been powerful enough that hiding our partnership has not been necessary. Venom's voice started out reassuring but slipped into playfulness by the end of his statement.

"Sounds like you should try Dueling, Harry." Violet's voice had returned to normal, although she shot Tiberius a wink that caused the man to grin broadly for a moment before schooling his features. "As it happens," Violet flicked several of her ebony tresses expertly over her shoulder in a careless gesture that served to emphasise the slender gracefulness of her neck and the striking beauty of her face. "I was on track to be a Dueling Champion before our little flower here came along." She reached out to ruffle Daphne's hair affectionately, outraging the girl and eliciting a giggle from Astoria. "I'd be happy to give you some pointers, once you've got a wand, of course." Harry was thrilled at the prospect of learning magic from an actual duelist, but the excitement swiftly died at the mention of his lack of a wand.

"What about wandless magic? Couldn't you start teaching me some of that?" Harry tried not to sound like a whinging child, but it's difficult when you're ten.

"How did you learn about wandless magic?" Tiberius and Violet asked in astonishment at almost the same time as Daphne and Astoria shouted, "You can do magic without a wand!?"

Before Harry could answer the elder Greengrasses' question, he was cut off by the younger two, "Why didn't you tell us we could do magic without a wand?" Daphne demanded, fixing her parents with an accusatory finger.

"Yeah!" Astoria agreed, "We could've been learning magic for years!"

"We didn't tell you," Tiberius began in a loud voice, making calming gestures as he spoke, "because learning wandless magic without incredible mental discipline and control is prohibitively dangerous." That quieted the girls significantly, so Tiberius continued at a more normal volume, "Wands help to channel and refine our magic, they direct it and limit the amount we can infuse into our spells. Without a wand, it is easy for magic to flow in directions other than your original intention, to follow your slightest whim or momentary fancy. It is also possible to place far too much magic into the casting of a spell, particularly during times of great emotional distress. Overpowering a spell can cause the effects to magnify to a dangerous degree, cause physical harm to wherever the magic is channeled from, or even exhaust the user to such an extent that they die." Neither of the girls looked upset that they hadn't been taught wandless magic now.

"Now that that's been cleared up," Violet said, turning her attention back to Harry, "how did you learn about wandless magic?"

"I asked Dumbledore if there was a way to do magic without a wand." Harry answered truthfully, for some reason he had the feeling she'd know if he tried to lie. I feel like I'm hooked up to a Lie-Detector, is this something all mothers can do?

He hadn't intended the thought as a question to Venom, but the symbiote answered regardless, In my experience, yes. Even the alien ones.

"Well then," Violet seemed satisfied with the veracity of his answer, "I'm sure Professor Dumbledore told you how dangerous wandless magic can be then."

"He did," Harry quickly confirmed, "he told me he'd teach me Occlumency so I could learn the proper mental discipline for it." Tiberius, Daphne, and Astoria all looked lost at the mention of Occlumency, but Violet's eyes lit up in interest.

"Did he now?" Her eyes ran over Harry speculatively, as if searching for some hidden quality she had previously failed to notice.

"Yes." Harry answered slowly, shifting a little uncomfortably under her gaze.

"Vi, Love, you wouldn't mind clueing the rest of us in as to what Occlumency is exactly, would you?" Tiberius' voice distracted Violet from her inspection, much to Harry's relief.

Looking over at her family, Violet flashed an apologetic smile at their lost expressions, "Of course, sorry Beri. Occlumency is the art of defending your mind from mental intrusion, it requires absolute control over your thoughts and memories. I had to learn it when I started on the International Dueling Circuit because, although Legilimens are rare, you can't afford even a moment's disconnect between your intentions and the direction of your magic at that level."

"Legilimens?" Astoria asked, breaking the uncharacteristic silence she had maintained throughout most of the discussion.

"Someone who can read minds, Sweetie." Violet explained, before seeming to realise that no one had taken a bite of their food since the conversation had started. "Now, eat up all of you, Blinky worked hard on this and it wouldn't be fair to her to let it go to waste." With that, the rest of the dinner passed in relative peace, although Harry could almost feel both Tiberius and Violet eyeing him interestedly. After dinner, Astoria attempted to drag Harry away for more games, but was thwarted by her mother's insistence that she and Daphne both needed to attend to their studies. For his part, Harry took the opportunity to excuse himself to his bedroom, citing a need for an early night, and a desire to write his return letter to Luna. He could've sworn Daphne's eyes narrowed at the mention of Luna, but shrugged it off as his imagination, after all, why would she have any reason to scowl? She'd never even met Luna.

Once they were safely ensconced in their room, Harry could no longer contain his excitement Ok, Venom, let's finally take a look at this book!

Why are you so excited about this? Venom asked, even as he unsealed the book from its hidden compartment and used a tendril to place it in Harry's waiting hands. We can't even read it, remember? And you still haven't asked anyone about a translation spell.

Harry refused to allow Venom's pessimism to deter him, Yeah, I know, but that doesn't mean We can't get anything from it! Remember the carvings on the door at Karnak? We didn't need to read Hieroglyphics to understand that, did We?

I didn't realise you wanted to read it for a history lesson. Venom returned dryly.

I don't, Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes with difficulty, but We can at least get an idea of the awesome stuff We're going to learn from the book, right?

I suppose. Venom conceded, although his tone had also become tinged with eagerness. Now, for fuck's sake, open the damn book already! Deciding to heed the symbiote's advice, Harry set the book down and reverently lifted the solid silvery metal that formed the book's front cover. Or at least, he tried to. The book, however, refused to open. Harry pulled harder, but still the book refused to open. Thinking that, perhaps, he had the book the wrong way round, Harry tried to pull open the other side, but still the book resisted his efforts. Seriously, Harry? Venom scoffed, I know humans are laughably weak, and you are only a child, but this has to be a new low, even for you.

"Well why don't you open it then if you're so tough?" Harry shot back petulantly, although he comforted himself that at least the book would be opened this way.

Immediately Venom flowed over Harry, replacing the pale 5' boy with the hulking ebony 6'4" monster, "Don't mind if I do." Venom answered confidently as he reached down and grasped the book. With one easy motion… the book remained shut. Venom tried again, picking the book up and using all of his considerable strength to try and tear the book open, but the cover refused to budge.

Finally, the pair flung the book back onto the bed, "Are you kidding us!? We went through all that shit just to get this fucking book, and now We can't even open the damn thing!?" After a few moments of furious swearing, Harry managed to calm himself enough to think clearly again. In response, Venom simply transformed the pair back so he could continue the swearing fit Harry had apparently grown tired of. Walking over to the book, Harry picked it up and began studying it, searching for some clue as to how to open it.

It is covered in carvings. Harry offered after a few moments of intense study, Perhaps some of them tell you how to open it?

Why seal the book if you were going to write the instructions on it? Venom shot back grumpily.

Why lock a diary if you're going to keep the key in the same room? Harry responded calmly, People like to feel that their secrets are protected, even if the protection is negligible. Besides, I don't think literacy was exactly widespread seven-thousand-plus years-ago, most people would've had as much chance of reading the instructions as We do at the moment.

I suppose you've got a point. Venom conceded, warming slightly to the logic of Harry's hypothesis. So that means We're back to trying to find a way to decipher the Hieroglyphs then.

Yep, Harry agreed, but that can wait for tomorrow. I'm exhausted.

Weren't We going to write a response to Luna? Venom reminded Harry.

Oh! Right! Of course, thanks, Venom.

No problem, someone has to be the awesome one in this partnership after all. Venom's tone robbed his words of any sting they may have otherwise carried, causing Harry to only scoff and roll his eyes in response. After a few moments searching the small desk in the corner of the room, Harry managed to find some parchment -he hadn't known anyone still used the stuff- and an eagle-feather quill, which he spent several moments marvelling at before he started attempting to write his letter. 'Attempting' being the operative word, writing with a quill was difficult and it took Harry several tries and ruined pieces of parchment before he was able to write legibly without blotting ink all over his writing.

"Dear Luna,

It was really nice getting your letter, I've never had a letter from a friend before. Venom and I are both doing well, We're actually staying with the Greengrasses at the moment, apparently Moony has a 'condition' that means I can't stay with him for the next few days. Do you have any idea what it could be? Dumbledore told me that it was a magical disease, so I really don't have any clue what it could be. The Greengrasses seem really nice, especially Violet -that's the Mum- and Astoria, she's the youngest, Tiberius, the Dad, seems kind of wrapped up in his business concerns, but he's still nice. I'm a little confused about Daphne though, she's been acting kind of distant when I'm around, she doesn't talk very much, and I feel like she's staring at me when she thinks I'm not looking. Venom's being absolutely no help, he just keeps snickering every time I try and figure out why she doesn't like me."

Tell her I say 'Hello.' Venom instructed his host, And that We'll ask Moony when We can come see her as soon as We get back.

Aww, Venom, I didn't know you cared. Harry teased his symbiote, despite being equally excited to see Luna again.

What? I said I liked her. Venom immediately took the wind from Harry's sails by appearing completely unphased by the teasing.

You never let me have any fun. Harry grumbled before returning to his letter.

"Venom says 'Hello' and that 'We'll ask Moony when we can come see you as soon as We get back.' As for how We ended up living with Moony in the first place,"

Harry paused, prepared to launch into his defence as to why they should tell Luna the truth about what happened in Egypt, only to find that Venom was making no arguments to the contrary.

Venom?

What? We trust her with the knowledge of our partnership, what's the knowledge that We tangled with a few ancient gods compared to that? After a moment's consideration, Venom amended his statement slightly, Maybe don't mention how badly the Cobra God whooped our-collective-arse though, she might react badly to hearing We almost died.

Yeah, good point. Harry agreed, before writing a slightly edited version of his time in Egypt, complete with an account of his revenge on the Dursleys, the battles with the three gods -minus the amputation of their arm and their near deaths at the hands of the Cobra God- and their 'liberation' of the strange silver book from the altar. He even recounted their brief encounter with Nicolas Flamel before Dumbledore had taken them to meet Moony.

"We traveled using this thing called a 'Portkey,' it was awful, it made us even dizzier than a normal person because of Venom's enhanced senses, I almost threw up when we all landed. Thankfully Dumbledore just said that it's normal to get nauseous the first few times you take a Portkey, We don't really know him well enough to tell him about Venom yet. Moony is really nice though, I know you figured out that I'm staying with him somehow (how does that work, by the way?) but did you know he knew my parents? Apparently, he was best friends with my Dad in school! He works as a Bounty Hunter in the-"

What was the word Dumbledore used for non-Magicals? Harry asked his partner.

Muggles. Venom supplied without pause.

"-Muggle world, it's like a Hit-Wizard apparently. Best thing is he's agreed to help train me until I'm ready to go on a mission with him! He doesn't know that Venom and I copied all of his fighting reflexes though, by the time We start training next week We'll already know everything he does! We'll have to stagger how We show it to stop him from suspecting anything, but it'll still be a lot faster than having to actually learn the stuff the normal way. And I have my first lesson with Dumbledore in a few days! I hope you and your Dad are doing well, have you found any new animals?

Love,

Harry and Venom"

Harry was more than a little surprised that Venom didn't say anything about being lumped in under 'Love,' given his reluctance to display outright affection for Harry, even within their own mind.

That's because you're not a cute girl, Harry. Luna is adorable, I could never be mean to her, I have a soul, you know? Venom's answer caused Harry to roll his eyes, but he couldn't help grinning regardless, Venom was right: Luna was adorable.

Yeah, yeah, now let's get some sleep. Harry sealed his letter in an envelope and resolved to ask how he could go about sending it to Luna tomorrow.

As he lay down, Venom said, You need to get some sleep, I'll be busy teaching you how to kick arse, remember?

Alright, Harry thought back, just don't stay up too late. I don't need my clothes disappearing at breakfast tomorrow because you're falling asleep on the job.

Oh, I can think of a few people who wouldn't mind that happening. Venom thought, although he kept it to himself, wouldn't do to go spoiling his fun when it was only just beginning.

Breakfast passed without incident the following morning, Violet was more than happy to allow Harry to use the family owl, a fine silver-feathered specimen called Mercury, to send his letter to Luna when he asked. Daphne seemed very intent on spearing her eggs for the remainder of the meal, although Harry couldn't understand why she seemed to hold such animosity for them, maybe she hated the taste? Astoria seemed to have no such reservations, as she chatted away animatedly throughout the meal, telling Harry all about her life, the manor, and asking him about his life. Harry was more than happy to answer her questions, although the truth of his answers varied, and was fascinated to learn more about life in a wizarding household. The discussion was so engaging, that it wasn't until the end of the meal when Violet and Tiberius were preparing to leave that Harry remembered to ask about a translation spell.

"A translation spell?" Tiberius asked shrewdly, "Why would you need that? And for what language?"

"Uh, Ancient Egyptian?" Harry asked, hoping to avoid answering the first question.

"Ancient Egyptian?" Violet asked interestedly, "Now aren't you a curious one, your little trip to Egypt wet your appetite, did it?" She reached out and ruffled his hair slightly as she spoke, given that it could hardly get any messier, Harry didn't mind. Besides, it felt nice.

"Yeah, I guess so." Harry answered with a sheepish grin and a shrug, glad that he didn't have to come up with the excuse for once.

Unfortunately, Tiberius was quick to rain on his parade, "Sadly, there's no such thing as a translation spell."

"What?" Harry was dismayed, "But it's magic, why can't it translate stuff?"

"Magic can't create knowledge, Harry." Violet explained gently, "There are spells that can transfer knowledge, but if the knowledge is not available then magic cannot simply conjure it into being." She let him stew in his discontent for a few moments before continuing, "If you're willing to put in the time, however, we do have a few basic reference books in the Library to keep you going until you can get to Hogwarts."

Harry perked up immediately upon hearing that there was some avenue he could use to begin deciphering the infuriating book. "What do you mean 'until I get to Hogwarts?'" He asked, confused.

"Hogwarts has one of the greatest libraries in the Magical World, Harry." Tiberius explained. "There will be enough there for you to become fluent in Ancient Egyptian if that's what you want, rather than just enough to pick up the bare bones like we have here."

"I guess that's just another reason to look forward to going then." Harry said, making Tiberius chuckle.

"Couldn't have said it better myself, now I'm afraid I have to get to work." So saying, he stood and made his way from the room, leaving Violet to guide Harry to the library and fetch the few books in the Greengrass collection that dealt with Hieroglyphics.

Harry spent the next hour transcribing the hieroglyphs from the cover of the book -Venom was kind enough to transpose the memory of the hieroglyphs over a piece of parchment so Harry could simply trace them out- and, once that was done, beginning to translate them. Many of the Hieroglyphs did not appear in the very basic texts the Greengrasses had amassed, but they were able to translate almost half of them by the time they were interrupted.

"Thebes, blank," Daphne's voice interrupted the pair's silent study, drawing them from their search for a translation of a particularly difficult hieroglyph. "Our most blank learning of magic. Blank, incantations, dead-something, question mark, blank. Magic of the gods. Beware all unworthy who seek the knowledge of this book. Open, underlined, question mark, question mark, question mark." As Daphne read, Harry felt a small body drape itself over his shoulders, and a curtain of light-blonde hair fell into the corner of his vision.

"Hello Daphne, Astoria." Harry said, a smile colouring his voice despite the interruption.

"Hi, Harry." Astoria chirped, but Daphne ignored his greeting in favour of asking a question.

"What is this? It looks as if you're trying to translate something specific?" Turning to meet her gaze, Harry noticed that Daphne's hand lifted to push a stray lock of hair behind one of her ears once their eyes met. Despite the odd gesture, her eyes remained firm on his, awaiting the answer to her question.

Venom? Any suggestions on what We should tell her? Harry had no idea, quick-witted excuses were Venom's specialty.

Must I do everything?Venom sighed in mock-exasperation. Tell her you have an excellent memory and are attempting to translate some of the Hieroglyphs you saw at the Temple of Karnak in Luxor. It is technically true, after all.

"I have a really good memory," Harry started with a shrug, becoming increasingly used to Venom's particular brand of lying by telling the truth. "I'm trying to translate some of the Hieroglyphs I saw at the Temple of Karnak in Luxor, I figured it would be a good exercise to help me learn the language."

"That's amazing!" Astoria enthused, even Daphne seemed impressed, her gaze had softened slightly, and her hands were now clasped in front of her, making her seem smaller than usual.

"You must have a good memory, if you're able to remember Hieroglyphs well enough to translate them." Was all she said, but she continued to watch him speculatively. Sensing that the danger was mostly past, Harry decided a change in subject was most definitely in order.

"So, do you girls have anything planned for the rest of the day?" Astoria answered by grabbing his hand and pulling him from the library.

"Wow, Remus, you look like shit." Harry couldn't help but vocalise his thoughts upon first seeing his guardian, the man looked as if he hadn't slept in days. His mousy-brown hair looked thin and stringy, plastered to his scalp as if he'd been out in a heavy rain. His eyes were so bloodshot they almost looked to have changed colour, and both were deeply underscored by heavy bags. Lupin's face had gone pale, his veins standing out in a dusky-blue lattice work, as if his skin had gone so thin it was translucent. Despite his appearance, Remus apparently felt well enough to chuckle at Harry's tactless assessment of his condition.

"Firstly, language, Harry." Remus gently chided his ward before addressing the comment, "Secondly, yes, I know. This is the consequence of my condition." A shadow passed across the older-man's features, "Although I must admit, this month's episode was particularly difficult."

And yet, he still hasn't told us what this 'condition' of his is. Venom noted sullenly.

We haven't exactly asked in a while. Harry pointed out diplomatically.

Well, go ahead and ask then. Venom ordered.

"Moony," Harry began, "what exactly is this condition of yours? Is there anything that can be done to help it? If there's any way We can help-" Almost immediately Harry realised he had misspoken; thankfully, Lupin was hardly in any state to notice slips of the tongue. Not to mention he had frozen the moment Harry had asked about the nature of his condition. Whether Lupin would've answered Harry's question, he never found out, because it was at that moment that the fireplace flared green and out stepped Albus Dumbledore. The golden wands decorating his magenta robes glittered in the green light from the flames, and his blue eyes twinkled merrily behind his half-moon spectacles. They dimmed slightly upon seeing Lupin's condition.

"Ah, Remus, a particularly hard moon I see." Dumbledore's gentle voice was tinged with sympathy, although his words caused Lupin to shift uncomfortably in his chair.

"Yes, Professor, it was a difficult month."

Odd that Dumbledore specified moon. Venom mused with a little more than idle curiosity colouring his voice.

We already know that it's linked to a monthly cycle, I suppose it's linked to the moon. People always used to think that the moon was magical or something, didn't they? Guess they were right. Harry did his best to ameliorate Venom's suspicions, as much as he loved his bonded, he liked having a human he could rely on too.

So it would seem. Venom's voice was heavy with reluctance, but he dropped the subject regardless.

"Now, Harry, it is time for that lesson I promised you. Unless you would rather postpone it? I understand you only just returned from the Greengrasses." Dumbledore's words instantly wiped all contemplations of Lupin's condition from their mind.

"No! I'm definitely ready to do our lesson now!" Harry couldn't keep the eagerness from his voice, and both Dumbledore and Remus smiled at his obvious excitement.

"Very well then," Dumbledore said, crossing to sit on Lupin's sofa and gesturing for Harry to sit in the armchair opposite from him. Once the boy had done so, Dumbledore began his lecture, "Occlumency, as I told you before, Harry, is the art of safeguarding one's innermost thoughts and feelings from external intrusion. In doing so, it forces the user to obtain mastery over their emotions and, by extension, their magic."

"So, what do I have to do for Occlumency, Professor? Do I have to construct a giant mental fortress and organise my thoughts or something?" Harry had heard of a muggle concept called a 'memory palace' and figured Occlumency probably worked through a similar method.

To his surprise, however, Dumbledore only chuckled in response, "Oh heavens no, what you're suggesting would leave your mind more vulnerable than doing nothing whatsoever." Seeing Harry's rather perturbed expression, Dumbledore explained, "Legilimency operates by inciting the target's own mind into revealing the desired information, a structure such as you describe would only give a well-established framework for the legilimens to use in order to achieve their ends."

Harry felt a little sheepish, but wasn't willing to give up on his idea quite that easily, "But what if you created false memories and stored them somewhere else in the fortress? Or created mental guardians to defend it?"

"My dear boy," Dumbledore answered gently, "if you are lying to me about where you hid an object, and I ask you where it is, do you think of the lie, or the truth first?"

"The truth, because I need to think about that to know to lie about it." Harry thought he could see where Dumbledore was going with this line of thought.

"Precisely, so no matter how many false memories you created, the very first thing the legilimens would be led to would still be the true memories they were searching for. As for creating mental guardians, the individual with the mental ability to create self-sustaining mental entities and direct them to a specific task whilst remaining mentally capable of performing other tasks is one, I would fear to encounter."

"Why?" Harry was confused, yes it sounded incredibly difficult, but hardly anything that should scare someone of Dumbledore's power and ability.

"Because that person would not only be incredibly mentally gifted, but clearly quite insane." Dumbledore answered with a kind smile.

Harry smiled slightly in return, but decided to press on with the lesson, "So, how does Occlumency work?"

"By clearing your mind, Harry. You must leave your mind void of all thoughts and emotions, thus preventing the legilimens from seeing anything other than that void. In doing so you must learn to act without conscious thought, to sync your intentions and actions without the need for deliberation. This allows the accomplished occlumens to neutralise the legilimens and end the assault on their mind without revealing sensitive information."

Hmm. Venom sounded cautiously excited.

What? Harry asked, intrigued.

Tell Dumbledore you're ready to have a go, call it a test to see what you can do without practice if you must. Venom instructed his host, refusing to divulge his thoughts.

Dumbledore, meanwhile, was continuing his lecture, "There is a particularly harsh, but effective, method of teaching occlumency, wherein the teacher uses legilimency to repeatedly enter the mind in order to toughen it against intrusions, rather like skin callusing. However, as we are not pressed for time, I do not believe so extreme a method is required."

"Can I try to defend my mind now, Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked, interrupting as politely as he could and causing Dumbledore to raise a questioning brow. "I want to see how well I can do before we really start practicing."

"Very well, Harry." Dumbledore agreed, fixing his piercing blue eyes on Harry's green ones. "Tell me when you are ready."

Are We ready? Harry asked Venom.

Oh yes, We're ready. Venom seemed eager at the prospect of having Dumbledore attempt to invade their mind.

Are you not worried he'll find out about you? Harry hadn't thought of the possibility before, but now it seemed like a dangerously possible outcome.

Yes, I was, but then I heard his description of how Occlumency works, now I can't wait to get this party started. Harry was still nervous, but he trusted Venom above all else.

"I'm ready, Professor." Instantly, Harry felt a tickle in his mind, his thoughts began to race, Is- and then they cut off. Wha- Harry began only for the thought to cut off once more. The briefest flash of darkness and something that might have been the first chamber under Karnak Temple flickered in his vision for an instant, but then he was simply sitting in Lupin's sitting room staring into Dumbledore's slowly widening eyes. Harry's arm rose and gently tapped the tip of Dumbledore's long, crooked nose. "Tag, you're it." He said. Or at least, he heard himself say. The strange thing was, he couldn't remember deciding to speak, or formulating the words.

"Remarkable." Dumbledore breathed, seemingly stunned. The faint tickle disappeared from Harry's mind as the headmaster spoke.

Venom? Harry asked, still bewildered by what had just happened.

Oh yeah! Who's the fucking man!? Venom crowed, That's right, it's me, Venom!

Could you stop patting yourself on the back long enough to tell me what the hell just happened? Harry asked exasperatedly.

"That was easily the most impressive display of Occlumency I have ever encountered, Harry." Dumbledore sounded almost awed, although he concealed it well.

Dumbledore invaded your mind. Venom stated simply.

I don't understand, We knew he was going to invade our mind- Harry began, only for Venom to cut him off.

I didn't say our mind, I said your mind. And then Harry understood. He started grinning, he couldn't help it.

You mean Dumbledore couldn't reach your mind?

Nope, legilimency requires eye-contact, that's why he was staring into your eyes like that. While I'm inside you, he can't see my eyes, so he can't enter my mind. I, on the other hand, can access your mind physically, meaning I can control your thoughts, memories, and body without you needing to think at all. Harry had never heard Venom sound so smug before, and that was saying something.

"Does that mean I did well, Professor?" Harry asked Dumbledore distractedly before thinking to Venom, So that means…

You're looking at the newest Master-Occlumens, baby. Venom confirmed.

But wait, what about when We're Venom? Can't they enter your mind then? Harry asked, concerned that they may have found another weakness to their partnership.

Harry, my mind operates on a psychic-wavelength that allows me to control every molecule of my substance consciously and independently. If a human ever tried to enter my mind, their brain would be fried in an instant. Venom assured his host confidently.

Oh, ok-wait, do you mean there was a chance Dumbledore's brain could've just melted or something when he tried to enter our head? Harry was appalled.

Yeah, but even if that had happened, We'd still be safe from Occlumency, no big deal. Venom gave a mental shrug.

"Remarkably well, Harry. You were able to keep your mind clear of all thoughts and prevent my attempts to access your memories. I daresay you are the very first natural Occlumens I have ever encountered." Dumbledore gave Harry a warm smile that almost made him feel as if he had actually done something.

"So, does that mean I can start learning wandless magic now?" Harry was beyond excited at the prospect of beginning to learn magic, but that didn't stop him from continuing his conversation with Venom. Venom! Dumbledore could have died and you didn't warn me!?

Well, if you spend enough time juggling words around you can make anything sound bad. Venom defended weakly.

We have had this exact conversation already, good people dying is bad, Venom. We don't let that happen if We can possibly stop it.

"Indeed you may." Dumbledore answered Harry's question cheerily, heedless of the silent conversation regarding how close he had come to death, "Which means it is time for you to begin learning magical control exercises."

Yeah, yeah, I know. Venom grumbled petulantly, even as Harry began responding to Dumbledore.

"Magical control exercises?" That sounded like another thing he would have to master before he could start actually using magic. "Can't I just start learning some spells already?" After a moment he quickly added, "Professor."

"By all means you can try, Harry, but I do not believe you would be able to cast even the simplest spell at the moment." Harry tilted his head in confusion, but, fortunately, Dumbledore was not planning on ending his answer there, "There is far more to magic than simply waving a wand and saying some silly words, Harry. Wands act as a conductor for magic, they help draw it from your magical core -that is what we call the source of your magic, the larger the core the more magic a witch or wizard has available- but, without a wand, one must learn to control and guide their magic without an aid."

"Ok." Harry assented, suitably chastened by Dumbledore's explanation. "What are these magical control exercises, Professor?"

"The first step is to learn how your magic feels, that is the easiest way to begin learning how to access and direct it at will." Dumbledore began, his voice filled with a calm-assurance that gave his every word factual weight. After a moment, Harry felt a weight beginning to suffuse the air, a heavy electricity that tingled along his skin and hinted at an incredible power, tightly controlled, carefully concealed, and almost inconceivable in scope. The closest thing he could compare it to was the power of the gods under Karnak, it didn't have anywhere near the raw might of those monsters, but it made up for it in a sense of finely honed sharpness. This was Dumbledore's magic, Harry realised, and he was only showing the tiniest amount as a demonstration.

Harry? Venom's voice was markedly subdued.

Yeah? Harry couldn't keep the awe from his thoughts.

Please never tell Dumbledore I almost let him be killed. Harry almost laughed at the sincerity of Venom's request.

He doesn't seem like the type to hold a grudge over 'almost', but sure, I won't tell if you don't. Aloud, he said, "I don't think I've ever felt anything like that, Professor."

"No," Dumbledore said with a smile, "I wouldn't expect you to have. I am, to be immodest, a rather formidable sorcerer." He gestured to himself and smiled self-deprecatingly, "That was merely intended as a demonstration of what happens when a wizard accesses their magic without a wand. In truth, it is a rather wasteful display," Dumbledore waved his hand and one of the books on the coffee table transformed into a golden bird which proceeded to fly around the room singing brightly before settling on the aged-wizard's shoulder. Unlike his earlier demonstration, Harry couldn't detect even a flicker of power emanating from the man during his spell. "For a properly controlled spell, the magic should be no more detectable than when using a wand."

"But, Professor, how do I feel my magic?" As interesting as Dumbledore's demonstrations were, they weren't really helping Harry with learning to use his own magic.

"I would wager you already have, Harry." Dumbledore commented casually, as if he was merely commenting on the weather.

"What?" Harry asked, perplexed, "When would I have felt my magic?"

"You have recently performed several extremely draining acts of magic, Harry," Dumbledore reminded him gently, "You apparated halfway across England, and protected yourself from a forty-foot fall into an ancient Egyptian tomb. Close your eyes and think back to what you felt in those moments." Harry did as instructed, he was greatly aided by Venom plunging him into the memory of his apparition. He could smell the filth of the alley, the sharp tang of the fresh blood painting the cobblestones, hear the policewoman's terrified gasps and the thudding of her racing heart. What's more, he could feel the odd tugging sensation in his gut that had immediately preceded the squeezed-through-a-tube sensation he had come to associate with apparition. "Do you recall the feeling, Harry?" Dumbledore's voice shattered the memory.

"Uh, yes." Harry answered, a little disorientated by suddenly finding himself back in Lupin's sitting room.

"Excellent, Harry." Dumbledore's voice was encouraging, "Now, focus on that feeling, try to grasp hold of it with your will."

'Grasp hold of it with your will'? Venom asked rhetorically, What sort of advice is that? How do you grasp hold of something with your will?

I don't know, maybe it will make sense once We're trying it? Harry offered, somewhat helplessly. Without anything more to go on than Dumbledore's infuriatingly vague advice, Harry began focusing on the sensation he'd felt immediately prior to apparating, trying to will himself to feel it again. He felt nothing for many long moments, then, at the edges of his perception, he felt a flicker of something. It was elusive, like trying to hold a flowing stream between one's hands, but it was definitely there. Determinedly, he sought the feeling once more, trying to grasp it but succeeding only in brushing against the something again before it slipped further away into the recesses of his being.

"You must not try to force it, Harry." Dumbledore spoke unexpectedly, causing Harry to wonder if the man had somehow entered his mind without he or Venom noticing. "You must work with your magic, not attempt to subjugate it with your will." Heeding Dumbledore's advice, Harry stopped attempting to force the something into his grasp and instead merely waited while concentrating on the feeling. The seconds ticked by, a seeming eternity of uncertainty, until, in a flash of sensation, Harry felt a power coursing through his veins. It lit his entire being on fire, thrumming within every nerve and setting them tingling with unbridled energy, he felt as if his body must be glowing there was so much energy surging through him. He could feel his hair ruffling, as if in a strong breeze, and his arms felt powerful enough to pulverise stone, although, since bonding to Venom, that was hardly a new sensation. Then, as quickly as it had come, the power was gone again.

"Excellent, Harry!" Lupin's hoarse voice was weak, but the pride in it was clearly discernible nonetheless. "You have just achieved something many adult wizards cannot."

"Indeed, Remus is correct." Dumbledore agreed with the younger man's sentiment.

"But I only managed to hold onto it for a moment?" Harry wondered if they thought he had released the power deliberately.

Dumbledore, however, only chuckled at his student's confusion, "Naturally, Harry, you do not think we expected you to master it on your first try?"

When he says it like that, it does sound kind of ridiculous, doesn't it? Venom sounded almost sheepish.

"Now, again, Harry." Dumbledore gestured for Harry to repeat the exercise. It was slightly easier this time, but, still, Harry was only able to hold onto the sensation for a moment before it escaped his grasp.

"Am I doing something wrong?" Harry asked frustratedly.

"No, Harry, you are not." Dumbledore's voice remained placid despite his student's aggravation.

"Then why can't I hold onto it for more than a few seconds?"

"Harry, do you remember learning to walk?" Dumbledore asked suddenly.

"Um, no, Professor, I don't." Harry was thrown by the odd non-sequitur.

"Do you think you were able to walk for as long as you wanted as soon as you began learning?"

Oh, he's good. Venom murmured approvingly.

"No, Professor, I probably wasn't able to manage more than a step or two at first." Harry conceded, like his bonded, he was reasonably sure he knew where Dumbledore was going with this.

"Magic is like a muscle, Harry, yours has only very rarely been used before, so it is unused to the exercise you are currently putting it through."

So, We just need to work your magic as often and as much as possible then? Venom queried, prompting Harry to relay the question to Dumbledore.

"No, Harry!" Surprisingly, it was Lupin who answered the question. "If you attempt to exert your magic without an expert like Professor Dumbledore around, you can easily over-exert yourself, particularly at this early stage in your training."

Dumbledore nodded in confirmation of Lupin's words, "Remus is correct again, Harry, when I said magic is like a muscle, I meant more than that it will grow stronger and easier with use. Magic, like a muscle, can be overexerted; but, unlike a muscle, magic is an integral part of your being, it suffuses your every cell. If you overexert it the consequences will likewise impact your entire body. It has even been known to result in death, in severe cases."

So, no practice without Dumbledore then. That's a bit of an obstacle. Venom sounded less than enthused by this latest development, an opinion shared by his host.

Dumbledore's next words, however, helped buoy the pair's spirits, "Once you have learned to become more in-tune with your magic, you will be able to sense when your reserves are growing low and accurately judge precisely what your capabilities are. Then you will be able to practice without supervision, but, until then, I am afraid I must insist that you only practice manipulating your magic without a wand when I am here to supervise."

Dumbledore's last statement gave Harry pause, "Why only without a wand, Professor?"

"A wand, Harry, acts as a magnet and focus for your magic, but it is only so effective. If your magical reserves are very low, a wand will be unable to exert a strong enough force to draw your magic into itself. When accessing your magic without a wand, however, you are pulling directly from your magical core yourself, meaning you are able to pull even the last drop of magic from within your body if you lack suitable caution."

Why does everything have to have some kind of inconvenient drawback? Venom pouted, How come We can't just master magic in a couple days and become a magical god among men without all this bullshit?

Because, if it was that easy, everyone would be a magical god and We wouldn't be anything special anyway. Harry couldn't resist pointing out the obvious flaw in the symbiote's scenario. Besides, life is inconvenient, I'm pretty sure that's the universe's motto or something.

In your life? Venom snorted, Definitely.

"Now, why don't we continue our lesson, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, interrupting the mental conversation.

"Of course, Professor." Harry agreed.

The rest of the lesson passed with Harry continuing to practice the magical control exercise Dumbledore had shown him at the beginning of the lesson, it didn't feel particularly difficult. However, when Dumbledore finally called an end to the lesson and stood to leave saying, "I shall see you for our next lesson on the 24th of July, if you would find that amenable?" Harry attempted to follow Dumbledore up out of his chair, only to nearly collapse into the coffee table as his legs unexpectedly gave out on him.

"As I said, Harry, magical exhaustion is a potent thing." Dumbledore said as he helped Harry back into his chair. "Rest assured, you will be perfectly fine after a few minutes, the body always reacts rather harshly to magical exhaustion the first time it occurs. Why, I remember the first time I experienced it, I fell face-first into a rather fetching display of cakes." Dumbledore chuckled slightly at the memory, and Harry couldn't help but grin at the thought of Dumbledore covered in bits of cake. Once Harry was settled, Dumbledore turned toward the fireplace and was just reaching for the pot of Floo powder when he stopped and snapped his fingers, as if in sudden recollection. "Oh, and I almost forgot." So saying, he reached into the folds of his robes and pulled out an envelope of the same heavy parchment Harry had used to write his letter to Luna before handing it to the boy.

"Mr. H. Potter, #2418, Hightower Flats, London." Harry read the words inscribed in green ink on the front of the envelope aloud before turning it over. The envelope was sealed with wax embossed with a coat of arms, a lion, a snake, a badger, and an eagle surrounding a large letter 'H' in the centre. Harry looked up at Dumbledore, eyes widening in excitement, "Is this-"

Dumbledore cut him off with a wink and said only, "Welcome back, Mr. Potter," before, in a flash of green flame, he was gone.

END AN: And that's the end of chapter 5, little bit more action than there was in chapter 4, but obviously less than chapter 3. If you're confused as to the distinction regarding Harry's musculature, (first off, wow, you are very detail oriented) think of his current physique as Michael Phelps, and his physique with working out as more Chris Hemsworth. For those of you who noticed that Remus described Tiberius as an 'elected member' of the Wizengamot, that is because, in canon, the Wizengamot is an elected body that acts as a wizarding counterpart to Parliament.

The conception of the Wizengamot as an association of wizarding lords and ladies with seats assigned according to feudal right is an entirely fanon invention. Although it is never stated explicitly what the selection process for members of the Wizengamot is, the fact that, on Pottermore, Umbridge is said to have claimed that her father was an influential member while she is not indicates that it is not a hereditary office. If the office was hereditary, then it would be impossible for Umbridge to lie and say her father was a member, because if he was then either she or a sibling of hers would have been also. Not to mention that Fudge is able to remove Dumbledore from the Wizengamot, which would be quite a feat if it involved stripping him of a hereditary title rather than simply having him removed from an elected office.

Reviews, as always, are greatly appreciated. In particular, I'd like to hear some feedback on the fight between Harry and Lupin, I don't have much of a background in martial arts, so I'm not entirely sure how well it came out. The fight wasn't intended to be too technical, as Harry is a complete novice and Lupin was going easy on him, but if there is anyone with martial arts experience reading this I'd really love to hear what you thought and any suggestions you may have to improve future fights.

Fun fact: As of the end of this chapter, this story is now 178 pages. That's almost as long as Sorcerer's Stone. Holy. Shit. We haven't even got to Hogwarts yet.

1. Hench: UK slang, US equivalent would be swoll, basically means extremely muscular.

Fanfic Recommendation:

Make a Wish by Rorschach's Blot

This story is a bit of a departure from the others I've suggested. It is still well written, but the tone is very different from any of my other suggestions. The premise is that, after hearing the Prophecy and realising that he's probably going to die fighting Voldemort, Harry decides to take a vacation. The only problem is that his terrible luck decides to go with him and hilarity ensues. The story is light-hearted, ridiculous, and a hell-of-a-lot of fun, at least in my opinion, it doesn't take itself too-seriously and neither should you.

If you need at least three-spoonfuls of angst with your stories, maybe consider giving this one a miss, but if you're looking to sit back and enjoy Harry accidentally blazing a trail of chaos across the globe, I'd definitely recommend taking a look. The story is complete so you can enjoy the entirety of Harry's misadventures right now. If you enjoy Make a Wish, I'd recommend checking out Larceny, Lechery, and Luna Lovegood by the same author, the premise is different, but the style is similar and it's also a great deal of fun. Ron takes on an alias and it's honestly my favourite thing anyone has ever done with the character.

Omake: Whatever Happened to the Tomb? (Did you ever wonder what happened to the tomb Harry and Venom were pushed into by Uncle Vernon? Well, now you get to find out)

"Good morning, Remus." Harry muttered sleepily, slipping into a chair next to the older man and helping himself to a large portion of the pancakes his guardian had prepared for breakfast.

"Good morning, Harry." Lupin responded placidly, glancing over with a smile at his young ward before returning to his copy of the Daily Prophet.

And no one bothers to say 'good morning' to me I notice, as always. Venom muttered in fake affront that Harry effortlessly ignored.

"Anything interesting?" Harry asked before beginning to plow his way through the large pile of pancakes on his plate.

"There is one thing," Lupin answered, taking a casual sip of his pumpkin juice. "Apparently the muggles discovered a new tomb in the Valley of the Kings." Given that he had recently been in the Valley of the Kings, Harry couldn't help but be intrigued by the news.

"Really? Why's a muggle discovery being reported in wizarding news?" Harry had got the impression the Magical World didn't particularly care about the goings-on in its non-magical counterpart.

"It's always news when the Muggles discover a new tomb," Lupin explained, still scanning the article with interest. "Normally the magical authorities have to comb through the place to make sure there aren't any magical curses or artifacts in the tomb that the muggles might stumble across. I must say though, this tomb really is something special."

"What makes you say that?"

"Apparently it was discovered by following some footprints leading off the path at the end of the Valley." Lupin began, causing Harry to freeze with a forkful of pancake halfway to his mouth.

Wait a minute, Venom began suspiciously.

"The incredible thing is, the tomb itself was completely undisturbed! And there wasn't a single curse in the entire place, there weren't even any non-magical traps!" Lupin seemed amazed at what he was reading, not noticing that Harry's stainless-steel fork was bending in his grasp.

Oh for fucks sake. Venom groaned angrily.

"And it was filled with books on ancient Egyptian magic! Even a book on ancient sex rituals apparently!" Lupin was distracted from his reading by Harry getting up from the table with slow, deliberate movements. "Is everything alright, Harry?"

"Of course, Moony." Harry's voice sounded a little strained. "I just need to go grab something from my room." Lupin looked at Harry quizzically, but eventually shrugged and went back to perusing his paper. After a few moments he heard something that sounded vaguely like someone screaming 'ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?" But he dismissed it as his imagination.