Firstly, I must say that I received one of the best reviews for the last chapter and I wanted to share it with you all.

It was from a Guest reviewer, obviously, and reads as such 'Is there a plot anywhere in this depressive PTSD whining OOC void?'

And to which I say... YES! There is! Just keep on reading, it is all about to kick into gear.

And with that I provide you with a time jump!

It had been three years since Hermione had visited on Boxing Day and life at Potter Manor had continued without much change. Harry was now a 21 year old young man standing at 6foot, he had grown large broad shoulders with strong arms and legs due to the physical life he lived. His hair was now past his shoulders and his beard touched his chest, very much the 'mountain man'.

Harry had dedicated himself to his 'work' as he called it. The cabin had taken him much longer than he had anticipated and it was almost 6 months after Christmas that it had finally matched his vision. He would often spend weeks at a time in the cabin, hunting, reading and meditating. He had found his father's journal on how he became an Animagus and it fascinated Harry. While he still refused to use a wand, he found other branches of magic incredibly interesting, amongst the Animagus transformation he enjoyed reading about Runes, Warding, Alchemy and many more subjects that he had overlooked at his time in Hogwarts.

It had been at the end of the second year of living in Potter Manor that Harry had managed to fully transform into his Animagus form, wandless, he was surprised initially to find that his form was a Raven but he soon became comfortable and proud of it. He had always felt at home in the sky on his broom and now we could take flight at anytime he felt.

Meditation had become a big part of Harry's life over the last three years, initially he had only used it as a device to help him discover his Animagus form but it soon became central to his daily routine. Through meditation he had begun to slowly heal the damage done to his psyche since his birth. His physical body had healed fine but the mental scars from the Dursleys, Voldermort, Dumbeldore and others had never fully healed, evident in the nightmares he had suffered almost daily since the end of the war.

Due to his meditation the nightmares had slowly decreased in their frequency and intensity to the point that he would often go months without having one. He knew in his heart that they would never fully go away, but at least now he finally had some peace. He had grown so accustomed to his life in Potter Manor and was starting to feel content for the first time in a long time that despite losing some of the anger he felt towards the magical community of Britain, he also didn't feel like he needed to rejoin their ranks anytime soon. He would always be the-boy-who-lived and conqueror of Voldermort. He could never be normal there, too much would be expected of him and he didn't want it.

Aside from finishing the cabin Harry had set his mind to many other building projects, mainly the up keep of Potter Manor. Since building his cabin he had developed an eye for good craftsmanship and realised that much of Potter Manor could do with a touch ups. He had repaired parts of the roof, fixed some walls that were decaying and even cleaned out the fireplaces. Another, less complex job, was to move around the portraits. Some were stuck in far out of reach places that Harry never visited and wanted to be closer to the action. Harry also felt it would be nice if they were all in the same room so they could keep each other company. Sure they could travel to each others' portraits but it was hard to fit all of them in one painting. By placing them all in the dining room they could talk all day from the comfort of their own portrait. At times they could get into some heated debates and depending on his mood he would enjoy watching the show, while other times he would avoid it altogether.

Cassandra, Philip and Winston were a different case however. Harry had grown so close to them in the time he had been there and enjoyed having his own time with them. They would go into other portraits on occasion so they could join in the fun but when Harry was in the Manor they stayed in their original portraits. Harry had moved Cassandra and Philip's portrait into the kitchen. Aside from the study the kitchen was where Harry spent most of his time in the Manor and he always felt at peace chatting with them while he prepared meals. They truly were beautiful people and Harry was incredibly grateful for their support and love.

Winston was a different story, he did not visit the other portraits much at all, he mostly kept to himself and was a bit of a recluse, besides he preferred to talk with Harry alone. Harry was glad that he had decided not to join the others, the two of them had created a special bond and he enjoyed their long chats together. Sometimes they would discuss magical theory on the books Harry was reading, other times they would merely chat about nothing, or they would enjoy each others company. Harry would read while Winston lingered and when Harry came across a chapter or phrase he thought enlightening he would share it. Harry thought it was quite interesting how as a child he had never really cared for study or deep reading, but now as a young man he couldn't get enough of knowledge, but perhaps he had had too much to worry about in his youth.

Throughout this time Winston had gone back and forth so many times about when he should tell Harry the most important family story of all. The story that had directed all the rest, the one that could potentially change Harry's life again. However, if events didn't conspire during his lifetime then there was no need to burden him again with it, he was at a loss. However on a particularly horrible January day Winston resolved to tell Harry the story of his ancestor Walter Potter. Harry had just come back from a three week stay at the Cabin and was currently sitting by the fire in the study sipping on a 200 year old whisky. That was another thing Harry had found he enjoyed was learning about wines and spirits, specifically scotch and whiskey. The Potter cellar had a vast supply and he, again with Winston's help, was learning about all the different types. Winston had commented on more than one occasion how he wished he could have leapt from the wall and enjoyed a good drink with his grandson. One night Harry had jokingly poured a glass for Winston and now it had become a habit and so watching the glass sitting on the table Winston cleared his throat to pull Harry away from his book on Runes used by the ancient Catuvellauni tribe who had pestered the Roman's for years before Boudica's rebellion.

'Yes grandfather?' Harry asked turning his chair to face the portrait while still holding his book.

'Harry, I wish to share another Potter family history with you. I know I have shared many over the years but this one is probably the most important in the Potter histories. This story isn't recorded in any of the Potter ledgers that you have read and for good reason.'

Harry's interest has piqued at these statements. He had read almost every book in the Potter library by now and had definitely read all those that dealt with his family's histories so clearly this was a well guarded family secret. He placed the Rune book on the desk behind him and lent forward. He trusted Winston completely and knew that he had a good reason to save this story. He knew it wasn't going to be like Dumbledore hiding information so that he would fall further into his grip and so didn't feel any sense of betrayal at the statement.

'Okay grandfather, go ahead.' Winston breathed a sigh of relief, he was worried Harry would get angry about him hiding this story from him but was glad he had proven himself to his godson.

'Now, before we go any further into our tale I need to explain a few things to you. Since the dawn of time there has been magic and muggle beings, there are many theories as to why this is the case and theories seem to shift throughout generations, this is no different in the muggle world. Every culture in society has a creation story and speak of great instruments of power that have been used for certain purposes. Many of these stories have continued to be told in the muggle world but are now described as 'myths' and are treated as fanciful stories told by ancient muggles to explain the things that couldn't be understood. However, while witches and wizards cannot say for sure how our kind came to be and how the world came to be, but what we can say for sure is that what many muggle cultures have deemed to be evidence of gods and goddesses is nothing more than the proof of magical existence. As I told you the magical community did all they could to erase magic from the muggle history books, however many stories of magic remained because they had already been deemed to be 'myths' by the muggle population. There was no need to go back thousands of years and take out histories that already weren't believed. The Greek gods and the heroes spoken about in the muggle tales, for instance, were all incredibly powerful witches and wizards who ruled Ancient Greek over 3 millennia ago. The Romans heard of these Greek witches and wizards and in their hubris tried to claim that history for themselves. Moses from Jewish and Christian culture was indeed a powerful Mage who could channel his magic through his staff, saving his brothers and sisters from the Egyptian wizard tyrant Ramses. Again in Norse mythology, Thor, Loki, Odin, all powerful wizards who ruled Northern Europe and the list goes on Harry. From the First Nation's people in America and Australia, to the Far East and Africa, Atlantis, all mythological stories told by the Muggles are in fact based on the true exploits of witches and wizards that took place thousands of years ago. These magical ancestors were incredibly powerful and we haven't seen many who have rivalled that power for a long time. We may get one or two every generation but to have so many in one area at a time is no longer heard of. The most widely believed theory is that thousands of years ago the Magical Blood lines were not as incestuous as they have become since witches and wizards started hoarding their power and knowledge. Over the last 600 years we have seen a rise in squibs and decrease in the average power of magic folk. Why do you think that your friend miss Granger was such a powerful witch compared to many pure bloods? Or you yourself? We need Muggles to survive but we have become blinded by our own superiority. However, I am getting carried away. My question to you, then Harry, is that if these stories are based on truth and these witches and wizards did indeed perform great feats of strength and bravery, what else about these stories might also be true?'

Harry had known some of this information, he had read about in one of the books in his families library. He had realised soon into reading the books found that his education had been awful. Both his muggle and magical education had not informed him of any of these important aspects of history and he became a firm believer that history was at the top of the most important subjects anyone could learn. When he had spoken to Winston about why was History so poorly taught in the magical world Winston went on another great tirade at Dumbledore. Turns out history was usually taught to an incredibly high standard at Hogwarts until Dumbledore's predecessor hired Binns. Binns had been a known anti-goblin advocate and no-one could understand why Dumbledore hadn't fired him when he took the top job. Winston believed that it was all part of Dumbledore's plans to gain control over magical Britain, the same reason why he kept Snape around despite the poor NEWT results for potions. People become reliant on Dumbledore to solve their issues and produced generations of subpar witches and wizards.

'Well if the stories of who they were were based on truth, then the different artefacts and tools used by those witches and wizards must also hold some truth.' Harry answered after some thought.

'Exactly. Many of those ancient relics were magical instruments created to gift the wielder immense power and control over magic folk and muggles. Overtime these artefacts were lost or hidden by those wishing to stop anyone from using them for their purposes. Others were destroyed in wars as often is the case, but the rumours of many survive and have driven countless witches and wizards to spend their life searching for their locations with hopes of becoming all powerful like our kind of old were. Our family never had much to do with these stories or cared too deeply about what it all meant until the European continent was thrown into a new era with one man's simple decision. Have you ever heard about the crusades Harry?'

'The muggle wars between the 11th and 13th centuries right? Christians and Muslims fighting for the Holy Land. I read something about it in one of the Potter ledgers, although it didn't go into much detail.'

'The very ones. The Christian Church of Europe was riddled with infighting and Pope Urban II decided to unite his people by declaring a Holy War. A Holy War with one purpose, to claim the Holy Land back for the Christians. Despite the Muslim nations ruling this area for many hundreds of years Christians were desperate to gain control. This is the muggle version of events, in fact Pope Urban was actually a wizard and had heard rumours of the supposed location of some of the ancient relics located in Jerusalem. He desired to have them in his hands and used the Christian faith as a way for him to reach his goal. In muggle history there are acknowledged to be three main crusades. The First took place between 1096-1099 and ended with the fall of Jerusalem to the Christian warriors. They set up in the Holy Land and many pilgrims from Europe made the trip out to see the Holy City while Pope Urban's men searched for the holy relics. The Christians lived in relative peace until the Muslim nations launched their own Holy War or Jihad to take back the land they had lost. In 1144 The Europeans called for another Crusade but were soundly beaten by Muslim forces. During this time, two important events took place which is where the crux of our story lies. In 1119 a group of Christian Knights gathered together with the sole purpose of protecting the Christian pilgrims making their way to Jerusalem, they were called The Knights Templar. Essentially fighting monks, they dedicated their lives to Christ and were feared by their enemies. They operated outside of any authority except for the Pope who began to see them as a powerful tool for his desires. They ended up being his personal bodyguards. Secondly some of the ancient relics were discovered in the Holy City. By this time Poe Urban had died without realising his goal and the Templar's had decided that rather than wield the power of the relics, they should be protected and hidden from all who desired to use them to gain more power and control. Despite losing some territory the Crusaders still held Jerusalem. However in 1187 the great Saladin began his major campaign against the Christians and managed to capture Jerusalem, however he was enraged to discover that the Templar's were no longer there and the relics were also missing. Well after hearing word that the Templar's and the relics were now in Acer, Saladin gathered his army and descended upon the city. The Muslim forces attacked the city many times over the city with varying results and the Third Crusade sent many thousands of Christian men to help their brothers in Acer. Your ancestor Walter Potter was one of them. A close friend of Richard the Lion Heart he readily agreed to help his friend recapture the Holy City and ensure the safety of the relics. Now it goes without saying that both Muslim and Christian forces were filled with witches and wizards. They were seen as warriors from God who were there to fight for his cause. Magic was still quite interlinked with Muggle religions until later in the 15th and 16th century when Muggle views towards us began to sour and the statute was enacted. Walter and Richard were united in their view on securing the relics and using them to destroy the Muslim forces and usher in a new era of English supremacy on the world. To both Walter and Richard's frustration the Templar's did not allow anyone near the relics. They told them that they were under orders from the Pope to keep them safe and away from anyone until the Battle had been won and Jerusalem was reclaimed. This didn't sit well with Walter and so one night he approached Richard and suggested a daring plan. He and a few other wizards told Richard that they had an informant from Saladin's men who could sneak them into the Muslim camp where they could assassinate Saladin himself. Richard jumped at the idea and Walter, full of confidence, set off with 10 other men. Turns out they had been led into a trap, all of Walter's companions were killed in a fierce battle and Walter was badly injured, he managed to escape the battle but was unable to get far. He tried to apparte back to Acer but found he was too injured to get close. As he lay dying he was found by one of Saladin's men, thinking death was upon him Walter climbed to his feet and held his wand in his now useless hand. The Muslim Wizard did not attack and slowly approached Walter, instead of killing him he stunned him and took him to his tent. Over the next few months this man healed Walter and spoke to him of the truth of the relics, how they shouldn't be used by any witch or wizard. That they were too powerful and would bring destruction to both the muggle and magical worlds. A friendship grew between the two and Walter, after viewing many memories from this man, saw the error of his ways. He realised that the Templar's were also trying to protect the relics from being used for evil purposes. Walter and the man swore a blood oath swearing to protect these relics from falling into the hands of anyone who would try and possess them. This blood oath was so strong and so precise that it bound our two families together forever. Sworn to protect the relics and aid each other when the other called. When Walter was finally healed he made his way back to Acer and tried to reason with Richard to hide the relics and leave the fight alone. Richard was incensed and they had a falling out and so Walter turned to the Templar's. They were glad to find another ally but they were a purely Muggle army, their oaths were so specific that Walter couldn't and wouldn't join their order. However, they did allow him to stand with them and fight by their side. Eventually Saladin managed to force the surrender of Acer and the Templar's, Richard and Walter were all forced to abandon the city, however once again the relics were gone and this time no one knew where to. During the last few months a group of witches and wizards grew tired of the Muggle Templar's protecting the Relics and they hatched a plan to take the Relics for themselves. Calling themselves the Brotherhood of Acer they attacked the Templar stronghold and were close to succeeding, however with Walter's help the relics were able to be smuggled out of the city never to be seen again.'

Winston stopped and looked at Harry expectantly, clearly waiting for a response. Harry sighed and took the bait. 'Well clearly that isn't the end of the story, you wouldn't have made such a fuss about not telling me this story earlier if that was all there was to it, so come on, let me have it.'

Winston laughed at this comment and continued 'Unfortunately I cannot tell you the rest of the story for I am bound by oath and enhancements to tell you no more than what I have.' 'So who can tell me?'

'Walter Potter of course!'

Another chapter down!

Just a small warning going forward. I have enjoyed the summer off (as I am a teacher) and that is what has allowed me to write two stories simultaneously. I am back at work now I fear that my productivity may not be as high as it has been. I will still endeavour to upload a chapter a week for both stories, but please bear with me if I fall behind!

Much love,

Ipse