"Alright, off you go, the school rush is coming, and you want to be prepared." Albert waved him away.

Titan's grin grew. "Oh, it's going to be madness." He stood and gave Albert a bow as he left.

And it was.

All but two of the newly graduated seventh years brought their trunks back and in both cases the family had decided to pass it down to their next eldest children, one was going into fifth year and the other was a sixth year who had shared the trunk with her brother. That meant Paddrick had thirty-seven trunks to work on. Charlie had handed over his trunk, on the quiet, not wanting to alert his mother to the fact that he'd had such an expensive item for over a year.

In addition to the returned trunks, which needed to be cleaned and refurbished, Tribus had orders for another eighteen trunks. And Titan had orders for a dozen Bolt-Hole All-in-One's, as he was calling the trunks he sold only to non-students, although, this year he had two special requests. One from Dumbledore, for a student going into sixth year who lived in the muggle world, in an area that allowed little privacy, her family were supportive, but ran a bed and breakfast that had guests almost every night during the summer. Nowhere to get any practice in and seeing as she had an underage exemption, without a trunk like Titan's, that would be wasted. And one from Snape, who wanted a dedicated portable potions store-cupboard.

Along with hundreds of students wanting thousands of items. With fifty-plus students entering into first year and the all the returning students, the Den was a busy place.

Luna, Hermione and Draco were working hard on summer editions of the Hogwarts' Herald, as they named their magazine. It had increased from the few pages they'd envisaged, to a true magazine. They now had a page for each year, broken down by subject to give a heads up on essays and assignments, surprisingly all the Professors were pleased to supply what information they could, pop-up quizzes not included. There were also pages devoted to the world outside of Hogwarts, too, one for the Ministry, one for the muggle world, one for the wizarding world and one just for Hogsmeade. A two-page spread in the centre of the magazine was just for careers advice and spotlighted four different types of employment, two muggle and two magical. Each house had another two pages to detail the news from both studying and graduated students, Gryffindor's Gossip, Ravenclaw Rants, The Hufflepuffs' Hearsay and Slytherins' Scuttlebutt. And of course, there was also the unsubstantiated gossip, that got regulated to the Will-o'-the-wisp's Whispers on the back page, while the front page held the highlights of what was inside and where to find it.

Each house was given notebooks that were linked on one in the Herald's trunk, as well as a few students with carefully hidden identities, known only to Hermione and Draco, with Luna opting out as she felt she didn't know anyone well enough to judge. These were used to jot down anything a student felt was interesting enough to spread around. Then there was a drop box outside the Great Hall for those that really wanted to keep their names out of print. Those that wanted the acknowledgement only had to write their name on their note and depending on whether it was used or not, they would get their recognition and points towards credits with the Herald that could be cashed in, in a number of ways. Free magazines, for them, free magazines sent to family, or transferred to the Den as a store-credit.

Second year for the quartet and fourth year for the rest of the Horde, was a quiet year. There must have been complaints about Quirrell's stuttering the year before, because this year the Board of Governors had insisted on the power to approve or veto those who applied for positions in the school.

That meant… No Lockhart!

Upon reaching the Great Hall and not seeing the popinjay, the Horde… all of them had viewed a selection of Titan and Hermione's memories, carefully edited to omit Harry potter… sighed in relief. That sigh was echoed by most of the school when Dumbledore introduced the new teacher and they realised that the DADA Professor was wearing Auror robes.

After a week of classes, the Horde gathered, and the time-travellers were asked if any of them were any good at curse-breaking, as the overall feeling from most students was that they wanted to keep Auror Goode as the DADA Professor for as long as they could. It took the triplets asking Moody to make an appointment to speak with the Headmaster to work the details out.

Dumbledore looked at the three fourth-year students and their grandfather, as they sat on sofas in his lower office.

"Gentlemen, what can I assist you with?" He smiled gently at them.

The three boys took a deep breath and Titan handed over a phial of memories.

"Sir, if you would watch those, it will considerably shorten the explanation." Titan said. "There are minor alterations, I need to protect the identities of a few people and Grampy felt it was easier to remove any references to any names, than to try and pick and choose which ones to take out."

Dumbledore raised a brow and looked to Moody, the Auror nodded gestured to Dumbledore's hidden pensieve.

"Very well, I shall return." He walked across to the pensieve and emptied the phial into it, he lowered his face and was pulled into the magical liquid. When he was ejected, he stumbled his way across the room and literally fell into a seat. "They resurrected him? Why? Who? Who could do such a thing? We dealt with them, those guilty were there executed and the innocent set free. Please don't tell me, they weren't innocent." Dumbledore almost begged.

"No, no, no, they weren't innocent, they were. And you didn't execute any innocents, either." Paddrick assured him. "But the ones you didn't get, were his unmarked followers and the sleeper cells. They-"

"Sleeper cells?"

"Sleepers. They remain completely dormant, asleep, until they're called, or a specific thing happens." Remy explained.

"And you… what? Removed them? Killed them? Obliviated them? What?" Dumbledore demanded.

"In a way, we obliviated them, but not really. They're still waiting for that call, for that event, but they no longer remember what that call, or event is supposed to be." Remy continued. "That one single moment of time, that identifies the call or event, is gone. They may remember agreeing to wait, they may not, it kinda depends on how intertwined that agreement and the identification of the call or event is."

"I see." Dumbledore frowned. "And what is to stop you from reversing the obliviate or being Imperiused to reverse it?"

"The three of us can throw off the imperius and the DMLE altered our magical signatures, so we can't reverse anything done before then." Titan answered, he was beginning to lose his patience with the old fart.

"And the obliviates happened before the alteration?" Dumbledore needed to be certain.

"Grampy insisted that anything in relation to Tom Marvolo Riddle, Voldemort and his Death-Eaters be resolved before the DMLE began to work on us." Paddrick answered.

"So… you're saying the matter is closed?"

"As closed as you thought it was, before entering the pensieve." Moody grunted.

"Then why are you three in my office?" Dumbledore didn't understand.

"Auror Goode. We have a petition, signed by every single student in the school. We want to keep him." Remy said.

"The curse on the position?" Dumbledore realised.

"Right." Moody grunted again.

"Do any of you know how to remove it?"

"No." Titan shook his head. "But we know how to get around it."

"Around it?"

"From what we have been able to figure out, the curse relates to the title of the position. The Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts." Remy said.

"Yes, I agree. I had the goblins in to assess the curse and the possibility of breaking it, not soon after we realised it was there, some five years after Tom placed it, but they warned that Tom had woven it into the muggle-repelling wards. To break the curse, we'd have to allow the wards to drop, and stay down for an entire lunar cycle." Dumbledore replied.

"Yeah, we figured it was interconnected to the main castle wards. But like we said. We know how to get around it. Make a change to the Professor's job title." Titan said.

"What?" Dumbledore blinked.

"Change his job title. Right now, it most likely reads 'Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts'. Correct?" Titan asked.

"Ye… yes, it does…" Dumbledore answered hesitantly. "It always has."

"Change it. Maybe to 'The Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor' or 'Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts and Practical Offensive Magic' or even keep it as simple as 'Professor/Mentor of Defence Against the Dark Arts'. The options are almost endless. You don't even have to call it Defence Against the Dark Arts, you can always change the call name. 'Magical Defence' is one option." Titan lectured.

Dumbledore shook his head in astonishment. "You three have been students here for less than four years and you've managed to solve a riddle, a puzzle that some of the greatest minds of our world have spent forty-plus years on and failed to come to a working answer. Mr's Grimm, I commend you. And... as even I have noticed how little interest you have in the earning points, how am I to reward you? Hmm…?"

"You alter the paperwork so Auror Goode stays here until we graduate. As you say, we've been here four years and, in that time, we've had four DADA Professors. We had Rakepick, Lance and Quirrell for the first three years and now we have Goode. Rakepick worked mainly on theory and while she was okay, we learnt nothing from her, that we didn't learn from the assigned textbooks. Lance? He was barely literate, we didn't get a single theoretical exercise for the entire year, and without outside intervention, no one would have been able to pass the OWL or NEWT exams. Quirrell? His stutter made him almost incomprehensible, certainly the lower years couldn't understand him, and most didn't even try. But he did assign semi-decent books. Now? Now, we have Goode. He assigned two levels of books, standard and advanced. He splits the class into two sections, again, standard and advanced. Students are given a chance of doing advanced work, but only if they've already completed the standard stuff. And he has set practical sessions, we know what we're getting with him and we know that come exam time, the only people that will fail his class are the ones that want to fail." Remy pulled out a sheet of parchment and read off a list of comments.

"Wanting to keep Auror Goode is all well and fine, but he is a DMLE employee, keeping him may not be an option." Dumbledore warned.

"I spoke to Scrimgeour, took him the boys' theories and their request to 'keep' Goode. And he agrees, change the title, either the position or the class' and he'll release Goode to the school as an Auror Attached, giving him the opportunity to scout for likely recruits. Goode's enjoying the chance to be home of an evening, his wife's pregnant and lives in Hogsmeade, as well you know." Moody corrected.

"Ah. And this is what you want as a 'reward' for rendering the DADA curse obsolete?" Dumbledore asked.

"You keep Goode until we graduate or longer and we're prepared to call it even." Paddrick grinned.

"And what of the other Professors? Anyone there you would like to see the back of?"

"Binns is the only one and he doesn't count anymore." Remy shrugged.

"Doesn't count?"

"Nope. Ravenclaw put out this… study guide, call it… for History. They've been around since the mid-60's, as far as we can work out. Modified each year, dependant on the exams of the year before. You get a new Professor in there and it's going to throw off the balance. Right now, students are passing quite well, but a new Professor? Nope, that's going to cause a problem." Remy answered.

"And CoMC? Get Professor Grubbly-Plank back, don't give it to Hagrid, like the school rumour says." Titan added.

"May I ask why?"

"We like Hagrid, don't get us wrong, we do. But… he's so much bigger than us, he doesn't understand that what doesn't hurt him, can hurt or kill us." Titan answered.

"Plus, he has this tendency to like dangerous animals. Like triple X and above. He dream is to have a dragon… here at the school." Paddrick grimaced. "He thinks he can make it a pet."

"Oh, my…" Dumbledore sighed.

"Yeah… We like him, but he's not Professor material." Remy agreed.

"Besides that, the Board wouldn't accept him." Titan added.

"And why not? Hagrid is a fine fellow, he would never deliberately injure a student, nor would he stand for a student to be injured." Dumbledore began to rant.

"Nothing to do with any of that." Paddrick held up a hand.

"It's simply that he doesn't have wand-rights." Titan huffed.

"He was expelled in 1943 and the Ministry banned him from having a wand again." Remy added.

"Without wand-rights and at least an OWL in the subject, there's no chance the Board would accept him. And while, you're right, he wouldn't hurt us, that doesn't matter to the Board. No wand-rights, no OWLs, no teaching. It's part of the school's ICW accreditation, that all instructors have wand-rights and have passed a minimum level of education. Hagrid doesn't have them, letting him teach, could lose us students, our ICW recognition on our OWLs and NEWTs." Paddrick explained, ending the argument, completely.

"ICW?" Dumbledore looked askance to Paddrick.

"Here…" Remy passed over the ICW and WEA handbook on teaching credentials, open to the appropriate page.

Dumbledore read through the indicated passage and sighed. "I see, well… That changes a few things. I may have to alter some of my plans… but your… memories… have changed a few of my possible ideas for the future."

"The Tri-Wizard Tournament?" Titan asked. "Yeah, try to avoid that. Having a marked Death-Eater, who's supposedly already dead, kidnap and impersonate an Auror, then polyjuice into them and teach for the better part of a year, with staff not realising? Not good."

"Even if I personally recaptured the Death-Eater in question and witnessed his execution, can you take the chance, Albus?" Moody ground out. "It cost you a student, a very promising one, and it nearly cost Titan his life."

"Agreed, Alastor. But there is one thing that the memories never explained. Why did they choose you, Mr Grimm? You in particular?" Dumbledore asked Titan.

Titan grimaced. "Yeah, that's complicated. Part of it was revenge, but a large part was down to magical core levels and their potential. Allow me to provide what will probably be unnecessary but also incomplete information on the Merlin Core Index. The lowest level, One, showed up as a dark chocolate colour when the Core Status Charm is cast. Two is a mid-brown, three is chestnut. These three are the levels that we classify as the muggle levels. One is the standard muggle, the muggle that even if you cast a patronus beside them, they'd miss it completely, these muggles are the least likely to ever have a magical child born into their families. Two is the Sensitives, those that might feel a lessening of cold, or an improvement in emotional wellbeing. Three, are the mediums, their psychics, people that may or may not see but feel the presence of ghosts or may clearly feel the impact a patronus would have, if they were to come into close quarters with one. The next three levels are what we generally assign to the term 'squib'. Level four, shows as a rich maroon and most of those at this level, understand magic only on an academic level. Level five is red and most squibs at this level can see magical structures even if they can't interact with them. Level six, shows up as a vibrant pink and those at this level have a limited ability to interact with magic, whether it be being able to use the floo network, make or take potions, send or receive owl mail, or see and access magical buildings like the Leaky Cauldron or St. Mungo's. From there we get into the… let's call them the magical levels, people in these levels are broadly termed wizards, taking gender out of the formula. Level seven is purple, while most are too powerful to be classed as squibs, many are not powerful enough to use or call a wand, they tend to be home schooled in the more academic subjects and more than half of the Arithmancy Masters that are alive today are in this category. Level eight shows as a pale lavender, most have wands but again many are still home schooled, all but three Rune Masters in Britain are this level. Level nine are blue, the lower ranked students tend to come from this level, such as Pucey from our year and second-years Crabbe and Goyle. They're managing, but only just. Level ten is turquoise, the average wizard tends to be turquoise, people like our dormmates Ken and Lee or second-years Thomas and Finnigan. Then we're into the upper levels, commonly called the advanced levels. Eleven shows as jade and many Aurors, tend to be at this level. Twelve is green and people like Duelling Masters and Transfig Masters usually come from here. Thirteen is lime, a cross between green and yellow, yourself are in this category, there might be less than a dozen thirteens, worldwide. Fourteen is yellow, it's rumoured that Newt Scamander is a yellow, but there's no proof. As of last year, he still refuses to be tested. Other than him, the only known yellows are the Founders. Level fifteen is pearl, Morgana is reputed to be a pearl. Still with me?"

"Yes, yes, I follow."

"Good. What's not commonly known is that there are still levels above these. Gold, silver and white. If you do your research, you'll find that Merlin was called the wizard of white magic." Titan raised a questioning brow.

"Yes, yes, I recall…" Dumbledore trailed off as he rifled through his memories. "It's why the precursor to the Scottish flag was blue with a white hand in the centre. The blue represented the sky of Scotland while the white was the light from his wandless magic."

"Yes, any time Merlin did magic windlessly, his hands would glow white." Titan replied.

"But what does this have to do with why you were chosen to participate in Tom's resurrection?"

"You're aware that most magical children are tested at birth and various different times before they get to Hogwarts? And that their cores grow slowly as well as going through four major growth-spurts at roughly ten, fifteen, seventeen and twenty-one? That they may move up by as many as three or four levels, from prior to their first growth-spurt to adult level in their twenties?" With each of Titan's questions, Dumbledore nodded.

"Excellent." Titan smiled. "Grampy, as you know is strong, he's a pale green, fluctuating between 12.8 and 12.9, depending on who's casting, some people are expecting more information than just 12.8, they might be thinking more along the lines of 12.89 or 12.887. With extra decimal places. My brothers and I were tested prior to our first growth-spurt as 11.7, all of us." Dumbledore gasped. "After our first growth-spurt, Remy was 12.1, Paddrick was 12.2 and I was 12.9." Another gasp from the Headmaster. "Our second growth-spurt was prior to our fourth year and after it was over, Remy tested at 12.9, Pads at 13.1 and me at 14.1." Dumbledore's jaw fell open. "All three of us had our third growth-spurt early, but at different times. Remy a week shy of seventeen and he tested at 13.4. Pads had his at sixteen-and-a-half and tested at 13.7. Me, my third growth-spurt was the summer I turned sixteen and I tested at 14.9. I didn't get to my fourth growth-spurt before things went really bad. But Grampy believes I have the potential to be the first pearl level wizard since Morgana."

"…oh… my…" Dumbledore was finding it hard to breath.

"Exactly. Which is why I was used. I died in that final battle with the golem. Remy and Pads were already dead, Pads in June 1996 and Remy in May 1998. I was given the choice, stay dead, stay with my family, meet my parents, my grandparents… or go back…" Titan let a tear slide down his cheek. "I thought I was going back to the battle." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I walked out of the entrance to platform 9¾… ten years earlier, as a child again. Grampy was the one to suggest putting that knowledge under a Secret. He felt it the best way to keep us safe."

"I see…" Dumbledore sat back in his seat. "That's…"

"Yeah…" The triplets sighed. "We know…"

"And what will you do once you leave school? What does your future hold?" The Headmaster asked.

Titan grinned, a bright and cheeky smile, one that made Dumbledore chuckle.

"First we plan to finish school. Now, don't get me wrong, Professor, we do well, but we're not really trying, not yet. We don't want the attention, but come NEWTs, we're going to upset a lot of 'claws. We're going to take the honours and the top three slots for each class we're in. After school, we've a few options. Pads has been debating joining the Aurors and Remy has been debating asking for the History post and using the study-guides as his course outline. But I'll be staying with my shop."

"And that's it?"

"Oh, we all plan to marry." Pads assured him. "Grampy's spoken to the Malfoys, Titan and Draco have a betrothal contract in place. While Remy is waiting until Hermione is fifteen, Lady Augusta won't sign it until then. And Arthur Weasley says that Fred and me have to be fifteen, too. And Hermione, Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape are working on a way for us to have children of our own, using a muggle method and modifying it to work with potions and magic."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, see, what happens is…" For the next few minutes Remy explained Hermione and Snape's theory on surrogacy and how it could be modified for the wizarding world. "… and then when baby's born the carrier takes the usual post-natal potions and the baby goes home with it's parents."

"Oh, my…"

Moody snorted. "You seem to be saying that a lot today, Albus."

Dumbledore gave him a flat look. "And you didn't say much the same, when they sprung this on you?"

"Oh, I was far worse than this. Far worse."

"He was." Pads grinned. "Swore for nearly five minutes, straight."

"It was… loud…" Titan added.

"But now we have a future." Remy smiled.

"You do." Dumbledore nodded. "And I'm guessing that you're going to make the most of it." It wasn't a question.

"We are." The three spoke together.