Author's Notes: More Edits! Huzzah. The suckitude is reduced!

The next morning, after the four of them had shared a quiet breakfast together in the hotel's complimentary restaurant, Hermione and Harry found themselves sitting beside each other, on his bed in their shared room. They had, upon consideration the night before, decided that they should begin their search for people who could help them learn the skills they needed to survive. So Harry pulled out the mirror Madam Bones had gifted to him and considered it, clearly trying to remember just how it operated. "Call Amelia Bones please," he instructed uncertainly.

The mirror hummed a few times. Hermione began to suspect it hadn't worked when there was a scrabbling sound and the mirror's glass became a whirl of motion before settling on Madam Bones' face. Her eyebrows inclined in surprise. "Ah, Harry," she greeted, "I admit I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon."

Harry grinned ruefully shaking his head. "I hadn't planned to, but—Hermione and I were considering our next move and a thought occurred to us…" Then he chuckled. "Actually it more occurred to her, I just went along with it."

Amelia nodded smiling, and offered a small wave to Hermione. "Hello Miss Granger. My Susan speaks very highly of you."

Hermione smiled a little at that. "Thank you ma'am, please give her my regards?"

Madam Bones inclined her head in agreement.

"So, what is it that has brought you two to me today Harry?" the director asked pleasantly.

Harry smirked. "We realized that simply running off and hoping we could learn what we need was foolish," he explained and she nodded, "And while isolation is still in the cards, we need someone to teach us."

Madam bones nodded thoughtfully rubbing her chin. "Okay, I'm following you so far."

Harry nodded. "The problem is that we don't know who is safe to approach or hire. Most of the people I'd normally think of are members of the Order, or Hogwarts, all of whom are likely to run to Dumbledore the moment I contact them. I had thought Gringotts might be able to set up secure tutoring contracts, but I'm unsure how to get in touch with them safely. As you can imagine, I'm not keen on walking down Diagon Alley at the moment. Then Hermione realized that you might be able to recommend someone you considered trustworthy, or at least know who I can contact."

The Director was following thus far. "So, basically, you want to know if I can recommend anybody?"

Hermione leaned forward. "Yes, ma'am."

The woman smiled ruefully. "I think, given the circumstances, you can call me Amelia, Harry."

The director leaned back in her chair. "Hmmm. Well I'd have to consider that." She shot them an apologetic look. "Things aren't…as I had hoped they were in my department, as you know." She got a chuckle from Harry in response. "I need to do some checking around… at the very least, I can easily deliver a message to Gringotts on your behalf. Then they can get in touch with you via owl."

Harry gave a worried frown. "What about the risk of the owl being intercepted? I'm not exactly keen on having my mail read, and I certainly wouldn't put it past Dumbledore to do something like that..."

The Director smiled thinly "You're right to be cautious, Harry, especially given the circumstances, but Gringotts owls make use of a fairly sophisticated Goblin warding system and are extremely difficult to intercept. They send out account statements regularly to their clients via owl, and I've never heard of one being waylaid," replied Amelia.

"Um… Madam-Amelia, I've never received account statements from Gringotts. Or any mail from them...like, ever." said Harry uncertainly.

Madam Bones' eyebrows climbed and she sat up straighter. "Harry, you're telling me, you've never received mail from Gringotts?"

Harry shrugged, scratching his head a touch nervously "No… in fact, come to think of it, I've never received any fan mail either. Not that I'm complaining, far from it, but it seems unlikely that nobody has ever sent any to me."

Hermione snorted in amusement "You're right, Harry. I don't know how I never thought of that before. Even after all the hate-mail I received during the Triwizard, you didn't get anything. There must be something blocking your mail!"

Amelia sighed. "There are spells that can be used to redirect post owls. They're normally used by pureblood parents to screen mail sent to their heirs. It's fairly easy to send something dangerous via owl post, such as compulsion-laced contracts or cursed objects. Dumbledore probably used a mail redirection ward on you, Harry. To keep you hidden."

"It always comes back to him, doesn't it" sighed Harry. "Admittedly, that was likely a good idea while I was living in the muggle world. I can't imagine what my uncle would have done if owls were bringing me fan mail while I was growing up! But shouldn't he have it removed when I started attending Hogwarts? Failing that, it would have been nice if he at least passed the mail on to me!

Isn't it illegal to take someone's mail? I know it is in the muggle world. Is there any way around it?"

"Not easily, Harry, and certainly not without Dumbledore's assistance. As your magical guardian, it's still perfectly legal for him to have the mail ward up. If he wasn't your magical guardian, the post owls would probably be able to ignore it, they are magically enchanted. Gringotts owls would certainly get through it. But as your guardian, he does have the right, and arguably the responsibility, to protect you from malicious mail, and Gringotts' mail is no exception to that law. It's suspicious that you've never received your mail, certainly, but nothing he could get in trouble for. At least, not with his reputation" replied Amelia. "The ward will fade over time without him around to re-apply it, probably within a few months. You could also try overpowering it, but without knowing exactly which spell he used, that would be difficult and probably beyond your current abilities. While we disagree on a lot of issues, especially with his treatment of you, he is still a very powerful wizard. Any ward he cast is likely to be quite formidable."

"I think I might have a much simpler solution, Madam Bones' said Hermione. "When you contact Gringotts for us, could you please inform them of the mail-block on Harry and request that they send their reply to me instead? I've never had any problems receiving wizarding mail, whether I want the contents or not."

Amelia looked at Hermione in shock, then grinned. "Brilliant solution, Miss Granger. I'll do just that. They won't be willing to send anything confidential to you on Harry's behalf, of course. At least not without confirmation from him in person, but I can foresee no issues with them sending a means to get in touch, or a list of the possible training services they can offer you. Depending on where you end up, you may even be able to access another Gringotts branch; they aren't common, but there are a few scattered around the world besides the one in Diagon Alley."

She paused then cocked her head at them. "May I ask where you are planning to go?"

She and Harry glanced at each other and she shrugged deferring to him in this case. He nodded deciding he could trust her. "My family owns a couple of properties around the world."

Madam Bones smiled at that. "Oh, very well-played…" she agreed. "That will work nicely, I think. It is possible, although admittedly difficult, to track post owls and locate the mail recipient. Fortunately, the owl's own magic tends to resist tracking spells and throws them off quite quickly. If you're out of the country, you should be safe from that method to find you. I strongly recommend, however, that you both learn the detection spells for sorting your mail. Dumbledore could easily send a portkey-charmed letter, or compulsion-charmed object as a method to retrieve you."

"I may know some people who could help you train, but the true difficulty is finding someone who could commit to traveling to you and staying long-term. Unregistered international portkeys are tracked by the entry and exit countries, and a registered portkey would leave a paper trail that someone with Ministry access could use to track you down if they noted the repeated travel." She shook her head ruefully. "I'll need to do some checking up on who might be available. I assume, seeing as it's sunny wherever you are right now, you have yet to depart for your destination?"

Harry nodded. "That's correct."

Madam Bones nodded. "Then I shall wish you a good journey. I would offer to assist in getting you there quickly, but, as you may have guessed, things are not secure at the Ministry right now. If I have any further insights for you, I'll get in touch. Feel free to contact me as well if anything comes up. I know the Ministry hasn't always been kind to you, Harry, but I'd like to see about changing that going forward."

Harry smiled wanly in agreement. "I'll look forward to that, I think... Thank you for all your help, Ma'am"

"You're welcome. I promise, I will look into things for you. Good luck," the Director said, bidding them farewell.

The Department of Mysteries. A catacomb of secrets and lies, a hive of activities tackling the hard questions. Or at least that's what it had been like traditionally. Now it was busy, but in a way that it was unaccustomed to. The usual eerily silent halls now rang with the cacophony of workers, as they worked to reconstruct the department following the recent battle.

The Time Chamber was by far the worst, the entire place labeled a no-go zone. It was one big temporal anomaly following the destruction of so many time turners. The experts said it would likely be a century and a half before the enchantments fuelling the problem dissipated entirely. Last time someone had stepped inside they exited the room two days before they first arrived.

The Thought Chamber was better off, they had already completed the reconstruction and the only remaining hurdle they faced was tracking and wrangling the wayward, self-ambulating brains. One particularly recalcitrant specimen had set up a nest in one of the sublevels and had hospitalized both employees who had tried to retrieve it.

The Space room was still being swept up for bits of shattered planets…

The Death Chamber was, as ever, disturbingly immutable in its consistency. It remained, seemingly unaffected by the heated battle which had raged there, save for the occasional pockmark and crater in the walls and floor. The chill in the room unabated despite the activity which had occurred within it.

Amelia Bones was forced to search through just about all of these rooms before she finally found her quarry in what was left of the Hall of Prophecy. It was an irony which was not lost on her, considering what she was here to discuss.

Saul Isaiah Croaker, senior Unspeakable, was currently assigned as Head of the Department of Mysteries. A strange but thoughtful man who appeared to be approaching middle age, although one could never really tell with magicals, and even less so with with people who worked in this department for any length of time. He was busily tabulating, labelling and organizing a series of small glass globes filled with pearlescent vapour on one of the rooms newly reconstituted shelves. A frankly surprising sight, considering the destruction which had been wrought on this room; Amelia had been under the impression all the prophecy globes had been destroyed.

"There's already new ones coming in? I was under the impression prophecies were fairly rare," Amelia noted, choosing not to waste time on niceties.

Saul glanced up at her voice and smiled before glancing back at his work. "Eh, sort of. These are, in fact, old prophecies, in that we've already heard them, but with so many destroyed…Regardless, it seems some of the seers currently active have been receiving…'relapses'. It appears whatever force it is that decides to send visions is reissuing some of them. New ones are…" He trailed off as there was a dull pop and another globe faded into existence on the shelf. He smiled brightly at her. "So, what can I help you with today, Amelia?"

She nodded, not so much as blinking at the sudden change of direction. "I had some questions. The first concerns the Potter Prophecy, do you know it?"

Saul grimaced and shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. It may show up again, like these others, but, then again, it may not. Either way, you'd need the subject of the prophecy to be present in order to hear it."

Amelia sighed. She'd hoped to clarify things, but for now she was satisfied. "I have another question, but it's somewhat sensitive in nature."

Saul nodded slowly. "Alright, this is actually as good a place as any to talk, it's currently restricted to just myself in here, the workers and others won't disturb us," he assured her. It was rare for the Director of the DMLE to show herself in his department. That she came in search of answers was unusual, to say the least, and intriguing.

Anelia considered him in silence for a time. "What do you know about mind-links or…being able to sense another person's presence remotely?" Amelia considered a moment more before continuing, still a bit cautiously, "I've run into someone who's able to detect another very specific individual from a distance and read him, or at least sense the direction of his thoughts and emotions."

Croaker blinked in surprise. "Ah, well I suppose there are a number of possibilities in that regard…" he pondered that as he scribbled down the details from the little plaque on the latest arrival. "Telepathy, as defined by the muggles, is the unrestricted communication from mind to mind. A myth, to the best of our knowledge. Legilimency can, of course, achieve a rough semblance of it, though it's not a two way communication precisely…Hmmm." He scratched the stubble on his chin. "But, sensing someone from a distance without eye contact… most peculiar. I would need to do some research to find out more. The only other similar phenomena, though it is much less precise, is a soul bond. But that's incredibly rare," he noted.

Amelia shook her head promptly at that. "It's not a soul bond, the two subjects involved are quite hostile towards each other."

"Huh, I wonder if a person could theoretically generate a sort of reverse soul bond? One designed to sense someone you feel an antipathy towards? Like a warning system," he hypothesized. His eyes flicked to her sharply. "Could you tell me any more about the subjects? It may be important…" He noted.

Madam Bones hesitated. It was, after all, not a small matter. "Only if you are willing to swear that no other person beside yourself hears of it, Saul."

He blinked in surprise. Magical oaths were not something demanded lightly. "A magical oath?" he asked to be clear.

"It would set my mind at ease," Amelia agreed.

Saul nodded, considering for a few moments before seeming to accept this, and drew his wand holding it vertically before him. "Very well. I, Saul Isaiah Croaker, do solemnly swear upon my magic that what Amelia Bones and I discuss in this conversation shall not be revealed by me to any others, until such time that she releases me from this oath. So mote it be." He swore and a small light wrapped around his wrist from the wand.

Amelia nodded in satisfaction. "Thank you, Saul. The subject in question is Harry Potter, and he reports that he can sense V-Voldemort from a distance."

Croaker blinked surprise. "Truly? Fascinating…How did he describe it?"

Amelia thought back, trying to remember anything specific Harry may have said. Her thoughts had been understandably distracted at the time. "He suggested it seemed to in some way be linked to his scar. The one Voldemort gave him in 1981."

Croaker considered that, tapping his foot as he thought. "Interesting…a magical bond built into a cursed artifact? Perhaps… no— I need to read up on various kinds of mind to mind communications. Mental links and such. That is hardly my area of expertise."

Amelia nodded readily. "I understand, but if you find anything, I would be grateful."

"Is there any chance that I could examine the subject? Potter, I mean, not the other fellow. I hear he has a rather nasty temperament that one," Saul noted dryly.

"Not in the near future," Amelia replied with a shrug. "But perhaps at some point, assuming I get his permission," she stipulated.

Saul nodded soberly. "Of course. I promise I will do what I can in the meantime."

Amelia blew out a relieved breath. "Thanks Saul, I owe you one."

He waved that off. "Think nothing of it. Now, then was there anything else I can help you with?" he asked.

"Not right now. I've been up since yesterday morning, just so busy with everything that happened last night," Amelia replied, running a hand through her disheveled hair.

Saul nodded solemnly. "Ah yes, I had heard about that. Terrible business—still! Lucky you survived eh?" he grinned.

Amelia grimaced. "Yes, at least me and Susan made it through. Others weren't so fortunate. Auror Daniels passed this morning as a result of his wounds. Emmeline Vance is still in a coma. The tail I had on Susan has vanished entirely..." she noted bitterly.

"We must take our victories where we can get them," Saul agreed sagely.

Amelia turned to leave. "True enough. I'll see you around Saul. I hate to bail on you, but I have an appointment with Gringotts I really must keep." Her departure was punctuated by another dull pop as a prophecy showed up.

As the shuttle-bus from their hotel to Heathrow went over a particularly rough bump, Hermione felt the thick parchment tucked inside her jacket crinkle slightly. They had been fairly lucky, all things considered, that the majestic owl Gringotts' had sent their way had found them before leaving the hotel. She couldn't stop herself from imagining airport security's reaction to a bird swooping down on them past the screening point. The poor owl would probably have a few more holes in it than healthy, and the letter would be well and truly ruined!

The letter had arrived shortly before they boarded the shuttle. Although it was killing her, Hermione had agreed with Harry to hold off on reading the contents until their luggage was loaded and the bus was safely on its way to the airport.

Harry, seated beside his best friend, watched her internal struggle over the unread letter with barely suppressed amusement. He knew how she was with books, it shouldn't surprise him how much it bothered her not to read the letter immediately. Seeming to sense his amusement, Hermione glanced over and caught the glimmer of laughter in his eyes, before huffing in annoyance.

"Really, Harry? Is my impatience that amusing to you?" she grumbled.

"Well…" Harry replied with a grin, only to let out a pained grunt as Hermione's elbow caught him in the side. "Oh alright, Hermione. I think we can read it now."

Hermione grinned and pulled the letter out, wasting no time as she tore open the envelope and shook out the folded parchment. She considered turning away from Harry in punishment for making her wait, but eventually decided that it really had been safer to wait until they were underway. She leaned slightly against his shoulder and held open the letter so they could both read.

Miss Hermione Granger,

It has come to the attention of Gringotts bank that you might be capable of providing this institution with unfettered access to one of our chief clients. As you might imagine, the bank is quite concerned that our standard operations are being interfered with, and we find ourselves desiring to rectify this complication.

The issues are thus. This bank needs a reliable method by which it might communicate with Harry James Potter. In addition, it is required by contract to inform both Harry James Potter and yourself that your presences are requested at the Will reading of one Sirius Orion Black, of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black, Thursday, July 5th.

It is known to us that, due to extenuating circumstances, direct attendance may be impractical. As such, this bank is pleased to inform you that remote attendance of the will reading is possible from any Gringotts bank branch worldwide.

Both matters as described can easily be rectified should yourself and Mr Potter approach the branch Manager at any of our fine locations.

The locations of Gringotts bank branches are as follows:

-Diagon Alley, London England (Primary Office Atlantic Division)

-Imhotep's Grotto, Cairo Egypt (Branch)

-Enchante Street, Rio Brazil (Branch)

-Magical International Market, Oahu Hawaii (Primary Office, Pacific Division)

-Majak Market, Kalale India (Branch)

-Walcott Rd, Salem, USA (Branch)

We thank you for your attention and hope that you might aid us in rectifying this matter.

-Senior Accounts Manager Ripsack.

Gringotts Bank, Diagon Alley, London England

Hermione allowed the letter to fall back into her lap and looked over at her friend. Harry had simply chuckled and rubbed his face distractedly. "Well, we intend to be overseas anyways, so it's good they gave us a solution. I wish I had known about the will reading…" His tone indicated he knew precisely whom he could blame for his ignorance in that matter. "Well, we were already planning on checking out the Hawaii property, pretty convenient for us that there's a Gringotts branch there too. Can't say I'm looking forward to a flight that long, though. I'd love to get some sort of magic car or something instead, fly there private and in style! I think only the ministry have those, though, and I imagine they'd be expensive…well except for the old Weasley car. Not that I fancy traveling around in that, though, not after it's been living in the forest for a couple years." He chuckled.

Hermione laughed too at the memory of Harry and Ron's misadventure with the Weasley's enchanted vehicle. "Me neither. I wonder where Mr. Weasley got that thing."

Harry smiled brightly, surprising her. "I asked him about that one. Apparently he confiscated it from someone. Turns out they stole it from its rightful owner, but the department couldn't return it because they had passed away. Mr. Weasley then tinkered with it a bit, trying to add to the modifications already on it." He smiled wistfully, thinking of the conversation he had with the friendly redhead over Christmas regarding it. "That car, and the old motorcycle Sirius had, they were given to their owners by my parents. Apparently they had a knack for modifying things. Not something the Ministry really approves of, given the misuse of muggle artifacts law, but I guess when you're from a Noble and Ancient House, you can get exemptions."

"Really? How come you never mentioned that before?" she asked in surprise.

"Forgot really. Arthur told me a lot about that. Apparently they had recently found another enchanted vehicle floating around, the Ministry had confiscated it off someone I think. Illegal modifications or some such," he offered and she smiled. "They thought it was one of my parents creations, but the car's too new for that. Maybe someone got a hold of some of their notes and took up the torch…"

"Maybe one of their friends?" Hermione suggested.

Harry shrugged, "Could be, now that I think about it. That car came from somewhere in Canada. Maybe near their property out there? I imagine they made friends while there…"

She nodded, a thought occurring to her. "Where did you say that the property in Canada was?"

"Uh-I don't know that I did, I think it's in Churchill or something, Manitoba if I remember right. Come to think of it, that is where the car came from too." He seemed to brighten at the idea.

"Do you want to go visit there then? At the very least you might track down someone who knew your parents, make some friends overseas? We have plenty of time to check it out before we need to be in Hawaii for Sirius' Will reading. I think he'd approve of you trying to track down memories of your parents. We know he loved that motorcycle." Hermione suggested. She knew how much Harry still grieved for Sirius, and learning of the will reading would probably make it worse. Finding some lost links to his parents, especially since it was something they had shared with Sirius, would likely do Harry a world of good.

Harry considered that. His expression had fallen at the reminder of Sirius, but brightened again when she mentioned his motorcycle. "Yeah, why don't we, I mean...we were already intending to visit their other properties right, that is, if you're alright with it? I'd like the chance to meet some of my parents old friends..."

She squeezed his hand before getting up. "I'm alright with it Harry. First thing once we reach the airport, let's go find some tickets to Churchill."

It was becoming increasingly difficult for a wizard to move about the muggle world unnoticed. Robes of any sort had long since fallen out of fashion. A shame really, Dumbledore mused as he finished re-sealing the door to the Granger house behind him. Now, if someone wished to move about in such places, one needed to dress in the bizarre clothing Muggles favoured, unless, like Dumbledore, you refused to do so and had to resort to disillusionment charms and such. Even then, one had to be cautious, many animals seemed immune to their effects and reacted strangely. Like cats! Cats were the worst for this phenomena and had such a propensity for staring. It was most disconcerting, and made Dumbledore grateful that Crookshanks had apparently left alongside his owner.

He had come to see if the Grangers had heard anything from Harry, though he supposed it may have been too much to hope that they might have seen him after his meeting with Amelia early this morning. Sadly, it appeared that they were once again on their annual summer holiday. It was unfortunate that Miss Granger had failed to inform him, but it was of no real consequence. He hoped that the others were faring better in their search.

"And you are certain none of your children have heard anything from Mr. Potter?" Minerva asked Molly Weasley as she shared an afternoon tea with the woman.

"Oh yes, I asked them last night," Molly confirmed, bobbing her head.

"We finally managed to confirm Harry was at the Bones' residence the night of the attack. Amelia has been rather put out with us of late, I'm afraid," McGonagall informed the Weasley matriarch sourly, her tone clipped. "It seems she takes exception to us 'highjacking' her Aurors."

"Can't she see that we need to work together?" Molly's tone reeked of disapproval. This was her default state whenever she encountered something contrary to Dumbledore's wishes. Rightly or wrongly, the woman was very loyal to the man and his ideals.

"Oh, she quite agrees that we should work together…" Minerva noted curtly. "She just believes it needs to be under the Ministry's banner and not that of the Order. She seems to have shown a willingness to work with Mr. Potter, she as much as admitted she had covered for him. Though she refused to discuss why the two of them had met in the first place."

"Well, I'm sure we'll keep an ear out for Harry. I don't know what that boy is thinking, but I should turn him over my knee for worrying us like this," Molly griped picking up the dishes and bustling to the sink.

"Thank you for the tea, Molly," McGonagall said, a touch exasperated with the woman, as she got to her feet. "I'm afraid I must be off, though. I have other acquaintances of Mr Potter to see today."

"Oh, well I hope you have better luck…" Molly said farewell to her friend. Neither of the witches had noticed the tell tale thin pink string of an extendable ear that hung in the Burrows stairwell as it was hurriedly reeled in up out of sight. Nor did they hear the muttered whispers high in the shadows above.

Author's Notes: As ever thank you to Temporal Knight, Bonsly24 and Bearmauls. Without them this story would suck badly.

Recommendations: Harry/Tonks story, "Harry Potter and the Summer of Change", considered by some to be a classic as far as HP fan fics are concerned. Also, "To Infinity" a very good Mass Effect/Halo crossover.