Harry Potter and The Shades of Grey

by Ravenwood240

Harry has lost his strongest supporter and has to chart his own course. Someone is going to make him an offer he can't refuse, even if it feels like dealing with the devil. STATUS Change: This story will be finished as written... The other SoG will be renamed and changed.

3. Deception, Decisions and Desires

A/N: Some portions of this story were inspired by Jeconais' White Knight, Grey Queen story, and now that Altizerhk has reminded me where I read that story and who wrote it, I offer Jeconais and his story the acclaim and Kudos they both deserve. I would tell you to go read Jeconais' offerings on but that would simply reduce the number of readers I have.

Harry Potter and the Shades of Grey

Chapter three

Deception, Decisions and Desires

Harry Potter woke up and raised his head to look over something at the clock on his night stand. It would ring in a few minutes and he laid back, prepared to get that few more minutes of sleep. Before he could drift off, the sleep fogging his mind cleared in a rush. What was in his bed that he'd have to look over?

He blinked and became aware of several things at once. First, there was a warm body in his bed, one that was not his. It was soft and female though, and he tried to pull away as a particular portion of his anatomy began to show its appreciation for waking up with a nearly naked female spooned up in front of him. One of his arms was being used as a pillow, and the other hand apparently had private ambitions to be a bra, as it was cupping a breast.

Harry frowned as he tried to think. Pansy had been a snake when they went to sleep last night, so why was she a girl this morning? A vague memory intruded then, of Pansy getting up early in the morning to use the toilet. Harry quickly figured out that snakes are not built to use the loo, so she must have changed into herself. Why hadn't she changed back?

Harry was slightly rattled at finding a nude female in his bed, so the fact that he was talking aloud should not have surprised him. Pansy's answering his question though, did surprise him. "Because I was still half asleep, and changing in that condition might have ended with me being a snake thing in need of St. Mungo."

"Oh," Harry said as he tried to get up.

"Freeze," said Pansy, "you're warm and I am using this arm as a pillow until that alarm goes off. So you can just stay there."

Harry then tried to move the other hand without being obvious, but Pansy stopped him. "Potter," she said in an annoyed tone, "you're going to have to get over this, this thing you have about nudity and sex. They are not the same thing. If you're going to deal with the families, you're going to have to learn that. Casual nudity is common in three of the houses and accepted in the other two."

Pansy turned over, so they were face to face. "Sex is also more common than in other places, but a nude woman doesn't mean she wants to have sex with you, it simply means she's not wearing any clothes. Now, if she comes up and does this," Pansy reached between them and stroked his length gently, "she does want to have sex with you."

Harry gasped as Pansy's hand encircled him for the briefest instant. Pansy stopped and let him go. It was a pity Harry had that love thing going on. His body was trim, he was neither fat nor soft and he was a nice length as well. He'd make some girl a good lover with some practice.

Pansy looked at him. Harry was staring at her intently and without those glasses of his in the way, his eyes were just gorgeous. Harry pulled her closer, hugging her gently. She could feel his male excitement but since he was determinedly ignoring it she did as well.

The alarm went off and Harry shut it off without letting her go. He looked at her again and smiled softly. "Happy birthday," he said and kissed her forehead. Pansy rolled her eyes. What was she, twelve, for Merlin's sake? It made no impression on Harry though, as he was getting up and grabbing his robe. "I'm going to grab a shower."

Harry went out of the room, leaving Pansy snickering. A shower. Right. Soap wasn't the only thing he was going to be grabbing. She got up and started dressing.

As she was dressing, an owl rapped on the window and Pansy opened it to find several owls waiting patiently. She let them in and looked at their mail. Only one was addressed to Harry. The rest were from various members of her family, carrying birthday cards and small gifts.

She frowned as she took the gifts. Normally, owls left after delivering their letters but these owls appeared to be waiting for something. Pansy remembered Harry's habit with the owls. "Dobby," she called softly.

Dobby appeared silently. "Missy Parkson called Dobby?"

"Dobby, could you find me a dish of water for the owls?" Pansy looked at the owls. "And do you know where Harry keeps the owl treats?" Dobby nodded and handed her some treats from the bottom drawer of the desk. He disappeared again and was back quickly with a bowl of water. When all the owls were watered and given a treat, Pansy had one extra left over, or so she thought until Hedwig hooted mournfully at her. "Sorry. You're so quiet I forgot you were there." She gave the last treat to Hedwig and finished dressing as she thought about her plan for the day.

Pansy sat down and began planning her attack on the filthy mice downstairs. She was fingering her wand and smiling a slow evil Slytherin smile. Harry's voice came as a complete surprise. "People who smile like that have usually just done something bad to me, or are about to." Harry spoke calmly, but he had his wand in his hand and was watching her closely.

Pansy looked at him, and was very careful not to point her wand in his direction. Pansy was also careful not to move very fast, since she was certain that Harry would hex first right now and ask questions later. "Harry, I need you intact, sane and healthy to save my family. Right now, you are safer with me than you are with Granger or Weasley. I will not allow you to be hurt, even in a good cause."

Pansy sighed as Harry nodded and relaxed. "That includes those scum downstairs. I am an adult today, and we're about to do something about them." Pansy smirked again.

Harry sighed. "I am torn here," he said. "They are family of a sort, but they are also bigoted gits." He thought about it for a minute. "You cannot use an Unforgivable or kill them."

Pansy smiled. "I wasn't planning on it. Here's what we're going to do." Pansy told him what she'd thought of and how she wanted to work their deception. "That way, we don't even have to cast any magic." Harry and Pansy got ready to go to Diagon Alley and waited.

They didn't have to wait long before Vernon was yelling for Harry to start breakfast. Pansy cast a glamour on herself to appear ten years older and transfigured Harry's sleep shirt into a clipboard. She led the way downstairs and Harry followed her, fighting to keep a completely inappropriate grin off of his face.

Pansy walked into the kitchen and looked around. "Humph." she said, and made a note on the clipboard. She looked at the Dursleys. "Vernon Dursley?" she inquired in a frosty tone.

"I'm Vernon Dursley," Uncle Vernon said. "Who might you be, Miss?"

"I am Susan Bones, a caseworker from the Child Advocacy Centre. I have been assigned to investigate complaints of child abuse regarding one Harry Potter, a resident at this address."

Vernon paled, even as he glared at Harry. "Miss Bones, " he said, "I don't know what Harry has been telling you,"

"Mr. Potter hasn't told me anything. He has been sullen and uncommunicative. That condition is usually caused by one of two things. Either he is a troubled child, but smart enough not to get caught lying or he's been abused on a regular basis and doesn't want to admit it." She looked at Harry and Vernon. "I am going to ask everyone a few questions. I expect honest answers. If I am not happy with the answers, the police will be here shortly to take one of you away."

Harry hid his smile by opening the refrigerator and pouring himself a large glass of milk. He took three more to the people sitting around the table. When he handed Uncle Vernon his, Harry muttered, "She came out of nowhere this morning. I don't know her, but she said something about a complaint by the neighbours."

Vernon frowned, but Pansy started asking them questions then and he couldn't question Harry. After asking a few questions of the Dursleys, she turned to Harry. "Describe your chores around the house, Mr. Potter." Harry described all the things he did each day while Pansy made notes on the clipboard. When he was done, she looked at Dudley. "Mr. Dursley, please tell me what chores you do."

Dudley blinked. "I don't have chores," he whined.

Pansy, guided by the things Harry had told her the day before, asked a number of questions that had the Dursleys pale and sweating by the time she was done. She made a final note on her clipboard and frowned at it. "Mr. Potter, come with me."

She looked at the Dursleys before she took Harry into the hall. "I would hate to catch you trying to listen to what I talk about with Harry."

They went into the hall where Harry grinned at Pansy. "Twenty points to Slytherin, Parkinson, for an excellent acting job."

Pansy smirked. "Thank you, Harry, but you can use my first name. You've done it before and the world didn't end." She waited a few more minutes and they went back into the dining room.

Pansy frowned at the adult Dursleys. "I have enough information to start an investigation into Harry's life here and I am certain that I could get a conviction on charges of child abuse stretching as far back as Harry's memory goes." She frowned at Harry. "Mr. Potter, however, seems to think that staying here until his birthday would be better than entering the state home at this point. I do not agree, but I am willing to give him a chance."

She looked at the Dursleys. "This is what is going to happen. I will take Harry with me right now and get him a job based on the assessment test I will give him today. He will be going to that job every day for the rest of the summer. I will assign a trainee to pick him up every morning and bring him back at the end of the day. Mr. Potter will not do all the chores anymore, nor will you abuse him in any manner, or I will have you arrested. Is that understood?"

Vernon and Petunia Dursley nodded silently. "Good. Mr. Potter, we have things to do. Come with me so we can find out what you can do. Later, I'll get your school records."

Harry and Pansy went out into the hall. "Hold on one minute please, Miss Bones."

Harry went back into the other room. He put on a panicked expression. "What's an assessment test? That's some Muggle thing, isn't it? Like the Ordinary Wizard Levels or Nastily Exhausting Wizard Tests? How am I going to explain that I've never been to a Muggle school?"

"Mr. Potter, I do have other business."

"Coming, Miss Bones." With one last look at the Dursleys, Harry went back into the hall and the two of them left, heading for Mrs. Figg's Floo connection.

As they listened to the front door close, Vernon and Petunia Dursley stared at each other. "Petunia, when your sister went to that school, did she learn anything useful?" Vernon asked his wife.

Petunia thought back. "Lots of things," she said bitterly, "as long as she could use magic." She thought for a minute. "What do we tell her after he fails that test? She'll be around after his school records."

"But," Uncle Vernon started to say something and stopped. As far as the Muggle world was concerned, Harry Potter had simply stopped attending school when he was ten. "We bluff, delay and hide until he's of age and we don't have to deal with either of them again."

At Mrs. Figg's house, she opened the door as Harry approached. "At least you're out in the daylight this time. Come in, Harry, and bring your friend."

The two teenagers stepped inside and Mrs. Figg stared at Pansy thoughtfully. "I should know you. You're too young to be Mirabella, but too old to be Pansy."

Pansy stared at her, and then remembered the glamour she was under. She ended the glamour and Mrs. Figg nodded. "You're the image of your grandmother. You would be the friend that Alastair said would be with Harry, I take it?"

Pansy nodded. "Yes, I will be working closely with Harry for a few days." She studied Mrs. Figg with a frown. "You sound as if you're familiar with my family, but I don't know you, or of you."

Mrs. Figg smiled sadly. "I was born into the families, but most of them dropped me after my condition was proven. Your grandmother continued to correspond with me until she got married. Her mother hated it, which was the reason she did it. She and I were third cousins on our fathers side."

Pansy frowned. "I don't remember any Figg on the family line."

Mrs. Figg smiled again. "Of course not, Figg is my married name. My maiden name was Montague, from the cadet branch, out of Madison Montague."

Pansy nodded. "I know the line." Harry spent the next five minutes staring at the two women as they discussed family lines and relatives. Pansy finally looked at him. "You have no idea what we're talking about, do you?"

Harry shook his head. "Not a clue," he confessed. "You sound a lot like Mrs. Figg does when she's talking about the breeding of her cats though."

Mrs. Figg laughed. "It might sounds the same Harry, but I wouldn't tell anyone else that. Most of the older families take great pride in knowing exactly where they stand in relation to everyone else, and that would be an insult."

Pansy sighed. "Training Harry is going to take forever," she said in mock sadness. "He's been left in the dark for far too long. Harry, you are aware that while your mother was a Muggleborn, you're father was from one of the old families, and that people are going to expect you to know your family lines on his side?"

Harry blinked. He'd known that his father was from an old wizard family, but somehow, he'd never thought of the fact that he might have family in the older families. He remembered the tapestry in the Black Mansion and had a horrible thought. "Please tell me I'm not related to the Malfoys."

Pansy shrugged. "I've never studied your family, so I don't know. We can find out easily enough though."

Harry sighed. "I hope not. That would be just disgusting." He smirked. "I would hate to think that one of my ancestors was married to a ferret." He turned serious. "That's for later though. Right now, we have things to do." He explained to Mrs. Figg what they had planned for the day. "Who's my minder today?"

Mrs. Figg thought for a minute. "At seven, Mr. Kingsbury will be taking over. Shall I assume that you'd prefer that he stayed out of sight?"

Harry chewed on his lip. "He can join us, or stay out of sight, as he prefers." Harry was about to say something else when someone knocked at the door.

Mrs. Figg went to the door and came back a minute later with Tonks. "Wotcher, Harry," she said cheerfully before seeing Pansy. Tonks' eyes went narrow and she started to say something. Before she got it out, she froze, staring at Pansy. "You're the delegate?"

Pansy nodded. "I am."

Tonks shook her head, thinking about who Pansy was, and what families were aligned with her family. "I will give you your chance, Miss. Parkinson," she said coldly, "but you'd better be on your best behaviour. I know what your family has been doing for the last twenty years, and who your friends are." She looked at Harry. "Kingsbury has been called into work, so I'm going to be minding you today Harry. I hope you don't mind."

Harry grinned. "Not at all. In fact, you can even come with us on two conditions. First, you become a form that will fit in, and second, anything you hear today doesn't get told to anyone, unless I say it's ok."

Tonks frowned. "Harry, that depends on what I hear. There are some things I simply can't ignore."

Harry stared at her. "Tonks," he said firmly but quietly, "I am the only person that knows what Professor Dumbledore had in mind, and what needs to be done. The Order can work with me, which I would prefer, or they can be left behind as I make my own team. Either way, I will lead."

Harry sighed. "In fact, we need to have an Order meeting. See if you can get everyone except Fletcher together for a meeting sometime this week. I will explain why my attitude has changed and tell everyone as much as I can then."

Tonks frowned at Harry, the wheels turning in her head. "Most of the Order has made some guesses, Harry. Professor Dumbledore may not have told us everything, but most of us have brains, and we think we've guessed most of it by now. It will be nice to find out how close we were though." She looked at Harry compassionately. "It's going to come down to you and him, isn't it? That was the only reason we could think of for Albus to spend so much time and energy protecting you."

Harry nodded slowly. "Yes. But you'll have to wait for the meeting to find out details, as we have other things to do today."

The three of them Flooed to the Leaky Cauldron, with Tonks going first, and then Pansy. As Harry was about to step into the fireplace, Mrs. Figg stopped him. "Harry, watch out for Pansy. She will put her family first, no matter who else gets hurt, and if she's like most of her family, she will do things that you wouldn't to achieve her goals."

Harry looked at Mrs. Figg. "I knew she would go places I wouldn't, but I am being careful The problem is walking that fine line between trust and foolishness. Professor Dumbledore did it, and he was right in one case, and wrong in another." He looked at Mrs. Figg. "To be honest, if this was only about me, I'd have told her no. The families she represents can seriously hurt Moldywart though, and that will save so many lives." Harry frowned. "I wish I had Professor Dumbledore's experience, but I don't. All I have to go by is his example, and he always gave a person their chance."

Mrs. Figg nodded. "Everyone deserves a chance to do the right thing. Albus believed that, and so do I. You just remember, Harry, that any member of the Windenmere group is going to look after family first."

Harry frowned at her. "What is a Windenmere?" he asked curiously.

Mrs. Figg shook her head. "You don't have time right now, Harry. I'll tell you about them when you get back tonight. Basically, they're a group of families that hold certain beliefs and customs. It's those beliefs and customs that make them different."

Harry nodded. "One more question, before I go. Are the Windenmere families good or bad?"

Mrs. Figg frowned. "Neither, actually. They are Windenmere first, anything else afterwards."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "I see. Thank you for the information." He used the Floo, ending up on his back in the Leaky Cauldron. He stood up to see two girls smirking at him.

Tonks had assumed the form of a girl about Harry's age, with brown hair and eyes. "Even I can walk out of a Floo connection, Harry."

Harry ignored her pointedly. "I think it's time for breakfast." The three of them ate, discussing their plans for the day. Harry wanted to meet with Hermione, go to Gringotts to drop off his box, then to the Ministry for Pansy to talk to her contact, and then to Weasley Wizard Wheezes for a chat with Fred and George. Pansy cleared her throat, staring at Harry. He sighed. "Yes, Pansy, we'll going shopping as well."

Tonks raised an eyebrow. "Training him up right, are you?"

Pansy smirked. "Someone has to. How Granger and Weasley allowed him to go around dressed like this for all these years is beyond me."

While they chatted after finishing breakfast, Harry took his glasses off, wiping them with a clean napkin. Pansy stared at him, frowning. "What are you doing, Harry?"

Harry frowned at her in turn. "They're getting dirty, I'm cleaning them off," he said, speaking slowly, as if to a not too bright child.

Pansy stared at him, and suddenly swore under her breath. "Come with me, Harry." She stood up and paid for breakfast, not even waiting for her change. She led them into Diagon Alley, and took a small side street just behind the Leaky Cauldron. "I should have thought of this, I swear." she was muttering as she stopped in front of a small shop.

Harry looked at the shop as she started inside. "Ortha's Optics," he read and followed Pansy inside.

"Hullo," said the man inside, "what can I do for you today?" Harry looked at the man standing in the back of the store. He was tall and thin, with white hair and a kindly look. Harry thought he looked like a thin St. Nick. Harry looked around the store with interest. One wall had hundreds of frames on it, while the opposite wall had specialty frames. There were glasses for people with one eye, and four eyes, as well as glasses for people with eyes in the back of their head.

Pansy pointed at Harry. "This poor boy has been Muggle raised, and has never had a proper eye examination or Wizard glasses."

"Well, we can't have that, now can we?" The man looked at Harry, and blinked. "Upon my soul," he said, "You favour your father, lad."

Harry stared at him. "You knew my father?"

"Not well," the man admitted. "Young James was only in here twice, once to get his glasses, and once more, to get some charms laid on them." He chuckled. "The stories I can tell you about your grandfather, though. We were in Hogwarts together, and until the Weasley twins' second year, we held the single year detention record." The older Wizard frowned for a minute. "I was shocked to hear of your father's passing, and saddened. He was a good man."

While he talked, the older Wizard was doing things to a pair of glasses that were even bigger than Professor Trelaney's spectacles. "Here you are, lad, put these on for a minute."

Harry handed his glasses to Pansy and put on the odd glasses. He blinked as the glasses flashed a light in his eyes, and then started flashing pictures that lasted just a split second in front of his eyes. When the slide show ended, the lenses changed colour several times, and then went dark. Harry handed the glasses to the man and watched him curiously.

The shopkeeper laid the frames on a parchment and tapped them with his wand. Words began forming under the frames and the man read the parchment carefully. He looked up when he was done. "Well, lad, I've got good news and bad news. You're near-sighted, meaning you see things close up better than you do far away and we can fix that with a series of potions. However, the full course will take about two months, and your vision will be blurry the entire time."

Harry frowned. He liked the idea of being able to see without glasses, but two months of effective blindness simply wasn't possible right now. "Can you do that later?" he asked hopefully, "sometime when I don't have someone trying to kill me every year?"

The other Wizard looked startled. "Quite. I see your point." He read the parchment again. "Yes, we can do it anytime before you turn twenty-one or so without a problem. After that, it may not be as effective, and there is the possibility that it won't work at all."

Harry smiled. "If I haven't dealt with Riddle by then, I think I'll have other problems to think about." Harry frowned, looking at the other Wizard. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I got your name."

"Hmm," the other man said with a grin, "maybe that's because I didn't give you my name. You can call me," the old Wizard thought for a second, "Roger."

Harry stared at him and smiled whimsically. "When I get back to Hogwarts, will I find the name Roger on any detention records?"

'Roger' chuckled. "I can't say to that, but I can say it won't be paired with Jeremy Potter."

The old Wizard, whom Harry was beginning to think was a bit strange, crossed over to the wall with all the frames on it. "Right now, since you'll need glasses and since unlike your wand, you can choose your glasses, why don't you pick out a pair?"

Harry moved to stand next to the shopkeeper. "How did you and my grandfather set the detention record anyway?" he asked, as he started examining the frames.

"In our sixth year, we set out to do something that still hasn't been done, not to this day. We tried to play an individual prank on every person in school." He smiled in nostalgia. "Those were the days, bless me."

Harry smiled as he looked at the frames. Roger had old wooden frames, and frames from every era of Muggle history, including some striking modern frames and rimless frames. Finally he sighed, and turned to Roger. "I think I'll keep the ones I have. I'm used to them and switching my frames might alert people that I have Wizard glasses."

The old Wizard nodded and asked to see Harry's glasses. He took them to his desk and examined them in silence for a few minutes. "I'm sorry, but I can't use these frames. These Muggle frames are too weak to hold magic, and to be honest, I'm not certain how you've managed to fix them as many times as you have." He looked at Harry. "I'll have to make a new pair from scratch."

Harry sighed. "How long will that take?" he asked, expecting the answer to be a couple of weeks.

"Mm, a couple of hours to make the frames, and then it depends on how many and what type of charms you want on them."

"What sorts of charms are available?" Harry asked with interest.

Roger smiled and handed Harry a scroll. "Any of these that you're willing to pay for."

Harry looked at the list. An unbreakable charm, to keep them from being broken for six Galleons, that was a must, as was the impervious charm to keep them clean. A charm to keep other people from removing them, and one to keep them from falling off, yes, those would be good.

As Harry read down the list, he began to find more exotic charms. Charms to see invisible things, which would explain how Professor Dumbledore could see him under the cloak, one to let him see through solid objects and more. Here was one to allow him to see an Animage in their animal form, and one to allow him to see auras.

He blinked in surprise at some of them. Why would anyone want a charm to allow them to see Thestrals, or Will o' Wisps? Finally, Harry picked out the charms he wanted and pointed them out to Roger silently. Roger nodded and wrote the list down, tucking the paper into his robes after reading it.

Roger did some figuring and looked at Harry. "I'll have the glasses done in about nine hours, so if you'll come back around five, we'll do the final fitting." He handed Harry a slip of paper. "There's the full price, lad. If you need to make payments, we can work something out."

Harry looked at the paper. "It's not a problem," he assured Roger, "I'll bring it along tonight."

Harry bid the eccentric old Wizard goodbye and led Tonks and Pansy out. Tonks hadn't knocked anything over while Harry was busy, but she did hit a display as they walked out. She blushed as Roger waved off her attempts to pick the glasses up.

As they walked toward the main section of Diagon Alley, Pansy looked at Harry. "So, Harry, what sorts of charms did you get? They must have been serious if he thought you might need to make payments."

Harry smirked at her. "Nosy little Slytherin, aren't you?"

Pansy stared at him and got a sly smile. "Actually, I think poking their nose into everything is a Gryffindor trait, Mr. I-Found-Out-What-Was-On-The-Third-Floor."

Harry smiled at her reference to his first year as Pansy's smile turned into a smirk. "Keeping secrets, now that's a Slytherin thing. What house were you in?"

Harry's mood changed suddenly. Pansy was only teasing and was unprepared for the dark shadow that passed over Harry's face. "The Sorting Hat wanted to place me in Slytherin. 'You could be great, you know, and Slytherin will help you along the way', or something simular."

Pansy stared at him. "So why aren't you a Slytherin? I thought the Sorting Hat made that decision."

"It does," Harry agreed, "but I begged it to put me anywhere but Slytherin. You see, I'd met Ron, whom I liked, and Malfoy, who I didn't like." He grinned at Pansy. "If I had met a young girl, and she was as nice as she is now, who went to Slytherin just before I was sorted, I might be a Slytherin now."

Pansy blinked as she walked toward the Leaky Cauldron, where they were to meet Hermione. "I did go just before you, didn't I?" She thought about it as she walked. "I sometimes wonder," she mused, "how much different we'd be today, if the Sorting had been different. Who would you be, if you'd been a Slytherin?"

Harry frowned as he thought about it. "Given that Snape hated me before I ever got to Hogwarts, I rather think I'd be a bitter, angry boy, with no real friends and no reason to have turned down Riddle's offer that first year, to join him. I'd be rich and immortal, by way of the Philosopher's Stone, and Lord Voldemort's heir."

Pansy stared at Harry in shock. "Surely you don't think so little of yourself, Harry?"

Tonks started to say something, but Harry spoke first. "Pansy, most of what I did that first year, was because I had friends for the first time. If I had been in Slytherin, a half-blood and Muggle raised, hated by the House head, how many Slytherins would have befriended me?"

Pansy frowned, but finally admitted, "no one probably. We all wanted to be at the top, and annoying Snape was not a good way to get there."

Harry, who had not expected any other answer, nodded. "Now, put yourself in my shoes. You know the situation I came from. You know what my life there was like. Now, I come to Hogwarts, and I get the same thing, hated and abused here as well as there. No friends in the other houses either, because of Slytherin's reputation and my shyness." Harry turned his head to look at Pansy. "Now, here comes a man, promising to be my friend, to train me in everything I need to know, and to make me rich and immortal in the bargain. We would have everything we could take. What would you do, under those circumstances?"

Pansy sighed. "I would have taken that deal," she admitted. "But I thought you were better than that."

Harry shook his head. "Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, even Neville and Fred and George taught me a lot about friendship and loyalty that first year, before Voldemort spoke to me. With those examples, I turned him down. Without those examples, I don't know that I would do the same."

Pansy looked at Harry, reading the shadows that crossed his face. "I think you would have done it anyway. There's something in you that is not in most of the Slytherins I know." She thought about it. "Such a small thing, to change the course of events. Just because you didn't like Malfoy."

Harry smiled wryly. "A great thing, in my rather biassed opinion."

"Harry!" All three of them turned at the called, but Harry had recognized the voice instantly. How could he not? Hermione had been a major part of his life for six years.

Hermione hugged Harry, but her attention was on the two girls with him. One of them had a stray lock of pink hair peeping out from behind one ear and Hermione assumed that was Tonks. The other one, she didn't know. "Hello, Harry," Hermione said and looked at Tonks. "Hello Tonks. Minding Harry today?"

While she greeted the first two, she was cataloguing the stranger. She thought about what she'd seen and then blinked. She ran through her deductions again and was forced to believe them. Hermione, being Hermione though, just had to test them. "Hello, Parkinson. Are you the delegate for whatever Harry has planned with the Death Eaters?"

Pansy stared at Hermione. "What is with you Gryffindors?" she complained. "First Harry, and now you, both see right through my glamour."

Hermione smiled. "You're young, about our age, and Harry isn't pushing you off, which means he knows you. He's planning on doing something to Voldemort involving his followers, and most of them are in Slytherin. There simply are not that many girls in Slytherin in our year, and you made one mistake with your glamour. You still have the same hairstyle you had at Hogwarts. Harry probably didn't even notice, being a guy."

Pansy shook her head in wonder. "How in Merlin's name did you ever end up in Gryffindor? You are the most Ravenclawish Ravenclaw I ever met."

Harry looked at Hermione thoughtfully. "Because her courage matches that scary intelligence."

Hermione blushed, stammering a denial. Pansy watched the byplay with a frown. There was something going on here. She remained quiet as Hermione and Harry talked for a couple of minutes, and then Hermione stopped the small talk in her normal way. "Harry, where are we going to go to talk about this? I assume you want to stay out of sight."

Harry shook his head slowly. "No, I don't, actually," he said, surprising all three girls with him. "In fact, I want to be seen in Diagon Alley every day, or as often as possible this summer."

He started toward the Leaky Cauldron again, throwing a glance over his shoulder at Tonks. "We'll get a corner table from Tom, and convince some Auror or another to cast a couple of charms over us."

Tonks missed the entire comment, causing Harry to look at her. He suddenly realized that she'd been very quiet for quite some time now. "Tonks?" he asked quietly, "Something wrong?"

Tonks looked at him. "I don't know, Harry. What is there about your family life that Pansy knows and I don't?"

Harry frowned. "How much do you know about the Dursleys?"

Tonks frowned. "I know that we had a talk with them, and that they don't like you much, but you seemed to be implying that it goes further than that."

Pansy hissed, her anger at the Dursleys flaring up again. "Those slimy gits."

Harry touched her arm. "Parkinson!" he said, quietly but firmly. When Pansy turned startled eyes his way, he shook his head. "Not here, not now. You may talk to her later."

Pansy looked around. They were just passing Gringotts and there were a dozen or more Wizards near by. Pansy blushed. Of course Harry wouldn't want his life with the Dursleys to become common knowledge.

Harry looked at the bank. "As long as we are here, I need to drop off the box and get some money." He made a face at Pansy. "I have the feeling that someone is going to use a great deal of my money today."

Pansy smiled smugly. She leaned over and whispered something in Hermione's ear. Hermione looked surprised for a minute and then intrigued. Harry just sighed and led them into the bank.

Inside they waited in line until Harry could tell the Goblin at the counter that he wanted to access his vault. Another Goblin led them to the carts Harry remembered and they got into it. The trip was every bit as fast and wild as Harry remembered, and it only took a minute to reach Harry's vault.

The Goblin opened the door and Harry stepped inside. He asked Hermione to count out seven hundred and sixty-eight Galleons for his glasses and crossed to an open section of floor. He set the box down and tapped it with his wand, saying "Lemon Drops."

The box expanded rapidly, growing to nearly twice the size of Harry's school chest. He bent down and opened it. Inside, he saw a tray on hinges that would allow it to be moved out of the way. There was a letter with a small glowing dot on it and two glass balls, both of which were glowing slightly. One was a pale blue light and the other was a white light and twice as bright as the blue one.

The only other thing in that tray was Professor Dumbledore's Pensieve, with its levels lowered dramatically since the last time Harry had seen it. Harry picked up the letter, noting it was addressed to him as he opened it.

Dear Harry,

Since you are reading this letter, I must be off on the next great adventure. Regrettable, but entirely too likely for me not to take certain precautions. I hope you do not blame yourself for my passing. It is not your fault Harry, unless you turned to Voldemort and cast the curse that killed me yourself.

In this box you will find certain objects to help you do what you must do. Be careful with them, Harry. Almost all of them can be used for good or evil, depending on who uses them. A case in point are the PolyJuice Potions. You used one once in a good cause, but I am sure you remember when it was also used in furtherance of evil. Along with the PolyJuice are a few other Potions that might be needed in an instant, but take a great deal of time to brew.

One of the things you have in the box is Godric Gryffindor's sword. I suggest you keep it close when you go after Tom. Professor McGonagall knows you have that sword and I would suggest that you bring it back to Hogwarts with you for your seventh year.

I know you are probably thinking about dropping out of school at this point, Harry, but I would ask you to reconsider that path. I have a number of reasons for that, not the least of which is how it will affect your friends.

Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley will follow you and while your fame and reputation will make your NEWTs less than important for most things, they should have theirs. You should take your NEWTs also. They are required for any Ministry position as well as advancement in the Wizengamot. I know that those things do not seem important to you right now, but in the decades to come it could mean a lot to you.

Also, I would ask you to expand the DA this year, and open it to anyone that wishes to enter. The Houses need to join together, and your club is the school's best chance to do that. I know that you do not trust the members of Slytherin House, but they deserve a chance to prove themselves, just as anyone else does.

You have seen my Pensieve. In it is every memory I have of Tom, both while he was at school, and the things I learned about him later. You may find something I missed, or something may change, making some of the memories worth something.

In the tray with the pensieve are two glass balls. Both of them hold a useful skill, but you should think long and hard before you use them. They will change the way you see people. The blue one contains my skills and knowledge of Occemency and Legilimency. Voldemort will not be able to invade your mind at all, but skills that strong have a drawback. Things people think, in the heat of passion, in fear or anger, in lust or jealousy will come to you, as clearly as if they had shouted them. Most of the time, they would never say those things, keeping them private, never to be known. The knowledge of those private thoughts will change the way you think about that person though, so think about using those skills very carefully.

The white globe is a type of vision. Quite simular to the Aura sight, it will allow you to see a nimbus around people. That nimbus will range from pure white to utter black, with many shades of grey in between. I have never seen either extreme in my life, and I doubt you will either. This sight is merely a tool, showing you how good a person is, by your standards. I have different standards than you do, I am sure and Miss Granger would be different from both of us. A person's shades do not mean that they cannot or will not do a particular action, it merely allows you to judge their relative goodness. I cannot explain more about it at this time, but if you choose to use that ball, read this letter again.

I have said enough for now, Harry. Fawkes is with a friend, and you can expect to see him if certain events come to pass. Other than that, this is the last time you will hear from me. I want you to know that I remember you quite fondly, and that I hope to see you many years from now, when you embark on the next great adventure.

Professor Albus Dumbledore

PS. I have left you a few books. I suggest you allow Miss Granger to peruse them.

AD

Harry read the note and spent a few minutes thinking about what it had said. When he found his thoughts running in circles, he shook his head and tucked the letter into his shirt. He lifted the tray out and looked in the tray under it. There were two rows of small books, one of which had a small glowing dot on it.

Harry pulled it out of its place and watched as it started to grow, quickly becoming a familiar book. He read the title and grinned. "Hermione, I think this book is meant for you."

Hermione walked over and took the book from Harry. She read the title.

"Hogwarts, A History," she read, and then read the smaller subtitle under that. "The Uncut Version, not for the Board of Governors or the Parents of Current Students."

Hermione opened the book and began to read. "Harry," she said absently a minute later, "there are eight secret ways to Hogsmeade, and one magical door that takes you to Diagon Alley."

Harry smiled. "Hermione, don't lose that book, or I won't let you look at the rest of them."

Hermione closed the book, noting that the sub-title had become a Hogwarts crest and that the book looked exactly like her copy, which was suitable for parents and the Board of Governors apparently. She looked in the tray and read a few of the titles. "Do you know what you have here, Harry? This is Professor Dumbledore's private library. You have some of the rarest books in the world here." She looked at him. "You will let me read all of these."

Harry stared at her. That had not been a request. Harry started to say something and stopped. "Professor Dumbledore said the same thing, and I am certainly not arguing with you about it."

Harry lifted out that tray and looked at the one beneath it. It was also full of books and he lifted it out to find a tray of potions. Vertiserum, Polyjuice potion, Draught of Living Death, dozens of potions Harry recognized and some he didn't.

None of them had the little glowing dot that seemed to mean Harry should look at an item, so he lifted out the potions tray. Under it was a tray with several items and many of them had those little spots of light.

Harry lifted one of them out. It turned out to be two knives, both with oddly curved blades and some sort of snakeskin sheaths. Attached to the knives was a card.

After you found the Chamber of Secrets, I found a way into it. These knives and many of the items with them are made from the remains of the Basilisk you slew in your second year. Basilisk items have an advantage over other items for certain people. Animagi can carry them and they transform easily, not requiring the training and practice normally needed to carry foreign objects.

Harry grinned as he finished the note. He looked at Pansy, standing in the doorway. "Here, Pansy. Happy Birthday." He stood up and handed Pansy one of the knives and the note. He turned and was lifting out the next item with a glow on it when a human missile rolled him into a pile of Galleons.

Hermione saw the sudden motion and looked up from her book. Pansy had Harry pinned and was kissing him quite thoroughly. Hermione glared at Pansy for a second and then saw the note. She picked it up and read it. When she was done, she smirked. "Parkinson, you've got the wrong idea."

Pansy stopped kissing Harry and waved the knife at Hermione. "I've got the evidence right here."

Hermione shook her head. "He's Muggle raised, remember? He doesn't know that custom."

Pansy frowned at Hermione and turned to Harry. "Is that true?"

Harry blinked, both at the topic and the rather interesting sensations of having been kissed quite expertly. "I gave you a birthday gift, one I thought you would like," he said carefully.

Pansy sighed. "I'm sorry, Harry, but I can't take this. You may want to talk to Hermione before you try to give one of them away again." She handed the knife back to Harry.

Harry closed her fingers over the knife. "Pansy, I gave an ally a gift. You can lose it, throw it away or eat it, but you may not give it back."

Pansy looked at the knife, torn between custom and desire. "I'll make you a deal, Harry. You show that other knife and that note to Ginny Weasley, then tell her where the other knife is. If she doesn't mind, then I will accept the gift."

Harry frowned at her, but before he could say anything, Hermione spoke. "One of the old Wizard customs is that if you slay a monster, like a Basilisk and you have matching items made from it, you only give one away, and only to your mate, or intended mate. Giving that to Pansy was, in her eyes, a proposal of marriage."

Harry stared at the two girls, flabbergasted. "Wizards are barking mad," he said in a stunned tone. He shook his head. "Pansy, if I ever propose to you, it will be done right, with a speech and a ring, after I have courted you and spoken to your father."

Pansy looked at him oddly. "You're a romantic, Harry," she accused.

"Call it what you will," Harry said, "but some things have to be done right, and this is one of them."

Hermione hugged him, looking at Pansy. "You leave him alone about this," Hermione said. "Harry's friends like him just the way he is about this."

Pansy started to say something and then stopped, eyeing Hermione speculatively. Harry turned back to the box and missed the short conversation Hermione and Pansy had, consisting entirely of looks and facial expressions. It ended with Hermione shrugging and shaking her head, while Pansy was frowning thoughtfully.

"Hermione," Harry asked, as he brought out the next item from the tray, "when do you wear dress robes made from the hide of the Basilisk you killed?"

Hermione blinked, but it was Pansy that answered him. "Rarely, very bloody rarely."

Harry smirked as he laid them aside. "Then it's a good thing there was enough hide for a jacket and boots, isn't it?"

Pansy blinked, and looked at the knife in her hand. "Harry, just how big was that beast?"

Harry thought back, frowning. "About eighteen metres, give or take a couple of metres."

Pansy stared at him in awe. "And you killed it by yourself?"

Harry shrugged. "I had Fawkes, the Sorting Hat and Gryffindor's sword."

Harry took all the Basilisk hide clothing, which included the robes, jacket and boots, plus a pair of gloves and set them aside. Removing this tray revealed the bottom of the trunk which had a number of carefully padded items. Harry recognized several. There was a Sneakascope and a Foe Mirror, as well as Gryffindor's sword. None of them had lights, so Harry left them in place.

He replaced each tray, stopping at the top one. On an impulse, he took the glass orb that had the aura sight in it and put it in his pocket. As he reached for the lid to close the trunk, he saw another light, this one on an envelope attached to the lid. Harry opened the envelope. A small silver key fell out, along with several cards and two ornate lapel pins. Harry looked at the note.

The key locks the chest. As you lock it, think of a person and a password. Only that person will be able to open the trunk. The other things in this envelope show the memberships you have in various organizations. Some are important, other are less so, but all of them are useful, in one way or another. I trust you will have the sense to figure out which ones are which.

Harry looked at the cards. He had a seat on the Wizengamot, and several memberships in groups he'd never heard of. He tucked all the cards in his pocket and looked at the pins. One was a shield shape, with a number of magical designs that would appear for a minute and fade into the next one. Harry's pin had images of a silver wand, a Basilisk, an Acromatula, a Dementor and then, the Dark Mark.

He showed it to the girls. "Do you know what this is?"

Pansy looked at it. "Put it on, Harry." She was staring at the pin. "That is the symbol of the Society of Defenders. There may be one hundred members across the world. It's open only to people that consistently fight evil in all its forms. Each of the images represents an evil you have fought. The colour of the wand shows how many Dark Wizards you have faced. It is the single most prestigious organization you can be a member of in the Wizard world."

Harry nodded and pinned it to the collar of his Basilisk hide jacket. He put the jacket on and looked at the girls. "What do you think? It's not too gaudy, is it?" Harry was thinking of the vividly coloured dragonhide jackets the Weasley twins had.

Hermione and Pansy looked at each other. Harry's jacket was a snakeskin, with scales as big as a child's head. It didn't need to be bright colours to be flashy. "It's fine, Harry," Hermione assured him, hoping she was right.

Harry looked at the other pin, and even he didn't need to be told what it was. The symbol of the Wizengamot was plain. He shrugged and put that pin on the other collar of his jacket.

Pansy turned to Hermione. "How much will it cost to outfit Harry nicely in Muggle clothes?"

Hermione shrugged. "That depends. Are you talking about Saville Row or Harrolds?"

Pansy frowned, looking at Harry. "The best place we can get into without an appointment for two to four suits, and Harrolds for the rest."

Hermione shrugged again. "I'm not sure about the suits. I've heard that the best can cost thousands of pounds. That's a little outside of the type of suits a Dentist looks at."

Pansy frowned as she filled a pouch with Galleons. "How can I know how much to take then?"

The Goblin that had brought them down to the vault was standing by the door watching them, while Tonks watched the carts going by. "Mr. Potter should see about getting a Gringotts card," he said as they all headed for the cart.

Hermione looked at him. "Gringotts has credit cards?" she asked.

"Mr. Potter has four vaults, with substantial deposits and a steadily growing income. He can be offered benefits that lesser depositors are not. Nothing personal, Miss."

"I understand," Hermione said calmly, "everyone knows that money is power, even Muggles."

"Indeed," the goblin agreed, "It's a pity more people don't use their power."

Harry listened to Hermione and the goblin discuss money while he thought about something that caused a decidedly Slytherin smile to cross his face. Pansy saw it and poked him. When Harry looked at her, she looked at him with a straight face. "A Knut for your thoughts."

Harry smiled again, with an expression that would be right at home on any Slytherin's face. "Just making some plans, that I want to do, if I get the chance."

They reached the lobby and stood in line to see about a card, as the Goblin had suggested. They hadn't been there a minute when a Goblin approached Harry. "Pardon me, Sir, do you have more business with us?"

Harry said yes, and the Goblin led them to a door marked with a single Galleon. "In the future, just come to this door and walk in, as long as you are wearing that symbol, Sir," the Goblin said, indicating the Society pin on Harry's collar.

Harry thanked the Goblin and they walked through the door. On the other side, they found a room with a single Goblin sitting behind a desk. Harry told him what they wanted, and the Goblin led them down a hall.

At the end of the hall was a single office and an older Goblin. He stood and settled them all. "What can I do for you?"

Harry told him what the other goblin had said and the older goblin nodded. He reached into his desk and pulled out a strange thin sheet of paper. "Place both hands flat on this paper, Mr. Potter." Harry did so, and the paper flashed, and then turned blue. The goblin took it and put it in a box on his desk.

"That will be used to make your card, Sir, and with it, no one else can use your card. Any attempt to use it by another will cause it to show up as invalid." The goblin went on, explaining the way the card worked. "The card has a limit of fifteen thousand pounds British. On the last day of the month, the full amount owed will be removed from your vault. If you do not have enough to remove the full amount, ten percent will be deducted. If you do not have enough for that, the card will be deactivated."

Harry nodded. "Will the card work in the Muggle world?"

The goblin nodded. "It will always appear to be a card that the store you are using it at will accept."

Harry nodded, looking at the goblin. "Would you know the current value of the Daily Prophet or Witch Weekly?"

"Of course, but to tell you that would violate the privacy rules of Gringotts."

Harry nodded. Pansy whispered in his ear for a second. Harry grinned. "Perhaps you could tell me something else then. If I added another one hundred thousand Galleons to my vault, would that amount be sufficient to purchase either or both of those businesses?"

The Goblin looked at Harry for a second and wrote something on a slip of paper. He put it in the box on his desk and tapped it twice. A few seconds later, the box glowed for a second. The Goblin reached in and took out the paper. He looked at it, and then at Harry. "You could buy one, but not the other, and you would not be able to consider buying both."

Harry nodded. "I see. Thank you." The box glowed again, and the goblin opened it to pull out a small rectangular card. It was the size and shape of a credit card, but a uniform gold colour and unmarked by any writing. The goblin handed it to Harry and looked at him. "Will there be anything else today?"

Pansy nudged Harry, "Get some Muggle money, Harry, in case we find something at a place that doesn't take credit cards." Hermione agreed with her, and Harry handed the goblin some of the Galleons that he'd taken from the vault.

Harry watched as the goblin placed the gold in the box and tapped it again. A few seconds later, he withdrew a stack of Muggle paper money. Harry looked at it and handed it to Hermione. "You're the expert here, I don't think I've ever had more than a pound or two."

Hermione flipped through the stack quickly. "You do now, Harry." She tucked it into her pocket.

Harry was looking at the box thoughtfully. "I don't suppose you could buy one of those," he said to the goblin.

The goblin looked at him. "It requires a goblin to operate it, Mr. Potter."

Harry sighed. "It seems to be a useful item. Could someone hire a goblin or two to use it for them?"

The goblin stared at Harry. "You would hire a goblin, one not bound by the Gringotts oath and rules?"

Harry blinked and stared at the goblin. "Why not?"

The goblin stared at Harry. "Mr. Potter, some of the goblin tribes are less than honest in their dealings with humans."

Harry shrugged. "I would assume that not everyone is completely honest, but you wouldn't recommend thieves to me, would you?"

The goblin stared at Harry for a minute. "You are a most unusual Wizard, Mr. Potter. I will see if I can find a goblin tribe that would be willing to work for you."

Harry sighed. "Thank you, Sir. I do not understand why the Wizards will allow you to control the finances of the Wizard world, but not trust you with anything else."

The goblin shrugged. "I do not get involved in politics, Sir. I simply deal in money."

Harry stood up. "I believe that concludes our business today. I will be back about that other matter, sometime after I come of age."

The goblin also stood. "Mr. Potter, My name is Grabhand, and before you go, I think I can say this, without violating the Code of Privacy. The current owner of the Daily Prophet is very fond of gems. Rubies, sapphires, that sort of thing. An offer tendered in that type of currency would be better received than a higher offer in gold."

Harry nodded and impulsively put his hand out. "Thank you, Grabhand." The Wizard and the goblin shook hands and Harry walked out, followed by the ladies. The goblin watched them go, every bit as surprised as Pansy had been, when Harry introduced her to Dobby. Wizards simply did not offer to shake hands with goblins. Grabhand had worked at the Diagon Alley Gringotts for nearly a century, and he'd never been offered a Wizard's hand before.

Harry Potter was different.

In the lobby, Harry took a minute to use the Gringotts bathroom while the girls went outside to wait. Harry stopped for a minute to admire the look of his new jacket.

Outside, Hermione was watching Pansy try to comfort a crying girl. Daphne Greengrass was a sixth year Slytherin and that was everything Hermione knew about her. Brown haired and brown eyed, she was so quiet as to be invisible.

Hermione looked at the boy that had come with her. Blaise Zabrini was tall, with honey coloured hair and hazel eyes that reflected his mood. Blaise was considered by many girls to be one of the best looking boys in school and it drove the girls slightly insane, since it didn't matter to him.

Daphne and Blaise were head over heels in Love, to the point that other people didn't even register on them occasionally. It was scary, Pansy sometimes thought, watching them walk around in their own little world, totally oblivious to everyone else. She shushed Daphne as Harry came up.

Harry had seen the two Slytherins as he walked up, and he frowned. Blaise Zabrini was the calmest person in Hogwarts, utterly unflappable, or so Harry had thought. Now he was glaring at everybody that came in sight and repeatedly clenching his fists, as if he wanted to strangle someone.

Harry stood next to Hermione, watching Blaise with a wary eye as they wanted for Pansy to finish. When Harry noticed that people were watching the scene, he crossed those last few feet. "Pansy, we're attracting the wrong sort of attention here. We need to get out of sight."

Pansy frowned at him but looked around. "Any suggestions?"

Harry thought about it for a second, then nodded. "Follow me." He started down the street, reaching into his pocket for the letter he'd received from Mr. Sharpstar. He checked the address, blessing the time he'd spent living in Diagon Alley his third year.

Tonks was watching everyone as they walked toward Knockturn Alley. Pansy and Daphne were walking and whispering as Hermione listened with wide eyes. Blaise walked next to Harry, and finally managed to reclaim some of his reputed calm. He looked at Harry, examining him as if he'd never seen him before.

"Hello, Potter," he said finally. "We're sorry about interrupting your day, but Daphne had to talk to Pansy."

Harry shrugged. "It's not a problem. Are you one of their group?"

Blaise frowned, puzzled, until Harry indicated the girls and his left forearm. He shook his head. "No, my father is a bit higher than they are. He'll join the primary club any day now." Blaise bristled with anger again at some thought. "He's a bit disappointed in me for spending so much time with a servant."

Harry looked at him again as the venom in his voice registered. "Are the Greengrasses part of Windenmere?"

Blaise nodded. "The Greengrasses are part of the Montague family."

Harry was thinking as he led the group past Knockturn Alley and to Mr. Sharpstar's office. Just as they got there, he looked at Hermione. "Hermione, this is not a library." He grinned, thinking about her response to seeing an entire room piled high with books. Hermione frowned at him absently, still listening to Pansy and Daphne.

Harry led them all inside. "Mr. Sharpstar?" he called.

"Mr. Potter?" came the startled reply, followed quickly by the smiling Solicitor. He looked at the group and his smile dimmed slightly. "What can I do for you?"

Harry indicated the two Slytherin girls. "They need to borrow your conference room for a bit, if you don't mind."

"Not at all." Mr. Sharpstar showed the girls to the room and came back.

Hermione had both hands in her pockets as she read the titles of the books she could see, and the two boys were watching her with amusement. Every so often she'd reach for a book that apparently interested her, only to remember that these books were private property.

Harry was openly smiling, and Blaise had an amused look as well. Mr. Sharpstar came back and looked at Hermione. "Mr. Potter, some introductions are in order, I think."

Harry introduced Hermione, who barely stopped reading titles long enough to greet him, then introduced Blaise and Tonks. Mr. Sharpstar looked at Hermione with a smile. "Miss Granger," he said, "You may look, as long as you put them back where you found them. It may not look like it, but they are somewhat organized."

Hermione thanked him and had a book open so fast that Harry thought she'd used magic. He grinned at Mr. Sharpstar. "You may have a hard time getting rid of her now."

Hermione didn't even look up. "Be nice, Harry," she said absently.

Mr. Sharpstar looked at Harry. "I haven't been to Hogwarts in a while, but I seem to recall that Gryffindors and Slytherins didn't spend a lot of time meeting."

Harry shrugged, unwilling to say anything to a man he didn't know that well yet. "Special circumstances," he said quietly, "this is related to some of the things we discussed."

Mr. Sharpstar nodded. "I see." He frowned thoughtfully for a minute and then shook his head. "I'm glad you stopped by. I have some things that I have to talk to you about anyway."

Harry nodded, and related what Grabhand had told him. The Solicitor frowned thoughtfully. "You're sure this information is accurate?"

Harry grinned. "Mr. Sharpstar, you could take it to the bank."

The older Wizard stared at Harry. "I see," he said again. "I think such an offer could be made. Thank you for the information." He was about to say something else when he noted the pins on Harry's collar. He stared at them for a second and then smiled. "Since you seem to be collecting jewelry today, allow me to add some more."

He went to his desk and came back with a small velvet pouch. He handed it to Harry, who opened it, allowing the contents to fall into his hand. Three signet rings rolled into his hand, along with two Wizengamot rings that were a bit different than the one he had on. These two rings had diamonds in them, rather than the ruby his ring had.

Harry examined them as Mr. Sharpstar told him what they were. "Those are the Rings of the Potter, Black and Montrose families. Your grandmother on your father's side was the last Montrose, so you're the Montrose head, Baron Potter and Lord Black, all in one."

Harry blinked. Several times. "Excuse me," he said finally, "but did you say Baron? And Lord?"

Mr. Sharpstar smiled. "Both of those titles are yours, and you'll get the authority to go with them on your birthday, lad. Since Sirius left you everything, that title is yours as well."

Harry frowned. "Wouldn't Narcissa Malfoy be higher in line than I am?"

Mr. Sharpstar shrugged. "She should be, but the title, by Black family rules, can only go to a male."

Hermione looked up. "That's so sexist. A woman can hold a title."

Mr. Sharpstar agreed. "However, the family rules date back to a time when women couldn't rule, or have a title by law. The Black family was very conservative, even for one of the old families."

Harry was still stunned by the revelation that he had not one, but two titles, and three families. Of course, two of those families had a single member, and the last had Narcissa and Bella as its only other members. Harry would have preferred not to have anyone in that family as well.

"Hello, cousin," said Tonks, reminding Harry she was there. "I'm glad to meet you," she continued, "since now I know there is at least one person the family would hate worse than I." She grinned at the expression on his face. "You do remember that my mother was a Black, before she married my father, right?"

Harry nodded. "In fact, I think it's time to fix that," he said. "See if you can set up a meeting with your mother, sometime next week, would you?" Harry frowned, as possibilities exploded across his mind. He hated publicity, but right now, Moldywart was getting all of it, and using it to increase the fear in the Wizard's world.

That had to change, and Harry was the best person to change it. He sighed. "Damned if I do, damned if I don't, " he said, remembering the phrase from one of Dudley's books.

Hermione looked up. "What do you mean, Harry?"

Harry just shook his head as he thought about the possibilities unfolding before him. He already had a reputation, and soon he would add money and now, a couple of titles to that. This would be helpful, in a world where those things mattered. He had been thinking about how he would carry the war to Voldemort for a while now, ever since Professor Dumbledore had died, leaving him in the front of this battle.

He sighed. All of this was coming too fast, and he was beginning to get a headache. Before he could think about it anymore, Pansy and Daphne came out of the room they had been talking in. "Harry, we need to talk to you." Pansy was terse, and everyone could see the anger that made her seem to vibrate. She looked around. "It seems, " she said bitterly, "that Moldywart."

Pansy froze, blinking wildly. "I can't believe I just said that."

Harry smirked at her. "And look, " he said, laughing, "once again, the world didn't explode."

Pansy glared at him. "Shut it, Potter." She took a deep breath. "Riddle has decided to try his hand at breeding more Death Eaters. He's informed his followers that they will all get married and start having children."

Harry froze, staring at her. "That's barbaric." He thought about it. "I don't understand why you two are so upset though. You were going to marry anyway, weren't you?"

Blaise snarled and Daphne burst into tears. "Yes, they were. Voldemort though, has chosen other spouses for them."

Harry stared at her. His face went cold and that fire appeared behind his eyes. "Tommy-boy," he said, looking at a sight only he could see, "you're racking up a debt you can't pay." Harry put his anger away with difficulty. "Right. We need to do something about this, and soon. Does anyone have any ideas about how?"

The group was silent, thinking about what they could do. "I have a suggestion, Mr. Potter."

Harry looked at Mr. Sharpstar. "By all means, Sir, go ahead."

"You have three families, and very few people. You could adopt a few more." The group stared at him.

Harry frowned. "Don't I have to be of age to do that?"

The Solicitor smirked. "Yes, but by Wizard law, if you do it, and your guardian signs off on it, it's still legal. You could adopt these three, after they request it and then hide them from Voldemort."

Pansy looked at Harry, and a calculating glint entered her eye. "Mr. Sharpstar," she said, "may I use your Floo?" He nodded and Pansy said she'd be right back. She stepped into the Floo and was gone.

Daphne was looking at Blaise. "This would be your decision, love. I am going to change my name anyway. I'll be just as happy being Mrs. Potter as Mrs. Zabrini, as long as you're with me."

Blaise frowned as he thought. He looked at Daphne and smiled. "I think being a Black would sound better, Sweetheart."

Harry grinned at them, envious of the joy they took in each other. "So, I adopt one of you into a family, and the other into another one, and then you get married, and I have the beginnings of a family."

Daphne took her eyes off Blaise long enough to look at Harry. "Another one?" she quoted, "how many families do you have?"

Harry ticked them off on his fingers. "Potter, Black and Montrose."

Daphne was looking at Blaise again, but her head came around at the word Montrose. "You are the head of House Montrose?"

Harry nodded, looking at her curiously. "My grandmother was the last member of the family, and since I am the only living member of her family, I am House Montrose."

Daphne turned back to stare at Blaise. "You will be a Montrose." The others stared at her. Daphne had not made that a request. She looked at Harry. "There is some history between the Montrose and Greengrass families."

Blaise nodded, smiling at her. "I thought you would say that as soon as I heard the name." He looked at Harry. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go say goodbye to some people." He didn't wait for an answer, but stepped through the Floo.

Daphne nodded. "So do I."

A few seconds later, Hermione and Tonks were the only people left. Harry looked at Tonks. "Tell your mother that I will reinstate her in the Black family if she wishes." He looked at Hermione. "How about you, Hermione? I have all these families and very few people in them. Would you like a Wizard family? I'm on a recruiting drive."

Hermione blinked and turned to Mr. Sharpstar. "Is that legal? Would it affect my Muggle family? I really don't want to disown my family just to have a new name."

Mr. Sharpstar shook his head. "The only thing a Wizard family would do to you as far as the Muggles are concerned is give you the right to use a hyphened name."

Harry grinned. "There you go, Hermione. You could be Miss Hermione Granger-Black, and wouldn't that just frost that old bat?"

Hermione imagined the painting's reaction to hearing that a Muggle born witch was the newest member of the family. She smirked, remembering all the insults the painting had thrown at her.

Tonks and Hermione were thinking about Harry's offer and Harry had a few minutes to think. He looked at the others and thought about the argument that he'd had on the train with Ginny.

"Harry Potter, you are the most pig headed stubborn boy I've ever met!" Ginny's eyes were flashing and her finger was about to leave a bruise on Harry's chest.

Harry grabbed her hand. "Ginny, don't you understand?" He stared at her desperately. "You'll be safer this way."

"Safer?" Ginny's voice was rising and Harry was only vaguely aware of their friends leaving the compartment. He was watching Ginny. "Safer? How am I safer? In case you haven't noticed, Harry, my whole family is on Voldemort's death list. One, for being blood traitors. Two, for opposing him. Three, for being your friends. Me being your girlfriend is not going to raise the danger at all."

Harry looked at her, his mind flashing back on dozens of scenes. Elbows and butter dishes. Diaries and Basilisks. Dwarves and Valentines. Kisses and Hugs. It had taken him five year to realize that she was more than Ron's little sister, that she was more than a friend, and now that he was going out to hunt Horcruxes, he wanted her safe.

Harry looked at her. "Yes, you and our family are high on his list, but I don't want you at the top. If he knew how much I loved you, you would not be on his death list at all. You'd move to his kidnap list, to be used against me. He'd try and take you, torture you, just to get to me."

Ginny stared at him. "You love me?" she said in a small voice, staring at his eyes.

Harry ran his hands through his hair. "Did you think I was playing with you? I don't go around kissing every beautiful girl in school, you know." He turned toward the window, unable to face the naked emotion in Ginny's face. "Yes, I love you. I want you to be there after Voldemort is gone." He looked at her. "Even if I am not."

Ginny paled. She started to say something but Harry put his hand on her lips. "Ginny, the prophecy doesn't say I will win, it says I can. It doesn't say we both won't die, only that one of us has to before the other can truly live. I might lose. I have to face these things or I will go in blindly, like I did at the Ministry." He looked at the window, remembering that night. "We were lucky to only lose Sirius. We were careless and over-confident, and Sirius paid the price."

Harry turned on her. "I'm not going to let anyone else die for me. I'd leave Ron and Hermione behind, if I didn't think they'd go stumbling around without me anyway." He took a deep breath and stared at her, begging for her to understand with his eyes. "I need you to be safe. I need to know that when this is over, I have someone to come home to, someone that will not be looking at the Boy Who Lived To Kill Voldemort. I need someone that has seen the Boy Who Pouts and Whines."

Ginny stared at him. Harry stared back, and they sat there for several minutes. "Harry, I understand your points, and I think you're wrong. Not only in what you're doing, but in how you're doing it. I will not be any safer being your ex girlfriend that I would as your girlfriend. With Professor Dumbledore gone, you are our only hope, and don't you think I'll be safer with you, than somewhere you can't see me?"

She frowned and bit her lip. "Or maybe you think I'm not good enough to go with you." She didn't allow him a chance to say anything. "I was in the Ministry, and in the Chamber of Secrets, Harry. I've fought him nearly as long as you, and been closer to him than anyone but you. We are the only two that truly understand what you face. Don't push me away."

Harry closed his eyes, torn between love of and fear for the girl that had gotten to him in ways no one else ever had. Logic told him she was right, that he could use her help and her love. His heart cried louder though, and Harry finally opened his eyes. "I'm sorry, Ginny," he said softly.

Ginny stared at him as tears welled up in her eyes. She stood up and turned toward the door. She opened it and started out. "Good-bye, Harry"

Harry was drawn out of his memories of the last time Ginny had spoken to him by the Floo. Pansy came though the Floo and brushed herself off. She came over to Harry and he narrowed his eyes. Pansy had a strange look in her eyes, a mixture of Slytherin cunning and nervousness. She handed him a scroll without a word and waited, biting her lip.

Harry unrolled the scroll and started reading. When he was done, he looked at Pansy. "Do you know what this says?" he asked her.

Pansy nodded silently, and Harry stared at her. "Hermione," he said, falling back on his oldest friend, "do you know anything about Wizard marriage customs?" Harry thought she did, after she'd known about the knife thing.

Hermione looked up from the book she was studying. "Ron and I discussed it before we broke up, so I looked into it. I might have spent a couple of months doing some private research."

Harry and Pansy looked at each other and Harry put their collective thoughts into words. "A couple of months?" he said incredulously, "what are you going to do? Write a book?"

Hermione blushed. "I was thinking about it. The customs are from all over the world, and there is no one guide to all the possibilities. Monogamy, bigamy, line marriages, polyandry,"

"Wait a minute." Harry had just caught the rest of her statement. "What do you mean, you and Ron broke up?"

Hermione flushed. "We had a difference of opinion, one we couldn't get around. Ron finally laid down an ultimatum, and I told him off, for the last time."

Harry frowned. "I'm sorry, Hermione," he said sympathetically.

She shrugged. "So am I, but I just couldn't deal with what he wanted." She looked at Harry. "What did you do to Ginny, anyway? I noticed that she avoided you when we got off the train, and so did everyone else."

Harry colored. "I was wrong about something, but I was too wrapped up in grief and worry to know it then." He looked at the scroll in his hand and handed it to Hermione. "Is this even legal?"

Hermione scanned it. "Yes, by Wizard law it is, although it's rarely used these days."

Harry frowned. He looked at Mr. Sharpstar. He said something to him, quietly, so the rest of them couldn't hear what he said. Mr. Sharpstar looked at him and nodded. Harry turned to the others. "I have to do something. I'll be back as soon as I can, and I'll give you an answer then, Pansy."

Pansy frowned. "I'm not a very patient person, Harry."

Harry crossed to her, ignoring the flinch as he stroked the back of her cheek with his hand. "I will protect you," he said quietly, "even if it's not in the way you want." Harry and Mr. Sharpstar went into the Floo and were gone.

Tonks watched as Hermione and Pansy had a conversation that they understood.

Hermione looked at Pansy, evaluating the other girl. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Completely, and you'd like a name, yes?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Harry will need a Slytherin outlook with him. Was he cute?"

"He saw everyone as a potential friend, that's why Malfoy annoyed him so much. Why this?" Hermione asked, holding up the scroll.

"Ginny will be Mrs. Potter, you're Hermione and I can't compete with either of those. It's the only way."

Pansy and Hermione stared at each other. Finally, Hermione smiled. "Good luck."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Thank you. You too."

Harry and Mr. Sharpstar made two quick stops and then returned to his office. Harry left again, without saying anything and Mr. Sharpstar would only say that he'd be back.

Pansy and Hermione stared at each other, speculating on what Harry was up to. Whatever it was, it involved the Weasleys, because Harry had Flooed to the Burrow.

And now, a few words from the Author. (As if everything prior to this wasn't by me.)

I was planning on making this day all one chapter, but explaining everything that is changing in Harry's life is taking a few too many words, so the rest of the day will be another chapter. SOG is roughly broken down into twelve chapters from this point on.

4. The rest of the day.

5. The summer and Harry's birthday.

6 through 16 will each cover a single month in the school year, with the last chapter covering June.

The last chapter will also cover an epilogue, set some ten years later.

That is the plan currently. However, Prophecy was supposed to be a mere twenty chapters. For those of you reading it, you might have noticed that it's grown a bit beyond that. I am going to try and keep this one shorter than that, but the characters grow on me, and want to say and do things that I had not planned on.

Ships: This is a Harry/Ginny story. It is also a Harry/Hermione story. It is also a Harry/Pansy story. It is also a Hermione/Pansy story. If you want to know how it can be all those at once, you'll just have to read it.

And yes, before you say anything, there will be some slash, as well as other things that are not entirely Mainstream. If that turns you away from SOG, I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is.

Fletcher: I wrote him a bit more articulate than he is in the books for one reason: I am an American, and my knowledge of current British slang is nil. Rather than look like a complete idiot, I made him a bit more well spoken.

To all the Readers Who Reviewed:

Thank you for taking the time to let me know that you like my work, and to say something about parts that you liked or thought were wrong. I love that, even when you tell me that I'm an Idiot That Writes. It means that I moved you, which is the goal of every writer.

And now, a few words for specific people:

Owl: Shades of Grey is happy that you love it, but she wishes to finish school first. (Yes, the Author is weird.)

Miss Anthrope: I will finish SOG, but I have learned not to promise regular updates. A new chapter is like giving birth; sometimes painful, and you never know until it's finished how long it's going to take.

Bandgsecurtiyaw: You're going to have to wait for each chapter... unless you can see the future.

Promios: Harry is a romantic, who refuses to have sex with Pansy because he doesn't love her. I know it's not a common attitude these days, but since I am writing the story, I can make him that way. I happen to agree with him, that sex is more than physical desire. As for the Ships, see the above note.

Qrookill: What can I say? Here's chapter three for you, and I'm already working on four. Patience is a virtue.

Pansyfansy: It will be equal parts H/G, H/Hr and H/Pansy. See the note on Ships.

Verath: I sent you an email with the order of the Prophecy stories.

Dave-gerecke: Continuing, as you hoped.

Anders1: See my answer to Miss Anthrope, because it's the same thing I'd say to you.

Fifespice: by now you know who sent Pansy, you'll have to wait for the Order meeting to see what they do, Pansy and Harry will be friends, and you'll have to read the story to see what Hermione thinks.

Just Me Prime: See the answer to Bandgsecurtiyaw above.

The Demon Inside: Thank you... and I have an idea for a story, using your name as the title. Do you mind?

Voldemort is Dead: Thank you. See my note on ships... Ginny may not be right for Harry, but when do affairs of the Heart follow logic? Ron... is going to go Ballistic in this story, at least twice. Harry's birthday is turning into its own chapter. Harry's coming of age is going to rock the Wizard world, and may become a historical event in Professor Binn's class.

IndiaInk: First, I love your review, Thank you. Harry is not warm toward Pansy, yet. He is one of the most compassionate people alive though, and Pansy has come to him for help. That makes her a person, and she's giving him something he's not getting from most people. Honesty. She's made it plain she is here for her family, and that he's a means to an end. Fletcher, as I mentioned above, is a result of my own shortcomings as a writer, but it's not going to matter, as he's only got one more appearance, and he won't be saying much. Hopefully, the rest of SOG will live up to its start.