Disclaimer; As usual I do not own Harry Potter or Raistlin Majere. I'll give a nod to Nonjon for A.K. and his Golden Rule though, they're in here just as a cameo.

00000

The month of August went by quickly. Harry made progress in his magical studies but had more faltering starts than leaps of understanding. He found some things nearly impossible to grasp. Though he was becoming excellent with illusions and glamour spells, he was having almost no luck with the spells to actually change his body. After he practically begged his master to teach him the shape shifting spell, he was assigned to start with one that basically would make him a metamorphmagus for a few minutes. He would even be able to grow additional arms or wings if he got it right, instead of just having a glamour that provided an illusion of them.

Despite the fact that he used more complex spells everyday, it took him forever to get it right. Raistlin scoffed at him when he asked for help with such a "simple spell" and insisted that the problem was all in his mind. To Harry, being a metamorphmagus or an animagus was simply something you either were or weren't. The idea that it could be imitated with a spell seemed counterintuitive. Eventually he was able to alter his body a little bit, becoming a foot shorter or taller and changing his features a bit, but still couldn't manage to give himself four arms or wings. The moment he stopped concentrating though, the spell would fail and his body would revert to its usual form. He knew that additional limbs would be necessary for the next stage, when he learned to actually polymorph, so he kept working at it.

His studies in necromancy were advancing, as he came to understand death and life things became a little easier. He had managed, under his master's careful watch, to reanimate one of the fallen Death Eaters. Initially it was a burned and disfigured corpse, but in the course of the animation ritual the flesh burned off completely leaving only a mindless skeleton. It could only follow extremely simple commands, but at least it did not question orders. A few days later he was exhausted after a practice when a spell backfired on him, so he leeched the artificial life from the poor thing for a quick pick-me-up. With the magic gone, skeleton crumbled into dust and blew away in the wind. He also learned to fashion a shield of magic that would steal life and energy from anyone who touched him physically. It wouldn't be particularly useful against Death Eaters who used magic for everything, but Harry could still see its uses.

It was three days before the start of term when an alarm sounded in his study area. It was not the alarm he had learned to cast to alert him of incoming visitors, nor did it sound like the alarm for the magical oven he had purchased in Diagon Alley. Raistlin apparently knew what it was however because Harry could suddenly feel his happiness in the back areas of his mind. Following his master's orders, Harry gathered a few items and climbed the stairs to Raistlin's laboratory.

When Harry entered the room, he was shocked by the changes it had undergone in the last two months. Maps of the world hung on the walls and were covered in arcane symbols and diagrams. There were all manner of books and bizarre instruments scattered across the worktables, and quite a few unknown potions bubbling on one table off to the side. The thing that caught and held Harry's attention above all others was the giant glass cylinder Harry had seen once before. Floating peacefully in a green tinted liquid with bubbles occasionally forming across its skin was an exact duplicate of himself. Every tiny detail down to the hourglass scar where the skin on his arm had been removed was perfectly replicated in this… thing! Harry couldn't take his eyes off of it.

"Is it… alive?" He asked his master.

"Not yet. The body lives but it has no soul to give it life." Raistlin told him. "There are only a few more things to do before I can put myself inside it. I'll need control for a few minutes."

Even though Harry was supposed to be in control during the day he was happy to give it up, hoping it would be the last time. Raistlin used a set of tongs to carefully grab a large ruby and lower it into a shimmering silver potion. He then increased the intensity of the flame and let the potion boil furiously for several minutes. Taking the potion off the fire when it suddenly turned black, he used the tongs to remove the crystal again. The ruby had magically grown several times it's original size and glowed faintly. After it had been washed clean of all traces of the potion, it was dried carefully before being lowered into a different potion. Once the new potion had returned to its slow simmer, Harry flinched a bit as Raistlin cut open his palm and allowed his blood to flow into the potion. The cut was healed with a spell and the stone retrieved. Once again it had grown, and was roughly the size of a large egg. Instead of washing off the excess potion as before, the wet and sticky gem was rolled into a sparkling white powder, covering all the sides. As soon as it dried, Raistlin cast a spell and the powdery coating crystallized into a smooth and colorless layer on the magical gem. What started as a small red ruby was now a stone the size of a man's fist, glowed with an inner fire, and had an outer layer of flawless diamond that couldn't be scratched.

Raistlin levitated the empty husk out of the tank it was grown in and laid it out on a table. He placed a set of robes by its side and carefully placed the stone in the middle of the chest. Whispering a spell, the gem began to glow brightly and pulse with power. Harry suddenly felt as if he had been immersed in custard and was being pulled out. The air seemed to thicken around him and he felt a pulling sensation down to the core of his being. With a squelching sound, Harry felt Raistlin leave his body. The gem flared brightly for a moment and shattered into dust. The gem dust flew around the body and seemed to be a nimbus of power. Little by little the dust was absorbed and the glow faded.

When the last of the gem dust was gone, the body's eyes opened and Harry was surprised to see them as golden with hourglass pupils instead of green like his own. His master sat up and began to dress himself in the robes he had prepared.

"What is it?" He snapped, noticing that Harry was staring at him with something like awe.

"Your eyes, everything else looks like my body but I've never seen eyes like that before." Harry replied.

"Functionally it is your body, but the eyes will always tell. The eyes are the gateway to the soul, and my soul was cursed a long time ago to see time as it affects all things. Now get out of my lab, I have things to do!"

00000

In the early morning hours of the first of September, two figures dressed in muggle clothing exited the Tower in Godrics Hollow. One of them carried a trunk and a cage, the other only a small sack. The one with the sack traced a symbol into the wood of the door and spoke a few words of magic, sealing it from any intruders upon pain of death if any opened the door but those two. Harry was off to Hogwarts while Raistlin was leaving to see the world and track down the knowledge he needed to restore his spell book completely. Harry offered to loan his master money to help things along but he scoffed at the idea, insisting that he was above the need to borrow money to finance his travel. Harry received strict instructions on things he should research on his own and given a list of spells to learn as he was able. They would meet again during the winter holidays unless something untoward happened.

Raistlin teleported away to start his odyssey while Harry was casting his nondetection spell and glamour. Once he was sure that the ministry could not detect his magic and that he wouldn't be recognized, Harry apperated to the Leaky Cauldron in London. He hefted the feather-light trunk onto his shoulder and walked three blocks to the Charing Cross Tube Station.

Since he had a little time before the train left, Harry stepped into a tiny restaurant outside the station for a wholesome breakfast. Not long after he received his meal, a family walked in and sat at the table behind him. Harry soon heard a voice he knew all to well. Hermione and her parents apparently had the same idea he did, and he could hear Hermione fretting to her parents about not hearing from him all summer. She seemed concerned that he just vanished without a trace, but was hopeful that he would be on the train. Harry smirked to himself as he put a few things together. He and Raistlin had been careful to ward the Tower against divination magic so they would be undisturbed, but Harry hadn't expected this to divert owls too. He had thought that his friends were just stuck following Dumbledore's orders again before the Fidelius was raised.

After paying his bill, Harry shouldered his trunk once again and walked to the door. As he was leaving, he caught the flash of recognition when Hermione saw the Gryffindor logo on the end of his trunk and smirked before giving her a wink and vanishing into the crowds.

00000

Harry was sitting alone in a compartment, still concealed behind his glamour, when Hermione finished her prefect's meeting. Getting the compartment to himself hadn't been easy, but those few who didn't immediately assume he was the new instructor for Defense Against the Dark Arts Professors were quickly scowled into submission. Ron and Hermione stormed into the room about an hour into the ride.

"You!" Hermione said with a voice full of venom.

"Me," Harry said cheekily.

"Him?" Ron asked since no one bothered to inform him what was going on.

"You disappear all summer and then just turn up with a smirk and a new face?"

"Just who do you think I am?" Harry asked with a hint of confusion.

"Harry, I've lived on the other side of the tower from you for five years do you think I don't know what your trunk looks like?"

Harry let the glamour drop and smiled. "Ah, the jig is up. So how was your summer?"

"Where have you been mate? Everyone was looking for you and the owls just came back without delivering your letters." Ron told him.

"Oh, I found God and decided to become a monk. Unfortunately they found out I was a wizard so I had to come back before they could arrange a witch burning." Harry shook his head sadly. "It was so peaceful until they brought out the pitchforks and torches."

"And a sudden burst of religion made you decide to ignore your friends?" Hermione said scoldingly.

"Well they did make me take a vow of silence, and I couldn't write because I had to follow what the Good Book said." Harry explained.

"Blimey, no talking at all? I'd go 'round the twist." Ron looked horrified at the prospect.

"Before I became a witch my family attended services and I don't remember anything forbidding you from writing to your friends."

"Well what about the part that says "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"? This nice old man explained the Golden Rule so I could finally understand. If you had wanted me to be a friend, you would have been one to me. I figured that since you guys didn't want me to know anything last summer you must not want to know about what I was doing. But now that we're back at school we can go back to pretending everything is perfect right?"

"Mate, everyone was worried sick about you. Dumbledore had practically the whole Order out looking for you. Alright you've made your point about the letters but we were worried." Ron chipped in.

"Dumbledore and Snape both came to visit me so it isn't my fault if they never told you I was just fine. Personally I think the Headmaster was playing some of his games and used me as a convenient excuse." Harry and his friends continued talking and catching up for the rest of the train ride. Once they finally caught on that he wasn't going to tell them exactly where he was over the summer things progressed on to all the other topics friends chatted over. Harry shared a few stories that his chess partner A.K. told him, along things he had done or seen when he was out and about, but was careful never to mention anything about his training.

00000

The sorting was slightly larger this year than in years past, but Harry wasn't paying attention like everyone else. Taking advantage of a decent distraction and a clear shot, Harry decided he needed to know when the winds of change began blowing. Discreetly he kissed each of his fingertips on his right hand then stuck a dried white rose petal to each one. Returning his hand to under the table, Harry locked his eyes on his target across the hall and started to say his spell. Ever so gently his fingers closed around an imaginary ball and he brought it towards himself under the table. Seeing no immediate reaction, or at least none that would indicate failure, he called it a success and would follow up later.

Once the feast was over and everyone was dismissed back to their dorms Harry waited for most of the school to leave before crossing the Great Hall, his friends trailing behind him. He called out to one of the stragglers, "Blaise, wait up!"

Blaise Zabini was known for being a loner, even within Slytherin House. Her frosty attitude and lack of friends earned her the nickname Ice Queen, but when she turned and saw Harry her dark eyes lit up and a smile graced her face. Once he got closer, she greeted Harry like an old friend. "Harry, good to see you!"

"It's good to see you to Blaise. Look, I'm sorry I haven't really gotten to know you over the years, but I was hoping you could do me a small favor." Harry gave her a pathetic grin and puppy dog eyes.

"Oh stop that," She chided with a giggle. Then her smile turned evil. "What can I do to… err, for you?"

Harry ignored the intentional attempt to derail him with hormones but inwardly cheered, his spell was in full effect. "I was hoping you could give me a heads up if there was anything brewing in Slytherin that I would need to know about. I could ask others but I wanted a chance to get to know you better."

"Of course I can do that. Here I was hoping it was something hard you wanted me to take care of." She pouted a little.

"Not tonight maybe another time," He teased her, "Thanks, it's good to know I can count on you."

"No problem Harry. I've got to go but I'll see you around." She ruffled his hair playfully and left the hall for the dungeons.

When Harry turned around, he found both of his friends staring at him in shock. Their mouths were working but no noise was coming out. Finally Ron recovered somewhat. "You melted the Ice Queen."

"It's that whole Golden Rule thing again. If someone curses you every day for five years you might decide they want to be cursed in return, but if you offer a little friendship…" Harry trailed off and let them draw their own conclusions. Truthfully the sudden change was more the former than the latter but he wouldn't admit that. For the next week or so, Zabini's free will was his to command. He wasn't controlling her like with the Imperious curse, but she did view him as a close and trusted friend and would be happy to follow any reasonable requests he might make.

Ron quickly got over who he was being friendly with and moved straight on to what he was being friendly with. "But she's a Slytherin! You know they're all out to get you."

"Of course she's a Slytherin, she wouldn't be nearly as effective a spy if she weren't," Harry pointed out. "Besides, didn't the hat warn that this was a time for unity between the houses? Are you mad that I've got friends in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff from the DA?"

"It's not that we object to her being a Slytherin…" Hermione started. "Ok so it is, just be careful Harry."

00000

Since the next morning was a Sunday, Harry took advantage of his lack of classes and his roommates' habit of sleeping in to sneak out of Gryffindor tower unobserved. If he was going to maintain both fields of magical study, he needed room to work and practice without having the whole student body breathing down his neck about anything odd. The Room of Requirement and the Chamber of Secrets were both good choices except they were too obvious.

Over the years Harry had found a few rooms that most people weren't likely to know about, but not all of them were suitable for his needs. Most of them were just extra classrooms from when the school housed more students but there were a few really unusual rooms that deserved a look. For instance, there was a small chapel on the fifth floor that used to be used by muggleborn students who were devout in their faith. Over the years religion had become a less important part of muggle society and the room forgotten by most. It was large enough for Harry's purposes but the Hufflepuff ghost, the Fat Friar, still used it as his retreat on Sunday mornings.

The site Harry was particularly interested in was the area under the third floor corridor were Fluffy was housed in his first year. Down the trapdoor was a long fall and several connected rooms, but Harry wondered if the traps and tests were still there. Ideally he could set up shop in the last two chambers and set his own traps and locks on the previous ones. He could have a small work area in the room formerly occupied by Snape's fire challenge, and practice spells in the much larger cavern where the mirror was and Harry fought Voldemort.

Once he arrived at the proper hallway Harry pulled open the trap door and descended down the hole on his broom, pulling the trap door closed when he did. There was no sign of the Devil's snare as he passed the level where it was strung across the tunnel. Landing on the floor below, Harry shrunk his broom and proceeded forward. The room that formerly bore the keys and brooms was now empty but the door remained locked. All the unlocking charms he tried failed to help, even the one his master taught him. Harry stared at the door for a few moments before inspiration kicked in and he summoned the pins out of the hinges holding the door in place. After that it was easy to just move the door out of the way without unlocking it. Honestly, it took him longer to get past this door now than it did in first year. Who leaves the key in the same room as a locked door? It kind of defeats the purpose.

The room that used to house the chess set was empty, as were the others. Good locks and sturdy doors were all that stood in his way. Harry resolved to study a few good locking spells and other methods of keeping people out over the next week and he would leave the castle on the weekend to get anything he needed. He already had a few good ideas about what to put in the chess room and where Quirrel's troll was hiding, but at the very least he wanted a password on the trapdoor and something cool in the first room just in case.