AN/ Hello everyone, I know this has been along time in coming and is only a short chapter this time, I am sorry. Hit a road block for a while on this one, I have the trial and the sorting and everything later all planned out, it is just the bit between now and then that is giving me trouble. Oh well, here we are with the next part.

AN2/ Gaahh I have had this done for ages but won't let me upload. I'll keep trying though.

AN3/ Finally got the thing to cooperate. this chapter has been done for over a month now. Now I am going to have to reread everything to continue where I left off. Thanks for your patience and welcome to all the new readers popping up in my email account.

Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine. Belongs to J K Rowling and always will.

Ch 11: Lurking Menace

With only a week left until the start of term the spirit decided they should test out the limits of their magic to determine if it had changed due to the merger. The manor had a training room in the West wing that was layered with shielding spells and reinforced walls, making it a perfect place to work.

Looking down at the wand in his hand, Harry ran his fingers thoughtfully over the smooth wood then glanced at the pile of cushions that Remus had gathered for him. Giving the twist with his mind the spirit appeared beside him and the two of them studied the bright pile, Harry with a curious, slightly thoughtful look, the spirit a slight frown of contemplation.

"I think that it might be a good idea for us to test if there is any difference in our control if me, you or both of us are in control." The spirit finally mused.

Harry glanced up at him then nodded when he read the spirits reasoning. He was concerned that if anything happened to silence him at some point that the younger soul would have the same grasp on their power. The projection shimmered and vanished and the spirit's voice came from the back of his mind once again.

"We'll do it together first. Not only to test if there is a significant increase with the two of us combined but it will give you a chance to feel how to perform the spell first hand."

Harry relaxed his mind and the two of them combined once again. Looking over at the pile of cushions once again, he raised his wand and gave the practices swish and flick of the levitation charm, muttering the incantation to himself in his mind. The cushion he indicated rose smoothly into the air to hover at head height with little effort. Letting the charm go, the spirit separated himself once again and nodded thoughtfully.

"Looks as though there was a bit of an increase in power." He mused thoughtfully, "Not enough for it to be a problem with control I think, at least not on my end. And as you have not been trained as of yet anyway it should not be too much of an issue for you to get used to this level of power right from the start."

He felt the curiosity in the mind he shared and smiled, "Normally your magic grows with you" he explained, "But in this case you have had it thrust upon you at full strength. You are going to need to learn the spells without relying on my memories in case something goes wrong, but I don't think it is going to be too much of an issue."

Blocking off his memories form his younger self, the spirit took a mental step back surrendering all control over to his younger self. "Try the charm that we just did. Remember the incantation and wand movement, although you can say it aloud. Technically you are not supposed to learn silent casting until sixth year."

Harry nodded and raised his wand once more. It felt decidedly odd not having the other mind guiding him but he understood the necessity of his learning to do this on his own. Flicking the wand the same way he remembered, he clearly stated the incantation but as he did, he knew straight away that it wasn't right. The pillow before him burst into a puff of feathers and the spirit snorted in amusement.

"Do you know what you did wrong?" he asked.

Harry frowned down at his wand thoughtfully and recalled the feeling of the spell from earlier, "I think so." He answered absently. Raising his wand again he tried again, this time changing the angle of his wand slightly. This time the cushion almost shot to the ceiling and he dropped the charm with yelp, stumbling back in case this one exploded as well.

The spirit laughed outright and Harry glared over at his projection, sending an irritated jab at the presence in the back of his head. "Don't worry Harry." He chuckled, "This is what I was talking about when I mentioned that you would have to adjust to having you power thrust on you full force. Normally this charm is the first you learn as it is one that requires control more then anything. You must learn how much power to put behind it. Too much and the object blows up or shoots through the roof, too little and nothing happens. Try again, but this time concentrate on feeling the amount of power you are channeling through your wand. Try to balance the power with the weight of the cushion just enough to lift it from the floor."

Trying once more, Harry turned his concentration inward as instructed and saw at once what the other was talking about. He could almost see the power he was using. Grasping hold of the stream he siphoned off the power to a mere trickle that he fed into his wand, flicking the wand carefully, he repeated the incantation once more. This time the cushion rose slowly into the air only wobbling slightly. He held it there for a few moments until the strain got too much and he dropped it before dropping to sit on the floor.

"Better, but you held onto the power too tightly. You need to control the flow, yes, but still need to allow the power to flow smoothly. That is enough for the moment, but if you would step back, we can see what my control is like. I haven't had to contend with an eleven year old form in a long time and I would not want to hurt us."

Nodding wearily, Harry stepped back in his own mind and felt the spirit slide into his place. This was the first time that the spirit had taken full control and it was decidedly odd for a few moments as he got accustomed to a much smaller frame. Flicking the wand around in his fingers he jumped on the spot for a few seconds then turned his attention to the pile of cushions once more. Lifting the wand he flicked it with ease and whispered the spell in his mind. Over the years the levitation spell had come in handy in many ways and he was careful to block the memories of some of the uses he had put the rather innocent spell to from his younger partner. But because of that, he had learnt to channel the energy behind this spell until it was almost an art form. In response to his prompting five brightly coloured cushions rose into the air and suspended themselves at different heights.

Studying them thoughtfully for a moment he raised his arms slowly and almost lazily flicked his wand, looking almost like a conductor.

By combining a constant stream of alternating, low level, banishing and summoning charms he soon had the cushions circling the room at different heights and different orbits. The exercise was one he had come up with after leaving school, it took concentration and control to pull off and he soon lost himself in the motions. A startled gasp from the doorway broke his concentration and he swung without thinking, his wand pointing towards the intruder and the cushions suddenly tensed to be used as missiles, ready to strike from five different directions.

The sight of Remus's startled face and the frantic jab from the younger presence in his mind snapped Harry out of his trance and he cursed softly as the cushions thumped to the ground. He shuddered slightly and separated his projection allowing his younger self take control of their body once more.

"Sorry about that Moony." He sighed, brushing back his fringe, a gesture his younger self imitated, their connection being close enough now that certain habits expressed by either mind could influence their shared body.

Remus just laughed in understanding and entered the room. "Not at all." He commented softly, "I gather that I need to be careful when you are practicing. I should have thought of that and I apologise."

The spirit raised an eyebrow and again his younger self copied and Remus chuckled at the mirror expressions, "First off," he stated, "I lived with two Aurors during the first war, and secondly I am a werewolf, I am well aware of how ones reflexes tend to be on a hair trigger if one is startled. I just forgot to attribute that caution to a young child. I'm still coming to grips with the fact that there is a war veteran living inside that eleven year old body."

"Never mind, old friend." The spirit dismissed, "It is interesting from our point of view as well. I find myself acting more like a child then I have in years, it is rather disconcerting."

Harry shifted his feet uncomfortably, "Sorry." He muttered, not entirely sure what he was apologising for. But a wave of reassurance came from his other half.

"It's fine. More then fine really. I rather like that my responses are mixing with yours. It makes life a lot brighter then what I had experienced in the last few years."

This time the reassurance came from the younger Harry and Remus watched the two of them, a sad smile of understanding on his face. "I just noticed," he commented softly, "The two of you balance each other out. Rather like flip sides of the same coin. I actually cannot really imagine one of you without the other, you would just seem incomplete."

The Spirit chuckled softly, "Maybe your right." He conceded. "Anyway, what was it you were looking for us for, has something happened?"

Remus actually slapped his forehead in exasperation, "Sorry, I thought you would want to take a look at this." He reached into his jacket and drew out that days' copy of the Prophet. As he handed it over, Harry drew in the projection and read over the title on the front page, his eyebrow almost disappearing into his hairline.

Trail date for Sirius Black Decided.

"The twenty fifth of August? That is the week before school starts." The spirit mused. Harry nodded in agreement, "Do you think that they will allow us to attend?" he asked hopefully. The spirit ran his hand through their hair and scanned through the article, "I don't know about them allowing us," he mused, completely ignoring the amused expression on Remus face as he watched them switch back and forth without even realising they were doing it, "There is no way that I am going to miss out on seeing Fudge get pulled over the coals. He may not have been in office when Sirius was arrested but he was the one who initiated the whole man hunt once he escaped and he is the one who tried to pin everything one either him or me over the years. Remus, if you don't stop snickering I am going to curse you."

He turned his eyes up to see the werewolf almost hunched over in mirth, breathing heavily to keep from laughing.

"I'm sorry," he gasped finally, "But that is one of the most bizarre conversations I have witnessed in a long time. You had better make sure you don't do that at school or they are going to lock you in a secure ward in Saint Mungo's."

He regained control of himself and shook his head, "Anyway, the issue of you attending has already been decided. Here." He held out an official looking role of parchment bearing the wax seal of the ministry of magic, "Official summons to attend the trail of one Sirius Black." He explained as Harry broke the seal and scanned the document, "I got one as well, looks as though the Headmaster was serious when he said he was going to try to set a few things right. At least he will have a few friends in the crowd." This last was said almost to himself, his voice heavy with regret.

Harry reached up and grasped his shoulder in sympathy, "Don't worry Moony." He said softly, both souls uniting in an effort to comfort their friend, "We'll get the old dog back, just you see. We have the Headmaster behind us on this one."

Looking up at the clock over the door, straightened his robes and flipped his wand back into the holster on his wrist, "Come on, let's go get something to eat." He advised, leading the way from the training room.

……………………………….

Slinking along in the shadows, the cloaked figure kept a close watch on the street he traversed, slipping from shadow to shadow until he reached the run down inn that he was using to work out of. Sending a dark glare from under his low hood at the proprietor as he made his way us the stairs to his room, he closed the door on the outside world and sank into the rickety chair before the small fireplace. A large snake slithered out from under the bed to coil around his feet, the head slipping up into his lap. Running a slim finger over the snakes smooth scales, the presence brooding in the hosts head ran over everything that had to be done before he confronted his archenemy once more. "I need to shift the Horcruxes." He hissed to himself as he absently stroked the snake that lay across his lap, "There are a couple out of reach at the moment, namely the one in Hogwarts. But I should be able to collect the locket and the ring without too much trouble. As for the diary…." He mused over the situation for a moment then chuckled, "As amusing as it would be to have Lucius plant the thing on the Weasley whelp again, the brat will be on the look out for it. I am going to have to get that one back as well. Not to mention the one I left in dear Belatrix's safe keeping. The ring I can collect without too much trouble, but the locket I am going to need to find a sacrifice to drink the poison." Running his fingers over the smooth wood of his own phoenix feather wand that he had collected that very night from where it had lay hidden for the last ten years, he mused over the ritual that had brought him back to life the last time. He was going to have to come up with a different plan this time as there was no way that the boy was going to fall for that a second time. Over the years that they had chased each other they had both learnt much and if there was one thing that Harry Potter had learnt it was to be cunning. As much as it had galled him to admit it, even Voldemort himself had to admit that the boy had been a worthy adversary over the years. There was also another matter that would need to be seen to, namely the elimination of a certain spy. The Malfoy brat was another issue. The boy might still be of some use if he was handled carefully, but Snape on the other hand. "Ah, my dear Serverus." He hissed to himself, "You played me for a fool for many years. But not this time. I wonder…" sliding his finger down Nagini's long body, he sneered, "Can I take you out before the boy realises I am here? Or shall I watch as the brat tries to protect everyone he lost the last time round. It might be amusing to see how he goes about the matter. It might also be interesting to see who he forgets."

Staring into the flickering flames, the spirit that was once, and would soon be again Lord Voldemort plotted the resurrection of his body, the elimination of a few choice traitors and the downfall of one Harry James Potter once and for all.

Sitting in the shadows off to one corner, a small, rat faced man shivered in fear. The man that had confronted him on his arrival did not have the features of his master but his dark mark had burned, confirming his master's presence. The man had sneered at him then shifted the hood from his head, revealing the snakelike face fused to his skull. At that point, all hope in Wormtail's mind that he would be able to hide away for the rest of his life had been dashed. And now, here he was, crouched in the corner of his master's room watching as the man brooded and planned, wondering what was in store for him in order for him to assist his master in restoring him to his former glory and might. One thing was for sure, at the moment he would rather face his master with the possibility of being some use, no matter how small, then to run into his two ex friends who, from what he had read in the paper about the upcoming trial, would very soon be out for his blood.

………………..

Setting his fork down, Harry reached up and rubbed at his scar, a puzzled frown on his face. Across from him, Remus looked up from his own meal and blinked, "Is everything alright?" he asked in concern.

Harry shook his head thoughtfully, "I'm not entirely sure." He mused, "Before hand I was never able to sense old Voldy's presence unless he was close by and feeling particularly vindictive, but for some reason I have been getting twinges from the link for the past few weeks. I thought perhaps it was something to do with merging my two souls, maybe it had enhanced my sensitivity slightly, but now I am not too sure."

Pushing back his empty plate, he sat back and watched as Remus finished his meal and pushed his plate away as well. "So what are you planning to do?" he asked finally.

Harry sighed and drew his hand through his hair, "I'm not real sure." He admitted, "The best thing would be to arrange to collect the Horcruxes as soon as possible but that is going to be difficult to do as an eleven year old. It would also be hard to keep it from the Headmaster as well. Not only that but there is still information that the old man has that I think I might need. I was never able to find the final piece of his soul, was never able to finish it." He stared blankly at the table as the house elves cleared away the empty dishes, "There is still so much that I am missing." He mused. Shaking his head he straightened up, "Anyway, there is no rush just yet. Voldemort didn't make his move until later in the year, so we have time yet."

It wasn't until later, when Remus had gone to bed and Harry sat staring into the fire that his younger self caught onto something they had missed. "Hang on," he stated softly, staring hard into the fire, "You said that Voldemort didn't make his move until later in the year."

"That's right." Curiosity came from the older soul as he tried to follow his younger partners reasoning.

"That is not right." He stated thoughtfully, "The first move old snake face made according to what you showed me was to break into Gringotts after the Philosophers Stone, but we have not heard of the break in at all, have we?"

The older soul was silent for a full minute before he swore softly, "You're right," he hissed, "I totally missed it. What in Merlins name is going on?"

…………………….

AN/ Ok few points here; I will be using a few points from book seven but not much, mainly what I was planning to use anyway and that just happened to be in the last book as well, heh. Coming up next is the trial so hang on to your hats for that one. Again sorry for the wait and double sorry for the short chapter. Also, thank you all for your reviews if I haven't thanked you personally. I hope you all continue to enjoy. Heh, Harry has started to become suspicious (about time).