My life - An adventure

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter works belong to J.K. Rowling.

AN: This story is an idea I got from "Harry Potter and the Memories of Old" by Snowy123. Some of spells are from the story "Harry Potter and the Unlocked Knowledge" by kmfrank.

Chapter 12

I step into Albus' office as I flooed from Grimmauld place. I see Albus at his desk and greet him. "Morning Professor."

"You as well, Harry. And as I asked, please call me Albus when we are alone or with your father's friends."

I smile sheepishly at him. It will take sometime to get it out of my mouth naturally. I greet Fawkes by scratching under his beak. "Hello, my beautiful bird." She croons in response.

"If you keep doing that, you are going to spoil him Harry."

Fawkes trills in indignation and turns his back to him. I laugh at his antics. I kiss the bird that saved my life and take a seat.

"I heard some good things about your group of friends from Alastor. He was pleasantly surprised at how well they have taken to the training for a group fourteen and sixteen year olds."

I smile. "Ahh… that's because I have been teaching them Auror level shields and NEWT level spells for most of third year."

"I expected as much. He reserved his highest praise for you though. It seems that you drew a couple of duels with him?"

I nod. "It's because of many reasons. The hours of dodging I went through, using blindfold mind you. The target practice I did to improve my accuracy. But I will put down the biggest reason to Voldemort's memories. You see pro... Albus, I always kept his memories separate from mine. When I needed a piece of knowledge, I looked into his memories and learned that piece myself."

He nods and I continue. "I debated with myself about this and decided to absorb some of his memories. Most to do with his dueling training. As you know, he is a fierce duelist and won many fights and lost only a few. Integrating his memories into mine, gave me that raw instinct, which you can gain only from experience. Of course he knows a variety of tricks and tactics, which he learned from a variety of sources from all over the world. They helped as well."

"And do you plan on integrating any of his other memories?"

I think about it. "I would have to think on that. I don't want to absorb any of his death eater meetings or the countless hours he spent learning the dark arts. Maybe the warding experience he gained can be useful."

"Very well. But please keep my warning at heart Harry."

I nod. "I will Albus. Not to worry."

He smiles. "I would like to see one of your duels."

"Why don't you drop by toward the end of August? You can watch all of us duel and decide for yourself where we stand."

"Excellent. And you are meeting with Severus today?"

I nod. "Then, please do so with an open mind."

"Contrary to what people might think, I know you are not a fool, Albus. I want to understand your reasons behind trusting him."

He chuckles. "I will take that as a compliment. Is there anything else?"

"Yeah… That book you gave me…"

"Ahh… Yes. Interesting stories aren't they?"

I agree. I read the rest of the book over the last week. "So they are real? The wand, the stone and the cloak?"

"Oh! Very much so, Harry."

"Am I right in guessing that the cloak I carry is the same as the one in the story."

"Indeed. It was passed down within your family for generations. From Ignotus Peverell himself."

"And the stone we took from Gaunt's house… that's the resurrection stone?"

"It is. Though I can only guess how they got it."

"Voldemort believed it to be his family ring. Maybe the are related to the second brother…"

"Cadmus Peverell. Your guess is as good as mine."

"And the wand?"

Albus smiles. "It exists. Possibly the most famous of the Hallows."

"Hallows?"

"Yes, combined, the wand, the cloak and the stone are called the Deathly Hallows."

Has a nice ring to it.

"Have you used the stone, Albus?"

Here he hesitates. "I did, Harry. Though the results might not be what you expect. The stone will not bring back the dead. Nothing of this world can. What it brings is a shadow… More than a ghost, but less than they were in life."

Here the uncertainty of my past self creeps in. "Do you think… do you think I can use it Professor?"

"I thought you would ask…"

He opens the shelf, takes out the stone and hands it over to me. "You turn it three times between your thumb and forefinger wishing for the people you want to meet. And when you want them gone… turn it the other way round."

He points to a door I never saw before. "Through that door, you will find my quarters."

I nod and walk silently through the door. I don't know if I am scared or excited to be able to meet them at last.

I sit on couch and stare the stone in my hand. I don't know how long I did that, but finally I turned it three times wishing for James Potter and Lily Potter.

I heard a sound and opened by eyes to see them. What Albus said was true. They are more than ghosts, but less than human. Dad is exactly like I envisioned him to be. He is wearing the same clothes as the day he died. For the first time I realized why they say I look like my father. He has a proud smile on his face, or at least I hope so.

I turn to face my mom… My beautiful mom as she stares at me with passion, with a hidden hunger that matches my own. Her eyes are as green as mine and she has a wide smile on her face. She takes a step toward me.

"My little Harry…"

I have tears rolling down my face. "Can I… Can I hug you?"

They nod and I hug them till my hearts content. The first real hug I can remember from them. And it feels warm. Very warm.

I release them and gaze up at them. "I love you both."

My mom answers for them both. "We love you as well, Harry. And we are very proud of you."

"You are?"

"More than you know. We have always been watching over you, my little angel."

"That… that means you know about the memories?"

"We do… But we know you will put them to good use."

"I promise, I will."

I continue to stare at them. "You cannot stay can you?"

"We are part of you Harry. We can stay as long as you want us to."

"But you don't want to. You are not part of this… this life anymore?"

My father answers for me. "That we are not."

I nod and continue to take them in. "Are you happy?"

"We are Harry."

We continue to sit in silence holding hands. "Does it hurt when you die?"

Mom kisses me on my head. "No… It's like you are going to sleep."

Dad gets my attention. "I have a message for you son. I cannot say from whom. But, when you are at the end of the path, use the stone and summon."

"Summon whom?"

Dad ruffles my hair. "You will know when the time comes."

Mom takes my hand into hers. "Can you do me a favor, Harry? When you meet Severus, tell him, he has my thanks and my forgiveness."

"You mean it?"

She sighs sadly. "He was a good friend, but we fell apart."

My dad joins in. "You can also tell him, that the debt he owes me and now you, has been paid in full. And tell Sirius, that he will always be my brother in all but blood."

I agree to deliver the messages. I get up and hug them one more time.

"Bye mom, dad. I will not summon you again. But I will see you when the time comes."

"And we will be waiting." Answers my mom. They kiss me one last time and I turn the stone the other way with a heavy heart. They disappear and I sit down heavily on the sofa. I sit there for a few minutes before I step out of the room back into Albus' office.

I give the stone back to him. "Thanks for letting me use it, professor."

He nods and takes it in his hand. "That was an experience wasn't it Harry? Though you returned it much sooner than I expected."

I shrug. "I got what I wanted professor. The knowledge that they loved me and that they are happy."

He smiles. "And that Harry is the reason, you are the only person I can trust with such an artifact."

I shake my head. "No professor. You keep it. But keep it safe. I have a feeling we will need it soon."

He looks intrigued but agrees. "Albus, mom and dad asked me to deliver messages to Sirius and Snape…"

"Ahh… And you want to know what to tell them without giving the secret of the stone?"

I nod and he ponders it with me. "Maybe I should tell them I dreamt about it???"

"Might be convincing enough if you have the right message."

I shrug and get up to leave. "I will see you later Albus."

He waves me off. I walk down to the dungeons going through the messages my parents gave me. I knock on Snape's door.

He answers as gruffly as always. "Enter."

I open the door and enter the room. "Take your potion and get out Potter. Go see the Nurse before you take it."

I take the vile of liquid lying on his desk and pocket it. Then, I take out my wand and wave it at the door locking it and adding a privacy ward.

He looks like he is ready to kill me. "What do you think you are doing, Potter. I said get out."

"I will. But first I want some answers."

"I have nothing to say to you, you arrogant piece of shit… Now leave before I make you."

"You have much to answer for, Snape." I twirl my wand as I look at him. He looks slightly disturbed with my attitude.

"You gave the prophecy to Voldemort." He hisses as I say his name, but pales considerably.

"How do you know this?"

I continue as if I haven't heard him. "Yet, you asked for my Mother's life when you knew he was going to kill me."

"How… How do you know this, Potter… Answer me?"

Then, as we realizing something, he spats a name. "Dumbledore."

"Oh! I asked him the same questions, but he wouldn't answer. He told me to ask you."

"Then, HOW DO YOU KNOW?" He roars. He points his wand at me in a swift moment and screams. "Leglimens."

He tries to batter my shields and I let him for a few moments before I send a disarmer followed by an Incarcerous.

He is tied to the chair and I pocket his wand. "If you know what's good for you, you will let me go Potter. NOW."

"Answer me, Snape. Why did you ask for my mother's life when you yourself gave him the prophecy?"

He sits there silent. "Did you want to torture her yourself, Snape? Was that it? Was it a sort of revenge against my dad?"

He struggles against the bonds but does not answer. "Did she beat you in potions while she was in school? Did she insult you? Was she cruel to you? Was this your revenge?"

He grits his teeth. "Your mother was the kindest person I ever met. She was my friend."

"Then, why? Answer me."

"I didn't know it was you he will be after, Potter. I didn't know until much later. As soon as I knew I went to Dumbledore and offered to spy."

"All for a friendship, Snape? A friendship she didn't return."

"Oh! She returned it Potter. I was her first friend in the wizarding world. It was I who told her she was a witch. But I threw that all away…"

I stare at the miserable looking man and realization dawns upon me. "You loved her."

He stays with his head bent but doesn't answer. That's confirmation enough for me.

I release his bonds and put the wand back on the desk. "I have a message for you. From my mom and dad."

He looks up at me bewildered. "What?"

"She asked me to tell you that you have her thanks and her forgiveness."

I pause as he absorbs it. "As for my dad, he said the debt you vowed him and now me has been paid in full."

He slumps down as if a great weight has been released from him. I step back toward the door and unlock it after removing the privacy wards. I open the door to leave, when –

"How do you know this, Potter. How did you get this message?" His voice has a hint of desperation to it.

"I visited their graves for the first time after the worldcup final. I had a dream about them that night."

I close the door behind me and walk toward the infirmary. That was probably the most difficult conversation I ever had.

The next day, after spending a solid 24 hours on bed, I wake up to see the world clearly for the first time in many years without aid. And it's better than the normal vision I get through the glasses. Everything is much more clear. I marvel at the world and have a good laugh about it. I did put those hours on the bed to good use by absorbing more of Voldemort's duels.

I have a huge breakfast in the kitchen and then floo back to Sirius' house just in time to start back on my training with renewed vigor. I have a promise to keep to my parents.

For the rest of August, we continued the training as scheduled, but increasing the intensity all the time. In the dodging ring, while blindfolded I am dodging paint balls from 3 opponents at the same time. I completely give into my instinct and allow it to guide me. More often than not, I am able to strike back at them. I am able to handle 5 opponents while not blindfolded, though I tire faster. I am continuously outputting curses at the 9th power level in the range and my accuracy is has improved a great deal, what with my new eyes and all.

For the defense circuit, Alastor has Sirius and then Remus join him to and I am ducking 3 curses at the same time. I was able to duel Alastor to a draw continuously and defeat Sirius on a couple of occasions. They still have the upper hand of having more power available to them than I. My spells are nearly as strong as theirs and in some cases stronger. But, where as I can duel for 45 minutes to an hour before I am exhausted magically, the three Adults can do so for twice as much time. Voldemort and Albus, who are on a totally different level, can probably keep it going for much longer and their spells will probably break the power-measuring gauge than record any reading.

And by the 30th of August, I have absorbed all of Voldemort's relevant memories to do with dueling. Today is the last day of training, as tomorrow we get ready to leave for Hogwarts.

I face of against Alastor one last time. Our duels are becoming more deadly and close every single time. Today, it's no holds bar. No draws. There will only be one winner.

I flex my hands to get the circulation going. I lock my eyes with Alastor. I feel a gentle push on my mental barriers and I smirk at him. No reading minds today.

I draw on my power and feel it pumping in my nerves. At the count of three, I release a bone breaker at the same time Alastor releases a blaster. They both collide in mid air and veer away.

He sends a railroad pike and I conjure a cement brick to take the hit. I banish the brick toward him and he swerves out of the way. But I summon it back and it hits him on the shoulder and he stumbles. I use that chance to throw a reductor and a stunner at him. But he apparates away silently leaving the curses to hit the dueling barrier.

I feel a slight change in air pressure behind me and twist around in time to see a cutter heading for me. I slap it away and send my own blaster back at him, which blows a chunk of the platform while he apparates again.

He appears right behind me and before I had the time to move, a bludgeoning hex strikes me on the back and sends me flying 10 feet. I spit out a broken tooth and as I stumble on to my feet, I sense a curse heading at me and raise a quick shield, which stops it. As Alastor pounds the shield, I have enough time to get back to my feet and apparate away. I appear 3 feet to his left and throw a blaster at him. But he disappears once again to appear at the other end.

We gaze at each other as we take a welcome pause to get our breath back. Apparating while dueling is a tough ask. Alastor then lashes at me using a fire whip, which I transfigure in time to water that splashes on to the floor.

I send a blaster to the center of the platform and then transfiguring the debris into razor sharp needles. As they whistle at high velocity toward Alastor, he conjures a cement dome, which takes all the needles and then vanishes.

I transfigure the debris into wolfs and they sprint toward the ex-Auror. He blasts them to pieces, ducks my next curse and transfigures the dead animals into rats. I dodge a bone breaker and send a fireball at the oncoming horde. I follow it up with a spell chain, launching a cutter, blaster, reductor and a cutter at Alastor who shields against them.

I conjure a couple of metal disks and send them flying at him. He blasts them back toward me and I vanish them. We stare at each other for a moment before he launches a bludgeoner at me. I parry it back to him followed by blaster and a stunner. He ducks the first two and shields against the last. We exchange a few more spells, before he disillusions himself. I smirk.

I wait for a curse to head toward me before I swat it aside and send a wide area stunner in that direction. I hear a body fall and lower my wand, when I see a powerful blaster heading toward me. I fall flat on my stomach to avoid it and he has me on the defensive.

"Imprimis Patrocinor." I still can't depend on my nonverbal form of this shield.

The golden shield takes his next few curses as I get back on my feet. A railroad spike gets through the shield and destroys it hitting me painfully on the shoulder. I apparate away to escape his next curse.

I appear a couple of feet away from where I was before and immediately roll away from there. A curse hits the platform blowing a hole in it. I duck under his next curse and cast a Homenum Revelio. Ahh! There he is. I parry his next curse and send an over powered blaster at him. As he ducks under it, I dispel his disillusionment.

I dodge his next few curses and go on the offensive myself. I send a couple of spell chains at him. He parries a few back at me and I duck and shield against them. Then, he lashes out with a couple of bludgeoners. I duck one and shield the next only for the bludgeoner to slide through the shield and strike me on my chest. It flings me like a rag doll knocking the breath out of me. As I near the ground, I sense a curse heading to my landing spot. I fire a wandless banisher propelling me upwards. I do something I have never done before and apparate away in mid air.

I appear 5 feet behind him. His magical eye spots me. As he twirls around with a curse forming at the tip of his wand, I shield my eyes and release a bright flash of light. I follow it with a blaster and a bone breaker. I quickly transfigure the floor he is standing on to quick sand.

As the flash of light clears, I don't see him in sight. I am about to cast a Homenum Revelio, when I feel a curse heading from above me. I have no time to think, I apparate and appear 3 feet from where I was. I slap away a curse Alastor sent and unleash a blaster, which splits the bone breaker heading toward me.

I follow it with conjured chains, which I transfigure to a couple of lions. Alastor destroys them with a fireball and sends a couple of bone breakers at me. I parry them back to him and follow it with a fire whip. He ducks under the whip and sends a cutting hex at my legs. I jump above the curse and slap away a bludgeoner. I fall to the ground, roll away from a curse and send a lightning bolt, followed by stunner.

He shields against lightning and dodges the stunner. He sends a couple of bone breakers at me. I point my wand at the floor and it rises to meet the curses in the form of a hand, which catches the curses and throws them back at Alastor along with the fingers, which race toward him in the form of darts. He escapes but takes one dart to the shoulder.

The next 5 seconds pass slowly as I immediately follow the darts by conjuring mud and it splats at his feet. As his shield goes down and he gets ready to fire a curse, the mud shoots upward like a pillar, pushing his hand up and encasing it. The mud encases the rest of his body like a waterfall defying gravity.

I twirl my wand and the mud encases the wand and removes it from his hand. It takes the form of a fist and moves like water in air. It drops the wand in my waiting hand and as soon as I get hold of it, I vanish the mud and stun him twice, just to be on the safe side.

I am breathing hard and am covered in dust, blood and sweat. I glance at the clock to see that we were nearing an hour. That's when I hear cheering and glance around to see my friends, the two remaining Marauders and Albus Dumbledore, who came to witness the duel. I wave to them with a smile, which came out more like a grimace.

I limp towards my fallen mentor and wake him up. And I think for the first time since we started training, I see a true smile on Alastor's face. It's not any less hideous though.

I smile a crooked little smile through my broken mouth. I give him his wand back and my hand to pull himself up. He takes it and as he gets on his feet, he throws me on my back.

"Well Harry, looks like I have more to teach you. Every weekend at school, we will spend sometime in hand-to-hand training. Next time when someone tries that move, you will be able to defend yourself. CONSTANT VIGILANCE."

He hops away greeting Albus. I groan and lie back on the platform. Bloody Constant Vigilance. Bloody Auror. I should have left him stunned.

I get back on my feet not without some effort and clean myself. I limp down from the platform. Sirius slaps me on the back. Ow! I push him away with a wince. "Watch it man. You are going to permanently cripple me."

Sirius laughs and puts a hand over my shoulder. "That was brilliant, Harry."

I smile somewhat pleased. "It was."

It's not everyday you defeat a master Auror as famous as Alastor Mad-Eye Moody.

My friends look pleased themselves as they are all smiles though not without concern on their faces. I see the twins taking some Galleons from Albus. I round up on them.

"You bet on me?"

"You bet."

I smirk at them. "Good."

I turn to face Albus. "That, Harry was indeed something to be proud of."

"Thanks, Professor." I reply wiping the blood from my mouth.

"Here, let me help." He circles his wand around my head and a golden light filters into me. I feel the internal cuts within my mouth and the swelling on my face subside.

I smile at him. "Thanks. That was hurting a bit."

"You should let Poppy look at that broken tooth."

I nod and we move out of the dueling room and into the dining room, where I see Alastor resting his amputated leg. We all sit down to have a late lunch.

In the last few days Albus and Sirius got in touch with all the people we had on the list. Albus of course added a few more.

Arthur, Molly, Bill and Charley Weasley. A couple of Albus' old friends. Dedalus Diggle and Elphias Doge. His brother Aberforth, who is the bar keeper at Hogshead. Severus Snape. No comment there. Surprisingly, Mrs. Figg. It seems that Albus put her as my guard as soon as I started living with the Dursleys.

A couple of ministry workers loyal to Albus, Emmeline Vance and Sturgis Podmore. Mundungus Fletcher, whom Sirius was not keen on, but Dumbledore stressed his importance as an information source in the shady parts of Wizarding Britain. And finally an old friend, Rubeus Hagrid.

A total of 27 people. Motley crew if I ever saw one. Albus has agreed to pass on all order information to me through Sirius, but I will not be taking part in the meetings. That's fine with me.

I insisted that every single person must swear three oaths on their magic.

That they are who they say they are.

That they never followed Voldemort and will never do so

That they will never reveal any order information without the express consent of Albus Dumbledore or Sirius Black to anyone not part of the order.

Albus was very reluctant to ask for such oaths, but I insisted and gave him the ultimatum that, that is the only way I will ever work with the order. He finally relented. He also agreed that they would recruit more people who are capable of fighting soon.

Tonight will be the first time the Order of Phoenix will meet in the last 13 or so years. Sirius has offered his home until they can find better accommodations. Thinking of the members diverts my thoughts to those members who were killed or incapacitated in the last war and a couple of photos that Alastor shared with me.

Mom and Dad. Edgar Bones. Caradoc Dearborn. Benjy Fenwick. Marlene McKinnon. Dorcas Meadows. Fabian and Gideon Prewett. 9 good people. 4 were killed by Voldemort's own hands. He oversaw the slaying of the Bones and McKinnon families. The rest were killed by death eaters.

And of course there is the traitor Peter Pettigrew, who is rotting 6 feet under. And last Frank and Alice Longbottom who are lying on the bed tortured to insanity. Not for long if I have any say in it. Of course this doesn't include the countless others killed Voldemort or his servants. Thousands of muggles and hundreds of magical folk perished.

I shake my head to get out of the morbid thoughts. As Albus said, what happens will happen. I turn to face the Ex-Auror. "Hey Alastor, how did you get that bludgeoner past my shield. I know that shield was strong enough to hold it."

He chuckles. "That lad is a trick very few people know. It's called a slider. When you release the curse, it doesn't have any inherent power to it. It takes the power from the shield. It's a tricky little thing. What do you do when you release a curse?"

I shrug. "I weave my intention with my power and release the spell."

"Aye Lad! Power and Intention. A slider has two parts to it. The intention of the spell. The power to reach your opponent carrying with it the intention to absorb the power of the shield and power the primary intention."

Huh! Complex or what. "So let me get this straight. You don't power your primary intention, but only the secondary intention of absorbing the power of a shield and power the primary intention."

"Aye! Takes concentration to get it right and you need a thorough understanding of the spell."

"How come you never used that in our duels before?"

"I did lad. But you dodged most of them. If there is no shield the spell does nothing even if it hits you. And the power of the spell will depend on how much power it can absorb from the shield. Not many like to depend on that. You only use it to get momentary advantage which might win you the duel."

"Is this a recent development?"

Here he scratches his nose. "I'm not sure. Might be. I only learned it a few years back."

"So you can make any spell into a slider?"

"NO! And don't you try it either. Can be right dangerous. I know a man who nearly lost his hand when he tried it with a lacero. The slider only has enough power to carry the two intentions with it and power the secondary intention. It cannot be used for spells which need considerable power."

"What spells can you use as a slider?"

"It takes time to get them right. I use the stunner and bludgeoner."

"Is there anyway to identify which spell is a slider?"

"You can. If you look closely you can see a black tinge to it. It ain't easy when it's layered with other spells or is part of spell chain."

I nod and think about it. "Can you teach me?"

He smiles his sinister smile and nods. "That and a few more spells you never heard of."

I must get him a nice present for Christmas.

I focus back on my now cold lunch. I hear Sirius teasing Ron about something big that is supposed to happen at Hogwarts.

I roll my eyes at his antiques. He kept doing the same to me, until I told him, I will vanish his mouth.

After lunch, I went to visit Poppy at Hogwarts. She gave me an overall and a small dose of Skelegrow after removing the remaining piece of tooth from my mouth.

The rest of the afternoon went fairly quietly. I was too tired to do anything other lie on my bed and rest my aching body.

Sirius introduced us to the different order members and warned us to stay away from the kitchen for the duration of the meeting.

I took that time to test my friends' occlumency. Ginny of course already has good shields. Luna's mind was wild with thoughts flowing in weird circles. It was quite a nauseating experience. Ron and Neville are nowhere close to even clearing their minds. Hermione has progressed well for the short time she invested. I explained the process to the twins early in the month and predictably they didn't make any progress. It is a difficult art and if not for his memories, I doubt Ginny or I would have made any progress.

The next day Sirius informed me that some members were hesitant and grumbled about it, but everyone made the three oaths. This is good news.

The rest of the day is taken with getting ready for the school year. Neville and Luna flooed back to their homes and will meet us at the station tomorrow.

As I pack my clothes I see a set of dress robes I haven't seen before. I check my school list and indeed it has the dress robes as a requirement. I also pack my dragon hide wardrobe. It's a pretty intimidating outfit. A black cloak, black vest, black pants and a stylish black robe combined with black shoes complete the set. As I said Intimidating.

The rest of the Weasley family stayed for the day. Bill and Charlie were somewhat excited to see a dueling room. They are decent at it. Of course neither need a dueling talent for their jobs.

And on the 1st of September, we all got into 2 ministry cars and headed to the station. I doubt it was Fudge who provided these cars. He would rather eat dragon dung than do any such thing. That corrupt ass. With Sirius and Alastor's reputations at the DMLE, they had no problem getting transportation from them with Auror escort. Of course, Amelia being a new order member helped as well. Anything for the boy-who-lived.

As usual we got to the platform with just 15 minutes to spare. Every one of us has their trunks shrunken and in our pockets. In less than 10 minutes we found a compartment and settled down. Both Bill and Charlie said something to Ginny that intrigued me. They said they will see us all sooner than we expect, with a knowing smile and sounding quite mysterious. I spied Alastor getting into a carriage with a couple of other professors.

It's a beautiful day and I gaze at the green fields as the Hogwarts' Express speeds away from London. Every now and then I see a few gawkers looking through the glass door into our compartment. I pay them no mind as I concentrate on my Runic scheme. Albus finally gave me his notes on the Fidelius charm. It seems that this was something he learned from his friend and tutor Nicholas Flamel. It is indeed a very complicated charm, which is more of a ward.

The charm consists of Arthemancy, which is used to calculate the size of the plot, which needs to be hidden. These calculations are then used to form the runic scheme, which also has a version of the oblivation charm built into it. This scheme is then carved at 6 different points of equal distance around the perimeter of the plot. The seventh and final scheme is carved at the center of the plot. The 7 schemes are connected to form an intricate web around the plot. The final step, and the toughest is to mix an enchantment with the runic scheme. The enchantment has three different layers to it. The way to find the secret, the secret being hidden and the identity of the secret keeper. Once the enchantment is mixed within the runic web, a version of it is connected to the secret keeper's soul or to be more precise the magic of the soul.

Once the final step is done, the knowledge of the plot's location is removed from every ones' minds. And the plot is pulled into a sub dimension, where it partly exists in another dimension except for those who know the secret.

Quite intricate. But nothing I can't manage. But I am not trying to cast the fidelius, am I. I want to take some of the properties of the charm and mix it with dimensional spaces to create a place, hidden from all eye, but will always be with you

I put away the parchments and gaze outside the window. I get a wild idea. Why not. I get to my feet and open the door.

"Harry, where are you going?" asks Hermione.

I put on an innocent face. "No where Hermione. Just to the roof of the train."

I close the door and take a few steps from it when –

"WHAT?"

I snicker to myself and head toward the connection between the two cars. I open the door to be hit by the rushing wind. It has nothing on a firebolt. I climb up the ladder and stand on top of the train. It feels great.

I stand for a while looking around, when I hear a muffled scream. I look back to see Ron and Neville trying to climb on to the roof. I walk back to them and give them a hand up.

Neville just lies on the roof, clutching his heart with his eyes closed. Ron looks around with shielded eyes. I conjure a pair of Goggles for him. He nods appreciatively and puts them on.

"Are you mental, mate?"

I smile at him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Relax Ron. Enjoy the scenery. Think of this as flying on a really fast broom."

He takes on a surprised expression but nods. Then he shouts over the howling wind. "Hermione is going mental."

I get a devious smile on my face. I conjure my messenger patronus and send it to her.

We sit there for a couple of hours till it gets dark and then proceed back to the compartment. As we enter the compartment, Hermione rounds up on me. "How dare you, Harry Potter. You could have been killed."

I smile and put an arm around her. "Now now, Hermione. You know well that I can take care of myself. And it's nothing compared to flying full speed on a firebolt."

She huffs and sits down. "You are going out of your way looking for danger, Harry. What happens when it finds you?"

I smirk at her. "I will slice it and dice it and serve it to you on a hot platter."

She scowls at me and goes back to reading her book on runes. "By the way, you are teaching us that spell you used to send the message."

I smile at her. Good old Hermione.

A few of our friends and classmates stopped by. Seamus was little sad that it wasn't Ireland, in the final, but was happy at least England and not those barbarians won the cup.

As we are nearing the time of arrival, who should open the compartment door, other than my favorite cousin, Draco Malfoy. Before he can utter a word, I pounce on him.

"Hey Draco. How is my favorite cousin doing?"

He scowls at me as if lost my mind. "What are you on about, Potter?"

"What, you didn't know? My grandfather Charles married Dorea Black, your mother's aunt. That makes us cousins. So how is my favorite cousin doing today? Did you enjoy the world cup?"

His face attains a nice shade of pink. "You are no cousin of mine, Potter. You are nothing but a blood traitor." He spats at me.

"Blood traitor I may be, but that doesn't make me any less of a cousin, cousin."

He points his wand at me. I swipe my wand lazily disarming him. "Be careful cousin. Didn't your mom teach you not to play with wands?"

Crabbe and Goyle take a step toward me. I swipe my wand again freezing them in place.

"Give me back my wand, Potter."

I throw it back to him. "Fine, but play nice. It's no way to treat family is it?"

His scowl darkens and then changes to a smirk and he turns to Ron. "So… Going to enter Weasley? Going to try and bring a bit of glory… to the family? There's money involved as well… maybe you can afford new clothes."

Then, he looks at Ron's and Ginny's clothes more closely. "That said, your clothes are not half bad now. What did you do? Sell your house?"

Ron's face reddens in anger. As he gets up to curse Draco, I put an arm to stop him. "Now, Ron… We are all a big happy family here. Even your family is related to the Blacks. Remember Sirius showed us the family tree."

Ron scowls but sits down sullenly.

Seeing that Ron is not reacting as he expected he faces me. "What about you Potter? Going to enter? The world cup is over now, you will need something else to show off."

"What are you on about, Malfoy?"

"Don't tell me you don't know?" he says delightedly. "My father…"

I turn him off as I look into his eyes. I probe his mind gently to see a negligible shield. I scan his surface thoughts and ahh… I see. I come out of his mind and interrupt his tirade.

"Oh, you are talking about the Tri Wizard Tournament?"

"So you know. Going to enter then?"

I shrug. "What about you cousin? I won the worldcup. I am the boy-who-lived. I already have enough fame. What about you?"

That gets a familiar scowl on his face. "I am a Malfoy, Potter. I don't need fame."

With that he turns around walks away with his goons, who I unfroze, slamming the door on the way.

Ron rounds up on me. "What's all that cousin business?"

I smile at Ron. "It's the truth Ron. You, me and Draco are all cousins through the Black family. Not first or second, I give you that. Very distant. But still family. In fact if we look further, I am sure we will find more than a few marriages in between the families."

He splutters in shock. "But… but…"

I continue. "And, do you really think Draco will like the fact that we are cousins? He practically loathes us. It's about the nicest way we can go about irritating him."

Hermione has a smile on her face. "Brilliant."

Ron thinks about it and laughs. "Draco, our dear cousin…"

Ginny laughs with me. Luna has her ever-present dreamy smile about her. Neville though scowls in thought.

"What's got you thinking Nev?"

"Nothing Harry. Longbottoms have a distant relation to the Potters. That means we are related to the Blacks as well…"

I understand where he is going and give him a soft smile. "We cannot choose who we are related to Nev." I tell him sagely.

He nods and we stay silent for a few minutes after which, Hermione asks the question I was waiting for. "You said something about the Tri Wizard Tournament, Harry?"

I nod. "While Draco was ranting, I took a quick peak into his mind… You know scanning his surface thoughts with Legilimency."

Hermione interrupts me with a stern look on her face. "Harry, that's not the right thing to do."

I raise a hand to placate her. "I know and I don't use it lightly. But I was on the last straw with him…"

She scowls but remains silent.

"Anyway, so I found out that they are organizing the Tri Wizard tournament this year. I only have a vague idea. Hermione?"

She looks in thought. "It's a tournament of sorts arranged between the three European schools of magic. Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. I think they select a wizard from each school to compete in a set of tasks… The format changes all the time. That's all I know. Are they really arranging the tournament this year, Harry?"

I shrug. "I know as much you know at this point."

All my finds have thoughtful looks on their faces and I can only guess what's going on in their minds.

We finally reach the Hogsmead station and get out of the compartment. I wonder how the weather can change so fast. It was sunny not a few hours back and now it looks like we will have a thunderstorm any minute.

The rain's coming down thick and fast now. Hermione bundles up Crookshanks, her half Kneazle, and we race toward the horseless carriages. Ron bought a new Owl, Athena, will be flying to Hogwarts tomorrow with Hedwig. We greet Hagrid on the way and we are off to another year at Hogwarts and the many surprises it might bring.

AN: And that's the end of chapter 12. I got the idea of a slider from one of better stories I read on this site, "Harry Potter and the Hero's Path" by TheJackOfDiamonds. Next: The Tri Wizard tournament announcement and the changes it brings to Hogwarts.