A/N: Heeeeey Everyone! So last chapters Author Note was a bit of a bum {Sags the shoulders} and ill admit it has been a crummy week altogether.

But do not fear, I am slowly getting back to my ridiculous self. Its getting late and I am extremely tired so I am going to cut this short.

Just to let you all know, I plan on only adding a chapter on Saturdays. There might not be a chapter every Saturday but I will publish on Saturdays, even if its really late. Like this one. its 11:57 so it still counts as Saturday.

Night everyone and enjoy the revamped chapter 3.

Chapter 3: Balance Gained and Caught Flat-Footed

Hogwarts Mess Hall, October 30

Finally making his way through the castle Harry made it to the Great Hall, stepping in he had to stop and regain his breath. The Hall was huge, enchanted with a continuous changing ceiling, with more than enough room to find a table to sit at. The tables were lined up in four elongated rows, segregated the student to their assigned house.

The far right was Harry's house, Gryffindor, and overhead was the red flag brandishing their house symbol, the lion. At the tables where some of the people he shared many school memories with, it seemed like a dream to him seeing all of them together having fun. There in the middle was the twins, Fred and George, chatting together scheming up Merlin knows what for their next prank. One could never survive without the other, they were Gred and Feorge, and when Fred died, there was nothing left of George.

"George! No!" Ron yells as he tries to fight the grip of Harry's and Hermione's grasp.

Not too far from the chaotic twins were the triple tag team of Quidditch, Alicia, Angelina, and Katie. Almost always together, some were sure them being attached to the hip was what made them the best Chasers anyone could ask for. They could anticipate what the other was planning without looking or even seeing each other. Their friendship was their most significant asset, but ultimately it became their downfall too.

On a street, as trivial as any other, there was debris of what appeared to be a burnt building. In a corner, three bodies laid huddled together, charred black. "I heard from Davis that Katie got stuck somehow. Alicia and Angelina ran to save her" Harry stared, trying to cope with losing the three women he considered as older sisters.

The Creevey brothers were at the far end of the Great Hall, probably discussing him. No longer fourteen and insecure about everything, Harry considers the two brother's antics was enduring. Seamus was near the brothers, yet again trying to turn water into rum with the goblet of the poor bloke next to him. The strange obsession to succeed at that never changed and was always a good sense of entertainment.

"You know, in a sick way, he would've wanted to go out like that" Ron said, taking another shot of alcohol. Harry couldn't help but let a bitter laugh escape his lips, "Your telling me. Hell of a way to go, and I'm sure Dennis is grinning his face off. I swear Seamus was a bad influence." Mumbles of agreement could be heard all around the room. Raising a shot glass, Harry yelled loud enough to be heard by all "To Seamus and Collin, two crazy mother fuckers who gave it all for the cause, and took a tenth of Britain with them." Cheers and laughter were then heard. Everyone knew the happiness was a lie, but just for this moment, they let themselves believe in it.

"Hey Mate, you alright?"

Harry jumped, surprised, as he felt a hand pat his shoulder. Behind him was Ron, looking genuinely concerned.

Ron just looked at Harry with venom, pissed that he couldn't succeed at killing him. Watching Harry get up the redhead began his retreat to the nearest exit 'till he heard a panting voice speak, "How long?"

He shook off Ron's hand, turning from him and the Great Hall. "I'm fine Ron" was out of Harry's mouth without thinking.

"No your not Harry, you don't look well" Ron started walking towards him but was stopped by Harry quickly moving away.

"Look Ron, I-, I just need some time to clear my head. I'll be fine, go eat."

Harry then stepped out of the Great Hall and continued through the front door of Hogwarts, greeted with a scent of nature. Outside was a tad nippy without his coat, but with thick clothes and gloves, he felt he could manage.

His stroll down was physically uneventful, but mentally and emotionally, he was in turmoil. He hardly registered the Beauxbaton carriage or the Durmstrang ship on his way to his spot, that was dubbed his 'brooding corner' during the seventh year. It was a cozy little spot under a tree, it had a good view of the lake, not far off was the forbidden forest, and if he felt the need to walk outside of Hogwarts grounds, then he had a short way to the Whomping Willow, where he could roam around the Shrieking Shack.

Sitting down, stretching his legs, Harry took a deep breath. This is what he needed, solitude. Right now there is no Hogwarts, no war, to time travel, no problems; just him and nature. The chilled wind kissed his cheeks, the wave of the lake was a lullaby to his ears, and the beautiful site of wildlife eating away peacefully.

"Harry"

"Harry"

"Harry"

"Harry"

Registering that the voice was actually calling him, and not a figment, he peered over the side, "Over here." What soon came into vision was a bushy mess of curled hair.

"You know Harry, with all that goes on here, I sometimes wonder why you decided to come back to this hell-hole. You could have stayed hidden, you could have had a small sense of peace." Hermione's voice begins to quiver "Every time though, you come back. When you already gave so much, you continue to help. Dragging yourself across the battlefield that you don't have to be in. It drives me mad trying to understand why. I can't think of anything that would make me, willingly, come here." Harry could hear the occasional hiccup by his side. "Harry, why did you come back?"

Harry flinched, feeling a hand touch his cheek. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"And what you makes you think something is wrong?"

The sigh from her was the universal female way of saying 'Booooys.' "For starters, your deliberately choosing not to look at me. Another, you had tears go down your face-" At this time her talking, Harry wiped the tears with the sleeve of his shirt "- and finally, Ron even noticed. We both know he couldn't read a person's emotions even if we gave him a cheat sheet."

A small smile snuck on his face, Harry even gave a chuckle. Looking back to the right his emerald eyes met her chocolate eyes. They had such a life to them. Her face was no longer weighed down from weeks or months of sleepless nights. He also noticed the emotion in her voice, neither dead nor monotoned. He just had to look away.

"How'd you know that I was out here?"

He heard some movement, then a body made its way next to him. Failing to get a good space next to him, Harry tried to shift a bit to make room. A minute of awkward moving and apologized, the seating arrangement was now Hermione laying back on the tree with Harry in front of her, feeling very self-conscious at the moment. "There we go. Well, I was reading up on an exotic charm when Ron came up to me and told me something had happened to you, and that I should do something about it. He said something about 'Guys don't talk about feelings' or some such nonsense." The eye-roll was easily felt without looking, "Seeing you though, I can understand why he's worried."

Harry had the urge to speak up, tell her what happened, what's going on with him right now, and then ask for help. Just as he was about to though, he realized that this Hermione was fifteen, not twenty-six. He couldn't burden her, drag her into the abyss once more. Hermione deserves a better life for all that she did in his future.

"Hermione . . . . I'll be fine. I just have a lot going on in my head right now."

Arms were being wrapped around his body, Harry was pulled back slowly till his back was touching Hermione. "Wha- Hermione, what are you doing?" Heat rushed to his face, thankfully she couldn't see.

Ignoring him for the moment, he could feel her moving under him until she got into a more comfortable position. "Harry, you know you can tell us anything. We are friends aren't we?"

"Of course we are Hermione,-" Harry chose not to point out he meant her and not both her and Ron, "- I just want to think it through before talking about it. I can hardly tell you when I am still figuring it out myself."

"Oh? Am I really talking to Harry? The same Harry who charged towards an enemy without any fighting experience in the first year, or how about writing in a responding diary in the second year, and let's not forget all of last years antics." She was filled with entertainment, talking about some of his, less thought out, plans.

"Alright, alright, you made your point 'Mione. Consider this as my first step in trying to be mature." Seriously, was he that bad at fourteen?

"I'm just poking fun at you Harry, but I'm glad to hear that. Can't wait to see what this 'mature' Harry looks like." He could still tell she was poking fun at him, but he couldn't bring himself even to feign a scowl; instead, he laughed. It was short, but it was a real pure laugh.

Harry began to relax in her arms, leaning more into her, looking out at the lake. The peaceful moment was ruined as he saw the area around him turn into brimstone and fire, thankfully it flickered away just as fast as it came.

"Hermione, is it alright if we stay like this for a bit?"

"No problem Harry."

With those words, he let his whole body relax. Closing his eyes, he breathed in and out, in and out. Feeling himself getting pulled inward, the last thing that caught his attention was the scent of parchment.

Mindscape, October 30

Up in the black sky, there was an everchanging aurora of stars, bright enough to aluminate the whole area as though it was daylight. Far off, surrounding him in every direction, there was every imaginable terrain possible. In the middle of all of this fantasy land was a ginormous circular meadow with a cottage on top of a small hill, which had a winding road going down from the door to where he stood. Strolling on the path Harry noticed that the area held plants from every region of the world.

Reaching the cottage, there was a chimney puffing smoke. The door was wooden and standard to an average everyday building. The knob was turned, and Harry walked into the cozy abode, it had a window on the left, next to the door, showing a beautiful view outside. As usual, there was a fireplace taking up a majority of the left wall, in front of it a dark blue chair that was just the right size for him. A cocktail table was set at its side, with a cup of tea that was steaming with warmth.

What was different, which was blindly obvious, was how every inch of the walls was covered in moving pictures. None of the memories had any real pattern, some of the childhood, others of the war and even memories of Hogwarts were scattered about in the thrall of photographs.

Harry sighed at the site, his head was literally a mess. The door closed behind him, the chair was soon sat in. The cup was in his hand, and Harry inhaled the scent of mint and fruit before taking a sip, the flavor of fresh mint and raspberry, oddly enough there was a hint of peaches too. Harry smacked his lips and looked at the cup, he didn't recall thinking up peaches in his tea. 'One problem at a time.'

The cup was set down back on its spot, and another look was taken of the room, everything from the pictures to the view outside the window. The room was silent one second then it became enveloped in an avalanche of noise, every moving picture was making sound with the appropriate memory. Through the jumble of chattering, laughing, yelling, and Merlin knows what else, Harry just sat in his chair with his eyes now closed. He was soaking it all in; the laughter with his friends, the pain in losing Serius, the anger in his own incompetence. Harry didn't shy away from any of it; instead, he embraced all those feelings and accepted them.

Just as the room was becoming deafening, Harry spoke, "Enough." It was said with such softness it was almost a whisper, but the room became silent. Opening his eyes, Harry saw all the pictures gone. It should come as no surprise since this was his mind. Here he was in control, with abilities comparable to a god, and yet he was unable to stop himself as well.

During his journey on the run, Harry had taken it upon himself to learn a few things. One of those things was Occlumency. He wished he knew how bloody useful it was all those years ago, but then again it's not like learning potions or charms. Occlumency was comparable to learning French from a German who can't speak English, and you don't know German. Harry didn't really know how far he has gotten with the branch of magic, but whatever he has gotten was good enough for him.

He could do a lot with his current ability. Memory was able to be clear, as though it just happened if he focused on what was desired. Those teenage outbursts would never have occurred with the help of Occlumency. This very space that Harry was lounging in, sipping tea, was all due to the mind magic. It was a gift that keeps on giving, and he was sure there was more to be discovered.

Such an incredible skill was not without cost though, it was not only hard to learn but dangerous as well. Occlumency strains the mind metaphorically reshaping it, or at least Harry hoped it was. If one treads without prudence, they could wind up losing memories or getting lost in their own mind. Funny how none of this was mentioned when taking lessons with Snape, at least it worked out without any real damage, hopefully.

Harry felt a change in the room and with his senses quickly found it. Under the cup of tea was a piece of parchment, and picking it up to look at he saw chicken scratch written on it.

A Well Needed Plan!

Its simple, prevent the wars from happening and then worry about everything else later. One step at a time, It's not complicated.

Harry gave a chuckle at the note, his subconscious apparently had a sassy side. He guessed there was some truth to it, worrying about everything wasn't going to get the job done. Focus on the task, that is why he came back after all. Getting up from his chair Harry takes one last look before closing his eyes, feeling a push on his body.

Hogwarts Great Lake, October 30

Opening his eyes, Harry saw the sun going down towards the west. Dinner was probably going to start soon, 'Missed lunch, damn mindscape.' With all its uses he really didn't like how erratic the time flowed between reality and his mind. If he were to guess, he was in his mindscape for about thirty minutes maximum, but in actuality, he was out for about roughly seven to eight hours, a full days sleep. It could happen again but be five minutes in reality instead, there was no consistency.

Arching his back to get his knots out, Harry's shoulders pressed into two distinctly soft mounds. His outstretched hands had also dived into some kind of disorderly mass of softness, and finally, he heard a feminine eep behind him. Stopping at the sound, he slowly raised his head and saw a very red-cheeked, wide-eyed, Hermione who was flush with embarrassment. Then situation finally clicked in Harry's head, and his blood went cold; his hands were deep in her hair, and his shoulders were pressed hard against her-

-Harry wasn't sure what happened, but there could have been apparation involved with how fast he was standing. Looking at Hermione he knew his face was just as red as hers, and his mouth was about to make it worse. "That was uhhhhhhh, I didn't mean, well, errrrr, sorry for getting all in your hair and you know, ummmmm, squishing your breasts, CHEST, yeah your chest, not to say I'm calling you flat, cuz' you're definitely not, I wasn't looking at them, not to say your not attractive, and you know a guy can't help but take notice when he feels them. . . ." He puts a hand over his face in mortification "Merlin. . . . Hermione please just put me out of my misery and hang me off the astronomy tower."

While Harry was digging himself in a hole Hermione was looking away from him, slightly shaking, but when he asked for his own execution, she couldn't hold it in any longer. Hermione fell on her side and loudly laughed face red with either embarrassment or laughter, there was a good chance it was both. It was so loud that Harry saw other students outside look around, trying to spot where the noise was coming from.

"For crying out loud Hermione, it's not that funny."

Hermione was finally able to calm her self, but the occasional giggle would escape. "Not funny? Harry you've faces some of the most dangerous creatures in magical history and yet the second you 'feel' me up you become a blubbering mess." Though she was amused, she still showed some heat grow on her face when mentioning his comment on her chest. "Besides Harry, it's not like you purposely copped a feel. Can you even really call it a feel when it was on your shoulders?"

This whole conversation was getting them redder and redder the entire time, even with the teasing tone to it. "Hermione, can we pleeease just let this go? I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Alright, I'll give you a break. Just this one time, since we are friends."

With a relieved, exhale of breath Harry helped Hermione up, "Not friends Hermione, best friends."

He seriously couldn't believe he reacted like that, 'damn hormones.' Waiting for her to dust herself off, they both then started heading up to the castle in a comfortable silence. Before reaching the doors, Ron was heading in their direction. Harry watched him come closer and felt no sense of boiling rage, the mistrust was still there, but the anger was gone, and thankfully the flashbacks too.

Ron stopped in front of them and caught his breath before looking between the two. "Sooooooo everything good?" He was looking quite uncomfortable with the question, which made the other two amused. Worse had yet to come, for when they all started walking back, Hermione begun to have some fun with words.

"We are good Ron, all Harry needed was to get things off the 'chest'. I guess a 'guy can't help but take notice' on what he 'feels'."

Harry was again beat red and giving Hermione a look that spoke of revenge. Ron again looked between the two of them, "Ummm did something happen while I -"

Harry cut him off before finishing, "Ron, do you remember how we agreed to forget about what happened in the forest second year?"

Ron gulped, probably remembering the spiders "Yeah."

He gave the red-head a glance that said to drop everything, and so Ron raised his hand to his mouth and gave the zipping motion. All three look at each other, there was a still silence and then laughter. Oh, how Harry missed this, three friends enjoying the day. The only worries being homework, tests, and social image.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione started to, again, move towards the castle, albeit a prolonged one. The silence was quickly broken by Ron, "So Harry, got any ideas about whose name will come out tomorrow?"

"Come on Ron, how can I figure that out when they arrived just today?"

Hermione looked confused, "Harry, they've been here for about five days."

Harry stopped, 'what, how can that be?'. If it were from Ron, he'd think it was a joke or that he wasn't thinking straight, but from Hermione, he had to take it seriously. Quickly playing it off he began to laugh and scratch the back of his head, "Really? Time seems to fly without me noticing".

Moving along again, they finally make it inside and head into the Great Hall with Harry having no mental traumas, mostly due to focusing solely at where he wanted to sit. Just because he no longer had any reactions to Ron or Hermione didn't mean it still couldn't happen and he wasn't going to take any risks. Sitting down he grabbed a loaf of bread and a chicken leg.

Before taking a bite, he saw the look Ron was giving him. "Alright Ron, I get it, you want to know." Putting down his chicken leg Harry began to feign looking around and after a minute gave his attention back to the two, "Durmstrang will obviously be Krum, I don't think their headmaster let anyone else put their name in. For Beauxbaton there are a few choices, but I would put my gallon on the one that all the other girls seem to dislike."

Both Ron and Hermione looked over their shoulder to look at the French girls at the Ravenclaw table. "Who? I don't see anyone like that?" He was looking up and down, left and right, but he was looking rather foolish. Hermione on the other hand only looked around for a few seconds before turning back at Harry, "The platinum blonde with the french braid?"

Harry nodded at Hermione's correct assessment, Ron, on the other hand, was still confused. "How did you figure that out?"

Harry took pity on the boy, "Not many would notice, from what I guess not many boys would. All the girls have shifted slightly away from just one girl, and if you sit and watch you will notice not a single girl wants to talk to her, just guys. If it's like this here, think about what it would be like in an all-girls school. I am sure she has had to learn a lot really quickly just to make sure a jealous classmate didn't take her by surprise."

Hermione gave him an appraisal look while Ron was clueless as hell, not to be deterred he continued on. "Glad you have an opinion on the other schools but I wanted to know about who you think will represent Hogwarts?"

Silently both Hermione and Harry were impressed that he knew the word 'represent' and used it in a sentence correctly. Choosing to answer after he took a few bites of food, Harry sinks his teeth into the chicken leg, and suddenly he had the urge to vomit. He coughed down the mouthful before taking a drink of water. The bread was no better, it had a taste of ash to it. The feeling to eat dinner had officially gone on vacation, and looking at the plates of his two companions, he noticed that Ron had at least two bones on his plate, and even Hermione had at least eaten one small chicken leg.

Getting up from the bench, the other two followed suit, all three headed out of the Great Hall and in mental agreement, made their way to Gryffindor Common Room. "Ron, the Tri-Wizard Tournament is about more than just our school-" Ron just gave a condescending look "-But if I were to give a guess, there is a good chance that Diggery's name will get called out."

"DIGGERY?! You think that pretty boy Puffer will get chosen?" The Weasly temper was starting, thankfully in its mild stage.

"And what exactly is wrong with a Hufflepuff being a Hogwarts Champion?" Harry's own temper was beginning to rise, he couldn't believe Ron was so biased against any house but Gryffindor. He could understand Slytherin, there was a lot of evil people in Slytherin.

"Nothing, if you want Hogwarts to lose. Everyone knows to win you need a Gryffindor to be chosen." Ron snapped back.

Hermione, quick to pick up the emotions of the two boys she's been friends with for four years, chose to intervene. "Ron, Harry is right. The Tournament isn't about one school or who gets to gloat, it's about helping relations with the schools."

Making it to the Fat Lady a quick word from Hermione, "Stalwart," and the painting moved aside for all three to go in. The room was filled with the usual crowd, just sitting around, or last-minute homework do-ers. All those peoples peace was interrupted by the Weasley temper, which was at boiling point, "Whatever, what do you two know." With that, he stormed up at to his room, where a loud slam was heard.

Harry sighed as you looked towards the stairwell if he wanted to help him there was a lot of work to be done. Hermione came up next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry about it Harry, we both know how he gets when we don't agree with him."

Putting his hand on hers Harry looks at her, "I know Hermione, but how long will we have to eggshell around him? We are fourteen, by this point, we can harm or help people. I just worry about the future."

Hermione gave a sad smile, then removed her hand to cover the yawn that came from her mouth. "Well Harry, unlike you, I didn't sleep that much today, so I'm going to bed."

"Night 'Mione"

"Night Harry"

She made her way up the stairs when Harry began to realize something. "Hermione." She stopped at a step and looked back, "What did you do while I was sleeping?"

"Oh, you know, just this and that." With that said, she rushed the rest of the stairs up to, what is assumed, her dorm room. Harry just looked up the stairs thinking about what she said but then gave up, realizing he would probably never figure out what that could mean. Turning around he looked at the people in the Common Room, who all then awkwardly continued what they were doing, trying to not make it evident that they were ease dropping.

Making his way to his room, Harry got undressed. The shoes and socks came off first since they were hurting. 'First thing I will do at Hogsmead is getting new shoes,' he had the money so why not get himself some decent things. After that, the shirt and pants came off and into the dirty pile in his trunk. Harry moved the bed curtain and the top sheet from his bed and got in. The bed was cold and comfortable to his skin, closing the curtain on his bed and he was surrounded by the darkness. It was oddly soothing to be engulfed in the dark.

As Harry was closing his eyes, he remembered Ron mentioning the fact that the names for the Tri-Wizard Tournament were coming out tomorrow.

'. . . . . . SHIT?!'

Why can't he get a break, all he wanted was a good night rest in his comfortable bed.