Beta's: 5/8/2015

Me, myself, and I. Pretty sure we still managed to get it wrong…

Chapter 15, That Ain't No Komodo Dragon…

His good eye looked ahead. In front of him stood his quarry. A twisted smile tugged at his scarred mouth. It's been three months since they did a runner but he finally found them. They looked fit. No rich heavy foods for them. Both looked to be in better than peak shape. As he watched them he approved of the way they carried themselves as well. For all appearances they appeared to have not a care in the world as they walked amongst the giant turtles talking to each other. Looking to the entire world like nothing more than a pair of muggle tourists. He knew different. With just a thought his magical eye magnified them giving him a close up view. Their eyes shifted about looking for threats even though none were apparent. Their bodies moved with an ease which belied the fact both stood ready for anything to jump out of the air to get them. Constant Vigilance. He approved.

For twenty minutes he watched them. They truly had come a long way since they ran away. Potter running to Ireland in the beginning surprised him. He wondered if by chance the memory charm Dumbledore cast had begun to weaken. It would certainly explain their trip there. He just missed them by maybe a week when he found their last stop. He never would have even come that close if not for the Prophet article. It was a good break for him and a stupid move on Potters part. Still, a good laugh either way.

There after talking to what must have been half the muggles that lived or worked in the area he got his first real nibble. Potter had sent a crate to the colonies under the name James Black. Stupid move using his middle name and the last name for his godfather. Might as well have just left a note saying what he was doing. Thinking he might have set up a safe house over there for things he was collecting Moody grabbed the first international Portkey he could. There he got a second nibble before he even left the registry.

Even after his retirement he still got callers looking to learn from him. One of the ones who wasn't a complete waste of time was Riley. A good kid if a bit of a sloppy in his technique. Despite being American he was a quick learner and studious. A joy to train and quite inventive with his own defenses and attacks. After a year Riley returned to the states where he joined their Magical Police Department. Did pretty well for himself making Detective in record time. After Moody got through customs he found Riley waiting for him as he asked. It was while he was talking to him he got that second nibble. Riley mentioned that his Department Head wanted him to look into the case of why they had a dead Hit Wizard and a possible breach with the Native American tribe in that state. That led him to the firefight scene and then the reservation where he just missed Potter by a few hours.

It took him that day and the next talking to muggles in the areas around the reservation to find out about Roland Basil. He was a muggle trader who came through off and on. An attendant at one of the fuel stations for muggle autos mentioned he saw Roland the other day. Knowing who to follow he contacted Riley to find out addresses for the bloke which led him into the southern reaches of Missouri and his place there. However, that was where the trail died cold as shite. He could tell Potter was there for a few days but little else. He didn't know what Potter or Granger used to kill the wolf carcass he found there but it caused his eyebrow to rise. That level of power in any spell was impressive as hell and Mad-Eye was not one who impressed easily.

He started doing sweeps spiraling around his place along muggle roadways for lack of anything else and caught news that Roland had passed by that way with a two kids that matched his marks and a fourth person. He lost a lot of time tracking them this way having over shot a few turns they made but eventually tracked them to a location pretty deep into the mountain range they were traversing. There he caught up with Roland.

The large man was walking up to the small lorry when he pulled off his invisibility cloak. The second man stopped though neither seemed surprised he was there. "Roland Basil?"

"Yup. Need somthin?"Roland asked while he opened the door to his lorry and tossed in the pack he was carrying.

"My name is Alastor Moody. You had two kids traveling with you. Where are they?"

"No clue. What business is it of yours?"

"I've been tracking the kids for some time. They're in trouble whether they know it or not. I've been sent to protect them and take them home. You know where they are and I need that information."

Roland raised his eyebrow but made no other movements from where he was standing. "Fuck off."

He narrowed his good eye. He detested Legilimency out of general principle but he needed this bit of information. He learned it a long time ago so he could use it to help him read his marks when he was an Auror but never liked using it. Deciding that he needed the information more than he could afford to blindly search for the kids he made a quick pass through Roland's thoughts. It showed him they talked about Mexico City and Peru before departing via Portkey. With a spin he apparated.

That merry chase led him through the dregs as he tried to track them for over a week through the muck and mire of Mexican and Peruvian society The only reason he managed to track them here was he got a message from Riley. Two kids matching their description just checked in for Flight 756 heading from LAX to here under the names of Justin and Jessica Wellington. Riley didn't have any reason to hold um so he passed on the information. They used the muggle to misdirect me. Somehow they twigged I am following them. That or they were just covering their tracks. Either way, well done Potter.

"Like my own son you are Potter. Vigilant, ready, waiting. I wonder… can you sense me watching you? Are you aware a threat stands so close or have you become just as paranoid as people claim I am…"

XxXDaRXxX

Harry tossed the flat stone in his hand out over the cliff. It spun slowly as gravity carried it away to the clear ocean below. Behind him the island proudly displayed the forest and mountain in all its various green glory. A few of the region's birds floated about while Hermione continued to examine the giant turtles that walked around them slowly eating from the few bushes in their area. The cliff they stood on hid the sharp drop to the black rock speckled sand below. The Galapagos Islands were beyond beautiful. While his eyes enjoyed the pristine splendor around him he mind was busy reliving the events which brought him here. Hermione's memories swam before his own creating an almost movie like feel of the past three months. A trick they had discovered not long after entering Raze's fantasy world. It worked a lot like a pensive for them this mingling of their different perspectives. At least for memory events they were both apart of. They each thought differently, felt differently and reacted differently to just about every situation because they were different people after all. For the rest it was like filling in the blanks you never knew were missing. It was an experience unlike any he could describe to anyone but Hermione, and a tool they quickly learned was invaluable.

Harry picked up another stone and gave it a far toss into the waves far below them. Dumbledore interfering in his life by trying to take Hermione away was the catalyst that started everything. She had originally planned for him to meet her parents after the Hogwarts Express dropped them off. They had talked about him going over to her house for a day for them to get to know him a lot better. Maybe more if he could escape enough to pull it off. She loved her parents and he knew from her memories they loved her just as much in return. Harry wondered idly if they could ever recover from this breach caused by Dumbledore. He hoped so, through Hermione's memories of her parents he had finally begun to understand just what he had lost and what he could have gained had things been different.

The dreams he didn't understand lead them to Ireland. That as a good bit of fun. Some exploring, research, and a prank or two. Harry smiled. He still chuckled over the prank they played on the Order. Not to mention the one that got Crabbe Sr. arse raped by those three muggle transvestites. Good times no matter how you looked at it. As far as the dreams went, he understood them now thanks to an accident while learning Wyarding from Raze. Harry winced running his hand through his hair remembering that event. His head still hurt thinking about it. When whatever Dumbledore did to him to seal those memories broke it was easily on par with Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse. He turned from the splendid view of the crystal clear blue ocean and sky. He walked toward one of the turtles that decided the leafy bush next to the cliff needed a trim.

America was good. Except for the whole almost dying thing and losing Sirius's bike. Harry wondered for a moment at his lack of reaction to almost dying again. Was it bad he was getting used to ending up in that state? After a moment of musing his thoughts passed to seeing the historical sites. They sparked something within him that was only growing in intensity and was most likely the reason for his current thoughtful mood. Almost getting killed was really a solid cap on those visitations.

He turned away from the feasting turtle to watch his lover. Hermione was holding one of their cameras taking pictures of the giant turtles. By the way she kept moving about he could tell she was trying to get as much scenery in the shots as she could. Her parents should love these. They always wanted to go here but just never got around to it. Meeting Roland and Ben couldn't have been more fortuitous for them. Their time in Raze's world learning Wyarding was something he both detested and appreciated. Raze as easily as nutters as Ben mentioned but in a good Mad Scientist kind of way. He knew Hermione didn't put much stock in Wild Magic but Harry could see how the random chaos it sometime caused, not to mention the boost to his spells, could only help them in the coming fights. Hermione was by far more effective than he was in Wyarding but he supposed that was to be expected. Her logical mind just seemed wired that way were his was not.

Harry raised his camera and took a few shots of the beach and ocean. He smiled at one of the takes of the sea lions playing with the sea birds in the water. Raze's ideas on wandless casting was going to be a great benefit to both of them. The power loss from using that method was completely acceptable considering it would afford them the ability to never be without their magic. Emotion, Raze said, was the key. This was one area where he excelled over Hermione. Unless it was in their bedroom she usually was a very emotionally controlled person. His emotions were all over the place most of the time. As Snape told him once he wore his heart on his sleeve. It made him shite at Occlumency but for Raze's Wandless techniques it gave him more than a little proficiency.

Both Hermione and Raze explained to him how Modern magic was very structured, rigid, and followed very accepted and enforced rules. Raze, never one for rules of any stripe, preferred more emotional based techniques and the freedom it offered. Add in Wild Magic to compensate for the power loss and what you got was something not seen in the world since the lost days of yore. Harry shook his head. Raze was obsessed with the old days when, as he put it, Men were Real Men, wizards were Real Wizards, and fuzzy bunnies from the woods were Real Fuzzy Bunnies From The Woods. That man was more than a little touched in the head. A genius no question, but touched.

In reflection he also noticed that his magic seemed to be a lot stronger now than it ever was before the Shaman healed him. He didn't have any of the problems casting spells that he use to have before. This was something that showed itself doing those training exercises that Raze had laughably dubbed quests. He wasn't sure if that was due to the soul binding he shared with Hermione or if it had something to do with the 'Darkness' the Shaman had cut out. Whichever it was didn't really matter as much as the truly impressive improvements he gained. Not to mention he hadn't had so much as a twinge from his scar since. Harry was slowly becoming optimistic the Shaman might have found a way to cut the connection he shared with Voldemort. If so it was truly a blessing. Despite what Snape thought he did not enjoy playing peek-a-boo with Voldemort's thoughts or actions.

In the last few weeks however their joy was severely dimmed. In trying to understand the increases in his abilities they researched through the Shamans Book. They found the healing spell he used on Harry as well as the soul binding spell he used on them both. The binding spell didn't really provide any clues. Nor really did the other but it was what they learned about the other that startled them both. Apparently it was an old spell used to transfer a soul from one container to another. The Shaman didn't write any notes about why the spell was invented nor what it was used for but it lead them to some rather frightening conclusions. Extremely frightening considering his soul was very much still in his body. Any questions regarding that issue was quickly dispelled by the fact he was still bonded to Hermione. So, if he didn't take out his soul, who's did he take? Harry had a good idea as to who but that thought chilled him to the bone. If he was right where did that soul go? With the Shaman dying so quickly after the healing they had a good guess. Still they had no way to prove their theories one way or the other at the moment so the point was rather moot. Scary but moot. And still no answers to where his new proficiency with magic came from.

They had completely bunked off the will reading Mr. Granger told Hermione about. That was a surprise. Not the will reading per se though that did surprise him but the fact her dad was accommodating. Seemed a few of the Order had been around a few times keeping them updated on their search. On the last trip they took some of Hermione's hair from an old brush in her bathroom so one of them could pose as her at the reading. Hermione thought, and Harry agreed, it was all to keep the Black money from falling into Voldemort's hands through Draco Malfoy. Harry allowed a sad sigh to pass his lips. It had nothing to do with him or Sirius but all about a pureblood political game.

Hermione's father though was really a surprise. When she asked him why he was passing along the information he told her it was because it was the right thing to do. He wanted her back, no question. If that meant he had to accept Harry he was willing to try but only after they came home and he had his chance to talk to them both. Passing along that tidbit of information was the only olive branch he would bring himself to do. They had yet to decide what they were going to do about it but it was promising.

His little trip down memory lane didn't really provide any answers for the question that had been plaguing him. Should they or should they not return to Hogwarts? September First was only a week away and it had been eating at him. They had friends in danger at Hogwarts. Ron, Neville, Ginny, Luna were most on both their minds. With the Prophecy still valid they all were in very real danger. Working with Raze showed him the value of having an instructor to teach them things they didn't know and to be honest, they really didn't know a lot of magic. Hermione knew a lot but they needed more. Voldemort's fight with Dumbledore in the ministry ran through his mind for a moment. To fight that, at that level, they needed more spell knowledge and he couldn't really argue that Hogwarts boasted several extremely talented Witches and Wizards.

Knowing Hermione had been listening in to his inner musings he just started talking aloud to voice his concerns. "So I guess it comes down to this then. Are we ready to return?"

Hermione looked up from her study of one of the little land dragons next to her. "We won't know for sure until we are tested Harry. Raze, despite what it felt like at the time, never tried to kill us. He always pulled his spells. Yes we got hurt but nothing debilitating." She snorted. "Or as he put it, 'Enough to get you moving but not enough to lose a limb."

Harry nodded. "How do we know when we are ready? I mean, how long can we stay away knowing that nothing is being done to stop him?"

"How do you mean by that Harry?"

He ran his hand through his hair. "Dumbledore doesn't do anything. The Order just watches or comes in to help with clean up. The Ministry is completely ineffective. Voldemort's been running around almost completely unopposed for over a year."

Hermione nodded. "What's really bothering you Harry?"

He was quiet a moment before he voiced the real problem he was having. "How long can we justify being away from our friends and family? Knowing they are in danger and we are not there to do anything about it, or help? When we go back are we going to be confronted by Ron's death? Or Luna's? Will it be Ginny or Neville's gravestone we stand over as testament to the price of our freedom?"

Hermione smiled sadly. This was one of the first aspects of his personality she fell in love with in the beginning. His heart had always been bigger than anyone she had ever known. "Do you want to go back Harry?"

"Yes. No. Bloody Hell, I don't know. I do know I can't lose you love. It's just been eating at me. Despite the wreck and almost getting us both killed I will have to say this has been the best summer of my life."

"But…" she led for him.

Harry sighed. "But I've been thinking. The Americans have that saying, Freedom isn't free. They paid for their freedom from us. They fought the good fight and won their independence. Our own history is full of such heroes. People doing what was right and not what was easy or desirable. Maybe running away isn't the answer to our problems. Maybe, maybe we need to go back and fight for it." He turned to look at his lover. "We have enough money and resources that I am pretty sure we could stay one step ahead of anyone tracking us for a long time. But at what cost Hermione? Is losing your parents really worth 'us'? Losing Remus? Ron, Ginny, Luna, Neville, Tonks, McGonagall, Fenwick, or Hagrid?"

Harry turned away. Crookshanks was sunning himself on top of one of the giant turtles in front of him. The turtle in question didn't seem to mind being his taxi as he ambled along looking for something tasty to eat. Hedwig floated around them enjoying the new environment and freedom of the sky. "How long can I justify being a selfish pillock before I have to return? I don't think I could take it if people we care for or love die while we are gone. I'm not even sure I can really enjoy myself being away while knowing the Dark Tosser is out there trying to make my fears reality."

He felt her arms encircle him while he faced the ocean. Her cheek rested into his back while she held him. "I know Harry. I've been thinking the same thing since we came back to Arx Tutela. Do you think we are ready to face what we left behind? What are you proposing we do?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Voldemort… you saw my memory of him fighting Dumbledore. Every day we learn something is a day he learns something more. The gap between us is never going to close. The stronger I get the stronger he gets. I am never going to be stronger than he is. He's got an army; it's just you and me right now. I doubt very seriously he's going to just pop up for tea because I asked him to and settle this one way or the other. The only thing I see changing between now and a few years from now is going to be the lack of allies. The Prophecy…"

"I have told you some of my ideas on that Harry. It's too vague."

"Seemed pretty specific to me Hermione. One of us has to kill the other."

He felt her body shake a bit behind him. He could feel her fear through their link but her voice was strong. "It pretty clearly defines you with the 'Mark him as his equal' part. Everything else could have meant you or Neville. But Neville didn't get a mark from Voldemort so that leaves you. The part that scares me the most is 'Either must die at the hands of the other' part. Either could mean one or the other but it could also mean both. That scares me Harry. That you both have to die…"

They'd had this conversation a few times but he felt a chill every time they did. "I know love. I know. Do you think that is how Dumbledore took it? That we both would have to die?"

He felt her shudder behind him. In a quiet voice he almost didn't hear she said simply. "yes."

That was what he was thinking as well. It would explain why he was placed with the Dursleys. Raised broken and desperate for anything to help. Ever grateful to anyone who could have saved him. Willing to do anything, maybe even die, for it all too just end. Had it not been for Hermione he just might have done it too. He turned in her grasp so he could face her. His hands slowly rose to cup both sides of her face while he looked deeply into her loving eyes. "Are you prepared for that to happen? You said yourself it was a coin flip for any of the outcomes. In one he lives, I die. In another I live he dies. In the last, we both die. One third odds I come out of this alive. Even then there is no guarantees you won't be killed in any one of those outcomes which gives you even less odds than me."

In a tone that brooked no dismissal Hermione told him, "I will be with you when you stand against him love. Either in spirit or standing next to you. Me and you Harry. You would never let me stand against him alone. I will not allow you to do so. No matter the outcome, there is no me without you. We stand together, or not at all."

He felt her love bore into him from her eyes and through her heart. Harry nodded. "Together." He whispered.

The moment was broken a second later by a voice neither had heard in a long time. "Well played Potter. A merry chase you've led me on. Move slowly apart and keep your wands stowed. Let's not make an already awkward situation worse eh?"

Both of them moved slowly apart turning to see Professor Moody standing before them with his wand drawn but not directly on them.

"That ain't no komodo dragon…" Harry mumbled to Hermione before he raised his voice to the man before them."Professor Moody. You look like shite. Want to grab a shower and a change of clothes? Maybe a nap? We can hit the beach and you can see some girls you wouldn't have to use your freaky eye to ogle properly." Harry quipped.

Moody couldn't keep the small smile off his face that forced its way into his twisted mouth. "Funny Potter. It's been a merry chase."

"Better than last time. I got two extra months distance."

"Got your memory back I see. Good for you. Never agreed with Albus for doing that in the first place. I could see denying you it until your eleventh but not totally. Glad your whole."

All three stood battle ready. Tense with bodies only a flinch away from responding. Harry nodded slowly. "I remember you removing most of the things Dumbledore did. So, now what?" Harry asked.

"We go back. You're too unprotected out here. If I can find you, they can."

Harry didn't respond. Their soul bond so far didn't allow for any kind of communication. They could share memories and feelings however. It took a long time to work it out but they managed to work this to their advantage. Harry pushed eagerness and desire through their link. A few memories of Mad-Eye fighting in the Ministry as well as throwing some random scenes of them. Hermione replied with acceptance and images of the beach below mixed with a few things from their experiences in Raze's world. Harry lowered his head and allowed a slight smirk to form on his face. Their inner communion lasted less than one heartbeat but long enough for both to understand what was going to happen. Three months ago neither would have dreamed of doing this. If they could beat Professor Moody, they could possibly hold their own against the average Death Eater. This would decide if they were ready or not.

Mad-Eye noticed their body postures shift slightly. When Harry winked at him the growl of frustration that had been building in him broke. As did the fight between them.

Faster than they could blink Moody threw stunners, binding ropes, flash bangs as well as concussion spells. The sudden onslaught turned the quiet cliff meadow into a roaring battle ground. It lasted only a moment before a massive explosion of sound erupted from Granger. He threw himself to the right not knowing what spell she was casting since it happened so quickly. The spike of blue white electricity arced past him through where he stood a moment ago. The sudden quiet after the sharp crack was filled a second later by the exploding of a tree in the distance. He shook his head to clear it before raising his eyes to look at them in stunned disbelief. A slight unnatural mist hung in the air before him quickly clearing. Once it did his eyes couldn't see the kids. He smiled to himself while picking himself up. Once on his feet he rushed forward faster than anyone would have credited to him. The only thing on the cliff from either of them was their cameras and one of their packs. He moved to the cliff face looking down to see if they somehow managed to make the beach below and spotted them. Them and several of the spells they were casting in his direction. He apparated to the beach below to flank them just getting missed by several spells he didn't recognize.

"You got a death wish Potter?" He yelled while casting the flame whip and rearing back to strike.

They dove apart from each other using the black stones that littered the beach as cover. Moody's strike missed glassing a three foot streak in the sand between them. Harry seeing what happened to the sand moved from his cover to one closer to their opponent while Hermione set up her next move.

"If you want us to come with you you're going to have to work for it Professor! We haven't been sitting on our arses all summer so let's see what you got!"

Harry felt the air slowly start to back build. Knowing Hermione needed a few more moments to do her bit he jumped from his cover when Moody made his next strike. As the fire whip sailed through the air toward him Harry raised his left arm as if to block it. A slight flair of purple mist smoked from his arm just before the whip hit the duelers shield he summoned wandlessly. A quick jerk as if he was trying to yank the whip from Mad-Eye caused the flames to break loose from Moody's wand. The fire was sucked into a fiercely rolling ball of fire in Harry's hand. He quickly brought close to his mouth before harshly expelling his breath. Harry narrowed his eyes while wandless stealing every single bit of oxygen from the area he could and funneling just those O2 atoms into his attack. It created a torrent of blue white flames that scorched a path in front of him six feet wide and easily traveling the twenty yards to his target. After the flames were used up he took notice of the rock conjuration Moody erected to hide behind. The air was thin from his spell work but he sucked in a greedy breath to get as much of what was left into his lungs as he could. He was lightheaded but more than up to the task ahead.

Harry took out his wand and started casting reductors wanded and wandless. Wild Magic misted from his form and trailing the spells while he kept up throwing the destructive curses trying to destroy Moody's cover and keep him pinned. After a few volleys a soft pop to his right brought his attention to his flank. Too slow to react he found himself hit by the Professor's banishing curse.

"Nice trick Potter but if that is all you have then you have a long way to go." Moody shouted to Harry. His body ragdoll skipped like a stone across the water several times before it fell below the surface.

Hermione took that moment to appear and directed the air currents from above them to the ground at Moody's feet. "Try this one then Professor!"

Having forgot for the moment about Granger Mad-Eye turned to look at the newest threat only to have a hurricane force wind sending sand, stone, and dirt into his face before the shear force of the wind picked him up and sent him flying toward the cliff behind him. Hermione watched her Ex Professor lift up off the ground and into the air before he twisted and disappeared. She released the hold she had on the air current before she Apparated away to present a harder target for him to hit. When she appeared she was thankful for her forethought when the area she was standing in previously erupted in flurry of magic. She quickly discovered where he appeared and started sending various curses and hexes of her own driving him to seek cover or discover just how good she was at her own spell work.

Before he could counter, Moody found himself hit with torrent of water from his own flank. The sideways geyser sent him skidding into the cliff wall uncontrollably. Hermione raised her wand contorting the water in a similar way that Dumbledore did to Voldemort from Harry's Memories. The small magical sphere that manifested between her wand and hand struggled and was incredibly hard to maintain. A great sphere of sea water rolled around the beach with Moody inside struggling to break free.

Harry glided inland. A column of swirling water rose from the ocean below him supporting him a dozen feet above the waves. It enveloped him up to his sternum before V'ing out to cover both of his shoulders. From there it traveled down his arms which were elongated into contorting watery whips filed with shell and stone. Once he got close enough Harry reared back and began flailing at Hermione's sphere, and the old Auror within.

Harry only managed a couple of strikes before a massive pulse of magic shattered Hermione's sphere and his concentration on the ocean water surrounding him. With a curse he apparated close to Hermione as soon as he started falling.

For the next fifteen minutes all three apparated around the beach casting various curses, hexes, enchantments or charms at each other in an attempt to get the better of the other. No one stayed in one place long. Spell counters consisted more of redirecting them than actually countering. Shields consisted of what cover they could find on the beach, what they could conjure, summon, or manipulate. Wreckage from the fight quickly became weapons everyone used against their opponent. Harry and Hermione showed Moody just how inventive they were by playing off each other. He would conjure blocks of stone or cause shields of rock to erupt from the sand in front of them to block some of the more dangerous spells while Hermione would banish the remains at Moody causing him to shield himself or apparate. Sometimes Hermione would cause spikes of stone to strike out from the ground either at Moody or to block a spell Harry couldn't while Harry attacked. Several times he managed to bring up weak versions of the shield spell Voldemort used in the ministry battle. The Shamans book explained everything they needed to know about it. In the last few weeks they had tried hard to master that spell but so far neither had really gotten more than weak versions of it. Protego's didn't last long against the old Auror and were completely abandoned after the first couple of volleys from him almost killed them both.

A loud Gong like sound signaled the latest in his attempts to cast the shield failing. His body rolled in the sand to escape the stunner and concussion spells sent by Moody. Thankfully the bone breaker was stopped by the shield. He finally came to a stop diving behind a conjured bunker of stone next to Hermione.

"Having fun yet?" He shouted over the spell fire that hammered the cover they hid behind.

"Just like old times Harry. All we need now is Raze to pop up and start throwing fireballs at us!"

"Shame he never taught us how to do that!" Harry laughed just before they apparated to better cover behind Moody. Both of them saw the stone crack in half from the massive force of the spell Moody put into it before they sent their own reductors in his direction. Apparating again they bunkered down behind their own individual rock outcrop trying to find where he went to now. "I think Mad-Eye's enjoying this as much as we are!"

Both spotted him at the same time, still working in sync and playing off each others moves, they begun the next round. After a flurry of magic they once again apparated to new cover. Hermione looked over at Harry panting form that last effort. "Apparaters cramps are starting to set in Harry, we need to finish this if we can."

Harry nodded. He'd been feeling the body wide cramps for a while now and it was slowing his casting down significantly. The human body was not designed to handle that many compressions in so little time. Both ducked when a burst of flame struck the rock they hid behind. Waves of rolling heat almost singed them where they hid.

"Manky Minge! Bugger Fuck! Shite!" Harry cursed. This reminded him far too much of when that Horntail had him pinned when he was trying to summon his firebolt. He turned to look at Hermione slightly surprised when she didn't yell at him for his language. "Alright, time to get a bit dirty. Here's what we are going to do…"

For his part Moody was truly enjoying himself. Those kids had come closer to killing him in the last fifteen minutes than anyone in the last fifteen years. They worked seamlessly together somehow communicating or reading each other. When he tried to read them using his Legilimency he got nothing. Nothing but grey where he should have found spell work. Their spells packed more than a little kick confirming the suspicions he gained from the wolf carcass. That bolt of lightning Granger started off with would have been more than enough to put him down had it actually hit. After they almost drowned him he stopped pulling his punches and really started to hammer at them. They wanted a fight and he was more than enough wizard to give them one to remember. To his mind it was better they learned this lesson from him instead of some Death Eater who wouldn't let them live to learn from the experience. His battle robes rested in complete disrepair on his old frame. Several times shrapnel or banished objects had almost spit him. Only his reflexes saved him from serious injury but his robes and cloak took a beating. He raised his wand stopping the Dragon's Breath curse he was using.

"You lot still alive back there?" a moment of silence passed. "You can give up at any time Potter."

Suddenly two massive hands of sand burst upward at either side of him slamming together attempting to grab him. Reacting quickly he threw himself backward before rolling into a kneeling position. His magical eye spun quickly trying to find the little buggers. His escape was short lived however when he felt his leg wooden leg glued to the sand preventing him from moving. What looked like roots sprung from the foot and into the sand quickly spreading away from him. He raised his wand to cast a cutting curse so he could apparated and counter attack when he felt a wand touch to the back of his neck. A quick check with his magical eye brought a smile to his face. It was Harry Potter's wand.

He was breathing hard. His clothes didn't look much better than Moody's. Potter's shirt was barely hanging on him and his jeans were practically shredded. His good eye showed Granger coming out of cover closer than expected her to be with her wand on him. She didn't fare any better in their battle either.

With a flick of his wrist Potter signaled him to toss his wand to Granger. Still smiling he did just that.

"Like my own son you are boy. Still, dirty trick that." Mad-Eye gestured to his wooden leg. His smile never left his face. "I approve. Care to tell me how you managed it? Never had that done before."

His answer came from Granger. She smiled knowingly. "I am sure you are aware of Gibson's First Law of Holomorphism? A little creative enchantment to the wood that made your leg think it was still a part of the tree it came from, then a mingling of a slight temporal field and you found yourself blessed with a very fast growing season."

Moody hauled his head back and laughed. The chit managed to get him with a farmer's charm! "Well done lass, well done! I'll make sure to fix that problem later." He turned his head to look at Potter with both eyes before repeating the words he uttered to him on the cliff. "So, what now eh?"

Still breathing hard Harry slightly smiled but didn't lower his wand. If anything his grip became a bit tighter. "I have a message for Dumbledore. Care to play the messenger?"

Authors Notes

Okay, Chapter Fifteen revision is done. For those of you interested in the story instead of my drivel, by all means leave a review telling me what you think of this chapter, and then hit that 'Next' button. Enjoy the read. As always thank you to all reviews and readers. You are noticed and appreciated.

Fic Recommendation: Beneath Sovereign Skies by Bobmin356